After two days at sea, our mixed fleet was sent to the port of Luanda, where it was repaired and maintained. My last remaining flagship was overhauled, and the four boats that Hua Mei had brought with me—one of which had been damaged in the previous chase—were incorporated into my fleet. As a result, the First Fleet of the Blade Sea was restored to the establishment of five ships.

Her four boats are all North Sea three-masted galleons and are well-rounded in terms of performance. Compared with my only surviving Venetian sail oar, although it is not as good as it is in terms of combat strength, it is really much stronger in terms of endurance, acceleration and deceleration performance, and business role.

The night rains of Sao Tome and Principe took eighty percent of the sailors of our previous fleet, as well as four midship-apprentice navigators who were the commanders of the ships. This is a major loss for me. But objectively speaking, under the circumstances at that time, it was already a very valuable victory to be able to retain most of the backbone strength and the core team was basically intact!

In order to regain our combat effectiveness as soon as possible, we have routinely paid severance pay to sailors who have been wounded in battle, who are unwilling to go to sea for a short time, or who are physically disabled and unable to go to sea again, at a rate half higher than the market rate, which caused quite a stir in Luanda's nautical circles.

After all, in the maritime world, they are all iron-clad battalions and flowing soldiers, and sailors are like duckweed in the water, where they drift, and being able to get relatively abundant financial compensation after the end of a journey is the highest ideal in life. It would be more reliable if there was a thrilling experience to brag about - especially those who were seriously injured in the battle and did not die, they would be worshipped as heroes, and the ladies in the bar would look down on them, and the "service" would be more enthusiastic and thoughtful......

The sailors who broke away from the sea of blades occupied all of the above characteristics in a comprehensive way, and for a time became a widely spread topic in the Luanda sailor world.

At the same time, at the sailors' bar in Luanda, I took advantage of the momentum to throw a few gold coins again, and the sailors present had a good drink of two. After the invitation to join, a large number of sailors who had nothing to do and were stranded at the port terminal enthusiastically signed up, and the scene at that time was unprecedented! We recruited 100 sailors, and within two days we had signed up for more than 700! So we screened the ones and left the most robust, which can be said to be surprisingly good.

On the fifth day, we received information from the nautical circles that the "fleet entrenched near Sao Tome and Principe" had gone south, and without stopping on the way, it had rounded the Cape of Good Hope and headed for East Africa.

It seems that these Spaniards are ready to tear off their disguises and take back their territory! Yesterday afternoon, the messenger sent by Wooding brought the latest news from East Africa - in Sofala, Mogadishu, Mozambique, Mombasa and other port business districts, the hidden forces left by the Spaniards have been in trouble recently, making Woodin and Old Tucker very passive!

It is not difficult to understand that no one is willing to accept defeat, especially when long-term exclusive benefits have become a habit and there is enough strength to regain what has been lost, and a counterattack has almost become an inevitable option. It is clear that this is what the Spaniards intended.

That's the last thing I want. It would be unwise to delay my main goal for the sake of interests that I do not value. And now I've fallen into this misunderstanding, and it doesn't seem like I have a choice, does it?

All along, I have followed the principle of not looking for trouble when there is nothing to do, and not being afraid of things when there is something to do. Now that the Spaniards have taken the initiative to find them, I have no possibility of avoiding them!

But I was thinking about the question - at present and for some time to come, the Spaniards still maintain considerable hegemony at sea, and it is relative to the hegemony of other countries, for such a behemoth, we can rely only on ourselves - or add the strength of half of the Woodin Chamber of Commerce, can we do it against it?

"It's hard, Qilan!" After listening to my concerns, Hua Mei took the lead in speaking: "Sun Tzu said: Those who know each other and know themselves will not be defeated in a hundred battles; Knowing oneself without knowing the other, one win and one defeat, not knowing the other, not knowing oneself, every battle will be lost. We don't know much about our enemies. But for us, it is not difficult for the enemy to grasp the fundamentals. So it's not reciprocal, and I don't recommend it like that. ”

Hearing this, I nodded slightly in my heart. But he didn't say anything, but continued to ask: "Then according to what you see, what should we do?" ”

Hua Mei smiled and said, "The invincible, Shouya; The victor is also attacked. Therefore, if I am invisible and formless, I will be the enemy. I am designed for one, and the enemy is divided into ten, and if I attack one of them with ten, then we are outnumbered. ”

Seeing that everyone else was silent, Hua Mei continued to smile: "In other words, the Spaniard's whereabouts have now been exposed, and our side has moved from the front of the stage to the backstage. In this case, we can appropriately give up the interests of one or two cities and tie each other to death in these two cities. And our side gradually pulled out and harassed the Spaniards, which could greatly reduce the defensive pressure on the rest of the cities! It's also about retreating, what do you think? Qilan. ”

Regarding Huamei's statement, many people have a strange face. The "old men" such as Jiugui Zhengxiao naturally knew about the grievances and entanglements between me and Hua Mei, and also knew her family background, so it was naturally not strange for her to make such professional remarks. But there are also many people who are not very familiar with Huamei, and only know that she is my "separated" fiancée, which is one of the main purposes of my westward expansion.

In the minds of these people, Hua Mei is just a "willful lady", "a woman who plays with missing women when she disagrees", or "a person who is indifferent to traditional concepts". But I never thought that as soon as she opened her mouth, everyone agreed, and after thinking about it, it turned out to be the best way at present. Everyone knows that the reason why I have traveled thousands of miles to help her many times is not without reason.

I know she has a point, and it's a good idea, but I still have my own concerns. The reason is simple - kites! I have to find a way to cure her first! So I have to go forward, go to St. George's first, and see the miracle doctor.

If that doesn't work, then I'll continue north to the West to find a doctor! If it doesn't work, I'll take her back to Daming! I can't do it, I can't go through the world, and I can't find a person who can heal the kite!

But Hua Mei is right, what about now? What now? The current situation is clear, and it is necessary to divide the troops again, and neither to save people nor to save the city can be delayed! It seems that we have to think of a way to get the best of both worlds!

I glanced around and found a suitable candidate for the post of commander-in-chief of the front fleet...... Strictly speaking, there is only Hua Mei alone! As for the others, those who are resourceful - such as the Nine Ghosts Masataka - are not very good at the water army, and those who are good at the water army - such as Lan - can't leave because they are attached to the kite, and those who understand both the water army and the resourceful - such as Mavi - have I trusted him enough to give him a whole water army!

For a moment, I was in a dilemma. It seems that there is only one way! I was about to speak, but Hua Mei smiled and said, "Qilan, do you want me to take the kite to St. George's to find a miracle doctor, and you yourself will return to East Africa with the team?" As he spoke, he looked at me with a sly gaze.

I nodded helplessly and said, "yes, do you have any better way?" ”

My tone was full of helplessness, which was also the actual situation at the moment, and the people in the cabin looked at each other, and no one said a word.

Hua Mei suddenly smiled like a little fox: "Oh, you are relieved of me, are you not afraid that I will deliberately not find a miracle doctor?" ”

I couldn't help but frown. Many people on the side, especially Lan and Jiugui Zhengxiao, were a little annoyed - if it wasn't for Hua Mei, how could the kite be injured? Still saying things like this now?

I think the same way, but it's hard to open my mouth, because opening my mouth is bound to be a quarrel, and it won't help.

Who knew that Hua Mei smiled slightly, sighed again and continued to speak: "You can trust your beloved to me with confidence, how can I not be unsatisfied?" Besides, when I was on the isolated island, Sister Kite took great care of me, how could I harm her? Not to mention ......"

She looked at me deeply and said firmly: "You have paid so much for me, if I still do such things that make you sad and sad, I am afraid that you will never forgive me!" I want to thank you for trusting me as always, but I still want to say, Qilan, I don't agree with your plan! ”

I sighed, looked at her and asked, "Why?" ”

Hua Mei stretched out three fingers and said: "First, the Spaniards have a detailed understanding of you and have set a lot of traps for your characteristics. If you go to meet the enemy, you are afraid of falling into a trap and you don't know it. ”

I was silent for a moment before nodding. Hua Mei is right, I suffered a big defeat this time because the enemy knew that I was eager to save people and set a trap. So I nodded slightly and motioned for her to continue.

Hua Mei's voice came again: "Second, Qilan, you have been fighting in the Ming Dynasty and the surrounding areas, and you don't know much about Western tactics. And a few of my friends, well, the navigators who went to sea with me, were all from the West, or were proficient in Western warfare, and it would have been more practical to rely on them to fight. ”

As soon as these words came out, I was speechless.

Hua Mei looked at me and said the third point: "Moreover, if you hand over the kite to me and go to war yourself, you must not be sure in your heart!" Why don't you accompany the kite to find a miracle doctor, and I, instead of you, solve the troubles in East Africa, how about it? ”

Originally...... It turns out that Hua Mei is planning to fight for me? This! This doesn't seem to be my usual style! For me, women should stand behind me and accept my protection. Let a woman go to the front line for me, that's not my style!

The people around listened to Hua Mei's words, and they all secretly gave a thumbs up in their hearts. But I still shook my head and laughed: "Although what you said is very reasonable, I can't accept women to go to the front to fight, and I stay in the rear. I'll go for it! You're more familiar with St. George, so I'll ask you! ”

Listening to my words, Hua Mei smiled slightly, but did not speak, but glanced at Yang Xien next to her. This loyal supporter of the Li family understood what the young lady meant, and immediately looked at me and smiled: "Uncle! ”

I frowned slightly, to be honest, in the current situation, I don't like this title.

Yang Xien didn't care about this, and continued: "Uncle, what Miss said is the truth, and she is not a powerless person. Being able to share the pressure for her uncle is also the duty that the young lady should do as an insider. If the young master refuses, it will seem to be angry. In my opinion, Miss's suggestion is very appropriate, and I hope that my aunt will think twice. ”

Is it so divided? That's right, of course. But...... Because many of the previous unpleasantness may not be smoothed out overnight. All in all......

There seems to be no better way!

After thinking about it, I said, "So be it." Here in East Africa, I will work hard for Huamei to keep an eye on it for a while, and I will ask someone to go north to the Western Ocean as soon as possible, so that Chen Kui will form a fleet to go south as soon as possible, and I will lead the team to support! ”

No one objected, so they split up and prepared not to mention it.

Arashi listened to it and seemed to let out a slight sigh. I understand her feelings, but who understands my feelings?

But no matter whether you understand it or not, you still have to go, you still have to live, you have to get revenge, and you have to do things.

That's life.