The secret meeting of the cardinals went on for a week, and during the week, Rome was unusually calm, and some people with a keen sense of smell began to frequent the mansions of the various cardinals, began to bet in advance, and of course, Giulio. The Medici's Picromini Palace is the most popularly noticed, but Giulio often lives in the Vatican Palace, although the abdication of Leo X is almost certain, but as long as he is still the pope, no one dares to challenge his authority, and the knee marks of King Louis XII of France and his wife and children are still on the steps of the Grand Signing Hall, and have not yet faded.

This gave Giulio a lot of peace, but Duarte was still worried about the conspiracy that Cardinal Bouins had previously uncovered, and to be honest, such arguments were useless to the cunning cardinals, who were more concerned about their own interests or the possible harm. The comparison between the Medici and Benedict IX is a bit disgusting, there are so many ignorant people in the world that Duarte can't help but feel anxious even if he knows that those people are just following the example—or rather, he is only suffering from gains and losses because his long-cherished wish is just in front of him.

"Soon," Giulio reassured, "it will be solved soon." ”

With that, Giulio handed him a document to sign and execute for the Cardinals, Duarte subconsciously glanced at it, and couldn't help but exclaim: "How is this possible? ”

"Why can't it be?" Giulio said: "This is the papal edict. ”

Duarte looked up at Julio Murphy, who was sitting in the Pope's Grand Signing Room, behind the precious mahogany desk. The Medici, he could not tell who the pope was in Julio's words, whether it was Leo X, or his successor, and perhaps the cardinals could not tell either, but they also had no choice.

Sure enough, after a brief discussion of the cardinals, they signed their names on the paperwork – the edict was swiftly issued to every church in Rome, and then, at Sunday Mass, the Romans learned that their god of wisdom, the venerable and great Pope, Leo X, was about to abdicate – he was in good health and sanity, and chose to step down early from that incomparably honorable position because he heard the voice of St. Michael the Archangel and felt the sorrows and sins of the world. He is willing to atone for the sins of countless laity who bear their sins in the form of penance.

So, in response to the kindness of God and this saint, the Church in Rome decided to make the year of Leo X's abdication the Holy Year of Mercy and to open the Holy Door the day before his abdication, and on this day people could pass through it without any offering and be cleansed of their sins, because the price they had to pay had already been paid for them in advance by their venerable Father.

Rome shook.

The news spread like winged birds in all directions, and people could no longer even speculate about the real reason for Leo X's abdication, and they ran frantically through the streets, knocking on every door, telling their relatives and friends about this good thing, and this situation spread as quickly as a ripple of stones on the water, but unfortunately, because of the limitations of transportation and roads, not many people could reach Rome in time for the day before Leo X's abdication. The only people who could benefit from this were the Romans and the pilgrims who were lucky enough to be in Rome.

But that was enough, and on that day people gathered early in the streets and squares – fortunately St. Peter's Square had been expanded to allow for a tragic stampede, but even then, the passage from the Vatican Palace to St. Peter's Basilica was still wide and clean, and even if the people on both sides of the passage had to have their backs on their chests, their heads on top of their heads, and their heels on their toes, they did not want to occupy a small area the size of the fingernails of the passage.

They waited anxiously, and finally, the doors of the Vatican Palace opened, and the first thing one could smell was myrrh and sandalwood, then the children with the hanging stoves, then the papal cross (the cross with three bars, meaning the three places in the Pope's hands—heaven, the world, and the church), and in the middle of them were the priests with Bibles in their hands, the priests beside the priests with burning candles, and then the cardinals in purple vestments, with serious expressions and shaking bodies, Behind them was the palanquin of Pope Leo X, on which Leo X sat upright, holding the golden cross—his face was ruddy, his eyes clear, as he had been told, and he did not look at all dying or coerced.

Wearing a high crown of linen, a milky white cloak of sanctity, and a golden tassel and a sacred belt embroidered with silver thread draped over his shoulders, he looked so noble, so holy, so merciful, that people could not help but shout, "Long live Leo X!" They kept shouting, they wanted to believe that the Pope had indeed heard the voice of St. Michael the Archangel, and that he would abdicate penance to atone for their sins in accordance with God's will, and that they were eager for salvation – and that anyone who wanted to prevent Leo X from abdicating the throne or the opening of the Holy Door would be torn apart by this mob.

Julio walked beside Leo X's sedan chair, his hand pressed against the edge of the sedan chair, while cautiously observing the people on both sides of the passage.

He saw many familiar faces. Among them were friends of the Medici, as well as those who remained neutral, as well as their enemies. But at this time, their faces are full of unification and intoxication, and they may hang the bishop on the bell tower or poison the papal cup, but ironically, they stubbornly believe that God will forgive them for their innumerable sins.

Behind the group of cardinals were the clergy and friars, mostly carrying heavy icons and crosses, followed by the dignitaries of Rome.

As with all Masses and sacraments, although the clergy always promised that everyone would be saved, those who had the crown, or the gold, or the sword, were always at the top, and even if the Holy Gate was not consecrated on this day, the commoners and lowly slaves remained at the end in an orderly manner—they did not think that it would be their turn to be the whole day.

Leo X finally arrived at the Holy Door, which was supposed to be opened after fourteen years, and the seals and cement had been knocked on by the craftsmen, and he handed the golden cross to Julio, who was beside him. The Medici, instead took the little cross with his name engraved on it, and nailed it to the Holy Door, his hands trembled as he did so, and the hammer almost hit his thumb - he could not help but be excited, after becoming Leo X, Jo also hoped that he would be able to preside over the opening of the Holy Door and leave his pastoral coat of arms on the Holy Door, but things always changed, although he did not think that his brotherhood would be against him because of his desire for the authority belonging to the Pope, but when the King of France knelt before him and prayed for forgiveness, Joe's mind became clearer than ever—he could remain in the Pope's position, but on the other hand, cardinalism would only be a great constraint on Giulio in the future.

Don't let the lion be trapped in the fighting room, as they say, Joe chose Leo's holy name for himself, but he also knew that he was not a lion. For the sake of the Medici, for the sake of Italy, for the sake of the Church, he had to give up his place.

But what he didn't expect was that Giulio would insist on winning him the opportunity to open the Holy Gate, and his only regret was remedied, and when he inserted the key to the Holy Gate into the keyhole, Leo X saw his pastoral emblem - the triple crown and the two crossed keys were topped by a shield with six small balls, and the top ball was arranged in a triangular shape with three Sayuri flowers - and he almost choked up, tears blurred his eyes.

The pope watched his every move, and when the Holy Door suddenly opened to both sides, another thunderous cheer rang out, and Leo X held his head high and was the first to enter the bronze door, which symbolized the Gate of Heaven, then the cardinals, then the clergy, and then the nobles, every member of the Roman family...... It will be at least fourteen years before the Holy Gate is opened, and the next pope who voluntarily abdicates is far away, and even if he is willing to abdicate, he may not be qualified to do so.

Giulio had been by Leo X's side, and he watched crowd after crowd of people swarm in, fixing his gaze on a Franciscan monk dressed in gray, and seeing him nod, he turned back and assisted the Pope in the work of adding incense—a signal that the monk stepped back and raised his hands towards his colleagues.

Just as the people of Rome were scrambling to get past the wide open Holy Door, they didn't know that their own door had been opened.

Since Julio. After the Medici purged the whole of Rome with the victory over France, the Roman family became extremely submissive, but this does not mean that his enemies have nowhere to live, although Leo X never said the words of reform, but there are always wise people, Giulio, the Medici and Pius III are in the same line, but his methods are much more gentle and subtle than that of the impatient Julius II, but if you only look at the results - then it is clear at a glance.

What's more, Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire has always been quite dissatisfied with Leo X's support for Queen Juana I of Spain, and even affected the alliance between them, not to mention Louis XII of France, even the Visconti family of Milan and Anjou of Naples were also malicious to the Medici, and after the expulsion of Orsini, the most powerful family in Rome, they still found some allies, who may not have the courage to face the wrath of the pope, But I don't mind playing some small tricks that are not on the table in secret.

The pamphlets presented by Cardinal Buins, for example, are their masterpieces, and each family has a fortress-like mansion, each of which has hundreds of rooms, and it is not difficult to free up a few rooms for printing rooms, but these pamphlets have so far remained in the box, because Leo X has not yet abdicated, and the election of a new pope has not yet begun, they are just dormant, like rats in the gutter, staring at the best time with red eyes.

It can be said that they professed to be cautious, and in contrast to the deranged Julius II, they believed that it was necessary to deal with Julio, who was always mild, or who treated people with a gentle mask. The Medici, as long as they remained sceitly loyal, had warned their children not to allow them to behave recklessly during this time, lest they be caught.

But in any case, today they all leave their mansions, from their parents, to dispensable family members, or vassals who depend on them for survival, hostages, and even dependable, status slaves, who dress themselves up in new shape, and walk through the streets with joy, twisting rosaries and holding crosses - even if the Holy Gate is open for a whole year, they don't care about the little devotion, but the sooner they can enter the Holy Gate, the sooner they can be washed away from their sins, isn't that the most important thing?

Moreover, it is difficult to guarantee that some people will have some blasphemous thoughts in their hearts, although the Holy Gate is not a bathtub, but there will definitely be a difference between the first entry and the last entry, otherwise how can the craftsmen who are responsible for knocking off the lead seals and muddy water be warned, if they dare to enter the Holy Gate first, they will be executed?

But their departure also meant that the once heavily guarded mansions had become empty shells, and when a priest in black robes, an envoy of the cardinals in charge of salaries, came to knock on the door, the people inside did not even have the courage to say no...... It's also possible that they don't know anything about what's going on here – if they weren't excluded from the outskirts of power, they should be in St. Peter's Basilica by now.

The rest of the work became simpler, the people of the mansion were gathered together and watched, and the blackfriars, under the guidance of Duarte and others, searched every room with trepidation, and then skillfully searched every room—they were not short-sighted, greedy mercenaries, and those jewels, precious utensils, or holy relics could not shake their will, and they were like a storm, swept from here to there, and in a very small time, they found a great deal of incriminating evidence from the less solid rooms.

Perhaps he didn't expect his mansion to be breached so easily, and sometimes the printing press and the vicious pamphlets were even laid out in the courtyard.

Duarte and his party were not without their encounters with tricky targets, and it was up to the Assasin Assassins disguised as monks in the ranks - Giulio also took this into account, because there was no need to offer to cross the Holy Gate today, so even the poor paupers and pilgrims went to St. Peter's Square to be cleared of their sins, and there were few people in the streets, and the sound of the assault did not attract too many people's attention.

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