In the waters northwest of Macao, the Royal Portuguese Fleet of nine ships cruises on the sea, constantly undulating in the turbulent waves, the sea breeze howling, and from time to time seagulls shuttling among them, chirping again and again, and the sound of the waves complement each other, one after another.

Nine ships, each armed with the most advanced cannons in the world at the time, were staffed with bird guns. Compared with normal times, the sea breeze and waves at this time are much smaller, not so turbulent, and it can be said that the wind and sun are beautiful.

At this moment, on the Royal Fleet's warship Raphael, there were two commanders standing on the deck, calmly looking at the sea, looking into the distance, to the southwest, as if waiting for something. There was a sense of battle between the eyebrows of the two, and there was a hint of anxiety and impatience.

This royal fleet is the main combat force specially sent to Macao by the Portuguese royal family, and this time it was also helpless to participate in the operation of the Guangdong Navy Division to encircle and suppress the Black Flag Gang. However, why didn't they go through a long period of planning and always wanted to have this naval battle?

At this time, one of the two commanders in officer uniforms asked anxiously, "General Fernand Andrei, when will those pigtailed troops arrive?" Isn't it necessary to exterminate a small black flag gang of pirates, and it is necessary to cooperate with these vulnerable Chinese sailors? Isn't it detrimental to the honor of our Royal Navy? ”

The General Fernand was still calm and relaxed, maintaining the demeanor of a supreme commander, calm and composed, still looking into the distance, looking in that direction, and said lightly: "Captain, although our navy occupies the Maring Strait and controls the trade choke point between the West and this ancient empire. ”

"But Captain, let me tell you, the reality is that we don't have a lot of troops in Macau, and we can't all spare them to exterminate the Haikou on our own. Even so, to be able to deal with it independently, don't forget that there are those British in our neighborhood who are eyeing us and have always wanted to take our place. ”

"It's a damn Brit again, he always can't get along with us, General Fernand, his subordinates understand."

However, the Commander Fernand was not reassured by the captain's words, but frowned, because he felt that his subordinate still despised the Chinese sailors and focused on the side of the British, so he said in a deep voice: "Captain, I have to warn you once again, do not despise the Chinese sailors, and do not put your arrogance in front of them. ”

Fernand then turned his head, looked directly at the puzzled captain, and explained the key point: "Although the warships of the Chinese naval division are average, there are only a few that can fight with our ships, and some of them are still very dilapidated. However, you can't take lightly ignoring their combat effectiveness. ”

"Moreover, the port of Macau, where our warships are anchored, has always been within the range of the artillery batteries of their former cottage garrison, and if we do anything wrong, we will be attacked by artillery fire. When the time comes, not only will the warship be destroyed, but we will also be driven away from Macao. ”

"In this case, General, let's take down the former cottage directly, completely eliminate the worries, and Macao will be firmly in the hands of our Great Portuguese Empire. With the advantage of our warships, it is easy to attack the former cottage, and it is even more effortless. ”

"Captain, warn you, just talk about this kind of thing here, don't think that you have a royal background, you can mess around. If I let me know that you have said it to others, I will send you before a court-martial, court-martial, and convict you of disrupting the ocean-going strategy of the Great Portuguese Empire and disobeying orders! ”

Immediately, the reprimanded captain went away in anger, with a puffed up look. Looking at the back of the captain leaving, a trace of gloom flashed on Fernand's face, and he returned to normal in an instant, and snorted coldly in his heart: "Hmph, little shrimp, don't think that you have an unusual background, I can't do anything about you?" I want to kill you, I want to mix Fernand at sea for all these years, there are thousands of ways. ”

Then, as he had done before, the commander turned his head to the southwest again, looking for the ships of his allies in battle for the next few days, his expression indifferent, but his eyes were dark, implying ill intentions.

In the cabin of Raphael's battleship, the captain was still puffing and sulking, which was very inconsistent with the rationality that he should have as a captain. As soon as I looked at his performance, I knew that I still disagreed with Fernand, and took his warning words as a deaf ear, and didn't care at all.

At this time, a sailor walked in, with a dark face, at first glance, he had been adrift on the sea all the year round, and he knew a lot about the things at sea, and he was well versed in the catechesis of some things, where the real place was.

walked up to the captain, patted him on the shoulder in a friendly way, and said kindly: "Captain, I heard all your conversation just now, in fact, I can't blame General Fernand about this, but you don't know some of these things. Otherwise, you will understand what the general said and why he did that. ”

Although there was still unhappiness on his face, seeing that the experienced sailor said so sincerely and seriously, the captain did not have a seizure, so as to divert the anger in his chest, but asked: "Then~ Can you tell me the reason, why General Fernand is so jealous of the Chinese sailors?" ”

"Captain, you are wrong, General Fernand is not afraid of the Chinese sailors. Compared with our fleet, the Chinese sailors are simply vulnerable, and they are not enough for us to fight. ”

"Then why did the general so strongly oppose my proposal when I proposed to attack the former cottage?"

"Hey, Captain, you have not been here for a long time, and you have no idea about the situation in China, nor do you know about the military situation in Guangdong. It's not that no one has mentioned the cottage before the attack, and there are people who have done it before. ”

"As you just said, with the advantage of our Portuguese fleet, we easily took the former cottage."

At this moment, the captain immediately showed a radiant look, but he didn't expect that the previous generals also had people who had the same vision as their heroes, and they took action even more. Hearing that the operation was going very smoothly, it was successful, and the former cottage was taken, and the blazing light immediately bloomed in his eyes, and with a look of adoration on his face, he couldn't help but shout: "Okay, well done, that's how it should be, thinking about my great Portuguese Empire, when have you ever whispered to others?!" ”

Seeing the captain's performance, the sailor smiled bitterly, changed his words, and said: "However, as soon as the officer occupied the former cottage, before he had time to build a bunker and establish a fortification, there was a rumbling sound of artillery from the Xiangshan side, and shells came one after another, and for a while, the area occupied by the officer turned into a sea of fire. ”

"When the sound of artillery stopped, before the remaining men and horses could react, the Chinese soldiers appeared, and the pigtailed army all over the mountains, some armed with bird guns, and some with primitive cold weapons, rushed to our army's position in an instant and fought."

"Hey~ In that battle, our army was almost wiped out, and only a few people returned to Macao in small boats and escaped proudly."

In an instant, the captain was shocked and inexplicable, his face showed a miserable white color, he didn't expect the final outcome to be like this, it was completely unexpected, one mouth was wide open, his eyes were round, the two of them were quiet at the same time, the cabin was full of heavy atmosphere, a little depressed, and the captain felt that his heart was blocked, and it was very unpleasant.

After a long time, the captain gave a standard military salute to the sailors and shouted respectfully: "Thank you, veteran, I understand!" ”

Under the approving gaze of the sailors, the captain ran out of the cabin with sonorous steps, came to the deck, and stood in front of General Fernand. Fernand was still the same, keeping his due composure, staring at the distant sea, waiting.

"I'm sorry, general, my subordinates were impulsive, I didn't understand your hardships just now, I didn't understand your intentions, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Fernand was a little moved, but even more appreciative, and the reason why this captain has survived until now is not his unusual status, but his character of correcting his mistakes when he knows them and can admit them immediately.

Turning his head slowly, he said with some meaning: "Captain, are you considerate now?" Got it? (To be continued.) )