Chapter 1366: Someone, Come! Put Columbus in Death Row!

The authority of religion lies in the hearts of people, in the religious morality and imagination that can be placed. When Pope Alexander VI, with the most eye-catching and despicable secular power, trampled on the last moral authority of the Catholic Church... that means that the Roman Curia, which can gather the consensus of the believers in the Catholic world, died and ceased to exist completely!

The upcoming Italian war is just the prelude to the overthrow of the Catholic Church. In the following era of the Great Schism, the religious reform, which was more brutal in the struggle, has gradually burned from the latent flames to the flames at the bottom of the furnace. As for the standard-bearer who blew the horn of the religious reform, Martin Luther of the Electorate of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire, who was eleven years old this year, just showed a beautiful singing voice...

Of course, even King Joao, who was known for his wisdom, could not imagine the stormy waves of the Catholic world in the next era! At this moment, he just frowned slightly and wrote an elegantly worded reply.

Before the Italian War was about to begin, at this moment when the French had already left and the Spanish had not yet been involved, he needed to work hard to maintain Portugal's neutral position, try his best to avoid direct conflicts with Castile and the Pope, and wait for changes in the situation.

"Dear Roman Curia and Pope Alexander VI, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I salute you for the Latin sacraments and beautiful celebrations you have brought to the world of God! It is indeed the glory and extraordinary of the Lord to use Rome's amazing wealth in dazzling sacraments!..."

"However, the pious praise the generosity of the church, while the ambitious only see the wealth itself. The richness of the Italian peninsula is not always protected by the light of the Lord..."

King João stopped at the point, leaving a way out for the Kingdom of Portugal, and also implicitly warned Alexander VI not to focus on Portugal, but to pay more attention to the real threat from the Kingdom of France. After this meaningful opening, he wrote a bunch of treaties and old stories related to the Holy See, arguing over and over again about Portugal's unique position in the Atlantic Ocean and the essential logic of detaining Columbus.

"God is my witness! According to the Treaty of Alcázar in the bull of Pope Sixtus IV, although Castile has sovereignty over the Canary Islands and the right to explore the islands further west...but the "unknown" rights and islands in the Atlantic Ocean should be given priority to the Kingdom of Portugal, not the Kingdom of Castile, unless the Kingdom of Portugal voluntarily gives them up..."

"The popes of all generations have recognized the priority principle of this treaty, and the power of the governor of the eastern lands obtained by Columbus is a theft of the Portuguese royal family's wealth and land..."

When he wrote this, King João paused slightly, and his expression was somewhat silent. In his opinion, when a European monarch needs to cite a treaty to safeguard his rights, it means that his power is not enough to protect himself, and he is destined to lose these rights!

However, by this way, we can delay the Castilian exploration of the deep Atlantic Ocean by fighting a war of words and delaying time, so as to gain some advantages for the Kingdom of Portugal... It can still be done!

"God is a witness! According to the laws of the Portuguese royal family, the Castilian nobleman, Don Christopher Columbus, committed six felonies! First, he led the fleet to steal and rob. Second, he sheltered the escaped slaves from the royal estate. Third, he stole the Portuguese navigation secrets. Fourth, he attacked the kingdom's navy. Fifth, he destroyed the port facilities of Lisbon. Sixth, he damaged the property of merchant ships of various countries..."

"Based on these six crimes, the royal judge tried, the Archbishop of Lisbon verified, and the royal family treated leniently... Columbus was sentenced to fifteen months in prison and then handed over to the Kingdom of Castile for accountability... Since he was imprisoned in May last year, Columbus has served eight months in prison, and there are seven months left..."

King Joao lowered his eyes slightly and calculated the sailing time in his mind. Columbus had missed the east wind season last autumn and missed a year's voyage. Even though the news of his discovery of the new route had spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula and the Italian Peninsula, and even the King of France in the Paris court was interested...

But in the past nine months, only Portugal has taken real action and decisively sent a fleet to explore the Atlantic Ocean to the west!

Even the Castilian court, before receiving a detailed report from Columbus and verifying the news, still did not send a ship directly to sea, but stepped up pressure on Portugal. Therefore, detaining Columbus for one more day can allow other countries to wait and see for one more day!

Even though this will put more and more pressure on the Kingdom of Portugal, and will also make the detained Columbus's reputation in Castile higher and higher...But King Joao is very clear about the measure, that is, to calculate the delay time and let the Kingdom of Castile miss the October easterly season for sailing westward!

"Blessed by the mercy of the Virgin Mary! Columbus will receive the noble treatment that suits his status, and his prison term will end in August this year! Before the 'Assumption of the Virgin Mary' in mid-August, the Portuguese royal family will release this Castilian nobleman from Genova, let him bear the remaining guilt, and return to the Kingdom of Castile to be punished..."

"As for the other detained crew members, they will also follow the Lord's merciful teachings and be released and leave at the same time and fairly after paying reasonable compensation!..."

King João lowered his eyes. If Columbus was released in mid-August, and he was delayed a little on the way... He would return to Castile in September to report, and he would not be able to catch up with the October departure anyway!

As a result, Castile's exploration of the depths of the Atlantic Ocean will be delayed until next year, until the autumn of 1495. By that time, the Italian war was probably in full swing. It was hard to say how much strength the Castilians could use to participate in the development of navigation...

Therefore, the time left for the Kingdom of Portugal to contact and discover a new Atlantic route is only two years! This is also the limit that he can achieve under the aristocratic order of God's world! And in the past two years, what can the Portuguese exploration fleet achieve? …

"God bless! Where are Bruno's exploration fleet now? Have they established contact with the native kingdom that connects to the east?..."

For such a question that is thousands of miles away, King Joao has many guesses, but no answers. He could only wait patiently for Bruno's return. And if the other party cannot come back within half a year, a new batch of Portuguese exploration fleets will set off again in the autumn!

After all, when it comes to navigation and exploration, only the Kingdom of Portugal is the most professional...

"Well... this detention has allowed Columbus, a wanton guy, to complete his reputation! When he returns to the Kingdom of Castile and is interrogated from the sailors, all his crimes of greed will probably be revealed by Cass. Forgiven by the royal family of Tilia!…”

"This is really...a shiny thing. It's not necessarily gold, it could also be fool's gold..."

King Joao narrowed his eyes and had no good impression of Columbus who had offended him. This great navigator always had this unusual ability to offend people to the end in a short period of time.

"Nuno, is Columbus living in a noble cell now?..."

"Ah?...Yes, Your Majesty! Six months ago, Queen Isabella sent a letter first, asking the great navigator she canonized what crimes she committed and how she was treated?...Then, you see After reading the Queen's letter, she felt tolerant and generous, and moved Columbus to a noble cell, where he had plenty of food and drink every day... and the jailer's recent report showed that the great navigator not only did not lose weight, but gained weight. One lap…”

"Ha! The Queen treats me with respect, and I respect her in return. And now, with this letter from Fernando... I will also give him the reward he deserves!"

King Joao looked cold, looked at the letter from King Aragon with some disgust, and ordered coldly.

"From today on, Columbus will be put on death row with the prisoners sentenced to death! The food and water will follow the same standards, as long as he doesn't die!..."

"Ah this? This...is! Follow your will, Your Majesty!..."