Gonzalo de Córdoba had titles such as general, duke, etc., but he preferred to be called the head of the knighthood.

The Order of Santiago was not very long, and less than a century ago, a group of nobles and knights who wandered from the south of Castile to Guadalupe made vows to the statue of Our Lady in the convent here.

They promised to always serve Mary as their guardian, and they hoped that Mary would give them the courage and faith to return to their homeland one day.

It is said that at that time Mary answered their prayers, and a light shone on the sword at the waist of a knight, and coincidentally, the light happened to illuminate the name of Thiago, the previous owner, inscribed on the sword.

This is how the Knights of San Diego were born.

The sword became a token of the knights of later generations, and now the sword is in Gonzalo's hands.

Gonzalo valued this honor very much, and those who knew him well knew that he liked to be called a regimental master, not a general, and even less the Duke of Montigna.

This is no secret among the veterans under him.

So after hearing the report of his subordinates, the two boats immediately followed the signal from the boat on the opposite shore and approached the shore.

Gonzalo sat on a cocked plank and watched the ship slowly approach.

The people around him stared nervously at the disembarking men on the other side, and when they saw that some of them were armed, they couldn't help but look at Gonzalo.

"Let them come."

Gonzalo ignored the warnings of the people around him, and he stroked the sword he used as a crutch in his hand.

The sword was a replica of the sword that had been considered the symbol of the Knights of Santiago, after all, it was almost 100 years old, except that the body was rusted, and the hilt and scabbard had been destroyed many times.

Several people hurriedly got on the boat, and they couldn't help but be a little surprised to see Gonzalo, although they had already seen the flag of the Knight of Santiago, but they still didn't expect to see Gonzalo himself here.

The officers who led the team immediately stepped forward and bowed, and the soldiers were in deep awe of the general who had led them on an expedition to Italy.

"You've followed me?" Gonzalo, noticing the officer's distinctly Italian salute, asked.

"I've done it with you twice," replied the officer in a proud tone, "I've been in both Naples and Crete." ”

"I'm a veteran."

Gonzalo smiled, he was always kinder to the men who had followed him, and he was a sincere defender of his men, and in this respect Gonzalo de Córdoba was more loved by the soldiers than the other noble generals.

But then his face sank slightly and said, "Now I want you to obey my command, are you still willing to obey the order?" ”

"Of course, my lord, I am your soldier," the officer said, puffing out his chest. ”

"That's great," Gonzalo muttered in a low voice, then waved his hand casually, "I want you to lay down your arms, and I'll take care of everything from now on." ”

Surprise appeared on the officer's face, and he instinctively pressed the sword at his waist while quickly looking to the sides.

Then he noticed a few heavy muskets of huge caliber, although they were hidden in the shadows, apparently deliberately to let them see.

The black muzzle hollow looked so terrible that the officer had no doubt that a deadly projectile could be shot from it at any moment.

"My lord, may I ask what you are doing here?"

The officer looked at Gonzalo helplessly, he knew that he had fallen into a trap, but he couldn't figure out why.

"I also want to know what I'm doing." Gonzalo said something that stunned the officer opposite, he stood up with his sword in his hand, walked up to the officer, and tapped the other man's shoulder with his scabbard, "Believe me, there are some things that are happier not to think about them." ”

Listening to what he had just taught his subordinates like this, the officer stared blankly at Gonzalo's back as he walked past him.

It wasn't until someone nearby came and snatched the sword from his waist that he woke up to the realization that he seemed to be a prisoner.

Groups of soldiers disembarked from the boat.

Seeing Gonzalo standing on the shore waiting for them, many people let out cheers.

Many of them had followed Gonzalo on expeditions to Italy or Crete, which gave them a visceral reverence for the general.

All the soldiers lined up on the banks of the river, and although some noticed the strange look of their officers, and some had even noticed that he and his retinue seemed to have been disarmed, the soldiers still stood there in good order, waiting for Gonzalo's orders.

Gonzalo looked at the soldiers with satisfaction, so far everything was going well, but he didn't know what would happen next.

After all, the upcoming changes were really shocking, and even Gonzalo couldn't help but be slightly nervous.

"Castilian soldiers, many of you have fought under me in the past, so I don't want to deceive you," Gonzalo said, pausing to look at the soldiers, noticing that the soldiers looked a little uneasy, he motioned for the blue-faced officer standing by to come over and tell them what had happened. ”

The officer walked over with a gloomy face, looked at his men, and said helplessly: "According to the orders of Master Gonzalo de Cordo, we are now his prisoners. ”

There was an immediate low uproar among the soldiers, and although no one immediately took up their arms, their eyes became wary.

Many more people looked confused, they didn't know what was going on, and they didn't know how their general could suddenly become an enemy.

"Listen, I am not your enemy," Gonzalo said two steps forward and cried out to the restless soldiers, "I am doing my duty, and I hope you will follow my orders." ”

"What do you want us to do?!" Someone in the crowd shouted, "We'll do whatever you want us to do!" ”

This overly direct sentence caused a burst of laughter, and also eased the originally tense atmosphere a lot.

While some were still wary, most of the soldiers didn't care so much about the somewhat surprising fact that they had become captives.

Standing in front of them was Gonzalo, and that alone was enough to make them obey orders.

"Sir, I want you to order your soldiers to obey me from now on," Gonzalo ordered to the officer with a cloudy face, "and if you refuse, I will appoint another officer." ”

Seeing the guards with fierce eyes on the side, the officer knew what would happen if he refused.

Still, he wanted to know why.

"Can I see why?" The officer asked, and he noticed that some of the soldiers seemed to notice his question, so he raised his voice louder, "Although my status cannot be compared with yours, I am also a nobleman, and I swear allegiance to my king, so if I want to betray, I must tell me the reason." ”

"You want to know why?" Gonzalo glanced at the officers, then at the soldiers who were looking at them, "Do you want to know why this is going to happen?" ”

Seeing the look in the soldiers' eyes that they didn't answer, Gonzalo nodded and walked in front of them.

"I know you're going to Toledo, and I know what you're going to do, but I'm going to tell you you're committing a crime."

Except for some officers, the soldiers looked at each other blankly, many of them didn't really know what their mission was, as the officer told his subordinates, they were just soldiers who were paid to fight.

"It seems that many of you don't know what kind of crime you are about to commit," Gonzalo looked back at the officer, "or your officer didn't tell you the truth, you went to Toledo on Ferdinand's orders, and what he wanted you to do was to arrest or kill the Duke of Rome Thesia." ”

Gonzalo's words immediately caused a commotion among the soldiers.

Some people are still confused or unimpressed, but some people have already let out a low exclamation.

"What happened?"

"Duke of Rome Thesia, who is that?"

"God, this is terrible."

The soldiers were talking, some still asking what was going on, and some were already hurrying to tell their companions the shocking news.

"So the duke is a prince?" Someone asked in surprise.

"It's terrible," said the gentleman, who began to draw a cross on his chest, "Are we going to war with a prince?" ”

However, there were also people who retorted loudly: "No, he is just an illegitimate child, there is no such prince in Castile!" ”

"That's King Enrique's son, whether you admit it or not, he's a member of the royal family, but we're going to kill a duke, isn't that terrible?"

The soldiers talked and argued with each other, until everyone gradually turned their eyes to Gonzalo.

Seeing the soldiers consciously quiet, Gonzalo stroked his large chin with satisfaction, which made him feel that at least he didn't have to waste too many hands and feet.

In fact, his men had already laid an ambush nearby, and as soon as they realized that the situation was not good, they would immediately fire a volley.

"It was Ferdinand who gave the order, and he wants you to murder a member of the Astamara family, which is the royal family of Castile."

Gonzalo noticed that the soldiers' uneasiness had grown, and he was even more satisfied.

In the minds of ordinary people, the royal family is undoubtedly noble and inviolable, and even an unlucky person like Enrique IV is still unattainable.

Killing a duke with the blood of the Astamara family is enough to make many people tremble just by thinking about it.

Looking at the frightened expressions of the soldiers, Gonzalo smiled with satisfaction.

Of course, he noticed those who seemed to disagree with his words, but they were in the minority.

And he didn't intend to leave everyone behind.

"The Duke of Rome Thesia, whom Ferdinand wanted you to murder, is also the brother of the Queen of Sicily," Gonzalo intended to give the soldiers more stimulation and intimidation, "I think you should already know the victory of the Sicilians in Seville, so do you think that if the Duke murdered, the Queen of Sicily would give up?" ”

Gonzalo, who had deliberately stopped at this, glanced over the soldiers in front of him, and saw that their uneasy expressions intensified, so he continued with satisfaction: "I can assure you that Ferdinand will not offend the queen for your sake if needed. ”

Gonzalo's words finally worked, and even those who had previously seemed disapproving showed hesitation, and the breathing of the officers standing by them increased significantly.

"I do not wish to praise the Queen of Sicily, for she was my enemy not long ago, but now I must remind you that if you do not want a miserable end to follow, do as I say."

This time the soldiers did not make a loud noise, most of them whispered suspiciously, many of them did not know what had happened, but at least knew that if they were involved in the murder of the Duke of Thesia, they might be in serious trouble.

"What do you want us to do, sir?" Someone finally couldn't help but ask out loud.

"That's what I'm here to do, I'm going to save you," Gonzalo walked towards the soldiers, and as the crowd in front of him parted involuntarily, Gonzalo came to the soldiers, "The Duke of Rome Thesia has declared his right to inherit the throne of Castile, and now I want you to follow my orders from now on and return to Madrid." ”

"My lord, you have taken refuge in the Duke of Thesia?"

At this point, someone finally couldn't help but ask in disbelief, and at the same time, the eyes of the people looked at Gonzalo became strange.

"I have not betrayed, at least not Castile," Gonzalo looked at the man who asked him, "It is Ferdinand who now rules the country in the Barriariduds, do you want to fight for an Aragonese?" ”

"But what about the Queen, Juana is the daughter of Queen Isabella, didn't you also owe allegiance to Queen Isabella before, General?"

The obvious questioning tone of the question made the atmosphere freeze for a moment, and Gonzalo looked over to see a soldier who looked like a junior officer in his attire, but his expression was full of pride.

"So you think I'm betraying?"

Gonzalo's eyes narrowed slightly, he wanted to see the man himself, but apparently sensing that something was wrong, the person next to him had already taken a few steps forward and surrounded the man.

"I have no right to say whether you betrayed or not, but your present actions are clearly against the will of Queen Juana," said the junior officer dissatisfiedly, "or do you want to say that you are against Ferdinand and not against Juana?" ”

Gonzalo looked at this man with a little surprise, he didn't expect that there would be someone in this small army who was not only so bold, but also very eloquent.

But he was already a little impatient.

He would explain to the soldiers that he just wanted more people to follow his orders.

Now that the goal has been achieved, he doesn't want to waste any more time on this person.

Gonzalo waved his hand, and several spears and swords were immediately aimed at the officer, which caused uneasiness in the crowd, but as Gonzalo loudly promised them the reward, the soldiers' emotions immediately became agitated.

"You can be paid more than you normally get, and the Duke of Rome Thesia is a kind and generous man, and he will not be stingy with those who saved his life."

Gonzalo said this, then simply walked through the crowd and boarded their ship, standing on a much higher deck and continuing to speak loudly to the soldiers below: "But if you want more, follow me to Madrid, where we can all gain wealth and honor."

"What are you telling us to do, my lord?"

"I would like to follow you, my lord!"

The soldiers scrambled to shout loudly, and even those who had been hesitant before were infected by the excitement and shouted.

"Come with me to Madrid, occupy that city, and order the nobles there to accept the appointment of the Duke of Rome Thesia, and welcome the arrival of the Duke."

Gonzalo's words ignited the soldiers' emotions in an instant.

It would have been a pipe dream for the soldiers to be able to make the nobles from above bow to them, but now there was such an opportunity for them to enjoy the glory, not to mention that capturing a city often meant making a fortune.

Just thinking about it makes people's blood boil is an opportunity in front of them, and the soldiers can no longer hold back the thoughts that are about to move in their hearts.

At this time, they were even a little worried that Gonzalo's words were not true.

However, Gonzalo dispelled their doubts with his actions.

On his orders, the soldiers, who had set out from Madrid, were again on board under the leadership of a new officer who had been replaced.

This time, however, their destination was to turn the bow of the ship and head up the river towards Madrid.

"Gonzalo is a great general, but it is his prestige that plays a more important role," said Alexandria in Toledo, to the Chief Elder, who immediately became uneasy at hearing the news that Madrid had sent troops, "so rest assured that Gonzalo will be able to solve our immediate problems." ”

The Chief Senator barely managed to sit across from Alexander, pondering how to persuade the conceited young duke to leave Toledo.

Although he was surprised to learn that Gonzalo was actually on the outskirts of Toledo, the senator still did not have much hope.

Madrid was too close to Toledo, and even if Gonzalo could stop one army, it was likely that more would follow.

So the senator hoped to convince Alexander to take refuge for the time being, even if only to move to some manor in the suburbs, at least it would be much better than being caught in Toledo.

Looking at the patriarch's speechless appearance, Alexander had actually guessed what he was thinking.

This is the old aristocracy, who always shut themselves up in imaginary castles and did not want to see the real world outside, and then fantasized that they would be able to do everything in the face of changing times, only to find that they would eventually find that they would have nothing.

Alexander mentally made a judgment for these Castilian nobles.

On the hottest afternoon of the year, several boats appear on the pier of the Manzanares River, which runs through Madrid.

As the ship docked, a group of soldiers suddenly swarmed ashore.

Before the people on the dock could realize, the soldiers had taken over the entire pier, and as a large ship flying the flag of the Order of Santiago slowly entered the pier, the news of Gonzalo de Córdoba's arrival in Madrid spread.

Almost at the same time, another, even more alarming news reached Madrid.

Something happened at the Castilian court, and Queen Juana was placed under house arrest.