Alexander received the secret report from Ulliu, not much later than Tiego.

Although the transportation was somewhat inconvenient due to the outbreak of war, the secret letter of great importance to Alexander was delivered to Alexander nearly a month after it was sent, thanks to the intelligence network that Tiego had painstakingly arranged in Iberia in recent years, which had not yet been perfect, but which had already been somewhat effective, and the convenience of the messenger who had the function of the church post office.

This is actually very fast, and it is not uncommon for such a letter to travel on the road for half a year or even a year in this day and age, so when Alexander received the letter, he was sincerely appreciative of Tiego.

While the amount of money spent on this can be imagined to be astronomical, it is insignificant compared to the message delivered.

Nowadays, many people still don't realize how important it is to have a convenient and fast exchange of news, and Alexander's ability to take the lead in many places is because of this timely grasp of news.

When he saw Sher walk into the room with the letter and report that it was from Vallidotus, Alexander clearly felt his heart beat violently at that moment, and the feeling of palpitations stimulated him to clench his fists slightly.

And the contents of the letter that followed proved how accurate the sharpness of that moment was.

"Dear sir, I have to report to you a very important matter, that the husband of Princess Juana, Duke of Vienna and Prince of Flanders, Philip, has unfortunately contracted a strange illness, and he is in very bad condition now, and perhaps it has become worse when you receive this letter from me, Princess Juana prays day and night for her husband, but it is thought that no doctor should be able to cure this strange and terrible illness that has never been seen."

Uliu's letter was written with great care, even in cipherword, so that even if the secret letter accidentally fell into the hands of someone else or was even deciphered, it could only be seen that a man in Barriadot wrote to his master to report the unfortunate news that had happened at the Castilian court.

Ulius had to be careful, even if some things were still not clear, but both Ulius and Normezi knew what it would mean if they were exposed, and it would be a terrible consequence for them to fall into hell completely, especially after seeing first-hand the methods used by the Iberians against their enemies, they knew how dangerous their situation was.

Alexander quickly burned the letter, and as he did so, he could clearly feel his hands trembling slightly, he hadn't been so breathless in a long time, but this time he was a little excited by nervousness and more excitement.

Plotting the future of a nation is always fraught with danger and thorns, and competing for the crown of Iberia is an even more difficult challenge.

Isabella and Ferdinand were like two impassable mountains in front of Alexander, and even though he had now established himself in Italy and laid a good foundation, it was still elusive to stand up to the two most illustrious monarchs of his time.

The future Spanish Empire was a behemoth that would truly determine the history of the world for centuries to come, and Alexander knew better than anyone how difficult it would be to take everything from the two giants who built it.

So when he decided to take this step towards Iberia, Alexander did hesitate to wonder if it would be enough to just keep what Italy had, but he knew it wouldn't work for a short time.

In fact, Italy in the future is destined to be a paradise for European powers to compete for hegemony, and even his appearance will not change this situation.

All he could do was to do his best to hold the territory of southern Italy, which was the basis on which he could stand against all his enemies, present or future, but these were not enough, because he knew that the key to the fate of the world in the future would not be in the Mediterranean, but on the other side of the ocean.

This is the inevitability of history, and staying in the shallow waters of the Mediterranean, which has already sunset, will only eventually decline and fall silent.

It is imperative to seek Iberia!

"Shel, get ready, follow me to the Governor's Palace." Alexander looked out the window at the rows of noble troops hurrying by, and commanded.

He looked at the black ash on the copper plate on the table and smiled softly, the secrets of the past had been burned, he knew how Uliu would keep the secrets, and Normezi had fulfilled his wish for revenge, and then how long would he be?

Fewer and fewer people will know this secret, in fact, considering that the beautiful Philip in history probably contracted syphilis a few years later, which was not known to people at that time, and then he died in agony in this incurable and rotten flesh and bones of the terrible virus before his death, and even his entire body was corroded by a terrible virus, Alexander felt that this really seemed to be some kind of fate.

Gonzalo did not "break his promise", and immediately after the breakdown of negotiations, he intensified his attack on the coalition of nobles entrenched near Seville.

Although he did not see it on the battlefield, Alexander knew from the mouths of the defeated nobles that Gonzalo had demonstrated the power of his Spanish phalanx on the battlefield.

With a tight combination of hot and cold weapons, the right amount of artillery support, and the skillful use of light cavalry, Gonzalo's Spanish phalanx had already shown its hideous face.

If history had not changed, the Spaniards would have swept across Europe with this powerful phalanx for nearly two centuries, establishing their hegemony for nearly 200 years.

Gonzalo de Córdoba was the founder of the future powerful Spanish army, and although he did not now put the phalanx in Italy as he has done in history, and then established his unshakable position with a great victory that taught the French a hard lesson, at least in this war to quell the rebellion of the southern nobility, Gonzalo once again proved that there were completely irrefutable reasons why he was the most favored general before the queen.

When Alexander arrived at the Doge's Palace, Don Bavi was complaining to the people around him, who were his cronies, so he could not hesitate to open his mouth to scold the incompetent nobles, and even when Alexander appeared, he did not hide his anger at them.

"Can you imagine what happened, just last night, Gonzalo's cavalry of just over 100 men actually attacked a warehouse outside the city, knowing that they had to pass through the guards of at least five noble armies to get there, but none of those people could stop them."

Don Bavi patted the armrest of the wheelchair angrily, his voice was a little hoarse, and his face became slightly gray because of excitement, so that the people around him were a little worried, they took out all kinds of colorful potions that didn't smell so good and were about to pour them into the duke's mouth, but Don Bavi impatiently pushed away the scrambled entourage, "Duke, you said you can meet the pope, so when will it be?" ”

"Soon."

Alexander told Don Bavi that he could see that the duke's repeated defeats had made him lose his breath, and that the years of preparation had become meaningless under Gonzalo's powerful military blows, which made Alexander realize once again that in the face of a truly powerful enemy, if he could not have the same strength to resist, the final result would only be defeat.

But Gonzalo was a very difficult man to deal with, and his extraordinary military talent and astonishing keen insight on the battlefield allowed him to skillfully and accurately grasp the fleeting moment again and again, as was the case with the French army under the command of Charles in Piedmont, and the Battle of the Garigliano, a crucial battle in history that decided the struggle between France and Spain for Italian supremacy, allowed him to vividly display this talent.

Whether Gonzalo would command the battle of the Garigliano in the future was unknown, and he wanted to see the general's excellence on the battlefield, but he did not want to see such an outcome, because if Gonzalo could not be used to him, then this man would inevitably become one of the biggest obstacles in his way to the Spanish crown.

"I beg your pardon, Duke, but I seem to have heard some bad news against you," Don Bavi looked at Alexander with a slightly suspicious gaze, "We all know by now that the Pope returned to his homeland because of his defeat in the Vatican, but this is nothing, I can still send someone to pay his respect, but as far as I know, it seems that the death of the Pope's son Caesar Borgia has a lot to do with you, do you think that the Pope will accept my kindness for your reasons in this case?" ”

Looking at Don Bavi's seemingly uncertain face, Alexander wondered in his heart how much he was planning to give himself to the Pope as a gift, and from his current appearance, this idea may have gradually taken hold in his heart.

This made Alexander realize that Don Bavi had gradually become disorganized under Gonzalo's repeated blows, and now that he had the trump card of Sister Alft in his hand, not only did he not dare to let her show his face at this time, but he might also have to be careful not to be discovered.

After all, for Don Bavi, the defeat on the battlefield had shaken his position in the already loose alliance of the Southern aristocracy, and if anyone knew that he still had such a crucial bargaining chip as Sister Alfurt, it might not be possible that someone would defect to Isabella for fear of punishment for defeat.

So now he is a threat to him, after all, he is the one who knows his secret.

Thinking so, Alexander sat down across from the Duke and looked at him without a word, and then he spoke, "Philip is sick. ”

"What?"

Don Bavi was stunned, not knowing what he was talking about.

"I mean, I just got reliable news that Juana's husband, Philip, was suffering from a very serious illness, which, according to the author, was a terrible illness that had never been seen before in Europe, and was as dangerous as the Black Death."

Don Bavi's face changed in an instant.

Black death!

This is a nightmare for the entire continent, a terrible demon that has been unleashed by death to cause hell on earth, even after the past two centuries.

"Early in the morning we bury the sick and dead, and at midnight someone else buries us."

This is the most apt and gruesome description of the Black Death at that time, when no one knew whether they would live until the dawn of the next day, when the noble nobles and the lowly commoners stood on an equal footing for the first time, and the church, which was regarded as God's evangelist on earth, was helpless and even unable to protect itself from this terrible disease.

So when he heard Alexander say that the disease was no less than the Black Death, Don Bavi's heart instantly stirred, and his hand holding the armrest of his wheelchair began to tremble, and he even wanted to stand up.

"Is this news reliable, oh no, I mean this disease is really that terrible, and is this disease contagious, like the Black Death?" Don Bavi couldn't stop asking, and at the same time impatiently waved his hand to the people around him to get them down, and then he pushed the wheelchair forward and approached Alexander and asked in a low voice, "Duke, if your information is reliable, then tell me how many people will be infected with this disease?" ”

"Duke, please don't get too excited," Alexander looked at Don Bavi with a smile, this person was so calm before, he even started planning everything now 20 years ago, but now he has become so impatient, this is the corrosion and influence of power, in fact, this should be the most terrible disease" In fact, although this disease is very serious, but it will not be as you think, at least I don't think Isabella will be infected. ”

Don Bavi was a little disappointed at first, and then asked a little unwillingly: "How can you be so sure, Duke, we all know how terrible the Black Death was, if you say that this disease is the same as the Black Death, why can you be so sure that it will not be transmitted to Isabella or Ferdinand?" ”

Don Bavi's words made Alexander look smiling, and he wanted to say, "If that's the case, maybe the Spanish royal family may really be in chaos", but after thinking about it for a while, he still shook his head and said: "Because according to my information, Philip has been tightly isolated, and it is said that although this disease is contagious, it is not as fierce as the Black Death because of its special way." ”

"Is that so?" Don Bavi leaned back in disappointment, but even that was enough for him to think about it, and the way he looked at Alexander changed slightly.

Don Bavi knew what it meant for Philip to be ill, and he was also very aware of what was happening at court in Valladolid, Philip was an ambitious man who wanted to control his wife and even Aragon, but this led to an inevitable conflict between him and Ferdinand.

Now that Philip is suddenly seriously ill, and Alexander's news is likely to be life-threatening, it means that Valriadoid's court is bound to change dramatically.

"Gonzalo ......"

"Gonzalo probably won't be called back," Alexander knew what Don Bavi was thinking, but he didn't intend to make the duke feel no threat now, because only then would he still rely on himself, but he didn't want the duke to feel hopeless, otherwise he would still be trying to eradicate all threats in order to keep his secret, as he did just now, "But the situation should change somewhat, and I think you know that Isabella and Ferdinand don't seem to be so harmonious over the years." ”

"I know." Don Bavi immediately nodded, "I'm too familiar with that woman, her love of power is so strong, I even think that if it was Ferdinand who stood between her and power, she would not hesitate to step over his corpse." ”

Alexander nodded sympathetically, he knew that Don Bavi's evaluation of Isabella was still very objective, in fact, Ferdinand was also this kind of person, he could also do anything for power, in this regard, he would actually show his coveting for the crown of Castile after Isabella's death, but he was really patient.

"I also have a piece of information that is not very reliable."

Alexander looked at Don Bavi with a look of concern, he really didn't expect to cross paths with the Andalusian nobleman when he first came to Iberia, but he was quite satisfied with the change.

Don Bavi's presence did change a lot of things, at least he managed to attract the attention of Isabella and Ferdinand.

"This news is important to you, but I want to know what you have to do in return, Duke."

"Maybe you should tell me what the news is about first," Don Bavi looked at Alexander, mentally guessing what it would be, while calculating how many chips he could come up with, "or let me hear what you think of first." ”

"Yes the Queen," Alexander noticed Don Bavi's gaze froze for a moment, but he continued, "I would like to have access to all the colonial trade rights with which I do business with Seville. ”

"It's not a small condition."

Don Bavi secretly weighed whether the news that this chip might be exchanged for was worth the effort, and just as he chose to hesitate, Alexander's words made his balance tilt.

"I can trade the right to run the Valencian silk industry in Andalusia, duke, you should know what that means."

Don Bavi looked surprised, of course he knew what it meant, but what he didn't expect was that the duke seemed to be slowly showing his strength in this land.

Valencia is the hometown of Pope Alexander VI, as Don Bavi is well aware.

This made him secretly wonder if his previous plan to use Alexander to show favor to the Pope was wrong from the beginning, but now that he had made a plan, no matter what the news was, if what Alexander said was true, then the deal would not suffer at all.

"Let me hear what you're going to tell me."

"Although Philip's illness has nothing to do with the Queen, the Queen herself is not in a very good condition," Alexander said to Don Bavi, whose face was cloudy, "and if the news is confirmed, Isabella should not have much to live." ”

Hearing this, Don Bavi's old face instantly burst out with a strange flush.

He stared at Alexander's face and saw his affirmative nod, Don Bavi finally couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart and said loudly, "Thank you, Duke, you are really my lucky angel." ”

"No, thanks are to Mercury for bringing good news, and it's all to them."

Don Bavi laughed at Alexander's words, but he didn't know that they were really Alexander's words.