Alexander had always found Count Mordillo's desire to reunite the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies a bit absurd.

This has nothing to do with whether the strength is enough or not, but even Ferdinand II, who did it in history, actually only received the crown of the Two Sicilies, rather than nominally merging the two kingdoms into one.

The reason why this is the case is because of the so-called historical problems that have been formed for various reasons.

So when he heard about the Count's grand dream, Alexander was actually very unimpressed.

Even when Sicily was later included in the FTA alliance, Alexander did not think that his idea would be so easy to realize.

But now it seems that there are many people who have the same idea as the Count of Mordillo, and when Louis XII was still the Duke of Orleans, he ventured to sneak into Sicily anonymously, Alexander suddenly discovered that the French king also had a strong interest in the two Sicilies, and even did not hesitate to risk his life for this alone.

This made Alexander feel that those two people could really become confidants.

However, he did not become fond of Louis XII because of this, but was more wary of the French king in his heart.

Normezi was very satisfied that one sentence had caught Alexander's attention, and he felt that he had taken the initiative in this negotiation, so his attitude became slightly reserved.

"There are places where the French can help you and your queen, but you should understand that most of the time it goes unrecognized." Normezi revealed this news to Alexander, and as if he was worried that Alexander did not understand, he went on to explain that "for example, they can provide you with weapons, ships, and some of the expenses, but these can only be provided to you directly through other people and not the French themselves," Normezzi paused as if hesitating, but then he made up his mind and said, "I have heard that the French are indeed engaged in a negotiation with Aragon, and that the Aragonese will send troops but they will not go to war with the French." ”

"So they're going to openly divide Naples?" Alexander did not show surprise or frustration, which he naturally knew for a long time, and looking at the anger and helplessness on Normezi's face, he calmly said, "You should indeed be angry, because the Aragonese betrayed Naples." ”

"It's intolerable, they want to divide up a kingdom," said Normezi, walking back and forth, which is why he was not happy with the French, although he was appreciated by the French, "I can't tolerate such a thing, it's absurd, even disgusting." ”

"Louis was very ambitious, perhaps bigger than Ferdinand, but he was too traditional to see what he knew, and he didn't know what the world would change in the future."

Alexander's slightly felt words made Normezi a little puzzled, he didn't know what Alexander meant by these things that sounded trivial at such a time, and he was now more concerned about how Alexander was going to reply to the French's proposals.

Normezi did not want the Neapolitan court to accept the French's offer, although he would be able to get more appreciation from the French, but somehow he could not be happy with the result.

Although he was puzzled when he saw this "traitor", Alexander certainly did not explain his words to Normezie.

As the eighth king of the Valois dynasty, Louis XII showed great ambition to revitalize France from the beginning of his reign, and he did accomplish many feats in his lifetime, so much so that he was revered as the "father of the people" by the French, who liked to give them nicknames.

However, in terms of his impact on history, Louis XII was at best a mediocre, or slightly better, enterprising king.

And Ferdinand......

Alexander felt the pressure in his heart.

As one of the founders of the unification of Spain, Ferdinand had internal contradictions that were more difficult and dangerous than Louis XII, but he did complete the unification.

Externally, the historical Ferdinand not only annexed Naples, but also repeatedly sent troops to Italy, and in the ensuing long Italian wars, Spain exerted a huge influence on the course of European history.

As for the New World, the future Kingdom of Spain led by Ferdinand left France far behind, so much so that for a time Spain became the first real world empire.

To be an enemy of such a person, Alexander, who had a headache at the thought of this, felt that he seemed to have a bit of a masochistic tendency, because he was always looking for opponents who were much stronger than himself.

Charles VIII, Louis XII, Bayezid II, and now Ferdinand II again.

However, Alexander felt that he had an advantage over all of them, and this advantage was not a foreknowledge of the future, because as reality gradually changed, the future history had become obscure, and he had the advantage of being younger than these people.

In addition to Charles VIII, who died young, even the two old men who have a relationship with him now are already very old, such as Alexander VI, even if there is no accident in history that makes him suddenly go to see God, he is already very old, which makes Alexander believe that as long as he is steady, he can compete with these people until the end with the tempering of time.

It's not his character to be beaten passively.

"How can the French help?" Alexander looked at Normezi, and when he saw the Count of Giulipe, he immediately showed a look of "sure enough", and he was under pressure, and just waved his hand to remind him not to be too complacent: "Louis thinks that we can help him contain Ferdinand's army by harassing Sicily?" ”

After a slight hesitation, Normezi finally shook his head slightly, he really did not know much about this, and before following Charlen back to Naples, Louis XII asked him to bring this to Alexander when he summoned him alone, which also surprised Normezi.

He did not understand why the King of France cared so much about this Count of Montina, although this man was indeed of great fame now, but after all, he still had a great disparity in status compared to a king, and from Louis's inquiries about him and the solemnity of his subsequent instructions, it seemed that the King of France paid unexpectedly attention to this man.

"The king wants you to land in Sicily, and he says maybe you can surprise him."

"It's not an accident to know in advance."

Alexander, who seemed to be deliberately concerned about the sick sentence in this sentence, whispered, he walked up to Normezi and thought for a while, and his tone became slightly softer: "Have you thought about coming over and doing it for us?" ”

"I'm sorry Earl, I don't understand."

Normezi looked at Alexander in a daze, he didn't expect that it would be the other party who took the initiative, although he also thought about this possibility, but the hostility caused by participating in the rebellion and Naples had always been between them, and now he suddenly heard Alexander's invitation, which made Normezzi a little unable to turn his mind for a while.

"My invitation is time-bound," Alexander continued, "if you can come to us before the arrival of the Aragonese, and if you can be acknowledged for what you have done before, I will ask Her Majesty for a pardon for you, but if you remain with the French after the arrival of the Aragonese, then I promise you may soon have to go to God." ”

The flesh on Normezi's cheeks moved slightly, he didn't know if it was because of anger or what, but the last bit of reserve made him can't help but fight back: "Count, what do you think makes you think that you can still issue such a threat to me at such a time, you know that even if the French may clash with the Aragonese, you are still the weakest side in Naples, aren't you?" ”

"No, Earl, I think you've misunderstood," Alexander stretched out his hand and walked towards the door with Normezi, who was nearly half a head shorter than him, like an old friend, "In fact, it wasn't me who wanted your life, but Ferdinand, do you think he would like to see someone he had previously worked with now become an accomplice to the French, or do you think he wouldn't suspect that you had discovered his plot to blame you for killing the queen?" ”

Normezi's expression froze, he had indeed hoped so, and even after carefully recalling the secret dealings with Ferdinand's men, Normezi still wished that Ferdinand did not know that he had discovered the plots of the Aragonese.

"Believe me, Ferdinand is a much tougher man than you think, and the most important thing is that he doesn't lack a helper like you in Naples."

Alexander's words hit Normezi's soft underbelly, he thought that the biggest reason to stay with the Aragonese was that he was useful to Ferdinand, but now Alexander's words made him suddenly realize that those nobles who stayed in Naples could surrender to the French so easily, and it would not be more logical to surrender to the Aragonese, who were also members of the Astamara family?

And if you think about it, whether or not suspicions have been made about him before he has officially turned against the French, at least he, who knows something about the Aragonese schemes, is a great threat that may reveal their intentions.

In fact, Normezi was not unaware of the dangers, but he still wanted to stay with the French, and Ferdinand's betrayal and abandonment of him had always haunted him, but now Alexander's words calmed him down.

"Can I really be pardoned?" Normezi was a little surprised, not surprised that he would be pardoned, but a little surprised that Alexander had so easily shown him what should have been an important bargaining chip.

"You can serve the Queen," Alexander nodded affirmatively, "Your Majesty can forgive you for all your previous mistakes, but you should also know that this is not without a price." ”

Normezi's mind moved, and although he didn't know what this so-called price was, he was already vaguely aware that maybe this was a good opportunity for him to work from time to time.

No one wants to be infamy, even the most open-minded people think of themselves more than others, and Normazzi doesn't think he has a big heart enough to allow others to slander and abuse him.

But in order to get revenge on Ferdinand, he didn't care about that.

But if there is a chance to change this bad reputation now, he is certainly willing to try.

As for the so-called price, Normezi does not think that it is something that he cannot pay.

Because the Queen Regent obviously still has a place to use him.

Jossa sits on the high bell tower of Billy Shelly Castle, which overlooks the valley in the distance.

Nestled deep in a wide valley, the mountains on either side of the castle are like two powerful arms in the arms.

Although the peaks in this area are not very high, the terrain of Billiselli is still very important because it is the only way to the mountains of southern Italy.

Southern Italy is mountainous and complex, and because of the lack of vast and flat arable land, food in many places comes from the north, except for some coastal cities.

A large part of this comes from the Agri Plain.

The distant sunset casts its last rays on the valley before it sets the horizon, enveloping the valley in a magnificent golden hue.

She raised her hand to cover her forehead to shield the glare from the light, and then looked into the distance through the edge of her almost illuminated transparent palm.

There was a sound of footsteps coming from the wooden staircase behind her, and she looked back slightly to see Alexander walking up.

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, and she turned back to look into the distance beyond the tower, until a pair of slightly warm hands were placed on her shoulders from behind.

"What did that Normezi say to you?"

Instead of looking back, Zhosa tilted her head slightly, rubbing her cheek against the back of Alexander's hand.

Her way reminded Alexander of the notoriously arrogant cat owners, but if she were to be a cat, she would seem to be the proudest of them all.

"Louie, it seems that he wants to encourage us to do something about Sicily," Alexander, habitually fiddling with his fingers with Josha's blonde hair, who had always wondered how Josha took care of her beautiful blonde hair, especially in the afterglow, which made her look like an angel conceived in a flash of light.

"Sicily?" She was a little surprised, and then she smiled strangely, "If Louis had brought this up not long ago, maybe we would have asked them what to do, but isn't this a good opportunity for us now?" ”

Alexander nodded silently, and when he first heard Normezie's suggestion, he also had a very similar idea.

Just a few days ago, Count Mordillo had just left Billy Shelly.

His destination was Sicily.

Since returning from Aragon, the Count of Mordilo has never left Naples.

He seems to be completely immersed in the pleasures of life, and he rarely even goes out to the city of Naples except hunting.

The Count built his Tuylan Palace into a kingdom of hedonists, of which he himself was king.

Even when the French invaded, he stayed on the pretext that he was unwilling to leave his home.

This departure from Naples was already the first time for him in many years, but no one would have imagined that just a few days earlier, the Count had suddenly offered to go to Sicily.

The count did not say what he was going to do in Sicily, but Alexander had already vaguely guessed something.

The Count of Mordillo had always regarded the unification of Sicily as his lifelong dream, and what seemed to him to be dormant in Naples for all these years was clearly not the case

Thinking about the fact that he sent George Anne's child to Sicily in the first place, Alexander, who had long suspected that the Count was preparing in Sicily, believed that the Count suddenly chose to go to Sicily at this time, and he should be ready to do a big job.

It's just that he didn't expect that Louis XII would be preparing to act in Sicily again at this time.

This made Alexander sigh that the people who can become famous figures in history are really not simple.

"Do you think my uncle is planning to start a riot in Sicily?" She leaned back to sit more comfortably

Alexander thought for a moment and shook his head slightly with some uncertainty.

If it were possible, he believed that the Count of Mordillo would also cause a riot in Sicily like Louis XII did, thus pulling the Aragonese back, but thinking about Louis XII's embarrassing failure in Sicily, Alexander felt that the Count of Mordillo had been preparing for so many years, and it should not be so simple as just wanting to create a few chaos, otherwise it would be too much to lose.

The original Duke of Orleans did not hesitate to risk his life to personally go to Sicily to cause trouble, but the effect was not very good, and it can even be said that even if Alexander did not appear at that time, he would only provoke a few riots at most, and he would still be suppressed in the end.

Of course, this is not to say that Louis XII's methods are not clever enough, but his original purpose was only to cause some trouble for Ferdinand, and he did not think about what would happen to those Sicilian mobs after they caused trouble.

And this is clearly not the case with Count Mordiglo.

He's ambitious, he's planned, and more importantly, he's incredibly patient.

There is nothing surprising that a conspiracy has been brewing for more than ten or decades, but if a conspiracy is almost impossible to succeed from the beginning, but there are still people who are willing to invest huge capital to win the hope that is almost 1 in 10,000, and can willingly lie dormant for so many years for this hope, it is impossible not to admire his perseverance and courage.

Count Mordilo is such a person, his plan is actually almost uncertain because there are too many possibilities in the future, but even so he still firmly carries it out.

And if it weren't for some inconsistencies, he would have almost almost succeeded.

"It won't be a simple riot," Alexander finally spoke, bowing his head and kissing the silky silk hair of Shosa, and looking at the setting sun that had fallen in the distance, "Perhaps the Count will surprise us with a completely unexpected surprise," he nodded affirmatively, "Yes, I'm sure he will." ”

Just as Alexander and Jossa were guessing the purpose of Count Mordillo's trip to Sicily, a carriage escorted by several armed retinues slowly drove into the courtyard outside a mansion in Piazza Henri IV, near the Royal Palace in Palermo, the capital of Sicily.

An old man, who had to be supported by a servant because he was too old to move, stood on the highest step in front of the house, and when he saw the carriage stop, the old man walked down the steps with the help of the servant, but when he was halfway there, a steady figure had already come out of the carriage and walked towards him.

"My friend, you're finally here," the old man stretched out his bony hand to the man, and when he shook it with the man's powerful palm, the old man's cloudy eyes, which could barely see clearly, couldn't help but burst with excitement, "I've been waiting for you for many years, it's been too long." ”

"But you're waiting for me, aren't you," said Count Mordillo, smiling as he walked up the steps side by side with the old man, "tell me how you've been doing all these years, but don't you say I've heard a lot about you, after all, you're one of the most powerful men in Sicily now." ”

Listening to Modillo's words, Camusi, the chief consul of the Sicilian aristocratic consul, let out a smug laugh that was weak and hoarse, but could still be felt in it: "You are right, my friend. ”