Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1757 - 1258: Agricultural Slaves Boarding the Ship—We Absolutely Cannot Be Caught!
"Captain, I've found out! The nearest Portuguese town from here is Coimbra, just three days east of the village, about a hundred li away!... As for the Capital City Lisbon, it's to the south, but no one knows how many hundreds of li away it is? No one in the village has ever been there... But according to the villagers, Portuguese Kingdom's trading ships often come by here, along with tax officials belonging to the Royal Family..."
The rainy season had just passed, and the damp coast reflected the clear sky, as if it were a luxurious Venetian silver mirror, sparkling with blue and white water light. The northern Portuguese coast stretched with yellow and white sands, but it was not wide and flat; instead, there were many rugged cliffs. And a small Portuguese fishing village was nestled in the low valley where cliffs broke off and by the river, like a green grape hanging on the branch in early summer.
The dilapidated Santa Maria was anchored outside the fishing village, with its sails being patched by the crew. The village's small fishing boats paddled back and forth, and the Portuguese fishermen aboard curiously turned to look, pointing and whispering amongst themselves.
On the deck of the large ship, the Castilla Captain De La Cosa sat cross-legged, holding in his hands the local fishing village's specialty, also the "feature delicacy" of the Portuguese, a dry and salty preserved cod (Bacalhau), which he slowly gnawed on. His expression remained calm throughout, even under the watchful and amused eyes of the fishermen, without any change. It was only when the sailor Luis, who had gone ashore speaking Portuguese, returned with a seemingly inconspicuous piece of news that he paused, put down the tasty little fish, and asked deeply.
"Hm? Luis, are you sure it was a tax official directly under the Portuguese Royal Family, and not some other lord's?..."
"Uh... The villagers say it was a Great Master dispatched by the King, all riding grand horses, carrying the Great Master's 'Seven Castle Banner'... Didn't hear any other noble's names..."
"Hm?! The Portuguese Royal Family's Seven Castle Banner? Could it be... this is the Portuguese Royal Family's directly owned territory? Will our arrival alarm the sheriff here? Or even alert the Portuguese Royal Family?..."
Captain De La Cosa clapped his hands and stood up, frowning. He walked to the ship's side, looked towards the river flowing into the sea, then along the river's direction, towards the estates further along and the lush wheat fields.
"The pale green wheat fields, the waterwheels along the river, the irrigating channels, the winemaking manors... Truly a beautiful and wealthy village! The Portuguese truly know how to manage, even more prosperous than the northern Castile..."
De La Cosa murmured, unable to take his eyes off. Without a doubt, these villages and estates were some noble's fief. And judging by this prosperous scene, it was absolutely the fief of a wealthy Great Nobility! 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
The Iberian Peninsula, especially the Portuguese coast, due to the strong influence of the Mediterranean climate, usually has concentrated rainfall in winter and spring. And wheat, requiring a lot of water, must catch the rainy season, so the Portuguese mostly plant winter wheat. They sow it in the deep autumn of October, and after half a year of rainy season, harvest around June and July. As for this present April, many wheat crops have already started to solidify. Looking far away, it is a sea of pale green wheat. Tenant farmers, as small as ants, are busy from sunrise to sunset, creating the era's only wealth source for the manor lords and nobility, the wealth from the land.
"The city of Coimbra?... Then this must be the territory of the Duke of Coimbra?... Hold on! This familiar name?... Duke of Coimbra? 'Prince of Seven Places' Pedro?!..."
De La Cosa's thoughts whirled, finally recalling a famous name from half a century ago on the Iberian Peninsula. That was one of Portugal's 'outstanding generation,' involved in many a Holy War, 'Prince of Seven Places' Pedro (Pedro), who was also the elder brother of the Portuguese Navigator Prince Enrique, and the grandfather of the current Portuguese King Joao II.
"Portuguese King Joao the Great had two queens who bore a group of outstanding sons, forming two branches of the Portuguese Royal Family: the Philosopher King Edward's line, born of Queen Philippa, and the first Duke of Braganza Afonso's line, born of Princess Ines's illegitimate child. The two branches of the Portuguese Royal Family disputed with each other, and even broke into civil war... And Prince Pedro was of the Edward line, and his grandson King Joao II, naturally was of the Edward line too..."
"Court rumors say Prince Pedro ultimately died in the internal conflict within the Portuguese Royal Family, assassinated by the Braganza branch's Royal Family... And a few years ago, King Joao II personally ordered the execution of the contemporary Duke of Braganza Ferdinand, and executed several Great Nobility! It is said, such brutal, non-noble handling was precisely to avenge his grandfather Pedro... And under King Joao's terrible pressure, the Braganza branch, for self-preservation, had many secret connections with the Castilian Royal Family. The letters the Archbishop had me deliver before..."
"Ah! These internal disputes between the two Portuguese Royal Family branches are currently unimportant... The most crucial thing is, this was once the fief of King Joao's grandfather! And undoubtedly, after this fief was passed down into King Joao's hands, it is now a directly owned territory of the Portuguese Royal Family! If news of our presence is discovered by the sheriff here, it could very well be directly reported to King Joao! And if so, should King Joao directly mobilize the Portuguese Royal Family's navy to search here..."
