Chapter 1541 (?Ω?) Here I Come, I See, I Conquer!

The sky began to dim.

There is still a layer of misty clouds suspended on the sea in the distance. That is because the water vapor after the seawater evaporates and is liquefied to form small water droplets floating on the sea with only a breeze. Wait until the sun comes out, wait until the sea breeze begins Just blow and they will fall apart in no time.

And with the red light on the horizon getting brighter, the city of Seville, which monopolizes the overseas trade of Spain and even almost the whole of Europe, controls the Strait of Gibraltar, and has unique geographical and economic advantages, ushered in another A brand new day.

As of today, the Armada has set off for five full days, and the port of Seville is still bustling and has not been affected in any way.

Every day, there are at least dozens of large and small commercial ships coming and going here or temporarily docking from the Mediterranean Sea or the New World, or the North Sea of ​​Africa, etc.

In this era of great voyages, the Port of Seville is obviously the one that enjoys the most dividends of the era, and the Spanish royal family has also made a lot of money, so that there will be so much money to establish With it, the Armada sailed across the Mediterranean and the New World.

In this era, Spain is undoubtedly the strongest maritime kingdom, as can be seen from the prosperity of Seville Port alone.

At this time, on the high tower of the fort on the top of a hill next to the pier, two soldiers in armor and holding long-handled battle axes were standing guard.

Behind the two of them is a big bronze bell for alarm, but it has not been rung for many years, so the two of them standing guard here are just for show, and last night they leaned directly against the wall They slept all night without being discovered, and no one even came to check the post, because neither they nor their officers believed what would happen.

"Ahh~!"

"I'm really sleepy..."

"Hey!"

"Louis, from last night to this morning, how many ships have entered the port?"

One of the soldiers first stretched his waist, and then asked in a daze to the companion who was rubbing his neck.

It's a good job here to stand guard, relaxed and happy, and you can sleep, the only downside is that you can't get extra money like those bastards who keep order on the docks.

You know, the owners of slower ocean-going sailing ships are very fat. If you just find some excuses to make things difficult, you can easily get a lot of benefits from those private owners who have no background!

No matter how many silver coins are stolen,

It's better to take away some scattered goods, which are real benefits. After accumulating, the final monthly receipt may be at least many times better than the two soldiers standing guard here in the tower. .

"Boat?"

"I don't know, maybe there are ten ships?"

The soldier put on the heavy helmet again after rubbing his neck, and continued to stand crookedly with his long-handled battle ax in his arms.

"Ten ships?"

"It's a little less."

"Um!"

"Isn't it because of the Li family's fleet?"

"I heard that they occupied Madeira, and many merchant ships from Africa and the New World were forced to stop at Las Palmas temporarily, for fear that they would be robbed by those Orientals when they passed by Madeira."

"yes!"

"However, this world is so big. Even the terrible female thief from the far east has come to us in Europe."

"It's really not easy for those people who run business on the sea. Those people from Ming Dynasty in the east, I feel terrible when I think about it."

"Um!"

"That's beyond terrible..."

Hearing what his companion said, Louis, the Spanish soldier holding his weapon and staring at the sea, nodded in agreement, and then added:

"I went to the tavern yesterday and heard a lot of news."

"It's said that Li Huamei, the oriental female thief who came to our Seville before, is a bit better. She just likes to use strategy and diplomacy to paralyze her enemies, and then kill them by surprise when they are not prepared. It's difficult to deal with, but the strength of her fleet is like that, and the few ships she brought are also very ordinary, nothing special."

"But the devil fleet led by the evil Hastur admiral is different..."

Speaking of this, the soldier Louis couldn't help but paused.

"I heard that although the opponent only has five warships, they are very large and fast. The range of the cannon is very far, even farther than our shore artillery. It is very incredible!"

"No one is her opponent..."

"And, I heard, she also likes bombarding the port and looting the city very much?"

As he spoke, the soldier Louis regained his spirits. Seeing that his companions seemed to be very interested, he no longer cared about the empty sea in the distance, but began to speak swearingly:

"If you think about it, under normal circumstances, the bigger the boat, the slower the speed, right?"

"But the devil admiral's ship is different!"

"It is said that they are the largest ships in the world, but also the fastest!"

"It's so fast that even the medium-sized three-masted fast armed sailing ships we often see here can't compare with them. Only the devil can build such a ship that goes against common sense!"

Regarding this point, this low-level soldier named Louis couldn't figure it out.

In fact, he also heard that even the best shipbuilders in the largest shipyard in Seville couldn't figure out why, that's why Admiral Barudis led the Armada to attack, While preparing to fight against the arrogance of those Easterners, there is also the purpose of trying to get those Easterners' ships or cannons?

Of course, those things are just rumors, and little soldiers like them just listen to them, and it's not their turn to worry about them.

"yes……"

"I've heard that too."

"In the beginning, the devil admiral set out from the far east, but as soon as she arrived at the Spice Islands, she defeated the Malay governor of Portugal, Dole Arte Lopez de Preyla, and then forced Antonio Van Kuen, the Governor of Java in the Netherlands, was surrendered, and he even robbed the entire Far East Fleet of the Swedish Navy's Hedram Joachim Bergstone!"

"That Bergstone was unlucky. I heard that he was dismissed as soon as he returned to Sweden. It's a pity that he didn't get sent to prison."

As he spoke, the gloating soldier slammed his mouth with regret, as if he regretted not seeing the legendary Swedish admiral being unlucky or sent to the guillotine?

After all, although Sweden's navy is not very strong, it is still one of the competitors of the Kingdom of Spain. It is definitely not wrong for them to be happy or gloat when they see the bad luck of other countries' navies.

"It's horrible to think about!"

"The strength of the Dutch and the Portuguese in the Spicy Islands is not low. Even the British, French, and us Spaniards can't get involved in the spicy spice business, right?"

"But it turned out..."

"That terrible oriental devil admiral, they just relied on five ships to take down the entire spice archipelago, occupying most of the market share of spices there, causing the price of spices here in Spain to increase Almost two or three times."

Speaking of this, the soldier couldn't laugh anymore, because he found that it wasn't just the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the Swedes who seemed to be unlucky, and their Spanish market was obviously also affected.

If things go on like this, I'm afraid that the goods brought back from the East and Africa will become less and less, or they will simply be monopolized by those Orientals. I don't know what will happen in the future!

"Isn't it?"

"And it's more than two or three times, and it's estimated that it will rise again in a while!"

"It's almost more expensive than gold."

Speaking of the prices of those spices, another soldier, that Louis, also clicked his tongue.

"I'm afraid you don't know yet?"

"??"

"what do you know?"

"I heard……"

"There is also East India, which produces spicy spices, and now it is also captured by that devil admiral!"

"A native prince and big businessman in India became the minion of the devil admiral. It is said that a while ago, he sent a lot of ships and tens of thousands of people to receive the interests of the east coast of Africa. Our big businessman in Spain, Zhan Lonimo de Espinosa's territory was all robbed, and now she has beaten them all and fled to the New World to take refuge."

"Tsk tsk!"

"It's so pitiful. That guy was originally a big businessman and aristocrat. Even the king invited him to dinner. He didn't know how much he made in gold, gemstones, ivory, leather, and black slave trade in Africa. But now, dozens of big ships have been beaten down, and there are only a dozen or so pitiful ones left, and they almost went bankrupt!"

The more he talked about the soldier, the more excited he became. At this moment, he didn't care about the fact that the unlucky businessman was actually a Spaniard. It will be even more perfect when it sinks into the sea.

"I know that too!"

"but……"

"So, the Spicy Islands, the Indian Ocean, and Africa have now become the sphere of influence of the Li Family Chamber of Commerce from the East?"

"That's right!"

"you do not say!"

"Don't you don't know yet?"

"Finan Siruvera, the Portuguese explorer and the ivory merchant who dominates West Africa, also opened the market to the Li family not long ago. He was not forced to do so. If he dares not to open up, Preyla and What happened to Espinosa is his example!"

"That dodgy old Portuguese thing..."

"ah!"

"It's no wonder..."

"It's no wonder that the Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Armada and Admiral of the Kingdom's Navy, His Excellency Pedro de Barudis, suddenly declared war on the Li Family Chamber of Commerce. No wonder he led the Armada to the south, towards Madeira."

"The Li Family Chamber of Commerce has already threatened our Spanish domination of the world!"

"yes."

"Always give them a profound lesson, or just drive them away!"

"Otherwise, if she is allowed to run to the Mediterranean Sea and make trouble in the Strait of Gibraltar, how can we Europeans survive?"

Just five boats can turn several oceans upside down, which made the soldier feel that the devil admiral of the Li Family Chamber of Commerce really lived up to his reputation, and he was definitely more terrifying than ghost ships or legendary sea monsters!

"well……"

"That's right, they should be taught a lesson."

"And, you know what?"

"This reminds me of the Mongols hundreds of years ago. At that time, I heard that our ancestors were beaten so badly. Fortunately, their emperor died at that time, so all those terrible devils ran back. Fighting for power, otherwise, I am afraid that we will not have this powerful Spanish kingdom today."

"you're right……"

"However, hundreds of years have passed, and now they are here again, and this time, those Orientals came by sea, so I don't know what will happen in the end?"

"..."

"..."

Having said that, the two soldiers involuntarily fell silent, not daring to imagine such a terrible thing.

"Okay, okay, that kind of thing is not what we people should care about, let him care so much!"

"If we want to fight, the navy will fight. We are not sailors, so we don't care about those!"

"ah!"

"makes sense!"

"Ahh~!"

"It's still early, the sun hasn't risen yet, I'm really sleepy, why don't we squint for a while?"

"Don't!"

"It's almost dawn, if you sleep again now, people will see you, and a whip will be necessary!"

"..."

"Too……"

"Well?"

"It seems that another ship is coming..."

Suddenly, the soldier Louis seemed to have noticed something, and began to stretch his neck to look at the misty sea level beside the sky.

"Let me see……"

Seeing this, another soldier on the side reached out and picked up a pair of simple, non-retractable monoculars and began to observe.

"That's right, it's a boat!"

"I seem to see their masts..."

"Tsk!"

"I don't know the flag, it's too far away, so I can't see it clearly, but those bastards below must have gained something again!"

Putting down the binoculars, the soldier said enviously to the soldiers and tax collectors who had just started duty at the port.

Because the flag is not recognized, it proves that they must not come to the Port of Seville often, otherwise they will recognize it from a long distance! Those who don’t often come to the Port of Seville are definitely not big businessmen with backgrounds, so here, they will inevitably be made things difficult by their Spanish officials and ask for property.

"Hey!"

"Or, let's guess, where did those ships come from?"

"I bet a rial!"

"That's from the New World, do you dare?"

As he said that, Louis, a soldier, suddenly took out an irregular silver coin and put it on the window sill of the tower.

"Just bet!"

"I bet they came from Africa!"

Seeing this, another soldier not to be outdone took out an equally irregular silver coin and slapped it viciously on the window sill.

"Look!"

"Which chamber of commerce belongs to..."

As long as they can clearly see the flag hanging on the ship, recognize the nationality of the ship or the flag style of the chamber of commerce, soldiers like them who stand guard on the high tower of the dock every day can roughly determine where the other party is from!

Because, the ships of each chamber of commerce and each country generally take that kind of fixed route, and the goods they bring in are also of fixed types. They don't even need to go to the pier below to ask and they can guess that they are inseparable. ten.

At this time, in the distance, the sun gradually rose, and the ships that appeared on the horizon became bigger and bigger.

"I still can't see clearly..."

"Damn it, the sun is rising from behind them. I can't see the color of their flags clearly!"

"Bring it, let me see!"

"ah……"

"It's true that I can't see clearly, but don't worry, wait and see, I think I must win in the end!"

"Pooh!"

"Dream! The winner must be me!!"

After staring for more than ten minutes, the sun rose higher and became more dazzling. At the same time, the outlines of the ships in the distance became a little clearer.

"..."

"!!"

"Not good! That boat..."

At this time, the soldier Louis who was looking through the binoculars finally realized something and began to exclaim.

"What's wrong?"

And his reaction naturally attracted the attention of his companions.

"wrong!"

"That boat feels so big, hurry up and see if it is!"

"Under normal circumstances, when we look at it from such a distance, where have we seen such a big ship?"

"And, it seems that there are exactly five ships..."

He handed the binoculars to his companion, and when the other party began to look around, the soldier Louis did not forget to explain doubtfully.

"oops!"

"It's really big..."

"etc!!"

"Five? That's right, five big ships?!"

"That flag..."

Finally, the soldier with the binoculars seemed to realize something, opened his mouth, opened his eyes, slowly put down the binoculars in his hand, and looked at his companion.

"Oriental!!"

"Devil Admiral!!"

Almost in unison, the two exclaimed the terrible name that they least wanted to hear.

In their view, Admiral Barudis, who was supposed to be waiting for them in Madeira, led the Armada to annihilate them, but now it's a good thing that they appeared outside the port of Seville?

"quick!"

"Sound the alarm!!!"

"Together!"

"Exercise!!"

Clang~! Clang~!

Clang~! Clang~! Clang~!

Soon, in the orange light of the morning sun, the copper bell, which had not sounded for at least several years, began to resound rapidly on the high tower above the port of Seville.

...

"ha!"

|?˙?˙)?

"So, the city in the distance is Seville, the home of the enemy fleet?"

?(ψ｀▽′)o

It was already dawn, and Annie, who was standing on the bow of the flagship "Xiangfeihu" with the sun and the sea wind behind her back, was able to see clearly at a glance the big city at the mouth of a big river in the distance even without binoculars. contour.

"Yes!"

"Report to the Admiral, that is the city of Seville in Spain!"

"At least……"

"That's what the two Portuguese guides on our ship said!"

At this moment, upon hearing the chief admiral's inquiry, the chief mate who was standing at the bow of the ship and standing aside hurriedly reported the truth.

According to those Portuguese guides, the main force of the Spanish Armada was stationed there before, but now most of them have gone south to Madeira, which was abandoned by the Li Family Chamber of Commerce. It's a good time to hit the opponent.

"Well!"

|

"Let the artillerymen prepare for battle!!"

?(ψ｀▽′)o

Admiral Anne said that she has seen it now, she is here, and she is ready to conquer here.

Of course, it's just a conquest, she doesn't intend to occupy it, and she doesn't have the ability to occupy it for the time being! Moreover, she is going to play a big game and play well with those guys who dare to declare war on her.

"yes!"

"Order!"

"Everyone, get ready for battle!"

"Guns loaded, ready to turn, let them follow the flagship!"

Ding~! Ding~! Ding~!

Soon, following the first officer's order, the small copper bells on the five ships of the Daming Li Family Fleet were also rang.

Immediately afterwards, those sailors and artillerymen who had already eaten and drank enough before dawn and had been on standby for a long time began to run and get busy on the deck, and put those dark and smooth ones, which were still covered by the early morning sea surface. The mist on the ground caused the dewdrops on the gun barrels to slowly push out the gun ports one by one, exposing their ferocious muzzles.

"quick!"

ψ(*｀ー′)o

"Get moving, whoever dares to be lazy will be spanked!"

?(?`^′?)?

"Azitha, what do you want to do?"

?(ψ｀╭╮′)o

"If you dare to run away again, they will spank your ass again, and it will be the kind that takes off your pants!"

(╬)

Seeing that a certain pirate maid didn't learn her lesson, and wanted to grope to the side while leaning against the side of the boat, Annie stared at her and threatened her.

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ヾ(⌒?⌒*)u ask for a monthly ticket at the end of the month?_