Aztec Eternals

Gold candlesticks hang on the four walls of the hall, showing the wealth of the Portuguese royal family. The candlelight shines, illuminating the large oil statue of the Virgin Mary, just like the arrival of the Holy Virgin. The Holy Mother's benevolent smile, with the radiance of humanity, is watching the two people in the temple. This is the latest holy painting from the city-states of the Apennine Peninsula. It completely breaks through the rigidity and abstraction of traditional icons and makes the saints come to life!

Under the gaze of the Virgin, Dias lowered his head, carefully reading the precious letter in his hand. It took more than half a year for this letter to travel more than 8,000 miles before it arrived at the court of Sintra, bringing precious information from the East.

"My esteemed majesty, your loyal knight attendant, Pero da Covillian, would like to report to you. For the grace of the Lord, and for the glory of the kingdom, I am about to set off from Cairo to the most important holy place of Xingyue, I have learned many rumors about India and Siris from the merchants I have come to the place where the holy book first appeared in the legend, and there will be more detailed sea news on the eastern coast!."

"Cavalier Pero da Covillian? It's him!"

Seeing this, Dias' expression flickered, thoughtful. He thought of a young face, Moorish, pious and fearless.

"Well. Little Pero was born in the kingdom, from Bella, and once served for the younger brother of the Duke of Medina Sidonia. A few years ago, he became my knight servant and took care of my horses. Even though I have canonized him As a knight, he still often considers himself a squire."

Speaking of this, Joao II smiled. Little Perot's loyalty is the reason why he chose the other party as the envoy and spy of the Kingdom of Portugal.

"Little Perozu has Moorish blood. He is proficient in Arabic, and his appearance is easy to confuse. Dias, two years ago, you drove a sea boat from the southern continent to the east. And little Pero Then go to Egypt, sneak into the Arab caravan, and look for specific information about India and Siris from the traditional Silk Road. Your discoveries are the top secrets of the kingdom!"

Hearing this, Dias nodded slowly. He looked expectant and continued to read.

".The Mamluk generals of Egypt and the Ottoman army have just concluded a battle that lasted for several years in Adana in the north of the Syrian province. Tens of thousands of Mamluk legions were dispatched and defeated the two legions of the Ottomans , and captured the opposing legionary commander. The Ottoman ambitions to expand into Syria were temporarily repelled. As I write this letter, Cairo is celebrating victory and distributing free bread.”

"It's just that the Egyptian generals have deep contradictions and frequent internal strife. This ancient Pharaoh's country seems to be full of a stale flavor. In contrast, the Ottoman Sultan, like lightning, has a daunting fighting spirit. Huh! There is no difference between good and evil in the wars of heathens, but they are all fought by devils, and of the two devils, I prefer the new one."

Seeing this, Dias frowned. Because of the fall of Constantinople, the people of God generally both loathe and fear the rapidly rising Ottomans. The Mamluk generals in the southern continent have long since lost their aggressiveness and no longer pose a threat to the world of God. In fact, the Kingdom of Portugal even had secret business contacts with the Mamluk generals in Egypt. And this precious letter was delivered through such a channel.

"Your Majesty, in the process of talking with Egyptian merchants, I discovered the source of their spices and heard more accurate news from the East. Their spices are all from the trade node in the southeast of the Red Sea, which connects the port city of Aden in the southern continent. Come here. There, I can find merchant ships to and from India. And this pagan port city will also be my next goal!"

"Aden, the port city connecting the southern continent?"

Dias was slightly taken aback. He had a vague premonition that it was the northernmost point on the east side of the southern continent.

"...When I arrived in Aden, there were not only ships going to India, but also ships going to the east side of the southern continent. According to another businessman from Lower Egypt, all the way south from Aden, the entire eastern side of the southern continent, It is a black-skinned tribe that believes in Xingyue. According to the legend, King Solomon’s kingdom, where Alexander’s Gate and the Fountain of Youth are located, the country of Elder John, is surrounded by the Xingyue black-skinned tribe!”

"Your Majesty, after repeated calculations, the location of Elder John's country is at the southernmost point of the upper reaches of the Nile River, somewhere between the 15 degrees north latitude west of the port of Aden and the equator!"

"Ah? Between 15 degrees north latitude and the equator!"

Seeing this exact description, Dias was shocked. He finally understood why the king asked about the latitude of navigation. It turns out that from the Cape of Good Hope to the east and north, along the edge of the southern continent, it takes a full 40 latitudes to find the country of Elder John!

"Dias, little Pero told me that the eastern side of the southern continent stretches for thousands of miles, but they are all black-skinned natives who believe in the stars and the moon. There are many merchant fleets of the stars and the moon, especially the coastal Oman. There are the most human caravans. It is said that in the east of the peninsula close to India, there is also a Malik dynasty!"

Speaking of this, Joao II spoke solemnly and solemnly.

"These heathen merchant fleets control the spice trade in India. If the kingdom's merchant fleet wants to go north, they must be defeated!"

"Omani?."

Dias nodded and remained silent. The kingdom's expedition fleet went northwards around the southern continent after untold hardships. Unexpectedly, in the end, they would still crash into the fleet of Xingyue Pagans!

"Therefore, the kingdom should build a stronghold at sea along the southern continent, but don't be too aggressive. Before you have accumulated enough strength, don't move forward too much to attract the heretic navy."

King Joao II lowered his eyes and set a new sea strategy. The route to East Africa is too far away, blocked by the storm of the Cape of Good Hope, and the enemy is too powerful. At this stage, it is still necessary to consolidate the interests of the West African coast, build more forts and strongholds, and control the coastal states and gold mines.

Hearing the meaning behind the king's words, Dias was a little anxious. He spoke earnestly again.

"Your Majesty! The route to India is only the last step! I would like to lead the fleet and go to sea again."

Joao II stretched out his hand and stopped the request of the royal steward.

"Dias, don't worry. Read on. Little Pero will sneak into the Omani fleet and follow them to India. Moreover, he will record the latitude and signs along the way to provide more accurate information for the kingdom's future voyages. information!"

".yes."

Dias pursed his lips and looked at the torn letter in his hand again. For the navigators of the Kingdom of Portugal, the east had never been so near.

"Your Majesty, I learned from an Indian sailor that the land that Alexander the Great once conquered is now occupied by the kingdom of Xingyue! The Xingyue religion has penetrated into the rich and prosperous India. It once defeated the Ottomans, occupied Persia and The Mongolian Khan in Northwest India has been dead for many years. His empire has also been split up."

"And in Mesopotamia, the Aries Dynasty of the Turkmens is also falling into division and civil strife. The threats from the Ottomans in the east have all disappeared, and there are no more checks and balances."

Seeing this, Dias looked solemn. He sighed secretly, and looked at the end of the letter again.

"God bless! Your Majesty, at the end of the letter, I have one last piece of good news! It's the silk country in the east, information from the people of Seris!"

"More than fifty years ago, the emperor of the Sires sent an unusually large merchant fleet to the port of Aden! It is said that the fleet had one or two hundred Clark ships and more than 10,000 sailors and soldiers. Loaded with expensive silk and porcelain from the east, the huge wealth brought by the fleet from the southernmost part of the Indian continent made the Omani caravan, even after half a century, never forget it!"

"What! One or two hundred Clark ships, more than ten thousand sailors and soldiers?"

Diaz's face was full of shock. After a moment, he shook his head and laughed. Such a huge navy, even more than the sum of all Western European countries at this time, must be a rumor! However, the silk and porcelain of the Seres

Dias raised his head and looked at Joao II. In the eyes of both of them, there was a light of incomparable desire! A thin Byzantine silk jacket is worth two hundred Venetian ducats, almost a hundred times its own weight. And the value of a silk robe that really came from Siris is enough to drive the nobles of the kingdom crazy!

"The land of silk where the Celestians of the east flow wealth"

Dias was careful, holding the letter paper in his hand, just like holding the exquisite and expensive silk of the Sires. He couldn't wait to see the end of the letter.

"The merciful Lord, bless the kingdom! Your Majesty, I will take an Omani merchant ship to the Holy Land of the Stars and the Moon, and then to the port of Aden to find the rich India and Seris!"

"I also bought some Sirisian paper from the Omanis. There are poems composed of a thousand Serisian characters on it. It is said that it is for the enlightenment of young children. And in the future, if the kingdom wants to do business with the Sirisians, You must master their writing. May the Lord bless me and let me return safely!"

"A thousand words of enlightenment? The poetry of the Sires?"

Dias looked at the king with curiosity in his eyes. The Sirians loom in the ancient epics, lasting thousands of years. Everything about them is like a veil, except for the silk and porcelain that symbolize wealth, they also seem to have a very ancient and splendid civilization.

"Hmm. The characters written by the Sires, like those recorded by ancient Roman scholars, are strange square characters that look like mysterious pictures."

King Joao II nodded and smiled lightly.

"I have asked the royal family's court envoys to study the kingdom's fleet and move forward. One day, we will meet the Sires and obtain the real wealth of the East!"

Pêro da Covilh, the first Portuguese explorer to reach India by land and sea in the Age of Discovery. Well, also the great spy of Portuguese civilization. (つ)つ