In this era, France is still a poor country in the eyes of the Italian city-state, and the capital of France, Paris, is just a slightly larger city than other places, compared with many Italian historical cities that have brewed the Renaissance, France really has nothing to be proud of, as for the Louvre, which is regarded by the French as the pearl of French civilization, there is no shadow, so the Château neuveau Montina does not have the reputation of "Italy's Little Louvre".

But that didn't make Alexander forget the shock he felt when he saw the priceless art treasures in this castle, and the amazement he felt when he saw the beautiful castle.

If there is anything special about this castle, it is to say that the castle of Montina is a strange building that can be called an outlier of its time.

The emergence of firearms has brought about some changes on the battlefield that have not occurred for thousands of years, whether it is the era of pure infantry, the era of chariots, or the years when cavalry was rampant, although the situation of war has undergone various changes, but it has always been a contest of cold weapons, although the situation of war has also changed significantly because of the emergence of some powerful weapons, but some of the most fundamental things have not changed for thousands of years from beginning to end.

The most obvious of these is the art of defending the city.

Whether it was the imposing heavy cavalry of the Europeans, the frightening Mongol light cavalry, or the earlier invincible Roman legions, they were often helpless in the face of the great problem of siege.

Countless mighty armies have been left in front of the strong walls, ranging from victorious commanders like Hannibal to natural geniuses like Belisarius, who often prefer to have more enemies than themselves in the wilderness than to confront a small enemy army that relies on strong walls.

This is because even the best military art is often useless in front of the strong and tall walls, and there is no other way to conquer even a small fortress than to fight hard again and again.

But the advent of firearms changed all that.

On the other side of the Mediterranean, when the Ottomans bombarded the walls of Constantinople with the Cannons of Urban, it was not only the walls of Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire that had collapsed with it in the earth-shattering rumbling of cannons, but also the concept of war that had lasted for thousands of years for countless people.

Fortified walls are no longer a panacea, and the advent of firearms has finally threatened the unshakable status of the castle, which has lasted for almost 2,000 years.

Because of this, in recent decades the construction of castles has become more and more oriented towards the goal of how to defend against more and more powerful artillery, and in this same short period of time, the emergence of various siege firearms has also made the castle defense more and more demanding.

In Prague, in Vienna, in Aragon and Castile, which had just driven away the Moors, people spared no effort to make all kinds of huge calibers and powerful large artillery, and in some colonies of Venice far away in the Mediterranean, in order to defend against possible attacks by the Ottomans. The wealthy Venetians were even more vigorous in building defensive fortresses that could withstand heavy artillery bombardment, and at the same time quickly creating a large number of artillery guns that could sink invading enemy ships in an instant.

The Château de Montina was built at a time when great and far-reaching changes were taking place in both military technology and military defensive architectural styles.

One of the most controversial claims Alexander remembers about the new castle of Montina was whether the castle was the first truly modern defensive structure in Europe.

For a time, Alexander's memory was a controversy that attracted a lot of attention, and even in professional academic circles, the construction of the new castle of Montina was of great significance, because according to some architectural historians, the new castle of Montina could be said to be a real outlier.

The fortified walls and new defensive structure undoubtedly gave the castle a major military responsibility, but one has to think of the era in which it was built, when the Italian peninsula was in chaos and at the height of the turmoil known as the "Little World War".

However, in contradiction with the grim situation, the castle itself has a certain architectural style that is very different from that of a fortress and is full of romantic elements that are out of place for this era, and if there is one building that can be compared, it is only the world-famous Swanstein Castle in Bavaria.

In the field of architectural history, there is also a theory that has been hotly discussed, that is, Swan Castle borrowed the style and characteristics of Montina New Castle in many places.

It was such a castle that was about to become the domain and residence of Barentia della Rovere, but if Miss Rovere wanted to live in peace and security in this dreamlike castle of her own, someone needed to fight for her first.

This errand now falls on Alexander.

Alexander actually wanted to say that he couldn't say it, but in the end, old Rovere's remarks made everyone think that if he refused to do this service for Barondi, it would be disrespectful to Miss Lovere, at least Lovere's family was staring at Alexander with very serious eyes at the time, and that solemn look was very much like doing Mass, and it was like a funeral.

"That's Barondi's domain and her castle, think about it, the castle has all the art treasures, and the rooms where she lives, and that's all that matters. Can you stand the filthy and vulgar Milanese mercenaries and fishy Venetians entering rooms that only you have access to, and even encroaching on her clean and holy bed? ”

"Absolutely not, I will not tolerate this kind of thing!"

Alexander replied with indignation, and his answer was evidently very pleasing to old Rovere, as evidenced by the fact that he excitedly crushed several nuts and ate them without stopping.

As the Milanese gradually increased their forces in the city, rumors became even more common, and the Romans were already feeling the breath of war, while a piece of interesting news was circulating among the upper echelons of Rome and the merchants.

There was a woman who was able to get food by all means, and at the same time she was able to get a lot of supplies from other places that were in short supply at the moment because the roads were blocked.

What interests many people is that although this woman named Orgala has such an opportunity, she doesn't seem to have much money, so she is looking for a partner to work with.

This made many people suspicious of the news, but when they heard that the woman was in close contact with Kotschach and even Gonzalo, people couldn't help but seriously consider whether the news was reliable.

More and more people began to enter and leave the small apartment in Olgala, and for a time many people in Rome gradually became aware of such a remarkable beauty.

Alexander was again summoned to his villa by Giuliano della Rovere, already 2 days later.

This time the elder Rovie did not even let Alexander meet with his daughter, but called him directly to his study.

There, Rafort and Konstantin had been waiting for a long time.

Old Rovere made a serious plan for Alexander, starting with the offer to let him join his army, until he thought that Alexander should take the initiative to ask Milan and the Venetians to stop marching on the new castle of Montina for the sake of his fiancée's honor.

"The Milanese must be stopped, and it will not really do us any good if they continue their march on Rome," Giuliano said to his family, "and we must admit that Alexander is right, the alliance between the Milanese and the Venetians has left Borgia with no choice, and he will ask Aragon for help, so that Alfonso may well become a cardinal, especially now that Caesar has voluntarily renounced the priesthood, and it is none of his business for Borgia to become a cardinal, so why doesn't he choose one that is in his favor." ”

"This is really an unexpected result," said Rafort de la Rovere, the new archbishop of Genoa, whose brow was furrowed at this time, and a pair of cool but slightly soft eyes swept over Alexander's face not far away, "so what should we do?" ”

As if sensing Rafour's gaze, Alexander's gaze met him, for the first time he had been invited to a meeting at the Rovere family, which, according to the elder Roveré, was to prove his relationship with Barendi.

"Are Milan and Venice enemies?" Alexander suddenly asked, seeing Konstantin next to him with a strange look, he continued, "Of course they are enemies, otherwise Ludviko would not have brought Charlie to Milan, but they are allies now, and since they can become allies, why can't Rovere and Borgia?" ”

Constantine's face was first surprised, then angry, his eyes glaring angrily at Alexander, and his question bursting out of annoyance.

"Go to that Borgia," said Giuliano suddenly, his gaze falling on Raffle's, "Lavael, leave this matter to you, Borgia is on good terms with you, and perhaps he would like to see you make this suggestion to him." ”

"What advice father, do you really want to make an alliance with Borgia?" Konstantin was stunned and asked, "They are our enemies, that Rodrigo Borgia even wanted to kill you, and his uncle tried to hurt you more than once, do you still want to form an alliance with their family?" ”

Seeing his son's excited appearance, Juliano groaned slightly, and then he shook his head slightly.

Constantine looked pleased, but before he could speak, old Rovere had already said: "Of course I can't forget, whether he is Rodrigo Borgia or Pope Alexander VI, the enmity between the Borgia family and Rovere cannot disappear, just as I can't forget that I once proposed to his daughter Lucrezia for you, and was humiliated by them." ”

Hearing his father mention the rejection of his marriage proposal, Konstantin's face was even more angry, and he even looked at Alexander next to him with some annoyance.

For Constantine, the rejection of his proposal to Lucrezia was one of the greatest shames of his life, and he didn't want anyone to mention it, let alone let more people know, but his father now said it in front of Alexander, which made Constantine even have an inexplicable hatred for Alexander who knew about it.

"That's an insult to our family," Giuliano didn't care about his son's emotions, he looked at a few people around him, "but I'm not allied with the Borgia, but with the Vatican, the Milanese have the support of the German king, and the Venetians want to take the opportunity to enter Romagna, which is unacceptable to the Vatican, and it is absolutely not allowed by our Rovere family, do you understand?" ”

La Forther nodded slightly, as the representative of the Rovere family in Rome, even when Giuliano had to flee to France because of the persecution of Alexander VI, he always stayed in Rome to run for the family, and relying on his shrewd skills, he was not only quite popular among the Roman nobles, but even Alexander VI did not look at him differently because of his surname Lovere.

"We're going to organize an army, yes, an army," Giuliano stared at Constantine, "remember my son, you're not fighting for Borgia now, but for our family for Genoa, so you should understand how to do it." ”

Konstantin was silent for a while, and finally nodded with a gloomy expression.

"That's right," said Giuliano, smiling, looking at Konstantin expectantly, "to be a knight is to be like a lion, and to be a leader to be a fox, only such a person can be the hope of a family." ”

Old Rovere said and looked at Alexander again.

"As for you, all you have to do is prove your love for Barondy by your deeds," Rovere said lightly, "and you have to let everyone know what you are doing this for, because then we have the name to join this war." ”

"Yes, my lord, I know what to do."

Alexander's voice was calm, but his eyes were determined, which made Giuliano's mood slightly better.

"But my army needs more support," said Alexander, "and the Agri, though brave, are too few in number, and must have more soldiers if they are to defend the castle of Montina." ”

"You can get a thousand men, that's enough for you to hold the castle, and the next thing you have to do is wait for the support of the Vatican and Genoese troops." Giuliano figured it out, "But before that I suggest you don't fight the Milanese in the field, you must know that they recruit a lot of mountain mercenaries, I think you have already seen them with me, you must know that it is very troublesome to encounter these mountain mercenaries on the battlefield." ”

Alexander nodded, of course he knew that those Swiss mercenaries were not to be trifled with, and even if Giuliano had promised him an army of 1,000 men, he did not want to fight the Swiss who were so dedicated that they could only be described as paranoid and crazy.

Castle of Montina?

When he came out of Rovier's villa long ago, looking back at the beautiful house on the hill like a hanging garden, Alexander suddenly smiled lightly.

"Pagasos, we're going to go on another expedition," Alexander lowered his head slightly, stroking the smooth back hair of his horse, "You have to be obedient this time." ”

On April 7, 1497, Alexander, in his capacity as fiancé of Barentia della Roverre, suddenly issued a claim to Château Montiena and to Montina in his capacity at the City Hall of Rome, and he declared that Milan and the Venetians were not welcome with Château Montieneu.

Everyone knows that this means that the Genoese, who have been watching from the sidelines, have officially intervened in the Romagna dispute!