Gonzalo de Cordoba has the titles of general, duke, etc., but he likes to call him the commander of the Knights the most.

The Knights of Santiago were not established for a long time. About less than a century ago, a group of nobles and knights who wandered from southern Castilla to Guadalupe, swore to the statue of the Virgin in the monastery.

They promised to obey Mary forever as their guardian, and at the same time they expected Mary to give them courage and faith that these devout believers who were driven away from their hometown by pagans could one day return to their hometown.

It is said that Maria responded to their prayers at that time, and a light shone on the sword at the waist of a knight. It happened that the light illuminated the name of the earlier owner of Thiago, which was engraved on the sword.

That's how the Knights of Santiago were born.

The sword became the token of the Knight Commanders of the later generations, and now this sword is in the hands of Gonzalo.

Gonzalo valued this honor very much. Those who were a little familiar with him knew that he liked others to call him Commander rather than General, nor Duke Montinia.

This is no secret among his veterans.

So when he heard the report from his subordinates, the two boats immediately followed the signals sent from the docking boat opposite and leaned towards the shore.

Gonzalo sat on a raised board and looked at the boat slowly drifting.

The people around him stared nervously at the people who were getting off the boat opposite. Seeing that someone among them was carrying weapons, they couldn't help but look at Gonzalo.

"Let them come over."

Gonzalo ignored the secret warning from the people around him, and stroked the sword he leaned on in his hand as a crutch.

This sword is a copy of the long sword that has been regarded as a symbol of the commander of the Santiago Knights. After all, the sword has been around for almost 100 years. In addition to the rust body of the sword, the hilt and scabbard have been destroyed many times.

Several people hurriedly got on the boat. They were a little surprised to see Gonzalo. Although they had seen the flag of the Knights of Santiago, they still did not expect to see Gonzalo himself here.

The officer who led the team immediately walked up and bowed to salute, and these soldiers were deeply awe of the general who had led them to expedition to Italy.

"Have you ever done it with me?" Gonzalo asked when he noticed the officer with a distinct Italian way of salutation.

"I've worked with you twice," the officer replied with a proud tone. "I've participated in Naples and Crete."

"My veteran is here."

Gonzalo smiled, and he was always much more kind to his subordinates who had followed him, and he was sincerely protecting his subordinates. In this regard, Gonzalo de Cordoba was more loved by the soldiers than other noble generals who were noble.

But then his face slightly darkened and said, "Now I want you to obey my command. Are you still willing to obey the orders?"

"Of course, sir, I am your soldier," the officer raised his chest in a habit. "Please give me instructions."

"That's great," Gonzalo murmured first, and then he waved his hand casually. "I want you to put down your weapons, and everything will be arranged by me from now on."

Surprise rose on the officer's face. He instinctively pressed the sword around his waist and quickly looked to both sides.

Then he noticed that although he was hiding in the dark, he obviously wanted to deliberately let them see several heavy muskets with huge caliber that they had seen.

The dark muzzle hole looked so terrible that the officer had no doubt that a deadly projectile could be shot from it at any time.

"Sir, what are you doing?"

The officer looked at Gonzalo helplessly. He knew that he was in a trap, but he couldn't figure out why.

"I want to know what I'm doing, too." Gonzalo said something that stunned the officer on the opposite side. He stood up with a sword and walked to the officer, and knocked the other party's shoulder with a sword with a scabbard. "Believe me, there are some things that are happier if you don't think about them too much."

Listening to what he taught his subordinates like this not long ago, the officer stared blankly at the back of Gonzalo who was walking past him.

It was not until someone next to him came and pulled the sword away from his waist that he realized as if he had woken up in a dream that he seemed to have become a prisoner.

Teams of soldiers came down from the ship.

Many people cheered when they saw Gonzalo standing on the shore waiting for them.

Many of them had followed Gonzalo to expedition to Italy or Crete, which gave them a heartfelt reverence for the general.

All the soldiers lined up on the river bank. Although some people noticed that their team officers looked different, and some even found that he and his entourage seemed to have been disarmed, the soldiers were still standing there with a very regular manner, waiting for Gonzalo's orders.

Gonzalo looked at the soldiers with satisfaction. Everything was going well so far, but he didn't know what would happen next.

After all, the upcoming incident is really amazing, and even Gonzalo couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Soldiers of Castile, many of you have ever tried to fight under my hands, so I don't want to deceive you," Gonzalo said, stopping to look at the soldiers. Noting that the soldiers looked a little uneasy, he signaled the officer standing beside the blue-faced, and walked over and "tell them what happened."

The officer walked over with a gloomy face and looked at his subordinates. He spoke helplessly: "According to the orders of Lord Gonzalo de Cordo, we are now his captives."

A low noise immediately arose among the soldiers. Although no one immediately took up the weapons, their eyes became alert.

More people looked confused. They didn't know what was going on, and they didn't know why their general suddenly became an enemy.

"Listen, I am not your enemy," Gonzalo shouted to the uneasy soldiers two steps forward. "I am performing my duties, and I hope you will obey my orders."

"Sir, what do you want us to do?!" someone in the crowd shouted loudly, "We will do whatever you want us to do!"

This too direct statement caused a burst of laughter and also eased the originally tense atmosphere a lot.

Although some people are still full of vigilance, most soldiers do not care so much about the unexpected fact that they have become prisoners.

Standing in front of them was Gonzalo, but this was enough to make them obey orders.

"Team officer, I want you to order your soldiers to obey my command from now on," Gonzalo ordered the officer with a gloomy face, "If you refuse, I will appoint another team officer."

Seeing the guard with fierce eyes on the side, the officer knew what would happen if he refused.

But he still wants to know why.

"Can I know why?" the officer asked, and he noticed that some of the soldiers seemed to notice his doubts, so his voice became louder. "Although my identity cannot be compared with you, I am also a nobleman. I swear allegiance to my king, so if I want to betray me, I must tell me the reason."

"Do you want to know the reason?" Gonzalo glanced at the officers, then looked at the soldiers who looked at them. "Do you also know why?"

Seeing the soldiers' expressions in their eyes even though they did not answer, Gonzalo nodded and turned to them.

"I know you are going to Toledo, and you know what you are going to do, but I want to tell you that this is a crime."

Except for some officers, the soldiers looked at each other in a daze. Many of them actually did not know what their tasks were. As the team officer said to his subordinates, they were just soldiers who were paying for the wages to fight.

"It seems that many of you don't know what kind of crime they are going to commit," Gonzalo looked back at the team officer. Or your team officer didn't tell you the truth. You went to Toledo under Ferdinand's orders, and what he asked you to do was arrest or kill the Duke of Romanthesia."

Gonzalo's words immediately caused a stir among the soldiers.

Some people are still confused or distracted, but some have already whispered to scream.

"what happened?"

"Duke of Romanthesia, who is that?"

"God, this is terrible."

The soldiers were talking, some were still asking about what was going on, and some were already hurriedly telling their companions about the amazing news.

"So that duke is a prince?" Someone asked in surprise.

"This is terrible," the soldier began to draw a cross on his chest. "Are we going to fight a prince?"

However, some people also retorted loudly: "No, he is just an illegitimate child, and Castilla does not have such a prince!"

"That is the son of King Enrique. Whether you admit it or not, he is a member of the royal family, but isn't it scary to kill a duke?"

The soldiers were talking and arguing with each other until everyone gradually turned their attention to Gonzalo.

Seeing the soldiers calm down consciously, Gonzalo stroked his big chin with satisfaction, which made him feel that at least he would not have to waste too much hands and feet.

In fact, his people were already ambushing nearby, and once they found that the situation was not good, they would immediately shoot random guns.

"The one who gave this order was Ferdinand, who asked you to murder a member of the Astamara family, which was the royal family of Castilla."

Gonzalo noticed that the soldiers' uneasiness became stronger, which made him feel even more satisfied.

In the minds of ordinary people, the royal family is undoubtedly noble and inviolable, and even an unlucky person like Enrique IV is still unattainable.

Killing a duke with the blood of the Astamara family is enough to make many people frightened.

Looking at the soldiers' terrified expressions, Gonzalo smiled with satisfaction.

Of course, he also noticed those who seemed to disapprove of his words, but those people were a minority after all.

And he didn't intend to keep everyone.

"Ferdinand wants you to murder the Duke of Roman Thecia, whom you are also the brother of the Queen of Sicily," Gonzalo intends to give the soldiers greater excitement and intimidation. "I think you should already know the victory of the Sicilians in Seville, so do you think the Queen of Sicily would give up if the Duke whom you murdered?"

Speaking of this, Gonzalo, who had stopped deliberately, glanced at the soldiers in front of him. Seeing that their uneasy expressions became stronger, he continued with satisfaction: "I can assure you that if you need Ferdinand will not offend that queen for you."

Gonzalo's words finally worked. Even those who seemed disapproving before showed a hesitant look, and the breathing of the team officer standing aside was significantly worsened.

"I don't want to praise the Queen of Sicily, because she was my enemy not long ago, but now I must remind you that if you don't want a miserable end next, do what I said."

This time the soldiers did not make a loud noise, and most of them were talking in a low voice with suspicion. Many of them were not sure what had happened, but at least they knew that if they were involved in the murder of the Duke of Romanthesia, they might be in big trouble.

"Sir, what do you want us to do?" Someone finally couldn't help asking loudly.

"This is what I have to do here, I want to save you," Gonzalo walked towards the soldiers, and as the crowd involuntarily separated involuntarily, Gonzalo came to the soldiers. "The Duke of Romanthesia has declared that he has inherited the throne of Castile, and now I want you to obey my orders from now on and return to Madrid."

"Sir, have you surrendered to the Duke of Romanthesia?"

At this point, someone finally couldn't help asking in disbelief, and the eyes of people looking at Gonzalo became strange.

"I have not betrayed, at least not Castilla," Gonzalo looked at the person who asked him. "It is Ferdinand, who ruled this country in Valliaridod now. Do you want to fight for an Aragonese?"

"But what about the queen? Juana is the daughter of Queen Isabella. General, have you not been loyal to Queen Isabella before?"

The question with a distinctly questioning tone made the atmosphere stagnate instantly. Gonzalo looked over and saw a soldier who looked like a low-level officer, but his expression was proud.

"So you think I'm betraying?"
To be continued...