Alfonso had left the ghetto in the middle of the night, and although the carriage was once again filled with bags of gold, his face was gloomy.

The Masked Man did not come with Alfonso this time, so the negotiations with the Jews were conducted entirely by himself, and because of this, Alfonso was even more distraught because of his worries.

The Jews were shrewd but not generous, but this time they did not make any excessive demands, and after offering a loan of nearly 8,000 gold coins, Alfonso already owed a huge debt of almost 20,000 florins.

"Am I going to be a bishop in debt?" Alfonso asked himself, or if he was lucky, he might become a cardinal in debt, and then he thought to himself mockingly.

The Jews did not offer any conditions, but this was what upset Alfonso, who knew that the Jews should be more than just greedy for the interest, as evidenced by the fact that they dared to accept the Triple Crown as collateral, and that these men clearly had the same extraordinary ambitions as Cleion.

But their gold was a good thing, and Alfonso reached out and touched the soft cushion, and in the dark compartment under the cushion, 8,000 florins made him feel his heart beating violently, and he believed that he had enough money to make a charge on the cardinal's throne.

Just thinking about his opponent, Alfonso couldn't help but be a little frustrated.

Neither Caesar nor Giuliano could compete with either of them, especially when he heard that Giuliano had recommended his brother to be the archbishop of Genoa, and he couldn't help but be intimidated by Giuliano's dominance to become a cardinal at all costs.

Can he compare himself to those two formidable opponents, Alfonso continued to wonder when he returned to his lodgings.

However, when he walked through the door and saw the masked man standing in the middle of the room, Alfonso couldn't help but take a deep breath, and he realized that he had no way out, whether he was sure or not.

"Becoming cardinals, or because failure is no longer useful, let these people kill in anger." Alfonso knew he might end up with two endings.

Alfonso began his frenzied assault on the cardinal's throne.

In the Vatican, he met with all those who thought it might be possible to help him, and in Rome he attended banquet after banquet, and whenever such times he was generous and generous, and while currying favor with the magnates of the Church, he naturally did not forget another very important person.

When he saw the title deed of a rich farm that Alfonso had given him, even the arrogant Gonzalo couldn't help but be moved by Alfonso's thoughtfulness.

He began to come into frequent contact with the bishop from Sicily, and at the same time listened to his requests from the bishop from time to time.

Finally, at a party, Gonzalo showed interest in Alfonso's offer to support his proposal to become a cardinal.

"There should be more people in the Vatican who can speak for the two Majestics, Sicily has not had a cardinal for a long time, not to mention Palermo, even the entire Kingdom of Sicily seems to be no longer valued by the Holy See, and Sicily is the front line against the infidels, if there is a cardinal, it will be of great significance to the Sicilians."

Perhaps it was Alfonso's statement that finally impressed Gonzalo, who began to feel that it would be a good idea to support a host from Sicily as a cardinal.

Gonzalo's influence was apparently enormous, and when he was heard publicly saying that Sicily should have a cardinal, it became clear that a new competitor had quietly emerged beyond the two fiercely rival behemoths of Caesar and Giuliano.

Giuliano de la Rovere was somewhat surprised by Alfonso's appearance.

In his opinion, there was only one opponent for him, and that was Caesar.

According to the custom that has been developed over the years, successive popes have always hoped that members of their families will one day inherit the papal throne, as was the case with Giuliano's uncle Sixtus IV and Alexander's uncle Gastus III.

Caesar is undoubtedly the next generation of the Borgia family in the Holy See's greatest hope, after becoming a cardinal at the age of 18, many people know that Caesar is already one step away from becoming a cardinal.

It is impossible for the Borgia family to give up such a good opportunity now.

But Alfonso's appearance surprised the former Archbishop of Genoa, and what he didn't expect was that with Gonzalo's public support, not only did the bishops in many places begin to show interest in Alfonso, but when he learned from the latest news he heard that even the Archbishop of Naples, who had clearly expressed his support for him, seemed to be shaken, Giuliano was surprised to find that this Alfonso was actually a fierce rival that could not be ignored!

It was at this time that Alexander was again invited to the villa of the Rovere family.

In the spring of March, the weather has been completely warm, and the garden has a cool warmth, and the large roses planted in the sandwich planters make the whole villa look like a luxurious hanging garden from the bottom of the mountain.

When Alexander walked into the villa, he happened to see Barondi.

Barendi was using a pair of scissors to cut a rose, the sun shining on her face, reflecting a layer of light on her slightly light brown skin.

Seeing Alexander, Barendi handed the scissors to the maid next to her, and she walked around the middle flower bed, stared at Alexander for a while, and then nodded slightly.

"My father invited you?"

"Yes." Alexander smiled, feeling a little strange about the young lady of the Rovie family, who he couldn't count as his fiancée now.

Although it was because of her Sophia that he would leave, Alexander did not hate Barendi, or he knew from the beginning that this young lady of the Rovere family had been stubbornly defending the interests of her own family, whether it was becoming his fiancée or their current ambiguous relationship, all for her own family.

Alexander sometimes even wanted to ask Barondi, had she never thought to do something for herself?

The presence of Giuliano broke the inexplicable silence between the two men, and the former archbishop, dressed in a black coarse cloth robe, beckoned to Alexander very casually, and then led the way through the corridor into a room.

"The marriage contract I have agreed with the Count includes the promise of the Archbishop of Naples," Giuliano made no secret of his disappointment, his deep-set eyes fixed on Alexander, his slightly angular face revealing anger, "but now he is going to break his promise, I mean the Archbishop of Naples, so I need the Count to guarantee that this will not happen." ”

Alexander nodded silently, he also heard that Alfonso had been very active recently, and the fact that he had Gonzalo's support made Alexander feel a little unexpected.

"In June, I must prevail in the election of the cardinals in June," said Giuliano, looking at Alexander, "to convince the archbishop that you will marry Barendi, and you will not only receive the rich dowry I promised her, but also an additional and more reward." ”

"Perhaps you should write to the count," Alexander said lightly, and when he heard the mention of the marriage again, he could not help but look at Barentia, who was outside trimming the flowers and plants, "You should know Gonzalo's influence in Naples, even the king must be respectful to him, and the archbishop obviously does not dare to go against his will." ”

"So in that case, maybe this thing can help him change his mind again." As he spoke, Giuliano picked up a rolled-up document from the table next to him and handed it to Alexander, seeing Alexander's puzzled eyes, Giuliano motioned for him to open the document.

A document of the transfer with many signatures appeared before Alexander's eyes.

"This is, a power to read?" Alexander looked at the document and whispered, his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the location of the fief about the transfer, and then he couldn't help but look at Giuliano with a strange expression.

"Relinquish ownership of Ferrara's territory," Giuliano let out a slightly mocking chuckle, "I'm sure the archbishop will be interested in that place, especially if Ferrara is obtained, the Este family territory can be completely connected." ”

Looking at Giuliano's wry smile that seemed to be a little helpless, Alexander couldn't help but look at the transfer letter again.

Ferrara, Alexander remembers very well, more than ten years later, it was the former archbishop who had to give up his territorial rights in order to become a cardinal, after becoming the famous "God of War Pope", in order to make his son the Duke of Ferrara, he did not hesitate to start a war, and his enemies at that time were the Este family.

Give for the sake of getting, take back for the sake of getting.

Alexander couldn't help but look at Barendi in the garden again, he didn't know if the future Pope of the God of War had arranged Barondi's marriage in the same way.

"I must become a cardinal," Giuliano said to Alexander, who was only looking at his daughter, with a slight impatience, and when he saw Alexander looking back at him, Giuliano leaned forward slightly and said in a slightly lowered voice, "I must establish myself in the Cardinal Conference as soon as possible, because we don't have much time." ”

Until he left the villa, Alexander pondered the meaning of Juliano's words.

It was clear that Giuliano already knew something.

Then, a few days later, on March 15, an envoy sent by King Charles VIII arrived at the Vatican.

The arrival of this envoy made many people secretly speculate about Charlie's intentions, although they had heard that he had brought a letter from the king himself, but many people suspected that Charlie did not seem to be making peace.

Sure enough, in his letter to Alexander VI, Charles did not reveal any intention of trying to reconcile with the anti-French alliance, but instead demanded that Alexander VI publicly recognize his ownership of the throne of Naples, and at the same time expressed his uncompromising and tough attitude towards the anti-French alliance preventing him from "gaining legal power".

This move was undoubtedly meaningless to many, after all, the defeat of the French army at the Battle of Piedmont had made Charles no longer possible to march on Italy, and the king had even returned to France early to grieve because of his frustration with the situation of the war.

So in the eyes of ordinary people, Charlie's letter is just a gesture of strength that he has to show for his own face, and he doesn't need to be too serious at all.

At least in the vast majority of thoughts, this war is over.

Only a few people realize that the war over the Naples succession may have just begun.

And in the eyes of some, Charles's letter came at an inopportune time, at least according to Alexander VI.

This was because he was having a headache with Gonzalo's plan for the coalition.

At the beginning of entering Rome, Gonzalo swept the city in a stormy style, whether it was in the attitude towards the pope, or in getting along with other generals of the coalition army, or in the catharsis of the night carnival, this nobleman from Castile affected everyone around him with an almost excessive unrestrained character, people felt as if he alone disrupted the entire Rome originally seemed to be chaotic but actually quite boring life, he set off a large and small waves, not only let the nobles, It also made the civilians of Rome feel completely different from the people and things they were familiar with before.

Gonzalo's unceremonious dutiesThe vast majority of the allied troops were undisciplined and demoralized, and he even openly stated at a party that without his own army, the French would have to send a team of old ladies and a dog to the ground.

This certainly caused the displeasure of others, but they could not help but admit that Gonzalo's army did play a key role in the battle with the French, and when it came to morale and discipline, one could only assume that Gonzalo's army, which had played a major role in the Reconquista, was not wrong.

In this way, Gonzalo lost no time in proposing his coalition plan again.

According to Gonzalo's idea, in order to prevent another French invasion, the coalition army should not only keep an army of no less than 40,000 men in case of any battle with the French, but also place this army in advance where the French might invade.

For this reason, Gonzalo even put forward a proposal that many people found unacceptable, that is, in order to prevent the French from invading again, and also to punish Piedmont for supporting France in the first place, he not only asked the Duchy of Piedmont to allow the coalition troops to pass through its territory unconditionally, but also proposed that Piedmont hand over to the coalition forces at least three castles adjacent to France as a guarantee.

Gonzalo's proposal instantly caused a great deal of controversy in Rome, and while debating whether the proposal was reasonable, many people began to be afraid of the general.

Obviously, Gonzalo's proposal was beyond the purview of a front-line commander, and the demand for Piedmont was more of a diplomatic than a military ploy, which made many people wonder if it was Gonzalo's personal idea or the intentions of the two kings behind him.

Alexander VI was obviously also sensitive to Gonzalo's offer, and he had a vague sense that something was wrong, thinking of Gonzalo's insistence on keeping the coalition army or, to put it wrong, the Aragonese army for a long time, and Alexander VI began to feel that things were getting a little difficult.

And he was now concerned with another thing, and that was how to deal with the anger of the Sforza family in Milan.

Giovanni Sforza's death came as a surprise to many, and when they first heard the news, they realized that a huge change could happen, and sure enough, the Sforza family quickly reacted to it.

And this reaction was so strong that even Gonzalo, who was swaggering everywhere in the city of Rome, was a little surprised.

The Milanese army, which was near Piedmont, suddenly moved, crossed the right bank of the Po tributary and marched eastward.

It is clear that the direction of the Milanese army is Rome!

Everyone was taken by surprise by this sudden turn of events, and no one expected that just when everyone thought that the war was at least temporarily over, before the blood stains on the sword dried up, a new war seemed to be coming.