Chapter 30 Chapter Thirty

The next morning, leaving only a small force to defend Senigallia, the duke marched towards Perugia with a large force. It's New Year's Day. The weather is terrible.The roads were in poor condition on sunny days, but now they were muddy with the trampling of cavalry and infantry, and the rolling of carts carrying baggage.When the troops passed through the town, there was no local capacity to accommodate so many people, so only a lucky few found a place to stay.Machiavelli was a man of comfort.When he had to sleep close to the crowd, on the dirt floor in the farmer's hut, so crowded that he could hardly stretch his limbs, his temper was very bad.Under such conditions, in terms of diet, you can only eat what you have. Machiavelli has always had a bad stomach, and it is even more miserable now.When the large party arrived at Sasso Ferrato, word came that the Vitelli family, who had narrowly escaped, fled to Perugia.When the troops arrived at Guvaldo, the citizens of Castello were waiting to meet the duke, to whom they were to offer the city and the neighboring lands.Just then a messenger arrived, informing the crowd that Gian Paolo Baglioni, the Orsinis, the Vitellis, and their armed men had given up hope of defending Perugia, Na direction fled.The people of Perugia organized and sent ambassadors to the duke, who arrived at the duke's residence the next day to express to the duke Perugia's willingness to submit.In this way, the duke conquered two cities without using force.He then went to Assisi, where he met the envoys who had come to him from Siena, who asked him what was the reason for attacking Siena, according to general reports. ?The duke told them that he was full of affection for Siena, but he was determined to drive out Pandolfo Petrucci, lord of Siena and enemy of the duke.If the people of Siena could drive Petrucci away with their own hands, they would have nothing to fear from the duke.But if this is not the case, he will take the troops to do it himself.He then marched on Siena, but deliberately chose a winding road so that the people of Siena would have time to think about it.Many castles and villages were captured along the way.Soldiers plundered the countryside.The inhabitants had fled before their arrival, and when they found those who could not escape because they were old or infirm, the soldiers bound their arms, hung them up, and set fires under their feet, so that the people You can tell where the gold, silver and jewels are hidden.When people would not confess, or were unable to confess because they simply did not know, they were tortured to death.

Meanwhile, good news came from Rome.After receiving his son's letter, the pope learned what had happened in Senigallia.He therefore sent a letter to Cardinal Orsini, not of course to inform him of the doom of his friends and kinsmen, but of the capitulation of the castle.The next day, driven by duty, the cardinal rushed to the Vatican to congratulate the Pope.Bishop Orsini went to see the Pope with his relatives and his followers.He was taken to a reception room where he was arrested along with his family.At this time, the Duke can safely dispose of his captives.Migelotto strangled Paglo Orsini, a fool who had been taken in by the Duke's sweet talk, and his nephew, the Duke of Gravina.The cardinal himself was imprisoned in the Castel Sant'Angelo, where he died very sensibly after a short time.The pontiff and his son felt they had something to celebrate in dealing such a blow to a family long considered a thorn in the side of Catholic popes.It is really a gratifying thing to get rid of such a public nuisance for the church while getting rid of a personal enemy.They proved that it is possible to serve God and the God of Wealth at the same time.