Chapter 3 third chapter

Machiavelli was busy thinking all the way.In fact, he was very reluctant to accept the mission of this mission.To this end he did his best to find other people to complete this mission.On the one hand, because his body has not yet recovered, he still feels a dull pain in his stomach even when he is riding a horse now; on the other hand, because he has just married, he does not want to make his wife sad because of parting.He had promised her that he would be back soon from his trip, but he knew that days of anticipation might turn into weeks, and weeks into months, before he was allowed to return.His mission to France taught him how protracted diplomatic negotiations can be.

But these were not what bothered him the most.The situation in Italy is hopeless.King Louis XII of France was the most powerful man in the area.He controls a large piece of territory in the Kingdom of Naples, although his control is not so secure.Because the Spaniards entrenched in Sicily and Calabria constantly harassed him.But Louis XII held Milan and its possessions tightly, and he was not on bad terms with Venice, and, for a protection fee, placed Florence, Siena, and Bologna under his protection.He was in an alliance with the Pope, who granted him a charter to divorce his sterile but innocent wife, and then to Anne of Brittany, the widow of Charles VIII. marry.In order to repay the Pope, Louis XII canonized the Pope's son, Cesare Borgia, as the Duke of Valentino, and arranged for the sister of the King of Navarre, Charlotte de Albrecht, to marry Cesare Borgia.He also promised the Duke that he could provide him with troops to help him recover those properties that Charlotte had lost, including lands, noble fiefs, and ecclesiastical possessions.

Cesare Borgia, after the name of the duchy bestowed on him by Louis XII, was known in Italy as Duke Valentino.He is not yet thirty years old.His mercenary leaders, the most important of which were Paglo Orsini, the leader of a large Roman family, Gian Paolo Baglioni, the lord of Perugia, and the lord of Castello Castle Vitellozzo Vitelli.These men are the most outstanding military generals in Italy.The duke himself proved to be a bold and careful commander.By force, cunning, and terror, he formed a separatist power of considerable size, and all over Italy the deeds of his conquests were reported.He once took advantage of a favorable situation to compel the Florentines to employ him and his troops as protectors for a period of three years with a large protection fee.Later, Florence paid another protection fee to King Louis of France and obtained the protection of the latter, and then canceled the appointment of the duke and suspended the protection fee to him.This pissed him off, and it wasn't long before he took revenge.

In June of that year, which is relevant to the narrative of this article, Arezzo, a city subject to Florence, rioted and subsequently declared independence from Florence.The ablest general of the Duke Valentino, Vitellozzo Vitelli, was the sworn enemy of the Florentine Republic for having executed his brother Paolo.Together with Baglioni, the lord of Perugia, he sent troops to support the rebellious people and defeated the army of the Republic.Florence only defended the castle.In extreme panic, the Florentine Consulate sent Piero Soderini to Milan to ask King Louis of France for help, asking him to immediately send the 400 lance cavalry he had promised to support Florence.Piero Soderini was an influential citizen who was at the time holding the position of supreme executive of the republic as the standard bearer of justice for the city-state.The Republic then ordered the army stationed outside Pisa to rush to the aid of Arezzo, which had been trying to conquer Pisa until then.But before the troops arrived, the castle fell.At this juncture, the Duke of Valentino, who was in Urbino, which had just been conquered, sent a strong request to the Florentine Consulate, asking the Republic to send an envoy to meet with him.Florence sent the bishop of Volterra, brother of Piero Soderini, as an envoy.Accompanying him was Machiavelli as secretary.The crisis was finally resolved.For the king of France, fulfilling his promise to Florence, sent a mighty force to support them.Cesare Borgia, overwhelmed by this threat, recalled his generals.

But the duke's mercenary leaders themselves are also the lords of some small city-states, and they can't help worrying that once they are no longer useful to the duke, the duke will destroy them ruthlessly like other city-state lords.They heard that the duke had privately concluded a deal with Louis XII.According to the agreement, the king will first send a force to assist in the capture of Bologna, and then cut off all these leaders.At that time, the lands of these chiefs will be easily incorporated into the duke's existing territories.After preliminary consultations, the chiefs met in secret at a place called Magione near Perugia to discuss how they could better protect themselves.Vitellozzo was ill at the time and was carried into the meeting place in a sedan chair.Paglo Orsini was accompanied by his brother, cardinal, and his nephew, duke of Gravina.Others at the meeting included Ermec Bentivoliu, son of the lord of Bologna.And the two Baglioni brothers from Perugia, the young Olivellotto da Fermo and Antonio da Venafro, the latter Pandolfo, lord of Siena Petrucci's left and right hands.The danger to them was great, and they agreed that, for their own safety, they must do something.But since the duke is a dangerous man, they must proceed with caution.They decided not to turn against the Duke for the time being, but to prepare in private to attack when the time came.They had a sizable armed force consisting of infantry and cavalry.Vitellozzo's artillery was also strong.They sent envoys to recruit the thousands of mercenaries who were then assembled in Italy.Finally, they sent envoys to the city-state of Florence to ask for support, because Borgia's ambitions were also a great threat to the Florentine Republic.

It didn't take long for the duke to hear of the plot.He then ordered Florence to provide him with a supporting army.The Duke has always claimed unilaterally that Florence has promised to send a force at his disposal in case of emergency.The Duke also asked Florence to send a person with status and the right to negotiate with him to meet with him.That's why Machiavelli was going to Imola.Machiavelli was quite anxious along the way. The reason why the ruling group sent him on a mission was because he was not a person with real power and had no right to reach an agreement with the other party. Instead, he could only report the situation to Florence and waited for each step. instructions from the government.It would be very unpleasant to send a man like him to the Duke.Although the Duke is the illegitimate son of the current pope, in terms of official titles, he is Duke of Romania, Valencia and Urbino, Prince Andrea, lord of Pompino, the standard-bearer and commander-in-chief of the Holy See .Machiavelli had been instructed to inform the duke that the conspirators had rejected the conspirators' request for aid, but that if the duke needed help in manpower and material he must inform the constituency and wait for their reply.His task is to delay as long as possible, which is also the consistent policy of the Republic.Ruling groups can always find brilliant justifications for their inaction.If they are pushed too hard, they loosen their purses a little and spend what they have to spend.His task is to appease the impatience of a man unaccustomed to procrastination, to coax a skeptical man with flashy words without making any substantive promises.Use trick for trick, deception for deception, to uncover the secrets of the man known for his disguises.

Although Machiavelli only saw the duke briefly at Urbino, Machiavelli made a deep impression on him.He had heard the story of how the Duke of Guidobaldo de Montefeltro, who had once regarded the Duke as his confidant, lost his lands and almost lost his life.Though he saw shocking treachery in the duke's conduct, he could not help admiring the energy and cunning with which the man ran his business.The man was fearless, ruthless, ruthless, and resourceful.He was not only an outstanding military general, but also a capable organizer and a keen statesman.Machiavelli couldn't help being excited at the thought of being able to compete with such an opponent, a mocking smile floated on his thin lips, and his eyes shone.This made him feel much better, and his stomach didn't hurt so much.He was beginning to look forward to a stop at Scarpellia, between Florence and Imola, for refreshments and a few more horses to hire.They traveled fast and without delay, for he hoped to reach Imola that day.And those horses not only carried their owners, but also carried a lot of luggage. If they were not allowed to have a proper rest, but let them continue on the road, these horses would definitely be exhausted.He intended to go first with Pierrot, leave the two servants to rest in Scarpellia for a day, and follow him the next day with his horse and Pierrot's pony.

They stopped at Albergo della Posta, where Machiavelli dismounted happily and stretched his legs.He asked the inn what kind of food he could serve them as soon as possible.The waiter told him he could order some macaroni, a dish of chicken, bologna sausage and pork chops.Machiavelli was quite satisfied.He has always had a good appetite, so he almost gobbled up what was brought to him.He drank the strong red wine made in the country and was very satisfied.Piero, like his master, ate to his heart's content.When they got into the saddle again and set off again, Piero felt so happy that he began humming a tune that was popular in the streets of Florence.Machiavelli pricked up his ears.

"Why, Pierrot, your uncle never mentioned to me that you have a fine voice." Pierrot was a little proud, and began to sing with a higher scale. "Very good tenor," Machiavelli said with a warm and friendly smile. He took up the reins, slowed down his horse, and Pierrot understood, and began to sing a famous tune, but the words were written by Machiavelli himself.Machiavelli was delighted, but he also noticed that the boy was courting him with his singing.Machiavelli didn't feel that there was anything inappropriate about this clever trick. "How did you learn these lyrics?"

"Uncle Piaggio wrote it for me. They also happen to fit the piece." Machiavelli was silent.He let go of the rein and the horse began trotting again.It occurred to him that it was necessary to get acquainted with this young man whom he had brought out at the invitation of his friend Biagio and which he himself wanted to make good use of.So he set to work for the rest of the journey, when the uphill road obliged them to dismount and walk.When Machiavelli needs to pay attention, no one is more gracious, funny and amusing than him.In addition, he also pays great attention to maintaining subtlety and technique.Pierrot, for his part, needed a degree of sophistication not commensurate with his age to see through these friendly, casual questions aimed at revealing himself naked.Pierrot is neither shy nor self-righteous, he has the self-confidence of a young man, and answers questions frankly and plainly.In Pierrot's opinion, it would be very pleasant to let him talk about himself, so as to pass the time of the journey that was beginning to become somewhat monotonous.Marcilio Ficino, that eminent scholar, had died only three years before; he was Piaggio's father-in-law, and had once supervised the young man's studies.It was based on this old gentleman's suggestion that Piero mastered Latin proficiently, but to the old gentleman's disappointment, his knowledge of Greek was only so-so.

"One of the regrets of my life is that I never learned Greek," Machiavelli said. "I envy you that you can read Greek in the original." "What's the use of that?" "It will teach you that happiness is something that everyone strives for, and that you need nothing else in order to achieve it, but good birth, good friends, good luck, health, wealth, looks, power , fame, honor, and virtue will do.” Piero laughed out loud. "It also teaches you that life is uncertain and full of hardships. So you come to the conclusion that it's only right to take the time to enjoy yourself." "I didn't need to learn the declension of Greek verbs to know this," Piero said. "Maybe not, but when we want to act according to our natural will, it is reassuring to know that the ancient sages also taught us this way." Through targeted questions Machiavelli learns who the young man's friends were in Florence and what his life was like there.By listening carefully to Pierrot's views on certain issues, he secretly grasped Pierrot's ability and character.He was inexperienced, of course, but he was clever, far better than his uncle Biagio in this respect.Although Piaggio is kind and honest, his intelligence is mediocre.The lad had the energy of youth, a natural desire for pleasure and an adventurous disposition.Naive but not unduly cautious, and this was not a weakness for Machiavelli.Because it means that if he is asked to do something that is slightly unreasonable, he will not be restrained by his fragile conscience.The lad was strong and active, and did not appear to be short of courage.His cheerful countenance, candid personality and agreeable demeanor can be very useful assets.As for whether he can keep secrets and be trustworthy, it remains to be seen further.The first only takes a little time to discover, and as for the second, Machiavelli was never willing to believe any one person more than necessary.Anyway, the kid was smart enough to know that getting the good opinion of his master could only do him good.A good review of Machiavelli would ensure his future, while a bad report would permanently disqualify him from the government of the republic.