Michelangelo swallowed and foamed at the mouth secretly, the movement sounding to me as distinctly clear as the crunch of a key opening the cylinder.

He was tempted, I said to myself.

"Forgive me for being stupid and not fully understanding what you mean."

Pretending, and then pretending, clearly forcing me to make my words clear and strengthen my safety factor, this clumsy acting is not as good as the prostitute who pretends to be happy in Flea Street.

He sat down across from him calmly, calmly as if he had grasped some fate.

"After all, the owner needs to use his fingers to help it stuff it into the buttonhole......"

I raised the cup to my lips and sighed meaningfully.

Michelangelo's expression darkened, knowing that he was not qualified to bargain, but his greedy heart refused to let go of this opportunity to take advantage, so he had to purse his lips and sit dry.

I took the glass away, put the button in his hand, and slowly closed my fingers one by one.

"You go back first, think about the cause and effect of everything, and don't mention it to anyone when you and I meet today."

I patted the preoccupied priest on the shoulder and told the attendant guarding the door to send him back: "Be careful, don't let your sworn enemies find out." ”

He got up to take his leave, and although his emotions were well concealed, I could still see through the shell of false deduction into his intense mental activity, he was wavering and hesitating, like a willow tree swaying in the wind, and would fall to the strong side at any time.

As I tugged at the remaining threads on my chest, Rollo led the two remaining guests into the tent, and Gailius' loud voice came from afar:

"Conspiracy, despicable fellow!"

It seemed that the two sides met as designed, and I quietly hooked the corners of my mouth, but my eyes were full of confusion, and I rushed to Gaiullius, who was still puffing up under the comfort of Bishop Odoses, and asked:

"You must watch your words, my priest, there are my knights here and out, and their tempers are not as good as mine."

"You're threatening me with this?"

The gray-haired priest pointed at himself more and more angrily, and even his tone became hot: "Your wolf ambition is well known, what else is there to say!" ”

Bishop Odosius looked at his companion and then at me in embarrassment, as if a man caught between the conflict between his mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, helpless in the face of the anger of both sides, he tugged at the corner of Julius's robe, and said in spite of the latter's disgust:

"I beg your pardon, Lord Duke, but your actions have indeed gone too far, just now we saw Michelangelo sneaking out of the tent, that bastard who betrayed the faith, oh, God forgive me for my gaffes."

He drew a cross on his chest, and after grabbing it for a long time, he couldn't find the cross that was tucked into his neck: "Did you call us here to prepare to read the ultimatum with arrogance, just like the master disposes of his own minions at will?" ”

"I think you're mistaken."

That's right, that's what I'm trying to achieve, you've got it.

I pretended to comfort the two senior bishops with a full pour of wine, though one of them still had the back of his head pointed at me, and his gray hair was dotted on his bald scalp, like a hairy egg in a cellar, and the more I thought about it, the more obvious the stench penetrated into my nostrils, and I was so disgusted that I hastened to rinse my mouth with wine.

"Did we misunderstand? This couldn't be clearer! ”

Gaiulius seemed to have fire on his buttocks, forcing him to jump around in a rage, making me think of the rabbit in the bush hiding from the falcon.

"From the day I met you, I knew you were a complete liar! I have to suspect that the cause of the death of His Holiness the Pope is probably a conspiracy that is difficult to talk about on the table, God, please punish this hypocritical villain! ”

He raised his arms exaggeratedly, and almost fell to the ground with a large amplitude, resembling a Saracen dwarf performing jiu-jitsu in the bazaar.

This acting skill is worth a silver coin, and I put my right hand on my cheek to watch his teeth and claws, and silently read in my heart: "He ripped off my buttons." ”

"What?"

Can't even understand this? A sucker!

"He offered to come to see me, and he had arranged to meet you with you, but he asked to come to me first, and then ripped off the buttons on his robe."

I measured the open neckline: "He wants to be the button between Nijmegen and the Vatican, to unite the two sides of the division, and of course he has made conditions, but it is nothing compared to what I can get." You know what I'm referring to, that throne that everyone in the Vatican covets, a position of eminence that you have missed. ”

"He's coveting the Pope's throne, isn't he?"

Gailius stared motionlessly into my eyes, his pupils glowing with a burning light.

"I knew that that lowly bastard was capable of such a filthy deed, that he was only a priest of the privy seal of the College of Cardinals, and that he dared to seek the highest honor!"

Compared with Gailius's thunderous jump, Odoxes shows more composure and sophistication that does not fit his age, perhaps this is the different division of labor that the two are responsible for in the Cardinal's Institution, one with a white face and the other with a red face, complement each other and complement each other, but unfortunately I don't like to be calculated.

"Father Michelangelo said to make a button connecting Nijmegen and the Vatican?" Odoses propped his hands on the table, making himself look strong, like an eagle with wings bowed and soaring.

"We will be your right-hand man, two hands that can control freely, the palms of which cannot have their own thoughts, they will only obey the instructions of their masters, even if they have to hold on to the flames of the pulsation."

"Two hands?"

I groaned and stroked the corners of my mouth, deliberately lengthening my voice: "Father Michelangelo went back to contact his gang, don't you want to waste any more time?" ”

I drank the last drop of wine from my glass, still licking my lips, and I couldn't remember the first time the attendant came in to remind me of the time to go.

"I'm so tired, I really want to find a warm bed stuffed with velvet to roll around, and it's better to have no bed bugs and lice on it."

"My lord, Lord Luo Luo has already set off with the front team, just now." The squire whispered as he helped me straighten my armor.

"Hmm!"

I snorted nonchalantly to indicate that I heard that the back of the chain mail was so tightly fastened, and I gasped hard, and suddenly asked as if I remembered something:

"Where did Bills go? Didn't that skinny Basel kid make him my squire? ”

"Lord Rollo thinks he is clumsy and doesn't feel comfortable serving by your side, so he decided to let me replace him."

The attendant bowed his head and stood aside cautiously: "My name is Nimes, and I am from the village of Bouvier in Herusbek. ”

I looked at the new squire, and his flushed face did look like that of a mud man who had been tending to the crops since childhood, and he looked like he was only in his teens.

"How old are you?" I put on my shawl and hung it with a gilt hook.

"Fourteen, sir."

He stared at his toes stiffly, thought for a moment, and added, "I entered the lord's castle as a squire at the age of five, and at that time...... At that time, Lord Booth was not yet lord of Herusbeck, and I served another baron, who often complimented me. ”

"Booth?"

I couldn't help but laugh at the hilarious plural words, the bull's official name sounded more comic.

"Of course I believe you're a good squire, but I promised Bills to stay with you, and as a nobleman, you can't go back on your word, I won't drive you away, Nimes of Bouvier, but Bills has to do the personal work, can you raise horses, children?"

"Yes, I will raise horses, one of my ancestors used to be the lord of the lord's horse squire, and everyone in our family will serve the horses, especially the lord's war horses."

He straightened his not very strong chest, and tried to be more confident: "Our family has always produced attendants, all of them are excellent, and the most powerful ones have even achieved standard attendants, you can trust me, my lord, I am willing to touch the cross and swear!" ”

"Okay, okay, don't be so nervous, I didn't say I was going to drive you away."

I took the sword and hung it on my waist, and patted Nim on the shoulder encouragingly: "Call Bills back, you go and take care of my horses, all horses, including horses and horses, and now you are the duke's stable, lucky lad." ”

Nim almost knelt down and kissed the corner of my robe with gratitude, but fortunately I stopped him from further excesses in time, in the eyes of these peasant children from humble backgrounds, becoming an attendant of the nobles is definitely an errand that can glorify their ancestors, especially the lord he serves, is a high-ranking nobleman like the Duke of the Empire, just like an illiterate person, who entered the scientific research group and became the head of a small project team, and the improvement of the grade is by no means a little bit.

When I walked out of the camp gate, just after the hottest noon of the day, the sun baked the bare rocks warm, and even the green grass that grew in the cracks of the stone was wilting and drooping its head, in fact, this time period was not suitable for marching, people had reached the point of physical fatigue, the heavy eyelids made everyone immersed in a sluggish atmosphere, I was afraid that the enemy would not be able to lift the spirits, I looked at the rows of sleepy knights passing in front of me, and thought with great certainty.

The clergy in the tent still had their hands tied behind their backs, and they were being loaded into a rudimentary carriage, looking like poor ghosts in a tavern who had lost a bet.

I saw Michelangelo nodding slightly at this side from a distance, there were a few good companions sitting next to him, each of whom could bring a lot of sympathy and support in the Vatican, Gaiulius glared hatefully at the small movements between the two of us, and that determined expression seemed to determine that I was playing some kind of conspiracy, Odosius stabbed the grumpy old bishop, and then gave me a decent smile, a terrifyingly calm opponent, as deep as the sea, I hated this kind of uncontrollable person, I turned my head and rode away, Subconsciously thought so.

The destination of this trip is Rome, the eternal city that exists alone, the starting point and peak of power, the other side of the dream that many people have been striving for all their lives, she has a thousand different styles in the eyes of a thousand people, but in Game of Thrones, she has only one posture, the crown of the victor and the grave of the loser.

My decision to march into Rome was opposed by some, who preferred to target Verona, a hundred miles away, for the rebellious vassal still had a sizable army under his command, and the enemy who occupied the position was either able to attack or defend at any time.

"The combined forces of Bavaria and Carinthia, I am afraid, it will be difficult to win quickly, and this battle will turn into a tug of war that is not good for both sides." Said the dissenting knight.

"My goal is Rome, and only Rome, this is the ultimate reason why we have traveled thousands of miles, and now that victory is close at hand, should we sacrifice our roots?"

I clenched my fists and pounded the map on the table! "Verona has become an orphan, it will not have a fatal effect on the whole game, the lord of the vassal is a smart man, he will understand how to make a choice when the situation is clear, he has lost the meaning of stubbornness, understand? The Pope is dead, the Vatican is in our hands. ”

I pinched my bones so that they clicked: "In the hands of the winner!" ”

I finally persuaded the others to lead a front team of a hundred knights to explore the way, and by the way to find suitable supply points and camps for the army, after all, Nijmegen's bloated men and horses needed to replenish supplies and fresh water, and the rush of the march made us have to give up most of our baggage, and now there are dozens of pampered Vatican mouths, and nearly a thousand temporarily recruited prisoners, and it is necessary to maintain the stability of the army's morale with sufficient food.

As for the other rebels who refused to surrender, they had their own carrion-loving crows and wild dogs to greet their dead loyalty, bloody skulls and rotten sticky eyes.

It was a glorious and boring march of victory, with city-states large and small along the way, showing a one-sided tendency to cater to them, the city-states that were already firmly on the side of the empire, and the city-states that were firmly on the side of the empire greeted each other, providing quality accommodation and food for the army, rejoicing that they had successfully bet on their bets, and the city-states that had joined the rebel camp were more humble, and most of the armies and young citizens who relied on them to maintain their independence followed the Pope to the battlefield, and at this moment they were either nailed to the tip of the spear, or the defeated soldiers who fled to the deep mountains and old forests, These city-states lost their bargaining chips and opportunities, and had to use self-defeating flattery to serve the strong, struggling on the life and death line of the country.

Fortunately, I don't have the idea of counterattacking for the time being, and the capture of Rome to consolidate the results of victory is the current priority, and I can still distinguish which is more important, sesame seeds or watermelon.

After feasting on delicious Italian sausages, stewed chicken with green peppers, and other rich soups, I began to wonder if the city-state, which was served with good wine and food, wanted to slow down our march with good food.

"The mother of Western food really lives up to its name!"

I hiccuped comfortably, swaying with the jolts of my horse's back, expertly sharpening a small stick with a dagger, hoping to make a toothpick that would work.

We crossed the Po River at Mantua, drove all the way in, and were greeted heroically in Bologna, the capital of the Empire, and the nobles of the city told me that the city-states ahead were frightened by the fall from heaven in Nijmegen.

"A bunch of prostitutes and rat crossbred soft eggs!"

His exact words were as follows: "The road to Rome is clean and there is not even a straw stick, rest assured, my lord, the rest of the journey will be safe and pleasant." ”

"I hope to borrow your good words."

I shrugged my shoulders noncommittally and continued to concentrate on the roasted lark stuffed with nuts and sauces in front of me, for the first time I knew that a lark with a beautiful sound could be so delicious that the appetite of Europeans was far greater than later generations realized.

Over the next two days, we were well rested and resupplied in Bologna, and the city-states that supported the empire gathered their armies, and by the time the army had moved out of the warm and cozy cities, the army numbered more than six thousand, and soldiers in different costumes followed the dragon banner of Nijmegen with colorful flags representing their identities, ://bqg3