Page 410 of DATE
Leonardo stirred his tea slowly with a silver spoon, speaking with a measured tone. "As a monarch, you possess enough capital and should be on equal footing with them."
Weaken, adjust, balance.
It all depended on whether you were willing to take action and make the necessary decisions.
Hedy, listening to their conversation, suddenly thought of her former ally, Lorenzo de’ Medici. He, like this man, had the sameproblem—being overly concerned with his reputation and trying to win over everyone.
It was a strategy to seek stability, to win the favor of as many people as possible and ensure that most citizens would speak of them with a tone of reverence and approval.
But that wasn’t enough.
To win, to truly triumph, what mattered more was what you actually held in your hands.
Reputation, public opinion, titles, and the recognition of those around you were all less valuable than holding tangible power.
"As you can see, I’ve been expanding the navy and am preparing to form a fleet with adequate defense capabilities," Henry Tudor said, looking toward them. "But as I was recruiting sailors, my informant told me that the Spanish fleet has already set sail toward the East."
…Were they heading to China?
Two months ago, Hedy had just sent off the students she personally selected. They would follow the fleet to the East, where they would study for at least two years.
Meanwhile, Eastern fleets would gradually arrive at the ports of Pisa and Genoa according to the maps.
Spain wanted to get involved in this?
"They don’t seem sure of the location, but the fleet is enormous," Henry VII sighed deeply, shaking his head. "It’s clear that future wars will likely be fought mostly at sea."
Hedy furrowed her brow and thought for a moment before standing up. "I’ll go speak with them. Leonardo, you stay here."
The king stood and saw her off, uncertain. "The hundreds of clauses in the treaty—was it really Mr. Machiavelli who drafted it?"
He looked barely over twenty.
"I helped revise it," Leonardo winked slyly. "Not easy to read?"
Henry VII cleared his throat. "I can just about make sense of it."
As Hedy made her way to the Navy Department, a faint sense of unease grew inside her.
She didn’t mind if Spain or Portugal found China. They might discover ports in India or Vietnam, and even if they made contact with the Emperor of China, it wouldn’t disrupt the larger picture.
But if they found the Americas and began large-scale slave trading... all the unstable factors would be on the brink of explosion.
She quickened her pace, subconsciously frowning.
The triangular trade had a natural geographical advantage.
Africa, the Americas, Europe.
Cold and warm ocean currents would guide ships back and forth, always with favorable winds.
Over a thousand years ago, Africa had been invaded and plundered by the Arab Empire, with black slaves being shipped to the Mesopotamian plains to work the land, living like cattle with no difference.
Once the Portuguese or Spaniards discovered the Americas, they would inevitably establish colonies to search for gold and silver, while also trading large numbers of African slaves, causing plantations to spread like locusts across the entire continent.
Navy Minister Pedro Rucellai was enjoying canned food with his subordinates when the queen arrived, not having had time to wipe off the syrup that had stained his beard.
"Mr. Rucellai," Hedy motioned for the onlookers to leave and got straight to the point. "Just now, Henry VII informed me that their people have detected that the Spanish have already sent out a fleet."
