Caterina waved her arm and gave her second daughter a heavy slap.

She was still able to draw a longbow of more than 150 pounds, her arms were very strong, her palms were covered with calluses of guns and swords, and Caterina's second daughter fell to the ground, the left side of her face rapidly reddening and swollen.

"Traitor!" Caterina cursed, "Why? She angrily asked, "What made you betray your mother and your lord?!" Is that the devil bewitching you!? ”

Little did she know that while she was trying her best to set up the city's defenses to defend against the approaching French and Borgia armies, some villains in Forlì would collude with their daughters to expose the vital points of Forlì to the enemy.

Katerina's second daughter raised her head, she is fifteen years old this year, Katerina has already found a marriage for her, just wait for the Holy Year to come, and the two parties will officially sign a marriage contract - let Caterina say, she doesn't feel that there is anything to owe this daughter, she grew up like a noble girl, and the marriage is also very proper, although this marriage originally belonged to her eldest daughter Bianca, but the other party is indeed a strong and handsome young man with a noble status - although he was beaten just now, There was no fear in the eyes of this cardamom girl.

"Because they've hated you for a long time." "A Sforza, a woman," she said, "has the audacity to be above all men—you kill your husband, you raise lovers, you have more illegitimate children...... Pile by piece, they make them feel disgusted, they have endured you for a long time, Borgia just gave them a look, and they can't wait to betray you. ”

Caterina laughed loudly, "Cliché," she said, "and what about you?" ”

"I don't want to be the second Bianca."

Caterina glanced at the zenith, "Do you believe in Borgia's promise?" ”

"At least more reliable than you."

The corners of Katerina's mouth straightened, and she was silent for a moment, then let out a cold sneer: "Maybe you're right. She looked around, and the room was filled with only her children, three of Rio's children, and two illegitimate children, apart from the believable mercenary captain (her lover).

Her gaze stopped on a lover, who was carrying a longbow, and when Caterina approached him and asked for it, he was bewildered at first, and then frightened and unbearable, and he stepped back, but Caterina had already grabbed him by the placket and pulled him in front of her, and then took off his longbow without hesitation.

Caterina's second daughter didn't know why at first, but when Caterina walked up to her with a longbow in hand, she understood.

Her cheeks suddenly lost their blood, "Mom! She screamed. Caterina didn't stop, and as soon as the girl rolled over and got up from the ground, she tried to escape, but Caterina quickened her pace, and as soon as she raised her hand, she put the bowstring around her neck, and the girl immediately reached out to grab the bowstring, and the female lord of Forlì silently kicked her knee, forcing her to kneel, and then leaned down and began to spin the longbow and tighten the bowstring.

The girl's brother tried to pounce, but although he didn't know if he wanted to plead or stop, the soldier next to him pressed his shoulder.

The corners of Katerina's eyes twitched violently, her eyes looked ahead, her eyes were motionless, the lower part of her face strangely bulged upwards, but the corners of her mouth turned downward, her lips twisted, the muscles of her legs and arms bulged, she twisted in circles and circles, the girl struggled, gasping like crying, blood foaming from her mouth and nose.

It's a short and long time.

The mercenary captain couldn't help but turn his head, of course they recognized this girl, or rather, she was also the one they had grown up watching...... But she had to...... Death, if the betrayal of the lord and the betrayal of the castle are not punished, the hearts of the already unstable people in the castle will only be more chaotic, but they did not expect Caterina to do it herself.

It was only when the torturous wheezing sound finally died away that he turned his gaze back to Katerina, who had never been so embarrassed, her hair falling from her cheeks to her shoulders, from her forehead, neck to her back, with a watery glow, and her hands trembling and hanging at her sides, as if she could not lift them.

Her second daughter died.

"Send the kids to the studio," she said tiredly, "and lock them all up." ”

———————————

Caterina in armor. Sforza stood on the walls of Forlì Castle and looked down condescendingly.

Caesar. Borgia's army was divided into four columns, lined up in front of her castle, and before the army, there were twelve cannons—golden bronze cannons, black iron cannons, each of which was fifteen to twenty feet long, and the barrels of the cannons were tightly clamped with dozens of iron hoops to prevent explosions, and the muzzle caliber was one and a half to two feet, and they could shoot stone projectiles weighing up to 500 pounds more than 8,000 feet—all of which Borgia bought from the French, Leonardo. Leonardo da Vinci designed a four-wheeled frame for them, which was used to easily carry the cannon and a slightly adjusted artillery mount, as well as a combination of wooden wedges, which were used to adjust the angle of fire of the gun.

Behind the cannon was a recoil-reducing mound, and the edge of the mound was filled with round, gray stone projectiles like insect eggs.

Caterina knew that the soldiers and mercenaries around her were terrified, and the bulkiness of the cannon made it impossible for it to be powerful on the battlefield, but in siege warfare, it was more terrifying than any siege equipment - siege towers, ramsticks, tunnel sappers or trebuchets, everyone knew that the cannon roared, the ground shook, and the walls collapsed.

Borgia's bull banner hunted in the air, Caesar. Borgia had a terrible smile on his lips, he had deeply regretted that he had not been able to use the cannons in Imola, but now they could also show their worth in the offensive and defensive battles of Forlì Castle - he glanced down at Leonardo beside him. Leonardo da Vinci, a middle-aged man who worked as a painter, inventor, artist, philosopher, and engineer, nervously held the pen and paper in his hand—he had to calculate the angle and direction of the subsequent bombardment.

Leonardo. Leonardo da Vinci was indeed a rare subordinate, especially when he thought that he originally belonged to Julio. Medici, Caesar's heart grew more and more cheerful—it was not until he became Duke of Valentino that he suddenly realized that he had been jealous of Julio, of his looks, of his character, of his intelligence and talents—which he had refused to admit because it meant that he had indeed ...... Weaker than the Medici in some places.

His jealousy turned into hatred.

Miguel's arrival reminded him that Borgia had never been blood relatives or enemies, and had no friends.

Only, with the last bit of competitiveness and doubt about himself, he took Giulio. The Medici had asked him to pass on to the Father, and the contents of the Epistle were presented to the Father under the guise of his own thoughts, and no one knew how his heart beat briskly and how clear his mind was when the Father refuted them to the point that they were worthless—look, Giulio. The Medici was not omnipotent, as the Holy Father said, he was just an opportunistic little man, he, Lucrecia were all bewitched by him, that's all, look, without Borgia's protection, wasn't he still relegated to little Lucca, living in fear and misery?

The one who is truly capable, gifted, powerful and statused is Caesar. Borgia.

And now is the time for him to prove himself.

Caesar. Borgia thought of the Forlì lord he had seen, a wild and plump and showy mare waiting to be conquered, his smile deepened, and in a gesture that could almost be called contemptuous, he raised his hand, and the herald, who had been waiting on one side, ran along the line the moment the black-gloved hand was lowered, and while loudly conveying the commander's order, the gunners immediately lowered the torch, lit the fuse, and with the sound of sizzling, the powder rope ignited the gunpowder, A huge thrust threw the stone projectile out.

The gunners got busy, cleaning the chambers, filling the gunpowder, and adding stone shells...... A wave of stone bullets roared and smashed against the city walls, and the castle, which had stood for hundreds of years, shook with the earth-shattering roar of artillery, and the masonry of the city walls shattered, fell, and crumbled continuously.

When the cannon needed to be cooled, Caesar rode close to the walls and asked Caterina to do so. Sforza surrendered to him, which, as you can imagine, was impossible. Caterina was destined to hold out until the last moment, either dressed in custom-made full-body armor or dressed up, standing on the city walls, facing the twelve cannons of the French and Borgia and thousands of cavalry and soldiers, laughing loudly at her enemies, even if she was wounded.

Her actions undoubtedly angered Caesar, who brought in more artillery, and under such a dense attack that the main building of the castle collapsed two weeks later, and most of the outer walls fell into the moat, and the falling rubble blocked the river, and the French army under Caesar's command could pass through the bridge with little need to push the raft, and they rushed into the castle of Forlì like a raging tide, and engaged the defenders inside in a slaughtering battle - the disparity between the two sides was too great.

One of Caterina's most trusted mercenary captains, along with his companions, ran into the hall out of breath: "Ma'am," he said, "it's time for us to go, they're coming in!" ”

Caterina sat in the dark, and when she heard that she just smiled, "Take the children out," she said, "Take them away." ”

She pushed a box to the mercenary captains, "These are enough to compensate you for your losses," she said, "Give Liario's children to the Rarian family, and your children will be taken with you." ”

The mercenary captain hesitated for a moment, the sound of fighting outside was getting closer and closer, he stepped forward and kissed Caterina on the hand one last time, "I'm leaving." ”

They were gone, with the children, and this time it was Caterina who was left behind.