Alexander VI never imagined that there would be a person in the world who admired and almost believed in him so much.

Massimo's recklessness, which was thrilled and dangerously fused several times because of the excitement he saw him, and the little accidents that seemed a little stupid but could be made up for in time, made even a cunning man like Alexander VI feel a little proud of being flattered.

What really impressed Alexander VI was Massimo's sermons.

Before being invited to Mashimo's sermon speech, Alexander VI did not have much hope, after all, the Vatican has never lacked people who are born on the back of their mouths.

In fact, this is also a habit that has been handed down by the Romans for thousands of years, even if it is no longer the era of the eloquent and orators of ancient Rome, but there is still no shortage of adventurers who use rhetoric to win themselves up.

So when Massimo began to preach, the pope's appearance surprised the audience, which had seemed a little empty and sparse, but the monks were not immediately noticed.

But as the lecture continued, the Pope, who had originally intended to show only one side to give face to the monk and Alexander, was a little surprised to find that the things that the monk who didn't know where he came from gradually attracted his attention.

Alexander VI had a refreshing drink brought to him, and then sat on the side balcony of the chapel behind St. Peter's Church, which had not yet been restored, and began to listen attentively to the lecture of the monk, who seemed to have some kind of incitement, while secretly observing those who had heard that he had stayed, and who had finally begun to pay attention to the monk's preaching.

Several cardinals who followed the pope were the first to hear the news, and they first bowed respectfully to the pope sitting on the balcony, and then sat down to listen to the monily of the friars.

More and more people came to hear the news, and people were surprised that the good fortune of this monk who did not know where to come from could be taken seriously by the Pope, and even more strange what this man had said that Alexander VI could be present in person.

"This world is the place where God created it to be the habitat of the world......"

Massimo shouted loudly to the growing audience below, because there were so many people that he had to walk down from the front pulpit, and walked towards the middle of the crowd, and when he saw the clergy above him, he would bow humbly, and when he saw people dressed in ordinary clothes, he would smile at them, unlike any previous preacher who was either high above or self-sacrificing, but what he said was not easy at all.

"Because of man's sin, the world was driven out of the Garden of Eden, but God did not give up on man, so he saved us with his son, and then, in order for the world to always remember and remain humble, Jesus Christ identified his agent and doppelganger who walked in the world," Massimo suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the Pope on the small balcony, "This is a saint who has been tested by God, a shadow of the flesh that Jesus Christ sees as this earth, and whose glory shines on the earth and redeems the earth." ”

Massimo's words instantly swept through the chapel, and the bishops looked at each other, and these bishops who were familiar with the scriptures certainly knew the source of the last sentence of the friars, and they knew what a huge metaphor was hidden behind this praise from the New Testament Titus, which had to make the bishops feel a little uneasy.

While the bishops were still secretly arguing about the appropriateness of Massimo to apply such a scripture metaphor to a living pope, Massimo continued to complain loudly in a tone of indignation: "The world is foolish, and their shepherds misunderstand them, and they have draped over him a garment of slander made up of lies and insults, and they speak with the worst and vile words of their only father in this world, the Lord and the only Savior who can bring them, the lost lambs, back to Jesus Christ. It is the shame of ignorance, the hateful betrayal and the meanness of meanness. ”

Massimo's words caused an uproar in the chapel, and the people looked at the monk in disbelief, who did not expect that this man would attack those who were hostile to the man in the Holy See, or to say Alexander VI himself, in such a way as to denounce heresy, and even to speak of hostility towards Alexander VI as a betrayal of God and Jesus in the monk's outpouring of eloquence.

Even the bishops who were attached to Alexander VI could not help but look at the small balcony with slightly uneasy and puzzled eyes, they must know from the Pope whether this monk who suddenly appeared was a role arranged by the Pope himself, and they wanted to know as soon as possible what he wanted to do if it was indeed arranged by him.

Even Alexander VI himself was somewhat surprised by Mashimo's sermon, and he saw the monk kneeling in his direction in the aisles of the chapel and surrounded by crowds, kissing the stones on the ground without looking up, Alexander VI felt that he had met a very good follower.

Massimo's sermons were successful, or rather shocking, and many Romans were surprised at first when the contents of his sermons were transcribed and edited in advance, and then some wise people seemed to perceive something in them.

Alexander VI summoned Alexander again on the third day after Massimo's sermon, during which the monk had already made a name for himself with the brilliant speech he had given in St. Peter's prayer hall, and the most important thing was that even if there were 10,000 people who had reason and more evidence to refute his statements, not one of them could come forward and challenge him.

The affirmation of the Pope's status as God's walking agent on earth, combined with the almost direct flattery of Alexander VI, and the enormous power of the Pope, made Massimo's sermons the most powerful and untouchable and irrefutable voice in Rome in recent days.

"The monk's sermon, he made a great impression on me."

In the Pope's office, Alexander VI fiddled with the huge marble globe in front of him, many of the marks on this globe were not only plausible, but even some of them were absurd, but it was on this globe that Alexander VI used his finger to draw a line on it that has been passed down to posterity - the Papal Meridian.

"I have relied on my own strength to mediate between two powerful nations, and I have solved many more problems by purely diplomatic means, and I have only done so to maintain peace in Christendom, after all, a hundred years of war in our West has just ended, and in our East, the troubles caused to us by the traitors who believe in the Hussites have not yet completely subsided, and worse, the pagan armies are already waiting for an opportunity on our borders."

Alexander VI's voice was slightly angry and gloomy, and he looked at Alexander who was standing calmly in front of him: "I must not be weak, let alone replace swords and guns with pious prayers, I must do everything possible to keep our faith from dying in my hands, which may use some dishonorable means, and my enemies will use this to attack me, which is absolutely intolerable!" ”

"Your Majesty, we all know that you are right," Alexander bowed, "I believe that more people should hear the voice of understanding and reverence for you, so I ask that you grant Brother Massimo the right to preach anywhere in your name, so that more people can understand how different the slanders they have heard before are different from what they should have heard now." ”

Alexander VI groaned slightly, he knew very well that agreeing to this would make the monk instantly rise in status, but he didn't care about it.

The important thing is that he needs to think about what this means to him.

"I will consider your suggestion," the Pope nodded, then continued to ask, "now tell me what you have discovered in the past two days." ”

Knowing that things should not be so simple, Alexander did not linger on the friar's affairs.

"We've found something, we've interrogated suspicious Jews, we've interrogated a lot of other people who know about it, and it's certain that there are a lot of clergy in the Vatican who are involved in those Jewish affairs, and some of them are even cardinals."

"What about the triple crown, that's what I'm concerned about, I don't want to know which cardinal or priest borrowed money from the Jews to support their mistresses and illegitimate children, I just want to know if you found the triple crown."

"I didn't find it."

Alexander's crisp answer made the Pope angry, but before he could speak, Alexander continued: "But I believe that there is a conspiracy against the Vatican or yourself, and some people are trying to use the Triple Crown to set up an opponent for you. ”

"That is delusion," the Pope angrily interrupted Alexander, "my Holy Seat is God-given, and no one will snatch it from under me in my lifetime." ”

"But if someone tries to reproduce the three emperors standing together, they may feel that it is not impossible."

Alexander VI's expression instantly became gloomy, of course he knew what Alexander was hinting at, although he did not believe that a triple crown would make the farce of the three emperors of the church appear again, but this could not but attract his attention.

"I want you to do everything you can to find out about this matter, and if you need anything, you can get help from Caesar," Alexander VI waved his hand, and when he saw Alexander salute and turn around, the Pope suddenly spoke again: "Alexander! ”

Looking at the young man who turned to look at him, Alexander VI muttered for a moment, then beckoned him to come in front of him.

"I'm sorry about you and Lucrezia," the Pope sighed a little helplessly, "you should have heard that Lucrezia will soon be engaged to Alfonso of Billy Silly, and then if nothing else, they will be married next spring, I can understand that this may make you very unhappy, after all, when I brought you from Montina, I said that you were my family, but now it seems that I have broken my promise." ”

Looking at the Pope's calm expression, Alexander wanted to tell him, "I'm really glad that I didn't become your family, otherwise I would have been killed by you sooner or later", but he just shook his head helplessly.

"Your Majesty, as you said, it was God's gift that you became the Pope, and the encounter and encounter between me and Lucrezia was also arranged by God, so now God arranged for us to separate, and it is also their will."

"It's best if you think so," Alexander VI nodded slightly, and then he reached out and pressed lightly on Alexander's shoulder, "Listen, I will not treat those who serve me badly, whether it is money or power, as long as I can give it will not be stingy, so serve me well, and you will find that it is all worth it." ”

After Alexander left in silence, a wooden door next to his office slowly opened, and Caesar stepped out of it.

"Father, do you believe this Neapolitan? I don't think he loves Lucrezia at all, he only approached him because she was your daughter, and this person should be punished for it. ”

Looking at Caesar's angry look, Alexander VI frowned slightly.

"Caesar, you can't lose your mind because of jealousy," Seeing that his son seemed to be stunned, the Pope stroked his son's cheek with some doting, "I know that you think this person has robbed you of the scenery, and I also know that he has been targeting you because of Giovanni's affairs, but have you thought about it, it is because of his current actions that the whole of Rome is staring at him instead of you, which is the most beneficial for you." You must know that now is a critical moment for you, which is related to whether you can successfully become the Duke of Romagna one day, so the key is to let that Alexander become your shield to attract the attention of the Romans, and you just need to wait quietly for this to subside, and put on the crown of the Duke of Romagna. ”

Caesar opened his mouth slightly, and he tried to refute, but in the end he did not make a sound.

He knew that his father was right, and that at this critical juncture, when almost everyone suspected him of being the murderer of his own brother, and at stake, and at stake in his future after he was discharged from the priesthood, any impulse would be a stumbling block to his future.

As for the Alexander, Caesar eventually shook his head and decided not to think about the man anymore.

Alexander, who did not become a member of the Pope's family, but got an empty promise, originally wanted to wait for Massimo to go back with him, but after hearing that he had to rush two more fields, he left the Vatican alone.

The shadow of Castel Sant'Angelo has already appeared in front, and now the castle is guarded not only by Caesar's Vatican Guards, but also by the Agrians of Alexandria.

A small group caught Alexander's attention, and he gently took Pagasus and looked at the unusually familiar texture of the coat of arms on the carriage opposite.

The face of Palermo Bishop Alfonso flashed out of the car window.

"Earl, I didn't expect to see you here," Alfonso didn't see anything unusual on his face, his expression was kind and kind, if he just looked at the two of them now, no one would believe that they were incompatible with each other before, "You've been back long enough, but we haven't met until now." ”

"Actually, I didn't think I would see you, after all, you are the Bishop of Palermo," Alexander said with a slight sarcasm, "but I have heard that you are now seeking the position of cardinal, so it is not surprising. ”

"Would you like to support me, then," Alfonso didn't seem to hear the sarcasm in Alexander's words, "and don't forget that you're still a Sicilian, and as the keeper of the lighthouse, it might be more beneficial to you if I became a cardinal." ”

As if Alfonso had suddenly remembered something, he leaned half out of the carriage, and then motioned for Alexander, who was on his horse and looked down on him, to bow his head and come closer.

"I have received the news that the king has not yet made up his mind who will appoint him as the court minister of Sicily," Alfonso's eyes flashed with activity and unconcealed excitement, "so if I become a cardinal, how do you think I will repay those who have helped me?" ”

Alexander looked at Alfonso with a little surprise, he didn't expect that this bishop had reached the point where he would not hesitate to openly make official wishes and sell official titles in order to climb up, but thinking that even atonement charms can be sold here and there, Alfonso's little promise is nothing.

But because of this, Alexander felt that he could knock on the bishop who was in power.

"Since you are so honest, then I have something to tell you," Alexander bent down and lowered his voice as well, "my people have discovered that many of the Vatican's big names are related to those Jews, and before that, it seems that someone had seen you appear in the ghetto. ”

The corners of Alfonso's lips twitched slightly, and then he nodded slowly and retracted back into the carriage.

Seeing Alfonso's motorcade staggering in the direction of the Vatican, Alexander turned back and motioned for the team to move on.

And on the bridge over the Tiber, Alexander felt the faint flashes of evasion, fear, and panic in the eyes of those who passed by him as they looked at him.

The interrogation of the Jews involved more people than he had imagined, and once again left Rome in a state of unease.

The Jews may indeed be weak in this era, they are always scapegoated for all kinds of crimes, and they are always looted again and again because of the great wealth they have, but they are not completely weak.

At least having wealth alone is enough to allow them to do a lot of things, including making those who have to do with their money have to help them for themselves.

"What you should do now is to get out of Rome as soon as possible and go back to Montina," and upon returning home, the first thing Jossa said to Alexander made him immediately realize that things might be worse than he thought, "Go to Lucrezia and she will help you, let your little beauty be coquettish in front of her father and let you go back to the realm, and I will leave the city as soon as possible." ”

"What did you find?" Alexander looked around and made sure there was no one else in the room, he reached out and took Josha into his arms, and before she could resist, his lips had already fallen on her neck, "It's not like you to be so uneasy, I know that Josha is always very confident and not easy to bully." ”

"But you're bullying me right now, and use your charm on that Borgia woman, maybe she'll help you out of your immediate trouble," Jossa said as she struggled to break free from Alexander's arms, then she held out a finger to stop Alexander from continuing to entangle, then turned around and took out a sealed document from a tightly locked drawer and held it up to Alexander's eyes, "You asked Ulius and Matthews Tiego to investigate who was related to those Jews in the market records of the town hall, Now that the results are in, see for yourself,"

Alexander opened the wax-sealed document with a little confusion, and when he took a cursory look at the contents, and then his eyes fell on the conclusion, his eyes suddenly narrowed slightly, and then he couldn't help but curse in a low voice: "Damn it." ”

The conclusion of that document seems to be directed at a prominent Roman family.

The family was famous in Rome for having a woman known as the bride of Christ.

Farne, the mistress of Alexander VI and the family of Julia Farne!

Looking at Alexander's appearance, Jossa walked over and gently snuggled up to his chest: "This is Rome, Alexander, it's Rome." So you need to get out of here. ”