The author's words—the riddle about the key in the previous chapter, oh my, is indeed not the author's pot—it is indeed from the Middle Ages...... Jiuyu is a good boy and doesn't drive.

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The hiccup at the wedding feast passed quickly, and when Caesar returned to his seat, no one was stupid enough to ask about Sancha's whereabouts, and later, at the behest of someone who cared for it, the conflict was pressed on the head of Sanxia's servant and Caesar's servant, and the topic of Lucrecia naturally fell silent—although Pope Alexander VI always believed that only the weak would care about people's rumors, and there have always been rumors in Rome that Luclaya's reputation was rather unfriendly, but if the rumors came from Luclayia's sister-in-law, the mouth of the Pope's daughter-in-law, that is inevitably too ugly.

As a result of the pope's presence, the people boiled again, and Alexander VI, dressed in white regular clothes, waved his palms at the crowd, and when he was seated, men and women stepped forward to kiss his feet, and occasionally one or two were allowed to kiss his hands and robes. The Holy Father kept an amiable smile all along, and there was no sign that he was beating his son in a violent manner, just because he was not cruel enough to his former friends and brothers.

His smile only narrowed a little when he saw Lucrea.

His daughter was sitting beside her husband, and they looked as sweet and soft as a pair of birds in love, head to head, shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, both of them looking so tender and forgetful—the Neapolitans were very happy to see this, and they felt that it was even a victory of Naples over the Pope, and that they had not only received a rich dowry, but also the heart of a beautiful woman, who was the most beloved daughter of the Holy Father.

Alexander VI also vividly remembers how Lucrecia had rebelled against him for the sake of Giulio. The Medici, he didn't believe that Lucretia would be so quick to empathize, and although Alfonso, Duke of Sebili, was indeed young and handsome, he was only a couple of people compared to the Medici...... There is no love between them that they have grown up together; Not to mention, compared to the Medici's composure, Alfonso was a little too frivolous.

There are times when the Holy Father must also admit that Giulio. The Medici may not have been a man who had nothing to offer but good looks, but apart from the blood feud with Borgia because of Luigi (he knew that Giulio did this because Luigi was intent on forcing Lucrecia to have sex with him, but so what?). Luigi's behavior was not contrary to his will, but it was Caesar and Lucrecia's behavior that made him angry, but in the end, Caesar and Lucrecia were his children after all, and he could forgive them, but a Medici was different), and the Holy Father had other considerations, for example, what else is there in the Medici now? Their parents were still living under women's skirts, and even if Florence began to flourish again because of lanolin and cashmere, the Medici could not even add to the Great Council of 3,000 men—not a single one, what could he expect from them?

Lucrecia is his most precious treasure, just because of the so-called love between young men and women, he easily gave up such a good card, but it was not Rodrigo. Borgia style. Moreover, no one knows better than the Holy Father that love always comes and goes quickly, and can never be compared with enduring interests and status.

The only thing that worried Alexander VI was the Medici's mentor, Picomini, who didn't know what the wizard was mad about. Is Giulio really his illegitimate son? But with Lovere's side to help, the stubborn old devil had to back down—Joshua. Lovere took the place of the Medici, and the Medici were expelled from Rome and exiled to Lucca, perhaps Cardinal Picromini also thought about how to plot to bring the Medici back to the Holy See, but it didn't matter, this was not a bad thing for the Holy Father, because of his great cause, he now needed a lot of money, manpower and supplies, and these were always provided by the Picrominis.

When everything is complete, Cardinal Picromini can also die, give up his cardinal's red hat, and the Holy Father can sell at least 100,000 gold ducats, and the income (that is, after the death of the clergy, all his personal property will be returned to the holy treasury) can also be about 200,000 to 300,000 gold ducats, and at the same time, in order to protect his disciples, Joshua. Lovere's location and identity, the once invincible Della. Lovere also had to obediently submit to Borgia's feet and let him take what he wanted.

Thinking of this, the Holy Father's mood became much happier, and he even took a prostitute with only a ribbon on her side and asked her to go to his son Caesar: "He is almost drunk," he looked at Caesar and the flask at his feet, Alexander VI never minded that Caesar had feelings for his sister Lucrecia beyond his relatives, but what they had to do now was to appease the Neapolitans. As an older brother, what's it like to get drunk at your sister's wedding reception? Later, they will have to be witnesses to see if the newlyweds are officially married.

Lucrecia snuggled up to the duke's side and lazily picked up a berry and put it in her mouth—given that her brother Caesar had almost confirmed his marriage to the cousin of King Louis XII of France, Milan and Naples were destined to be the possession of the King of France, and her marriage to Alfonso was only a measure to paralyze the Neapolitans from their misfortune.

She changed her court so quickly and threw herself into the arms of Duke Bisapili, and the Holy Father would have been skeptical, but it didn't matter, they would soon know how much she loved her new husband.

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Ralph stood outside the walls of Lucca, in the midst of a group of mercenaries. He had arrived in Lucca three weeks earlier, and he had not even bothered to change his name, anyway, the name Ralph could be said to be a rotten street among mercenaries, and in strength and energy he was no match for those young men who were only twenty or thirty years old, but he had only put on the two major battles - the battles of Seminara and Fornovo, and gave evidence—he certainly would not be stupid enough to show the gifts of the King of Naples to others, but he also captured a lot from the French in those two battles, Among them are weapons and helmets etched with the family coat of arms.

So he not only easily joined the mercenary team of the Castelluccio family, but also became a squad leader, he had the support of the Medici family, squandered it without worrying about the empty purse, and soon won the support and love of his subordinates, and he also knew why the Lucas were so eager and generous to recruit foreign mercenaries.

There are three reasons: first, the French pact with Pope Alexander VI, as long as he is an Italian, probably knows, after all, Cardinal Sforza had a big quarrel with the Pope because of this, accusing him of intending to introduce enemies into Italy; Second, the resurgence of Florence alarmed Luca, who had been Lucca's enemy in both the previous Rupee War (note 1) and the Lufo War (note 2), and both were ambitious to devour each other; Thirdly, Ralph is quite optimistic, and he believes that his master will also be happy to hear the news - that is, the opposition between the two great families in Lucca, Castrucchio and Guinici, one of their ancestors is the former Duke of Lucca, and the other is the current first standard-bearer of the Republic, one is strong and the other is rich, like two lions who have to live together temporarily, to say, they will not fight, and no one will believe it.

Ironically, they recruited mercenaries mainly to guard against the enemy inside Lucca, not outside the city, and for Ralph, even if Florence had expelled and exiled the Medici, his master would have sent his 300 arquebusiers and gunpowder to Florence in times of crisis, didn't they know what was most important?

But that's not something a mercenary squad leader should know. Ralph leaned against the city wall, at this time, Lucca City had begun to heat up, the cold stone bricks gave him a lot of comfort in his neat clothes, but they were always much lighter than the Guinician mercenaries, perhaps because the Guinian family knew that they could not compare with the Castrolucchio family, who started as mercenaries, and they were very willing to spend money on armaments, and the mercenaries of the Guinianki family were equipped with leather armor and chain mail of the same style, and the captain also had a helmet with feathers, on which was the coat of arms of the Guinianci family. The personnel also looked taller, neater, and stronger than the Castrolicio mercenaries, and even Ralph laughed at the sight of them - they were little cubs who had never been on the battlefield and had tasted human blood, not even the first time he had seen Giulio. Medici, the one who was too ...... Gentle, but also killing.

Speaking of which, this lord must have changed a lot now, Ralph thought after a long wait, his mind seemed to be divided into two halves, he didn't know, he should want this lord to be ruthless, or continue to be as lenient as before, for himself and those boys, of course he hoped that the latter, but for the sake of the lord himself, he hoped that he could be more thorough, to be honest, Borgia did those things, even Ralph, the mercenary old mercenary, was a little unpleasant- They are not faithful, but at least they are not devils.

Just as some of the mercenaries rubbed their toes in the hot air, took off their boots, and secretly unbuttoned them, and cursed the late adult, two horses galloped in front of the crowd with billowing smoke and dust, one to the side of the Guenician family, and the other to the side of the Castrolicio family, and the two of them suddenly looked more solemn, and at their signal, twelve prostitutes swung gracefully and stepped forward from the crowd.

They were dressed as Greek goddesses, dressed in silk that matched their white skin, with a crown of falling flowers in their hair, and wine in their hands, silver kettles for washing their hands, incense boats, etc., which dwarfed the monks and priests who were also waiting, but the latter did not necessarily care, look at their eyes and smiles, if there is any regret, it is probably that the Lucca people heard that the archbishop was quite clean, so they did not let the prostitutes meet naked, so they lost a chance to feast their eyes.

This time, at last, they did not wait too long, and the first to appear on the Boulevard Franzizina were about fifty pack horses, dressed in horse coats, carrying heavy but neat luggage, walking in two columns, flanked by mounted servants, followed by about a hundred brightly armored musketeers, and behind the infantry was a procession of knights who surprised Luca greatly, also in two rows, and when they got closer, it was discovered that they had actually come from two places, because one was wearing a Spanish Gonzalo de • The coat of arms of the general of Córdoba, a mountain peak and a helmet, surrounds a laurel leaf, at the end of which is written Seminara and Fornovo, indicating that he once commanded his army to victory in these two battles, and a man wearing a crown, wrapped in chains, indicating that he once captured a king (poor Charles VIII); The other is a mink flower, surrounded by a silver chain, but this silver chain is different from the former's, which is the symbol of Anne, Duchess of Brittany, because she is a mournful widow, and it also represents purity and piety.

Closely guarded in the ranks of the knights was the four-wheeled carriage in which Archbishop Lucca was riding, a pure black luxury vehicle decorated with gold and silver, drawn by four snow-white stallions dressed in bright coats.

Behind them were thousands of servants, mercenaries, and servants, as well as two heralds in cloaks of gold flowers on a black background.

Such a majestic pomp...... Ralph almost burst out laughing, but luckily everyone's attention was drawn to the convoy at that time, and he hurriedly stood forward quietly and found a good position.

The prostitutes were kept out of the archbishop's convoy, and the most dissolute prostitutes became restrained before the sharp edge of the rifle. Ralph could see the heads of the two families and the priests of the main parishes hurrying forward to salute - they were the only ones who were allowed to go, and the others were left to wait.

Archbishop Lucca had not even stepped out of the carriage, the narrow window of the carriage, the dim light at sunset, and the shadows cast by the wide-brimmed hats that the priests often wore when they went out, and Ralph, who had good eyesight, waited for a while to see Luca's parents and priests bow deeply again, and then extend a hand from the window of the carriage.

The priests of the main hall hurriedly stepped forward to kiss the amethyst ring on the hand, and Castelluccio's parents hesitated for a moment, and were preempted by Guyici's parents, the middle-aged man who was as strong as a bear and should have changed identities with Castelluccio's parents from the outside, smiled, took the hand without mind, and kissed the huge amethyst with great reverence.

The corners of Castelluccio's mouth twitched, and his hesitation turned into a sin with the cheeky guy Guenici, and he hurriedly stepped forward and kissed the ring as well.

"Thank you for your kindness," said the archbishop, his voice young but with an indelible exhaustion and weakness, "but need, this is not what God wants, disperse the crowd and let us go back to where we ought to be." ”

This reaction was not only cold, but even rude, but no one dared to speak, and the heads of the two families looked at each other, bowed humbly again and again, and retreated.

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"Where did he go?" Guinicki's parent, Danilo. Guinicki asked.

"San Marino Cathedral." A young man from Guiniki replied

"Let's go to the Oak Tower." Danilo said.

The Oak Tower is a gray square tower built by the Guynikian family in the northeast of the old town in the last thirty years of the fifteenth century, with a height of about 150 feet.

The Guinici Palace is located outside the old city walls of Lucca, on the east side, and the Oak Tower is in the Guiniki Palace, that is, between the new town and the old town, and plays the role of monitoring the old town, from the top of the oak tower you can easily see the whole old town, and the Cathedral of San Marino - Lucca is of course no exception.

"He brought so many people, it was not easy to settle." A Guyician said, but when they looked down, there was no great fluctuation or confusion in the city, and the procession of more than a thousand men, like a stream flowing into a ditch, entered Lucca simply and silently—the torches diverged at the junctions, and from where they were clearly recognizable, and the men brought by their archbishop were partly arranged into the monasteries and churches, and partly into the round gladiatorial arena and the hippodrome, which were built by the Romans. Later, the Lucca people converted it into a residence, a storehouse and a prison, and only about fifty people followed it into the Cathedral of San Marino, Danilo gently staggered, presumably these people were strong soldiers to ensure the safety of the Medici from Florence, the Archbishop of Lucca.

"Who was their guide?" A young man from Guyniki angrily asked, "Is it Castrolicio?" Ha, when I see their people again, I will laugh at them for groveling to our enemies. ”

Danilo turned around with a smile and made a "shhhhh He straightened his belt and straightened up: "It won't be Castrolicio, they know very well to the Medici, Cosimo . The Medici were exiled, but Castrolicio was indispensable. ”

"So you're saying there are other families......"

"It may or may not be, kid." Danilo said happily: "Luca is not a place where we can keep secrets, and those places are not secrets, as long as we have the heart, anyone can give us a surprise—well, it must be said, that this archbishop seems to be completely different from what we have learned." ”

"And you still look so happy?"

"Because that's not necessarily a bad thing for Guiniki or even Luka." Danilo said.

While moving his huge body down the narrow staircase, Danilo. Guenicia thought that, indeed, since they had learned that Giulio and the Medici had become archbishop of Lucca, they had sent men to Rome to try to get to know in detail about this great man who could make the whole of Lucca bow down in religion. Judging from the information they received, this archbishop was not the greedy and despicable priest that people usually see, perhaps because of his youth, or because the environment was too simple, many people said that he was a gentle old man, especially with the previous Cardinal Caesar. Borgia comparison. He may have been intelligent and capable, but he was always willing to be a shadow of Borgia, so it was often said that he was too cowardly and timid—even most people in Florence thought that the two Medici priests were not bad—although in this day and age this comment does not seem to be positive.

Danilo. Guinici had also vaguely heard that Florentine lanolin and cashmere also seemed to be similar to Giulio. The Medici were inseparable, and therefore, when he had not been able to meet this great man, he even devised whether he could dig up something of value from the hands of this saint who seemed to be very talkative, in the name of God and mercy - alas, do not blame him for being so mean, as is the case with people nowadays, even Pope Alexander VI - Giulio. No matter how the Medici were, it was also for Caesar. Borgia had been with him for many years, but looking at the robes he wore on him, the position of archbishop, or whether his mentor, Cardinal Picomini, had won for him, it was none of Borgia's business.

Perhaps it was precisely because of the papal negligence and the good reputation of the Medici that when Archbishop Lucca joined the battles of Seminara and Fornovo as the papal envoy, Lucca only sent a hundred hired soldiers in addition to taxes and gifts, including Guiniki's children? No, are there any children of Castrolicio? No, not even the children of some small families.

Danilo could have sworn to the Virgin that Castelluccio had the same idea as him, especially when it was heard that Caesar. Borgia was still in France, and Giulio and the Medici couldn't even go back to Rome - if he was such a good man, and had been abandoned by Borgia and Picomini, then Lucca's men would have been bold against him - the Archbishop Medici, who had the misfortune to die in a riot, would not be the first, nor would he be the last, let alone a Florentine.

Even if they allowed him to live, it would be after he paid enough ransom, but even then, he could only end up in a remote monastery.

Who knew that this one hundred and fifty knights from the Spanish commander "The Great Gonzalo", and one hundred and fifty knights from Anne, Duchess of Brittany, the future queen of France, clearly said that he had the support and protection of these two illustrious men. Spain's Gonzalo is second, and Brittany's Anne is not a noble man that a small Luca can anger.

And the musketeers, the minions, the servants...... As well as the attitude towards the Lucca, it is clear that Giulio. The Medici, both in thought and identity, are no longer the same as they used to be.

(To be continued)

Note 1: The war between the Italian cities of Lucca and Pisa. The cause was a commercial dispute. Pisa controlled the mouth of the Arno River and imposed a tax on all imports and exports. Lucca, located on the Rue de France, took revenge on Pisa by imposing a toll tax on all caravans who left the Boulevard to Pisa. This led to wars between the two cities in 1126-1128, 1143-1147, and 1165-1171. The last war, in addition to naval battles, spread to the south of France. Genoa helped Luca because of their conflict with Pisa, while Narbonne sided with Pisa. Genoa became the main beneficiary of the war. Florence was granted the right to cede the port of the mouth of the Arno River in the name of helping Pisa. [1]

Note 2: In April 1320, Castellacani, ruler of Lucca in central Italy and loyal to the divine chieftain of the Ghibelline, declared war on the Guierphites in Florence. Castella Cani, a former leader of the mercenaries, led Lucca's army into Florentine territory, plundering everywhere, and was soon thwarted by the Florentine forces. Later, Castella Cani allied with Pistoia, and in June 1323 he led Lucca's army deep into the area 16 kilometers from Florence and wreaked havoc. In 1325, he defeated the Florentines at the Battle of Altopachao. The victorious Castella Cani became one of the most powerful men in Italy at the time. Later, due to a conflict with the Pope, Castella Carni was excommunicated. Soon after, he died suddenly. Fiorentina took the opportunity to regain most of the lost ground.