When the news of the Milanese's march into Rome came, the people were shaken.

Once again, the Milanese were the target of the entire Apennine Peninsula.

At the beginning, King Charles of France had an excuse to enter Italy, precisely because the Duke of Milan, Ludvico Sforza, had a grudge against Venice, and in order to deal with this old enemy, Ludvico did not hesitate to lure the wolf into the house to ask for help from the French, but he never thought that Charlie's appetite was so great, and when he arrived in Milan, he immediately coveted this prosperous city and the rich territories near it, and even simply declared Milan under his rule.

In order to retaliate for Charlie's rebellion, Ludviko not only organized a large army, but also took the initiative to become the most active member of the anti-French alliance, and it was precisely because the Milanese were able to cut off the French supply lines from behind by surprise and cut off their retreat, that the coalition was able to defeat the French army in the battle outside Piedmont.

In this war, the Milanese are like a crucial bargaining chip, and favoring either side can tip the scales of victory.

Now, all of a sudden, the Milanese began to move again, only this time they seemed to have reversed course.

There have been rumors about the death of Giovanni Sforza in Rome for a long time, and no one believes that he died of a violent illness, especially the painful appearance of his dying legend, which reminds many people of the famous family poison of the Borgia family, Canterella.

As for Lucrezia, who suddenly became a widow, there was no news of Giovanni's death for the time being, some say she is still in the Potico Palace, others say that the Pope has sent her out of Rome and placed her in a secret convent.

But now that the Milanese had suddenly begun to march on Rome, it reminded us of the young widow, the widow of Giovanni Sforza, and Lucrezia's whereabouts were all the more concerning.

It is also curious why Charles VIII sent a messenger at this time, and whether there is any connection between this and the actions of the Milanese.

Alexander VI was also annoyed, at this time he was planning a very important matter, if all went well, the Borgia family could usher in a big change, which would be the key to determining whether their family could become the ruler of the Vatican and even Romagna in the future.

But now the Milanese's sudden turn of the eye caught him off guard, although he had thought of this possibility when he decided to eliminate Giovanni Sforza, but he did not expect the Milanese to suddenly behave so violently.

As the front-line commander of the coalition forces, Gonzalo certainly knew the fierce style of the Milanese, even if he was as arrogant as him, he could not help but admit that the Milanese were a difficult army to deal with, not to mention that now the French had just retreated, and even when the two sides had not signed a decent armistice, the Milanese suddenly defected, which made Gonzalo also surprised and worried about the possible situation.

Gonzalo decided to talk to the Pope, but perhaps because of his recklessness in public last time, Alexander VI happily rejected his request for an audience.

Gone Gonzalo was disappointed and had to find someone else to discuss what to do, but the fact that he was then blamed made him realize that although he had become the center of conversation at countless banquets and balls, when he wanted to find someone to talk to, no one in the whole city of Rome seemed to want to deal with him.

Annoyed, even angry, Gonzalo cursed the Romans for being ungrateful, so soon forgetting who had saved them from their disgrace, and swore that he would never save Rome if it was occupied again, unless the Pope "knelt down and begged me."

As a result, no one wanted to deal with Gonzalo.

Although Alexander VI was resented by the Romans for his corruption and cunning, he was always the Pope of the Vatican and a symbol of Roman dignity, but Gonzalo humiliated him, which made the Romans happy but also had an equally indescribable sense of humiliation.

The Romans may have liked Gonzalo's maverick character, and the Roman ladies did not hate his stormy plundering of women, but the Romans did not want to see someone above them commanding them.

Gonzalo finally sensed the xenophobia of the Romans, who seemed polite, but in fact showed indifference.

No one could fit into Rome so easily, not even the Borgia family, who had lived in Rome for many years, and they were sometimes referred to as "the family from Valencia".

Gonzalo was angry but didn't know who to turn to, everyone he saw was so polite and enthusiastic that he couldn't vent his anger at all, but these people, even though they knew that the Milanese were already marching on Rome, still refused to ask Gonzalo for help.

"Stupid Romans."

Determined to punish the arrogant Romans, Gonzalo sent an order to his army not to stop the Milanese, believing that Alexander VI would have to surrender to him if the Milanese entered Romagna.

However, Alexander VI did not go as Gonzalo wished, he never asked for help, on the contrary, he frequently summoned the Roman magnates, and sent envoys to many places.

This finally began to make Gonzalo realize that things didn't seem to be changing as he had guessed.

Just when Gonzalo was surprised by Alexander VI's actions, he received an invitation from the Imperial Court Minister Kotschach.

After entering Rome, Kotzchach did not become the target of public attention like Gonzalo, and although his status was noble, the court minister suddenly sneaked out, and he did not attend many banquets except for the necessary invitations, but a beautiful woman who was quite popular became a frequent visitor to his residence.

Orgala's charm is undoubtedly something that no man who has ever met her will never forget, and her seemingly warm but slightly cold temperament made this Neapolitan beauty soon become the target of many aristocrats.

The magnates offered their tribute to the beautiful woman who was like the goddess Venus, and precious stones and gorgeous silk became the magic weapons that knocked on the door of the beautiful woman's house, but for those people, Orgala was not very attentive.

She preferred to associate with those who really controlled the city, and Gonzalo's banquets, Giovanni's palace, and Kotzchach's inconspicuous residence became her frequented places.

Kotschach's residence, located on the corner of a street in Hermeau, was a three-story building, and apart from the heavily patterned gate on the wrapped bronze skin, it looked imposing, and the rest was far less than the Mantic Palace, where Gonzalo lived.

When Orgala entered the house under the guidance of the servants, she noticed several cavalrymen waiting outside, and a slight smile appeared on Orgala's lips when she saw the soldiers who were slightly strangely dressed.

If even now not many people know where Agri is, then not many people in Rome do not know about Agri.

The battle at the foothills of the Appio Mountains introduced the Romans to these small but unusual Neapolitan mountain people.

Their resoluteness and bravery in the face of the heavy cavalry not only shocked their enemies, but also made more people see a trace of inexplicability.

Orgala walked slowly down the hallway, knowing that Alexander was supposed to be here in Kotschach, so she deliberately walked slowly.

Having a great curiosity about Alexander, Olgala had an inexplicable premonition that this man might be very important to her master.

When she saw Kotschakh and Alexander, Orgala was already smiling sweetly, her stride was not long, and the hem of her skirt swayed gently with the twisting of her hips, making ripples on the smooth ground.

"Although the priests tell me that God is fair to all creation, I prefer to believe that God is also partial," Kotschach smiled and walked over and gently took Olgala's hand and kissed it on the lips. ”

The smile on Orgala's face was sweetened by the compliment, and she bowed gracefully to the minister, then turned her head slightly to look at Alexander, who was standing next to her.

"It seems that not everyone thinks so, and probably you don't know that in the eyes of the young man next to you, I can't compare with a beautiful woman in his mind," Orgala said and asked in a curious tone, "I would love to know where that young girl is now, and is she still with you?" ”

Hearing Orgala's inquiry, a trace of gloom passed through Alexander's heart.

From the bottom of his heart, he didn't want Sophia to have anything to do with the woman in front of him again, even if Sophia was not by his side now.

"You're beautiful enough to draw me in, I don't know who else can distract me." Alexander seemed to be complimentary, but he seemed to inadvertently skip the matter about Sophia, and his eyes were slightly cold.

Orgala seemed to see Alexander's displeasure, but she didn't care.

She smiled a little presumptuously and walked inside, accompanied by Kotschach.

Kotschach's house has a fairly spacious main hall, but there are not many places to stay in the main hall at this time.

Many paintings are messily placed in the hall, whether it is on the table or the windowsill, or on the wall and floor, almost all of them are full.

Several marble sculptures had been tightly wrapped in cloth to one side of the house, and several small bronze reliefs with a metallic sheen were nailed to the doors.

Judging from the irregular edges, it must have been cut from a bronze gate.

"I like to collect art," Kotschach does not seem to hide the origin of these things, "the abundance of loot makes people more enthusiastic about war." ”

"So you want this war to continue?" Orgala was keenly aware of something from Kotschakh's words.

"No, whether a war continues or not depends not on us, but on what this war can bring you." Kotschach looked serious, and at this moment he seemed to forget that he was facing a socialite who was torn between many men: "To be honest, this war has not brought us any good, and I certainly do not know what the victory has brought us, and I do not know what we will lose if we lose. ”

Kotschach shrugged as he spoke.

"Doesn't that make you understand what victory has brought you?" Orgala deliberately looked at the piles of things around her, "I think even the most discerning people will feel jealous when they see these collections in your room." ”

Kotschach smirked, clearly pleased with Orgala's words, but then shook his head indifferently.

"The spoils of war are indeed precious, but they are insignificant compared to the price we paid for them, the troops recruited, the weapons spent, the wasted supplies, if these things were simply replaced by Florin, you will find that this is a number that can make any monarch tremble, so we must now think carefully about what this war can bring to all of us now. If not, then consider whether the farce should be ended immediately, or if it is necessary to let the game continue. ”

Although he listened with a smile on his face, Orgala's heart had already set off a wave at this time!

The hostility she received from Grogenen over the years towards Maximian I on the other side made it difficult for her to revere the emperor, and when she saw the embarrassment of the court minister outside Rome when he was captured by Alexander, she not only had some contempt for Kotschach, but also for the emperor who served him.

But now, Olgala suddenly realized that her previous thoughts were actually so naïve, and the imperial palace minister in front of her, who had been forced to be captured by others, was by no means as stupid and incompetent as she had thought before.

Alexander had been listening silently to the conversation between the two, and when Kotschach talked about the purpose of the war, he couldn't help but look at the palace minister's eyes and flickered slightly.

At the same time, a familiar sentence flashed through his mind:

"If a monarch chooses between a just and unjust war, he can only be measured by the good and bad results of the two wars, not whether it is moral and just."

Alexander couldn't help but recite the words softly, and then he saw Kotschach and Olgala staring at him in amazement.

Looking at their strange eyes, Alexander smiled slightly bitterly, and first said, "This is not what I said," but then his mind turned to the fact that the person who said this should still be in Florence at this time with a certain paranoid religious madman, and he nodded helplessly, "Okay, just take it as if I said it." ”

Olgala watched as Alexander was about to speak, when a servant hurried in to give a report:

"Master, Count Gonzalo de Córdoba has arrived."

As soon as the servant's words fell, with his hurried footsteps, Gonzalo's figure had already appeared at the door of the main hall.

Gonzalo's gaze swept across Kotschach and Orgara's faces, and as his gaze patrolled, a look of pride and amazement appeared on his faces.

The expression on his face was so rich and obvious, as if everything in his heart should be completely on his face.

Finally, when his gaze rested on Alexander's face, Gonzalo looked interested.

"Ah, so 'my enemy' is here," Gonzalo said deliberately loudly, smiling as he walked over, "I've already inquired about the team you're fighting with, and to be honest, I'm a little surprised, I thought they were just heavily armed mercenaries, but to my surprise, they were the cavalry of Hausenbach's territory, and they were the subordinates of the Teutonic Knights. ”

As he spoke, Gonzalo stretched out his hands and pressed them Alexander's shoulders, his eyes filled with curiosity and enthusiasm, like a treasure hunter who had discovered something strange.

"So, you must satisfy my curiosity and tell me how you managed to win that battle that is unlikely to be won."