In a quiet room in the Potico Palace, the Pope summoned Alexander alone.

The room was so interesting that when Alexander first came in, he thought he was in a small museum.

The furnishings in the room were a bit chaotic, both the closets on the walls and the tables in the middle of the room were filled with all sorts of strange toys, models, tools, and even small wooden machines, some of which had been assembled, some of which had been taken apart and seemed to be unfinished.

Alexander saw something familiar in it, such as a two-spoke waterwheel that was widely used in this era, a small waterwheel placed in a model of a pool with a low front and a high back, and the waterwheel drew water to the higher pool, and then flowed down a small ramp next to it, and the rapid flow of water hit the swing blades of the waterwheel to continue working, which allowed the model to keep moving.

Alexander looked at this small hydraulic project with interest, not because he was curious about how it was made, but because he was slightly surprised that the Pope was interested in it.

Alexander VI was not much of a man but a cunning and successful diplomat, perhaps as a cunning and successful diplomat, as evidenced by the fact that he had created the papal meridian using the disputes in the Iberian Peninsula, or as a ruthless conspirator, as evidenced by the fact that many of his opponents had already gone to the grave, as can be seen from the fact that many of his opponents had already gone to the grave. However, there is never or very little mention of the fact that the Pope was in fact a leader of the Holy See with a high appreciation of art and a tolerant attitude towards new things.

In fact, Alexander did vaguely remember hearing that, despite the outrageous degeneration of the Holy See during the reign of Alexander VI, it was during this time that the papal restraint on the minds of the people was the most lenient in nearly a hundred years, even in the daunting Inquisition of the Iberian Peninsula.

"Do you like this place?" The Pope motioned for Alexander to sit down, and he looked at Alexander through the jumbled mass of things on the table, like a beast staring at its prey in the depths of the jungle.

Alexander reminded himself not to be fooled by what was in front of him, thinking that the old man on the other side would be easy to talk to, but in fact this man was a cold-blooded conspirator who could watch his son-in-law drink their family's characteristic Canterella poison to death, and he now seemed to be the one who inherited the identity of the hapless Giovanni Sforza who had become a dead ghost.

"It's chic."

"I like it here very much, because these gadgets can make me forget a lot of my troubles for a while," the Pope casually tossed a wooden figure, and the little man began to swing his arm and beat a small bronze bell in front of him until it slowly stopped, "You know, most people are like this puppet, in fact, they are just toys in other people's hands, just like this waterwheel, it is amazing to see that it is indeed constantly moving, but have you ever thought about it, is it moving like this from the beginning, where does the power that makes it move come from, Or what makes all this happen? ”

Alexander nodded silently, he knew that the Pope certainly wouldn't want to discuss with him the so-called "First Impulse", an age-old puzzle that even the world's smartest human elite would not be able to answer even for another 500 years, and that the Pope was actually telling him that he himself was nothing more than a puppet who could only be brought to life by being controlled and pushed.

Alexander, however, apparently disagreed, and walked around the table to the Pope to meet him.

"You and Lucrezia have a daughter, or you think I'm going to allow you to do whatever you want because of this, you're wrong, knowing that I could have let my grandson enjoy everything she wants, while sending her father to hell for his cleverness." The Pope's unrelenting words convinced Alexander once again that this man was indeed the patriarch of the Borgia family, who was known for his ruthlessness.

"But you won't do that," Alexander disagreed, "because I'm still useful to you." ”

"Is it because of that exchange?" The Pope looked at his cheap son-in-law, "The price of copper has fallen so much that many people have lost their money, and I have even heard that some people have committed suicide, which is against God." ”

"If you make money in business, you will lose money, and it will be too bad if those people can't even figure this out," Alexander will not feel sorry for those who want to die and live because of the loss of blood, in fact, even if he doesn't do this kind of thing, in a few decades, there will be people in Venice and the Low Regions who will slowly figure out this way, he just advanced a period of time or let those who still need a long time to figure out all kinds of money-trapping methods emerge all at once" The Fugol family will soon be in great trouble, Or maybe they're starting to be unlucky, they're going to be saddled with debts that even the entire family can't pay off because of the large loans and the sudden collapse in the price of copper, and the emperor they've always supported will be in financial trouble because there is no one to fund him. ”

"Yes, that's what you rely on?" The Pope asked quietly, he had heard a lot about the exchange, especially with the turmoil caused by the fall in the price of copper, and even the fluctuations in various other commodities caused by it, which made Alexander VI secretly frightened and excited at the same time.

The Pope was keenly aware that this was a good opportunity to make a fortune, so he had ordered the goods and other property in the hands of the bankrupt merchants to be bought at low prices, and because the price of copper had fallen, this even caused the value of the currency to fluctuate, so that the Pope's private treasury was already full in a short time.

This forced the Pope to admit that it would be better if Alexander was appointed as the treasurer of the Vatican, at least his methods of enriching the Pope felt that he was really happy.

However, this was obviously not enough, Alexander VI could not hesitate to sacrifice Giovanni Sforza, the son-in-law with the deep background and backing of the Sforza family, if Alexander could only collect money for him, he would not be able to impress him at all.

"And Pisa, Montina and Florence," Alexander took out his chips little by little, and he noticed that the Pope's expression moved slightly when he heard these places, which made him even more sure of his speculation, "Your Majesty, I know what you want, but I will not hand Romagna over." ”

The pope's loose eyelids flickered, and his eyes, which had always looked calm, became stern, and he stretched his chin slightly forward, and then asked slowly: "What are you talking about, do you think anyone would think of conquering Romagna?" ”

"Of course, hasn't it always been Giovanni's dream?"

Alexander's words made the pope, who had remained calm, move as if he had been lightly whipped.

He knew that Alexander was talking about his son Giovanni, and that he had been the pride of the Borgia family, on whom he had placed great hopes.

"If Giovanni wanted Romagna, I probably wouldn't have fought with him, but if it was Caesar, it's a different story entirely."

Hearing Alexander's unmistakable expression of his antipathy and hostility towards Caesar, the Pope's expression became more severe and cold, and he looked at Alexander coldly as if he were looking at a dead man, at this time he no longer concealed his thoughts at all, and even seemed so clear and clear: "Do you know that this is a challenge to me, that you want to be an enemy of the Borgias?" ”

"It's Caesar." Alexander shook his head, "I will not give him everything here, if he must be my enemy, I will fight back mercilessly, and even destroy him completely, even if he has the support of the French." ”

The Pope looked at Alexander in surprise, and wondered how he dared to say such a thing, knowing that there was no one who was not worried about the French invasion, and even in the city of Rome could hear all kinds of worries about the future that might arise, but Alexander didn't seem to be worried about this at all.

This could not but arouse the suspicion of the Pope, after all, judging by what Alexander had done so far, he really did not do anything to the detriment.

The Pope has noticed that every seemingly loss-induced or passive-driven action will only bring more benefits to himself, and even sometimes there seems to be more meaning behind his seemingly helpless compromises.

So what is he going to do this time, to come to Rome just to challenge himself?

Alexander VI did not think that his cheap son-in-law would do such a moot thing.

Sure enough, Alexander looked at the Pope and said in a soft but unusually firm tone: "Your Majesty, Estelles is the Duke of Pisa, and she is also the co-lord of Florence, and I must protect her interests as both a father and a regent of Pisa, so anyone who tries to encroach on my daughter's territory and rights at such times is my enemy, not even Caesar." ”

The Pope's expression was gloomy, and he was not surprised how Alexander could have guessed Caesar's ambitions for Romagna, in fact, since the day he voluntarily announced his resignation from the priesthood, many people have known Caesar's strong pursuit of secular power, and his unabashed expansion of the papal army proves this.

It's just that in Livorno, after Alexander taught Caesar a lesson in an almost utter way, he became much more cautious, which also made people think that the pope's son had suffered a crushing defeat and was disheartened, but only Alexander VI knew that the fiasco not only did not thwart Caesar, but made him more motivated and ambitious.

Alexander's victory made Caesar aware of the shortcomings of the Vatican army, especially the performance of the knights who had once made them proud of their past glory.

Alexander VI remembered that Caesar had mentioned more than once in an agitated tone the deep impressions that Alexander's army had left on him, and that the strict discipline that was definitely not comparable to the mercenaries made Caesar seem to have found a trick on how to train a strong army.

Caesar had great ambitions for Romagna, and he wanted to become the Duke of Romagna, but now it seems that Alexander did not want him to do so.

Alexander VI slowly stood up with a hesitant face, he has inevitably shown his old age in the past few years, which made Alexander suddenly think that the reason why he was so disregarded for his reputation, even the turmoil in the city, to look pampered Julia Farnay, maybe more to make others think that he was still in the prime of life and not aging.

After all, a healthy pope can make many people who are ready to move have scruples.

It's just that the Pope doesn't seem to want to hide the fact that he is old in front of Alexander.

"Isn't it true that being a member of the Borgia family can't satisfy your ambitions?" The Pope said slowly, "Isn't it better that you can be Caesar's arm, that you can help him achieve his ambitions, and at the same time you can achieve your goals, and that we are one family." ”

Looking at the Pope's expectant gaze, Alexander felt that if he were replaced by someone who didn't know this Borgia at all, maybe he would really consider this a good suggestion, after all, having the support of the Pope's father-in-law was enough to bring him more than enough.

Just the thought of the family's surname Borgia turned all the excitement into a smile of sarcasm.

"Your Majesty, Caesar wanted to be the master of Romagna, and this is absolutely unacceptable to me, so there can be no compromise between us, and you know this, but you still make such a proposal......"

Speaking of this, Alexander suddenly stopped, and he silently looked at the look that seemed to be on the Pope's face, and his expression slowly became serious.

"Caesar?" Alexander suddenly said as if he was asking.

"Yes, Caesar is here."

Seeing that Alexander seemed to finally understand something, Alexander waved his hand slightly, and as he slowly raised his hand, a small hidden door on the wall of the room slowly opened, and a figure slowly walked out of it.

The gold embroidered on the dark black coat looked intricate and ornate, the belt of a pair of boots tightly wrapped around the somewhat fat crimson rimmed trousers, and the outer sheath of the tapered armor-piercing sword that Alexander was familiar with on the belt slapped slightly against the outside of the thigh.

Caesar Borgia held a cute little hat studded with a jewel in his hand, and Alexander's pupils instantly shrank at the sight of that hat.

"Alexandre Juliant Cambrai," Caesar slowly walked not far in front of Alexander, his short bearded lower lip moved slightly, and when he saw the gloomy look on Alexander's face, he let out a sigh, "You should promise my father, as he said, we are family." It's disappointing that you rejected our kindness, but Lucrezia has always been a Borgia, and I can't help but admit that your daughter is really lovely. ”

As he spoke, Caesar lifted up his little hat and turned it gently in front of Alexander.