At the turn of spring and summer, the Po River is surging and turbulent.

Upstream there are several rivers that converge and eventually empties into the Adriatic Sea, one of the largest river systems in Lombardy.

The Po River is not long, but it is very wide, almost half a mile at its widest point, which makes the river that originates in Mantua and eventually flows into the Adriatic Sea a natural line of defense.

The main opponent of the Duchy of Romagna-Tuscany on the Po line was the Venetians.

Given the wavering role that the Venetians had played in the Italian Wars over the years, Alexander had no idea which side the Venetians would choose to take next.

The elder Barbarig had died more than a year ago, and the old fox, who was known for his longevity even among the Venetian governors, did not resist the beating of the years.

The current Doge of Venice is Leonardo Rollette, an equally cunning merchant.

When he was elected governor, this man stood on the balcony of the governor's residence and assured the nobles and soldiers below that he would "do everything in his power to ensure the status of Venice and the interests of its citizens".

This purely politician-like promise was cautiously welcomed, as Venice was facing unprecedented pressure from the Ottomans.

Less than a week after Rowlet took office, Venice lost all of their overseas territory as the Venetians' last colony in the Mediterranean fell to the Ottomans.

Not only that, but the Ottoman fleet was once close to the mouth of the Adriatic Sea into the Mediterranean, which meant that the Venetians were likely to be blocked in the Adriatic Sea.

This is a conceivable blow to Venice.

Venice, which had risen to prominence through maritime trade, was in danger of being trapped alive.

This made Leonardo Rollett, who was facing a crisis as soon as he took office, a little scrambling at first.

He had to deal with the panic caused by the unfavorable situation in the country, and at the same time quickly adjust his foreign relations to try to find a way to get through this difficulty.

For this reason, the Venetians had to put aside their dignity and frequently express goodwill to their old rivals, whether it was the French, Austria, or even the Vatican, which had always had a bad relationship with Venice, they tried to improve relations by all means.

It was at this time that the changes in northern Italy took place that attracted the attention of countless people.

The army of the Count of Graz, the Austrian front-line commander in Lombardy, had an unexpected encounter with the Northern Army of Roman Thescia near Parma.

At least for the Austrians it was an unexpected battle.

The Austrian forward force, of about 1,100 men, commanded by the Count himself, was caught off guard and was fiercely attacked by the northern left flank of the Roman Thesian army.

With the enemy's complete overwhelming superiority in both weapons and forces, Count Graz's army resisted for less than two hours before the entire line collapsed.

What the Count didn't expect was that it was clearly not an unexpected encounter as he thought.

Because when he was forced to retreat one after another with the remnants of his army, he found that he had been cut off from retreating, and even the baggage team that had followed behind, although it had entered the battlefield, was still far away, had been intercepted by the enemy's cavalry on the way.

It was only then that the Count finally understood that he had actually run headlong into the enemy's main force, and judging from the swift reaction of the opponent and the rapid entry into battle, it was clear that the target of the Romantesians was him.

This made the Count of Graz angry and wanted to send someone to find the Roman Thesian commander opposite.

After all, he thought that although the two sides had already made very severe diplomatic gestures, and even heard that the duchess had declared war, the Roman Thesian army had attacked without the two armies greeting each other on the battlefield, which was tantamount to an undeclared war.

The Count's anger was understandable, but the enemy apparently did not give him a chance to discover it.

According to the reports of a handful of defeated soldiers who fled first to Piacenza and then fled to Milan in haste under the pursuit of the Roman Thesians, the last time the brave Count Graz was seen was when he was trying to break out of the encirclement with his guards.

Then the count lost contact with his troops, and the remnants of the Austrians, surrounded by the Romanesian army, finally escaped from the encirclement, and had no time to find their count, so they had to flee all the way north until they reached Piacenza.

It was April 12, 1503, exactly 18 months into the reign of Leonardo Rowlet, the new Doge of Venice.

A few days later, the news reached Venice and caused quite a stir among the Venetians.

For a time, the Venetian aristocratic parliament was divided into two distinct factions.

One faction, led by Barbareg's former secretary of state, Nicolas voncia, believed that it was necessary to continue to maintain good relations with the Duke of Thessia of Rome, and at the same time take advantage of the trade union, a behemoth that had already shown fangs and claws, to take advantage of the new European order that was already on the rise.

After all, the relationship between Venice Resources and the Trade Alliance was quite harmonious before, but for various reasons, it has always been outside the circle of the Trade Alliance.

It seems that this is clearly not worth the cost, so it would be great if at this time it would be possible to repair the delicate rift with the trade alliance by supporting the Duchy of Rome and Thesia.

On the other hand, the other faction consisted of a group of upstarts who had gained power after Leonardo Rowlet took over as governor.

These people thought that the ambition of the Duke of Rome Thessia was too great to threaten the direct interests of Venice, and if he had gained power in Lombardy, he might not have crossed the Po River, which is now the border between the two sides, because of his inflated ambitions, and invaded the Veneto, the traditional sphere of influence of the Venetians.

So at this time they should be in close contact with the duke's enemies, even if they are not openly on his side, they should take the opportunity to contain the Roman Thesians, and then watch the situation develop and make a decision on whether to break with the Roman Thesia completely.

Leonardo Rowlet certainly supported them, not only because he had become a strong supporter of the Doge, but also because he himself was one of those men who were very wary of the Duke.

It's just that the old power of the former governor should not be underestimated, and the two sides do not give in to each other in the house of nobles.

It was Constantine della Roverre, Duke of Ferrara, who finally made the decision for the Venetians.

Constantine's proclamation of himself Duke of Milan and the proclamation authorizing the Roman Tesian army to enter the Milan region to expel the Austrians finally taught the wavering Venetians what to do.

They may not have had a good relationship with the Austrians, but they could not tolerate a Genoese Duke of Milan dangling before their eyes.

The Venetians immediately declared their support for the Emperor's legitimate rule over Milan, and at the same time warned the French, who were also moved by the news, that if they intervened in the battle for Milan, Venice would have to send troops to protect their interests in Lombardy.

War became the biggest topic in Italy for a time, both in Rome and in Naples, and although it was still far from Lombardy, the shadow of war had quietly descended, and tensions were everywhere.

Mahimo walked slowly in the square with his hands in the hot sun above his head, it was already very hot this season, especially when he was wearing heavy and heavy robes, and he would sweat profusely if he moved a little.

Today happens to be Massimo's turn to preside over the day of the Holy Lord's Sacrifice, and as a member of the College of Cardinals, he is one of the busiest of the day.

Massimo was surrounded by several of his cronies, including two priests and a few deacons, in addition to a slightly lower auxiliary bishop.

These men formed his small staff in Rome, and in Bologna, where he was stationed, there was another completed order.

Massimo's proposal to restore the authority of the pope when he met with Alexander VI is now showing signs of being publicized again, but this time it is the old Rovere who is ready to raise the banner.

Therefore, this recent period can be said to be the honeymoon period between the two most powerful chief cardinals and the most promising young cardinal of the cardinals, and the two sides have worked closely together and helped each other, and for a time they have swept the two streets of the Vatican.

"War, my lord, war!"

A young man who was following Mashimo couldn't stop chattering, the sun on his head and his face sweaty, but despite this, he kept nagging.

"I know, there will be a war soon, and God knows why so many stupid people are always thinking about such things."

Massimo said impatiently, and when he saw the young man, he stared at him with strange eyes, and Massimo shrugged his shoulders helplessly: "I'm not talking about the duke, we all know that he always has a point." Okay, what are you going to do this time? ”

"War ......," the young man said again, and then quickly got to the point under Mashimo's gaze, "I mean, don't you think it's an opportunity to make a fortune?" ”

Massimo looked at the staff members who were a little farther behind, waved his hand slightly to signal them not to follow too closely, and then lowered his voice and said, "Listen, I know you've made a lot of money in the past two years, so don't be too greedy, remember that one person can't make all the money." ”

"That's what the Duke said," replied the young man, but the look on his face evidently did not listen, "but this is a rare opportunity, I mean we can make a fortune." ”

Massimo stopped and looked at the young man who had been unwilling to give up and frowned: "Prato, you are just too greedy, this is not a good sign, don't you make enough money with the Grand Duchess of Wallachia, but I heard that you alone have almost all the orders of the new army of Wallachia." ”

"Your good word, my lord, it is indeed a good deal," Prato couldn't help but smile when he heard Massimo mention his proud work, but then he quickly whispered, "But this time we can make a lot of money, and you know that Gonzak Francisco, Marquis of Mantua, is worried about his situation." ”

Prato's words moved Massimo's heart.

Of course he had heard of the great name of the marquis, who was said to be a great monarch, generous and passionate, and kind to the people of his realm, and in short, he sounded like a wise man.

However, it was not these characterless personalities that made Massimo remember the marquis's name, but because the marquis's sister was the Duke of Alfonso d'Est.

And this duke was one of the candidates that Alexander VI was going to find for Lucrezia to succeed him after the death of Giovanni Sforza.

It was only later, after various considerations, that the Pope finally chose the brother of his daughter-in-law, Sanxia, Billy Shelly, as the first choice.

Of course, this was what Alexander told him, and when he was in Rome, they kept a close eye on all the husbands that the Pope had chosen for Lucrezia.

Assemo didn't know, of course, that if history hadn't changed, Lucrezia would indeed marry Alfonso of Billy Scieri, and then, according to Borgia tradition, Lucrezia would have become a widow again after 2 years of cheating on her son-in-law again.

Then, in the year 1503, she would experience a third marriage, to Duke Alfonso d'Est.

And the Marquis of Mantua, who would be his wife, became a relative of Lucrezia.

and her later lover.

Of course, this is not something that Massimo can know now, but he will not forget the rather strange look on Alexander's face when the Marquis of Mantua is mentioned.

Based on what Massimo knew about Alexander, the expression seemed to say that he didn't like the man very much.

And now that he suddenly heard the news about the Marquis of Mantua, thinking of Mantua's position in the Lombardy region, Massimo couldn't help but be preoccupied with this matter.

"What have you heard?"

"It's business, business," seeing that Massimo seemed to be moved, Prato immediately became excited** "Someone is buying weapons for the marquis, and he seems to want to rearm his territory." ”

"And what does he want?"

Assemo immediately noticed something noteworthy about Prato's words, and with his knowledge of Prato's ability to speak of his hands and eyes, it was impossible for him to find himself if it was just an ordinary weapon.

"Cannon, the Marquis wants to buy the latest artillery to protect his territory."

Massimo was stunned, and looked at Prato with surprise in his eyes.

Massimo considered himself a pious, noble, and somewhat elegant monk.

So he was not interested in weapons.

But even so, he knew very well that the latest artillery that Prato was talking about was not just those cumbersome "bronze tools".

If it is only artillery, although there are various types of artillery of different calibers, but in general, there is no too obvious gap between these guns because of any epoch-making changes.

Perhaps the artillery cast in some places is more durable because it is not easy to explode because of the exquisite workmanship, but this is not a new weapon.

Then if it is not the technology of the artillery itself, and it is deliberately mentioned by Prato, there is only the shooting technology that complements the power of the artillery itself.

Massimo did not know much about the firing skills of the artillery in the Roman Tescian army, and how different it was from the rest of the army, but even then he had vaguely heard of the terrifying blows that the Allied army used to make the French army, who claimed to be a powerful artilleryman, suspicious of life at the battles of Siena and San Buguiano.

So looking at Prato now, Massimo rarely looks serious.

"Tell me what you think, you bastard, are you going to make money without a head?"

"My lord, I'm not so ignorant," said Prato, a little indignant, "I know who can make me rich, and I know what I can do to get me into trouble, so don't think I only know how to make money." ”

"I don't think you're going to be that stupid," Massimo said, gesturing Prato to follow him, "tell me what you're going to do." ”

"My lord, some merchants are looking for people in the Carolingian Palace for the Marquis of Mantua, and they want to hire a group of mercenaries who can use artillery......"

Listening to Prato's words as he walked, Massimo gradually fell into deep thought.

According to the agreements signed with the French and Austrians, the Genoa-Parma-Po line was considered a guarantee of its own security by the Duchy of Rome and Thesia.

Any warring party that threatens this frontier is considered a threat by Roman Thesia.

It was only later that the sudden change of attitude towards the French made many people already know that this temporary border was actually only against the Austrians.

On several occasions, not having to worry about possible attacks on the flanks, the French army even set out from Genoa and followed this border all the way east, narrowly detouring back to the east of Milan to cut off the Austrians from their own country.

And after April 12, the border line simply existed in name only.

The western legion of the Roman army marched from Parma and pursued the retreating Austrians all the way north.

A few days later, when they finally came to a halt, they seemed to find that they had not only crossed the border into Lombardy, but that their strikers had already passed through Piacenza, hastily abandoned by the Austrians, to the outskirts of Pavia, south of Milan.

In Milan, the Count of Graz took most of the garrison with him, and the weak defenders suddenly became panicked.

They were tempted to hold the city until the Emperor sent reinforcements, but the frenzied attack of the Roman Thescian army made them realize that they might not be the opponent of this enemy, who seemed to be fighting in a completely unconventional way.

But if Milan is abandoned like this, what awaits them will be the emperor's wrath and punishment.

This made the Austrian guards, who had only a few hundred subordinates, in a dilemma for a while.

At this time, the Austrians in Milan and Barentia, who were in Montina, received diplomatic notices from Venice.

Leonardo Rowlet expressed his concern and condolences to the Austrians who were trapped in the city.

As for Barentia, who was regent of the Duchy of Romagna-Tuscany, the Doge of Venice unabashedly warned him.

“…… Your Royal Highness, as the arbiter of the Lombard tradition, I have to remind you that any attempt to complicate the situation in Lombardy would be considered a threat to Venice, and therefore I hope that you will withdraw your troops to Milan as soon as possible, otherwise Venice will have to correct this obvious mistake......"

Seeing this completely undisguised threat, Barendi first narrowed her eyes slightly, and then gave the order: "Tell Oflaiil, according to the plan, prepare for the Battle of the Po River!" ”