Alexander VI stared at the man in front of him, and if he had not known the priest from the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre in Montpellier, he would have thought that this man was a spy sent by his enemies to spread rumors and try to disturb his mind.

"The French are selling Ladia?"

The Pope's cheeks, which had been obviously lost due to his old age, trembled slightly, and he looked at the priest standing not far away with his head bowed respectfully on the other side in disbelief, looking at his tired face because of the journey, although Alexander VI was still a little unconvinced, but he already vaguely knew in his heart that what this person said was true.

"Yes, Your Majesty," said the clergyman with some haste, "the Archbishop has asked me to report this to you, for the Archbishop is in France by your order to issue the Radia coin, and the situation in France is now very bad, and the news will soon reach Rome, and the Archbishop thinks it is necessary to report it to you at once." ”

"Yes, it should be reported to me at once, it is a testament to the kindness of the Archbishop of Montpellier to me."

Alexander VI said in a tone more perfunctory, and then he stood up as if to leave, and then remembered that there was still a man in front of him, so he had to force himself to compose, but after waving his hand to signal the French priest to stand down, before the figure of the man disappeared completely, the Pope hurried out of a small door and came to the office of Nomelo next door.

"You've heard that?" Seeing the private secretary who was leaning against the table and dragging his chin in contemplation, Alexander VI could not wait to say, "How can this happen, why do the French suddenly have no confidence in Ladia?" ”

"Your Majesty, I think this has something to do with Caesar's war with the Duke of Roman Thesia, after all, you know that Radia can be implemented in various regions so quickly, and can even become a currency as trustworthy as Florin, precisely because the Duke's trade alliance is supporting, but now," Nomelo waved his hand and shook his head, holding his chin "Now probably many people think that we have split with the trade alliance. ”

Alexander VI looked at his secretary speechlessly, he knew that what Nomelo said was indeed the truth, although it seemed that this was just a political war, but in fact, people with a little bit of brains knew that he and Alexander would come to this point, in fact, it was fundamentally because of the greed caused by the amazing wealth brought about by the issuance of Radia gold coins.

Thanks to the strong impetus of the trade alliances, the Radia gold coin can be said to be invincible, and the huge rewards brought by it anytime and anywhere could not but be shocked by the famous Alexander VI.

In order to ensure that the market would not expand and prices would skyrocket due to rapid expansion, Alexander insisted that all cities and ports participating in the trade alliance must agree to use Ladia as the main currency in circulation, and the purpose of this was naturally to effectively offset the shrinking profits caused by the cost of expanding too quickly and squeezing the market.

Alexander VI did not understand these things, but he was clear about the benefits of issuing money, and he did fulfill the promise he had made to the cardinals to change the poor financial situation of the Holy See, which gave Alexander VI a clearer understanding of the huge profits that Radia would bring, and a stronger sense of possessiveness.

However, Alexander's insistence on using Radia to pay for the costs of the trade alliance gradually made the Pope uncomfortable, and although this son-in-law did bring him too many surprises, when the interests of the two Alexanders clashed, the Borgia family's fine tradition of pit sons-in-law finally prevailed.

Alexander VI hoped that Caesar could solve this problem for him, so he did not hesitate to use the Vatican's reserve treasury so that Caesar could organize an army as soon as possible, and for Pope Ra, the conflict between him and Alexander could be explained as "a family affair", as for those trade alliance countries that joined the anti-French alliance, Alexander VI thought that maybe they could deal with the French together, but they would not get involved in his own affairs.

This speculation of the Pope was also the idea of Caesar, and it was because of this battle on Roccati Paz that he dared to retreat in front of the Neapolitans.

And the Neapolitan army's failure to pursue the victory also proves the speculation of the Pope's father and son.

Even the younger sister of the Queen of Naples did not face the Pope himself, and the other countries of the trade alliance naturally chose to be a bystander in this conflict between the sons and sons.

This emboldened Alexander VI, who took out a large sum of money from the treasury and began to arm his army.

Although this may seem risky, in the Pope's view, as Caesar said, as long as the war is won, then all previous adventures will be compensated with enough rewards.

But now, the French have suddenly begun to run on Radia without warning!

"Why France?" Alexander VI suddenly asked with some strange questions, "What is going on in France, and do you think it will affect us?" ”

Listening to the Pope's series of questions, Nomelo helplessly spread his hands, he was indeed a very competent secretary and a good staff, but he was not a businessman, and he could not understand all the changes that had happened.

"Maybe these dukes can give you an answer." Seeing the Pope's somewhat somber gaze, Nomelo ended the conversation with amusement, but he continued, "But now you should be prepared, for this may happen in Rome soon." ”

"Indeed, should I consider temporarily restricting the number of Ladia's circulation, you must know that I am indeed struggling to make ends meet right now." Alexander VI sat down and figured that the amount of gold he had spent from the papal treasury in order to stop the Papal army in a short period of time was not a small amount, and that the money had now been turned into soldiers, equipment, and all sorts of things that could not be paid for without money, which made the Pope feel a little uneasy.

"Perhaps you can send some officials to the dioceses and ask the bishops to keep the changes that may happen for you."

Nomelo reminded in a low voice, knowing that the Pope had actually sold the coinage of Radia to the bishops of the great diocese, and that this income alone had made Alexander VI a fortune.

This is why the bishop of the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre in Montpellier, France, was so anxious to send someone to report to the Pope.

It's just that in this way, it is a bit confusing how much Radia has to circulate, and considering that the run described by the priest began on the west coast of France, and when the news reached Rome, it was still unknown what happened to France in these days.

Thinking of this, Nomelo couldn't help but look at the Pope with a slightly worried gaze, and then he happened to see the same look cast by Alexander VI.

Clearly, they all realized that something was not going well.

"War, as long as Caesar wins the war, and winning the war wins everything."

Alexander VI suddenly found that now more than ever, he wanted his son to win, because as long as he could force Rome Thesia to surrender with the King of France, he and Louis XII would each have what they wanted.

Louis XII may have wanted to conquer the land, while Alexander VI had only to seize Ladia's dominance in the trade leagues.

And there was another person in the city of Rome who was following this war as much as Alexander VI, and that was the Roman city guard Skop.

He had already sent more than 10 men to inquire about the news, and when he heard that Caesar had finally launched an attack on the Neapolitan army, Skop sent his men away, and then walked through the corridor to the door of his room, knocked lightly, and walked in.

An old woman leaning against the head of the bed, her face was already wrinkled, but her bulging belly indicated that it was a pregnant woman, and she looked up at Skop and smiled.

"How does it feel?" Skop walked to the edge of the bed and sat down and took the woman's hand, "Madame, do you know, you look beautiful now." ”

"How can an old woman who has already given birth to 6 children and is about to give birth to a 7th child be good-looking."

"But if you're not good-looking, how can I be so infatuated with you, knowing that our family will soon have a new member."

The old woman was concerned with Skop's round-the-turn compliment, and she stretched out her somewhat thin hand to caress her husband's face, which was much younger than herself, and then lowered her voice and asked, "Have you really decided to do that?" ”

Skop's expression moved slightly, and then he leaned side by side with his wife at the head of the bed, staring at the distant building outside the window opposite.

"I am a small squire of low origin, if I had not been a soldier, I might still be living in the family grange for the rest of my life, and if my father had been generous, I might not have been sent to the monastery, but once all the property is returned to my brother, the monastery is my only home."

"I know all this, dear, you have suffered a lot before, but you chose the right choice to marry me, although I am much older than you, but I still give you children, and everything here after I die is yours." Old Madame Farne leaned on her husband's shoulder and said.

"But this is not enough, I don't want to be a vassal of the Farne family for the rest of my life, I want to have my own family, and one day there will be a group of noble nobles who say that I am their ancestor."

Listening to her husband's words, old Madame Farne sighed silently, she actually knew from knowing her husband's intentions that it was impossible to stop him, this Skop had a heart more stubborn than anyone else under his seemingly big grinning appearance.

"How is Caesar doing?" Old Madame Farne asked suddenly.

"He's already fighting the Neapolitans," Skop took a breath, "and I'm sure it's going to be the most glorious fight of his life." ”

Old Madame Farne's pale eyebrows were raised, but she did not go on, but leaned her somewhat clumsy body into her husband's arms, and then she said in a slightly tired voice, "And what shall our child be called?" ”

"If it's a girl, it's called Julia," Skop closed his eyes and listened quietly to his wife's seemingly subtle breathing, "If it's a boy, call him Pierre, Pierre Luigi, this is my grandfather's name." ”

"Okay......" replied old Madame Farne, muttering her nose, and then drifted off to sleep.

Skop looked at his wife's sleeping appearance, lowered his head and kissed her forehead, and then his eyes turned to the window again.

"How's Caesar's doing?" He remembered what his wife had asked earlier.

Caesar's side is very good now, and it's not a small good, it's a big good.

When 3,700 Papal troops charged the Neapolitan army's positions, the Neapolitan army, which at first thought the Papal army was still vulnerable, quickly tasted the bitterness.

Led by a group of experienced officers, the Papal Army was not only more rigorous than before, but also more of a single unit than a rabble with weapons and knowing how to fight, but not knowing how to combine them to exert greater power.

And now they know what to do.

One of the Cosenza horsemen wheezed through the formation in front of him, and as soon as he reached the back of the group, he could not support himself and slipped off his horse, his armor was strewn with traces of armor, and they had just fought the enemy back with great effort and great cost in order to fend off the Papal army that was trying to detour from the right flank.

"The Papal Army is coming up again!"

Someone shouted in the distance, which caused a commotion in the group that had just retreated to the back.

A soldier who was supposed to support the cavalry had to say hello and follow his companion forward, muttering in annoyance that "this is not over".

This was the fourth time that the Papal army had attacked, and although the first three had been repulsed, it still surprised the Neapolitan army that had been beaten so badly not long ago.

"It seems that Caesar has indeed found some useful people," said Josha, standing in the shade of a tree, looking at the smoke rising from time to time on the distant position, and then asked the people around him with a little choking sulfur smell, "Are they going to attack the center now?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, they have tried to make a detour to our flank," replied one of the attendant sergeants at once, a little nervous, for this was only his second real battle, and he had only been a grenadier company in the previous battle at Rocadispas, "but after being defeated by us, Caesar's army was gathering in the center. ”

"Looks like he's already decided to fight me."

Her beautiful sea-blue eyes widened, and she picked up a small baton carved with patterns from the table in front of her and lit it on the map, although she was not very skilled in commanding larger armies, but she had a wealth of experience in how to use her grenadiers.

"Your Majesty, perhaps you should retreat a little," the squire suggested a little nervously, "If the Papal Army does start attacking this position, your current position will not be very secure. ”

The attendant's words made Jisha laugh, she turned her head to look at the squire, and saw that his face immediately showed excitement, and Zhensha's expression slowly became serious.

"You know, I commanded the grenadiers against the Ottomans, and we didn't even have a decent spearman to help us get in front of us, but we won, and among those examples you learned in school was mine."

The squire's face turned red instantly, he knew that he had angered the queen, but looking at the queen's astonishing beauty, the squire sergeant did not know where the courage came from and said loudly: "Your Majesty, if you must stay here, please allow me to lead the guards to stand in front of you, otherwise I have the right to make suggestions to you three times according to what I have learned in school." ”

"Oh, you're such a good student, you seem to be familiar with what it takes to be a squire sergeant," Tsusha smiled slightly, but as she said that, she looked into the distance, and at the same time there was a hint of seriousness on her face. ”

Josha's words made the eyes of everyone around him can't help but turn to the position, and at this time, with the sound of intermittent horns, the figure of the Papal army gradually appeared in front of the Neapolitan army through the smoke of gunpowder on the battlefield.

Caesar's fourth attack began!

At this time, Caesar was riding on a rather strong horse, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face when he looked at the army in front of him, although it was not very close, but always maintained a general formation.

This was the fourth attack, and the Papal army had paid a considerable price, but despite this, his army was able to maintain this rather orderly posture, which was enough to make any general proud to have such an army.

"This is exactly what I need," Caesar said to his cronies with a little excitement, "and who would have thought that we would have such an army in such a short time when we escaped from Elba, and this is simply a miracle that God has given us." ”

"It's your miracle, my lord." A cronie said obediently.

"Yes, it's for me, but I won't forget each of you, there were 63 of us when we escaped together, and now we have 55, but I swear to God that I will never let any of you die easily."

Caesar's words caused the guards around him to cheer, and these guards who fled back to Rome with Caesar were now the most loyal group around him, which convinced them that they had been completely right in deciding to follow the Duke and venture out of the prisoner's island.

There was a neat sound of gunfire in front of him, and Caesar didn't have to look to know that it was a Neapolitan shooting, which made him envious of the Queen of Naples who had such an elite force.

"It would be nice if this army belonged to me, and Naples, where I almost became king."

The thought crossed Caesar's mind, and he remembered the idea of proposing to Naples, which made him suddenly have the idea of marrying the woman opposite him for a brief moment, but the thought disappeared only for a moment.

After all, he was now close to Louis XII in large part because his wife was Louis's cousin.

"Attack!"

Caesar gave the order, and in an instant the trumpet sounded throughout the battlefield, and the Papal army began to counterattack.

At the edge of the small open field in front of the vineyard, the corpses of the Papal army had formed an irregular but obvious boundary, and it was clear that those who crossed it rarely escaped alive.

The battle had already been going on in the afternoon, and to the surprise of the Neapolitans, the Papal army had not collapsed, despite the heavy price paid and the morale of the Papal army was low.

And just now, in the attack, the musketeers of the Papal army actually fired at the Neapolitan army at one point.

Although the time was short, and because of the low walls as a defense, the Papal army was immediately repulsed with little threat to the Neapolitans, but it was enough to make both sides feel a little excited and surprised.

At this time, no one realized that this was the first real firearm shooting after entering the age of firearms!

Caesar rode his horse along the line, his silver mask glistening in the sun, his black hair fluttering upwards in the wind, and his hunting cloak fluttering like a pair of huge wings behind him.

Caesar was so excited, even if it was only for a moment, but he seemed to have seen the hope of his army going to glory.

There was a sudden cheer on the opposite Neapolitan front, Caesar grabbed the reins and looked carefully, although he couldn't see anything, but with the cheers that came, he realized that the queen of Naples, Josa Cosenza, had also reached the front of the battlefield like him.

"The woman is very bold," Caesar muttered to himself, and then drew his beloved bayonet sword, "Soldiers, you have withstood the blows of the Neapolitans, and you have shown them that they are not terrible, and that you are more terrible than them!" ”

Caesar shouted loudly to the Papal soldiers: "Do you hear me, the regent of Naples has arrived at the front, will you be intimidated by a woman in a skirt, I see that you are brave in battle, so now tell me that you are afraid of that woman?" ”

"Of course not, I was about to ask her if she had really defeated the Ottomans in Bucharest." Kulash stood there lazily, fiddling with a saber in his hand.

"Well, what about you, my guards, are you ready to join me to visit the queen who dares to challenge the Pope?"

"Willing to follow you anywhere!"

The shouts of one guard were exchanged for a high-pitched response from 53 people,

"Then I will be at the front, and you just have to follow me, and let's go and defeat that stupid woman!"

Caesar raised his sword high, and as the blade of the sword slashed through the air with an arc of light, he urged his horse to charge first towards the Neapolitan army's position!

"Follow the Duke!"

The sound of the hooves of a war horse roared like thunder from behind, and the originally small open field was crossed in an instant, and the low wall in front was already close in front of him!

At that moment, Caesar saw a face that fascinated him in an instant, and looked at the goddess of war in armor standing in front of the low wall, and the image on the gold coin of Radia quickly flashed through his mind.

The sword in Caesar's hand had already been raised, and he believed that with his own strength and the speed of the impact of his horse, he would be able to pierce the woman with a sword!

But at this moment, he heard an exclamation from behind him!

Caesar couldn't help but pull his horse and look back, and then he was shocked to see that in addition to him and his guards, the Papal army, which was supposed to follow closely behind, remained in place and did not move!

Just as Caesar was stunned by this scene, he heard a crisp and pleasant command: "Shoot!" ”