Giovanni Sforza is dead.

When he heard the news, Alexander was somewhat surprised.

In his memory, Giovanni finally escaped the Borgia conspiracy, and he was lucky enough to escape from his relatives who tried to murder him, and quickly returned to his territory, although he was greatly humiliated by the forced divorce, but Giovanni Sforza survived, and he remained so resentful of what happened to him that he became a lifelong enemy of the Borgia family, until a few years later, when he was killed in a battle due to complications caused by an infection wounded in a battle.

But he did not expect that he died like this, and according to the description of his death, he seemed to be in pain before his death, which made Alexander secretly frightened, not that he was disturbed by the death of Giovanni Sforza, but that he was vaguely at a loss about the history that seemed to be gradually changing.

At least as far as he could remember, there was no such thing as Alexander inviting the besieging coalition troops into the city.

In fact, the coalition forces besieging Rome did not officially enter Rome until mid-March 1497, and although the French had already fled the city before then, the undefended city of Rome was hung in front of the coalition army like a stripped beauty for nearly a month before it was officially accepted.

The reason for this is because Gonzalo, as the commander of the coalition front, insisted on making himself the first knight to enter Rome, and his affairs on the northern front have been endless, although the French have begun to retreat, but there are still troops stranded in the eastern foothills of the Alps because of the need to protect the main force, and the coastal city of Nice, as a natural border between France and Italy, has become the focus of confrontation between the two sides, especially the Piedmontese, who insisted on keeping the French army for fear of being attacked by the coalition forces, All this made Gonzalo unable to come back in time to enjoy the fruits of his liberator for a while.

So much so that when he was finally able to get rid of the complicated affairs and enter the city of Rome as a near-conqueror, he had already passed the cold winter and entered the bright spring season.

But all this seems to be going to happen, Alexander VI suddenly sent an invitation to the coalition forces outside the city, and he gave high honors to the generals outside the city as the highest authority in Christendom, especially the reputation of a "protector of the Holy Land", which instantly made those coalition generals who were still hesitating whether to wait for Gonzalo become dry and salivating, according to the description of the messenger sent by the pope, many people heard the content of the open letter issued by the pope inviting the coalition troops to enter the city, Because of the excitement and the desire to go wrong, I can't even wait to enter the city immediately.

If it weren't for the Imperial Palace Minister Kotschach sitting in the town and immediately issuing an order strictly prohibiting the coalition troops from entering Rome at will, it is estimated that the streets of Rome would have been full of coalition troops galloping wildly at this time.

In addition to Alexander, the Pope's invitation also surprised many others, and the Rovere family immediately felt passive because of this.

The Rovelle family was willing to spend a lot of money to buy those logistics from Alexander, because they saw the embarrassment that the coalition might fall into if they lacked these things, and the archbishop hoped to establish a good enough relationship with the coalition through these materials, at least so that those nobles would not cause him trouble in the upcoming cardinal elections.

But now that Alexander VI suddenly invited the allied troops into the city, the role of the materials provided by the Rovere family suddenly became dispensable, which certainly made the Rovere family lose a lot of money in vain, and more importantly, the original desire to establish good relations with the allied forces was suddenly frustrated.

Another one who was outraged was Caesar.

During this time, Caesar had already tasted the sweetness of being the 'King of Rome', the son of the Pope, the cardinal of Valencia, but all this made him feel less prominent and noble than his position as the chief councilor of the Council of Order.

He even felt that he should be grateful to Alexander for the Council of Order, because it was this suggestion that allowed Caesar to extend his hand to the secular power of Rome, and he soon indulged in the pleasures of this power, and more importantly, Caesar felt that this Council of Order was only the beginning, and with the control of Rome, his eyes began to set his sights on a larger goal.

But his father's sudden decision to invite the coalition into the city made Caesar feel like a child who had just arrived at his favorite toy and had been snatched from him.

If that Alexander had been talking, he might have come up with something good, Caesar couldn't help but think, but then he put the thought aside.

He couldn't forget the humiliation of Alexander's blatant gunfire in front of the town hall, which made him feel that even killing Alexander would not wash away the humiliation.

Another person who reacted strongly to the Pope's invitation to the coalition was Joanna, the former queen of Naples.

When she heard the news, Joanna was stunned for a moment, and then she immediately ordered the servant to go to Alexander.

"I will take part in the entrance of the allied army," were Joanna's first words when she met Alexander, and then she continued, "As the queen of Naples, I need to prove my sovereignty over the Kingdom of Sicily in this way." ”

Looking at Joanna's excited appearance, Alexander could understand the reason why Joanna said this, the various brutal actions of the Aragon army after liberating Naples actually made the Neapolitan royal family already uneasy, although I don't know what Ferdinand II of Aragon wanted to do, but the fact that the Aragon army has not been able to go is a reason why the Naples royal family has always been uneasy.

So even though she was also of Aragonese descent, Joanna, like many others, did not want to see Gonzalo's arrogant face once again be more triumphant because of the conquest of Rome, and it would be perfect if she could be rediscovered by participating in a grand entrance ceremony.

It seemed that Gonzalo's popularity was really not very good, and Alexander was stunned to find that the commander of the coalition forces whom he had not yet met had reached the point of being bored, and no one seemed to like the Spaniard.

This made him feel that it was a miracle that a person could mix to the point of Gonzalo, but still be able to stand tall and stand tall all the time.

"I will convey your request to the Pope," said Alexander respectfully, "but your Majesty, allow me to speak presumptuously, and what you need now is not only to reacquaint others with your family's possession of Naples, but above all to have allies who can help you, so that you can have a greater say, both abroad and in Naples." ”

Joanna looked at Alexander silently, she understood what he meant, it was obvious that with her current situation, people might not take her, the former queen, seriously, not to mention that since Frederick had already found a way to get her rid of Naples, it was unlikely that it would be so easy for her to have a chance to go back.

"Do you think there's anyone else who can help me?" Joanna asked a little depressed, she knew very well how pitiful she was now, she had no money, no power, not even a woman's last capital, she had seen the Barondi of the Rovelle family, if she could boast of being a little better than Barondi in terms of appearance, but in other respects she had to admit that she was not even the illegitimate son of this archbishop.

"Your Majesty, there are always people who need friends," Alexander smiled, "maybe I can help you with that." ”

Joanna took a deep breath, she knew from the time Alexander took the initiative to give her the donation, she knew that this young man seemed to be ambitious, but he didn't ask her for anything for so long, although when she was attacked and all the money she was carrying was looted, Alexander was very generous and still supported her, but Joanna knew that this generosity was certainly not indefinite, and once one day he found that he had no value, he might abandon her outright.

But now it seems that Joanna feels that she still has some use, at least the status of a former queen of Naples should be enough to pay him attention to herself.

"What kind of friend are you looking for?" Joanna felt the need to let Alexander know that her opinion was still important, "I would like to remind you that the dignity of the Neapolitan royal family cannot be taken lightly, so I must know who the other party is. ”

Alexander shook his head in his heart, he felt that the woman in front of him was really stupid. At this time, she still refuses to give up her blind pride.

But compared to her, the current king of Naples, Frederick, was actually not much better, and he would never have imagined that his throne had been unstable for several years.

And the one who pulled him from the throne was King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who is now regarded by many as the savior of Naples.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, this friend is worthy of the royal family of Naples," said Alexander, whose heart suddenly moved slightly, and he continued with a slight groan, "Perhaps you can judge for yourself whether this person is worthy of your friendship." ”

Alexander's words aroused Joanna's curiosity a little, but she was reserved and only nodded.

Leaving Joanna's room, Alexander walked slowly in the Marino Palace.

The hallway was quiet, and people actually avoided Alexander when they saw him.

Without the cheerful running sound, the exaggerated "ahhhh

Sophia, Alexander whispered inwardly.

Sophia has been gone for a long time, but he can't get used to it, sometimes he opens his eyes and listens to the sounds outside, hoping to hear the familiar noises that Sophia makes, but every time he is disappointed.

When Nashan took Sophia away, he didn't even give them a chance to meet and say goodbye, maybe Nashan knew that Sophia would probably not be able to leave if that happened.

Or, if so, maybe Sophia would have been more miserable.

Sometimes things are better if they don't have answers.

Alexander thought so and walked into his room.

There were several open letters on the table, all from Naples, Agri, and among them from representatives of the Chamber of Commerce sent to Taranto, but Alexander believed that the merchants would say no more than what Josa had told him.

To his surprise, a merchant ship brought a letter from Sicily.

The letter was sent in the name of the Palermo Noble Council, and the writer was Camus, the chief of the Council.

Since the death of Gomez, the Sicilian courtier, for unknown reasons, Ferdinand, the king of Aragon and Sicily, did not appoint a new courtier, which made the noble council, which was originally only a temporary regent, secretly happy.

In the letter, the old man did not hesitate to praise Alexander, especially about his courage in standing up when the Neapolitans faced famine and the Romans faced the ravages of winter.

It was only after all these beautiful words had been used that Camus revealed the purpose of the letter in the letter.

In the letter, Camus mentioned that the merchants of Palermo had found some signs of uneasiness, as if more and more goods were pouring into Sicily, and that at first the chambers did not take this seriously, but after a winter they began to discover something worrying.

Some small chambers of commerce, which are not usually taken seriously, do not know who they have received, and they start to get goods at very low prices that are much cheaper than usual, and then these small chambers of commerce sell them at the same low prices in Palermo, and even in the towns of the interior of Sicily.

From the initial petty fights to the competition for markets in some of the larger towns in the spring, the big merchants of Palermo finally had to face it all.

Clearly, they have an enemy that doesn't seem easy to deal with.

When he saw this, a smile already formed on Alexander's lips, and he had to admit that he had done a better job than he had imagined.

Unlike Barenti, perhaps under the influence of Count Mordiglo, Jossa was not a business genius from the beginning, but more of a politician.

This allows Josa to always think about the greater good first when making any decision, not just how much money will be rewarded.

For example, according to Camus, it is not only the leaders of the chambers of commerce in Palermo who are uneasy.

Sure enough, in the following letter, Camus tactfully expressed his expectations for Alexander.

"It would be an honour for the Sicilian Council to be a friend of the Count of Mordiglo, and given your extraordinary relationship with the Count, and your duty and honour as a lighthousekeeper, we think you are well suited to be an emissary between the two sides, and the brotherhood of the two Sicilies is precious at a time like this."

Looking at the letter, the corners of Alexander's mouth twitched slightly.

He had to admit that politicians of any age are the most shameless group of people.

If you just read the contents of this letter, probably no one would have imagined that it was these people who, after the victory, shamelessly turned their faces and denied people and drove him out of Sicily.

It seemed that he still needed to exercise, Alexander thought to himself without self-deprecation, and casually put the letter aside.

Then he picked up another letter, which had been sent by Tsusha.

"My dear brother, if you still insist on keeping that bohemian woman around, I can only be disappointed in you."

Seeing this unreserved attitude at the beginning, Alexander scratched his head a little, he really couldn't understand why those two people just couldn't get along, but now thinking that they were not by his side, he couldn't help but feel sad in his heart.

"I went to Taranto, and I went to Sicily, I was very busy all day, which I never imagined before, I have a few good assistants around me, and they can help me with many things, especially your monk, I think he has the potential to be a diplomat or a liar," Josha wrote in the letter, a chat-like correspondence that had formed a kind of tacit understanding between the siblings, and somehow, whenever Josha used the title of 'my brother', Alexander's heart couldn't help but tremble slightly" It's just that I'm proud to say that I've done a lot of things, but in fact I find myself just a petty fight, and the people of Palermo are very stubborn, and they don't bother to make business alliances with us because they have the routes to the East, so I have to turn to some small businessmen to negotiate business. I think the Palermo people are stone-headed, and maybe they need to be knocked out with an Ottoman hammer. ”

Looking at the angry tone of his words, Alexander couldn't help but chuckle, he could imagine the anger of Jisha after hitting the wall, and he could also imagine that she might have caused a lot of trouble in Palermo because of this.

However, it is not so simple for Camus and the noble council, they must have regarded Josa's actions as some means and trick of Count Modillo, and it is estimated that Palermo must have been full of rumors and speculations at this time.

Thinking about Camus's letter again, Alexander couldn't help but feel a little proud in his heart.

Sicilians, there is always a price to pay for what they have done.

However, Alexander did not intend to let the Sicilians go alone, after all, Sicily played a very important role in his plan.

So after writing a completely meaningless reply to Camus, he replied to him like this: "My sister I am very satisfied, and what you have done will be of great use in the future, and as for the stubbornness of the Palermos, believe me, and soon they will understand what kind of opportunity they have lost." ”

Writing this, Alexander's gaze fell on the map next to him.

The coastline, already in considerable detail, outlines the Mediterranean.

In the east, vast swaths of land were shrouded in a crescent moon, while Alexander's eyes were cast on the other side of the Mediterranean.

There is the Iberian Peninsula.

Looks like we'll have to deal with the nasty Gonzalo in front of me first, Alexander pondered.

Gonzalo was a very powerful guy, and even because he was so powerful, Alexander was deeply wary of this man from the bottom of his heart.

A military genius, a nobleman of high stature, and a retainer trusted by Queen Isabella of Castile were all enough to make Alexander have a deep suspicion of him.

The reason why the name and identity of Giore Modiglo have been deeply hidden until now, even the Count of Modiglo has to carefully hide his true intentions.

Gonzalo, like a mountain that people can't get around, lies in front of many people.

So Alexander would love to see someone make some trouble for Gonzalo.

Picking up the pen, Alexander groaned a little, and then wrote down these words.

"My Honorable Lord, before congratulating you on becoming the liberator of Rome, allow me to remind you that you still have a ransom to pay."

When he had finished writing, Alexander sealed the short letter and handed it to the waiting messenger.

On February 23, 1497, the city of Rome, which had been "besieged" for more than half a year, renounced resistance with the withdrawal of the French.

The next day, the anti-French coalition accepted the invitation of Pope Alexander VI and announced the liberation of Rome.

It was also on this day that Alexander received a reply from the messenger.

Looking at a gold florin coin that had fallen from the unsealed wax letterhead, Alexander smiled.