While the city of Rome was in full swing, a difficult negotiation had been going on for almost a week in Reyaro.

Even on the battlefield, the long negotiations that did not take so long left both sides in distress, and every hour spent in quarrels and anger from the morning onwards became unbearable torment, often entangled in a small detail that made both sides feel as if they were trapped in a trap that they could never get out of, and every time they got out of one of the traps, they soon found themselves in the next deeper and more difficult entanglement to struggle out of.

Alexander could feel Pittiliuno's faint anxiety, if the Venetian lieutenant could still control his emotions at the beginning, the next few days of entanglement made his mood obviously deteriorate a lot, and gradually even on the verge of exploding.

This can be seen from Pittigliano's more than one threat of war, if any party at the negotiating table takes the initiative to show strength, in fact, it has proved his passivity and helplessness, and Pittiliuno will do this, which shows that he is really a little anxious.

In fact, this is understandable, the pressure from the Doge of Venice forced Pitiglino to rush to end this originally superfluous war as soon as possible, and from the beginning he expressed his support for the Milanese only to take advantage of the chaos in Romagna, and let himself fall into a quagmire, which the Venetians absolutely did not want to see.

Not to mention the sudden threat from the Ottomans made them feel real danger for the first time, although there had been many conflicts with the Ottomans on more than one occasion in the Mediterranean, but this time they really felt the horror of this threat.

While the Ottomans seem to have the ambition to attack the heart of the European continent from both sea and land, such an action may seem self-righteous, but considering the extraordinary power of the Ottoman Empire and the formidable military power they have displayed so far, no one thinks they would have done so.

It is precisely for this reason that the Doge of Venice has repeatedly urged Pitiglino to end the war in Romagna as soon as possible, so that Venice can quickly prepare for the great threat that may come from both land and water.

Pittiliano looked at the young man in front of him, trying to make his voice as soft as he could, he felt that he was not negotiating with a soldier, but with a stubborn stone, or that this man should have been a businessman more than he could, for his attitude of arguing was a little unbearable.

"Count, please don't see our desire for peace as weakness and deception, let alone a good opportunity for blackmail," the lieutenant stared at Alexander opposite, he still wanted to calm himself down, but the young man in front of him seemed to have succeeded in provoking him again, "70,000 florin compensation is impossible, you should understand that you have not defeated us." ”

"But it's not us who need peace now."

Alexander smiled and said that he understood Giovanni's intentions, and it was clear that Giovanni had been instructed by Alexander VI to take aim at the Venetians' eagerness to get rid of the Romagna war, so they were ready to take the opportunity to knock the Venetians on the line.

Alexander didn't care what the Venetians thought, the point was that the Pope's intentions happened to be exactly what he wanted.

Alexander was well aware of the fact that throughout the centuries of the Ottoman Empire, it had never been able to attack Italy itself, and that the sultans, although they shouted to spread the sacred faith to every corner of the world, had always had a secular and utilitarian vision.

Therefore, in the eyes of the great sultans, Greece, the Balkans and Bulgaria are the places where they need to conquer and gain a foothold now, and the Vatican and Italy as a whole are not so important.

It's just that in the whole of Europe in this era, only Alexander knew about this.

And he did not want to remind the panicked city-state monarchs that they would not believe it at all, mainly because it was not in Alexander's interest.

"40,000 florins, this is the last concession."

Pittiliuno sullenly said that the adjutant general, who had been urged by the Doge's palace in succession, knew that his time was short, and that the threat of the Ottomans had caused the whole of Venice to be more of a panic than a crowd.

After all, unlike other city-states that only have to worry about the safety of their homeland, once a war does break out, Venice's colonies in the Mediterranean will inevitably bear the brunt, and in this case, ending the Romagna war as soon as possible so that more troops can be invested in strengthening the defense of the colonies is the top priority now.

"In addition, we can pay you a separate payment of 5,000 florins." The adjutant said in a slightly lowered voice.

Hearing this, Oflei, who was sitting next to him in charge of the record, glanced a little uneasy at the person next to him, who was one of Giovanni's personal entourage.

Alexander's fingers tapped lightly on the table, wondering how much more he could get out of the man.

"Don't be too greedy," Pittiliuno seemed to read Alexander's thoughts, "don't forget that your army is the smallest in this war, and it would be a surprise to receive such a sum of compensation, and if I guessed correctly, you can get about this amount from the 40,000 florins, and if you add the money we paid you separately, you can get a full 10,000 gold coins, which is already a huge sum." ”

Listening to Pittigliano's words, Alexander could not help but admit in his heart that he was right.

In terms of the distribution of war reparations, what he could get in the end was about 5,000 florins.

Although he fought two key battles throughout the short war, it was also true that the army was too small.

In the end, the distribution of all benefits must be determined by strength.

Alexander pondered as he looked at Giovanni's retinue, who had remained silent.

"Your Excellency, it's up to you." The attendant leaned forward, smiled and whispered, then sat back down, as if he had no interest in what was happening before him.

Of course, Alexander knew that Giovanni would not be so generous that everything would be left to his discretion, but since the two of them were now starting a new "honeymoon period", it was not a good thing for Giovanni to show a proper show of generosity.

"45,000 florins?"

Alexander's mind quickly swirled, he was wondering what kind of benefits he could gain from the war between Venice and the Ottomans in the near future, and no one knew better than him what the future war would be, so he quickly made a decision in his heart.

"Yes, but I'd like to have my share of the payment in some other way."

Pittiliuno was stunned, then shrugged his shoulders indifferently, the hardest hurdle for him had finally passed, and the rest was obviously much easier.

"Now let's talk about how your coalition forces will withdraw from Romagna," Alexander smiled at a Milanese man next to Pitigliino who was also not very talkative, "but before that, first of all, we hope that the Sforza family will send someone to Rome to attend the Requiem Mass for the Count of Pesaro, and I believe that the soul of the Count in Heaven will be glad that his family is present." ”

The Milanese looked at Alexander coldly, this man was not from the Sforza family, but this did not affect his dislike of Alexander, especially after the battle in Oral Town, the Milanese had reason to think that this hateful young man was more hated by them than Giovanni Borgia.

"I'll pass that on to the Duke." The Milanese replied coldly.

Alexander nodded with satisfaction, he was really grateful to the Ottoman who suddenly appeared, if it weren't for that man's appearance, maybe this war would have continued until another war with bigger rules started by the French again.

If that were the case, Alexander was really not sure what his Montina would do in this war.

But now, Alexander believed that as long as history continued to develop in the previous context, when the French invaded Italy again, he would not only be sure to save Montina, but also seize the opportunity in the following turmoil!

While Alexandre and Pitigliano were engaged in long and difficult negotiations, Giovanni waited patiently at the smell of pig manure in a somewhat remote country farm not far from Reialo.

Although there was a peasant girl in front of him who looked quite pleasing to the eye from time to time while pouring wine to flatter him, for some reason, Giovanni could only endure the heat in his heart that had been stirred up and waited patiently.

Of course, these reasons include the regret that his body has been ruined by syphilis because of his excessive debauchery, but more importantly, the guest he is going to see today makes him not neglect it in the slightest.

The sound of wheels running over the dirt road came from outside the door, and Giovanni motioned for his entourage to take a look.

After a while, under the guidance of his entourage, an old man walked into the farmhouse.

If Alexander had been here, he would have immediately recognized who the old man was.

Seeing the old man, Giovanni smiled, and he warmly invited the old man to sit down at the table, and then instructed the woman next to him to bring the old man wine.

"It's an honor that we've met again so soon," the old man gestured to Giovanni with his glass, and took a sip.

"It should be my pleasure," Giovanni also raised his glass, "I hope you haven't been too tired on this trip." ”

The old man shook his head, his right hand clenched into a fist and smashed it his leg.

"I have to admit that such a trip is a bit too much for a man of my age, and if I have a few more times I may have been called by God," said the old man, taking another sip from his glass, then putting it down and looking at Giovanni earnestly, "Duke, tell me, what price would you pay if you were given a chance to become the master of the whole of Romagna?" ”

Giovanni's breathing was instantaneous, and his hand holding the cup trembled slightly, then clenched it tightly, but his eyes became equally serious.

"How much does it cost?"

"A lot."

Giovanni licked the corners of his mouth, he felt his throat a little dry, so he took a sip of wine to moisten his throat before nodding.

"I am willing to offer my allegiance to a monarch, but I also wonder if it is worth it."

The old man nodded silently, and then took out a well-sealed secret letter from his bosom.

"This is from the Duke of Orleans to your father, and I don't know what it says, but I'm sure it will satisfy him."

Giovanni silently took the secret letter and put it away very carefully.

Then he asked, tentatively, "So, the king doesn't seem to be completely dead?" ”

"Obviously, the previous setbacks did not restrain the king's ambitions," the old man smiled slightly, "and on the second day of his return to Paris, he summoned his ministers to prepare for a new expedition, and if it had not been for the rapid defeat of his army in Piedmont, perhaps the king would have invaded a second time." ”

Although he had already guessed this possibility, when he heard the news about Charles VIII with his own ears, Giovanni couldn't help but tremble slightly.

He knew that the old man in front of him was not only a famous scholar and master scholar of the University of Paris, but the key was that he was also a wise man by the Duke of Orleans, so this news was naturally very reliable.

"If, then, Master Ficher," Giovanni continued, "if, I mean if, the king has the support of the Holy See, do you think he can conquer all the city-states?" ”

When Giovanni asked, he felt that his voice was a little rapid, so he tried to ease it, but after taking a breath, he felt that his chest was a little stuffy because he was too nervous, so he had to take a sip of wine from his glass, and it was only then that the feeling that made him uncomfortable was somewhat calmed down.

The old man had been silently muttering all this time, as if he was pondering how to answer Giovanni's question, and after a while, he finally said slowly: "We all know that one of the emperor's court ministers is now in Rome, and that Gonzalo, if I am not mistaken, he has been refusing to withdraw his troops from Rome, because Ferdinand of Aragon feared that King Charles would launch another expedition, and it is clear that Aragon and the empire are very wary of France, and there are also the English. ”

Giovanni noticed that when he spoke of "Englishman", Fischer not only had a strange tone, but also a strange look on his face, which made him smile secretly.

Although decades have passed since the Hundred Years' War, as long as the place is mentioned, people in both countries will involuntarily fall into a persistent grudge.

However, Giovanni did not care about this, he only wanted to know from Fiche whether the second expedition of King Charles VIII of France was sure of victory.

"That Rovere is now seeking to become a cardinal, and perhaps one day to become pope," said Giovanni with a gloomy face, "so I wonder if my father had chosen to side with the King of France, would he have continued to support that Rovere." ”

"That's the King's own business," Fischer seemed not to dwell on the subject, his thin fingers tapping lightly on the rough tabletop, and after a moment he looked up at Giovanni.

"Although the king has many enemies, I want to remind you that if the king can be helped by some powerful ally, maybe everything will be different."

"A strong ally?" Giovanni looked at Fischer a little confused, and his heart turned silently, but he really couldn't think of anyone who could be called a powerful ally by the French.

"Yes, very powerful and even terrible allies," Ficher said with a fixed gaze at Giovanni, "and they even made the whole of Christendom fearful. ”

Giovanni's face changed suddenly, he looked at Fischer blankly, and after a long time he said with difficulty: "You mean, Ottomans?" ”