Chapter 171: The voyage in 1492 AD, Spain’s only choice, the new Atlantic route
The warm sunlight fell down on the dome, outlining the magnificent colors. The calls of seabirds came from the dome, vaguely like ethereal mocking. At this moment, in the Abensalah Hall, there was a lot of discussion, interspersed with low voices.
The great nobles of Castile and Aragon were chatting with each other as if no one else was watching. Scholars from all over the country were arguing fiercely. No one seemed to care, standing blankly in front of everyone, saying "The great nobles" in embarrassment.
Navigator" Columbus.
"Well, looking for islands in the sea, attracting real navigators, and preventing France from intervening in the Atlantic Ocean...for political considerations..."
After listening to the story of Antonio, the Aragonese navigation scholar, the elder Castilian royal scholar Pedro pondered for a while and nodded slowly. He glanced at Columbus, who was ignored by everyone, and then looked at
The back of King Fernando not far away suddenly recited a difficult-to-pronounce ancient Greek proverb in Latin.
"Sages have known it for a long time! When all truth is linked to politics, it breaks away from the objective calculation of scholars and abandons the sage's pursuit of truth... Even the most absurd and unrealistic proposal will not appear so absurd.
.It’s just that the black hands that manipulate politics will show even more darkness and despicability under the light of truth!…”
"Ahem! God bless, God bless!..."
Hearing Pedro's meaningful whisper, Aragonese scholar Antonio sweated on his forehead and quickly interrupted. Pedro could boldly say such words that mocked King Fernando of Aragon, but Antonio
Ao didn't dare to get involved.
Pedro is very old and has a great reputation. He is a royal scholar of Castile, has studied at the Portuguese Maritime Academy, and has a respected status as a royal noble. At this moment, he is making a few innuendoes at King Fernando,
Even if the king heard it, he couldn't say anything at all and could only pretend not to hear it.
In fact, the royal noble Pedro himself represents a faction of nobles in the Kingdom of Castile: those older and conservative nobles who are hostile to King Fernando and are close to Portugal.
These older conservative nobles, on the one hand, opposed the centralization of power by the two kings and the cunning Fernando, who had no political bottom line, and interfered in the internal affairs of Castile. On the other hand, they were opposed to Enrique IV's
The orthodox heir, the eldest daughter Juana, who has the blood of the Portuguese royal family and is relatively weak and easy to control, has considerable sympathy. Now as the influence of the two kings increases, although their political power is declining, they still cannot tolerate it.
underestimate.
"Ahem! Dear Scholar Pedro, the queen is the bright holy light, and the king is also the holy light, but it is slightly dimmer..."
"Ha? Holy Light? Is est tenebrarum et serpentum malissimus! He is the most evil shadow and poisonous snake... Don't forget the vicious methods he used to slander Princess Juana, and the mysterious death of Prince Alonso falling from his horse last year..."
"Ahem! Domine Deus! Cessa! Lord! Stop!..."
Hearing Pedro mention last year, Portuguese Prince Alonso's mysterious fall from his horse, Aragonese scholar Antonio suddenly became sweaty and couldn't sit still.
This strange and inexplicable case happened last summer, not far from the border between Portugal and the Kingdom of Castile. Prince Alonso, who is only 16 years old, is the only legitimate son of King Joao II of Portugal.
He was also engaged to the eldest daughter of Queen Isabella, and was the only hope for the peaceful merger of Portugal and the Kingdom of Castile. His sudden and bizarre death not only represented the natural termination of the royal engagement between the two countries, but also in reality
It marked the complete break between Portugal and Castile! And after this incident, the biggest beneficiary behind the scenes was naturally the King of Aragon, Fernando...
“Dominus protegat!…”
Antonio immediately ended this dangerous and secret Latin dialogue. He looked at Juan de la Cosa, the Castilian navigator sitting on the other side, and changed the subject.
"Juan, what do you think about Columbus's proposal?"
"Uh!...What do I think?..."
Juan de la Cosa, a North Castilian navigator who was born in Santonia, is about forty years old. He has a very kind appearance and bright eyes. He was eating melon happily with his ears tilted.
Listening to the chatter of two old scholars and seniors, while practicing Latin listening... But unexpectedly, the melon suddenly fell on my head.
"I think...well...it's very good!..."
"What's good?...You mean, Columbus's navigation proposal, which was full of absurdities and errors, was good?"
"Well... Lord Columbus's proposal to explore the Atlantic Ocean is very inaccurate, but the general direction is very good!..."
The navigator Juan de la Cosa stood up straight, looked at the two old scholars who looked disdainful, and said solemnly.
"Four years ago, Sir Antonio Dias of Portugal discovered the southernmost tip of the Southern Continent, beyond the stormy Cape of Good Hope. And further forward, beyond the east side of the Southern Continent, is India, which is full of spices and gems! ...
"
"This means that the Portuguese have basically discovered a new route to India!... And two years ago, the Queen sent me to Portugal to spy on... oh no, to investigate relevant route information... from those surviving voyages
From what the sailors said, I roughly guessed that from Portugal to the southernmost tip of the African continent alone, that is, from 36 degrees north latitude to 34 degrees south latitude, there is a full 10,000 kilometers of sea route!..."
"The Lord has witnessed! In opening up new shipping routes, the Portuguese are already too far ahead of us! They have established many fortresses and strongholds in the southern continent, and also built a huge fleet, and even made good friends with the large southern tribes along the way.
Maintain this new shipping route flowing with gold! ...After Prince Alonso's death, there is no room for maneuver in our relationship with the Portuguese. Without experiencing a nationwide fight, they will never let our fleet go
, participate in the new route of the Southern Continent..."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After hearing the story of Juan the Navigator, Pedro and Antonio looked at each other with somewhat moved expressions. These royal scholars, although on the surface,
They focus on academics and truth, but are well-informed and knowledgeable about each other. In fact, they have a more thorough understanding of the political situation of the three Iberian kingdoms than the great nobles of many kingdoms.
"Hey! The death of Prince Alonso...the new route that the Portuguese have discovered..."
Pedro sighed and shook his head, while Antonio lowered his eyes. Both old scholars understood what Juan the Navigator meant and fell silent.
Although the new route to India through the southern continent and heading south and east is very good and perfect, it has even been explored and discovered by Portuguese navigators! But this new route has nothing to do with the two kingdoms of Spain.
.Although the new route to explore the Atlantic Ocean to the west is very illusory and extremely far away, it is currently the only route that is possible to be discovered and controlled by Spain!
"God bless you! Dear Scholar Pedro, I also agree with your calculations. The new route from Europe west to Asia will be at least 14,000 kilometers, far exceeding the figure proposed by Lord Columbus..."
Navigator Juan smiled gently, looked at the two Navigation Committee scholars who were silent, and then nodded encouragingly to Columbus in front of everyone.
"But the new route to Asia to the west, whether it is a voyage of 14,000 miles or a voyage of up to 20,000 kilometers... is actually not that far away compared with the Portuguese's new route south to India!..."
"God bless the two kings! We are starting from scratch. We do not have to follow the old path of the Portuguese, and the other side will not allow us to follow their old path..."
"So, open up a new Atlantic route to the west, find the legendary Antilia Island, St. Brendan's Island, or some Atlantic island that no one has discovered yet, establish a supply base... and finally reach Khitan and Seliston.
Sipangu, the big island on the side, is the only new sea route we can hold in our hands!…”
Speaking of this, Juan the Navigator raised his voice slightly, not only to the surrounding Navigation Committee scholars, but also to the Queen's confessor Hernando de Talavera, the Queen's Auditor General Aron, who were some distance away.
Zoro de Quintanilla and Luis de Sant'Angelo, the king's financial adviser, could all hear it clearly.
“The Lord is witness! In this exploration of the new route to the west, I, Juan de la Cosa, am willing to sail into the unpredictable storms of the Atlantic Ocean with the navigator Christopher Columbus! And my Santa Maria Clark sailing ship
, will also join with me and become a member of the exploration fleet!"