And on either side and behind this ominous carriage were the Swiss, as the woman's son called, and they made too much impression on the Romans—even the Swiss in the French army did not have such illustrious equipment, half plate armor or full-body chain mail, short swords, crossbows, and muskets, the blades of halberds and spears glittering in the sun, and the bright red feathers of their helmets as long as a woman's forearms, plump and flowing— Women can't help but want to pull them off and stick them in their hats or hair, of course, ostrich feathers have been the most popular ornaments of men and women for hundreds of years, and those bright red dyes are undoubtedly very expensive.

The most familiar and reassuring thing is that they are still dressed in yellow and black cracked trousers and boots of the same color, and they are still accompanied by arquebusiers on horseback, these arquebusiers are wearing white cloaks embroidered with golden shields with six bright red balls on the shields: "It's the coat of arms of the Medici family," and those who dared to peep excitedly turned back and shouted: "Is it the Medici?!" And while they were talking, the cardinal took off his broad-brimmed hat and exposed his face to the sun, so that the Romans recognized him.

"It's Julio. Cardinal Medici! With that, they quickly opened the door and stepped out into the street.

The old man clung to his rosary, or the cross, and looked at the young cardinal, who had been away from Rome for only three years, but how much the people of Rome had been tortured in those three years, and they were almost numb, when they saw him again, and saw the archbishop, who had saved them from the mob, who had saved the saint Picromini, and who had been saved by their prayers, and who had ridden down the avenue with a bright face and pure eyes, It was as if people who were immersed in the infinite darkness had once again seen the light of the dawn.

Since, since this man has also returned to Rome, can Rome once again return to the past, to the peace and stability of Pius III's time?

The children were still a little timid at first, but the teenagers who had studied in Giulio's church school, and even received Giulio's own teaching, had already excitedly cried out to the cardinal they were familiar with, Giulio's church school in Rome was ordered to be rectified after Julius II's accession to the throne, and Julius II let his own priests replace the teachers invited by Giulio, but it is conceivable that those priests who were originally from humble backgrounds had received an orthodox and complete education, after a few classes, The pupils found that they were not as learned as they had come, and the contempt which the children could not hide aroused the inferiority of the clergy, and the brutality of the inferiority, which even the bishops and abbots dared to shout and imprison, let alone the students, and they immediately resorted to sticks and rattans.

If these children had not experienced Julio's education, they might only cry and scream, but they would not have resisted, but they have already tasted the sweetness, how can they endure the bitterness? And this bitterness was "given" by the so-called priests who were not as good as them, who in turn beat the priests and fled home, never to go to school again.

Some simply let their children learn how to take care of the family business, while others hired tutors, but these teachers were obviously not as good at teaching as the priests selected and instructed by Julio, they spoke the scriptures boring and long, and the children were not allowed to ask questions or pay attention to anything outside the Bible, so what was the difference with Julius II's school?

If they were as chaotic as they were before they entered school, just playing, eating and drinking, but they had learned to think and take responsibility, and children's games had become boring in their lives, and they themselves were surprised that they had read books without being supervised.

The children even gathered in groups and began to learn about the things they were interested in, such as medicine, astronomy, Greek, etc...... Now, their archbishop, their teacher has returned, does that mean they can go back to the classroom that made them feel full and happy?

As they expected, Giulio did not get angry at their rude shouting, as the adults feared, but smiled and nodded at the still childish faces, waving his hand slightly, eliciting even greater cheers.

Ferdinand, who was in his arms, couldn't help but look up, he, and Duke Cosimo, who was like a brother, were the students of the archbishop, what about those commoner children? How can they be so presumptuous? But when he looked at Cosimo, Cosimo shook his head at him slightly, and he lowered his head again—and at this moment, a tiny petal floated from a distance, and landed right on his nose, itching, and he couldn't help himself with a big sneeze!

Giulio was also taken aback by him, in this era when there is no special medicine, it is good for children not to get sick if they can, he lowered his head, only to find that Ferdinand was rubbing his nose in embarrassment, and more petals were falling, he looked up in amazement, and saw that they were falling from the terraces on both sides, he didn't look up, it was okay, as soon as he looked up, the girl who stood on the terrace and threw the petals down immediately hid shyly.

It's the end of December now, only in the conservatory can there be roses or roses blooming, but it will not be as numerous as summer, these dotted petals on the stone slab, probably have made the conservatory not see a trace of color other than turquoise, Giulio has a warm current in his heart, he does things for the people of Rome, but he can't see these innocent people suffering, and never wants to get anything in return, so when they also cheer for Julius II, he doesn't feel sad, but when he finds out, they still remember him, When he was grateful, he couldn't help but be filled with joy.

Ferdinand did not understand, he had grown up in the court, and had seen a lot of sycophants, so he picked up a petal and looked at it, and found that it was not large and not fragrant, so he threw it aside in boredom - when his mother was on patrol, people would not only throw petals into the streets, but also spray perfume in the air, and the pillars on both sides of the streets would be wrapped in silk, and silk or velvet would hang from the terraces, and the nobles would rush to give her all kinds of expensive gifts.

Cosimo, who was beside Giulio, knew very well how important and valuable the hearts of the people who had always been despised by the dignitaries, and he could be said to have grown up in Cadiz, compared to Florence and Lucca, this new city was not significant, but for Giulio. For the Medici and even the entire Medici family, it was the safest, for no other reason, but because everyone there loved their archbishop and was willing to pay for him with their lives, and the enemies of the Medici could not find even a crack in Cadiz.

And the cities that his father, his guardian, conquered by his great learning, selfless justice, love, mercy, and severity, not only Cadiz, but also Luca, Florence, Siena, and Piombino, but only to varying degrees, but in time, Cosimo believed that even the dukes and lords, and the parents, would bow down to his father under the pressure of the general forces—he suppressed his slight agitation, and allowed himself to continue to watch the road before him, This was his father's path, and his path had not even yet begun to be seen.

Tiny petals are still falling to the ground or flying in the air.

Machiavelli was looking at them in the same way, and it was Giulio. The Medici returned to Rome for the third time, and this time, although no friends, lovers, or teachers awaited him, he was welcomed by the whole city of Rome, and they walked through it as if it were a simple but solemn triumphal ceremony—a sign that could almost be regarded as a good omen, and the thought of the upcoming papal election made him feel agitated and difficult to calm down.

And so they went, all the way until they reached the Vatican Palace.

If you want to say that the people here are most familiar with the Vatican Palace, in addition to the cardinals, it is probably Duarte, who wears a mask, which inevitably leads to some criticism, and there are also suspicions that he is a Venetian, because only Venetians wear masks all the time, but Giulio quickly dispelled their doubts, and he appointed Duarte as his secretary, so that he could help him with Brother John to help him in the affairs of Rome...... There are so many things to do, and the seven decrees of Julius II directly shake the foundations of the Holy See—yes, not that his intentions to purify the Church are wrong, even if his heart is not so pure, but no one can deny that the Church has reached the point where it cannot be reformed—the point is that reform never exists for the sake of personal power and profit, or rather, the means of reform should not be placed under an end, and he should think more completely before taking any measures, Rather than waiting for the problem to erupt only to realize that what you were doing was wrong.

For example, indulgences.

But now the indulgence is not the most important, since the decree not to buy and sell indulgences has been going on for some time, and the people's emotions have been temporarily vented in the previous atrocities, then the first thing they have to do is to give the funeral of Julius II, it stands to reason that the death of the pope should have all the kings and dukes of Christendom, together with countless believers mourning and seeing him off, but at this time, it will take several days at the earliest until they get the news and then rush over from their respective countries and territories, Louis XII of France may have arrived soon, but unfortunately no one welcomed him in Rome now, and there was already an Alexander VI before him, and there was a tacit understanding of what to do with Julius II, so only the cardinals, and some of the monks and clergy, or the people of Rome, saw him off silently and solemnly, and placed his body in the mausoleum.

They waited for three days, and more cardinals hurried back after receiving the news of the Pope's death, and after a ridiculous act of Alexander VI, the number of cardinals had swelled to nearly thirty, and in return for his loyalty to the clergyman, Julius II generously offered twelve cardinals, which had been stripped from the original cardinals (the multi-parish question) - so that the cardinals who finally gathered in the Sistine Chapel totaled forty.

Once again, the Romans watched as the door of the Sistine Chapel was sealed, but this time they were relieved that the streets were lined with Swiss and Cadiz, both of them Giulio. The soldiers of the Medici, they would make sure that they were not threatened and harmed by the mob. It's just that out of personal feelings, or some kind of hidden worry, they still hope that white smoke will rise from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel as soon as possible.

"Who will be the Pope this time?" One person couldn't help but mutter.

"I hope it's the Medici." Another said, making a cross on his chest, and then they looked at the chimney in the Sistine Chapel for a while, and then went home.

——————————

This is probably the most peculiar and bizarre pope election in the last hundred years, because the cardinals except for the bishops of the Medici line are somewhat confused, and the seven decrees of Julius II are still in their ears, and the most likely people to be elected as pope are his classmates, who are also taught by Pius III, so to speak...... Should they go over and ask him how much money or reward he would give them if they gave him a vote?

No, no, no, let's wait, they are closed in the Sistine, but news from the outside world can still come to them through various means, the king of France, Louis XII, has found that he has been fooled, and in a fit of rage, he is turning his troops back to Rome, what if this French king is also like the former king of France, Philip IV, plundered the cardinals and elected a pope that satisfies him?

And it's not impossible, you know, Louis XII occupied Rome before, but because of the changes in Naples, he had to leave first.

But let them just do it and choose George. Morality. It is also impossible for Cardinal Amboise to become Pope, and it is absolutely impossible for the four remaining Spanish cardinals to put Cardinal Amboise on the sole throne, but they also clenched the chips in their hands and tried to use it to communicate with Giulio. Medici negotiations.

And Angelo of the Venetian. Cardinal Dandoro is coveting the recipe for Roman fire.

There were also several cardinals of the Holy Roman Empire and its Low Countries, who they did not know to be Giulio. The Medici ruined the good things of Maximilian I, but they knew that the papal candidate had a cordial relationship with General Gonzalo, even if it was not an exaggeration to say that they were close friends with each other, especially not long after General Gonzalo returned to Spain, Medici's nephew was named Duke of Nuoro, a child who was only nine years old, could there be anything special, not because he had such an uncle.

Maximilian I still adhered to the same attitude and way of doing things, he was a cautious gambler, and never easily put his chips into the game - perhaps because he had too few chips in his hand, although he was called the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, in fact, the only thing he could control was the Grand Duchy of Austria and some scattered regions, such as the Netherlands, so he could exchange marriage contracts, and use conspiracies to usurp territories or countries, but when it came to actually sending troops, starting or participating in wars, That's not what this cunning guy would do.

The same is true of the election of the papacy, who will not clash with Louis X of France and will not offend Julio, who will become pope. The Medici, instead of trying to intimidate the Medici or intimidate them, let Cardinal Bouns – yes, Cardinal Bouns was a Dutchman, but he received very little support from his country and family, and it was Pius III who single-handedly promoted him, so he had much more affection for Pius III than for those of his unfamiliar relatives and friends – and even if he did so, he would not support anything other than Giulio. Someone other than the Medici. But after listening to the wishes or orders of the Emperor relayed by the cardinal of the Holy Roman Empire, he went to Julio's room in the hope of getting a conclusive answer.

"So, Maximilian I still wants to continue the previous deal?" Giulio asked.

"Yes." Cardinal Buins replied: "He promised that as long as you become pope and are willing to support his grandson Charles as king of Spain, his cardinal will vote for you in the elections." He looked at Giulio, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Although I know that you have made an agreement with Juana I, this queen is really not to be trusted, Your Highness, she seems to be insane, but in fact she is unkind, and I do not think she deserves our help." ”

"I will admit that you are right," said Giulio, "but Cardinal Buins, I am willing to side with the Spaniards, not just for the sake of their queen, who sees the precious votes of the cardinals of the Holy Roman Empire and does not realize that our greatest enemy is still on the sidelines. ”

"Who?"

"Who else," said Giulio, "we have indeed recaptured Rome, cardinals, but there are still more than 40,000 French men in Milan and Naples." ”

Some cardinals are still hesitant for this reason, and what if they elect a pope, could Louis XII not depose him, or let him die by various accidents, and then order them to elect a new pope? Cardinal Buins's mouth opened only to realize that he had thought too simply.

"The Holy Roman Empire would not have fought the French for the sake of Rome, but the Spaniards could." Julio stared at the candle flame: "Let's see the sincerity of this queen." ”

If it wasn't enough, he didn't mind fulfilling Maximilian I's wishes—Juana I's imagination was like honey to him as a simple priest, but for him now it was like poison—he didn't want to spend the rest of his days in solitude and incompetence in a great monastery in Toledo or somewhere else.

For the sake of those he loves, and for those who love him, and for himself.

——————

The chimney of the Sistine Chapel rose for the twelfth time, black smoke representing the inconclusiveness.

The people of Rome also began to become anxious, and although Rome was still calm and peaceful under the strict control of the Swiss and Cadiz - even the thieves did not show up much, they still wondered with confusion why the results had not yet come out. Could it be that Julio. Isn't a person like the Medici worthy of being elected pope?

The Seven Decrees of Julius II were constantly recited, he was not a good pope, but in the seven decrees he promulgated, except for the prohibition of indulgences and the sale of holy relics, the other six decrees were not excessive, and even did as many aspiring clergy wished, but it is a pity that their executors, those who were called clergy and judges, who were in fact as greedy as the devil, finally regarded them as a means of gaining power and profit—which Julius II did not know, or deliberately pretended not to know, Even before he ascended the papal throne, the clergy, eager to be rewarded, began to disobey his decrees—at first as small things, such as the monks of the convent suddenly having to make an important mass for the owner of the tavern, or one of the nuns dying of agony without seeing one of the appointed doctors, or the nephew of a bishop who unfortunately lost an ordained instrument......

Since these are trivial matters, it seems that it is harmless to be lenient with a little indulgence, sometimes it is themselves, sometimes it is their relatives, and sometimes it is their "friend" (like the "lover" of Archbishop Lucca...... For various reasons that could not be refused, they were forced to acquiesce to the actions of these people.

Some people who still have some sense may say that this is the first and last time, but this is often how the fatal wound is torn open. Whether it is the bishop, or the lord, or the head of the family, they are the most skillful in this method, and in only a few months they fall into the trap of the people, and, perhaps because of their humble origin, after the valve is opened, they are even more fierce and cruel than the original bishop or priest.

The trade in relics and indulgences became more rampant in the shadows; The monks of the monastery continued to get drunk and play all night; The nuns' black robes were covered with beautiful silk, and the cry of a baby resounded in the seminary; And the semi-stagnant priesthood trade has been carried out in more ways - the clergy no longer trade their positions only with money, they correspond with each other, they correspond with each other, you recommend my nephew, I ordain your nephew...... The process is vivid, the process is clear, even if it is only stammering the last sentence, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." "So what? They could well say that he was an extremely religious man, and piety, as everyone knows, has never been measurable.