Conquer the Dawn of Heaven

I don't know if it was due to hesitation, Ferdinand felt more and more disturbed during this time.

After the Battle of Seville, his connection with Gonzalo became increasingly difficult.

At the beginning, the envoys he sent were able to send back some letters, but gradually, there was less and less news about the South, and then there was no news about the South for a long time.

Ferdinand noticed the changes that made him uneasy, and after enduring it for a while, he finally had to determine that something went wrong in the south.

This incident did not mean that he was defeated again. If that was the case, he would not be so nervous. What he worried about was what happened to Gonzalo.

Ferdinand summoned his ministers.

The nobles of Castilian have been divided into three obvious factions in Vallariddo now.

A group of nobles who are proud of being Castilians hated Ferdinand’s control of the Castilian government because they shared the same ideas. These people included both new and old nobles.

Similarly, some others are on Ferdinand’s side. They recognize Ferdinand as Isabella’s successor in the name of respecting Isabella’s marriage, although they still insist that Juana is the Queen of Castile. , But acquiesced in Ferdinand’s actual rule of Castile.

As for the third party, they are people who only care about whether their rights are affected.

They don't care who is ruling the country, they just want to know what these people will take away from them.

And these people are also the most among the nobles.

In the palace, Ferdinand looked at the Castilians who stood in front of him respectfully, and restored some of the faith that had been lost in his heart.

Yes, he has been in this country for so long after all. Even when Isabella was alive, he could not blatantly recruit the ministers, but he still established a good relationship with them, and some of them are even more Willing to take refuge in him.

Isn't that enough to contend with the prince of Castile who suddenly appeared?

As for the Portuguese and French, he already has plans.

Marcos Byrne was one of Isabella's most trusted ministers, but it was this man who first betrayed Ferdinand after Isabella's death.

For this reason, Ferdinand had thought of sending someone to assassinate this traitor whom he hated to his bones more than once, but in the end he endured it.

No matter whether you succeed in assassinating a nobleman or not, it will bring you a lot of notoriety. If you succeed, it's nothing more. If you fail, it will be too much for you.

And thinking about it later, Marklos Byrne's public betrayal is not necessarily a bad thing for Ferdinand, at least this way, he knew who the traitor was.

As long as you think about such an important minister as Macross Byrne, who hides evil intentions and always hides by his side, Ferdinand feels shuddering.

Because of this, he actually didn't trust the Castilians who took refuge in him, but now he must not only reuse these people, but also show them frequently, otherwise his life will become more sad.

"I have decided to send someone to Lisbon." Seeing some of the ministers seemed surprised, and some of them looked like this, Ferdinand turned a blind eye and continued, "I am willing to admit the marriage of Maria and Manuel. It’s invalid, and I hope it won’t affect our friendship with Portugal."

The ministers showed their best looks.

Obviously, even if Ferdinand is unwilling to accept it, it has become a fact that Maria has lost the throne of the Queen of Portugal. So instead of continuing to have antagonism with Portugal, it is better to change the relationship as soon as possible, which is indeed the best policy.

After all, the struggle for maritime interests between Portugal and Portugal is in full swing. The two sides have reached the point where you are my alive, but the top priority now is to defeat the invading Sicilian army as soon as possible.

As for the French, they obviously took advantage of the fire.

Although they frequently invaded from the border of Navarre, the scale was always small, and almost all of them acted with the Portuguese, although it was also speculated that the French intentions seemed to be intended to connect Castile with the Galicia region in the northwest. Separated, but now the most important thing is the south.

As for Galicia, it will be recovered as soon as possible after it is free.

From south to north, Ferdinand has already made this plan.

"Send someone to negotiate with Manuel. Even if he puts forward some harsh conditions, I will consider it. Now I want to appease the Portuguese and the French." Despite some helplessness, Ferdinand made this decision. He looked at the ministers and asked tentatively, "If I mobilize the Aragonese army to fight the Sicilians..."

Ferdinand, who had just said this sentence, immediately saw the weird looks on the faces of the ministers. Some of them showed upset, some hesitated, and some showed evasive looks.

Ferdinand pressed down his anger, but looked at those people blankly.

He knew that these people were Castillarians after all, and had an instinctive antipathy for letting the Aragonese army into Castilla.

In other words, even if they don’t care, they still have to maintain the last pride of being a Castilian nobleman, so that they can hold their own identity in front of him and avoid being regarded by Castilians. traitor.

Ferdinand cursed these people secretly in his heart. He knew that of course some of them really wanted to take refuge in him, but even so they wanted to be loyal to him only, not him as the king of Aragon.

This made Ferdinand helplessly admit that if you want to completely master Castile, you still need to use Juana.

Ferdinand ended the summoning unhappily. When he returned to his room with a gloomy face, he saw Maria who was waiting for him.

Maria was expelled from Portugal and returned to Valladoliddo for some time, but since she came back to meet Ferdinand, she lived directly in a convent not far from the palace.

Perhaps because of her experience, perhaps because of her identity is too sensitive, since entering the convent, Maria has never come out.

Now that she suddenly appeared in the palace, many people couldn't help wondering in secret what was going on.

"Are you doing well this time?" Ferdinand asked indifferently, his tone was nothing like a father who cared about his daughter, even his servants might have received greater care than this.

"Yes, father, I have been sincerely confessing my past during this time."

Maria's answer was also quite satisfactory, and her demeanor also seemed stern, and the strange sense of alienation seemed to erect an invisible wall between the two.

This caused them to fall into a long silence in an instant after these few conversations.

After a while, Ferdinand spoke again: "I have decided to recognize Juana as the Queen of Portugal."

Maria's calm mood finally changed. She looked at Ferdinand with incredible eyes, as if she didn't believe her father had just given up on herself.

Although she was deported back to her country, Maria always believed that this was not the end of her destiny, because as long as she still possessed the name of the Queen of Portugal, she still had a significant role.

But once her status as a queen is denied, she has no value anymore.

And she never believed that Ferdinand would give up her identity.

"Why, father, this will make you lose Portugal!"

Maria asked loudly. Although she knew that she might never have a chance to return to Portugal, she never expected to give up her title as queen.

"I have to make peace with Manuel," Ferdinand turned a blind eye to Maria's anger. He looked at this useless daughter coldly, wondering how much she could use for himself. "You have to know The Portuguese are fighting our colonies on the sea. In the last few months, they defeated the Castilian fleet, and you failed to help me prevent this from happening."

"So it's my fault?"

Maria looked at Ferdinand angrily. The anger of being betrayed by her father was not so strong. What annoyed her was that Ferdinand did not give her another opportunity.

"At least you did not get Manuel to act according to your wishes, but was expelled from Portugal by him." Ferdinand was also extremely angry, and he was annoyed that his many years of plans were in vain.

"I will return to Portugal. That woman can pull me out of the queen seat, and I can do the same."

Seeing Maria's face full of resentment, Ferdinand stared at her daughter gloomily.

He used to think that Maria resembled him in some places, but now he felt that he was a little sloppy before.

"Unless you can overturn the verdict made by the 12 bishops, you will always be rejected from the Portuguese territory for murdering your sister's son."

Ferdinand lowered his head and began to review the documents in front of him, at the same time disappointed in Maria's stubbornness.

Obviously Maria still refuses to admit defeat and thinks that she can turn over, but Ferdinand knows very well that this is impossible.

Manuel would marry two Aragonese princesses in succession, not because of the inseparable relationship between the two countries, but just to reassure that strong neighbor.

Portugal, who once supported Enrique's daughter, would obviously not be at ease if she did not agree to establish the daughter of the new queen and his wife.

Only when Portugal was newly defeated at that time, and Manuel had just succeeded to the throne, of course he did not want to anger his powerful neighbor.

But now the situation has undergone subtle changes. The Portuguese fleet's victory in the Azores gave Manuel inexplicable courage.

More importantly, Isabella's death and the reunification of the two Sicilies gave him an opportunity to completely get rid of being restrained by others.

Any one of these incidents is actually enough to make Manuel reconsider his relationship with his strong neighbor, not to mention that even God seems to be helping him, and Castile and Aragón have undergone various changes.

"Don't think about returning to Portugal anymore," Ferdinand said coldly to Maria. He was a little annoyed that Maria couldn't see his situation, but considering his next plan, Manuel Still try to be patient and calm Maria "I will find you a new husband, you just have to wait in the monastery with peace of mind."

Maria looked at her father unexpectedly. She didn't expect Ferdinand to start reconsidering her marriage so soon.

Although she had no feelings for Manuel, she couldn't bear to be deprived of the crown and rushed back to her family.

Ferdinand saw her thoughts in Maria's stubborn eyes, but he didn't care about them.

Before Maria was deposed, he was really angry. He wanted Manuel to pay for his behavior, but the sudden intervention of the French made Ferdinand realize that the situation was not good for him.

Now his situation is not too much to describe with enemies on all sides. Whether at home or abroad, all his enemies are staring at him, as long as a slight error may cause him to fall into the abyss of failure.

This dangerous situation is even more serious than when he decided to take a risk and marry Isabel.

Ferdinand knew that he had to get rid of the current predicament as soon as possible, and Maria, who was sent back home, inadvertently became an important bargaining chip for him to achieve this goal.

"You have to be prepared," I don't know how long, Ferdinand stopped working and looked at Maria, who was sitting on the opposite side. "I think I can reconsider one for you, which is more beneficial to many people." marriage."

Maria listened with a deep face. She knew that since Ferdinand said that, she might have already figured out whom to marry her. As for whether that person is the reason, it just depends on whether the terms can be negotiated for both parties.

As if seeing Maria’s thoughts, Ferdinand’s expression softened slightly. He took Maria to the yard, stopped in the shade outside a pavilion, and said to her in a low tone: "You It should be known about the collusion between the French and Manuel, and they invaded Castile from Navarre."

Maria was a little puzzled at first, but soon discovered the key to Ferdinand's words.

"Navarre?"

Ferdinand nodded. He glanced at Maria with some appreciation. He always felt that Maria was the most like himself among all his children. Even though she had lost her mind because of her anger, she still seemed to make her He is satisfied

Of course, although I appreciate it, he would not approve of letting Maria inherit the throne of Castile.

Juana made it suitable, especially if she was crazy now.

"Queen Catalina of Navarre just gave birth to a prince two months ago," Ferdinand continued with satisfaction when seeing Maria's eyes twitching, but still barely maintaining her composure. Say "I hope you can marry him. This is obviously a good choice for all of us..."

Maria listened silently. Although marrying a child who was only two months old made her feel a bit annoyed, she knew it was not her decision.

The only thing she can do is to go back to the convent as her father said, and wait for the outcome of the marriage.

"Jean Albre of Navarre is Louis' cousin," Ferdinand continued to tell his daughter. "I hope this marriage will improve the relationship between us and the French. In addition, I hope you will one day Give me a grandson to inherit the throne of Navarre."

Maria glanced at Ferdinand blankly at ~www.ltnovel.com~ She knew that her parents had been coveting Navarre all the time, but because of the close relationship between Navarre and the French, It made them scrupulous.

But Navarre's intervention in the Castilian War with the French seemed to finally stimulate Ferdinand, but now it seems that he has found a good solution to this problem.

A servant hurriedly walked in with a letter, and seeing the mark on it, Ferdinand could not wait to open it and watch it.

Maria noticed that the envelope was covered with two crossed torches and sword emblems.

That is the mark of the captain of the Knights of Santiago.

While looking at Ferdinand carefully with the letter, he suddenly exclaimed "Ah" after not reading a few lines.

Then he slowly put down the letter, looking at Maria with a strange expression on his face.

"The letter is from Gonzalo." Seeing what Maria seemed to know, he raised his hand and waved the letter paper. "But you certainly didn't expect this. He said he would give me the Duke of Rome Thesia."