The 20-odd miles from Florence to Pisa suddenly became so far away for Alex that Pagasus was already running hard, he still felt slow.

Heading west along the Arno River, Alexander could not even remember how he had made it, until Paolo Busako had to stop Alexander's running almost by force.

"My lord, the horse will not be able to stand it if it goes on like this." Busaco tugged the reins of Pagassos' mouth, causing the mount to hiss, but it was great to stop, and Pagasus, already exhausted, immediately paused and moved back and forth in place.

Alexander was a little angry, but looking at the equally panting hunters behind him, he could only nod silently.

He knew that this was actually because he was too nervous, after all, this was his first child, and the poor delivery technology of this era made him feel uneasy when he thought about it, but when he thought of Lucrezia's famous high production record, his original nervous mind gradually relaxed.

"It's getting late, sir," Busako looked at the sky, "we'll rest for the night, we'll leave early tomorrow morning, and we'll be in Pisa by noon." ”

Alexander nodded slightly, in fact, at this time he was already so tired that his whole body was sore, and he didn't even have the strength to speak.

Sitting in front of the lit campfire, looking at the silver glistening of the Arno River in the moonlight, Alexander asked, "Paul, how old is your child?" ”

"Three adults," Busako smiled rarely, "the eldest is a daughter, who should be almost 12 years old, and the other 2 are sons, a nineteen-year-old and a year old." ”

"So when you came out with me, the youngest child was less than 3 years old?" Alexander was a little strange: "Aren't you worried about them?" ”

"My lord, if I can earn a family business for them, it will be better for them than anything else, and I have already thought that when my daughter is married, I will send my second son to the convent," Busako said calmly, "I don't have much left in my house, and even if I count your salary, I can't support my two sons, so this is the best way." ”

"Send it to the convent." Alexander looked at the campfire and was slightly distracted, although he could understand Busako's thoughts, but he could still hear the helplessness in his words.

The fate of the second son is always much worse than that of the eldest son, and even some wealthy families often face such problems.

The primogeniture throughout Europe made it difficult to avoid this at any level, and even in some royal families, there were occasional cases of other sons receiving priesthood in order to avoid disputes and to consider cultivating power in the church.

The Medici family is a vivid example of this, and the Borgia family has been arranged that way from the beginning.

What will happen to his children in the future, Alexander feels that he needs to think about this question in advance.

The plan was for Lucrezia's children to inherit Pisa, which seemed like a good arrangement, but Alexander still felt that it was just a desperate move.

His nominal fiancée has always been Barondi, and if he can marry Barendi smoothly in the future, then at least for now, Montina will only inherit his and Barondi's children.

However, this is only the first child, and what about the next, what about Jisha?

Alexander didn't know if he would leave him in the future, and he always tried to avoid the idea, knowing that he would eventually face the problem, but he only hoped that it would happen as soon as possible.

He believed that if he was given time, he would be able to keep him by his side, especially when he finally came to the throne of Castile and even the whole of Spain, when even the Count of Mordilo would no longer be able to stop him from keeping him.

As for Sophia, Alexander couldn't help but have a little headache when he thought about it, he didn't know what Sophia was doing now, let alone who she was with now, which made Alexander feel a little powerless, although he had already sent an envoy, according to Ashulk's description, it seemed that Sophia and Nashan had been missing.

Moreover, the Balkan mountains are complex and mountainous, and considering that so many Ottoman armies have not been able to pacify the Balkans, it will probably be difficult for his messenger to find out the exact news of the father and daughter, and even more difficult to find them.

And vaguely Alexander also sensed that he didn't seem to want to find Sophia soon, just think about Sophia's reaction after learning that he and Lucrezia had a child, he felt a chill rise from his back.

The night had been spent in such a mixed mood that Alexander could only remember that he seemed to close his eyes only slightly, and then suddenly woke up to a glimmer of light in the sky.

The coolness of the river made Alexander sober up a lot, and although he still felt very tired, he immediately got up and urged the hunters to get on their way immediately.

"It seems that it takes a lot of exercise," said Alexander, jumping on his horse, to Busaco, beside him, "remember how long it took us to get from Montina to Rome, when we all seemed to be going mad, and it seemed that our lives were so easy that we were all exhausted in a dozen or so miles?" ”

Listening to Alexander's complaints, Busako tilted his head helplessly, and he decided to be wise not to argue with a soon-to-be father, because they are often unreasonable at times like these.

The Arno River runs westward from Florence through a plain before flowing through Pisa and then into the Tyrenian Sea.

On this distance, which is about 20 far-miles, there are several small piers along the way where people can dock.

Along the way, Alexander noticed that these wharves had become very lively since the early morning, and as long as there were some small wharves of small size, large and small cargo piles would be piled up, and even in some places they had become small freight yards that were beginning to take shape.

Alexander knew that some of these goods were destined for Florence, some to Rome, but some to Lombardy.

The blockade of the port of Amsterdam in the previous winter affected not only the northern city-states of Germany, but also many Italian city-states in the south.

The traditional market environment that has been formed is not easy to be easily broken, but once it is broken, it means that there will be new ways to have an impact on the entire market, even if the old model quickly restores order, but the new forces that have emerged will not, and are not willing to easily give up the market and benefits that have been obtained.

Today's free trade alliance is still a very new thing for many people, even if some of them have joined involuntarily, but still do not really understand what this alliance means, in the eyes of many people, the free trade alliance is actually no different from the Hanseatic League, which makes them care about what is happening in the alliance except that it can bring them more profits.

So they naturally don't know where this alliance will take them.

Looking at the busy people on the docks early in the morning, Alexander seemed to see a huge new force expanding silently but with every step of the way, and then think of James Columbus, who should have arrived in Castile by now, Alexander had felt a little dazed gloom the night before for the future of his children, and suddenly disappeared with the rising sun.

"Busako, maybe soon you won't have to worry about your little son," Alexander said to Busako beside him, urging his horse forward, "Believe me, in the future we may not need to worry about how to arrange the future of more children, the world is big enough for them to live." ”

The Agri were undoubtedly the most trusted in Alexander's army, and they followed him through too many difficult crises to make him believe that as long as there were Agri, there was no need to panic in the face of even the greatest danger.

Compared to the elite Agri, the hunters were like a part of his body.

From the day he decided to form the Chasseurs, Alexander had already decided to make this force the true backbone of his army, and the Chasseurs did not disappoint him.

In several major battles, the bravery of the huntsmen at critical moments has become an important bargaining chip for him to decide the victory or defeat of the battlefield, and the most commendable thing about the hunting guards is that they have a strong will that others cannot match.

Before the sun had fully risen overhead, the sentinels on the watchtower, 1 farido, outside the city of Pisa, suddenly noticed something unusual, and they noticed a large number of cavalry rushing towards Pisa.

Although the only one who had come from that direction was Montina's army, which had sent troops to Florence the previous day, the sentinel at the lookout immediately panicked, considering that the messenger to Pisa had just passed by after noon the previous day.

They did not believe that the Count, who had received the news, would return to Pisa so soon, so they sent someone back to report to the city of Pisa while watching nervously at the rapidly approaching army.

But soon the sentinels were surprised to find that they had guessed wrong, looking at the troops who were wearing familiar and splendid armor uniforms, even if they were dusty but still quite conspicuous, the sentinels were shocked to find that it was really the Count of Montina who had returned.

To the cheers of the Pisan people on the lookout, Alexander only waved his horse away, and behind him, the hunters also swept swiftly towards the city of Pisa in the envy of the sentinels.

"They used to say that the Count's army seemed to have wings," one of the sentries sighed as he looked at the back of the hunters who had disappeared in the billowing smoke, "and now it seems so." ”

"Hermes," the other sentry nodded, "they're as fast as Hermes, but I think another name suits them." ”

"Peacock Army?"

"Yes, a flock of male peacocks opening everywhere, and the Count is the most conspicuous one among them."

The hunters were very fast, and they even easily caught up with the sentry who was running back to tell the city, and after throwing a gold coin at the frightened sentry, Alexander led the huntsman towards the gate of Pisa, which was already close in sight.

The presence of the hunters caused a small commotion in the city, but upon seeing the familiar red uniform, the Pisians knew who had returned.

At the same time, a rumor that has long been known has also spread more vigorously in the city.

It is no secret that Lucrezia is about to give birth in Pisa, and it is also known that if nothing else, this soon-to-be-born child will be the heir to the future Duke of Pisa.

Naturally, this matter attracted the attention of the Pisaans, many Pisan nobles had begun to inquire about Lucrezia a few days earlier, and as Alexander rushed to Florence on the orders of the Pope, the Pisan nobles and wealthy merchants were even more concerned about Lucrezia's news.

Not only that, but some clever Pisan people also vaguely noticed the movement of the city defense of Pisa, and after the count left, the city defense army strengthened the vigilance of the whole city, and it was also on the third day of the count's departure that an army originally stationed at the castle of Montina suddenly entered Pisa.

All these changes have made the people of Pisa realize what an extraordinary thing the birth of this child will be.

But as long as you think about it, you can understand, after all, this child not only determines the inheritance of Pisa, but also because of his mother, he is destined to be extraordinary.

Pagasus felt like it was going to fall, he had never thought the street was so long, and when he finally came to a stop outside the courtyard wall of the house, Pagasus hissed and shook under his feet.

"Water the Count's horses!"

A servant came running with a bucket, and when Pagasus's huge horse's head slammed into the bucket, the servant cursed.

Alexander rushed into the house, he didn't care about the nobles and the heads of the chamber of commerce gathered in the living room downstairs, he passed directly from them and hurried up to the second floor.

However, at the door, he was stopped by Lucrezia's head maid.

"Your Excellency, you can't enter the ...... at this time," the head maid stopped as she spoke to Alexander, who was hurrying by, and stared blankly at the musket that had stabbed directly into her head, and her body couldn't help but swing out of fear.

"It seems that this still works." Alexander muttered a word, threw the fire back to Busako, and walked past the frightened head maid.

But as he stood in the doorway, Alexander stopped.

He rubbed the soles of his feet vigorously, grabbed the handkerchief in the hand of a servant next to him and wiped it wildly, and then carefully pushed the door open.

The room was a little stuffy, the windows were tightly closed, and there were several women standing by the windows, all of whom looked surprised at Alexander.

But Alexander glanced at them and looked at Lucrechia, who was half-leaning on the bed.

Lucrezia's face was surprised and delighted at the sight of Alexander, and she seemed to want to sit up, but she sat back down with a soft cry.

A woman standing next to the bed immediately supported her, and at the same time glanced at Alexander, who had already walked to the bed, with an ugly expression.

"You're here so soon," Lucrezia asked curiously, "as if they sent a letter to you yesterday." ”

"So I'm here today," Alexander carefully brushed away a strand of hair on Lucrezia's forehead, "our child is about to be born, how can I not be with you." ”

Lucrezia's originally tired face showed a hint of happiness, she reached out and gently touched Alexander's mud-stained cheeks, and then suddenly remembered something, and asked a little anxiously: "Have you named the child, what is the boy's name, if it's a girl?" ”

"Don't worry, I've already thought of it, I've already thought of the names of the boys and girls, and now I'm just waiting for you to give birth to our baby." Alexander gently stroked Lucrezia's bulging belly.

Lucrezia looked excited, and just as she was pressing for the children's names, her face froze, and then a moan of pain erupted.

Then she shouted to Alexander, in anger or fear, "God, I think I'm going to give birth!" ”

The women who had been waiting in the room immediately became busy, and for a time the whole room became their battlefield, and in their scolding and shoving, Alexander was like a boat in the sea being pushed around, and every now and then he was reprimanded by a woman who suddenly became very angry.

"Don't get out of the way, sir!"

"This is not where men should be!"

"Isn't there anyone who can let him stay somewhere else for a while?"

The menacing appearance of the women at this time really frightened Alexander, but Lucrezia's screams of pain prevented him from leaving.

"Your lord, your stay here will only hinder us." The woman who was at the bedside before came over and whispered, "Please rest assured that they are the most experienced, and Madame will definitely give birth to the child smoothly, so now you are still ......"

"Don't go!"

A cry suddenly came from the bed, and Lucrezia saw Alexander through the gap in the shaking figure, and immediately stretched out her hand to him regardless of the situation: "Stay, I'm afraid!" ”

"I'm not leaving," Alexander immediately came to the bedside, he pushed a woman away a little roughly, and then grabbed Lucrezia's hand tightly, "Don't worry, baby, I'm next to you, believe me you'll be able to give birth to our first child soon, and then we have many more children to come." ”

"No, it hurts so much, it's terrible!" Lucrezia screamed desperately, and at the same time kept pushing under the reminder of the woman next to her, and then she suddenly asked Alexander in a loud voice, "Tell me what the child's name is, tell me quickly!" ”

"The son's name is Clycott, and the daughter's name is Estles, what do you think of those two names?" Alexander took Lucrezia's hand tightly and whispered in her ear.

"I don't know what you think of naming your child like that," Lucrezia cried out between her legs, slapping Alexander in pain, "my child, whether it's Clycott or Estles, please come out quickly!" ”

A cry of pain came from the room, causing the people standing in the hallway and downstairs to look at each other, some of them glancing at each other, some of them simply whispering, and every time a scream rang out, some of the people who had just sat down immediately stood up and looked upstairs.

"My lord, if," a nobleman whispered to an official sitting alone in the corner of the room, "what should we do if Madame does not give birth to a child?" ”

"According to the Declaration of Succession, the other children of the Count are also entitled to the title of Pisa," the official glanced at the staircase, and then a trace of worry flashed in his eyes, "but it is better that this child was born to Madame Lucrezia, otherwise there might be some surprises in it." ”

The nobleman nodded silently and looked towards the staircase, while many people were waiting for news in the house, in the courtyard, and even on the street outside.

And in the Ducal Palace, Tomneo, Duke of Pisa, was also anxiously waiting for news.

Tomneo's mood is extremely complicated, he knows better than anyone what this child means to him, so whenever someone reports to him that "there is no news yet", his heart is relaxed for a while, and then he is tugging.

Another heart-wrenching cry came from upstairs, and at the sound of it, Ofleiyi couldn't help but pull out his handkerchief and wipe the sweat from his face.

Suddenly, the door was slammed open, and everyone couldn't help but look up nervously!

Alexander was seen standing in the doorway, his eyes red and his breath short, and just as everyone was holding their breath and waiting for news, with a loud cry coming from the room behind Alexander, Alexander shouted to Ofleiuil: "Convey my order, let all the church bells of Pisa ring and celebrate the birth of my daughter, Estelles, heir of Pisa!" ”