Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Five

Although he made a lot of efforts in the next month, when he saw Aurelia again, it was already time for him to leave Imola.Fortunately, his work kept him too busy to bother with this disappointment.The leaders of the rebellion reportedly quarreled among themselves, but in the end all signed the document that Agapito had shown Machiavelli, except Baglioni of Perugia.Baglioni told the others that they were all a bunch of fools and deceived people.When he found out that the rest were determined to make peace with the duke at any cost, he strode out of the church in a huff.The duke appointed Paglo Orsini as the governor of Urbino, and Urbino was returned to the duke according to the terms of the agreement. In order to reward Orsini for persuading the other chiefs to sign the agreement, the duke rewarded him with five thousand ducats .Vitellozzo wrote a humble letter in which he asked the Duke to forgive him for his past behaviour.

"This traitor stabbed us in the back in the past," Agapito said, "and now he thinks he can say something nice and write it off." But the duke seemed to be doing just fine.It seemed he intended to let the bad past pass and restore the trust of the repentant chiefs.His amiable manner seemed suspicious to Machiavelli.So he wrote to the Consulate of Florence, saying that it was exceedingly difficult to guess what was in the Duke's mind, and that it was almost impossible to know exactly what it was.Now that he has a large number of troops at his disposal, it is obvious that he will use them as well.Rumors circulated that he was preparing to leave Imola, but no one knew for sure whether he was going south to attack the Kingdom of Naples or north to attack Venice.What worried Machiavelli was that some prominent figures came from Pisa to dedicate their city to the duke. Florence spent a lot of time, money and soldiers' lives trying to retake this city, because it was too important for Florence to own this city. There is an important commercial necessity, and once occupied by the Duke, it is dangerous from an economic and military point of view.Lucca was nearby, and the duke spoke of the city in a way that Machiavelli had an ominous foreboding.Lucca was a rich city, a place that greedy people coveted.If he took Pisa first, and then Lucca, Florence would be in jeopardy.In a meeting with Machiavelli, the duke once again brought up the military employment agreement with Florence, and Machiavelli once again found himself a poor envoy, struggling to explain to the duke the inadequacy of the Consulate. Ken's hesitation in granting command to the Duke was generally aimed at making things clear without offending the Duke.Overall, it's pretty straightforward, they don't want to put themselves under the control of an uninhibited person here whom they have reason to distrust.The duke listened calmly to Machiavelli's explanation.It was obvious that no matter what thoughts were going on in his handsome head, he was not prepared to take further action against Florence to satisfy his demands, except for some vague threats.At the end of the meeting, the duke told Machiavelli that his troops were marching to Cessna, and that once there he would do what he was supposed to do next.

On December 10 the duke set out for Foli with his troops, and arriving at Cessna two days later, Machiavelli made the necessary arrangements to follow the duke.He sent Pierrot and one of the servants to go ahead and find a place to live.He then thanked and said goodbye to several people who helped during his stay in Imola.At this time Imola was almost a ghost city, because the duke's huge court and other people who were so ambitious all followed the duke.At last he went to bid Bartolomeo his farewell.Bartolomeo happened to be at home, and after seeing Machiavelli, he took him to the study.The fat man received Machiavelli with his usual frankness, and having heard that Machiavelli was about to leave Imola, he expressed his regret in the best terms.He expressed how much he enjoyed being in association with such an outstanding messenger as Machiavelli, and how much he regretted that from now on, he would no longer be able to play a game of chess with the latter from time to time, nor could he accompany him as he did. Can provide light food, play music to entertain him and his family.Machiavelli, on his part, expressed some proper acknowledgment, and then, with some embarrassment, Machiavelli mentioned what was on his mind.

"I said, my friend, I am here not only to thank you for all your support and kindness, but also to ask you for one thing." "You just have to talk." Machiavelli smiled wryly. "I owe you twenty-five ducats. I have no cash to pay you now, and I must ask you to wait a little longer." "It's not a big deal." "Twenty-five ducats is not a small sum." "Take your time, don't rush. If you are not convenient to return it, why should you return it? Think of it as a gift from me, don't think of it as a loan." "You have no reason to give me this gift. I will not allow myself to accept this gift from you."

Bartolomeo leaned back in the chair and let out a loud laugh that resounded through the hall. "Haven't you ever been suspicious? It's not my money. Our venerable duke understands that with the rise in prices, and you have a lot of money to spend on work, he estimates that you will have some money on hand." Hardships. Everyone knows that the Florentine Consulate is stingy. I have received instructions from the treasury of the Duke that if you need money, I can provide it accordingly. If you ask me for two hundred ducats instead of twenty-five ducats, I will I will give you the same."

Machiavelli turned pale, and he was speechless with astonishment. "But if I knew the money was given by the duke, I wouldn't accept that money no matter what." "The duke knew your integrity and prudence, and admired your impartiality, so he asked me to do this. He admired your tact and vigilance. I failed his trust. But I don't think I should take this The matter was kept so hidden that you were unaware of such a generous and selfless gesture from the Duke towards you." Machiavelli held back the obscenities that were already welling up in his throat.He didn't believe in the Duke's generosity at all, nor in his selflessness at all.Did he think he could buy his goodwill for twenty-five ducats?Machiavelli's thin lips are tightly shut so that his mouth appears to be only a line.

"Are you surprised?" Bartolomeo asked with a smile. "Nothing the Duke can do will surprise me." "He was a great man. Those of us who were lucky enough to serve him will be remembered for that very reason." "My dear Bartolomeo," said Machiavelli, "great men are immortalized not because of the great deeds they accomplished, but because of the books in which they were written. Beautiful words. If Thucydides had not written those famous speeches through the tongue of Pericles, Pericles would only be a name in history." Having said this, Machiavelli stood up.

"You can't go without seeing our women. They'll be very sorry if you can't say goodbye." Machiavelli followed him into the drawing room.He felt as if something was clogging his throat badly, and he felt his heart beating faster.The women were not expecting guests, so they just wore their usual clothes.When they saw Machiavelli, they were taken aback and seemed a little unhappy.They stood up and curtseyed.Bartolomeo told them that Machiavelli was preparing to leave for the Cessna. "What should we do after you're gone?" Katerina shouted involuntarily. Since Machiavelli was sure they would be just as well without him, he only forced a wry smile.

"Master Niccolo must be happy to leave Imola, a boring place where there is no place for travelers to entertain themselves," Aurelia said. Machiavelli recognized at once the malice in her tone of voice.After she finished speaking, she continued to embroider the exquisitely colored shirt in her hand.He had bought the material for the shirt from Florence. "I don't know which of your qualities I should admire more, Madame Aurelia," he replied, "your patience or your industry." "They say the devil will find work for people if they are idle," she replied.

"Sometimes the devil's job can be pleasant." "But dangerous." "That's more attractive." "But prudence is an important part of bravery." Machiavelli didn't like it very much when he was given the upper hand in an argument, so he laughed and retorted sarcastically. "It is said that proverbs are the wisdom of the masses, but the masses are often on the wrong side." Aurelia is not in a good condition today. The weather has been bad for a long time recently. She hasn't dyed her hair for some days, and the roots of her hair are black.Others could tell at a glance that her makeup this morning was sloppy, and the makeup she applied did not cover her olive skin.

"When the woman reaches forty, she will be no more attractive than her mother," Machiavelli mused to himself. After sitting for a while, Machiavelli got up to take his leave.He was glad he saw Aurelia again.He still coveted her, but his desire wasn't as constant and restless as it used to be.He wasn't one of those people who wouldn't eat a pork knuckle put in front of him at dinner when he didn't get the fat quail he was expecting, and when he saw that Aurelia was out of reach, he would go with some passing Babrina introduced young and inexpensive women she knew a few times to quench his desire.Looking back now, in the case of Aurelia, he suffered because his desire was not satisfied on the one hand, and his vanity was thwarted on the other.He finally came to the conclusion that Aurelia was a stupid woman, and if she had been a wise woman, she would not have gone to bed because Machiavelli made her wait three hours; Well, she wouldn't consider sleeping with him a sin, at least not until after it was over.If she's as informed as he is, she'll understand that it's not the temptations that make you surrender that you regret, but the temptations you successfully resist. "Well, once Bartolomeo adopts his nephews, this woman deserves to suffer." Machiavelli said to himself. "She'll regret it when she remembers she was a fool."