I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 872: Wind Rising in Europe

"Prepare a small sailboat, hoist the white flag, and I will go there myself. I want to meet the dragon from the East." said Don Juan.

"Uncle," Farnese could not help but advise, "We don't know whether the Ming people are hostile or not. Don't put yourself in danger."

"Farnese," Juan Qiqi instructed, "You stay on the Santa Maria and provide support at any time. I am not important. What is important is this fleet and Spain."

Farnese is three years older than Juan, and the two grew up together, but Farnese has always been Juan's henchman.

First, their seniority is there.

Second, Juan is steady and resourceful, and Farnese and Don Carlos have always admired him.

Farnese said with red eyes: "Uncle, you can ask others to go, why do you have to go yourself?"

"There are things I must do." Juan patted Farnese on the shoulder. "No matter what happens, take care of yourself, take care of this fleet, and take care of Spain."

Farnese looked into his uncle's sad eyes and almost shed tears.

My uncle just couldn't get over this hurdle.

In 1567, Don Carlos, the eldest son of Philip II and cousin of Farnese, who suffered a head injury and had serious mental problems after surgery, tried to rebel against his father and planned to defect to the Netherlands.

He told all his plans to his uncle Don Juan, whom he trusted very much.

Juan relayed all this to Felipe II.

In January 1568, Felipe II, fully armed and with his guards, broke into Carlos' bedroom, announced an arrest warrant for him, confiscated all his documents and weapons, nailed all the windows shut, and imprisoned him on the spot.

Half a year later, Carlos died of depression.

Juan was burdened with a heavy psychological burden, as he believed that his nephew's death was entirely his fault.

He never imagined that Felipe II's punishment would be so severe and that Carlos's end would be so miserable.

Especially after Felipe II severely punished Carlos and began to use Juan, he felt even more guilty. He felt that his wealth and glory were gained by selling out his nephew.

Seeing the determined look in Juan's eyes, Farnese knew that his uncle was going to North Africa, Cordoba, Greece and Tunisia as he had done before.

With a determination to die.

It was because he always held this mentality of atonement through death that he fought bravely and risked his life on the battlefield, earning him the reputation of Juan the Brave.

But Farnese knew the inside story behind this title.

A 70-ton two-masted sailing ship slowly sailed out of the Spanish fleet. Juan stood at the bow, the sun shining on his solemn face, and the sea breeze blowing the feathers on his big felt hat.

Farnese and thousands of Spanish fleet officers and soldiers looked at the lonely ship and the solitary figure.

Shen Wanxiang and Wang Yongji saw this scene through the telescope.

Putting down the telescope, Shen Wanxiang said to Wang Yongji, "It's quite interesting, Brother Mingshou, what kind of play do you think this is?"

Wang Yongji laughed, "It's a bit like the whistling wind and the cold water of Yishui!"

"Unfortunately, it's not Jing Ke who came."

Wu Guanhai said from the side: "But Spain is a bit like the State of Yan."

The three of them looked at each other and smiled without saying anything.

The small sailboat Juan was on, flying a white flag, successfully passed the Hibiscus, Bailizhou and Longde, and was guided to the vicinity of the Yunyang.

Looking up at these huge ships, towering masts, and densely packed gun muzzles, Juan's pride as the commander of the Spanish Invincible Armada was completely shattered.

The Invincible Fleet and the Spanish Navy that they were so proud of were really nothing in front of these Ming warships.

The sailors lowered the ropes and nets over the side of the ship. An interpreter leaned over the side of the ship and shouted to the small sailboat, "Excuse me, are you the Spanish envoy?"

"Yes."

"My commander invites the Spanish envoy to board the ship."

The small sailboat slowly approached the Yunyang. Juan nimbly climbed up the rope net and quickly climbed onto the side of the Yunyang. He flipped over the handrail and stood on the deck.

Looking at the typical oriental faces, Juan looked very calm and nodded to them one by one with a smile.

There was no contempt or condescending look in the eyes of these Ming people, just like when their Spanish compatriots landed in the New World and looked at the barbaric and ignorant Incas.

But they looked confident and calm, treating themselves as if they were a strange guest.

Neither overbearing nor overbearing.

If he is familiar with Chinese culture, this word will definitely come to his mind.

The interpreter stepped forward and said, "Hello, I am the interpreter of the Ming Dynasty's diplomatic mission to Portugal, Lieutenant Xiao Liubao of the navy."

"I am Don Juan, the Supreme Commander of the Spanish Navy's Mediterranean Fleet."

Xiao Liubao was stunned.

Supreme commander?

How brave he is to go to the meeting alone.

But we didn't hold a Hongmen Banquet.

Xiao Liubao stood aside calmly, extended his right hand forward, and said, "Please, our commander and the chief and deputy envoys are waiting for you in the stern deck."

Don Juan nodded and followed him up the stairs to the poop.

There stood a group of officers, one of whom was a commander, wearing a very majestic sky-blue military uniform.

The two civil servants were wearing long green clothes, with exquisite embroidery full of oriental beauty. There was a beautiful bird embroidered on the chest.

Wearing a black winged hat, he exudes majesty.

They are all very young.

young!

Only a vibrant country can have so many young talents.

Don Juan took off his large black felt hat and bowed gracefully: "I am the commander-in-chief of the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet, Don Juan of Austria."

Wu Guanhai stepped forward and saluted: "Captain Wu Guanhai, commander of the escort fleet of the Ming Dynasty's envoys to Portugal."

Wang Yongji stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I am Wang Yongji, the Deputy Director of the Western Lisi Department of the Honglu Temple and the Deputy Director of the Imperial Library of the Ming Dynasty."

Shen Wanxiang, who was standing at the innermost part, bowed and said, "I am Shen Wanxiang, the doctor of the Ming Dynasty and the doctor of the Lixi Division of the Honglu Temple. It is a great honor to meet Mr. Tang in the vast ocean thousands of miles away."

After listening to Xiao Liubao's translation, Juan realized that the person in charge on the other side was Shen Wanxiang, who looked the youngest, and asked with a smile.

"You are on a diplomatic mission to Portugal?"

"That's right." Shen Wanxiang answered calmly, pointing to the back, "Marquis Marcelo of Portugal and Baron Leon are on the ship behind, as well as Prince Henry and the Rebelo."

Juan glanced at it casually. It was an open secret to the Spanish that King Sebastian I of Portugal had sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty for negotiations.

There are many pro-Western nobles in Portugal. They were enfeoffed in Portugal and shared the taxes and support of the Portuguese people, but they were spiritually Spanish.

No matter whether it is the Portuguese royal family or the army and navy, Spain will be informed of any slight disturbance.

Shen Wanxiang suddenly asked, "Mr. Tang is the admiral of the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet, in charge of the largest fleet in the Spanish Navy, and defeated the Ottoman fleet in Lepanto, Greece, making great military achievements, but he was not given a knighthood?"

After listening to Xiao Liubao's translation, Juan stared at Shen Wanxiang.

Damn Ming people.

The questions raised were like sharp knives piercing my heart.

King Felipe II of Spain always tells everyone how to trust themselves and how to make use of themselves.

But everyone in Europe knew that his half brother would never fully trust him or praise him sincerely, because he always suspected that he would threaten his throne.

How did the Ming people know these inside stories?
Moreover, Juan was very clear about the meaning of his straightforward question just now.

It is nothing more than provocation, discord, and also a demonstration.

Don't think that we come from far away. In fact, we know all your details.

Juan answered a few questions frankly, and Xiao Liubao translated them honestly.

"I am only able to hold a high position because of the kindness of my ancestors. I have no talent or ability. All my military achievements are due to the wisdom and bravery of His Majesty the King and the loyalty of the generals.

I have not done anything, how can I be honored with a title or a medal?"

Shen Wanxiang laughed and pointed to the table next to him and said, "Mr. Tang, please have some tea."

A honeycomb coal had been set up on the poop, with a kettle of hot water on it, a table and four chairs.

The four of them sat down, Shen Wanxiang slowly brewed a pot of tea, divided it into four cups, and placed one cup in front of Tang Juan.

“This is the tea I brought from my hometown, Mr. Tang, please!”

Don Juan picked up the teacup, and the faint fragrance drifted into his nose like light smoke. This fragrance, with the moist mountains and rivers, the chirping birds and the fragrance of flowers, lingered in his mind.

The tea that the Ming people drank themselves was completely different from the tea shipped to Europe.

Don Juan picked up the teacup and drank it in small sips. The fragrance lingered on his tongue and cheeks, and the sweetness returned to his throat. An indescribable feeling echoed in his chest.

Perhaps this is the unique charm of Ming, this mysterious oriental country.

"You are here just in time. On behalf of Spain, I want to ask you why you want to occupy my Spanish territory in the New World without any reason, expel my Spanish soldiers and civilians, and attack my Spanish ships."

Like most Spaniards, Juan did not understand why the Ming people would run to the New World thousands of miles away to compete with Spain for territory, as they already occupied such a vast land.

In their view, the Ming people were nothing but greedy.

Shen Wanxiang replied bluntly: "Genxunzhou is the territory of our Ming Dynasty. It is only natural to recover the occupied land and expel the invading foreign enemies."

Juan was anxious. "What do you mean by your Ming territory? It was Columbus who discovered it by crossing the sea under the orders of the King and Queen of Spain."

"The indigenous people living there, whom you call Indians, Mayans and Incas, are all descendants of the Xia and Shang dynasties, and are of the same clan and origin. Thousands of years ago, due to the turmoil in China, they migrated to Gen and Xun continents and have settled there ever since.

And you Spaniards have occupied their land without reason, betrayed their loyalty, massacred the people, and committed countless crimes! We have already recorded all the previous crimes. A few years ago, we recovered Xunzhou, which you call Peru and Bolivia.

Every year you forcibly conscript tens of thousands of young and strong survivors of the nearby Xia and Shang dynasties, and force them to bring their own dry food to go to Potosí to mine.

They walked for two months and dug there for half a year without a penny. If they survived, they had to walk for another two months to get home. When they got home, they had wasted a year and had no harvest. If the neighbors hadn't helped them, the whole family would have starved to death.

Our Ming Marines have found several mass graves in Potosi. Those piles of bones are all irrefutable evidence of the crimes you Spaniards have committed!"

Juan was stunned. "The Indians, Incas and Mayans are your people? Is there any evidence?"

Shen Wanxiang said very seriously: "Don't you find that these Xia and Shang survivors look very similar to us? Our surveying team has explored a route from Daming mainland to Genzhou along the land route, proving that the Xia and Shang survivors are capable of migrating from their homeland to Genxunzhou.

At the same time, we have unearthed many cultural relics in various parts of Genxunzhou. The shapes and the texts on them are exactly the same as those unearthed in our native land.

The evidence is irrefutable! "

Shen Wanxiang said in astonishment: "When you massacred the remnants of the Xia and Shang dynasties, you thought they were ignorant and backward, and then you condescended to give them civilization.

What you call civilization is slavery and massacre!

absurd!

Their civilization is much older than yours! When they had writing, your ancestors were still a group of savages!
They have been away from home for too long and too far, and they are helpless and helpless, so you humiliated them. Now we are here, their people are here! I, the Emperor of the Great Ming, have raised thousands of warships, tens of thousands of cannons, hundreds of thousands of warriors, and sailed thousands of miles across the sea to the faraway Genxun Continent, just to support them! To avenge them! "

Don Juan was stunned after hearing the translated words.

Only now did he understand why the Ming people in the New World would beat the Spaniards to death.

The root cause is here!
He might be the first Spaniard who knew the root cause of the attack by the Ming Dynasty.

He was even more shocked by what Shen Wanxiang said about the strength of the Ming Navy.

Is it that powerful?

He was dubious.

As for the reasons given by Shen Wanxiang, Juan didn't take them to heart.

As long as you have enough large and numerous ships, and your artillery is dense and powerful, your fabrications will be true. If you have no ships or artillery, even if you have irrefutable evidence, it will be useless.

"So this is the reason? We always thought the New World was a no-man's land."

Shen Wanxiang laughed, "No Man's Land? In your eyes, as long as the people on the land are weak and can be bullied, then this land is no man's land!"

Juan felt the other party's aggressiveness.

If I had such strong ships and powerful guns, my attitude would be the same.

After talking for more than half an hour, the two sides learned a lot and reached a tacit understanding to maintain the status quo. At least in Europe, Spain would not take the initiative to attack this convoy.

The Spaniards were also worried that if they killed the young ones, they would attract the older ones, or if they killed a few wolves, they would attract thousands of wolves.

Juan said goodbye and left.

Watching the small sailboat that Juan was riding on gradually drifting away in the waves, Shen Wanxiang said to Wang Yongji and Wu Guanhai: "From the words of this General Tang, we can be sure that Spain is indeed facing internal and external troubles and is strong on the outside but weak on the inside!
We came at the right time.”

Juan climbed onto the Santa Maria from the small sailboat. Farnese stepped forward, grabbed his hand, pulled him onto the deck, and asked impatiently.

"How was the talk, Juan?"

Juan looked up and saw the Burgundy Cross flag on the mast fluttering in the wind.

He sighed quietly, "The wind is blowing!"

(End of this chapter)