On the vast blue sea, a huge ship floats from time to time on the sea, splitting the snow-white waves with its bow and cruising.

It was a three-masted, three-story Clark sailing ship, a large vessel more suitable for ocean sailing than the Caravel sailing, and was gradually favored by ocean-going adventurers because it had more sails to provide speed and more space to carry goods.

But this Clark galleon was not a merchant ship, but a formidable warship.

Behind the closed windows on either side of the ship were two rows of powerful guns, and the designers had racked almost every inch of available space in order to cram the ship's belly with terrible weapons that could be deadly.

Whether it's the blackened guns that can be seen on the deck, or the larger ones hidden behind the portholes of the sunken gun bays, their only function is to deter and destroy any target that they think might be the enemy.

James Columbus was walking up and down the deck at this time, and the bumpy hull did not affect his leisurely pace in the slightest, and he even seemed to enjoy the feeling of riding on a swing.

It reminded him of the beautiful women he had met on the shore, and he couldn't feel such wonderful ups and downs in them.

A figure emerged from the hatch leading to the lower deck, and the man cautiously leaned out as if frightened, and slowly took a few steps up when he saw James.

James noticed the man too, and he immediately beckoned for the man to come over, and he smiled when he saw that the man had finally dared to make it to the deck.

It was a woman with a rare dark red color, with short black hair lying on her head, and although she also had black eyes, she had a different appearance from that of Eastern or Southern European women.

The woman wore a half-sleeved blouse and a skirt that only covered her thighs, and the appearance and style of the dress were different from those of any other style, the smooth skin was glowing with a faint sheen, and the healthy and powerful buttocks were bulging by the short skirt, which made her look a rough and savage beauty.

This should actually be said to be a girl, she is not very old, although she is developing well, but the childishness on her face still reveals her actual age.

The girl cautiously walked up to James, and under his gaze, as if she were looking at some kind of art treasure and rare species, she carefully and laboriously uttered a few simple single notes.

James, apparently already knowing what she was going to say, turned to look into the distance, and pointed to the end of the sea, where there was still nothing to see.

"We're going to be there soon, and you know that you can see miracles there, which you have never dreamed of," said James, looking the girl up and down again, touching his chin and admiring him, "yes, yes, you look much better now than when I first met you, but you should eat more meat so that you look plump." ”

The girl clearly did not understand what James was saying, and her poor vocabulary did not allow her to express her anxiety and uneasiness.

She didn't know what was waiting for her, everyone in this big scary ship was full of curiosity and malice towards her, if it wasn't for the person in front of her who had been protecting her, something terrible might have happened to her.

So in her mind, James was a really good person, he not only gave her food and drink, let her sit alone in a small corner of the boat, and did not let herself be harassed too much by other people, and even used knives with those people for this James.

It seemed to the girl that the man in front of her was obviously the most powerful man on the ship, for everyone was afraid that he would obey his commands, and that she could not understand what they called him, but it was clear that James had as much power as the chiefs of the tribes in her homeland, or the priests who were greater than them.

"You should have him wear a more serious dress."

A voice came from behind her, and the frightened girl quickly and instinctively hid beside James, and she was slightly relieved to see that someone was coming.

She knew this man as a good friend of James, or his helper, and this man was obviously of a higher status than the rest of the crew, but he still had to listen to James, which made the girl less afraid.

"If it weren't for you, she would have been scummy when she was dressed like this," an old sailor with a gray beard came over and looked at the girl, and then asked James with some strange feeling, "What do you think, it's not like you to spend a lot of money to buy her from the tribe and not enjoy it yourself." ”

James smiled, and he turned his head to look at the timid cormorant girl hiding beside him, and reached out and stroked his short hair gently, as if he were caressing a precious cargo.

While trading with a raider near the Azores, he accidentally spotted the girl.

The pirates also seemed to know that a piece of goods could be sold for a great price, and that was why the girl was spared the terrible ravages that would devalue the goods.

James immediately and generously paid a large sum of money to buy the girl, and then put her on his own ship, and gave her the best food to drink, which James himself was reluctant to drink, and strictly ordered no one to violate her.

He counts his words, for which he even punished his own sailors.

This made the sailors curious, and they speculated about what James was going to do with the girl, and some even wondered if he would want to marry her.

"You don't understand, you know that we have found a lot of treasures so far, don't you think that gold and precious stones are precious but there are too many?" James said, looking at the old sailor.

"Yes, I don't think so," the old sailor raised his foot and stamped the plank with a clattering sound, "although there are not many things in here, but as long as they are transported to land, they are enough for us to squander for a long time, if I know that your purpose is more than that, but what does it have to do with her?" ”

"So you don't understand," said James triumphantly, "that there is nothing new in the wealth we can bring ashore, and that for some people it may be of great use, but they are not simply looking for gold and precious stones. ”

James took a step forward as he spoke, and asked in a low voice that seemed to be afraid the girl would hear, but in fact she didn't understand most of the time, "Tell me, if you were a normal man, would you be interested in her?" ”

"What are you talking about?" The old sailor said as if he was a little angry, and he looked at the girl with the slightest hint of heat, which was very different from his age, which made the girl frightened and leaned closer to James, "If you are willing to give her to me, I can not get my share of this voyage." ”

"Well," James said, pleased with the old sailor's reaction, and raised his hand to shake it away from his fiery gaze, and then commanded, "Go and tell the brethren to be careful, we are about to land, this time is different." ”

"Have you already decided?" The old sailor's expression also became serious, "You know, you know, the Portuguese are not easy to deal with. ”

"I didn't think anything of them would be done," James said in a somewhat exaggerated tone, "and we had worked together to defeat the Castilian fleet. ”

"Now that fleet is yours," said the old sailor, taking the opportunity to flatter, "but do you think that you can wrestle with the Portuguese at sea?" ”

James shook his head: "Of course not, and the duke is not allowed to do this, it's just that those islands in the Azores cannot be completely occupied by the Portuguese, and if the duke is not wrong, then that archipelago is too important for us." ”

"Duke," the old sailor pouted, he had never seen the Duke of Rome Thesia who was always talked about by James, according to James, he was a great man, but for people like them who messed around at sea, nobles, or dukes were too far away from them, "You are already planning to do it with that duke?" ”

"We can't live forever on adventure, and we can't be pirates forever," James sighed as he looked at the endless sea, "Just look at Christophe, Isabella promised him in exchange for prison, he thought that he could gain wealth and status by taking adventures again and again, but in the end he got nothing, if it weren't for me, he would still be in prison now." ”

"So what's the benefit of following that duke?"

Hearing the old sailor's question, James smiled smugly: "The Duke can make us a real navy instead of pirates, of course we can still have a side job, but that's completely different from pure pirates, you can squander on the shore with legal salaries and loot without worrying about being caught, and I can get the title and status I want." ”

The old sailor pursed his lips and nodded: "That's why you went to great lengths to loot wealth for that duke?" Do you want to impress him with that money? ”

James looked at the old sailor noncommittally, he knew that some of his men were unimpressed with his choice, like rosacea, and he felt that being a navy was too constrained, so he chose to leave and continue to do what he would never do, and no one else would necessarily approve of his idea.

But it doesn't matter, James has already thought about it, he has already noticed that after returning this time, he will formally ask Alexander to be willing to join him, in the past, their relationship was more cooperation, and now James decided to take the initiative to express his allegiance to Alexander.

He made this decision, which was somewhat stimulated by what happened to his brother Christopher Columbus, and Isabella's promise to Columbus was in exchange for imprisonment, which made James clearly realize that if he could not truly enter the aristocratic circle, then these people would always be leeks that could be cut off at any time.

James didn't want to go through what his brother had to do, and he was even willing to trade all his wealth if there was a chance that would give him a chance.

After all, wealth can be gained by continuing to take risks, and the opportunity to become a nobleman is fleeting.

James believed that Alexander's concern for the new colony would make him continue to invest heavily in building a larger adventuring team, and that a large number of nautical professionals would come to join him at that time, and if he did not establish himself at Alexander's side sooner, he might be pushed out of the circle.

Kristof was outdated, and he still stubbornly believed that mere sailing would buy them wealth and status, and James scoffed at his pedantic ideas.

In his view, with the opening of new colonies and the discovery of a new world, as Alexander put it, an era of unprecedented maritime supremacy was coming.

Before such a drastic change that might even change the face of the world, a mere navigator or pirate would not have been able to adapt to such a drastic change.

The only way out is to become one of those maritime powers with powerful navies.

James didn't care about his wealth, as long as Alexander could give him this opportunity, he could even donate it completely for free to contribute to Alexander's construction of the navy, because for him, the prosperity of the Columbus family depended on whether he could seize this golden opportunity in front of him.

James looked at the girl beside him again, her frightened bunny-like demeanor and her exotic appearance made James more and more satisfied.

"Get her some more to eat, and don't be stingy with meat and wine," James commanded the old sailor, "and tell the boys that if they dare to do anything to her, I will cut off their claws." ”

"Well, it's going to cost you anyway," the old sailor reluctantly agreed, but he couldn't help but ask curiously, "but what are you going to do with her, did you buy her back just to raise her fat?" ”

"Of course not," said James, lowering his voice again to the old sailor, "she is priceless, remember what I said to you that some people have no interest in riches?" ”

"Remember, so what?"

"So when you want to impress someone like that, you have to give him a gift that he can really be interested in," James said, glancing at the girl next to him, "She's the gift that gets people interested, and trust me, if she's lucky, she can make us all stand out." ”

The old sailor looked at the girl as if he understood something, then touched his beard and nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Yes, yes, if I were that person, I would have given you this opportunity for the sake of such a gift." ”

The old sailor's words made James smile, and looked back at the sea in the distance, where there was still no shadow of land, but he seemed to have seen the door of the Castilian court open to him, and the key to this door was the Indian girl from the new colony.

September 7, 1502 is a day that many Portuguese people will never forget, and even if they are young, they will repeat the feat they saw on this day to their children and grandchildren.

An expedition led by da Gama and led by the three-masted Caravel Storm sailed from the port of the Tejo River in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and sailed into the depths of the Atlantic.

The plan is for the expedition of seven ocean-going vessels to reach the Azores first, and after resupplying and recuperating, they will head west to explore a hitherto untouched area.

No one knows what they're going to face, which is both worrying and exciting.

When the fleet left the port, countless people stood on the shore and watched the blood-boiling scene.

The huge sailing ships, the towering masts, and the oppressive, sharp cannons made it seem as if the Portuguese had seen the rise of a future maritime empire.

And just a few days later, at the end of Lonely Point, also near the port of Tagus, a little further from the port, a huge marble statue was erected.

It was a bust of Prince Enrique, and unlike most previous statues, this bust of Prince Enrique was shaped from the waist down to resemble a ship sailing into the distance.

The cherubs surrounding the bow of the ship indicate that God is also inspiring the originator of the Portuguese maritime hegemony to explore the secrets of distant lands, and the prince holds a nautical chart in his hand reflects the great ambition of the Portuguese prince.

After deciding on the statue's address, Manuel himself attended the groundbreaking ceremony, and now he is back in Solitude with his new queen.

There was a lot of commotion on the site, but Manuel didn't care.

He was so excited because just a few days ago da Gama's expedition had left Lisbon.

This time, their destination was the mysterious waters of the eastern Atlantic.

By all indications, there may well be a mysterious world beyond anyone's imagination waiting to be discovered, occupied, plundered and explored.

Manuel hadn't slept for several nights, and the fact that he had imagined da Gama's feats of sailing on his wife while he was galloping on his wife made him even more excited.

Manuel wanted to have another son as soon as possible so that he could have an heir, otherwise he feared that perhaps one day his throne might fall into the hands of the Castilians, in keeping with the tradition of Portuguese and Castilian marriages for many years.

Juana looked at the bustling construction site in the distance with a nonchalant expression, and she could sense the subtle attitude of the Portuguese ministers towards her, but she liked the way they looked at her with jealousy and helplessness.

Since when did the attitude of the Portuguese towards her change?

Juana pondered for a moment, remembering that it must have been after the victory or defeat of the Battle of Seville.

From that time onwards, there was a subtle change in the attitude of the Portuguese towards Manuel, the third queen.

On the one hand, they were more respectful to her than ever, but on the other hand, they apparently began to worry about her trying to influence Portugal, as did the previous Castilian queens.

All this change came from Alexandria, and Juana remembered the miraculous young man.

It was his sudden appearance that changed her fate, not only saved her from the despair of being imprisoned forever, but even helped her become the queen of Portugal.

Thinking of the young man who appeared as her half-brother, Juana suddenly felt some indescribable heat in her body, and she felt a warm current flowing through her body.

At this moment, a strange feeling that she had never experienced when she was with Manuel before suddenly attacked her.

Juana immediately looked around with some uneasiness, but fortunately, people were attracted by the spectacular scene of the statue of Prince Anrique erecting, and did not notice her strange appearance.

Juana breathed a sigh of relief, she didn't know how she could suddenly have such an unusual feeling for Alexander, perhaps it was his mystery and extraordinary performance that fascinated her.

Manuel walked over excitedly, his hands dirty, and the corner of his expensive silk robe had a hole in it, which was the result of helping to pull the rope of the statue earlier.

"It's really a majestic statue, isn't it?!"

Manuel exclaimed to Juana from afar, his face flushed, and his voice was a little hurried because of his excitement, but the look of extraordinary excitement because of joy surprised Juana a little.

Because it was pure luck to be able to wear the crown, Manuel always wanted to act like a qualified king who was truly educated.

So he tried his best to make himself look like those legendary Ming Jun, who was moody and invisible, but it did make him a lot more gloomy over time.

So being so excited like this now makes people feel very abrupt.

But Manuel didn't care about that at all, he was too excited, the new route to the East had made Portugal a country that had hitherto been able to monopolize access to the riches of the East, and now the exploration of new colonies could bring amazing results.

This made Manuel feel that he was indeed the lucky one chosen by God, and even more in line with the status of a new Holy Land monarch than Isabella.

"It seems to me that maybe you'd prefer that statue to be you."

Juana said lightly to Manuel that perhaps because of the habits that had been formed in the convent for many years, even after becoming a queen, she was still cold to everyone.

"If I could, I would have preferred someone to build me a triumphal arch," Manuel did not care about his wife's attitude, for him there was no difference between marrying Juana and marrying Sister Maria, "It must be a great building more splendid than the triumphal arch left by the Romans, only then would the greatness of the moment be revealed, and I hope that the images of the two of us can be carved on the most striking doorposts." ”

"It is my pleasure, Your Majesty."

Juana bowed slightly, and the female officers and attendants who followed her immediately followed and bent down to sing.

With a satisfied smile on his face, Manuel turned to look at the towering statue of Prince Enrique, and at the weaving of ships in the harbor in the distance, and Manuel waved to the ministers and people who had bowed to him.

At this moment, he undoubtedly believed that his wish would definitely come true.

Perhaps because there were too few opportunities to get in high spirits, Manuel's unusual excitement lasted until he returned to the palace.

Then he was deeply struck by the news that he had been waiting for, and that messenger had been sent by the ambassador to Barriariddod.

"Castile and Sicily formed a coalition, and that Cambrai declared war on Aragon?!"

Manuel looked at the information in his hand almost dumbfounded, first looking up at the messenger in disbelief, and then Manuel suddenly let out a nervous laugh.

Like Manuel, all the courts of Europe were shaken by the events that had taken place in Iberia.

No one could have imagined that Alexander would start a war on the eve of his accession to the throne without common sense.

For Ferdinand, it was a war that was already doomed but never expected to come so soon.

He was not fully prepared at home, his army was still in the hands of the nobles, he did not know who he had received his supplies from, and even in the court of Zaragoza there was a great disagreement about whether or not to fight Castile and Sicily, when he suddenly had to face an attack from the combined forces of the two countries, which made Ferdinand feel great pressure.

Abroad, Maximian, his greatest ally, seemed to have been caught up in his own troubles, and letters to Vienna were exchanged for endless delays under various pretexts.

It was then that Ferdinand heard news that shocked him.

The Sicilians, who had been sent by Jossa to the border between Castile and Aragon after hearing of the disappearance of Alexander VI, crossed the Montayo hill between the two countries on the last day of September and entered the territory of Aragon, together with the Castilian army, which had been assembled at the same time on the orders of Gonzalo.

War broke out at a time when it seemed to be a cloud of war, but in fact it was thought that it would often be fought for a long time.

The fortress of the Aragonese on the eastern slope of Moncayo, completely unprepared, was captured by the combined forces of the two countries almost without having time to resist at all.

The coalition forces then advanced eastward along the valley formed between the Moncayo Mountains and the Douro River, aiming for the Ebro River in the upper reaches of the Zaragoza plain.

When he heard the news, Ferdinand immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.

The coalition did not take advantage of the victory and approach Zaragoza after breaking through the fortress of Montcayo, not only because they feared that it might be to their advantage if they went deeper alone, but it was more likely that their target was the water of the upper Ebro River in Aragon!

The problem of water that has plagued Zaragoza and its vicinity has always been a major problem for the Aragonese court, but with the effects of climate change in recent years, this problem has become an imminent crisis.

Now, if the forest army were to take control of the water in the upper reaches of the Ebro River, it would be an inevitable disaster for Zaragoza.

So when he heard about the movements of the coalition forces, Ferdinand stopped his generals who were still arguing.

In a calm tone, he opened his mouth and ordered: "Prepare for war." ”

Hearing the king's order, his generals' faces changed drastically.

They know that this war is dangerous!