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Chapter 279: The Storm in Brest (I)

The doors and windows of the Sistine Chapel were tightly sealed, but the hearts of the people inside would never be sealed. The Medici took the opportunity to grab their tails, but after a few days of torture, they discovered that Giulio. The Medici didn't seem to be as impersonal as they thought they were—the doves that flew down on the windowsill of the Sistine Chapel, the notes hidden in the bread, the pre-prepared code words (usually the type of food in place of a cardinal, and then the quantity or weight to represent the price he was willing to pay), and the whispers in the corridors and small halls late at night......

Giulio also carefully considered whether to intervene in the transactions between the cardinals, but just as Leo X abolished the Seven Decrees of Julius II immediately after his accession to the throne, Giulio did not immediately turn everything on the right track, the carriage of the church was almost rotten, and it carried the whole of Christendom, and if the horse stumbled, Julio did not even want to think about the consequences—sometimes, he would laugh at himself, because in his opinion, bribery and bribery in exchange for the papal throne were all about his deeds, It is possible to go extinct only after getting him.

Julio. The message sent by the Medici reassured the cardinals, what were they most afraid of? It is feared that there will be another reckless young man like Julius II, or an unscrupulous villain like Alexander VI, like Leo X, even if he squandered more, they can only be happy and encouraged. The Medici may not be as generous as his brother, but at least he is willing to play by the rules of the game - the Medici are not very saddling, they say, most of them are shares...... The trade in wine, spices, dyes, lanolin, cashmere, glass and mirrors certainly made them rich, but the cardinals were a little unaccustomed to it, especially since Giulio still held on to his power, and it is said that only the cardinals of the former line of Pius III could remain in Rome.

Of course, this is a bargain, but for some, not to say that to be equal to the son of the lowly merchant, or even more so to negotiate or plead, if possible, they would rather go straight to hell and dance face to face with the devil.

The closest to Giulio was George, who had been in prison a few days earlier. Morality. Cardinal Amboise, who had heard of the Medici's offer from a priest whom he had bribed, jumped up from his chair and viciously smashed the glass full of wine on the floor.

The priest who had come to report the news was startled, and immediately threw himself down, wiped the water with his robes, and carefully collected all the fragments of the cup.

"Please be quiet," he cried out, with a slight grumbling in his words, for it was common for priests to accept bribes, but he had only read the new canon law, and although there seemed to be nothing in it that he had already violated, he had a clever and nimble mind, and could not help but be frightened by the numerous pitfalls in it, and if it were not for Cardinal George's rights in addition to money, he might not have continued to obey the frustrated cardinal's orders": "Be quiet, my lord, if you are ...... I found out, that's a big deal. ”

Cardinal George's thigh muscles tensed instantly, as he wanted to kick the stupid donkey from one end of the room to the other, but he held back, the priest was also not allowed to leave the Sistine, he might not have a chance to buy a second eyeliner, he could only turn his head away, staring at the jumping candle flame, and countless curses welling up in his heart, as if this would leave his common enemy with Louis XII dead.

This clergyman, or someone who is unaware of the dealings between the Medici and Louis XII, will not understand Cardinal Georges' mood at this time.

In 1498, the Borgia family had decided to turn their backs on Giulio. Medici - The best way for this venom-soaked family to avoid possible retribution from this talented young man was to destroy his soul and body together, but because the Duchess of Brittany was willing to be the protector of the priesthood, and Louis XII, who had not yet signed a marriage contract with him, intervened to curry favor with the beauties, he intervened to stop the atrocities of the Borgias.

Cardinal George was so annoyed that he had persuaded the king to show kindness to the Medici - how could he not have discovered that this seemingly gentle and cowardly young man was a frozen viper, but they had warmed him up in his chest, and when he had recovered he gave his savior a hard bite!

But Cardinal Georges was as helpless as Louis XII today, and the Medici family had offered the French king the recipe for a glass mirror in order to redeem Giulio. The Medici, when France was still strong, they didn't even dare to let their mirror trade cross the borders of the Tuscany region, but as soon as the battle of Ravenna was over, when he was still in the prison of Castel Sant'Angelo, he heard from the French who were raising ransom that it was difficult for the royal family's mirrors to sell for a high price, and although the Medici family's glass and mirrors had not yet been able to occupy all the markets, their prices still made the merchants willing to wait, as long as they paid a small deposit, and waited for a few months, You can get three times the profit, who wouldn't want to do it? And mirrors and glass are not like wheat, they are daily necessities that cannot be put on hold, and they will not be cut short due to climate change...... Before the closure of the Sistine Chapel, Cardinal George was desperate for a large sum of money - he had lent Louis XII a full 100,000 gold ducats, and he now wanted to get half of it back, but Louis XII's messenger could only reply with a wry smile that Louis XII had cut off the jeweled buttons on his clothes just because of the settlement fee paid to redeem him.

"But...... But if we don't do anything more," said Cardinal George, recovering in his chair, exhausted to himself, "we are going to lose – and our enemy can win the easiest victory ever." ”

They had secretly joined forces with Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire, and with the help of Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Netherlands, they were able to bring Ardrian. Florisson. Boins's ascension to the Pope's throne, of course, they knew that Buins's death-defying lung disease might only be a few months, but it took God only seven days, a hundred days, or even two hundred days to create the world, and no one could guess what would happen after that......

Who knew that the coward was so weak that he would rather prostrate himself in front of a child who was only half his age than enjoy this honorable glory? His betrayal led to the fact that Rome now had almost no power available to them, and Cardinal Cisneros of Spain saw this, and immediately reversed the wind, no matter how much George tried to persuade him, he just pretended to be stupid, as if the people who were full of resentment and curse against Giulio and Medici during those days in Castel Sant'Angelo had nothing to do with him.

Without Spain, without the Holy Roman Empire, without the Netherlands, George was now the only one he could launch, and he knew that the Medici were not offering a high price, perhaps because they also realized that Giulio. The Medici had almost no enemies, and if the real money was substantial enough, he might still be able to impress some cardinals—but his meager money was so shabby that he couldn't even look down on himself, let alone his colleagues who were as greedy as the demon king of hell.

He could only seize the last moment, cry out on parchment, and ask Louis XII for help—whatever the price now, if he could become pope, they would always get more—and he knew that the king was now overstretched, so he promised many future positions of the Holy See in his letters, and even hinted that if the princes and lords of France were willing to support him, he could follow Alexander VI's example, that is, if there were no vacancies in the position of cardinal, he would create vacancies!

The parchment was rolled up and tied to the pigeon's lap, and Cardinal George carried it to the window with his own hands, threw it into the sky, and watched it fly away in the moonlight before finally relieving himself.

What he could not see was that the pigeon had just left the confines of the Sistine Chapel when it was seized and taken down by a trained eagle, and Duarte, who was waiting in front of the window, reached out and grabbed the pigeon that was cooing in horror, untied the brass pipe from his paws, pulled out the parchment and opened it, "Just generous," he handed the note to Machiavelli, who sat down at once, and copied it in the bright candlelight, according to Cardinal George's handwriting, he left the original, and exchanged the copied note for Duarte, Duarte put the brass tube back in its original form, dripping with beeswax – stamped with Cardinal George's pastoral badge, and then comforted the pigeon with milk-soaked corn kernels before releasing it.

Ezio walked over, picked up the note, and stared at the wheat-like words on it for a long time before he sighed, "I don't know how the cardinals feel when they read it. ”

"The bargaining will be a little lower." Machiavelli sarcastically quipped, "After all, they have to add their own lives—if they don't take it too lightly." ”

"It's up to His Highness to decide," Duarte said, and the other two nodded in agreement.

"To get that ......," Ezio glanced at the next room, "you know?" ”

"Don't worry him too much." Machiavelli said: "If he worries too much, he will get sick – he can be cured with cream cakes, honey muffins, puffs and preserved meat, and wine." ”

"I'm going to tell Your Highness next time, don't give us such a job again, it's too difficult, it's too difficult, it's too difficult!" Neither Alexander VI nor Giulio frowned at Duarte's work, saying, "I say, why didn't our former pope carry out his true duty with such energy and wisdom?" If so, we wouldn't be in such a hurry. ”

"Obviously," Machiavelli quipped, "for this lord, even if the four 'knights' (referring to the four horsemen of the apocalypse of plague, war, death, and hunger that come to the end of the world) come directly into the world, it doesn't matter if all of humanity are destroyed, as long as he is left with a baker." ”

"Don't say that." Ezio turned from the window, knowing Joe better than Machiavelli and Duarte. The Medici, Joe may be mediocre in talent, and even more laughable compared to Giulio, but he also has a conscience and character that is not inferior to the former. The Master Assassin habitually pressed his hands on his belt, his sharp gaze skimming over the two of them: "You should know who was the last person who gave up the glory of the nations. ”

Machiavelli and Duarte were silent, for they knew of course that the Gospel of Luke said that the devil had brought Jesus to a high mountain, and he pointed to all the nations below, saying, "I will give you all this power and glory, because it was given to me, and I will give it to whomever I will." As long as you are willing to worship me.

Jesus refused.

Although the authority of the church today is not comparable to that of hundreds of years ago, in Christendom, Joe used to have the most glorious and supreme position, and asked himself, if they had been replaced by Duarte or Machiavelli, would they really have given up such honor? I'm afraid I can't, but Joe can, without a trace of hesitation, without a trace of hesitation.

"I'm sorry." Duarte said.

"I'm sorry too." Machiavelli followed suit.

"I know you're ...... the past few days. It's not easy," said Ezio, for he too, and on the long road of the Saints, people are not too anxious, but when they can see the sword-wielding angel statue in Castel Sant'Angelo, they will be uncontrollably agitated: "But it is because this is the last moment of the most critical moment, we have to be more calm and rational, Giulio is now in the Sistine Chapel, including Joe, the people here, are his trusted pillars, do we still have to attack each other in order to gain peace of mind?" ”

Duarte took a deep breath: "You're right. He shook his head: "It's my fault, I'm too nervous." ”

Machiavelli didn't speak, but there was a rare apology on his face.

"What do you think," Joe. The Medici, the former pope, tiptoed out of the door before saying to Madame Madeleine, who was with him: "If I push the door in, will they allow me to eat an extra plate of cake tomorrow because of their apologies?" ”

"I don't think so." "They say a little too much," said Madeleine, "but when I was so busy with my hands and feet that my heart burned like coals, there was a man around me who was either lying on the bed or on the couch, drinking wine or biting on preserves or tasting cakes, and I wanted to put his head in the gutter too." ”