The gentle sunlight fell on the do, outlining a splendid array of colors. The cries of seabirds ca from above the do, faintly echoing like ethereal mockery. In the Hall of Ambassadors at this mont, there were scattered discussions intermingled with low laughter. The great nobility of Castile and Aragon chatted with each other as if no one else were present. anwhile, scholars from various regions engaged in intense debates. It seed that no one paid attention to Columbus, the "great navigator," who stood awkwardly and at a loss in front of everyone.
"Hmm, searching for islands at sea, attracting true navigators, avoiding French intervention in the Atlantic... purely for political considerations..."
After listening to Antonio, the Aragonese nautical scholar, the elderly Castilian royal scholar Pedro mused for a while and then slowly nodded. He glanced indifferently at Columbus, who was being ignored by everyone, and then looked at the distant back of King Fernando, suddenly reciting a complicated Ancient Greek adage in a low voice in Latin.
"The sages have long known! When truth is tied to politics, it departs from the objective calculations of scholars and abandons the pursuit of truth by the wise... Even the most absurd and far-fetched proposal seems less absurd. Only the manipulative hand of politics appears more shadowy and despicable under the light of truth!"
"Ahem! May the Almighty bless us, may He bestow His grace!"
Hearing Pedro's pointed whispers, Antonio, the Aragonese scholar, broke into a sweat on his forehead and quickly interrupted. Such words mocking King Fernando of Aragon could be boldly spoken by Pedro, but Antonio dared not participate in them.
Pedro was of advanced age and highly prestigious. As a royal scholar of Castile, he had studied at the Portuguese School of Navigation and held an esteed position among the royal nobles. At this mont, even if he subtly mocked King Fernando, the King, even if he heard it, could not say anything in response and had to pretend not to hear it.
In fact, Royal Noble Pedro himself represented a faction of nobility within the Kingdom of Castile: those who held hostility towards King Fernando, were sympathetic towards Portugal, and were aged and conservative nobles.
These older conservative nobles opposed the centralization by the Dual Kings and the cunning, politically unscrupulous ddling of Fernando in the internal affairs of Castile. On the other hand, they had considerable sympathy for Juana, the legitimate heiress of Henry IV, who had Portuguese royal blood and was relatively weaker and more easily controlled. As the influence of the Dual Kings increased, their political power was steadily declining but remained significant.
"Ahem! Esteed Scholar Pedro, the Queen is a bright holy light, and the King too is a holy light, just slightly dimr..."
"Ha? Holy light? Is est tenebrarum et serpentum malissimus! He is the most evil shadow and serpent... Don't forget his vicious tactics in slandering Princess Juana back then, and Alonso Prince's mysterious fall from his horse last year..."
"Ahem! Domine Deus! Cessa! Almighty Lord! Stop!"
Hearing Pedro ntion last year's mysterious fall of Portuguese Prince Alonso from his horse, Antonio, the Aragonese scholar, instantly broke into a cold sweat, unable to sit still.
This bizarre and inexplicable mystery occurred last sumr, not far from the border between Portugal and the Kingdom of Castile. Sixteen-year-old Prince Alonso, the only legitimate son of Portuguese King Joao II and betrothed to Queen Isabella's eldest daughter, was the sole hope for a peaceful union between Portugal and the Kingdom of Castile. His sudden and mysterious death not only represented the natural termination of the royal marriage agreent between the two countries but also effectively marked the complete rupture between Portugal and Castile! The greatest beneficiary behind this upheaval was naturally King Fernando of Aragon...
"Dominus protegat!"
Antonio imdiately ended this dangerous and secret Latin exchange. He looked to Juan de la Cosa, the Castilian navigator sitting on the other side, and diverted the topic.
"Juan, what do you think of Columbus's proposal?"
"Uh! ... What do I think?"
Juan de la Cosa, a northern Castilian navigator from Santona, was around forty years old, with a very amiable appearance and bright eyes. He had been listening with interest, practicing his Latin listening skills while eating lons, only to find that the lon had suddenly fallen on his own head.
"I think... well... it's great!"
"What is great?... You an Columbus's proposal, filled with absurdities and errors, is great?"
"Yes... Sir Columbus's proposal to explore the Atlantic, although very inaccurate, has a good direction overall!"
Navigator Juan de la Cosa straightened up, looked at the two dismissive elder scholars, and said solemnly.
"Four years ago, Portugal's Sir Dias had already discovered the southernmost tip of the Southern Continent, passing beyond the stormy Cape of Good Hope. Further forward, beyond the east side of the Southern Continent, lay India, full of spices and gemstones!"
"This ans that the Portuguese have essentially discovered a new route to India!... And two years ago, the Queen sent to Portugal to spy... oh no, to investigate the relevant route information... From the surviving sailors, I roughly estimated that just the sea route from Portugal to the southernmost part of the African continent, from latitude 36 degrees north to 34 degrees south, spans a full ten thousand kiloters!"
"Witness Almighty! In the opening of new routes, the Portuguese have already outpaced us significantly! They have established many fortresses and outposts on the Southern Continent, built a vast fleet, and even made friends with the southern great tribes along the way to maintain this new route flowing with gold!... And after Alonso Prince's death, there is no room left for turning back in our relations with the Portuguese. Without a nationwide conflict, they would never allow our fleet to engage in the new southern continental route..."
Hearing Navigator Juan's account, Pedro and Antonio exchanged a look, both showing so emotion. These royal scholars, although ostensibly focused on knowledge and truth, were well connected and well-inford. They understood the political situation of the three Iberian kingdoms more clearly than many of the kingdoms' great nobles.
"Ah! The death of Alonso Prince... the new route already discovered by the Portuguese..."
Pedro sighed and shook his head, while Antonio lowered his eyes. Both elder scholars understood Navigator Juan's aning, and they fell into silence.
Through the Southern Continent, traveling south and then eastward to India's new route was indeed excellent and perfect, even already explored and discovered by Portuguese navigators! But this new route had nothing to do with the two Spaniard kingdoms. The new Atlantic route exploring westward, despite being vague and imnsely distant, was now the only potential route Spain could discover and control!
"May Almighty protect! Esteed Scholar Pedro, I also agree with your calculation. The voyage from Europe westward to Asia at least spans 14,000 kiloters, far exceeding the numbers suggested by Sir Columbus..."
Navigator Juan smiled gently, looked at the two silent Nautical Committee scholars, and then nodded encouragingly to Columbus standing before everyone.
"But compared to the Portuguese heading south to India's new route, the westward new route to Asia, whether 14,000 or even at most 20,000 kiloters, really isn't that far!"
"May the Almighty bless the Dual Kings! We are starting from zero, not necessarily following the Portuguese's old path, and they wouldn't allow us to follow their old path anyway..."
"Thus, pioneering a new Atlantic route westwards, finding the legendary Antillia Island, St. Brendan's Island, or any undiscovered Atlantic islands as supply outposts, eventually reaching the great island of Cipangu east of Khitan and Seris, is the only new route we can grasp!"
At this point, Navigator Juan slightly raised his voice, so that not only the surrounding Nautical Committee scholars but even Reverend Hernando de Talavera, Queen's confessor, Alonso de Quintanilla, Queen's auditor, Luis de Santangel, King's financial adviser, could all hear clearly.
"Witness Almighty! In this westward new route exploration, I, Juan de la Cosa, am willing to sail into the turbulent, unpredictable Atlantic with Navigator Christopher Columbus! And my Holy Maria Clark sailing ship will join as a part of the exploratory fleet!"
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