The Dalville River in the south of Castile is a large river that runs from east to west across the whole of Andalusia and flows through some of the most famous cities in the south of Castile, including Córdoba and Seville, before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

Due to the topography, the Dalville River forms bays of various sizes and deltas due to its confluence with other rivers in several different sections, and these places have cultivated large tracts of fertile land due to their abundant water sources and geographical location, gradually forming the best grain producing areas in Castile.

Alexander first knew the name Seville because he thought it was a comedy called "The Barber of Seville", so whenever he saw this place name, his mind would always flash an apron tied around his waist, a towel on his shoulder, a tin basin filled with hot water in his hand, and a bright image of a razor that could be used to cut hair and wipe people's necks hung from his belt.

In fact, the first specialized barbershop in Seville actually appeared more than a century later, with earlier barbers who also worked part-time as doctors, and some as gravediggers.

Seville, the lower reaches of the Dalville River, is the largest city in the south of Castile, and was recaptured from the Moors much earlier than Córdoba, which was closer to the north, and was once the capital of the Kingdom of Castile after the Moorish were driven out in the late 13th century, until the Astamara dynasty inherited the kingdom's legal system.

The royal palace of Seville is now the residence of the southern consuls of Andalusia, where the consuls sent by Valladóde to Andalusia are stationed.

The Andalusian consuls had always been a fictitious position, and in Castile, where the feudal lords were powerful, the consuls sent by the king were more of a façade to prove the suzerainty of the royal family over these regions, and neither the lords themselves nor the successive consuls really thought that they were there to exercise their power.

The reason for this is that the lords and nobles of Andalusia were very powerful and tough, and the years of confrontation with the Moors made them not only aggressive, but also very strong, and almost every lord had an army of his own, even Isabella had to suffer in the immediate aftermath of the Reconquista to appease the nobles who seemed to be unruly in order to fight for success.

But these were years ago, just about 5 years ago, Isabella sent another of her consuls, who began to gradually gather power from the petty nobles soon after arriving in Andalusia, and Isabella gradually infiltrated the territory of the petty nobles through the influence of the church, and when the petty nobles finally understood what was happening, they found that they had not much leverage in their hands to fight Valladot.

Perhaps it was this initial victory that gave Isabella hope, so she began to tighten her grip on the noble realms, and as her control over the church grew, her gaze gradually shifted from the humble little nobles to the big ones with their important positions.

Don Bavi, Duke of Bukhalanse, is undoubtedly the fattest piece of the fat that has been targeted, but this piece of fat is obviously not so easy to eat, so the Duke of Bukhalanse, the Seville Consul's Office has always been cautious, but it has been staring at it with a needle.

The Archon's purpose was clear, to find an opportunity to bite the Duke of Don Bavi with a fatal bite.

So when news came from Córdoba about the sudden murder of the chief priest of Bujaranse, it was not long before the Andalusian consul himself was alarmed.

The Andalusian consul Bernando Carolé was a middle-aged man with a small head and some chubby, and his most obvious thing was that he always looked like a smiling fat face and a belly that could not be seen on tiptoes, and this simple and clumsy appearance was very deceptive, so that when Carolet first arrived in Seville, many people thought that he was also a powerful person who had been regained by the king, just like the nobles from Valladade in the past.

However, this perception disappeared after Carolet cleanly collected a group of nobles through several means, confiscated their domains, and presented them directly to the queen.

In place of this view, the nobles had a secret fear of the Andalusian consul.

Especially after Isabella set off the god-making movement, as Carolet took the opportunity to intervene in the affairs of the feudal lords' territories with the church, people suddenly discovered that this archon, who was always smiling, was actually a hated and feared hunter.

He hid his fat body under the eaves of the Archon's residence, seemingly harmless to his prey, and waited patiently.

Until those prey lose their defenses and expose themselves completely under the fangs that he has already exposed.

However, it was not so easy for the consuls to get hold of Don Bavi, so upon hearing the news of the priest of Buharanse, Carolet immediately called on his right-hand men to discuss countermeasures.

Carolet hoped to penetrate into Don Bavi's territory through the death of the priest of Buharanse, after all, although he had successfully influenced the local church in Bukhalanse for several years, Don Bavi's precautions were also very tight.

This old man seems to have stayed in the castle because of his poor health, but he has a firm grasp of his territory, and now that he has such a good opportunity, Carolet thinks that he can't let it go easily.

"Send investigators from the church to investigate the truth about this murder, but I'm sure you know who to lead the matter to, no matter what the outcome is," Carolet said his purpose unabashedly, "This stubborn old man has delayed us too much, the queen is about to lose patience, this time it's best to directly find him some trouble, trust me to do it, even if you can't knock him down this time, as long as you can make him angry because of the trouble, get moving, There's a lot more we have to do. ”

Carrolle's urging voice echoed in the tall room, although he was fat, he was very flexible because of the excitement at this moment, he walked in circles quickly, his face was red from excitement and even sweated, and then he suddenly stopped and asked a few people in front of him: "What do you think if I write to invite Seville to come, at least he has the responsibility to explain this kind of thing." ”

"This may not be a good idea," looking at the chubby face of the archon, Archbishop Fonda of Andalusia fumbled with words, he was arguably the most staunch supporter of the archon, but as the most responsible clergyman and a cardinal in the diocese, Archbishop Fonda had to consider the impact that Carolé's drastic actions might have on the diocese of Andalusia, "You know that the family of Don Bavi has had a deep influence in the diocese of Andalusia for generations, and many of his family are in the priesthoodIt would be very bad to associate the murder of an officiating priest with him. ”

Carolet frowned, his eyes, which had been squeezed and narrowed by obesity, were about to turn into a slit.

But then he smiled again.

"It's nothing, believe me that this may be a good thing, if then I have all the more reason to send an emissary to his realm to investigate this matter," said the archon, bowing slightly exaggeratedly to Archbishop Fonda, "Thank you, Archbishop, for solving a difficult problem for me. ”

As he spoke, he gave the order to the clerk next to him: "Go and write a circular asking the Duke of Don Bavi to come to Seville, telling him that he wishes to come to Seville, in respectful terms, but remember that this is not an invitation, but an order." ”

Seeing that the clerk immediately nodded and retreated, Carolay's chubby face showed a smile on Archbishop Fangda: "Archbishop, let's guess how that duke will react when he sees such an order, I believe his expression must be wonderful." ”

In the west of Seville, near the Meglim Lowlands, there is a shanty town crisscrossed by alleys and low-rise houses built in a mess.

Because of the low terrain, when it rains, it is completely flooded with rainwater from the rest of the city, and at that point, the soaked garbage floats on the water, making the only V-shaped street that is relatively wide stink.

In front of a house at the top of the V-shaped corner of this street, Alexander stood looking up at the nondescript two-story building.

It is a sturdy house with a small footprint, with a long porch formed by a row of semicircular arches and colonnades below the first floor, and a full row of windows open on the second floor.

The style of this house is actually not special, although it seems that it should not have been built for a long time, but perhaps because the environment in this neighborhood is really bad, so this house also feels dirty.

The exterior of the house was made of large blocks of lead-gray granite, which made the house look even less flattering, and Alexander's face was slightly strange when he looked at the sign hanging next to the house that was still stained with garbage.

It was not easy to find this place, after dodging the stinking garbage and droppings all over the streets, and then carefully stepping over the rats that came out to play in the streets, Alexander finally found this place in this shanty town.

"Master, where is this?" Schell asked a little curiously, this place is so dirty that even the Balkans, who didn't pay much attention to hygiene before, can't stand it anymore, not to mention that as he has spent more time with Alexander, Schell now considers himself a very decent person.

"It's on the sign." Alexander pointed to one of the vine canes in his hand, which had been given to them by the boatman who had sent them all the way when he had heard that he had asked for the lowlands of McGrin.

At the time, I didn't know what the cane was for, but now I know what it does.

Along the way, it is used to get rid of the garbage that can't be avoided and to drive away the rats that pop up from time to time, and this rattan cane is still very useful.

"But sir......" Schell had a look of embarrassment, he obviously didn't recognize the plausible local script.

"This is the Merchant Exchange." Alexander spoke, then looked around with interest.

He never imagined that the famous Seville Merchant Exchange would be like this.

In a few decades, this nondescript building will become one of Seville's liveliest places, and the former most dilapidated of the McGlin Lowlands will become one of the city's most vibrant places.

And what changed all this was the huge profits from the New World.

It would become a hub for a steady stream of wealth from the New World, and trade routes from here to Spain and then to the whole of Europe would quickly impact the economies of the Old World.

The golden age, centered on the Mediterranean, will officially come to an end.

Standing here now, Alexander had other thoughts in his mind.

The Merchant's Trading House, which seems to be a nice place.

Alexander laughed.

The bell tower of the Hiralda Tower of the Cathedral of Seville was remodeled on the basis of the chanting tower built by the Moors in the early years.

This distinctly Saracen and Gothic mix of building is the heart of Seville, and the sky-high spire of Sensen looks terrifyingly oppressive from below, as if the sharp top of the tower could pierce the sky overhead at any moment.

Standing in the woods not far from the cathedral, Schell carefully observed the surroundings, his men were already scattered, keeping an eye on the movements around the cathedral.

Even though it was winter, the sun was still a little hot overhead, and Schell wiped the sweat from his face and patted his chest to calm himself.

He had been Alexander's bodyguard for some time, which made him gradually understand that the master was not a reckless person, so although Alexander's actions sometimes seemed risky, Scheer knew that the master was actually prepared.

Only this time it was different, the note left by the Duke of Don Bavi told the Duke to ring the bell on the bell tower of the Cathedral's Hillada Tower, which meant that Alexander had to enter the bell tower with only one exit, and if there was danger at this time, Schell did not know if he could protect the lord.

The shadows under your feet are getting shorter and shorter, and noon is approaching.

Alexander entered the bell tower through an inconspicuous small door in the bell tower, and the sound of stepping on the wooden staircase also knocked on Alexander's heart.

Finally, a ray of sunlight pouring overhead from the roof in the middle of the bell tower happened to hit the round hole in the center of a stone timer in the bell tower, and noon arrived.

Alexander pulled on the heavy rope that was dangling, and then rang the bell with all his might.