September 1519, Caribbean, capital of the island of Cuba, Puerto de Santiago.

In the northeastern part of the Caribbean Sea, near the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula, lies a narrow tropical island, which was later named after the Havana cigar, the leader Castro, the revolutionary Che. The island of Cuba, known for Grava and the Red Fortress of the Western Hemisphere.

But in 1519, not to mention Castro and his comrades, there was no sign of even the famous Havana cigar. Castro and Cut. The port of Santiago, where Grava landed with his army, was just a small town that had just been established.

The man who ruled the island in Santiago at this time was the Spanish royal governor of Cuba, Diego. Lord Velasquez.

-- The capital of the future Republic of Cuba was Havana on the other side of the island, but the capital of the early Cuban colony was in the port of Santiago.

In general, the governor of Velázquez was both a murderous colonist and a very capable builder, from the time he came to the island of Cuba in 1514 to plan the construction of the town, it took only five years to have a population of tens of thousands in the port of Santiago, which was born in a wilderness, and developed into a prosperous town with a strong Spanish style. The speed of development is truly astonishing.

In the past few years, Velázquez not only slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Indians who refused to submit with an iron fist, but also brought a large number of armed immigrants and missionaries from Spain, purchased a large number of West African black slaves from the Portuguese, attracted many Dutch traders with various preferential regulations, attracted some Jews who avoided the Inquisition with a tolerant policy, and even converted many Indians to Catholicism and became obedient citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. In addition, there are some Mestizos of Latin American characteristics that have emerged from multi-ethnic intermingling - although the scope of the so-called "Latin America" at this time was only a series of islands in the Caribbean Sea.

Relying on these human resources and the gold plundered from the Indian tribes, Diego. Velázquez spared no effort in building his capital, Port Santiago, with its winding streets in the Spanish style, the largest Catholic church in the Americas at the time, and the governor's residence he built on boulders, which is later recognized as one of the oldest European-style buildings in the Americas.

At this time, Diego, who ruled the island of Cuba. Governor Velázquez was sitting on the balcony of the Doge's Palace, which he had just completed, admiring the sea view at dusk.

No matter what the era, tropical beaches are always so charming. As far as the eye can see, the calm sea is crystal clear, and the pure blue is endless. Only when the breeze blows will there be a trace of ripples. The gentle breeze carries the salty taste of the sea, and seagulls soar over the coconut groves.

In the evening, the sun gradually sets over the sea level, and the fiery red sunset is beautiful, and the scenery under the twilight is infinitely intoxicating.

Diego. Governor Velázquez took a sip of a teacup while admiring the sea view at dusk. On the low table in his hand, a set of delicate blue and white porcelain tea sets is exuding the fragrance of tea, and the beautiful colored porcelain vases, cups and plates next to him are also pleasing to the eye.

In the delicate and gorgeous blue and white porcelain teacup, the freshly brewed tea is sweet and mellow, refreshing, in Europe in this era, it is not even very common in the courts of other countries, but it cannot soothe the tangled and depressed heart of this dying old man.

For the dazzling array of fine porcelain on the table, as well as the fragrant tea, were the source of the Governor's recent troubles.

-- The great seafaring pioneer Christopher Columbus, who was looking for a lifelong and unattainable trade route to the East, was opened up by that damned Cortés! …,

Since Castillo, Cortés' registrar, was ordered to return to Santiago with a large number of spices, silk, porcelain, tea and other belongings to report on his duties, in an attempt to ease relations between Cortés and the governor, the whole island of Cuba has let the news blow up.

Diego. Governor Velázquez was very reluctant to admit this fact, but at this time, the treasures of the Orient in front of him smashed a trace of suspicion in his heart-as far as he knew, with the net worth of this fellow Cortés, I am afraid that even if he went bankrupt and borrowed usury that could not be repaid in a hundred years, I am afraid that he could not afford to buy so many exquisite oriental porcelain to deceive people!

Speaking of which, Cortés, who now makes him grit his teeth with hatred, is actually a distant relative of the Governor, and was originally a member of the Viceroy's right-hand man who helped the Governor conquer the various indigenous Indian tribes on the island of Cuba. The favor of the Governor of Velasquez.

Otherwise, Hona. Cortés would also not be authorized by the Governor to be appointed commander-in-chief of the expedition.

However, as soon as he took office, this guy used his power as commander of the expedition to use the governor's huge public funds and a lot of personal savings, and also apportioned shares to many wealthy businessmen who were willing to play venture capital, and then he took possession of the expedition fleet for himself-well, Cortés himself did throw all his belongings into this expedition, but that was only a quarter of the total cost at most, okay?

Yours, a distant relative, ate my use of mine, drove the warships I built with public funds, but drove away all the people I had installed, and wantonly appointed cronies and sworn friends, trying to take the opportunity to go out and fight the world on your own...... This is not ingratitude, bad intentions, and what is it?

Don't forget, I personally promoted your direct boss, and most of the funds for this expedition were squeezed out by me!

Governor Velázquez couldn't help but regret it, and at this time, someone had paid him a bribe to seek the position of commander of the expedition. So the Governor went along with the boat and issued a decree of dismissal from Cortés. Cortés had already turned the expedition into his personal soldiers, and he refused to obey the order in the face of the governor's anger, and killed the messenger of the governor's palace who came to issue the dismissal order, and then fooled the sailors with the invalid power of attorney, and ordered the fleet to set sail and leave, so angry that the governor jumped on the shore and immediately issued a wanted warrant for Cortés.

Fortunately, although Cortez is wild and uninhibited, he still knows a little bit of human sophistication and knows that he can't open up territory for the country with the title of a wanted criminal. Therefore, as soon as he had obtained a large quantity of oriental products in the port of Veracruz, he sent his clerk Castillo back to pay tribute to the Doge in an attempt to repair relations - the porcelain, spices, silks, and other novelties he had entrusted to him on this occasion were more than enough to compensate Cortés for the illegal seizure of state assets and private financing.

In this way, Diego, who received an unprecedented gift. Governor Velasquez began to fall into a long period of hesitation and a fierce ideological struggle: on the one hand, the various embarrassments and humiliations that Cortés had given him before his departure half a year ago are still fresh in his memory, and the Governor wanted to take revenge very much, very much. Moreover, if every subordinate had followed Cortés' example of such wanton behavior, he, the governor of Cuba, would not have to do it.

But on the other hand, as the so-called cannibalistic soft-mouthed and short-handed, although Cortez, an ungrateful fellow, is very hateful, but for the sake of how much he is still in the Tao, and for the sake of paying so much tribute to tea, spices, porcelain and silk, will you forgive him again? Anyway, they're relatives!

However, right here in Diego. When the governor of Velázquez was engaged in an ideological struggle and had been hesitating, Castillo, the secretary sent by Cortés to dredge up relations, because he had been waiting for news from the governor's palace in Santiago for a long time, actually began to try to pass through the door of the church, bypassing the governor, to write directly to the king of Spain, asking Cortés to be canonized as the governor of Mexico, so that the newly conquered land would be disassociated from the governor of Cuba! …,

In addition, Castillo somehow got in touch with another feudal official of the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean, the governor of Hispaniola (later the island of Haiti), and seemed to want to change his court.

So, Diego. The Governor of Velázquez was furious when he heard the news—it was well known that any superior hated his subordinates for colluding with other superiors. Moreover, in the 16th century of the Kingdom of Spain, there were still many remnants of the medieval feudal system, and the governors of the Spanish American colonies generally regarded their own territories as fiefs and regarded themselves as princes - for a prince, a certain retainer was a little awkward and contradictory to himself, or "contradictions among the people", but if the retainer hooked up with other princes, it would be an unforgivable sin.

Therefore, the governor immediately ordered the arrest of Castillo, but unfortunately the news leaked and the clever Castillo slipped away first.

However, this also made Diego angry. Governor Velázquez finally made up his mind to settle the "Cortés Gang" by force as soon as possible - if this guy really found a relationship and invited the king to canonize him, so that Cortés, a traitor and wanted criminal, would be crowned with the title of Governor of Mexico, on an equal footing with him, the Governor of Cuba. Where should Velasquez's face go?!

At this time, all the preparations for the expedition against Cortés were basically ready, and only the step of Zuihou appointing the commander was left.

Accompanied by the loud voice of the Indian servant, a middle-aged man with a majestic and military demeanor, who looked like an old soldier, stood in front of the Governor of Velasquez and saluted solemnly. The Governor cordially invited him to sit down, and made him a cup of hot tea with his own hands.

Seeing the flattered expression on the other party's face, Governor Velasquez couldn't help but smile on his lips.

“…… Dear Navaes! I'm afraid you've already heard that Cortés, that unforgivable traitor, actually discovered the gold trade route to China in Mexico, and brought back many priceless oriental specialties, and the whole island of Cuba went crazy because of this incident! ”

“…… Yes, I've heard that, I don't know what you mean......" Navaez replied with some restraint.

“…… So, this time I have a glorious and difficult task for you! Dear Navaes! ”

Governor Velázquez stood up, patted Naváez on the shoulder, and then pointed to the mast-lined harbor in the distance, and commanded him in a loud voice, "...... I have prepared the ships and soldiers for you, so please master the troops as quickly as possible, get acquainted with your men, and then set sail to fight for me against the traitor who disobeyed orders!" And we must grab the gold trade route to China, and no one can take it away! ”

The hazy twilight of the setting sun faintly illuminates Diego. The hideous and greedy face of the Governor of Velasquez.

If it is said that the Viceroy of Cuba, Diego. The crusade that Velázquez sent to Mexico was still largely in the minds of the traversers. Then the other is because of the butterfly effect of the traversers, and the huge changes caused by this shijie are completely unexpected by them.

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September 1519, on the other side of the Atlantic, the capital of the Kingdom of Spain, the port of Seville

On this day, the port of Seville, as usual, was in a noisy state from early in the morning.

Lean laborers shouted trumpets and loaded and unloaded supplies and cargo for each merchant ship. Loaded or empty horse-drawn carriages run back and forth, filling the entire wharf with the smell of leather, wool, tung oil, seafood, horse manure, etc., and many buyers and brokers who select goods shuttle between them, shouting and selling for information, making the port seem more noisy and noisy. …,

Since the beginning of the Age of Discovery, such bustling scenes have been present in the port of Seville day after day, year after year, and countless great voyages that have gone down in history have sounded the first horn to set sail and anchor in this port.

A radiant middle-aged man was standing on the noisy dock, directing the sailors to carry food and various supplies like ants, and was full of ambition to prepare for another great voyage that would go down in history...... Of course, it was also a voyage for Zuihou in his life.

His name is Fernando. Magellan, a Portuguese who worked for the Spanish government, worked with Columbus and Da. Gamma was a great navigator and the leader of the first circumnavigation of the world in history. At the southern tip of the South American continent, there is a strait named after him.

Born in 1480 into a declining knightly family in Porto, northern Portugal, Magellan served as the lady-in-waiting of the Queen of Portugal, gaining knowledge at court and meeting several famous pioneers who sailed the Indian Ocean.

Next, in order to get ahead, the young Magellan joined the expeditionary fleet of Almeida, the first Portuguese governor in India, in 1505. In the following years, he followed the Portuguese expeditionary fleet to carry out colonization activities in East Africa, India and Malacca, and fought with the sultans of India and Southeast Asia for many years, and defeated the Arab navy several times, making many achievements.

While participating in colonial wars in Southeast Asia, Magellan learned through the indigenous people that there was also a vast sea east of the Spice Islands. Moreover, one of his friends, the astrologer Faliro, also calculated the latitude and longitude of the Spice Islands. From this, Magellan guessed that the east of the sea was probably the Americas, and he was convinced that the earth should be round.

So, he had the intention of going on a circumnavigation of the world to make a name for himself in history.

However, in this era, the opening of a round-the-world route is not in Portugal's national interest.

-- In Da. After Gamma sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, the Kingdom of Portugal in the early 16th century had exhausted all its military strength and defeated the Egyptian, Arab and Indian fleets that had originally ruled the Indian Ocean through a series of thrilling naval expeditions, basically controlled the route from Africa around the Cape of Good Hope to the Indian Ocean, and established a series of trading posts on the coasts of North Africa, West Africa, East Africa and India, all the way east to Macao, China, thus monopolizing the sea trade route from the Spice Islands to Europe and making huge profits.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Portugal was not interested in circumnavigating the world at all, and even less willing to see the Spanish fleet sailing from the Americas to the Spice Islands to become their competitors and break their monopoly on the eastern routes, so it refused to support Magellan's voyage.

Unwilling to give up his dream of circumnavigating the world, Magellan switched to the Kingdom of Spain, where he was generously financed by the King of Spain to assemble an expedition of 266 men on five sailing ships. According to Magellan's predestination, he was ready to set sail from the port of Seville in September 1519 and cross the Atlantic Ocean westward, embarking on his first ever circumnavigation of the world.

However, just as Magellan's fleet was about to depart, Cortés's explosive news of the discovery of Chinese specialty goods in Mexico also crossed the vast Atlantic Ocean and reached Seville, the capital of the Kingdom of Spain, and disrupted Magellan's original schedule.

“…… Mr. Magellan! Is Mr. Magellan here? Which one is Mr. Magellan? ”

A young messenger dressed as a noble squire, stumbling out of the carriage, then struggling to squeeze through the surging crowd on the docks, aimlessly waving his arms and shouting so loudly.

“…… I'm Magellan, how can I say that? ”

Magellan frowned, put down the work at hand, and went forward.

Then Mr. Magellan got a shocking piece of news that stunned him for half a minute.

“…… The latest information from Cuba! Someone found traces of Chinese in the New World! Bixia, please hurry into the palace to discuss this matter! ”

After being stunned for half a minute, Magellan, whose mind regained his composure, calmly instructed the sailors to continue loading the ship with supplies, while finding someone to bring his horses and prepare to follow the anxious messenger into the palace for an audience.

For some reason, he had a vague premonition that this round-the-world voyage and his future and destiny were probably about to change.

In the coming months, conversations like this will emerge in cities such as Lisbon, Paris, London and Venice.

-- A small butterfly that descended on the Pacific coast of Central America in the New World, after several years of gestation and fermentation, finally set off a huge storm on the other side of the American continent and on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

What's more, the traversers obviously didn't have enough anticipation for this......