The candlelight flickered, igniting the scent of whale oil, lingering in the hall. In this era, the Portuguese colony of the Azores had been established for more than thirty years. Whale hunting activities also began to rely on the islands and became active in the surrounding waters. A steady stream of whale oil came from the sea and flowed into the palace of Sintra.
"Oriental spices also have the same fragrance, only more intense!..."
Joao II closed his eyes and sniffed the rich amber fragrance. Even with the wealth of the Portuguese king, he could not use the extremely expensive spices from the Catholic world as sacred smoke like the Mexica League in the New World. That scene, even just thinking about it, is painful.
"East...East!..."
Dias looked to the east, his eyes full of strong desire.
The palace was quiet for a while, and the two of them were silent for a long time, their minds wandering. After a while, Joao II opened his eyes and said with a smile.
"Dias, India and Siris are still far away. What is close at hand now is the dispute between the Holy See and the Granada War between the two kings!"
"Disputes in the Holy See?"
Hearing this, Dias was slightly startled. He had been away from the Kingdom of Portugal for two years and really knew nothing about the current situation of the Holy See.
"Yes. The current Pope, Innocent VIII, is clearly showing his weakness. King Ferdinando I of Naples has visited Rome twice to pressure the Pope..."
Speaking of this, Joao II's eyes flashed and he seemed to be thinking about it.
"Ah! King Ferdinando pressured the Pope twice?"
Hearing this, Dias whispered in surprise. King Ferdinando I of Naples and King Ferdinando II of Aragon were both kings of the Aragonese-Trastamara dynasty. The two of them have the same name and are very close in blood. They are cousins.
Ferdinando I was the legitimized illegitimate son of Alfonso V, King of Aragon and Naples. After the death of Alfonso V, the Kingdom of Aragon was inherited by his younger brother Juan II, and the Kingdom of Naples was inherited by his illegitimate son Ferdinando I. Then, when Juan II died ten years ago, the throne of Aragon was passed to his son Ferdinando II, the husband of Queen Insabella and one of the two kings of Spain.
To put it simply, King Ferdinando II of Aragon and King Ferdinando I of Naples had weak claims on each other. And if the Kingdom of Naples falls into the hands of its rival Ferdinando II, it will be a disaster for the Kingdom of Portugal!
"Well. In order to maintain his influence on the Apennine Peninsula and gain more wealth, Pope Innocent VIII wanted to impose taxes on the Kingdom of Naples. After the King of Naples refused, the Pope contacted King Charles VIII of France. Let’s send troops to Naples together.”
Speaking of this, João II raised the corners of his mouth and smiled narrowly.
"However, the war between the Pope and Naples had just begun, and King Charles VIII of France fell into a 'crazy war'. King Charles of France attacked the rebellious Duke of Brittany. Subsequently, Emperor Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire joined the war , supporting the rebels. King Henry VII of England also participated in the war and supported the rebels. Of course, Maximilian I made a strong effort, and Henry VII just sent out the navy and waved the flag."
"This 'crazy war' lasted for four years and ended two months ago. Duke Francois II of Brittany surrendered and signed an agreement to become a vassal of King Charles of France. This old guy is afraid of Charles. He wanted to annex his daughter to Maximilian I, and he even wrote to find me..."
Joao II paused and shook his head. Then, he looked complicated and sighed.
"The Principality of Brittany is a grand principality with a population of more than one million people!... The Catholic countries in the north were in a group, so no one responded to the Pope... Pope Innocent VIII immediately I was dumbfounded. Thousands of troops from Naples were approaching Rome, and the Pope didn’t even have a single supporting force. He had to bow his head and sue for peace and withdraw the decree. After this incident, the prestige of the Holy See has been greatly reduced!..."
"After all, God's world has changed a long time ago. It is no longer the era four hundred years ago when Urban II gave an order, kings of various countries bowed their heads and obeyed orders, and tens of thousands of knights swore to die in the Eastern March!..."
Hearing this, Dias pursed his lips, feeling mixed in his heart. He is a devout man of God, and he always has an instinctive tendency towards the Holy See, which affects all countries. After a while, he whispered.
"The current pope lives a luxurious and corrupt life, and has fathered a lot of children. There are even rumors that he has a secret deal with the Ottoman Sultan...His moral reputation is indeed inferior to that of the previous pope!...Maybe, next A pope would be much better..."
"Ha ha!"
Hearing this, João II burst into laughter. He looked at his trusted royal steward and said with a smile.
"Diaz, the next pope will be either Bishop Julius II or Bishop Alexander VI. These two people have many illegitimate children...How can they do better if they control the Holy See?..."
"Why!"
Dias gritted his teeth and stopped talking. As the royal steward, he knew many inside stories and felt the corruption of the Holy See. The senior priests are greedy, and the bishops are marrying wives and having children, almost ignoring the Lord's commandments!
"Maybe it's time for the Catholic Church to change!"
A bold idea flashed through Dias's mind. After a while, he was startled by his disrespect and bowed his head in repentance.
John II did not repent. He thought for a while, looked in the southeast direction, and his expression became solemn.
"Díaz, do you know? At this moment, the two kings of Spain are leading an army of 60,000 to conduct a southern jihad! They are determined to completely conquer the Moorish Kingdom of Granada!"
"What! Sixty thousand troops?!"
Dias was really shocked when he heard this amount. If the two kings of Spain can easily dispatch an army of 60,000, they will turn to the west and bulldoze the Kingdom of Portugal...
"Well, 60,000 troops. 20,000 of them are knights and retinues from England, France, HRE, and even Scandinavia participating in the Southern Holy War. The remaining 40,000 soldiers are from Castile Asia and Aragon. About 10,000 of them are cavalry and 30,000 infantry, all of which are regular troops or elite militia."
"Oh, the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon also organized thousands of musketeers and artillery armies. In Seville and Cordoba, there are kingdom ordnance factories that manufacture gunpowder. Last summer, Fernando When Emperor II attacked the city of Malaga, he mobilized dozens of large-caliber artillery to attack the Moorish castles. However, the city of Malaga, which had 5,000 soldiers and a population of 15,000, only defended three After more than a month, they were forced to surrender!"
"What! Under the bombardment of artillery, the dangerous city of Malaga only defended for three months?!"
Hearing this, Dias looked shocked. He knew that the city of Malaga was fortified. In the past hundreds of years, it had been an important Moorish town that was difficult to conquer during the reconquest movement. And now, under the bombardment of heavy artillery... the royal steward keenly felt that the form of the European War had undergone a huge change. And the two kings of Spain are walking ahead of all the kingdoms of God!
"Your Majesty, with the fall of Malaga, the connection between the Moors and the Southern Continent was completely cut off. Without the support of the Moorish princes of the Southern Continent, the Moors trapped in Granada will not be able to hold on for long!"
Hearing this, Joao II lowered his eyes and clenched his hands silently. He naturally knew that the Moors were gone and Granada would fall into the hands of the two kings. However, as a Catholic king, he did not have the appropriate name to participate in this pious holy war.
"Ah! The failure in the battle for the throne of Castile was the biggest mistake made by the Kingdom of Portugal in two centuries!"
João II gritted his teeth, feeling a dull pain in his heart. Reluctance and longing burned in his heart and were indelible.
At this time, the population of the Kingdom of Portugal was approximately two million. The population of the Kingdom of Castile is about twice that of the Kingdom of Portugal, between four and five million. As for the Kingdom of Aragon, it also has a population of about two million.
Although the Kingdom of Castile has a large population, there are also many grand duchies with real power in the country. The degree of centralization of the Kingdom is weaker than that of the Kingdom of Portugal. The kingdom's army that the Kingdom of Castile can mobilize does not have an absolute advantage. Therefore, the three Catholic kingdoms on the Imbilia Peninsula have always maintained a certain balance of power.
But at this moment, the two kings of Spain have united into one and have a population of six to seven million! When the two kings supported each other, the royal power was greatly strengthened, which suppressed the great nobles of the two countries and obtained more finance, taxation and military service. The holy war in the Kingdom of Granada is going very smoothly, and the prestige of the two kings is constantly increasing! If they wait until they eat more than a million Moors in Granada and tax them heavily...
"Your Majesty! The two Spanish kings who are so close to Chi Chi are the biggest threats to the kingdom!"
Dias thought for a moment and made a decision. He took a step forward, knelt down on one knee and saluted, his eyes showing anxiety.
"The Moors are about to be destroyed, and the sight of the two kings will once again fall on the kingdom to plan the unification of the Imberian Peninsula! The Holy See's prestige is declining, and I am afraid it will no longer support the kingdom. And the English are simply unreliable! We We must divert the attention of the two kings and find new allies..."
Speaking of this, Dias struggled and bit his lips. Loyalty and piety were at war in his heart, and it was difficult to decide the winner. After a while, he spoke quietly.
"No matter whether this new ally is a heretic or not..."
João II's eyes flashed instantly. He lowered his eyes and said nothing, just bowed his head and prayed. The rich aroma of amber spreads in the palace hall, like elusive divine smoke, drifting into the distance.
The mobile site is newly revised and upgraded at the following address: data and bookmarks are synchronized with the computer site for refreshing reading without ads!
