Tsusha sat in a large alder chair, a sturdy chair whose age had worn away its appearance a little, but which had not damaged its sturdiness in the slightest.

In front of the chair is a large desk with various office utensils.

Jossa scrutinized the table, her hand gently caressing the arm of the chair, the first time she had sat here, where Isabella had worked before.

Several officials stood cautiously in front of the queen with their breath in their breath, and somehow they had the illusion that it was Isabella who was sitting there, which made them both surprised and nervous.

Picking up a quill pen on the table set in a sterling silver barrel and gently stroking it on her palm, her gaze flicked over to the ministers in front of her, and finally landed on one of them.

"I want to know what is the reason for the sharp drop in taxes in Barriedot during this time, compared to the past," she casually flipped through the previous ledger below, but she didn't really look at it, "at least nearly 2% less, can you tell me why?" ”

The minister's lips moved, as if he had pondered how to answer, and then said carefully: "Your Majesty, you know, since the time of Queen Isabella, it has been implemented that all industries that are less than 30% of the tax amount will be paid by a special tax contractor, but this year, because too many things have happened, many tax collectors have not been able to pay taxes in time, so ......"

"You're saying those people don't think they're obligated to pay taxes to the regent?"

The words of the Tsusha and the hearts of those people jumped involuntarily, and they looked at the queen with a calm expression with some uneasiness, and had a vague premonition in their hearts that a storm might have come.

These people don't feel like they're thinking about it, and after becoming Alexander's prisoner, it soon becomes clear that the Queen of Sicily actor is another incarnation of Isabella, who is resolute, resolute and courageous in making decisions, and when faced with a dilemma, she will not hesitate to make a choice, and then stick to it to the end.

This kind of personality made people think that Isabella, who was not expected, and some people even thought that this was really worthy of being a member of the Astamira family, so Jisha let the people of Barriaridods know in a very short period of time that it was not a fluke that she would become a queen, on the contrary, at this time, some people began to miss the regent who was much more merciful in comparison.

"Give me the list of these tax collectors," said Tsusha casually, and when she saw the strange looks on the faces of several ministers, she asked strangely, "what are you thinking, do you think that I will arrest them all and behead them?" ”

Several people quickly denied it, and although they had a strange look on their faces, "Maybe they won't cut off their heads, but they will be hanged", but Jisha didn't bother with them anymore.

She just asked them to submit the list of tax collectors as soon as possible, and then waited until they had retreated, and then suddenly frowned, while leaning back in her chair tiredly.

The waitress standing on the side hurriedly brought up the drinks and fruits that had been prepared, and looking at the queen's somewhat ugly face, the waitress could only pray helplessly.

Tsusha's pregnancy reaction is a little bigger, sometimes she gets up in the middle of the night and vomits, and sometimes she has general weakness for no reason, so she must immediately find a place to rest.

And her appetite is also a bit terrible, she has not touched all kinds of greasy things for a long time, except for some cool fruits, she rarely even eats some staple foods.

"This is not okay, Your Majesty, you must keep eating," looking at the pomegranate holding a pomegranate and sucking the sweet silk fruit seeds one by one, the waitress said in a somewhat dissatisfied tone, "You can't be so willful, you must know that you are two people now, you must eat, you know?" ”

"Of course I know, but it doesn't matter, I'm looking good now, you know ma'am, I'm a woman who is prone to hysteria because of pregnancy, so if anyone annoys me, I think I'll really cut off his head without mercy."

Tsusha smiled slyly at the waitress, who looked a little unspeakably cute, but the waitress had no doubt that she was telling the truth.

Holding a sweet and sour pomegranate in her hand and eating it, she squinted slightly and thought about what had just happened.

The Barriarides were obviously testing her, or rather the two of them, to see how far the Regent could be tolerant and tolerant of them, or what compromises they should make?

"What a stupid idea."

Jisha stretched out the tip of her tongue and sucked a pomegranate seed into her mouth, and then gently knocked it with her teeth, "Gaba", the pomegranate seed was crushed by her, and the sweet and sour taste overflowed her lips and teeth.

Like Alexander, she likes to do many things herself, such as when she wants to issue an order, she writes a few memos herself, and then asks the clerk to consider the words according to the terms of the order.

The order was not long, and she had already thought about it after eating a pomegranate, and then she gave the order to the waitress, and after watching her seal it, she got up and walked to the next room.

Ji Sha felt that she was a little sleepy now, and she wanted to rest at noon, especially when she looked at the courtyard outside, which was still warm in the early winter, although it was already bleak, and she felt lazy to close her eyes immediately and have a good time.

Don't know what Alexander is doing now? This naturally occurred to her as she lay down, and then she rubbed her face against the soft feather pillow, allowing her whole body to be completely absorbed in the soft mattress.

Josha felt that this room and this bed were her lucky things, because it was here that she got pregnant.

So she had decided that Alexander would keep this room for her.

Even when Barondi came, she had to be asked to live in another room, the common bedroom that had belonged to Isabella and Ferdinand, and it had to belong only to her.

My son or daughter must also be born in this room for that to be more meaningful.

She didn't hear the rumbling sound of horses' hooves outside the palace, and naturally she couldn't see the scene where many people in the city were already in a hurry at this time, so when some nobles finally had to ask for her summons, the lady-in-waiting lay down in front of them without hesitation: "Sorry adults, Your Majesty needs to rest now, so whatever happens, please come back tomorrow." ”

The nobles were frustrated but helpless, they knew that a pregnant woman was unreasonable, and that if they did annoy her, they might be unlucky, and even if they did, no one would sympathize with them, but would gloat over their ignorance.

Pregnant women can really do whatever they want, this is the experience that Jisha has summed up, and she is very clever to use this advantage.

A pregnant woman is born with the impression of being weak, even a queen, and she will not go overboard unless she is forced to do so.

I'm sure many people think so, so when Jisha ordered the collection of all the tax collectors' offices and related accounts, although she was very concerned about her excesses, people still preferred to believe that it was purely the result of the queen's bad mood.

So some people hoped to see the queen as soon as possible to dissuade her, but she took advantage of the excuse to rest and avoid it, and that same night, a very representative of the tax collectors were sent to the inquisition, which had been idle for some time.

When it was dawn on the second day, the nobles who hurried to the palace unexpectedly found that the queen had risen earlier than them, and the night's rest seemed to have made her recover a lot, and even the smile on her face seemed to become much brighter.

"Although there are troubles all day now, there are still some good things to say today," Ji Sha took the initiative to say without waiting for those nobles to speak, "This year's tax is a little unoptimistic, but it is not without gains, as far as I know, some people have already offered to sell the tax package at a low price because of their own poor management, so I think some of you must be willing to make this deal." ”

The nobles looked at each other with ugly expressions, knowing that the tax collectors they were talking about were in fact the pawns they had used to test her, and when they heard that they were imprisoned in the Inquisition, the nobles were anxious and angry.

Some of them complained that the queen should not be provoked at this time, and that pregnancy was likely to cause the woman to make irrational decisions because of emotional instability.

You must know that if Ji Sha directly attacks them without any scruples, their only choice is to carry it to the end, and even break openly at the expense of it.

Now the queen who listened to it suddenly said that those tax collectors were willing to give away the right to tax at a low price, and these nobles instantly understood Ji Sha's intentions.

They looked at each other, and the look on their faces was as ugly as they were, but in the end they chose to compromise and give in at the last moment.

"Your Majesty, I don't know what the low price you said, how much?"

A nobleman stepped forward to ask questions with a gloomy expression.

Ji Sha's slender neck moved slightly, as if she wanted to make her sitting posture, which had become much more casual because of pregnancy, more standard: "I think that about 1.5 million gold florin should be able to buy these tax rights." ”

She could hear a few gasps among the nobles as she said the number "1,500,000 gold florin," and her gaze looked over to the group of nobles in front of her, and when they immediately fell silent, she withdrew her gaze to look at the man who was also taken aback by the amount: "You know that this deal should be a good deal." ”

The nobleman did not speak, he hesitated, weighing in his heart whether he should bow to the queen and pay such a large sum of money as the price of admitting defeat and punishment, or refuse to face to face, and then wrestle with the queen.

He resisted the urge to look back at his companion behind him, because he knew that those people must be in a mess at this time, and perhaps someone was already wondering how to make up the huge sum of 1.5 million gold florin.

"You can go back and discuss," said Tsusha in a very generous tone, "I know you will be able to help me come up with a solution that will please everyone." ”

The nobles retired one after another, coming with a fierce attitude and leaving with a disgraced face, and those people looked at Jisha, who had always faced them calmly, and suddenly felt that her appearance looked so familiar, especially since she seemed to have deliberately put on a plain dress today, which made her look more like the "white queen".

It wasn't until the nobles had completely left that the kind look on her face suddenly retracted, her gaze sharpened, and as several people walked in from another hall, her waist became even more erect.

Her appearance at this time made the guards standing in the far corner seem to see the queen of the battlefield again.

"Your Majesty," Don Banderaz saluted to Josa, the mayor of Madrid, who still didn't quite understand why Alexander trusted his half-sister so much, but who showed a corresponding skill that he really liked, "Do you think those people will finally compromise?" ”

"What do you think, Imperial Chef?" Jisha asked rhetorically.

Don Bandraz thought for a moment, and finally nodded firmly.

Khosa didn't look happy because of Don Bandraz's statement, she didn't look at the others, she just said casually: "Actually, their attitude depends on General Gonzalo's results at the front, unfortunately this result has already come out. ”

Don Banderaz nodded silently.

The victory of the Cassie coalition at Gawell had dimmed the last of the flames of rebellion that Valariedud had hidden, and while it may not have been completely extinguished, it would be difficult for those to resurrect it.

Alexander's prestige had been cemented by the victory in the war against Aragon, and the years of feud between Castile and Aragon were unclear, so even a temporary victory would have been enough to make the people of both countries worship the winner as a hero.

And for the nobles who knew more, neither the Roman town nor the victory of Garel could surprise them more than the news that had come from the front and from Aragon by various means.

At this time, many people were already secretly speculating whether it was really possible for the queen in the palace to be crowned with another crown on her head, and at the same time, speculation about who the father of the queen's child was had already become the topic of most concern.

If, only if, the answer is as some have suspected, then it is possible that Castile and Aragon will be united again.

Although this conjecture may be too bold and even shocking, even such an outcome does not affect the ecstasy in the hearts of some people who have had a strong desire for unity since Isabella's time.

It's just that it's all speculation after all, but that doesn't stop some people from thinking about how to show the queen their kindness.

It is precisely because of this that she will not pay attention to poke the weakness of the nobles who try to provoke her.

"Mayor," said Tsusha suddenly, "I think you may soon have a very important task to do, and perhaps the rest of your life will be occupied by this matter." ”

Don Bandraz's heart skipped a beat, and he had vaguely guessed what Josha was going to say to him.

In fact, it was not only him, but the three nobles who were standing a little farther away were also secretly excited, for them to leave Madrid and come to Valaridod was actually a very risky move, it was like leaving a beast from their familiar territory and walking into a strange forest, surrounded by hostile eyes and shadows, and they could face a sudden enemy at any time.

"Your Majesty, you mean?" Don Banderaz tried to calm his emotions before asking.

"I think you've guessed that Alexander intends to move the capital to Madrid," he said to the others who were overjoyed by the excitement, "but he didn't mention the exact time for you, but I can tell you for sure that you don't have much time to spare, because when Alexander returns, he will publicly announce the decision to move the capital." ”

Don Banderaz took a deep breath, and if he didn't, he felt that he might even act rudely and recklessly in front of the queen like a reckless young man.

Even so, he should be happy and couldn't help clapping his hands together and shaking them hard, while the three nobles behind him whispered to each other because of excitement.

Jisha also looked at these people with a smile, she knew that Alexander would choose them as his side to enter Ariaridodo, precisely because she knew that there was a natural contradiction between these people and the nobles of Barriariddo, and more importantly, since he had decided to move the capital to Madrid, he had to make all kinds of preparations in advance.

Don Bandraz is a good mayor, and he may not have any outstanding abilities, but his many years of experience in Madrid will allow him to play an important role in the future expansion of the capital.

And because he was not from Madrid, he didn't have to worry about having too many contacts with the local aristocracy, and the identity of Don Banderaz who had returned to Madrid had changed, which made it natural for them to side with Alexander, and there was not much other choice.

Seeing Don Banderaz and the others leave excitedly, Jisha got up and walked to the bedroom a little tired, she had done enough in the day, and if she continued to be diligent, she was worried that Alexander might become a monarch who would only linger in the harem in the future.

"I wonder what happened to that woman?" Speaking of the harem, Josa suddenly remembered the exotic beauty sent by James, although the woman looked a little strange, but no one could guarantee that Alexander would suddenly want to taste the exotic flavor, after all, even Bohemian women he liked, Josha muttered secretly in her heart.

Jossa decided to summon Beleri from Kosenza not only because she had a reliable cronies around her, but also because she already knew about Alexander's plans, so she was slowly cooperating with him to adjust the entire kingdom.

Bellery was undoubtedly loyal to her, but that loyalty would most likely be an obstacle to Alexander's plans, so she had to transfer him out of Italy before he could cause trouble for Alexander.

Josa had a hunch that despite all his efforts for the Iberian throne, Alexander's eyes never left the mysterious land far across the ocean, and everything he did, even including the seizure of the crown in front of him, was only to clear the way for the acquisition of that land.

This makes Tsusha full of curiosity about the new world she has never met, and she longs to one day sail with Alexander and cross the ocean to experience the new world, but before she can solve the problems of the two of them, whether overt or dark.

This includes people like Bolery who seem to be unimportant, but over time they can become stumbling blocks.

However, of course, Kelly would not use any unfavorable means against him, just because he was her half-brother, not to mention that the current Boleri was still loyal to her.

So I'm going to find you a beautiful exotic beauty, and I hope you'll understand my painstaking efforts. Thus thought to him,

As for Alexander's other women, Josha felt that wasn't something she should worry about.

In the future, Estelles will probably become a great queen, and little Giovanni will become pope, so that old Borgia should be content.

Sophia's wild girl is now expanding wildly in the Balkans, and she probably has neither the opportunity nor the time to trouble herself again.

As for Barendi, Zha rubbed her forehead with a slight headache, she really didn't expect that one day that ordinary looking woman would become a big obstacle between her and Alexander.

But it's nothing, she doesn't have any children of her own now, even if she has children in the future, if she wants her children to inherit the two kingdoms smoothly, then she has to obediently follow her own arrangements.

Thinking about it like this, Jisha felt that it was not a big problem.

Brother, in the end, it is your dearest sister who can really understand you, Jisha smiled slightly, she leaned on the bed and unconsciously stroked her flat lower abdomen, imagining that soon it would bulge like a big watermelon, Jisha felt both excited and nervous.

The warm afternoon sun shining through the window made people drowsy, and she closed her eyes and planned to sleep for a while, when she heard hurried footsteps outside.

The footsteps seemed to stop not far away, and then came the voice of the lady-in-waiting, who seemed to be trying to prevent anyone from disturbing the queen's rest.

But after a while, footsteps approached again, and this time it seemed that the waitress had followed to the door, and then there was a soft knock on the door.

"Your Majesty, there is a letter from His Royal Highness the Regent."

There was anxiety in the waitress's voice, which made Jisha sober up a lot.

But she didn't move immediately, but slowed down a little, and then slowly sat up and walked to the door.

Outside the door, without waiting for the maid to speak, Uliu, who saw the door open, had already taken a step forward and bowed: "Your Majesty, my lord asked me to send you a letter from him." ”

Jisha took the letter but did not open it immediately, but glanced at Ulliu first.

Then she suppressed her almost irrepressible excitement, lifted the wax seal and opened the letter.

The opening sentence immediately jumped into her eyes: "My dear sister, first of all, let me congratulate you on becoming the rightful heir of the Kingdom of Aragon......"

On November 14, 1502, the Treaty of Garel was signed, which affected the future fate of Castile, Aragon, Iberia, and even the whole of Europe and the world.

According to the terms of the treaty, the queen of the Kingdom of Sicily, Josa Cosenza Astamara, became the first in line to the throne of the Kingdom of Aragon.