In those towns along the lower Ebro River, Garr is not a big place, or if it weren't for the fact that there was something called the Mesenconte rice bowl in that small town, many people wouldn't have thought of it.

Or if this small town was not the closest town to the Ebro River in the upper reaches of Zaragoza, many people wouldn't remember this place.

There is a very flat road from Gael to Zaragoza, which should be attributed to the remains left behind during the Moorish rule in the early years.

At that time, the Moors built a temple in Gael, and then the Moors often went there to pray. Over time, a relatively smooth road was built.

It was precisely with this relatively smooth road that Ferdinand was able to reach the front line faster than he expected, which made him think that he could stop the enemy's invasion in time, but now for Ferdinand, this road became the key to ensuring that he could defend Zaragoza.

The king arrived at Garr late at night without attracting much attention. Ferdinand acquiesced the guards' actions to put away the king's flag without authorization, but he immediately sent people to find the generals who had lost contact after arriving at Garr.

It seemed to be instinctive. The Aragonese regarded Gael as a temporary shelter. Except for the scattered soldiers who had been lost at night and had no idea where they went, most of the Aragonese soldiers arrived at Gael one after another.

In this way, the entire town suddenly became full of people like headless flies.

The soldiers rammed around in the dark and shouted, and their tempers became very bad because of the tension and anxiety during retreat, causing fights to happen everywhere, and even killed people in some places.

This situation made Ferdinand angry but at a loss for a moment. It was not until the officers had their whereabouts and some even came to see the king directly, and the situation improved a little.

Some Aragonian generals began to restrain the troops. They simply reorganized the gathered soldiers, although they only roughly assigned the soldiers to several subordinates who could be found, but at least after dawn, the Aragonian army finally looked no longer so messy.

Ferdinand spent the whole night of anxiety during this period. He was worried that the enemy might pursue the victory. Although the night gave him time to breathe, it would still be difficult for him to defend the city of Garre if the enemy launched an attack after dawn.

Recently, all hope has been placed on reinforcements from Zaragoza. He only hopes that he can hold on for a while in Gaeldo. As long as the reinforcements from Zaragoza arrive, the form will be somewhat improved.

More importantly, he did not believe that the coalition forces could advance so endlessly. The extension of the supply line would make the coalition forces sad at the beginning and end. If it weren't for the rebellion in Valencia, Ferdinand would even be willing to let the enemy go deep into Aragon.

Because in that way, the coalition forces not only had to leave the upper reaches of the Ebro River, but also had the opportunity to take advantage of it.

But now he can't take this risk.

He was worried that if the Castiles cut off the connection between Zaragoza and the outside world, the counter-insurgency would be very unfavorable to Valencia. He had to keep abreast of the movements there at any time, and let the entire Aragonian Kingdom know that he had not yet faced the dilemma of being surrounded by the capital.

"Your Majesty, I must remind you that this is probably what the Duke of Roman Thesia wants you to do," a general had to make a different opinion after learning that Ferdinand had ordered to defend Gaelle to the death. "The Duke should have guessed your decision, so he knew that you could not tolerate Zaragoza being surrounded, and if that was the case, it would be dangerous for us to defend Gaelle to the death."

Ferdinand did not explain much about the general's reminder. He believed that these nobles were still loyal to him, but they either did not think more about it like him, or were purely worried that they would suffer another defeat here, so they hoped to resist the enemy with the strong walls of Zaragoza.

"I have made a decision, and you only need to tell me," Ferdinand said to his generals in a rare and unceremonious tone. His expression was a little tired, which made him look older. He used pearl powder to take care of the corners of his eyes, and wrinkles were also revealed because of the night's running. "I have considered too much, and I believe Zaragoza will not disappoint me."

"This war will lose." As soon as he walked out of Ferdinand's temporary house, a general said to his friends with a melancholy face, "Our king doesn't know who he is fighting with. I mean he still doesn't understand our enemies, but we have seen them."

"Maybe Zaragoza can send reinforcements in time, and if that happens, the situation may not be worse," the Knight who answered this way could not help but doubt his optimistic attitude after looking at the miserable soldiers on the streets in the distance. "At least we had more troops than them at that time, right?"

At the replies of his companion, the general breathed a long sigh: "I hope you are right, but believe me. As long as there is a beginning on the battlefield, bad things will always happen one after another. I hope we won't be so unlucky this time."

……………………………………………………………………

As the boat gang gently touched the rocks on the dock, Diego's body shook.

Half a month later, he returned to Valencia again.

And this time, he no longer planned to leave.

Just because he didn't want everyone to embarrass everyone, Diego did not let his family get ashore, and he temporarily arranged them in the rock reef fort, but he had made up his mind and didn't want to go back to his hometown in Parma.

A man who is always reluctant to leave his hometown is unpromising. Many years ago, his father taught him this way, so Diego left home and went out to explore.

But this time he simply took all his family out of Parma, because for him, he would either enter the future unified kingdom capital with glory in the future and become a prominent newcomer, or go into exile and die in a foreign country. No matter what the final result is, the only thing that is certain is that he will never return to his hometown again.

On the shore, Maria de Luna looked at Diego with a expressionless face as he came to the shore with the help of his servant, and then turned around alone and walked slowly along the dock.

Diego followed her and walked slowly alongside her.

"You brought all your family out?"

"I have sent someone to say hello to you in advance," said Diego, looking at Maria de Luna's still expressionless face, he said helplessly, "they will not meet you, I will arrange them elsewhere."

Maria de Luna looked at Tiego, and asked in a calm tone that seemed to be aggravated, "What are you going to do in the future? Who do you mean to be loyal to?"

Hearing the Duchess' question, Diego stopped, and he looked at Maria de Luna with a somewhat vigilant look. After a while, he asked tentatively: "Madam, have you done something without authorization?"

Seeing that Maria de Luna seemed to be in arguing, Tiego continued without waiting for her to speak, "Madam, I know you very well, just as you know me, so please listen to my advice not to have any unrealistic ideas, because then you will find that you will eventually face a very embarrassing situation."

"I just want to do something for my son, who is the Duke of Gandino and the only heir of the Borgia family today, so he has the right to be the master of Valencia."

Tiego looked at Maria de Luna with some surprise but seemed to have thought of helplessly. Although she had vaguely guessed what she had done, she could not help but feel annoyed when she heard her confession in person: "Madam, I think you still don't understand who you and I are doing for, and maybe you think this is no different from the tricks you have done before, but I want to tell you that you are wrong!"

Maria de Luna looked at Tiego in confusion. She really couldn't understand why this person was so persistent and even stubborn. She didn't believe that he was purely loyal. Especially after he did those things to her, Maria de Luna believed that the man in front of him could not resist temptation for wealth and power.

"Are you afraid of them? But I want to forget that they also need you now, so you can give them the conditions, that is what you deserve," Maria de Luna said unwillingly, "Help me get Valencia for my son, and we can be your backing to give you more support. If you want, I can even give you a heir who is more in line with your identity."

Tiego's breathing became heavy, and he knew what this promise from Maria de Luna meant, and it was indeed very attractive.

For a moment he thought this was really a good suggestion, whether it was supported by the future Duke of Valencia or an heir of noble blood.

But soon, Diego woke up from the wonderful fantasy, he pondered for a moment, and then he held up Maria de Luna's face and stared at her eyes and said seriously: "Listen to your advice, Madam, it's so tempting, so I warn you not to try to do these things, don't do it like this, whether for me or others, or you will definitely regret it."

After saying that, he lowered his head and kissed Maria de Luna roughly on the lips in a nearly punishing manner.

When Diego saw Ofulei, the young chief of staff was staring at the wine glass in front of him.

Next to him, a young woman dressed in clothes and looked like a maid holding a tray in her arms, looking at the young general with anticipation.

"This is the real Cypriot wine, the treasure of my father's cellar," the young woman recommended it seriously, and even a funny smile on her lips, curious because she had never seen such a shy person before, even more than she wanted to seduce the young man. "Of course if you can attend the banquet held at my house tonight..."

"I'm sorry, Miss, he may not be able to go anywhere," Diego promptly cleared Ofulei's siege. He sent away the disappointed young woman in a few words, and then looked at the slightly embarrassed young general with an interesting look. "As long as you nod, there will be a large number of women willing to be your mistress."

"Ashley would kill me then," Ofulei said hurriedly, and then quickly distinguished "I mean it's immoral."

Tiego curled his lips. He didn't expect that the rumors about the Chief of Staff of the Romanesian Army were afraid of his wife were true, but it obviously didn't matter to him: "I want to know if we can defend Valencia?"

"Do you want me to tell the truth?" Ofulei's relaxed tone made Diego feel relieved, but Ofulei said, "Offulei can't hold on."

Diego stared at Ofulei blankly, trying to make sure if he was joking.

But he was disappointed, and he already knew the answer from Ofulei's expression.

"Even if Gompatti is here, he is not sure that he can defend Valencia, because Ferdinand cannot tolerate the loss of Valencia," Ofulei was not ashamed of having no choice. He said seriously. "If I tell you that you can defend it, it is just because of vanity, but I am a soldier, so I must tell you the truth."

"But I don't think you are so nervous. Tell me if you have any other solutions?" Tiego asked unwillingly.

"Isn't you any other way?" Ofulei showed a rare cunning, which was very rare for him. "I am a soldier and I'm not interested in the tricks in the palace, but I'm not stupid, so you'd better tell me the truth, otherwise I can't command the battle."

Diego was silent. After a while, he finally shook his head helplessly: "Some of our friends are in Zaragoza. In fact, all this is the arrangement of the duke, but the nobles of Valencia hope..."

"They hope to be more reliant in the face of the new kings in the future, right?" Ofulei's expression gradually became serious. "Or do you think Aragon and Castilla will still be two completely different countries in the future?"

"Of course I don't think so," Diego sat down and looked at Ofulei. For the first time, he felt that the soldier in front of him might be a good candidate for cooperation. "What are you going to do?"

"Tell me everything, my duty is to defend Valencia, and you must cooperate with the Duke to give Ferdinand a fatal blow."

Tiego nodded slightly. He felt that Alexander chose to make Ofulei a military minister in Castilla not just because he was attracted by his performance in the army.

Loyalty may be the more important reason why he has obtained this position now.

……………………………………………………………………

At the entrance of a narrow alley, a carriage stopped.

A man wrapped in a thick robe hurriedly got out of the car and walked into the alley.

At the entrance of a not-so-conspicuous tavern around the corner of the alley, two lazy men who looked idle were standing.

There are people like this everywhere, so no one will look at them more.

The man walked through the two lazy men and walked into the tavern, and then the two men followed him in. One of them walked through the tavern and walked backwards, while the other locked the door and then stood in the tavern.

In the secret room behind the secret door connected to the tavern, which was blocked by several barrels, Archbishop Zaragoza, who had been waiting for a while, finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the man in.

The man respectfully kissed the Archbishop's hand, then looked at him with enthusiasm and said, "My Lord, we have made all preparations, and His Majesty the Pope also agreed that you still have the irrefutable bishop's right to the Diocese of Aragon, what about you?"

The muscles on the Archbishop's face moved slightly without notice. He had been waiting for this reply for a long time. Even though he had done so many secretly opposing Ferdinand before, he still had a chance to stop until the last moment.

But now he knew that he could not stop, or after receiving the promise from Alexander VI, he felt that he had already obtained what he wanted.

On the morning of that day, Ferdinand's attendant suddenly rushed back.

He also brought back bad news about the failure of the Roman town. Although it had not yet spread completely, it had caused an earthquake-like reaction in the Zaragoza court.

I believe that tomorrow, the entire Salahsay will know that the king was defeated in the town of Rome, and by then the whole city may be in chaos.

In fact, at this time, aristocrats were already making arrangements quietly.

Although it has been a long time, people have heard too much from their ancestors about the several famous sieges that Zaragoza had encountered in his early years, so quietly sending his family and property outside the city became the most urgent thing for many nobles to do.

The Archbishop was also very anxious. He was worried that the war might have already come to an end before the Pope's deal with him could be settled. If so, his weight would inevitably be reduced a lot in the future.

As for Ferdinand's victory, he certainly thought about it, so even at this time he did not show any too obvious attitude towards Valencia's announcement of the asylum of the Pope.

But now he felt it was time to clarify his attitude.

"You're just waiting here."

The Archbishop gave this to the visitor, and he hurriedly left without even explaining what he wanted to do. It was only after he got into a car across the street that the Archbishop couldn't help but hesitate a little.

Then he knocked on the car board with the wooden stick in his hand, indicating that the coachman could leave.

It was a little cold in the morning at Garr, and Ferdinand had to put on a thicker coat. When he came out of the house, he saw some soldiers hurriedly carrying various tools and materials to strengthen the city walls, which made him feel a little relieved.

Although Gaerre does not have any solid fortifications, he can still hold on for a while if he is just pure defense. At that time, the reinforcements from Zaragoza will arrive and the situation will reverse.

Ferdinand thought so, and the situation did develop as he imagined.

The Servant Chief had sent someone to send a reply. Although Zaragoza was indeed a little panicked as he thought, the Archbishop had promised to send reinforcements immediately.

"As long as you stick to it for a few days, everything will change."

Ferdinand encouraged his general and himself in this way, and then he received a report that the coalition forces were heading towards Garel.

Two days after the victory in the town of Rome, the Cassi coalition, after a brief rest, advanced southeast along the Ebro River, with their purpose of capturing Gael.
Chapter completed!