The next day, when the sun was in the middle of the sky and the temperature reached its peak, in the northeastern waters of Hainan Island, warships armed to the teeth appeared, sailed quickly, and went straight to the direction of Guangzhou. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoThe sails of the ship were opened, and the howling sea breeze carried the heat wave and pushed the warship forward.

This navy was the combined fleet of Portugal and Spain, and the soldiers stood straight, staring straight and bright, looking at the endless blue sea, with dark and chapped faces, which showed that they had been walking on the sea for many years, exposed to the sun and rain. The number of warships in the entire fleet is nearly 100, ranging in size, but each one is equipped with the most advanced cannons in the West, and the range and power are very huge.

At this moment, in the cabin of a command ship located in the center of the combined fleet, if Shi Mingzhi was here, he would definitely know one of the two people in the seat, it was the general of the Royal Portuguese Fleet, the supreme commander-in-chief, General Fernand André, the two had besieged the pirates on Lantau Island in Hong Kong together, although they had not fought each other, but their impression of each other was extremely deep and unforgettable.

The other was none other than the Spanish governor in Luzon, commander of the Spanish Combined Fleet.

"General Fernand, you used to be stationed on Macau Island, and often surrounded and suppressed pirates with the Chinese court, this attack on Guangzhou, as an alliance, should you tell me about the Chinese navy? How powerful are they? What is the situation like with armament? ”

Fernand Andrei was in a trance, and when he heard this, he immediately sobered up and hurriedly said: "Marquis, you are really lifting up the Chinese navy. ”

"Oh~? General Fernand, why do you say that? Is their navy really that unbearable? The Governor asked, confused.

Fernand didn't answer immediately, as if he was organizing the language, and after a while, he said slowly: "Marquis, do you know that the military quality of those Chinese navies is too poor, they wear tattered clothes, the soldiers are very thin, they are very slow to react, and they also like infighting, intrigue regardless of the occasion. This is not the most important thing, the key thing is that the guns they use are still from the seventeenth century, the craftsmanship is extremely poor, and their warships, there are almost no decent large warships, all of them are small and medium-sized, and in the sea of strong winds and waves, they are not stable at all, and they shake very badly. ”

Hearing this, the governor immediately became excited, and became interested, as if he had picked up a piece of yellow gold, and said with some disbelief: "How is it possible? If their weapons are really so backward, as bad as you say, how can your country occupy only a small island of Macau? It has already attacked Guangzhou Mansion and touched the whole of China, how can there be a later massacre of the Portuguese in Macao? ”

Hearing about the massacre of the Portuguese in Macao, Fernand was a little annoyed, and said angrily and a little unwillingly: "Marquis, I really didn't lie to you, the reason why I never captured Guangzhou is because there are many reefs and shoals at the mouth of the Pearl River, and if there is no guidance from the locals, the warship can easily run into the reef and sink." ”

"And, as you know, although China's navy is very poor, their army is very good, second to none. Even if our Royal Portuguese Navy captures Qianshanzhai from Macao, and then occupies the entire Xiangshan County, these are no problems. However, the advantage of our West lies in the navy, and once it reaches the land, although the weapons are advanced and powerful, without logistical supply and replenishment of troops, it is simply impossible to extend inland and expand the results of the war, and in the end it can only retreat to the sea. ”

The governor frowned slightly, and then made a plan: "You can attack at the same time by sea and land~ Capture Qianshanzhai and Xiangshan County all the way, spread inland, and the naval fleet enters the Pearl River sea area and goes straight to Guangzhou Mansion." As for the guide, you can grab a local and show you the way out of the reef and shoals, what's so hard about that? ”

Fernand shook his head slightly, and said with some bitterness: "Lord Marquis, you have never been to China, so you don't know anything. Civilians are very tightly controlled, and we Westerners are not allowed to talk. Moreover, neither we nor the other party, except for a few people in the Thirteen Lines, understand our Western language, and others are not allowed to teach the language of the other country. ”

"We Westerners are better, if we are found to be learning Chinese, we will be driven out of the country, and the local civilians will be miserable, and their heads will be cut off. Marquis, you might as well think about it, how many Westerners have you met who can speak Chinese? I don't know about the others, at least I haven't seen them, where did I catch someone who understands the language of a Western country? ”

The governor did not answer immediately, but thought about it, and it was true that all the people he came into contact with who could speak Chinese were basically Chinese, and those who fled to the islands of the South China Sea for various reasons, such as the Chinese on the island of Luzon occupied by Spain, the Chinese in Sulu, the Republic of Lanfang, and Siam, were all committed crimes in China, or fled.

At this time, the governor suddenly showed a puzzled look, and said puzzledly: "General Fernand, no, I heard that country's businessman say that there are many people in Guangzhou who can speak Western languages. Moreover, they are not the merchants of the Thirteen Lines of Guangzhou, they are all members of the Qilin Gang. Moreover, it is not a Chinese language, such as English, French, German, etc., all the languages of Western countries, there are people there who understand. ”

"And that's not all, China's new imperial court has also relaxed its policies, not only adding three treaty ports, but also allowing Westerners to learn Chinese, and there are several language schools in Guangzhou that specialize in teaching Chinese to foreigners."

Fernand was speechless when he was asked, and before the combined fleet was formed, when the attack on Canton was discussed, he also made some inquiries and inquired about some merchants who had returned to his country, and the new news about the new Chinese court was indeed as the governor had said.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly, and also showed a look of doubt: "Lord Marquis, I have also heard the information you said. Moreover, foreigners can also settle in Guangzhou, no longer doing business as before, either leaving or moving to Macau to live. ”

"To tell you the truth, Lord Marquis, I was also confused by this great dynasty and couldn't figure it out. It stands to reason that at this time, when China's national strength was the weakest, it should continue its previous policy, close itself off from the country, and strictly control the entry and exit of the port of Guangzhou, so as to prevent others from seeing the truth and reality, and slowly restore its strength, and then make drastic changes and open the country. Aren't we doing this now, waiting for us to find out the situation and attack them? ”

The governor nodded in agreement, and continued: "It makes sense, if it were me, I would never open the country wide and spread the news of the change of dynasty, at least for as long as I could hide it." After one more year of concealment, the overall strength will be restored, which is really incomprehensible, what does the new emperor of China think? ”

"Hmm... Either ***** is a complete idiot, or there is some huge conspiracy. Otherwise, he couldn't have done it. Fernand nodded at times, shook his head at times, and said this, as if he had thought of something, and suddenly asked, "By the way, Lord Marquis, how is the spy you sent in?" Did you get any valuable information? ”

Seeing that the other party shook his head and looked big for a while, Fernand understood, the other party still has no valuable information? However, if it weren't for the massacre of the Portuguese in Macao, and now it coincides with the emergence of a new imperial court in China and the weakest national strength, why would he not want to provoke this mysterious country?

No matter which continent he colonizes, Fernand has a rule, that is, to send an advance team first, disguised as a merchant or a geological exploration team, or a scientific research organization, etc., and then formulate a corresponding strategy, and then attack and occupy it, and implement a colonization strategy.

However, this mysterious region of China is completely different from other places, the civilization is much more developed, only the science and technology lag behind the West, and other aspects are not inferior at all, even the intelligence officers who used to disguise themselves as missionaries were discovered by the Qing court and expelled from the country.

Moreover, looking at the posture of the Great Guang Dynasty, once he is given two or three years, with their rich wealth accumulation, he will soon be able to absorb the advanced science and technology of the West and turn it into use, so as to strengthen the navy, once it is delayed, let alone colonizing China, it is impossible to even avenge the slaughter of the expatriates!

Although he did not know how big China was, Fernand was well aware that it was far from being comparable to Spain and Portugal. According to various sources, China's territory will not be much less than that of Russia, and moreover, the former occupies an excellent geographical advantage; unlike Russia, most of its territory is in the cold zone, and it is basically a closed continent, with no coastal ports, and warships basically cannot enter the ocean.

Therefore, among many Western countries, Russia is the poorest and most backward, and is looked down upon by other countries, and the country of Nuoda, the so-called fighting nation, cannot defeat France, and is beaten by Napoleon to the point that it has no temper, and can only unite with other countries.

These thoughts flew quickly through Fernand's mind, and when he saw some dazzling light outside the cabin, his pupils constricted, and then he suggested: "Lord Marquis, the combined fleet is almost in the waters of Guangzhou, let's go out and have a look, and get familiar with this sea." ”

The governor did not refuse, but withdrew, and took the lead, in the pride of the nobility, with the title, he was not polite, walked straight to the front, and said softly: "Well, speaking of which, I have not been to China yet, and this is my first time. ”

"Hehe, Lord Marquis, your trip to China this time will definitely be very pleasant, we will definitely be able to succeed, one step ahead of other countries, and conquer this mysterious country!" Fernan complimented as he walked, only half of his body at odds with the Governor.

Whew....

Bang Bang Bang ....

The wind howled, roared, and the waves kept lapping against the hull, but the ship was still moving forward in an orderly manner, and as soon as the two came to the bow of the ship, they stood against the railing, and immediately two soldiers handed over the binoculars, and Fernand and the governor did not take it back, without any words in response, they picked up the binoculars directly, looked into the distance, and looked due north, with solemn faces.

At this moment, neither the Governor nor Fernand, nor the lookouts on the other warships, did they notice that in the sky above the Combined Fleet, in the thin clouds thousands of kilometers away, small airships were hovering there, moving in sync with them, observing their every move.