Why was Marin sure that Spain would never want France to get enough ash? This is determined by the geography of the two countries. Spain is no smaller than France, but it's useless, most of it is mountainous. Although many areas were opened up as farmland in later generations, this was not possible in this era. Because, the irrigation technology is not up to par.

At this time, Europeans could only cultivate farmland along rivers, and did not know how to dig irrigation rivers for irrigation, let alone build reservoirs to store water and pump water to high places. In Italy, because of its close contacts with the Arab region, the technology of digging irrigation ditches was initially mastered. But building reservoirs and pumping water to higher heights is unlikely.

Therefore, Spain, with its rugged terrain, is of little use even if it gets enough volcanic ash. After all, the rugged geography is there, and only Merino sheep can be herded.

But France is different, this country, although it is about the same size as Spain (at this time France has not yet acquired Corsica, as well as Alsace and Lorraine, and the Nice region of Italy), can not stand the French plains! With the exception of a central plateau, the rest of France is mostly plain. Most of the famous Great Plains of Western Europe are in France.

Moreover, France is not short of water resources, and its rivers are crisscrossed. In this age of agriculture, plains and rivers are everything. As a result, France, which was extremely suitable for agriculture, became the most populous country in Europe.

The Spaniards are not stupid, they know that France's advantage is agriculture, and if France, an agricultural powerhouse, is sitting on enough volcanic ash, then it will not be heavenly?

Therefore, as long as the Spaniards learned this secret, even if they fought for their family, they would not give up the Kingdom of Naples to France. What's more, after monopolizing the spice trade, the last thing Spain lacks is money, and it has the confidence to fight hard with France.

Conversely, the French also knew how powerful they would be if they had enough volcanic ash. Therefore, the struggle between the two sides will no longer be a war for hegemony based on rules, but will turn into a fierce struggle to the death, and neither side will be willing to retreat.

……

Five days later, on the border between France and the Kingdom of Aragon, a knight covered in blood rushed into the territory of the Kingdom of Aragon from the Mediterranean coastal plain on the border between France and the Kingdom of Aragon, and was soon captured by the border army of the Kingdom of Aragon.

The Frenchman, who had been handed over to Alain, was an ordinary tax collector in Montpellier, the capital of Roussillonbe. However, just the day before yesterday, his wife Jeanne hooked up with Justice Edu of Montpellier. Then the angry tax collector drew his sword and slew the justice, whom the Count of Roussillon trusted so much......

Of course, this is the statement of this Montpellier tax collector named Alain. The actual situation is that he is a spy of the North Sea Chamber of Commerce who was sent from Paris to the south of France 5 years ago, and his so-called wife Jeanne is actually a good female branch girl from Paris who was bought by the North Sea Chamber of Commerce to cover for Alain. Of course, he was not called Alain, but Armand. Since he is a spy, his identity and name are naturally fake.

Five years ago, he was ordered to come to Montpellier with Jeanne, a good Parisian woman, and relied on his ability to write and calculate, plus bribed the local nobles, and got a tax officer's mission, which he worked for five years.

Three days earlier, he had received an order to assign his "wife" Jeanne to hook up with a high-ranking local official, kill him, and deliberately defect to Aragon......

So Alain Jean, pretending to be his wife, deliberately seduced Renaud, a local judge who lived near their house, a favorite of the Count of Roussillon.

Subsequently, Alain deliberately broke through, and then, in the presence of outsiders, first had a big fight, and then without hesitation, he drew his knife and killed Judge Renaud and Jeanne, who pretended to be his wife......

After killing people, Alan didn't even change his bloody clothes, and directly stepped on the horses that had been prepared long ago, one person and two horses, and galloped towards the border area in the southwest......

By the time Montpellier's city guards reacted, Alain had already run away. Moreover, because the main forces of the whole country have basically been transferred to Italy, the current Roussillon area is also very empty. The only soldiers and horses that there are are will be used to defend the city, and they dare not be sent out to hunt down Alan at will. In this way, Alain ran wildly for two days and came to the Aragonese border, where he was deliberately captured by the Aragonese border defenders......

Subsequently, Alain deliberately indignantly complained in French about his tragic fate to the Aragonese border defenders. Fortunately, the Spanish officer at the border knew French, and he finished listening to his nagging.

And that's not all, after complaining about his "miserable experience", Alain suddenly made a startling suggestion that he wanted to report an extremely astonishing secret to King Ferdinand II of Aragon. This secret is said to have been overheard by Alain when he was following his wife and the new Judge Reynolds of Count Roussillon. And the content of this secret is the reason why King Louis XII of France was desperate to provoke the war in Naples......

Hearing this, the Aragon border army suddenly did not dare to make their own claims, and hurriedly reported it.

Ferdinand II was suspicious, and was puzzled that the defected French tax collector wanted to see him.

"You can't deliberately find an excuse to approach me and assassinate me......"

Uneasy, Ferdinand II hurriedly sent spies to Montpellier to inquire about the news, and the news found was similar to that of the tax collector named Alain. And now, the Count of Roussilon is in a rage and wants this man......

Eventually, Ferdinand II couldn't resist his curiosity and decided to receive the defected French tax officer. However, he demanded that the tax collector lock his hands when he saw him so that he would not be able to assassinate him.

Alain was then sent to the court of Zaragoza, where he met Ferdinand II, who had just recovered from his illness, and Juan III, King of Castile, who was taking care of his father here.

"Tell me, little tax officer, what secret do you want to tell me?" Ferdinand II asked impatiently in French. His current wife is a French noblewoman and the niece of Louis XII, so she naturally knows French.

Alain looked at the handmaidens, and Ferdinand II waved his hand and withdrew the handmaidens, leaving behind two of his cronies' guards in case Alain was in trouble.

At this time, Alain suddenly asked:

"What will I gain if I tell Your Majesty this secret?"

Ferdinand II frowned and said:

"You think you're entitled to bargain with me?"

Alain shook his head:

"I'm not qualified, but the secret I'm talking about is related to the life and death of Spain, do you think it's valuable?"

Ferdinand II scoffed:

"Don't be foolish here, if it turns out that you lied, you will be hanged, little tax officer!"

As a professional spy, Alain would not be bluffed, he said calmly;

"How dare I lie? I'm under His Majesty's control now, isn't lying looking for death? If you are not completely sure, how dare you talk nonsense? ”

Ferdinand II looked at the other party's expression, which did not look like he was lying, so he said seriously:

"If it turns out that this secret is indeed a matter of life and death in Spain, I will not only protect your safety, but also canonize you as a knight and give you a manor!"

"Deal!" Alain pretended to be very excited. Then he began to tell that secret that he had "overheard" by accident......

……