Giovanni's judgment was correct, or rather, the threat of the Ottomans had made the Europeans almost terrified, and for decades since the fall of Constantinople, the Europeans had been waiting for an outcome that they feared and hoped would happen sooner: the Ottoman invasion.

When the Ottomans finally "responded" to this expectation of the Europeans and revealed their ambitions for the continent of Europa, the Europeans began to face the terrible enemy from the east with a kind of "finally here" mentality.

Giovanni's suspicion that Pitigilino would send someone to Venice to ask for an armistice was quickly confirmed, and the threat from the Ottomans made the Venetians decide to end the dispute with the Holy See as soon as possible, so when Pitiliano sent an envoy to ask for negotiations, Alexander became the negotiator with the Venetians.

May 15 was a terrible day for the Venetian lieutenant Piertigliano, who had led his army into battle with the French two years earlier, and after winning the victory and expelling the French, the Venetian governor was so dissatisfied with the losses that he was given the title of lieutenant.

And now, this war with the Holy See, which he had high hopes for, ended so hastily because of the Ottomans, and even if you carefully count the history of this short-lived war from beginning to end, you will find that not only did the coalition not reap any benefits, but even because of two consecutive defeats, it was at a disadvantage at the time of negotiations.

And these two defeats came from the same person.

Pittiglino did not think that the battle of Oral was the work of Calgino, as others did, and when he listened carefully to the events of Milan and Venetians who had fled back, he realized that the defeat was entirely due to an accident in the town of Oral, and that the Milanese left the battlefield without permission to cause heavy losses, and Pitilino did not take it too seriously.

How did that Count Montina do it, that's what caught Pittigliano's attention.

The lieutenant didn't think it was all a coincidence, but he didn't think it was planned, he preferred to believe that it was a brilliant example of a clever moment to achieve victory, he believed that if the alliance had been again, it might not have been so lucky, but he still felt that the Count of Montina was indeed not simple.

At least this man dared to deal with the Milanese with so few troops, and it was this bravery that made Pitigilino feel that it should be taken seriously.

So when he heard that it was the young count who was negotiating with him, Pitiliuno showed great interest, and he even offered to meet Alexander somewhere between the armies of the two sides for the sake of fairness.

When the two men met in a monastery not far from the city of Rearo, Pittigliano's generosity surprised his own entourage.

Many people know that Pitiglino was not a very broad-minded person, and after the war with the French, he complained a lot because he did not receive the treatment and status he thought he deserved, and even expressed his inner dissatisfaction in some public places.

This was one of the reasons for the tension between him and the Doge of Venice, Barbarig.

So seeing Pittigliano show rare respect for Alexander, who caused him two troubles, is a little strange to many who are familiar with his character.

But Alexander could somehow guess why the Venetian lieutenant did this.

Pittiglino did this only to prove to others that he was not at the hands of a nobody.

The so-called elevation of the opponent is actually to elevate himself, which is what Pitigliino is thinking now.

Alexander did not want to get involved in the Venetians, and his aim was to negotiate a speedy end to the war.

If he had been desperate for a war to allow him to take advantage of Montina's territory, now he was equally eager for the war to end as soon as possible, so when Giovanni offered to negotiate with the Venetians, Alexander quickly agreed.

As for Giovanni's promises, Alexander did not take them to heart.

It did seem important to have the support of a prominent member of the Borgia family, but when he looked back on what the family had done, Alexander felt that he should not hope for the family.

As for Giovanni's statement that helping him was helping himself, Alexander believed that it was true, but it was clear that the brother-in-law's life was coming to an end, and that he might soon have to see God when he returned to Rome, so his promise was insignificant.

Pitiglino was a very large fat man, with a signature hooked nose protruding from the huge head, which was impressive at first sight.

The monastery had been informed in advance, so it was closed to the parishioners on May 15, and in the slightly empty corridor, with a table in the middle, and no one but the five retinues each of them had brought with them, the representatives of both sides looked at each other across the table, wondering mentally how to begin what seemed to be a somewhat difficult negotiation.

Giovanni's conditions were simple but harsh: the Venetians had to withdraw from Romagna unconditionally, and at the same time pay a war indemnity of 50,000 florins, while the Milanese had to pay a military fee of 20,000 florins to the Holy See at the same time as they retreated, and at the same time publicly admit that Giovanni Sforza died of normal illness.

Such a condition was obviously not acceptable to the Venetians, and it seemed imperative to withdraw from Romagna, otherwise the two sides would not sit together, but the indemnity of up to 70,000 florins in total could not be agreed to in any case.

"Count, probably your general has not figured out the situation of everyone," said Pitiliano slowly, "we are all facing the greatest crisis since the Mongol invasion two centuries ago, and even more dangerous than the Mongols, because the Mongols are only trying to destroy our flesh, while the Ottomans are trying to destroy our faith. ”

The lieutenant of Venice pointed to his chest, and the jet-black and shiny breastplate in that place was struck by him.

"So at this time I think what we should all do is to end this dispute between Christians as soon as possible, and not to use this attrition for the infidels to profit from it, so this unreasonable condition of the Duke of Gandino cannot be accepted."

Alexander listened quietly, he knew from the beginning that this would be the reaction when the conditions were made, after all, Giovanni had made the conditions in a completely victorious manner, and the Venetians could not have accepted such harsh conditions.

This negotiation is not destined to be inconclusive anytime soon.

Turning his head to look at the already unusually dense canopy of trees in the courtyard outside the corridor, Alexander smiled lightly at the ugly Venetian lieutenant.

"Dear General, I think we still have some time to talk," Alexander pondered for a moment before adding, "I think there's still a month left for us to splurge." ”

There was a hint of confusion on Pitiliano's face, he didn't quite understand what Alexander meant.

The Venetian adjutant did not know, of course, that Alexander would have given a month because he remembered that if the original trajectory had followed, Giovanni would have been found dead in the Tiber River in Rome a month later, that is, someday in mid-June 1497.

Hoassan Folgazi Ashulk is one of the hottest and most noticeable people in Rome today.

Even the limelight of this Ottoman Sultan's envoy for a time suppressed Gonzalo and Kotsakh.

The retinue of the brigade, the extravagant pomp, and the arrogant and confident speech and demeanor, for a time the Romans were fascinated by this envoy of the East.

Many tried to visit the Sultan's envoy by all means, and many more hoped that by establishing friendship with the Sultan's cronies, they would be able to leave a way forward for the future to come.

To these eager Romans, Ashulk showed the courtesy and demeanor of a nobleman, who treated everyone who came to him with pride, and when they left, they could not help but marvel at the almost extravagant life of the Oriental messenger, and could not help but be struck by his surprising erudition.

Ashulk was clearly a man of great talent, at least in terms of linguistic talent, and listening to his skillful use of Greek, Latin, French, and even German to converse with different guests, one might even think that he was some scholar of European repute rather than an envoy of the Sultan from the East who brought about the war attempts.

And what the Romans are most praised about is his generosity.

On the first day of entering Rome, before the people could wake up from the shock of the size of his vast entourage, Ashulk ordered the purchase of a lavish palace not far from the Colosseum.

According to the original owner of the palace, he was willing to sell his ancestral home because the Sultan's envoy paid a sum that he "could hardly refuse".

Then a dazzling array of things began to appear in Ashulk's new home, from extravagant furnishings to precious wool carpets, from elaborate and comfortable couches to delicately carved spittoons, and to the beautiful slave girls who could not see their true faces, but who could only be guessed against, and Ashulk brought Rome to a whirlwind of exoticism that swept from the East.

But these were not the most important things, what really caught the attention of the Romans was the threat of war from the Ottoman Empire that he brought with them.

The Ottomans have been trying to build a powerful and vast empire for a long time, and by the time of Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, this wish finally turned from a dream into a reality.

After the complete destruction of the Eastern Romans, the Sultan set his sights on the vast continent of Europa.

After an unexpected setback in the Balkans, Bayezid II, as the heir to Mehmed II, accomplished what his father had failed to achieve – to take almost the entire Balkan into his arms.

Now, only the Adriatic Sea, a barrier across the water, was the only means of refuge, and the Ottoman fleet could cross the sea at any moment and sweep across Italy.

The Romans were really frightened, and the populace flocked to the church to pray for God's help, while the nobles made a message to Alexander VI that the war with the Venetians would be stopped as soon as possible.

Compared with the panicked Romans, Pope Alexander VI showed a rare calmness, which even made Ashulk, as an emissary, praise his calmness and wisdom when referring to the pope.

Alexander showed enough respect for the Sultan's envoy that he ordered the room to be painted for the meeting with Ashulk, and ordered a large number of new cooking utensils to be prepared for the envoy's special cook, and when the envoy came to meet him, Alexander VI made an exception to dispense with the envoy's kiss.

All this, while showing the grace and generosity of the Pope, seemed to foreshadow the reverence for the powerful monarch who was now far away in the East.

But while many could not help but think so, Alexander VI showed a rare indifference to the conditions offered by the Sultan brought by Ashulk.

"That Ashulk is intimidating me," said Alexander VI to his secretary, "and his master in Constantinople is planning a war to destroy the whole of Christian civilization, and he is the vanguard of that Bayezid II, but they are wrong if they think that they can frighten me by intimidation." ”

"All sultans consider themselves kings of kings," Nomelo pondered as he looked at the Pope's somber face, "perhaps you should not be too harsh with the Sultan himself, and it is sometimes better to be more flexible." ”

"Nomerlo, if you think so, then you are very wrong," Alexander VI unceremoniously interrupted the secretary, "I am doing this for a reason, you must understand that if I show even the slightest cowardice and concession, the enemies who are always watching me will take advantage of the opportunity to attack me mercilessly, and they will put all the blame on me." They will attack me on the pretext of my weakness, and if possible they will even put someone else in charge of the cardinal, and then just wait patiently for the person they are satisfied with to become pope after I die. ”

Nomelo nodded silently, knowing that someone Alexander VI was referring to was actually old Rovere.

The temporary alliance only allows the contradictions between the two sides to be suppressed, and perhaps a small excuse at some point can make the two sides that were originally enduring completely explode.

And Nomelo had to admit that what the Pope said was actually very reasonable.

Others may have been able to compromise because of the Ottomans' strong concessions, but as the co-leader of the whole of Christendom, Pope Alexander VI had no choice but to fight.

This may not have been his intention, but it was the only right and the only path he could choose.

Otherwise, a mere charge of surrender to the Catholics would have made Alexander VI one of the few deposed popes in the history of the Holy See.

"Then how do you decide to reply to the Sultan's offer," Nomelo said, looking at the letter on the table etched in gold leaf, and the precious material and the dizzying list of titles at the beginning were enough to realize the luxury and majesty of the Sultan of the East.

"Yes, I have already figured out how to respond," Alexander VI said, standing up and walking back and forth in the room, "I must let everyone know these conditions that Bayezid II has put forward to the Holy See, and especially let everyone understand what great danger they are facing. ”

"Are you planning to start a holy war?" Nomelo looked at Alexander VI in amazement, knowing that this was unlikely, but the Pope's resolute attitude made him think that this was not just his whim.

"Jihad?" Alexander VI asked rhetorically, then waved his hand, "If this was 5 centuries ago, if I were the great Urban II, maybe I would have done this, even 100 years ago I could have done it, but now it is impossible." ”

Alexander VI shook his head a little lonely as he spoke, but then a gleam flashed in his eyes: "But although we can't start a holy war, it doesn't mean that the Sultan can do whatever he wants. ”

Alexander VI said and gave orders to his secretary.

"Write a letter to Giovanni and tell him to end the war with the Venetians as soon as possible, and then go and tell them that I am going to convene a council of cardinals."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Nomelo bowed slightly, and when he looked up, he happened to see the excitement in the eyes of the Pope staring at the cross on the wall.