King Manuel walked out of a room in high spirits.

He thought it was fresh, and it was the first time he had talked about life with a woman from the colonies, and he was fascinated by this exotic atmosphere that was completely different from the European women he was already familiar with.

It's just that these women were sold from Castile, and these slaves brought back by Columbus and other expeditions to the so-called West Indies were in high demand because they were different from African slaves, and today this woman was a gift from a minister whom he was very pleased with.

Although he knew that this exoticism might just be because it was fresh, Manuel was still interested, but of course his purpose was not just because of a few women, but because of the land.

He had already made up his mind to make an expedition to the west of the Atlantic, and according to da Gama and Alexander's description, that rather mysterious land might have been much larger than Columbus had imagined, and above all seemed to be a place that no one had ever set foot in.

Manuel felt that this was indeed a golden opportunity that could portend a lifetime for Portugal, and that it might never happen again.

Think of a magical land that has never been discovered since the birth of Jesus Christ, which seems to have been specially created by God to give to the fortunate ones who have been revealed.

Manuel walked to a statue of the Virgin at the wall of the corridor to pray, and then kissed the cross on his chest and continued his journey, only to see Queen Mary approaching her.

"Your Majesty, I see you praying, is there anything you need to pray for?" Maria walked over and looked at Manuel quietly, she didn't know which woman her husband had just fooled around, she didn't want to ask, in this respect she was much smarter than her sister Juana, remembering her mother's letter about Juana's current situation Maria felt very uneasy, she didn't expect that Juana now seemed to be getting more and more crazy, and even vaguely lost her mind.

"It's some things, some national events." Manuel smiled politely at his wife, he still admired Maria's magnanimity, but it was limited to their private lives, and he knew that Maria was trying to imitate her mother, and was far more interested in the pursuit of power than in wanting to know who he had just slept with.

"So can I know what it's all about?" Maria was still in hot pursuit, and she was a little caught off guard by the growing call for a new colony in Lisbon, thinking that even if it had been proposed, it might take years or even a dozen years to actually put it into practice, but somehow suddenly the voice of the desire to open up a new colony rose.

Not only Lisbon, but also from Viana do Castelo, in the north, to Porto, and then to Faru and Tavira, in the Gulf of Ragus, in the south, it seems that people everywhere are excitedly shouting the same sentence: "The age of the Great Voyage has come!" ”

The Great Voyage, this is a new term that has suddenly popped up recently, at first glance it doesn't seem to be anything special, haven't the Portuguese been sailing, since ancient times they have lived near the sea, living on the sea, which was originally nothing special, even after Prince Enrique opened an era for Portugal to really go to the sea, it was not so crazy all of a sudden.

But somehow, this time is completely different from the past.

Even Mary noticed the difference, and when she thought about the pomp and circumstance of Christopher Columbus returning from the New Colonies for the first time a few years ago and the wave brought about by Vasco da Gama's return from the East, she found the novel term "Great Voyage" to be somewhat exciting.

It was only when this excitement came into conflict with her home country that Mary became a little confused.

"Your Majesty, are you going to order an expedition to the new colonies?" Maria was concerned, or rather a little worried, "I'm afraid that this might end up angering Castile, maybe wait, you know I'm not trying to stop you, but I hope you can consider the trouble and risk it can entail, maybe you should hold off, or at least not be so hasty." ”

Maria tried her best to keep her voice calm and not to be commanding in front of her husband as she used to, but even so, perhaps after a long time, there was still a hint of threat in the tone in which she had tried her best to soften, which made Manuel's otherwise good mood suddenly deteriorate.

He stared at his wife's eyes seriously, and after making sure that she was indeed very serious, Manuel said slowly: "Madam, I don't think these words should be said, as the queen of Portugal, you should think about how to make this country stronger with me, not whether it will anger another country, you must know that whether it is Castile or Aragon, they cannot interfere with my consideration of the interests of their own country, this is absolutely intolerable, In fact, the docks in the Zitjo have received my orders, and they are beginning to build ships, which are the most powerful weapons of all, and at sea they can destroy all the enemies who provoke them. ”

Maria's face turned blue when she heard this rather obvious hint, she didn't care that Manuel hooked up with other women, their union was not because of love, she was not Juana, but she couldn't accept Manuel clashing with her home country.

She tried to say something more, but the king was clearly impatient.

Manuel maintained the last bit of patience and courtesy, nodded to Maria and then turned away, behind him, Maria staring at her husband's back with an ugly face.

She didn't hear Manuel whisper to herself in a voice that not even the personal servant next to her had heard, "I've had enough." ”

On the table in front of Alexander was a letter sent by Tiego from Aragon.

It's been a few days since Thiego left Lisbon, but fortunately he hasn't wasted any time in Iberia in the past two years, at least from the fact that he has so many connections here, and he's doing a good job.

The letter was sent by a maritime merchant who had always done business along the coastal cities along the ocean's coastline, who had carved out their trade routes from the North Sea to northern Africa, and along such a long sea road, countless goods were transported back and forth from north to south or from west to east, in exchange for the silent circulation of vast amounts of wealth.

These merchants also often worked as couriers, diplomats, and spies, which was a unique status of the era, and even if everyone knew about it, they would not be forbidden to associate with each other.

Tiego has his own way, and the messengers he finds are very reliable, in fact, these businessmen are inextricably linked to the free trade alliance, some of them have made a fortune by doing business with the alliance, and some are simply "their own people" who have joined

But even so, Tiego was very careful, and for the sake of insurance, he used several different secret writing techniques in the letter, so that even if the letter fell into the hands of others, he could not find a way to decipher it.

In fact, Alexander's method of secrecy is very simple, he did not make any "Alexander Code" in a mysterious way, except for the correspondence with Jisha, the contact between him and his subordinates is often to use a certain book as the root code book to decipher, as for the specific book each time, it is to find from another imperceptible root code index.

This is done for one purpose, and that is for the sake of secrecy.

Especially the contents of the letter sent by Tieg this time, Alexander felt that if it fell into the hands of outsiders, it would either cause an immediate uproar, or at least cause great trouble for his future plans.

After leaving Lisbon, Tiego boarded a ship and went straight to Aragon, where he spent the next few days visiting many people, both nobles and wealthy merchants, as a successful businessman, negotiating several profitable deals, and then investing in two promising local farmsteads.

Everything was so natural in Tiegogan that no one doubted that the merchant was here to make money, and he was.

After more than half a month of conscientiously guarding his duties as a businessman, one day Tiego went out early to discuss business as usual.

He first visited a very ordinary wool merchant and negotiated a small deal, and then he visited several famous families in Zaragoza, one of which was the family of Madame de Gomez, the former Sicilian courtier.

However, these visits did not seem to be very satisfying, and Madame Gomez's family was not having a good time these days, perhaps because her husband had died too much in the bloody night of Sicily, and Ferdinand II had apparently snubbed the family a lot, and for other reasons, the Gomez family was now somewhat difficult to live in the court of Zaragoza.

As a result, the merchant Tiego did not seem to be doing so well, so he had to leave Zaragoza to try his luck elsewhere.

Located in the southwest of Valencia, Alcinette is a small city, although it is not directly bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, it only takes 2 days to walk to the sea, and even faster by horse or car.

Not too far from the Balearic Islands, Tiego was tempted to go home before heading into the city, but considering the importance of the errand, he decided to push his plans back against it.

There is nothing special about the city of Arshinet, the only thing that is slightly different is that it is the seat of the court of the Duke of Gandino.

Giovanni Borgia's widow, Maria de Luna, now lives here.

After leaving Rome, Maria de Luna returned to her territory in Aragon with her son, although she was accustomed to the luxurious life of Rome and suddenly returned to the territory like the countryside, which made Maria de Luna herself and her children not so adaptable, but at least she could avoid so many troubles, Maria de Luna finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Dukedom of Gandino is not very large, and Giovanni did not stay here for long after inheriting it from his brother Luigi and his wife in the territory.

Although life in the territory was normal, and there was nothing to be said about it, because of the long-term lack of attention, when Maria de Luna returned with the children, it was still very embarrassing at first.

She had to leave her children in Valencia, which was a big city after all, and even when Alexander VI was still the Archbishop of Valencia, it was already the territory of the Borgia family.

Then she began to sort out the rules and regulations of the territory, and after some time, Maria de Luna was able to manage the Duke of Gandino's territory with initial results.

It was at this time that Tiego came to Arsinette.

Like other merchants who intended to do business with the nobles, Tiego offered to be summoned by the Duchess, and did not show any unusual signs when he handed over the letter of recommendation, even giving a small bribe to the guard at the door.

It was only when Maria de Luna saw the contents of the letter of recommendation that her expression changed for a moment.

Even though she secretly reminded herself to calm down, and kept telling herself that this was Aragorn, the territory of the Borgia family, she still couldn't hide the panic in her heart.

She summoned Tiego with a pretense of composure, and after listening to him talk a lot about business, the Duchess of Gandino could not hold back her apprehension and asked, "So what does the Duke of Rometesia let you do besides business?" ”

Tiego looked at the lady with a secret curiosity, he didn't know how sure Alexander was that the duchess would support him, after all, it was really difficult for him to do this, as he knew from the nobles he had visited before.

But now that he was standing in front of this woman, there was no other way.

"Lord Duke would like to have your help," Tiego bowed to Maria de Luna, "and the Duke knows that with your influence in the court of Zaragoza, it should work. ”

Maria de Luna frowned secretly, if it weren't for the discovery of her affair with Pelotto Cadheron, Caesar's retinue, when she was in Rome, she wouldn't have fled Rome in such a hurry.

After all, fornication with others was not a big deal in Rome in this era, but when it came to the death of her husband Giovanni Borgia, it was a completely different matter.

Maria de Luna had thought that she would be out of trouble by returning to Gandino's territory, but she had clearly misestimated Alexander, or Ulliu.

The intimate knowledge of her affair with Pelotto Caderon, which had been revealed during a visit to Ulriu in Rome, had become a nightmare that Maria de Luna could not escape.

Although Ulius did not show any threat during that visit, Maria de Luna knew very well that if rumors of Giovanni's death reached Rome, it would be a catastrophe for her.

Even if she can find a way to get rid of the murder of her husband in the end, with the character of Alexander VI, he will never let her go easily.

It may have been light to be banished back to her parents' home and lose custody of her children, and it is likely that Alexander VI would put pressure on her family or ask Ferdinand II to put her under house arrest.

And the king obviously would not risk offending the pope for her sake.

Maria de Luna thought about it and came to the conclusion that, by all accounts, it seemed that working with Alexander was the only option.

"Tell me what the Duke has sent you for." Maria de Luna lowered her voice, she was a little helpless, but she knew what kind of trouble she would bring if she disobeyed the Duke of Rometesia.

She knew that she had only one choice, and the only thing she could hope for was that the other party could keep her promise.

At this moment, Maria de Luna felt that Cambrai was "really a Borgia".

In front of the Apostolic Door of Valencia Cathedral, several beggars were staring at the people who came out of it.

Today is the last day of the month-long Virgin Mary Thanksgiving Day, and it is said that in the capital Zaragoza, a grand ceremony was held with the support of the king himself, and 100 cows, many sheep, and more chickens and ducks were killed at the banquet after the ceremony.

The Thanksgiving Day is actually very long, and like in Portugal, it lasts for a whole month, starting on the first Sunday in October every year, during which time people are forbidden to do many things that are reminiscent of extravagance and depravity.

So when the anniversary is over, people tend to party for a whole month of depression.

This is also a good time for beggars, and the rich will not be stingy at this time, and they will often show their kindness and generosity by giving some alms to those beggars.

The apostolic door opened, and out came a group of well-dressed nobles and wealthy merchants, all of them dressed in extraordinarily splendid costumes, and who always dazzled others when the sun shone on their glittering jewels.

The beggars immediately gathered around, babbling all kinds of blessings and begging for some reward.

A rich man who seemed to be very rich took out a few shiny silver coins from his pocket and threw them to the beggars in front of him, and this unusually generous gesture won a burst of cheers from the beggars, and then the rich man seemed to remember something, and beckoned to the nearest beggar.

"Want to make some money?"

"Generous sir, you command." The beggar immediately said with a flattering face.

"Send me a letter, and then bring me back the recipient's reply, and you can get another silver coin."

Everything was so simple and ordinary that it was all too common for a rich man to send a beggar to run errands for him on the Thanksgiving Mary's Day, and then give him some reward, and no one would pay attention to this "little business" under the apostle of the busy cathedral, and no one cared about what was written in the letter that was handed to the beggar.

The beggar took the letter from the rich man and trotted to the owner of a boat docked at the Valencian dock, according to the address he had instructed.

Soon after the beggar left, the ship set sail.

Five days later, as the ship docked at the dock in Lisbon, the letter was also placed on the table in front of Alexander.

The content of the letter is not very long, and the only key sentence is: "At your command, the Duchess of Gandino, Maria de Luna, has begun to act." ”