"By the way," added the Duchess of Brittany, "do you have anyone in Rome?" ”

Prince Orange pondered for a moment: "Yes, but are you referring to someone who can manage to get in touch with the Sistine?" ”

"Yes." Anne said, "If you may, please try to get the news of Louis XII's death directly to the Sistine, I don't ask for any one person, but I must let all the cardinals know about it." ”

Prince Orange bowed his head and took the order.

Ever since the Borgias began to send messages with carrier pigeons, many people have learned this method of discreet and swift communication, and Prince Orange was no exception, and when he returned to his room, and wrote to his nephew in Rome, a priest, and sprinkled sand on the parchment so that the ink could dry as quickly as possible, his eldest son came in—Prince Orange was nearly sixty years old, and his eldest son was in his forties, a calm and strong middle-aged man, and as soon as he saw the letterhead and paper on his father's desk, he knew that something important was to be passed onSure enough, his father held out his hand to him: "Give this to your cousin in Rome." ”

The Prince's eldest son took the letterbox, went out of the room, tied it to the pigeon's feet with his own hands, and watched the pigeon rush into the cobalt blue sky with the sound of the rain - the storm had passed, but the clouds still hung low over everyone's heads, and he looked into the distance covered by rain and mist, and returned to his father's room.

The prince glanced at him and was a little surprised: "Is there anything else?" He asked kindly, "If it's not very important, you should go and rest, we have to be busy tomorrow." ”

The eldest son of the prince thought for a moment, "It can be said that it is very important, but it is not so urgent. ”

Prince Orange tugged at a silk scarf and wiped his ink-stained fingers: "If I'm wrong, tell me - do you have a heart...... Pursuing a Kind Lady? ”

The eldest son of the prince once had a wife, and she left him three daughters and a son, but Madame Kindness was not the most suitable person for Prince Orange - not that Madame Kindness was bad, but to tell the truth, she was too good, she was very wealthy, and she had inherited a domain from her father and husband, and she was also a close friend and indispensable courtier of Duchess Anne, and Prince Orange was now in the court of Brittany, almost under one man, above ten thousand, if his son married Lady Kindness, Then the inner and outer courts of the Duchess were almost entirely in the hands of the Prince of Orange, who had to take into account the inevitable criticism and slander.

The Prince's eldest son whispered, "You know I've always loved her. But before he had a wife, a good lady and a husband, neither God nor the law would allow such disobedience to be made public in broad daylight.

"For political reasons, aside," said the Prince, "there is one more important thing for you to consider, my son, that the woman whom you love is a different creature from what is usually known as a woman—she will not be a so-called mistress who willingly resides in a castle or an estate, and our Majesty will not allow her to spend the rest of her life with her husband and children, and she may spend half or more of a year with the king, and your castle will remain unmanned, Your children need your nurturing and guidance, and they will be missing the important role of motherhood in their lives...... Wait, I still have something to say, my child. The Prince looked at him solemnly: "There are only nine people who can enter that room today, and we have sworn to Your Majesty, with our honor, our lives, and our souls, because ...... The king of the French ......," he sneered, "certainly not by drunkenness or violent illness. ”

"Father's ......"

"It had never occurred to me before this to-night to learn how to twist a needle and hold a thread," said the Prince, pressing his hand firmly on the arm of his chair so as not to tremble with the recollection: "Louis XII's hands were cut off, but it was not a fatal wound, the deadliest part was his throat, which was almost worn off—have you seen Madame Kindness's arm?" Look at the strangulation marks above, they must match the ones on the king's neck, because they were caused by a rope, and it wasn't even our duke who really killed the king, but the lady! He leaned out of his chair and leaned out of his upper body, "She strangled the king's neck before His Majesty could cut off the king's hands!" ”

"And you know, a man who kills the king must be held accountable, both men and women, and first have his limbs broken, his belly cut open, his body torn into pieces by horses, and his head raised with spears......"

"Father!"

"My son, how dare you let such a woman lie next to you?!" Prince Orange said angrily: "If a wife loses the love of her husband, she has nothing but to cry and wail, but in the case of a kind lady, a woman who kills kings, she is a living Medea!" (note 1), and if so, if she escapes to your majesty, I may not be able to avenge you! ”

"Then don't avenge me!" The prince's eldest son calmed down at this time: "Father, if this is the case, I deserve it. ”

"You will be the enemy of many." The prince said, "Brittany, and France, with such fertile territory that no one can shelter her but Your Majesty, and her husband will surely be the target of public criticism." ”

"Wanting treasures, and not wanting to anger the dragon," said the prince's eldest son, "how can such a good thing be?" He said firmly: "I will enter into a marriage contract with her as long as she wishes, father, and it does not matter whether she can fulfill the duties of a mistress, since wives can follow their husbands, and husbands can follow their wives, and the affairs of the castle are already taken care of by a credible knight, and the manor has a clerk, and as for the court, you will be enough—it will be enough for me to have a common heir with her, and to combine our coats of arms into one...... As for Your Majesty, Madame's daytime is hers, and nighttime is mine, and I don't think she will allow that. ”

Prince Orange did not remember that he had such a sensual son.

He didn't know whether to be angry, or confused, or to laugh, and he could barely speak, "You're forty years old," and finally he said dryly, "Your son is sixteen years old, and I don't think he could have said that even when he was thirteen." ”

"Because I'm forty years old." The eldest son of the prince said gently: "Father, I used to hesitate, and at the age of sixteen, the result was to lose her. ”

——————

Regardless of how the bloody and treacherous murder in distant Brest gave birth to a fiery love affair, and how the Duchess Anne carried out a catastrophic purge in the fortified castle while the storm had not stopped, the city of Rome remained calm, as Leo X had kindly conceived before his abdication, and soon after the cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel, the Lent period began, and the cardinals had three days before the royal decree of Gregory X in 1247, You can also enjoy fish, as well as seabirds or sea beasts, such as seals and gulls (because these creatures are also considered fish at this time), the food is sumptuous and delicious, as well as wine and ale, and cheerful and delicate sparkling wine, which is reminiscent of young girls in both colour and taste, and is very popular with cardinals who are not good at drinking.

"You know what?" One cardinal said to his neighbor: "This is also from the Medici family. ”

"It's just a new wine." His neighbor said this lightly, but he couldn't help but take a big sip at once, in the sixteenth century, when there were no carbonated drinks, no one could forget the feeling of being able to dance in the tongue and throat as long as he tasted it, but the cardinal was so sure only because the Medici had already negotiated a price with his family, his family had several vineyards that were rich in grapes, and because the grapes were prolific but the winemaking technique was not good, so they could only get a meagre and not so great return, But this grape, and the groundwater from which the vineyard is located, could not be better for this sparkling wine.

Unlike Alexander VI and other papal candidates, who gave direct gifts of estate, vineyards, or large sums of money, the Medici were also out and about, but at most they gave recipes, contracts, and even pointers—the cardinals got more of a set of fishing gear than a basket of fish, and as long as they maintained their ties with the Medici, the Golden Florin would pour into their pockets like a gushing fountain of water.

It's just that they can't help but mutter, because the Medici's move is undoubtedly to extend the short-lived deal between the cardinals and the new pope to the entire term of office or ...... Further, if Alexander VI had signed the same kind of pact with Cardinal Grande Lovere, no, they would never have done it, and the two would not have believed in each other, or even in themselves – then would they have to believe in the Medici? Or are they going to believe in themselves?

Most of the cardinals were worried, did they just kill the hen and boil it into soup to drink? Or wait for it to slowly offer itself eggs? Of course, in the long run, the eggs that can be eaten, stored, and hatched every day will be more appealing to them, but who knows if the hen will turn around and peck out their eyes when she turns into a falcon?

They didn't forget, Giulio. The Medici's teacher was Pius III, while his classmate was Julius II.

Everyone knows that if the church is not reformed, it will inevitably lead to a terrible road of destruction, but no one wants to bear the pain and hurt of reform...... No one wants to, almost all the cardinals, they just want to continue to maintain their current power and glory, as well as to maintain and expand their family power......

George. Morality. Amboise, who had not received a reply from the king for a long time, kept his little hope and waited bitterly, and at the same time he did not forget to continue to maneuver among the cardinals, and to secure even a possible supporter for himself.

During the day, the cardinals gather together and vote twice in the morning and in the afternoon – each ballot has to be written with the name of the person they have in mind, the ballot has no list of candidates, and the cardinals can nominate anyone in red except themselves – and interestingly, for the first three days, no one received more than a third of the votes.

From the fourth day onwards, after a day of prayer and brief conversations and devotional counsel by the cardinals who were eligible for election, the cardinals had only one meal a day, which remained as rich as it had been, and the cardinals began to quietly hide preserves and bread for breakfast and dinner.

Sure enough, even on the ninth day, when there was only one huge dry bread and water every day, the struggle between the cardinals was not over—both for others and for themselves, until the thirteenth day, in the ominous number, finally came to fruition. Morality. Amboise & Giulio. The Medici became the only two candidates, and they were no longer allowed to vote, but only to see who could get more than two-thirds of the vote.

Cardinal George's eyes were blue, in just a few days, thin as a skeleton, he was indeed a capable man, even if his hands were empty, but with the power and promises of the past, as well as the friendship between the King of France and him, and the many secrets and power he received from the King, he even fought for a group of people to stand on his side, although he was at a disadvantage for the time being, but some neutrals were indeed a little hesitant - the Medici family was still a little weaker.

But the result always has to happen, just as the dawn always replaces the darkness.

The trays on the bronze doors of the Sistine Chapel swirled and rolled, and on the trays were bread, water, and some medicines needed by the cardinals, many of whom were old—Ezio stood on a bell tower and looked at the courtyard behind the Sistine Chapel, where a small but piercing light flickered at different intervals, and Machiavelli beside him quickly scribbled and scribbled on the paper into words, and the whole process was short, perhaps only a few minutes, It's just a short sentence.

"Action!" Machiavelli said.

——————

In the middle of the night, all the cardinals, with the exception of Cardinal George, could not help but open their eyes wide for the information they had received.

Louis XII is dead!

That is to say, George. Morality. Most of the promises made by Cardinal Amboise have been counted, and everyone knows that he did not have a good relationship with Anne, Queen of France, now Queen Mother, who was now Queen Mother.

If there was only this information, the cardinals might only feel regret, but the second information made them angry!

The grave that Georges, de Amboise, had dug for himself was finally opened.

———————

Machiavelli let the last pigeon go.

"Do you want to let it go?" Duarte came with two cages, and the two sturdy pigeons inside cooed restlessly and went around the cages.

"Let it go." Machiavelli said: "They are no longer an obstacle now. ”

Their plan nearly ruined the gods of the Duchess of Brittany—compared to the others, Giulio. The Medici preferred to let George. Morality. Amboise became his last opponent, after all, his key was already in their hands, but if the cardinals knew that Amboise had lost their only support before the two candidates were chosen, who knows how the situation would change?

"Is there anything else we can do?" Ezio stretched out his hand, opened the cage, watched the pigeon fly away, looked at the two people in the room, and asked.

"Get some sleep, get up early, drink some mead," Duarte said with a little tiredness and a little joy, "and then ...... Cheer. ”

- Tomorrow morning there will be a gaghaha in this chapter.

If a reader finds that the chapter is incoherent, turn to the previous chapter to brush it, and each chapter may have a thousand words, or two thousand words ranging from two thousand words to the addition, which is to thank the genuine readers so the number of welfare words, not counting the number of paid words.

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