I don't know when, or who created the famous "plural theory of bad news".

This theory is very simple, simply put, good things do not come a second time, and bad things come a basket after another.

Ferdinand felt that he had been unlucky, Maximian's cunning gave him a headache, and the lack of support from the Austrians meant that he had to go into battle to deal with that Alexander himself.

Although only Gonzalo's army had been fighting the Sicilians so far, and Ferdinand himself had not received or issued a formal declaration of war, the two sides were now at war.

The only hope he can have is to reach some acceptable agreement with the Queen of Sicily before the two sides start a life-and-death war completely.

Or to be able to negotiate terms with the Portuguese and the French before that Roman Duke of Thessia really threatened his position.

Only then can he go all out to deal with the brother and sister.

Ferdinand thought that Maximian had caused him trouble, and that he hated the cunning in-laws from the bottom of his heart.

He even suspected that this might be Maximian's attempt to weaken him, after all, he was so firmly on his daughter's throne that he should have made Maximian very unhappy.

Ferdinand was so cranky as to what the emperor was thinking, and as for why Bohemia and Wallachia happened to start the war to recover Hungary at this time, Ferdinand did not pay much attention.

Bohemia was, after all, too far away, and the Prague court, though famous in Europe, seemed to the Iberians to be on the horizon.

As for Wallachia, although it had been heard that the duchy had sent troops in the war of the unification of Sicily, they had withdrawn their troops after receiving a large number of lucrative booty, and that it was a small principality in the Balkans, which did not deserve much attention.

Ferdinand was now concerned about the attitude of the Portuguese and the French, and he believed that the envoy sent to Portugal should be able to bring him good news after he was willing to pay a great price.

As for the Frenchman, he can't do it for the time being, but Andrés Rogge should be able to make a difference in Navarre.

Thinking about it, the unhappiness caused by Maximian's treachery seemed to be diluted a lot, and looking at the dark sky outside and the pouring rain curtain, Ferdinand's heart suddenly felt a little hot.

He and Isabella have been separated for several years, so although they have many children, in fact, the two have not been close for many years.

Isabella didn't make a fuss about the fact that he had a lover, as long as he didn't let those women appear in public, Isabella wouldn't bother about this little thing.

Perhaps stimulated by the sultry heat, Ferdinand suddenly felt that he needed a woman to help him vent his anger.

He was accustomed to opening his mouth and instructing Andrés Rogge to help him arrange his evening activities, but before he could speak, he saw two figures hurrying towards him from a distance in the heavy rain.

When the two men approached, he recognized one of his squires leading the way, and Ferdinand's face instantly darkened.

In such weather, it is still desperate to report something that must be important.

And often it's bad news.

There was already a noise of footsteps in the hallway, and Ferdinand turned to look at the open door, and after a while two figures appeared in the doorway.

"Your Majesty, a messenger from Navarre." The attendant reported loudly.

Ferdinand's heart skipped a beat, and he already had a vague sense that something might be happening.

Andres Rogge is actually a very careful person, because of his humble background, even if he is very favored by Fijinan, he is always cautious.

Therefore, if the task is accomplished, he will definitely tell the messenger not to come to the king in such a hurry, even in spite of the pouring rain.

You must know that Castile is now staring at Ferdinand with countless pairs of eyes.

And the panicked look on the messenger's face also showed how bad the degassing he had brought.

"What happened, Andrés asked you to send the letter back?"

Ferdinand asked, with some annoyance, that he could not think of any trouble in proposing a marriage.

If you can't buy and sell, you will still be benevolent and righteous, and if you can't be a family, you won't become an enemy.

"I'm sorry Your Majesty, I only brought back a message that Queen Akalina of Navarre had rejected Princess Maria's marriage to the Prince," the messenger replied breathlessly, seeing the king's instantly furrowed brow, and the messenger continued to report in a hurry, "The queen chose to betrothed her son to Princess Catherine Alessandra Valoora of Wallachia......"

Then he gasped vigorously and added: "That princess is the illegitimate daughter of the Grand Duchess of Wallachia and the Duke of Thessia of Rome. ”

Li Dinan felt for a moment whether he had heard it wrong, the heavy rain outside kept falling, and the cold rain blew into the room through the window with the wind and fell on his face and hands.

The damp and cool sensation brought Ferdinand to his senses, and he took a step forward, raising his hand as if to grasp the messenger's neck, but then slowly lowered it,

The room was eerily quiet, and the two men held their breath as they stared at Ferdinand's face, which instantly turned pale.

After a while, Ferdinand waved his hand, and the attendant immediately took a glass from the cabinet against the wall, poured a full glass of wine, and handed it to him.

Ferdinand took the cup and took a sip, then gulped it down with both hands, and then slowly set the empty glass aside, and then looked up at the messenger.

"Where is Andres Rogue now?"

"He remained in Navarre," the messenger reported carefully, "but he was not in good condition when I left, and Queen Akalina ordered that he and his men should not leave the dwelling unless he was to return home, and I escaped quietly. ”

Ferdinand was relieved a little, he knew that since his messenger had not been expelled, it meant that things were not out of control, and with what he knew about Andrés Rogge, the clown would not be so easy to give up.

It's just that how could Navarre hook up with Wallachia.

What's more, how could the Archduchess of Wallachia have monkeys with that Roman Duke of Thesia?!

Thinking so, Ferdinand suddenly realized something.

He hurried across the room to his office and flipped through the letter Maximian had given him, and when he looked at the contents, an inexplicable chill suddenly rose from his back.

Wallachia and Bohemia, Rome, Thescia and Sicily, France, Portugal and Navarre, an invisible net finally appeared in Ferdinand's mind.

What disturbed him was that this vast net covered not only Castile, but also Aragon, and even Austria.

At this point, Ferdinand looked again at Maximian's letter, and he seemed to see something more in it.

"What does that man want to do, does he want all of Europe to prostrate at his feet."

Ferdinand muttered to himself, and then he began to flip through the various other letters and reports that had been sent from all over the place that seemed to be insignificant or even unrelated at the time, but which now seemed to be inextricably linked.

When many things are connected, there are surprising truths behind them, even if they may not be true, but they are enough to surprise people.

Although the presence of a Castilian prince inevitably ruined Ferdinand's plans, he always felt that Alexander would not pose much of a threat to him.

Because both the newly unified Sicily and Roman Thesia are still too young to compare with the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, which have a long history and tradition.

Even though they are said to be rich, many times money does not solve everything.

At least the two countries did not have a strong alliance to rely on, and their royal families were still too young compared to yourself, and both the nobility and the common people were loyal to them because of their personal prestige.

Therefore, in Ferdinand's opinion, just giving him a chance to teach the brother and sister a hard lesson on the battlefield, a near-decisive defeat was enough to shake their precarious rule.

Ferdinand's ideas are not wrong, and it is precisely for these reasons that many new powers in history have led to the challenge of old powers.

Ferdinand didn't think the siblings were an exception.

But now he wasn't so sure.

What if it was all premeditated?

What if Manuel and Alexander still have a deal he didn't expect?

What if the French had planned a war with Austria in Italy long ago?

This series of thoughts made Ferdinand worried.

He suddenly felt as if he had done something stupid.

As the queen of Castile, Juana had this well-known legitimacy, but as Juana's father, he was sensitive because of his status as king of Aragon.

But as long as he was Juana's father, he could rule Castile through his daughter.

This may be a bit of a hassle, but it's the best option at this time.

But he did something very stupid, and his greed for power made him not content to just be an uncrowned king.

Even though he knew that he would never be crowned the crown of Castile in his lifetime, he was still bewildered by the beauty of sitting alone on the throne.

Ferdinand was not one to blame others.

Compared with those monarchs who like to throw the pot at ministers, mistresses, and even the common people, and from time to time shout "who mistakes me", he is more willing to look for the reason for his mistake from himself.

So he didn't take it for granted that all of this was Thomas Tongomada's fault, although he could have made the pastor a scapegoat without hesitation if he needed to, but in his heart he didn't really think that everything was someone else's fault.

"Maybe I should let this end soon." Ferdinand spun back and forth, his hand tapping on the table around him from time to time, and then continuing to spin back and forth.

At last he stopped and ordered the servants outside: "Go and get the Pastor Tongomada, and ask him to hurry, I have something very important to discuss with him." ”

With that, he continued to circle around the room, but this time his steps were much calmer.

Tongomada came quickly, his robes still dripping, and his feet left puddles of water on the floor.

Seeing the priest, Ferdinand breathed a sigh of relief.

He had slowly calmed down from the shock he had received, and although the situation seemed bad in front of him, he felt that it was not impossible to change.

And the key to this change is Juana.

"Tell me, if I were to pray a public prayer of atonement for Juana, would the church be able to prove that she had been purified and redeemed?"

Ferdinand's gaze was deep and gloomy, and it seemed to warn Tangomada to think carefully before answering.

Tongomada obviously sensed the warning in Ferdinand's words, and he looked at Ferdinand with some surprise, because he couldn't guess what he was thinking for a while, so he could only reply cautiously: "Of course, Your Majesty, monarchs are born with God's protection, just as you and Her Majesty Queen Isabella, Your Majesty Juana also have such grace. ”

At this point he glanced at Ferdinand and said as if nonchalantly: "Of course, these graces also come from you, after all, God has given her life through you. ”

After saying that, Tongomada secretly stared at Ferdinand's face, and saw that he seemed to be quite satisfied with his answer, so he cautiously asked, "Then are you planning to hold such a purification for Her Majesty?" ”

"Yes," Ferdinand stared at Tongomada with a heavy face, "Listen to me, priest, something happened and I have to make Juana reappear in front of the people, but you should understand that it is still and can only be me who rules this country, so I want you to perform such a purification ritual so that Juana can be forgiven by everyone, but also let people know that she will be punished for her past." ”

"This punishment is that the Queen must publicly confirm your regency, doesn't she?"

Although Tangomada was already cautious, Ferdinand secretly frowned as he listened to his words.

Although this man was different from Gonzalo, for some reason, Ferdinand always felt as if the priest did not really respect him from the bottom of his heart.

But now is not the time to think about this, the important role played by the Inquisition in the days of Isabella is even more important to him today.

"Go and prepare, just get as much as you need."

Speaking of this, Ferdinand's face suddenly sank again.

He remembered Alexander VI.

The pope in exile who had been expelled from the Vatican is now stirring up trouble in Seville.

If Alexander VI had stopped paying attention to him because of his loss of power, now Ferdinand felt that he had made another big mistake.

Alexander VI may have lost power, but if he declared Juana's purification ritual null and void, it would cause Ferdinand great trouble.

So what if the Vatican is asked to recognize this purification ritual?

The thought flickered before Ferdinand himself dismissed it.

Duke of Rome Thesia, the elder Roverere's son-in-law, and Giuliano della Rovere was one of the most powerful candidates for the presidency.

Ferdinand suddenly realized that although he already knew that Alexander was not easy to deal with, he still seemed to underestimate his opponent.

When did it all start?

Ferdinand suddenly found this formidable opponent who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and it seemed that everything had been prepared for a long time.

He patiently weaved his wide net until one day he saw the opportunity to suddenly present himself and deliver a fatal blow to his opponent.

This made Ferdinand's already calm mood become agitated again, and he even waved to Tangomada unceremoniously to let him go, and then looked at everything about Alexander on the table in a daze.

A flash of lightning flashed, and the candle-lit room turned white, followed by a dull thunderclap.

Ferdinand walked to the window and looked at the gloomy night sky outside, and an indescribable depression gradually enveloped his heart.

The only thing he could count on now was negotiations with Portugal.

The French army may have used Navarre to continue harassing the north of Castile, but with the war with the Austrians, the French could not commit much to Iberia.

Then now the only ones who can contain themselves are the Portuguese.

He had already given great authority to the emissaries sent to Portugal to negotiate a ceasefire with the Portuguese.

So this time, even if he can't fully achieve his goal, at least Manuel should not let go of the benefits that are sent to his mouth.

No, you can't be so optimistic, didn't you take a lot of things for granted before?

What if any more accidents happen?

Who knows how many means that Duke of Rome Thessia has prepared and waited for him?

Ferdinand suddenly found that he had lost confidence in the power tricks he had been so proud of, and he couldn't help but look ahead.

Another thunderclap followed by a flash of lightning, and the whole courtyard became bright and bright in an instant.

Ferdinand seemed to see a man running down the garden path in the rain.

Somehow, his heart skipped a beat for some reason.

Then he slowly turned around and looked at the door of his office.

After a while, the retinue appeared in front of the door.

"Your Majesty, there is an envoy from Madrid requesting an audience."

Ferdinand's heart pounded violently, and the news he had been waiting for finally came to fruition.

Walking in was a man covered in mud.

His face was so dirty that he couldn't see it except for his eyes, and although it was raining outside, his lips were shriveled and licking, and Ferdinand even noticed that his legs seemed to be trembling slightly when he walked in.

This was the result of a long horseback ride, and it was clear that the man had come all the way from Madrid, and he probably didn't even stop on the way.

Ferdinand did not rush to ask first, but waved his hand to let his attendant bring the man a glass of wine to quench his thirst, and then asked, "Who sent you?" ”

"Yes, Lord Mayor, Lord Mayor of Madrid," the man took a few gulps and took out a tightly sealed envelope from his pocket, "It's all over here, Your Majesty." ”

Ferdinand suppressed his excitement and tore open the tight outer skin and took out the unsealed paper from inside.

The letter was stamped with the coat of arms of the mayor of Madrid, and when it was opened, there was only a short sentence on it.

"The Duke of Rome Thescia was welcomed into the city on July 24 by Gonzalo de Córdoba, and the people of Madrid did not resist."

Seeing this, Ferdinand instantly felt dizzy and his eyes blackened.