Valladod Palace.

Isabella sat quietly in her chair, and in front of her lay two reports, one from the secret agent she had installed in Andalusia on the situation in Seville, and the other from Don Bavi, who had taken over the power of the Consul in Andalusia.

Opposite her, several ministers watched the queen silently, waiting for a storm of thunder to come.

Isabella is a great queen, as has been known for many years, and her most obvious character is her will stronger than that of a man and her tenacity in the face of hardships, this extraordinary decisiveness has allowed her to make decisions in time when faced with major decisions, and once she has made up her mind, no matter what awaits her, she can go on without hesitation.

So in the past, Isabella may have made wrong judgments and decisions, but she has never hesitated, which can be seen from her resolute decision to decide her future destiny through marriage, and even though she knew that the situation of the treasury was not optimistic, she still firmly supported the feat of Columbus to explore new routes.

So the ministers are not worried about what the queen will decide, they only need to be responsible for fulfilling the orders given by the queen.

"This Don Bavi, did you do it in the end?" Isabella showed no surprise on her face, as if Don Bavi's actions had been expected by her, "Probably you won't believe it, but from the moment he decided to take the risk to help me, I knew that this man was going to be a big problem in the future. ”

Isabella stood up and walked slowly around the table, she came to the window and looked at the garden outside, at this time the flower garden was already full of purple and red, the spring in the middle of March can be said to be a little late, the geography of the Iberian Peninsula allows this land to appreciate the arrival of spring earlier than anywhere else in Europe, and now there are even signs of heat in the south at this time.

"Don't you think you understand?" Isabella looked back at a few people and chuckled, "You all know how bad a situation I was facing at that time, I remember very well that even the lords who were most loyal to me chose to remain silent, after all, if I continue to follow me, I will face the wrath of the king," Isabella snorted contemptuously in her nose, and every time she mentioned Enrique, she couldn't help but express contempt, after all, in her mind, Enrique was a complete and complete loser, as for his daughter Juana, Isabella didn't even see her as an opponent, "But at that time, Paimonid Don Bavi stood up for me, what kind of person do you think this is?" ”

The ministers were silent, they knew that the queen was not asking them, so they just had to listen.

"A true careerist, a man who is so brave that he has almost gone mad," Isabella walked back to the table and sat down, "He was able to choose to support me at that time, not because of loyalty, but because he knew that Enrique could not give it to me, and as now, he would rather take risks than betray me because there could be greater good waiting for him." ”

"Your Majesty, we are now preparing for war with Portugal," one of the ministers reminded in a low voice, "we may not be able to afford to wage two wars in both the north and the south at the same time." ”

"But I want a war!" Isabella's hand slapped the table and made a loud 'snap' sound, "I can't allow anyone to challenge my authority, and do you know what the consequences will be if you don't respond as you should?" The aristocrats elsewhere will follow his example, and they will even demand that a council of nobles be called to redefine their rights, do you think that I should be like the failed John of England, and submit to the so-called Magna Carta? ”

The Queen's question echoed through the hall, and the faces of the ministers became solemn and even ugly.

Valladód is a new city, because the city does have a long history, the earliest can even be traced back to the time of the ancient Roman Empire, but the city became the capital of Castile for a short time, Isabella decided to move the royal palace from the original city of Toledo to Vallador in order to eliminate the influence of the Enrique era after the success of the competition for the throne with Enrique, so that although Toledo is still nominally the first capital of Castile, The Metropolitan Palace of the Archdiocese of Castile is still located in Toledo, but everyone knows that the real center of the kingdom has moved to Valladód with the Queen's arrival.

With the relocation of the capital, the court that followed the queen to Valladód and the nobles who stayed behind in the old palace of Toledo also invisibly split two completely different camps of the old and new nobles.

The old nobles who remained in Toledo became the banner of the lords everywhere, knowing that there were still people at court who supported their feudal system, and the new nobles who followed the queen to Valladód were staunch followers of Isabella's revitalization of the royal family and the establishment of a unified kingdom.

In the past, although the battle between the royal family and the lords never stopped, but now with Don Bavi's actions, the original contradictions that were surging in the dark tide have finally been completely exposed.

When the news of Isabella's refusal to recognize Don Bavi's status as the Archon of Andalusia broke out of the palace, the atmosphere in Valladód changed instantly.

Everyone knew that this meant war, and the fact that the queen would make such a decision on the eve of the war with Portugal made many people excited by the queen's courage, but some people couldn't help but secretly worry about the coming difficulties.

War was waged in both the north and the south, and even though it was reported that the queen had ordered Gonzalo to return home, the situation was still not optimistic.

What really worries many is how the lords of the rest of Castile will react.

In particular, the Council of Nobles, who remained in the old capital of Toledo, would choose whose side to side at such times.

"I know what I have to do," Isabella declared to her ministers, "and this will be a war to quell the rebellion." ”

Since the elimination of Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors, Castile has made the southwestern corner of the European continent a force to be reckoned with, but Toledo, which still bears the name of the capital, is a little less suitable than the status of a European power.

Toledo is a small town, built on the slopes of the mountains, scattered on a few small hills.

Some of the buildings in the city are very old, from the Gothic era to the Moorish period, and many parts of the city retain traces of different styles.

Because it is built on the mountain, the streets of Toledo are mostly rugged and complex, with narrow alleys scattered throughout the city like cobwebs, and the city is surrounded on three sides by a small but fast river, which looks like a huge mushroom forest growing on the mountain from a distance.

One of the most magnificent buildings in the city of Toledo is the Palazzo Vecchio, a famous fortress that has withstood centuries of wind and rain and war, and is an almost perfect interpretation of the combination of a military castle and a royal palace.

The Old Palace of Toledo is located at the highest point of this hill city, and its boxy architecture is magnificent, with four steep towers pointing to the sky in the corners of this palace with hundreds of rooms, like four sharp spears, and the Old Palace is protected by an exceptionally strong wall, with only a not very wide road leading to the city below.

An old man in a plush robe walked along the slightly upward stone path, his hair gray, and a scar on his face from the early years of war that made him look more imposing.

However, at this time, the look on his face revealed a faint melancholy.

When he saw the man waiting for him on the steps above, the old man's eyebrows were already twisted a little, but he did not stop at his feet, and continued to move forward.

"My lord, I know it's rude to disturb you at a time like this, but it's urgent."

Waiting on the steps early was a man dressed in a monk's coarse cloth robe, the top of his head sparse, and a strand of hair fluttering in the wind above his head.

The old man did not respond to the man's apology, he ignored the man, but passed by him and walked on his way.

"My lord, we do not think that the Queen will give in to the Andalusian side because of the current situation," the monk immediately followed, accompanying him as he walked, "The Archbishop thinks that we should perhaps make the necessary recommendations to Her Majesty at this time. ”

The old man stopped, he slowly turned his head to look at the monk standing beside him, and asked in a somewhat hoarse and low tone, "What kind of advice do you say?" ”

"My lord, Thomas Tongomada is a real courtier, and although he is the Queen's personal priest, his influence on the Queen is evidently very bad, and we even suspect that he is bewitching the Queen with rhetoric and some kind of sorcery," said the monk, "and it is evident that the events that have taken place in Andalusia are also due to him, and that he has used slander to convince the Queen that Don Bavi is trying to oppose him, and that this man has taken advantage of the Queen's trust in him to make a fortune in all parts of Castile, and that these charges are enough to put him on the gallows." ”

The monk's eager expression fell on the old man's eyes, but his face did not change much because of his words.

He shifted his steps and walked on, as if he hadn't heard those words before.

"My lord, this is a good opportunity, a good opportunity to get rid of this trouble of Thomas Tangomada once and for all......"

The monk immediately followed and chattered, but the old man paid no attention to him, until he was stopped by the guard standing in front of the old palace gate, and could only watch the old man enter the tall palace arch from outside.

The old man walked through a slightly dimly lit corridor, and when he came to a round room, he let out a deep cough as he looked at the few people who were already sitting around a large round table.

"The queen has decided to quell the rebellion in Andalusia."

As soon as the old man's words came out, he caused a slight commotion among the people, who looked at him, some of them opened their mouths slightly as if they wanted to say something, and some of them looked at the people next to them with inquiring eyes, as if they wanted to get an answer from their companions.

"Has it already been declared a rebellion," a tall middle-aged man with a long face stood up, seeing the old man nodding slightly, the middle-aged man's gaze looked at the others at the round table, "It seems that the queen is very resolute, isn't it, she didn't even give us all any room to discuss with her." ”

"It seems that she didn't discuss it with her husband either," said the other, who shrugged his shoulders slightly as he saw the others looking towards him, "Isn't that so, she used to decide everything with Ferdinand, but this time she seemed to be in a bit too anxious." ”

"It is incumbent upon the Queen to make it clear to us all in this matter that Pamonid Don Bavi is a nobleman," said one of them hatefully, "though he is in fact a shameful traitor, it is his right, and not even the Queen has the right to prohibit him from making representations to the Council of Nobles." ”

Listening to the discussion of the people on the seat, the old man slowly knocked on the table in front of him with his hand, and when he heard the sound of "dong dong", several people stopped and looked at the old man.

"There is no doubt that the queen apparently thinks that Don Bavi has offended her majesty, so she has declared that she has abolished all of Don Bavi's nobility rights and declared him a traitor."

"This is not allowed!" One of them immediately retorted loudly, "The rights of the nobility cannot be taken away at will, and although Don Bavi is indeed a traitor to all of us, it is about the dignity and rights of the entire Castilian aristocracy, and even the monarch cannot trample on such laws at will." ”

"We should stand in solidarity with Don Bavi, don't we, but maybe we should also get in touch with the Archbishop's Palace." Suggestions were made.

"In fact, the Archbishop's Palace has already sent someone to contact me," the old man looked at the others, "The Archbishop seems to think that all this is the fault of that Thomas Tongomada, I don't know if they would have burned him at the stake if they were to pronounce his guilt, but I don't think it was a very clever move, because they obviously blamed the wrong person." ”

The old man's words made the room fall silent for a moment, and everyone just looked at each other, and they all saw the same thing in each other's eyes, but there was something they didn't want to admit.

"Alright, let's stop playing pantomimes." The old man stood up from his chair impatiently, "We all know what the queen's purpose is, we even know that Thomas Tongomada is just her puppet, but we have never had a chance to rebel against her, Isabella La Astamara is too powerful, she even turns a blind eye to our noble council, easily deprives other nobles of their rights and deposes them at will, this is absolutely not allowed, we have to let her know that all this must change, Therefore, I propose to send an emissary to Andalusia in the name of the Council of Nobles to mediate. ”

The old man's suggestion made those people stunned for a moment, and then they all agreed with it.

"It is a Castilian tradition that the Council of Nobles has the right and duty to mediate disputes."

"Follow tradition and law, and any saboteur will be the enemy of all the nobility."

Listening to the discussion of several people, the old man's eyes were looking out the window at the Bishop's Palace on a hill opposite the city of Toledo.

He didn't know what the Archbishop of Castile was up to, who was always hiding in his chambers in the Episcopal Palace, but he apparently didn't believe that the cunning archbishop couldn't see Isabella's attempt to infiltrate the Church, though he had sent such an unreliable man to try to convince him.

Now is a rare opportunity for both the old aristocracy and the church.

"Then let's see what Isabella will do." The old man said to several other members of the council, who were also members of the council, "as we have all said, old traditions and rules must be observed, not even by the sovereign, for this is a grace from God, which God gives us, and only God can take it back." ”

In mid-March 1501, the Council of Castilian Nobles in Toledo suddenly announced the dispatch of emissaries to Andalusia, a decision that immediately caused an uproar among the Castilian nobility.

The gap between the Council of Nobles and the Queen was keenly acute, and the day after the announcement of the Council of Nobles, an announcement by the Archbishop's Palace of Castile, also in Toledo, left the Castilians in a state of confusion and even unease.

"The Archbishop's Palace has announced the expulsion of emissaries in order to examine the conformity of a trial of heresy by Bukhalansa and to investigate the possible death of the priest Gattado, the chief priest of the church of St. Barbara in Bukhalanse, which may have resulted in it."

When she looked at the letter sent by the city of Toledo from the Archbishop's Palace, Isabella's face suddenly became unsightly, and she looked so terrible that none of the servants on the side dared to make a sound.

The previous announcement by the Council of Nobles had already infuriated Isabelle, and now that the Archbishop's Palace had directly hinted that she was conniving at the recklessness of the clergy in the noble domain, Isabella felt the hostility implied in the two letters.

But it undoubtedly also deeply irritated the queen of Castile.

With just a slight groan, Isabella had already made up her mind.

"Follow me or side with my enemies," Isabella ordered decisively, completely ignoring the concerns of her ministers, "send messengers to Toledo to warn the nobles that I will easily quell the rebellion in Andalusia," and Isabella looked at the court clerk beside her, "writing to Gonzalo and ordering him to return home as soon as possible." ”

Hearing the Queen's words, the ministers couldn't help but look at each other, knowing that Isabella had clearly made up her mind, and the moment Gonzalo returned, it was the beginning of the outbreak of the Castilian Civil War.