Nomelo sat in his chair and looked at the wine glass on the table in front of him, which contained boiled fish and a large plate of lamb that looked to be smoked and tasted good, in addition to a bottle of wine that looked to have been stored for a long time.

Nomelo noticed that Alexander seemed to have a lighter taste for food, although he also ate meat, but obviously did not care much about the use of spices, which is very different from the habits of many people nowadays, at least in Nomerlo's memory, whether it is the pope or other nobles he knows, people will always have people add strong flavors to all kinds of meat, so that some things are too many spices, and even the real taste of the original ingredients is masked.

And Nomelo noticed that Alexander was very slow when he ate, which was also different from the others, he always chewed slowly, Nomelo didn't know if Alexander was actually thinking about things while eating, but now he felt a little impatient.

The state of the Papal army was much worse than he had thought, and it was clear that Caesar's previous speculation about Montina's army was now being fulfilled by the Papal army itself.

In the absence of a commander-in-chief, the mercenary officers had to do their best to restrain the army, which seemed to be increasingly impetuous.

"Count, you must have read the letter I brought with you," Nomelo said, seeing Alexander put down his glass, "As for the letter from your majesty to you, you must have read it, so can you tell me what you are going to do?" ”

Alexander looked at the papal secretary sitting across from him, and Nomelo looked at him.

"I'll let Caesar go back," Alexander said, noticing the look on Nomelo's face that he slowly took a sip from his glass, "but I need a name for why Caesar is attacking Pisa, you must know that Pisa is a free city-state, so if this cannot be solved, there is no guarantee that he will not invade again." ”

Nomerlo, who had known that there would be such a problem, touched his beard, he knew that it was impossible for Alexander not to use the pawn in his hand, and now there were too many things for him to exchange Caesar.

"Count, please don't forget that Caesar is the son of the Pope and the heir of the Borgia family," Nomelo paused and looked around, and seeing that there were only two of them in the room, he leaned forward slightly, "After Giovanni's death, Caesar will be the only heir to the Borgia family, you should know what this means." The Pope may pay any price to save him, but the greater the price, the more unfavorable it will be for you in the future, do you think the Pope will tolerate your blackmail today? ”

Alexander nodded, he admitted that Nomelo was not wrong, in fact, it might be better to defeat Caesar on the battlefield, but now that the Pope's son is a prisoner, it is inevitable that some of them will become a big problem.

But that would only be someone else's idea, and Alexander didn't care.

Because even if Alexander VI wanted to take revenge on him in the future, it would depend on whether he had that opportunity.

"The Zaloni family in Pisa must publicly renounce the inheritance of Pisa," Alexander slowly pushed the glass in front of him, and he carefully chopped the lamb on the plate with a knife, and then ate it little by little, saying that he did not like this half-boiled and half-roasted meal, and if possible he would prefer to eat an authentic red braised lamb, "and the Pope will appoint a bishop to officially crown Tomneo." ”

Nomerlo's brow furrowed, he didn't expect Alexander to care about the Pope's wishes, and to his surprise, he didn't seem to care about his sister either.

Doesn't it mean that their brother and sister have a good relationship, isn't this true?

"In addition, I ask the Pope to issue a formal canonization decree of Pisa, recognizing that the Duke of Pisa has the right to be crowned directly by the Vatican."

Nomelo looked surprised, he thought that it might be understandable if Alexander made this request for himself, but now he was fighting for this right for Pisa, which made him feel a little confused.

Nomelo was puzzled because such an edict meant that the Vatican recognized Pisa as an autonomous ducal state.

According to the current status of Pisa, once the status of the principality is officially restored, Pisa must be loyal to the original suzerain, according to the previous subordinate relationship.

The suzerainty of Pisa before it became a republic was the Anjou royal family of the Kingdom of Sicily in the early years.

Nomelo's beard twitched slightly at the thought of this, and he felt that he had almost understood Alexander's purpose.

Obviously, although Alexander was born in Naples, or Sicily, it is clear that he did not want to be a vassal of those two kingdoms forever, especially after becoming the Count of Montina, and this ambition was probably even stronger.

So his decision was not so much to support Pisa to get rid of the vanished Anjou royal family in France, but to break away from the rule of the current Aragon royal family in Sicily.

It's just that Nomelo feels strange that he has spared no effort to help Tomneo, what good can he do for himself?

Alexander saw Nomelo's confusion, but he continued: "It is also important that the Pope himself sign an edict recognizing Montina to Pisa's protection......"

"It can't be!"

Nomelo immediately interrupted Alexander.

"If the Pope is then deemed to have signed a failed war agreement, you should know that no pope has ever signed such an agreement since the establishment of the Holy See, let alone with a secular lord."

"Never?" Alexander's hand that had reached out to take the glass stopped, and he looked at Nomelo on the other side, and a smile on his face that couldn't tell whether it was sarcasm or what.

Nomelo had an unnatural look on his face, he knew that what he said was not true, perhaps there was no pope in history who signed such an agreement directly after the defeat, but there were too many examples of being forced to compromise with secular power again and again in various other ways.

But who are those people? The irascible King of France, or the Holy Roman Emperor who challenged the Holy See again and again, only those with the greatest secular power of the time could challenge the authority of the Vatican.

Does this Kambray in front of him want to do the same?

Is this brave or stupid?

Nomelo really couldn't understand what Alexander was going to do, did he really think that the Pope would agree to his whimsical terms?

Or did he think that he could do whatever he wanted with Caesar in control, and if the Pope didn't agree to him, would he dare to kill Caesar?

Nomelo looked at Alexander in disbelief, and he wanted to warn the young man not to be too presumptuous, and not to let blind victory blind his eyes, otherwise a disaster awaited him.

Just as Nomelo was about to open his mouth to warn with kindness, Alexander suddenly said indifferently: "There are only two people in the Tomnio family, Leo Tomneo and his wife, and there are no children so far, and judging from his age, it seems unlikely that he will have any more children." ”

Alexander's gaze fell on the puzzled Nomerlo, and then continued in a very soft tone, "And Lucrezia is pregnant. ”

The look on Nomerlo's face changed, his eyes were fixed on Alexander, who was looking at him, and after seeing Alexander nod meaningfully, Nomelo opened his mouth, and then slowly grabbed the wine glass from the table and took a sip.

"Lucrezia?" The secretary asked thoughtlessly.

"Lucrezia." Alexander nodded with a look of affirmation.

"Are you sure about this?" Nomelo knew that Alexander could understand what he was implying "knowing that once the Zaloni family publicly renounced the rule of Pisa, the Tomni family would be the legitimate rulers of Pisa, and they might not be willing to ...... then"

"I can make a deal with Tomneo," Alexander thought he was about the same, so he stopped hiding it, "I will trade the protection of Pisa in exchange for Tomneo accepting my terms, and as soon as his family has no heirs, the title of Duke of Pisa will be inherited by me, or by one of my descendants." ”

"Earl, wait," Nomelo waved his hand slightly, he felt that the development of things had become much more complicated than before he came, and for a moment the secretary felt a little unacceptable, "You should know that Lucrezia is going to marry Duke Billy Shelly, and you and her future child," said the secretary with a cross on his chest, a little helplessly, "God bless that child, I mean that even if you die in the Tomneo family, how can you ensure that this child can get the inheritance of Pisa in the future?" ”

Alexander narrowed his eyes slightly, he knew that if he explained to the man in front of him, he would never allow his woman to marry someone else, probably Nomelo would think that he must be crazy, after all, even Alexander VI later arranged for Lucrezia's mother to marry a crony of his own for his own future.

Therefore, Nomelo will question that if Lucrezia marries Alfonso, Duke of Billyselli, in the future, then their children will inevitably become embarrassed because of Lucrezia's marriage.

"You must know that it is impossible for Lucrezia's child to be recognized," Nomelo had already calmed down from the accident just now, and he looked at Alexander with a playful look on his face, "According to the order of His Majesty the Pope, he or she will be raised in the name of Giovanni Sforza's widow, because he has no nominal relationship with you, so even if the Duke of Pisa is extinct, you can only inherit it, in this case, do you think the Pope will agree to your conditions?" ”

Listening to Nomelo hint that he was using the unborn child as an excuse, Alexander was not angry.

He knew that this kind of thing was common in this era, and that in the eyes of the monarchs, children were only suitable for the realization of personal ambitions, even in the case of Alexander VI's affection for Lucrezia or old Rovelle's favor for Barendi.

"You may convey this condition of mine to the Pope," Alexander knew of course that this was not something for Nomelo to decide, and that he had other matters for the private secretary to convey to him, "and tell His Majesty the Pope, that I would go to Rome to meet him in due course." ”

Nomelo was really a little surprised this time, his head turned slightly to the side, as if to make sure he had heard it wrong, when he heard Alexander say it again, he slowly picked up the knife on the table and cut the meat on the plate, looking at Alexander carefully as he cut it.

"Do you know what you're talking about," Nomelo asked slowly, "if you were Lucrezia's husband, even if you committed a serious crime, the Pope probably wouldn't punish you in Lucrezia's eyes, because you are his family after all, but if you only go to Rome in your current capacity, then I can almost guarantee that you will not be able to leave that city." ”

Speaking of this, Nomelo put a mouthful of the cut meat in his mouth and chewed as he asked, "So tell me what you want to do, and let me see if you have any other ideas." ”

Despite being honest, the private secretary's words made Alexander pout secretly.

If it's Lucrezia's husband, will it be fine? Is it because it's a family member that you don't have to worry about that family pulling out intrigues?

Thinking about the Duke of Poison, who was still a prisoner in his own hands, Alexander felt that the Nomelo in front of him was really worthy of being Alexander VI's personal secretary, and the lie was so natural and easy for him to say.

Alexander would not believe the family that Nomelo said, after all, there was Giovanni Sforza in the past, and there was a future Alfonso in the future, both of whom let this 'family' die.

"I am ready to ask His Majesty the Pope for permission to establish a new exchange in Rome," Alexander said nonchalantly, "and for permission to obtain a low tax right in Rome." ”

Nomelo frowned again, he already knew that this negotiation was much more complicated than he thought, at least some of the conditions that Alexander had put forward in a row were beyond his authority, and even Pope Alexander VI himself might not be able to immediately answer whether he could accept them.

"I can make Rome the next pizza," Alexander said nonchalantly, and when he heard a crisp collision between the knife and the plate in Nomerlo's hand on the other side, he raised his glass and gestured to Nomerlo, who was looking up at him, "Don't you think pizza is actually small, or even Florence is still too small, I think there is enough market for us to make money, at least now I see a good place," Alexander took a sip of wine, like Venice. ”

Nomelo coughed, almost choking on the wine he had just drunk in his mouth.

Caesar was disappointed to hear that Nomelo had returned to Rome.

This news was a big blow to Caesar, who had hoped for immediate freedom.

He angrily threw a tantrum at Caderon, and then asked his squire to tell Alexander to see him.

However, Alexander did not have time to meet his captives now, and the increasingly impetuous Papal army was provoking, or some of the mercenary officers were about to run out of patience.

For ordinary mercenaries, this kind of good thing of getting a salary for nothing without fighting is an unbearable torment for those officers.

To make matters worse, as the weather gets colder, when they come out of their tents one day to find a shallow layer of hoarfrost attached to the yellowed blades of grass in the wilderness, the mercenary officers have to start thinking about a looming problem.

Should you go to winter camp or not?

The Montina army obviously didn't need to think about it, they could stay in warm houses and bake the fire to escape the colder weather, and more importantly, because they controlled the port of Livorno, they didn't have to worry about supplies at all.

But the problems faced by the Papal Army became more serious as each passing day passed.

On 26 October, three days after Nomero left Livorno and returned to Rome, an army of the Papal Army suddenly left the camp and headed for a village south of Livorno.

The Montina soldiers, who were watching the movements of the Papal army from behind the breastwork, quickly blew their horns.

The sound of the horn instantly alarmed Carlo, who was examining the breastwork from a distance.

All this time, Carlo had been waiting for his chance, and he knew that he was obviously not as useful as Oflair, but he was not discouraged.

Carlo was waiting for an opportunity for him to prove his point, and now it suddenly appeared in front of him.

When the horn sounded, Carlo thought that the enemy was attacking, but when he soon found that there was calm in the open field, he hurried to the southern end of the battle line where the horn had been sounded.

The sound of the trumpets apparently also alarmed the Papal army who were trying to advance towards the village, who first stopped to observe, and when they saw that the Montinas were only blowing the trumpets and making no other reaction, they continued their march towards the village.

When Carlo arrived, he saw only the Papal army advancing parallel to the breastwork from a distance, and a few of his men who did not know what to do after blowing the trumpet.

Do you want to break out of the breastwork to stop those Papal troops, looking at the apparently large number of troops on the other side, a few Montina soldiers hesitated, and at this moment Carlo arrived with a small group of soldiers.

"What happened?" Carlo asked to himself, and then without waiting for the soldier to answer, he cursed angrily, "What are you doing, are you just watching them pass in front of you, or are you scared?" ”

"But they are numerous," whispered one of the soldiers, "perhaps they were shot before we could rush before them, and many of them seemed to have bows and arrows." ”

"Then we just need to have more people than them," Carlo said, turning back to a soldier behind him, "Go and call more people, and tell them I need them here." ”

With that, Carlo struggled over the breastwork with the help of the people next to him, and looking at the soldiers who were following behind him, Carlo shouted: "Agri, let them see what we do!" ”

"Hah!"

A shout with the characteristic tone of the Agri rang out from around Caro, and the Agri, who had been with him since the beginning, shouted and formed a tight line in the open field.

It was these Agri soldiers who first began to train what he called the "Agri phalanx" according to Alexander's intentions.

In the distance, the advancing Papal army stopped, and two officers came out of them, and they first looked at the Agri army, which was obviously much smaller than their own, from a distance, and then the two of them began to discuss how to deal with the enemy army in front of them, which was not a big threat, but did not know what to do for a while.

While the mercenary officers were still hesitating, they suddenly noticed that the enemy on the opposite side was beginning to approach them.

"Are these people crazy?" An officer looked at it a little puzzled, and when he was sure that the enemy was indeed only a small phalanx on the opposite side, which seemed to be a small number of people, he waved his hand behind him in dissatisfaction, "Array, stop them back, we have to hurry to the village." ”

A group of Papal soldiers stepped out of the ranks, and they began to form two long rows, the cold light of their spears shining blindingly on a late autumn afternoon.

Looking at his army, the officer looked satisfied, believing that he could scare off the small army on the other side with only his numbers.

Just then, he heard gunshots!

At this time, no one would have expected that a battle that would completely surprise everyone and eventually cause an even bigger storm would begin.