"Quiet! Everyone, be quiet! I know I want to teach the other side a lesson, but the question is, don't you know that there have been two more batteries and 100 artillery pieces deployed in the mouth of the Ames recently? Manuel I looked at the nobles clamoring below, and his head was also big.

The Portuguese nobles below suddenly fell silent, and they also remembered that the power of 100 guns could indeed sink many ships.

But at this time, the Portuguese admiral Bebeto. Derio stood up suddenly, and suggested:

"Your Majesty, the two forts at the mouth of the Ames River in the North Sea Country are indeed very powerful, but they are not impossible to deal with!"

Manuel I was overjoyed and asked:

"Do you have a way to destroy the other side's battery?"

Bebeto. Delio shook his head and said:

"The minister has no way to destroy the battery, but there is a way to keep the capital warship from being harmed by their battery."

"In detail...... "Manuel I and the Portuguese minister were attentive to hear what he had to say.

Bebeto. Derio gestured with his hand on the table:

"Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, we all know that there are many cannons in the batteries of the Beihai Kingdom. However, their artillery had a peculiarity, and that was the direct bombardment of the battleship! Moreover, no matter how bad the ship is, as long as it is big enough, it will not sink with a single shot. ”

"In this way, when we break through the enemy's blockade, we can use a large number of ordinary merchant ships on both sides as targets for attracting firepower. Let those merchant ships attract the enemy's shells, while the main battleships, sandwiched in the middle, take the opportunity to break in...... Then, burn all the warships and merchant ships of the North Sea State in the port of Emden......"

Manuel I and the Portuguese ministers nodded their heads, but Manuel I asked:

"That's a good idea, but the problem is that even if it's a merchant ship, it's expensive. If we lose too many merchant ships, we can't afford to lose them. ”

Bebeto. Derio nodded and said:

"That's the truth, so I didn't say that the Portuguese merchant ships should be the target of this firepower. Your Majesty and your Excellency should know that there are many merchant ships coming in and out of Emden Harbor, and we can send a fleet to capture those merchant ships belonging to the North Sea Kingdom beyond the range of the batteries at the mouth of the Ems. Then, let them go as targets and attract the fire of the Beihai artillery......"

"Shhh...... That's a good idea...... However, in this way, the Beihai Kingdom will be offended to death, and the two countries will basically die endlessly...... "There are also Portuguese ministers who are unwilling to completely tear their faces with the Beihai Kingdom."

"Hmph, who made him dare to touch our spice ship? He's doing it to himself! The radical Portuguese minister said so.

Foreign Secretary Ricardo was worried:

"Your Majesty, my lords, I don't know if you have thought about it, what if you completely anger that guy Marin, and he fights from the land?"

"Land...... Unlikely...... The French would not allow the troops of the North Sea Kingdom to pass......" Manuel I said with some uncertainty.

Ricardo shook his head and said:

"I'm not talking about France, I'm talking about the Mediterranean...... It was easy for the North Sea troops to travel south to Italy by ship. Then, take a boat off the coast of Italy to Spain. Although our navy is strong, we do not have a fleet in the Mediterranean and cannot stop it. ”

"As soon as the fleet of the North Sea State lands in Spain, it will be able to pounce directly on Lisbon......"

Suddenly, the faces of many people present changed. Lisbon is the heart of Portugal, and if Lisbon is ended, any advantage Portugal has achieved at sea will be meaningless.

"Spain will not let the North Sea army land easily, you know, our queen is a Spanish princess......" said a Portuguese nobleman weakly, but his tone was very unconfident.

Ricardo shook his head and said:

"It's hard to say, although Queen Maria was a Spanish princess, but you should all know that Spain has always had ambitions to annex Portugal. If it weren't for being pinned down by France, God knows if Spain would have attacked Crisben as they threatened. ”

"Taking a step back, even if Spain finally refuses to allow the North Sea troops to land, I am afraid that we Portugal will have to pay an extremely high price. For example, India's share of spice trade ......"

Speaking of this, the faces of all the great nobles present changed. The spice trade is forbidden to them, and no one else is allowed to touch it. However, if the quarrel with the Beihai State was too fierce, and Spain would allow the Beihai Army to use Spain as a threat, Portugal would also have to compromise. Because, when it comes to land warfare, Portugal has no confidence at all in whether it can defeat the tens of thousands of troops of the North Sea State......

At the moment, the situation in Europe is clear. Spain, Portugal, Venice, England, and the Hanseatic League, including the North Sea states, were all naval powers. And the land power, the top two are definitely Spain and France, well, Turkey is not included in the European ranking......

Next, the army power is probably the Holy Roman Empire. However, the HRE was fragmented internally, unable to reflect its powerful total combat power. Otherwise, France and Spain would have to be subordinated to it.

And within the HRE, the most powerful vassal state is probably the North Sea State. If it weren't for the fact that there was an alliance of princes who did not deal with it and restricted the development of the Beihai State, God knows what kind of development this powerful vassal country would have.

From the previous major wars of the Beihai Kingdom, the Portuguese also clearly saw that the army of the Beihai Kingdom had the strength to defeat the army of 50,000 or 60,000. Moreover, it was the fifty or sixty thousand army of the German region, not the fifty or sixty thousand of the Portuguese army. After all, the Portuguese also knew very well that their land forces really couldn't take their hands, and it was estimated that the combat strength of the Italian mercenaries would be comparable, and the total number would not exceed 30,000. After all, the total population of Portugal is only 3 million, and there are still hundreds of thousands of people engaged in the great voyage, so they can make up 30,000 troops to the sky. In 1578, when Sebastião I led his troops to participate in the "War of the Three Kings", the total number of troops was only 25,000.

Therefore, if the North Sea Kingdom could attack Portugal from land, the Portuguese would not be able to defeat the other side at all, even if they fought on their own soil.

The Spaniards could obviously see this, so that if Portugal and the North Sea Kingdom were completely torn apart, if Portugal broke into the port of Emden and destroyed all the warships and merchant ships of the North Sea State, Marin, who was thoroughly enraged, would definitely ask Spain to lend him a way to attack Lisbon.

At that point, the fate of Portugal would depend purely on the faces of the Spaniards. If the road is lent to the North Sea State, then once the city of Lisbon is breached, even if the Portuguese nobles can escape to the sea, the prestige of the country will be driven into the abyss, and it can no longer be called a powerful country. After all, a country whose capital has been breached is to be despised by all countries. After that, it is difficult to say about the development of the Portuguese. Moreover, the Spaniards could have taken this opportunity to occupy Portugal proper. After all, the North Sea Kingdom is so far away from Portugal that it cannot control it, so it can only be cheaper for Spain. If the Spaniards were vicious, they could have destroyed Portugal with the help of Marin.

In addition, even if Spain did not allow the North Sea army to pass through Spain, it would probably take the opportunity to blackmail Portugal. For example, snatching Portugal's share of India's spice trade. And in the face of the crisis of national annihilation, Portugal still has to accept ......

In other words, even if the Portuguese fleet could break through the batteries at the mouth of the Ames River and destroy all the warships and merchant ships of the North Sea State, it would probably be difficult to get any benefits. Because, if Marin insisted on attacking Portugal from land, then the fate of Portugal would be in the hands of the Spaniards......

However, this was only an internal debate among the great Portuguese aristocracy. Many of the great Portuguese nobles insisted that Marin, the German landlubber, might not have been able to think of a way to attack Lisbon through Spain...... Therefore, some people still insist on using Bebeto. Delio's tactics attacked the port of Emden and took the opportunity to destroy a number of North Sea warships and merchant ships......

In their view, if Portugal wants to become a maritime hegemon, it must teach a few people who are not long-sighted and establish a prestige, lest others follow the example and not take the powerful Portugal in their eyes......