Machiavelli put down the file in his hand and sat down with Julio. In front of the Medici: "So." He asked, "What would you do if it were you, Your Highness?" ”

He looked at Giulio with a very clear look, although in appearance Machiavelli looked like a cunning and despicable villain, but Giulio had worked with him for many years, and knew a little about this man - if Machiavelli had to be labeled, then he must be an extremely altruistic person, and an extremely idealist, sometimes he may be more naïve than Cosimo Jr., but when it comes to persistence, he is probably more stubborn than a ninety-year-old man - just people who don't know him, I can only think that this Florentine is a man of power and good name, because in order to achieve his goals, he has always been unscrupulous, and he does not care about morality and faith.

Yes, he would not hesitate to ask for power and official positions from those in power, even to the point of groveling to the sycophants, but as soon as he found that Ezio was more fit to be the head of the Brotherhood, he immediately handed over the Florentine Assasin organization to this young friend; And when he realized that Giulio. When the Medici could become the monarch who could put an end to the chaos in Florence and in Italy as a whole, he did not hesitate to leave the position he had obtained in the Florentine government and came to him as an ordinary monk to serve him, follow him, and bow down to him.

So to Machiavelli, Giulio. The Medici never doubted or was annoyed by his outspokenness, his only fear was unnecessary disagreement due to differences in thought and concept between the two, so whenever Machiavelli had questions, he would always answer him with great frankness.

"If it were me," said Giulio, "it might not be like that of Julius II...... Decisive. He thought about it, of course, as a less religious person, the best way to solve the problem of indulgence and the sale of relics was to promote materialism, but the problem was that he was already a cardinal, and he would later become the head of the Church—something he had always expected as a father, Pius III, who loved his God and the Church equally, and in that case, Giulio would not have been the one to destroy the foundations of the Holy See.

Not to mention, the current state and the people are already very closely entangled with the church, and they are all so fragile that if they are only roughly separated, it will only cause irreparable damage, no, let alone separate them, even if they just want to remove a part of it, the slightest carelessness will cause the bitter fruit of Julius II today - "Mankind, especially the human race now, needs faith, beggars need it, kings need it, even slaves, and their faith, How is it expressed? Machiavelli, most of them, they don't have an orthodox education, they can't write, they can't read, all their knowledge of the faith comes from the preaching of the clergy or the monks, but you know, in the preaching...... Many clergymen preach doctrine in a manner bordering on intimidation," he sighed slightly, "and it is almost a routine. ”

"Of course," said Machiavelli, "the people are foolish, and they will not have a memory unless they are whipped with the whip of words." Sometimes, it even takes a real whip to whip them before they understand.

"So, faith is not just a shackle for them, it's a pillar, and you can open the shackles and set them free, but at the same time, you can't take off the pillar all at once and make them not leaning on – if you have to do it, you have to have something to replace it and become their pillar first." Julio smiled when he remembered the reliance on science and machinery hundreds of years later: "But it was a very long and painstaking work, and the new pillars were not necessarily stronger than the old ones." ”

Machiavelli looked down and thought for a moment, and had to admit that Giulio. The Medici was right, "What new pillars do you want to erect?" ”

"That's why I've always insisted on teaching in a way that is as wide and in-depth as possible," Giulio nodded, "Nicholas you didn't quite understand why I was teaching my priests, my soldiers, and my people, but now you should understand." ”

"Have you been planning since then?" Machiavelli asked.

"Yes, the clergy are the ones who can expand and guide my ideas, and the soldiers are the ones who can support and carry out my ideas, and my people, who will only understand my ideas, will not be easily swayed by the rumors of the outside world—have you not noticed, Nicelo, that in Cadiz there is almost no buying and selling of indulgences and holy things, for from the very beginning there were priests who instructed them to go to Mass, to do penance, to do good deeds, that you might atone for your sins, The Holy Spirit and the saints will bless you with this, so they will be at ease. ”

"You say almost."

"Yes, my dear friend, even you, or I, must admit that holy relics and indulgences are effective, but I think that their effect is only in those sins that cannot be redeemed by prayer, repentance, and good works—those great sins that do not appear to the majority—which are very few, though not completely prohibited," Giulio shook his head: "But the reduction of numbers also means that they are easy to control, and if they can be controlled, there is a way to curb them." ”

"Roman clergyman......" Machiavelli smiled self-deprecatingly as soon as he spoke, of course the Roman clergy did not lead people to atone for their sins by looking at Mass, praying or repenting, they needed coins that jingled in people's pockets, "Didn't Julius II take this into account?" No," he said, "it is evident that he is not what you ask for, Your Highness. ”

Giulio did not answer, but turned his head to look at the flames dancing on the candle, Machiavelli was as sharp and straightforward as ever, he saw at a glance the problem of Julius II, he did not reform for the sake of the people or the church, he was only for personal selfish desires - yes, not that wealth, eroticism, power are selfish desires, and sometimes, honor and fame can also lead people to the wrong path of sin, and Julius II only hoped to become a saint to be remembered, But it did not take into account the lowly beings, who were indeed overwhelmed by tithes, indulgences, and holy things, but who still had at least a little bit of solace, and who could be exempted from their sins and go to heaven with these things. Now, God's agents in the world have closed the only window they have, and they will not only sink in this world of misery and filth, but also suffer untold suffering in purgatory and hell after they die.

Who can blame them, whoever they are, will go crazy.

If Julius II could also be like Julius. If the Medici thought in this way, he would not have faced such a miserable and absurd situation—he had blocked the rushing river, but left no channel for it to dredge, and no matter how strong and tall the embankment was, it would inevitably collapse one day.

"But behind these people," asked Machiavelli, "there are also the bishops and clergy." ”

"And the families," said Giulio, "lords, kings, and all those who are powerful and sinful." ”

"Their sins do not deserve to be forgiven in the first place." Machiavelli said.

"Yes," said Giulio mildly, "but to punish them, you must be stronger than them, both in body and in soul." ”

"Julius II can't do that." Machiavelli said.

"That's why," said Giulio, "though he made a mistake, I still don't blame him, Machiavelli," and he whispered, "whatever he did for it, we must respect his courage and boldness." ”

——————————

Julius II, Joshua. Lovere didn't know about Giulio. The Medici gave him an evaluation that was almost like a compliment, and his heart was full of pain and remorse.

The mob seized his Vatican Palace, and it is said that they took everything from the Vatican Palace, even the gold leaf on the picture frames and lintels, jewelry, statues and crosses, and even the chests, chests and chairs were taken and smashed, and kept as holy relics.

These were not enough, they poured up the Ponte Sant'Angelo again and surrounded the Castel Sant'Angelo.

His Excellency the young Pope looked down from the window of the castle condescendingly, and saw the dense crowd giving way to a carriage to the front of the castle, and they were so rude, so fierce, and respectful to the real sinners in the carriage - the cardinals whom he had deprived themselves of the excess of the diocese, the church and the monastery, and who did not enter the castle - after all, the cardinals also had to ensure their own personal safety, and they dismounted from the carriage in front of the heavy iron gates, and received the cheers and salutes of the people. Then their representatives, cardinals of the House of Orsini, stepped forward and read out their open letters to the Pope.

It's not so much a letter as a letter. In the letter, the cardinals "tactfully" pointed out some "mistakes" made by His Excellency the Pope because he was too young, and gave some "old-fashioned" suggestions, but after removing those flashy embellishments and gestures, the main content of them was only two things: first, Julius II must undo the seven decrees that had been issued before; 2. Julius II must abdicate in order to obtain forgiveness from men and God.

They even graciously offered to reserve a cardinal position for Julius II, as well as three wealthy parishes, if Julius II agreed to their terms.

Julius II refused, so to speak, and, despite the mercenary chief's resistance, snatched a soldier's crossbow and shot downward, nearly hitting one of the cardinals' hats, and the cardinals fled.

"You're too impulsive," said the Swiss mercenary leader sternly, "and if they want to negotiate terms with you now, you should talk to them, stall for time, and then find a way to disperse the people from outside—or you can allow the sale of indulgences or relics first, and that's what they want." "That's what they want.

"No way." Julius II gritted his teeth and replied, "As for whether you should disperse or kill these mobs, is it not your right to do it, I have hired you and given you a good sum of money, why are you doing it for Julio. How could the Medici be so loyal and reliable when they served, but now they have become cowardly? ”

The mercenary leader was never killed by Julio. The Medici had hired, but as a Swiss, he had heard the cardinal's name, and out of long-standing anger and contempt, he almost blurted out: "Probably because, then, we had to deal with a few vile thieves, but now we have to deal with tens of thousands of innocent people." ”

As soon as the words came out, he knew that it was broken, but it was irreparable. Julius II opened his pale blue eyes wide, as if he couldn't believe what he had heard, and then suddenly his face turned red, and anger built up in his throat, but in the end he swallowed it, he was impulsive, but he also knew that the Templars had long since left Castel Sant'Angelo, and before the Church army entered the city, all he could rely on was these mercenaries.

A storm died up in a terrible silence.

The ecclesiastical army that Julius II longed for was delayed, whether it was the Spaniards, the Holy Roman Empire, the Italians, the French, or rather, when the French arrived, Julius II was completely conquered by fear and anger.

"How dare you!" He shouted, "How dare you do this! How dare you ask of a pope like that? Agents of God, guardians of Heaven's gates?! ”

"Ugh." Louis XII's envoy smiled and said, "How can you have such a ridiculous idea? Your Excellency, our king, devout believer, fearing that you are in danger, has asked us to welcome you to France. ”

"I only want to stay in Rome!" Julius II shouted: "I ask you to drive those mobs away at once!" ”

"Is there anything bad about France? Our Majesty has always wanted you to be able to set foot on the land of France, and you will have a palace worthy of your status, like a king, where your clergy and bishops can find a place to live, where you will receive an adequate pension, and you will be able to give orders as you please...... It's no different from when you were in Rome. ”

"To be a puppet of the King of France?" Julius II cried out indignantly: "Don't even think about it, tell your king that I will only be in Rome, whether I live or die." ”

"That's a bit hard to say." The French envoy unabashedly threatened, and walked straight out without the permission of the Pope.

That night, the French army, with about 5,000 infantry and 20 guns, from the south of Milan, began to attack Castel Sant'Angelo, and a week later, the Swiss mercenaries, unable to hold on, fled from the secret passages of Castel Sant'Angelo with Pope Julius II, who left with 700 men and arrived at Castle Lepigy with less than 300 men.