In fact, since two days earlier, Chen Jian's fleet had already circled the route near the port of St. Friday, encountering several Spanish ships and a clipper ship carrying letters across the ocean from the Viceroyalty. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The news of the Grand Fleet could not be hidden, and by the time Jian Chen approached the port of St. Friday, the Spanish soldiers in the fortress were ready for battle.

Several communications clippers, honed by Drake's final battle a decade earlier, have found a fleet here, and word has been delivered to the Governorate and the rest of the harbor.

The fleet, which appeared openly, kept the entire Spanish archipelago colony busy. The port was blocked, it was strictly forbidden to leave the port, and soldiers were on standby at all times......

On the flagship Lanfang, Chen Jian and several officers held binoculars to observe the movement in the distance.

An army officer put away his binoculars and praised: "Their batteries are very well built, and from a geometric point of view, there are no dead ends." ”

The officer pointed to the obvious reef in the distance and said, "Unless we go there, shelling is inevitable." ”

Another naval officer said: "If you want to enter the port, at the current speed of the ship, you will be shelled from the shore at least six or seven times." But if we are familiar with the terrain, the army can land from the rest. But in the end, it is necessary to rely on the superiority of the navy, otherwise the landed land forces will definitely be wiped out. ”

Seeing that the two officers were about to quarrel, Jian Chen stopped the two who were arguing and said, "Don't discuss this issue, we're not here to fight." ”

Wei Yuan was called and asked to take a small boat with a letter written by Chen Jian that was written in simple Latin words with a completely wrong grammar.

On the shore, the governor of the jurisdiction was also observing the fleet outside, and couldn't help but think of the legend that had been circulating throughout the year.

The fleet is not huge, and the flagship is not at all a match for the main fleet, at least not comparable in tonnage and size.

But here, it is still a force to be reckoned with, especially in the absence of the escort fleet.

The fleet was alert and did not approach hastily, but made room for the Spanish fleet to return to the world that might suddenly encounter it.

The ships were oddly styled, and the hull of the flagship was somewhat similar to that of the British, with a low hull that seemed to have completely abandoned the string battle - the low hull was the Achilles' heel when it came to the string battle, and the side that was good at the string could be condescending.

The style of the sail is more like the legendary Chinese sail, except for a small spinnaker added to the bow, which has excellent ability to sail against the wind and in places where the wind direction is changeable, and the exact speed is not known to the governor of the jurisdiction.

Apparently, several large ships of this fleet were obvious gunboats, the rest were more like some simple armed merchant ships.

The soldiers in the harbor were in a state of anxiety and restlessness, no pirate had a fleet of this size, and the soldiers did not know what this group was going to do, so they could only pray incessantly.

At this time, a smaller ship was separated from the fleet, and as it approached the promontory threatened by the battery, it lowered its flag at half-mast as if to salute it.

This is the common flag slogan at this time, which is a sign of respect for the port owner and does not want any accidents to happen.

After the flag was lowered halfway, the fleet in the distance began to turn, leaving plenty of space.

The ship that lowered the flag at half-mast also lowered its half-sail, which was clearly a signal of goodwill.

After consideration, the governor of the precinct ordered the ship to pass.

Soon, the ship docked, and a young man with tied hair and yellow skin stepped out of the boat, shouting "peace" in Latin with an odd tone.

There's only one word, and the pronunciation is so stiff that it sounds like it's been transliterated using some kind of phonetic method.

A letter was also handed over to the governor of the precinct, and the content of the letter was simple, it was a spelling of grammatically incorrect words.

The Council and King of the Republic, paying homage to the King of Spain and the Duke of Lerma, and crossing the ocean to visit Valliadorid after a rest of supplies, is paying tribute to Spain on behalf of the Council of the Chinese Republic. In addition, the Admiral of the Fleet needed to replenish supplies here and requested a port call.

Although it was written very politely, the governor of the jurisdiction was also relieved, but then he was a little uneasy.

I don't know anything about the other party, but the other party has obviously done his homework, whether it is from smugglers or pirates, at least not ignorant of the situation at home.

It is no secret that the Duke of Lerma suggested that the royal family move from Madrid to Valliadorid for personal gain, but the governor of the jurisdiction did not even know that the other party was a republic before that, let alone where the country behind this group of people was, how many people there were, whether they were rich, what the army was, and what their beliefs were......

Nothing.

At the back of the letter was a delicate silk foil-framed silk with something strange to the governor of the precinct written in square letters, and two large seals underneath.

It seems that this is the official document used to present the correspondence between the two countries, and this strange way of submitting the correspondence between the two countries has never been seen by the Governor, but he also knows that the pirate or the rest of the people would not decorate it with such fine gold leaf.

At the same time, the young man who delivered the letter brought three boxes of gifts for the governor himself.

It is said to be a collection of glassware, silk and two elaborate flintlock pistols, as well as a crate of tea.

This was a very valuable gift, and the governor of the precinct was very pleased with it.

Moreover, when it comes to two countries, not to mention him, even the governor of the Viceroyalty is not qualified to decide. Since the other party had shown his sincerity, and had not made any attack, and had said that he was going to Europe, the governor, after getting the soldiers ready, ordered the fleet to be allowed to enter the harbor.

But the young man's only request was that the fleet did not need to lower the flag when it entered the harbor, and after considering it, the governor decided to allow it.

The news soon spread throughout the port of Holy Friday, and many citizens poured out of their homes with curiosity to see this group of people from the mysterious realm.

After receiving permission to enter the port, Chen Jian breathed a long sigh of relief, and made a last lecture on the ship that had been given countless times before.

Soldiers and sailors repeatedly said that they would remember that they should not be allowed to leave after going ashore, that prostitutes should not be allowed to avoid syphilis, and so on.

Six young men who had already been consulted were found, and they would pretend that they had lung disease and would rest in the port of St. Friday, and would not be able to travel with the ship.

In fact, they are translators and recorders prepared for the future. It mainly records the number of ships entering the port every day, when the escort fleet arrives, the schedule of the army, and so on. The other two were carpenters who would work in the shipyards here after they had "recovered from their illness" to earn a living, and their carpenters had a sufficient level of work.

That's an excellent reason.

At this time, once a sick person is found on the voyage, the patient will be disembarked as soon as possible, otherwise it is likely that the whole ship will be infected, which is a general rule that cannot be refused, as long as it is not a hostile country.

After preparing everything, Chen Jian changed into a special robe that symbolized his status, and the accompanying soldiers were also prepared to disembark according to the strict discipline of the officer.

Chen Jian did not get off the ship first, but let the flute players who beat the cowhide drum and the flute get off the boat first, and played military music, and the soldiers disembarked one after another, lined up in two columns.

When Chen Jian got off the boat, the citizens who watched the excitement couldn't help but let out a burst of shouts, the uniforms of this group of soldiers were extremely bright, although a little weird, but the discipline was very neat, and the music was extremely exciting, more like a military parade.

The neat and unseen sound of goose steps and the cheerful and passionate transverse flute feasted the eyes of the citizens watching.

…………

Two days later, Chen Jian was allowed to sell goods in the port on the grounds that he had not paid the silver coins for the purchase of freshwater grain, although some bribes were necessary.

After expressing his intention in stammering Latin words, the governor of the precinct offered to send four crew members and an envoy to follow Jian Chen's fleet to Spain.

After the selection of the envoy was determined, the governor of the precinct wrote a letter.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, and the Duke of Lerma."

“…… Forgive the negligence of your faithful servants, I did not notice the existence of such a state. ”

"According to their governors and envoys, their country is just north of the archipelago."

"In my estimation, they should be about the same size as Naples. This is a force to be reckoned with, and it is bound to have a great impact here. ”

"If they are able to reach Spain, please do not allow them to go to countries and regions where heresy is rampant. England and the Netherlands, if they sign a series of contracts, it will be extremely bad for us. ”

"However, their governor had some knowledge of the situation in Europa. So, your faithful servant advises that if they force their way there, detain them. The rebellious northern beggars should not be given any opportunity to come into contact with them. ”

Moreover, they are not Catholics, but terrible unbelievers, and their attitude towards the faith is pathetic. This was evident from their governors. ”

"Their attitude towards us is ambiguous. They were going on a round-the-world voyage hoping to cross the Pacific Ocean around Africa. ”

"In view of the disorientation of their souls and the attitude of the unbelievers, please do not let them go to Granada, and forbid them to come into contact with the infidels through Gibraltar. Of course, it would be best if the monks could save their lost souls and return them to God. ”

"According to my estimates, their country can organize between fifteen thousand and twenty thousand soldiers."

"Their soldiers were tall and strong, and they wore no armor of any kind, including cotton armor. But according to my guess, they can make armor at all. ”

"They used a very elaborate flint gun with a short spear stuck in it. Each soldier was armed with fifty buckshot bullets and a type of gunpowder wrapped in paper, which had a very fast rate of fire and could easily penetrate some simple armor. In addition, the cannons of their ships were good, and the Doge's flagship was armed with about twenty sixteen-pounder cannons or similar ones, as well as a number of other calibers, both bronze and iron. ”

"I've seen demonstrations of these weapons, and they're completely different from our tactics, but they're not enough to alert us."

"Their line was weak, only three or five layers, and there seemed to be no cavalry, and even their governor had never seen a horse—at least when I brought the horse, he called it the Great Sheep in Latin, and did not dare to ride. Such infantry only needed a cavalry charge to scatter them. ”

"Their attitude towards faith is ridiculous, but they are fanatical about business and trade. In view of the fact that the expulsion of the Moors and filthy Jews was going on in Granada at this time at home, please do not allow this fleet to come into contact with these infidels. These people will sell weapons to anyone willing to pay a high price, even if it is Satan's apostles. ”

"If it could, the cannons needed for the two new forts in the Governorate would not have to be purchased from Macau or Goa."

"Please send a letter to the Society of Jesus and send reliable missionaries to the kingdom of these people to save their lost souls."

"In addition, some of their goods are very beautiful, and they are clearly involved in smuggling. If His Majesty does not wish this smuggling to continue, he will need to send more fleets to the Viceroyalty, or enter into a royal monopoly with them. ”

…… After writing the last sentence, the governor of the precinct stamped his personal seal.

Aside from those considerations for the state or the crown, the governors of the prefectures were willing to conclude trade, and if they could, the port of St. Friday could replace some of Manila's status as an important trading port.

In addition to accepting bribes from Jian Chen, if this place becomes a trading port, the governor of his jurisdiction can also gain more wealth in office, which is the most important thing.

It's the time when the fire is cooking, and it looks invincible, so you don't need to worry too much, just be busy with money.