Chapter 1267: War of Words! Portuguese Scholars versus Columbus

In the Sintra Palace, facing Columbus's polite greetings, King Joao looked calm and showed no difficulty. Although the royal scholars around him looked disgusted and wanted to question him loudly immediately. But in the formal audience, King Joao did not speak, and no one dared to speak at will.

It was not until the opening ceremony of the audience was completed that João II sat on the throne and asked this Genovese "navigator" who had been wandering outside his palace for nearly ten years.

"Noble of Castile, Don Christopher Columbus. You claimed at the port before that you reached India and Sipangu westward and discovered a new route to the east?"

"Yes! Your Majesty João, on the orders of the great Queen of Castile, as an admiral, I led an exploration fleet of three ships to the west deep into the deep sea of ​​the Atlantic... After a arduous and arduous journey , After going through the storm and the test of the Lord, I was finally the first on the deck to discover the land in the east with my own eyes. This is the blessing of the Lord to me, and also to the Queen, for handing over the most outstanding navigator! In the hands of the Queen who has a discerning eye..."

Having said this, Columbus raised his head and showed satisfaction on his face. He insisted that he was the first person to discover land. As for Juan, the sailor of the Pinta who was the first to shout and discover land, he had long since fallen into the hands of the ancient Sipan natives and was probably dead. And this honor destined to be recorded in history, as well as the discovery bounty previously announced by the Queen, naturally can only fall on him!

"God bless you! I led the people to the islands off the coast of India, erected wooden pillars symbolizing the Kingdom of Castile, and dedicated the vast eastern territory to the wise queen!...Then, I Continuing to sail south, we discovered the extremely vast, land-like island of Sipangu in Japan, and repelled the attacks of the Sipangu natives..."

"Witness the Lord! The Castilian exploration fleet led by me, after discovering India and Japan, has definitely opened up a new route to the East! So, I brought this immortal and glorious good news , return to the Kingdom of Castile, and dedicate the glory of discovering a new sea route to the queen who enthusiastically supports and values ​​me..."

"However, on the way back, our ship encountered a storm and was taken off course... so we had to anchor off the coast of Portugal. We had some small and undue misunderstandings with the Kingdom's navy..."

"Dear King João, please forgive me for my offense and the Saint Mary's collision with the port of Lisbon!...I beg you to release all the glorious crew members who have gone through the hardships of navigation but brought back news from the East, and also release the leaders who led them The brave and wise Admiral of Castile! ...And as long as this is the case, your generosity and tolerance will be forever engraved in the records of history together with the great navigator who discovered the new route! ..."

Hearing Columbus's answer, Joao II frowned slightly, displeasure flashing in his heart. With his wisdom, he could naturally understand the words full of ostentation, the advocating for Queen Isabella, the insinuation of him, the king, for missing out on his "talent", and the underlying moral coercion.

If Columbus really traveled west to the east and discovered the so-called new sea route, then what image would he end up in history as he rejected Columbus for ten years?

I am afraid that he will be given the title of "fool", just like Diarmaid mac Murchadha, King of Leinster who invited Henry II to help fight for the inheritance of Ireland, but in the end allowed the other party to take possession of Ireland. Like Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos who came to Bulgaria, was deprived of the throne by his brother, experienced the Crusades and sacked Constantinople, and finally fought for power with his son, and died in a coma and blindness...

João II was silent for a moment, restraining his disgust for Columbus and the vague murderous intention in his heart. Afterwards, he did not respond to Columbus's request, but looked at the surrounding palace scholars and asked with a smile.

"The great navigator Columbus said that he traveled west to the east and discovered India and Sipangu... My learned court scholars, what do you think?..."

"Your Majesty! Those who lie always like to swear, and those who brag about their knowledge are tantamount to advertising their ignorance! Columbus both likes to swear, and he also likes to brag. How can his words be trusted? He did not reach the East at all!..."

Now that the king has spoken, Portuguese scholars no longer have any scruples and have come forward one after another. Leonor, the leading navigation scholar, was merciless. He first despised Columbus's character, and then asked loudly in the face of the other's angry eyes.

"Columbus, you said you arrived in the East... Then let me ask you, how many miles did you sail westward?..."

"Leonor, it's you again! You are a brainless scholar. You slandered my sailing plan before and caused me to waste ten years... Now I have come back from the east, and you are still barking here!... Tell you, I sailed westward... No! This is the secret of the new route, I won't tell you! ..."

"Ha! Since you won't tell me, let me calculate it for you!..."

Navigation scholar Leonor looked disdainful, glanced at Columbus, raised his finger, and calculated loudly.

"On September 8 last year, you waited for the right wind direction and began to sail westward from the Canary Islands... Then, on October 12, you discovered land that suddenly appeared in the sea, and arrived at an island the next day... You sailed for 35 days. According to the crew, most of the time, the caravel cannot reach full speed. The average daily voyage is 33 leagues, at most 100 nautical miles..."

"So, the voyage to the west to reach the land is at most 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 kilometers), which is about 30% more than the so-called 2,700 nautical miles (5,000 kilometers) in the navigation plan you submitted... God is your witness! Is that right?..."

"Leonor!... You! How did you know? You actually peeked at my navigation diary!..."

Hearing the number of 3,500 nautical miles, Columbus broke out in a cold sweat. This is actually very close to the actual voyage written down in his navigation record after repeated calculations. Leonor saw his reaction and confirmed that her estimate was correct, so she snorted and laughed.

"Aha! Sneaking a peek at your navigation log? That kind of thing full of hypocrisy and self-boasting? Haha!... Besides, just going west for more than 6,000 kilometers, you can reach India in the east? Haha! Columbus, you should study mathematics and learn how to calculate correctly!... Oh, sorry, I forgot that you have never been to college, nor have you ever worshipped any scholar as a teacher... Therefore, it is not your fault that you can't do mathematical calculations, astronomy and geography!... It's just that you are not knowledgeable enough, and you are arrogant and self-righteous, which is somewhat shameless..."

"Ah! Leonor, you despicable idiot! I really arrived in the East, and so many sailors saw it! We landed on the land ourselves, arrived at the Indian natives' village, and got the natives' cotton thread and gold. That is Indian cotton thread and gold!..."

Being ridiculed again by the scholar who once laughed at him, Columbus was full of anger, and subconsciously touched the dagger at his waist, but touched nothing. Then, he looked at the palace guards around him and King Joao who was watching coldly from the top, and his heart trembled slightly, and he argued loudly.

"God is a witness! I also brought back an Indian native, and everyone saw it!..."

"Columbus, you said you arrived at the Indian island... Then on the island you arrived at, what kind of houses did the Indian natives live in, and what kind of utensils did they use? What kind of food did they eat, and what kind of clothes did they wear? Also, what kind of pagan gods did they worship, and what kind of worship ceremonies did they hold?..."

The navigator Leonor returned to his original position, and another humanist Sebastian came out. He is a famous "Orientalist" who is familiar with all the Indian records in European history. At this moment, he looked confident, looking at Columbus who was angry, and questioned him harshly.

"We have already asked the sailors on the ship... The natives you found live in domed huts made of thatch and wood, without even a solid brick house! But according to the records of the ancient Greek parchment scrolls and Marco Polo, Indians have stone and wood houses, and are particularly fond of exquisite carvings..."

"The natives on the island use wooden and stone utensils, and do not have any ironware! But the Indians have all kinds of gold, silver and ironware, and are by no means barbaric and uncivilized savages... The natives eat white tubers or paste and use wooden bowls, but the Indians eat grains of rice, and even There are few pottery bowls! ... The natives have no decent clothes, they can only weave the crudest, and even what you brought back are balls of cotton thread. But the Indians have gorgeous clothes, and they are all the best weavers! ..."

"According to the sailors, the natives you met have no temples or statues at all, they only worship wooden plaques with abstract patterns, and even worship all things in nature! Indians are the best at painting and carving statues, and they would never be so disrespectful to gods, and they are definitely not primitive nature worshipers..."

"All of this is inconsistent with the records of India... So, how could you have arrived in India? ..."