Before the feast of St. Nicholas (December 6) in 1509, the League of Cambrai existed in name only, and Louis XII's 50,000 troops were entrenched in Milan, which had been occupied by the Spaniards, and the Milanese were almost numb, and had no desire to resist such a Grand Duke of Milan, and the Venetians were also forced to retreat to Romagna in front of such a large army - Louis XII, who had won many victories, was high-spirited and invincible, and his only regret now was that he could not intercept Pope Julius II in Rome, But he was confident that his soldiers would soon catch the Pope, and what should he do when that time comes? Bring him back to France? Imprisoned, or let some kind of accident happen to him? So that his dear friend Cardinal George could become the new Lord of the Holy See? Louis XII could not be sure, he needed to think about it.

But at this time a knight of the Imperial Decree reported to him that a man who had come to Milan alone had said that he had very important news to tell the king of the French, that this news would be of great use to the king, and that he hoped to receive a reward commensurate with it.

"Who is he?" One of the counts, who were sitting next to the king, asked, a Neapolitan, a Frenchman, yes, one of the descendants of Robert of Anjou's courtiers, who had served Charles VIII and had rebelled because he was not valued by him, and this time he met Louis XII and offered his loyalty to the king of France, and Louis XII had the audacity to accept him, not minding what he had done—as Giulio had deduced, Louis XII would not be satisfied with the title of Grand Duke of Milan, He wanted to be the king of Naples even more.

"A mercenary," said the knight of the edict, "but he claimed that he had been knighted for saving a king, and had been given a small fief. ”

"Sounds like a lord." Louis XII said nonchalantly, he did not think that a mercenary, even if he had saved a king, was given knights and domains, could bring him any important news, he picked up the venison on the plate, and took a sip of the wine inside: "Then ...... let him come." He wanted to say this, but the earl beside him stretched out his hand to hint, and the king did not go on, but saw what he had to suggest.

"If this is not the nonsense of a stupid commoner," said the Count, "then I can probably guess who it is, Your Majesty," he bowed to Louis XII, "do you remember the Ralph I once mentioned to you?" A cunning hyena? He was lucky enough to get the life of his illegitimate son (referring to the king of Naples) at the Battle of Seminala, so he was made a knight and received a fief, but you also know that people who don't even have a family name or family like this don't deserve such glory. ”

"Alas," said Louis XII with a smile, "I remember that a man of humble origin, but who had the heart to climb to a high position, was not he driven out by you?" ”

"Maggots like this," said the Earl, "how can it be enough to drive them away?" As soon as he smelled the smell of blood and gold, he would immediately pounce on him again - Your Majesty, it is not a shame for you to give such a filthy villain the right to see you, and for your courtiers, please let me go, I promise, every word he says will be carefully discerned by me, and if he is lying, I will cut his tongue, break his hands and feet, tie him to the wheels, and let the winter wind punish him, but if he says anything important, I will come to you at once to repay you. ”

Louis XII hesitated slightly, but out of trust in the count (at least on the surface), he was not willing to dismiss his request lightly, and he hated mercenaries in his heart, especially those who usurped power in a low capacity by force and conspiracy, such as Francesco, who had been employed by the Visconti family, but who had taken Milan, which had been ruled by the Visconti family for generations, by means of the bond of lie and marriage. Sforza – His ancestor, Muzio Sforza, had been a wealthy peasant and had worked for the Valois-Anjou family of Naples, meaning that they were nothing more than wretches who could manipulate their lives and deaths with a few gold coins.

Who knows, they can actually turn against the guest, and even become the master of the master.

Thinking of this, a feeling of boredom suddenly welled up in Louis XII's heart, although he knew that the count of Naples also had his own selfishness, but compared to a noble man with a family, a surname, and a thousand ties with Robert of Anjou, a small mercenary was certainly not worth mentioning, he smiled and waved his hand, and asked the knight of the royal decree to take the count to the mercenary.

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Ralph sat in the tent, which was very rudimentary, the cowhide still seemed to smell of tanning potion, there was no carpet on the floor, only a thin layer of dirt, the furniture was only a crooked chair, the texture of which was not much different from the wooden nails that held the tent in place, the door of the tent (a piece of cowhide that could be rolled up and lowered) hung down, but through the gap there were several soldiers with spears outside the tent, and they did not allow Ralph to go out of the tent, nor did he allow him to look around, Even Ralph's request for a drink was denied.

This treatment was undoubtedly quite disappointing for Ralph.

From the bottom of my heart, although he already had a good family business in Cadiz, and his benefactor, the archbishop of Florence, Giulio. The Medici also gave him quite a lot of money and commissions - just like the broker of the bank, he also had dividends for the sale of artillery and arquebuses, but in Ralph's heart, there were still regrets, after all, in the hearts of mercenaries, the power of the bishop was in heaven, and the lords of the earth were kings and dukes, and he still longed to be the king's knight, fight for him, and get fiefs and titles.

Ralph wasn't sure if his ever-smiling benefactor had guessed his thoughts, and he probably hadn't, or he wouldn't have let Ralph do it—he could have had it done by his priests or Assassins—even though Ralph did have a status as a "Spanish artillery merchant".

I have to say that Ralph does have a little guilt in his heart, because Julio. The Medici trusted and valued him, but he said to himself that he was still a warrior after all, and that being a broker for a bishop could not be as good as wielding a sword for a king, and that he would not betray his former benefactor, who did not want Louis XII to know that the news had come from him, so why could he not use this merit to get a job in front of the king and get ahead? He didn't think he was inferior to any knight or lord!

He thought so, and when the heavy footsteps of the knight and the other man sounded outside the tent again, he could not help but nervously straighten his coat and neckline, Louis XII should not have come to see him easily, so could it be his close minister, or his messenger?

The door of the tent was lifted, and the knight of the edict came in first, and then another man, Ralph squinted, and the man who came was carrying the light, and the dim light in the tent made it impossible for him to identify him immediately, but from the silver spurs and gold chains of the man who came, it was clear that he must be a nobleman—Ralph stepped forward and was about to salute, but he was struck in the face with a fierce scabbard, and he fell to the ground, his mind buzzing, and his mouth was fishy.

Ralph reflexively pressed to his waist and felt empty, only to remember that his weapons had been confiscated before entering the tent.

"I don't think there will be anyone but you," said the man in a contemptuous tone, as he crossed over Ralph's head and sat down on the only chair, "what the wild dogs that are always roaming the battlefield in search of rotten flesh and bones, and what the hell they want to do here?" ”

Ralph had heard the voice, he was the most disdainful of him and the other two mercenary captain-turned-knights in the Neapolitan court, and he did have a prestigious birth and a glorious surname, but so what? On the battlefield, he failed to even defend his king, and the king of Naples was very dissatisfied with him, and gave him some punishment, which to Ralph was completely painless, but for the count, it was not the case, he considered himself a great disgrace, and besides the king of Naples, he hated nothing more than the three mercenary captains who showed him how useless he was by his actions - the death of those two mercenary captains, and Ralph's forced flight, were inseparable from him.

"I want to see the king!" Ralph shouted, struggling to get up, and though he had spent a lot of time in Cadiz, it only took a few minutes for Ralph to knock him down, take away his weapon, and give him a taste of defeat again.

But the knight of the edict only waved his hand and let the soldiers outside the door in, and their spears restrained Ralph, leaving him to his knees in humiliation.

"If there's anything you want to say, you can say it." The knight of the edict said.

"I can't say until I see the king." Ralph insisted, but he was immediately hit again—the Count kicked him in the head, and blood ran down his forehead, stinging his eyes.

"Not everyone is qualified to see the king," said the knight, regardless of how he had promised him when he received Ralph's five hundred gold florins, "and if you have anything to say, say to this venerable lord." ”

Ralph's heart sank suddenly, he pressed his forehead, wiped away the blood, and barely saw the two faces in front of him full of ridicule and contempt—he suddenly understood, maybe his seemingly gentle and amiable benefactor was not ignorant of his dissenting intentions, but he also knew that no one but him could give enough respect and recognition to a down-and-out mercenary captain, no matter how strong, smart, and brave Ralph was, he could not compare to a noble surname—no matter what kind of business he did, For these people, he will always be just a slave, if he can achieve the same level as Francesco. Sforza-like achievement, then he is a shameless thief.

There is no second place in the world that awaits him except Cadiz.

He couldn't help but feel a deep sense of shame for himself a few minutes ago, he was crazy to make the same mistake a second time...... At the same time he felt fortunate that these arrogant lords had once again generously made him realize how shallow and ignorant he was.

Ralph bowed his head and made a humble gesture, he heard the laughter of these people, and vowed that one day, he would shove it back into their throats with his own hands.

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At about the same time, in the courtyard of the castle of Segovia, far away in Toledo, the capital of Spain, a grand bonfire lit up the face of Crown Prince Charles, who was only nine years old this year, but who was tall and strong, and whose beautiful face was full of excitement, and Cardinal Cisneros stood behind him, carefully watching over his new master, as Charles threw into the fire the so-called "holy relics" that had been found in the chapel, the prayer room, and his mother's bedchamber.

"Sinners! Blasphemer! His mother, Queen Juana I of Spain, was screaming frantically, and at first, Charles would still be frightened, because his mother would not hesitate to strike him because he had made a mistake, her hands were often heavy, and her nails often left deep marks on his delicate skin, but his grandfather, an envoy sent by Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire, immediately pressed his shoulder, and he immediately came to his senses - he did not need to be afraid of this mad woman anymore, his grandfather brought in the army, At the beheavath of Cardinal Sisneros, he captured the castle of Segovia, arrested his mother, and was about to put him on the throne of the King of Spain.

He was a king, and his mother was just a madwoman who could only spend her life in a monastery at best.

Charles ordered the soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire to tie his mother to a chair and then threw all the "holy relics" he found into the fire and burned them. This is what he wants to do the most, and he has been thinking about it for a long time!

What holy things to say! He thought hatefully, it should be said that it is a token of love!

The envoys of the Holy Roman Empire looked at the crown prince, of course, Charles, who was soon the king, and was extremely satisfied - of course, Maximilian I did not need a Spanish king, although Charles was also his heir, but whether Spain annexed the Holy Roman Empire, or the Holy Roman Empire annexed Spain, those are two completely different concepts, and by the time this king comes of age, there will be at least a few years, and in this time, they can completely push him into the Holy Roman Empire. Judging by his dislike for his mother, it shouldn't be too hard a job.

At that moment, a priest hurried over and leaned down to say something in Cardinal Sisneros' ear, whose face changed suddenly.

"What's wrong?" The envoy asked impatiently.

"Gonzalo. Morality. Córdoba lost his mark when he was about to enter Toledo," said Cardinal Cisneros in trepidation: "My men could not find him. ”

"Useless guy!" The envoy rebuked, not knowing that he was referring to the cardinal...... Or the cardinals themselves...... But there was no difference between the two for him: "Then let him go, are there any courtiers who dare to rebel against the monarch?" ”

Cardinal Cisneros knew Gonzalo ...... his prestige in the army was even envied by one of the two Spanish co-lords, Ferdinand II, but one can imagine how powerful he was.

"All right," interrupted the envoy of the Holy Roman Empire, "the most important thing now is to coronate our little highness as soon as possible, Charles V, Bishop, which will be the beginning of a new dynasty." ”