The low, cold sea breeze blew from the sea below the cliffs, and it was dangerous to stand here steep and close to the edge of the cliffs, but Alexander didn't care.

He was looking at the boats on the sea.

Two large three-masted galleons were floating on the sea, and they were also up and down as the waves were raging.

These are two standard Grand Caravel sailboats, with freshly hung sails as white as snow and a striking yellow hull painted in typical Portuguese style.

If you have a good eye, you might be able to faintly see the whole row of black holes under the side of the window, from which the terrifying cannon can be pushed out whenever you need to.

If it's close, then I believe that nothing can be lucky enough to avoid those brutal killings.

This is the sharpest and most formidable weapon of this era, and when there are still hot and cold weapons alternately, or some generals on the battlefield stubbornly maintain the chivalric dogma of the cold weapon era and refuse to let go, the navy of this era has taken a key step in advance for this period of not very long, but earth-shaking weapon transition.

Eleodore Don Antonio, who was standing next to Alexander, was also looking at the ships, his emotions were slightly agitated, as the chief officer of the National Navigation Agency, he certainly understood the meaning of those ships, or that these new ships had just been launched from the docks of the shipyard were the end of an old era, and the proof of the arrival of a new era.

"It's a pity that these ships are not ours," Elliodor Don Antonio sighed with some regret, "I find it unbearable to see them handed over to those lowlanders, after all, if these ships are owned by us, it may only take a month to prepare everything for a new course." ”

"But don't be frustrated, there are some things that can be said clearly." Alexander smiled at Don Antonio, he could feel the reluctance and ambition of this court dignitary, and considering the prominent position that the Don Antonio family had gained since the time of Prince Enrique because of their dedication to the development of overseas colonies, he could understand the reason why Eriodor Don Antonio was so anxious.

After three summons to da Gama, and after repeated consultations with ministers such as the maritime advisor Eriodor Don Antonio, Manuel finally made up his mind to send an expedition to the west of the Atlantic.

The decision thrilled Lisbon and sparked the excitement of Portuguese explorers who were keen on maritime adventures.

Even though the veil of the New World has not yet been officially lifted, the discovery of a new course has already begun the prelude to the Age of Discovery a few years ago, and now it is a group of people who are planning silently in various parts of Iberia, but step by step, that has brought this magnificent epic of exploration to a climax even earlier.

Alexander was undoubtedly at the heart of the plan, and he had been preparing for the day, and now that his plan had officially begun, he had enough patience to keep it going according to his plan.

"What do the Lowlanders want these ships for?" Don Antonio suddenly asked, and he asked with some concern, "If they are for business from the North Sea to the Mediterranean, then there is no need to build such a large ship at all, so don't you think it's a little strange, Duke?" ”

Looking at Don Antonio's suddenly vigilant look, Alexander secretly admired this man's keen insight.

The ships were ordered to be built at the shipyard on the Tagus River two years ago, introduced by a group of wealthy lowland merchants from Tiego.

These wealthy merchants from the lowlands were generous and generous, and after paying half of the deposit in one go, their only condition was that the ships they wanted must be ready to be launched and delivered within two years.

This condition may not seem very demanding, but it is actually not so easy to achieve.

The keel of the construction of ocean-going ships needs to choose those strong and no dark grains of cedar, and the gunwales used for laying should be made of oak planks that have been dried for at least half a year and have a certain toughness.

None of this was easy, from the design to the selection of materials, from the marks of the first shovel chiseled out of a round piece of wood, to the erection of the keel that had been spliced together on the ground, to the application of closed tung oil in the gap of the last plank, every step had to be incredibly delicate, because such a large ship would be confronted with a moody and terrible sea after it was built.

Two years is not a short time, but it is not a long time for the construction of two large ships, and even because of this lucrative business, Lisbon's largest shipyard has hardly taken on other businesses in these two years.

Now the two ships have been launched as scheduled, and at the same time, the shipyard has also received another big deal to do a complete refurbishment of the four ships that are about to sail.

After sending another fleet led by Cabral to the new route to the East, Portugal actually had no large ships to send out in the short term.

This was, of course, because it was Manuel who was the most decided, otherwise the Portuguese could have quickly assembled a fleet of four ships with their sea power.

Manuel finally fell into the old habit of greed, fearing that a fleet of merchants might take too much advantage over his interests, which he decided not to tolerate, just as he was satisfied with the treasures that da Gama had brought back from the East, but he was stingy in appointing him governor of the territory he occupied.

In this respect, he was much more stingy than his mother-in-law, Queen Isabella.

The two large ships on the sea followed the dock into the Tejo River as if showing off, and the people on the shore could not help but pay attention along the way.

Even in Portugal, where maritime trade flourished, such two ships were surprisingly few.

The striking bow and the high tower are at an exaggerated angle, and the bulwarks curve from the bottom to the top to keep the whole ship in a delicate balance against the terrible waves at sea, and when they enter the sea from the estuary, the two ships are like beasts that have suddenly broken free from their bondage and sail towards the vast ocean of sea and sky.

Juana also saw the two boats in her bedroom window, and these days she had been living in seclusion, and the monotony of life made even Maria forget about her for a while.

It's just that under the bustling and noisy indifferent appearance that Juana seems to be tired of, he can't hide the burning ambition that has been forced to calm for a long time, but has been stirred up not long ago.

Alexander's arrival completely upset Juana's long-dormant novelty, and she had secretly reminded herself not to take too unreal fantasy adventures, but in the end she realized that the ambition she had lost over the years was only because of her fear of Isabella.

She longs to be the queen, to regain the Castile that belonged to her, and even more to take revenge on Isabella and her husband, even if this desire has been carefully buried deep in her heart for so long, but once the barrier of fear and despair is gently lifted, it immediately erupts from the depths of her heart.

The maid walked into the room, and when she saw the hostess standing in front of the window, she took two steps forward and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, do you still want to preside over the chanting ceremony today?" ”

"No, I'm a little unwell," Juana shook her head, and she looked back at the maid and said with a nonchalan taste, "I think it's probably because the weather is bad, and I don't have much appetite during this time." ”

"Maybe it would be nice to have someone cook you something more delicious," said the maid at once.

"Food in the monastery?"

Juana frowned, although the era of strict adherence to Benedict's canons had passed, the strict church atmosphere in Iberia was obviously much more conservative than the debauchery and depravity in Italy, which made it difficult for Juana to live too well if she did not leave the convent once she lived in a convent.

Especially the food, the poor life of the convent did not change much because of Juana's arrival, even though she usually ate much better than the other nuns.

"Perhaps you should go to the banquet that will be held in the evening in the castle of São Jorge," suggested the maid again.

"Well, if that happens maybe I'll be ridiculed to someone's face," Juana did not hide her dislike for Maria, for it would seem strange if that did, "and it would be nice to go to the castle and get some food, but I'll leave it to you." ”

The maid was stunned for a moment and then understood what her master meant, and she immediately nodded and walked out, but after walking out of the door, she turned back and cast a slightly strange look at the door that had been closed.

There was no respect or caution in his eyes, only contempt and ridicule.

A princess who refuses to let go of her so-called dignity even to such a point may not be despised by people, but she has to submit herself to the majesty of others while trying to maintain her last dignity will make even those around her despise from the bottom of their hearts.

The maid put on a thick cloak and left the convent, where she was to prepare dinner for Juana at the Château de San Jorge, and to report to the officials there about the recent movements of the hostess.

The maid did not see it as companionship, after all, after all these loyal followers who had sworn allegiance to her and voluntarily renounced the position of power that Isabella had promised, had left her, and the maid did not think that she was obliged to remain loyal to her because her ancestors had followed Juana for generations.

The maid walked along the street leading from the convent to the castle, which was not very far but not close, and with all the food to be prepared, it was believed that it would be late when she returned.

And the maid didn't think she should wait so dryly to bring the food back, she had already planned to take advantage of this opportunity to fill her stomach outside first.

Thinking so, she couldn't help but quicken her pace, and even began to trot as she passed by an oncoming Reese who looked like a sailor.

The sailor, who had staggered past the maid, seemed to look at the maid walking away in surprise, and then he shook his head a little dazedly and walked into an alley.

It was only as soon as the man walked in that he suddenly quickened his pace, and after crossing the alley to another street, the sailor came to a rather tightly sealed carriage and whispered: "My lord, the woman has left." ”

"Oh," Alexander replied briefly, coming from the carriage, and then he knocked on the wall and told the coachman, "Then let's go quickly." ”

The carriage immediately moved down the street and, after turning a corner, stopped in front of a nondescript house not far from the Convent of the Grateful Mary.

Alexander stepped out of the carriage, but at this time he looked more like an ordinary merchant, perhaps because of the cold weather, he kept his hat low, and the companions who followed him were dressed more or less like that.

"It's kind of crazy." Don Antonio said uneasily, he really didn't expect that he was just invited by Alexander to come to the beach to see the ships that had been launched, but it turned out to be like this, and when he thought of the person he wanted to meet, Don Antonio suddenly felt that maybe it was a mistake for him to choose to cooperate with this duke in the first place.

"But you're not really against it, are you," said Alexander, who was walking in front, taking off his hat as he entered the door, and looked at Don Antonio, who seemed helpless, but he just smiled and didn't continue to explain anything, because he knew that it was completely unnecessary.

"Duke, you know that I may meet that lady one day, but not now," Don Antonio, though his voice was not happy, followed Alexander upstairs without pause, but as they stood outside the closed door of a room, he stopped and said, "You know very well that I want Portugal to win the race for a new course, but that doesn't mean I want to cause trouble for myself, but you have directly involved me in a big trouble, and I can't help but be curious, How can you be sure that I won't leave here and tell the Queen? ”

Listening to Don Antonio's looming threat, Alexander smiled disapprovingly.

To him, the West India Company was certainly a tool for the Portuguese nobility and merchants to solicit funds for the opening of the New World, but it was not a cover for secretly rallying those who were dissatisfied with Maria's opponents.

At least Don Antonio in front of him is one of them.

"Dear Don Antonio, do you think I'll take the risk when I'm not sure about it, believe me, since I can bring you here, I know that my choice is not wrong."

Alexandria watched Don Antonio reply, and pushed open the door of the room.

In the room, Juana, dressed as a nun, stood in the center of the room, looking solemn.

Seeing Juana, Don Antonio was silent for a moment, then bowed and saluted: "Your Highness, allow me to greet you. ”