Vol 4 Chapter 136: Machiavelli

Sazi looked sullenly into the Sazi Palace behind the prayer hall.
In the past, those closed places have not been time to be demolished, and there are not many rooms in the entire Sazi Palace that can be used for human activities.
In the past, in response to Savonarola's promotion of a simple and poor lifestyle, Sazi had to make people close most of his home, but now it is because he wants to take over the headache of Florence, a mess that has no time to consider. Such things as repairing the palace.
Only after becoming the governor, more people came to visit every day, and the whole house became overcrowded, which made Sazi have to seriously consider whether to renovate the house.
The Sazi Palace is not very large, only about 20 rooms. The whole palace is a concave shape facing the gate symmetrically along the center line. In the middle of the concave shape, there is a small garden.
Sazi now lives in a house on the right wing of the palace. Except for himself, not all other members of the Sazi family live here. Some of them live on the street not far from the Sazi palace, and some are further away. Where.
Not all Sacchi were so lucky. Gulvio Sacchi was able to enter the city of Florence, only because he knew better than others how to gain the trust of Savonarola.
The first thing he did when he returned to Florence was to declare a break with his vulgar and depraved self, and at the same time he made most of the Sazi Palace closed because they were "symbols of depravity and ugliness in the past", and he asked Knowing a near-legendary relationship between Botticelli and Savonarola.
As a secular art master most disgusted and hated by Savonarola, Botticelli found a way to wash his fallen thoughts from Savonalola, and then the master resolutely gave up his artistic achievements and turned to Engage in persuading other people who are addicted to art to go the wrong way.
It was at this time that Sazi became close friends with Botticelli, and then approached Savonarola through the painstaking master of art, and finally gained his trust.
City officials, finance officials, and then co-ruling, and now overthrow Savonarola as Florence's highest ruling, Sazi seems to have reached the highest peak in his life.
But Gulvio Sazi himself knew that the facts were not as simple as many people thought.
The conditions proposed by Alexander VI not only made the accident more angry, but even in the face of Nomelo, he almost burst out of anger.
Allowing the currency issued by the Holy See to circulate in Florence, this condition made Sazi feel as if he had two hands reaching out from Rome to choke his throat.
As long as people with a little common sense know the importance of coinage rights, they understand what it means for a region to have a market currency issuance right.
Especially in places like Florence, if the currency issued by the Holy See floods the market, Sazi ca n’t even imagine the consequences.
Sazi wanted to refuse, and he believed that this was not just his responsibility as Florence's governor. Even for his personal benefit, he could not tolerate this kind of thing.
But in the end he responded to Nomelo: "I need to think about it."
As a former financial officer, Sazi knew more about Florence's situation than anyone else.
If today's Florence is a mess, Sazi does not think it is demeaning or slandering.
If he had to say it seriously, he even thought the situation was even worse.
From the time when the Pisa began to pour a lot of cheap goods into Florence, in the turmoil for several months, the Florentine's money poured out like a running water, and no one could stop this terrifying wave, and As the Florentine merchants hoarding their goods were flooded by this tide of commodities, what was waiting for them was successive bankruptcy.
Then came the emergence of that James Columbus, which was played by Sazi himself, even promoted by himself.
It was because of his relationship that James Columbus was able to establish his exchange so smoothly, and then it was the looting of the remaining merchants who had not yet gone bankrupt.
All this was needed by Sazi at the time. At first he wanted to be a more important person in Pisa Vonarola in this city, and then as the situation changed he saw the crumbling of the rule of Savonarola.
Now that Savonarola has been overthrown by the riots, he has also succeeded in becoming the ruler of Florence, but only now has he discovered that he seems to have fallen into a trap set earlier.
Loot the market of Florence, plunder the wealth of the entire city, and then when the city is almost paralyzed, then issue a fatal blow to Florence by issuing currency!
Sazi even has to sincerely admire this series of actions, but under this admiration is endless bitterness.
What should I do? Sazi has been thinking about this since he left the city hall. He knew that if he refused, the one waiting for him or Florence might be the attack of the Montina army stationed on the king, and he knew that the mercenaries were all What virtue is, can be seen when he instructed those "irritated people" to riot.
After the mercenaries knew that there was a riot in the city, the first thing they did was not to rush to the location of the riot immediately, but to collect their own things and retreat into their fortresses. The reason for this is that their task is only to guard against foreign enemies, and they cannot control what the Florentines themselves have to do.
This attitude of the City Defense Army made Sazi secretly relieved, but he also knew who these were. As for the defense of foreign enemies, he did not think that the City Defense Army would really defeat Florence and once defeated them. The Venetian Montina army fought to death.
In addition, Sazi will not forget that the weapon that launched the riot was provided by the Earl of Montina, which made him secretly doubt whether there was anyone left in Florence.
At least in his opinion, that James Columbus was not a truly pure businessman.
More importantly, he felt the threat from Alexander VI.
If he refused, would Alexander VI turn to support the Medici family?
At the thought of this possibility, Gulvio Sazi couldn't help but shudder, he would not forget the revenge suffered by the Sazi family after the failed attempt to overthrow the Medici family, even after so many years, but one Thinking of him was still terrified.
Once the Medici family returns, waiting for all of them, only death!
As if all the roads were gone, Sazi looked at the wine glass in front of him, and even the servant walked into the room without paying attention.
"Master, a man named Nicolo Machiavelli asks."
Hearing this name, Sazi was stunned. Too many people have visited him in the past few days, and he was very warm to receive those guests, whether he is going to take the road to be a half-man in the new government, or Wanting to ask for asylum to escape the search, he did not refuse those people.
He needed to get enough support quickly, but the arrival of Machiavelli surprised him a little.
Sazi knows that Machiavelli is now leaving Pisa, and it seems that he once had an errand with the army under the Count of Montina.
Now this Machiavelli suddenly appeared, was it the order of the Earl of Montina?
Thinking of Count Montina, he couldn't help thinking of Lucrezia, which made Sazi's heart slightly excited.
He did not know why Machiavelli came, but he did not want to lose this opportunity, because he was anxious to know the true purpose of the Vatican.
"Is that Machiavelli from the government office?" Sazi asked slightly thoughtfully.
"He is so self-reported."
"Then let him go to the main hall," paused and thought about it. Sazi continued and said, "Let him come here to see me."
"Master, please." The servant was a little surprised. He knew that those who could be invited to this room were very important people, such as the high-ranking officials in the government, and of course there were the previous masterminds who plot to overthrow Savonarola,
Machiavelli was also a bit surprised. He didn't expect that he would be invited to this room, which was obviously somewhat more private.
In many cases, ordinary guests will be invited to the main hall more, because it is more public, and the living room with a private taste is only accessed by guests who are very close.
Machiavelli was unfamiliar with Sazi, whether in the government office or elsewhere, or it is a matter of luck for the current governor to know his name.
Until seeing Machiavelli, Sazi was still wondering how to hear from this man about the Earl of Montina.
But he soon discovered unexpectedly that this Machiavelli did not seem to bring any news from the Earl of Montina, but came to him for help.
This made Sazi disappointed and puzzled. He did n’t know if the person really asked for help or had other plans, but thinking of his previous experience, Sazi decided to ask him about the Montina army Virtual and real.
"That's a real army."
Mentioned that this Machiavelli was a little excited, he felt that this was his opportunity, and vaguely he felt that in addition to being able to get rid of the dilemma of the identity of Savonarola, he may also be appreciated by the new governor .
"They have strict discipline and brave character, which is rarely seen in other armies. I have seen the army of Pisa. Their more role is to gather together to intimidate their opponents. If their enemies are strong enough, they are very He will be afraid soon, and if the enemy shows a firm desire to fight, they will immediately flee. "
Machiavelli said with contempt, seeing Sazi's face showing a serious and serious look, he couldn't help being secretly excited, he had heard that the magistrate was a very arrogant person, if he didn't feel anyone Interest is often shown mercilessly, without regard to the other person's face.
So now he shows such a serious look, it should not be just out of politeness but really interested.
Machiavelli made up his mind to adopt a slightly risky approach.
Since returning to Florence, Machiavelli has not had a good time these days. He always worried about being pulled from the house to the street, and then he was beaten first and then hanged there. Rows of rows have just been built on the gallows.
He was nervous every time someone walked through the door or knocked on the door. These days made him feel that he might be driven crazy if he went on.
So after finally making up his mind, he ventured out of the compound, and after a while hesitated, he decided to visit the new consul.
Machiavelli made such an almost risky decision because he felt that his experience in the military of Pisa and Montina could help him, and now seeing things as expected, Machiavelli could not help but secretly loose. Tone.
He knew that even if he could not get the appreciation of the consul, at least he should not be sent to the gallows.
"Please forgive the consul, I will also use our own city defense army as a metaphor, but this metaphor is not so pleasant," Machiavelli, who made up his mind, decided to take the opportunity to sell his observations to the consul The conclusion came out: "Our city defense army may be better than the Pisa, but I can't see the fundamental difference between the two before. They are just a group of foreigners with salaries. They also don't care what Florence will do, or even care about it. Who is ruling the city, and for them who can pay them, they will work for them, and they will never make real sacrifices, because this is only their job. "
Sazi admitted that he was impressed by Machiavelli's remarks. He remembered the performance of the City Defense Army during the previous riots. Hearing the person in front of him, he nodded involuntarily.
"The army of Earl Montina I have seen has always belonged to him. Those soldiers are from his territory. The rewards for their battles are also from the territory. They will get a small piece of land or other rewards in the territory. However, this is not the most important thing. The key is that the count has trained this army to fight only for him. He is their lord, commander and commander, not a simple employment relationship with them. . "
"You mean he raised the army himself, instead of spending money on hiring them?" Sazillo asked interestedly.
"Not only that," Machiavelli said with some excitement. "Consul, we must admit that we have never really taken the military before. We always think that we can get everything as long as we spend money, so whether it is a soldier or an officer, we They do n’t know anything about them. Many of us do n’t even know how many armies we have, what kind of weapons they are using, but this earl is not like that. He is very familiar with his army, whether it ’s an army. Their uniforms are their weapons, or the method of fighting. All this is done under his command from beginning to end, so he can let this army obey his command. "
"An army built entirely on his own," Sazi's look changed slightly. He pondered the meaning and looked at Machiavelli seriously. "Tell me diplomats, what kind of battle have you seen, they Are they brave and loyal? "
"This is what I am going to say, courage and loyalty. This is the quality of the army of the Earl of Montina. It is precisely because of this excellent virtue that they can defeat the Venetian and Caesar Borgia, and I was fortunate to have Participated in the next battle in person, "Machiavel replied in a slightly proud tone." I saw the pizzas who were just ordinary sailors before, after rigorous training, had the enemy bravely fighting, and also saw the Earl's Bohemia. The cavalry acted almost crazy when they rushed across the open ground, but what impressed me the most was the Agri Musketeers, who were still able to fight firmly in the face of their enemies, and I even remember when Caesar's army crossed When advancing openly in front of them, these Musketeers always stood firm and never stepped back. "
Machiavelli's excited voice echoed in the living room. He seemed to forget where he was and who was in front of him. Because of his unique appeal, as he described Sazi, he even seemed to be in Liwo. That's the battle.
"Then diplomats, do you think if the Montina army attacked Florence, would they succeed?"
Hearing Sazi ’s question, Machiavelli seemed to be stunned. He looked at Sazi ’s lips and seemed to be thinking about wording. Then he shook his head slightly:
Sorry, I hope that Florence can win, but if so The answer is not in line with my honest duty to meet you today. "
Listening to Machiavelli's round-the-corner answer ~ EbookFREE.me ~ Sazi showed a faint smile.
He admits that this person is very smooth, but he has got the answer.
"How long did the earl train such an army?" Sazi asked suddenly.
Machiavelli tried to cover up the vague excitement in his heart. He first figured out how to answer, and finally decided to deal with this problem in a more vague way.
"The Earl was only a little lord of Naples when he arrived in Rome 2 years ago. At that time his army had only a few Agri Musketeers and Bohemian cavalry, and now the Earl ’s army is almost the strongest in Romagna Big one. "
Sazi seemed to be in deep contemplation, and he slowly stood up and walked slowly, not caring about Machiavelli's eyes always turning slowly with him.
After a while Sazi stopped to think about it and turned to the table.
Under Machiavelli's hot eyes, Sazi picked up the pen and wrote a few lines on a piece of paper, and then handed this note to Machiavelli.
"Diplomat, your words left a deep impression on me," Sazi gently creases the folds on his sleeve. "I will introduce you to other consuls at the ruling conference. Before that, you can Go to the Municipal Government Office to continue your original post. If anyone wants to pursue your previous behavior, you can show them my order. "
As he took over, Machiavelli quickly glanced at the piece of paper, and he noticed a sentence that made him secretly excited, "This person is under my protection ..."
Machiavelli, who had left Sazi Palace, stood on the street and took a deep breath, and only now he finally felt that the tension that had always been suppressed disappeared.
"I have to send the message too," Machiavelli whispered to him, and then he told his followers, "You are out of town now, send me a letter."