eastern european eagle

Chapter 633 Resolution
The news of what happened in Naples reached Constantinople, which caught the government off guard. Now that the emperor has not returned yet, all issues can only be decided by the crown prince.

Alexander convened a cabinet meeting to discuss what would happen next. If they let things alone, they might lose their ally, Naples.

"The Queen of Naples may not be able to control the nobles in the country, especially Sicily and Sardinia. They will probably ask our country for help."

Batista explained the current situation. There was no problem with the succession. France was busy fighting Britain, the Holy Roman Empire was busy fighting Bohemia, and Castile was thinking about when to take Andalusia back. Then, there was only one country left that would take action against Naples, Aragon.

"There has been no movement in Aragon in recent years, but their arable land and population have increased a lot. Barcelona is also developing rapidly."

Ferdinand was a very capable person. When there were many mediocre monarchs in Western Europe, he was able to pull Aragon back from being in danger and rebuild a navy.

"Prime Minister, today's meeting is not to praise him. Aragon will probably incite a rebellion in Sicily, and we must help Naples."

Alexander stopped Batista from speaking. There was no time to praise him now. "Our country must send troops, and quickly."

"But your highness, entering without Naples's permission will cause trouble."

This is also the most important point. They did not negotiate with Naples. The Naples ambassador did not know what was happening in the country. Unless they could get permission, the army entering their territory would be considered an invasion.

"We can't just sit there and do nothing. We can send troops from Rome, and at the same time the navy in Gibraltar can come to Rome to deter Aragon."

Mason on the side also wanted to speak. Although it was a bit strange for him to join a diplomatic meeting as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he was the First Deputy Prime Minister after all.

"Your Highness, we do need to ensure the safety of Naples. Naples is an important transit and supply station on the sea from Constantinople to Spain. Any changes will have an unimaginable impact on our route."

Mason said the truth, but he did not mention another fact: his family had a lot of assets in Naples. In order to curry favor with Constantinople, many merchants and officials in Naples took advantage of Mason, the upstart. They traded more or less with Sala Island and the Eastern Route under Mason's name. Of course, these were all legal, and Mason also paid taxes to the imperial government for these trades.

"You have a point, but if Aragon does nothing, it will damage the relationship between the two countries."

"Prime Minister, Aragon will definitely take action. They have always wanted to restore their previous territory. Especially Sicily, this important island for producing wheat will allow them to expand their strength even further. And this will also become the foundation for Aragon to dominate Iberia."

Thanks to his father in Spain, Mason was able to get more information about Iberia. In addition to Spain, Castile, Portugal and Aragon were all competing for this land. Portugal withdrew early because of its weak strength and turned to the blue land - the ocean. Castile, on the other hand, focused on both land and sea, and fought for Barcelona while colonizing abroad.

Because of the terrain of Iberia, most of the area is only suitable for grazing and not for farming. Andalusia and Barcelona are the only two large plains that they can cultivate and obtain a lot of food. But now, neither of these two places is under control. Castile can only make money by exporting wool, but even so, it has to face competition from England and Romania. They are really out of money, so they decided to go to sea to find wealth. Just like Romania explored eastward, they also had to go east to get more money, then equip the army and restore their former glory.

Castile's colonial history in recent years has been to follow Portugal. Wherever Portugal goes, they go. When Portugal goes to Morocco, they go to Morocco; when Portugal goes to West Africa, they go to West Africa.

But West Africa was too desolate. All they saw along the way was desert. Except for one or two small fishing villages, there was no one in sight.

They went south along the coast and finally discovered a country rich in gold. This country had unimaginable wealth, and to exchange it for gold, all they had to do was take some salt or other commodities.

This country is the Mali Empire. Southwest Africa is rich in gold and is known as the Gold Coast. The prosperous trade and strategic location allowed the Mali Empire to control a large amount of gold. A visit by the ruler caused the local gold to depreciate, which shows how much gold there is.

Despite the existence of a polity, there was no unified currency for the entire country, but different forms of currency were used in different regions. The Sahel and Saharan towns of the Mali Empire served as both transit points for long-distance caravan trade and as trading centers for various West African products. Gold bullion was the exclusive property of the monarch and it was illegal to trade it within his territory. All gold was immediately turned over to the treasury in exchange for gold dust of equal value.

What's the point of waiting to conquer such a land? Moreover, this country is in the midst of civil strife, with different places not recognizing each other. Doesn't this give them the opportunity to interfere?

Portugal and Castile decided to occupy the country and reached an agreement that the two countries would share the gold equally after the occupation.

They were going to send out 2000 men to conquer, yes, 2000 men, and they couldn't afford any more money. Needless to say, Portugal, after Castile lost Andalusia, tax revenue dropped sharply, and it was impossible for the nobles to pay taxes, so the people had to suffer.

Romania didn't know the specific situation, and could only wish them well. At this time, Aragon, which had no motivation for overseas expansion, could only expand to the Mediterranean region, and Sicily was their target.

"Your Highness, this is not only to help Naples, but also to deter countries like France and let them know that the Empire will not allow anyone to provoke it."

Batista was also convinced. He had been confined to diplomatic principles before, but once the bottom line of the empire was broken, other countries would rush in to divide up his huge body.

"Now we must let Aragon know who is the master of the Mediterranean now."

Alexander decided to send the troops stationed in Rome and Dalmatia southwards, and the Roman navy to Naples, and sent someone to explain the situation to the new king of Naples, believing that the other party would understand.

(End of this chapter)