The Rise of the European Emperor

On the way back to Zaragoza, many Aragonese nobles complained to Ferdinand II:

"Your Majesty, those Castilian bastards are too much. In the future, we can only take a small share of the interests of the Spice Islands, and the loss is too great!"

And Ferdinand II sneered and said:

"How could it be so easy? I've thought about it, although most of the benefits of cloves and nutmeg on the Spice Islands should be ceded to the Castilians. But, it's just cloves and nutmeg on the Spice Islands..."

Some ministers heard a voiceover:

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

"I heard that Marin, the Grand Duke of Beihai, brought back some spice seeds when he went to India to buy spices. Moreover, the planting was successful on that tropical island called Grenada. Although the current output is not large, we can Find a place to grow more cloves and nutmeg!"

At this time, Aragon Foreign Minister Fernandez hesitated:

"Your Majesty, our current colony, Mozambique, may not be suitable for spice cultivation. The Spice Islands should be very suitable for growing cloves and nutmeg..."

Ferdinand II waved his hand and said:

"I know this, so I don't plan to plant cloves and nutmeg in Mozambique. I plan to find a big island on the edge of the spice archipelago, occupy it, and plant cloves and nutmeg. You have seen the map drawn by the expedition. Do you have a map? To the southwest of the Spice Islands, there is a large island called Timor Island. It is very close to the Spice Islands and has a similar climate. It should also be suitable for planting cloves and nutmeg. The big deal, we will occupy Timor Island. The large amount of cloves and nutmeg planted on Wendao means that our interests will not be less at that time!"

Hearing this, the great nobles of Aragon were finally relieved. But Ferdinand II was relieved in his heart, because half of these words were true, and the other half was actually a lie.

He had seen the development of the West Indies firsthand, and he knew exactly how difficult it was to open a sugar cane plantation on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti).

Even if the island of Timor is really suitable for growing cloves and nutmeg, it cannot be scaled without decades of development. And he certainly won't see the day when cloves and nutmeg grow on Timor Island. After all, he is 61 years old and has a few years to live. In fact, historically, he only lived until 1516. Of course, in Europe, where medicine is extremely backward, it is already considered a long life.

So, he said this,

It is nothing more than comforting the great nobles of Aragon whose interests have been damaged. As for what happens next, God knows...

Ferdinand II had heard that some spice trees take five or six years to grow. On a tropical island full of poisonous insects and mosquitoes, reclaim a spice plantation and then expand the scale... How long does it take to catch up with the already well-developed Spice Islands...

...

But no matter what, Ferdinand II finally appeased the great nobles of Aragon. Right now, the whole of Spain is also fully functioning for the recovery of the Kingdom of Naples.

In order to concentrate on dealing with the French, Ferdinand II and his son Juan III unanimously decided to temporarily put the first Spanish general Gonzalo de Córdoba and his 20,000 garrison in northern Morocco. Called back, sent to Italy.

As for the defense of northern Morocco, Queen Margaret, the daughter-in-law, gave a very good suggestion - hire Italian mercenaries to replace the Spanish troops originally stationed in northern Morocco.

Just as the French used Italian mercenaries as cannon fodder, Queen Margaret believed that the group of Italian mercenaries could not defeat the Spanish army, the German mercenaries, nor the French army... But, after all, they could not defeat the Spanish army. Is a professional soldier. The cavalry dispatched to Morocco and the Vatas Dynasty is definitely not good for field battles, but it is not a big problem to guard the important towns of Fes, Tetouan, Ceuta and Melilla. They can't beat people in the wild, but they can still defend the city.

What if Spain lost most of its Moroccan territory in the meantime? As long as you defend a few important towns, wait until the Spanish army has solved the French in Naples, and then come back to clean up the remnants of the Moroccan Wattas Dynasty...

In addition, Queen Margaret also suggested-taking advantage of the current truce in Germany, hurry up to hire a group of old German mercenaries to participate in the battle in Italy. Even, you can hire some people to help Marin, the number one player in North Germany...

The father and son of Ferdinand II and Juan III were stunned by the operation of their daughter-in-law (daughter-in-law), and then they only nodded...

It is no wonder that in the original history, after the death of her husband, Margaret of Austria returned to the Netherlands and brought up her nephew, Charles V. It can be said that the famous European overlord Charles V in history was brought out by this Queen Margaret. Can such a woman be simple?

Then, Ferdinand II and Juan III, who were shocked by their daughter-in-law (daughter-in-law), took action one after another...

After Ferdinand II brought the great nobles of Aragon back to Zaragoza, he began to blast troops within the kingdom of Aragon and levied a wave of war taxes. Although because of the huge profits of the spice trade, there is no need to add war taxes. But there is no harm in having more money.

Similarly, on the side of Castile, Juan III also declared a state of war and began to recruit troops from the country. Mainly recruited a group of Spanish fierce mountain people, including the Basque brutes in the northern mountains.

Spain in this era is not the amusing southern European waste wood of later generations, nor is it the fifth child of the five stupid countries. In this era, the Spaniards have not been amused and depraved, and they are still one of the countries that can be beaten in Europe. Otherwise, there would be no Spanish phalanx that is famous in Europe.

Because there are many mountains in the territory, there are still more mountain people in Spain at this time. Even if it is not as fierce as the German mountain people, it is still much stronger than the Italian. Historically, Spain has really fallen. It seems that after possessing the golden mountains and silver seas of the Americas, the social atmosphere has become extravagant, and the Spaniards have begun to covet to enjoy...

This is like the Mongolian Yuan and Manqing Eight Banners that entered the Central Plains, which were rapidly corrupted. The Spaniards have the golden mountains and silver seas of the Americas, and the elites are rapidly corrupted. As for the civilian class? Sorry, in ancient times, the commoners were uneducated. Their fashion is that the nobles learn from the king, and the commoners learn from the nobles... The elites have been abolished, and they still rely on the illiterate commoners?

Also, Spain and Britain and France have long been hostile. However, these two opponents are also too strong to die. They will push Spain to the ground for two or three hundred years... And in order to prevent Spain from rising again, Britain and France have suppressed Spain for a long time, and they will not be allowed to play with them, let alone interfere with them. European affairs. Spain, then, can only entertain itself by recalling the glory of its colonial empire. Slowly, they all became funny... It's like Britain in the future. After the collapse of the colonial empire, the British became a group of funny people who were immersed in the memories of the past, and they were clamoring to break up with Europe...

But now, the Spaniards are still worthy of a war. Even if the quality of the soldiers is slightly lower than that of the French, they can still be a little stronger than the French by relying on advanced tactical battle formations. In particular, they now have a top star - Gonzalo de Cordoba...