And just in Giulio. The day after the Medici baptized a new Picomini, a masked knight appeared outside Lovere's mansion, and the monk who served the cardinal approached him to say a few words to him, and immediately welcomed him in.

The mysterious messenger entered Cardinal Grande's study, took off his hooded cloak, ununveiled his mask, and revealed his own face—a face belonging to a middle-aged man, with sunken eyes, a sallow complexion, and short reddish-brown hair, his forehead trimmed and covered with a flat forehead, he was not a handsome man in the first place, and after so many tribulations, he looked even more strange and terrible.

"Your Majesty." Cardinal Grand Lovere stood up from behind his desk and bowed to the King of France, the angle and speed of the bow were reasonable, but his failure to leave his chair seemed a little arrogant and rude - but it was no longer time for him to be a courtier of the King in Blois, nor for him to grovel in order to find a place to live at the hands of Borgias, nor was it time for him to be betrayed by His Majesty and to abandon his ambition to be pope. It was time to wag his tail and beg for mercy to return to Rome – he could have allowed his majesty to suffer what he had suffered, but Cardinal Grande Lovere gave in to his cause and received Louis XII, his former master and enemy, with grace.

"What do you want? Wine, or mulled ale? There were no monks or servants in the room, so Cardinal Grand Lovere himself went to the small table and asked, pointing to two fine flasks.

"Is there coffee?" Louis XII asked, and this was the first trend that his queen Anne had started at the French court - the bitter drink that many thought was the devil's potion, but when added with milk and honey, it had a different flavor and cleared the mind, and when you got used to it, you could taste a little sweetness from that bitterness.

"Nope." At the mention of this, Cardinal Grande Lovere could not help but feel a deep hatred in his heart – this was also his enemy with his son, Giulio. The most hateful of the Medici tricks was that Pius III, after tasting it, thought it was a good drink, that drinking it was not contrary to doctrine, and blessed the black beans - now some cardinals in the Cardinals who were not so afraid of them were even more exaggerated about the benefits of this drink for digestion and upliftment, and many foolish people began to drink them after meals, claiming that after drinking this drink, the body and soul were exuding a pleasant aroma - Julio. As a result, the Medici also had a lot of income.

But he couldn't pour out his anger on a king, not a little bit of a cup of coffee. As if to make up for his previous rudeness, he poured Louis XII a cup of hot ale and poured a lot of honey into it, "taste it," he said, "and what is in such a cup is worthy of being drunk by a warrior." ”

Louis XII took it and took a sip, the strong, spicy taste that made him choke on it.

"What is this?"

"Scotland's new ale," said the Grand Lovere, "their king had the monks of the abbey drink the eaux-de-vie from eight barges (about two hundred liters) of wheat, and drink it as if it were on fire." ”

Louis XII did not like the wine, but he did not show it, and his attention was almost all drawn to the king: "You have a connection with that king?" ”

"A little." Cardinal Grande Lovere, who seemed humble, said proudly.

Of course, Louis XII didn't care about this little problem, in fact, everyone knew that Henry VII of England did not have a good relationship with James IV of Scotland, James IV supported Henry's political enemies, and Henry also took revenge on James, even if James IV married Henry VII's eldest daughter in 1503, Henry VII had a worse relationship with Louis XII, and it was of course something that Louis XII liked to have a relationship with a powerful monarch who had a common enemy.

But Cardinal Grande Lovere was not going to let Louis XII get his wish so easily, and he rambled nonchalantly until the hot wine in the jug was almost freezing.

"Venetian?" Louis XII said: "Yes, they are invading Romagna, but what good will I gain if I send an army?" Can you still give me Romagna? ”

"I'll give you Naples." Cardinal Grand Lovere said.

Louis XII scoffed, "Honorable Bishop," he said mockingly, "Naples is not your domain, it is now shamelessly occupied by the Spaniards, and even the Pope may not be able to get them to hand it over, and you will not be able to become a Pope at all." ”

Cardinal Grand Lovere roared in his heart, and if Louis XII could hear it, he would draw his sword at once, but there was no trace of it on his face, and he said sincerely: "Your Majesty, perhaps I will not pass the test," he said, "but my son, Cardinal Loveret the Younger, can." ”

Louis XII looked surprised: "Does this mean that you not only want my army to attack the Venetians, but also my cardinal to support your son as pope?" In spite of Alexander VI's presence, he had to admire the cheekiness of the clergy—if he could build a wall with these cheeks, even the largest cannons would not be able to penetrate it.

"So what do you think of your good friend, Archbishop Georges of Rouen. Morality. Will Amboise be able to win the election? There are now five Spaniards in the Cardinals. Cardinal Grand Lovere reminded Louis XII with satisfaction as his face darkened, and at the same time laughed at Alexander VI in his heart, for the last thing he had done before going to Hell was very satisfying.

"I think ......," said Louis XII slowly, "this matter is not yet time to be discussed." His head swayed slightly towards the position of the Vatican Palace: "Pius III is still alive." ”

"I won't live long." Cardinal Grande Lovere said crisply, glancing at Louis XII's look and knowing that he had misunderstood, but he did not want to explain: "I think you will soon see black or white smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel, but before that, be prepared, for I am not going to waste even a little time." ”

"It seems that you are determined to succeed," said Louis XII, "but it is not you after all." ”

"Is there a son who does not obey his father?" Cardinal Grande Lovere replied without hesitation.

This answer apparently pleased Louis XII, and he continued to negotiate with Cardinal Grande Lovere on the matter, bargaining for the addition of Milan to Naples, since he was the grandson of the Duke of Visconti and was fully qualified to succeed Milan.

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Louis XII left in a hurry from Lovere's mansion, unbeknownst to him, not long after he left, a carriage turned from one end of the street, inside which was another guest of Cardinal Lovere the Grand tonight.

A Spanish cardinal, he is a representative of the other four.

Cardinal Grande Lovere brazenly repeated the same one he had performed in front of Louis XII, but he was willing to recognize Spain's formal dominion over Naples, since Ferdinand I of Naples was originally the illegitimate son of King Alfonso I of Aragon – it was just an orthodox legitimate son reclaiming his rightful land.

In the same way, he threatened the Spaniards with Louis XII of France, and of course, in his rhetoric, Louis XII clearly had great determination and money to support his best friend, Archbishop Georges of Rouen, to ascend to the papal throne, and conversely, if the Spaniards refused to cooperate with Lovere, then Loveret would cooperate with the French, and at that time, it was impossible to say how much a French pope would have on Spain.

But if the Spaniards were willing to support his son, he would have Lovere Jr. crown their queen with the words "Queen of Naples" to her honorific title.

Initially convinced, the Spaniards walked out of the mansion of Lovere, and outside the door they met Cardinal Lovere, the younger, who had returned with him with his black-clad priest, who was not so popular among the red-clad dignitaries, unlike Cardinal Lauvere, who was harsh and violent, but who was also gentle and even humble when necessary.

"I just hope he can really control his son."

The Spanish cardinal grunted.

——————————————

"Cardinal Grand Lovere wants to be the second Albelik II." George. Morality. Amboise said that he poured a cup of coffee for his king and his best friend, and that the steaming black drink had turned a tempting dark brown with milk and sugar, and Louis XII took a long sip of satisfaction, letting go of his tense shoulders.

For Albelick II, even if he was not a priest, Louis XII knew about it, after all, this is the initiator of the current Holy See's fear of the too young pope - you know, this Roman ruler is the eldest son of Madame Marozia, who is the daughter of a pope, a lover of a pope, a mother of a pope, and a grandmother of a pope, according to secret records, who has controlled the abolition of several generations of popes. Albelik II, her son, entered Rome in 935 and overthrew his mother's rule and put his son, John XII, who was only eighteen years old, into the position of pope.

And the eighteen-year-old John XII, if there is anything more outstanding than ordinary people, is probably the undisguised and over-exuberant desire, he not only turned the Lateran Palace, where the Pope lived, into a "bird's" nest infested by prostitutes, but also plundered young women passing by from time to time, so that the people of Rome have warned their wives and daughters not to approach the Lateran Palace.

John XII, who was so busy with these things, naturally turned a blind eye to the real authority, and his father, Alberic II, took the sacred scepter in his place and became the absolute ruler of Rome.

"So he had to put his son up as pope, but he couldn't get him the support of the cardinals." Louis XII sighed: "He was not a good father. ”

"Isn't it?" George said, "Is there anyone who knows better what happens to those reformers?" But he still allowed Cardinal Lovere Jr. to do whatever he wanted—and then if he did something to our new pope, he didn't have to worry about opposition. ”

"The new pope? Have you decided to support them? ”

"As Cardinal Grande Lovere said," said Georges, "the Spaniards will go to great lengths to drag me down." ”

"The big Lovelle is very ambitious," said Louis XII, "and he may not really support me to get Napoli and Milan." ”

"When we get Napoli and Milan, it's not something he can decide."

Louis XII smiled, but couldn't help but press the corner of his forehead.

"What's wrong with you, Your Majesty?" George asked worriedly.

"Nothing," said Louis XII, "I just remember—I'm going to borrow money from my wife again." ”