Western calendar, 1493.

The city of Rome, inside the Sistine Chapel, where the kings and nobles of Spain and Portugal gathered, will be the place where a major event will take place that will affect the world.

"To the east of the Cape of Good Hope is our exclusive area of Spain, are you provoking our Spanish Empire?"

"That island was discovered by our adventurers first, don't you understand the truth that whoever discovers it first will belong to whom?"

"I said that if it belongs to us, Spain will belong to our Spanish Empire, do you Portugal want to go to war or not?"

……

Although the royal families of the two parties frequently marry, but when it comes to the core interests of the two countries and the aristocracy, the two sides seem to be unyielding, and the smell of gunpowder is permeated as soon as they sit together.

The feud between the two sides was long-standing, and the intervention of King Afonso V of Portugal in the War of the Castilian Succession led to a four-year back and forth war until the signing of the Treaty of Alcakovas.

"According to you, does the Golden Country of the East also belong to you, and we Portugal can't touch it?"

……

With the opening of new shipping routes, Spain and Portugal were the first countries in Europe to carry out overseas colonial expansion, and the two neighbors of the Iberian Peninsula eventually clashed over colonization.

Naturally, the Spanish side did not want Portugal, a latecomer, to get involved, but the Portuguese side had already seen the benefits of overseas colonization, so it was naturally impossible to let it go stupidly.

It's not just the interests of the royal families of the two countries here, but more and more big nobles are involved, so the noble groups on both sides are not ready to make concessions.

In particular, Marco Polo has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and everyone yearns for the mysterious ancient country in the East full of gold, and there is an irreconcilable contradiction in the ownership of this golden country.

"The Golden Ancient Kingdom of the East is naturally conquered by whom!"

"Even if you are given the opportunity, do you have the ability to grasp it?"

"When the real person's heart is not enough to swallow the elephant, the golden ancient country of the East must belong to my Spanish Empire!"

……

In this dispute of interests, the Spanish aristocracy was more aggressive, and it also revealed its own imminent victory over the golden kingdom of the East.

Although Spain's military power was stronger, after the completion of the Reconquista, the royal family's financial resources were almost exhausted, and they urgently needed to obtain supplies from overseas, and they were even more eager for the mysterious golden ancient kingdom of the East.

Despite the opposition of King Fernando II of Spain and some nobles, Isabella I signed an agreement with Columbus to allocate funds to make Columbus' voyage possible.

It is precisely because of this that the accusations and disputes between the interest groups of the two countries continue to escalate, and may even trigger a military conflict between the two countries again, so the two sides, as Catholics, have brought this lawsuit to the Pope today.

Pope Alexander VI of Rome, wearing a triple crown and papal robes, sits on a magnificent throne at this moment.

The mural behind him depicts scenes from the Bible, with golden halos and intricate patterns intertwined to create a sacrosanct atmosphere.

His eyes are deep and majestic, and it is natural to see the root cause of the conflict between the two sides, which is also the biggest political test he has faced since taking office last year.

Whether this matter is biased in favor of either side, it will be greatly questioned by the other party, so the safest thing to do is to level out a bowl of water.

What's more, both of them know that they are greedy for money, and they have already sent someone to secretly stuff money for themselves, so it is even more difficult to favor either side.

At this moment, after hearing a cough, the entire basilica of the church could be heard falling pins.

King Ferdinand II of Spain, son of King Juan II of Aragon, married Isabella I of the famous Kingdom of Colora, proclaiming Ferdinand her co-reign.

At the time of Isabella's accession to the throne, feudal infighting raged in Castile until the couple defeated Juana's husband, King Alfonso V of Portugal, to end the civil war.

After that, the couple conquered Granada, and Castile League, Aragon, and many other independent Spanish territories were crowned by a family alliance, the first time that a unified political entity had emerged in Spain since the eighth century AD.

King Ferdinand II of Spain was in his forties, with eagle-eyed eyes, and he was silent in this room, like a bird of prey waiting for an opportunity to prey.

King João II of Portugal was about the same age as Ferdinand II, and by the age of twenty-two he had become the true ruler of the country thanks to the retreat of his father, Afonso V, to the convent.

Faced with the imminent bankruptcy of the Kingdom of Portugal, João II played an extremely important role in solving the problem by creating a council of scholars.

When he took office, he revitalized the royal power, suppressed a number of large nobles who had overextended their power during the reign of Afonso V, and deprived the nobles of their judicial rights in the administration of the estate.

João II's policy of exploration has also brought great benefits to the economy, especially in recent years, with promising profits from investments in overseas exploration and expansion.

King João II of Portugal has a round face and looks like he doesn't care about anything, but when others don't notice it, his eyes flash with a fierce look.

When the archbishop next to him heard the pope coughing, he also stood up to maintain order: "Silence! ”

The nobles of the two countries had ceased to argue, and they invariably turned their heads to Pope Alexander VI of Rome, looking at the pope at the peak of his power.

No matter how strong they usually are, because of their faith, especially because they have the status of Catholics, they can only listen to the judgment of this high Roman pope.

Pope Alexander VI met everyone's gaze and said with a confident smile: "In that case, then the matter of the borderless land overseas will be divided by this pope!" In the future, none of you will be allowed to enter each other's territory, and peace is precious! ”

King Ferdinand II of Spain and King João II of Portugal glanced at each other warily, only to see that the other party did not stand up against it, so the two chose to acquiesce.

They have brought this lawsuit here, and they themselves do not want the two countries to fight each other.

In fact, the contradiction between the two countries is the issue of the distribution of interests, and there is no need for some territorial disputes to break out a war between the two countries again. What's more, they all have serious financial problems, and they urgently need overseas gold to fill the financial deficit.

Pope Alexander VI left the papal throne in a floor-length, loose-fitting robe made of silk dominated by red and gold, embroidered with elaborate religious motifs.

Even though he has become notorious for his greed for money, and he sat on the papal throne by bribing the archbishop, he is now a real pope of Rome after all.

Pope Alexander VI came to the long table, his eyes fell on the world map on the table, and he reached for a stick next to him.

At this moment, he felt that the whole world belonged to him, and that he represented God in control of the whole world.

Mutter......

When the nobles of the two countries who accompanied him saw the stick in the hands of the Pope, they couldn't help but swallow and spit at the mouth, and their hearts were also raised to their throats.

It was noon, and the deep bell rang outside, adding a bit of solemnity to the atmosphere at this moment.

The stick in the hand of Pope Alexander VI fell, and the voice reverberated loudly and majestically throughout the basilica: "The meridian of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands is the dividing line, 100 leagues to the west, and all land to the west of this line belongs to Spain, and all land to the east belongs to Portugal." ”

The world has since been divided into two.

The western part of Europe belonged to the powerful Spanish Empire, and the eastern part of Europe belonged to the weaker Portuguese Empire, and the two countries would jointly rule the world.

In announcing the decision to divide the world, the pope's voice revealed an unquestionable authority, like a divine will.

King Ferdinand II of Spain and King João II of Portugal had arrived at the map, and they looked at each other warily, and finally fell silent with each other.

King Ferdinand II of Spain had gone eastward, and now seeing that the areas he had explored were already included, he didn't have much of an opinion.

King João II of Portugal knew that he could not compete with Spain, and now that he had clear sovereignty, he would be able to explore and loot the resources of the territory, not to mention that the mysterious golden kingdom of the East also had the opportunity to annex it.

"If you two have no problem, then let's officially sign the contract!" Pope Alexander VI saw that there was no opposition from both sides and asked people to prepare a contract.

After reading the contract, the King of Spain and the King of Portugal glanced at each other warily.

At this moment, the entire palace was accompanied by a solemn and tense atmosphere, as if the whole world was holding its breath at this moment, and the nobles present looked at the two kings one after another.

King João II of Portugal was the first to sign, followed by King Ferdinand II of Spain, and both of them had ambition in their eyes.

Pope Alexander VI of Rome saw that both sides had signed their names, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly, which also officially announced the establishment of the dividing line between the two countries to divide the world.

The vast New World has come under the control of Portugal and Spain.

At this moment, the giant wheel of history slowly turns, and a new era is about to begin.

Just as the curtain was drawn between Spain and Portugal, the New World was no longer silent, especially in the distant seas.

The two monkeys broke into Huaguo Mountain, and just as they were arguing about how to divide the mountain in front of them, a tiger had already eaten enough and climbed on the top of the mountain to nap.

The sun rises in the east, and the golden sunlight shines on the golden sea level, reflecting a majestic three-masted sailing ship, just like a three-masted golden ship.

The golden-bathed ship broke through the waves, the canvas on the mast hunting in the sea breeze like a flag of victory.

Once again in the history of mankind, there was a crossing across the Pacific Ocean, and a voyage that took months was a miracle in this era.

It's just that the golden morning sun fell on that deck, and there were already people with black hair and yellow skin, whose eyes were already full of tears.

"We're finally back!"

"This is our Nanyang!"

"Your Majesty, we are back with the treasure seed!"

……

When they saw Luzon, the seafarers on the deck shouted excitedly, and Liu Zhang, the governor of the Americas who led the team this time, was already crying.

Especially when they shouted the last sentence, they could no longer suppress their emotions, there were joys and sorrows, and even small grievances, and naturally there was a sense of pride.

"Your Majesty, the minister is fortunate to have fulfilled his mission!"

Liu Zhang's hanging boulder fell, and after wiping away his excited tears, he bowed to the north.

Although he knew that the task was difficult, he did not expect it to be so difficult.

Not only did it take months to cross the vast East China Sea, but it also experienced various risks on the American continent, and on several occasions he almost died, and half of the people he brought with him died.

Initially, their trip was expected to take only half a year, but now it has lasted a full two years, which is a length of time that was impossible to imagine in advance.

Fortunately, they did not die in the royal city of the Inca Empire.

Not only did they fend off the Inca armies, but they also got their submissions and now brought back high-yielding crops such as corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Luzon, Daming City.

Since the Ming Dynasty mined gold here, it was not only a transit point for Ming maritime merchants to go to the South Seas, but also a new territory for the Ming Dynasty.

At first, construction workers and prospectors came, but then they brought their families, and then a group of Cantonese and Fujianese people came here to make a living, and the permanent population of the city exceeded 10,000.

"What? The treasure ship is back? Zhang Sui, the governor of Luzon, who was wearing a four-grade official uniform, couldn't believe his ears when he heard the news.

Qianhu, who came to report, nodded solemnly and said, "Not bad! Lord Liu Zhang set sail from here two years ago, and he had seen Lord Liu Zhang and the Mingyuan treasure ship at that time! ”

"Lord Governor, I heard that Lord Liu Zhang is back?" Yu Yuanzan and Lin Yuanyang hurried to the door and met Zhang Sui, who was about to go out, and they were also very excited to ask for evidence.

"Let's go to the dock to meet you now!" Zhang Sui did not explain much, but solemnly and authentically.

Liu Zhang saw Daming City again after two years, and he was immediately full of emotion.

Due to the need for supplies, the Mingyuan treasure ship led by him did not return to Daming directly, but needed to go to Daming City on Luzon Island for replenishment.

At the first glance of Zhang Zhang, Zhang Sui and the three of them knew that the other party had already gone through hardships, and after hurriedly stepping forward to greet him, they warmly welcomed the person into the yamen of the governor of Luzon.

Knowing that Liu Zhang successfully brought back the treasure seed this time, his heart was immediately very happy.

Yu Yuanzan had a good relationship with Su Can, and Su Can was one of the owners of the ship escorting the gold, so he inquired: "What about Su Can?" ”

He ...... He has died in the New World! Liu Zhang's eyes wandered, but he deliberately avoided Yu Yuanzan's gaze.

Hey?

Lin Yuanyang, Yu Yuanzan and Zhang Sui had already formed a tacit understanding, but now seeing Liu Zhang's reaction like this, I vaguely felt that this person was not ordinary.

It's just that the treasure seed is very important, and it is also what His Majesty wanted to do at the expense of millions of dollars, so it is not good to ask too much, and the next day he arranged a fleet to sail. (End of chapter)