Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

"Duarte, the church mass in two days, the bishops and the great nobility will all attend. We need to prepare in advance! Of the two thousand City Defense Army, how many can you mobilize?"

"Nuno? Are you planning something again? This is a major mass hosted by the entire Lisbon Church, which concerns the dignity of the Holy See; we absolutely cannot shed blood!"

"Duarte, I asked you to mobilize the army, not to shed blood, but to ’protect’ this mass! A sword is most threatening when it is not drawn. Duke Manuel is indeed a king acceptable to all sides and is our only and better choice... However, before we formally side with him, we must demonstrate our strength, our sword! We must mobilize at least a thousand fully armed soldiers to ’protect’ this great mass, letting everyone see. This is also a potent deterrent, making the Church and the great nobility curb their greedy thoughts and negotiate seriously with us!"

"Haha! Nuno, you are right! I’ve always said that our Royalist Party must unite as one! One person defecting might be ground down, killed and eaten like a donkey... but if we gather the court nobles, the maritime nobles, and have the whole Royalist Party defect... that will become a force that can control all of Lisbon, one of the top in the kingdom! Even if Duke Manuel inherits the throne, and we collectively sworn loyalty to the new queen, it will still be the same as now! If Duke Manuel wants to inherit all of Your Majesty’s power, to inherit His Majesty’s great endeavor of exploring new routes and colonizing the Southern Continent, he can only rely on us!"

The bright candlelight flickered in the secret room, the scent of whale oil lingering at the tip of the nose. The Kingdom of Portugal was one of the earliest European countries to engage in whaling, with a large official and private whaling fleet active from the Azores Islands to Cape Verde. These sea whaling ships and sailors often became a source of recruitment for the Kingdom Navy, serving as a reserve force for wartime emergencies.

Even as the Castile-Aragon United Kingdom was massively building ocean-going large ships and the fleet’s scale was continually increasing, when it came to ocean-going navies, considering the sailors’ skill and elite status, the mere two million-strong Kingdom of Portugal was undoubtedly the premier naval power of Europe at the moment!

Across the Kingdom of Portugal, perhaps one percent of the population was engaged in sea whaling, oceanic adventure, and colonial management. Compared to the cattle and sheep herding Castilians, the Portuguese people were more like a pure maritime nation, a seafaring power accustomed to sea storms and exploration.

The enormous benefits brought by maritime trade, the formidable navy formed by overseas colonization, also became the economic and military foundation for the Portuguese Royal Family to overpower the great nobility of various regions and concentrate royal power. The Portuguese Navy more resembled a royal fleet, directly subordinate to the court in Lisbon, immune from the influence of local great nobility. And when King Joao fell ill in the Royal Palace, the command of this royal navy undoubtedly temporarily fell into the hands of his loyal court chiefs.

When the chiefs united, they had the royal power "to act temporarily" on the King’s decree. The Royalist power they could mobilize seemed to grow its own head, relying on the royal power in hand, seeking new power support. Often, power does not necessarily answer to the source of power, but it will always answer to the possessor of power. Absolute loyalty is unrealistic and impossible!

"In the presence of the Almighty! Duarte, we have two more days! In these two days, I must go to the port, in the name of His Majesty, gather those naval officers, and then let all the navy docked at the port come ashore armed. You must go to Saint George Castle, also in the name of His Majesty, gather the officers of the City Defense Army and the Guard, have your confidants take control of all the troops... Before summoning all the city’s army, we also need to find another person, to convince Your Majesty and become a channel of communication between His Majesty and the Church! It would be best if we could get His Majesty’s direct decree so everything is more legitimate..."

"Bringing in another person? Who?..."

"Another confidant of His Majesty, the diplomatic chief Little Vasco de Lucena. The father and son are both trusted diplomats of His Majesty, undoubtedly Royalists, and our old friends. You and I should go find him together! His family is in Lisbon, and he has no fief in other places, so he will stand with us. After convincing him, the three of us will enter the Royal Palace together to inform His Majesty of the current urgent situation..."

"Ah! To meet His Majesty, to explain all the situations? All of them?"

"Of course! We are the most loyal chiefs of His Majesty, Duarte. We should not hide anything from His Majesty. With His Majesty’s wisdom, there is no need to do so. As you said, our choice of Duke Manuel is also to protect Prince George... Alas! These are all helpless matters, aren’t they?"

"Alas! Nuno, you are right. We should not hide things from His Majesty... But if His Majesty still wants Prince George to succeed the throne?"

"He won’t! I understand His Majesty; He is a true wise lord, and He won’t do that!"

Nuno Chief lowered his gaze, the traces of tears still at the corner of his eyes, his expression bleak. Yet when he spoke, his voice was serene, infused with an uncontainable sense of guilt and resolve.

"As long as he sees all of us appear... His Majesty will know that allowing Prince George to succeed is no longer possible. He was already hesitating, and once he discovers it’s impracticable, he will make a wiser choice, allowing Duke Manuel to succeed, to protect Prince George! What we must do is obtain His Majesty’s decree, take control of the capital’s army, demonstrate our strength... Let the Church and the great nobility offer better conditions for the succession! This is both for Prince George, striving for better treatment, and for ourselves, aiming for a better future..."