The candles flickered, igniting the scent of whale oil, lingering in the hall. During this era, the Portuguese colony of the Azores had been established for over thirty years. The activities of killing whales also began to rely on the archipelago and became active in the surrounding waters. A steady stream of whale oil came from the sea and flowed into the court of Sintra.

"The spice of the East is the same scent, only more intense!..."

Joao II closed his eyes and inhaled the strong amber fragrance. Even with the wealth of the Portuguese king, it is impossible to burn the expensive and unusual spices of the God world as magical smoke like the Mexica Union in the New World. That scene, even just thinking about it, is heart-wrenching.

"East... East!..."

Dias looked at the east, his eyes were full of strong desire.

The palace was quiet for a while, and the two were silent for a long time, their moods floating. After a while, Joao II opened his eyes and said with a smile.

"Dias, India and Seris are still far away. What is at hand right now is the dispute between the Holy See and the Granada war with the twin kings!"

"Disputes in the Holy See?"

Hearing this, Dias was slightly startled. He left the Kingdom of Portugal for two years, and did not know anything about the current situation of the Holy See.

"Well. The current Pope, Innocent VIII, is showing his weakness clearly. Ferdinand I, King of Naples, has twice invaded Rome to oppress the Pope..."

Speaking of this, Joao II's eyes flashed and he seemed to be thinking.

"Ah! King Ferdinando, who coerced the Pope twice?"

Hearing this, Dias whispered in surprise. Ferdinando I, King of Naples, and Ferdinando II, King of Aragon, were both kings of the Aragonese-Trastamara dynasty. The two of them have the same name and are very close in blood. They are cousins.

Ferdinando I, the illegitimate son of Alfonso V, king of Aragon-Naples. After the death of Alfonso V, the kingdom of Aragon was inherited by his younger brother Juan II, and the kingdom of Naples was inherited by his illegitimate son Ferdinand I. Then, ten years ago, when Juan II died, the throne of Aragon passed to his son Ferdinando II, the husband of Queen Insabella, one of the two kings of Spain.

Simply put, King Ferdinando II of Aragon and King Ferdinando I of Naples have weak claims to each other. And if the Kingdom of Naples falls into the hands of the rival Ferdinando II, it will be a disaster for the Kingdom of Portugal!

"Well. Pope Innocent VIII, in order to maintain his influence on the Apennine Peninsula and gain more wealth, he has to impose taxes on the Kingdom of Naples. After the King of Naples refused, the Pope contacted the French King Charles VIII. Let's go to Naples together."

Speaking of this, Joao II raised the corners of his mouth and smiled narrowly.

"However, as soon as the Pope's war with Naples began, King Charles VIII of France fell into a 'war of madness'. Charles of France attacked the rebellious Duke of Brittany. Then, Emperor Maximilian I joined the war. , to support the rebels. King Henry VII of England also joined the war and supported the rebels. Of course, Maximilian I made great efforts, and Henry VII just dispatched the navy and waved the flag."

"This 'mad war', which lasted for four years, ended only two months ago. The Duke of Brittany, Francois II, surrendered, signed an agreement, and became a vassal of Charles, the French king. This old fellow was afraid of Charles. annexed, wanted to marry his daughter to Maximilian I, and wrote to find me..."

Joao II paused and shook his head. Then, he looked complicated and sighed.

"The Duchy of Brittany is a grand duchy with a population of more than one million people!... The northern countries of God are united, and no one responds to the Pope... Pope Innocent VIII immediately I am dumbfounded. Thousands of troops from Naples are approaching Rome, and the Pope has no support, so he has to bow his head to ask for peace and withdraw the decree. After this, the prestige of the Holy See is greatly reduced!"

"After all, the world of God has changed a long time ago. Now is not the era of four hundred years ago, when Urban II gave an order, the kings of all countries bowed their heads and obeyed the order, and tens of thousands of knights swore to the east!..."

Hearing this, Dias pursed his lips, and his heart was full of mixed feelings. He is a devout people of God, and he always has an instinctive tendency to influence the Holy See of all countries. After a while, he said in a low voice.

"The current pope lives a luxurious and corrupt life, has a bunch of children, and there are even rumors that he has secretly traded with the Ottoman sultan... His integrity and reputation are indeed worse than the previous pope!... Maybe, next A Pope is a lot better..."

"Ha ha!"

Hearing this, Joao II laughed dumbly. He looked at his trusted royal steward and said with a smile.

"Dias, the next Pope will be either Bishop Julius II or Bishop Alexander VI. These two people have illegitimate children... How can they be better when they control the Holy See?"

"Hey!"

Dias gritted his teeth and stopped talking. As the royal administrator, he knew a lot of inside information, but also felt the corruption of the Holy See. High-ranking priests are greedy, and bishops marry and have children, and they almost ignore the commandments of the Lord!

"Perhaps, the Catholic Church, it's time for a change!"

A bold thought flashed in Dias' mind. After a while, he was startled for his disrespect, and bowed his head again and again to repent.

Joao II did not repent. He pondered for a while, looked in the southeast direction, and his expression became solemn.

"Dias, do you know? At this moment, the twin kings of Spain are leading an army of 60,000 troops in a holy war in the south! They are determined to completely conquer the Moorish kingdom of Granada!"

"What! Sixty thousand troops?!"

Hearing this number, Dias was truly taken aback. In the hands of the Spanish kings, if they can easily dispatch an army of 60,000, they will turn to the west and push the Portuguese kingdom...

"Well, 60,000 troops. 20,000 of them are knights and squires from England, France, Shinra, and even Scandinavian countries who participated in the holy war in the south. The remaining 40,000 soldiers are from Castile. Ya and Aragon. About 10,000 of them are cavalry and 30,000 are infantry, all of them regular troops or elite militia."

"Oh, the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon have also organized musketeers and artillery armies of thousands. In Seville and Córdoba, there are kingdom armouries that make gunpowder. Last summer, Fernando When King II attacked the city of Malaga, he mobilized dozens of large-caliber artillery to attack the castles of the Moors. The city of Malaga, with 5,000 soldiers and a population of 15,000, only defended three After more than a month, I was forced to surrender!"

"What! Under the bombardment of artillery, the dangerous city of Malaga has only been guarded for three months?!"

Hearing this, Dias looked shocked. He knew that the city of Malaga was fortified. In the past few hundred years, it was a Moorish town that was difficult to conquer in the reconquest movement. And now, under the bombardment of heavy artillery... The Royal Director keenly felt that the form of the European War had undergone a huge change. And the twin kings of Spain are walking ahead of all the kingdoms of God!

"Your Majesty, the fall of Malaga City will completely cut off the connection between the Moors and the Southern Continent. Without the support of the Moorish princes in the Southern Continent, the Moors trapped in Granada will not last long!"

Hearing this, Joao II lowered his eyes and clenched his hands silently. He naturally knew that the Moors were over, and Granada would fall into the hands of the two kings. But as a Catholic king, he has no proper name to participate in this pious holy war.

"Ah! The failure of the battle for the throne of Castile is the biggest mistake the Portuguese kingdom has made in two centuries!"

Joao II gritted his teeth and felt a pain in his heart. Unwillingness and longing burned in his heart, indelible.

In this era, the population of the Kingdom of Portugal was about two million. The population of the Kingdom of Castile is about twice that of the Kingdom of Portugal, between four and five million. As for the kingdom of Aragon, there are also two million people.

For a long time, although the Kingdom of Castile has a large population, there are also many grand duchies with real power in the country, and the degree of centralization of the Kingdom is weaker than that of the Kingdom of Portugal. The kingdom army that the Kingdom of Castile can mobilize does not have an absolute advantage. Thus, the three kingdoms of God on the Inberia Peninsula have always maintained a certain balance of power.

But at this moment, the union of the two kings of Spain has a population of six or seven million! The two kings supported each other, and the kingship was greatly strengthened, which suppressed the great nobles of the two countries, and could obtain more tax and military service. And the holy war in the Kingdom of Granada went very smoothly, and the prestige of the two kings was also increasing! If they wait until they eat the more than one million Moors of Granada~lightnovelpub.net~ taxing dime...

"Your Majesty! The twin kings of Spain who are near Chi Chi are the greatest threat to the kingdom!"

Dias pondered for a moment, and was decisive. He took a step forward, knelt down on one knee and bowed with anxiety in his eyes.

"The destruction of the Moors is imminent, and the eyes of the twin kings will fall on the kingdom again to plan the unification of the Yinbilia Peninsula! The Holy See's prestige is declining, and I am afraid that it will no longer support the kingdom. And the English are simply unreliable! We The Kings must be distracted and new allies found..."

Speaking of this, Dias struggled and bit his lip. Loyalty and piety battle in his heart, and it is difficult to decide the winner. After a while, he spoke quietly.

"Whether this new ally is a heretic or not..."

Joao II's eyes flashed instantly. He lowered his eyes, did not speak, just bowed his head and prayed. The rich amber aroma diffused in the palace hall, like an elusive divine smoke, drifting into the distance.

The new revision and upgrade address of the mobile station: https://, data and bookmarks are synchronized with the computer station, no ads and fresh reading!