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An ambush west of Gibraltar came suddenly and ended quickly. The Spanish Armada set up a pocket for the combined fleet of the three countries to fall into.
The British fleet, which was at the forefront, had a total of seven ships destroyed, including the "Majestic of the Sea", which was the pride of the whole of Britain. It was severely damaged and unable to escape the battlefield and was captured by the Invincible Fleet.
The eight Qin army's clipper warships were safe and sound. There was no other way. With the speed of the clipper ships, no ship in Europe could catch up with them.
The Portuguese fleet did not suffer much loss either. They were at the end. When the Qin warships ran away, they followed. There was thick fog on the sea at that time. Not to mention that the Spanish Invincible Armada was busy destroying the British warships, even if they had pursued with all their strength from the beginning, they probably could not catch up. When the distance was a little far, the vision was foggy. How could they chase
Thanks to the thick fog, most of the British warships in front were able to escape. Only seven warships were damaged in the first wave of artillery fire, which affected their speed and made it impossible to escape.
The loss of seven ships may not seem like much, but it has a different meaning when one of them is the Sea Majesty. The Sea Majesty was built in 1637 and was the first large warship with three decks in the British Navy built during the reign of Charles I.
The total cost of the entire battleship was more than 40,000 pounds. The chief designer Pater 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 battleship in Europe.
The ship is 51 meters long, 14.7 meters wide, 23.17 meters deep, 6.8 meters deep, weighs 1,683 tons, and has 4 decks. It has 3 masts, with crown sails on the main mast and foremast. Each anchor weighs 2 tons. There are more than 800 sailors, and the largest shell has a net weight of 60 pounds. A salvo of shells weighs one ton.
It can be said that the "Sea Majesty" is one of the souls of the British Navy and has extraordinary significance. Its capture not only dealt a serious blow to the morale of the British Navy, but also triggered a fierce debate in the British Parliament.
General Lanbai, who managed to escape on a small boat, was condemned by thousands of people. Some members of parliament even wanted to send him to the guillotine to make him take the responsibility for the defeat.
Not to mention how fierce the war of words was in Britain, a few days after the ambush, Zheng Jie, the second-in-command of the Qin envoys, sat down with Philip IV's plenipotentiary, Spanish Foreign Minister Hoffman, in the city hall of Huelva in southwestern Spain and started secret negotiations.
"No! We will never agree to Portugal's independence." Mrs. Hoffman was very determined and rejected Zheng Jie's suggestion outright.
Zheng Jie said with a smile: "Your Excellency, don't be excited. The grievances between Spain and Portugal are not something that we, Daqin, care about. But I believe that your Excellency should also be aware that Daqin and Portugal have signed a military alliance agreement.
If your country continues to invade Portugal, it will be very difficult for Daqin, and the two countries may even have to go to war. I made this suggestion not to seek any benefits for Portugal, but just to maintain a long-term friendly relationship between Daqin and Spain. "
Hoffman is a man in his forties with long flowing hair, but unlike other Spaniards who are generally tall, he is short and thin, but his eyes give people a very bright and shrewd feeling.
"On behalf of our king, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to your country for defeating the British warships and capturing the Sea Monarch. But this cannot be the price you ask us to pay for Portugal's independence. If you are still willing to cooperate with us, please do not make such unreasonable demands again."
Capturing the British Sea Monarch also has a very important meaning for Spain. Since the Invincible Armada was defeated by the British Navy in 1588, the Invincible Armada is no longer "invincible". Even the Spanish themselves are embarrassed to continue calling it the Invincible Armada.
The capture of the Mare del Sol was equivalent to allowing the Spanish Armada to avenge its previous defeat. The Armada even planned to repair the Mare del Sol and use it as its flagship.
“It is true that there have been unpleasant wars between our Great Qin and your country, but there are no eternal enemies between countries. Now the situation is very clear. Cooperation between the two countries is a win-win situation, while continuing to be enemies will harm both sides.
The Ottoman Empire is constantly expanding, and its territory is almost reaching the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar. In the Mediterranean, if it were not for the restraint of the Ottoman Empire's navy, why would your country's invincible fleet only be able to stay in the Mediterranean, allowing the Netherlands and Britain to snatch away large tracts of overseas colonies?"
The threat posed by the Ottoman Empire to Spain is real, and there is no need for Zheng Jie to say more. If it were under normal circumstances, if Qin wanted to attack the Ottoman Empire together with Spain, Spain would definitely be very happy to cooperate.
But now, France is internally unstable, and even the king is still controlled by the Qin people. Philip IV has led his army to the Spanish-French border and is preparing for a major battle. At this time, asking Spain to send troops to attack the Ottoman Empire is not something that Spain is willing to do, and even if it is willing, it does not have the ability to do it.
Zheng Jie also knew that it was unrealistic to ask Philip IV to withdraw his troops immediately and attack the Ottoman Empire together. After all, Spain had dispatched such a large army, spent countless resources, and gained nothing. Now no one would want to ask them to withdraw.
But on the other hand, the Su Jin and Li Ding armies that have now entered Central Asia may have a head-on collision with the Ottoman Empire at any time. Due to the long distance and difficulty in deploying troops, Daqin does need Spain to contain the Ottoman Empire to a certain extent in the Mediterranean.
Zheng Jie, who was unwilling to give up, said again: "Mr. Hoffman, we in Daqin have a word called "Shede". It means that only by giving can you gain. Portugal is an independent country. At present, it is not easy for Spain to change this fact. It may even drag Daqin into this war, which is very disadvantageous to both of us.
If your country is willing to recognize the independence of Portugal and cooperate with it, then not only can you withdraw the 100,000 troops on the Spanish-Portuguese border to attack France or the Ottoman Empire, but after establishing good relations with Portugal, you can also fight against the increasingly powerful British navy and the Dutch.
If you recognize Portugal's independence, your country will lose a small piece of land that does not belong to you, but you will gain more. Otherwise, your country will have to fight against the Ottoman Empire on the one hand, attack France on the other, and deal with the war with Portugal on the other. Fighting on three fronts, given Spain's financial situation that is on the verge of bankruptcy, isn't this a very dangerous thing
Moreover, Britain has suffered a great loss this time, will they just give up? my country and Portugal have signed a military alliance first, and if your country attacks Portugal, it is not easy for Daqin 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 our Qin. At that time, can your country cope with it
Sir Hoffman, you have heard me, I do not mean to threaten your country, but only to lay out the facts, 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. Whether in Europe or overseas, it will be like a fish in water and change the current passive situation. I hope Mr. Hoffman will consider these carefully. "
It is very likely that the war against Grapes will involve Qin and Britain. Didn’t the three countries form a joint fleet to attack the Strait of Gibraltar this time
But could the Qin people believe it? They had just established diplomatic relations with Britain, and then they sold Britain out. Who knew if Spain would be the next country to be sold out
Although Hoffman did not voice this concern, it was not difficult for Zheng Jie to guess it. However, Western countries have always put interests first and there is no such thing as trust and loyalty. Zheng Jie is not afraid.
He said calmly: "Mr. Hoffman, just think about whether your country will benefit or suffer from cooperating with our Great Qin, and you will understand how to make the choice."
Zheng Jie wanted to persuade Spain to recognize Portugal's independence, but it was not really for Portugal's sake. In the final analysis, he felt that Spain would not be able to deal with the Ottoman Empire if it continued to fight Portugal;
If the two countries stopped fighting and became friends, it would be different. Spain could spare tens of thousands of troops and join forces with Portugal to attack the Ottoman Empire. This was why he tried so hard to persuade Spain to recognize Portugal's independence.
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.(To be continued..)
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