"I wish I had prepared a gift in advance." James Churchill looked at Nicolo Doria with some jealousy as he left after receiving the reward. This is a gold collar, not to mention the gold collar, because it is the same as the French one.
During the war, it was hard to say whether he could save enough money for a silver collar in a year.
While he was thinking, he suddenly heard the Ming Emperor say something, which Claviyo translated into Castilian. Quijano glanced at him and bowed to answer. He was wondering what Quijano was looking at him,
I heard the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty speak again, and this time Claviyo translated the words into English at the same time, and it was a paragraph of English that was difficult for him to understand. "I thought it was true, the regent of your country
How could the Queen Mother send an envoy just because I can speak English and win my favor? Sure enough, your country wants to unite with England to control Egypt."
‘Control Egypt? Who wants to control Egypt?’ James Churchill was confused for a moment: ‘His Majesty the King wants to join forces with the Kingdom of Castile to control Egypt? Why didn’t I know? Why didn’t His Majesty the King tell me before he left?’
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Quijano say: "His Majesty the Emperor's guess is very correct. This is what my King, the Queen Mother and the Regent meant."
Castile's national power is certainly very strong at this time, but neither Prince Ferdinand nor Queen Catherine will devote all their strength to the war against Egypt. For the countries of the Iberian Peninsula, the most important thing is
The thing is still to completely eliminate the Kingdom of Granada in the south and drive the Moors completely out of the peninsula.
Capturing Egypt is of course the second most important thing after the elimination of Granada, but Castile is a bit far away from Egypt, and a large army expedition needs a landing place. Of course, Castile's most loyal ally, the Kingdom of Aragon,
Occupying Sardinia and Sicily, Castile itself also occupies some islands in the central and eastern Mediterranean and has a foothold, but this also means that they must pay attention to the situation in Italy and Greece, and many forces must be prepared for these areas.
, there are not many forces that can directly invest in the war against Egypt. Of course, we cannot rely entirely on the Ming Dynasty to fill these forces. Of course, Prince Ferdinand and Queen Catherine will not be so naive. They actively looked for allies in Europe and finally chose England.
First, England is a powerful country; second, although England once had a bad relationship with Castile, as Enrique III married Henry IV's sister Catherine, the two countries restored their old relationship; third,
At this time, Britain and France had already signed a peace agreement, and England had enough power to participate in the battle in the Mediterranean. Fourth, England was further away from Egypt than Castile, and its national strength was not as good as Castile. Even if it was under joint control, it would actually be impossible in the end.
Castile is also the leader and will not let England take advantage. With these three advantages, coupled with Queen Catherine's preference for her natal family, it is logical for Castile to choose England as its ally.
"Okay." Yunxi said with a smile, but then asked: "But why does this man named James Churchill seem not to know about this?"
"Your Majesty, there are many nobles in England who are opposed to this matter. Even King Henry IV dare not decide on his own. So His Majesty Henry IV decided to send members of the Churchill family who opposed the control of Egypt to accompany me on my mission to the Ming Dynasty to let him see what happened.
The prosperity of this trade route allowed me to see the wealth and power of the Ming Dynasty, and also to see what kind of benefits England could gain if it participated in the control of Egypt. After returning home, I told other people who opposed joint control of Egypt with our country to dispel their objections.
.Because the Churchill family objected to participating in this matter, they did not tell him in advance." Quijano explained calmly.
"I see." Yunxi nodded. Jihano's words are logically self-consistent and should not be lies.
"Your Majesty," Quijano said again: "Your Majesty once ordered Gezelez to tell me something: the Kingdom of Castile and the Ming Empire are getting married, and it is impossible for a princess of the Ming Dynasty to marry into the Kingdom of Castile.
; But if the Kingdom of Castile is willing to marry the princess to the Ming Empire, you can consider it. What I understand means is: Are you willing to accept the princess of our Kingdom of Castile to marry the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty? May I ask, Your Majesty the Emperor,
Is there something wrong with my understanding?”
"Absolutely correct, but your princess of Castile cannot marry the crown prince of our country, but another prince of mine, and this is conditional. However, I heard that the previous king of your country was only
He has a son but no daughter, and the current king is only seven years old and has no children." Yunxi said.
"I take the liberty to ask His Majesty the Emperor, what are the conditions?" Quijano asked with some excitement.
"This," Yunxi glanced at Quijano doubtfully, and said, "the Ming Dynasty will propose a betrothal gift for marrying this princess - a rich place on the Ming Dynasty's land as the princess's fief; but Castile
We also need to provide a dowry for this princess to get married - Tunisia. However, since your country does not have a princess now, I am just talking about these conditions casually."
"Your Majesty, our Kingdom of Castile does not have a princess now; but our country's regent, Prince Ferdinand, has become the king of the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Sicily. His Majesty Ferdinand will marry his daughter to His Majesty the Emperor's son, will you?
Okay?" He added: "Although the Kingdom of Aragon and our Kingdom of Castile are two countries, they are the most solid allies and can almost be regarded as one country."
"Prince Ferdinand, the regent of your country, has become the king of Aragon and Sicily?" Yunxi said with a frightened expression: "Is it still like this in Europe?" Castile and Aragon are two countries formed by the same country.
Yunxi knew that one family ruled, but since Ferdinand could be the king of Aragon, why couldn't he be the king of Castile in the first place?
"Yes." Quijano explained: "Martin I, the former king of the Kingdom of Aragon, and Juan I, the grandfather of the current king of our country, are brothers and succeeded to the throne of the kings of Castile and Aragon respectively.
His Majesty Martin I passed away two years ago. When he died, his son Martin I had already passed away. The nobles and the church supported Prince Ferdinand to inherit the throne, and Prince Ferdinand succeeded to the throne of King of Aragon."
"Wait a minute. Why is Martin I's son still Martin I?" Yunxi asked.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, the next Martin I is not Martin I of the Kingdom of Aragon, but Martin I of the Kingdom of Sicily. Twenty years ago, in the 25th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Queen Mary of the Kingdom of Sicily married him; Jianye
Queen Mary died of illness in three years, and her husband Martin succeeded to the throne. Because this was the first king named Martin in the history of the Kingdom of Sicily, he was called Martin I. If he succeeded to the throne of King of Aragon, he should be regarded as King of Aragon.
Called Martin II." Quijano explained.
"Damn, it's such a mess!" Yunxi couldn't help but whisper. This Martin I, that Martin I, made it impossible for him to figure out who was who. 'The kings of these European countries should create a unified
Isn't the ranking bad? People who often deal with European countries don't understand what you are talking about." He couldn't help complaining in his heart.
As everyone knows, Quijano is also complaining about the Ming Dynasty in his heart. "Why does your Ming Dynasty have to follow the emperor's reign name, and every emperor has to change the reign name after he succeeds? It makes me want to find out what year you use in a certain year."
No matter how you describe the chronology of the Ming Dynasty, you have to think about it for a while. Can't you come up with a unified chronology? Even if you don't use the Lord's chronology, start from the first year of the founding of the country as the first year, and then arrange it in sequence!'
"In other words, the current regent of your country, Prince Ferdinand, is also the king of the Kingdom of Aragon?" Yunxi gave up on trying to figure out who was who and asked directly.
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor," Quijano replied.
Yunxi stared at him for a few times and said: "Since your country is willing, and Ferdinand has indeed become the king of a country, and his daughter is also a princess of a country, I agree to marry him."
Quijano suppressed his excitement and asked: "I wonder which prince your Majesty plans to marry our princess? His Majesty Ferdinand I has two princesses. Princess Maria was born in the 29th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.
Princess Leonore was born in the fourth year of Jianye."
"I would like to ask the Kingdom of Aragon to marry Princess Leonor on behalf of my son," Yunxi said.
"I have no right to agree to this matter, but I think His Majesty Ferdinand I will definitely agree." Quijano said.
"I also hope that your country will reply as soon as possible." Yunxi said.
After agreeing on the matter, Yunxi and Quijano both had smiles on their faces. The already harmonious atmosphere at the scene became even more harmonious, and Yunxi also had a rare chat with Quijano, asking about some things in Europe.
Quijano also took the opportunity to represent artists such as Gilberte and Donatello who came to the Ming Dynasty from Europe this time. The scientist made a request to let them visit the Five Cities School.
Of course, Yunxi immediately agreed. Foreign scientists and artists took the initiative to visit the Wucheng Academy. He was not happy enough, so how could he object? Not only the Wucheng Academy, but even Gezhijian, except for a few research projects, allowed them to visit.
They chatted for a while, and after Quijano finished talking about the alliance between King Sigismund of the Romans and England, he said: "Your Majesty, I want to bring you the second thing about my mission to the Ming Dynasty.
Matter: Requesting Ming Dynasty to conclude a formal alliance with our country."
"I have already drawn up the draft of the covenant, and it has been approved by the regent and queen of our country. The regent and queen have also granted me full authority to handle this matter. Our country will agree to any covenant I sign." As he spoke, he
He took out a notebook with more than ten pages and a piece of parchment with the seal of the King of Castile, and handed it to Claviyo.
"Your Majesty, what is written on the parchment is: Prince Ferdinand and Queen Catherine, Regent of the Kingdom of Castile, granted Alonso de Quijano full authority when signing an alliance treaty with the Ming Empire. The seal is also authentic.
." When forwarding these to Yunxi, Claviyo whispered.
"Yes." Yunxi agreed. He only glanced at the parchment briefly and put it aside, focusing on reading the draft of the covenant.
The draft of the covenant is written in three languages, namely Chinese characters, Castilian and English. It is marked at the beginning: If the covenant is formally signed, the two countries will each hold one copy of the covenant written in these three languages. If
If there is a conflict between Chinese characters and Castilian text, English shall prevail. In fact, treaties signed in Europe at this time basically used Latin as the standard text, but Quijano considered that Yunxi only knew English, so he deliberately changed it to English.
.
There are many articles in the covenant, but Yunxi looked through them, and the most important ones are as follows:
1. This covenant is aimed at the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt. No country can sign any form of treaty with the Mamluk dynasty in private; if it wants to sign, it must obtain the permission of the allied country;
2. Once one of the countries is in a state of war with the Mamluk dynasty, the other country will automatically enter a state of war with the Mamluk dynasty and must provide necessary assistance to the allied countries;
3. After seizing the Isthmus of Suez or taking control of Egypt, the Suez Carriage Track or Suez Canal built will be divided equally between the two countries, each taking half;
4. The two countries implement most-favored-nation treatment in trade and reduce tariffs on merchants from the other country, which shall not be higher than the tariff rates imposed by the two countries on any other country;
5. This alliance is valid until the two countries seize the Isthmus of Suez or control Egypt. After that, the two countries will agree on other treaties.
After reading the draft of the covenant, Yunxi raised his head and glanced at Jijano with a half-smile. Looking at it now, the other conditions are of no practical use except for Article 4: 'The two countries shall implement most-favored-nation treatment in trade.
This article of lowering tariffs for merchants from the other country has a practical effect. Currently, no merchants from the Ming Dynasty have gone to Castile. They are all merchants from Castile who come to the Ming Dynasty to do business. Castile is obviously taking advantage.
, Ming Dynasty suffered a loss.
Jijano was so nervous that he sweated on his forehead. But Yunxi suddenly laughed and said: "I am correct in principle. But the time is too short, I haven't had time to read the treaty from beginning to end."
.The specific content will be discussed with you after I study it carefully."
"Your Majesty the Emperor, this is really a wise decision. Although it seems that the Kingdom of Castile is taking advantage now, this alliance is also beneficial to the Ming Dynasty." Quijano breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile.
"However, I remember what you just said, Tunisia is not under the rule of Castile at this time." Yunhe said again.
"Yes, Your Majesty. It is now ruled by other countries. But the country that rules the area is weak. In five years, including one year or six years when the news is sent back, the Kingdom of Castile will be able to control Tunisia."
Hano said.
"But after all, Tunisia is no longer under your rule at this time. So even if a covenant is signed, the covenant cannot be fulfilled immediately." Yunxi said.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, as far as I know, at this time, the Ming Dynasty does not have a stable stronghold in the Sea of Da Shi. The closest port to Egypt is on the east coast of the Bay of Bengal. And if the Ming Dynasty wants to expedition to Egypt, it must have at least one port in the Sea of Da Shi. So.
Even from Ming's perspective, this covenant cannot be fulfilled immediately." Quijano argued.
"In this case, why not fill in this clause in the covenant: This covenant will not officially come into effect until Castile controls Tunisia and the Ming Dynasty has a stable stronghold in the Great Sea of Food." Yun He said.
"I have no objection."
"Okay, just fill in this one." Yunxi said with a smile. (To be continued)
