unclear

Chapter 1424 Two Suckers

“Mr. Cohen, how can this be considered betrayal? Spain and Portugal occupied almost all the land in the New World and did not allow other countries to have a foothold, which often led to maritime tragedies.”

Now that the Ming Empire is going to seize the Spanish viceroyalty by force, are we obligated to shed blood for the Spanish king? The Habsburg family shouldn't even be thinking like that; they could hire tens of thousands of troops with just a small portion of their silver fleet's revenue, right?

Bernhard appeared innocent in the face of Cohen's incomprehension and questioning. He was first and foremost a French marshal, then a Dutchman, and only lastly the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces. He was neither hired by the King of Spain nor part of the Spanish army, and had no obligation to consider the King of Spain's interests.

“That’s right. The Viceroyalty of Peru is on the west coast. Even if we wanted to help, we couldn’t get the fleet through the Drake Passage and travel tens of thousands of kilometers to fight the Ming navy. If I proposed such a plan, the parliament would immediately dismiss me from my naval post!”

Tropp's stance on this issue was also clear: he strongly agreed with Bernhard's opinion. In fact, he was even more blunt, saying he wouldn't go even if offered a high price—the journey was too far!

"...Compared to him, you all seem more hypocritical and cruel! Please allow me to return to my cabin to rest. Farewell!"

Cohen stared wide-eyed at the commander-in-chief and then at the general, as if he had never seen him before. After a long while, he shook his head helplessly and turned to walk towards the hatch.

This time, I'm utterly disheartened. They call themselves an allied force, but they've never been united; they're all scheming and have their own agendas. They talk about shedding blood for the interests of Europeans all day long, but in their hearts, they're figuring out what they can gain from this war. As long as the price is right, they'll sell out their allies completely.

The capture of the Viceroyalty of Peru was bad news, but some people might have felt more comfortable with it than the capture of Port-e-Enfield. Compared to the Ming Empire in Asia, the Habsburg family, deeply rooted in Europe, made them more uneasy.

Even if we defeat the Ming Empire this time and seize the pricing power in Asian trade, the war will not end. Instead, it will immediately enter the second act: the European civil war!

Several countries, led by France, the Netherlands, Britain, and Sweden, were determined not to see the Austrian and Spanish Habsburg families recover from the benefits of Asian trade, and even if it meant further fighting, they wanted to bring them down!
This time it's just a different pretext, changing from a religious war to a trade war. Compared to the Ming emperor, European politicians seem even worse; at least the former were always thinking about the people's welfare, while the latter did everything they could to torment the populace, all for the sake of power and profit.

Why bother getting involved in this situation? Our goals are completely different, so speaking up would be pointless. The more you say, the more harm you'll cause, and you might even be taken advantage of.

"Mr. Cohen, please wait a moment... Regardless of how the war unfolds, I would like to request, as the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces, that you go ashore and discuss the possibility of a ceasefire with the Ming commander. For God's sake, would it be too much to ask that we properly dispose of the bodies on the beach first?"

However, Bernhard didn't want this Asia expert to leave so easily. The main talks were over; there was still more to do. This was no longer casual conversation; it immediately switched to command and control, issuing orders.

"...Why me?" Cohen didn't say he wouldn't go, but he was a little surprised.

"To be precise, this was a sneak attack, and we even used some less-than-honorable methods. You know many Ming officers, and you're not part of the Allied forces, so they should be more polite. Please don't misunderstand, I don't intend to order you to go. If you feel it's unsafe, you can refuse." This is where the drawback of being too talkative becomes apparent. Didn't you always boast about how familiar you are with Asia, the Ming Empire, and the Ming Emperor, and how many times you've had tea together? Negotiating with Ming officers shouldn't be difficult; you might even run into old acquaintances!

"Please wait a moment, I'm going to change my clothes!" Cohen didn't intend to take back what he had said. He gave Bernhard a meaningful look, then looked at Tropp, and then bowed slightly before walking towards the hatch again.

At Command Tower 1 in Enbird Harbor, Xiao Si and Zhu Neng sat shirtless at the table, enjoying a hearty meal of meat and wine.

Today, the soldiers patrolling the western ridge hunted dozens of gannets and petrels, intending to treat themselves to a special meal. However, Zhu Neng, who was on patrol, discovered them and confiscated several of them without saying a word. He then brought them to Xiao Si's command tower to enjoy together, while also chatting about the battles of the past few days.

As Marines stationed year-round by the sea, although supplies are never cut off and meat and fruit are plentiful, canned food and seafood can get tiresome after a while. There's a saying: those who live near mountains eat from the mountains, and those who live near water eat from the water. Being near the sea, besides seafood, there's another type of meat available: seabirds.

There are many kinds of seabirds in Ngam Harbour, with three main categories and more than a dozen common species. Albatrosses and gannets are large oceanic seabirds that usually soar over the vast ocean, but they also build nests on the shore during the breeding season.

There are seven or eight species of birds, including the white-fronted petrel, sea swallow, and skuas. They are nearshore seabirds that forage in the sea during the day and return in flocks to their nests on the cliffs near the shore to rest in the evening. Cormorants and oystercatchers are wading birds that usually forage in shallow water and build their nests in nearby reefs and bushes.

There are also several creatures that look like birds but aren't, which is where the name "Bird Harbour" comes from; their scientific name is penguin. They often sunbathe on the pier and steal the catch from fishing boats. Their smelly bodies and particularly sharp beaks can easily peck through a person's skin, making them very disliked by the locals.

These seabird soldiers had hunted and eaten them all, and to sum it up, most of them tasted bad, the meat was tough, and it tasted like leather belts boiled in whale oil. Only the meat of the gannet and the petrel was relatively tender, and tasted similar to quail.

As for protection... apart from penguins, which are rarely hunted, there are no clearly defined protected species.

Nobody kills animals for fun, mainly because nobody has the time. Everyone's busy working, training, and supporting their families; who has time to indulge in a few bites of meat? If you really want meat, there are plenty of wildebeest, various antelopes, rhinoceroses, and elephants on land—aren't they much tastier than the meat of woolly livestock?

"We really should let Governor Zhang relax too. He can't stand being on the front lines all day long." Before dinner, Zhu sent someone to invite Zhang Yongling, but he didn't come, saying that the enemy was making moves again and it was inconvenient for him to leave his post.

This worried Zhu Neng a bit. It wasn't that he was afraid the enemy would play any tricks; the battle had been going on for almost ten days, and they had already exhausted all the available methods. What new tricks could they possibly have up their sleeves? It was clearly just an excuse; the real issue was why they didn't want to come.

(End of this chapter)