The Madeira Islands (32º north latitude, 16º west longitude) located outside the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea are known as the "Pearl of the Atlantic". It is now under the jurisdiction of Portugal and is located on the west side of the west coast of Africa. The island's land area is about 800 square kilometers. It has a subtropical marine climate and is an archipelago in the central and eastern part of the North Atlantic. It is mainly composed of volcanic islands.
It has beautiful scenery, a mild climate, and is rich in grapes and wine. It is currently an important trade and commodity export port in Europe.
The port of Madeira was a very important stopover for ships that needed to cross the Atlantic from Europe to the New World, or head south to Africa, India or the far East.
At the same time, the Port of Madeira is also one of the important transshipment stations for the trade of slaves, gold, gems, and Guava spices from Africa to the Americas.
And the reason why it is only one of them is because another archipelago port just south of it, Las Palmas (28º north latitude, 16º west longitude), also serves almost the same function as it and is still competing with it. Relationship.
However, Port Madeira belongs to the Portuguese, while Las Palmas belongs to the Spanish, and the relationship between the two has always been subtle.
Of course, the rights and wrongs between the Portuguese and the Kingdom of Spain cannot be explained clearly in a few words. That is not the point. The point now is: the Li family fleet and the admiral Li Huamei of the Li family fleet are currently supplying and operating in the Port of Madeira. They have been waiting here for a week with the final modifications and are making final preparations for their journey to the New World at low tide today.
After all, going to the New World requires crossing the entire Atlantic Ocean. Starting from the Port of Madeira or Las Palmas on the west coast of Africa, and following the ocean current to the west, even if the journey is smooth and there are no storms or other bad weather, according to the Li family fleet At such a speed, it would take at least five weeks, or a little more than a month, to reach the New World.
And if something goes wrong along the way or the weather suddenly becomes bad and the wind direction is bad, even if you have the advantage of smooth ocean currents, it is likely to take a long time of two to three months, and it may even be possible. Other more terrifying situations occurred, so Li Huamei and others could not help but be cautious.
Navigation is not a game. Most of those ships and captains who do not respect the sea have been buried at the bottom of the sea or have completely disappeared. They are lost to no one knows which corner of the world.
Therefore, for the Li family fleet, which has its own firm purpose and wants to continue to travel around the world, and is also preparing to return to the Ming Dynasty with its large fleet in order to expel or even eliminate the Japanese pirates, no matter how cautious it is, no matter how cautious it is, Not an exaggeration.
At this time, the Li family fleet anchored in the berth of the Madeira Port has grown from the few ships that came out of the Ming Dynasty to a total of sixteen ships!
Especially after the Li family's fleet sold the silk, tea, ceramics and other exquisite embroidered cloth and other in-demand goods they brought from the Ming Dynasty in Europe, Admiral Li Huamei, who had made a small fortune, waved his hand. In the Mediterranean and North Sea areas where maritime trade and shipbuilding are extremely developed, he bought several sea-going ships in succession. Among them, there were even two large North Sea three-masted square sailing ships and an eighty-percent-new military escort ship, allowing Li Huamei to travel all over the world. I felt a lot more confident all of a sudden.
Of course, like the escort ship, the newly purchased ships are not new, because Li Huamei and her Li family fleet do not have much time to wait or order new ships from the shipyard.
"Admiral..."
“Are we really leaving Europe today?”
At this time, Li Huamei's die-hard follower, James Ludwig, who met Li Huamei after being exiled and was taken in, and who has since then devoted himself to helping the Li family's fleet, walked to the bow of the ship and looked at the docks that were silently watching. Admiral Li Huamei, who was carrying buckets with coolies and sailors, asked.
He was a little unwilling to leave like this, just like when he was unwilling to be exiled and had to leave here.
"Yes."
"There is no place for Easterners like me here. Now that we can supply supplies and buy goods to the New World normally here, we won't have to make an empty trip, which is very good."
"James..."
"You have to know that this is the backyard of you Europeans. Our Ming Dynasty's influence here is almost nonexistent. Moreover, we have no advantage. It is better not to do things that are too easy to stir up disputes. ."
Li Huamei couldn't help but sigh when she thought about the developed shipping and commerce in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Sea, as well as the intricate forces, fleets and privateering fleets of various countries.
At the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar, it is mainly controlled by the Portuguese regular navy Admiral Albuquerque and Baroudis of the Spanish Armada. The dozen or so ships from the Li family fleet that have come from afar are simply not enough to see. !
As for the Mediterranean, let alone that area. That sea area has long been monopolized by the Italian businessman Chentelio, the pirate king Hayreddin who dominated North Africa, and the Ottoman Empire's naval commander-in-chief Bashar. The large and small chambers of commerce and private individuals in the Mediterranean None of the ship owners does not have intricate relationships with the above forces. Even the small local Chamber of Commerce in Portugal and the Castro Chamber of Commerce only have a pitiful share. Li Huamei, who came from afar, How could the merchants of the Eastern Ming Empire dare to act rashly here?
Not to mention the North Sea, which is the territory of the British and the Hanseatic League Shupaia Chamber of Commerce, the trading guild in northern Europe. If their Li family fleet dares to get involved there, that British naval admiral Clifford can transform at any time. Pirates and attacked their Li family fleet!
Therefore, after the Li family fleet has sold out its goods and supplies, besides setting off quickly to prepare for the New World, what else can they do?
"But……"
"Admiral, didn't you say that no matter what, you want to get a battleship like the one in the North Sea to study?"
"If you give me a little time, although the military one may not be available, there will definitely be no problem with the commercial one!"
"And let me tell you, the hull structure of commercial and military ships is the same. At most, there are only subtle differences in cannons and armor."
"What do you think, Admiral, how about we wait a little longer?"
James Ludwig continued to persuade Li Huamei with some impatience. He finally returned to Europe, and he had to leave in despair before he could stay for long. He must be a little unwilling.
"..."
"James, a fleet as big as ours cannot stay here for a year or half a year. Moreover, we can't do business here in the Mediterranean or the North Sea."
"Is it possible that we don't do anything and just find a port to wait?"
Shaking her head, Li Huamei looked at James with a half-smile. She vaguely knew that he wanted to stay in his hometown longer, but that was not possible. They were about to leave, and they would leave the harbor today at low tide. That was a few days ago. Things that have been discussed beforehand cannot be changed.
"That……"
"How did you arrange the ship?"
James Ludwig began to make his final resistance, and seemed to think that if the admiral Li Huamei was willing to keep him here?
"Do not worry!"
"Let's go to the New World first. When we come back, I think Lilu, the Agot Chamber of Commerce who I entrusted with, has already got it for us."
In fact, this time, the goods Li Huamei and her fleet brought from Daming and the goods they planned to take to the New World were all helped by Lilu from Beihai.
Although, the other party also made a huge profit from the price difference, but Li Huamei didn't mind.
Because only a win-win situation can make the friendly relationship between the two parties long-lasting and sustainable. Otherwise, the two of them may end up almost fighting like they did in Nanyang!
What a cunning Kun, Li Huamei felt that when she returned, her Li family fleet would definitely go to Jakarta again and give the opponent a showdown.
"alright."
"James, don't bother the Admiral, it's useless."
"With the current situation, this is all we can do. Let's go to the New World to see if there are any opportunities."
"If it really doesn't work, we should return to Daming."
"After all, the East and Nanyang are the focus of our operations. This place is still too far from our base camp. There is no need for us to waste time here."
At this time, the Englishman, Charles Huisson, came over and patted James on the shoulder, signaling him not to mess around.
"All right……"
"Then go to the New World!"
After thinking about it carefully, I felt that here in the Mediterranean, the Li Family Chamber of Commerce could not compete with the navies of various countries, private ship owners, and those big businessmen with national power backgrounds. James struggled for a while, and finally had no choice but to retreat. He was not prepared to interfere with the decision of Admiral Li Huamei.
"Let everyone prepare!"
"The tide will go out soon. We have to set off on time, so cheer up!"
"!!"
"yes!"
"Admiral!"
"As you command!"
"Master, don't worry!"
"quick!"
"Be quick with your hands and feet and put that water away!"
Under Li Huamei's orders, Charlie, James, and the sailors and followers who were waiting or busy at the bow of the ship all agreed and got busy.
A few hours after the Li family fleet set off...
Here at the Port of Madeira, for some unknown reason, a group of hundreds of Portuguese soldiers lined up neatly and carried muskets. They rushed to the dock and surrounded various trestles and berths.
"explain!"
"What about the Ming Dynasties and their fleets from the east?"
"It's that woman Li Huamei!"
"Where is she and her fleet?"
After taking control of the entire port, an officer angrily questioned an official in charge of tax collection and registration at the dock.
"Oriental?"
"ah!"
"When the tide went out, she and her fleet had already set off. They had been traveling for several hours."
"!!"
"Where have they gone?"
"No, I don't know..."
"It may be to go south to Africa, or it may be to go north. Of course, depending on their supply volume, it is more likely to go to the New World, but where exactly, who knows?"
"Damn it!"
"It's still slow. It would be nice if the messenger could come faster..."
After hearing what the officer said and seeing that there were indeed no ships they were looking for in the berth of the dock, the officer sighed and looked towards the sea outside the dock.
A few hours have passed, and the sea is vast now. Where can he go to catch people?
Moreover, the tide has begun to rise, and it is not easy to get out of the port. In addition, the Li family fleet has more than a dozen armed merchant ships. Even if they know the opponent's exact purpose and route, what is the use?
You know, the warships here in Madeira are not capital ships. They are not sure to take them and take down the Ming Dynasty and the fleet of the Ming Dynasty, which are said to be very powerful. The other side's ships were parked at the dock before. Time is their best opportunity to take action.
But unfortunately, by the time the governor of Madeira received the letter and hurriedly sent them out to arrest the people, those Easterners had no idea whether they had received the news in advance and ran away in advance?
"Close the team!"
"Let's go back and report to the Governor!"
Since those Ming people from the east had already gone to sea and would definitely not be able to catch up, and they did not dare to catch up easily, the officer had no choice but to wave his hand, blow the whistle again to gather the musketeers, and then walked away in despair. He followed them back to the city.
…
While Li Huamei was leading the fleet to the New World, a certain bad little girl, the Admiral, was driving along the east coast of Africa in the direction of Sofala.
As for the port in Mozambique, it had surrendered after being bombarded by the Li family fleet.
However, under Anna's instruction, the Li family fleet did not have time to station personnel for the time being, and instead continued to pursue the Espinoza Chamber of Commerce ship directly south.
At this time, on the deck of the flagship of the Xiang Feihu, the one-eyed pirate Azisha, whose butt injury had just improved, was being punished for cleaning the deck.
"..."
Azisha did not resist and worked silently because she knew she could not resist.
So, it took her almost an hour to finally clean up the deck.
However, when she was about to put on the mop, when she turned around, she saw a certain naughty little girl, the Admiral, sitting on the guard rail of the command platform, eating melon seeds, and spitting out the melon seed shells on the deck below. All over the floor?
"..."
Seeing this, Azisha couldn't help but glared at the annoying little girl Admiral who could have vomited into the sea, but insisted on vomiting on the deck.
"what?"
く(＾_・)ゝ
"What are you looking at!"
( ﾟヘﾟ)》
"I am an admiral, and my job is to eat, drink and have fun, but you are now a coolie and your job is to clean the deck. What if I vomit some melon seed shells?"
(๑•̌.•̑๑)ˀ̣ˀ̣
"And this is for your own good. If the first mate feels that you are no longer needed to clean the deck, he will secretly stuff you into a barrel and throw you into the sea to feed the crabs!"
(^▽^)
Yes, although Anne did not think that the other party was a threat, the first mate and others did not think so. And if Anne did not think that female pirates were very fun, and fighting wits with each other could kill the boring time at sea, the other party would It had long been thrown into the sea.
"Come quickly and scan!"
↜(ψ｀▽′)o
"That's it, while others are eating, you can clean up at the same time!"
(｡•̀ꌂ-)✧
With that said, Annie continued to sit on the guardrail and started to smoke, swaying her little feet happily, and at the same time, she vomited all over the deck below the command podium.
"..."
Azisha didn't move or speak. She just stood there holding the broom and looking fiercely at Annie.
"..."
"..."
At this time, none of the sailors around felt sorry for Azisha. On the contrary, there were four fully armed sailors staring at her from different directions with vigilant and hostile eyes to prevent her from breaking out in resistance at any time. Or run away.
In the eyes of the sailors, compared to being hung on the mast and exposed to the sun or thrown into the sea to feed the fish, the current treatment of the female pirate Azisha is already excellent, and there is nothing to be pitiful about.
"Scan quickly!"
(๑վ‸վ๑)
"You guys keep an eye on her. If you see melon seed shells after scanning, if you find one, hit her ten times!!"
o(´^｀)o
After teasing the other party for a while, Annie suddenly felt a little bored. After threatening and explaining, she turned around and jumped down from the guardrail.
The female pirate is tired of playing, so now she plans to go back to the captain's cabin to play with Song Yifeng, who must be naked to escape the summer heat again. For example: while the other person is sleeping, draw turtles on the other person's back and buttocks or something?
(…)
ʕᓀ㉨ᓂʔ
(Tibbers said that there is nothing fun in drawing a turtle. It would be more fun to let it eat the stupid little female human Song Yifeng in one bite, and then eat the female pirate Azisha in one bite! Of course, there is also that Li Huamei , Uncle Xiong has been thinking about her body for a long time, and he doesn’t know if she has gotten fatter and tastes better after not seeing her for so long.
After all, the other person is not young anymore. If you don’t eat it before you have children, the meat will no longer be juicy, white and tender when you get older. Not only will it taste irritating, but it will also easily fill your teeth! )
————————
|˛˙꒳˙)Hello?
Are there any monthly passes? If not, wait until the end of the month and ask again!
(´◠◡◠`)
