Just as Giovanni reminded, with the arrival of 1476 as the plot year, the beautiful emerald city becomes more and more undercurrent.

The Patch family, which suffered two big losses in succession, still did not break out, but continued to endure under the pressure of someone who secretly controlled the overall situation.

After all, Florence is the home stadium of the Brotherhood. Under the premise of knowing the general framework of the opponent's conspiracy in advance, Giovanni and others deployed targeted preventive measures in an orderly manner.

But Mario brought not very good news to Florence at this time.

All the thieves and mercenaries he sent to San Gimignano to detect intelligence lost their news. This small Tuscan city was like a black hole, swallowing up all the surrounding intelligence circulation.

Mario was a little worried about the Templars' follow-up response, and the Florentine Brotherhood, who received the news, once again increased their vigilance.

Regardless of whether the scouts sent by Mario were only arrested or executed, this wave of failed attempts not only failed to obtain the desired information, but also had the side effect of alerting the enemy.

"If I were Rodrigo, there are only two options in this situation: advance or retreat."

Lu Xiao solemnly analyzed at the Brotherhood's emergency meeting: "Jin, before the Brotherhood has grasped the overall intelligence, change the originally planned action rhythm and launch a surprise attack first."

"Retreat, temporarily abandon the already prepared Florence, wait patiently for a more suitable time to launch, use both vertical and horizontal alliances and force to force, use extreme pressure on the Medici family, and force Lorenzo to make political compromises."

Today, the Assassin Brotherhood only knows that Rodrigo intends to assassinate the Medici family, but the specific time and place are unknown.

In the case of imperfect information, a slight error in judgment may lead to a complete loss.

Giovari had already warned Lorenzo, but as the lord of the Florentine Republic, Lorenzo could not stay behind closed doors because of the enemy's threat.

As a last resort, Giovanni could only send more manpower to secretly increase Lorenzo's security when he went out.

Lu Xiao's analysis made the senior fraternity leaders present deep in thought. It took Giovanni a while to express his opinion: "I had a close contact with the Spaniard in Milan, and I also conducted interviews with him through various channels afterwards.

Get to know each other."

"As a high-ranking cardinal, Rodrigo is extremely confident, self-centered but thoughtful, and scheming."

"He discovered my traces as early as when I sneaked into the city of Milan. At that time, he even tried to win me over to join the Templars, giving people a sense of oppression that he had everything under control."

"I don't think he will give up his long-planned plan just because of a failed investigation by the Brotherhood."

The Templars and Assassins have been at war for thousands of years. After Giovanni confirmed the identity of the contemporary Grand Master of the Templars, the Brotherhood mobilized various channels to uncover the relevant information about Rodrigo Borgia.

Just like Giovanni said, although Rodrigo has an excessive desire to control power, it does not mean that he is an incompetent idiot.

The fact that he can stand out from a group of old cardinals and become Pope Alexander VI in the future shows that he possesses strong political skills and connections.

La Volpe, Paola and others lowered their heads and pondered for a while, and finally unanimously agreed that Giovanni's judgment was correct.

Lu Xiao touched his chin thoughtfully, "In other words, Rodrigo will continue to prepare as planned, and at most make some fine-tuning in details and action rhythm?"

"Yes." Giovanni said seriously: "Although it is just some seemingly inconspicuous fine-tuning, these details can often determine the final success or failure."

"We must get more intelligence from San Gimignano, and as soon as possible. I'm worried that the moment they launch their plan is not far away."

'San Gimignano...'

Lu Xiao narrowed his eyes and weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

With Rodrigo in charge, there is no doubt that San Gimignano today has extremely high levels of vigilance and defense. If you enter this small Tuscan city rashly, there is a high risk of being discovered by the vigilant Templars.

But as Giovanni said, if we can't grasp the Templars' plan in more detail, the Brotherhood will always be led by the other party, stupidly guarding Lorenzo's passive defense.

"Let's do this." Lu Xiao thought for a while and then suggested: "I'll go back to Monteriggioni first and discuss with Mario the next plan for San Gimignano."

"Mr. Giovanni, you will cooperate with Lord Lorenzo and use various means to provoke and lure the Pazzi family to expose themselves, thereby weakening the influence of the Templars in Florence. It is best to bring the Pazzi family to justice.

"

Giovanni nodded solemnly: "That's exactly what I plan to do. Since we can't catch the mastermind for the time being, we'll start with his chess pieces."

"The Pazzi family has secretly committed many crimes over the years. Lorenzo was wary of their influence in the early years and never took any serious action against them. Now it's time to settle old scores."

"Also, Lu, I have something to ask you."

Giovanni said to Lu Xiao earnestly: "This time when you go to Monteriggioni, I hope you can take Ezio and Petruchio with you and send them to the Auditore Manor for temporary refuge."

Lu Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly, and he quickly understood Giovanni's intentions.

This is a consistent method used by nobles to preserve their bloodline when they face an uncertain future crisis.

Giovanni had three sons and one daughter. The eldest son Federico had joined the brotherhood a few years ago. Staying in Florence could help him a lot.

The only daughter Claudia is engaged to a close family and will be officially married next year. It is not appropriate to keep her away from Florence at this time, lest she cause bad speculations in her husband's family.

Excluding a son and a daughter, the only ones left are naturally the underage Ezio and Petruchio.

Giovanni was also unsure of the outcome of this fierce collision with the Templars. To be on the safe side, he decided to spread out the Auditore family's bloodline to avoid an accident and end it.

Lu Xiao nodded and said: "I have no problem with it, but will Ezio and Petruchio agree?"

"Yes."

Giovanni said categorically: "They cannot be willful at this juncture. I will convince them that I will trouble you to take care of them on the way to Monteriggioni."

…

Ezio had just learned his true identity hidden under the disguise of a banker not long ago. He had been very troubled by this recently, and the frequency of going out for fun had been reduced a lot.

...Of course, it may also be because he finally found his true love and his romantic nature has restrained to a certain extent.

The young and frivolous Ezio was still unable to fully understand the philosophy of the Assassin Brotherhood. Giovanni originally hoped to wait for Ezio to mature before carefully guiding him, but unfortunately the current situation prevented him from continuing to act docilely.

"Montrigioni?"

Ezio was stunned for a moment after hearing his father's order, and then his head moved from side to side like a rattle.

"I won't go! What will Christina do if I leave Florence at this time? I don't want the distance to test our..."

"Enough!"

Giovanni, who has always been quite gentle towards his children, rarely gave a stern shout: "I have decided! If you have no objection, go pack your bags immediately!"

"No matter how many worries you still have in Florence, I will only give you one night to deal with them. You must be ready to leave at dawn tomorrow."

After the incident broke out, Giovanni looked at the confused expressions of his two sons, sighed helplessly, put his big hands on their heads and rubbed them.

"Children, now is not the time to be willful. Florence will undergo drastic changes that you cannot imagine. For the continuation of the family, you must take refuge in Monteriggioni."

"I promise that once the situation calms down, I will immediately send someone to take you back."

The gentle Petruchio was the first to express his understanding of his father's decision, and he nodded obediently and agreed to Giovanni's arrangement.

Although Ezio was romantic and dissolute, he was not ignorant of the general situation. After the initial panic and uneasiness, Ezio quickly sorted out his mood.

Extending his fist in front of Giovanni, Ezio blinked and said with a smile: "Okay, father, but you must keep your promise. I don't want to break up with my girlfriend who just confirmed my relationship."

Ezio's deliberate witticism made Giovanni feel better, and he smiled and touched Ezio with his fist.
Chapter completed!