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An ambush battle west of Gibraltar came suddenly and ended quickly, and the Spanish Armada set up a pocket for the combined fleet of the three countries to drill into.

The British fleet, which was at the forefront, was destroyed by seven ships, including the "Sea King", which was the pride of all Britain, and was also captured by the Armada because it was too badly damaged to escape the battlefield.

The eight flying scissor battleships of the Qin army were unharmed. There is no way, at the speed of the clipper, it escapes, and at present, there is not a single ship in the whole of Europe that can catch up.

The Portuguese fleet also suffered little losses, they walked at the end, as soon as the Qin army's battleships ran, they also ran away, at that time the sea was foggy, not to mention that the Spanish Armada was busy destroying the British warships, even if they pursued it with all their might at the beginning, I am afraid they couldn't chase it, the distance was a little farther, and the line of sight was foggy, how to chase?

It was also thanks to the fog that most of the British battleships in front of them were able to escape, and only seven battleships were unable to escape due to damage in the first wave of artillery fire, which affected the speed of the voyage.

The loss of seven warships does not seem like much, but if it includes the "Sea King", the meaning is different. Completed in 1637, the King of the Seas was the first large warship in the English Navy to have a three-story long deck built under Charles I.

The total cost of the entire battleship was more than 40,000 pounds, and the chief designer Pate originally wanted the ship to be equipped with only 90 cannons, but Charles I insisted on increasing the number of guns to 104, making it the largest warship in Europe at present.

The ship has a total length of 51 meters, a width of 14.7 meters, a depth of 23.17 meters, a draft of 6.8 meters, a weight of 1,683 tons, and four decks. It is erected with 3 masts, and crown sails are hung on the mainmast and foremast. Each anchor weighs 2 tons. There were more than 800 sailors, the largest shells had a net weight of 60 pounds, and a salvo of shells weighed a ton.

Arguably. The "Sea King" is one of the souls of the British Navy, and its significance is extraordinary. Its capture not only dealt a severe blow to the morale of the British navy, but also caused a fierce quarrel in the British Parliament.

General Lan Bai, who was lucky enough to escape in a small boat, was pointed out by thousands of people, and some parliamentarians even wanted to send him to the guillotine to bear the responsibility for the defeat.

Not to mention how fierce the war of words in Britain was, a few days after this ambush, Zheng Jie, the second person in the Great Qin Mission, was the plenipotentiary of Philip IV. Spanish Foreign Minister Hoffman sat together in the town hall of Huelva in southwestern Spain, where secret negotiations began.

"No! We will categorically not agree to Portuguese independence. Hoffmann was very resolute and denied Zheng Jie's advice.

Zheng Jie said with a smile on his face: "Your Excellency doesn't need to be excited, the grievances between Spain and Portugal, we Daqin don't care, but I believe Your Excellency should also know that I, Daqin, have signed a military alliance agreement with Portugal;

If your country continues to invade Portugal, it will be very difficult for my Great Qin, and the two countries may not even be able to avoid fighting each other. This makes this build yì. It was not for the sake of Portugal to seek any benefits, but only for the sake of maintaining long-term friendly relations between Great Qin and Spain. ”

Hoffman was a man in his forties with long, flowing hair, but unlike other Spaniards who were generally tall. He was short and thin, but his eyes were very shrewd and shrewd.

"On behalf of our King, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to your country for the defeat of the British warship and the capture of the Sea King. But this is not the price for your country to ask our country to agree to the independence of Portugal. If Your Excellency the Ambassador is still interested in cooperating with my country, please refrain from making such unreasonable demands. ”

To be able to capture the British Sea King, for Spain. It also has a very heavy meaning, since the defeat of the Armada to the English Navy in 1588, the Armada is actually no longer "invincible", and continues to be called the Armadada, and even the Spaniards themselves blush.

The capture of the Sea King this time was equivalent to making the Spanish Invincible Fleet a shame, and the Invincible Fleet even planned to repair the Sea King and then use it as its own flagship.

"It is true that there have been unpleasant wars between our Great Qin and your country, but between countries, there is no eternal enemy, and now the situation is very clear, between the two countries, cooperation is a win-win situation, and continuing to be an enemy will damage both sides.

The Ottoman Empire continued to expand, and its territory was about to expand to the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar, and in the Mediterranean, if it were not for the containment of the Ottoman Empire's navy, why would your country's invincible arma only be able to hold on to the Mediterranean, allowing the Netherlands and Britain to rob a large number of overseas colonies? ”

The threat of the Ottoman Empire to Spain is real, there is no need for Zheng Jie to say more, if it is in peacetime, the Qin State wants to fight the Ottoman Empire with Spain, Spain must be very happy to cooperate.

But now, France is internally unstable, even the king is still controlled by the Qin people, Philip IV led a large army to the border between Spain and France, and is preparing to do a big job, at this time let Spain send troops to attack the Ottoman Empire, not to mention that Spain is unwilling, even if it is willing and unable to do it.

Zheng Jie also knew that it was unrealistic to let Philip IV withdraw his troops immediately and come back and attack the Ottomans together, after all, Spain dispatched such a huge army, which cost countless people, and did not get any oil and water, so they let the family withdraw and replace no one.

But on the other hand, the army of Su Jin and Li Ding, who are now entering Central Asia, may collide head-on with the Ottoman Empire at any time, because of the long distance and the difficulty of sending troops, Daqin really needs Spain to contain the Ottomans in the Mediterranean.

Zheng Jie, who did not give up, said again: "Your Excellency Hoffman, we have a word in Daqin, called Shede. It means that there is something to give. Portugal was originally an independent country, and at present, it is not easy for Spain to change this fact, and it will even involve Daqin in this war, which is very detrimental to both of us.

If your country is willing to recognize the independence of the grapes and cooperate with them, you will not only be able to draw up 100,000 troops on the Spanish and Portuguese borders to attack France or the Ottoman Empire, but also establish good relations with Portugal and fight against the growing British navy and the Dutch.

Wouldn't it be a very dangerous thing to recognize the independence of Portugal, to lose a small piece of land that did not belong to your country in the first place, but to gain more, otherwise your country would have to fight against the Ottoman Empire on the one hand, France on the other, and on the other hand to deal with the war of Portugal, a three-front war, with Spain's financial situation on the verge of bankruptcy?

What's more, this time Britain has suffered a big loss, will they give up on this? And my country has signed a military alliance with Portugal first, and if your country attacks Portugal, it is not easy for me to sit idly by.

In the end, the war between your country and Portugal is likely to turn into a war between your country and Portugal plus Britain and my Great Qin. Will your country be able to cope with that time?

You have heard of me, Lord Hoffman, that I do not mean to threaten your country, but only to lay out the facts, and if your country takes the initiative to recognize the independence of Portugal, then I am fully capable of persuading Portugal to form an alliance with your country;

In this way, your country will have fewer enemies and more allies, and whether it is in Europe or overseas, it will be like a fish in water, and the current situation of being very passive will be changed. I hope that His Excellency Hoffman will consider these carefully. ”

It is very likely that the war against the grapes will involve the Qin State and the British, and this time the three countries will form a joint fleet to attack the Strait of Gibraltar?

It's just that the people of the Qin State can believe it? They have just established diplomatic relations with Britain, and in the blink of an eye, they have sold Britain again, who knows if Spain will be the next to be sold?

Although Hoffman did not say this kind of worry, it is not difficult for Zheng Jie to guess, but Western countries have always put interests first, so there is no credibility to talk about, and Zheng Jie is not afraid.

He said lightly: "Your Excellency Hoffman, as long as you think about cooperating with my Great Qin, whether your country will gain or suffer, you will understand how to choose." ”

Zheng Jie wanted to persuade Spain to recognize Portugal's independence, but he was not really thinking about Portugal, in the final analysis, he still felt that Spain would not be able to deal with the Ottoman Empire if it continued to fight with Portugal;

If the two countries strike and get along, it will be different. Spain could draw tens of thousands of troops, and it could also unite with Portugal to flank the Ottoman Empire. This was the reason why he tried so hard to persuade Spain to recognize Portuguese independence.

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(To be continued......)