At the palace in Toledo, the capital of Spain, the king of Aragon rushed from Zaragoza in a rage to discuss the dispatch of troops with his son Juan III.

The information that the French had sent to the Kingdom of Naples was eventually sent back to Barcelona by sea by Spanish spies and then to Zaragoza. However, because the sea route was very slow, and there was a long delay in between, the Spaniards delayed the best rescue time.

In particular, the French had an army of 70,000 or 80,000 marching south, and Ferdinand II did not have any confidence that the Kingdom of Aragon and the French would go it alone.

You know, in terms of national strength, the Kingdom of Aragon is not as good as the Kingdom of Castile. However, it is true that the navy of the Kingdom of Aragon is strong. In the beginning, in order to compete for Sicily and Sardinia, the Kingdom of Aragon developed a powerful navy. In the Mediterranean, apart from Venice, Aragon's navy was the strongest, much stronger than the Genoese navy, which had already begun to decline.

And the Kingdom of Castile, although the national strength is stronger, but the navy started very late. At the beginning, Queen Isabella I sent Columbus to find a route to India, and the reason why there were only 3 small ships was because the seafaring industry of the Kingdom of Castile was not developed enough.

However, it can't be helped. Because, at that time, King Ferdinand II of the Kingdom of Aragon, who was more seafaring, did not support Columbus's voyage. So, Queen Isabella I could only give three small boats to Columbus.

However, in the past 20 years, the Kingdom of Castile has benefited from seafaring, especially from the Indian spice trade. As a result, now the kingdom of Castile also developed a seafaring industry. Even, the combined naval power of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon has been able to keep Venice from being afraid.

Of course, when it comes to the army, it is the Kingdom of Castile that is stronger. Even the Spanish star Gonzalo. Morality. Córdoba, also a native of the Kingdom of Castile. Wanting to deal with tens of thousands of French troops, Ferdinand II had to come to Toledo to consult with his son.

However, on the side of the Kingdom of Castile, except for Juan III, the other nobles did not seem to be very interested in rescuing the Kingdom of Naples. Why? Because, the interests of the Kingdom of Naples were basically monopolized by the Kingdom of Aragon, and there was nothing to do with the Kingdom of Castile. Therefore, the nobles of the Kingdom of Castile were not too enthusiastic about rescuing the Kingdom of Naples.

For a few days, Ferdinand II was busy arguing with the great nobles of the Kingdom of Castile, but to no avail. In desperation, Ferdinand II could only do his son's work first-

"Juan, you have to support me for more knowledge of the Kingdom of Naples. Because, after my death, the kingdom of Naples will surely be yours. Remember, you are not just the king of Castile, you will also be the king of the Kingdom of Aragon in the future! And the King of Naples! ”

Juan III nodded, he naturally understood this. Afterwards, Ferdinand II said to his daughter-in-law, Margaret of Austria, who was beside him:

"Margaret, write to your father and see if he can send troops to help? It should be clear to you that if the French annexed Italy, it would also be bad for Austria! ”

Queen Margaret of Castile nodded and said:

"I have already contacted my father with carrier pigeons, but the Austrian forces are basically piled up on the battlefield in Switzerland, and it is difficult to divide the troops to support. Mainly because the French sent troops to rescue the 17,000 Swiss mercenaries who had been imprisoned. Now, the army of the Habsburgs is being dragged on the battlefield in Switzerland, unable to move! ”

"So what to do? If we don't have enough troops, we can't fight the French......" Ferdinand II was a little distressed.

Queen Margaret thought for a moment and said:

"Father, it's not like there's no way to convince those Castilian nobles......"

"Oh? Let's talk about it! Ferdinand II's eyes were full of anticipation.

"That's right, two days ago, the fleet sent to reconnoiter the Spice Islands returned......"

Ferdinand II was stunned:

"How did I not know?" With that, he looked at his son, Juan III.

Juan III explained:

"The ship docked in the port of Cádiz, in the Kingdom of Castile, and the news, of course, was sent to Toledo first, and only then to Zaragoza (the capital of Aragon)."

"What about the Spice Islands? Is there a lot of spices? Ferdinand II was also a little interested. Marin had described the situation to him in Rome. However, he was suspicious and sent a fleet to reconnoiter the Indonesian archipelago after he had monopolized the spice trade with Portugal.

Juan III replied:

"It's pretty much the same as Marlin said, cloves and nutmeg are abundant there. It is said that the cloves and nutmeg in the Calicut market are basically from the spice islands and are transported by ship to the Indian market through the Straits of Malacca. Because of the change of hands in the middle, the price in the Indian market is much higher than that of pepper. Its profit is also much lower than that of pepper. If the Spice Islands were to be controlled, it is estimated that the profits of cloves and nutmeg would be much higher. ”

Ferdinand II thought for a moment and said:

"This is indeed good news, but what does this have to do with the rescue of the Kingdom of Naples? The most important thing for us now is to send troops to Italy as soon as possible! ”

Queen Margaret then interjected:

"Father, I mean, the future of the Spice Islands must be huge. If you promise to give more benefits to the Castilian nobles in the future development of the Spice Islands, I think they will be willing to send troops......"

Ferdinand II hesitated, and if he did, it might be difficult to explain to the nobles of Aragon. However, at this critical juncture, the French could not be defeated without relying on the power of the Kingdom of Castile. In desperation, Ferdinand II had no choice but to nod:

"Well, I'll go back to Zaragoza and discuss it with the ministers......"

Ferdinand II then rode back to Zaragoza with his men to discuss the matter with the ministers of Aragon. Sure enough, many of the great nobles of Aragon were not very satisfied with the sale of benefits. However, if the rich Kingdom of Naples is lost, it seems that the loss will be very large. It would not be impossible to exchange part of the interests of the Spice Islands for the interests of the Kingdom of Naples. It's just that this amount should be carefully considered......

Therefore, Ferdinand II simply took a group of top nobles of the Kingdom of Aragon to Toledo in the spring-loaded carriage sold to them by Marin to discuss the distribution of benefits with the nobles of the Kingdom of Castile......

The great nobles of the Kingdom of Castile, as if seizing the opportunity, used this to blackmail the nobles of Aragon. Even, the two sides originally agreed to divide the golden interests of the Zimbabwe Empire equally, and the great nobles of the Kingdom of Castile wanted more.

Then, the nobles of the two countries fought directly in the parliament hall, and many noble nobles had blue noses and swollen faces...... However, the meeting had to continue, and the two sides continued to discuss the issue of interest calling......

Eventually, the great nobles of the Kingdom of Aragon relented and agreed to cede most of the interests of the Spice Islands in exchange for full support from the Kingdom of Castile......