The horse's hooves stepped on the snow, making a "puff" sound.

Under Alexander's hard pull, Pagasus's forward pace gradually slowed down, and when he came to Caesar, who was in full armor, Pagasus stopped and snorted, then leaned forward with his huge horse's head, and gently arched the bridge of the nose of Caesar's armored war horse with his nose.

Alexander silently looked at the mask on Caesar's face, and he could vaguely see the eyes staring at him under the mask, which revealed nothing but anger and hatred.

The pressure is great, and I believe that in Caesar's not long career of more than 20 years, he is probably the one he hates the most now.

"I didn't expect us to meet again so soon." Caesar naturally said a classic line that almost no one like him would be avoided.

"You're in luck." Alexander was unheeded by Caesar's overtly hostile words, and he was not sarcastic.

Caesar had been taken out of Rome by Charles VIII more than two years earlier, but he escaped quickly, and this time he was freed so quickly, which made Alexander really envious of his good fortune.

However, Alexander soon realized that he might have said the wrong thing this time.

He noticed that Caesar's sword was shaking slightly, probably because the hand holding the sword was trembling or restraining himself.

"You know, I swore when I was holding Charlie hostage that I would never be locked up again for the rest of my life," Caesar's voice was low and uncomfortably gloomy, his eyes fixed on Alexander's face through the mask, as if to see if Alexander was really not afraid or pretentious, "I can kill you now, and the battle in Livorno can end here." ”

"No, you can't kill me," Alexander shook his head suddenly, "or you can't kill me, I think it must be the Pope who wants to see me, and you just want to take the opportunity to scare or humiliate me." ”

The sword in Caesar's hand was suddenly raised, and the bright sword light drew an arc in the air!

The hunters raised their sabers and muskets one after another, and all the muzzles were aimed at Caesar, although they knew that it would be difficult to stop them if Caesar really cut them down, and because they were afraid of hurting Alexander, the muskets obviously could not be used, but the muzzle of the black hole was obviously warning Caesar that as long as he dared to hurt Alexander, then he would definitely pay enough price!

Caesar's hands were fixed in the air, and his eyes were fixed on Alexander.

"Are we going to spend the whole night on the street like this," Alexander whispered helplessly, "and now I will move forward, and I hope you will take this opportunity to get us all out of power." ”

With that, Alexander urged Pagasus, and with the slight reluctance of the horse, he clamped the horse's belly with both feet, urging Pagasus to pass by Caesar and walk towards the papal army.

Paul Busako immediately led his horse forward, and several hunters followed.

"Pagasos, it seems that you are still not honest."

Alexander gently stroked Pagasus's warm mane, he didn't know if Caesar's mount was a mare or not, but he thought that Pagasus's orientation should not be so trendy, so he began to wonder if the butcher who relieved Pagassos last time was not good at his skills and did not completely clean up the work.

Pagasus's feet snorted loudly, and his reluctant steps seemed to become brisk at once.

Caesar had already turned his horse's head, and he followed Alexander slowly, keeping a short distance from him, which meant that if he wanted to sneak attack, he only needed to suddenly urge the horse to raise his sword and stab him, and Alexander's life could be threatened.

"You don't seem to be worried that I'm going to do anything to you," Caesar said suddenly, and he nudged his mount down the street with Alexander, but the mask of his helmet never lifted, "Are you so sure I won't kill you?" ”

"For a man with the surname Borgia, nothing can be certain."

Alexander did not hide his distrust of the Borgia family in the slightest, and he did not even go out of his way to remove Lucrezia.

If Alexander VI's cunning, Giovanni's suspicion, and Caesar's cruelty are all proof that they are a Borgia, then Lucrezia's "fickleness" is proof of her being a member of this family.

Even now, Alexander has been paying attention to Lucrezia's actions, which has nothing to do with the fact that he is a woman who does not trust him, he simply cannot easily trust Lucrezia's overly rich and varied feelings.

Caesar didn't seem to mind Alexander's answer, but he wasn't talking to him either.

Seeing Paul Busako staring at Caesar's back not far away, Alexander smiled lightly.

Indeed, he would not easily leave his back to Caesar, unless he was sure that there was no danger.

There is a stone bridge over the Tiber River not far from the Exchange, but this bridge is not the famous stone bridge that just passes through Castel Sant'Angelo, so when the bridge turns out to be from the bridge, he sees Tiber Island in the middle of the river, which divides the Tiber River in two, Alexander looks at the faint tower above.

"I heard that there is a famous alchemist in his early years buried on Tiber Island, right?" Alexander asked casually, vaguely remembering that this was the case, but because he had never been to the island, he didn't remember it very well.

"An apostate who has been declared a heretic by the Church," Caesar said casually, and then with a slight twist of his helmet and his eyes behind the mask turned to Alexander, "I may declare you a heretic if I wish, knowing that although the trial of heresy is much more lenient now than it was centuries ago, it can be repeated at any time if the punishment is needed." ”

Alexander nodded silently at Caesar's naked intimidation, and instead of looking at Tiber Island, he urged his mount to run towards the shining Vatican Hill.

Alexander VI was having dinner, and he had missed it today because he had worked late, so the Pope ordered that only enough food be brought to him, and that no more sumptuous dinner should be served to the servants.

When he saw Caesar and Alexander walking into the hall, the Pope had just drunk a cup of lettuce juice mixed with honey and ginger.

Seeing the gray-green liquid slipping from the corner of the Pope's mouth, Alexander suddenly wondered a little maliciously if the Pope drank this thing that was said to make him strong in order to deal with Julia Farne.

Alexander VI did not greet the two men who entered, he just bowed his head and ate the food on the plate in front of him, and the slightly empty hall occasionally sounded the sound of knives and forks clashing with plates, and the sound of the Pope drinking lettuce juice.

Several servants set up the wine glasses on the table for Alexander and Caesar, but looking at the red wine in the transparent glass, although he was very sure, Alexander was still wise not to touch it.

As the Pope threw a used handkerchief on the table, the servants hurriedly removed the utensils from the table, and looked at Alexander through the swaying figures of the busy servants beside him.

"What is that Florentine Sazi doing now?"

Alexander VI finally spoke, but his first words stunned both men across the table.

"Maybe it's being prepared," Alexander said after a moment's thought.

"Maybe?" The Pope looked suspicious, "You sold him so many weapons, don't you know what he's doing, maybe he's just been serving Savonarola all along." ”

"Your Majesty, you actually know this matter better than me, after all, Pelotto Caderon has already reported everything to you."

Alexander VI was not annoyed by the obvious sarcasm of this, he slowly took a sip from his glass from the table, and then turned his gaze back to Caesar.

"It's a good thing you're back now, because I have a lot of things to do for you," the Pope said, waving his hand casually to stop Caesar from speaking, "There's not much time left for you to be angry about what happened before, I've decided to regroup my army, and I won't allow Livorno to happen again this time." ”

At this point, the Pope's eyes, which had always seemed a little godless, suddenly became sharp, his bright forehead seemed to appear even brighter, and the top of his head with a small round hat moved slightly.

"I'll retrain the military." Caesar looked at Alexander across the table, who slowly removed his helmet, revealing a slightly pale face.

This face was still the same Caesar face that Alexander was familiar with before, but somehow, Alexander felt a little different.

This face seems to have less of the arrogance that often appeared before, and more of the calmness that seems to have been achieved through setbacks.

Caesar took a sip from the glass in front of him, "I know how to train them, and I will turn this army into a sword in my hand." ”

"That's good, that's what I want to see," the Pope said, glancing at Alexander, "tell me, when do you think there will be a riot in Florence?" ”

Alexander shook his head slightly, of course he knew when the riot would happen.

Or even if the time of the riot could have changed because of him, he could still guess the approximate time.

What has become of Florence today, although he has not seen it, he can still imagine, especially with the beginning of Lent, Alexander sometimes even has an impulse, because he knows that with the end of Lent and the arrival of Carnival, the kingdom of heaven on earth created by Savonarolola will also enter a real madness.

Savonarola will light the famous fire of vanity with the aim of destroying all worldly vanity in the square opposite the Florentine City Hall.

The whole of Florence will be embroiled in an unavoidable catastrophe of art and culture.

Alexander was keen to prevent this from happening, because it would be a costly devastation, as countless masterpieces of art that were considered priceless even in this day and age were destroyed by a fire and never existed again, even centuries later.

And this false fire, which aims to destroy worldly crimes, is one of the main reasons why Savonarola has attracted countless controversies in later generations.

But Alexander also knew that it was this campaign to burn secular culture that would be the straw that would break the already emaciated camel of Savonalorola.

So, he knew when the riot would eventually take place.

But Alexander was not going to say it directly, because he knew that in fact the Pope probably knew better than he did when the riots would occur.

Since discovering that Sazi might launch an uprising in Florence to overthrow Savonarola, Alexander VI could no longer sit still.

He began to frequently send various spies to Florence to inquire about the news, and even directly to the people in the local church in Florence who obeyed his orders to inquire about the news and make arrangements.

So now the Pope knows better than he does about the situation in Florence.

"In the event of a riot," the pope's eyes swept over the two men in front of him, "no matter who ultimately rules Florence, I hope that the authority of the Vatican will be quickly restored, and that there will never be any more hostility to the Holy See, let alone blatant offend." ”

Alexander VI's gaze was a little restless, and when he said this, he seemed to remember something and looked at Alexander.

"That monk Massimo, whom I allowed to establish a Order, I think is indeed a pious man."

Listening to the Pope's rare approval, Alexander could only nod wordlessly.

Speaking of which, he hadn't seen Massimo in a while, and although he could sometimes get letters from him, most of the time it was unclear where he was.

Because the "pious Mahimo friars" were too busy.

Busy preaching, busy agitating, busy showing everybody his incorruptible tongue, and sometimes busy going in and out of the boudoirs of different noblewomen.

One thing is certain, however, that Massimo is now a recognized advocate of papal authority in the city of Rome and in the diocese of Rome as a whole.

He went around preaching the merits and authority of the early years of Urban II and Innocent III, and then he denounced the absurdity of the era of the separation of the three popes.

In Massimo's argument, the loss of papal authority was the cause of the decline in the prestige of the church and the decadence of the populace, and the monarchs who did not hesitate to contribute to the cause of this for their own benefit.

Massimo called for a return to the papal authority and loyalty, and even more so that the ...... should be done now, centering around the great Majesty Alexander VI

When he saw the transcript of Mashimo's sermon, he admitted that he was indeed disgusted, but Mashimo's desperate actions still had some effect.

At least Alexander VI felt that this man happened to be very useful now.

"I wonder if there is a riot," the pope looked at Alexander, "can we take advantage of the opportunity to recover Florence?" ”

Hearing this, Caesar's hand, who was drinking, paused, and his eyes were also on Alexander.

"I'm sorry Your Majesty, I can't answer your question," Alexander shook his head, "I can't answer something I haven't thought about, and that would spoil your business." ”

The Pope's expression moved, he understood the meaning of Alexander's words, he did not think about marching to annex Florence.

Alexander could feel both eyes scrutinizing him at the same time, as if trying to know if he was lying.

Florence, the heart of Romagna, is now one of the most luxurious and intoxicating temples of culture and art of its time, and Alexandria had no intention of claiming this glorious city for himself.

This left the Borgia father and son puzzled in disbelief.

"You're saying you're not going to send troops to Florence?" For the first time since entering the door, Caesar spoke to Alexander seriously, and his tone was full of suspicion, and he did not hide his distrust of Alexander.

"No, it won't." Alexander replied dryly, his tone firm and decisive: "I can assure you here that I will never have any claims against Florence. ”

Caesar looked at Alexander with some surprise, of course he didn't like Alexander, but that didn't stop him from taking a person seriously.

So he knew that at least Alexander was trustworthy in terms of reputation, but because of this, Caesar was even more puzzled.

He couldn't understand why Alexander had given up such a good opportunity, and he immediately wondered what the capture of Florence would be.

Before Caesar could figure it out, the Pope had already whispered an answer that made his heart tremble: "Venice." ”

Alexander sighed in his heart, he couldn't help but admire the flexible mind of this old man.

He was able to understand the situation very well as he was a "man who came before", while Alexander VI immediately saw the crux of the problem purely by his years of experience and keen observation.

In fact, Florence was never controlled by the Vatican, whether it was the Medici era or the subsequent Republic era, and there was certainly the courage of the Florentines who were unwilling to submit to outsiders, and more importantly, the obstruction from Venice.

The Venetians could not tolerate Florence, considered the center of Romagna, falling into the hands of the Holy See, no matter who became pope!

Alexander VI seemed a little disappointed, but he soon recovered his spirits, and he raised his glass to Alexander.

"I already know what you think, but I also want to know what you want for the future," Alexander VI said in a flat voice, looking at Alexander, "I'm talking about Lucrezia." ”

Facing the Pope's meaningful gaze, Alexander slowly lifted the wine glass in front of him.

He noticed that Caesar's expression seemed to become a little nervous, and his eyes were fixed on the wine glass in Alexander's hand.

"Your Majesty, I will promise Lucrezia a lot, because she is pregnant with my child," said the pressure mountain, raising his glass slightly, "but I am now committing much less than I can give their mother and child, and there is also something I am about to report to you, the Fugger family is about to send representatives, and they have come to negotiate with me about the coinage rights that I have proposed to you before. ”

Hearing Alexander's words, the pope's expression suddenly lifted, and a trace of excitement quickly flashed in his eyes, and Caesar, who was sitting on the other side, knocked on his chair because of an accident.

"You want to fight for the right to mint money?" Caesar asked in disbelief.

He didn't know what had happened in the nearly two months he had been locked up, but what made him pay more attention was that he had heard that the coinage seemed to be related to his father.

"Currency issued in the name of Rome?" Alexander VI's voice was slightly lower, and he seemed to be pondering something.

"Yes, the issuing currency with the Holy See as the main body," Alexander replied, "as I reported to you before, a circulation that is completely dominated by the Vatican." ”

"So how much are you going to issue?" Alexander VI's cheeks twitched imperceptibly.

"Your Majesty, we must take into account credibility and guarantees that will be recognized by all," said Alexander, carefully holding his glass, "therefore, I think that in order to ensure the safety of the currency, after negotiating with the Fugars, the first batch of currency equivalent to not more than 400,000 florins can be issued." ”

Alexander said and thought about it, he felt that he was not mistaken, the Vatican's annual balance of income and expenditure in the past few years should not exceed 380,000 florins at most!

Alexander VI's face showed irrepressible excitement, and he stood up and motioned for Alexander to leave the table with him, while he did not forget to take the wine glass from Alexander's hand, which had been held all along, and had never touched a drop.

Then, when they left, the glass of wine was poured to the ground by the pope's retinue, who had been standing aside.