nnon upon the town itself, with such
resolute purpose that many houses were set on fire and demolished. This
Naldo was one of the best reputed captains of foot of his day, and he
had seen much service under the Sforza; but his experience could avail
him little here.

On the 28th Cesare opened the attack, training his guns upon the
citadel; but it was not until a week later that, having found a weak
spot in the walls on the side commanding the town, he opened a breach
through which his men were able to force a passage, and so possess
themselves of a half-moon. Seeing the enemy practically within his
outworks, and being himself severely wounded in the head, Naldo
accounted it time to parley. He begged a three-days' armistice, pledging
himself to surrender at the end of that time should he not receive
reinforcements in the meanwhile; and to this arrangement the duke
consented.

The good faith of Naldo has been questioned, and it has been suggested
that his asking for three days' grace was no better than a cloak to
cover his treacherous sale of the fortress to the besieger. It seems,
however, to be no more than one of those lightly-uttered, irresponsible
utterances with which the chronicles of the time abound, for Naldo had
left his wife and children at Forli in the hands of the Countess, as
hostages for his good faith, and this renders improbable the unsupported
story of his baseness.

On December 7, no reinforcements having reached him, Naldo made formal
surrender of the citadel, safe-conduct having been granted to his
garrison.

A week later there arrived at Imola Cesare's cousin, the Cardinal
Giovanni Borgia, whom the Pope had constituted legate in Bologna and the
Romagna in place of the Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, and whom he had sent
to support Cesare's operations with ecclesiastical authority. Cardinal
Giovanni, as the Pope's representative, received in the Church of
San Domenico the oath of fealty of the city to the Holy See. This was
pledged by four representative members of the Council of Thirty; and
by that act the conquest and subjection of the town became a fully
accomplished fact.

The lesser strongholds of the territory threw up their gates one by
one before the advancing enemy, until only Forli remained to be taken.
Cesare pushed forward to reduce it.

On his way he passed through Faenza, whose tyrant, Manfredi, deeming
himself secure in the protection of Venice and in view of the
circumstance that the