Sitting alone in the tent of Caesar, surrounded by the brown-skinned Jem, brother of the Ottoman Turkish Sultan, the Holy See with Borgia 40,000 gold ducats a year, it is clear that Charles VIII thought that the eldest son alone could not guarantee the loyalty of Pope Alexander, he needed more leverage, and that a hostage might easily escape, but the two would be tied to each other - for example, now, if Caesar could find a chance to escape, he must take Jem with him, otherwise this shameless heretic would be screaming.

Jem rolled over on the silk carpet and looked like he was sleeping soundly.

Caesar and Jem were treated like a duke to the French, second only to King Charles VIII of France, their tents were new and strong, airtight, the silk carpets laid on the ground were rich and thick, they were able to use gold cups and silver utensils, and they had calves or lamb meat every day except for fasting—in any case, if Charles VIII had really conquered Naples, he still hoped that the Holy See would give him the right to rule Naples legally. But from the bottom of his heart, Caesar knew that this was almost impossible, because Alexander VI's greatest desire was to unify all of Italy, and they had already planned to not allow a single Frenchman to overstep his bounds and become the master of the Boots Peninsula.

So Caesar knew that he had to be fast, and what made him angry was that he had thought that the fortress at the point of the French march would become an insurmountable obstacle, or that the Neapolitans would be able to build a solid and tight defense, but they all disappointed Borgia - the Emilian and Romagna who held those fortresses were always in a state of vacillation, sometimes in favor of the Grand Duke of Milan and King Charles VIII of France, and sometimes in favor of Pope Alexander VI and Naples, but while they were hesitating, The French army had already marched in, and in the face of 25,000 soldiers, not a single one dared to question or stop them.

And the old king of Naples, Ferrante, was unfortunate enough to go to see the merciful God before Charles VIII started the war, and his son pinned his hopes on his brother and son, but his brother was not able to intercept the French army from Genoa in time, and his son, the crown prince of Naples, did not see the shadow of the enemy, heard their footsteps, and could not wait to flee from Romagna, Charles VIII will officially set foot in Naples tomorrow, and it is only a matter of time before he conquers it, it is very likely, As soon as he entered Naples, he would look for a church and ask for a coronation, that is, to force Alexander VI and the Holy See to officially recognize him as the king of Naples, but Alexander VI would never agree, and no one knew what the young French king would do with Caesar, and Jem was even luckier than him, given the special value of the latter, Charles VIII would not easily throw away the 40,000 gold ducats a year on the gallows, even at the worst, he would just change places to live, Maybe get more wine and women.

Then he heard the voice of his servant, or rather the guard, talking to the others, and then the French bastard walked in with a lewd smile on his face: "My lord," he said, "your long-awaited love has come." ”

Caesar couldn't help but be irritated by this thoughtless but intriguing remark, but he wisely didn't let it go on the surface, he just put down his glass and smiled slightly, the other party's shadow was reflected in the corner of the tent, and he only needed to wait a few seconds to get an answer.

He got it.

The French guard walked to the side, and outside the open tent door walked into two people, two women, walking in front of a gorgeous but worldly face, the chest was as amazing as the buttocks, and every inch of smooth and shiny skin seemed to have been touched and licked by the devil, and she walked in, while easily stirring her fluffy curls, the curls continued to overflow with the fishy smell of musk and fur seal kidneys, which was simply the embodiment of desire walking in the world, and Jem, who woke up at some point, sat on the silk carpet and stared at this stunner with his mouth open, Caesar felt as if his soul had flown out of his brown throat and into the woman's palm.

"Your Excellency." She said in a hoarse voice, "I have found you the virgin you want." ”

She nodded to the person behind her, who immediately lifted her hood and took the mask.

That's Julio. Medici.

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Let's set the clock back a little.

In the secret little room of Alexander VI, the last guest who had just walked out. England, the Holy Roman Empire, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Venice, the Papal States have reached an agreement to form a Holy Alliance, they have joined forces to weave a strong net between Italy and France, Charles VIII can certainly get Naples, but he is only afraid of dying as the king of Naples, no! Alexander VI thought that even if he died, he would not allow a Frenchman to become the rightful master of Naples, even if Charles VIII did not have children in marriage, but that would mean that the descendants of the Valois dynasty would have the right to inherit Naples.

The problem is that it takes time to assemble an army and mercenary soldiers, and Charles VIII is only one step away from Naples, and if his messenger submits a request for the Pope's coronation, he can't even try to delay it - Charles VIII's information is stored in a whole box here with Alexander VI, and he is still a young man, a child when he inherited the throne, but he is sophisticated and decisive, look at the things between him and Anne of Brittany, you know, before that, Anne of Brittany had already signed a marriage contract with Maximilian I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and if it were someone else, he might have hesitated because of this, but as for him, he directly bought off Lovere with 50,000 gold florins, and declared the marriage contract between Anne of Brittany and Maximilian I null and void in the name of Innocent VIII, and at the same time pressed Brittany, almost blackmailing Anne of Brittany to become his queen.

Alexander VI had no doubt that the slightest strangeness in his appearance and the smell of ominousness by the French boy might have the French immediately alerted and swift action, and Alexander VI was well aware that, because of the selfishness and conservatism of the Italians, the so-called Holy Alliance was nothing more than a loose combination of necessity out of a common threat, and their oath was no stronger than the handwriting written on the sand, as long as the war was slightly frustrated, there could be no doubt, There was an immediate gap between them between Charles VIII who could lobby and coerce, the alliance would fall apart perhaps in a matter of seconds, and the Papal States, the proponents, would be scapegoats, and his best outcome would be to rest in Rome after suffering great humiliation, as Bernifasius VIII had done in exile in Babylon.

He could not take such a risk, he had only been pope for two years, his journey had only just begun, and the Borgia family name could not be severed here - he clasped his hands and prayed to God and the saints, he knew that when he made his decision, he almost put his son Caesar in danger, or dead, but he still prayed that Caesar would be able to get out of the camp of Charles VIII, surrounded by 25,000 soldiers, unharmed—because he knew very well that he would never do anything for Caesar, He could not send the Templars, he could not send the Borgia Assassins, and he could not even remind Caesar, praying that he would be able to escape, but also that he would not be so clever as to escape prematurely to the point that Charles VIII was suspicious.

"Let Juan come to see me." He said. His secretary Duarte quickly went down, and in a few minutes brought his second son Juan, as the second son, his future had already been arranged by Alexander VI, Caesar as his eldest son to inherit his position in the Holy See, that is, the future pope, and Juan was the king of Borgia in the world, of course, he was still only a general, but the news brought by Alexander VI undoubtedly made him very happy, he would become the commander of the Holy Alliance as a sixteen-year-old boy, although only in name, but this name will be the envy of many kings and dukes.

Alexander VI patiently taught his second son, from the composition, structure and layout of the Holy Alliance, the identity of individuals, their privacy and interests, to the composition of the army of King Charles VIII of France, his way of fighting, personal preferences, personality traits and important people around him, etc., he especially pointed out that Charles VIII had a sworn enemy of Borgia by his side, Giuliano. Della. Cardinal Lovere, it was his repeated admonitions and instigations that made Charles VIII full of malice and vigilance towards the Holy See and Borgia, if possible......

"If possible," Hu Anxin continued, understandingly, "poor Cardinal Lovere will die a humble and miserable death on the chaotic battlefield. ”

Alexander VI wanted to smile, but he couldn't laugh at the thought of his eldest son Caesar, "If your brother Caesar is lucky enough to be alive at the time of the war......"

"I'll get him back." Juan said in a hurry.

Alexander VI knew that his eldest son, Caesar, did not have a good relationship with Juan, but he tried his best to clarify with Juan the relationship between him and Caesar, that they were two legs and two arms of the Borgia family, and that they drew nourishment from this body, but they were not related to each other, and could even rely on each other to support each other, and there was no conflict of interest between them, but they could make each other stronger when they were united.

Juan seemed to listen carefully to every word of his old father, but as soon as he walked out of St. Peter's Palace, a vicious smile appeared on his face, yes, their father chose a glorious path for each of them, but he may not covet Caesar's papal throne, Caesar was not, he was dissatisfied with his father's choice, and he had always hoped to replace himself as the head of the Templars and the army, and everyone who should know knew about it, Caesar rarely covered it up, and their father was no exception, but he still made such a request- Yes, the Borgia family has always been able to forgive the hurt and humiliation inflicted on their relatives, in this case, Caesar should also forgive himself for his momentary negligence, after all, on the battlefield, anything can happen.

After making a bloody decision, Juan walked towards St. Peter's Square, he didn't notice the figure of Rona hidden behind the column, as soon as he saw him go away, Lucrecia immediately lifted his skirt and walked quickly to Alexander VI's office, along the way the bishops and priests showed surprised and amazed eyes, although Pope Alexander VI could almost be said to openly recognize several of his children, but Lucretia was never as careless as her brother, she was generally only in the Silver Palace, She met her father at her own residence or in the Pope's house, but now she could not care at all, and after obtaining Alexander VI's consent, she rushed into his room like a whirlwind, knelt at his feet, and kissed his feet.

Alexander VI was taken aback, as the Pope, hundreds of people kissed his holy feet a day, for them, this seemingly humiliating act was an honor, but for his own daughter, Alexander VI was not reluctant, he quickly pulled his daughter up, let her sit on his lap, and stroked her face with pity: "My dear child," he said, "what are you doing here?" Anything you want? Gems, or silk clothes, it doesn't matter, just say, I can satisfy you whatever you want. ”

"Then give me an army." Lucrecia said, "Let me go and rescue my poor brother." ”

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Alexander VI cried out, "You are a girl, and," he said bitterly, "it is Caesar's duty, a sacrifice to be made as a Borgia." ”

"Caesar was never afraid to die for Borgia," Luclayia said, "but it was on the battlefield, not in the room, on the gallows or on the guillotine, in obscurity, dying because of a conspiracy." ”

"Are you blaming your father?" Alexander VI asked sharply.

Lucrecia jumped from his knees, fell to her knees, and grabbed his vestment: "Please," she cried out, "Please, don't be so cruel, save Caesar." ”

"Am I such a tyrannical and ruthless father?" Alexander VI cried out: "O God, send down a thunderbolt and tear my chest open, so that my children may see my broken heart, and will I not be troubled for Caesar, and not grieving for him?" You hateful child, if I could, I would trade a hand for my beloved son, an eye, a leg, but Lucresia, in this cold world, God is always giving endless trials to sinful human beings, he not only sharpens our bodies, but also our hearts, my beloved daughter, you are still a child, so you will not understand that people are always losing, always losing, not today, or tomorrow! ”

"Daddy!"

"Get out!" Alexander VI shouted hoarsely, "Get out of my room, Lucretia, don't let me call Duarte in." ”

Lucrecia immediately jumped to her feet, she also had the pride of Borgia, and would not let her father's subordinates see her embarrassed appearance, but she did not say goodbye to her father, and hurried out of the Pope's room as she had come. Duarte waited outside the door, but never heard the Pope's voice.

Alexander VI sat in his chair, exhausted, and when he inadvertently turned to the mirror in the corner, he saw that his eyes were full of tears.

For hours afterward, the Pope did nothing, he sat quietly in his chair, waiting for the tears to dry up and the blood to cool. It was not until late evening that Duarte knocked softly on his door, and Alexander VI knew that Duarte would not disturb him at this time if it were not for something important, and sure enough, Duarte reported that Lucretia had gone to the house of Picomini.

What's in Picoromini's house? There is Julio. Medici. Duarte thought that Alexander VI would be angry, but what he didn't expect was that the stern human lord laughed softly instead, and a moment later, a deep chill suddenly swept across Duarte's spine.