The Family - Mario Puzo [136]
The army’s first target was Pesaro, still ruled by Lucrezia’s ex-husband, Giovanni Sforza. Alexander had excommunicated him when it was discovered that he was in negotiations with the Turks to ward off the papal army.
Here too, as in Imola and Forli, the citizens themselves were not anxious to sacrifice their lives or property for their brutish ruler. Some of the leading citizens arrested Giovanni’s brother Galli when they heard Cesare was on his way, but rather than face his terrible ex-brother-in-law, Giovanni quickly fled to Venice to offer them his territory.
Cesare entered Pesaro in the rain, accompanied by his army of 150 men dressed in red and yellow uniforms, and were greeted by happy crowds and great fanfare. The citizens quickly surrendered and handed Cesare the keys to the city. Now he was lord of Pesaro.
With no battle to fight, Cesare went immediately to set up quarters in Sforza Castle, in the very apartments where his sister Lucrezia had lived. There he slept in her bed for two nights, dreaming of her.
The next morning he and Vitelli managed to confiscate seventy cannons from Pesaro’s arsenal before they continued on their campaign. By the time they reached Rimini, Cesare had added ninety cannons to his artillery. The most difficult obstacle to overcome was the heavy rains the army encountered on the long ride up the coastal road. But before Cesare even reached the gates, the citizens—on hearing of his coming—drove out their hated oppressors, the brothers Pan and Carlo Malatesta. And another city surrendered.
Cesare was buoyant about his victories, but his next conquest would prove to be a difficult and overwhelming task. His objective was Faenza, ruled by the beloved Astorre Manfredi. Not only was the city a powerful fortress surrounded by high crenellated walls for defense, but it was peopled by brave and loyal citizens. It was also protected by the best infantry in all of Italy. Faenza would not surrender without a fierce fight.
The battle began badly for Cesare. Vitelli’s cannons fired again and again at the walls of the fortress, yet only managed to create a small breach. Unfortunately, when they tried to storm the breach Cesare’s men were beaten off by Astorre Manfredi’s local Italian infantrymen, and suffered a heavy loss.
In Cesare’s camp, quarrels broke out between the Italian mercenary commanders and his Spanish captains, each blaming the other for the defeat.
The weather grew bitterly cold, and everything froze as winter arrived. The troops began to complain; Gian Baglioni, one of Cesare’s renowned condottieri, became enraged by Spanish criticism and took his men home to Perugia.
Cesare knew that with all these difficulties this battle could not be won in winter; it would have to wait for spring. And so he left a small force to surround the city and sent the remainder of his soldiers to the local villages that peppered the Rimini road. He told them to plan for a long winter stay, and to prepare to resume the battle in spring.
Cesare himself went to Cesena. This town, formerly ruled by the Malatesta family, who fled at the news of his coming, had a great castle, and citizens who were known throughout Italy to be fierce in battle but fun-loving in life. He took over the Palazzo Malatesta, and found pleasure in inviting the citizens of the town to look around the glamorous and ornate rooms that their former masters had lived in and loved, in order to show them what their hard work and sacrifice had wrought.
In contrast to their former rulers, Cesare played among the people. During the daytime he took part in all the classic tournaments that were held, and even jousted with the nobles who had stayed behind. He found great