A.D. 1633, August 7, the third day of the seventh month of the sixth year of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, which happened to be the day of the beginning of autumn, the main fleet of the Qiong Navy ended the occupation of Cebu Island and the military campaign against Spain, and set off to return to its own sphere of influence - Luzon or Hainan.

The scene of the return voyage was extremely spectacular, and the Spanish ships that had been "accumulated" in the docks in the past few days moved together, together with the Joan Navy's own ships that had been ambushed in the surrounding bays, forming an unprecedentedly large fleet. So much so that the ports on the Luzon side could not accommodate it, and some of them had to go directly to Hainan Island.

… More than a dozen famous Spanish galleons were in front of them, followed by some little ones, who could come from the Americas from a long distance, no matter how small they were. If we follow the comparison of strength in normal history,

Any ship here can go sideways off the coast of Southeast Asia, and the Dutch are proud of the "Früth" class, which has traveled all over the world, can only be regarded as a small character in front of these Spanish sailing ships that once created the prestige of the Invincible Armada.

There is only a slight flaw - these ships are very big, in fact, they are behind the times in terms of ship type and design, in addition to tonnage, sufficient weight, in terms of speed, gun position, and practicality are no longer comparable to the latest style in Europe today - the improved Galen of the Royal Navy of England, founded in the Elizabethan era, is commonly known as the "Queen's Ship", which is the best and most cutting-edge ocean-going ship in the world today.

However, in the eyes of the Qiong Navy, this backwardness is nothing, and when it comes to the latest sailing models, who in this world can have a say in them? -- Their own clippers had reached the pinnacle of the sailboat type, and large all-metal skeletons, covered with metal armor plates, and wooden hulls were already being designed—a replacement for the all-steel ships that came out.

In the future, the main force of the Joan naval fleet will definitely be the latest and greatest self-shipbuilding, and at the moment these captured trophies are only transitional products. It only needs to be transformed a little and put it on the sea surface in Northeast Asia, which is more than enough to communicate with Japan, North Korea, and the small sampan sailors of the Ming Empire!

Of course, before the transformation, the number of sailors needed to start these heavy guys was not a small number, and the sailors of the Joan Navy alone really couldn't cope with it. However, Zhao Lide had already considered this problem, and a large number of newly surrendered European sailors were scattered and placed on various ships, and even the Qiong Navy's own warships are now half of Huayang sailors, operating sailing ships together.

Of course, the Chinese sailors must have been in the driver's seat and had the responsibility of oversight. In addition, a detachment of marines was sent on each ship, just in case.

But on the whole, the biggest safety guarantee for this voyage came from the sea - the Qionghai itself was in this fleet!

Legends about the great iron ship had been preached among European sailors and soldiers for a long time, but very few had actually been seen - except for a few high-ranking officers and nobles who had been brought from the port of Manila, and the others had been captured directly on the Cebu side and had not experienced the Battle of Manila. Now let them see this big iron guy with their own eyes, so as to dispel the last trace of luck in the hearts of these people. With this imposing all-metal battleship on the spot, anyone who wants to plot something wrong will have to think twice.

For the Qionghai itself, this was also her last cruise in the Luzon region, and half a year ago, due to the sudden surprise attack of Ling Ning's fleet, the Qionghai had to make an urgent attack, and it was actually not very adequate in terms of preparation. After barely fighting the Battle of Manila Bay, the Qionghai's fuel had reached the warning line, and since then it had to be stationed in the port of Manila for repairs, until recently the chemical team gathered another batch of oil and transported it from Hainan Island by a transport ship to replenish the fuel for the Qionghai to return to Hainan Island, and by the way, also escorted a group of sailing ships back with them.

At this moment, on the bow deck of the Qionghai, the Spanish commander, Count Carlos, and several other high-ranking Spanish officers were standing side by side with Guilou, and beside them was the forward turret of the Qionghai, two thick metal pipes sticking out from the top of their heads, straight ahead. These Europeans were always a little uneasy, and they looked up from time to time, as if they were afraid that the cannon would suddenly shoot flames out - I think that in Manila Bay, some of them had observed these two guns from a distance through a telescope, and every time a flame came out of the muzzle of the black hole, it meant that another colleague had been summoned by death, and this feeling was enough to make people frightened even in hindsight.

However, it is precisely because of this that they insist on standing here, standing under this fort that once brought them endless pressure, even if it is a kind of tempering of themselves, these people are all officers, whether it is out of courage or face problems, they cannot show weakness at this time.

If it weren't for the fact that their range of movement was limited to the cabins and the foredeck, they would have been tempted to go down to the bilge to see why the great iron ship was able to float on the sea, and why it could move forward on its own without a sail line, was not answered as they boarded the ship, but more and more questions.

In the past, a group of Dutch prisoners had been held on the Qionghai, and those Dutch had the same problem after they got on the ship. In contrast, these Spanish officers were much more educated - they were all nobles and very face-conscious. Even if there are many doubts in my heart, on the surface, I look well-informed and indifferent, even when I talk about it, I am cautious, I only talk to each other in private, and I never show a little curiosity in front of others.

So, when Zhao Lide walked up to the foredeck, he saw that these Spanish officers were all standing straight, holding on to the railing and looking out at the sea, as if they were reviewing the fleet on their own ship. Seeing this, Ade couldn't help but smile secretly, and said in his heart that these guys really want to save face, and they don't forget to put up a fight at this time.

However, these people can be invited to the Qionghai, and they are also the key targets of Ade's plan, so even if he knew that they were holding on, Zhao Lide was still polite, and greeted him first: "How about it, everyone, can you still live in the cabin on this iron ship?" ”

Although these Spaniards said that they wanted to save face, they did not dare to put on a show in front of Ade, and saluted one after another, including the Count Carlos, who also nodded and replied in rather stiff Chinese: "Very good, very good." ”

-- After the excitement of that day, revealing the fact that he, like many of his subordinates, was secretly learning Chinese, the earl no longer concealed it, and began to communicate with this side in Chinese as much as possible. I have to say that this buddy's understanding is really not low, or maybe it's because he has no distractions during this time, and he is particularly concerned about the skills related to his future and destiny...... In short, he really learned well, and now he can basically talk to Ade without the help of a translator. This is important because there are some things that Carlos doesn't want anyone to know - like what he's talking to Ade at the moment.

Taking advantage of the fact that others were not paying attention, the two quietly walked to the hidden place on the deck, and Zhao Lide nodded at the other party: "Your request has been arranged." And the Spanish count, who always had a straight face and always took care to maintain his aristocratic demeanor, showed a rare look of joy on his face: "Is it? That's great...... Forgive my faux pas, though, can you confirm that it's absolutely fine? ”

"Of course, we will send them to the mines in the interior of the Central Plains, and they will not have the opportunity to return to Europe for at least ten years. Ten years from now, the Earl probably won't care about those people, will he? Zhao Lide said with a smile, Carlos's face showed an unfinished look, and it seemed that he still wanted to mention it, but after hesitating for a moment, he finally didn't say it, only nodded and said: "Okay, just like that, ten years is enough." ”

-- The matter of the two conspiring is not very nice to say. After the process of "transformation" and "selection", some of the captured Spanish troops voluntarily joined the Qiong Navy, and these people were of course treated better, and now they are scattered in various boats and return to Luzon or Hainan with the large army.

Others were unwilling to surrender, so according to the previous agreement between the two sides, they were left on Cebu Island and brought back to Europe together after Carlos and the others returned from Hainan - these people were undoubtedly Carlos's cronies, even if they were not before, after this period of hard work, they were almost all transformed - Carlos still counted on them to maintain his position after returning to Europe.

But there are still a small number of people left, who are not willing to surrender to the Joan navy, and they also have opinions about Carlos's command mistake this time, of course, it is impossible to listen to him anymore, and it will definitely be unfavorable for the Earl to put them back in Europe, and it will take a lot of brains to arrange this group of people.

After several secret consultations, Zhao agreed to keep the men in the East. And according to Fonros's veiled attitude, he even hoped that these people would never have the chance to return to Europe. However, Ade told him in a serious way: Our Qiong Navy is a group that pays attention to humanity and rules, and according to the procedures for treating prisoners, it is already the limit to send them to the mines to work for a certain number of years, and the maximum sentence for labor reform is only about ten years.

Of course, given the difficult conditions of the mines and the long distance between East and West, it is difficult to say how many people will eventually return to Europe, and even if they do, it will be more than ten years later, so His Excellency the Earl has no need to worry at all.

Carlos was not very happy with this, but the decision was in the hands of the other party, and he could only accept it.