WSIM24B Ch. 16

Back at Imola, I conferred with de Lorqua, dealt with administrative issues, and prepared for the next campaign. All of my Captains were informed that Bologna was to be the goal. Giovanni Bentivoglio was told by King Louis that he was on his own, and then learned that the Pope had summoned him to Rome, to answer charges of maladministration.

Now my condottiere wondered. Vitellozzo Vitelli was sick with syphilis. The Orsinis were particularly upset, because a Frenchman had told them that the Pope meant to do away with their house. They had a family conference at Todi.

I was worried, too, but I had Dorotea to occupy my nights. I had no fear of catching syphilis from my lover, but I didn't want to impregnate her, so I pulled out and finished on her stomach, her breasts, or her ass.

In the first week of October, Cardinal Orsini hosted a meeting at his castle of La Magione, near Perugia. The list of attendees was impressive. Cardinal Orsini, as head of the clan. Francisco Orsini, his nephew, the Duke of Gravina. Paolo Orsini, Lord of Palombara. Gian Paolo Baglioni, Lord of Perugia, and his brother Gentile. Oliverotto da Fermo. Vitellozzo Vitelli was carried in on a litter. Bentivoglio of Bologna sent his son Ermes. Guidobaldo de Montefeltro's nephew, Ottavio Fregoso, was there. Pandolfo Petrucci of Siena sent two envoys.

Together, these men could gather troops that outnumbered me by a significant margin. But Florence wasn't involved. Nor were Ferrara and Mantua. Venice might approve, but they hadn't sent a representative.

Gian Paolo Baglioni took the lead. He said that they would all be devoured by the dragon, one by one, if they didn't act together. Bentivoglio and Vitelli swore to kill me if they had the chance. That was about it: words, with little substance. They had two major problems: not one of them was a natural leader, who could sway the others - and they were all afraid of me.

They might not have done anything at all, except that a key fortress in Urbino, San Leo, revolted against my rule. Gian Paolo Baglioni brought the other condottiere into line, and they signed an agreement on October 9th. I was to be attacked on two sides, by Bentivoglio and Baglioni in the north, while the Orsinis struck at me in Urbino.

Yes, Alberini provided me detailed information about the meeting at La Magione, thanks to a gentleman named Roberto Orsini, and to Paolo Orsini himself, who was wavering.

Machiavelli arrived at Imola, and was surprised to find me quite calm. Maybe because it was him, I said more than I should have.

- "I'm actually glad that they've revealed themselves."

I had 750 men-at-arms, and 2500 infantry. If my enemies attacked immediately, they could overwhelm me. The French were too far away, at Milan. If I faced any more uprisings, like in Urbino, I would be in serious trouble.

Thankfully, though, I'd been expecting this - or something like this - since June. I wrote off Urbino. It was lost, for now. I sent Ramiro de Lorqua to check on the preparedness of the Romagna fortresses. Miguel went to the Val di Lamone, to meet the Di Naldo brothers and recruit infantry. In a few days, he had 800 men. I had Ugo de Moncada retreat from Urbino towards Rimini. I also sent to Milan to hire 500 Gascons and 1500 Swiss. As Julius Caesar put it: "If you have no money, you have no soldiers." A more modern expression had been coined: "Pas d'argent, pas de Suisses". On that note, the Pope sent me 18,000 ducats.

Machiavelli was impressed by the flurry of activity on all sides.

- "My Lord Valentino," he said, "You have spent more on couriers and messengers these past two weeks than anyone else would have spent in two years."

- "Information is priceless."

- "But are you not... concerned? By the situation?"

- "It could be much worse."

Miguel linked up with Ugo de Moncada. Together they sacked two small towns in Urbino. Miguel found the time to have old Giulio Cesare de Varano strangled - or perhaps he did it himself. I wasn't going to lose any sleep over that. Neither would most of Varano's former subjects in Camarino.

Unfortunately, the Orsinis caught up to them at Calmazzo, and defeated them. De Moncada was captured; Miguel retreated with the rest of their forces. Guidobaldo de Montefeltro returned to Urbino.

The Bentivoglios sent 2,300 men to Castel San Pietro, only seven miles from Imola. But there they halted. And there they remained.

The situation looked very bad, on the surface. But I could have answered Machiavelli's question now; I had the distinct feeling that the worst was over. They didn't have a single leader, but more importantly, they weren't prepared to confront me directly. I had read them correctly. They weren't brave men. They excelled at sieges, or against outnumbered opponents.

I'd lost Urbino, as I expected to. But all of the Romagna cities and towns remained loyal. So did my Romagnol, Spanish and Italian commanders - not one of them openly joined the conspiracy. I had troops and money pouring in. The worst thing I could had done was to attack them, risking a battle and exposing myself to defeat. A minor victory would do little for me, but a defeat would have been catastrophic. I simply refused to move, and it was the best thing I could have done.

By the end of October, French heavy cavalry were on the way. My enemies had been united by fear of me. Now it was that same fear of me that split them apart. I began to receive letters from them: messages of friendship. Paolo Orsini asked if he could come to see me, as did Cardinal Orsini.

Bentivoglio of Bologna began angling for a separate deal. He was obviously willing to abandon his allies if he could obtain a guarantee that he would be left unharmed.

I received Paolo Orsini with every courtesy. He explained that he had been mistaken, that he and the others had been afraid that I was going to turn on them. I reassured him, and spoke to him as a friend. Paolo was the weakest link; I let him carry my message to the others.

It was interesting to overhear part of a conversation between Machiavelli and my secretary, Agapito - who knew better than to give away any information (not that he knew much of my intentions anyway).

- "He's not going to lose. In fact, he's already won." said the Florentine emissary.

- "How's that?"

- "Look: on one side, you have Duke Valentino. He's vigorous, confident, blessed by fortune, with the Pope and the King behind him. Opposed are his faithless servants, who have cost him Urbino. Even when they were his friends, they feared his growing power, and worried about their own possessions. Now that they have injured him, they should fear him even more. Instead, I see them expecting to find forgiveness... how can this be?"

Machiavelli was finding it hard to pick up information from my associates, but he was fairly shrewd. He realized that all of my temporizing, all of the agreements I made, were no more than a temporary truce.

Gian Paolo Baglioni and Oliverotto da Fermo were tough, ruthless, and treacherous. Both had murdered members of their own families (and many others) to get where they were. Of all people, they should have known better than to trust soft words from a man they'd betrayed. Or maybe they were just waiting, and hoping for another opportunity to catch me off guard.

I gave the Bentivoglios a separate deal. Bologna was probably out of my reach, at this point. In return, they agreed to provide me with 400 horse, plus 12,000 ducats a year to hire a condotta. One additional benefit, for me, was that the other conspirators were now furious with their formed allies.

I made another agreement with the Orsinis, and then with the remaining traitors. I pledged to defend their lands, while they promised to help me recover Urbino and Camerino (which had been retaken by one of Varano's sons). There were articles about mutual forgiveness, etc.

My secretary was stunned. "Even children would laugh at such a treaty!" he said.

It reminded me, rather vividly, of a poker game I'd played in with Fournier, back at AFOTA. I'd just hit an Ace-high flush, and the way the board was configured, there was no way for anyone to have a full house. I was facing two pair, or three of a kind, at best.

One of the other players was looking at me rather intently.

- "Did you hit a flush?" he asked me.

- "I wish." I said.

He pushed all of his chips in, and was rather upset when I called and showed my cards.

- "You said you didn't have a flush!" he complained.

- "I said 'I wish'. You expect people to tell you the truth - in a poker game?"

I hadn't lost here, either. In fact, it felt like a major victory. I'd avoided defeat, and then broke up the enemy alliance. Bologna was out, and now allied to me. The conspirators had abandoned Guidobaldo and the Varanos, pledging to fight for me against them. They competed to crawl back.

Baglioni and Petrucci of Siena wrote to say that their true goal had been to make me King of Tuscany. Vitellozzo Vitelli wrote, too, excusing himself, and promising his services.

"If I could but see you in person, Lord, I have no doubt that I could justify myself absolutely. The past events were never intended to offend you."

For the month of November, I kept my plans to myself. I had little to say to Machiavelli, and he had nothing new to report to me. I had hoped for much more from Florence, but they had been happy to watch while I faced my rebellious captains. Now my need for their help was far less pressing.

On December 10th I moved the army to Cesena because I wouldn't be able to feed them around Imola any longer. I had 5,000 infantry, 800 heavy cavalry and 400 light cavalry. Along with that came good news: abandoned by his allies, and without the money to hire mercenaries, Guidobaldo de Montefeltro had fled Urbino again.

The Pope sent me more money, but an angry letter, too. "What the hell are you doing? Are you throwing my money away? When will I see some return?"

In a way, I was comforted by that. If my own boss thought that I was dawdling, then my enemies were unlikely to have any idea of what I was up to.

On the 20th, I called all of the French officers to a meeting.

- "Gentlemen," I said, "I regret to inform you that I can no longer afford to maintain you. Nor do we need your arms for the coming campaign; it will not be very difficult. For those reasons, I have decided to dispense with your services for now, and send you back to Milan."

The Frenchmen were surprised. So were my captains, and most of Italy with them. There were many, many sighs of relief. If I didn't need the French troops, it could only be because I didn't have a major campaign planned.

Machiavelli was only partially fooled: I saw him watching as 600 more infantry from the Val di Lamone marched in. He also asked several people where my artillery had been sent to. I'm not sure if he learned that 1,000 Swiss had reached Faenza.

On the 22nd of December, there was a ball in my honour, given by the leading citizens of Cesena. I made sure that everyone saw me enjoying myself. I danced with Cleofe Marescotti, the wife of one of my hosts. She flirted outrageously, and I pretended to be interested. In reality, I'd never forgotten the Pope's advice: don't take their women.

The ball was just a smokescreen; I was waiting for word of an important venture. Miguel came to tell me in person.

- "It's done." he said.

While I danced and flirted, Ramiro de Lorqua was arrested and imprisoned. Three days later, at dawn on Christmas Day, he was beheaded in the central square of Cesena.

- "I don't understand." said Diego Ramires. He and his brother Pedro had known de Lorqua for over a decade. "I know that he was unpopular, in the Romagna. Too severe, I suppose. But we thought that was all at your orders."

- "He was ruthless for far too long. His usefulness to me was diminishing. But he went well beyond that. Corruption. Extortion. Trafficking in grain."

That was just the beginning, though. De Lorqua must have known that I would catch him at it one day, so he had hedged his bets by plotting with the Bentivoglios, the Orsinis, and with Vitellozzo. But I made no mention of that. Not yet.

My condottiere - with the exception of Baglioni, who had gone back to Perugia - were undertaking the siege of Senigallia. It was a small town on the Adriatic coast, between Fano and Ancona. Meanwhile, I was on the move.

I'd reached Pesaro when I heard that the town had been taken by Oliverotto da Fermo, in my name. The citadel, however, continued to hold out. Its commander was a Genoese condottiere named Andrea Doria, who let it be known that he would only surrender to me - in person.

I sent messages to the captains, telling them that I was on the way. I asked them to pull their troops back from the town, leaving only Oliverotto's garrison inside the walls, so that there would be room to billet my men. I also instructed him to make sure that the town gates would be locked, except for the one by which I would enter.

Meanwhile, my men were gathering just south of the Metaurus river. I had never been here before, but the name stuck in my head. It was only later that I remembered: this was where the Romans defeated Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal, who was leading the reinforcements intended for Hannibal.

At dawn on the 31^st, the last day of 1502, I rode to Senigallia. The Orsinis and Vitellozzo came to meet me. Oliverotto was inside the town, and had to be sent for. They were obviously surprised by the number of troops I had with me. Since I'd dismissed the French, they assumed that I had far fewer men at my disposal.

I greeted them warmly, and invited them to join me in the town, to have dinner, and to make plans. It was time, I told them, that they learned what I intended to do after Senigallia.

If they were nervous, there wasn't much that they could do about it. My men-at-arms were now between them and their own soldiers, camped to the east and the south of the town.

Once inside the town, there was nowhere for them to go. The only troops inside, except for Oliverotto's escort, were mine. The gates were all locked. It was very easy to disarm my former captains - who discovered that they were now my prisoners.

Vitellozzo Vitelli and Oliverotto da Fermo died just after midnight. Miguel had them garroted. I wish I could tell you that they died well. Vitellozzo begged the Pope for a plenary indulgence, while Oliverotto blamed everything on Vitelli. Paolo and Francisco Orsini were kept as prisoners.

I was up late that night, writing letters for the Pope, King Louis, and the Doge of Venice. That last one I particularly enjoyed, because the Venetians had sympathized with my enemies.

Ramiro de Lorqua, before his execution, confessed that he had planned to deliver Cesena to the Orsinis back in September. But the peace agreement had forestalled that. Vitellozzo and Oliverotto then plotted to have me murdered. The message from Andrea Doria - that he would only surrender to me, was their way of ensuring that I would come to Senigallia in person.

On January 3rd, in Rome, the Pope had Cardinal Orsini arrested.

The reaction across Italy was all that I could have hoped for, and more. Senigallia was seen as justified punishment for treachery, and an especially clever masterpiece. Machiavelli was impressed. So was King Louis. Even the Venetians had to congratulate me, one calling it 'a beautiful deception'.

Isabella d'Este sent me a hundred very fine carnival masks, suggesting that after my 'glorious undertaking', I deserved to enjoy myself.

Maybe I did. But there was still much to be done.

On the morning of January 1st, 1503, I accepted the surrender of the citadel from Andrea Doria. By noon, my entire army was on the road, despite the awful weather. I wanted to get to Perugia as soon as possible.

Fermo capitulated the moment they heard of Oliverotto's death. Like many towns and cities in the Romagna, they would be glad to exchange their former Lord's rule for mine. Citta di Castello, home of the Vitellis, had also submitted.

A deputation from Perugia met us on the road, to offer me the city. Gian Paolo Baglioni had fled.

With the exception of the Bentivoglios in Bologna, that left only one of the major conspirators against me still in power: Pandolfo Petrucci of Siena. He was dangerous. This was a clever, tough, unscrupulous man who had fought his way to power by his wits, his money, and his willingness to eliminate opponents. I suspected that he had been the brains behind the conspiracy against me.

Envoys from Siena came to see me, caps in hand. I was careful to tell them that I did not desire to rule them directly, but only to rid them of a tyrant. Petrucci had to go, and Siena had to return to the rule of the Church. They would be safe from Florence, in future.

The Sienese expelled him from the city on the 27th. I could sense the change in the wind. I had gotten as much out of Senigallia as I was going to. Louis would let me go no further, and had written to the Pope, ordering him to restrain his son. My Boss was furious, but he was also angry at me.

- "Get back here and help me deal with these Orsinis!" he wrote.

I didn't remind him that Paolo and Francisco Orsini had been strangled, by my order, on the 18th. For whatever reason, he still had a powerful hate for the entire clan. I didn't share it. Yes, they were among the conspirators against me, but there were several prominent Orsini who had not joined the plot against me.

The news of my army's approach sent the troublemakers scurrying for cover. I stopped in Viterbo for a week (which became ten days), reorganizing my forces, and reaching out to the remaining Savellis and Colonnas.

I lingered a little longer than necessary, partly because the Pope wouldn't stop sending me 'urgent' letters to attack and destroy all of the Orsinis. I didn't want to face him while he was in this mood. One of his letters even threatened to excommunicate me.

The other reason I dallied was because it might be my last opportunity for some extended quality time with Dorotea. I intended to set her up in a villa outside Rome, but I didn't know how often I'd be able to get away to see her. To this day, I can't quite explain the effect she had on me.

Her face was exquisitely beautiful, of course. No painter could have done her justice, and if he had, I would've gotten no work done, because I would have sat and stared at the canvas. She was uncomplicated, just like Gina. And I couldn't get enough of her tight little body.

But the time was fast approaching when I would have to let her go. When I went back to Rome, I would be very busy, and I would want to devote my spare time to Gina, and to Fiametta (platonically, in her case).

I'd also received a letter, the day I reached Viterbo. It was from King Louis. He congratulated me again for my successes since Senigallia, while at the same time warning me that Siena was off-limits. But there was one line that stood out.

Charlotte will be in Milan on the First of May.

***

"You disobeyed me!" shouted my boss.

- "Because you've lost all perspective. 'Root and branch'? 'Salt the earth'? I know you hate the Orsinis, but this is... extreme."

- "I want them wiped out!"

- "You can't." I said, softly. "A war of extermination? They'll fight to the death. No surrender. And the Savellis and the Colonnas will join them, because they'll know they're next. The Orsinis have suffered a major blow to their power, and I'm not finished with them yet."

- "But you refuse to attack Bracciano!"

I sighed. Bracciano was the greatest fortress north of Rome, the home of Giangiordano Orsini, who had refused to enter any conspiracy against me, because I was a member of the Order of St Michael, like him. By oath, we were forbidden to attack each other.