Vol 7 Chapter 322: Dead end

A muffled thunder descended on the earth with a majesty that seemed to destroy everything.
Everything between heaven and earth seemed to be shocked by this terrible wrath of God.
Some people instinctively cover their ears, but some people just look up bored.
The city of Gail was completely shrouded in rain, and the collapsed city wall was still so dilapidated and washed away by rain, because the house that was on fire before the battle had already extinguished the fire, and the whole city was being covered by rain. The continuous washing seems to be to wash away the choking smell of gunpowder.
The Ebro River rose again due to rain. Although the tide did not come ashore, it kept hitting the embankment on the bank one after another.
Alexander stood by the river and watched the scene on the opposite bank.
A small group of cavalry from the Aragonese army seemed to appear on the opposite bank. They patrolled the river bank back and forth, seeming to observe if any enemy sneaked across the river under the rain.
A group of Aragonese troops crossed the river to the other side. According to the scout's report, they gathered in a village not far from the lower reaches of Gail, and Ferdinand was there.
Ferdinand did not return to Zaragoza, which is enough to explain a lot of things, but their top priority now is to prevent the coalition from crossing the river to pursue.
So even in such a rainy day, he would ride around and dare not relax a little.
But in fact, this is obviously superfluous. Not to mention that Gahel does not have a large enough boat to cross the river. Even if there is, it is almost a dead end to venture across the river in such weather.
Alexander does not think his soldiers can be brave to this point. He is very aware of the current status of the army. Although he has won several battles, he will not be swollen and think that his army is really comparable to other armies of this era. What is the essential difference.
It is very difficult to establish a brand-new modernized army. This cannot be done with simple training and actual combat. This requires a solid public foundation and the gradual formation of a strong cohesion from the entire army.
At this point, perhaps the Roman Thesian army has some shadow of modernization, but the Castilians are still far away.
As for the Sicilian army, Alexander knew that his relationship with them was indeed delicate, and their feelings for him were complicated.
Many things are not accomplished overnight, including the future unification of the Kingdom of Spain.
By now, this issue should indeed be considered, especially after Zaragoza sent an envoy, Alexander knew that his goal in Iberia finally saw a clear future.
In that spring six years ago, he would not have thought that one day he could become the king of Spain. At that time, he only thought about how to survive in this chaotic era.
The impermanence of the world may be talking about his own experience. Alexander sighed a little. Hearing the puffing footsteps stepping in the rain behind him, he turned slightly to look at the priest who was led by Schell.
The priest's robe was dirty, and the white breath from his mouth flashed because of the urgency.
Seeing Alexander, the priest quickened his pace.
Sher stopped until she signaled not to approach the priest.
"God bless you," the priest spoke politely and bowed slightly. Seeing Alexander beckoning him to continue, the priest hurriedly said, "May I ask if you have any reply to the archbishop's suggestion. I am very anxious now. It is actually the archbishop." My lord is very anxious."
Alexander looked at the priest with a little surprise. A sophisticated negotiator would never reveal his obvious weakness. They would always appear calm and uneasy, and would never let the other party see that they were in fact uneasy.
But the man in front of him was completely the opposite. From the beginning, he kept hinting that the archbishop was now eagerly waiting for his reply, which made Alexander wonder who he was on.
"His Royal Highness, we hope you will become the master of this land," the priest suddenly raised his head and looked at Alexander with a deep look. "You know that this is much better for us."
Hearing the "us" deliberately aggravated by the other party, Alexander had vaguely guessed the origin of the priest, and then thinking about the truth meeting that had penetrated into Toledo among the top of the Castilian church, he vaguely understood all this. This seems to be a clear shadow of the truth meeting.
So Ferdinand was abandoned, Alexander felt that something deeper was touched.
Truth Society, conspirators who seem to be able to explore in the dark forever, have always longed for one day to stand upright in front of the world and proclaim their faith, but in the end they evolved into a group of profit-seeking "businessmen."
It's just that they are different from ordinary merchants, they sell power.
Perhaps in the real kingdom competition, they will not play a significant role in the empire hegemony, but these people are good at drilling camp. When they find that someone knows to invest, they will stand up in time to show their so-called power. Saying that he is obviously a good investment target, and Ferdinand is a "junk stock".
Alexander shook his head secretly in his heart. These people in the Truth Society will probably only be able to do this forever. Perhaps with this kind of drill, they can make a fortune, but these people will never become the ones in their dreams that truly determine the fate of the world. people.
Because they can't really integrate into the system of today's world.
"The archbishop has written a letter to Ferdinand," the priest still revealed to Alexander the actions of the archbishop of Zaragoza. Seeing Alexander showing his hands and interested, he continued, "The archbishop has suggested that Ferdinand negotiate peace with His Highness. , And he also hinted in the letter that Ferdinand Zaragoza did not welcome his return."
Alexander slowly nodded. The attitude of the Archbishop of Zaragoza was in his expectation. He believed that after the promise of Alexander VI arrived, the archbishop naturally knew which side to choose.
The reason for Ferdinand's failure was that he was too anxious. Marriage to Isabella certainly brought his authority to a peak, but it also prompted him to challenge the church like Isabella.
But after all, Aragon is different from Castile. The victory of regaining lost ground in the south has left Isabella with no one to fight against it for a while, even the church has to give way.
Ferdinand’s prestige in Aragon cannot be compared with Isabella’s in Castilla, and he fears that Isabella’s overly powerful authority will lead him to become a puppet, which makes him have to do nothing. He tried to establish himself above the church in Aragon.
Ferdinand’s approach cannot be said to be wrong. Although he has stumbling on this path in history, he eventually gradually put the church under his own rule.
But now he has failed, because a person who shouldn't have appeared has become his stumbling block.
"My messenger will meet with Ferdinand," Alexander said to the priest. "Please go back and tell the archbishop. His Majesty the Pope will reward him for this wise choice." Then he glanced at the priest. "And yours. select."
The priest bowed and saluted, and then he said in a slightly regretful tone: "His Royal Highness, this is the last time you have seen me. According to our rules, I will not see you again, but please rest assured, if you need us Someone will contact you."
Alexander nodded silently. Those who knew these truths were still very careful, probably because of the habit of hiding in hiding for many years, and they tried their best to guard against even those who cooperated with them.
And based on many contacts with people from the Truth Society, Alexander was also vaguely able to sort out the seemingly intricate factional relations within this secret organization.
At least the Liberian Truth Society still retains the original beliefs to some extent. As for the people of Krian, it is difficult to see the shadow of the original Judas believers from them.
This is probably the reason why Krian is different from these people in the Truth Society, and doesn't mind at all that he knows something inside them.
A mysterious order like the Truth Society reminded Alexander of the end of those equally old secrets in the East. The two sides have amazing similarities in many places, and their destinies may be different.
Suddenly it rained heavily. The dense rain curtain completely blocked the view. The scene on the other side was not clear. Alexander wondered if Ferdinand was watching the rainy scene like him at this time, but he was already He is indeed ready to confront the king of Aragon again.
Ferdinand was indeed watching the pouring rain outside at this time, but he was looking at the gloomy sky and the rain curtain through the window in the house.
The nearby waiter was standing not far behind the king, with barely moving food and empty wine bottles on the plate in his hand, smelling the choking wine on the king, the nearby waiter secretly sighed.
The letter from the Archbishop of Zaragoza came. Although I don’t know what was written on it, it was obviously not good news, because the king who had read the letter cursed loudly in public regardless of his dignity.
Ferdinand's anger even made him completely ignore whether the people next to him would hear it. He cursed loudly that the archbishop was Judas, and the nobles of Zaragoza were a group of villains who flattered that Judas.
The king's anger frightened those around him, and everyone was cautious, lest he anger the king and cause trouble.
The continuous rain outside made Ferdinand a bad mood, but what was even worse was the current situation.
After evacuating Gail, Ferdinand did not expect to return to Zaragoza immediately, but he soon discovered that his path seemed to be blocked.
The archbishop's blatant refusal to send reinforcements made Ferdinand feel an unprecedented crisis. He was indeed anxious to return to Zaragoza, because only when he returned to the capital would he have the opportunity to quickly eradicate those conspirators who tried to rebel.
But because of this, Ferdinand knew that the archbishop was most worried about his return to Zaragoza.
So whether there will be any danger on the road has become Ferdinand's most worried now.
He sent scouts to investigate in the direction of Zaragoza. As he expected, his cavalry found a suspicious army not far from Zaragoza.
The team that deliberately concealed their identities, closely guarding the main road to Zaragoza along the Ebro River, made Ferdinand no doubt that the army should be sent by the archbishop.
In such an era of war and chaos, even the identity of the king may not be inviolable. It is difficult to guarantee that if only a few guards rush through that road, those people will be bold enough to murder the king.
Hearing the report, Ferdinand immediately tried to send someone to Zaragoza. He believed that Zaragoza must have nobles and troops still loyal to him, as long as they knew of his departure and the archbishop’s conspiracy. Will definitely come to rescue him.
The long wait made Ferdinand anxious, but he had to endure the anxiety in his heart, because he knew that now his subordinates were already in the air. If he was panicking, he might not wait for Zaragoza’s When the news comes, the army that has finally gathered again may fall apart in an instant.
Another muffled thunder rang out in the clouds like a dragon's low roar, followed by a dazzling lightning to tear a twisted crack in the air, and then a huge thunderbolt came straight down from the sky!
Lightning drew a trajectory and pierced towards the ground, accompanied by thunder, a flame suddenly appeared in the woods outside the village!
"God, it's a lightning strike!"
"A bad omen!"
"Is God angry, or is there a traitor among us?"
Seeing the thunder that was smashed directly ignited, and the fire tree was burning, many Aragonese were instantly panicked.
While looking at the terrible sight like a punishment, they kept drawing crosses on their chests, and some even kneeled in the rain because of panic.
Ferdinand stood up in astonishment. He looked at the flames burning in the heavy rain outside the window. This scene of water and fire, cold and heat, light and darkness intertwined, seemed to him almost like his current fate. Full of conflicts.
The pouring rain did not take long to extinguish the flame, but the scorched and twisted tree trunk, the thick smoke still blowing, and the pungent smell blowing in the wind, seemed to remind people of the terrible things that just happened. A scene is just around the corner.
When Ferdinand walked out of the house, he saw the soldiers looking at him with panic, dazed, and doubtful and suspicious eyes, as if the sky fire that suddenly fell was related to him.
Regardless of the obstruction of the attendants, Ferdinand walked towards the scorched and scorched tree. He watched as the smoke was still smoking and the bark was cracking, revealing the same scorched tree trunk inside. Ferdinand hesitated a little bit. With horrified gaze, the soldier walked up and stretched out his hands, pressing them tightly against the still hot tree.
Then he took a deep breath, took a couple of steps back, raised his arms, and lifted his hands above his head that had been rubbed against a layer of charred.
"See, I am the Aragonese monarch chosen by God and your king. God's punishment will not come to me because I am protected by God!"
Ferdinand shouted to the soldiers. In the heavy rain, the rain flowed down his face and quickly soaked his clothes. The icy cold made him tremble slightly, but Ferdinand still insisted on standing and being burnt. The trees refused to move.
Looking at him, the Aragonese soldiers were at a loss. They looked at the ugly black trunk behind him in fear, and at the king standing motionless, as if they didn't know how to face them. everything of.
"Your Majesty," the attendant put on Ferdinand with a leather cloak, and said quickly in his ear, "There is news from someone from Zaragoza."
Whether it was cold or something, Ferdinand's cheek trembled, and he hurried to the village.
When he came to the residence, he saw a man who was also drenched in a glass while drinking, he took it back from that man's hand and drank it.
Then he asked his entourage to help him take off his drenched clothes, and afterwards he took it off, and said to the person standing aside who had just rushed back: "Tell me what you have heard."
"Your Majesty, I have found a lot of nobles in Zaragoza, but I'm sorry to those people who seem to be totally unwilling to get involved in this matter," the man said when he saw the weird eyes cast by Ferdinand quickly explained "That's how they describe it as'not getting into this matter'."
"Did they say that? Those people are the nobles of Aragon, but now they are watching their king face danger and stand by." Ferdinand turned around naked, then he stopped and looked at the man. Tell me everything, what happened in Zaragoza?"
"It's not your Majesty Zaragoza, it's Rome," the man paused as if thinking what to say, and then he said, "It is said that several countries in Rome have just signed a treaty called the Po River Agreement. The emperor sent The coming messenger arrived in Zaragoza not long ago, but by then you had already set off."
"What is the content of that treaty?" A bad premonition flashed in Ferdinand's mind. He knew that Maximian should also promote difficulties now, but he would send an envoy specifically for this treaty, so there must be a very important one. thing.
"Sorry, your Majesty, I did not see the specific content of the treaty, but one of them is a joint commitment by the signatory countries not to recognize the rule of the emperor's family over any country in the non-imperial sense, unless they voluntarily give up the title of the Holy Roman Emperor. The inheritance rights of the emperor’s direct descendants are also not recognized."
Ferdinand, who just took the towel to wipe his body from the attendant next to him, was taken aback~EbookFREE.me~ His eyes were staring at the man unblinkingly, as if he wanted to see if what he said was true. words.
His eyes were so sharp that the man lowered his head in fear.
"That's it." It took a while for Ferdinand to sit down slowly, as if he was awake. He still wiped his arms with the towel unconsciously, but his eyes were firmly fixed in the corner of the room. For a while, his eyes moved and looked at the attendant, "I have something for you to do."
The attendant bowed carefully and said, "Your Majesty, what do you want?"
"Go to Zaragoza," Ferdinand said slowly. "Don't hide your identity. Go to the archbishop in the name of my messenger and tell him that I ask him to promise to protect the safety of my grandsons."
The close attendant looked at what Ferdinand wanted to ask, but Ferdinand raised his hand to stop him: "Just tell him this, he will understand what I mean, but remember you must let everyone before seeing him You all know that you made this request to him on my order."
The attendant bowed, and when he raised his head, he was surprised to find that a strand of hair was falling off the top of the king's head.