A young man hurried through a street, he got off a carriage on the opposite side, and as he crossed the street he looked back and forth, left and right, and when he was sure that there was no danger, he ran quickly.

Then he looked behind him for a moment before entering an alley, and then walked into the depths of the alley with some relief.

The young man was dressed in a very ordinary way, as if he deliberately did not want others to notice him.

After entering the alley, the young man's footsteps gradually slowed down, and he looked into the alley with some suspicion, and only after making sure that there were indeed people he wanted to see among the figures that appeared in front of him, he walked towards those people.

Among the few people opposite, a middle-aged man who was not very tall walked out, he had the appearance of a foreigner, and his dress did not look so in line with the local fashion.

The young man frowned with some disgust, although these vulgar hillbillies were his countrymen, but he looked down on them from the bottom of his heart.

"I didn't expect you to come in person," said the middle-aged man, bowing to the young man in a slightly flattering tone, "I think you must have brought me important news." ”

"Yes, it is very important," said the young man, with some impatience, "and I would not have come to see you myself if it were not for this." ”

Saying that, the young man waved to the entourage behind the man and asked them to stand farther away, and when he saw that those people were unwilling to leave, he was unhappy to let the middle-aged man look.

"Stay away," the middle-aged man immediately ordered his men to send them away, and then cautiously asked, "What have you brought me?" ”

"Old Rovere," said the young man, in an unpleasant look that did not match his age, "the old fellow may be about to officially abolish my father's papal status." ”

"Oh, really?" The middle-aged man was not too surprised, and even smiled a little, but he soon noticed that his demeanor seemed to cause displeasure among the young people, so he quickly said, "I wonder if the cardinals will agree to the bishop's proposal this time?" ”

"I don't know about this, but I'll find a way to inquire," said Jeffrey, glancing at the man and coldly, "Your king must be glad to hear this, but remember to remind him not to forget what he promised me." ”

"Rest assured, I will bring your words to the king." The man hastened to assure Geoffrey that he didn't know if his master would keep his promise, but that was none of his business, "But I think it would be better if you could help the king in this matter." ”

"What are you going me to do, to take the lead against my father?" Jeffrey asked rhetorically, with some annoyance, but he didn't really care if this would make Alexander VI sad, and what made Jeffrey angry was that he didn't have the ability to do so.

After his exile, Alexander VI did not take his youngest son and daughter-in-law with him, and Geoffrey and Chassan had to temporarily hide in their territory in Cassino, south of Rome.

Fortunately, neither the loss of power of Alexander VI nor the subsequent outbreak of war affected Cassino, and Geoffrey even returned to Rome in confusion after the war was over.

However, the Roman prince soon found that he had lost his former status and power, and although the Roman nobles did not turn him away, he could still feel the loss of being despised by others.

This filled Jeffrey with resentment towards Alexander VI.

He felt that Alexander VI deliberately did not take him away as revenge for so many years of suspicion that he was not his own son, so if he could make some trouble for his father, Geoffrey did not think it was too much.

Thankfully, most of Alexander VI's legacy in Rome did not approve of him, but some decided to elect him the leader of his small group.

This is certainly not because of any good leadership qualities on the part of Geoffrey, but simply because he is the Pope's son.

Many still believe that Alexander VI will not be so willing to fall from power, and that he may be waiting for an opportunity to return to the Vatican to return to power.

Among those who thought so were not only his former men, but also his enemies.

For example, the elder Rovere never dared to relax on this fierce rival, and his return to Valencia also made the old Rovere angry.

Because Alexander was in Iberia at this time, the elder Rovere was worried that the two men would work together again.

So when Geoffrey approached old Rovere and offered him to support him in re-electing the pope, old Rovere was only a little surprised and agreed to Alexander VI's request for the youngest son to join the group.

It's just that Jeffrey soon discovers that he has no status with the elder Roverley, let alone a voice, and the reason why the old Roverley agrees to his membership is just to let everyone know that even Alexander VI's own son is against him.

This disappointed Jeffrey and doubted that the elder Rovere would actually support him in taking over Shasan's territory in the northeast of Naples.

When the two got married, Xia Sang had a small but rich territory under his name.

Although the place called Alberto was far from Naples, and it was not convenient to rule because of its solitude, Geoffrey was anxious to take control of it.

However, even if Alberto was not directly annexed by Naples, from the strength shown by the Queen of Naples and the unfriendly relationship between him and Alexander, Jeffrey felt that it was only a matter of time before the Queen would take back that territory.

Jeffrey wanted the support of old Lowere, and in exchange he was to side with his father's enemies.

But now it seems that this plan is showing signs of failure, and old Rovere does not pay much attention to him, and the determination to try to depose Alexander VI is so strong that Geoffrey becomes a little torn and hesitant.

It was at this time that Ferdinand's men suddenly approached him, and the conditions offered to him were something that Jeffrey could not refuse.

Ferdinand promised Geoffrey that if he could help him, he would not be able to consider the title of Duke of Gandino being inherited by Geoffrey or his children in the future, especially if Maria de Luna's son had no descendants, and then Geoffrey would be able to inherit the Gandino territory without worrying that Giovanni's daughter would compete with him for the title of duke.

Although this promise was still far away, Geoffrey could hardly resist this great temptation.

Neither Giovanni nor Caesar had any affection for Geoffrey, which made him sometimes wonder if he was the son of Alexander VI.

As for Giovanni's children, he had almost forgotten what they looked like, which made him feel no mental guilt for stealing his brother's territory, and the only concern was whether Ferdinand would break his promise.

However, when he heard that Alexander seemed to be in Liberia and might even inherit the throne of Castile, perhaps with a thought of "even if I don't get any benefits, I won't make you comfortable", Geoffrey began to make frequent contact with Ferdinand's people.

Geoffrey now lives in a large mansion south of Rome.

It is a two-story building, and with the help of exquisite craftsmanship, the architect has built the second floor of the house to be wider than the first floor, and the bay window that peeks out in the air makes the house like a huge mushroom towering at the end of the triangle street.

When Jeffrey returned home, he saw the carriage parked in front of his house from a distance before he entered the door, and the conspicuous mark on the carriage made his face suddenly look ugly, and he grabbed the matching sword used to decorate it by his side, and after enduring it again and again, he jumped out of the carriage in anger, and rushed into the house in a rage.

Jeffrey's sudden appearance apparently took the servants by surprise, and they scrambled to make way for their master, but it took some time to delay.

At least when he broke into the second-floor living room with a scarlet face, he saw his wife, Chassan, sitting on a bench covered with soft velvet cushions, listening attentively to the Tuscany and Romagna Metropolis reading a poem.

Jeffrey's arrival seemed to surprise the two men, they looked at Jeffrey who looked at them suspiciously, watching him seem to search for something in the room, but because he didn't find anything and looked a little indignant, Mahimo could only regretfully complain to Xia San that he had lost the mood to continue reading.

This upsets Shasan, who stands up and tries to argue with Jeffrey, but is eventually persuaded by Mahimo with his eyes.

"It seems that this is the only way to go today, but I'm glad I can continue to read these poems to you tomorrow." Mahimo politely said goodbye to Chassan, and even Geoffrey, despite ignoring him, did not forget to say hello to the owner of the house.

"Madame, it seems that your husband doesn't care much about you," said Massimo in a somewhat emotional and unjust tone to Xia San, who had sent him out, as he stood at the gate, "otherwise why would I rarely see him with you?" ”

"Jeffrey...... I'm busy with some business, but you're right, Bishop, he doesn't care about me, or he wouldn't be in a hurry to go back to Aragon," said Chassan, a little annoyed, "I swear that if he were to inherit some Gandino land, I would not follow him to the kind of poor country to which only Moors are accustomed." ”

Xiasan's words made Mahimo slightly stunned, but he had long known that Jeffrey would not hesitate to oppose his father in order to succeed Alberto smoothly.

But now it seemed that things were much more complicated than he had thought, and Massimo couldn't help but worry about what Jeffrey would do to become Duke of Gandino.

The exact identity of Giovanni's killer is still inconclusive, which has led many people to suspect that Jeffrey is the real mastermind.

After all, at that time, there were all kinds of rumors that Xia San and Giovanni brothers were having an affair, and with Jeffrey's bear child's behavior, it may not be impossible to have the audacity to plan a revenge murder.

Thinking of this, Massimo couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and he looked at the few attendants near his carriage to feel a little relieved.

"Madam, I can imagine what it's like for you to live alone in such a big house, so if there's anything unspeakable, please tell me, I'll be happy to help you out."

Massimo comforted Xia San in a tone that was more like a nobleman than a priest, until he felt that the two of them had been standing at the gate for too long, and perhaps Jeffrey might be about to make a fuss again, and then reluctantly said goodbye and left.

But Massimo was not in a hurry to go home or to the Vatican, he asked the carriage to follow the avenue all the way south, eventually stopping in front of a palace full of busy scenes.

The expansion of the Marino Palace is still ongoing, and according to some of the builders involved in the construction of the palace, it will take at least five years or more for the Marino Palace to be fully completed.

In fact, this is already a very short time, and the human, financial and time spent on building a palace in this era is unimaginable.

The Sforza family once built a beautiful palace in the city of Rome, but nearly 40 years have passed from the day the foundation was laid to the completion of the palace, and with the decline of the Sforza family, it was the upstart of Rome, the metropolitan of Tuscany and Romagna, who finally lived in this Sforza palace.

However, Marino Palace still plays a very important role now.

During Alexander's absence from Rome, the Marino Palace became the base of residence for all the "Cambrai" to Rome.

Whether it was the emissaries sent to Rome by the women of Alexandria, or the ordinary messengers of the trade alliances, it was customary for people to meet in the Marino Palace and pass on information to each other.

If the Carolingian Palace was a place where Alexandria openly obtained intelligence from all over Europe, the Marino Palace is now gradually becoming a transit point for the internal intelligence of the "Cambraites" in Rome.

The arrival of Massimo caused a commotion among the guards of the Marino Palace, and it was known that the Metropolitan was now the most sought-after figure in the city of Rome.

Many people want to win him over in order to give themselves a strong reputation, especially now that the papal throne is vacant, and it is undoubtedly a huge gain to be able to win the support of such a influential bishop.

It was only surprising that this staunch friend of the Duke of Rome Thesia seemed to be ambiguous about whether to support the duke's father-in-law as pope, and there were even voices saying that the Metropolitan had openly opposed the deposition of Alexander VI.

Massimo walked up the steps, where he had been many times and had been in contact with the emissaries and officials from all over the world, but now it dawned on him that perhaps the Marino Palace needed an owner.

"Somebody has to show everyone what they have to do," Massimo thought to himself, if Alexander showed them the way forward, then what they needed now was someone who could lead them in that direction.

In Rome in particular, as trade unions were growing in size, Massimo felt the need for someone to step up.

Walking into a room, Massimo closed the door and then fumbled for a few keys from his body.

He opened a secret cabinet hidden in the wall, this cabinet has a very complex mechanism, if it is not for these carefully arranged keys, or simply do not know the correct order to open all the locks, once the mechanism is touched, the liquid hidden in the mezzanine of the dark cabinet will quickly overflow the dark cabinet, and the contents stored in it will be completely destroyed in an instant.

Assemo cautiously opened the cabinet door, which contained important correspondence between him and Alexander and others.

The sender did not know who the letters would end up with, and some of them were even delivered by unrelated people, and the servants who received the letters simply dropped the letters into an ordinary box that looked nothing out of the ordinary, and then waited for someone to sort the letters into the hands of the recipients.

Massimo walked over to the table with a wax table, sat down and began to patiently decipher the contents of the letter in the same way that Alexander had given him.

Every once in a while, passwords are set again, and the password index book in everyone's hand becomes the key to deciphering the password.

No two people's cipher indexes are the same and duplicate, which prevents leaks that can be caused by various reasons, and the cipher indexes used for compilation and decipherment are different.

It was this series of complex and varied methods of caution that allowed Alexander and his men to keep their own secrets as much as possible, while at the same time trying to get hold of other people's secrets.

At least now Massimo knew that Geoffrey was in cahoots with Ferdinand, and though he knew that it might upset the Pope if he reported all this to Alexander, Massimo had no intention of thinking much about the Pope's mood.

However, a letter that looked inconspicuous on the outside caught Mashimo's attention, and he knew that this kind of letter with a secret mark was obviously a very important matter, so Mashimo carefully opened the letter and read it carefully.

To his surprise, the letter came from across the Mediterranean, and it was evident that the author was not alone in writing the letter.

"The Ottoman civil war was much more brutal than we thought, and I followed the Ismaili army all the way to the heart of the Ottoman Empire, and I was surprised to see many slaughtered tribes and civilians deprived of their liberty along the way......"

The letter was written by O'Connie, and she was asking for help.

"Their civilians may be grateful for the fact that the canon forbids slavery of the believers, but their present situation is no different from that of slaves, and this is all a measure taken by Selim to eradicate Mehmad's henchmen, and this civil war for the throne of the Sultan has become impossible for both sides to stop at a critical moment, even if the enemy has invaded their country by this time......"

"So I have to ask for more support for the Safavids again, because Ismaili has decided to launch the biggest offensive since he invaded the Ottomans, and if successful, he could pose a huge threat to the eastern part of the Ottomans, which could make Selim turn his attention to him, so I need all the help you can provide."

Looking at the letter, Massimo couldn't help but be immersed.

In a few years, he had gone from being a wandering friar who could only serve as a woman's bedroom to a powerful metropolitan, and perhaps even pope one day, which made Massimo's vision uncommensurable.

O'Connie's letter should have been sent to Castile, and it is believed that Alexander should have made a decision.

However, Massimo suddenly felt that this matter could be a good opportunity to take advantage of.

So he prepared his pen and paper, and after a little pondering of the wording, began to write:

"Dear Cardinal, I am afraid that you will be so disturbed in the midst of your busy schedule, but there are two things I would like to report to you by chance, one is that Geoffrey, the son of the Pope, seems to be in secret with King Ferdinand of Aragon.

The other is that the Venetians seem to be trying to take advantage of the Ottomans' civil war to regain their lost territories,

However, as far as I know, this alliance of the Venetians with the Ottomans may provoke great opposition and controversy, and they have just joined the neutral alliance of Lombardy, so I think they need your help......"

Writing this, Massimo shook his head and sighed, and said to himself with emotion: "Alas, I am really a person who helps others." ”