Chapter 1,271 A turning point in history, the fate of the Kingdom of Portugal!
"Your Majesty, the scholars have left. They have always been lax... What happened in the Sintra Palace today will probably spread to Castile and the court of Valladolid in a short time.
, known by the twin kings in the east!…”
"Um…"
"Your Majesty, as the saying goes, before a conflict begins, you should think about how it will end. A rational person will not use red cloth to provoke a mad buffalo. But in the current situation, Castile is in debt and extremely vicious.
The kingdom is just an angry buffalo..."
"Um…"
"Your Majesty, not everything that glitters is gold. The court's previous judgment about Columbus was not wrong. And the calculations of navigation scholars were also correct. Columbus should not have arrived in India or Sipangu! Just based on this
Writing a book with oriental characters may not actually prove anything. There are too many possibilities for the origin of this book. You are a true monarch, with the virtues of a fox and a lion. Therefore, you do not need to
Angry about it, or regretful about it..."
"Um…"
The sky has darkened, and the scholars have left. In the empty Sintra Palace, only the king's guard is left, and there is a Portuguese king sitting on a stone seat, staring at the palace murals.
John II looked at his ancestors on the wall, and the ancestors also looked at him. Gradually, the anger on his face disappeared, and the gloom on his face also dissipated. His reason overcame his emotions again, and he became a
In the words of the Florentine scholar Machiavelli, he was a "perfect monarch".
"Nuno, I am not angry, nor have I regretted it. I am just thinking about how to deal with the changes brought about by Columbus, and about the next choice of the Kingdom of Portugal..."
"Your Majesty... the news from the East brought by Columbus still contains many contradictions and cannot be believed... The prison officer is intensifying his torture and asking him to explain all the details of his exploration clearly..."
Nuno, a close confidant of the palace, stood aside and gave his opinion with a respectful and serious expression.
"Maybe Columbus misremembered the distance he sailed. Maybe the East is far more vast than we imagined. Or maybe it is a brand new island in the East that has never been recorded in history, and no one has ever arrived..."
"Nuno, everything you said is possible. But these are not the focus of the matter.
João II smiled, looked at his cronies, and spoke quietly.
"In the eyes of a monarch, Columbus's offenses and deceptions are not a big deal. All the words he said are pretentious and false, and they are not worthy of my belief. After he took out the book
Before "Book of the East", he was just a nobody, an insignificant ant that could be crushed to death or let go. But after he took out the book, he proved a really important conclusion, which I must detain.
His reason!…”
"Books from the East appear on islands deep in the Atlantic Ocean. This only proves one thing! The new route from the west to the East, no matter what it looks like in detail, no matter how difficult it may be, does exist!
…”
"Books from the East can reach islands deep in the Atlantic Ocean. Ships from Europe can also reach islands deep in the Atlantic Ocean. Then, after that, ships departing from Europe can reach the East directly from the Atlantic Ocean! This theory exists
The new sea route was suddenly confirmed! As the Kingdom of Portugal, which has mastered the new sea route to the east and is already sure of reaching India, how should we make a choice and how should we face the exploration to the west?!..."
"Ah! The new route to the west, the possibility of confirmation..."
Nuno, a close confidant in the palace, remained silent, thinking about the king's thoughts and the interests of the Kingdom of Portugal. After a moment, he answered in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, I understand what you mean... If Columbus couldn't provide any evidence and only discovered a native island in the Atlantic Ocean. Then, when the kingdom is about to reach India in the east, it would be natural to embark on an inexplicable voyage to the west.
Not worth the effort…”
"But now, this evidence confirms the existence of the new western route. And we Portuguese founded the country by sailing to find the wealth of the new route, as the sail of the kingdom... We naturally cannot let go of this westward route, let go of this confirmed
Opportunity!…"
"And you detained Columbus and enumerated his crimes, not to execute him and intensify the conflict with the Kingdom of Castile... You just interrogated the details of the voyage for the sake of the Kingdom's maritime interests, and to buy time to delay Castile.
The maritime exploration of the Romans. This allows us, the Portuguese, to try our best to equalize and take the lead in the opening of new routes to the west!…”
"Well, that's right! Nuno, you are very clear. We Portuguese have hundreds of years of sailing experience. As long as it is fair competition and we are willing to participate in it, why should we be afraid of those Castilians on land?
…”
John II smiled and showed confidence on his face. However, as a monarch, he still has to be as cunning as a fox and be able to borrow all available power.
"Nuno, send an envoy to share with King Charles VIII of France the information about Castile's exploration of the Atlantic and the discovery of a new sea route! To the young king, I convey my greetings and my sincere friendship for sharing the new sea route to the west.
…”
"Ah? Your Majesty, inform the King of France to share the new western sea route? This..."
"Yes! The news brought back by Columbus cannot be concealed. And if the new route to the west is really established, it will be difficult for us Portuguese to monopolize it. With our strength, how can we be as powerful as the Ottomans?
That way, monopolizing all Eastern goods?...That would make us the common enemy of the entire Catholic world, and we must recruit other forces to participate!..."
"The King of France, Charles VIII, who has just taken office, is different from Princess Anne who was the regent before. He is an ambitious and impatient young man. We want to stimulate his desire for expansion, first let him move, let the Kingdom of France move.
.And once the Gallus rooster (Gallus) moves, no matter what it does and expands in that direction, it will eventually involve the surrounding neighboring countries, and it will definitely involve the Castilians! In the entire Western Europe, it can involve Ibi
The two kings of Leah are only the Kingdom of France, which has many knights. And the focus of the French is still on land after all, and will not threaten our maritime hegemony..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "That's it! Your Majesty, do you want to also send envoys to our ally, the Kingdom of England on the northern island?..."
"The kingdom's allies, the English? The envoy to Henry VII?...Hmm...don't worry. Henry is a shrewd guy who has a good way of doing maritime business. He colluded with the Venetians, imported alum from the Ottoman Empire in large quantities, and then
It was resold to the Low Countries. This obviously offended the Roman Church, which monopolized the alum trade, and aroused strong dissatisfaction from the Pope... And the Pope is the force we must fight for! There is an irreconcilable coinage conflict between the Venetians and the Kingdom...
"
João II pondered for a long time and then shook his head. In fact, these reasons could convince the nobles of the kingdom, but they were not his true thoughts in his heart.
As a Portuguese king who was watching the disputes in Europe, he had been vaguely aware of the English's excellent geographical advantages, stronger national power and population, and potential threats to Portugal's maritime hegemony. Therefore, he was gradually easing up with the French.
relations, and had a cold attitude towards the traditional English allies. On the contrary, through the relationship between the Venetians, the two Iberian kings seemed to be getting closer to King Henry of England...
"The Lord is witness! The kingdom is contacting these external forces just to find the possibility of containing the Castilians... But what is truly reliable is to strengthen the power of the Portuguese and rely on ourselves!..."
João II always remained sober. He never placed his hopes on others that he could not control. As he spoke, he looked at his confidant Nuno and asked solemnly.
"Nuno, now that we have received news about the new route to the west, we must dispatch the Kingdom's exploration fleet as soon as possible... We don't need too many ships and manpower, but we must do it as soon as possible! This autumn, when the east wind blows, the first
The exploration fleet is about to set off! At least, they have to reach the archipelago visited by Columbus, verify the accuracy of the information they got from the crew, and have a discussion with the source of the "Book of the East", the 'civilized yet barbaric' native kingdom.
Beware of friendly contact!…”
"As for the candidate for the captain of this exploration fleet, do you have any suggestions?..."
"Ah! Exploring deep into the dangerous Atlantic Ocean and coming into contact with the even more dangerous native kingdom? Who is the captain of the fleet?..."
Hearing the king's inquiry, his confidant Nuno felt nervous, but his face didn't show it at all. This suggestion really made him a little embarrassed.
There are many experienced sailing nobles in the Kingdom of Portugal, and there are also many suitable captains. But going deep into the Atlantic Ocean and looking for remote islands is by no means a safe and pleasant experience! This kind of exploration deep into the vast ocean is more difficult to explore than along the southern continent.
Navigation is extremely dangerous! This is true. You have to sacrifice your own life for the Kingdom of Portugal!
For a sailing mission like this, no matter which noble family he recommends, he will probably not gain any favor, but will offend others. And once the nobles who go to sea are in trouble and cannot come back, they will offend a lot of nobles behind them!
…
Therefore, for recommendations like this, it is best to look for people who have a shallow foundation, no background, and are eager to get ahead. Recommending such people is not about offending, but about giving the other person a chance, and it is appreciation and promotion from the superior.
.And such a baseless person, even if he dies on a voyage, he will not cause trouble for the non-existent family behind him...
The confidant Nuno just pondered for a few breaths, and his eyes flashed slightly, obviously thinking of something. He bowed his head respectfully, and said to King Joao with a sincere face.
"Your Majesty! According to what Columbus said, and according to the instructions of the crew... sailing westward deep into the Atlantic Ocean, there will be many difficult tests such as storm currents, ship damage, disease and food shortage, native attacks, etc... Therefore, such a mission is the most difficult one.
It’s better to choose a young captain who has ocean-going experience, is also smart, capable and strong!…”
"I thought about it, and I happened to think of a suitable candidate... He once went south with the Royal Knight Captain Diogo Kang, withstood the test of the devil's curse, and explored the southern continent... He also followed the Royal Director Sir Dias and crossed the storm.
The Cape of Good Hope circumnavigates the southernmost tip of the southern continent..."
"And during this search for the Castilian spy ship, he was the first to discover the traces of Columbus's sailing ship, and finally joined the gang to arrest him himself. He can be said to be experienced, strong and capable!..."
"Huh? Who is he?..."
"He is the nephew of Knight Diogo, the royal knight you once canonized, Bruno Kang!..."
On the throne, the calm João II thought for a while, and then recalled the young man who had no family background and was not conspicuous, a nobleman who was promoted from the common people. It would not be a pity even if such a captain was damaged,
Best for pathfinding…
After pondering for a moment, Joao II finally nodded.
"Very good! It's really suitable. Then choose him!..."
