Vol 7 Chapter 35: Queen's Choice

In the early morning, before the sun came out, it was still dark, and Queen Isabella had already gotten up to work.
The vast and empty palace was chilling, even if a large stove was lit, but as long as you stood a little farther, it would be frozen and trembling.
Isabella didn't care about the cold. Sometimes she couldn't bear to walk to the fireplace for a short time because her hands were freezing. Then she would go back to the table and continue working.
Many people wonder why the queen does not let people put the stove closer to themselves, so that at least they don't have to walk around to keep warm.
This reason is only clear to some people around the queen.
"Do n’t be too warm, it will make me relax because of the warmth, and then I feel that maybe it ’s okay to sleep for a short time, and then the precious time is wasted like this, so it ’s better to be colder, at least to concentrate . "
This is the reason, an Isabella-style self-restraint, and Queen Castilla spends it almost every winter.
Today's work is a bit troublesome, and a seemingly small thing caught Isabella's attention.
There was a riot in the town of Castella, far northwest of Castile.
This was an event that seemed very simple at first, and then it became a big event when no one knew how.
A local old noble tax collector named Dudarin was attacked when he escorted the in-kind tax convoy back to the castle of the lord. Both the tax collector and the guard were killed and the tax car was looted.
This seems to be a very common robbery. Although the gangster seems to be more courageous, after all, he robbed the nobility and killed the tax collector, but as far as the incident itself is not a big deal. Perhaps, as long as those big lords sent someone to investigate, it would not be difficult to find the robbers, and then the punishment and execution.
But it was such a small incident that caused a storm.
The people in the town of Kaslera soon discovered the missing tax car. The goods on the car were long gone, and the gangsters disappeared, but it happened that someone was found not far from the intercepted truck. A very important clue.
It was a small piece of clothing that seemed to have been torn by branches because of the hasty departure, and the traces of the badges unique to the other nobleman's family who were the lords of the town of Kaslera, who was also the Dudarin family, were clearly visible.
It was this evidence that triggered the disputes and contradictions between the old and new nobles who had a delicate relationship in the town of Caslera. From the beginning of the mutual accusation to the next fight, the whole process was too fast for everyone to stop, just like An invisible hand is in control of everything, and the riot quickly changed from a small-scale conflict between the two servants to a war between the two fiefdoms in the entire town.
The entire town of Kaslera, and even further away, was involved in trouble. Although some people still came forward to mediate, the Dudarin family began to contact those nobles who have good relations with them, and publicly claimed to retaliate. "He stole the territory and the tax bastard", and the other party accused of robbery was not to be outdone. He immediately prepared friends and friends for a second battle.
The conflict between the two nobles, which was originally a small place, gradually turned into a war between the old and new nobles or the nobles who were robbed or divided into territories and the nobles who benefited. Although the contradictions that have arisen have been suppressed by the Shuangwang, they have never really disappeared.
Now, in such a seemingly inconspicuous small northwestern territory, because of an accidental robbery, it seems that this contradiction has a tendency to break out.
Isabella looked at the report of the incident in the town of Caslera in her hand, pondering the impact of the incident.
Unlike many people who believe that the two kings have achieved great achievements by regaining their lost ground, the Isabellas and their husbands see their situation very clearly. The combination of Castile and Aragon is not so much a country as a state. The combination of the two of them. As long as one of their husbands and wives has a length of two or two, this fragile United Kingdom may quickly split or even war will be caused. Isabella and her husband Ferdinand are very clear.
It is precisely because of this that the couple formed a tacit understanding. Isabella tried to bring the two countries closer together through the church until one day they became one, and Ferdinand ’s approach To be more secular and practical, he strengthened his rule while struggling against the nobles who seemed to him to be potential enemies, and at the same time tried to win over those monarchs who might help him.
"What happened in the town of Caslera, this one must be understood immediately," Isabella told the secretary next to her that she had to deal with too many official duties every day, although the riots in the town of Caslera let her I was a bit worried, but after all, there was more to do, so she put it aside after she was instructed. "So tell me what we can get from the new colony this year."
When it comes to this, Isabella's original expressionless face has a slight smile on her face. Speaking of this, it is one of the few differences between her and Ferdinand. When he summoned that Columbus, he heard him propose Ferdinand immediately dissatisfied with all kinds of demands. In Ferdinand's view, this man was not only unreasonable but also greedy, and the amount of money he requested was indeed huge. Trivial matters, so Ferdinand chose to be cautious.
But Isabella saw the crazy confidence and hope from that Columbus. She was attracted by this madness, and finally decided to fund that person to complete his adventure.
Facts have proved that Isabella ’s decision was correct. Columbus brought them huge rewards, and several successive expeditions have made people realize that the islands that Columbus named San Salvador may be more than he discovered. When I thought it was much bigger, it led to a wave of exploration of new territories, so that even a Portuguese named Dagama discovered a new territory from Africa to India, and it did not affect Castilli. The Asians' passion for the new colony.
Isabella's eyes softened when she thought of the sudden improvement of her mood. Columbus brought her too many surprises, and in addition to the gold and spices of the ship, the more important thing was to make her There was a feeling that she seemed to defeat her husband in some places.
Even when he violated Enrique ’s orders when he was young and secretly married Ferdinand, Isabella knew that her choice was also related to interests and not related to love, so even these years, even their children have grown up Adults, but in fact, the relationship between their husbands and wives is more of a national and national integration, which is why she still ca n’t understand the overly persistent attitude of Juana.
At the thought of Juana, Isabella's mood was better and she couldn't help but get worse.
She had heard of Philip ’s romantic nature, but Isabella never felt that this son-in-law was wrong because of this. In fact, Ferdinand also had several mistresses, and how many of his illegitimate children probably even touched him. I do n’t know.
So Isabella felt incredible about Juana's seemingly crazy jealousy. What's worse is that as Philip's behavior became more and more debauchery, this already crazy crazy jealousy became stronger and stronger.
Isabella had to consider whether to remind the son-in-law a little, after all, Juana like that was really reassuring.
Some headache queens read the documents in their hands while thinking about things. Queen Castilla is famous for her hard work. In this regard, Isabella can proudly declare that she is more conscientious than any European monarch of her generation. , It just doesn't seem to be enough.
Isabella sighed slightly inconspicuously, and she hoped she could do more, because she had begun to feel vaguely worse than before, which made her very worried.
Because of the death of his son Juan, the future heir to the throne has become a major issue for everyone ’s attention, and as her daughters are getting married, although it has not been finally announced, it is now certain that Juana will become the future Queen of Castile.
But now Juana ’s appearance is really worrying. Isabella has been troubled by this for a long time. She once secretly asked her private pastor Thomas Tongomada to exorcise Juana because she thinks that her daughter is haunted by the devil. Too.
If it was someone else, it might have been sent to the gallows or even burned alive. Of course, Isabella would not do this to her daughter, but the result of the exorcism was not satisfactory, and Thomas Tongomad failed completely. , And even a little shocked, he reported to the queen that "the princess’ soul has been completely occupied by the devil and the witch. She is now just a walking body, and the terrible thing hiding in her body has been completely corroded. Her soul ".
Thomas Tongomada's words also frightened Isabella. When she thought of giving the throne to such a daughter in the future, she couldn't help but have a headache for the dilemma she faced.
So when she finally saw the report written by the Portuguese ambassador Don Luvigo, Isabella almost collapsed with excitement.
"What happened, what exactly did that Manuel want to do?" Isabella walked angrily around the palace with the letter from Count Don Luvigo. They walked through several doors and went directly to the hallway outside to greet several ministers who were waiting to meet. Then they closed the door and began to discuss the series of changes in Portugal.
The letter from Earl Don Luvigo was very detailed. In the letter, he could n’t help but give a detailed report on the situation of Mary today, and after careful analysis based on Manuel ’s words and deeds, he finally got One conclusion that worried the Castilian court was that the Portuguese were likely to secretly form alliances with certain countries as a means to subsequently compete for colonies at sea.
As for this allied country, although Earl Don Luvigo did not say it, everyone naturally thought of the only possibility.
"Do the French want to fight a war with us?" Isabella asked the ministers angrily rather than accidentally. "Is it difficult to interfere with our affairs with Portugal on our own land?"
"Obviously, this is your majesty. The trouble is that this does not necessarily happen," a minister said with some anxiety. "And we also know that the French have been trying to win over Portugal."
"Yeah," Isabella frowned anxiously. Over the years, she has been paying attention to the situation in Portugal. At the time, Portugal's support for Juana in the war for the throne made her always wary of the Portuguese. For this, she Two daughters and Manuel were married in succession in order to try to appease Portugal.
But now it seems that things are completely beyond her expectations. The description in the letter of Earl Don Luvigo makes Isabella dilemma for a while, as many people guess, Isabella is really in this matter. It was a time when I did not know what attitude to take.
Does writing to Manuel ask him to lift Maria's house arrest, or does he directly accuse him of trying to compete with himself for overseas colonies?
Isabella knew it was not wise to do anything, because except for the reasons that seemed to embarrass her, the most important thing was that Manuel did take the initiative.
If the attitude towards Portugal is too tough, it is undoubtedly pushing Manuel to the French side, which is obviously unwise, but Isabella can not tolerate the provocation of the Portuguese.
This is indeed a very embarrassing choice, Isabella feels that Manuel really caught her weakness this time.
"Or we should send more troops to Lombardy," Isabella said after looking at her ministers. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to fall into a strange silence at the same time, which made Isabella suddenly There was a burst of dissatisfaction, and her eyes swept over everyone's face, but in the end she asked as quietly as possible, "Why, don't you agree?"
"Your Majesty, although we have a tense relationship with the French, we are not enemies after all," seeing the others without saying a word, a minister finally could not help but stand up. "So even if Portugal and the French have collusion, if not For good reason, it is difficult for them to directly conflict with us in the short term, but if they send troops to Rome, this will lead us to directly fight with France. "
"Go to war, so is this what you are worried about?" Isabella's expression suddenly dimmed, her rounded chin moving with age signs of fatness moved, and a pair of eyes quickly swept over the ministers' faces. After that, put their very different eyes into the bottom of your eyes. "Are you worried about offending the French because of this? I think you should not forget to regain the glory of losing the land. At that time, you have never been afraid. Is it just such a short time Has it lost courage? "
Isabella's voice was agitated with sternness, and her eyes showed a hint of fanaticism, that look no less than the dreadful expression of her woman when she was mad.
The sudden anger of Isabella surprised the ministers. They looked at each other for a while and did not know how to answer. At the same time, some people were already wondering how to be with the queen.
"Tell me, if the French and Portugal unite, will we be able to fight them?" Isabella looked to the ministers aside, these were generals who had excellent performances in the war to regain the lost ground, among them Two of them even hit Granada, the last kingdom of the Moors.
She was clearly thinking about the worst possible situation at this time. When she thought that she might have to fight two strong enemies at the same time, Isabella's face flushed with excitement.
The ministers looked at the Queen with surprise. They did n’t know what made Isabella suddenly make this seemingly sloppy decision. After all, Castilla and Portugal are too complicated. And Isabella's decision is likely to completely destroy this relationship that has been maintained for too long.
"Adults, do you think my decision was a bit reckless?" Isabella seemed to see through the concerns of the ministers. She came down from the throne and stood among the ministers, slowly moving her feet to look at them Everyone, seeing the expression on their faces when they heard her, Isabella shook her head slightly "I'm asking you here, you think if I tolerate Manuel's provocation, he will give him up Plan? "
Seeing that the ministers hesitated but eventually shook their heads, Isabella gave a satisfied smile, which made her feel a little better, which made her believe that even after living with ease for a long time, these people are gone At first, she followed her to expel the Moorish spirit, but at least these people are still the way she is familiar ~ EbookFREE.me ~ In this case, why should I wait until they are all ready, "Isabella's eyes sharpened "I believe that the letter from Earl Don Lugogo is all true, but given the description in this letter, I believe that even though Manuel eventually made an alliance with the French, at least for now they have not done well. fully prepare. "
Speaking of this, Isabella just walked around and came back to the steps of her throne. With graceful steps, she slowly walked up two steps and turned to look at the ministers,
"This is the best time for us. After this time, maybe everything is different," Isabella looked at the ministers she knew well. "Masters, if we can intervene in the French Before launching a war enough for the Portuguese to be honest, I believe that Louis will not forcefully send troops for a failed Manuel. After all, he himself has a lot of troubles now, so let us seize this opportunity , Preemptive! "
The ministers listened to the queen ’s passionate speech, and for a time they seemed to see the young queen who led them to defeat the Moors. As Isabella ’s last words fell, all the ministers bowed to their queen and saluted. Excited cheers: "Long live the queen."