Several of their companies will organize more than a hundred sail warships to form a huge fleet to fight to the east. The fleet was to be dominated by Dutch East India Company ships, followed by England and Portugal, Denmark and Sweden. In addition, they also contacted many scattered merchant ships from various European countries to join, most of these merchant ships did not resist the temptation, and a total of more than 100 sailing ships also chose this adventure in the East.

In addition, the British East India Company not only mobilized the second only Dutch warships, but also described the prosperity and wealth of Manila in the East to the king and British merchants, so that the British royal family issued a total of more than 300 privateer licenses, and the royal pirates who obtained the royal privateer's license were all ready to go, and on their way to the East, they would contact pirates all over the world to kill Manila in the East.

The Dutch authorized all the merchant ships of the East India Company in the East to fight with the Combined Fleet. He also spent a lot of money to hire a large number of mercenaries in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, and followed the fleet to Manila. They also sent merchant ships to various parts of the world, and Gao Jin hired pirates from all over the world to join in the operation.

They had wanted to win over Spain and France, but Spain was mired in the Thirty Years' War and had no time to look to the East. The French East India Company had not yet been established, and they had no interest in the East. So only a few scattered merchant ships joined the two countries.

The joint meeting of the East India Company of several countries was successfully concluded, and they were very satisfied with the agreement reached. At least a few hundred sailboats will be involved in the operation. If they can contact and hire more pirates to join, the number of sailboats will be even higher.

On the last day of the meeting, Fell signed an agreement on behalf of the Dutch East India Company and representatives of several companies, and after the signing was over, a group of white-skinned people drank excitedly, and they were full of confidence in the plan. This may be since the European adventurers embarked on the Great Voyage. The largest operation in Europe.

Fair held his glass and smiled and said to the delegates: "Gentlemen, let us have a toast and wish us success in this operation." I believe that we will conquer the distant and mysterious East as we conquered the New World. There's a lot of wealth to be claimed, and if we work together, it's a mysterious dynasty. We will eventually conquer us. ”

His impassioned speech was applauded by everyone.

Just then, an employee of the Dutch East India Company hurried in and whispered a few words in Fell's ear. Hearing the Dutchman's words, Fair's face suddenly became excited.

He turned around and excitedly shouted to those present, "Gentlemen, good news for everyone. The ships in Manila have been found, and this is the news that the company's personnel in Paris have just arrived, which ships are anchored near the French port of Le Havre. At present, the company has sent warships to France. The company's merchant ships anchored in ports off the French coast have also set sail for Le Havre. Gentlemen. Let's raise a glass again to celebrate, they can't run away. ”

Song Tao left Paris and returned to Le Havre, where the expedition voyage of the expedition fleet wandered outside for several months, and the choice was already 1634, and then they would cross the Atlantic and explore the New World of America. The mission of the Voyage Exploration Fleet is to explore the shipping routes, investigate the situation in the Americas of this time and space, and prepare for the company's large-scale colonization of the Americas in the future.

Lucien had already resupplied the fleet's six galleons, which were loaded with cargo when they arrived. When he returned, all that was left was the gold louis, the gold eju, and a large number of various silver coins. The holds of several ships were empty, but there was really nothing worth loading in Europe. In the end, Song Tao decided to fill it with grain and all kinds of food, as well as a large amount of fresh water.

When the fleet was ready, it slowly sailed away from the private port of Le Havre in the early hours of the day. Soon after they left the shore, they encountered several sailboats, but they didn't care. After all, the port of Le Havre has sailboats coming in and out of the port every day.

As soon as the fleet sailed into the English Channel, bad luck came, the sea was covered with fog, and the visibility was only a few hundred meters. Except for Van Pitt, who is more familiar with this place, the other captains of the fleet are not so familiar with the sea conditions. So the fleet could only move cautiously at a slow speed of 3 knots.

Although it was already morning. But the ghost weather in the English Channel intensified, and the fog showed no signs of dissipating. Song Tao stood on the deck of the Pioneer, and said to Fan Bit beside him with an anxious face: "Old Fan, when will this fog dissipate?" ”

"Your Excellency, when the fog in the English Channel has lifted, we may have sailed out of the English Channel. It doesn't matter, I'm familiar with this area, I've sailed a few times in foggy weather. ”

Ding Xinghao, who was next to him, nodded with a heavy face and said, "It's better to leave here as much as possible, if we encounter an ambush here, the fleet will inevitably be very passive." Our superiority in artillery and speed is not reflected at all. ”

Song Tao rolled his eyes and said: "Big brother, you are my own brother, can you not say frustrating words, I am afraid of your crow's mouth, since the fleet set sail, you will come whatever you say." I beg you, Uncle Ding, from now on you should shut up. ”

The people on the deck laughed loudly when they heard Song Tao's words. In everyone's opinion, this is the sphere of influence of France and Britain, and it is impossible for pirates to appear, so Ding Xinghao's words are taken as a joke.

Ding Xinghao scolded angrily: "Why am I a crow's mouth, doesn't what I said make sense?" It's just a few coincidences, so it's really serious. ”

At this time, a few sail shadows were faintly revealed in the dense fog in the distance, and the others were not aware of the danger, but Van Pitt, as an old sailor, saw the difference, and the course of these sailing ships was very strange, as if they were coming towards them.

Suddenly, there were a few flashes in the dense fog, and Van Pitt, who had been at sea all the year round, could be regarded as experienced in a hundred battles, and he instantly shouted loudly: "Shelling, lying down......"

After he shouted, he threw Song Tao and Ding Xinghao to the ground, the officers and men on the ship have received training in this area, and when they heard Van Bit's shout, they all fell to the ground for the first time, and several employees of the Ethnic Affairs Committee were also dragged to the ground by them.

Song Tao also immediately shouted into the earphones: "Shelling, all lie down and cover......"

A piercing whistling sound swept over their heads, followed by a "crackling" sound, and pieces of scattered bombs swept the superstructure of the Pioneer several times, and the ship's sail mast was messed up by countless scattered bullets, but fortunately, everyone fell down at the first time, and the steel plates inlaid on the edge of the ship's side could effectively defend against the attack of scattered bullets. (To be continued......)

ps: Thanks for the cloudless weather, get out of the way. The monthly pass support, thanks to the domineering? Tipping support. Tomorrow will start to resume normal updates, thank you all for your support R1292