It's been a long time since Alexander has come to the old Roviere's half-level villa.

It was here that he met Barentine for the first time, and it was here that he formed his first alliance with the Rovere family after his arrival in Rome.

Alexander had even forgotten how much had happened in the meantime, and now Barentia had become not only his fiancée, but also his housekeeper, and old Rovere was getting closer and closer to the papal throne he had always dreamed of.

Of course, it was inconvenient to see old Rovere and take Lucrezia with him, so although he was reluctant, Lucrezia had to go back to Marino Palace first and wait for him.

Konstantin was silent all the way, and sometimes Alexander could feel a little hostility in his brother-in-law's eyes when he looked at him, which made Alexander introspect, and then he found that he didn't seem to be very close to a character like his brother-in-law, because at least two brothers-in-law didn't seem to like him very much.

As for the two old men, Alexander felt that at least they could get along better.

The Count of Proswan was not allowed to come with him, and he was temporarily guarded by Alexander.

Although he had already guessed that the earl should have come to see old Rovere, before he saw the chips, Alexander did not want to raise his hand because the two sides were relatives.

Compared with Alexander VI, the elder Rovere was much more energetic, and although his beard was gray, he was still in good spirits, and when Alexander walked into the courtyard, he even vaguely saw a young woman hurrying out of old Roverley's room.

Seeing Alexander, old Rovere also seemed to be a little emotional, after all, the young man who decided to marry his daughter only because he needed the support of Count Modillo of Naples gave him a completely unexpected "surprise", and sometimes old Rovere even wondered when he heard a series of various rumors about Alexander, whether Count Mordillo was now regretting that he had "sold" his nephew so easily.

Old Rovere motioned for Alexander to sit down beside him, and then he glanced at his son, who was sitting not far away from him with an apple and munching on it, and then said, "You must already know that the Count of Garol de Bauwicken has come to see me. ”

Seeing that Alexander nodded silently, old Rovere continued: "Then can you release this man, you must know that he has brought some important news from the king. ”

"About Milan?" Alexander asked as if casually, and then, with a "click", he turned his head just in time to see that Constantine seemed to be biting down too a large piece of apple by accident.

"Yes, about Milan," old Rovere didn't intend to hide it, there was still a hint of appreciation in his expression, "You are very smart Alexander, sometimes I think it would be nice if Konstantin was half as smart as you," Seeing the dissatisfaction on his son's face, old Rovere waved his hand to Konstantin disapprovingly to make him quieter "Barendi is my favorite child, I used to even wonder who in this world can be worthy of her, because she is too smart, and has too strong a sense of responsibility to the family, It would be too unfortunate for her to marry a husband who could not tolerate these characteristics of her. ”

"But she's happy now," Alexander corrected the old man with a smile, "and I can guarantee that she'll always be happy." ”

"Then you have to cut off the relationship with the Borgia woman first, and then the Bohemian woman." Old Rovere snorted, "Who would have thought that the Bohemian woman who ran away from you in the first place would end up as the victor, the 'Contractor of the Holy Covenant', who came up with such a way, and it is even more unbelievable that the people of Bucharest are willing to admit the doctrinal legitimacy of such a marriage contract, I really want to know what you have done in Bucharest." ”

"My lord, let's talk about the Count of Proswan," Alexander was a little suspicious of old Roverley's intention to make him guilty first of all about morality, responsibility, and guilt as a husband, although they all knew that these things were of little use, but they were obviously effective for him, "So the Count de Boweken had come to offer you terms?" ”

"Not exactly," said old Rovere after a moment's thought, "in fact Louis did offer a condition which I would find difficult to refuse, but the important thing was that I felt that his offer was very much in line with some of my plans for Konstantin's future. ”

Alexander listened silently and did not intend to ask, believing that old Rovere would tell him himself.

When he guessed that the Count of Provão had come to see old Rovere, Alexander began to guess what his purpose was, and then after thinking about it he felt that he could not think of anything other than about Milan that Louis XII needed to send such an important figure to Rome at such a time.

When Ludvico Sforza asked the French for help to bring Charles VIII into Italy, he could never have imagined that Charles would immediately reveal his ambition to try to annex Milan, and as Charles's successor, Louis XII had even greater ambitions for Milan, and he even publicly declared in his court that "Naples and Milan have both been vassal to France, which is direct evidence of France's legitimate possession of these regions".

This is similar to some of the "since ancient times" statements that Alexander was familiar with, and Louis XII was clearly tougher than Charles VIII, who simply denied the Sforza family's rule over Milan.

It's just that Milan has a close relationship with Genoa, whether it is between the two city-states or between the Rovere and Sforza families, there is a very close relationship, and this relationship even made Milan the only coalition army that was tacitly allowed to pass through the territory of the Genoese after joining the anti-French coalition army, and it was precisely because of this that Milan was able to cut off the retreat of the French army, forcing the French to have a decisive battle with the coalition army outside Piedmont.

So the attitude of Genoa, or Rovere Sr., was indeed important, if not crucial, to Louis XII's successful annexation of Milan, especially after Alexander VI had decided to reconcile with the French, and Roverelle Sr. had become the most important of all cardinals.

After all, with the change of the Pope's attitude towards the French, in the relationship with the Holy Roman Emperor, the elder Rovere has replaced Alexander VI as Emperor Maximian's most reliable ally in the Vatican.

"Louis has promised to provide Constantine with sufficient help in seeking a territory after establishing his dominance in Lombardy, and I have taken a fancy to a place which will be very advantageous for all of us," said old Rovere, poking the table with his thin ten fingers, as if there was a map there, "Ferrara, I think it is best." ”

Alexander's lips moved slightly, and it seemed to old Rovere that he wanted to stop talking, but in fact he said in a voice that only he could hear: "Sure enough, it's still that place." ”

In history, the old Rovere did not hesitate to start a war in order to allow Constantine to seek the Duke of Ferrara, Alexander knew, but he didn't expect that with the change of many events, Constantine's quest for the Duke of Ferrara would happen in advance, and it was a long time in advance, because it was supposed to be after the old Rovere became the Pope, and it was from that time that because of a series of wars, the old Rovere would be named the "God of War Pope" by later generations.

But now, because of the support of the French, old Rovere seems to have decided to seek Ferrara for his son in advance.

"So you want me to release the count?" Alexander looked at old Rovere.

Old Rovere thought for a while, he knew that this son-in-law was not so easy to deal with, and it was difficult for him to listen to himself if he couldn't have a big enough exchange: "You know, if we can master Ferrara, we can form a very favorable situation in Romagna, your Montina and Ferrara can become the center of control of the whole Romagna, and you can also support each other, after all, the Venetian threat is still very big." ”

"But I beg your pardon, my relationship with the Venetian is pretty good now, and you probably didn't know that I had just negotiated a few good deals with the Venetian on my way back." Unmoved, Alexander said that he was no longer the young man who could be led by the nose when he first arrived in Rome, and now he could make them understand that he would not cooperate with the cardinals or the pope if they could not provide them with sufficient leverage.

"How could Barenti fall in love with you," said Konstantin, who was sitting a little farther away, angrily, "You know how much she sacrificed for you, she even went against her family, but look at what you have done......"

"Shut up Konstantin," Alexander turned back to meet his brother-in-law's angry eyes, "you don't have the right to mention Barondi, don't think I don't know what your uncle Tony did in Montina, Barendi is defending her family, because she knows that I am her family." ”

"What do you want, Alexander?" Old Rovere ignored the quarrel between the two, he asked directly, "Tell me how you can release the Count, you must know that there are many people in Rome who are watching us, so it is better to let this matter end as soon as possible." ”

"I'm sorry, my lord, I don't understand, if you agree to the French, won't this cause the emperor's displeasure?"

Alexander asked a little strangely, although Alexander VI's move to the French weakened Maximian's influence in the Vatican, but then he found the old Rovere as an ally, but now the old Rovere actually betrayed Milan in order to seek the status of Duke of Ferrara for his son, which will definitely cause Maximian's anger, and in Alexander's impression, the old Rovere does not seem to have the ability to completely ignore the emperor's anger.

Although the old Rovere's behavior when the Genoese waged war against Montina was chilling, he didn't want the old man to lose everything because of his greed, after all, he could become pope in a few years, and that was the critical moment when Alexander needed the support of the Vatican the most.

The benefits of having a papal father-in-law, at least for now, are well known, and in the Vatican today he is almost able to walk sideways.

"Emperor," old Rovere shook his head with some pity, he had great hopes for Maximian, but now he was somewhat disappointed, "He just lost a battle in Swabia, and the current emperor can be said to be alone, and there are many things that are causing him a headache." ”

As soon as Old Rovere spoke, Alexander's eyes changed a little when he looked at this old man, although he had tried his best to hide it, but maybe his expression was too obvious, and Old Roverley's face couldn't help but blush slightly.

Obviously, the elder Rovere took advantage of Maximian's isolation and helplessness after his new defeat to blackmail.

In order to intimidate the German princes, Maximian decided to attack the Swiss mountain people, but unfortunately the emperor, who was always unlucky on the battlefield, did not have good luck this time, and under the attack of the Swiss mountain maniacs, the emperor's army was defeated and retreated, and later even the Schwabian, whom he had intended to support, betrayed him because of his general momentum.

As a result of the counterinsurgency war, the Emperor was forced to recognize the independence of four Swiss cantons, and he had to deal with the German princes who might be in danger of being moved.

It was probably because of this opportunity that the elder Rovere decided to cooperate with Louis XII, because he knew that it was obviously impossible for Maximian to break with his ally in the Vatican for the sake of Milan.

The old man's bamboo pole is really beautiful, Alexander even wants to applaud old Rovie for his grasp of the timing, he can quickly and accurately see the opportunity in such a complicated situation and then firmly grasp it, Alexander can not help but admire the old Rovile's vicious vision and the courage to make a decision.

"I can release the Count."

This time Alexander spoke very simply, but old Rovere still looked at him calmly, he knew that this should be conditional,

Sure enough, Alexander continued: "But I ask you to be my guarantor. ”

Seeing Old Rovere's puzzled look, Alexander said a little embarrassed: "Originally, this guarantor was served by His Majesty the Pope, but it would be better if you could take over, after all, the relationship between His Majesty the Pope and the Emperor is a little delicate now." ”

Hearing that there was actually Alexander VI in this, old Rovere's expression became serious.

The Borgia family and the Rovere family, that is a real enmity for many years.

It's just that the two families with such a deep grudge are actually deeply involved with the young man in front of him, which makes old Luo Weilei feel helpless and emotional every time he thinks about it.

"What are you going to do?"

Old Rovere asked in a deep voice, he knew that Alexander's conditions must be extraordinary, after all, Alexander VI's relationship with the emperor had become very bad because of his leaning on the French, so if it weren't for the huge interests that were difficult to refuse, Alexander VI would not have risked being rejected by Maximian to cooperate with him, after all, it would be too big a blow to the prestige of the pope.

Sure enough, as soon as Alexander opened his mouth, old Rovere was stunned: "I ask to succeed the Fugol family from His Majesty the Emperor and obtain the right to mint coinage." ”

Old Rovere looked at Alexander in a daze, he wanted to ask him if he was talking nonsense after drinking too much, but with Alexander's next words, old Rovere felt a little unable to sit still.

"Once the Emperor has permission, I will put Barendi in charge of this matter."

"Barondi?" Old Rovere gasped slightly.

"Barondi." Alexander nodded,

Konstantin, who was sitting on the side, saw his father's expression a little strange, it seemed that he was trying to restrain a certain emotion and seemed a little unusual, which made Konstantin a little worried, but when he stood up and was about to support his father, he found that his hand on the back of the chair was also trembling slightly.

It is clear what coinage means to any country, and those who have been recognized by the Holy Roman Emperors have gone on to become figures who have had a profound influence on the whole of Europe.

Today, only the Fugger family was granted the right to mint coinage by Emperor Maximian.

In other words, what Alexander demanded was to replace the Fuggers as the only recognized owner of coinage within the Holy Roman Empire.

It took a long time for old Rovere to calm himself down, he knew that Alexander was rich, as can be guessed from the descriptions of the castle that Montina was building in the letters sometimes written by Barentia, and what kind of behemoth the free trade zone had become today, sometimes even Barendi could not tell.

In short, from the lowlands to the Balkans, from the Black Forest to the Mediterranean, there seems to be a specter called the Free Trade Zone hovering over the entire European continent.

Because of this, after careful consideration, the elder Rovere restricted some of the actions of the Bishop of Montina, Tony della Rovere, not only because he did not want to offend the rich son-in-law, but more importantly, the old Rovere seemed to see the great potential behind this trade area.

It wasn't a matter of money anymore, old Rovere was keenly aware of some of Alexander's actions, but he couldn't be sure for a while, because of this, he didn't want to cause too much rift between him and Alexander because of Bishop Tony.

It's just that he never thought that Alexander would actually seek the coinage rights of the empire.

If, as Alexander said, he became the sole minter in place of the Fugger family, and this power was held by Barondi, then what kind of huge impact would this have on the Rovere family?!

Old Rovere only had to think about it for a moment to be so excited that he couldn't suppress the emotions in his heart, so he picked up the cup next to him and took a sip of it, and then he calmed down his excitement slightly.

"I have to say that you don't ask for it, but you give," said old Rovere as soon as he calmed down, and he squinted slightly at Alexander, "so tell me what else you have to offer." ”

Alexander was a little embarrassed to hide his face by drinking, after all, he was indeed a little embarrassed to be so embarrassed to be so angry with his father-in-law.

"There are two things, my lord, it would be great if you could help," although I felt embarrassed in my heart, but I still honestly stated the conditions that had been brewed before, "one is that I want you to have a position of sufficient weight in the Vatican for the abbot of St. Mark's in Florence, and the other is that I want to meet with the Medici family." ”

Hearing the first condition, old Roverley just nodded silently, but when he heard the latter, the cardinal's brows couldn't help but twist slightly.

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