immortal person

In December of the 65th year of the Holy Calendar, Genoa signed a peace treaty with Florence and withdrew all its troops within two weeks.Rome began to fight alone, alone against the legions composed of the three forces of Florence, Milan and Venice.In mid-December, the coalition led troops to Ravenna and captured the Roman arsenal.The offensive and defensive situation seems to have been preliminarily finalized, but the ruler of Rome, the pope, has always represented the prestige that no one dares to detract easily for thousands of years, and it is safest not to use force unless it is absolutely necessary. It is safest to make them retreat. choose.The Roman army began to grow more cautious, and perhaps in the Vatican's Castel Sant'Angelo, the Holy See and his cardinals had lost faith in the war.The ensuing winter season became a step for them to take advantage of the trend. A bishop of the Vatican came to Ravenna and reached an agreement with the Duke of Medici. It was inconvenient to march in the freezing season, and they would have a truce until spring.

Once the army is dispersed, it is difficult to gather again, so the soldiers of the coalition army did not get the chance to return home.But they never let up: the chains only had to get tighter and tighter against a behemoth with all the power in the spiritual world.They chose to retaliate with an eye, using the means that Rome had used to pay back.In Ravenna, once the heart of the Roman Empire, gossip thrives in the season of death.It is said that the sheep in the pasture suddenly gave birth to a large number of freaks, and those suckling sheep that have not yet opened their eyes actually gave birth to the faces of human babies; not far away in Rome, a horrific tragedy happened in a convent on the outskirts of the city Li: In the early autumn, there was a nun who claimed to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Only four months later, she gave birth to a deformed fetus with goat horns.The lamb that has gone astray is cursed by God, and it heralds the approach of Satan, so rumors spread: it was the shepherds on the earth who failed to keep them, which attracted the wrath of the Lord, Rome, you better be careful...

Even though few people have tried to verify the authenticity of these rumors, the coalition forces have prepared the so-called "evidence".In fact, those things that look terrible are just a poor cover-up, which can be made decent by any skilled physician.Leaflets depicting deformities were quietly distributed in the towns and cities around Rome, and every devotee would be scared by it to draw a holy sign.Rome quickly noticed this phenomenon, and they denounced the Florentines for their obscene behavior, and repeatedly justified the so-called "scourge".Rumors always spread faster than truth, and Lorenzo has experienced its power several times in his life. These light words can sometimes destroy city walls more than cannons.

As he wished, the battle in the south had come to a moment when he had to make a decision.Venice sent letters for help twice in a row, and the two earls who had rushed to support had to return to their country.The menacing Turks have approached the coastline of Italy. Once the Venetian fleet is defeated, it may threaten the safety of the Vatican.Sixtus IV has never slept peacefully since the fall of New Rome in the East.Compared with fighting the Medici, it is the natural responsibility of a pope to fight against heretics according to the will of God.More and more people began to accuse the Pope of wasting his troops on infighting for his own selfish desires, thinking that he just wanted to avenge his relatives.The pope tried to seek aid from other city-states, and with Florence at war, no wise monarch dared to promise.Seeing that the time was about to ripen, the envoys of Florence asked to see the Holy See at this time, but what the envoys brought this time was no longer the rare treasures of the past, but a copy of the accounts—the accounts of the Holy Treasury for nearly 50 years selection of .Members of the Medici family served as financial officers in the Holy See of the three popes. Even if they are now at odds with Sixtus IV, the evidence they had in the past is enough: in the most holy court in the world, every cardinal is Simon[2], the priesthood that can be conferred—regardless of high or low—has already been clearly priced by people, and the income brought by it even accounts for one-tenth of the annual income of the Holy See.Even if most of the dignitaries already knew this well, once it was really put in front of the world, the three popes, including Sixtus IV, would become a disgrace to the entire Christian world.

Before setting off on the expedition, Lorenzo ordered someone to transcribe this copy.But it was so important and so sensitive that, even if it did hold the Holy See by the throat, it would cost the Medici their reputation for fidelity and trustworthiness in the management of their accounts.Therefore, at the audience with the Pope, the Florentine envoy kindly advised the Holy See that it would be better to open this document when he was alone.According to the Pope's guard, not long after that day, there was the sound of a vase breaking in the Pope's suite.

At the same time, Muhammad in the east surrounded Rhodes with his navy, and then continued to sail along the coast of Italy, marching towards Vlora.Four thousand soldiers landed and occupied the city of Otranto, followed by looting and massacres that shocked the world.The soldiers in every city-state began to be restless—even though there had never been any conflicts and wars between the city-states on this peninsula, before the Turks, it was the people of God who shed blood after all.The envoys of the emperor, France and Hungary came to the barracks of the Duke of Medici almost at the same time. After initially inquiring about the image of the Duke, they immediately went to Rome to see the Pope.The situation has developed to this point, and they have no choice but to become middlemen in the mediation between the two parties.They came at the perfect time: in the face of a Muslim army, the pope was willing to heed any reasonable advice.

With the efforts of many parties, the meeting between the leaders of the two sides was quickly put on the agenda.The first thing that was presented to the Pope was a sincere document written by Poliziano.After being in charge of the city-state affairs for more than half a year, the classical scholar Poliziano was finally able to do what he does best.He wrote: "All that we have done is to free our nation from slavery, and to set the people free together with their chosen leaders... Please follow the example of the Savior, and by your mercy, set us free again into the arms of God..." A date was finally set for peace talks when the pope realized he could ask for no more concessions.

It was a very difficult negotiation.The process of the peace talks lasted for three full days, and from the beginning to the end there were open and secret struggles.The two sides met outside Rome, and the papal envoy initially tried to dismount the Medici duke to take the reins of the pope's chariot, but was of course rebuffed mercilessly.When both parties finally sat down at the negotiating table, the terms laid out by the Pope were such that even the smoothest of courtiers could not keep a smile on their face.The compensation demanded by the Vatican was unbelievably high, and it came up with a contract asking Florence to provide assistance for the next "jihad". These assistance included but were not limited to [-] warships, hundreds of thousands of florins and Three thousand militiamen.Of course, such harsh conditions could not be agreed by the Florentines. It is said that the dispute between the two sides lasted for a whole day, and the meeting again the next day was still fruitless.On the third day, seeing that the meaningless quarrel continued into the afternoon again, Duke Medici pulled out the dagger from the scabbard, threw it to the other end of the long table, and nailed the Pope's sleeve to the table ——

"I have a temper too, my lord," said Duke Lorenzo de' Medici calmly, and never concealed his contempt and impatience.

The event is considered implausible by the chroniclers, and it is difficult to believe that the duke, always known for his grace and grace, would have acted in such a way; but after all, none of them actually attended the meeting.Those who were present were asked to keep silent and not to disclose any secrets on the negotiating table. It was not until Lorenzo's death that someone briefly recorded the situation at that time in his autobiography.The latecomers can only judge the situation at that time through these sporadic accounts, even though the autobiographical sentences inevitably contain elements that tend to the leaders of their own country: "The duke made the Pope realize that the era when the emperor could kneel in the snow for three days and three nights It has passed...it is a new age. The real power is not Jehovah, but man."

It turns out that, many times, etiquette and virtue do not give people an edge in negotiations.After both sides revealed their masks, the negotiations went much smoother.A day later, Rome and Florence finally reached an agreement.Florence showed enough piety, apologized for the previous disrespect to the three bishops, and promised to provide "appropriate" assistance for the subsequent Eastern Expedition.The pope announced the truce with a tone of grace, retracted the excommunication order that had been issued, and declared that the Florentines were still the chosen people of the Lord.In order to express his gratitude, the Duke of Medici announced that he would donate thousands of holy relics collected by his family to the Holy See, including the saint's bones, clothing, and several icons that were said to shed tears.In return, the Holy See awarded the Duke the Order of the Golden Rose, which is the highest honor the Holy See can bestow on a secular person. "May our friendship be as enduring as Rome and Florence." When Sixtus IV pinned the medal on Lorenzo's lapel, he said with deep meaning.

The year-long war was finally over, the duke and pope blessed each other, and the newly signed peace treaty was inlaid in silver and kept in the hands of the two leaders respectively.As for how many years it will last this time - who knows?The peace treaty was signed to be torn up, everyone knew how fragile it was, and no one would really pin their hopes on it.This era is corrupt and depraved, and wars are like weeds that will never be wiped out.Even so, when Lorenzo came down from the sanctuary with the silver box containing the treaty in his hand, he was thinking of the promise he had made to Giovanni that autumn night.

Regardless, I will try to be a pointer to peace.

In March of the 66th year of the Holy Calendar, Duke Medici and his party returned to Florence.

The author has something to say:

[1] Simon: The person in the Bible who tried to buy a priesthood.The "Simonism" of Catholicism refers to the sale and purchase of clergy.

The emperor in this article refers to the Holy Roman Emperor, the monarch of all Europe in name.

Swipe right, and there's the epilogue.