The act of ransom captives is neither noble nor despicable.

A nobleman who runs around on the battlefield all year round, if he has not captured others, or has become a prisoner of others, it can only be said that this person is not brave enough.

Although with the end of the knightly era, personal prowess was no longer seen as the only way to show strength, the glory of being a knight still made people enthusiastic about using strong force to measure the nobility and courage of a nobleman.

Therefore, the process of asking for or paying a ransom for the captives is very important.

Whether it is out of respect for the enemy to ask for only a symbolic gold coin, or to maintain one's dignity, it is better to pay more than to appear worthless, in short, this kind of human exchange between superior people still seems gentle and very subtle, and no one thinks that asking for ransom from others is a sign of greed, and no one thinks that it is shameful to exchange money for one's freedom.

These rules, which the knightly world has followed for many years, have led everyone to consider this behavior not only a matter of course, but also a sign of intelligence, and that only those barbarians would slaughter captives with cruelty and senselessness.

It's just that even so, when they heard about the bidding for redemption, several people couldn't help but be in a daze.

It was one thing to pay a ransom, but to auction off the captives, which seemed to be the only thing that the slave trade would do, made Kotschach's already ugly face even more gloomy, and he couldn't help but think of what Alexander had said to him in his tent before.

"You and your friends will soon be free, but until then I can only hope to be properly rewarded."

When he first heard this, Kotschach was a little contemptuous and indifferent, of course he knew that there would be no surprises, and no one would easily threaten the safety of the Imperial Palace, not even the Ottomans.

It's just that he never expected Alexander to come up with such a way that was difficult for him to accept.

"You are insulting all the people here," Kotschach said in a low voice, "knowing that anyone here may meet you again in the future, and that you will be the enemy of all of them by then, and that you are going to turn this into your own personal vendetta?" ”

"So, my lord, I think it's best to end this as soon as possible." Alexander also whispered that when he saw that Konstantin had let go of little Córdoba, who was panting and unwilling, he beckoned to him slightly, "Let's all hurry up and end this, I think everyone has been waiting too long." ”

Alexander's words immediately caused a whisper among the people around him, people looked at him with complicated eyes, many people were angry, but many more people were still full of anticipation, no matter how they could be free, it was a good thing for them, although the act of bidding for redemption did make them feel humiliated, but the desire for freedom made them secretly excited.

"Don't try to do such an insulting way to me, or I'll make you regret giving me freedom."

Kotschakh, who walked back to the tent, said coldly that as a member of the Kotschach family, he needs to pay a lot of price for his dignity, although the status of the imperial court minister has long been incomparable with the Pepin era a few centuries ago, but as a prominent member of the empire, he cannot tolerate being sent away in that humiliating way.

Not even to be free.

"Of course you are an exception," Alexander smiled as he looked at the palace, "in fact I need you to preside over this auction, and I think you know that the coalition must want those people outside to be freed as soon as possible, because the French will soon leave Rome, and they certainly don't want to see the French blackmail them with these nobles." ”

Thoughtful thoughts flashed across Kotschakh's face, which had been cold because of his unhappiness, and he knew that Alexander had hit him in the right place, and he had said exactly what was on his mind.

As one of the most important courtiers, he certainly knew the emperor's mind very well.

Although Germany and Austria were large enough to make the Holy Roman Emperor crown, as one of the most ambitious emperors, the current Holy Roman Emperor Maximian was not satisfied with the existing powers.

Although he already owned Burgundy, the Netherlands and the territories of the Archduke of Austria, Maximian's ambitions were still very large, and because of the unique electoral system of the empire, although the title of emperor was glorious, he still hoped that his personal desire to have a large enough territory made Maximian firmly attached to those city-states in Italy.

Now the French are doomed, and the whole peninsula, which has just been devastated by the turmoil of war, has become a coveted piece of fat.

It was precisely because of this that when he heard little Córdoba unabashedly boasting about his uncle Gonzalo in front of him, Kotschach felt a certain unhappiness in his heart.

Although Maximian's son had married the daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon just over a year earlier, neither Maximian nor Ferdinand would have been naïve enough to see this marriage as a bond between the two parties.

On the contrary, while trying to benefit his son, Ferdinand also spared no effort to expand his family's power on the Italian peninsula.

Kotschach was well aware of this, and it was for this reason that he had come all the way to Rome, hoping that Gonzalo would not take away all the glory of liberating Rome alone.

Now Alexander's words reminded him.

Although the coalition was formed, it did not mean that there were no internal contradictions, on the contrary, there were many contradictions within the coalition army, especially for the participation of the Kingdom of Castile and Aragon, the mood of the city-state nobles was very entangled.

They hoped that a strong ally would help them drive out the hateful French, but they feared that the powerful country would not leave Italy if it took the opportunity.

The Neapolitans, in particular, had some inexplicable affection for Ferdinand II, who was also a member of the Aragonese royal family, and they hoped to be helped, but they were angry and upset when the Aragonese were rampaging through their country.

As for the other city-states, Kotschach could also sense their fear of Ferdinand's army, as evidenced by the fact that Gonzalo had defeated the main French army in Piedmont and the coalition forces immediately tried to attack Rome.

At least many of the coalition forces, like him, didn't want to see that Gonzalo too beautiful.

As for the liberator of the city of Rome, he should not be an "outsider" from Castile.

Kotschach glanced at little Córdoba standing not far away, and saw that the young man had been staring at Konstantin with angry eyes, and the palace minister was secretly relieved.

It was evident that Gonzalo's nephew was not a very perceptive man, and he had not yet noticed the slightly strange atmosphere between the several men, but Constantin della Rovere seemed to have a vague sense of something strange in it.

"So what price do you want them to pay?" Kotschach finally spoke, but then he said again, without waiting for Alexander to speak, "Don't be greedy young man, don't be greedy. If you only get what is rightfully yours and ask for less, then you will find that you may get more than you wish. ”

Listening to the palace minister's words, which seemed to be incompatible, Alexander smiled, he knew that Kotschach had understood his hint, and believed that the next thing would be much easier.

As the palace minister said he wanted to talk to Córdoba Jr., Alexander bowed and left, and it was clear that the next step was to see how much the coalition could pay for these nobles and their supply camps.

It's just that Konstantin is a little difficult to accept his actions.

So when Alexander walked out of the tent, Konstantin ignored the angry eyes of little Córdoba next to him, and immediately followed him out, and grabbed Alexander's arm tightly as soon as he went out.

"You're crazy, you're blackmailing!" Konstantin kept his voice as low as he could, as he noticed that the people around him were staring at them with complicated eyes, which made him feel as if he was also involved, and might even be seen as Alexander's accomplice.

"If you mean that I did these things after you left me and ran away alone, it is indeed blackmail," Alexander forcefully withdrew his arm from Constantine's hand, and he stretched out his finger and tapped the deck of his brother-in-law's chest, "You have no right to accuse me, you should have known that this was the case after you left me and my Agri alone against the enemy and you fled back to Rome yourself." ”

Konstantin opened his mouth to defend himself, but he didn't know what to say, looking at Alexander, who continued to walk forward, he could only quickly catch up again: "Don't do this Alexander, you should know that I can only do that at that time, and you will do the same if you were you." ”

"But you're not me," Alexander paused and looked at Constantine, "I'm just taking back what is rightfully mine, I took them prisoner and got what I deserved, and if the coalition wants to enter the city as soon as possible, they must do what I say, as for you," Alexander smiled, "Your father sent you because he wanted your family to continue to gain a foothold in Rome, and I am different from you, because my future is not Rome but somewhere else." ”

Konstantin looked at Alexander in astonishment, this was the first time he had really "had a deep conversation" with Alexander, but he was surprised to find that he did not know the Neapolitan who thought he knew very well.

"Don't you have Barondy in your heart at all?"

Constantine had no choice but to use this last resort, just to think that Barentine had heard that Alexander felt that even he felt that this reason was very pale.

Alexander looked at Konstantin with amusement until he was angry at it.

"Go back and tell the archbishop that the support he hoped for would not change, and that many people here would be grateful to him because his son had managed to prevent them from getting them into an embarrassing situation. I'm sure the archbishop would love to see that happen, but you'll have to stay here until then. ”

After saying that, Alexander ignored Konstantin and walked alone to the edge of the camp, where he needed to rearrange the protection of the camp. Although little Córdoba came, Alexander sent the Bohemians to occupy the river not far from the camp, and he did not want to risk it.

Konstantin was furious, but there was no other way, although he knew that he was being used by Alexander to put pressure on the coalition forces, but when he thought of his father's advice, he could not leave casually.

And he couldn't help but admit that some of Alexander's words were actually right, and the Rovere family had taken advantage of it no matter which side it was on in this matter.

Orgala had been watching this scene with interest, although she had not been able to enter the palace minister's tent, but she could roughly guess Alexander's method, and the thought that this man dared to auction these nobles as if they were goods made Orgala both surprised and felt an indescribable excitement.

This is a bold and clever man.

Orgala felt that this was the only way to describe this man of Alexandre Giulian Gombray.

During her time with Córdoba Jr., Orgara was keenly aware of the subtle atmosphere within the coalition forces, especially as the day of the liberation of Rome approached, which became even more unsettling.

Orgara wondered if little Córdoba could feel the change, or if Gonzalo, who was now in high spirits on the battlefield, sensed that his former allies were gradually turning into enemies, at least when she heard that the Imperial court had arrived on the outskirts of Rome.

Although far away, Orgala could sense the unpleasant atmosphere between Alexander and Konstantin, which caught her attention.

She believed that if Groganin had been here, he would have been interested in what was going on.

What many people feared might be shown like slaves in front of the bidders, and then discussed like picking cattle, and then finally being bought, did not appear, and they saw that the young man of the Rovere family seemed to be trying to stop the person who embarrassed them from stopping this farce, which made their original hostility towards the Roverley family fade a lot.

And to the gratitude of those nobles, the palace minister apparently played a big part in this matter, although it is unknown what method was used, he finally stopped an absurd bid.

When Kotschach signed his name on a document and stamped it with turnip grass, the palace minister looked carefully at Alexander across the table.

"According to the agreement, the coalition forces will pay you a total of 12,000 ducats to ransom you for all the prisoners and other property belonging to the coalition forces, and you must evacuate from the camp as soon as you get the 2,000 ducats, and then the coalition forces will then pay you the remaining 10,000 ducats," the palace minister recounted the agreement reached by the two sides in a low voice, "I believe that this agreement is the best outcome for everyone, so that a useless battle can be avoided, and many people can be freed." ”

Miyashi said and looked at Córdoba and Constantine, who were sitting on either side of the table.

Seeing the gloomy look of little Córdoba, a smile slowly appeared on the face of the palace minister, who was also not very good-looking.

"I said you might get more than you think, and I won't break my word," Kotschach pushed another separate document before Alexander, "and the ransom you are about to receive does not include mine, and although I cannot come up with that amount of money now, I have already written a letter, so you only need to send this letter to Alsburg, and you will get the ransom you have been craving." I think we're all happy about it. ”

Hearing the words of the palace minister, a smile finally appeared on Alexander's face.

Konstantin also quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

A captive nobleman sitting next to him happily drew a cross on his chest.

Only little Córdoba, whose already ugly look became even more gloomy.