Between Valencia and Gandino there is a place called Walter Fira.

It has a pleasant climate and beautiful landscapes, most notably Lake Volterfila, which is one of the most famous retreats in the entire Valencian region.

Many years later, Walterfira Lake became one of Malaysia's most famous tourist destinations, where many Valencians loved to spend quiet and beautiful days, and a famous writer wrote a monumental book in a small house on the shores of the lake.

However, the current Walterfila Lake is somewhat deserted and bleak.

It was already cold, the green trees had been dyed red, and in some places there were dead leaves, which made the shores of Lake Walterfila look rather bleak.

María de Luna, Duchess of Gandino, has a small house by the lake, a small property that her husband Giovanni had bought here to stay during the hunting season.

Maria de Luna is now in this house.

After returning her son to Gandino, María de Luna did not rush back to the territory, but stayed in this place, not far from Valencia, to wait for news.

Like Tiego, Maria de Luna was nervous, but she was more worried.

She knew that Thiego had returned to Barricari's home, and that he was ready to flee to Rome at any time.

Maria de Luna didn't resent him for it, but that didn't mean she didn't think about herself and her son.

So she stayed on the shores of Lake Voltfila and waited for news, and she believed that with her status as Duchess of Gandino, even if she failed and ended up facing punishment for being involved in a rebellion, at least Ferdinand would not blame her children.

Maria de Luna received the news much earlier than Tiego, and as soon as she heard that Valencia had been declared under papal patronage, she immediately sent her back to Valencia to inquire about the situation.

However, the men she sent rushed back, and several messengers sent by Valencia arrived first at Walterfila.

The men did not really know that the Duchess was here, and they had intended to ask the housekeepers if the Duchess was in the territory, but they were delighted to meet Maria de Luna, because they were about to report good news to her.

These were all loyal followers of the Borgia family in Valencia, as only when they traveled to Gandino would they gain the trust of Maria de Luna.

Through the stories of those men, Maria de Luna learned that Valencia had changed hands almost overnight.

Ofleiuil, who set out from the reef fort with an army of soldiers and criminals, was the first to unexpectedly block the harbor of Moon Bay with two large ships, and he directly had the ships stored in the sea outside the harbor, so that the Aragonese fleet was trapped in the harbor of Moon Bay in an instant.

Only then did he land with that army at the Valencia pier.

When the army appeared on the streets of Valencia, they were unfortunate enough to encounter a patrolling city guard.

At that time, Ofleiil was ready to engage the enemy, but what he did not expect was that when the men saw the red bull banner of the Borgia family displayed by the other party, they turned towards another street as if they did not see it.

And some of them simply stayed and blended in with their ranks.

Later, during the occupation of the city, Ofleiil encountered this situation more than once, and at daybreak the officials who had been surrounded by the town hall came out of the town hall cheerfully after making some purely decent conditions.

Outside, good wine and Valencian paella were already waiting to be made for the frightened, hungry adults.

But things weren't all going so well, and outside a fortress west of Valencia, Ofleuil's "Valencian Protectors" met fierce resistance.

The defender of the fort was apparently an experienced soldier, and he first had all access to the fort blocked with furniture and stones, which not only blocked the rebels outside, but also discouraged some who tried to escape.

Then the defenders fought against the odds, and after repelling two successive attacks by the Protectors, for a time there was nothing they could do with them.

And to the frustration of Oflaiyi, the fort had just been replenished with enough autumn food, which meant that it would not be difficult for them to hold on if they wanted to hold on.

The fortress was guarded by a minor nobleman from Udir, a soldier who had risen from the countryside to Valencia, and who had been exceptionally promoted for his war in Italy, which made him feel great gratitude to his lord and to his king.

After hearing about the little nobleman's past, Ofleiyi directly broke off his desire to negotiate with him and persuade him to surrender.

So when Maria de Luna returned to Valencia with the messengers of him, she happened to see several horse-drawn carts carrying heavy goods passing through the streets.

To Maria de Luna's surprise, she saw Ofleiil sitting next to the coachman at the front.

Seeing Maria de Luna's carriage, Ofleimari jumped out of her seat and walked to the side of the carriage and bowed to Maria de Luna, who was looking out.

"Duchess, you have come back at the right time, and now Valencia needs someone like you to come forward to appease you," Ofleiil said with satisfaction, although he was faintly worried about the huge influence of the Borgia family, but the immediate priority was to control the city as soon as possible, and as for the future, Ofleiil felt that it should be something that the Duke should worry about, "The archbishop must also be waiting for you." ”

Despite the uneasiness of the chaos on the street, Maria de Luna nodded slightly to Ofleiil from the car,

She knew that this young man was an absolute cronie of Alexander's side, and seeing that Alexander was about to become the king of Castile, then this young man would also be the upstart of the future.

So it's beneficial to have a good relationship with him at this time.

"I wish I could help, but I've heard that there's still people resisting, right?" Maria de Luna asked with some trepidation, "I wonder if you already have a way to deal with it?" ”

"Yes, we already have a way to deal with those people, or we wouldn't have kept them going for so long," said Oflei, gesturing to the carriages behind him, and then said to Maria de Luna as she backed away, "I'm sorry Duchess, I'm going to finish my mission now, and I'll greet you when it's over there." ”

As he spoke, he quickly climbed into the seat in front of the carriage and beckoned the people behind him to follow, and with the slight vibration of the wheels on the two roads, several carriages, apparently carrying heavy loads, swayed in the direction of the west of the city.

Looking at the dust raised by the carriages on the road, Maria de Luna hesitated and instructed the coachman to go to the Cathedral of Valencia.

She wanted to see the archbishop as soon as possible, both as the Borgia family's representative in Valencia and as a key participant in the capture of Valencia, and that she had to understand the situation as soon as possible, and that everyone knew that the operation would end in the name of the Pope.

The situation of Alexander VI in the Vatican, Maria de Luna, was well understood, and it was for this reason that she agreed to participate in and help Tiego in this bold action.

The Borgias had to show everyone their power at this time, or Alexander VI might be under even more pressure.

When he saw Maria de Luna, the archbishop was relieved.

When the plot was planned, many people didn't really feel the tension despite knowing that it was dangerous, and it wasn't until after the action began that they suddenly realized that it was too late to regret it.

They began to worry that the armies from other regions would come to quell the rebellion, and that some people in the city would be inspired by the resistance of the fortress in the west of the city to rebel against them.

Therefore, after the situation had calmed down a little, they could not wait to send someone to Maria de Luna, hoping to stabilize the situation in Valencia with her special status as a Borgia.

"But I'm just a woman," María de Luna refused, deliberately embarrassed, "and I wouldn't hesitate to let my son stand up and do his part if I were here, but do you think a woman can do that?" ”

"The Queen of Sicily is also a woman......"

The archbishop tried to persuade Maria de Luna, but she stubbornly refused again: "Forgive me for not being arrogant enough to think that I can compare myself to the Queen of Sicily, and I believe that even most men cannot do what she does." ”

"But the Duchess must stand up at this time," said one of the nobles, who came back a little anxiously and said to her, "and you have heard that there are still some places that are still resisting, and that will make them an example to those in the city who are loyal to Ferdinand, and we don't know when Ferdinand's army will come, so we need you to help us stabilize the situation in the city at this time." ”

Maria de Luna was not impressed by these persuasions, and she still looked embarrassed, which made the nobles anxious.

"Tell me, then, how will I grant our request?" The archbishop pondered for a moment and then asked helplessly, believing that this was not what María de Luna really thought, so the only explanation was that she was bargaining.

Maria de Luna couldn't help but feel nervous, but she couldn't hide her joy.

She hadn't thought much about it before coming to Valencia, and her idea was simple: to help her father-in-law Alexander VI establish his authority and secure his position, so that the entire Borgia family could continue to rely on the Pope.

However, after entering the city to meet Oflei, Maria de Luna suddenly realized that she might be able to gain more benefits for her children.

Her young son, now Duke of Gantino, and her daughter, who is almost 10 years old, had a monopoly on most of the silk market and made enough money to make a living, but Maria de Luna felt that there might be more opportunities.

"I hope that my son will be able to get the title of Duke of Valencia."

As soon as Maria de Luna's voice fell, there was an immediate uproar.

The nobles were full of discussions, some of them were angry and refused, some were silent but also dissatisfied, and the archbishop looked at Maria de Luna with a look of embarrassment.

He took two steps forward and lowered his voice and said to her: "Duchess, do you know what this request means, you must know that we have declared Valencia a papal refuge, which is almost no different from the fief of the Pope himself, and that even Bologna is only the papal see, not the papal himself, and that you want your son to become the Duke of Valencia, which I believe even those who finally have your family will not be able to accept." ”

Maria de Luna frowned, of course she knew how excessive her request was, but she was sure that they would eventually agree.

It may not be known how many people loyal to Ferdinand were in Valencia, but the fortress west of the city, which has not been captured, has obviously become a problem for these people.

They feared that the fortress would become a symbol of resistance from the "Ferdinandists", and that the situation in the city, which had been managed so easily, would likely change.

If Ferdinand's army had taken advantage of the invasion at this time, Valencia might have been in real danger.

It wasn't just because of their loyalty to the Borgia family that they took such a huge risk to seize the city, they knew very well that only when Borgia, or Alexander VI, was in control of Valencia, their interests would not be violated, so why not just take the opportunity to make their son Duke of Valencia?

Maria de Luna's admitting that she is inferior to the Queen of Sicily is genuine, but that doesn't mean she thinks she can't do anything.

"Adult ......"

She thought for a moment and wanted to continue convincing the archbishop, but as soon as she spoke, a violent explosion rang out, and then people felt a sudden shock under their feet!

The tremor quickly disappeared after only a moment, but the people in the room were still startled.

Iberia is not an earthquake-prone region, but history has documented many disasters that have resulted in huge casualties.

The most famous of these is the city of Évora in Castile, which was destroyed as devastating as Pompeii, so much so that today the city of Évora is not even more than three centuries old.

The shock really frightened a lot of people, and people ran out of the room, some of whom had already begun to shout that God was punishing the rebels.

But then another explosion and the subsequent tremor made people realize that the movement was coming from the west of the city, and the billowing smoke rising in the distance proved that the explosion was coming from the recalcitrant fortress west of the city.

Maria de Luna also went outside with the archbishop, and the people couldn't help but talk about the smoke billowing from the direction of the fortress to the west of the city.

At this time, a nobleman who had served in the Aragonese fleet suddenly came to his senses and said, "That's a cannon, someone is bombarding the fortress west of the city with cannons." ”

As if in response to his statement, there was another loud bang, and the ground shook again.

By this time, no one doubted that someone was indeed bombarding the fortress with artillery, but it was inexplicable where the cannons came from.

"It's the fleet."

Maria de Luna spoke suddenly, and she remembered the wagons that had been escorted by Ofleiuil, who had gone into the city with her, and that the only place where there could be such a powerful-sounding cannon was the guns of the battleships trapped in the Bay of the Moon.

"That Oflair brought the ship's guns?" Some were surprised and then laughed, rejoicing at the foreigner's cleverness, and secretly glad that they could thwart Maria de Luna's request at this time, "The fortress is about to be taken!" ”

The shout was like a proclamation, and they were all relieved, and Maria de Luna's previous offer made them almost breathless, and despite their strong dissatisfaction, they knew at the time that they would eventually compromise on this offer in order to take control of Valencia as quickly as possible.

And now, with a few cannon shots, accompanied by the arrival of the end of the defenders of the fortress west of the city, it means that the last resistance in Valencia has been bulldozed.

Then Mario de Luna's conditions were naturally deliberately ignored by those nobles in this rumbling cannon.

Seeing the excitement and joy of the nobles, Maria de Luna frowned secretly, and she suddenly felt that that Ofleiil was so annoying, and perhaps it was a mistake for Tiego to keep him in the first place.

Despite knowing that the idea was intended to anger others, Maria de Luna did not feel that there was anything wrong with her.

It's just that now she also knows very well that those nobles should not easily agree to her conditions, and if she wants to avoid rifts with these people, she must continue to play her role as the spokesperson of the Borgia family.

"My lord, I will show my support for you as we have agreed before, and this is what His Majesty the Pope means."

The Archbishop was secretly relieved, knowing that a crisis that had threatened to cause a split was over temporarily, but that everything could change until Alexander VI formally recognized and granted Valencia asylum.

Standing in front of a pile of ruins, looking through the smoke that gradually dissipated, looking at the half-collapsed fortress in front of him, he secretly sighed at the power of the artillery, and at the same time he couldn't help but have a deep question in his heart.

He couldn't help but think of his father-in-law, Pomperny the Elder, who was overseeing the construction of the Château de Montina.

With plenty of money, the Château de Montina was well underway, and the elder Pomperny was confident and ambitious, hoping that he would be able to build a truly impregnable castle of this era.

But now Oflaiyi began to wonder if such a huge amount of human and material resources really made sense.

In the face of artillery, the seemingly impregnable fortress in the past collapsed, and with the increasing power of hot weapons, the situation of the war is also undergoing earth-shaking changes.

The old form of warfare, in which a few hundred men might be able to defend the enemy and make it difficult for the enemy to move an inch, is quietly changing, at least now, when Ofleiil thinks about making a plan, he always thinks first about how to destroy the enemy's army, rather than stubbornly besieging a city or fortress.

Offrey shook his head and erased these thoughts from his mind, he felt that he should find time to calm down and think about how to carry out his duties as future Minister of War, but the first thing to do now was to purge the "Ferdinandists".

The wounded defender of the fortress was dragged out of the rubble, an ordinary-looking man, who was even smaller when he lay there, now covered in blood and dying, and instinctively shrank back when he saw Ofleiyi crouch down, and then struggled to grab a stone from the ground.

Ofreil patted his arm, which was no longer strong, and then whispered in his ear, "I will let you die like a real soldier, and your relatives will only know that you died in battle, not that you were captured and executed." ”

The man slowly calmed down, he lay on the rubble, looked up at the sky drifting through the smoke and dust, and let out a few inaudible mutters to himself, and then his breath slowly weakened.

Ofleiil stood up and looked around, noticing the soldiers who had been pressed to the side and kneeling on the ground, almost all of them bearing scars of varying severity.

"Valencia is a sanctuary belonging to His Holiness the Pope, and you reject the fact that," Ofleigh slowly raised his hand, and when he saw the look of fear or blindness or anger and hatred in the eyes of the soldiers, he shook his head slowly, "This is a punishment for you, there is no pardon, and I will not feel guilty for the orders I have given." ”

Oflaiyi's hand swung down vigorously, and the blades that had been raised high slashed downward with cold light!

In the splatters of blood, Ofleiyi turned and walked towards the black cannons in the distance.

It had been gleaned from the warships in the harbor of Moon Bay, where the Aragonese fleet had been forced to surrender, but the two stone-ridden cargo ships at the exit of the harbor were now a nuisance to the Valencians themselves.

This forced Ofleiil to pull a few cannons from the land in a wagon, but he still didn't know that his cannons had not only wiped out the last of Valencia's resistance, but also shattered Maria de Luna's dream of becoming the Duke of Valencia.

When Tiego hurriedly returned to Valencia by boat from Parma, news of the fall of Valencia reached Zaragoza.

At the same time, almost unexpectedly, there was a news from Rome that seemed to have little to do with Ferdinand, but it made him listen to the cold news.

Geoffrey Borgia died, just like his brother Giovanni, and fell into the Tiber River.

Because it was just in time for the Tiber River to flood, it was not until a few days later that his body was found downstream.

Hearing this, Ferdinand knew that this time Alexander VI and him were completely at odds with him.