Siena now "felt the Hydra's fiery breath." "This Signore," wrote Machiavelli of Cesare to the Signoria of Florence from Gualdo on January 6th, "is leaving here to-morrow with his army and is going to Assisi, and thence he will advance upon Siena to make of that city a state to his own liking." At Assisi the Sienese ambassadors met him. Cesare assured them that he had no quarrel with the Republic, but was at war only with his _inimico capitale_, Pandolfo. Let them send him away and there would be peace. Otherwise he would come with his army, "impelled by necessity and by a reasonable indignation against the man who, not content with tyrannising over one of the first cities of Italy, wished also by ruining others to be able to impose laws upon all his neighbours." Machiavelli thought Pandolfo's position fairly strong, seeing that he was "a man of much prudence in a state held by him with great reputation, and without having external or internal enemies of real importance, since he has either killed them or reconciled them, and with a large force of good troops, if Giampaolo has taken refuge with him, as they say, and not without money." The Balìa sent to assure the Duke that he was mistaken about Pandolfo, who was no tyrant but had always conducted himself as "a most modest citizen," and to remind him that Siena was under the protection of France. "The master of the shop, who is the King of France," quoth Cesare with pleasing frankness to Machiavelli, "would not be content that I should take Siena for myself, nor am I so daring that I should think of such a thing. That community should trust me; I want nothing of theirs, but only to drive away Pandolfo. And I would have thy Government bear witness to and publish this intention of mine, which is only to assure myself of this tyrant. I believe that that community of Siena will believe me; but in case it should not, I shall march on and plant my artillery at the gates." Pandolfo, he said, had been the _cervello_, the brain of the whole conspiracy against him. He confidently appealed to the Florentines for help in the business, "for as long as Pandolfo is in Siena, it will always be a refuge and a support for all your enemies."[54]