After Paula's explanation, Lu Xiao knew why she was sent to Xunfang Rose in a comatose state.

In order to ensure the timeliness of the exchange of information, Giovanni temporarily transformed the Auditore mansion into an operational command center.

With the exception of Anneta and other people who had already joined the Assassin Order, most of the servants in the mansion were temporarily dismissed and sent on leave to live in farmsteads outside Florence.

In the absence of servants, the sleeping Lu Xiao will inevitably be neglected in the Auditore mansion, and at Paula's initiative, Lu Xiao was sent to the top floor of Xunfang Rose for temporary placement.

The top floor of the Rose is a private floor owned by the owner, Paula, and is usually not open to the public, except for Giovanni who occasionally visits...... Ahem.

The busy Paula specially arranged for three of the store's well-received signature courtesans to help take care of Lu Xiao.

All three high-ranking courtesans were peripheral members of the Assassin Order, and were usually responsible for gathering important information from high-ranking customers, and were very skilled in serving people.

Unlike the Renaissance gentlemen who regarded syphilis as the glory of "conquest", Lu Xiao did not want to contract this troublesome disease in this era when there were no antibiotics.

After the initial recovery of his body, Lu Xiao immediately asked to return to the Auditore Mansion to participate in the pre-war preparations.

Paula couldn't persuade Lu Xiao, who was bent on leaving, so she could only agree with his decision and send someone to send Lu Xiao, who had not fully recovered, all the way back to the Auditore mansion.

As Paula said, the Auditore Mansion at this time had long lost its usual warmth and leisurely atmosphere, and when Federico, who had always been a child, came to greet him, his face was full of solemnity and solemnity.

Lu Xiao frowned puzzled and asked, "What's wrong?" Why this expression? ”

Federico shook his head with a calm face: "Our intelligence war with the Templars has started in advance, and many brothers have lost their lives because of this, including acquaintances I have known for many years. ”

Lu Xiao suddenly realized that as a noble assassin who grew up in a big city, Federico had never seen a truly tragic battle before.

Seeing his acquaintance for many years die in front of him, the eldest son of Auditore, who has an open-minded and witty temperament, may have suffered a lot of psychological shock.

patted Federico on the shoulder hard, Lu Xiao didn't say those words of comfort that were fake and empty, this level had to be passed by himself after all.

This conflict is both a crisis and an opportunity for the Assassin Brotherhood, and those who can survive this war will undoubtedly grow greatly, including the aristocratic rookie assassins like Federico, who have not been in the right frame of mind before. ’

……

With Rodrigo leading a large number of Templars into Florence in batches, the head-on clash between the two organizations had not yet fully begun, but the undercurrent surging in the Emerald City had already attracted the attention of many high-ranking officials with more sensitive senses.

Lorenzo was not blind, nor was he stupid, and the important information given by Giovanni had been firmly remembered by him.

However, as the ruler of the Florentine Republic, the center of attention of thousands of people, he could not cancel the annual Easter Mass because of the threat of the Templars, and at most strengthen security during the festival.

Compared with the shrewd and capable Lorenzo, Giuliano, another core member of the Medici family, seems a little heartless.

He scoffed at the Templar threat and did not believe that anyone would dare to assassinate the Medici family in full view.

After several generations of accumulation, the Medici family's status in Florence was not problematic to be called emperors, and this long-term sense of superiority made Giuliano lose his vigilance against the crisis.

If it weren't for Lorenzo's stern order to grounding Giuliano, the playboy might still be having fun at the city's high-end banquets.

The arrow had to be fired, and this was the same for the Templars.

Missing this Easter opportunity, the Medici family, who had already raised their vigilance, could not give Rodrigo a better chance.

Although there was some uneasiness in their hearts, the Spaniards could only take advantage of the fact that the Medici family was not fully prepared to launch a forced attack, and strive to make a contribution to this blow.

Rodrigo's insistence on dragging the Medicis from their position as the rulers of Florence was not only for the benefit of the Templars, but also for the sake of adding more political capital to his own competition for the next pope.

The pope at this time was Sixtus IV, who had reigned for nearly five years since his accession to the throne in 1471.

As the nephew of the first Spanish Pope Calixter III, Cardinal Rodrigo was desperate to succeed to the next pope, so he had to add more glorious deeds to his throne.

Florence had openly resisted the long-arm jurisdiction of the Papal States for many years, and if the city could be restored to its "glory", Rodrigo's status as the mastermind would naturally rise.

The rivalry between the two organizations came to a fever pitch when Rodrigo himself arrived in Florence.

The Patch family no longer concealed their identity as papal dogs, and Francesco repeatedly attacked Lorenzo in public for not being devout enough to the Lord, in order to undermine the influence and status of the Medici family.

Lorenzo was not a soft-hearted man, and he smashed the Pache family's criminal record, which he had deliberately suppressed a few years ago, on the desk of the consul Uberto Alberti.

Although Uberto, the standard-bearer of justice, had already defected to the Templars, in order to maintain his image of impartiality in front of the people, paralyze Lorenzo's cognition, and betray at a critical moment to maximize the effect, Uberto had no choice but to summon Francesco and Vieri, who had been charged with multiple crimes, to the court.

Vieri's charges are relatively light, most of them are some accusations of bullying men and women, and with the influence and financial resources of the Pache family, most of them reached a "settlement" with the victims on the spot.

But Francesco was not so lucky, he faced multiple murder charges, and was sentenced to prison by Uberto in court, pending further scrutiny and the verdict at a later date.

Unaware of his lack of knowledge in the eyes of Giovanni and Lorenzo, Uberto deliberately pretended to be a lico, trying to persuade Lorenzo to spare Francesco on the grounds that the Pache family's power and influence might be harmful.

Giovanni watched the treacherous clown perform a clumsy real-life stage play, and Lorenzo, who was well versed in statesmanship, remained gentle to appease Uberto, perfunctory saying that he would find an opportunity to open up to the Pache family.

The failure of the Pache family in officialdom naturally affected Jacopo de Pacci, who was an advisor to Lorenzo, and the relatively mild-mannered Pache elder was temporarily removed from office by Lorenzo on the grounds of avoiding suspicion.

While the two sides are coming and going on the surface, the intelligence war in the secret is also in full swing.

Due to the sudden and heavy damage to the Patch family, the personnel they had planted in advance near the Church of the Hundred Flowers of Our Lady of Flowers were inevitably affected.

Giovanni took the opportunity to strike hard, and when the opponent was exposed by the turmoil, he personally led a number of high-ranking Assassins to assassinate the City Watch guards close to the Patch family.

Lorenzo also played a role in this, and he used coercion and inducement to win over and divide some of the wavering Fileneau families, and successfully split the originally united pro-Pache family.

During this time, the Templars led by Rodrigo were not stupidly passively beaten, and Rodrigo integrated the Templar elites brought into Florence in batches with the help of the Patch family's power.

These Templars, led by a group of high-ranking knights, assassinated Lorenzo's officers in Florence in much the same way.

Later, with the help of Rodrigo's promise of victory as a cardinal, he took the opportunity to prop up the pro-papacy faction.

When Lu Xiao returned to the Auditore Mansion, both sides had made the final preparations for the Easter head-on clashes, and the next step was to see who could make the best move.