After walking aimlessly for a while, Zhenwu couldn't help but laugh at his own worries, European voyages do not need to cross the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic, and the risk is less than that of the American route, besides, such a huge fleet, even if it encounters a big storm, it is impossible to wipe out the whole army, after all, it is the Spanish Navy that leads the team, and it is very familiar with the situation of this route, if it is not too unlucky, there will be no major accidents at all. Thinking of this, he couldn't help frowning slightly, such a huge fleet sailing to Europe is supposed to be an extremely sensational thing, but whenever a European merchant ship comes, it will inevitably mention this matter, why is there still no news coming at the end of April?

Could it be that last year, when he pretended to be a pirate and robbed British and Dutch merchant ships in the Indian Ocean beyond the South Sea, he leaked the news, so that no European merchant ships came to the East to trade this year? If this is the case, the trip of the South Sea Fleet to Europe is afraid that it will be full of unpredictable variables, and thinking of this, he is not only a little apprehensive in his heart.

As early as 20 March, the South Sea Fleet arrived at the Moroccan port of Agadir, which was only a four-day voyage from the port of Cádiz, the largest seaport in the southern part of the Spanish mainland.

He also formed a small envoy group headed by General Lin Haitao to lead 500 Spanish prisoners, including Carlos, deputy commander of the Spanish Far East Fleet, to land at the port of Cadiz and go to Madrid, the capital of Spain, to meet King Philip V of Spain and test Spain's attitude towards the Nanyang Fleet.

It is only a few days from the port of Cadiz to Madrid, four days for fast horses, a little slower, six days is enough, and 20 days for a round trip is more than enough. There was no news for a month, Yinzhen, Shi Shibiu, Lin Wei, Fu Anding and others were all a little anxious, if Spain refused the aid of the Qing Empire, where should the Nanyang Fleet go?

Facing the Atlantic Ocean and backed by the Sousse Plain, the port of Agadir is the most beautiful port in western Morocco with sunny sunshine all year round and spring all year round. However, for the officers and men of the Nanyang Fleet, who have been sailing at sea for half a year, no matter how beautiful the sea scenery is, they are also familiar with it.

On the beach in front of a two-story villa in the harbor bay, Wu Sidao half lay on a recliner and leisurely enjoyed the sun, half a year out to sea, his original white face had been tanned and red, but it was much more energetic than before, Yinzhen walked over slowly in a long shirt, and glanced at Wu Sidao on the recliner. He smiled slightly: "Sir, are you happy here?" ”

"The fourth master is here." Wu Sidao opened his eyes and sat up. He said with a smile: "If you can die here, it will be a great pleasure." As he spoke, he pointed to the recliner next to him and said, "Why don't you go with the flow?" ”

Go with the flow? Yin Zhen smiled slightly, lifted his robe, but sat on the beach casually, seeing this situation. Wu Sidao couldn't help laughing and said: "The fourth master is determined not to let Sidao enjoy it." So saying, he got up and sat down on the floor. Although he was indulgent, he didn't dare to talk to Yinzhen so condescendingly.

After pondering for a moment, Yin Zhen said: "What Mr. said is okay with the situation, but for the current situation of the Nanyang Fleet?" ”

"What if you don't go with the flow?" Wu Sidao asked rhetorically.

Yinzhen was choked for a long time and didn't make a sound, what if he didn't go with the flow? Retreat, that's impossible, if you turn back to the Qing Dynasty? Wouldn't it become a big joke, and the officers and men of the Nanyang Fleet would never agree to it. Enter, and how to enter? The Nanyang Fleet had a grudge against Spain, the Netherlands, and Britain, and if it did not become allies with Spain and France, it would inevitably go to war with Britain and the Netherlands, what would be the consequences? It is very likely that you will be embattled and in a desperate situation.

Seeing that Yinzhen was silent, Wu Sidao smiled slightly and said: "The way Westerners think about problems may be very different from ours, but Western businessmen are all profit-seeking, from this point of view, Spain and France should uphold the principle of interests first when dealing with military affairs. After a slight pause, he then asked: "Fourth master, if you were the king of Spain, what would you think about the sudden arrival of the Nanyang Fleet?" ”

Translocation? Yinzhen set his eyes on the vast sea, carefully combing the conflict between the Qing Dynasty and Spain, first Spain massacred the Chinese in Luzon, and then the Spanish Far East Fleet pursued and killed the merchant ships of the Qing Dynasty's ocean-going trade fleet, and then provoked the Qing Dynasty Maritime Frontier in vain, defeated the Guangzhou Naval Division, invaded Taiwan, and finally was captured by the Qing Navy in the Penghu battle, and captured more than 8,000 prisoners, including fleet commanders Angel and Carlos.

Now, the navy of the Qing Dynasty led a huge fleet of more than 20,000 people to cross the ocean and 40,000 miles across the sea to the door of Spain, saying that it was to form an alliance with Spain and help Spain fight against Britain and the Netherlands. Can you believe it? God knows if the Qing Dynasty came to rob by fire! Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Old Fourteen is too simple. ”

"It's not impossible." Wu Sidao said slowly: "The emperor's actions have always been unexpected, but every time he can achieve miraculous results, this move is not whimsical, if he can really join forces with Spain and France to disrupt Europe, Daqing will really benefit a lot." ”

Yin Zhen glanced at Wu Sidao and said, "Sir, has a way to make Spain completely believe in us?" ”

"Spain may have a grudge against us, but France doesn't." Wu Sidao said in a deep voice: "In order to compete for the Spanish throne, France has been fighting with Britain, the Netherlands, Austria and other countries for ten years, and it has long been exhausted and exhausted. Even if Spain and our Qing Dynasty have a common enmity, France will persuade Spain to put aside prejudices and sincerely form an alliance with us, and now there is no news, I estimate that Spain should not dare to make the decision alone, and the envoy we sent out is very likely to go to France. ”

Yin Zhen nodded slightly, there is indeed this possibility, in this battle for the Spanish throne, France is the protagonist, such a big event, Spain must report to King Louis XIV of France, if the envoy group is diverted to France, it is reasonable to see no news back at this time.

"Although it is said that it is safe to meet the situation, but the fourth master has to let the navy strengthen its defenses, we have been here for too long, and we can't hide it, although the British and the Netherlands are silent about our intentions, but we have robbed the Dutch of the territory in the South Seas and robbed the merchant ships of the two countries, so we have to prevent them from attacking. In addition, the Spaniards may also deliberately leak our secrets, and deliberately induce Britain and the Netherlands to attack us, first, to see our strength, and secondly, to cut off the possibility of our alliance with Britain and the Netherlands. ”

Yin Zhen's brows furrowed when he heard this, and he groaned slightly, before asking, "If this situation really happens, shall we fight or not?" ”

"Hit!" Wu Sidao said without hesitation: "Not only to fight, but also to play majestic, this battle is fought, we will have a foothold in Europe, and the alliance with France and Spain will be more confident, and when negotiating, we can also ask for more things." ”

As soon as the words fell, a "boom" sounded faintly from the sea like a muffled thunderous cannon.

Yinzhen immediately stood up quickly, looked at the sea, the sea was empty, there was not a single warship, just confused, the port had sounded a loud military horn, he immediately reacted, it must be the alert fleet north of the port found the enemy, the air cannon alarm, he immediately ran to the villa where he stayed.

As soon as the trumpet sounded, the harbor was immediately busy, and the naval soldiers resting on the shore boarded the battleship in a group, and the battleship on duty began to raise its sails quickly.

Shi Shibiu, Lin Wei, Fu Anding and others stood at the bow of the ship and raised their binoculars to check the flags issued by the watchtower set up on the shore, but after a while, Lin Wei said in a deep voice: "Northwest, thirty nautical miles away, a small formation of eight warships is heading towards us. After a slight pause, he said in surprise: "The other party is flying the Portuguese flag?" ”

Portuguese? What do they mean? Shi Shibiao quickly thought, in this battle for the Spanish throne in Europe, Portugal is allied with Britain and the Netherlands, and Portugal has a fairly good relationship with the Qing Dynasty, at least nominally paying tribute every year, and also renting land in Macao to do business, is it here to be a lobbyist? Or are you here to probe the reality of the South Sea Fleet?

As soon as he groaned, he said in a deep voice: "Order, the other party is not allowed to approach, otherwise, it will be regarded as a declaration of war with my Qing Dynasty." ”

The flag soldiers quickly got busy, and Lin Wei turned sideways and said, "Marshal, don't you want to find out the intentions of the Portuguese?" ”

"Of course, we have to try, but we can't let them know our specific situation." Shi Shibiao said lightly: "Go and invite Prince Yong, this is his business, you bring a third-class ship, five fourth-class ships to accompany Prince Yong to meet them, remember, try to ask about the situation of the war in Europe." ”

After Lin Wei was ordered to retreat, Fu Anding spoke: "Dashuai, why don't you let them in and capture them in one fell swoop?" ”

"The current situation is unclear, and it is not advisable to erect too many enemies." Shi Shibiao said in a deep voice: "I heard that the Portuguese navy has made great development in recent years, and it has returned to the first-class level in Europe, which is stronger than the Spanish fleet, and it is naturally better to drive it away." Speaking of this, he couldn't help frowning slightly, since Portugal was able to send eight warships to come, it means that Portugal already knew that the Nanyang Fleet was stationed in the port of Agadir, and it seemed that the news of the arrival of the Nanyang Fleet in Europe had already spread, most of which was leaked out from the Spanish port of Addis.

All the way to sail, the South Sea Fleet is under the banner of Spain, here in the port of Agadir, he also ordered all ships to be allowed to enter and exit, and there is a patrol and guard fleet in the open sea, it is impossible to leak the news, the Portuguese can only get their news from Addis, these bastards in Spain, I don't know if they leaked the news unintentionally or intentionally?