Chapter 13 Columbus
A black sea water smashed millions of snow-white shattered waves on the bow of the boat. As the raised bow sank to the sea, the hull cut the sea water, and then quickly raised its head upwards, leaving the curling and eye-catching bow exposed on the water, looking like a clumsy seal looking around.
James stood on the high mast basket. He shouldn't have stood here, but because he was anxious, he wanted to be the first to see the destination, so he climbed up.
A clear coastline has appeared in the distance. As you get closer, you can see the golden sand, green vegetation and a large arch-shaped reef in front of the coast, which are specially used to execute prisoners who commit crimes at sea.
The ship had already entered the Bay of Malaga, but James' heart did not relax at all with the arrival of the place.
He came to see his brother.
While many people are thrilling about Columbus' discovery of the new route, Christopher Columbus himself is enjoying the most proud time.
When he was looking for patrons everywhere to provide funds for his adventures, even though he was talking to the rich, even he himself never thought that what he could find would be such a wealthy land that made people think it was a magical land in his dreams.
Even now, he still thinks that he has arrived in India, but Columbus still thinks that India is too rich, whether it is gold, silver or expensive spices. When he returned with a full load, he had to go down to the cabin to see more than once along the way to make sure that he was dreaming. The grand welcome he received after returning to Castilla made Columbus completely immersed in this extraordinary and great success.
Perhaps because of this, Columbus became arrogant. When James heard that his brother who came back after going out to sea again was taken back in shackles, Columbus was paying the price for his arrogance.
James couldn't wait to inquire about his brother as soon as he got ashore in Port Malaga. When he heard that Columbus and his other brother Giovanni, who was his deputy, were imprisoned in a prison in Seville, not far from Malaga, he immediately hired a carriage and rushed to this city, which is said to be very popular in the barber industry.
James was indeed anxious. The news he heard was not very good. It was said that Columbus had clashed with Aragon officials overseas, who were also a queen colonial official, and his arrogant attitude caused him trouble this time.
According to the Santa Fe Agreement with Queen Isabella, Columbus had great power in the lands he had discovered, which made him really think of himself as the governor, deputy king, general or anyone he thought he was.
The result of thinking this way is that he firmly does not allow anyone to infringe on the interests he thinks are his, even if these people are confidants sent by the Double Kings.
It was obvious that Columbus's approach might have been favored or ignored at the beginning because of his great success, but with the expansion of the new territory, some people began to feel dissatisfied with his excuse of the Santa Fe Agreement's possession of so much wealth.
Perhaps this also includes the pair of two kings.
So when someone made accusations based on some of Columbus's doing in the colony, Isabella never protected him, but immediately sent someone to escort him back from the island he named San Salvador at the time.
The journey from Malaga to Seville is not close. When James finally arrived in Seville through hardships, rumors were circulating in the city that the King's Envoy was here.
James believed that the messenger must have come for his two brothers, which made James even more worried.
"I have to go to prison," he said to his companions who followed him, and when they heard the word, he shuddered. James whispered, "Look at your timid look, don't forget that it's on the shore now, and it's still so far from the seaside that no one can recognize us."
"But we can't run away. If we see the wind is wrong at sea, we can slip away immediately, but if we are recognized here, we will die."
A companion looked at the other people in the tavern with a look on his face. This place was originally a very messy place, and almost everyone was wary of others, so when they felt the look of the look that was cast on their table, someone immediately glared over alertly.
"Relax, we are decent people now, not pirates," James reminded his companion in dissatisfaction. "That's why I use those pseudonyms on the sea. Don't worry, no one knows our secrets. When we find Christopher and get the next sailing diary from him, we can do it alone."
"Didn't you say you got all your brother's diary?" Another companion asked in annoyance. "We followed you to take risks because of this, but now you say you haven't got it completely, right?"
"Christopher is very cautious. Many of his diaries have been hidden by his side. It is not easy for me to get them. In the past two years, we have also gone to the places he discovered before and made a lot of money. This time, we just need to get the rest of the navigation diary and everything will be easier."
James casually spoke of his two companions. These people were his partners in the sea without business, but most of them did not really understand his identity. In addition to being his confidants, these two people also had to reveal their true origins because he really needed help in doing business on land.
"But how can we get in? That's a prison. If you want to get in due to a crime, it's easy to get in, but if you want to get in secret, it's not that easy."
A companion complained helplessly, and then he saw James suddenly look at him with a strange look.
Then James suddenly poured half a glass of wine on himself, making him smell like alcohol, and then stood up and staggered towards a table not far away.
"Hey, my companion is a doctor. Do you know that it's the kind of amazing guy who can tell what disease you have with just a glance," James said to a big guy with wide shoulders and thick back among the people in the table, lifting his thumb and gestured to the table behind him. "He said, from your tone and behavior, you're sick."
"What did you say?" The big guy stood up and glared at James first, then looked at his companion behind him. "He said what's wrong with me?"
"He said that your thing must be very small," James said, his eyes slipping towards the big guy's crotch. "I don't know if he's right."
The companion's mouth opened, and with a muffled sound from the table over there, he saw James flying by the big guy.
When he fell on his desk, James quickly whispered: "Now we can go to prison."
Then he grabbed the bottle of wine that was knocked over and rushed towards the table.
The tavern was in chaos in an instant, until there were harsh short trumpets coming from the street.
The Sevilla Prison is located in the open land in the middle of the Guadalquivir River Valley. It turned out to be a fortification built by the early Moors. With the demise of the Granada Palace, the last Moorish territory, in 492, these fortifications also fulfilled their mission.
However, the Aragonese soon found a new use for these fortifications. As the largest prison in Andalusia, there were many Iberians who were believed to have worked for the Moors before the restoration. These people were regarded as betrayers, many were executed after being tortured, and others became slaves in the practical sense, serving hard labor that would never be forgiven.
Christopher Columbus was imprisoned in Seville prison, but he did not need to be hard labor, and he lived much better than other prisoners.
As a famous explorer who claimed to have discovered the Indian Islands, Columbus was a famous celebrity among the nobles and merchants of Iberia. However, unlike many people think, Columbus was not as strong as some people imagined. Although he was firm and full of adventure, he was also a strong and vigorous man in his body.
Columbus was a little obese. Although he had long curly hair, the baldness you could see once you took off the curly hat was also very obvious. Perhaps because of his long wandering at sea, his spirit always seemed to be not very good. His obviously drooping bags seemed to tell others that he had not slept well the night before.
There was a lot of noise outside, and there were a group of prisoners who had just been sent. Most of the people who were locked up in the city's taverns were regular customers. These guys who often caused trouble because of small things were very troubled. So once they were sent in, they would be fined, and they would be sent to the dock to do coolies.
Seville has a large marina located on the bank of the Guadalquivir River, and it is also the only city in the Kingdom of Castile with an inland marina.
Therefore, the Seville Pier is usually very busy, which has found a very good place for those light prisoners in prisons to serve hard labor. As for those serious offenders, they will be arranged to quarries above the river valley and smash stones endlessly all day long.
Until someone is willing to pay a huge ransom for them or die.
Columbus doesn't do those hard labor work, and he even has his own separate room. The warden obviously knew that he could not treat this person as an ordinary prisoner, so even his two meals a day were sent by a special person.
Most importantly, Columbus was almost completely free in prison, his cell was not locked and could walk to the yard outside at any time.
But Columbus didn't want to do this. He lay on the bed with his arms tightly held his eyes, as if he was sleeping soundly and meditating. Then he would suddenly open his eyes and jump from the bed and walk around on the ground with some anxiety, and then lie back.
Columbus was not as calm as outsiders looked at him when he was escorted back to the shore. He believed that he would not be punished too severely, but being arrested by the king was already a very strong signal.
It was obvious that he had aroused the extreme dissatisfaction of the two kings.
Columbus knew that Ferdinand hadn't liked him very much since the beginning, or it was more appropriate to just say that he was disgusted.
This was entirely because of his overly greedy conditions. Although he did bring back wealth and open up new colonies for them, he also knew that he was not favored by the two kings.
Columbus suspected that the couple intended to abolish the Santa Fe Agreement, but despite thinking so, he couldn't make up his mind to show off completely with the couple because he was not sure.
But whenever Columbus thought that his enemies were taking the opportunity to annex his territory and plunder his wealth during the time he was in prison, Columbus couldn't help but feel restless.
The door was pushed open, and a prisoner walked in with a plate. It was time to start dinner.
Columbus got up from the bed lazily, and when he waved his hand to signal the man to put the plate on the table beside him, his hand suddenly stopped in the air.
"Are you unhappy to see your brother?" James smiled at Columbus with dark circles in his eyes. He was not worried about being heard. I believe no one would particularly care about an ordinary prisoner. "I have suffered a lot of crimes to see you."
"It can be seen," Columbus did not show much enthusiasm. Although he had not seen James for some years, he was more annoyed at this time. "I kept thinking about where my diaries went, and later I felt that it must have been taken away by you."
"I'm just borrowing it," James shrugged and said disapprovingly. "I originally planned to sell your diaries for a good price, but later I found it more useful to keep them, and I can return them to you."
Looking at the brother's distrustful eyes, James pulled it into his pocket but pulled it out empty-handedly: "Or if you exchange your other diaries with me, I think it's good."
"I knew you didn't have a good idea," Columbus showed anger. "Tell me who you used my diaries to trade with. I don't think you know the real value of those things."
"No, I know," James's expression suddenly became serious. "Believe me, I know even better about the value of these diaries than you, so I came to you. Your situation is not good, I think I can help you."
"Can you help me. When Giovanni and I were fighting hard on the sea, you stole my sailing diary to make a deal with people. Now you want to come back to help me. I don't think I need your help. My troubles will be back soon. They can't keep me for a long time." Columbus said with confidence. He was indeed not worried about any severe punishment he would be punished, after all, he was not without friends.
Seeing Columbus disapproving of him at all, James picked up the wine glass on the plate and poured the wine glass.
"Since that's the case, I'll congratulate you in advance on getting free as soon as possible, but don't forget Christopher, do you think the king couple will let you go to sea again, or do you really believe that once you leave those colonies, will they continue to comply with the agreements they promised you before? Think about it carefully, brother, maybe you will soon find that you still need me."
As he said that, James took out a note with words from his pocket and put it in a tray, then raised his glass to agree with Columbus, drank it all in one sip and walked out of the cell.
Looking at the open prison door, Columbus was silent. After a while, he walked to the table and picked up the note.
Looking at an address above, Columbus frowned slightly, but in the end he did not throw away the note, but put it in his pocket.
Although the result of the meeting was a bit frustrating, as a prisoner who was locked up due to a fight, James and his two companions had to continue in prison.
Because no one paid the ransom for them, they had to go to the dock to do hard work.
The marina in Seville is very lively. It is the busiest inland pier in southern Castilla. From here, you can either go up the river to the capital Valladolid, or go south and go directly to the Port of Gader on the Atlantic coast. Therefore, people always come and ships here throughout the year, and it is very prosperous.
James and two companions stood on the dock and looked at the boat in the river. He had never thought about running away because it was not worth it. Although he had to serve 0 days of hard labor, as long as he was honest, there would be no trouble.
And he also wanted to take advantage of this time to convince Columbus.
A row of gallops slowly came from the downstream. This kind of ship is still very common in the Mediterranean, but has been gradually eliminated in the Atlantic Ocean.
With the busyness of a group of workers on the shore, the boat was gradually pulled to the shore of the dock. As the springboard fell, a man slowly walked down from the boat.
The man was wearing a thick robe, and a silver mask on his face shone with a dazzling light in the sun.
“Seville.”
The man whispered in a somewhat hoarse tone, and then he looked at the dock.
James was busy working, so he didn't know anyone was looking at them.
And that person didn't know that among the busy docking labour, there was a famous pirate captain who was hiding in the sea.
So Count Julipe Normezi just glanced at the dock, passed by James, and walked forward.
"Ferdinand, I'm here."
Chapter completed!