The Cargino family had an extraordinary influence in Genoa, which Alexander knew when he first met the town of Oral, but he did not know how much influence the family had been.

After all, the Rovere family is too famous, compared with the Rovere family that has produced two popes, Cardino is a little less conspicuous, and in terms of ambition, Cardino is obviously not comparable to the people of the Rovere family.

When the old Rovere's uncle Sistus IV was the pope, the family established a huge power for itself, and Sistus IV spared no effort to appoint people from his family to important positions in the Holy See, he appointed the old Rovere as the bishop of the priest, and let him serve as his own secretary in the Holy See, taking the opportunity to learn the art of rule, if it were not for the sudden death of Siths IV and the loss of support for the old Rovere, he became a cardinal, and even the chance of taking over the pope would have become greater.

Compared with the Rovere family, the Cargino family is obviously not so ambitious, they only hope that they can become the master of Genoa, for this they are very cautious about the Rovere family, and at the same time they are careful not to cause the Rovere family to resent and cultivate their own power in Genoa.

The Cargino family knew that Rovelle's purpose was more than Genoa, which made them know that as long as they did not offend the interests of that family, they should not be deliberately attacked, and once they felt that they were enough to attack the throne of the governor of Genoa, they immediately showed their impatience.

The Cargino family spent a lot of money to impress many members of the Genoese Parliament, so that their family finally got their wish to become the governor.

The changes in Genoa did not attract the attention of Alexander, who was concerned with Rome, Florence and Pisa during this time, and by the time the news of Genoa was finally brought to Pisa, he had already left with his army and returned to Montina.

So when he finally received the letter that Cargino had sent to him, he knew what had happened.

It's just that what he doesn't understand is that despite being the governor of Genoa, Calgino is still at a disadvantage compared to the Rovere family, so how dare the Cardino family just become the governor and challenge the Rovere family.

Alexander was indeed the Count of Montina, but Montina was Barondi's dowry, which made Alexander wonder what role the Rovere family played in this matter.

Calgino's army was stationed not too far from Montina, which coincidentally was the same place where the Venetians had been stationed when they invaded Romagna.

Cargino was cautious, he was impressed by the battle of Oral, and Cargino thought it would be unwise to take the initiative against the enemy, who were hiding behind fortifications made of trenches and breastwork, given the excellent defensive capabilities of Montina's army.

So he decided to observe for the time being, and he was also waiting for someone from the Rowere family to send.

Alexander was also waiting, he needed to know what the old Rovere's attitude was in this matter, and he was already thinking about how he could get himself out of this precarious situation if things did get worse.

To this end, Alexander asked Busako to select a few elite chasseurs, and then ordered them to follow Lucrezia's carriage at all times.

Lucrezia noticed that something was wrong, but she was clever enough not to say anything this time, and waited until Alexander came to see her before asking her questions.

"Why did you let those soldiers follow me, did something happen?" Lucrezia felt the tension in the vicinity, and although no one had told her what had happened, she realized that something might have happened when she saw that Montina's army, which had been preparing to cross the river, came to a halt, and that she had heard of the Genoese emissary, "Is something wrong with Montina?" ”

Alexander was a little surprised by Lucrezia's acuity, and she had always given him the impression that she was cute but not so intelligent.

"Listen carefully, baby," Alexander said to her earnestly, holding Lucrezia's face, "things may have changed, for the safety of your mother and daughter, I am going to send you back to Pisa, I have asked Busaco to arrange the hunting guards, they are my most trusted soldiers, and they are very brave, and they will protect you well." ”

"What the hell is going on," Lucrezia asked uneasily, her hand gripping Alexander's wrist and shaking it incessantly, "tell me what's wrong, why did you let me go?" ”

"I don't know what's going on."

Alexander shook his head a little helplessly, he found that he was still not well informed, or that the only way to rely on merchants to listen to the news was to deal with a situation that was not very urgent, such as the sudden change in Genoa, if it was not for the advance notice and manpower, it would not be possible to find out what was happening in such a timely manner.

"The Genoese army is approaching Montina, and I fear that there may be a battle, and you are not safe here," said Alexander, muttering slightly, for he did not know what the attitude of the Rovere family would be, and he had to be prepared for the worse, that is, the possibility of facing enemies from both Genoa and the Vatican.

Looking at his daughter Lucrezia in front of him, Alexander suddenly realized that he was still too weak, and he couldn't even protect his family at a critical moment.

"Listen, I'm probably going to lead the army into a tough battle this time, and it's likely to be a clash with your father."

Seeing Lucrezia's uneasy expression, Alexander reached out and gently pressed her forehead, and then gently stroked her face from top to bottom with his palm, as if to gently wipe the panic from her face.

Lucrezia looked at Alexander puzzled, she didn't understand the meaning of his words, her lips moved, and some of the words that had reached her lips suddenly couldn't be spoken.

"Do you want me to ask your father for forgiveness and then ask him to save us?" Looking at Lucrezia's appearance, Alexander knew what she was thinking.

"Is it not permissible to ask my father's forgiveness and then let him order the Genoese to leave in the name of the Pope," said Lucrezia anxiously, "we are a family, aren't we, and he should help his family, even if he won't help you, but at least don't make him an enemy of you." ”

Alexander smiled with satisfaction, and he noticed that for the first time, Lucrezia had said "not against you" instead of "not against them", which made him feel the heart of the little woman in front of him who was closer to him.

"Listen, of course I don't want to be your father's enemy, but if I ask him for forgiveness at this time, do you know what the outcome would be?"

Lucrezia was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly with a blank look on her face.

Although naïve, Lucrezia is not stupid, on the contrary, growing up in a family like Borgia, she is destined to grow up with power and all kinds of intrigues.

Lucrezia understood what Alexander meant, and the result of her begging for Alexander VI at this time was likely to make Alexander a bargaining chip or even a victim of the bargaining between her father and old Rovere.

"Got it figured?" Alexander asked, seeing Lucrezia's worried nod, he continued, "These hunters are Agri's hunters, and I chose them for a reason other than their bravery and loyalty. ”

Speaking of this, Alexander stopped, he reached out and gently stroked the delicate cheek of Estelles who was sleeping in Lucrezia's arms, looking at the corners of his daughter's mouth slightly open, the tip of her crystal nose trembling slightly, he couldn't help but bow his head dotingly and kiss Estelles's small cheek.

"I've already arranged that when you get to Pisa, you can only go to someone we trust, and then you wait there for news from me, if you ......" he muttered a little to think about what to say so as not to make the little man in front of him worry even more, "If you hear any bad news, you can leave Pisa at once, and go south by boat to Naples to find Tsusa, and she will arrange for you to be together." ”

"What do you say, what bad news?" Lucrezia asked, a little alarmed, "No, I'm starting to think you're a bad idea." I've got to be with you, remember, I helped you win the pizza, and I'll stay and help you again this time. ”

Alexander shook his head, if he had been before, he might have accommodated Lucrezia, but now he couldn't let her continue to be willful.

"Don't forget our daughter," Alexander reminded, "our daughter is the rightful heir to pizza, and that won't change even for a long time, so you should protect her." ”

Hearing her daughter, Lucrezia was a little excited, and she couldn't help but hold Estelles in her arms with a slight force, and then looked at Alexander with some concern.

"Don't worry, it's not that I'm in any danger if I say something bad," Alexander comforted Lucrezia, "but that maybe as I said before, your father might be involved in a conflict, and I don't want you to get involved in it." ”

Lucrezia immediately understood what Alexander meant, apparently fearing that Alexander VI might use her, or Estelles more accurately, as a threat.

Lucrezia was tempted to defend her father, but she quickly gave up on the idea, knowing full well that both Caesar and Alexander VI would do it.

Although they would not harm Estelles, they would certainly not miss the opportunity to hold her daughter hostage to Alexander.

"The hunters will send you to Agri," Alexander continued, "it may be a bitter or even bad place, but it is my territory so you will be safe, and to enter Agri, you must first pass through Kosenza, where Zhisa will protect your mother and daughter. ”

Seeing Lucrezia look panicked again, Alexander smiled slightly.

"But don't worry, I'm just talking about possibilities, maybe things won't be that bad," Alexander reassured Lucrezia, "and this may be an opportunity for me, if I get through this, everything may change." ”

Lucrezia was still worried, she couldn't think of what the change was that Alexander was talking about, at this time she just wanted it to pass as soon as possible.

Looking at the Montina army crossing the river, Alexander exhaled deeply, this is the hottest season, looking at the horizon that seems to be steaming in the distance, Alexander wonders what might happen next.

Gompati hurried over from a distance, and from a distance you could see that his expression was a little angry.

"My lord, our artillery may have to be delayed for a long time to cross the river," Gompati said angrily, "although we have brought the smallest eagle cannons, but the ferry here cannot jam those cannons as quickly as possible, you must know that we used to pass directly on the bridge over the North Arno River, but now that the Genoese have occupied the opposite bank, our artillery is in trouble." ”

Alexander frowned and listened to Gompati's words, he knew that Gompati was right, the other side of the North Arno River was no longer passable because the bridge had been seized by the Genoese in advance.

Previously, because they did not understand the Genoese intentions, the Montina army could only wait on the west bank of the river, and now the only way to quickly cross the river to the south bank was to abandon the artillery.

"No, you must not give up artillery!"

Gompati shouted loudly, ignoring the angry glances of the infantry captains, and only said anxiously to Alexander: "My lord, if we do not have time to return to Montina in time, there is a possibility of a field battle with the Genoese, and then artillery will be the most important weapon for us. ”

"But your artillery can only exert its power in the castle at most, what do you want to do with them in the field, can your artillery still participate in the charge?"

A captain sarcastically asked, saying that Alexander was a little unhappy with the mercenary-turned-fellow that Alexander valued him so much, whether it was the Agri or the Bohemians, but a few battles in Pisa and Orar had made them see the great power of this man and his artillery.

But when it was now possible to face a field battle, these people couldn't help but feel that Gompati and his artillery were becoming a burden.

"Who said that artillery is useless in the field!" Gompati angrily yelled at the men, "My artillery can be set up in front of your formation, and then bombard the enemy's formation at a distance where your crossbows and muskets will not work." ”

With that, he looked at the captains and licked his lips.

"I'm sure you're not going to want to taste that, a big iron ball smashed straight into the queue, and then just rolled forward through the crowd and carved an alley through the line, and I'm sure you'll be glad you're standing behind the muzzle of the gun."

The captains looked indignant, they obviously didn't believe Gompati's words that much, because they knew too well that this man's obsession with artillery meant that Gompati's description was more of a brag to them.

"How many eagle cannons did you bring?" Alexander opened his mouth to interrupt the argument they were about to start.

"Not much, originally we didn't want to fight, just to scare that ......" Seeing Alexander's glaring eyes, Gompati swallowed back the following words, "I only brought 5 small eagle cannons this time, but the ferry here is too small, and it is already a little difficult to transport the army in time." ”

Alexander nodded slightly, he knew that Gompati was right, and he also noticed Gompati's words.

"Do you think the Genoese will have a field war with us?"

Alexander looked at his men, and then he couldn't help but think of the fact that he had thought about the establishment of a special officer school, but now it seemed that if he couldn't pass the current level, he didn't have to think about anything anymore.

"It is evident that my lord, they must be looking forward to our field battle," said an Agri, who pouted, and looked at Gompati reluctantly, "but they have seen with their own eyes how we teach the Milanese and the Venetians, and if we hide behind the fortifications, they will only be left to be beaten." ”

The Agri's words caused a burst of laughter, but when he saw Alexander's solemn expression, the Agri who had opened his mouth couldn't help but swallow quietly.

"God, they're not really going to fight us, are they?"

"Unfortunately, you probably guessed it." Alexander glanced at the captain, then took a deep breath.

The Montina army, or rather the Agri, had fought several hard-fought battles, but had relied on terrain and fortifications to some extent before, and in the field they had not yet fought a real major battle.

Especially with the addition of the newly recruited Agri soldiers, it is clear that the fighting level of this army will be reduced.

Alexander had hoped to train more before the French invaded, so that when the Italian war began, he would rely on such a well-trained army to survive the war and realize his ambitions.

But now it seems that the Genoese did not want to give him such a chance.

"Field battle," Alexander muttered to himself, and then he turned to look at the officers who were looking at him, "Cardino is not a knight who is purely interested in honor. ”

Speaking of this, Alexander smiled, and remembered that Cargino had paid a lot of money to buy that victory from him in order to gain the reputation of a victory over the Venetians.

However, it now seems that Calgino's deal was not a loss, and it was precisely because of his "victory" in the Romagna War that he added a very important bargaining chip for his family to obtain the position of governor of Genoa.

"Cardino will definitely come to us for a field battle," Alexander said to the captains with a straight expression, "he is not a knight but a real soldier, and the first thing a true soldier must do is to try his best to create an advantage for himself to win, so he will not take the initiative to attack Montina, because he knows that our army is good at defense, then his only chance of victory is to intercept us halfway before we return to Montina and force us to fight him in the field." ”

Alexander's words made the officers who had some hope not help but look at each other, and they saw in the eyes of others the same worry and worry as themselves, but also a little irrepressible excitement.

"The Genoese are brave," Alexander looked at his officers, "you have all seen their sword and shield men, and some have trained with them, so we know very well what our enemies are like, and this is our advantage." They did not know us, and in the eyes of the Genoese we were just a bunch of cowards who dared to fight the enemy only by hiding behind the fortifications, so they dared to challenge us, and in this case we had to let them know what the Montina army was really like. ”

As he spoke, Alexander looked across the North Arno River.

"The whole army hastened to cross the river, and at the same time ordered to prepare for battle with the Genoese!"

On July 10, 1498, Montina's army crossed the North Arno River.

Soon, Calgino, who got the news, decided to quickly send troops to find Alexander for a decisive battle!

Please remember that the first domain name of this book is:. Nine Heavenly God Emperor mobile version reading website: