Although Gonzalo had known for a long time that he was a playboy who liked a lavish life and beautiful women, after seeing his house in Barriariddode, Alexander had to admit that he didn't know enough about this man.

Gonzalo's home was a real palace, with a gravel path that surrounded the garden outside the tall stone walls, and if a man were to walk around the road, he would not have to worry about not having digested his stomach in time, no matter how much he had eaten for dinner.

In addition to a large garden, Gonzalo's home was a huge mansion with nearly 40 rooms, and the tower-like ridges on the tall roof gave the Gothic-style building a sense of majesty.

Each room was furnished with sculptures and paintings, and some rooms were furnished with weapons of all kinds, all of which were trophies of Gonzalo's wars, and the benefits of the Italian war were not only fame but also great wealth, at least the most recent expedition to Crete.

The servant led Alexander to a large room filled with tin soldiers nearly half a man high, but the tin soldiers inside had so tightly packed the room that he had no place to sit.

A closer look at the tin soldiers was modeled after the Castilian soldiers, and Alexander soon noticed that the tin soldiers were not placed randomly, but were arranged in close formations, and not only that, but he saw models of cannons between the gaps in these formations.

Alexander recognized this as a model of a phalanx formation, and judging from the rigorous arrangement and staggered formation, Gonzalo already had a more detailed understanding and experience of the convenient system he had created than he had in Rome, and it can be said that these tin iron soldiers were the huge models of the future Spanish phalanx.

"It's familiar, isn't it," I don't know when Gonzalo appeared at the door of the room behind Alexander, he smiled like Alexander, who had been observing these tin iron soldiers, and walked to his side, standing side by side with him looking at the masterpiece in the room, "I remember when we were in Rome and we used to discuss how to make this perfect, and now that you have achieved all this, tell me what you think?" ”

"It's very powerful," Alexander said sincerely, he had long known that unless he was killed early, Gonzalo would create this powerful Spanish phalanx sooner or later, but now seeing the prototype of this phalanx that was beginning to take shape, Alexander still couldn't help but feel a little shocked, "Tell me when you plan to put this masterpiece into battle?" ”

"Soon," Gonzalo said around Alexander and down a narrow aisle between the tin-iron soldiers, to a model cannon, reaching out and tapping the upturned barrel lightly, "tell me, what would you choose if we met you on the battlefield?" ”

Alexander pondered for a moment, he also asked himself this question, if he met the so-called "Great Gonzalo" on the battlefield, would he have the confidence to accept or take the initiative to challenge this person, after thinking about it, he felt that no matter how he chose, he would eventually have to face this person head-on.

It wasn't about courage, it wasn't a battle of will, it was not, as Ferdinand thought, Gonzalo was an obstacle between them and the crown, and whether or not they could wear it in the end, they and Gonzalo would always have to fight.

"I will defeat your phalanx, maybe your army is well-trained and brave, but they met me, so I have to ask you the same question, what will you do when you see me on the battlefield?"

Gonzalo looked at Alexander intently, the room fell silent, and the tin iron soldiers standing silently around him also exuded a cold aura, which made the atmosphere also become oppressive, as if these metal soldiers would come to life at any time, and then line up in formation and start killing.

Gonzalo looked at Alexander silently, and after a while he finally asked, "Well, I think there are some things that may not be known until later, so now tell me what you came for, but I warn you not to talk about those meaningless topics." ”

"Then I'll say something that makes sense," Alexander was not disappointed that Gonzalo had blocked what he had to say beforehand, and simply asked directly, "how long do you think Isabella can keep you?" ”

Gonzalo immediately frowned, he obviously didn't want to say this, but after seeing Alexander's impassive, but seemingly confident that he would answer the question, Gonzalo paused for a moment and finally let out a soft sigh.

"I didn't expect the queen to be so sick, it all came so quickly, think that she was so healthy not long ago, but now her condition is getting worse day by day," Gonzalo said this, glancing at Alexander, "You don't seem surprised by the queen's illness, or do you already know something?" ”

Alexander smiled incomprehensibly, he knew that Gonzalo's life was not as glamorous as it seemed, and Isabella's unexpected illness made the Castilian nobles, including Gonzalo, secretly panic, and they were worried about Juana's whereabouts, and at the same time they were careful to guard against Ferdinand, who could seize power at any time.

And the rebellion in the south and the interference of the old aristocracy of Toledo have exhausted them.

As for Gonzalo himself, Alexander believed that he was well aware of his current situation, and once Isabella had three advantages and two shortcomings, the first thing Ferdinand had to do was to kick this stumbling block to the side.

At that time, perhaps letting him hand over his military power and go home to enjoy Qingfu will be a good ending for this queen's favored minister.

As far as Alexander knew, this was exactly what happened to Gonzalo in history, and after being listed with a large number of various crimes, Ferdinand forgave most of his "crimes" in a magnanimous manner, and then sent him far back to his hometown.

Only now, Alexander is not sure that this man will have such "good luck".

However, even if he was finally sent home, before he was stripped of his military power, Gonzalo Córdoba relied on the Spanish phalanx he created to roam the battlefield for a while.

"Maybe you can get the Andalusians to do you a favor," Alexander said to him, "They seem to be in a lot of trouble now, and Don Bavi has even won a few battles since you left, maybe it's a good way to get Ferdinand to compromise with you." ”

Gonzalo looked at Alexander vigilantly, although he still didn't know which side he was on, but just as Alexander had a premonition that one day he would have to face him on the battlefield, Gonzalo also had such a strong premonition, so when he heard Alexander's suggestion now, the first thing he thought of was that this might be a trap.

"I have heard of the deal between the Pope and Ferdinand, and some say that he spent so much money on the Pope's sermon that he was in debt," Gonzalo said quietly, "Since the Pope is on his side, shouldn't you help Ferdinand to get rid of disobedient people like me as soon as possible?" ”

"Tell me General, are you loyal to Isabella or to Ferdinand?" Alexander suddenly asked a strange question, and seeing Gonzalo's appearance as if he was annoyed by his question, he asked again, "So if I change my approach a little, are you loyal to Castile or finally Isabella herself?" ”

"Does it make a difference," Gonzalo seemed genuinely enraged, and he walked around the tin iron soldiers to Alexander and stared at him with annoyance, "Is there anything suspicious about why you broke into my house and asked me these strange questions, the queen is the representative of the royal family, and even the royal family itself?" ”

"For some people, it is necessary to distinguish between them," Alexander stroked the head of a tin soldier with his hand, looked at the spear held by the tin soldier, and then looked at the dense formation of such metal soldiers, Alexander withdrew his sign and said to Gonzalo in a serious tone, "General, remember your words today, this may save us all from the worst in the future." ”

With that, he nodded to Gonzalo and took his leave.

Looking at Alexander's departing back, Gonzalo's expression was indifferent, and he looked back at the model of the huge phalanx that he was proud of, and his gaze gradually became sharp.

Despite her desire to meet with the Pope again, Isabella's illness never materialized, and by mid-August the weather had cooled a little, and the Iberian Peninsula, which had been hit by the Atlantic and Mediterranean climates, had abundant rain during the season, and even the Ebro River had already entered the flood season early.

This is a good thing for Castile, located on the higher terrain in the northwest, where abundant rain brings fertile soil and water to irrigate farmland.

For Aragon, however, the season has been difficult.

Due to the delay in the construction of the reservoir, the Ebro River's rich water resources have not been able to provide the necessary help in time for the Aragonese plain in the eastern part of the peninsula, especially in recent years, the continuous drought and the lack of harvest due to weather changes have caused widespread crop failures in the already famous high-yield grain producing regions of Catalonia.

Although this did not threaten the stability of the Kingdom of Aragon, if it continued like this, eastern Iberia would inevitably be greatly affected.

What worried Ferdinand even more was that it might force Aragorn to bow to the Castilians in exchange for their help.

As the king of Aragon, Ferdinand could not allow the unification to be completed in a way that was swallowed, which is the condition of even those who supported the unification of the Aragonese nobility, if they could not complete the unification in this way, then even his supporters would have to face a new choice.

Ferdinand wanted to remind Isabella to reconsider her plans to build a dam on the Ebro, but now was clearly not the right time.

Isabella's good and bad illness worries too many people, which even makes people worry a lot about Juana, who has not been found for a long time.

Although Ferdinand was disappointed again and again, he never gave up looking for his daughter, because he knew that although Isabella did not ask, every time he stood in front of her bed, Ferdinand could feel the suspicious gaze of his wife.

He knew that Isabella had always suspected that he had secretly imprisoned Juana, so for whatever reason, he had to find Juana as soon as possible to dispel Isabella's suspicions about him.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to imagine what Isabella would have done.

It was only when Ferdinand was anxious and people were speculating about Juana's whereabouts that the news of Juana's whereabouts finally came from Toledo.

Juana and his wife suddenly appear in Toredo, and this is accompanied by another equally unexpected and shocking news.

The Council of Nobles of Toledo suddenly announced the reconsideration of the question of the legitimacy of the statement made by Enrique IV on his deathbed that he claimed to re-recognize Juana as his blood descendant!

This is a piece of news that makes everyone stunned and even overwhelmed when they hear it.

Whether or not Enrique IV, the incompetent who had been dead for many years, really liked to be a father in the first place, it seems that it is meaningless now, Isabella has completed all the most glorious deeds as queen, and finally drove out the Moors during her reign, she boldly funded an explorer to open up a rich colony on the distant ocean and brought back endless wealth to the kingdom, and she also started the process of unification of the two kingdoms, any of which is enough to make her firmly sit on the throne, So even if Juana is finally recognized as a blood descendant of Enrique, the Castilian princess who is far away in Lisbon, has no chance of regaining the throne.

What shocked people was actually the attitude of the Toledo Noble Council.

It was never imagined that Juana, who had been missing for a long time, would appear in Toledo, and that the Council of Nobles would announce the legitimacy of Enriquez's last words at this delicate time, and the strong hint was that it had challenged Isabella and his wife in Barriaridud almost unabashedly.

Castile, facing division!

In a room filled with a strange smell, deep in a smoky bedroom, Isabella, Queen of Castile, lay on her bed, her face flushed with an unnatural flush, sweat soaking through her precious silk dress.

If Alexander was here, even if he was not familiar with medicine, he knew that the redness and sweat were obviously abnormal, and it would be even more ridiculous to know who proposed burning a large amount of horse manure in the room.

But it is precisely because of this symptom of actual physical weakness that several doctors have put forward a prescription in unison: "Bloodletting, bloodletting, only bloodletting." ”

So the queen once again inserted a open reed pipe into her arm, and the red blood flowed out of the queen's body silently and fell into the silver basin under the bed.

The incessant bloodletting had almost destroyed Isabella's already fragile defenses, and she had fallen into a coma for most of the day, struggling to summon ministers when she was awake, and even on the most dangerous days she ordered her generals to be summoned to inquire about the situation in the south and northwest.

Queen Isabella of Castile was a strong-willed and dutiful monarch, who sometimes murmured about her country and enemies in a muffled voice, even when she was asleep.

Isabella has many enemies, since she was young, she has relied on defeating strong opponents again and again, and now, most of her enemies have either gone to God or have no longer dared to provoke because of the fiasco, but Isabella has always believed that her enemies are planning to try to fight her at any time and place.

The queen on the bed moved, and the maid who was guarding next to her immediately leaned in to see the situation, and when she saw the queen slowly open her eyes and look at her blankly, the maid cautiously whispered in her ear to ask her what she commanded.

"Where's Juana?"

It's the first thing Isabella asks every time she wakes up, and then whether she's disappointed again or not, she asks about other things.

This time, the queen, who originally thought that she would be disappointed, saw the maid's hesitation, and a trace of eagerness instantly appeared in her eyes: "Is there Juana's whereabouts?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, but not good news."

The maid hesitated to tell the truth to the queen, and just when she felt embarrassed, Isabella had already raised her weak hand and waved it slowly: "Go and ask Ferdinand to come." ”

"Your Majesty, don't you want to know anything about the princess?" The maid asked puzzled.

"Maybe it's better for him to tell me," Isabella said, patting the back of the maid's hand softly, "Don't worry, I've heard more bad news, so don't worry about me." ”

When Ferdinand arrived, Isabella had sat up with the help of the servants, and she even drank a small glass of goat's milk, which made her seem to be in a little better spirits.

"Now tell me, how is Juana?"

Isabella, who was ready, looked calm, she was ready to hear the worst.

It's just that she never imagined that Ferdinand would bring her even worse news.

"Why?!"

Even though she was sick, Isabella asked a powerful question.

"What are the councils going to do, are they questioning the legitimacy of my throne?"

Ferdinand shook his head in confusion as well, he didn't understand what the noble council meant by bringing out Enrique's daughter Juana at this time?

"Manuel?" Isabella asked suddenly, but then she knew that the assumption was biased, that the old nobles of Toledo might oppose her rule because she had violated their rights, but they would not be foolish enough to collude with the Portuguese.

Because that would mean that they would be against the entire kingdom of Castile.

But who else but Manuel will go to great lengths to justify Eric's daughter's identity?

"We need you to make a decision," Ferdinand said in a deep voice as he sat on the edge of the bed and took his wife's hand, "and only you have the right to make this decision, tell us what you intend to do, Castile is facing a civil war, a real war compared to the rebellion in the South." ”

Isabella looked straight at her husband, she knew that Ferdinand was right, the Council of Nobles now had two of the biggest chips, her daughter, and his half-brother's daughter.

Two Juanas, a crown, and Toledo openly challenged her.

It didn't take long for Isabella to make a decision, she gave a few orders to the attendants next to her, and soon Gonzalo and a group of Castilian generals were ordered to meet the queen while countless people waited.

"Your Majesty, I think we've been in Barriadot long enough." At the Palace of Rose Horn, Alexander told the Pope that he couldn't help but wonder if Alexander VI had been bewitched by this rare good time, looking at the old man playing with a bronze horse sculpture typical of the Eastern Roman style.

However, to his surprise, Alexander VI, who finally looked away from the sculpture after hearing his reminder, looked sober and calm: "It's true that we've been staying for too long, aren't we going to Toledo?" ”

"So you're ready?"

Hearing Alexander's inquiry, the Pope seriously asked: "What about you, are you ready?" ”

Alexander thought for a moment and finally nodded: "Yes, get ready to fight!" ”