After all, it is the year 1500 when the stars are shining, and after all, Lisbon, which is known as the pinnacle of sailing technology in this era, is not a new thing in this place where you may meet a great explorer if you are not careful.

What's more, this pioneer who started mankind's journey around the world is now only a young man with a layer of black fluff on his chin, and his career is limited to being a student seafarer in a navigation office.

Instead, Alexander was more interested in Eleodore Don Antonio, for whom Magellan delivered his letter.

Elliodor Don Antonio is the current director of the nautical office, the director of the first professional naval school in Europe, which is definitely one of those who are really powerful in Portugal, which regards the opening of the sea as the foundation of its great statehood.

In fact, this is not the case, as Eriodore Don Antonio's family has a long and prestigious history, with its earliest ancestors dating back to Charlemagne's time, and in the years following the Visigoths' reign, their family rose to prominence under Pedro I of the Burgundian dynasty.

In the Avis dynasty, the family was still highly valued, and because of this, the Don Antonio family was the most important assistant to Prince Enrique in realizing his maritime frontiers, and witnessed the development of Portuguese power at sea, which gave the family a prestige that no one else could match.

So when he heard that Eriodor Don Antonio had sent a letter of assignment, Alexander was immediately interested, and after making a slight gesture to Fernando da Gama the Elder, he walked to the back, where he needed to see this important document for himself.

As for Magellan, he is still a small man, and perhaps in a few years he would not have minded paying attention to the future navigator if he had not lost his life in the event that history had changed beyond recognition because of Alexander's involvement.

Just like Titian, who is now running towards the great goal of becoming a private painter in Venice, Alexander does not pay much attention to these so-called historical celebrities who have not really shown their talents, after all, many things have changed too much, and even because of the flickering of his wings that are much stronger than butterflies, the future may be completely different. Now it seems to be an unknown.

Of course, it is a different story for people like Leonardo da Vinci or Brother Luca Pacioli, who have already proved with their knowledge that their future is certain, or who have shown the extraordinary talent of Alexander's subordinate, Nicolas Joe Macioni, who is now the deputy head of the Pisa Regiment, who would later be called the father of statistics, otherwise Alexander would not have paid special attention to them.

Eriodore de Antonio's transfer was written in good faith, and he also offered a large sum of money for a stake in the West India Company, and he made a point of emphasizing in terms of dividends that he was willing to use more additional funds to obtain the pre-emptive warrants that he must have.

Fernando da Gama sat contentedly across from Alexandria, curious about the duke he had heard of, but he was careful not to speak indiscriminately to the duke's disgust.

"So, our company is doing well?"

"Even if there are a lot of shareholders, you know that you have to give up a sufficient amount of profits, so the key is whether we can guarantee that we can all get so much gain," said old Fernando to Alexander seriously, "Vasco did bring back a lot of wealth, but at least nominally this wealth needs to be distributed by the king, even if someone can form a private fleet in the future, but without the king's authorization, it will not be possible to occupy those ports and coastal cities, otherwise there will be no chance to claim ownership after being plundered." It could even be seen as a privateer, so that the Aragonese would have every excuse to attack these fleets, not to mention pirates. ”

Alexander nodded silently, he knew that the old Fernando was right, in the next 200 years, Portugal, Spain, and the subsequent rise of the British for more than 2 centuries for the vast sea, in which the privateer fleets secretly sent to fight the opponent became the usual method of destruction and harassment of the opponent, and later the British directly issued permission to the owners of those privateer fleets, admitting that their actions were authorized by the king.

Now that Manuel I had sent a fleet under the command of Cabral to the east along a new route, the fleet that the king had promised da Gama had not yet been assembled could not help but worry da Gama.

Manuel I apparently trusted Cabral, who had long served as his adviser on maritime affairs, to Cabral over da Gama, as evidenced by the fact that after da Gama returned to Lisbon, Manuel was eager to ask him to transcribe copies of all the information on the new course to Cabral and hand it over.

"My lord, we need to make sure that we have a loud enough voice for the king to listen to what we are saying," said Fernando Sr. in a very slow but unusually firm tone, "I know that it may seem disrespectful to the king, but it is also our duty to defend the honor and rights of the family as nobles. ”

Alexander nodded silently to the words of old Fernando da Gama, he knew that this old man had a great influence on da Gama, and it was his advice behind the scenes in history that allowed da Gama to be appointed by Manuel I again as the commander of the fleet that sailed to India, and the great gains obtained from the subsequent two expeditions made Manuel see that Da Gama was more suitable to command the Portuguese fleet in India, so he finally did not give the title of the first Indian governor to his more trusted Cabral, Rather, it was given to Vasco da Gama.

"These people can be our allies," Alexander patted the transfer letter on the table, and seeing the old Fernando's expression of agreement, he continued, "Actually, I have come here for another matter, and I think your nephew may be interested. ”

Alexander gestured to James as he spoke, and watched as James took out a copy of his transcribed nautical diary, which Alexander took and handed to Fernando Sr.

Old Fernando put the copies under the light and looked at them carefully, and after a while, his expression first showed surprise, and then his hand flipped through the paper faster, and after a while he simply flipped to the end and looked at the obviously unfinished copy of the diary, old Fernando tried to suppress the excitement in his heart for a while, and then slowly put the copies back on the table.

"These are too precious, I mean, if they're true, they're worth a fleet," Fernando da Gama said in a low but powerful voice, patting his hand lightly on the copies, and then looking at James on the side, "but that doesn't seem to be the whole story, so I wonder if there are other parts, and if not, this thing would be worth a lot less." ”

"I can assure you that there are the next parts, and I will take them out when I need them." James glanced at Alexander and nodded, only taking out a copy of a part of the nautical diary was Alexander's order, and James also knew very well that this kind of important bargaining chip could not be taken out casually.

Fernando da Gama said "oh" and then stopped making a sound, apparently pondering what to say, and the room fell silent for a moment.

And Alexander waited quietly, he knew that the old man in front of him actually did not have many chips, although the West India Company was established in his name, but everyone knew that even if an expedition made the Vasco da Gama family gain a lot of wealth, but the constraints from the king actually made Vasco da Gama's life a little sad.

According to the time of history, Vasco da Gama was able to lead his fleet to India again two years later, but for more than two years before that, he had been perfunctory stranded on land by Manuel under various pretexts, watching Cabrral's fleet bring back a large amount of coveted wealth from the East.

Alexander did not want da Gama to be idle during this time, and in his opinion the Eastern Route was far less important than the New World.

"I may be able to persuade the king to send Vasco to try to take another route to the East, one of the same routes as Columbus," said Alexander, pointing his finger at the copy of his nautical diary, "We all know that Columbus did not gain any less than Vasco, and I suspect that he may have discovered certain places that your nephew did not, as evidenced by the various curiosities he brought back that no one had ever seen." ”

"Oh, if it does, of course." Fernando's answer was somewhat perfunctory, and he was somewhat skeptical that Alexander could convince the king, since Manuel was now fully focused on the new route, and he was now less interested in competing with Castile for dominance of the western realm of the Atlantic.

At such a time, Manuel was asked to divert his forces to explore the western part of the Atlantic, and Fernando felt that there was little hope.

"You can leave this to Vasco," Alexander pointed to the copy of the diary on his desk, "I think Vasco should be able to make the right decision, but before that I would like to warn you that the expedition to the west of the Atlantic will not stop without da Gama joining me, and I have decided to send James to complete this trip, he is also a seafarer, and the key is that he is also surnamed Columbus." ”

Fernand's eyes immediately fell on James, and he knew that Alexander was reminding him that he would still explore the western route even without the participation of the Vasco da Gama, but if that happened, it would be clear that they would not have a share in what they would gain in the future.

Fernando, who had been vaguely worried about the past, now seems to be about to become a reality, the Vasco da Gama's original stake in the West India Company is gradually being diluted because of the constant addition of people, although this actually means that the company is gradually expanding, and the future earnings are certainly considerable, but it is always inappropriate to think about the gradual loss of control of the company.

If Alexander, who was also the majority shareholder, wanted to take the Cape West Atlantic route, and the Vasco da Gama family did not participate in time, then perhaps in the future the Vasco da Gama family in the West India Company would gradually degenerate into a subordinate who worked hard to make money for those shareholders at sea.

Of course, Fernando didn't want to see this, he hesitated for a long time and finally nodded: "I'll tell Vasco what you mean, but he's not in Lisbon now, he's going back to his hometown in Sines, you know it's a long trip, he needs a good rest." ”

"Then send this to him, I'm sure he won't need to rest after reading this." Alexander smiled, he actually knew very well why da Gama would return to Sinesh at this time, it was obvious that although Manuel had given him many honors and rewards, his act of sending Cabral to lead the fleet still stimulated da Gama, and it was believed that the navigator was now complaining about Manuel's capriciousness in the stone house on the cliff by the sea in his hometown.

In fact, it is not to blame Manuel, no king can let such an important sea route be in the hands of a few people, which is why he ordered da Gama to hand over the logbook and related materials to Cabral, and only by sending his own maritime affairs adviser to make a personal trip can Manuel really rest assured.

However, although Cabral lived up to the king's expectations and brought back a huge fortune for Portugal, he was obviously not satisfied enough to satisfy Manuel in his relations with the port countries along the way, which is why da Gama was able to lead the Portuguese fleet again two years later.

However, Alexander did not want to wait another 2 years, he needed to end his life in his old Sines home for his plan now, and then a new adventure could begin.

Alexander was confident, for the West India Company had now made a name for itself among the Portuguese aristocracy, but these people, like Fernando, had set their sights on the new route to the East, and had no idea what they were actually missing.

"We have enough money to build a fleet, and we have experienced captains," Alexander glanced at James who looked a little smug next to him, "As for the sailors, I think the nautical office must be willing to provide us with a compliant crew, and we even have a complete and reliable nautical reference to draw on, so why don't we accomplish this feat, knowing that the Castilian have done this several times, and the gold they brought back is about to sink the ship, I don't think Vasco wants to see all that wealth go to the Castilians. ”

Fernando's face, which was still hesitating, finally showed a hint of relief, his thick fingers kept tapping on the table, and the weight of his voice revealed the contradiction in his heart, and finally he stopped and looked at Alexander: "But the king, we don't know what he thinks. ”

"At least we know what we think, and," Alexandre said, slapping the new letter of transfer on the table, "and what our partners think, that with a shipload of gold and pepper docked in the port of Lisbon, these people can be our most reliable supporters, and until then we can send a small fleet in the name of the company, and then the real pomp and circumstance will follow." ”

Fernando's expression gradually became a little excited, in this era, gold and pepper meant not only coveted wealth, but also enviable status, Alexander's heart-warming description just tickled Fernando's itch.

"If that's the case, I can tell Vasco about it, and maybe it's really good news for him." Fernando didn't know whether to explain or make excuses for himself, he carefully put away the copy of the nautical diary and the book of assignment, and then sat back and looked at Alexander, "So my lord, how long can you stay in Lisbon, I mean this matter is so important, it probably needs to be arranged here yourself, you know the king and the queen......"

Looking at the old Fernando who pouted for a while and did not continue, Alexander nodded understandingly, Manuel I's greed and Maria's arrogance he had actually understood, if he left at this time, maybe not long after the return of the ship full of seas, the West India Company's business would be swallowed up by Manuel.

"Rest assured, although I do have important business to go to Castile, I will still be in Lisbon for the rest of my life until everything is arranged here."

Alexander's promise relieved Fernando a little, knowing that the duke had invested a lot of money, and he thought that he would not give up halfway in order not to lose all his money.

"I'll write to Vasco and tell him everything here, you're right about the Duke, he's been resting for too long, it's time to get out of the house and get moving."

Old Fernando exhaled with a little emotion, and then it dawned on him that perhaps this was a really good idea, a new route, which would be enough for the Vasco da Gama, a pure seafaring family, to become as great as Eriodor Don Antonio's family for a long time.

When Alexander left the West India Company, the sun was already slightly wester, and after walking far away, he stopped and turned around, looked at the sign facing the street in the distance, and turned his head to smile at James next to him.

"Tell me, Captain, are you confident that you can create a more brilliant career than your brother Christopher Columbus?"

"If I couldn't do it before, but now I feel that I can completely replace him, or even do better than him."

James's confident answer made Alexander feel good, and he grabbed the hilt of his sword and slammed the scabbard wrapped in metal on the ground, making a crisp sound: "Then let me see how you are doing, or if you have the qualifications to name a new world, now let me think about what to call it, how about Columbia?" ”

At the end of September, following a letter from Fernando da Gama, Vasco da Gama, who had been semi-retired in his hometown of Sines since the beginning of the year in the name of rest, returned to Lisbon after a long absence.

At the same time, among the nobles and merchants of Lisbon, there was talk of Castile's new course to the west coast of the Atlantic, with gold, pepper, precious stones, and all sorts of curiosities that had never been seen before.

Finally it all boiled down to the question, why don't we open up a western route to the Atlantic, so that we have two sea lanes to India.

This topic also caught the attention of Manuel I, and finally, a few days after da Gama's return to Lisbon, Manuel summoned the explorer, who had worked hard but had been snubbed by him.

He was summoned with one of Alexander's navigators, James Columbus.

Fourteen years ahead of schedule, the Portuguese took the steps to explore the New World.