The "1st Castilian Ranger Regiment" was fighting.

Uomoto cautiously approached a broken wall with the "limited edition" musket, he was actually safe at this distance, the continuous rain and wet weather made the bowstring of the crossbow weak, and the musket was unusable due to the dampness of the gunpowder, so even if someone found him, it would not be easy to pose a threat to him from such a distance.

Uomoto is the target he has his eye on and hides after preventing him from being seen.

Although it was still a mess, some people in the Aragonese army had noticed that some of the soldiers in the coalition army were very accurate, and their marksmanship was much better than that of ordinary soldiers, and the damage they caused was greater.

Leaning against the damp broken wall, Uomoto took the tightly wrapped medicine bag from the leather bag hanging from his belt and bit it open with his mouth, pouring the gunpowder inside into the medicine pool, and then took out a new flint from the other bag, replacing the old stone, which was almost worn out. 、

Then the musketeer kissed the cold barrel of his gun, turned and crouched down in the gap in the broken wall, earnestly searching for the enemy on the other side.

Uomoto was very patient, he was not affected by the shouts that he remembered from time to time, and as for the scenes of those fighting with the enemy with spears, it seemed a little far away for the current "1st Ranger Regiment of Castile".

Although it was only a few days, these selected soldiers were somewhat accustomed to fighting in a different way than before, and the important thing is that for them it was like a hunter's hunting game, and this special way of fighting completely beyond the ones they had participated in before allowed these soldiers to enjoy unprecedented "fun".

It was almost dark in the afternoon when the gap in the wall was bombarded by heavy artillery and it was almost dark, so Gonzalo had to temporarily stop the attack after launching a heavy attack.

However, he still had his troops as close as possible to the gap, trying to prevent the Aragonese from taking advantage of the darkness to re-strengthen the wall.

So the task of the "1st Castilian Ranger Regiment" came.

Ouomoto and his men began a harassing battle very close to the breach, and whenever they saw the Aragonese trying to get close to the breach, they kept firing at it.

However, because the size of the 1st Guerrilla Regiment was too small, Alexander ordered that Uomoto be allowed to choose his own favorite musketeers to enrich his small banner team.

But now the purpose is simple, that is, the constant harassment of the Arallah workers will not be able to successfully strengthen the walls in order to prepare for the decisive battle on the second day.

Gonzalo was reluctant to stop the attack because it was dark.

He feared that Ferdinand might take advantage of the night to flee Gawell, but Alexander did not think Ferdinand would do so.

"Ferdinand could not afford to be besieged in Zaragoza, and he had to show everyone that his capital was impregnable, so that he could continue the rebellion against Valencia, or he would fear that the nobles would no longer obey his commands," Alexander analyzed to Gonzalo, "and he believed that Zaragoza's reinforcements would arrive in time, and it would be a shame for him to flee from Gawell at this time." ”

"And what about the reinforcements in Zaragoza?" This was actually what Gonzalo was worried about, and Alexander had told him not to worry about Zaragoza, although this made him feel that the regent should have something to rely on, but as long as he did not capture Gawell for a day, he could not completely relax for a day.

"Trust me, tomorrow everything will come to fruition." Alexander made a promise to his general.

In the city, Ferdinand, who had moved his lodgings not far from the docks, had slept restlessly that night.

His guards watched vigilantly all night in the direction of the city walls, and several boats were ready on the docks to send the king to the other side of the river as soon as the situation was not right.

Another reason why Ferdinand didn't sleep well that night was that he suddenly and inexplicably remembered the past many years ago.

From the high-spirited ascension to the throne as an adult to the cunning and spicy old man who held power for many years, Ferdinand has experienced too much.

The union with Isabella was once regarded by him as the most glorious highlight of his path to power, and at that time he even faintly saw himself wearing the Castilian crown.

And then, although he didn't get his wish, he still ruled the country side by side with Isabella's two kings, and he still did a lot of things that he prides himself on.

But somehow, all of a sudden, he was in the situation he was in, and the rumbling of cannons outside the city during the day seemed to remind him of how close he was to the crown of Castile, and how far he was now.

One of the attendants came in and saw the king leaning against the bed, so he took the jug from the cupboard and filled it with an empty cup.

"What are they doing?" Seeing the blankness on the faces of his attendants, Ferdinand then asked, "I mean the enemy outside the city, you know?" ”

"It is said that some Castilian soldiers are shooting incessantly outside," the chamberlain reluctantly reported, "they shoot whenever our men come near the breach, they are trying to prevent our men from reinforcing the walls." ”

Ferdinand nodded silently, picked up the cup and took a sip.

Somehow, he felt that today's wine tasted very bitter.

"Your Majesty, you better go to the other side of the river," the attendant once again advised Ferdinand, "this does not affect your honor, you are a king, not a general, not a knight, you just need to win in the end, isn't it." ”

"It's a pity, Juan, not everyone thinks like you," Ferdinand smiled bitterly, "believe it, as soon as the news of my crossing of the river spreads, those generals will have the idea of retreating from Gawell, and it will be useless if reinforcements arrive at that time." ”

"But Your Majesty, will the reinforcements arrive in time?"

Ferdinand's hand holding the cup paused slightly, his mind racing about the road and distance from Zaragoza to Gawell, and then nodded with confidence: "Believe me, reinforcements will arrive tomorrow at most, but it's already a little late." ”

Ferdinand said and looked at the gloomy night sky outside the window and shrugged helplessly, he knew that it was impossible for the army to march at night, so at this time, even if the reinforcements were not far from Gawell, they would still arrive after dawn.

"As long as you hold on for the last half a day, everything will change." Ferdinand said this to his attendants, as if he were comforting himself.

When the sky was dark, the early morning mist made the distant walls of Garwell look like a castle in a mythical fairyland, which somewhat concealed the tragic appearance of the ruins after the brutal battle, but the figure that soon emerged from the mist destroyed the temporary tranquility.

The coalition soldiers were scruffy and tired, and many of them looked very weak under their feet.

The failure of the siege for several days had somewhat affected the morale of the coalition forces, and many began to worry that perhaps Gawell would be the end of their previous good fortune, and that if so, there might be a long battle to come.

The black-looking behemoth in front of it looked like a crouching monster, and the soldiers' mood became slightly better at the sight of the cannon.

No one spoke, took a deep breath and exhaled a white breath, some soldiers stomped lightly under their feet, holding their spears and rubbing their hands uncontrollably, the officers in the distance had already begun to give orders, the team in front slowly approached the city wall, and the leaders of the respective officers in the rear entered their respective positions.

Looming swaying figures appeared on the walls, and the Aragonese looked indifferently at the enemy below.

They had been ordered, and although the king's word of holding out for half a day would no longer sound so good for reinforcements, the Aragonese did not want the Castilians to win easily.

The brief confrontation between the two sides made the atmosphere on the battlefield extremely heavy, and even ordinary soldiers realized that this was probably a crucial battle.

Everyone became nervous, after all, it was the veterans who had participated in many battles and had taken life and death very lightly, and at this time they also felt their throats tighten, and they couldn't help clenching the weapons in their hands because of nervousness.

The figure of the cannon slowly became clear in the mist, and even from such a distance, the Aragonese soldiers could still see the eerie muzzle of the cannon, from which the terrible live ammunition sprayed had impressed them before causing damage to the city walls, and now the cannon was about to let out his roar again.

Alexander and Gonzalo rode slowly to a wide area not far in front of the procession, from which they could clearly see the crumbling wall.

The herald looked at Gonzalo, and this time the Castilian general turned to Alexander for advice.

"That's it."

Alexander whispered, watching Gonzalo begin to convey orders in an orderly manner, his gaze on the city walls.

The loud sound of artillery fire was heard in the city of Garwell at almost the same time as the hoofs of a man hurrying into the city.

The man was frightened by the terrible sound of cannons outside the city in the distance, but he desperately inquired about the king's whereabouts, and kept shouting that he was an emissary from Zaragoza.

Many of the soldiers were immediately enthusiastic, and they gathered around him and asked if the reinforcements from Zaragoza had arrived. Did this person come in advance to deliver the news?

The man did not want to answer at all, and as soon as he learned of the king's whereabouts, he hurried his horse to the king's residence on the bank of the river, and he was so in such a hurry that the guards almost opened fire on the king's retinue because they did not stop him.

The man ran forward with no fate, and when he fell off his horse, he struggled to his feet as soon as he landed, and with the support of two guards, he hurried to Ferdinand, who heard the noise.

"Are reinforcements coming, where are they now?!"

Ferdinand finally gave up his restraint, and without waiting for the man to speak, he grabbed the other man by the collar and asked urgently.

"Your Majesty has no reinforcements," said the embarrassed attendant in alarm, "the archbishop has said that he will defend Zaragoza, and he has declared that he will not be an enemy of the Pope, so he has ordered the recall of Valencia's army to suppress the rebellion." ”

Ferdinand was stunned, he didn't seem to understand the man's words, so he asked again, and when he was finally sure that he had heard correctly, Ferdinand turned to look in the direction of Zaragoza.

"He betrayed me?" The tone of his sentence was more inexplicable than questioning, so much so that he continued to say, "He betrayed me, but why?" I trust him so much, why would he betray me?! ”

Ferdinand's voice grew louder and louder, and then the muscles on his face trembled and his body trembled, and he frightened the people around him, and the attendants hurriedly helped him into the house, but he was immediately stopped by the fierce sound of cannon fire outside the city.

"We must get out of here," said one of the close attendants, suddenly in a low voice, to the others, "and send your majesty to the other side of the river before anyone knows about it, and it will be too late to be too late." ”

A group of attendants immediately realized that they did not care about obtaining Ferdinand's permission to hurry up and start packing their things, and at this moment, Ferdinand, who seemed to have suddenly come to his senses, asked the man with some excitement: "What about my grandson, and Eleanor, how are they now?" ”

"Your Majesty, the prince and princess are fine, the archbishop has always placed them in the palace," said the man with a pause, "at least they were safe while I left." ”

"My God," Ferdinand muttered to himself, "I have handed them over to a traitor, a conspirator and a murderer, and they will die for it." ”

"Your Majesty, please don't worry too much, those people don't dare to murder the prince, and now it's more important to you."

The attendant kept gesturing to the people next to him, and soon several soldiers hurried to him, and before he could react, someone had already put a dirty cloak on Ferdinand's body, and then, almost forcedly, they dragged him towards the path behind the house that led to the docks.

The boatmen waiting by the river were a little impatient at this time, they did not know who was going to cross the river, but they had already been given a good fare the night before, but listening to the rumbling of the cannons, the boatmen were hesitating whether they should leave at once.

The boatmen shouted loudly at the sight of those who were hurrying to their arrival, and after they had scrambled to get aboard, the wooden boats propped up from the banks of the river and swung downstream along the slightly turbulent waters of the Ebro towards the opposite bank downstream.

The roar of artillery was heard from time to time, the sound of siege guns and a handful of reusable field guns firing at the same time, and a few roars that seemed to come from farther away could be faintly heard, which were the few artillery of the Aragonese army counterattacking.

Ferdinand's eyes glazed over as he looked at the rushing river around him, and only then did he have time to think carefully about what had happened.

But the result was that he was still in a mess.

He did not understand why the Archbishop of Zarago had betrayed him, and did not the presence of Alexander VI threaten the authority of the Archbishop?

Why, then, did the archbishop show his support, even allegiance to Alexander VI?

Ferdinand couldn't figure out what had gone wrong, but he knew that his fate had changed dramatically at this point.

The moment the walls were blown down, Gonzalo was visibly relieved that the Zaragoza reinforcements he had feared until the last moment had not appeared, which made him both relieved and vaguely suspicious in his mind.

However, he wisely did not ask Alexander to verify these conjectures, but buried those doubts deep in his heart.

The coalition began to attack the city of Garwell, in fact, by this time everyone knew that the siege was won or lost, or that the moment they saw the huge siege artillery, both sides already knew the outcome of the battle.

Alexander saw the banner of the "1st Castilian Ranger Regiment", and at this time Uomoto and his men were sitting by several supply trucks with bags, eating.

Seeing Alexander, the soldiers stood up and bowed.

"I heard that you are going to serve in the Sicilian army," Alexander on his horse looked down at Uomoto, "Have you changed your mind now?" ”

"Your Highness, I ......" Uomoto didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he shrugged his shoulders in confusion.

"Think about my suggestion, maybe you won't be the commander of the Ranger Regiment, but I promise you'll be a legend in the future if you stay."

With that, Alexander let out a "ha" sound, clamped his legs firmly on the horse's belly, and the mount galloped forward quickly.

Uomoto looked blankly at the back of Alexander, who was surrounded by the huntsmen and left, and even the few new companions next to him asked in surprise and envy, "God, is it His Royal Highness the Regent who is talking to you?" "Didn't notice.

There was a fierce fighting in the city, and the Aragonese army was still resisting stubbornly, which made Alexander a little helpless, but also relieved.

A resolute and unyielding army was a guarantee of the monarch's safety, and although it did not belong to him at the moment, he was glad to see that the Aragonese were not so quick to raise their hands and surrender.

It's just that he doesn't want this kind of carnage to continue, because it is "his" loss after all.

Zaragoza's reinforcements did not appear, which let Alexander know that his vast plan was not only fully underway, but also had paid off.

This plan had begun four years earlier when he had sent Tiego to Iberia, and had been in the works even earlier, when he was meeting with Gonzalo and Kotschach, then minister of the Imperial Court, in Rome.

Four years have passed in a flash, and although there have been setbacks, it has generally gone well.

The point is that no one would have imagined that in Italy, a young man who was then just a small lord was hatching a huge plan.

This plan took into account almost all the powerful states of contemporary continental Europe, and as the situation continued to evolve, it included even the Ottoman Empire as far east as the situation grew.

Probably the only things Alexander didn't expect were his women.

Sophia, Barendi, and Lucrezia, these beloved women, in addition to making him feel different loves, also gave him more unexpected help.

As for Josha's pregnancy, it seems to have complicated things a bit, but it doesn't seem to be a bad thing now.

An unusually violent rush came from the city, which woke Alexander, who was thinking wildly, and he looked to the side, and immediately one of the hunters urged his horse to the front, and it was not long before the soldier ran back.

"Sir, it seems that there is a group of Aragonese who want to break out," the Balkan man said with a smile, even with a little schadenfreude, "and then they were completely surrounded, as if they had been blocked in a house." ”

Alexander nodded, he realized that now was not the time to think about the mess, the battle was still going on, and the battle between her and Ferdinand was not over.

"But soon," Alexander whispered to himself, looking into the smoke-filled city, and instructing the heralds beside him, "go and tell General Gonzalo that he can begin to surrender to the Aragonese." ”

It seemed that the herald, who had been waiting for this order for a long time, immediately urged his horse away.

The battle had reached this point, Gonzalo's mission was almost complete, and more of the next was Alexander's continuation of the following "show".

There were still fierce fights in the city of Gawell from time to time, but the sound was much quieter.

The resistance of the Aragonese gradually crumbled as the coalition announced a pardon for them, and finally the Aragonese army began to lay down their arms as some of the Aragonese generals responded.

Alexander listened to the commotion in the city with satisfaction, and he did not rush to find Ferdinand, believing that his enemy should no longer be in the city by this time.

Gonzalo sent someone to ask when he would enter the city, and Alexander thought about it for a while, but decided to give the honor to his general.

"The real importance of the capture of Gawell is not conquest, but a symbol." In his letter to Jotha, Alexander wrote: "We all know what this means, and then I am going to face the king of Aragonese for real, so pray for me, dear sister, and good luck for me." ”

On 23 October 1502, after several days of siege, the Cassie army captured the city of Garwell.

The next day, on 24 October, the Regent of Castile entered the city of Gaeull when he was greeted by the commander of the coalition forces, Gonzalo.

And on the first day, in Madrid, Ulliu hurriedly bid farewell to Alexander VI and rushed to Aragon.

This time he carried not only the Pope's letter to Alexander, but also several other letters to the Archbishop of Zarago and the Bishop of Valencia.

But these are still secondary, in addition to these tasks of sending letters, the Imperial Commander has a more important task, and that is the most important.

He would serve as Alexander's personal negotiator, for the first time in direct formal negotiations with Ferdinand.