I don't know if it's because of the heart, Ferdinand felt more and more uneasy during this time.

After the Battle of Seville, his contact with Gonzalo became increasingly difficult.

At first, the messengers he sent were able to send back some letters, but gradually, there was less and less news about the south, and then there was no news about the south for a long time.

Ferdinand sensed the disturbing changes, and after a little more patience, he finally had to be sure that something was wrong in the South.

This accident didn't mean that he had lost another battle, but if it were, he was not so nervous, he was worried that something had happened to Gonzalo's side.

Ferdinand summoned his ministers.

The nobles of Vallariadod and Castile have now been divided into three distinct factions.

A group of nobles who were proud to be Castilian hated Ferdinand's control of the Castilian court, because they shared the same ideas, including both the new and the old.

Similarly, others sided with Ferdinand, recognizing Ferdinand as Isabella's successor in the name of respecting Isabella's marriage, and while they still insisted on Juana as Queen of Castile, they acquiesced in Ferdinand's de facto rule over Castile.

As for the third group, there are those who only care about whether their rights are affected.

They don't care who really rules the country, they just want to know what these people will take from them.

And these people happen to be the most numerous among the aristocracy.

In the palace, Ferdinand looked at the respectful Castilian people who stood before him, and somewhat regained some of the confidence he had lost.

Yes, after all, he had been in this country for so long, and even when Isabella was alive, he could not openly solicit those ministers, but he still had a good relationship with them, and some of them were willing to join him.

Isn't that enough to contend with the Prince of Castile, who suddenly appeared?

As for the Portuguese and the French, he already had plans.

Mark Rosbein was one of Isabella's most trusted ministers, but it was this man who betrayed Ferdinand first after Isabella's death.

For this reason, Ferdinand thought more than once about sending someone to assassinate this traitor who he hated to the core, but in the end he endured it.

Assassinating a nobleman, whether successful or not, will bring him a great deal of notoriety, and if he succeeds, it will be enough, and if he fails, it will be too much to gain and lose.

And in hindsight, Mark Rosbein's public betrayal wasn't necessarily a bad thing for Ferdinand, at least it made him know who the traitor was.

Just thinking about the evil intentions of such an important minister as Mark Rosbein, and always hiding by his side, Ferdinand felt a shudder.

Because of this, he didn't trust the Castilians who had taken refuge in him, but now he had to not only reuse them, but also make frequent overtures to them, otherwise his life would become even more difficult.

"I have decided to send someone to Lisbon," Ferdinand continued, ignoring the fact that some of the ministers seemed surprised, while others looked like they were, "I am willing to admit that the marriage between Maria and Manuel is null and void, and I hope that it will not affect our friendship with Portugal." ”

The ministers have shown such their best.

Obviously, even if Ferdinand is unwilling to accept it, but it has become a fact that Maria lost the throne of Portugal, so it is indeed a good policy to change the relationship between the two sides as soon as possible rather than continue to fight Portugal.

After all, the struggle with Portugal for maritime interests is in full swing, and the two sides have reached the point where you live with me, but the immediate priority is to defeat the invading Sicilian army as soon as possible.

As for the French, they apparently took advantage of the fire to loot.

Although they frequently invaded from the Navarre border, they were never large, and they almost always operated with the Portuguese, although it was also speculated that the French seemed to be intent on separating Castile from the Galician region to the northwest, but now the most important thing was the south.

As for Galicia, wait until you have your hands free and then recover it as soon as possible.

First south and then north, Ferdinand was ready for this.

"Send someone to negotiate with Manuel, and I will consider even if he offers some harsh conditions, and now try to appease the Portuguese and French," Ferdinand made this decision despite his frustration, and then he looked at the ministers and asked tentatively, "...... if I mobilize the Aragonese army to fight the Sicilians."

Ferdinand, who had just said this, immediately saw the strange expressions on the faces of the ministers, some of them were unhappy, some were hesitant, and some were evasive.

Ferdinand tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart, but just looked at the people with a blank face.

He knew that these men were Castilians after all, and had an instinctive aversion to letting the Aragonese army into Castile.

Or even if they didn't care, they still had to maintain the last pride of being a Castilian nobleman, so that they could assert themselves in front of him and avoid being regarded as traitors by the Castilians.

Ferdinand cursed these people in his heart, he knew that of course some of them did want to join him, but even then they wanted to be loyal to him, not to him as king of Aragon.

This made Ferdinand reluctantly admit that if he wanted to completely master Castile, he still needed to use Juana.

Ferdinand ended the summons in a dishhearted mood, and when he returned to his room with a gloomy face, he saw Maria waiting for him.

It had been a few days since Maria had been expelled from Portugal and returned to Barrialidot, but since she had returned to see Ferdinand, she had taken up residence in a convent not far from the palace.

Perhaps because of what happened to her, or perhaps because her identity was too sensitive, Maria has not come out since entering the convent.

Now seeing her suddenly appear in the palace, many people can't help but secretly wonder what is going on.

"How are you doing?" Ferdinand asked with a grim expression, his tone not at all like that of a concerned father who cared for his daughter, even his servants might have received more care than that.

"Yes father, I have been reverently confessing my past during this time."

Maria's answer was equally decent, and her demeanor seemed to be sinister, and the strange sense of alienation seemed to erect an invisible wall between the two.

This caused them to fall into a long silence for a moment after these few words.

It took a long time for Ferdinand to speak again: "I have decided to recognize Juana as Queen of Portugal. ”

Maria's calm mood finally changed, and she looked at Ferdinand in disbelief, as if she didn't believe that her father had given up on her.

Although she was deported to China, Maria always believed that this was not the end of her fate, because as long as she was in possession of the name of Queen of Portugal, she still had a significant role. Good Mood Literature Network

But once her status as queen is denied, she is no longer worthless.

And she had never believed that Ferdinand would give up her identity.

"Why, father, this will cost you Portugal!"

Maria questioned aloud, knowing that she might never have the chance to return to Portugal again, but she had never imagined that she would give up the title of queen on her own.

"I must make peace with Manuel," Ferdinand turned a blind eye to Maria's anger, and he looked coldly at the useless daughter, wondering how useful he could be for herself, "You must know that the Portuguese are fighting our colonies at sea, and in the last few months they have defeated the Castilian fleet, and you have not been able to help me prevent this from happening. ”

"So it's my fault?"

Maria looked at Ferdinand angrily, the anger at being betrayed by her father was not very strong, and what annoyed her was that Ferdinand did not give her another chance.

"At least you didn't get Manuel to do what you wanted, and he took the opportunity to expel him from Portugal." Ferdinand was equally furious, annoyed that his years of plans had come to naught.

"I'll go back to Portugal, and if that woman can pull me off the queen's seat, I can do the same."

Seeing Maria's resentful face, Ferdinand stared at his daughter with a gloomy expression.

He had thought Mary was like him in some ways, but now he felt that he had been a little blind.

"Unless you can overturn the verdict of the 12 bishops, you will forever be denied the Portuguese territory for the murder of your sister's son."

Ferdinand lowered his head and began to review the documents in front of him, a little disappointed by Maria's stubbornness.

It is clear that Maria still refuses to admit defeat and thinks that she can turn over, but Ferdinand knows very well that this is no longer possible.

Manuel would marry two Aragonese princesses in a row, not because the two countries had any inseparable ties, but just to reassure the powerful neighbor.

Portugal, which once supported Enrique's daughter, is obviously not at ease if she does not agree to appoint the daughter of the new queen and her husband as the queen.

It was just that Portugal had not been defeated for a long time, and Manuel had just succeeded to the throne, so he certainly didn't want to anger his powerful neighbor.

But now the situation has changed subtly, and the victory of the Portuguese fleet in the Azores gave Manuel inexplicable courage.

More importantly, Isabella's death and the unification of the two Sicilies gave him an opportunity to completely break free from the constant restraint of others.

Any one of these events was enough to make Manuel reconsider his relationship with his powerful neighbors, not to mention the fact that even God seemed to be helping him, and Castile and Aragon had changed one after another.

"Don't think about returning to Portugal anymore," Ferdinand said coldly to Maria, a little annoyed that Maria couldn't see her situation clearly, but considering her next plans, Manuel tried her best to reassure Maria patiently, "I'll find you a new husband, you just have to wait in the convent for now." ”

Maria looked at her father in surprise, she didn't expect Ferdinand to start reconsidering her marriage so soon.

Although she didn't have any feelings for Manuel, she couldn't bear to be deprived of her crown and rushed back to her parents' house.

Ferdinand could see in Maria's stubborn eyes, but he didn't care.

The deposition of Maria did make him extremely angry, and he was eager to make Manuel pay for his actions, but the sudden intervention of the French made Ferdinand realize that the situation was not good for him.

Now his situation is not too much to describe as being surrounded by enemies on all sides, both at home and abroad, all his enemies are staring at him, and the slightest mistake could lead him into the abyss of defeat.

This dangerous situation is even more dire than his decision to take the risk of marrying Isabel.

Ferdinand knew he had to get out of the predicament as soon as possible, and Maria, who was repatriated, inadvertently became an important bargaining chip for him to achieve this goal.

"You have to be ready," I don't know how long it was, Ferdinand stopped his work and looked at Maria, who was sitting opposite, "I think I can reconsider a marriage that is better for many people." ”

Maria listened with a gloomy face, she knew that Ferdinand had probably already figured out who he wanted to marry her, and whether that person was the reason or not depended on whether the terms could be negotiated between the two parties.

As if to see Maria's thoughts, Ferdinand's expression softened slightly, and he led Maria towards the courtyard, stopped in the shade outside a gazebo, and said to her in a slightly lower voice: "You should know of the collusion between the French and Manuel, and that it was from Navarre that they invaded Castile. ”

Maria was puzzled at first, but soon discovered the key to Ferdinand's words.

"Navarre?"

Ferdinand nodded, and he looked at Maria with some appreciation, saying that he had always felt that Mary was the most like himself among all his children, and even though she had lost her mind because of anger before, she seemed to satisfy him now

Of course, although he appreciated it, he would not approve of Maria being allowed to succeed to the throne of Castile.

Juana is the right fit, especially since she is crazy now, even better.

"Queen Catalina of Navarre, who just gave birth to a prince two months ago," seeing that Maria managed to maintain her composure despite the corner of her eye, Ferdinand continued with satisfaction, "I hope you can marry him, it will obviously be a good choice for all of us." ”

Maria listened silently, and although she was a little annoyed to marry a child who was only 2 months old, she knew that it was not for her to decide.

The only thing she could do was to go back to the convent and wait for the outcome of the family affair, as her father had said.

"Jean Arbret of Navarre is Louis's cousin," Ferdinand continued to his daughter, "and I hope that this marriage will improve our relations with the French, and that you will one day give birth to a grandson for me to inherit the throne of Navarre." ”

Maria looked at Ferdinand with a blank face, knowing that her parents had always coveted Navarre, and it was only because of Navarre's close relationship with the French that they had some scruples.

However, Navarre's intervention in the Castilian war with the French seemed to have finally provoked Ferdinand, but now it seems that he had found a good solution to the problem.

A servant hurried in with a letter, and when he saw the marking, Ferdinand immediately opened it eagerly to look at it.

Maria noticed that the envelope was stamped with two crossed torches and a sword insignia.

It was the mark of the head of the Order of Santiago.

And took the letter and looked at Ferdinand carefully, and after reading a few lines, he suddenly let out an exclamation of "ah".

Then he slowly put down the letter and looked at Mary with a strange look on his face.

"The letter is from Gonzalo," he waved the letter when he saw that Maria seemed to know, "but you didn't expect this, he said that he was going to hand over the Duke of Rome Thesia to me." ”