"Didn't France help you?"
Shang Kexi is somewhat puzzled by Portugal's difficulties.
According to the agreement, France will deepen its intervention in the situation on the Imbilia Peninsula.
With France, the most powerful army in Europe, it stands to reason that Spain will not have an easy time.
How could Portugal be given such a heavy blow?
"Civil strife has broken out in France and the royal family has fled Paris. Now they are too overwhelmed to help us."
Afonso reported the situation.
Just as the ocean-going fleet rushed to Europe, the situation in France became turbulent.
The cause of the incident was that the windows of Cardinal Mazarin's followers were broken by a mob in Paris, which was known as the Fronde in history.
In 1643, King Louis XIV of France was only five years old when he ascended the throne, so his mother Anne became Queen Regent.
Mazarin, Anne's favorite, became Prime Minister and was extremely powerful.
Because France had financial problems during the Thirty Years' War, Mazarin had to advance money from financiers. In return, he allowed financiers to levy taxes and collect state revenue, allowing these tax collectors to reap huge profits.
Naturally, it aroused the jealousy of the nobles and the anger of the people.
Conflicts in French society began to intensify.
Three years ago, the people of Paris launched an armed uprising, forcing Louis XIV to leave, and Mazarin was also exiled.
It was not until the beginning of the second year that Prince Condé led a large army to surround Paris. The fearful nobles and bourgeoisie betrayed the people and signed an agreement with the king, resulting in the failure of the uprising.
After this uprising, Prince Condé relied on his great achievements and sought to be prime minister, but was rejected by Louis XIV.
The strongly dissatisfied Prince Kongdai united the nobles and plotted to overthrow Mazarin.
Mazaran took the initiative and arrested Prince Kong Dai.
So the prince's supporters began to riot, and eventually the whole country became a mess.
In the end both sides had to compromise, which ended with Mazarin being exiled for the second time.
But don't worry, things are far from over.
Just last year, Mazarin was recalled to Paris again.
Prince Condé was so angry that he united with Spain to launch an invasion of France.
In more than two months of war, the rebels were victorious, and Louis XIV had to flee Paris again.
Feeling that he was surrounded by enemies, Mazaran became disheartened and resigned for the third time.
After he left office, Prince Kong Dai also lost public support.
After all, the betrayal behavior of the nobles before has made the people recognize their faces clearly, and it is impossible for them to act as evildoers.
As Louis XIV was welcomed back to Paris, Prince Condé had to go into exile, and Gaston, Duke of Orleans, was demoted.
Although the civil strife in France seemed to be over, it was still recovering and was no longer able to support Portugal.
As for the Netherlands…
Now he is doing his best to help King Charles II of England fight against Parliament, but he is too busy to do anything.
It can be said that if the empire did not invest its power, the situation in Europe might be greatly disadvantaged.
Fortunately, the ocean fleet is here.
After learning about the situation in Portugal, Shang Kexi did not dare to delay and immediately sent his troops northward.
At the same time, the Spanish who escaped also reported the situation.
"General, the empire's fleet is coming. They have very powerful weapons. It is difficult for our warships to resist."
In front of Juan Jose, the Spanish major presented the situation in detail, but received no appreciation from the general.
"Mr. Major, you shouldn't exaggerate about your defeat. Can a single cannonball sink a battleship? Oh my god, are the cannonballs blessed by God? Or is it a curse from the East?"
The meeting room immediately burst into laughter.
Not to mention Juan Jose didn't believe it, other generals didn't believe it either.
There are imperial warships on the British side. No matter how good the fight is, the Spaniards have already obtained the information.
Although I have to admit that the Imperial Navy's warships are very good, their artillery is very accurate, and their range is longer, but it is still within an acceptable range.
Especially in the process of fighting the Portuguese, they captured many bronze cannons that the empire authorized Portugal to produce.
Everyone does not think that this kind of artillery, which is not very large in caliber, can sink a warship with one shell.
The Spanish major blushed.
"General, I swear on my honor that these are true."
Juan Jose laughed until tears came out.
"Okay, okay, Mr. Major, you have no reputation."
These words were very humiliating, but Juan Jose said them openly.
The Spanish major's eyes were burning, and he could only return to his seat helplessly, while cursing in his heart.
"Damn bastard."
All of Spain knew that Juan Jose was the illegitimate son of King Felipe IV of Spain.
His mother is actress Maria Calderon.
Although Felipe IV had given birth to many sons, all of them died without exception.
Realizing that there was a problem with the succession, Felipe IV began to groom Juan Jose.
This guy started out as a Guards officer, gained military power for the first time when he went to Naples to suppress the fishermen's riot, and then became the Governor of Sicily.
Last year, he commanded the Spanish army to surround Barcelona and fought a great victory. He began to rise to fame and was hailed as a famous general.
Originally, he was going to continue to command the battle in Catalonia, but the Western Front was so embarrassed by Portugal that Felipe IV had to mobilize him.
Seeing that there was no hope on land, Juan Jose decided to deal with Portugal from the sea.
His approach yielded great results.
The developed areas of Portugal are all along the coast. After being attacked by the Spanish navy, they suffered heavy losses, which has seriously affected the economy.
The most terrible thing is that the resources sent to Portugal from South America have begun to be cut off.
If things continue like this, it seems that Portugal's defeat due to lack of resources is not far away.
Seeing a huge achievement in front of him, the Imperial Navy interfered. How could the arrogant Juan Jose agree?
"Order all warships to go south immediately. We will teach the Easterners a painful lesson."
The Spanish fleet quickly launched operations and concentrated hundreds of warships along the coast of Imbilia to search for Gibraltar.
At the same time, the third detachment of the ocean fleet led by Shang Kexi also approached Tangier at the western end of the Strait of Gibraltar.
At the intersection of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the sea wind is strong and the temperature and temperature are varying, making every ship full of sails and moving at extremely fast speeds.
"Spot the Spaniards!"
Although the ocean fleet had fewer ships, its reconnaissance methods were more sophisticated and it was the first to discover the enemy.
"Ready to fight!"
Fortunately, there was no fluctuation at all.
His many years of military career have already developed his rock-solid character.
He is convinced that with the powerful strength of the IDF, it can defeat any opponent.
An hour later the Spanish fleet emerged from the northern horizon.
There are countless ships, as if the sea is covered, and the number is more than five times that of the ocean fleet.
The war is about to break out!
