In the Eastern Mediterranean, in the blue ocean, seagulls are chirping in the sky. The sky is clear. The sun is about to enter summer and it has begun to become fierce, without the comfort of the spring sunshine.
A huge fleet marched mightily towards the Aegean Sea from west to east on the sea. The leading fleet was forty-six huge warships flying the Great Ming Dragon flag.
This huge battleship from the far east has a huge body. On both sides of the battleship, black gun barrels form several rows up and down. Even if the guns are not fired, they exude a frightening atmosphere.
Following the Ming Dynasty fleet was the Spanish fleet composed of fifty ships. There were a lot of ships, but the ships were uneven. There were only five large warships, and all the others were small and medium-sized.
Battleships, each ship has a huge red cross on it, and there is a Spanish flag on the top of the mast.
Well, in order to gain the friendship of the Ming Dynasty and continue to renew the trade exclusive rights agreement, Spain is also very powerful and will allocate as much maritime power as possible.
Nearly a hundred ships marched westward on the sea, which was very eye-catching. Of course, they had no intention of concealing their itinerary. Tian Erniu had already announced from the beginning that they were going to
Attack the capital of the Ottoman Empire and destroy Istanbul.
On the flagship "Wuyishan", Tian Erniu, Jiang Liang, and Zhao Houhou were drinking tea leisurely and reading the newspapers that had just been sent from the Ming Dynasty.
"Those literati who fail to succeed but fail to succeed are again clamoring about resorting to militarism and belligerence will lead to death!"
"There is no Tomorrow's Army sweeping across all directions, there are them screaming with pain in their balls after they are full and have nothing to do."
Jiang Liang slapped a newspaper on the table angrily.
The Ming Dynasty's 200,000-strong army went on an expedition to the Ottoman Empire. Because they were too far away, it cost a lot of money. In order to provide food, grass, ammunition, etc. to the 200,000-strong army, the court also spent millions of taels of silver. This is natural.
It has become an excuse and reason for people of great enlightenment to attack.
"Why are you so angry? This has always been their fault."
"Whenever there is a war, they will stand up and shout, and after winning the battle, they will definitely say that they will convince others with their virtue and that they will win the respect of all parties with their benevolence, justice and morality."
"If you can make people surrender with just a few words of nonsense, then the world will be peaceful."
Tian Erniu smiled indifferently, he was already used to this.
With the popularity of the Ming Dynasty Morning Post, newspapers developed rapidly in the Ming Dynasty. There were various newspapers, including the "Confucian Daily News" published by literati, which specifically opposed the Ming Dynasty Morning Post.
The Ming Dynasty Morning Post said how the enemy was, how ferocious they were, how many they killed, how many people of the Ming Dynasty, and that the Ming Dynasty should use troops to conquer, blood for blood, tooth for tooth.
The Confucian Daily will tell you the opposite, saying that retribution is due to the Ming army killing people in the river and occupying other people's territory. It also says that since ancient times, those who are warlike will inevitably perish, and that there are no good results in resorting to military warfare.
Yes, people should be sent to the Ottoman Empire to talk about benevolence, justice and morality with the Ottoman Empire.
The Ming Morning Post said that the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty fought for the country and worked hard for the country. The Ming Dynasty should treat retired soldiers well. The Confucian Daily News said that since ancient times, civil servants have been valued over military affairs. Military generals are the most likely to seek the throne. Military expenditures should be significantly reduced and the status of military personnel should be reduced. Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty
It will cause turmoil and so on.
In short, Confucian Daily News is exactly the opposite of what Ming Morning News is doing.
"We must write to Mr. Liu and ask him to cancel the qualifications of the Confucian Journal. Such propaganda is simply killing people. Those who died are not their people. They are drinking tea and enjoying life here in the capital. Naturally, they are not
You will understand how hard it is for us to work hard outside."
Zhao Houhou also said angrily.
"Don't pay attention to them. They're just a bunch of rotten scholars who won't make a difference."
Tian Erniu said calmly.
"Lao Tian, how do you think about the proposal from the Republic of Venice?"
Jiang Liang nodded slightly, thought for a while and then talked about the matter in front of him.
"Do you still need to consider it?"
"What is the Republic of Venice? It's a big place. It only has some presence in the Adriatic Sea. Outside of the Adriatic Sea, it doesn't even have much influence in the Mediterranean Sea."
"If we send troops to attack the Ottoman Empire, we want the Ming Dynasty to grant them exclusive trade rights in the Mediterranean. They are too good at doing business."
Tian Erniu smiled and replied that not long ago, the Republic of Venice sent people to discuss with Tian Erniu. The Republic of Venice is willing to attack the Ottoman Empire with the Ming Dynasty and lead the way for Tian Erniu's fleet to attack the Ottoman Empire's navy. The condition is that they hope to be able to
Establish friendly relations with the Ming Dynasty and hope that the Ming Dynasty can authorize exclusive trade rights in the Mediterranean to the Republic of Venice.
Tian Erniu rejected the Venetian merchant's proposal without hesitation. What a joke. The Republic of Venice did not have many ships and was weak. The character who was beaten by the Ottoman Empire to cede territory and pay compensation actually proposed such a condition without even looking at it.
How many kilograms do you have?
"The Republic of Venice was glorious in its past. A few decades ago, Venetian merchants almost monopolized the trade between the East and the West."
"Their galleys traveled to every port and city along the eastern Mediterranean coast, and they made huge wealth by selling spices. Although their country is small, it is very rich."
"Even for a long time, the Ottoman Empire was suppressed by the Venetians at sea. It was not until the Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople that the Ottoman Empire's maritime power gradually became stronger, and then slowly
They can compete with the Venetians."
Jiang Liang is very familiar with various European countries and can tell the history of the Republic of Venice.
"But merchants are just merchants. They are short-sighted and have breasts. They are in opposition to the Ottoman Empire on one side and have huge trade relations with the Ottoman Empire on the other."
"When the Knights Hospitaller and the Teutonic Knights attacked the Ottoman Empire, Venetian merchants sold weapons and supplies to the Ottoman Empire."
"So what you did is right. In such a country controlled by businessmen and without a father or a king, there really is nothing worth making friends with, and there is no need to have any contacts."
Jiang Liang is also very unscrupulous about the Republic of Venice. It is a country without a monarch. It is the businessmen who have the final say. This republican system is completely different from other political systems in the world.
For the people of the Ming Dynasty who accepted traditional Confucian thought and culture, this was a form that was difficult to accept. The ethics of the monarch and his ministers were the most important thing for the people of the Ming Dynasty.
"Spain hopes to continue signing an agreement with our Ming Dynasty. How do you think about it?"
After talking about the Republic of Venice, Jiang Liang thought about it and then talked about Spain.
"This is not something I have to consider, but something that should be discussed by the emperor in the capital and the princes of the DPRK and China. However, I estimate that the higher-ups will not continue to sign an agreement with Spain."
"This is not in the interest of our Ming Dynasty."
Tian Erniu smiled and said.
"This may cause dissatisfaction in Spain, and it may be detrimental to our Ming Dynasty's interests in Europe. Spain is still very powerful now and is considered the most powerful country in Europe."
"Just be dissatisfied, who cares?"
"Our Ming Dynasty's interests are mainly in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Europe mainly provides a market for our Ming Dynasty's goods. When our Ming Dynasty opens up the land trade routes in Europe, Spain will be even more insignificant. What's more, Spain is too powerful.
It’s not a good thing for our Ming Dynasty either.”
"Europe is the best now. There are many countries, but all of them are small and weak. If anyone makes us unhappy, we will beat them, and we will beat them accurately. This is the best situation."
"..."
Tian Erniu and Jiang Liang were chatting comfortably. Less than fifty nautical miles away from them, there was also a fleet sailing eastward.
Although the size of this fleet is not too large, there are more than fifty warships, and unlike the Spanish and Ming warships, these warships are relatively long, have a shallow draft, have sails, and also have sails on both sides.
There are many long oars.
This is the Galais de Calais, the most famous galley of the Republic of Venice!
Relying on the hybrid power provided by sails and oars, it is very suitable for the Mediterranean waters. It is also a kind of warship inherited from the Middle Ages. During combat, it uses the oars to move quickly, and then uses the metal horn on the bow to hit the enemy ship, and then continues
Rely on close combat, landing on enemy ships, and destroying the opponent's combat method.
On the warship 'Venice', the Venetian Governor Dill looked at the blue ocean in the distance, his face expressionless, and he was quite angry inside.
He enthusiastically sent people to contact the Ming Dynasty's fleet, hoping to join forces with the Ming Dynasty to attack the Ottoman Empire's maritime power. In exchange, he only made some reasonable demands.
But Tian Erniu's reply made him feel that he had been the most insulted. Not only did the Ming people not agree to their proposal, they even mocked the Republic of Venice with contempt.
"People of Ming Dynasty, this is the Mediterranean Sea, not your Pacific Ocean."
"Stay away from your homeland. Even with the help of Spain, you should not be so arrogant."
"You actually ignored the power of our Republic of Venice, and you will definitely regret it. Without our Venetian warships, you would never have thought of defeating the Ottoman Navy."
"Just wait and see, you will cry sometimes."
Dill thought for a long time, thought for a while and said: "Immediately tell the Ottomans the positions of the Ming fleet and the Spanish fleet."
"When they are so hard to separate themselves from each other, we can come back and take advantage."