João II and the Ottoman Sultan had one thing in common, that is, they killed their relatives and did it themselves......

Once, because the future Manuel I's brother, the Duke of Viseu, might have been involved in a plot against João II, João II was furious, called him into the court, and stabbed him to death with his own sword.

"Sometimes, I can't help but imagine what would happen if João II got into an argument with the MPs in the Portuguese Parliament?" Ferdinand banged on the table, guessing maliciously.

"Ten Days in Portugal or the Three Massacres of the Parliament? I wouldn't be so barbaric, just organize a few petition groups. ”

"Barbarism" became João II's label. For João II's personal "slaughter" of his relatives, kings and courtiers of various countries became "shock parties", and for a while, "Shocked, João II personally killed his cousin ......" and other formats of chats began to be popular in the courts of various countries.

In fact, the reason why João II is so "ruthless", "barbaric" and "brutal" is determined by the national situation that João II faced and his governing philosophy.

João II's father, Alfonso V, rewarded large lands, estates, and clergy to nobles, while in the process the power itself was weakened.

You can list such a set of data to compare -

During the reign of João II's grandfather, there were only two dukes and six counts in the whole of Portugal. There are no marquises, viscounts, and barons.

By the end of the reign of João II's father, Alfonso V, Portugal had four dukes, three marquises, twenty-five counts, one viscount and one baron......

So when João II finally wore the Portuguese crown, he said resentfully that his father had only left him land for the road.

Therefore, João II's governing philosophy revolves entirely around four words - centralization.

From the time he ascended the throne until he took his last breath, João II struggled to fight against the forces of the great nobility.

"When it comes to strengthening centralization, Isabella and João II are in the same boat, you see, even the nobles of Aragon." Ferdinand knocked on the table and signed the last and twelfth order abolishing a viscount's fiefdom, which had in fact been executed two months earlier.

"Isabella, what did you do to Aragon while I was away......"

Isabella and João II were relatives, both of their fathers were prodigal sons, and large tracts of land and wealth, as well as a large number of estates and teaching positions, were rewarded to the great nobles.

Isabella's centralization of power proceeded more smoothly than that of João II, largely because the victory in the war cleared the way to reform and strengthened the power and prestige of the monarch.

In the Castilian Civil War, the opposition aristocracy was defeated and the fief confiscated, strengthening the monarch and allowing Isabella to take advantage of the military victory to reclaim the fief.

And after the war in Granada, no one could shake the rule of the Catholic kings.

And João II did not have such an opportunity, he could not have created a civil war himself to clear the way.

It's not impossible, but I haven't thought about it.

At this time, the Europeans still had a little chivalry, and they had not yet made such insidious calculations as creating a civil war on their own, and the external circumstances of Portugal did not allow João II to do so.

So João II was not able to fully achieve his goals until his death.

But João II still achieved a lot of "achievements" in strengthening the centralization of power.

João II began to suppress the lawless aristocracy, but at the same time he also came into conflict with his relative, Queen Isabella.

Because Isabella's mother's family includes the Duke of Bragança (historically, the duke of this title played a huge role in the struggle to restore Portugal's independence) and the Duke of Viseu, well, the latter was the one who was killed by the king himself.

The former, suspected of colluding with Isabella, was also executed by João II.

When João II did this, Queen Isabella's mother was still alive. Isabella's mother died later than João II.

Naturally, Isabella was very angry.

Ferdinand was also "indignant" about this, but privately he gave João II a thumbs up, because in Ferdinand's plan, no matter how the King of Portugal tried to resist, Portugal could not escape the fate of being annexed to Spain, so it would be wonderful to sweep away the separatist forces of these great nobles and let the King of Portugal do it for him.

Of course, these words are not difficult to say, otherwise Isabella would have to die of anger.

So Queen Isabella was on a par with João II, taking in the fugitive nobles in Castile, these nobles originally had a lot of power in Portugal, and Isabella provided these people with land and property, so that these people spoke ill of João II every day and made trouble for him.

João II was also angry about this, and the personal relationship between the two was completely broken.

So Isabella never said Joao II's name, only called him "that man".

"Well, Sisneros, it hasn't been long since the last time I wrote him those five letters, so why did that go?"

Such words are quite outrageous, and in history João II died on October 25, 1495. Apparently Ferdinand's divine assistance hastened João II's death.

In 1491, 1492 and 1493, due to Ferdinand's troubles, João II was not well, and he was always at the critical point of blowing up his lungs.

We have said that João II was a belligerent man, who took full advantage of Portugal's maritime superiority and fought naval battles at the slightest disagreement, carrying out a naval blockade of enemy countries.

In 1491, the French plundered Portuguese ships. João II was so angry that he smoked. He sent Vasco da Gama, a noble officer, to Setúbal and Alvega to attack and intercept the ships of the Kingdom of France in retaliation for the plundering of Portuguese ships. Vasco da Gama triumphantly completed his mission. The campaign also brought da Gama to prominence and earned the king's trust. It paved the way for him to open up Indian routes in the future.

France was naturally angry, and if France and Portugal bordered, the French Army would definitely set foot on Portugal.

However, the fact is that there was Castile in between, so Charles VIII could only curse at court.

So João II would later threaten Castile with war, because the sweetness had already been tasted earlier.

In 1492, Columbus went to sea and disgusted João II.

At that time, João II was just unhappy, but he did not say anything.

However, in early 1493, Columbus returned to discover land, which angered João II.

Then the Pope issued an edict and slapped him in the face twice.

Then Ferdinand went to sea again and slapped him in the face three times.

João II had just threatened war when his teeth were knocked out by five letters from Ferdinand.

As a result, João II instantly became the laughing stock of European countries.

Charles VIII laughed, "That barbarian has finally tasted barbarism himself." ”

Henry VII pondered for a long time and then simply commented, "Interesting."

Maximilian I sided with João II and advised him.

"Perhaps the King of Portugal could consider putting wheels on his warships, or building a boardwalk."

……

João II was furious, but the army general always put on a dead face and replied in the same way.

"Your Majesty, the Army cannot guarantee the defense of the border."

So João II humiliated himself and signed Ferdinand's version of the Treaty of Tordesillas.

The great nobles were not humiliated by the concessions of Portugal. Many of them had a good relationship with Queen Isabella, some of her fugitive relatives were sheltered by Queen Isabella, and the nobles resented João II's stripping of their lands and clergy.

The nobles sneered at the king and celebrated the king's hit.

Since then, João II's health has deteriorated, and he finally fell ill in bed.

João II knew that his fate was not long in coming, and he was concerned about the question of his heir.

João II did not have a legal child who survived, but had an illegitimate child.

Oh, you ice cube, you have an illegitimate child too?

So he sent to Rome to ask for the Pope's permission to succeed his illegitimate son. Instead of his cousin Manuel, because at this time Manuel, who inherited the title of Duke of Viseu, formed a partnership with the great nobles and became their spokesman.

If Manuel succeeds to the throne, João II's previous efforts to strengthen centralization could be unsuccessful.

But the aristocracy also had connections in the Holy See, and in the end João II did not get his wish.

For the last two months of his life, João II prayed that Ferdinand would be shipwrecked and drowned in the Atlantic.

When the news of the safe return of Ferdinand's "second detachment" reached the Lisbon court......

"If he dies and goes to hell...... I'd rather wait for him in hell......" In the last moments of his life, João II said such words weakly.

The day is December 16, 1494.

Ferdinand, on the other hand, learned of the news on the morning of 21 December, and the official Portuguese envoy had not yet informed him, but had already received the information through the intelligence organization.

So Ferdinand spent the morning knocking on the table at Coldon's house, talking to Cisneros about the life of his old rival.

"Did he really say that?" Ferdinand looked shocked.

"Our relationship is not so good, since he is waiting for me in hell, then I should go to heaven."

After saying the sour words, tomorrow I still have to take the Portuguese ambassador seriously.

"I was so ...... to hear such sad news on Christmas morning I'm sorry, you see, my hands are shaking with sadness......"

The last actor of the Middle Ages, the first actor of modern times, burst into tears and performed with emotion, as if the two countries had long since put aside their old grievances and reconciled as before, even though Spain and Portugal never reconciled in the first place. Even the Portuguese envoys were infected and shed a few tears after reporting the news.

Cisneros stood beside His Majesty, the corners of his mouth twitching, and Ferdinand's seemingly chaotic tapping carried some of the message.

"Love-to-see-and-hear,this-cheers-the-people-greatly,the-whole-world-joins-in-the-jubilation,and-rush-about-telling-the-news-around-spreading. ）”