Jim. Sultan, the Romans called him that, but in the ears of Cem, the title could almost be called a mockery - Sultan is not a surname, it means king, ruler, call him Jem. Sultan, it's like calling him Jem. The king - but he could not refute, nor could he protest, he never forgot that he was no longer the second son of Mehmed II the "Conqueror", the prince of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, one of the heirs of this vast empire, but a slave, a hostage - since he failed to compete for the throne with his brother Bayezet in 1481 and fled to Rhodes in disarray, hoping for the help of the Knights Hospitaller, only to be sold by them to Pope Innocent VIII at the time, Innocent VIII initially tried to use him to threaten Bayezid II to withdraw from Europa, but after negotiations, he instead imprisoned Cem in Rome on behalf of Bayezid II at a price of 30,000 gold ducats per year, in order to prevent him from escaping and regrouping and threatening his brother's sultanship.

Jem never gave up his ambitions, he kept waiting, Innocent VIII died, he tried to try to move the former's successor, Alexander VI, but as we know, Alexander VI was a guy who was more greedy and shameless than Innocent VIII, not only did he not release Jem, on the contrary, he was more closely monitored and obvious, although he never skimped on Jem's spending on wine and women - but this kind of behavior like raising livestock is more likely to make people fall into despair.

If Jem didn't think of something more terrible, of course it was false, but when it came, Jem almost went crazy - unlike Innocent VIII, who was still a little ambitious, Alexander VI had his sights set on Italy, and he longed for Italy, and Alexander VI hesitated when Batset II offered to exchange 300,000 gold ducats or more for Jem's life.

Have you ever tried what it's like to die every day, every hour, every minute? When you hug a woman, will a dagger be pierced in the back? Or was he thrown to the ground by a frightened horse, trampled to death, or dragged to death while hunting? It's also possible that while you're sleeping, someone opens the window and lets the harsh winter air do their job; Of course, according to the Borgia tradition, he may be replaced by Miguel. Corero, their royal assassin, was hanged in any place around a rope; Or while drinking a glass of wine and eating a delicious piece of ham, he was poisoned by the Bolgia family's secret poison "Canterella", and died bitterly, and after death it was rotten and swollen?

Alexander VI died suddenly, and Caesar. Since Borgia remembered to loot the money and jewels in the Vatican Palace, he certainly did not forget Jem, and he sent a few men to forcibly rob Jem from his house and imprison him in a gloomy little mausoleum. Jem didn't feel much horror in his days with bones and sarcophagi, perhaps because he was almost like a dead man, but until someone took him from the Templars and brought him to Julio. In front of the Medici, he realized that he was also a coward, and his desire to live could almost make him kneel in front of a man who was enough to be his son.

He's going to face Giulio. The Medici, this realization made his tense nerves relax a little, although he was not very familiar with Giulio, but from Luclaycia he still heard a lot about Giulio, if Luclecia was not lying, and was not blinded, this person was not too greedy, or cruel by nature, and he rarely even mocked and tortured others.

Julio pointed to a chair and asked Jem to sit down. Jim. The Sultan was in his prime, and his dark skin was smooth and shiny in his youth, and he looked vigorous, but under the triple blow of time, wine, and worry, they had already been covered with a gray mist, and they looked greasy and dirty—he was dressed almost like an Italian, and even his accent was almost the same as that of a Roman—and his hostage life was almost equal to half of his life.

"I didn't expect that," it was Jem who spoke first, and he looked at Julio, who was still a young man with infinite hope when he first met this man. The Medici was still a child: "I thought Borgia would be the victor in the end." He smiled, "No, I'm not saying you're not strong enough, or smart enough—it's that you, well, aren't vicious enough, not cruel enough, and you're going to be in the company of a bunch of poisonous snakes, and I thought you'd be devoured by them sooner or later, and you wouldn't have a bone left." ”

"Indeed," said Giulio, who bent slightly to him in respect, then said calmly, "Sultan, Borgia has proven this—perhaps violence and intrigue can triumph temporarily, but the throne that is built on it will be more difficult to secure than the sands of the sea, and when the resentment and hatred hidden beneath the throne come against them, they cannot escape or resist it. ”

"I wish I had my brother Bayeset come and hear this," Jem let out a bitter laugh, "My failure is not that I am not strong enough, my lord, it was he who poisoned our father, but I believed his words and made peace with him, but he attacked me, and I had to flee to Rhodes, and he claimed that I had surrendered to their enemies, and he convinced the people that I was a cowardly villain, a useless waste, but if it was true, my lord, Why would he ask your Pope to imprison me in Rome for 40,000 gold ducats a year, and be willing to exchange 300,000 gold ducats or more for my life if I really don't pose any threat to him. He said with hatred: "Why is he so afraid of me? ”

"Maybe he just doesn't want to make a fuss?" Giulio said.

"I'm not reconciled." Jem whispered, "I was not defeated by him with dignity, as you said, I am a poor man who was defeated by a conspiracy, if I could ......"

He stopped abruptly because he hadn't been able to get out of Giulio. There was a hint of pity on the Medici's face.

“…… Then," after a moment of silence, he asked, "What are you going to do with me?" ”

"Same as before." Giulio said, "Except that you cannot leave Rome, you cannot break the law, and you cannot worship your gods, you can go on with your life in peace and prosperity." ”

"That's the only way?"

"That's the only way."

Jem stood up from his chair, "Maybe." He said, "But if you have anything else to do with me, do so as soon as possible," he said, pointing to his white sideburns, "and I'm getting old." ”

"By the way," he said before leaving, "watch out for Miguel. Corero, if you haven't caught him yet, hang him. ”

——————

Wait for Jem. The Sultan left, and Giulio leaned back in his chair, hesitating whether he should continue to see the second man.

Eventually, he summoned the guards and asked him to take Duarte. Blandao brought.

Duarte himself, although he was Pope Alexander VI when he was only a bishop, accompanied him, and was well accomplished by Rodrigo. Borgia trusted, but few knew him—he was scarcely visible at feasts and feasts, but often in the shadow of the conspiracies, and those who hated him said that this lord had been found by Rodrigo from a ship in which slave prisoners were sailors, and that he was not only less religious, but also a heretic and devilish worshipper, and that he was only used for filthy and despicable means, just to satisfy the needs of the evil family of Borgias.

Julio. The second person the Medici asked Ezio and his companions to search for and imprison on their behalf was Duarte. Brendao.

Duarte was in a better spirits than Jem, although he was much older than the former, his beard had turned from jet black to gray over time, but there were almost no wrinkles on his face, he was slender and a little lame when he walked, because he wanted to resist when he was caught by Ezio - his swordsmanship was quite good for a civilian, but a bit for a master assassin......

He was also much more relaxed than Jem, Giulio didn't show him a seat, he walked over and sat on the soft carpet, the distance made the monk next to Giulio a little nervous, but Giulio just waved his hand: "You go down." ”

"But......" The monk was clearly reluctant to leave.

Julio casually took the silver letter opener on the small table, and with the force of his right and left hands at the same time, he bent it almost to the end with a click: "All right," he said, "I can deal with this guy, and he has no weapons." ”

Duarte watched the monk walk out, leaving him and Giulio alone in the room. Medici.

"What do you want to say to me?" He asked.

"Holy Vault." Giulio said that even the new popes and cardinals, who had been prepared, were stunned when they saw such a treasury so empty that even flying insects could not survive...... They thought that although people often joked that horses could be raced in the Holy Treasury, at least about half a million gold ducats should be hidden here, after all, Alexander VI left suddenly—even if in the end, the Borgias could almost be said to be frantically collecting money, but at least, the operation of the Holy See must continue—the Holy See did not live on tithes and tributes, etc., they also did business, lent money, and bought and sold real estate, These were to be lubricated and even flowed by the Golden Ducat, or the Golden Floroline, and the clergy of the Holy See and the officials of Rome had to pay a fee......

But the holy treasury is empty.