Chapter 7 Chapter VII

Machiavelli did not know Bartolomeo Martell, but he was instructed to contact Bartolomeo.He is a person of status in this small city, holds the position of councilor in the city government, and is also a rich man.He owns land on the edge of Imola and several properties in the city.His father made a fortune doing business with parts of the Near East, and he himself lived in Smyrna for several years in his youth.It was also for this reason that he was associated with Florence, since the Florentines had always traded with the Near East, many of whom were scattered in various cities in the region.Bartolomeo's father had been in business in partnership with a merchant of well-known Florentine origin, and married the partner's daughter.Bartolomeo was also a distant relative of Biagio Bunarkozzi—their two grandmothers, though long dead, were sisters.This is also one of the important reasons Piaggio used to persuade Machiavelli to bring Pierrot on this trip.This relationship will make it easier for Machiavelli to befriend this useful man.

And, Bartholomew can be a very useful man.He was not just a man of honor in Imola, he was the leader of the gang that had brought the city down without a fight.The duke, then, being a man of generosity, gave Bartholomew an estate bearing the title of baronet.Machiavelli heard this from the talkative, talkative barber.He had also heard that Bartolomeo, despite his normal appearance, was privately delighted with his new title.The duke also trusted him, knowing that Bartholomew would not betray the duke's trust for his own benefit.The duke asked him to organize several business events, which he fulfilled satisfactorily.The Duke is secretive, but it is very likely that Bartolomeo will know everything that can be known.Machiavelli is confident that he can use some tricks to extract all the information he knows.The city hall also has Bartolomeo's weakness - he inherited two properties in Florence from his mother.An unexpected fire could easily destroy one of the properties if he didn't cooperate.If this is not enough to deter him, the ruling group can also find other ways to make him lose his business in the Near East-his business in the Near East is his very important interests.

"Of course it is a good thing to have friends," Machiavelli thought. "But it's also a good thing to let them understand that if they don't make friends enough, you can retaliate against them in your own way." A servant opened the door.When Machiavelli introduced himself and asked to see his master, he said: "The baron is already waiting for you." He was led into a courtyard, and up an open flight of stairs, into a medium-sized room.At first glance, this room is known to be used as a study by the owner.After they had waited for a minute or two, Bartholomew strode in and welcomed his guest with enthusiasm and words.

"I heard that you are coming, Monsieur Niccolo. I have been eagerly waiting for you." He is a fat man of about forty years old.She has long hair brushed back from her forehead, a big black beard, a red face that shines with sweat beads hanging on her face, a double chin, and a huge belly.Machiavelli, being as thin as a railing, did not like fat people.He once said that in Italy, no one can become fat, unless that person plunders the orphans and widows, and squeezes the blood of the poor. "Biagio Bunaccocci wrote to tell me that you were coming, and a messenger brought it yesterday."

"Yes. The messenger was originally planning to come to Imola, and Bijoia let him carry this letter by the way. This is Piero Giacomini, the son of sister Piaggio, our good friend." Bartolomeo let out a clear and loud laugh.He stretched out his arms and hugged the boy, pressing against his own big belly.He kissed Pierrot on both cheeks. "So we're cousins!" he exclaimed in a rich, rich voice. "Cousin?" Machiavelli could not help muttering. "Don't you know? Piaggio's grandmother and mine are sisters. They are both daughters of Carlo Peruzzi."

"Strange. He never told me about it. Do you know about it, Pierrot?" "My mother never told me." Machiavelli is merely denying that he knows anything about it.Of course, in fact, he was very aware of the cousin relationship between Bartolomeo and Piaggio.He does this because one of his principles is never to let anyone know how much you know unless you have a good reason.He was pleased to see that Piero understood very quickly, without a moment's hesitation.What a nice kid. Bartolomeo invited them to sit down.There was no fireplace in the room, but a brazier placed in the center of the house kept the chill out of the room.He asked his friends in Florence, whom he often visited on business.Machiavelli gave an answer based on what he knew.They move from one topic to another.The conversation soon turned to Piero Soderini, who had just been elected the standard-bearer of justice for life.

"He was a very good friend of mine. A very honest and reliable man," Machiavelli said. "It was in accordance with his wishes that I was sent to Imola." He had already made up his mind to let Bartolomeo know that he himself was trusted by the supreme head of the republic. "I am very glad to see you. Don't worry, I will do my best to give you the service you need. I asked Piaggio to bring a bolt of fine linen, but I guess you are in a hurry this time, and may not be able to." bring it?" Piaggio is a man who responds to requests, so everyone likes to make him do this and that.Machiavelli was more intemperate with Piaggio than anyone else.

"On the contrary," he replied, "Piagio has sent me to bring this cloth. But it is with my servants. They will not arrive at Imola until later in the day." "My wife is making some blouses for me. She learned how to embroider from the nuns. I bet there's no one in Imola who can do it like her. She's an artist." Machiavelli's mind was busy.He tried to understand what kind of person was in front of him.Extensive, cheerful, and sanguine, it's not hard to imagine that he likes to eat and drink very much.When he laughed, his face was full of blossoms, and when he talked, his voice was like a bell.Whether an astute and calculating mind is concealed beneath the outward joviality and frank friendliness remains to be seen.He has a reputation as a shrewd merchant and is said to be an excellent bargain.Machiavelli turned the conversation to Imola and the current state of the city.Bartolomeo lavishly praised the duke.He strictly enforced the terms of Imola's capitulation with him, and the taxes he levied to pay for the occupation of the city were perfectly justified.Moreover, the Duke also suggested that a large part of the collected taxes be used for the municipal construction of Imola, making the city more beautiful and solemn.Since Imola was the capital of the city-state he had only recently acquired, he was drawing up blueprints for a new palace for himself, a hall for businessmen and a hospital for the poor.There was order in the city, crime was virtually non-existent, and justice was administered quickly and cheaply.Rich and poor are equal before the law.Business prospered and bribery and corruption stopped.The Duke himself is very interested in the agricultural resources in this area of ​​the countryside, and he issued instructions to everyone to do their best to develop agricultural production.The troops are stationed outside the city.On the whole, the city is entering a prosperous period, and everyone is content.

"Hopefully this lasts for a long time," Machiavelli said cheerfully. "But what will happen to you when the duke's generals overthrow him and bring troops into the city?" Bartolomeo laughed and patted his thigh. "They're nothing. They know they have no power without the Duke. They'll come to terms with the Duke. Believe me, it's all going to blow like a gust of wind and nothing will change." Machiavelli was not sure whether Bartolomeo fully believed what he himself had just said, was trying to believe it, or was just saying it, hoping that Machiavelli would believe it.Machiavelli has not yet been able to decide whether this man is a fool or a shrewd man.There may be something hidden under this superficial frankness, enthusiasm, and sincere atmosphere and those smiling and friendly eyes.Machiavelli changed the subject.

"You just said that you would be very willing to do me some favors, and I am very grateful. Can you tell me where I can find a place for myself, Pierrot, and my servant?" "I wish you had asked me something else than this," Bartolomeo laughed loudly.He said: "Members of the duke's court, those who follow others, poets, painters, architects, engineers, and those who come on business from other duke estates, merchants, peddlers of this and that, attracted by the opportunity to make money. Attracted, flocking to the city, there is almost no vacant space in the whole city."

"I don't want to stay here unnecessarily, but I have a mission for the Consulate. I cannot fulfill my mission in a monastery room. I must find accommodation for my Pierrot and my servants." "I'll ask my mother-in-law. She knows more about this sort of thing than I do, and I'm going to her now." He went out of the room, returned after a while, and asked the guests to follow him to another room.He led them into a much larger room with beautiful oil paintings on the walls and a fireplace.The female relatives are sitting by the fire, doing their work.When the guests entered the room, they stood up, and after the guests bowed slightly, they also politely returned the gift.One of them was a good-looking middle-aged woman. "This is my mother-in-law, Mrs. Caterina Capello." Bartolomeo introduced, "This is my wife." His wife was young enough to be his daughter.According to the custom at that time, her hair was dyed from natural black to golden yellow.But this did not match her dark Italian women's skin.So she put a thick layer of powder on her face, neck and chest.The contrast between her blond hair and her pair of black and beautiful eyes is very strong.Her eyebrows are trimmed into a thin line.She has a small, straight nose and a lovely cherry mouth.Her light gray attire consisted of a long skirt with billowing sleeves and a bodice that suited her thin figure well, with the bust cut low and squared off, showing off her snow-white breasts and Silhouettes of young full breasts.There is a virginal quality in her beauty, but at the same time a mature beauty, the combination of the two is very fascinating.Machiavelli, though his face was impassive, had a strange surge in what he was only too happy to call his heart. "A very pretty young woman," he said to himself. "I would be willing to go to Wushan with her." While the two women were moving chairs for the guests, Bartolomeo explained Machiavelli's difficulty to Madame Caterina, and added later that he discovered that Pierrot was also a cousin he had never met .Both women smiled at Pierrot when they heard about the relationship.Machiavelli was pleased to discover that Bartolomeo's wife had good teeth, small, regular and white. "Would you like some refreshments, gentlemen?" asked Mrs. Caterina. She was dressed very much like her daughter, but in a slightly darker color.Also, since it is generally assumed that a decent, elderly woman should not have her hair dyed and her face powdered, she wore very little make-up and appeared in her true colors.But she has the same handsome eyes as her daughter.She must have been a great beauty when she was young.Machiavelli replied that they had already had breakfast.But the owner insisted they at least have some wine. "Aurelia, go tell Nina." Bartholomew said to his wife. The young woman went out.So Bartolomeo repeated Machiavelli's request to his mother-in-law. "That's impossible. There isn't a single vacant room in the whole town. But wait a minute—since Monsieur Niccolò is a guest of honour, and this young man is your cousin, perhaps Serafina will be willing to receive them. She's been refusing to take tenants and I said she did the other day and I said it's a shame to have her room empty when people will pay anything for a place the size of your palm .” Bartolomeo explained that Lady Serafina was the widow of one of his agents in the Near East, and that the house in which she now lived also belonged to him.Her eldest son worked in Bartolomeo's office in Smyrna, and she lived with her two other children, a son who would become a priest, and a daughter of fourteen.It was for the sake of these two children, in order to prevent them from being influenced by bad people, that she decided not to rent out her spare room. "But if it's you who asks, she won't refuse, child." It sounded odd to hear Ms. Caterina calling the fat man a child.Because she is only two or three years older than him. "I'll take you there later," Bartolomeo said. "I'm sure this can be done." Aurelia returned, followed by a maid.The maid was carrying a large metal pan with glasses, a bottle of wine, and a plate of jerky.Aurelia sat down and resumed her sewing. "Sir Niccolo has brought you linen, my dear," said Bartolomeo, "so that you can make me shirts." "You still need new shirts? God only knows," Katerina said. Aurelia smiled, but said nothing. "Let me show you how well my wife embroiders." Bartolomeo approached Aurelia and picked up the embroidery she was working on. "Come on, Bartolomeo, these are for women." "If Master Niccolo has never seen a woman's shirt, now is the time for him to take a good look." "I am a married man, Madame Aurelia," replied Machiavelli, smiling.The smile on his face made his thin features slightly flattering. "Look how beautiful the needlework is! What an ingenious design!" "Did she make these pictures herself?" "Of course, she's an artist." Machiavelli gave her a well-timed compliment and returned the dress to her.She thanked Machiavelli with a smile in her bright eyes.When they had finished their jerky and drank a glass of wine, Bartolomeo suggested taking them to the widow named Serafina. "Her house is just behind our house," he said. Machiavelli and Piero followed him down the stairs.They passed through a small courtyard, in which was a well with a rim hewn in stone.There was also a chestnut tree in the courtyard, whose leaves had fallen to the ground after the first frost since autumn.At last they came to a door, behind which opened a narrow alley. "Here we are," said Bartholomew. This deserted alley foreshadowed to Machiavelli that his guests could visit him almost completely unnoticed.Bartolomeo knocked on the door, which opened after a while.The door was opened by a tall, thin woman with a wrinkled dark gray face, vigilant eyes, and graying hair.Her skeptical expression immediately turned into a warm welcome after seeing who was knocking on the door.She invited everyone to sit inside. "This is Monsieur Niccolo Machiavelli, Chief Secretary of the Second Office of the Government of the Republic of Florence, envoy of the Republic to His Excellency the Duke, this young man is my cousin Pierrot, my good friend and cousin Nephew of Jacho Bunakoczy." Serafina led them into a living room.Bartolomeo explained their purpose.Serafina's face immediately sank. "Oh, Lord Bartolomeo, you know that I have turned down all offers for rent. You see, I have two young children at home. The people who want to live are strangers we don't know at all. .” "I know, I know, Serafina. But I can vouch for these two. Pierrot is my cousin, and he could be a friend to your son Luigi." The conversation went on.Bartolomeo, in his bravado and affectionate manner, obliquely made it clear to the unwilling woman that the house was his and that he could throw her out at any time if he wanted, and that her elder brother His son works under him, and if he wants to be promoted in the future, he has to rely on his favor.All this was conveyed in a friendly, tongue-in-cheek fashion that Machiavelli admired.This man looks like an old man, but he is not stupid at all.Serafina's family is poor and cannot offend Bartolomeo.So she said with a forced smile that she would make an exception to help Bartolomeo and his friends once.The accommodation was arranged like this: Machiavelli would have a single room and also have access to a living room.Pierrot and his son Luigi sleep in bunk beds in one bedroom.The two servants slept in the loft, where she would place two bunks.The price the woman asked was a bit high, and Bartolomeo had pointed it out.Machiavelli felt that face was more important to represent the country as an envoy, so he readily agreed.He understands that there is no better way to win someone over than to let that person take advantage of you.There were no glass in the windows, of course, but there were shutters and oiled paper on them, which could be opened fully or partly to let in light and fresh air.There is a fireplace in the kitchen and the living room can be heated with a brazier.Serafina agreed to give up her room to Machiavelli, while she and her daughter lived in a smaller room downstairs.