Through the binoculars, Wu Zhong discovered the size of the opposing fleet.

It's just that because of the distance, I can't see the flag they are flying for the time being, and I can't tell which country's navy it is.

Wu Zhong judged that the other party should be the legendary Spanish Invincible Armada, after all, this area of the sea is close to Spain.

Regarding the name of the Invincible Armada, Gonggong Wu just smiled and said nothing, he really couldn't imagine what shameless person gave this fleet such a shameless name?

As the name suggests, the "Invincible Armada" is invincible in the world, just listening to the name is very awesome, and their scale is indeed awesome, with more than 150 large warships, more than 3,000 guns, and tens of thousands of soldiers.

However, within a few decades, Spain's "invincible armada" staged a tragedy of "taking more and losing less," and "being invincible in the world" became "everyone can be bullied."

They went as far as Britain five times, but were defeated by the British fleet, which was inferior to Spain in overall strength, and almost annihilated.

At this time, Wu Zhong was looking forward to meeting the Invincible Armada and letting the Ming Fleet add another "invincible" status to them.

Half a month ago, a flying clipper ship from Daming caught up with Wu Zhong's fleet, and the Jinyi guard who accompanied the ship read out Zhu Cihong's will, and Wu Zhong also got a secret letter.

Zhu Cihong informed Wu Zhong of the news of the Ming Dynasty's declaration of war with Spain and the war between Britain and the Netherlands, and made some adjustments to the destination of this expedition.

Originally, Wu Zhong's fleet first visited Spain and then went directly to London, England.

Now it seems that everything has to be changed, Spain is the enemy country of the Ming Dynasty, not only can not go, but also has to prepare for a fight.

When the fleets of the two sides approached, they all opened their positions, but neither dared to act rashly, because they had not yet figured out who the other party was.

The two sides were tense for a while, and the unidentified fleet on the opposite side was originally menacing, ready to come up and start grabbing.

But they unexpectedly found that dozens of warships came behind the Daming fleet on the opposite side, all of which were strong ships and sharp guns, and they immediately stopped their radical actions and took the initiative to send small boats to communicate.

Finally, the two sides confirmed their identities, and the other party was actually the British Royal Navy fleet!

In line with the Mingying trade partnership, the fleets of the two sides should have raised a flag when they met, which was polite, but no.

There is no Ming here, and there is no British side, and the atmosphere is a little awkward.

Wu Zhong's expression was very serious, and he even scolded: "Are these Westerners shameless?" Specially sent the Navy to rob merchant ships? ”

To make Wu Zhong even more angry, the British fleet sent an interpreter to inform the Ming that the British had issued navigation regulations prohibiting non-British countries from selling unprocessed goods to the British.

That is, the British did not allow the Daming fleet to enter the British coast for sale.

"What the hell!"

Vice Envoy Zhu Chenggong was in a bad mood and snorted at the British fleet.

The change in Britain's attitude made Daming's business difficult to do, and he could only find a buyer again.

Eventually, on the vast sea, the two fleets kept their distances staggered, the British naval fleet continued to the south, and the Ming fleet continued to the north.

Wu Zhong did not know that the British fleet was ordered to rob merchant ships, especially those of the Dutch flair.

Britain issued navigation regulations, went to war with the Netherlands, and had already blocked the English Channel, but there were still some Dutch merchant ships under the escort of the Dutch navy, forcibly breaking the blockade and heading south to the Indian Ocean.

Some time ago, a similar situation happened when the Ming fleet passed through the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point of Africa.

The Dutch navy stationed at the Cape of Good Hope also wanted to open and grab a hand, but in the end, due to the strength of the Ming fleet, it ended up in a bad end.

Wu Zhong sighed: "This trip to Europa doesn't look comfortable!" ”

According to Zhu Cihong's secret instructions, if the British attitude was not good, the ocean-going mission could give priority to France, put the first choice of Britain behind, or even isolate them.

France now has no colonies overseas, but after thirty years of war, France gained the status of the hegemon of the European continent, and until the Franco-Prussian War a hundred years later, it was the big brother for more than 100 years.

Secondly, the mission could visit Portugal and the Netherlands, which, needless to say, are now Britain's enemies, and making friends with them is also putting pressure on Britain in disguise.

Portugal, on the other hand, was a weakened colonial power, and its relationship with Spain was a complex one.

All in all, Da Ming has a lot of choices, and any country that dares to grin with Da Ming, Da Ming doesn't care!

Among the ocean-going missions that sailed this time, Wu Zhong was the envoy of the cruise, and he followed Zhu Cihong's side all the year round, and he had a deep grasp of the situation in various countries.

Zhu Chenggong was the deputy envoy of Qincha, who had rich experience in naval warfare, and was mainly responsible for commanding the military operations of the Ming Royal Navy.

Merchants such as Uncle Xu Bohan are ordinary members, and these overseas merchants have a fairly intuitive understanding of overseas trade.

In addition, more than a dozen diplomatic officials from Honglu Temple assisted in translation and were responsible for diplomatic negotiations.

In addition to sailors, sailors, soldiers, interpreters, and other personnel, there were more than 500 craftsmen, painters, doctors, and scholars, as well as hundreds of cadets from military academies and other schools.

Of course, there are also a few special personnel, that is, missionaries such as John Tong, who have been repatriated, who are responsible for liaising with other countries......

In the secret decree, Zhu Cihong put forward three requirements for Wu Zhong.

First, when visiting Europe, we only talk about cultural and commercial exchanges, do not talk about politics with other countries except with Spain, do not interfere in the relations between European countries, maintain a neutral attitude, and wait and see what happens.

Second, respect the customs, traditions, and cultural habits of European countries and the political systems adopted by various countries, and do not pretend to be arrogant in the Celestial Empire, let alone embarrass others with the standards of the Ming Dynasty.

When propagating Chinese civilization to European countries, try not to make offensive evaluations of the so-called European civilization.

Third, we should try our best to carry out all-round exchanges with personnel from various European countries, focusing on the development of the intelligence network, so that the Jinyi guards can see, listen, remember, and draw more, and do their best to record and draw what they have seen and heard in Europe.......

In a word, you are there to open up shipping routes, develop commerce and intelligence, not to occupy territory and participate in the struggle for hegemony in Europe.

It's not mature when you grab the land, so let's make preparations first.

Of course, Zhu Cihong particularly emphasized that if any country that is not open-eyed dares to be rude to the Daming fleet, it can just fight directly!

Especially if Spain wants to find a venue, you are welcome, just scrap! Let their armadas go to sea to feed the fish!

It's best to catch a few Spanish nobles and send them to the Xingguo mining area for labor reform!