Passing through the tall stone walls, Alexander saw a quaint but sturdy palace made of the same gray hemp stone.

This distinctly early barbarian style building is arguably one of the oldest ruins in Liberia to date.

Alexander knew that many years later there had been a heated debate among archaeologists about the exact date of the site's construction, and the result was that the building was likely older than his historical record.

In fact, long before the spread of Christian doctrine to Iberia, it became the capital of the kingdom of Lotomes, one of the many large and small kingdoms on the peninsula at that time, and this kingdom is said to have existed for many years, before the ancient Romans conquered Iberia, and the ancient castle of Toledo was built at that time.

Because of its long history, the Toledos looked down on any other city with contempt, and it was only when it became the capital of Castile that the Toledos became even more proud.

It's just that this pride was completely abandoned with Isabella's move to Vallidode, and now the noble council of Toledo has become synonymous with the stubborn old forces, and has also become a representative of the defeat of the old and new forces.

Now, however, they had clearly seized the opportunity once again, as could be seen in the unconcealed arrogance of the nobles of Toledo.

Alexander didn't know if the nobles were deliberately acting on their suspicion of fearlessness, but he knew that the deal with the Council of the Toledo nobles would not be so easy to fight.

The Council of Nobles believed that Juana was now in their hands, and that the other Juana was worth a hundred times because of them, which gave them enough leverage to negotiate with Isabella, and of course they did not want anyone to stand up and share the benefits with them, not to mention that this person was also a pope from Aragon.

The light in the castle was a little dark, and the melodious chanting of the choir from the church in the distance echoed in the empty castle, and at the end of the tall patio was a square sky, and the slightly harsh sunlight shone in through that gap and cast a square spot of light on the ground of the patio.

Alexander accompanied the Pope slowly through the patio, and under a small porch in front of him stood two men with strange faces.

One of the older men, from his clothes and the monumental ornament of the ruby that hung from his chest, had already guessed the identity of this man, Don Juliomando, the chief senator of the Castilian noble council, and the planner and active promoter of the Toledo nobles' rivalry with Isabella.

Juliomando is the oldest family in Castile, compared to them, the Don Bavi family is not even a nouveau riche, and even the Astamara family cannot compete with the Juliomans, because they are one of the ancient clans that have left traces in Iberia since the time of the ancient Romans.

The influence of such a family was terrifying, and Alexander believed that the people of the Astamara family were clearly unwilling to see them swaggering around their kingdom.

Especially in a place like Toledo, the influence of this family is too great, and no royal family wants to see someone threaten their position in such a way, since this family cannot be erased from the world, then the only way to eliminate the influence of Julio Mando by moving the capital has become the only means.

"Your Majesty, it is an honor for all of us to have you here in Toledo." Don Julio Mando saluted respectfully, and at the same time said polite words that were not very fastidious, but Alexander always felt that his attitude was clearly alienated and even a little hostile: "Your help to us in Barriaridud is unforgettable, and for this Toledo is willing to offer you the highest respect." ”

Alexander VI looked at the noble senator with interest, he knew the meaning of this man's words, it was clear that the Toledos were planning to kick them out, they attributed all the gains to their own plan, and gave Alexander VI only an empty so-called respect, and the pope knew that if he gladly accepted it here, it would mean that he had already lost the battle before he officially faced those nobles.

This was something Alexander VI did not want to see.

"We now have two Juanas, but the Queen's daughter seems to be in a bad situation, we all know that she is in a very bad mental state, Archbishop Badialydot once personally performed a secret exorcism for her, but the result was disappointing, I hope God will give us this opportunity to help her in the future."

The Chief Senator's expression sank slightly, he knew that the Pope was reminding him not to try to occupy Juana as a pawn alone, after all, if the Pope personally announced that Juana could not inherit the throne because of his mental state, then all their previous plans would be in vain.

Alexander VI's threat was somewhat too blunt, but Don Juliomando had little to refute, knowing full well that the Pope had a firm grasp of Juana's succession, which was why the Toledos had to take it seriously.

Although the prestige of the Church was under great pressure from the royal family in Iberia, the faith had been deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people for many years, and if the Pope stubbornly tried to sabotage their plans, the nobles of Toledo would have to face double pressure from Isabella and Alexander VI.

This was something they didn't want, and because Alexander VI was born in Aragon, it made them even more taboo, they didn't know if he had any deal with Ferdinand, and if that was the case, they would face too many strong enemies.

Looking at the two sides that had reached an impasse before the formal confrontation with the Council of Nobles, Alexander, who had always stood aside and remained silent, finally spoke: "Honorable senator, since Toledo is the seat of the Council of Castilian Nobles, then all the Castilian nobles are qualified to participate in the discussion about the future heir to the throne, so I would like to ask you, is there an emissary sent by the nobles of Adan Lucia here, or have you already declared them traitors to Castile in accordance with Queen Isabella's order, Expelled them from this council? ”

Don Juliomando looked at Alexander warily, he had heard of the Duke of Rome Thesia, in fact, he had heard about this duke from the Andalusian nobles, although it was not known why the Italian nobleman was so keen on Iberian affairs, but the chief senator did not agree with Don Bavi from the beginning to involve this man, and he even strongly objected to the Andalusian nobles pinning their hopes on the negotiations between the foreigner and Gonzalo.

Listening to these obviously provocative words now, Don Juliomando immediately became vigilant.

"All that happened in Andalusia was a misunderstanding between the nobles and the king, no one declared them traitors, not even the queen deprived them of their status," Don Juliomando retorted Alexander, "I don't know what you mean by that, but in Toledo, in this palace behind me, there is a place where all the regional nobles should have, and this is the rule of Castile, even the king cannot interfere." ”

Alexander nodded approvingly, he had known that such a verbal provocation would not cause a conflict between Toledo and the Andalusians, and if he had guessed correctly, the Council of Nobles and the Andalusian coalition had even had some deals behind it, otherwise the Council of Nobles would not have openly declared that it was a dispute between nobles when Don Bavi announced his takeover of power in Seville.

From the very beginning, the attitude of the noble council clearly revealed their favor for the Andalusian nobility, or at least they felt that they could use it to blackmail Isabella.

After Don Juliomando said those words, he noticed a trace of disappointment that quickly flashed on the Pope's face, which made him secretly smug, the provocation of the Duke of Rome Thesia not only failed to get any results from him, but on the contrary, let him take the opportunity to show Toledo's transcendent position in the current complex and chaotic situation in Castile, not to mention that they now held two Juana trump cards in their hands, Don Juliomando felt that this contest had not even officially begun, and the result was already doomed.

"Your Majesty, we have been standing here for too long, and all of us are waiting for you, and they hope to see your dignity as soon as possible." Don Julio Mando stood aside quite respectfully and stretched out his hand to Alexander VI to make a gesture of invitation, since he had already won, he didn't mind making the Pope more satisfied with politeness, but he looked at Alexander with a little playfulness, for this young man who was said to be quite popular in Italy, Don Julio Mando actually looked down on him from the bottom of his heart.

He felt that he was a complete nouveau riche, and that these little nobles, who had survived the war, were as obnoxious adventurers as the mercenary family surnamed Sforza, compared to the nobles with long and ancient traditions.

Don Juliomando did not mind teaching this arrogant young man a lecture in front of the Pope, and in doing so, he would be able to demonstrate their resolve to Alexander VI, at least to warn the notoriously greedy pope against making excessive demands.

Looking at Don Juliomando, who was walking in front of the Pope, Alexander tilted his head slightly, and then he realized that this action seemed to be done by Sophia often.

Every time she was happy, confused, or angry, she liked to tilt her head like this, as if she was thinking about where to rest because her head could not bear the weight.

But Alexander was not angry, he just wanted to take a closer look at the chief senator, but before he could take a step forward, the man who had been by Don Juliomando's side, but had not spoken a word, suddenly whispered to him: "Duke, Brother Tangomada has asked me to express my gratitude to you. ”

Alexander looked at the man with a little surprise, he knew that the people of Judas must have established a deep foundation in Toledo, otherwise they would not want to pin their hopes on the old nobles of Toledo, who were obviously more in line with the needs of Judas, and since they were not destined to appear in public, they must have a group of people who could speak for them on the surface.

It's just that Alexander still didn't expect that Judah's influence had penetrated deep into Don Juliomando's side as the chief senator, although he didn't know the identity and status of this person, but it can be seen that Judah was indeed not to be underestimated.

"We're just taking what we need, so are you?"

"I'm just a secretary to the chief senator," the man looked at Alexander with a sinister eye, and unlike Don Juliomando, he did not underestimate the young duke in the slightest, for Judah's congregations throughout Europe gave them more detailed and reliable sources than many nobles, and because of this, Judas would be much clearer about Alexander's power and influence. ”

Alexander smiled at the respectful man in front of him, which was one of the reasons why he was quite optimistic about the trip to Toledo.

The old nobles of Toledo may have been unimpressed by the arrival of the Pope, but this was clearly not the case with Judah.

The moment Tomomada came to his door, Alexander realized what a rare opportunity it was, and Judas had even done something that even he had not been able to do, and although their kidnapping of Juana seemed to have disrupted Alexander's plans, the Pope's previous sermon had forced them to accept a compromise.

Toledo, apparently not as monolithic as Don Juliomando himself thought, at least those nobles who were close to Judah, and even those who themselves were followers of Judah, were bound to be the main source of Toledo's division.

Moreover, even without Judah, Alexander had prepared a surprise for the Council of Toledo, or rather for the two royal couples.

In September, the banks of the Guadaville River are covered with fruitful orange groves, and the large orange groves full of golden fruits are pleasing to the eye and attracted by the enticing fruits.

The lower reaches of the Guadaville River to the Atlantic ports had resumed their former busyness, and with Gonzalo rushing back to Valriariddod, the Andalusian aristocratic coalition finally had a respite, and under the leadership of Don Bavi they quickly launched a counterattack against the royal army, and although they had not regained the initiative so far, at least the siege of Seville had been lifted, and by the way the connection with the ports on the Atlantic coast had been opened.

A galleys sailed upstream, and with the powerful lapping of the oars sticking out of the boat on either side of the gang, the galleys sailed on the river at a speed no slower than sailing downstream.

On the deck, James Columbus looked at a map in his hand, surrounded by a few partners who specialized in "overseas business" with him.

These "gentlemen" who don't look like good people have their own nicknames, and if you say their real names, maybe no one knows, but if you say their flower names, many people who beg for a living at sea will be terrified.

"We've got a big deal this time," James said to his fellows, "listen, I don't want any accidents this time, and I don't want to hear anyone say, 'I didn't think of it,' and if this trip succeeds, it's more advanced for us than it is to grab ten boats, so if anyone spoils my business, I'll sink him into the Guadaville." ”

Looking at James's cold expression, several people hurriedly responded, no one knew better than them the horror of this terrible "Blackbeard", but they were somewhat puzzled as to why they had always been engaged in maritime business why they came to the mainland.

For the guys' questions, James didn't deliberately hide it, looking at the waterway in front of him, he said slowly, "The business we want to do this time is to rob someone." ”