Vol 7 Chapter 285: Alexander's "Empire"

The refreshing morning breeze blew in from the window and scraped a corner of the fine veil bed net across Alexander's cheek.
Opening his eyes lightly, Alexander slumped on the somewhat stiff bed, looking at the huge bed curtain above his head.
This is a large four-poster bed. The bedposts carved with beautiful flowers support the curtain that covers the entire bed, and the tassels hanging from all around form a wave-like undulation.
Alexander actually didn't want to sleep here.
Although all the beddings, mattresses, and even the drapery and tassels have been replaced with new ones, just think about Isabella and Ferdinand sleeping on this bed, and even their children Being born on this bed, Alexander always felt weird.
However, this is a tradition. Although he has not been crowned or officially declared as king, sleeping on the bed belonging to the king is a strong evidence for firming this claim.
The room was very quiet, Alexander listened carefully, and there was no sound of guards outside the door.
He was a little strange, so he got out of bed and went to the door to open the door.
Seeing the Moor sitting on the chair next to the door, just at the moment when he heard the sound, raising his head to look at him, and then smiling with the entire row of white teeth, Alexander couldn't help but smile back.
"When did you come?"
"Master last night," Uliu stood up and bowed his arms respectfully. He wore a white robe studded with gold silk, and a hat with a big tail on his head looked slightly more obvious. Funny "Did you sleep well last night?"
"mosquito."
Alexander's answer made Uliu laugh. He knew his master's habit. Although he didn't pick a bed, he didn't want to sleep on that bed.
Maybe I should find a companion for the master?
As soon as this thought passed, Uliu quickly threw it away.
After all, you are about to be done, the sun is so bright, life is so beautiful, and the good days are still long, which makes Uliu feel that there is no need to die.
Seeing several unopened letters in Uliu's hand, Alexander knew that they should have been sent last night.
It was Uliu who wanted him to sleep well, so he didn't disturb him.
Only Uliu has the power to do this.
In Valaridod, Alexander is not easy.
After the initial excitement, there are constant contests and calculations. The birth of a new monarch often means not only the change of throne, but more importantly, the reshuffle of all forces.
This is inevitable in any country in any era. Although all monarchs recognize that appointing people on their merits is the eternal way of life, but in fact, there are really few people who can do it, or who can speak like one another.
People who have outstanding talents but are not in harmony with the monarch can actually cause more harm than a mediocre person, and sometimes the enemy will not cause such huge damage.
Because of this concern, when the monarchs choose their assistants, they often value loyalty rather than talent.
As for those kings who claim to appoint talents regardless of their predecessors, they are actually more concerned about the reputation of kindness.
Alexander needs a group of people who are loyal to him. These people are not necessarily talents, but they must have one thing in common, that is, they need him.
This is enough to bind those people firmly to him.
And as these people are reused, it is bound to violate the interests of those old forces.
So today's Alexander, in Valaritod's situation is not much better than Ferdinand, or with the change of status, he is experiencing the original feelings of Ferdinand.
"Master, here is news from Rome." Uliu sent several letters to Alexandria. These pieces of information have their own unique marks. Although nothing can be seen outside, they can be very familiar to those who are familiar with these marks. Identify their origin quickly, and then prioritize them.
"Maximo?"
Alexander asked for a question, picked up the letter above, and after checking that the sealing wax was intact, he greeted Uliu into the room, took out the compiled copy from the wooden box he carried, opened the letter and started to read it.
This is indeed a secret letter written by Massimo himself. In the letter, Massimo mentioned a suggestion that although it is still a small-scale discussion in the Vatican, a consensus has been initially obtained, that is whether it should be announced. Alexander VI abdicated.
This is obviously a very serious proposal that may even lead to major differences, so Massimo immediately wrote this important news to Alexander.
However, between the lines, Alexander could perceive that Massimo's attitude towards this matter is more let alone, and even somewhat evasive.
He can understand Massimo’s thoughts. After all, both the old pope and the new pope who may succeed in the future have a close relationship with him. Strictly speaking, even this is Alexander’s. "Family affairs", so Masimo naturally would not be too obvious to support or oppose any party.
And if you look closely, you will find that Massimo's mind has obviously changed a lot. After all, with the difference in status, the Pope's throne is still a bit far away for today's Massimo, but it is not far away. And dreams.
Therefore, now Masimo naturally needs to take the opportunity to show his influence and effect, instead of easily choosing which side to stand on, and setting himself up unnecessary opponents and obstacles in vain.
Alexander secretly sighed all these changes, and couldn't help thinking of his abrupt and interesting look when he first met Massimo, then he closed the secret letter and looked at Uliu.
"I originally wanted to keep you by my side, but now I may have to let you do things again," Alexander felt a little guilty to the Moors, after all, the people next to him can now be said to be developed, and Uliu But he has always been willing to play the role of a loyal servant, which made him consider whether to give Uliu some compensation "I want you to meet the Pope."
"Good master," Uliu nodded immediately. He didn't ask what he needed to pay attention to during this trip. Instead, he said in a slightly shy tone, "Master, this, there is something I want to report to you..."
Seeing the look on Uliu’s face, Alexander’s original guilt disappeared suddenly. He narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the Moor’s flexible eyes that kept flashing, and then asked after a pause: "Say, you What did you do?"
"Master, things are like this..."
Listening to Uliu’s efforts to justify his actions in Navarre, the look on Alexander's face became more and more weird until the Moors finished speaking, and Alexander sat there silently staring a little cramped. The Moors at a loss.
"So, did you find a marriage for my daughter?"
"Master, Ferdinand is putting pressure on Navarre."
"And without my permission?"
"The French were thinking that way, sir."
"You didn't even see what the Prince of Navarre looked like?"
"Actually I have never met Princess Catherine."
Looking at the Moor's seemingly innocent expression, Alexander felt that there was nothing to ask.
He looked at Uliu playfully, and after a while he suddenly let out a smile: "Navarre?"
"Yes, sir, it's Navarra," the originally nervous Moors seemed to see the turnaround, and immediately said cautiously, "They are very close to France, maybe this can be..."
Alexander waved his hand to stop Uliu who went on. He was more familiar with Navarre than the Moors. He even knew that the historical kingdom of Navarre was divided by France and Castile more than ten years later. Asia divides and annexes.
If Ferdinand has anything to be proud of in history, the partition of Navarre is undoubtedly one of them.
With the Pyrenees as the boundary, the kingdom of Navarre was divided between France and Castile.
The difference is that the French still retained the Navarre throne as a vassal for the sake of face, while Ferdinand simply merged South Navarre into Castile.
And it was the Kingdom of Northern Navarra that was preserved. After decades, a French king was born...
Alexander looked at Uliu, he really didn't know whether to reprimand the brave Moor or to praise him.
The Prince Enrique of Navarre, who was arbitrarily tied to his daughter by Uliou, was the grandfather of Henry IV who founded the French Bourbon dynasty in history.
However, Henry IV became relatives of the Valois family because his grandmother was the sister of the later French King François, and his sister was the Duke of Bourbon in France, and became the King of France.
But now, things seem to have changed unexpectedly. With Uliu’s help, Prince Enrique and Alexander’s daughter Catherine became engaged. Regardless of whether the marriage will happen in the end, everything seems to be different. .
Will the future King Henry IV still appear, or will everything change like never before?
Alexander felt that he had gradually lost sight of the direction of the future, perhaps from the moment he really began to seek the throne of Castile, the future was destined to enter the fog of history that no one had ever contacted.
But Navarre?
Alexander smiled again.
As a father, he was really angry, Uliu actually deprived him of his most important responsibilities and fun.
Alexander felt that in this era, he also couldn't completely let his daughter find the other half that made her happy, so it was his duty and responsibility as a father to find a husband who would make her happy and satisfied.
But Uliu destroyed this too, which made Alexander feel that the Moors were hateful.
But inwardly, he had to admit that Uliu's actions were purely to cause trouble for Ferdinand, even if they weren't mischief, but what he did was very subtle.
Because of the unique relationship with Spain and France, Navarre is destined to become a rather unique bridge between the two countries, so such a marriage does not seem so bad.
Just thinking about Uliu’s boldness, so looking at the Moors standing aside, Alexander asked maliciously: "Then what do you think Sophia would think of this matter?"
There was a brief sluggishness on Uliu's face, and then he looked at Alexander: "Master, I think I'm still useful to you."
"Otherwise I have cut off your head."
After Alexander finished speaking, he picked up the secret letter of Massimo again and opened it. This time he took it seriously.
Uliu stood quietly and waited for Alexander's instructions. He knew that this incident was over, but it was obvious that the master was very annoyed, and probably wouldn't have any reward for this credit.
"How much do you think the Vatican might force the Pope to abdicate?" Alexander looked up at the Moor on the side.
Alexander’s question made Uliu a little stunned. Although he did not see the content of Massimo’s letter, based on his familiarity with the situation in Rome, Uliu immediately guessed what the letter said.
The Moor's dark face showed a serious look. He was used to crossing the thumbs of his hands while thinking about the master's question. The room seemed quiet for a while.
Alexander didn't bother Uliu, although he had thought of this possibility before, but when faced with this situation, he still needed the opinions and suggestions of others.
"Master, has there ever been an abdicated pope in the history of the Vatican?"
Alexander nodded. He knew what Uliu meant. The Moors were considering the possibility of this happening by asking him if there was such a precedent before.
"There was once Silas V. This pope reigned for half a year and then chose to abdicate." Alexander shook his head slightly. "Don't use this pope as a standard. He is completely different from the current pope."
Uliu didn’t ask what was the difference, he just frowned and continued:
The cardinal is now very powerful in the Vatican, and some even call him the uncrowned pope. If he can’t wait to be crowned, I miss him. It is capable of making a formal proposal to depose the Pope."
Alexander nodded slightly. He knew that the opinions given by Uliu’s long stay in Rome were undoubtedly very reliable, and as long as he thought about the character of the old Rovere, he could be sure that his old man must not have the patience to wait until Alexander VI. Breath out.
"That's why Uliu, I want you to meet the Pope in person," Alexander Xiang already appeared at the door, but Schell, who was about to exit immediately after seeing the two in the room, beckoned him to come in. "You are in Valliari I am very satisfied with what Dodd has done, which also makes me feel relieved to entrust the safety of the Pope to you."
Uliu's face condensed, and he vaguely guessed the meaning of Alexander's words.
The elder Rovere may be against Alexander VI because he wants to become the pope as soon as possible. If it weren’t for the fact that there are signs of ousting the pope, Massimo would not write such a letter at this time, Uli Wu realized the severity of the matter.
"Because of the special situation, it is impossible for the queen to send too many people to the pope, so I need you to ensure the safety of the pope along the way," Alexander said. "If necessary, you can take away the manpower in Valaritod as much as possible. As for I have Schell here, don't worry."
Uliu wanted to say something, but when he saw Alexander's determination, he closed his mouth first, but then he still wanted to work harder: "Master, and the Catalans from Tiego, maybe we can... "
Alexander waved his hand slightly to stop Uliu. He stood up and walked slowly. After a long time, he stopped and said to Uliu, "I have other uses for Catalans. As for Tiegor, I It has been decided that he will complete another task, so I will leave it to you to the Pope."
Uliu finally nodded. He knew that since this was Alexander's final decision, as the imperial officer, his duty was to carry out the master's orders.
"Master, I will tell the head guard of all the names of people I know who might be enemies of you." Uliu knew why Alexander called Schell in.
Many people think that the Balkans are savage, rude, and brainless, except for being very brave in wars, these people have no clever brains.
But Schell obviously does not belong to this kind of person. He is indeed sturdy, but not reckless. On the contrary, he is very clever and likes to learn. Even after discovering the extraordinary relationship between the old brother and sister, he was also very clever. He expressed his attitude to Alexander, which is also an important reason why Alexander chose him to replace Busako.
So Uliu felt that it was safe to tell the Balkans the names of potential enemies.
Alexander nodded casually and began to read the other letters. Obviously, these letters were all from Italy and were sent via the same "church post", but the length of the letters varied.
Some of the things mentioned in one of Lucrezia’s letters were even arranged after he had made a decision before.
This made Alexander gradually worry about the current poor traffic and communication conditions.
The area covered by the future "Alexander Empire" may far exceed what people know at the moment, and backward transportation and communications are bound to bring great difficulties to effective governance.
In fact, many empires with vast territories in history gradually lost their over distant regions because of poor traffic and poor communication. How can the future Spanish empire avoid this problem?
Alexander shook his head slightly. He felt it was too early to consider this.
After escaping from Valaritod, Ferdinand should earn money and rush to Aragon. He has no reason to stay in Castile, which may be in danger at any time.
Calculating time may not be long before news about Ferdinand's whereabouts.
Ferdinand chose to take the initiative to leave Valaritod at this time, which is not necessarily a subtle strategy.
If Alexander could always use various flexible means to deal with Ferdinand before, now, as he enters Babiaridode, he has also lost this flexible condition.
Then the two sides will stand on the same position to compete.
It is just that Ferdinand’s Aragonese kingdom is obviously stable, and because of his grandson as a bargaining chip, it has an advantage over Alexander.
Thinking of this, Alexander couldn't help taking a deep breath, and then he stood up and ordered the entourage who had been waiting at the door to change his clothes.
As rebels, people always hope to destroy all existing orders. With the change of status, when they become the rulers, they will become the most steadfast supporters of this order.
The so-called dragon-slaying warrior eventually became the evil dragon.
Alexander knew he was not a dragon-slaying warrior, so he didn't want to be a dragon.
He wants to build an empire of his own, rather than simply reappearing the Spanish empire in history, so he needs to work harder.
So after summoning the Castilian nobles, he left Don Bandraz and told him the news.
"I have arranged for someone to welcome the Pope into Madrid. I believe Madrid will become the most important city in Castile in the future." Seeing the mayor with joy, Alexander continued, "In addition, I have decided to stay in Seville. To establish a vice capital, the future heir to the kingdom, he must first have the name of the Grand Duke of Seville."
Hearing this, Don Bandraz, who was originally full of joy, couldn't help showing a look of stunned by the accident.