In the slightly northerly part of the city, there is a gentle hillside. This hillside is not very high and the mountain is also very gentle. However, it covers a large area and is enough to build a large house.

The Castle of El Pardo is built on this hillside. Although compared with the castles in other places, the Castle of El Pardo is not long and only about a century, it is the most luxurious palace built by Castilla in recent centuries.

The Moorish invasion has left the Iberian Peninsula in the smoke of war for centuries.

Therefore, the castles here focus more on military rather than life, so when building castles, locals rarely consider whether the people inside live comfortably and whether their lives are convenient.

Rough stone, solid buildings, and even a corridor and portal that should be built in order to resist once the castle is lost, so that two people have to go sideways before they can pass through, the castle styles on the Iberian Peninsula are mostly for practicality rather than enjoyment.

But Palace El Pardo broke this convention.

Perhaps because the Moors were no longer so threatened, when Enrique III decided to rebuild the El Pardo Palace, while strengthening the castle defense, he took more into account the comfort of the palace.

Today's Palace of El Paldo is not as famous as it was later for its collection of large quantities of Spanish wool tapestries. It is now the location of Madrid's city hall. Compared with other parts of the city where most buildings still seem dilapidated, although prosperous, the Palace of El Paldo is undoubtedly a paradise.

Of course, it will take a long time before the new palace, which is truly known as the Mother of Versailles.

Alexander is now in the Palace of El Pardo, opposite him, standing with a half-length cloak with a chest ornament on his chest.

A little behind the mayor, a large group of Madrid nobles looked at the scene in front of them with flashing eyes.

Alexander is now standing on the steps in front of the throne slightly above the ground. This one that can be stepped up with a slight lift can place three seats side by side. If it were the past, the mayor and the archbishop's seat was on it, but now only one chair is placed.

Alexander looked at the people in front of him, and he knew that these Madrid nobles were actually thinking about each other. Even if they seemed to fully support the mayor of Madrid who was greeting him, they were also trying to make a small plan.

But he didn't care about this. He had to take Madrid. Even if he had to take some risks, he had to come in person.

And no matter what, when he enters the city, Castilla's future will change.

He would think so because he knew more about the future of the city of Madrid than others.

When Isabella and his wife came to Madrid, they were warmly welcomed by the residents of the city.

But despite this, the locals only have the respect they deserve to respect the queen.

They didn't know that at that time, the Isabella couple had already had a vague plan.

That is to build a new power center between the two countries one day in the future that can control Castilla and Aragon at the same time.

A unified kingdom in the future needs a capital that radiates to all directions, rather than being in a corner because of its geographical location and being influenced by the inherent local forces of both countries.

In this regard, neither Valladod nor Zaragoza meets the requirements.

Madrid obviously met these conditions very well, but Isabella had not yet gained a foothold at that time, and the war between Juana for the throne involved her thoughts, so this idea could only be kept in her heart for the time being.

Moreover, the establishment of a new capital was not achieved overnight. The final feat in history will be achieved by her great-grandson after more than 30 years.

However, no matter what, Madrid's position in the future Kingdom of Spain is unquestionable.

Alexander also agreed with this idea, and he even felt that Isabella did have a profound vision that others did not have.

The southern and western coastal areas centered on Seville are rapidly rising with the development of new colonies, while the north is much behind.

This gap is not visible for the time being, but it will become more and more intense as time goes by, and it will later become the source of fierce conflicts between regions.

If you think further, the cities in the Kingdom of Aragon will become richer and richer, which will gradually increase the gap between them and Castilla, which will cause huge hidden dangers to unstable unification.

Alexander doesn't want to make the Catalans who have been stubborn and unwilling to obey them in the future. It would be too bad if a stable supply of mercenary soldiers becomes a big trouble.

Therefore, Madrid will inevitably become the most important power center for Spain in the future and the biggest economic lifeline in the north.

Only in this way can we work with Sevilla in the south and drive the entire future Kingdom of Spain.

Alexander always felt that the Spaniards had a good hand in this era, but they had the worst results.

While other countries were still fighting to the death on the mainland, the Spaniards had already established one stronghold and trading post after another in the New World.

This can actually be said to be a feat ahead of the entire era.

But the Spaniards obviously failed to use their wealth and take advantage of their hands later.

Apart from constantly plundering and squandering, they never regarded the New World as their country and territory. Even if they sent people to establish permanent residence in those places, they were just to facilitate more efficient plundering of gold, pepper, and various treasures that the nobles and wives were coveted for a long time from the local area.

For a long time, the Spaniards had not considered treating the New World as part of their country, which made them never think about managing that land well.

This is a very sad situation. The Spanish missed the opportunity given to them by God.

Now in the El Pardo Palace in Madrid, Alexander's mind has floated to the distant future and another land.

It was not until Gonzalo, who was standing next to the steps, that Alexander took his mind back.

Looking at the Madrid mayor opposite, Alexander smiled: "Mayor, you have made a wise choice. I believe you will not regret this choice, because it will bring unexpected rewards to you and everyone in the future."

The mayor immediately showed a respectful expression on his face. He turned around and looked at the nobles standing behind him, which attracted the nobles to give a compliment and various responses.

Alexander knew that these people were thinking at this time that they might not be as good as they said. This was from the mayor's seemingly sincere and enthusiastic letter, but in fact, as long as you think carefully, you will find that it is actually more vague invitation letters.

But Alexander didn't care about this, all he wanted was Madrid.

The profound significance of occupying Madrid is definitely not just about occupying a city.

If Seville is the capital of wealth in the southern and coastal areas of Castilla, Madrid is the top priority in the north and the mainland.

This has even been gradually revealed at this moment.

But there are still many people who don’t really realize this importance. After all, people are more concerned about places with rich resources or well-connected roads and ports.

Madrid seems to have nothing to do with these.

Alexander even suspected that the Isabella couple was deliberately concealing their attention to Madrid. After all, there were too many aspects involved in moving the capital.

"Your Highness, I don't know what you think of what happened to Barryalido." The mayor asked respectfully, and the nobles beside him immediately held their breath at this moment, and everyone stared at Alexander with a pressing gaze.

Alexander clearly felt the excitement and uneasiness of these people.

For the Madrid nobles, their current situation is actually very embarrassing.

Isabella's death completely lost their backing. Because these nobles who were far away from Barrialido were always at the center of power, the only thing that gave them a glimmer of hope was Isabella's gradually paying attention to Madrid over the years.

But now not only Isabella died, but Ferdinand even imprisoned Juana, which was no different from a huge blow to the Madrid people.

Ferdinand may still attach great importance to Madrid, but people know that he cannot trust the Castiles as much as Isabella.

It was at this time that the Madrid people who became helpless because of their loss of backing and hope suddenly saw a new dawn.

The appearance of the Duke of Romanthesia gave the Castile a new choice, but now the Duke is close to you.

So when I just heard that Gonzalo led a few troops into Madrid, these Madrid nobles made the wisest choice for them.

And the slogan they made such a choice was "For God, Kingdom and Royal Family".

When he heard this declaration of faithful piety and loyalty to the monarch, Alexander's first reaction was: "This is not one, but a group of slippery heads."

In a room, Alexander looked at the bare wall with interest.

This was after the ceremony of welcoming the Duke of Roman Thescia, the mayor gave up El Pardo's main palace as the residence for the duke to stay.

But he did not move out of the palace, but found a good room for himself in the wing tower on the right side of the palace.

Even Alexander was somewhat surprised by the mayor's obedience and sensibility.

He knew that the mayor must have guessed that he might not be at ease with his safety, so he asked him to rest assured in this way.

It is really hard to hate such a smart and intelligent person. Even though he knew that this was just a slick way, Alexander still felt that the mayor could get this position, not only because of his simple luck and background.

Madrid Mayor Juan Fernando Don Bandraz stood respectfully not far from Alexander.

The position he stood in is very skillful, neither far away from people to feel distant nor close enough to make people uneasy.

Now he stood there quietly, looking at the duke who seemed to be very interested in the palace without saying a word.

Don Bandraz had been observing the young duke who might become king in the future. He soon discovered that the duke's interest in the palace was more appropriate than pure curiosity because of the wealth in it.

This can be seen from his lack of sight of the precious vessels displayed in the room, but he is very interested in some fabrics.

"Where are these fabrics coming from, Mayor?" Alexander asked casually.

Don Banderaz's heart moved. He didn't know why the Duke was so interested in these things. Although these fabrics were indeed expensive, they were obviously not enough to pay attention to them.

"There are His Highness from the North, Navarra or Galicia," Don Bandraz replied and thought about it and added, "Of course there are wool fabrics from further north, which are mostly expensive, I mean the lowlands of the Netherlands."

That's right, Alexander nodded slightly.

In this era, the lowlands had almost the largest wool industry in Europe. Some of these places have gradually formed a nearly complete industrial chain from the breeding of sheep, the collection and processing of wool, and then finally the production of finished products in workshops.

The huge power behind this industry and the interest groups formed by various related links are spread out towards the entire Europe like an extremely large spider web.

If history continues to develop, gradually this kind of force will form a brand new aristocratic capital class.

When strength reaches its peak, this emerging aristocratic capitalist class will first appear in the pursuit of church reform, and then ultimately challenge the secular world from pure faith objections.

Thinking of this, Alexander sighed softly as he stroked the slightly rough fabric in his hand.

Of course, these are likely not to appear again now.

When Alexander thought of Martin Luther, who died inexplicably in Torpedo, he felt that the world had become a little crazy.

But thinking about it even if that person is alive, Alexander may not feel that there will be a chance for him to appear.

Or there is no need for him to appear again.

"Mayor, I think it's necessary for you to make some important preparations."

Alexander looked at Don Bandraz, and saw that although his face was confused, he still looked at him with a stern look. Alexander nodded with satisfaction.
To be continued...