Chapter 33 Chapter Thirty-Three

The next day, when Bartolomeo had dealt with his business affairs, he went home along the road to Perugia.Later Machiavelli rode out of the city with Piero, two other servants and a group of the duke's men to meet the Florentine envoy.When the ambassador named Giocomo Salviati took off his travel attire and put on the decent formal clothes worn by a respectable Florentine, Machiavelli took him to the castle to present the state to the Duke. Book.Machiavelli was eager to return, but he could not just leave without introducing the new ambassador to the people he was supposed to know.There are no free lunches at the Duke's court.Machiavelli wanted to tell his successor what kind of service someone could provide, and what kind of remuneration that person could expect to get.He had to tell the new ambassador how trustworthy one was and how unreliable the other was.Although Giocomo had read all of Machiavelli's reports to the ruling group, there were still many situations that Machiavelli did not dare to report in his letters.Because the danger of the letter being intercepted and inspected in the middle is always there.So he had to spend a long time personally introducing a large amount of information that the new ambassadors had to know.

As a result, it took six days for him to embark on the journey back to his hometown.The journey is long, the road is not easy to walk, and it is not very safe.In order to get as much travel as possible before dark, he decided to start early.So he got up at dawn, and got dressed in no time.The servants brought from upstairs the saddlebags which had been packed the night before, and presently the mistress of the inn came out to tell him that everything was ready and he could go. "Is Pierrot with the horses?" "No, my lord." "Where is he?" "He went out."

"Going out? Where? Why? Poor guy, doesn't he know I hate waiting? Send one of my servants to get him, quickly." The shopkeeper hastily carried out his order, leaving without closing the door.When the door was pushed open again, Piero walked in. Seeing Pierrot's appearance, Machiavelli's eyes widened in surprise.Instead of his usual shabby traveling clothes, he wore the red and yellow uniform of the Duke's troops.There was a mischievous smile on his lips, but he didn't look very confident. "I have come to bid you farewell, Lord Niccolo. I joined the Duke's army."

"I didn't think you were just joking in this gorgeous military uniform." "Don't be mad at me, my lord. I've had a great eye-opening experience with you over the past three and a half months. I've witnessed some significant events, and I've had the pleasure of speaking to some of those involved. I'm in good health. , young and strong, I can't go back to Florence and spend the rest of my life waving in the second room. I'm not that stuff. I want to live." Machiavelli watched him thoughtfully, a suspicious smile on his razor-thin lips. "Why didn't you tell me what you thought?"

"I guess you'll stop me from doing that." "If you had told me your thoughts, I would have done my duty to remind you that a soldier's life is hard, dangerous, and poorly paid. He risked his life, and in the end the commander got the honor. He has to endure hunger and thirst, and endure all kinds of hardships that a grassroots person needs to go through. If caught by the enemy, the other party will strip him of his shirt and leave him. If he is injured, he will be abandoned and wait. Death. If he survived by any chance, and could not go to war again, he would have to beg for food in the street. He spent his life among wild, barbaric and lawless people, and at last he completely corrupted his character. The soul is plunged into the abyss of perdition. I feel it my duty to tell you that in the government of a republic you can have a respectable and secure position in which, if you are diligent, you can do what your superiors intend. You can earn enough to support your family by doing errands. After many years of faithful service, if you are shrewd, have a little drive, and are very lucky, you will be promoted if someone of influence The brother-in-law of a powerful character or some nephew on the wife's side happens not to want the position given to you. But after doing my best to point this out to you, I'm not going to do anything else to stop you from wanting to. things."

Piero smiled in relief.Although he worked for Machiavelli and admired him, he was not afraid of Machiavelli. "So you're not mad at me anymore?" "Not at all, my dear boy. You have served me well, and I think you are honest, loyal and energetic. Fate is in the Duke's favor, and I do not blame you at all for following him." "So you will explain and defend me to my mother and uncle Piaggio so that they won't worry?" "Your mother will be sad. She will think I have led you astray, and will blame me for it. But Piaggio is a man of his mind, and he will try to comfort your mother. My dear boy, I must go .”

He took Piero into his arms and kissed him on both cheeks.But while kissing, he noticed the shirt Pierrot was wearing.He pulled out the collar decorated with rich embroidery. "Where did you get this shirt?" Pierrot's face flushed to the base of his neck. "Nina gave it to me." "Nina?" "Lady Aurelia's maid." Machiavelli recognized the material of the shirt as the one he had brought to Bartolomeo from Florence.He frowned at the exquisite needlework.Then he fixed Pierrot's eyes.Beads of sweat oozed from the boy's forehead. "Mrs. Aurelia still had some extra fabric left after she finished making clothes for Lord Bartholomew, so she gave the surplus fabric to Nina."

"So Nina did these fine embroidery?" "yes." This is a clumsy lie. "How many shirts did she give you?" "There are only two pieces. I don't have any more materials to make more." "That's nice. That way, while one is in the wash, you have another to wear. You're one lucky young man. Women never give me presents when I sleep with them. They count on Let me give them presents." "I did this only to fulfill your orders," Piero said, with a smile designed to reassure the other party. "It was you who encouraged me to pursue Nina."

Machiavelli knew very well that Aurelia would not send yards of expensive fabric to her maid even in her sleep.He also knew that it was absolutely impossible for a maid to embroider such an exquisite pattern.Madame Caterina herself had told him that only Aurelia could do such delicate needlework.The shirt must have been given to Pierrot by Aurelia.But what is this for?Because he was her husband's distant cousin?impossible.The truth of the matter, the hard-to-face truth, was being presented naked before his eyes.On the night of the planned rendezvous, when Machiavelli was summoned by the Duke for a meeting, it was not the maid who spent the spring evening with Piero, but the mistress of the maid.It was not through the miraculous intervention of St. Vitalius that Bartolomeo's wife was to have a son, but through the most natural means of the young man who stood before him at that very moment.This explains why Katerina refused to arrange another tryst with Aurelia with some ridiculous reasons, and why Aurelia has since avoided contact with him again.Machiavelli was suddenly filled with anger, but it was inconvenient to explode.They had completely fooled him, these two abandoned wives and the young man he had always been kind to!He took a step back and carefully looked at the young man in front of him.

Machiavelli never paid much attention to muscular masculine beauty.This muscular masculinity seemed unimportant to him compared to the pleasant demeanor, the ease of conversation, and the no-holds-barred approach that allowed him to win over the woman he liked.Although he recognized Pierrot as a handsome young man, he never bothered to take a good look at him.He now looked at the young man in front of him with annoyed eyes.He was tall and well-proportioned, with broad shoulders, a tight waist, and handsome legs.A military uniform makes him look more heroic.He had curly brown hair that was fastened like a hat on his head.A pair of big brown eyes under thick eyebrows, olive skin as smooth and flawless as a girl's, a small straight nose, a pair of red and sexy lips and two ears close to the head.His expression is bold, frank, simple and charming.

"Yes," thought Machiavelli to himself. "He does have the beauty to attract a stupid woman. I haven't been able to notice that in the past. Otherwise I would have been wary of it." He cursed himself for being stupid along the way.But how could he have expected that Aurelia would have Pierrot's idea?Although Pierrot was his husband's cousin, he was no more than a book boy who had just come out of school and was running errands for his master.Machiavelli used him to play tricks and wait on the saddle at the master's call. The reason why he had a little doting on Pierrot that he regretted now was also because he was Piaggio's nephew.Pierrot wasn't unintelligent, but he didn't have the grace learned through the big scenes.In the presence of a group of more virtuous personalities, Pierrot remained silent most of the time, as he often had nothing to say.Machiavelli was well aware that he had a knack for women, that when it came to being attractive, he could always attract them, but he also believed that no one else could surpass the art and skill of courting women. over him.Pierrot was only a young man, and no one in his right mind would have thought that Aurelia would favor this young man over a distinguished man who had already fallen at her feet, a man of the world and of good speech. What about gentlemen?This is too abnormal! Pierrot calmly withstood his master's long scrutiny.He has escaped from his previous embarrassment.There was a bit of prudence in his attitude, showing that he had raised his vigilance. "I've been lucky," he said flatly, but he seemed willing to take the luck as he deserved it. "Count Lodovico Alvesi's school boy fell ill on the way to Senigallia and had to be sent back to Rome. His Excellency the Count asked me to fill the vacancy." This Count Lodvico was a close confidant of Duke Valentino, a gentleman from Rome, and served as the leader of the Lancers under the Duke. "How did you do it?" "My lord Bartholomew spoke of me to the duke's treasurer, who arranged this for me." Machiavelli raised his eyebrows slightly.Not only did the boy sleep with Bartolomeo's wife, but he also used him to secure himself a prestigious job for a master who was one of the duke's most trusted aides.If he himself had nothing to do with these things, he might find the above situation very funny. "Fate favors the man and the youth who are fearless," he said. "You have a bright future ahead of you. But let me give you some advice. Be careful, like I did, to avoid getting a reputation for being smart, because once you get that reputation, no one will think you're a sane person. Watch out for people to adjust to their emotions. Laugh with them when they are happy, and stretch their faces when they are serious. Don't talk about reason to fools, and don't say stupid things to rational people, otherwise it will be impossible Reasonable. Pay attention to politeness, it costs very little but pays big. Be useful, but it will be doubly useful if you also know how to show how useful you are; if you can't please others, it is of no use if you please yourself, and remember that you please others more by caring for their human weaknesses than by encouraging them to practice their virtues. Never be too affectionate with a friend , lest this person can hurt you if he turns against you, and don't do everything so that an enemy can no longer be your friend. Be careful with your words and deeds, you can always say one more word, but you will never Can't take a word back. Truth is the most dangerous weapon a man can wield, so use it with extreme caution. In years I have never said a word I am sure of nor have I ever believed a word I said .If I happen to tell the truth one day, I will hide it in a lot of lies so that no one can find it." While Machiavelli was uttering this mass of platitudes, his mind was preoccupied with more important matters, so that he simply said what he had said, without paying any attention to what he said.He understands that a public figure can be corrupt, or incompetent, or cruel, or vengeful, or vacillating, or self-serving, or weak, or stupid, and still win the highest honors at home, but if he It's a ridiculous guy, then he's completely finished.Slandering him can fight back, insulting him can be cold-hearted, but there is no way to resist ridiculing him.Oddly enough, God has no sense of humor, yet the Devil often uses sarcasm to hinder an ambitious man from striving for perfection.Machiavelli valued the respect he received from fellow Florentine citizens, and the attention paid to his opinions by the heads of the republic.He had confidence in his own judgment, and he was ambitious for a higher position.He was clear enough to see that he had played a comical part in his unsuccessful wooing of Aurelia.Had the story been reported in Florence, he would have been a great laughing stock, ravaged by savage jests and cruel insinuations.When he thought that his unsuccessful adventure would excite some of the Florentines' malevolent intellects into satirical verses to ridicule him, he shivered down his spine.Even his friend Biagio, whom he often ridiculed, would be glad to see such an opportunity to settle the old accounts that he had ridiculed in previous years.He had to gag Pierrot, or he was finished.So he put his hand on the young man's shoulder in a friendly manner, with a pleasant smile on his face.But his bright and sharp little eyes, which were staring closely at each other's eyes, were cold and hard. "I have one last word to tell you, my dear child. Fate is fickle. She will give you power, honor and riches, or she will leave you enslaved, infamous and poor. The duke is also in the hands of fate. Just a plaything. A slight turn of the wheel of fortune will throw him into the abyss of destruction. At that time, you will need the help of your friends in Florence. So, offend those who can help you in your distress. Those who give you a helping hand are unwise. The Republic has always been vigilant against those old subordinates who have left their own ranks and abandoned those who are not trusted by the Republic. If gossip happens to enter the authority ears, will easily result in your property being confiscated, and your mother thrown out of her home, to live with relatives. The arms of the Republic are very long, and if she deems it necessary, she can easily find one for a few Gascon desperadoes who are willing to kill with ducats, stick a dagger in your back. They can also send a letter to the duke exposing you to be a spy in Florence by torture Will admit that this revelation is indeed true, and then you will be hanged like a common criminal. It will break your mother's heart. So for your own sake, and you are also a person who valued your own life, I You are advised to be careful with your words and deeds. It is unwise to say everything you know." Machiavelli fixed his eyes on Pierrot's big brown and watery eyes, and he could see that the young man understood. "Don't worry, my lord. I'll keep my mouth shut." Machiavelli smiled slightly. "I knew you were not stupid." Machiavelli felt that he was about to be generous with a parting gift to Pierrot, and would rather be overly generous than be seen as under-generous.Although doing so would leave him with just enough money to last until he reached Florence.He took out five ducats and gave them to Pierrot as his parting gift. "You have served me well and faithfully all this time," he said. "When I go back, I shall be more than happy to report to Piaggio how enthusiastically you have served me and the cause of the Republic." He kissed the young man affectionately on the cheek and went downstairs hand in hand.Piero took the horse by the head and let Machiavelli mount.He followed Machiavelli's horse until he reached the city gate.They said goodbye to each other.