Madrid at this time was neither the capital of the Spanish Empire, nor the bustling metropolis that had been piled up with the wealth of almost half of the New World.

There was no glorious royal palace known as the Mother of Versailles, and the famous Grand Venetian was just a wasteland full of garbage, stinking on sunny days, and sewage when it rained.

If you stand a little higher, you will see that the whole city is a mess because it is not planned.

Everywhere there are low, chaotic houses, and narrow alleys that cover almost half of Madrid like cobwebs.

A few barely plausible avenues divide the city into several areas of varying sizes.

Some of the closest places to El Pardo Palace were inhabited by Madrid's dignitaries, while a little further away were wealthy businessmen or artists who had made a fortune.

That area has become the busiest part of Madrid, and I'm sorry, the Grand Plaza de Venice is located in the open space near the east of the city.

It's just that now there is nothing worth noting in this square except that it is reflected like a large colorful flower cluster by countless tents of various colors.

The sudden arrival of the Pope surprised the Madrid aristocracy, led by Don Carpendi.

They had already heard of the sudden disappearance of the Pope, and for this reason Don Carpendi immediately sent his men to spy on him in order to prevent any revolt in the city.

As a precautionary measure, Don Cappendi once again used the same prisoners whom he had used very well in prison, and this time he promised them freedom, errands, and status.

The only thing he didn't promise was wealth, because the warden knew that he couldn't give it.

Don Carpendi was a man of real ambition, and he had the ability to match it, something that even Isabella and Ferdinand could not deny.

Unfortunately, Isabella's early death completely cut off Don Cappendi's chance to show his ambitions.

But perhaps it was God's mercy that soon another golden opportunity appeared in front of him, and he firmly grasped this opportunity.

Many people don't know why Don Carpendi was exiled to Madrid by Isabella in the first place.

However, the warden himself knew very well that the queen was protecting him.

Don Carpendi had hoped to repay Isabella with this, but perhaps because of Ferdinand's reckoning, Isabella no longer paid attention to the man he had ousted from his position as Minister of Justice in Valaridot.

This made his gratitude to Isabella gradually cold, and later he even resented it.

Alexander gave him another chance, and it made Don Carpendi feel like I could do it again.

When he first heard about the prison warden's past from Don Bandraz, Alexander was almost surprised and could not control himself.

Because he found that the warden was a great talent.

About ten years ago, Don Carpendi, then Minister of Justice, presented Isabella with an idea that had not yet been perfected.

He wanted to establish a completely independent security apparatus in Castile, directly under the Queen.

This institution was distinct from the Castilian army and the acolytes of the nobles, but a security force that was entirely accountable to the queen herself.

The duty of this army was to fight the criminals and capture all possible threats to the kingdom's internal and external enemies, and unlike the army, their main enemies were from within Castile, and Don Cappendi believed that this institution should have the same powers as the Inquisition.

Although Don Banderaz did not describe it in such detail, Alexander had already flashed through his mind the term "policeman", which would never appear in this day and age.

Don Cappendi's idea may have been just a prototype, but Alexander was sure that it was all that characterized the early police.

The fact that this man wanted to establish a police agency that controlled the whole country in the early 16th century could not help but make Alexander feel like a fantasy.

But when he thought about it, he vaguely remembered that the world's first police seemed to appear in France, and that it was precisely prison prisoners who were used at that time.

This made Alexander feel that this did not seem to be a coincidence, and when he learned that his family had a side branch in France, after a deep conversation with Don Carpendi, Alexander once wondered if the prison warden had been able to realize his ideals by leaving France for relatives and friends after a long time of depression.

It did not seem impossible, as Louis XII was a brilliant and shrewd monarch, and he was not called the Friend of the People not only because he deliberately curratiated himself with the plebeians, but because he knew how to exploit the contradictions between the plebeians and the nobility to obtain what he wanted.

It was in this process of exploiting contradictions again and again that Louis XII was able to experience the suffering of the people more personally, so that he was able to exercise good governance.

Then, after discovering that the law and order situation in France is so bad, it is not so abrupt to appoint a minister of security from a foreign country.

And just think that such a man in power was a foreigner, and Louis XII had no need to worry about what kind of threat he might pose to him.

It was precisely because of this thought that Alexander left Don Carpendi in Madrid.

He hoped that the prison director, who was probably the father of the world's police, would give him the prototype of a well-established police agency in Madrid.

If he could, he would spread the institution throughout the kingdom.

With the unification of royal power, the establishment of a political system of separation of military and political affairs is an inevitable trend, and the establishment of a sound police system under this general trend is also an indispensable means.

Moreover, this can allow the power of the kingdom to be quickly concentrated, which is more conducive to the fundamental disintegration of the aristocratic forces.

After Alexander took Don Banderaz and the three nobles, today Don Carpendi is the second most powerful man in Madrid.

Above him was Gonzalo, one of the two giants of the Castilian nobility.

Gonzalo was very cold about the arrival of the Pope.

Without even finding a plausible reason, he refused to go to the El Pardo Palace to meet the Pope.

However, this also made Alexander VI secretly relieved.

It's really hard for the Pope to imagine what it would be like to see the ** who once taught him in person again.

After all, when he was in the Vatican, Gonzalo was able to disgrace him in public.

Alexander VI doubted that he would allow that embarrassing scene to repeat again, and if he did, perhaps he would be mad.

Fortunately, Gonzalo's arrogance prevented this embarrassment from happening, and the aristocrats of Madrid suddenly became the most striking place in the Iberian Peninsula.

What also surprised people was that after the public audience, the Pope actually summoned the first person besides the Archbishop of Madrid, it was Don Cappendi.

This made many Madrid aristocrats, who were originally dissatisfied with the sudden rise of the prison warden, finally understand that Don Capendi was really running this time.

The attention from the regent and the pope is enough to make the status of the prison director rise, and some people even secretly compare it and think that maybe it can't be compared with the two giants, but Don Cappendi is now enough to be equal to the three nobles.

But apart from all the speculation in Madrid, the real concern is the return of the Pope.

Alexander VI was not killed, and arrived in Madrid safely after being missing for a while!

The first to bring the news to various places in a hurry were not the envoys sent by the nobles, but many merchants.

Most of these merchants are engaged in the following trades:

Some of them are arms dealers, and some are simply arms manufacturers.

Some of them have a lot of capital and a few small factories to make all kinds of armor and armor, while others focus on forging weapons.

The other was a grain merchant, or a group of brokers.

When these people first heard that there would be war, they often flocked to the city, hoarding all kinds of supplies and food and selling them to their favorite kings and nobles.

If the buyers happen to have a lot of money, they don't mind taking credit, but the prices and conditions are a bit harsher.

Of course, some of these people have lost their money because they have lost their eyes, but it is so huge that they are willing to take risks and invest in this kind of war business.

The imminent war between Castile and Aragon was undoubtedly one of the most talked about business stories of these merchants during this time.

They asked people everywhere for information, and they tried to get in touch with the regent through various means, so that he could take care of his business.

Now that Alexander VI has suddenly arrived in Madrid, it is a suspense whether war will break out again.

The merchants were anxious to get the news out there, because even if it was only for half a day, it might cause great losses.

However, the news of these merchants was still a little slower, and with the great advantage of the "church post", the first to rush into the city of Barriado with this important news was a church messenger sent by the Cathedral of Madrid.

The Church messenger hurried to the side door of the Basilica of Barriaridud, but he did not escape the countless pairs of eyes that stared at the painful movement of his feet.

Or that there is no need to deliberately disguise it, so shortly after the reality entered the cathedral, news about the whereabouts of the Pope was deliberately revealed from the cathedral.

The city of Vallaridaud is boiling.

Until then, people were watching, waiting, and speculating about how Alexander would face the surprise.

The accidental murder of Juana and his wife caused Ferdinand to leave Castile in disgrace.

Now, Alexander will not repeat his mistakes.

This speculation made the nobles who had already made the public announcement of the world show uneasy.

Let those who redeem their hostility secretly rejoice.

It also made a group of people who are still silent have their own thoughts.

For those who are naturally adventurous but don't rush to make a choice, Alexander's seemingly difficult situation is their best chance.

At this time, it is definitely more important to stand up and show support for the regent than to cling to the past in the first place.

Of course, there is a great deal of risk involved, but just like the merchants who speculate on war, these nobles are also speculating on their present and future.

So after the Pope's disappearance, not only did the number of people around Alexander not decrease, but there were also suddenly new people.

There were naturally all kinds of frictions and contradictions between these people and the group of people who had defected to Alexander early, but none of them mattered to Alexander.

Although he has a lot of faith in Ulliu, only Alexander himself knows that he is under great pressure at all times.

After much planning and arrangement, the threat from Austria had been suppressed and delayed by his best efforts.

Perhaps Maximion would eventually be able to get out of that series of troubles, but Alexander believed that by that time he would have secured the throne of Castile.

As for Aragorn, Alexander has also considered maturity, and he must assist Josa to become the queen of Aragon!

To this end, he has decided to wage an inevitable war with Ferdinand.

It will be a war in which there will be no compromises, only a complete victory or defeat for one side.

To this end, he was ready to mobilize all his forces so far to wage a war in Europe.

The world was never really at peace, and all Alexander could do was make war more efficient.

He had neither the energy nor the interest in fighting a long war that might last for generations, and even countless fortunes with the flames of war, so he had to try to settle as long as possible the disputes that might lead to future disputes as long as he could afford.

"The life span of a human being is really short."

Hearing the old man's sudden exclamation, Schell couldn't help but glance at Alexander a little strangely.

The old man was still very young, and it was a good time for him to have many children and grandchildren, and Schell believed that he might be able to see the birth of a large group of princes and princesses, of course, their mothers were different, but what was the matter?

So it would be a bit hypocritical to make such an exclamation at this time, and Schell thought so and looked at Alexander again.

"Schelle, how many wishes do you think you can accomplish in this life?" Alexander noticed the way Schelle looked at him and asked casually, and before the guard officer who didn't seem to understand too much answered, he continued on his own: "If you were asked to write a wish list, maybe in the end you would find that the final wish was poorly few, not because you couldn't do it, but because the life span of a person is too short. ”

Schell let out an "oh" as if he didn't understand, he didn't understand what the old man was thinking, in fact he didn't quite understand what Alexander was doing most of the time, even though the old man seemed to have been trying to teach him something.

"Schel, you should read more, maybe I should send you to Bologna to replace Busaco, knowing that he has been there long enough, I think he should learn something too."

Schelle suddenly became nervous, but he didn't expect the old man to suddenly have such a thought, and just as he was anxiously pondering how to ask the old man not to give such an order, Alexander smiled softly: "But if you leave, who will stand guard for me, you must know that Jisha will soon come to Barriaridot." ”

Alexander's words made the Balkans' hanging hearts relax at once, although they did not say it explicitly, but Alexander's words faintly revealed the different attitudes towards him and Busako, which instantly reassured the Balkans a lot.

Alexander trusted, of course, his former commander of the hunting guards, but it was clear that this trust was different from that of Schel, at least he wouldn't have Boussako stand guard outside his door during his tryst with Josa.

An attendant hurriedly knocked on the door and came in, standing at the door and reporting, "Your Highness, Your Excellency the Catering Officer has asked for an audience. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Don Banderaz had already walked in with the same hurried pace.

As the mayor of Madrid, his face was no longer as calm as before, on the contrary, his emotions were a little obvious because of the excitement.

"Your Highness, His Majesty the Pope has arrived in Madrid."

Alexander looked at Don Bandraz, and when the squire opened the door, he had heard a faint whisper from the corridor outside, which made him believe that most of the nobles of Ariaridotus had gathered in the palace by this time.

The Pope arrived in Madrid safely, but the news was enough to shake the whole of Ariaridous.

All the previous rumors and speculations against the regent were shattered at this moment, and the nobles suddenly discovered that the regent had never been more powerful than he was now.

If Charles had been in Castile at this time, perhaps the army would have split up due to their respective allegiances, but now with the influence of Gonzalo in Madrid, the Castilian army chose to be loyal to the new monarch in the future.

And once Ferdinand decided to return to Castile and regain the throne, it would mean a war between the two countries, and the army would then be loyal to Alexander.

Now that the Pope had arrived in Madrid safe and sound, it was now known that no one could stop the regent from becoming the new king of Castile.

"They're all out there?"

Alexander asked Don Bandraz.

Although the question was somewhat vague, Don Bandraz already knew who Alexander was talking about.

"Yes, Your Highness," Don Bandraz calmed his excitement a little, and the worries and apprehensions that had been there turned into satisfaction after the harvest at this moment, and it was not that he had not thought about the tragic outcome of possible failure since he had decided to take refuge with Alexander, but the great reward of success made him willing to take the risk, and now it seemed that the risk was worth it, "Everyone is waiting for your orders." ”

"Okay, let's go meet them together."

Alexander's words made his heart flutter again, and he knew that maybe at this moment, he would really become a part of the regent's side like Alexander's cronies.

Opening the door, accompanied by a dull whisper, Alexander saw the crowd standing in the narrow living room, stretching out into the hallway outside.

Noticing that the door opened, the whispering stopped abruptly, and everyone couldn't help but look towards the door.

Looking at the countless glances cast by him, Alexander was silent for a moment, and then spoke: "Castile is about to usher in a new era, and I know that all of you have made the right choice, so now tell me your answer!" ”

No one spoke, but all eyes were on Don Bandraz.

"Long live the Kingdom of Castile," Don Bandradz took two steps forward, stood in front of everyone and shouted to Alexander, "Long live the King!" ”

"Long live the King!"