Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

Not to mention whether it can be killed or not.Even if it succeeds, the successor must continue the previous strategy.The two brothers of Duarte I, whether they are Prince Pedro or Prince Henry, are outstanding people for a while, and it is impossible to give up the most beneficial choice for Portugal at present.

To put it bluntly, Fernando suffered another failure in the long-distance game with Ma Youfu this time because the general situation was on the opposite side. No matter what means he used, he could not change the result.

Thinking of this, Fernando could only salute Duarte I with a disappointed face, and then left the Lisbon Palace.

It's just that Alvaro didn't leave with the Aragonese, his buttocks seemed to be rooted, and he was still sitting on the chair.

Duarte I found that Alvaro was staring at the back of Fernando who was gradually going away, and couldn't help frowning.

"Could it be that this Castilian fell in love with Alfonso V's illegitimate son?" Duarte I decided to vaguely remind Alvaro not to engage in men and women who blasphemed the Seven Saints in his own territory.

"Mr. Alvaro, even if there is a problem with your relationship with King Juan, don't end this relationship immediately, and don't rush to find your next partner."

When Álvaro heard what Duarte I said, he was taken aback for a moment, and then suddenly realized, he laughed and said, "Your Highness, I think you have misunderstood. Fernando is delicate and beautiful, like a character who walked out of an ancient Greek mural. But yes As far as I am concerned, he is not yet a man, and he is not in my hunting range."

"Alvaro thinks that Fernando is immature and not a man? Don't those misbehaving priests like this kind of boy who is as beautiful as a girl the most?" Duarte I thought.He suddenly remembered the last time in Seville, when he watched the crusaders board the ship with Juan II on the hill, the king of Castile, who disliked the hot weather, opened his clothes to reveal a mass of black hair inside. furry...

"It turns out that Alvaro likes this kind of..." Duarte had a chill, and silently recited a few words, "Seven Saints, please forgive me."

After this unseemly episode, the two parties finally got down to business.

"Your Highness Duarte, the reason why I didn't leave with Fernando is because I also agree with your judgment. Castile is the same as Portugal. If you want to achieve some results in the Crusades now, you must cooperate with the Duke of Barr." Cooperation is the best option," Alvaro said.

Portugal and Mayouf have a dispute over economic interests.Aragon and Mayouf had disputes over territory and the succession of Naples.

However, Castile has no grievances with Ma Youfu and France behind him.

And not only is there no grievance, the two sides have always maintained a good relationship.

Alvaro also didn't want to go to the Maghreb to fight for territory. He could cooperate with whoever supported him to recover Granada.

Through the Castilian mercenaries who participated in the Hundred Years' War, he knew very well how powerful the new artillery unit formed by Ma Youfu was.Now that the other party has the strongest fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, it will definitely be able to block the coastline of Granada without any effort.

As long as there is Ma Youfu's support, it will be easy to regain Granada.

Now that the old Iberian League has been broken, isn't it the best choice to follow Portugal to jump back?

"Your Excellency Alvaro, you have also seen the general situation clearly and are willing to make a wise choice. Of course I welcome it." Duarte I said, "In this case, it is best for our two countries to discuss first and join forces to negotiate with the Duke of Barr. to obtain better conditions for cooperation.”

"I think so too." Alvaro stood up and opened his arms to Duarte I, "His Royal Highness, happy cooperation."

Duarte I hesitated for a moment, thinking that he was well-mannered and not the kind of black-haired hunk, so he suppressed the discomfort in his heart and hugged Alvaro, which was regarded as an offensive and defensive alliance.

Subsequently, Duarte I immediately wrote to Mayouf in Rabat, proposing to eliminate all misunderstandings between the two sides during the reign of Joao I, and discuss the possibility of forming a Crusade alliance.At the same time, he wrote a letter to Philip III who was still besieging Tlemcen, hoping that his brother-in-law could make peace and promote cooperation between Portugal, Castile, and France.

After some correspondence, with the efforts of the Duke of Burgundy, Mayouf agreed in principle to the cooperation proposal between Portugal and Castile.The parties agreed to hold negotiations in the city of Åland to finalize the specific terms of the alliance.

On June 6th, the special envoy of the King of Portugal, the younger brother of Duarte I, the Duke of Coimbra, Pedro, who has rich diplomatic experience, and the special envoy of the King of Castile, Alvaro, the unshakable power minister, took the Portuguese Navy The flagship Guadiana arrived at Kebir Port, eight kilometers northwest of Oran.

The coast of this port is in an inner arc, about four kilometers long, and the left side is protected by hills protruding from the coastline. It has excellent wind shelter and defense capabilities, making it a good choice for a military port.

Ma Youfu will be stationed here with a squadron mainly composed of Genoese galleys.

The most "highlight" moment in the history of this port was in the early days of World War II.After France's favorite surrender, part of the French navy controlled by Vichy France anchored in Kebir Port.Then, the French Navy was stolen, cheated, and attacked by the Royal Navy. It was blocked in Kebir Port and beaten violently, causing heavy losses.

But for Ma Youfu, who has the strongest navy in the Mediterranean Sea, he is not worried that someone will dare to attack Kebir Port.

British Navy?

Isn't the British navy working for France?

After Pedro and Alvaro stepped off the Guadiana, they observed the warships moored in the port, and they all showed serious expressions.

"These galley warships have been remodeled, and their firepower has been at least twice as strong."

"This is not the main fleet of the Duke of Bar. I heard that the Duke's fleet has ten large Carrack sailing ships, each of which has more firepower than the Guadiana... If you don't count factors such as sailor quality and seaworthiness, In terms of combat power alone, there is no Portuguese ship that can match it."

The main task of the Portuguese Navy is not combat, but overseas exploration, so even the flagship Guadiana, with a displacement of more than [-] tons, is only equipped with [-] artillery pieces.Moreover, the largest caliber is only a twelve-pound gun, and its performance is far inferior to that of French naval guns.

"Father's will is really wise. Fortunately, our fleet did not fight each other, otherwise it would be unimaginable. Now I know why the Moroccan pagans were defeated so quickly." Pedro said to himself about his arrogance and ignorance , with lingering fears.

The two noticed that on the hill protruding from the coastline on the left, someone was busy in full swing.A fortress with a strange prismatic shape is rising from the ground.

"It seems that the Duke of Bar is very fancy about this port. It was only a few days after it was captured, and he started to build permanent fortifications." Pedro sighed.

After occupying the heathen city, they did not rush to plunder or pursue the victory, but took a steady step and carefully managed the fruits of victory.This shows that Ma Youfu has the determination and planning to govern these pagan lands for a long time.

While the two were observing the situation in Kebir Port, a caravel sailboat arrived at the port.

On the mast of this ship, a flag with a red background was hung. On the flag was painted a white line from upper left to lower right, and there was a golden iris flower on the white line.

"Which family's coat of arms is this?" Pedro asked curiously.

He has traveled all over Europe, knows many nobles, and has a lot of research on writing, but he has never seen this pattern.

The civil servant who was ordered to meet the two king's special envoys said, "My lord, the Duke of Coimbra, that is the coat of arms of the Countess of Tangier."

After the death of King Joao I, others called Pedro from "Prince Pedro" to the more formal title of Duke of Coimbra.Pedro is not used to it yet.

After he was stunned for a moment, he asked, "Countess Tangier? Who is that?"

"It is the noble and beautiful Ms. Marguerite de Valois. She has a very close relationship with the Duke of Barr, and controls 80.00% of the sucrose business in Europe. Everyone believes that under her management, the Cross The land newly conquered by the army soon becomes a treasure trove of sweets, producing sugar and wealth."

Alvaroche said: "Her surname is Valois? Could it be a woman from the French royal family? But I don't seem to have heard of this name. What is the relationship with Charles VII?"

Pedro, who had a wide range of contacts, quickly reacted and said: "She should be the illegitimate daughter of Charles VI. Later, she was recognized by Charles VII and married a well-off baron. The mistress of the Duke of Bar. I heard that this Ms. Margaret was officially included in the Valois royal family a month ago, but the premise is to give up the right to claim all the titles of Valois."

Chapter 440 French Traditions

The reason why Charles VII included his half-sister in the genealogy was of course not because of reasons such as "brother and sister love".

For one thing, Margaret is Ma Youfu's favorite mistress, raising her status is also indirectly showing favor to the most powerful vassal under her command.

Ma Youfu was worried that as his strength continued to expand, he would be feared by Charles VII.And why didn't Charles VII worry about fighting against the powerful ministers?

After the end of the Hundred Years' War, the biggest problem facing the French king was the rebellious and powerful vassals in the country.So far, Ma Youfu's loyalty to him has not wavered, and Charles VII will naturally try his best to maintain the friendly relationship between the two parties.

In addition, Margaret has now become the goddess of wealth that the nobles and wealthy businessmen in the whole of France and most of the lowlands rely on.

Since the end of the Hundred Years' War last year, Margaret took part of the profits from the maltose industry, hired three druids and two mages, formed a "sugar cane planting research team", and built a spell-using Simulating the growing environment of sugarcane, it is a building named "Magic Greenhouse" by Ma Youfu.

In this place, Marguerite and the Minister of Agriculture Renault de Joigny, after nearly half a year of research, mastered the full set of sugarcane planting techniques.

Although things like magic greenhouses are completely made of gold coins, there is no way to promote them in Europe.But once the land in North Africa was conquered, Margaret was able to quickly organize large-scale sugar cane planting, and then use Ma Youfu's yellow mud decolorization method to continuously produce high-quality white sugar like frost and snow.

This is the next biggest profit growth point for the two trading companies!

Shareholders, including Charles VII, have long regarded Margaret as the spokesperson of Hermosa, the god of wealth, in the mortal world, so they naturally want to show their favor to her.

Anyway, she was just given a Valois surname, and Charles VII would not lose anything substantial.The French throne implements the Salic inheritance law, and women have nothing to do with the crown. Coupled with the additional condition of "giving up all the claims of the Valois family", Charles VII is not worried that he will be killed by his half-sister after a hundred years. Divide the property.

However, Margaret was not uncommon for the three melons and two dates that Charles VII had on hand.

She has a capable (in every sense of the word) lover.

With a wave of his hand, Ma Youfu rewarded Tangier, a strategically important place guarding the connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, as a fiefdom.

Of course, Ma Youfu is not going to continue to implement the old feudal system.Margaret can enjoy all the glory and status brought by the earl title, but she cannot directly manage this fiefdom. She can only take one-twentieth of the various taxes paid by Tangier as an annuity every year.

Not only in Tangier, but in fact in all the territories controlled by Ma Youfu, he is implementing this system to centralize power.

Charles VII greatly appreciated this system, but unfortunately, unlike Mayouf's territory, France was almost a blank sheet of paper and could start to establish a system again.Although those powerful dukes and earls suffered a disadvantage in dealing with the wool soldiers, they still retain good military and financial resources.

"How about we also go to see the Countess of Tangier?" Pedro suggested, "Maybe she can help us say something nice to the Duke of Bar."

The principle of pillow wind can be used in everything.Alvaro nodded, agreeing to Pedro's proposal.

The two rode on horses and waited for the Countess of Tangier together with a large group of entourage and the French civil servants who were in charge of receiving them.

Not long after, a graceful and luxurious noble lady came down from the gangway.Perhaps because she was afraid that the scorching sun in North Africa would hurt her skin, her dress was very conservative, not at all the bold style popular among French aristocrats today because of the royal mistress Agnès, and she wore a scarf on her head.

But even so, the skin on her wrists and neck that she occasionally exposed with her body movements is as white and tender as jade carvings, comparable to a 16-year-old girl, which makes people's eyes shine.Coupled with that plump and delicate figure, she can definitely be called a stunner in the world.

Accompanied by the countess, there was also a dark elf woman with honey-colored skin, a petite figure, and an impressive chest.She seems to be a woman from the Medici family and has a close relationship with Ma Youfu.

"Duke Bar is a lucky man." Pedro laughed.

"Well, I don't think those two ladies are any different from other women." Alvaro shrugged.

"Of course. After all, you only like men with hairy bodies and fat stomachs..." Pedro complained in his heart.

It didn't take long for the two teams to meet.

After greetings, Pedro said: "Honorable Countess, do we have the honor to go to Oran with you?"

"Of course, His Excellency the Duke of Coimbra, and Your Excellency Alvaro. It is my honor." Margaret nodded.

Having been with Ma Youfu for a period of time, she has been fascinated by it, and now with the blessing of the noble surname "Valois" and the title of Countess of Tangier, Margaret has already got rid of the temperament of a small family in the past. As if born to be a lady.

Of course, she still has a little bit of pettiness in her bones.Especially in terms of business, he is extremely strict with money, and is always prudent and prudent.

This is why Ma Youfu trusted her and handed over the entire sugar industry to her.

In terms of technology and production capacity, his sugar industry will be the best in Europe.With such a monopoly industry in hand, any speculation and risk are unnecessary, as long as the steady development step by step is completely enough.

After the two teams converged, they set off for Oran City.

Chatting along the way, when he was about to reach the city of Oran, Alvaro suddenly saw a tall moon symbol behind the city wall of Oran.

"It's really strange. The Duke of Burgundy has occupied Oran for nearly a month, yet he still keeps the pagan temple." Alvaro looked strange.

Where Mulholland believers carry out religious activities, there is often a very eye-catching moon symbol on the roof, just like there is always a cross on the church of the Seven Saints.This kind of temple is also called Crescent Moon Temple.

Alvaro is a Castilian.He was very familiar with how Castile dealt with conquered pagan lands in the Reconquest.

All residents were forced to convert, and those who did not want to be expelled.All pagan classics will be burned, and all Crescent Moon Temples will be transformed into churches.

Shouldn't the glaring moon be replaced by a cross long ago?

"Your Excellency Alvaro, the Duke of Baal's way of governing the pagan territory is somewhat different from Castile." The dark elf girl who was following Margaret said.Her voice was crisp and sweet, and in this scorching weather, it was like a cool wind blowing through everyone's heart.

"Excuse me, my beautiful lady, who are you?"

"I'm Vera de' Medici, the former Minister of Military Industry in Rouen, and my current position is the chairman of the 'Maghreb Development and Reform Commission'."

Speaking of her new position, the dark elf girl couldn't help curling her lips.Although it is good to be valued by Youfu Ma, but she also wants to be a countess or something.

Everyone is that man's lover, so why should I bow down to him?

But she didn't show this small thought, she just thought that after meeting Ma Youfu this time, she would squeeze him hard, so that he could get what she wanted after he tasted the sweetness in bed.

Alvaro didn't know that this beautiful dark elf lady had already turned her attention to matters of men and women.He continued to ask: "Miss Vera, may I ask what method Duke Barr intends to use to govern this land?"

"The core policy is religious tolerance, and does not prohibit the religious life of Mulholland believers. However, it is prohibited to expand the scale of missionary work, and it is forbidden to build a new Crescent Temple. In terms of conversion, there is no coercion, but if you are willing to convert to the Seven Saints, there will be some A series of preferential measures..." Vera explained.

"The Maghreb has too many people, the area is too large, and it is far away from the mainland of Europe. It is indeed impossible to establish another Kingdom of Jerusalem like the First Crusade. That kind of governance will usher in a backlash sooner or later." Pedro agreed with Mayouf's policy.

He knows it first hand.