Alexander walked slowly forward on the somewhat dry and hard ground under his feet, the winter in Galicia was much warmer than in other places, but looking at the sparse wheat fields in the field, Alexander's mood was a little strange.

On his way back to Italy from the Balkans, he wrote a letter to Josha in which Alexander described a grand plan for the future.

One of the most important aspects of this plan is that the town will gradually prosper.

In the future, there will be a number of historians who will analyze the so-called Renaissance in a variety of ways, and one of them, although not entirely accepted by the general public, is quite plausible to Alexander today.

The prosperity of towns and cities is not only due to the increasing need for more workers as cities expand and handicrafts develop, but also to the more realistic and serious problem that people face as the weather changes, and large areas of land have lower harvests due to colder weather.

In this environment, more and more farmers who lost their land were forced to flock to their nearby towns in search of a way out, which made many people miserable at the time, but it did stimulate the development of commerce.

This is the case in Galicia today, where the previously warm climate has gotten worse and worse in recent years, even if it hasn't been affected much, but the crisis that has been gradually gathering in the first two years due to climate change is now manifesting itself.

The lack of enough seeds to store has led to a growing food shortage, or even if there are enough winters in some places, the land has dried up and hardened due to climate change, and the planted grains have not been able to sprout smoothly, all of which have plunged the whole of Europe into widespread food shortages at this time.

This sign had already been evident for a few years, but it would become more and more obvious in the future, so in that letter Alexander had already discussed with Josha how to deal with this situation, which was very important for his future plans.

If Alexander wants to realize his huge plan, Josha is undoubtedly the best helper, although she does not have a vision far beyond others like him, but she has a rare intelligence of her contemporaries, under the influence of Alexander, Josha has exerted her wisdom to a degree that no one else can reach, which allows her to always follow Alexander's side, and will go further and further.

One soldier was panting for breath and running towards him, and in such a cold, arid winter day it was evident that any military operation would have taken more effort than in other seasons, and the Castilian army was clearly on the verge of collapse.

The French were clearly preparing to make a big fuss in Galicia, plundering and attacking everywhere along a roughly arc-shaped march to the northwest, and this army was clearly not in the mood to return from the way it came, and by all indications it was to join the Portuguese directly.

The soldier walked up to Alexander and hurriedly took out a report from the scouts sent out to investigate, because many ordinary soldiers did not read much, so all kinds of simple and convenient methods of disseminating news were invented in various armies very early on.

Now Alexander looked at a mark made on a rough sketch of a map in his hand, which he knew was the traces of the French march that the Galicians had reported to him.

As he had suspected, the French were rapidly advancing towards the north of Portugal, and at the same time the scouts spotted the movements of the Portuguese, and a Portuguese army from Belin attracted the attention of the Castilian scouts.

"So we're going to war with a coalition army?"

As Alexander walked silently, several Castilian officers looked at each other, curious about the foreign duke who had suddenly become his commander, and although the small but well-sized army he brought with him was an eye-opener to the Castilians, they were always skeptical that he would be able to command a large battle.

It's just that Gonzalo seems to trust this man, and the officers are well aware of Gonzalo's purpose in rushing back to Barriariddo at this time.

These officers were all Castilian nobles, and they also wanted the Castilian throne not to be taken by an Aragonese, so Gonzalo became their hope and spokesman, which is why they decided to trust the foreign duke.

"Allied forces all the time?" Alexander asked rhetorically and smiled, he knew what the officers were afraid of, they were worried that the engagement with the Portuguese would lead to an escalation of the war, at least for now the Pastillian army in the north was not ready for a large-scale land engagement with the Portuguese.

They were more on guard against the Portuguese taking advantage of the threat, as for the French, because the number of troops invading Castiria was not very large, it was more like just to cheer on the Portuguese or take advantage of the fire.

It is understandable that Gonzalo's new army is now stationed not too far from the city of Barriariddod, but they do not seem to have any intention of continuing their march north, and it is clear that Gonzalo himself is showing his strength to Ferdinand, but that the Castilian nobles want to put pressure on Ferdinand in this way.

This can be seen from Ferdinand's happy announcement of his support for Juana's succession to the throne.

"There are less than 2,000 Portuguese men coming out of Behring, which is probably the largest force they can use in the north," said a general, whose hair was so thinning that he could not hide his scalp even if it hung around his head, and shrugged at the sight of Alexander looking at him, "I have served in the Portuguese army before, and I was Behring's quartermaster. ”

Alexander nodded, he knew that many soldiers in this era had served foreign armies to a greater or lesser extent, which was nothing today, even the officers under his command.

Therefore, Alexander always sought to establish an officer corps that was fully recognized by the former Montina and the present Duchy of Rome Thesia, because only such an officer corps would gradually develop the will to combine the interests and honor of the individual and the state.

It's just that this matter will take a long time, and maybe it will not be effective until he is old, but fortunately, Rome Thescia has now established a military academy based on the University of Bologna, although it seems to be a long time, but one day this change will gradually have a great effect in the army.

And now he can only borrow these soldiers in front of him to do things for himself, at least for the Castilians, and it doesn't seem a bad thing now that he doesn't care that he is a foreigner.

"Dear Don Aslamanda, what do you think we should do?" Alexander never thought it was a terrible thing to let others know that he was not omnipotent, especially nowadays when an all-powerful person is truly terrible, and if someone is famous for it, then it is likely that the Inquisition awaits him.

God is the Almighty, and even Jesus, who is regarded as Lord, must rely on the righteous title of the Son to proclaim His claims.

Officer Xie Ding thought for a while, tried to recall it as much as possible, and then shook his head a little helplessly to Alexander: "Although the Portuguese should not have many people in Behring, but if they and those French combined, there will be a lot of them, not to mention that they have the support of Behring City behind them, although it is not very big, but because it is a Portuguese fortress in the north, so there is a large amount of grain stored all year round, if they must defend Belin City, it is impossible for us to occupy it as smoothly as we captured Burgos, If you are delayed under Behring City......"

"We may be judged by the Portuguese from the north and from the west." Alexander took the unspoken words of the officer named Don Aslamanda and continued, seeing Don Aslamanda nodding wordlessly, Alexander couldn't help but look at him again.

Don Aslamanda, now an obscure and even somewhat unambitious Castirea officer, but in the future he was not a small celebrity, and later in the struggle with the Portuguese in the North African colonies, Don Aslamanda drove out the Portuguese, who controlled the African coastal port of Aranish, and drove a piercing nail in the new Portuguese route to the East.

And it was Ferdinand, who was the regent of Castile, who discovered his talent.

However, Alexander was not going to give up this opportunity to Ferdinand, although in his eyes Don Aslamanda was not necessarily the kind of officer he needed, but he was a good man for now.

Gonzalo's previous battle with the Coa Valley at the village of Twin Churches had taught the Portuguese a hard lesson, forcing the Portuguese not to cross the valley, which at the time seemed like a great victory, but now a threat to the Castilian army.

If they were to pursue the French, they would have to continue their march westward, which would soon encounter the Portuguese who had come out to meet the city of Behring, and would also be threatened by the Portuguese army from the direction of the Coa Valley.

It was because of this that the Castilian officers were hesitant to continue the pursuit.

They all turned their eyes to Alexander, hoping that he would make the decision, not because of how much they trusted him, but because of Gonzalo's orders.

"Wait a little longer, let's see the situation first."

Alexander's answer did not surprise the officers, who thought that even Gonzalo would have to be cautious when faced with a choice that might determine the fate of the whole army, but it was a bit disappointing to the officers who had thought that the young duke would have some whimsy.

In fact, Alexander was thinking about something else.

He secretly counted the time, guessing when the battle at sea would begin.

It would be a naval battle that would be crucial for both Portugal and Spain.

And the outcome of that naval battle will not only determine the future situation on the Iberian Peninsula, but may even affect the future course of history.

Beginning in 1501, the Portuguese navy had a series of conflicts with the Castilians in the Atlantic, large and small.

These clashes were different from the constant friction between the two countries at sea, and it was clear that the Portuguese navy was instructed by Manuel to constantly provoke the Castillians, and near the Azores, they sank two expedition ships that were about to go to the new colonies.

As the farthest archipelago from the European continent, the Azores became the most outpost of Europeans deep into the Atlantic, and although it is not yet known what the significance of the Azores is, this does not prevent two countries eager to expand their maritime boundaries from fighting for the archipelago.

In response to Manuel's provocation, Isabella, who was already ill at the time, responded forcefully, ordering the existing Castilian navy to do everything in its power to protect the expeditions and merchant ships from the Portuguese, and at the same time ordering the construction of more and larger armed merchant ships as soon as possible.

And Manuel was not idle, once the king of Portugal, who had an almost stubborn character, firmly believed that he was the generation of the Zhongxing Kingdom, he immediately enthusiastically set off a "New World Movement" in the country.

Like Isabella, Manoel borrowed the wealth of the merchants to rapidly expand his maritime power, hoping to establish an overwhelming advantage over Spain at sea in the shortest possible time, so as to make up for the backwardness in the development of new colonies.

In this way, the Azores have become a point of contention, and even if they do not know that if they go all the way west from the Azores, rather than southwest to the new colonies, as they have done in the past, they will find a much wider world, but the position of the archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean is enough to cause a fierce contest.

Manuel has put almost all of his belongings on the "New World Movement", including his public decision to change his wife.

At Manuel's behest, the Metropolitan of Lisbon had annulled his marriage to Maria of Aragon on the grounds that Maria had committed the unforgivable crime of murdering her relatives.

The messenger with the divorce request was still on his way to the Vatican, where Manuel had already announced the marriage of Juana of Castile as his wife.

This decision was undoubtedly a break with Spain, and although Juana then voluntarily renounced his claim to the throne of Castile, it was enough to make relations between the two countries extremely bad.

And the dispute on both land and sea shows that the two sides have reached the point where they will not hesitate to fight.

In January 1502, news of the death of Queen Isabella of Castile reached Lisbon, and upon hearing the news, Juana, who had openly lived in the castle of San John Wang, locked herself in her room for a whole day without leaving the house.

No one knew what she was doing, but on the second day Juana went to see Maria, who was now under house arrest in the convent.

Juana was in a good mood when she returned to the castle of St. John, and she had dinner with Manuel, although she was no longer young, but perhaps because she was in such a good mood, she even gave the king a charming look.

Manuel is still very moved, the death of his only son Miguel makes him sad, although he has no feelings for his ex-wife Isabella of Aragon, but he is very fond of the child of the two of them, Miguel.

But Miguel's death made him lose hope all of a sudden, especially after learning that it was Maria who had done it.

Now he only hopes to have an heir as soon as possible, otherwise he may have to give the throne to someone else like his predecessor when he dies.

So without waiting for dinner to finish, Manuel couldn't wait to pull Juana towards their bedroom, thinking that after all, Juana was not young, and it would be terrible if he couldn't have an heir as soon as possible.

It was only the sudden arrival of Eriodor Don Antonio that disturbed the king's interest, but it was clear that the news brought by the head of the nautical office and the newly appointed sea minister was more of interest to the king.

In mid-December 1501, the Castilian navy launched an attack on the Portuguese navy, which had occupied the Azores and named one of the large islands after the dead Prince Miguel.

Twelve large and small ships of the Castilian Navy attacked the seaside settlements established by the Portuguese south of Miguel Island, and then entered the waters of the archipelago in search of lone Portuguese merchant ships.

The battle was fought on and off for nearly half a month, and the Portuguese Navy, which had been waiting for it near the Azores, also got the news.

Finally, on the first day of the beginning of 1502, a fierce battle broke out between the two sides in the waters south of the Azores, which had been named Santa Maria by the Portuguese.

12 Castilian ships confronted the Portuguese navy, which consisted of 7 armed ships.

The battle was very unfavorable to the Portuguese from the outset due to the direction of the wind, and the numerical disadvantage made the situation even more precarious.

From the very beginning, the battle began with the active attack of the Castilian navy, and with great skill and experience, the two sides began a brutal slaughter near the island of Santa Maria with a mixture of hot and cold weapons characteristic of this era.

However, it was clear that the situation was always unfavorable for the Portuguese, and by the time it was almost afternoon, the Portuguese had already sunk 2 ships, and one had to withdraw from the battle because of heavy losses.

The Castilians, on the other hand, suffered great losses, but they became more and more courageous in the face of the increasingly powerful situation, and they desperately rushed at the enemy ships with their stiff bows, or made the sailors throw their hooks, and then desperately tried to climb the deck of the opponent for a traditional broadside battle.

In this situation, the Portuguese had to fight and retreat, hoping to get rid of the enemy and flee the battlefield as soon as possible.

But that's when things happened.

A fleet of ships of unknown origin suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

Fierce and cruel with these unflagged armed ships, they slaughtered the Castilians in a frenzy, and before they could understand what was happening, an armed Castilian merchant ship was already heavily damaged.

The sudden appearance of the enemy, apparently ignoring the rules of the sea, completely ignored the statement that the merchant ship had dropped its flag and withdrew from the battle, and continued to launch a frenzied onslaught like the hapless armed merchant ship, until the ship caught fire and burned and gradually fell apart into a pile of wreckage at sea.

Given a respite, the Portuguese quickly launched a counterattack, and together with the sudden appearance of the armed fleet, they launched a flank attack on the Castilians.

I don't know who it is, but the famous pirate "Blackbeard" who first discovered the enemies that only appeared out of nowhere, and hearing the name of this cruel sea devil, the Castilian navy, which had been stunned by the sudden attack, was even more panicked.

Having lost their superiority in direction and numbers, the Castilians finally retreated after paying the heavy price of sinking 5 ships.

"You're saying we won?" Manuel looked at Eriodor Don Antonio and asked with some excitement, although he had made up his mind, he was still somewhat afraid of Castilian, after all, Portugal was much weaker than it, let alone Aragon.

"Yes, Your Majesty, we have won, although I hate to say it, but the truth is that thanks to the presence of the pirates there, and the fact that Aragorn's fleet happened to be transferred to the Mediterranean, all these coincidences allowed us to win." Eriodore Don Antonio couldn't contain his excitement, he had waited too long for this day.

"Coincidence?" Looking at the Sea Minister, Manuel smiled meaningfully, "Believe me, dear Elliodore, there will not be so many coincidences in the world, and if this happens, we have to think about whether there is any special reason behind all this." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, none of this is a coincidence," Don Antonio nodded, "because we have just received another news, the Queen of Sicily has announced that she will be officially crowned. ”