***

When the warships of Daqin, Britain, and Portugal sailed south to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, four armed merchant ships of ocean-going trading companies arrived in Portugal.

The excitement of suddenly seeing one's compatriots in a distant foreign land is indescribable, and many people shouted and laughed, and even shed tears of excitement.

In addition to rockets and 69-type flintlock rifles, the armed merchant ships of these four ocean-going trading companies were equipped with artillery, 68-type rifled guns, earth-shaking thunder, bows and arrows, crossbows, and other weapons.

Moreover, it is said that it is an armed merchant ship, but in fact, it is also the fastest clipper ship. The four ships were led by a retired naval officer named Zhu Kexin.

Their destination was not Europe, but to the American continent, that is, one of the two expedition fleets sent by the ocean-going trading company to explore the American continent at the behest of Emperor Qin Mu, and the other took the route of South China and the Pacific Ocean;

Zhu Kexin was preparing to go to Europe first, and then cross the Atlantic from Europe to the Americas. This is the most exciting thing for the exploration fleet sailing to a distant and unknown place, and to meet the Great Qin delegation in Europe.

The mission's feat of conquering Paris, France, and preparing to join Britain and Portugal in attacking Spain and seizing the Strait of Gibraltar greatly lifted the spirits of the expedition that had just arrived in Europe and was about to sail to the Americas.

The Great Qin's mission to Europe once again confirmed a truth: everything is possible!

And Zhang Haoran and they were also very excited, the four-ship flying scissor expedition ship was actually armed to the teeth, for the mission that was short of troops, it would greatly increase the bargaining chips of their own strength to be able to pull this expedition team of 600 people in time to join.

Let's put aside the mission of exploring the Americas, according to the sailing plan, with the amazing speed of the clipper ship. It only takes half a month to cross the Atlantic from Lisbon to the Americas, so what's the point of waiting?

In Lisbon, Qin, British, and Portuguese engaged in heated discussions, and finally reached an agreement that the British and Portuguese navies, together with eight flying scissor warships of Daqin, would jointly attack the Spanish navy while Philip IV was personally conquering France.

If he could defeat the Spanish navy, he would force Spain to recognize Portuguese independence and cede the northern regions of Ourense and Santiago de Compostela to Portugal.

Britain gets the Gibraltar area south of Mount Penivetico. Daqin received the port of Ceuta in North Africa to the south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and the British were to ensure that all Daqin ships enjoyed free passage through the Strait of Gibraltar at all times and under all circumstances.

Since Daqin was far away from Europe, after Britain took the Gibraltar area, the entire Strait of Gibraltar was almost in the hands of Britain, and Britain was very satisfied with this result.

As a result, the British and Portuguese navies, which had already been assembled, plus Daqin's eight flying scissor warships. A total of 128 warships marched towards the Strait of Gibraltar.

At this time, Philip IV of Spain, who had just walked to the border between Spain and France with 50,000 troops, heard the news that the navies of Qin, Britain, and Portugal were fighting together in the Strait of Gibraltar. The "King of the Earth" broke the rice bowl on the spot, and it was a jade bowl as thin as a cicada's wings.

So here's the problem? The combined fleet of Qin, Britain and Portugal had just left Lisbon, and Philip IV, who was far away on the border between Spain and France, immediately received the news, okay. It was not surprising to receive the news that the three fleets were gathering in Lisbon, so how could Philip IV be sure that the three fleets were going to attack the Strait of Gibraltar?

This is a very intriguing question.

There is also the problem that Zhang Haoran wants to lobby Spain and some southern European countries to unite. Attack the Ottoman Empire on both sides with Great Qin, so that Great Qin's Central Asian strategic concept can be implemented faster and better.

In this case, why did Zhang Haoran join Britain and Portugal to attack Spain? If Spain is defeated, how can it be flanked by the Ottoman Empire?

Again, this is an intriguing question.

The man who came to report to Philip IV was called Darausk, and when he saw that Philip IV was so alarmed, he hurriedly attached himself to Philip IV and whispered in his ear.

After hearing his words, Philip IV asked suspiciously, "Is this true?" Are you sure this is true? ”

Dalauske looked left and right, and whispered something into Philip IV's ear again

***

From Lisbon to the Strait of Gibraltar, sail south along the Atlantic Ocean, skirt Cape São Vicente and head east into the Gulf of Cádiz.

It's spring, and it's time when the warm and cold monsoons meet in the Atlantic. Not only is the Atlantic Ocean choppy, but also due to the temperature difference between the water surface of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and the convergence of warm and humid air currents above, foggy weather often forms, covering the entire strait, and the visibility is very low, which is a great threat to ship navigation.

As the combined fleet approached the Strait of Gibraltar, it encountered foggy weather, and the sea was white and cloudy, and the daylight became extremely dim as dusk approached, and the combined fleets of the three countries had to hang up their lights to prevent collisions with each other.

Of course, there was a negative side to this weather, and for the combined fleet, which took the initiative to attack, basically the advantages outweighed the disadvantages, and a surprise attack could be launched without the Spanish fleet being aware of it.

The Strait of Gibraltar is located between the southernmost part of Spain and northwestern Africa and is 58 kilometers long; The narrowest point is between Cape Marroqui in Spain and Cape Sires in Morocco, and it is only 13 kilometers wide.

The 128 battleships sailed on the sea like a group of ghost ships in the foggy dusk, and the sky was getting darker and darker, and the battleships that were a little farther away were no longer visible, only the faint lights on the masts.

As the Strait of Gibraltar got closer and closer, the atmosphere became more and more tense, the Spanish Armada once dominated Europe, as the so-called hundred-legged insects, dead but not stiff, although the Armada was defeated by the British fleet once, but the strength is still there. If this operation is discovered by the Armada in advance, it will be a tragic and bloody battle, and it is not yet known who will die in the end.

The flagship of General Lan Bai, who sailed in front, was the famous "Sea King" in the whole of Europe, which was the largest warship in Europe, equipped with hundreds of large and small guns.

In order to achieve a better sneak attack effect, Lan Bai built yì each ship to separate a little, and then extinguished the lights on the ship, this mention yì was immediately agreed by the Qin army, and the Portuguese fleet did not say anything, everyone spread out a little, and then extinguished all the anti-collision lights.

The fog made the night even deeper, only the surging waves continued to echo, and at this moment, there was a sudden and fierce cannon sound in front of me without warning, boom! Boom, boom, boom

But in the night, tongues of fire were like demonic fires spewed out by the devil, and a deafening roar made the entire Bay of Cadiz boil at once.

"Oh God!"

"It's the Armada! It's the Armada of the Spaniards! ”

"Oh! We're in ambush! ”

"God, the Kosda has been shot!"

"Sea King, look! God, the enemy's target is the King of the Seas."

It is not known how the Spanish armada accurately predicted the appearance of the combined fleet of the three countries here, but at this moment, they took advantage of the foggy weather to mobilize the entire armada, totaling 93 warships, and laid a perfect trap in front.

It was an arc-shaped T-shaped crossbow, and more than ninety battleships opened fire violently, bombarding the British battleships that had unwittingly rushed into the trap, and the distance between the warships on both sides was only about 100 meters, and all the guns were almost flat-fired;

Hundreds of shells flew close to the sea, and bombarded the British warships, especially the huge hull and obvious target of the Sea King, which fell like rain, and the cabin collapsed, even the mainmast was blown off, and it smashed down with a bang, causing the waves to churn, and the momentum was not amazing.

A single salvo of the Invincible Armada was nearly a thousand shells, which were so fierce that before the British could react, they were bombarded and screamed.

Pang Ning looked at the tragic scene in front of him, and shouted in shock: "Turn the rudder quickly!" The enemy has an ambush! Come on! Fast! ”

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(To be continued......)