Milan, Illusions, DaVinci (4) Horse
在大西洋沿岸國家成為歐洲政治經濟中心之前，地中海周邊才是歐洲的利益核心。是利益的核心就必然成為政治角逐的焦點，是政治的焦點就難免變成戰場。歐洲文明就起源於地中海邊的古希臘，再到羅馬共和國和羅馬帝國，如今意大利境內的邦國：那不勒斯王國，弗洛倫薩共和國，威尼斯共和國，教皇國，米蘭公國，……這些城邦國家沐浴在文藝複興的春風裏，正享受著噴薄而發的藝術和源源不斷的財富，與此同時，真正的掠食者們正磨刀霍霍，準備分食這群養肥了的羊。城邦國家之間因為長期的利益紛爭和糾葛鬥得不可開交，自然開始尋求外部勢力的支持，從這一刻起，城邦國家的命運再不能掌握在自己手裏了，正真的玩家已經換成了他們身後的法國，西班牙和神聖羅馬帝國，長達半個多世紀的意大利戰爭，將從此拉開序幕，歐洲的中心也將從地中海轉向大西洋。
當法王路易十二親帥自己的精銳騎兵和善戰的瑞士雇傭軍越過阿爾卑斯山時，米蘭公爵盧多維科正把神聖羅馬帝國遣使送來的密信撕得粉碎，大罵道：“馬克西米連，你個懦夫！連個議會都搞不定，還當個卵子皇帝呀! 你要不能出兵，你當初跟我拍個卵子胸脯啊！你這一掉鏈子，我他媽完了！本來是一盤好棋，能玩兒死威尼斯，那不勒斯，還有他媽的法國，這下全他媽完了…….我 去你大爺！“ 盧多維科是風雅的，文藝的，這不能怪他，人到了自己最無能為力的時候，除了往死了罵，還能怎麽發泄呢？路易十二利用了他對威尼斯西部邊界的克雷莫納和吉亞拉達達的野心，把他給耍了，如今要先把米蘭不吐骨頭的吃下去，再拿下那不勒斯。說好了聯合米蘭出兵來製衡法國的神聖羅馬帝國皇帝馬克西米連又被本國的君主立憲派給玩兒殘了，立憲派把持著帝國議會否決了出兵……而西班牙國王費迪南德正發遣艦隊，準備從西西裏登陸來分亞平寧半島的一杯羹，眼瞅著意大利的邦國都得完，可米蘭將是第一個出局的，在這場博弈中，誰會甘心自己是第一個玩兒完的呢，籌碼一旦全輸掉，下了這張牌桌，遊戲再精彩，也跟你無關了。
斯福爾紮城堡中，達芬奇正和助手查理斯在中庭打著粘土的坯子。旁邊一匹雄壯的馬，黏土塑的馬，有二十多尺高，曲頸奮蹄，鬃尾亂乍，威武異常！達芬奇拿著手裏的抹刀一邊刮著要成型的馬的左腿，一邊跟身邊的查理斯說：“你那個水再多加點，好，好了，夠了夠了，再來就稀了，我看看……還行，內什麽，你下回得換個更細點的篩子，現在還是有小沙粒兒“，自從達芬奇的助手兼學徒達奧立諾給他煉鋼傷了眼睛，有些粗活達芬奇就不讓他幹了，反正手頭項目有的是，這些年下來達奧立諾也能獨當一麵了，正好派他去了米蘭西邊的城牆上，指導著守城的雇傭兵架青銅大炮呢。這個新雇的查理斯挺機靈的，達芬奇是他的大偶像。”打這馬的模型，光粘土咱們就用了多少了，等到了真鑄的時候，得用多少青銅啊!” 查理斯自言自語道：“Master，您說這城準守的住嗎？一定守得住的，對吧？” 達芬奇全神貫注的刮著馬左腿上多餘的粘土，沒有接查理斯的茬兒。大公跟自己念叨好幾年了，說要在城堡的中庭添個擺設兒，塑像已經有不少了，你說塑點什麽呢？哎----，來個馬吧！馬好啊，就來馬了！大公喜歡馬，說馬是貴族，勇敢和征服的象征，就塑它個青銅馬！大馬！
戰馬嘶鳴，炮聲近了。一百多重甲騎兵正在城堡中外庭列隊，他們是盧斯維科的親衛，中庭停滿了馬車，仆人們瘋子似的往馬車上裝行李細軟，大公的家眷們正由各自的侍女們攙扶著上車，斯福爾紮城堡中亂成了一氣。
火把的光把盧多維科的臉映的淒惶，大公左手拉著一匹自己平日裏最喜歡的西班牙純血馬，右手攥著達芬奇的手，相望無語。十八年前，盧多維科做為米蘭公國的攝政，和剛從弗洛倫薩來的達芬奇一見如故，彼時兩人都剛而立，意氣風發，一個權柄在握，正要大展宏圖，一個學有所成，勢要建功立業，一個禮賢下士，一個才高八鬥，一個愛才若渴，一個學富五車……
炮聲更近了。再淒惶，大公也是一國之君，貴族的高傲和矜持不允許他再表露更多的悲情，左手一帶，把愛馬的韁繩交在達芬奇手裏，馬鞍兩側的掛袋裏裝滿了金幣，大公一向是周全的人，尤其對達芬奇，如今法軍已經攻破了外城，離別之際，還是為達芬奇打點周全，也不枉主客一場，君臣一場，知己相惜一場……“芬奇呀，現在形勢不太好，我可能要離開米蘭一陣子……我先派人送你到威尼斯，從威尼斯轉道去弗洛倫薩，十八年了，你正好也回家看看……我是要回來的，到那時，我再派人去接你，我這一攤兒也離不開你，米蘭這兒多少事兒等著做呢”……盧多維科再也說不下去了……“Your Grace，我跟您走吧……” 達芬奇心裏難受，酸。” 此一去山高路遠，前途未卜，我哪能……” 盧多維科又哽住了，” 走吧，用不了多久的，米蘭還會是那個米蘭，咱們的米蘭 “。
達芬奇打馬出城，一路向西。新雇的助手查理斯（注1）本該跟達芬奇一起走，可他是米蘭人，任誰的軍隊打過來，任城頭上懸的是誰的家徽，米蘭，最終還是米蘭人的米蘭。他要留在城堡裏，這裏還有達芬奇塑的馬的粘土模型，他要留在這，等達芬奇回來，完成自己作為大偶像助手的第一個作品。
盧多維科和公爵府的近衛騎士們護著家眷出了城北，一路奔向蒂羅爾…… 此一去，大公至死再沒踏進過自己苦心經營的斯福爾紮城堡。（注2）
一道火光劃過天空，轟---一聲巨響，斯福爾紮城堡西北角的城牆被拋石機拋出的巨石砸出了一個大豁口，法軍的瑞士雇傭兵一擁登上了城牆，塔樓上斯福爾紮家的黑鷹蛇身人相間的家徽旗伴著升起的煙塵飄飄落下……轟---又是一聲巨響，拋進城堡來的一塊炮石正砸在中庭中二十多尺高的黏土的馬上，馬瞬間化為粉碎，激起幾丈高的塵土……一堆沒了型的黏土下，露出了查理斯的帽子。
炮聲和火光中，米蘭的黃金時代結束了……那也是盧多維科的黃金時代……更是達芬奇的黃金時代……
乘車來到離米蘭市中心不遠的聖西羅大球場，逛了逛曾經的意甲豪門AC米蘭的主場，意興闌珊，剛出來，就看到不遠處有塊大場地，徑直來到跟前，才知道是米蘭賽馬場。正要走，一眼瞥見賽馬場前立著一尊雄壯的馬，青銅塑的馬，有二十多尺高，曲頸奮蹄，鬃尾亂乍，威武異常！（注3）馬不是已經……已經毀了嗎……大公不是…達芬奇……我怔住了，就呆立在馬前，達芬奇的馬前……米蘭已經不是那個米蘭了……米蘭還是那個米蘭。------全文完
後記：去機場的火車上，人不少，是旅行總要結束的。不經意間和對麵坐的美女相視，我報以微笑，我愛她的小雀斑。她用帶著濃重德國口音的英語問我從哪來，“美國，你呢？“ 奧地利”她說，“因斯布魯克”，“我去過，挺漂亮的滑雪小鎮”。聽說我去過她家鄉，她有點興奮，“你經常旅行嗎？去過很多地方吧？”還好“，我心不在焉，”那你跟我說說你為什麽旅行呢？“，她沒有要就此打住的意思，誰說德國人奧地利人不愛瞎搭茬了？ ”我? 我為什麽要旅行？“，我重複著她的話，她見我不答她，接著問：”那你為什麽來米蘭？“ ，”我，我為什麽來米蘭？“，我更答不上來了，看我語塞，她好像得了意，又問：”那你在旅行中 想要 什麽呢?”, “我---我 想要 回家“。
注1：達奧立諾曆史上確是達芬奇助手，可文中新助手查理斯為虛構，是筆者向四百多年後出錢出力完成《達芬奇的馬》的查理斯.丹特致敬。
注2：盧多維科在法軍攻陷城堡前逃出米蘭，瑞士幾個州不滿法國的態度，同意向他提供1萬雇傭兵，他帶著這支隊伍在第二年春殺回米蘭。此時盧多維科的前雇傭兵隊長特裏武爾奇奧的獨裁已在米蘭遭到激烈反對，米蘭人聽到盧多維科將到來的消息，便起而占領了各個城門。特裏武爾奇奧棄城而走，盧多維科在人們的擁戴之中進城。然而，他的好運氣也就此完結。法軍頑強的堅守著米蘭城堡和公國中的其他據點，盧多維科的人力物力都已枯竭，眼前就是家國故業，自己一生苦心經營的斯福爾紮城堡，卻久攻不下而力竭。1500年4月8日，他在諾瓦拉不戰而潰。盧多維科逃跑未遂，被法軍俘獲。曾經叱吒風雲的米蘭公爵作為階下囚在法國度過餘生。
注3：達芬奇的馬是達芬奇受米蘭公爵盧多維科·斯福爾紮之托開始製作的一個雕塑，但沒有完成。達芬奇為這座雕塑做了一些準備，其中一些見於馬德裏手稿之上，但最終他隻作出了一個黏土模型，還沒來得及作進一步的行動，此模型就在1499年法國軍隊進攻米蘭時被毀，也終止了雕塑的繼續創作。五個世紀之後，在1977年一位退休美國飛行員查理斯·登特（Charles Dent）開始在賓夕法尼亞州阿倫敦雕刻此雕塑，1994年登特逝世，根據遺囑由紐約的一個基金會“Tallix Art Foundry”委托日裔美國雕刻家妮娜·阿卡姆（Nina Akamu）進行雕刻，終於在1999年9月10日正式宣布雕成。這座青銅像在美國完成後被拆開運往米蘭，放置在米蘭的賽馬場前麵，高達7米（23英尺），據信可能還是世界上最大的馬雕塑之一。
When Louis XII led his elite cavalry and the war-experienced Swiss mercenaries climbing over the Alps, Duke Lodovico Sforza of Milan was ripping apart the confidential messages sent by the Holy Roman Empire ambassador, cursing, "Maximilian, you coward! You cannot even handle a parliament, and you still want to be an emperor? If you can't send troops, you should have made a pact with me! Now I'm done for! I was about to win against Venice, Naples and even France, but now it's all over... Damn it!" Lodovico Sforza was elegant and cultured, so one could not blame him for his outburst when all seemed lost. Louis XII had outplayed him by exploiting his ambitions over the Cremona and Giaradadda of the Venetian west border. Now he had to swallow his pride and take Naples. The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian had promised to unite with Milan and send troops to counter France, but the constitutionalists in his own court had seized the Imperial Parliament and vetoed the dispatch. Meanwhile, the Spanish King Ferdinand had sent fleets to the western Sicily, ready to divide the spoils of the Apennines. It seemed that all the Italian towns were doomed, and Milan would be the first to go. Who would willingly be the first to leave the table, when all their chips were gone, yet the game was still so exciting?
In the Castello di Sforza, Leonardo da Vinci and his assistant Charles were playing with clay in the courtyard. Beside them stood a magnificent horse, more than 20 feet tall, with an arched neck and flailing tail, full of strength and vigor. Leonardo was sculpting the horse's left leg with his spatula while talking to Charles: "Add some more water, good, that's enough, if you add more, it'll be too thin, let me see... “okay, what else?” “You need to get a finer sieve next time, there are still small grains here." Since his assistant and apprentice D'Arrino had hurt his eyes while forging steel, Leonardo had stopped letting him do the rough work. There were plenty of projects to go around, and D'Arrino had been sent to the walls of Milan in the west, instructing the hired soldiers on how to set up the bronze cannons. Charles was quite smart, and Leonardo was his idol.
"How much clay have we used for this horse? When we cast it in bronze, how much bronze would we need?" Charles mumbled to himself. "Master, do you think this castle can hold?" "It must hold," Leonardo replied, totally focused on scraping the extra clay from the horse's leg. The Duke had been talking about adding an ornament to the castle courtyard for years now, and they had already made many statues. What else to make? Ah, a horse! Horses were a symbol of nobility, courage, and conquest, so they decided to make a bronze horse, a big one!
The war horses neighed, and the cannon fire was getting closer. More than a hundred heavily armored cavalrymen were lined up in and outside the castle. They were the personal guards of Ludovico, and the courtyard was full of carriages. The servants were crazy packing luggage onto the carriages. The Duke's family were being helped into the carriages by their respective maids. The castle of Sforza was in a mess.
The light of the torch illuminated Ludovico's face, looking sad. The Duke was holding his favorite Spanish purebred horse with his left hand and grasping Da Vinci's hand with his right, without saying a word. Eighteen years ago, Ludovico, as the regent of the Milanese state, met Da Vinci who had just come from Florence. At that time, the two of them were just starting out. One had power in hand and was about to make a grand plan, the other had achieved something and was about to build a career, one was a noble and the other was a genius, one loved talent and the other was highly learned...
The cannon fire was getting closer. Even in such a sad state, the Duke was still the ruler of a country. The arrogance and pride of the nobility did not allow him to show more emotion. With a wave of his left hand, he handed the reins of his beloved horse to Da Vinci. The saddlebags on both sides of the saddle were filled with coins. The Duke had always been considerate, especially towards Da Vinci. Now that the French army had broken through the outer city, he still took care of Da Vinci before parting. It was not in vain for the lord and the subject, for the bosom friends... "Leo, the situation is not very good now, I may have to leave Milan for a while... I will send someone to take you to Venice first, and then from Venice to Florence. It's been eighteen years; you can take a break in your hometown... I will come back to Millan soon, and by then I will send someone to pick you up. There are still many things to do here, and I can’t do it without your help". Ludovico could no longer speak... "Your Grace, allow me to go with you..." Da Vinci felt bitter and sour in his heart. "It's a long way, and the future is uncertain. How can I..." Ludovico chocked up again. "Trust me, it won't take long. Milan will still be the same Milan, our Milan!".
Da Vinci rode out of Millan, heading west. His new assistant, Charles, was supposed to go with Da Vinci, but he was a Milanese, and no matter which army came, or whatever crest was hung on the city gate, Milan would ultimately be Milanese’s. He wanted to stay in the castle, where there was a clay model of the horse that Da Vinci had sculpted. He wanted to stay here, waiting for Da Vinci to come back and complete his first work as a great idol assistant.
Ludovico and his guards escorted the family out of the north gate of the city and ran towards Tivoli... The Duke never stepped into the castle he had worked so hard for again until his death.
A fire crossed the sky, and then a loud bang. The northwest corner of the castle wall of Sforza was smashed open by a huge stone thrown by a catapult, and the Swiss mercenaries of the French army rushed onto the wall. The Black Eagle flag with the serpent-like family crest of the Sforza family flew up with the dust, and then fell... Bang - another loud bang, a cannonball thrown into the castle hit the twenty-foot tall clay horse in the middle of the courtyard. The horse instantly turned into powder, stirring up a few feet high of dust... Under the pile of shapeless clay, Charles' hat was revealed.
Sforza Castle was swallowed by fire, and in the light of the flames, the golden age of Milan was over... It was also the golden age of Ludovico Sforza, as well as of Leonardo da Vinci.
Coming to the San Siro Stadium, not far from the center of Milan, I visited the home stadium of the Serie A giants AC Milan and felt a bit melancholy. Just coming out, I saw a large field not far away, and went straight to it. I found out that it was the Milan racecourse. Just about to go, I caught sight of a majestic horse standing in front of the racecourse. It was a bronze-cast horse, more than twenty feet tall, with a curved neck and spirited hooves, and a wild mane, exceptionally impressive! “Wasn't the horse already... already destroyed... Didn't the Duke…” I was stunned and stood in front of the horse, the horse of Da Vinci’s work... Milan is no longer the same Milan... and Milan is still the same Milan. ------The End.
Epilogue: On the train to the airport, for the journey had to come to an end. I glanced at the pretty girl sitting opposite me, and I smiled at her, admiring her cute freckles. She asked me in English with a heavy German accent, "where are you from?" “States, DC. You?” "Austria," she said, "Innsbruck." "I've been there, it's a nice ski town." Hearing that I had been to her hometown, she seemed a bit excited, "Do you travel a lot? Have you been to many places?" I was not in talkative mood, "Not really." "So why do you travel?" she asked, not wanting to stop there. Who said Germans and Austrians are taciturn?
"Why do I travel?" I repeated her question. Seeing my hesitation, she continued, "So why did you come to Milan?" I was even more speechless. She seemed to understand, and asked again, "So what do you want out of your travels?" I paused, then answered, "I...I want to go home."
