Spring is always in a hurry, and in the blink of an eye, the end of April and the beginning of May, summer shows her enthusiasm to the world - warm climate, fatty fish, and frequent hurricanes!

After the British and Spanish sides became familiar with each other's roads, they began to enter a period of steady alternating development, and judging from the news sent back by our sentinels, the Spanish built more than ten large sail oars and warships, and it seems that they planned to go to the dark on the road of "high, big, and strong"!

The British warships, on the other hand, were further refitted after the injection of Dutch financial capital, and became more and more "small and fast". At the same tonnage, the number of Spanish ships was only one-third that of the British, which further confirmed the difference in the combat effectiveness of the two sides.

The battle meeting has been held for many rounds, and the biggest concern of the top leaders, including me, is not that the Spaniards will attack us, but that the Spaniards will not attack us on time!

The current weather and environment are absolutely favorable to defend and unfavorable to attack, but if the Spaniards can endure and drag it out until after the beginning of autumn and when the wind and waves are calm, it will be a serious attack that is not conducive to defense.

However, judging from the investigation, it seems that the Spanish top brass is also in a tangle - the royal family led by Philip II is a staunch main fighter, while de Guzmán has a rare agreement with Alfred the Elder and has become a conservative against the attack at this time.

De Guzmán's choice stemmed from his familiarity with the sea, which he considered to be a great disadvantage for his own side at this time; The elder Alfred was out of a grasp of the situation and interests - it was the least cost-effective to send troops now, so the two reached the first handshake in decades.

Elizabeth I's brow furrowed when she heard the news, she had already understood the great influence of weather under our introduction, and naturally felt great pressure on the Spaniards to switch from attack to defense.

"So now, is there any good way we can change that?" After reading the latest battle report, the queen was silent for a long time before asking, "I mean, what should we do not be led by Philip's nose"!

Kennedy was a soldier and a man of warfare, but he was not good at this, so everyone, including Jack Bravo, turned their attention to me.

I said lightly: "Your Majesty, in fact, the best way is here, as long as you hook your hand, Philip II has no reason not to take the bait!"

Elizabeth I apparently did not quite understand what I meant by "hook and hook", and seemed to understand crookedly, her face showed a hint of displeasure, and she frowned and asked: "Hook and hook?" The Marquis of Mexico, how can this be the crystallization of tens of thousands of warriors, thousands of warships, and countless capitals? ”

I smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you are the chosen one!" It is up to you to lure the Spaniards into battle! ”

Elizabeth I seemed to hear something, chewed my words again, looked up and asked, "Please tell me more about what I should do?"

I smiled and said so......

Two days later, there was an astonishing news from all walks of life in London - Her Majesty the Queen began to plan the marriage, the other party was an absolute non-Catholic, after the marriage, the British Navy will go all out to attack the Spanish colonies in Central and South America, as a wedding gift to the Queen!

This news was like a huge bomb, causing a huge storm in the crowd! Or rather, a huge whirlwind that cannot be heard by the wind, sweeping across Europe at breakneck speed!

Protestant countries, including the Netherlands and Sweden, rejoiced, and as one of the most powerful naval powers in Europe, Britain finally had to make up for the last of its shortcomings that might be eroded by Catholicism, and become a complete Protestant state.

The recalcitrant Catholic state, led by Spain, was furious, believing that this was the highest provocation of England against the Church of Rome!

The trigger for all this was the Queen's marriage, which became the last springboard for a non-war change in British religious orientation after Mary's execution.

Elizabeth I had been silent about marriage before, just to leave a thought to the Catholics, including Philip II, so that they still had a little luck in taking Britain without blood.

But now it turns out that there is no other way but war, and it makes Catholics feel deeply deceived and deeply angry burning in their hearts!

And that's not all, shortly after the news came from the UK, port cities including A Coruña and Barcelona suddenly broke out in attacks that were clearly aimed at the defenders!

The ports were damaged to varying degrees, and the men did not know where to come out of nowhere, and then disappeared from nowhere, except for the flames and smoke that remained to show the Spaniards the truth of all this.

A Coruña, in particular, was the main target of these saboteurs due to its prominent terrain and conspicuous location!

A flotilla of unknown size approached A Coruña in the middle of the night and stormed the harbor with a storm of artillery fire!

By the time the Spanish Navy chased out of the docks and out to sea to meet the attack, the fleet fled in a northeasterly direction!

The commander of the Spanish fleet ordered a pursuit, but in the middle of the night, the misty morning fog made the fleet in front seem to be invisible, and they could only return to A Coruña in a huff.

Unexpectedly, just as they went out to sea to pursue, another slightly smaller fleet attacked A Coruña again! By the time the Spanish fleet returned, they had left behind a cloud of smoke and a large number of Protestant leaflets, and had once again disappeared into the sea!

When the news reached the Spanish royal palace, Philip II was furious! In his heart, his ancestors used marriage to include Portugal in the territory, and there is no reason for him to be weaker than his ancestors, and winning Britain without blood is the best proof!

But now that such a change has happened, Philip II felt like an incomparably heavy slap in the face in public!

The greatest shame of my life! This is what Philip II knew about this, especially since this damned woman was so arrogant that she dared to send a fleet to harass and attack herself? This is the most direct declaration of war against the Chosen One!

Dispatch troops! Dispatch troops! At the council, Philip II used the scepter in his hand to shred everything he could see! Even including a maid who dropped her glass in fright.

De Guzmán and Alfred Sr. below glanced at each other, and they knew that this time they were afraid that they would not be able to persuade them......

Sure enough, an enraged Philip II ordered troops to be dispatched, and even brandished a scepter and shouted "Forward!" In the name of God"!

Now, a purely secular war has been cloaked in a sacred religious cloak, and no one can say anything to dissuade them in such a situation, and old Alfred can only watch helplessly

A vast fleet braved the rolling waves of the sea to carry out the uncertain Northern Expedition under the leadership of his old adversary, De Guzmán.

He looked at the fleet, which had taken two days and one night just to leave the port, and felt a loss in his heart. In the eyes of his solid political vision, this war is very strange, and it seems that there is a black hand behind his back!

For some reason, old Alfred's heart suddenly appeared with the face of the oriental. In his opinion, under that young-looking face, there seemed to be a worrying and fearful old soul!

Is that him? Old Alfred couldn't help but shudder, and touched the Ming Dynasty-style jade pendant hanging on his waist, and he only felt completely cold in his heart!

It seems that all of them, including themselves, have fallen into a huge net! This net is like a noose, the more people in it struggle, the tighter they are trapped, but they don't know it!

Watching the fleet shouting slogans and boarding the ships and setting sail at neat steps departed the port, he suddenly felt as if these people had rushed into the gates of hell without looking back!

How many of these people will come back? How much does this cost the country? Standing on the docks of Seville, the elder Alfred wanted to storm the palace several times, pull Philip II's sleeve, and put an end to this terrible thing!

Postponed for two months! No! In a month, you may be able to take the initiative in the war!

But the son next to him, Alfred Jr., the son he had always been proud of, stopped him. Old Alfred looked back in surprise and looked at his son with a puzzled expression.

"Father." Alfred Jr., who has matured a lot in recent years, whispered: "I think we may be able to stay out of this war."

Old Alfred frowned and asked, "What do you say?"

His excellent son pulled him and walked a dozen steps away from the crowd before he whispered, "De Guzmán has become more and more powerful in recent years, and His Majesty has become more and more dependent on him. If I can make him make a mistake this time......"

As he spoke, a grim light flashed in his eyes!

The old Spanish military minister was silent for a while, looked at his son in a low voice, and said, "However, if you lose too badly...... Our interests will definitely suffer as well! ”

His son sneered and said: "For such a big country, one or two defeats will not be a big problem, but for de Guzmán personally, he may encounter an insurmountable barrier!"

As he spoke, he gently grabbed his father's sleeve and said, "This price is completely worth it!"

Old Alfred still had a lingering feeling and said, "But in case ......"

The excellent son said lightly: "If this is really the case, we are an important contributor to the creation of the new order!" Just that, and those Dutch shares, are enough for us to be masters for generations! ”

Old Alfred suddenly felt that the son in front of him was a little strange, or rather, he was making progress too fast! Are you really old? Is the age of young people coming?

Finally, he stopped speaking, turned and silently looked at the end of the fleet, far away in the wind and rain, thoughtful in his heart.

Wish...... Let's hope it doesn't come to that point! Old Alfred said silently in his heart.

The wind and rain were fierce, and the fleet quickly disappeared without a trace. The old military minister sighed and turned to get into the car. Under the umbrella that my son had opened. He looked back at the sea again, said God bless, turned his head, and boarded the carriage with all his might.

The carriage was gone, and little Alfred did not get into it, but stood silently in the harbor with an umbrella.

After a long time, he took out a letter from his breast pocket, opened it again, tore it to pieces with an expressionless face, and with a wave of his hand, the confetti fluttered and fell into the waves that violently licked the shore!

Soon it drifted away and disappeared completely......