In the palace, Ferdinand anxiously awaited the report from the front.

He must not appear panicked in front of outsiders, he must look calm and confident, but in fact his anxious mentality at this time is unimaginable.

No one knows what the Ebro River Reservoir means to Aragon better than him. The severe drought that has lasted for several years has caused the Zaragoza region to face signs that the nearby water system may one day dry up completely.

This time may be much faster than people think, perhaps it does not take a few generations, Zaragoza city is in danger of becoming a dead city.

Ferdinand would never allow this to happen, it would make him the most failed king in the history of Aragon.

The distance between a king who almost unified Aragon and Castile and the monarch who caused Aragon to fall is so close, this huge gap is unacceptable for Ferdinand.

There was a rush of footsteps, and Ferdinand seemed to stand still and reminded himself to calm down. He sat there with a little stiff body and stared at the door.

An entourage walked in quickly, his head still covered with sweat, and a mud-stained envelope in his hand: "Your Majesty's report from the front line!"

The entourage's nervousness finally affected Ferdinand, he immediately stood up and took two steps to take the report from the entourage, paused for a while and took a deep breath before opening it slowly.

Then who ever saw the king quickly glanced at the content of the letter, and then began to look carefully a little bit,

As his eyes flashed, Ferdinand's face was excited, and later his face was flushed, and his hands with the letter were shaking slightly.

Then he closed the letter in his hands, pressed his fingers together against his forehead and muttered to himself, "God thank you, this is a miracle, a miracle."

After a while, Ferdinand raised his head and said to the attendant: "Go and call the messenger and I will ask him some information myself."

The attendant immediately responded, and it didn't take long before he walked in with a tired face and a soldier walking while drinking with this hip flask in his hand.

"Tell me the result of the frontline battle. I mean, how did you achieve victory?"

Ferdinand said, thinking of what he thought of and what he thought of and waved to the attendants on the side: "Don’t bother us, I want to listen carefully to reports from people on the battlefield, and to summon everyone. I want them to know our victory. ."

The waiter’s heart was finally released. He walked out quickly in response to the king’s order and closed the door. Then he immediately ran along the corridor towards the other side of the palace to inform those who were Courtiers in the palace.

Soon people learned that the good news came from the front line. The Aragonese army won the first victory in the battle of the enemy invading the western territory.

Such an exciting news instantly made the palace full of joy, and the gloomy atmosphere that had been suppressed for a long time was wiped out. Some people suggested holding a grand ball to celebrate the victory, while others simply called the servants to bring good wine to congratulate the hard-won. Good news.

Everyone surrounded the soldier eagerly asking about the battle, which made the soldier who had drunk a lot of alcohol turned around for a while, dizzy.

"This is really a rare piece of good news, isn't it? This should really be celebrated." An elderly nobleman sighed and sniffed his drunk mouth towards the maid who was pouring wine for him next to him. Sniff it, and then laughed at the maid's screams like anger and joy, and drank the glass full of wine.

Ferdinand looked at the messy hall with a smile. He used to care about etiquette and rules, but today he didn't scold those ministers who were a little presumptuous.

Everyone is so excited, since the accident in Castile, Aragon has been facing repeated blows.

From Ferdinand having to flee Castile to suddenly facing an unprepared war, Aragorn seemed to be completely passively beaten, and even before the war broke out, many people had already smelled the breath of failure. .

This kind of lack of confidence in victory is the most terrifying. Even a powerful army will often have a long way to go if defeat spreads, not to mention that they are facing opponents that have defeated the French.

This kind of anxiety has been suppressed in everyone's minds. When Ferdinand ordered troops to protect the upper reaches of the Ebro River reservoir, people's mood was very complicated.

They hoped that the Aragonese army would win, but they told themselves in their hearts that it was almost impossible.

Time passed in such suffering and contradictions. Just when everyone was desperate, the good news finally came.

"This is God helping Aragorn." A nobleman suddenly said loudly, "We should hold a grand Mass of Thanksgiving, so that all the people of Zaragoza can know this good news, and they must know that the army of Aragon is impossible. Victorious."

"Yes, it should be like this," Ferdinand yelled at once, but then he turned his head. "But it is not the time yet. Our victory is so small that it just drove the enemy forward into the Ebro River. , If this is a pagan sacrifice, then we would be too stingy."

Ferdinand’s “witness” caused a burst of laughter from the courtiers. Of course, they knew that the king was telling the truth, but it also made sense. After all, their victory now only defeated the vanguard sent by the enemy, and they The bigger enemy is Gonzalo.

However, this victory is enough to regain the confidence of the Aragonese. They believe that since they can defeat the Allied forces of Cassie once, there will be a second, third, and even complete defeat of the invading enemy.

The laughter and even the mischief in the court lasted until midnight, when later the entourage had to send the drunk courtiers one by one out of the palace.

Ferdinand also drank a lot of alcohol, and he looked so excited that he didn't seem to be too addicted, and the soldier was called to tell him the passing of the front line.

The entourage took the already drunk soldier into the room and then turned and left. When the door closed, Ferdinand's originally smiling face instantly became difficult to look at.

He stood and walked over and grabbed the collar of the soldier, dragged him to let him sit on a chair, then picked up a pot of water beside him and splashed it on his face.

The soldier was clever immediately. He looked at the king standing in front of him blankly, and then immediately panicked and wanted to stand up.

"Do it well," Ferdinand ordered him to "tell me more about what happened."

"We have defeated your Majesty," the soldier dumbly repeated what he had said many times. "It was defeated. We were attacked. The Castilians and Sicilians did not directly occupy the reservoir, but Ambushed us on the way, and that's it, your Majesty, we defeated..."

"The only way?" Ferdinand asked angrily. "Tell me the detailed process. I want to know every detail."

"But I only know so much Your Majesty. When the battle started, I was in the second team. I was a drummer. We were still marching. So we didn’t know what happened before, and then it was all messed up. ."

Even though he had said this more than once, the soldier still showed a look of horror when he recalled his previous experience, which seemed to have infected Ferdinand and made his ugly face more gloomy.

Concealing the truth about the failure, even at the expense of forging the illusion of victory, Ferdinand felt sad for the situation he faced.

But he must do this.

From the beginning, the strong mood of defeat has put the Aragonese in a disadvantaged situation. If you now hear of the defeat of the first battle on the front line, it is likely to cause panic, and some people may even propose peace talks with Castile.

This is absolutely unacceptable to Ferdinand. He would rather fight with that Joel Modilo Astamara a war that may last for several generations, so that the two countries cannot escape. Compromise to the usurper.

"No, I still have a way. I can still go to the Portuguese." Ferdinand turned angrily. Although he tried to form an alliance with Manuel before, he was rejected, but he didn't care. I believe that as long as I give up enough benefits, I have to make the Portuguese move to impress Manuel.

Give up some of the land that has been disputed for many years between Portugal and Castile. This should be enough to satisfy Manuel’s appetite and vanity. As for the hatred of the Castilians, Ferdinand I can't take care of those.

He believes that as long as he can defeat Alexander and return to Castile, the sacrifice made is nothing, and even if it goes well, he can directly declare that he is the full regency of his grandson Charlie under such circumstances.

Thinking of this, Ferdinand immediately began to write to Manuel. He had found the most suitable messenger. Looking at the soldiers sitting there awkwardly, he felt that he should send this person to Sarago as soon as possible. Sa is the wisest choice.

It was very difficult for Ferdinand to write this letter. He wrote it several times and rewritten it when he felt dissatisfied. It was not until after tossing back and forth several times that he finally wrote this letter to Manuel. Handwritten letter.

I can see some of the unsatisfactory places in the letter, but Ferdinand has no intention to modify it, and he thinks that maybe this seems more sincere, and whether Manuel can feel him. The sincere mood is not important.

Then he thought for a while, took a gem ring from his hand and put it in the folded envelope.

After finishing the envelope, Ferdinand took out a purse from the drawer of the table next to him and handed it with the letter to the soldier.

"Listen to me asking you to leave the city immediately. The money here is enough for your journey to Lisbon. I suggest you take a boat. Remember not to contact anyone on the road. If someone asks you about the front line, just follow the instructions. "Speaking of Ferdinand, he took the purse and the letter he was going to hand out, and then went back a little bit. "And if I hear any unfavorable rumors about the front line, you know what will happen."

The soldier nodded in horror. When Ferdinand asked him to forge false news about the victory on the front line, the soldier knew he was in big trouble.

Now he can leave Zaragoza with a generous amount of travel expenses, which makes him secretly grateful for God's mercy.

"Immediately leave the city overnight, I will let someone send you out of the city."

Ferdinand waved his hand to the soldier a little irritably. He didn't want to see this man again, which reminded him of the shame of lying in order to please those nobles.

The night was deep, and there was a rush of horseshoes on the paved road.

Two fast horses ran forward along the street. The people on the horses were wrapped in wind-shielding cloaks, and the cloaks were swollen by the wind, like bats at night.

A bewildered shadow of the city gate appeared in the distance, and the lights on the tower looked unusually clear in the night.

The one running in front of the two turned his head and waved his hand to his companion, motioning him not to speak.

The person behind immediately made a clear gesture, and he pressed the hood on his head as much as possible, perhaps because of the emotion of his companions, he couldn't help but get a little nervous.

The two continued to rush the horses along the street, and they only needed to cross two blocks before they could reach under the city gate.

Suddenly, a few figures flashed out of the corner of the crossroads. Although those people were still a little far away, years of life and death experience on the battlefield made the person behind immediately feel dangerous!

Those people came so fast that he couldn't take care of the companions who hadn't reacted before, and he immediately fell down on the horse without hesitation.

A short sound of wind came oncoming, and several black shadows flashed in the darkness at an invisible speed.

The rider in front didn't even notice what was going on, and was shot down by the oncoming crossbow.

At the same time, the few people had already drew their hidden swords and rushed towards the man behind who had just dodged the crossbow bolt and straightened up.

The man drew his tied dagger from his leg almost without even thinking about it, and stabbed it on the thigh of the horse.

The pain of the horses neighed through the silent streets, and at the same time the horse ran wildly at the people who charged up because of the pain.

The sturdy body of the war horse slammed into a person, and with a huge impact, the person was directly knocked backwards and fell to the ground with the comrades behind.

The man on the horse did not stop at all. He clamped the horse's belly with all his strength, with one hand holding the rein, and the other hand struggling to take off the shield hanging on the saddle and wave it with all his strength.

The heavy shield immediately turned into an attackable and acceptable weapon. Relying on the resistance of the strong shield, the man immediately smashed a pierced sword and hit the man’s shoulder with the edge of the shield. With a scream, the man fell to the ground, clutching his broken shoulder and couldn't help screaming.

The man kept waving his shield, and his mount rushed forward like crazy desperately, and in a flash, he rushed out of the besieging people.

"You don't want to win a real soldier!"

Immediately, the people yelled. He didn't intend to control his companions. Instead, he kicked the stirrups fiercely. Under the stimulation of the spurs and dagger wounds, the horse stepped down on his neck and kept rushing towards the city gate.

A few sharp sounds of breaking wind passed by his ears, and the man instinctively leaned down.

But suddenly he felt pain coming from his back like a bite, and then he couldn't help moving forward.

He knew he was shot, but it shouldn't be serious.

Because he has seen people who were directly penetrated by crossbow arrows on the battlefield, and he has also seen people who were shot in the heart immediately killing him.

He is at least alive now, so it is not enough to be fatal for the time being.

There is a city defense army near the city gate, and you can survive if you run there!

This thought made the man endure the pain and urged his mount to run.

Behind him came the intensive hoof sound of the chaser. The man did not turn his head, but tried his best to hit the body of the war horse with the edge of the shield that was already extremely heavy in his hand. His right leg couldn't get any strength at this moment. , Which let him know that his leg was also injured.

His eyes were a little fuzzy, this was due to excessive blood loss, but he gritted his teeth and ran forward, just wanting to get to the city gate as soon as possible.

An impetuous cry came from behind, but the man was refreshed, because he had seen the shadow of the city gate at the end of the road ahead, and even the shadow of the guard on the tower who seemed to be alarmed and looking down.

"saved."

There was a grunt in the man's throat, and he felt cold in his hands and feet at this moment, and his whole body was weak.

The guards under the city gate were also alarmed by the movement on the street. They stared at the dark street in the distance with vigilance. When they saw the figure appearing on the street in the distance, they immediately issued a loud warning.

"Help me, I am the king's messenger!"

The chased man shouted with all his strength.

The guards at the gate of the city were in a commotion, and at this moment an officer in half-length armor came to the front of the guards.

"Stop right away, or you will shoot arrows!"

The officer yelled to those who rushed, while the demonstrators raised their swords.

The guards raised their weapons one after another, and the archers on the wall aimed at the people below.

"Damn it, just one step away!"

The leader uttered an annoying curse, but he still did not dare to attack the soldiers rashly. After pulling the reins of the mount and going around in the street, the men watched fiercely as they ran to the guards. The prey can only curse in a low voice.

The pain on his back had turned into numbness, and after the soldier persisted through the line of defense formed by the guards, he finally fell off his horse while shaking.

"I am the king's messenger, messenger..." But even so he kept repeating it, because he knew that only this way could he save his life.

I just don't know if it was caused by the illusion caused by excessive blood loss. Before the coma passed, he seemed to hear the officer who was looking at him in a low voice saying: "I know who you are, I'm waiting for you. "

In the Zaragoza Cathedral, the old archbishop was lying on the bed and panting hard.

In this season, he will suffer from rheumatism due to the gradually cold weather, and this pain is only just beginning. As the weather gets colder and colder, the humid climate of Liberia will make him feel that in winter It seems to have experienced a punishment in hell.

A priest opened the door and came to the bed and said respectfully: "My lord, the person you are looking for has been found, and they sent him to the prayer hall at the back."

The originally painful archbishop suddenly became energetic. With the help of the priest, he sat up hard, then put on a banquet tremblingly, and then walked out with the help of the priest.

The cathedral in the middle of the night did not have the solemnity, but looked terrifying. The echo of the footsteps of two people walking in the corridor was like the muttering of the devil in hell.

The prayer hall is an octagonal building, which still has some traces of Moorish culture, but it is said that when the predecessor pagan monastery was demolished and the cathedral was built, the king of Castile Alfonso VI specially instructed Keep this small building.

The prayer hall has a rotating basement. There is a cemetery where the tombs of several kings of the Kingdom of Aragon are placed.

Several people were waiting there. Among them were the leader of the group who chased the soldier in the street, and the officer guarding the city gate.

The soldier fell to the ground in a coma, sweat dripping from his head, and his body trembling tremblingly.

"What's wrong with him?" the archbishop asked, looking down at the soldier.

"My lord is not very obedient, so we helped him a little bit." The leader said a witty remark, but when he saw the silence of the others, he took two steps back in a daze.

"My lord, someone saw him when I brought him out," the officer whispered. "Perhaps Ferdinand will know about this soon."

"So what," the archbishop glanced at the officer and then glanced at the others. "You should have known from the beginning that this would make the King very unhappy, but I don't want to blind my eyes with lies, or someone willing We can’t listen to those stories about singing and dancing. Don’t expect Aragorn to change a king, but we must never change the archbishop easily."

"Of course, sir," the officer bowed his head respectfully, "we know what to do, and we are loyal to you."

"You’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re not loyal to me, but to God and **** Christ, but Ferdinand makes this kind of devotion to God difficult at times. Know him. The war with the Regent of Castile has affected the dignity and authority of the churches in the two kingdoms."

The archbishop glanced at the soldier on the ground again: "Wake him up, I want to know what news he brought to Ferdinand?"

A scoop of cold water was poured on the man, and the soldier woke up immediately. He was struggling to get up, but he was dizzy and fell to the ground until he saw an old man’s kind face in the blur. Gradually approach him.

"Tell me what you know, my child, and what the king wants you to do," the archbishop asked the soldier in a reassuring tone that is typical of his usual sermons. Then he turned his head slightly and put his ears close to the soldier. Stop shaking lips, then nodded slowly.

"It turned out to be like this." When the archbishop was helped to stand up, he looked at the glances at him and shook his head slightly. "Ferdinand lied to all of us, but it's nothing, we know now. The truth, we have to have our own plans next."