Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

October 1495, Lisbon, Alfama Noble District, Portugal.

At the end of the 15th century, the Alfama Noble District was the ancient heart of Lisbon, gathering most of the kingdom’s nobility, and having been passed down from the Moorish era to the present. The narrow cobblestone streets resembled winding streams, undulating with the terrain, polished bright by the footsteps of countless generations. The white lime walls left by the Moors were covered with vibrant grapevines. The linen drying by the windows swayed gently in the breeze, casting a shadow of prosperity and purity.

The highest point of the entire Alfama District is the Lisbon Cathedral. This 12th-century Romanesque fortress church stands at the center of the district, its rugged towers overlooking the city like guardians. The clergy’s morning prayers sang Gregorian chants, and the bells startled a flock of pigeons that swept over the rose window of Saint Anthony Church.

Under the pale golden sunlight, the church spires shone brilliantly, facing the "Fortress Palace" by Saint George Castle from miles away, just as kingdom and church power stood side by side in the Catholic world.

However, during the reign of Joao II, Portugal’s ’Perfect Monarch’, the kingdom’s power undoubtedly held a steady dominance over church power. As early as 14 years ago, when Joao II had just ascended to the throne, he forcibly appointed the Portuguese Archbishop Jorge Da Costa as the permanent representative in Rome. The king directly sent this archbishop back to the Vatican, and he stayed there for over a decade and hasn’t returned to this day.

Since then, church affairs within the Kingdom of Portugal have been autonomously managed by the clergy of the Lisbon Cathedral. On the one hand, they ostensibly followed the remote command of the Vatican, while on the other, they adhered to Joao II’s directives. The selection of important bishops across various dioceses was openly and covertly manipulated and influenced by the king.

"Si deve pertanto essere volpe per conoscere i lacci e leone per spaventare i lupi!"

"To maintain the rule of the country, a Monarch must always be prepared to act against kindness, humanity, and religion!"

More than a decade later, when Niccolò Machiavelli wrote ’The Prince’ in Florence, he clearly referenced the rule of several ’Monarchs’. The Medici family, overthrown by French invasion, and the subsequent ’religious state’ Dominican monk Savonarola in Florence, were considered ’failed’ rulers.

The only successful example that fits the ’Monarchical image’ in Machiavelli’s book is Joao II of Portugal, the ’Perfect Monarch’. He was a true king, "combining the fierceness of a lion with the cunning of a fox". He ’went against kindness and humanity’, executing or exiling over eighty Portuguese nobles, including two executed ’Dukes of Braganza’, one ’Duke of Viseu’ whom he personally stabbed to death, and the exiled and fugitive ’Count of Faro’. He also ’went against religion’, expelling the Portuguese archbishop of the Vatican, secretly interfering in the appointment and promotion of bishops in the kingdom, keeping the throne always high above the archbishop’s seat.

In practicing this "art of centralized monarchical rule", Joao II’s reign remained exceedingly stable. Emerging maritime nobility crowded around him, and the kingdom’s fleet rounded the Cape of Good Hope, bringing back endless wealth from the southern continent, truly bringing the Kingdom of Portugal into the prosperous era of great navigation.

The only but most fatal flaw of this ’Perfect Monarch’ might have been the ’curse of defying the Lord’s mercy’, which was his short lifespan, burning like a candle. Thirteen years ago, the Portuguese Archbishop Jorge, whom he drove away, continually ’bathed in the Holy Light of the Almighty’, and is now, at the ripe old age of 89, still robust at the Vatican. Archbishop Jorge eventually even lived to the age of 102, becoming the longest-lived ’Cardinal’ in history. Yet at the moment, Joao II was barely 40 years old and had already been bedridden in the Royal Palace for several months, reaching the end of the candle’s burn...

"Dong! Dong!..."

The bells of the Lisbon Cathedral echoed throughout the entire Alfama Noble District. A priest dressed in bishop robes walked out from the church’s main door and boarded a prepared four-wheeled horse carriage. The sides of the carriage were hung with the church’s Cross, and the body was engraved with the Sousa family’s ’lion crest’. Following that, two junior priests holding the ’Great Cross’ marched in front of the carriage, while four Church Knights clad in chain armor escorted it from all directions.

The group proceeded along the not very wide street, as nobles and merchants along the way bowed and gave way. They praised the Almighty, while the bishop in the carriage gave no response, only offering prayers of blessings through the junior priests in front of the carriage. After two quarters of an hour, the bishop’s entourage finally arrived in front of a noble mansion in the Alfama Noble District.

The king’s trusted aide, Royal Household Chief Nuno, stood at the door, dressed in formal Court Marquis attire, having been waiting for some time.

"Greetings to you, esteemed Bishop Diogo!"

"Pax vobiscum! May the Lord protect your peace!"

Bishop Diogo de Sousa of the Lisbon Cathedral brought his index and middle fingers together, raising them for a blessing. Subsequently, Bishop Diogo lowered his right hand, and Nuno Chief slightly bent one knee, lightly grasped the bishop’s right-hand ring, and "kissed reverentially", performing a ritual of respecting the Almighty. And Bishop Diogo, with a smile, ’touched’ Nuno Chief’s shoulder, softly blessing.

"Que Deus vos abençoe! May God bless you!"