Chapter 110: Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar and Crossing the Mediterranean

It was the first time for the kiln people to come to Portugal, and it was also the first time to come to the West, and they did not know much about the situation here, let alone any intelligence work. And the Francois (Spanish) and the Portuguese themselves are inextricably linked, basically so to speak, you have me, I have you. As soon as the Yaogang fleet arrived in Portugal, the Francois (Spain) spies learned of this information and immediately sent someone to send the information back to Francois (Spain).

If you want to say that the most hated Ming Dynasty should be the Franco (Spanish) people, they originally had many colonies in the East, but they were all recaptured by the Ming Dynasty, and many armed merchant ships of Franco (Spain) were also sunk by the Ming Dynasty, and they didn't know that the port in Mexico was also forced to open by the Ming Dynasty. Hearing that the fleet of the Ming Dynasty came to this side of the Atlantic, Felipe IV (the Great) in addition to gritting his teeth with hatred, also felt strange, when did these Orientals also learn to go to the sea? Either way, that's not a good thing. Word came back from the East that they could already drive ships with steam, and that they could travel without relying on the wind. He ordered to get the ship technology of the Ming Dynasty at all costs, but there was no way at all. However, the fleet of the Ming Dynasty, the first stop to Portugal, still made Felipe IV (the Great) a little secretly happy, originally when he succeeded to the throne, he was also the king of Portugal, but the Portuguese that hated Joao IV, stunned in 1640 to re-declare independence, separated from Spain, he sent troops several times to destroy this hateful guy, has not succeeded, if they and the Ming Dynasty naval army fight, make both defeated, that is the best result. However, Felipe IV was not a fool, in addition to ordering his naval ships to assemble immediately, he also informed England, France, Holland, etc., of these situations, and informed the countries that since the Ming Dynasty had sent them to the door, they could not easily let them go back.

Felipe IV was an unlucky figure in Spanish history, and under his rule, Portugal gained independence from Spain in 1640 and had to recognize Dutch independence in 1648. Although the Spaniards still had vast territories and colonies, they had already begun to decay.

The Kiln Gang fleet never saw the Spanish ships because all the Spanish ships that had been notified had entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar and were on standby at the port of Gibraltar. The people of the kiln gang did not know that there were already hundreds of ships waiting to fight them.

The Spaniards suffered a great blow to the Spaniards in a naval battle with the British, and the Armada suffered a heavy defeat to the British navy, but they were also learning their lessons. It turned out that their galleons were very poorly maneuverable, their guns had a short range, and their tactics were outdated, and they suffered a great loss from the British, thus losing their position as the supremacy of the sea. After the war, the Spaniards improved the tactics of relying only on large ships, which needed to fight in close combat with enemy ships, and then relied on helping to board enemy ships, and built many mobile and flexible clippers.

After all, the Spaniards made their fortunes by sea, especially because they were very familiar with the sea conditions and climatic conditions around the Strait of Gibraltar. After receiving information that the Ming Dynasty's naval army was finally going to enter the Black Sea, they judged that as long as they were not wiped out by the Portuguese, they would inevitably enter the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar. In autumn and winter, the Strait of Gibraltar is blowing the east wind, and the climate in the strait is very harsh, and the Ming Dynasty fleet enters the strait to advance against the wind, which is the best opportunity to hit them. The Port of Gibraltar was just east of the Strait of Gibraltar and became a staging ground for Spanish ships.

Facing the foggy Strait of Gibraltar, the navigator sent by the King of Portugal did not agree to the fleet moving forward, although Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong knew that their fleet had radio detection devices, but they were also hesitating in the face of the unfamiliar waterway with the wind. However, when the two navigators asked when the weather would improve, they also said that they did not know, because this is a region with a harsh climate, and it is difficult to say this season.

Mu Yi said to Zheng Zhilong: "I think it's the Longtan Tiger's Den, and we are going to break into it too?" ”

"Yes! There is no way, we have such a large fleet and cannot wait here. I'll follow you for a while! ”

The flotilla was led by a well-equipped 1,800-ton warship, with the Tarzan following closely behind it a line of various ships. Leave a 1,800-ton warship behind.

When the convoy was moving towards the Strait of Gibraltar, the two Portuguese navigators gave up, and they said, "Wow, wow! He said to Zheng Zhilong: "General Yihong, don't do this!" It's too dangerous to get into the strait. There are too many ships sunk in this long strait, and there are too many unjust souls in it, and you really can't take risks! ”

"Huh!" Zheng Zhilong smiled and said, "You have two choices, one is to jump from here, and the second is to stay on the boat honestly and pray!" ”

The two Portuguese sailors knew that this was a decision made by the entire fleet of the Ming Dynasty, and they thought that these Ming Dynasty people were crazy, but there was really no way. The two listened to Zheng Zhilong's words very much, and went back to their room to pray very seriously.

As the two navigators had said, soon after the ship entered the Strait of Gibraltar, a thick fog surrounded all the ships, and each ship turned on its searchlights and moved slowly. The two navigators were already not allowed to enter the cockpit, as the radio detectors were not allowed to show them.

With the radio detectors, the distance between the two shores and the ships was very clear, and everyone quickly overcame their fears, and the voyage went smoothly.

Such a large dense fog has a great impact on the eastern exit of the strait, and it is also a little foggy. The Spaniards knew that in such a climatic condition, there would be no ships to take risks, and the clippers they had come out to reconnoiter also returned to the harbor to avoid the fog.

On the warship leading in front, the radio detector operator noticed that the direction of the course ahead was suddenly very open, and shouted: "Captain, we are going to enter the Mediterranean!" ”

The captain glanced at the chart, calculated the speed and time slightly, and said, "Yes! We're coming, we're going to the Mediterranean! After speaking, he picked up the radio microphone and said: "Report to the commander-in-chief, our ship has arrived at the east entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar and is about to enter the wide Mediterranean Sea!" ”

The captain uses a public channel, and all kiln ships can hear the captain's report. The entire flotilla burst into cheers.

Mu Yi said excitedly and replied: "Congratulations, please strengthen your observation and continue to lead the way." Then he said to the ships, "Ship idea, our fleet is about to leave the Strait of Gibraltar and enter the Mediterranean, but the road ahead will not be smooth, we have not met the Spanish ships, this is very abnormal, I ask the ships to be ready for battle, ready to meet all the enemies who dare to challenge us." ”

The Kiln Gang fleet sailed completely out of the Strait of Gibraltar and soon after entering the Mediterranean, but they still did not see the Spaniards.

Zheng Zhilong put down the binoculars and said to Mu Yi: "It is likely that the Francois people think that there will be no ship to go to the Strait of Gibraltar from such bad weather, and they all go back to rest!" ”

"It's very likely, but Spain is always a thing, and I'd love to touch them!" Mu Yi said.

"Actually, it's very easy to do, we sail north, and that's the port of Gibraltar! There should be a lot of Spanish ships there. If they are willing to fight, we will go to war, and if they are not willing to fight, we can do business! Zheng Zhilong said.

"I think we'd better leave it alone for now, let's go to the Black Sea first, complete our mission, and when we come back, we'll easily deal with them again!" Mu Yi said.

"Yes! It's really not a short time for us to come out this time. I also want to meet the two deputy commanders, Li Wei and Li Jing! Zheng Zhilong said.

"The brothers have been at sea all the time, and when they get to the Black Sea, they can also let the brothers go ashore and have a good rest!" Mu Yi knew that all the officers and soldiers were too tired on this voyage.

When the Yaogang fleet entered the Mediterranean, when the Spaniards knew that their fleet had passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and went east, they were even more angry when they were amazed that the Ming Dynasty dared to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar in such weather conditions. After a long time of preparation, they waited for the opportunity to deal a fatal blow to the Ming Dynasty fleet, but they let them pass easily. The Spaniards' desire to take revenge through the First World War and to regain some face in Europe was frustrated. Their fleet chased out a long way against the wind, and they didn't see the shadow of the Ming Dynasty fleet, so they had to return dejectedly. However, they knew that the Ming Dynasty fleet would come back, and there was only one exit from the Strait of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean.

In fact, what made King Felipe IV even more angry was that he sent people to inform Britain, the Netherlands, France and other countries that the Ming Dynasty fleet was coming, and we had to fight together to eliminate them, but until now no country has responded to this, and no country has come out.

However, it was only when the Yaogang fleet entered the Mediterranean Sea that the Ottoman Empire was really very powerful, and the entire Mediterranean coast, except for the European countries, was the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

Spreading out the map, Zheng Zhilong said: "Damn, we won't stop the ports of the Ottoman Empire, let's do the trade in those places in Istanbul!" ”

Mu Yi agreed and said: "I think we can stop at these major ports and sell the goods!" If you can't sell out, you will hand it over to our branch in Istanbul. ”

After entering the Mediterranean, the two Portuguese navigators who followed the convoy were very helpful, and they knew which port was the main trading port.

The unique geographical conditions of the Mediterranean, with many ports around, have also created many navigators, many of whom made their fortunes by seafaring trade. These ports are home to a large number of wealthy merchants, and as soon as the ships of the kiln gang call at the port, they know that you will not fight with silver, no matter who you are fighting with. Not only silk porcelain tea, but also kiln textiles, various hardware products, and electronic products, are very popular with everyone.

Zheng Zhilong is a veteran of the business, every time he goes to a port, he will let people ride bicycles around, in fact, it is to advertise, but before they go to a few ports, they bring bicycles and sell them out. The same goes for steel-reed carriages. Zheng Zhilong smiled and said, "Damn, Lao Tzu hasn't brought a power car (motorcycle) yet, which makes you happy like this?" ”

Mu Yi also said: "Some of our business is done! ”

Along the way, they stopped at the ports of Palma, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Genoa, Venice, Rome, etc., and before they reached the Strait of Daniel, the goods were almost sold. Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong's mouths were almost up to their ears every day, and they really exchanged a large amount of gold and silver.

Zheng Zhilong said to Mu Yi proudly: "How is it, this seafaring trade is really making money, right?" ”

"No, you said that we walked through these ports, and how rich the people here were, they all came from maritime trade. Spain and Portugal have been engaged in maritime trade for one or two hundred years, and it is really impossible to calculate how much gold and silver they have! Mu Yi said.

Just as Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong were spitting at the mouth, an officer came in, "Report!" A flotilla was spotted ahead of us! ”

Mu Yi was stunned for a moment and asked, "Where is our fleet now?" ”

"The Dardanelles Strait ahead!" The officer replied.

"! Is it the Ottoman fleet? Zheng Zhilong said and came to the cab with Mu Yi.

At this time, the lookout reported, "It's an Ottoman warship, the number is unknown!" ”

Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong both held binoculars and looked ahead, but because they were still far away, they couldn't see anything clearly with the binoculars in hand.

Zheng Zhilong put down the binoculars and said, "Could it be that when we stopped in the front port, the Ottoman intelligence officers reported our whereabouts back to the Empire, and their fleet was waiting for us here?" ”

"It shouldn't be!" Mu Yi put down the binoculars and said, "How dare they provoke us when they were just beaten by us and paid compensation?" ”

"Yes! Are they crazy? Zheng Zhilong also felt that there was a problem.

Actually, don't blame Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong for being confused, but the Ottoman fleet on the other side is also confused?

The Ottomans were able to run rampant across the Mediterranean coast, which was not an easy task, and they had not only a strong ground army, but also a strong navy. In the Mediterranean, the Christian Crusader ships and the Ottoman fleet fought several major battles, winning and losing each other. So the Ottoman navy is definitely a force that cannot be ignored all the time.

Mu Yi: What they encountered in front of them was a fleet of Ottoman Empire patrolling the country. In front of the Dardanelles and then into the Bosphorus, both of which the Ottoman Empire regarded as their own yard, it was a common thing for the navy to come out to patrol. However, this fleet came out to patrol, and they didn't expect to encounter the fleet of Yaogang people. They usually don't encounter anything on patrol, at most there are some smuggling boats, and they have to chase and drive them out. However, today, due to the exceptionally good weather, the lookout on the mast suddenly noticed that there seemed to be some big black trees on the southern sea, and immediately reported it to the captain.

When the captain heard the report, he scolded, "Damn, there's a big tree on the sea?" But after scolding, I suddenly thought that I heard that the Ming Dynasty naval warships were powered by steam, and their characteristic was that they could see a column of smoke coming out of their ship from a distance.

Thinking of this, he immediately ordered: "Continue to observe and see clearly, is it a column of smoke?" ”

The lookout didn't think about the pillar of smoke, but when he heard this, he felt that the target was really a pillar of smoke, and immediately reported: "It's a pillar of smoke, and there are several columns of smoke!" ”

As soon as the captain heard this, he immediately ordered: "Hang the flag and notify the fleet that there is an enemy ship!" ”

The captain was not the leader of the fleet, but he immediately informed the entire fleet that there was an enemy situation.

After receiving the report of the enemy situation on the flagship of the fleet, the lookout immediately observed a large column of smoke on the sea, which meant that there was a group of Ming Dynasty naval warships on the opposite side. They crossed the fleet to block the Ming Dynasty navy's way into the Dardanelles. They have always believed that any entry into and exit the Dardanelles, the Bosphorus, requires the consent of the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, European ships had to pay a fee to the Ottoman Empire to pass through here.

Although they also knew that the Ming Dynasty people could not afford to provoke them, the Ottoman Sultan did not say that the Ming Dynasty ships would be allowed to enter without approval, so they were also a little nervous to intercept the Ming Dynasty fleet. Fortunately, they have not fought with the Ming Dynasty naval army, and they are not very afraid. However, they didn't understand how the Ming Dynasty navy could come to their backyard.

Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong came up angrily when they saw that the Ottoman fleet of the defeated country dared to stop in front of their fleet, and all the warships of the Ming Dynasty Navy also drove sideways. Recently, Mu Yi saw that the opponent's fleet had four warships of more than 1,000 tons, and more than a dozen warships of several hundred tons.

"Huh!" Zheng Zhilong was amused, "I said Commander Mu, they only have a few ships, and they dare to stand in front of us." Let's not shoot, just hit it! ”

"I don't think they have the intention of firing right away, let's see what they do, right?" Mu Yi could see that the other party didn't mean to fight. If you want to fight, you won't stop here and wait.

The commander-in-chief of the flagship of the Ottoman fleet jumped when he saw the Ming Dynasty warship approaching, he originally felt that his warship, 2,000 tons, was simply the largest ship in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, but the ship that drove in front was like a mountain, and his own ship was simply too small in comparison.

But it's not okay to be afraid, you have to stick to it until you get here.

After the Yaogang fleet approached, Mu Yi also ordered the ship to stop, and did not crash into it as Zheng Zhilong said. After a while, Mu Yi saw a small boat coming out of the Ottoman fleet, and the boat came to the bottom of the Taishan, which lowered the rope ladder, and an Ottoman officer climbed up along the rope ladder.

Zheng Zhilong took the general matter and greeted him and asked, "What are you trying to do when you stop in front of our fleet?" ”

"The sea ahead is the territorial waters of our Ottoman Empire, and no ship can pass without the approval of our empire! I'm here to inform you! ”

"Huh!" Zheng Zhilong sneered a few times and asked, "This is the rule there?" ”

"It's our Ottoman rules!"

"Your Ottoman Empire can only give you Ottoman Empire its own regulations, and you can't control the affairs of our Ming Dynasty?"

"You?" The officer who came was a little angry, "Ahead are our waters, and we are in charge of our own business!" ”

"Then you should not interfere with the entry and exit of ships of other countries in and out of the Black Sea! This is an international waterway and you have no right to influence the passage of other countries! "Zheng Zhilong knows that this problem must be changed, and in the future, we will build a dock on the Sea of Azov, and it will be troublesome to enter and exit and be subject to the Ottoman Empire.