The southern shore of the Mediterranean was a place of confusion and despair in the sixteenth century, as it was for most of the time.

The eastern Ottoman Empire had conquered Egypt just a generation earlier, but the conquerors' firm grip was limited to the coast and the banks of the middle and lower Nile, and the remnants of the Mamluks rebelled against Istanbul rule in the southern desert.

Although their leader is still called the Mamluk Sultan, the former state no longer exists, and those who resist have effectively degenerated into nomadic tribes.

In fact, from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Continent is a region of nomadic tribes struggling to survive in the barren interior of Africa.

There are ancient drow elves and orcs, as well as human tribes who believed in the Great Demon of the Star and Moon that entered with the Star and Moon Faith thousands of years ago.

Now the orthodox Star Moon Empire has long since collapsed, and the dynasties that directly succeeded it have also ended, but the absolute dominance of the Star and Moon Faith in North Africa is still preserved.

Nowadays, several powerful Xingyue tribes maintain three transitional states that combine agriculture and pastoralism and are mainly pastoral, from east to west, the Sultanate of Tunisia, the Sultanate of Algiers, and the Sultanate of Morocco.

In the Jinghua region, which is a relatively barren coastline, the Spanish and Ottoman powers are intertwined, and they directly control some of the ports, while at the same time supporting puppets in each of the three sultanates, leading to civil war in these few countries with limited strength.

And between Tunisia and Egypt is the Libyan region, the most barren part of the entire barren southern shore of the Mediterranean.

The area was so barren that the Cultists were unable to establish effective rule after driving out the Romans, who had a relatively advanced coastal trade system, and after the collapse of the Umayyad Empire, they were unable to give birth to even weak states such as Tunisia, Algiers, and Morocco, and had no political entities for a long time.

But even in such a place, there is a paradise that nourishes life.

The oasis where the port of Tripoli is located is one of the most rainfalling areas on the entire southern shore of the Mediterranean, a beautiful pearl of allure in the midst of a dry desert.

This oasis was a valuable supply point for the surrounding nomadic tribes and fleets, and as such became the target of fierce competition between Spain and the Ottoman Empire, which had been handed over to the Knights Hospitaller five years earlier, along with Malta, in the hope that the warriors who had fallen from Rhodes would share some of the defensive pressure so that they could concentrate on the offensive.

However, the newly reorganized Knights Hospitaller were unable to run a stronghold outside of Malta, as the Barbary pirates frequented it due to their lack of defensive strength, and although the knights were able to defend the fortress and harbor at the heart of the oasis, they were unable to forge ahead.

The port has only the capacity to barely replenish the fleet.

The reason why it was not captured was that the area was so easy to attack and difficult to defend that the Ottomans did not consider it a priority target.

They focused their attention on the island of Malta in the heart of the Mediterranean.

In order to reverse this unfavorable situation, and for the better development of the Knights Hospitaller.

In August 1534, under the care of the Emperor and the Regent, with the strong support of the Chosen Pope, and under the careful organization of the Commander-in-Chief, the Italian and German groups of the Knights Hospitaller moved from the island of Malta to Tripoli.

As the new head of the Tripoli region, Cassano, the deputy chief of the Knights Hospitaller, of course, wanted to sit here, but he and Wu Xin were the last to arrive in Tripoli, and the Italian-speaking group, which had more money, moved out of Malta in batches.

In the early stage, in addition to some of the Italians led by Father Erlan, who was in charge of the preliminary work, it was the German group with clean sleeves.

They have long been oppressed by the Spanish and French groups, and are much poorer than their Italian comrades-in-arms who have a real choice of the Pope as their backstage.

The knights of the German group who have been in the Black Continent for a while, of course, have to come to greet their companions, most of them have been busy recently, but because the expansion of the dock itself is their most important work recently, many knights have their own tasks at the dock, so there are quite a few people to greet them.

"This damn place, it's too hot." The female knight of Deverichy is still heavily armoured, and this iron-clad dress is really torturous in North Africa.

Her father, Deverichy Sr., the only one sitting on the docks, was harsh in his daughter's complaints: "It's still the Mediterranean, and it's much hotter than this when you go inland, and you can't stand it here, and if you go into the desert, you'll only have half a life." We went deep into the Sahara to chase a caravan of pagans..............."

The old man babbled and recalled his glorious history for a long time, and his daughter barely listened to it, and then complained to her father: "No matter how hot it is, I can hold on, I just can't understand it, obviously it was the French group that provoked the infighting, but they were punished so lightly, the head of the regiment, Eli Adam, did not resign, and the Siegel father and son were all killed in the line of duty in the end?!" I really don't understand, didn't you say that both the emperor and the regent supported us? Why were we thrown to the Black Continent in the end? ”

Old Deverrich looked around to make sure that the German-speaking group was in complete control of the pier, and then said softly to his daughter: "The Emperor of Madrid and the regent of Vienna, if you know them a little, you know that this is the only way things can go. ”

Before the siege of Rhodes began, the Ottoman Empire had made a long period of large-scale preparations, so the Knights Hospitaller had long known that danger was approaching, and sent emissaries to all European countries for help, and Deverich the Elder was one of the highest-ranking emissaries among them.

"The personalities of these two, tsk, if they face difficulties, such as the Ottoman army of 100,000 or the earth-shattering conspiracy of the true pope, then they can barely endure each other, hug each other, and give the enemy a fierce counterattack." Old Deverichy said and shook his head. "But once the situation improves, these two will .............hehe............."

"Is that rumor true?" His daughter interjected softly. "It is said that the emperor originally intended to divide up the territory of the Roman church state on the charge of colluding with the Ottoman pagans, and that the Roman gna would be annexed by Austria, and the Roman region would be annexed to the region of Naples under his rule, and that the territory of the Chosen Pope would be limited to the Vatican Citadel?"

Both Romagna and the province of Rome were wealthy provinces in Central Italy, coveted by the Warlock royal family for a long time.

This rebellious rumor troubled Deverrich for a long time, and if it weren't for the old Deverrich's use of the word "earth-shattering conspiracy" in the words of the Chosen Pope, she would never have dared to ask.

Old Devrichy shrugged his shoulders: "It's not groundless, it's not surprising that the emperor intends to do this." Sazastan was killed by the Ottomans, and no one had anything to say, but in the end it was found out in the secret dungeons of the Roman Church, and if the matter was completely revealed, it would not only take advantage of the situation to destroy the church state, but also inevitably greatly damage the authority of the Roman Church, and the emperor could even rebuild the relationship between theocracy and monarchy to some extent. It's no secret that the Warlock Royalty has always wanted to expand the power of the ancestral gods. ”

In fact, Devreich also knew that the rumors were true, but her father's confirmation still made her excited, and she told her father some of her thoughts based on the rumors: "It's a big plan, but unfortunately the regent doesn't agree." But the reason for the regent's refusal is not wrong, the true election of the pope may not be broken, and he will directly ally with the French king again, even if he still can't hold Rome in the face of the warlock royal family's northern and southern armies, but he fled to France with the cardinals, and it is always not difficult to establish another church in Avignon. ”

Avignon was an enclave controlled by the Church of Rome in the Kingdom of France, and for a long time was the de facto capital of the Church of Rome.

"That's a lose-lose situation, then the Roman Church may become a puppet of the French king, and the warlock royal family will also face an internal uprising of dark believers, so the emperor wants to gamble on the real choice of the pope, even if he loses his territory, he will choose to suffer in the Vatican." Old Deverrich, as the head of the German group, actually discussed the issue several times with the Knight Peron, and of course they had little say on the subject. "But this kind of long-term benefit, His Royal Highness the regent of Vienna refused to accept, he was anxious to get money to increase supplies for Vienna and expand the fleet, and three years ago the emperor forced the regent to cut off the king's title, and only then was he willing to issue an emergency appropriation, as soon as things improved, do you think the regent would honestly cooperate with him? This name is not just a name, it is a hidden danger of unclear division of property between the two parties. ”

"It is said that the Church of Rome paid a total of 800,000 thalers to the royal family of warlocks. This is still on the surface, it is said that in order to let Austria accept the conditions first, the regent also knocked an additional 200,000 expedited fees. With a total of 600,000 yuan, how much does Austria earn in a year? The Lady Knight Deverrich added indignantly. After receiving this money, the black cauldron was carried by the dead man, and everyone else was cleanly picked. ”

At one point, Meredi wanted to brand a small group of German-speaking knights, including her, as a heretic, and of course the female knights of Devlich gnashed their teeth at her and the True Pope.

The final investigation into Sazastan's captivity is that Cardinal Picromini, who turned his back on God's grace, had been dissatisfied with the great Roman Church because he had lost the last real pope election, and his mentality was unbalanced, and he organized various conspiracies to undermine the purity and goodness of the Roman Church.

In the end, it actually developed into a frenzied collusion with the Ottoman heretics and murdered the hero of the Ottoman fight, Prime Minister Sazastan!

Archbishop Eli Adam and Cardinal Gonzaga were deceived by their misplaced belief in their colleagues, and did something misleading out of good intentions.

As a punishment, they will be fined for three months, with deep reflection and serious review.

His Majesty the Chosen Pope and the College of Cardinals are naturally completely unaware of the actions of Cardinal Picromini, who are very saddened by the years of war between Spain, France and Austria, and hopes that all parties can maintain peace on the basis of equality and mutual trust and jointly build a prosperous true divine civilization.

All the property of the Picomini family was taken over by the Austrian regents and entrusted to the Austrian cardinal archbishops in the College of Cardinals.

The question of the collusion between the Chosen Pope and the Sultan of Suleiman is even more shameless rumor that is not worth fighting, and no reasonable person will believe such illogical accusations.

Of course, sensible old Deverrich would not believe such accusations, and he did not let his daughter think about it anymore.

He used to be the treasurer of the Knights Hospitaller, and he was clear about the financial revenue: "It is indeed a lot of money, the loss of the city of Buda, and the fierce fighting in the Transylvani region, even if Machiavelli has been doing well all these years, the total income is not half of that of France and Spain, at most 1.3 million to 1.4 million talers, and 600,000 is almost equal to half a year's income." ”

"But this is too much, the last time the Habsburg Imperial Army attacked Croma from the north to the south, it took more than 400,000 yuan, how can it make so much money this time?" Deverich was a little puzzled by the two numbers.

"Last time, the two sides openly declared war, and it is not without precedent for the true pope to directly join forces with the powerful countries against other powerful countries, this time it is the Ottoman pagans who hooked up, this is a scandal that can shake the foundation of the Roman Church, once it is made public, I don't know how many believers will be lost. There was certainly no consensus within the College of Cardinals, and the cardinals of Spain and Austria would never accept such a thing, so they had to hide with Chief Mission Eliadam. Otherwise, if His Royal Highness Sazastan is sent to the Sistine Chapel, the effect of the True Chosen Pope personally reciting the scriptures to him will definitely be better. Unless the Warlock royal family sends tens of thousands of troops again, and the emperor and regent rush to Rome together, who can save people from inside? "The elder De Vlich is very well analyzed, and as a veteran diplomat, he also has many secrets.

The Devellisch family is from South Germany and has a certain identification with Austria, and she is a little worried: "Several Spanish female knights I talked to said that the emperor was furious, and half of the palace could hear his roar, and I don't know if they would no longer support the regency against the Ottoman Empire." ”

"For Spain, a million is just a big number. For Austria, it was life-saving money. Anyway, the Ottoman army really attacked Vienna, can the emperor not save the regent? Besides, the regent is the kind of character who has to hold the money first when the sky falls. "Speaking of which, Devrichy feels like he's being a little too mean to the regent." From the position of the Knights Hospitaller, it is better to let the Chosen Pope make amends than to tear his face directly. Now the French group is split in half, half going to Benghazi and half staying in Malta. The Spanish group is completely dominant on the island of Malta, and the French group is the second force in the future. This is long overdue, and with the French group in the ascendancy, the Knights Hospitaller will never be able to serve the purposes that the Emperor needs. ”

Glancing at his daughter, who was faint in heat, he added: "In any case, the situation in Tripoli is still okay, with Benghazi as a shield in the east, the Sultanate of Tunisia in the west is in chaos, and the desert in the south should not be able to breed too strong forces." The relationship between the emperor and the regent is always one of infighting, otherwise we would have been left on the island of Malta in the same way as the Polish group, the English group, and the Portuguese group. ”

Although the French group was hit hard, keeping a few weak groups in Malta was still a necessary buffer to keep the Spanish and French groups struggling to survive, which was a good thing for the Order.

But cushioning isn't a good thing, just look at the Italian group that was almost crushed into powder this time.

Wu Xin wanted to take the English group with him, but he didn't have enough speech power, so he could only take away the German group, which had a larger number of people first, and was actually closer to his basic plate.

After saying that, the old man felt that he had to talk about politics to his daughter, after all, his son had died in Rhodes, and this daughter could only inherit the family business: "And don't listen to the rumors that the emperor is furious, I saw the calm appearance of the emperor when he conquered Rome ten years ago, he may have emotions, but it will never be for you to see." Besides, the emperor was also acceptable to the compensation, 400,000 thalers were a lot of money, and more importantly, the Knights Hospitaller actually became the shield of Spain completely, and after the death of Picomini, the vacated position of the Cardinal was also given to the Spaniards. These conditions are good, otherwise how could he move the Mediterranean fleet to the port of Tripoli. ”

"Well, yes." De Verrich felt that his father was indeed very knowledgeable, and he did well during this migration, re-cementing his position as head of the German group. "But this time the French group has finally been punished, they have squeezed the newcomers so hard in the past, this time d'Artagnan's gang have been tossed enough, and tens of thousands of tales have been squeezed out at once to pass, and that Meredi has no adulterer's protection, so she can only roll back to France in disgrace."

"Don't underestimate this woman. She did not lose her momentum in front of Sazastan and the Marquis of Bazin, and she knew the teachings of the dark sun, and this time she could have won a big victory, but it was only because Cassano and Cesare they rescued Sazastan that they fell short. Listening to her father's words, the female knight of Deverich nodded.

"There is also a rumor that Cesare Cibo is actually the son of the regent, and he is also the remnant of the Lord of Flames, Dad, you see the two supremes, are they really very handsome?" In front of her father, she was embarrassed to say that Wu Xin was very handsome.

"Maybe yes or maybe not, it's not something we can mix, you don't treat him like an ordinary knight, and don't treat him as your master." His answer was slightly subtle.

But to the old man, he felt that what he had said was very thorough, but the daughter felt that this was tantamount to saying nothing.

The daughter wanted to ask something, and there was a commotion around.

With the appearance of the Spanish capital ship on the horizon, the conversation between father and daughter came to an end.