confirms this explanation. The nobility of both houses united to put down the riots, which lasted three days, suggesting the first revolt was more about which noble house would have power. To coordinate their activities, the towns of Andalusia received permission from the government to set up their own Congress at Rambla. They had requested it on October 24, 1520, and actually convened the assembly on January 20, 1521. The Rambla Congress admonished towns to return to the royal government and organized a military force of 4,000 infantry and 800 cavalry to be ready should the need to quickly suppress a Morisco rebellion arose. Still, the Rambla Congress worried some royalists in the Meseta, as should the war turn against the royal government, it would provide an easy mechanism for Andalusia to coordinate itself and defect as one (removing the worries of a civil war giving the Moriscos an opening). The Admiral of Castile wrote to King Charles that: As the war never significantly turned against the royal government, the Admiral's fears were not realized. Andalusia also sent an army off to intervene in the Revolt of the Brotherhoods. The Andalusian army helped turn the tide against the rebels there by winning the Battle of Oriola in crushing fashion. Old Castile: Valladolid and the Center of the Meseta Old Castile was where the majority of the large battles of the war took place. The area around Tordesillas, Valladolid, and Medina de Rioseco was particularly contested - the three most decisive battles of the war, Tordesillas, Torrelobatón, and Villalar all took place in this area. Battle of Tordesillas In late November 1520, both armies took positions between Medina de Rioseco and Tordesillas, and a confrontation was inevitable. With Pedro Girón in command, the army of the comuneros advanced on Medina de Rioseco, following the orders of the Junta. Girón established his headquarters in Villabrágima, a town merely from the royalist army. The royalists occupied nearby villages to cut communication lines back to other comuneros. This situation continued until December 2, when Girón, apparently thinking the royal army would remain entrenched, moved his forces west to the small town of Villalpando. The town surrendered the next day without resistance, and the troops began looting the estates in the area. However, with this movement, the comuneros left the path to Tordesillas completely unprotected. The royal army took advantage of the blunder, marching by