Vol 7 Chapter 64: King Ferdinand

An old man in a dirty robe was standing on the slightly steep river bank. He struggled forward, struggling forward, watching the two servants in front carefully insert a wooden stick with many numbers on it into the river. , And then made a mark on the top of the place soaked by the river water.
The wooden stick was lifted up, and looking at the mark above, the old man wrote the number on the corresponding scale on a book with a thick wooden skin cover.
Then he stumbled up the river bank with the help of his servant, and walked to the people who were waiting there.
"Your Majesty, the water level of the Ebro River this year is lower than in previous years, and it is not yet April. If this continues, there may be a drought this year."
The old man said worriedly to Ferdinand, who was frowning and listening to all this, and the old man sighed helplessly when he saw the king's eyebrows tightened tightly.
A pair of slightly slender eyebrows moved, and Ferdinand took the old hydrological record document from the old man, and looked at the records above because of the old age, some of the records have been blurred, his mood Gradually heavier.
The Ebro River is the largest river in the Kingdom of Aragon, and the capital, Zaragoza, is located at the confluence of the Ebro River and the Virva River, another large Aragonese river.
Zaragoza has a long history. According to some ancient legends, it can even be traced back to the 4th century BC.
Because of this, Zaragoza has formed a unique capital with many styles after going through different eras in Rome, Gothic, Moorish and later Aragonese.
As the city that is said to be the first to convert to God in Aragon, Zaragoza not only has a proud cathedral, but also makes Zaragoza proud that this church holds the first Iberian Peninsula Ornaments worn when the statue of the Virgin was completed.
This makes Zaragoza the sacred place of the Aragonese, second only to the Holy Land of Jerusalem and the Holy See.
Every October, the Virgin Mary ’s Remembrance Day in Zaragoza becomes the most important anniversary of Aragon in addition to Christmas, which is also a good day for the Kings of Aragon to show the royal prestige to the people.
But this is the same day, and it has become a nightmare for the Zaragoza people.
Zaragoza is a very strange place. While it has plenty of water, it also has the most severe semi-desert environment in the Iberian Peninsula, and the evolution of this semi-desertification has become more and more serious over time. So that when Ferdinand II succeeded to the throne, a large area on the north bank of the Ebro River had changed from a lush green field to a withered yellow.
To make matters worse, the Ebro River will have a long period of depletion from October each year. During that time, when the river is the shallowest, people can even cross the river without using a boat.
What is worrying is that the period of this depletion period has become longer and longer, from the earliest recorded ten days a year, to almost all of October now, and it is the anniversary of the Virgin ’s Revelation every year. At that time, I saw the Maria Augustine Monument from the opposite side to resist the Moore ’s named descendants, wading through the torch with a torch, and lamented that Moses could walk across the Ebro River like the sea broke through. During the feat, the monarchs of Aragon were also worried about the desert that had taken away large fields and became increasingly difficult to contain.
Compared with his previous princes, Ferdinand has a much longer-term vision. In the past, when the Kings of Aragon always prayed for the grace of God to stop this doom, Ferdinand saw a better Method.
It's just that this king has a slightly feminine appearance and doesn't even look more majestic than his wife. Although he is known as "Catholic Ferdinand", the method he came up with has nothing to do with his faith. relationship.
Ferdinand has a most detailed map of Iberia in the palace room. This map not only marks the key locations of many cities, docks, castles and fortresses, but also casts Castilla and Aragon. The terrain hydrology is marked as clearly and detailed as possible.
In this map, the Castilla Plateau, which is far in the center of Valladolid, overlooks the entire Aragon in the west. On the plateau, several lines on the plateau mean rough lines of varying thickness. The names of the rivers marked.
Several of the rivers in the eastern part of the plateau have been painted in conspicuous red, which makes them appear abrupt on the map.
"These rivers can be the key to saving Zaragoza and even Aragon."
Ferdinand said this to his ministers more than once, and in his plan, he used excavation to connect the canal to the Ebro River, and then introduced the abundant water source on the Casilitia Plateau into Aragon, Northern Aragon, with Zaragoza as the center, is able to prevent the increasing desertification of the land.
This is a huge plan, and it is a project that is too large for many people to realize. Even after hearing this crazy idea, Ferdinand is crazy because he needs money to realize his vision. Manpower and time cannot be afforded by the current Aragonese court.
"I do n’t expect to see this done while I ’m alive," Ferdinand once said to those whom he trusted. "But I have to be prepared for this plan, which requires a strong Kingdom, a country combined with Castile, otherwise all this is meaningless. "
Because of this, Ferdinand showed no mercy to anyone who tried to obstruct his eventual unification of the two kingdoms, whether Castilla or Aragon, he repeatedly and decisively crushed those who tried to destroy the two countries. A unified conspiracy even showed no mercy to his son-in-law.
For the marriage with Maximian, Ferdinand was very active at the beginning, but what he did not expect was that his son Juan would suddenly die of illness and die just 2 years ago.
Ferdinand, who lost his heir, was surprised to find that Philip, who married his daughter Juana, unexpectedly became the last beneficiary, which made him instantly feel a great sense of crisis.
Even far away in Zaragoza, Ferdinand can quickly know what happened to Valladolid. For the almost crazy obsession of Philip by Juana, Ferdinand thinks that this is nothing more than In order to control Juana's play, Philip made him think of Philip as his biggest enemy.
Standing in front of the map again, Ferdinand carefully looked at everything on the map. He knew his plan was huge and crazier, but he had to do everything he could to pray to God for Aragon ’s future. Maybe Necessary, but he firmly believes that this plan is also inspired by God.
But before carrying out this huge plan, he still has many obstacles to clear.
A handwritten letter by Isabella was laid on the table not far in front of him. Seeing the striking emblem of the royal family of Castile on the envelope, Ferdinand couldn't help but fall into contemplation.
The letter was delivered two days ago, and was followed by the special envoy sent by Isabella.
The special envoy told Ferdinand in detail about the Queen ’s intentions, and then looked at Isabella ’s repeated emphasis in the letter that Ferdinand had understood her intentions.
In Italy, the French reconciled with the French in exchange for Louis XII ’s renunciation of the Iberian war, which was obviously the result of Isabella ’s deliberate thoughts.
And the news from Andalusia is indeed not optimistic. Andalusian nobles headed by Dumbawi are contacting lords everywhere, and from Isabella's letter, Ferdinand knows to stay in Tole. The old Castilian forces in Duojiudu seem to be waiting for opportunities to exert pressure on Isabella.
All this sounds to prove that the situation is so severe that Isabella had to make a request to Ferdinand to stop the war in Italy.
It was just that although Castilla ’s envoys had been seeking for two consecutive days, Ferdinand did not summon it for reasons.
Looking at the letter now, Ferdinand was wondering how to use it to get more benefits from it.
As a couple, Ferdinand and Isabella are the marriage between the monarchs, and as kings, they have a more intimate relationship than any other monarch, which is destined to be more than any other between them. Are more complicated.
In the letter, Isabella once again urged Ferdinand to return to Valladolid to meet her in order to cope with this dangerous situation together.
But Ferdinand knew that Isabella's writing actually implied that he would reconsider the decision to involve Juana in government affairs.
Before leaving Valladolid, the couple had a fierce debate about whether to allow Juana to help them deal with government affairs. Isabella insisted that Juana learn how to deal with North Korea as soon as possible because she felt that if If it goes on like this, maybe Juana may rely on Philip in the future, which makes Isabella determined to want Juana to learn all the conditions and experience as a monarch as soon as possible.
Ferdinand did not think so. He sought various reasons to prevent Isabella from doing so, which ultimately led Isabella to directly accuse Ferdinand of merely wanting to take control of himself.
Although Isabella was right, this still caused Ferdinand's great anger.
He rebuked Isabella for being too indulgent towards Juana, so that she was completely unprepared for how to become a qualified monarch, so if power was given to her in this way, the only result would be for her to be manipulated by those careerists Puppet.
Then the quarrel ended with displeasure, but no one thought at that time that such a situation would appear now.
"I have to make the Castilians understand that I am also their monarch, so I must consider my will before making any decision," Ferdinand said to an elderly minister who stood aside. That was his chief minister. When he saw the other nodded silently, he walked over and picked up the letter on the table. "So do you think you should have peace with Louis XII?"
"Your Majesty, this is related to the Kingdom of Sicily," Seeing Ferdinand heard a trace of anger on his face, the Chief Minister shook his head helplessly. "We did not expect that Gonzalo would disobey the order, although fighting with the Ottoman It also ensured that Sicily was protected, but it is indeed the responsibility of Gonzalo that Naples fell into the hands of the widow of Alfred. "
Ferdinand listened somberly, Gonzalo ran to the Aegean Sea without following his orders, and the act of strangling with the Ottomans made him angry, although according to the report that Gonzalo later sent back, it was In order to avoid a conflict with the Duke of Rome Tesia, it is also true that the Aragonese army failed to take advantage of the French invasion to intervene in the situation in Naples in time.
Ferdinand was very angry about Gonzalo ’s courageous behavior, which made him even scold the arrogant and arrogant person in front of Isabella, but Isabella apparently favored Gonzalo, she did not He stopped defending him and even described Gonzalo's battle with the Ottomans as a Crusade.
"Your Majesty, given that Her Majesty has ordered Gonzalo to return as soon as possible, even if we want to continue fighting with the French, we must have a new expeditionary commander, so at least during this time we did There is no need to continue this war, and this is also an opportunity for the emperor to get into more trouble, right? "
The Chief Minister ’s words moved Ferdinand ’s heart. He knew that the Chief Minister was right. Once the Aragon army was pulled out of the Italian war, the only main force fighting the French positively became the Austrian. This is for Maximilian. Ann is not a happy thing.
"Maybe things may not be so bad," Ferdinand was suddenly a little excited. He had long heard that with the bankruptcy of the Fogel family, Maximian's life was very difficult, and he was even unable to form one. With enough troops, if you decide to reconcile with the French at this time, perhaps the only way out for the ill-fated emperor is to compromise with yourself.
Let Maximian recall Philip. This idea can no longer be dispelled as soon as it emerges. Ferdinand quickly wondered in his heart as a prerequisite for re-entry in the war. Whether Maximian can accept this condition. After thinking more and more that this idea is really wonderful, another idea suddenly appeared.
"Is that the Duke of Rome Tesia now in Lisbon?" Ferdinand asked, and it was clear that the spies in Valladolid had inquired about the news.
"Your Majesty ~ EbookFREE.me ~ It is said that the Duke has already gone to Valladolid." An attendant on the side reported to Ferdinand.
"Oh, then I missed him," Ferdinand said with some regret, but with a very different look. "If we withdraw from the war, the French might give his Romane Tuscany The Principality suddenly became interested, if so "
Speaking of which, Ferdinand looked at the Chief Minister.
"If that's the case, your Majesty we can all propose to the Duke through the Vatican. If we want to keep his Principality, then we must condition the surrender of Naples."
Listening to the Chief Minister ’s words, Ferdinand nodded: "Yes, indeed, then send someone to order our expeditionary forces to stop fighting with the French, and then let Gonzalo return to Castile, remember to be sure Let the French understand that our army no longer poses any threat to them even if they remain on the ground. "
Speaking of which, Ferdinand held up the letter in his hand and looked at it, and then a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "Now I ca n’t wait to see for myself that the Duke ’s face was kind when he heard this condition. What kind of expression? "