In the waters off Sao Tome Island, more than thirty Portuguese warships lined up in a row, heading towards Sao Tome Island in a mighty and powerful manner.
On the 'Alfonso the Great', Duke Anthony, who commanded the fleet, was carefully observing the situation on the island with a telescope purchased from the Ming Empire.
"These hateful Japanese people, I didn't expect that they had built such a strict defense system in just a few months. Fortunately, we acted fast enough. If we gave them some more time, we wanted to take back Sao Tome."
It’s not an easy thing to do on an island.”
Duke Anthony frowned as he looked at the fortifications on the island.
A few months ago, Japanese people from the far east robbed Sao Tome Island. When the news came back to Portugal, King Manuel I of Portugal was furious and vowed to take back this beautiful island.
Two consecutive wars with Spain ended in failure, and Portugal was strongly suppressed and plundered by Spain.
Not only did they lose some land on the mainland, but a large number of overseas colonies and settlements also had to be ceded to Spain.
In the past two years, Portugal finally took advantage of the war between the European coalition forces and the Ottoman Empire to reoccupy and expand some colonies and strongholds in North and West Africa.
The island of São Tomé was a particularly important colony.
The Spaniards have coveted Sao Tome Island for a long time. They asked Portugal twice to cede this island, which they can control and radiate to the entire Gulf of Guinea. Portugal refused to let go.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the Japanese came to West Africa, they sent troops to seize the island indiscriminately, which made the whole country of Portugal furious.
For this small kingdom, the significance of Sao Tome Island is really important.
Not only is the island of Sao Tome itself fertile and rich in resources, it is very suitable for developing the plantation economy and providing the necessary wealth for the struggling Portuguese Kingdom.
At the same time, Sao Tome Island can also radiate to the Gulf of Guinea. Gabon, Cameroon and other places on the Gulf of Guinea side are rich in gold, silver and ivory. If you occupy Sao Tome Island, you can easily open colonies in these places and then plunder the wealth of the colonies.
.
Portugal, which was defeated twice, paid a large amount of war reparations to Spain. From the king to every ordinary person in Portugal, they were very poor and needed the wealth of these colonies so much.
"Your Majesty the Duke, what we know so far about this Japanese country is that it is a vassal state under the Ming Empire. The Japanese people are almost the same as the Ming people, using the same language and writing. The Japanese people learn from the Ming Empire in every aspect.
"
"Even according to the Ming Empire's external vassal-state agreement, the people of the Ming's vassal-states can freely go to the Ming Empire to study, live, do business, settle down, etc."
Next to Duke Anthony, Enrique, the adjutant of the fleet, was reporting to Anthony the situation he had learned.
"What I'm worried about is if we go to war on Sao Tome Island, will we be attacked by the Ming Empire?"
Anthony looked at the Sao Tome Island in front of him and said.
The Ming Empire was so powerful, with a vast territory, a powerful army, a huge population and endless wealth.
These are now well known to countries all over the world. In Europe, everything about the Ming Empire is very popular.
All goods from the Ming Empire were very easy to sell and expensive.
The powerful Ming Empire directly intervened in European wars twice, allowing the Spanish Empire, which was destined to lose, to win and gain huge benefits from it.
Everyone clearly knows the powerful influence of the Ming Empire and the powerful fleet of the Ming Empire, and no one wants to provoke the Ming Empire.
Even here in Europe, the Ming Empire still had a strong military power.
Hong Kong on the British Island is a colony of the Ming Dynasty. A powerful navy of the Ming Empire is stationed here. The West Sea Island in the Mediterranean has the Ming Empire’s West Sea Fleet.
On the Red Sea side, there is also the Red Sea Fleet of the Ming Empire; at the same time, on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean, the Ming Empire also has the Golden Continent Fleet, which patrols across the Atlantic Ocean, specifically to hunt down pirates.
In this operation to retake Sao Tome Island, if the Ming Empire wanted to intervene, Portugal would definitely lose, so he had to confirm whether the Ming Empire would intervene in this matter.
"Please rest assured, Lord Duke, the Ming Empire will never interfere with the actions of vassal states overseas, let alone vassal states, even if they are vassal states and colonies established overseas by the royal family and nobles of the Ming Empire, the Ming Empire will
No one from anywhere will interfere easily."
"Unless we wantonly massacre the citizens of the Ming Empire or kill and torture the surrendered Ming people, the Ming Empire will not interfere in overseas affairs."
Enrique said with certainty: "I have conducted in-depth research on this matter, consulted many Ming people, and received a positive answer."
"That's good~"
Anthony nodded with satisfaction, then rolled up his sleeves and looked at the time and said: "Send the order, we must recapture Sao Tome Island before twelve o'clock, and kill all the Japanese on the island, leaving no one behind."
"I heard that last time, these Japanese people sold us Portuguese as slaves to the Ming people."
"Yes~"
Enrique replied solemnly.
"Dang~dang~"
Soon, the bells for launching an attack rang on one warship after another.
On each small boat, the Portuguese sailors rowed their oars vigorously towards Sao Tome Island, while more than 30 large ships began to turn their sides and aimed their cannons at Sao Tome Island.
"Dong dong~dong dong~"
Soon, on Sao Tome Island, the Japanese took the lead in launching an attack. At each fort, the Miyun cannons purchased from the Ming Dynasty began to roar.
Cannonballs roared in the sky, and then huge columns of water rose up from the sea.
Here at Nanjiro Station Fort, I looked at the sea in front of me with a telescope, and my ears were filled with the deafening sound of shelling. The billowing smoke filled the air, and was soon blown away by the sea breeze.
"Damn~"
"The distance is too far and they are scattered. Even if one or two ships are hit, it will still have no impact on the battle situation."
Nanjiro looked at the results of the first round of shelling and sighed helplessly.
The Miyun cannon purchased from the Ming Dynasty is of excellent quality, with long range, high accuracy and fast firing rate. The disadvantage is that it is expensive!
A Miyun cannon was sold in the Ming Dynasty for tens of thousands of taels of silver. This was a friendly price.
As for the cannons made by the Japanese themselves, compared with the Miyun cannon, the gap is not that big.
The range is short, the accuracy is low, the rate of fire is slow, and the most important thing is that it is easy to explode. So now, of the cannons on the fort, only the Miyun cannon is roaring.
It is a pity that the number of Miyun cannons is too small, only ten.
"Fire~"
The Portuguese warship faced the fierce fire attack from the Miyun cannon and moved closer and closer to Sao Tome Island. Soon, it entered the range of the Portuguese warship's artillery attack.
Duke Anthony, who had already reached the end of his patience, gave the order to attack.
There were dozens of artillery pieces on each warship. When the ship's side moved horizontally, billowing smoke suddenly rose, followed by the rumbling sound of artillery fire, and then there were missiles roaring in the sky.
The shells formed a dense rain of shells and hit São Tomé Island heavily.
"Boom~"
The shells carried terrible kinetic energy and hit the ground heavily, causing the ground to tremble slightly, and the sounds of pain and miserable screams could be heard endlessly.
The difference in strength between the two sides is too great.
Nanjiro only had more than a thousand people and dozens of artillery pieces. It was really difficult to defend the huge Sao Tome Island.
Along with the rumbling shelling, small boats quickly landed on the beach.
The Portuguese sailors carrying muskets and holding crosses quickly attacked the Japanese on the island.
"kill!"
Nanjiro's eyes were red, he rode his horse and roared at his men.
"Bang~bang~"
Soon, gunshots like fried beans accompanied by bursts of smoke were heard continuously on Sao Tome Island.
The ridiculous accuracy and range of the musket made the fight between the two sides extremely lively.
"Rush over and kill these red-haired ghosts!"
Ichiro Hirata fought extremely bravely. He held a samurai sword and led more than a hundred samurai to charge the landing Portuguese with great courage.
A large number of warriors fell under the bows, arrows and muskets of the Portuguese, but similarly, when the Japanese warriors rushed over, these Portuguese warriors were quickly harvested by the Japanese samurai swords.
"Hey~"
Ichiro Hirata's constant swing of the katana in his hand, his superb swordsmanship, and his flexible movement made him like a whirlwind, and several Portuguese people fell under his sword before they even had time to react.
However, it is difficult for two fists to defeat four hands.
As more and more Portuguese boats landed, thousands of Portuguese sailors quickly formed a team. Once the three-stage shooting formation was set up, a continuous stream of lead shot was directed at the charging Japanese troops one after another.
The samurai shot over and beat these Japanese warriors into a honeycomb in a blink of an eye.
"Idiot~Idiot~"
"We have few people and we launch a charge. Aren't we looking for death~"
Nanjiro looked at the fallen Hirata Ichiro and couldn't help but cursed.
Seeing the Portuguese attacking from all directions, he began to roar again: "Abandon the beach position, retreat to the castle, retreat to the bunker."
The number of people was too small and it was impossible to defeat them, so they had to abandon their outer positions and retreat to the castle.
Fortunately, although this castle is not big, it is built with reinforced concrete, and it is still built in a dangerous place. You only need to hold on to one side. The next thing to do is to persist. If most of the Japanese come, you will win.
Already.
"Blow that castle down for me~"
Duke Anthony looked at the Japanese retreating to the castle and issued the order again.
Just as he expected, the number of these Japanese people was too small, and it was only a matter of time before they could recapture Sao Tome Island.
The only thing you need to worry about is how to conquer the castle in front of you.
"Dong dong~dong dong~"
Along with the fierce artillery fire attack, cannonballs continued to pour towards the small castle, hitting the castle heavily.
The castle is only built using cement and rocks mined from the island. Although it is not big, it is very strong. Cannonballs falling on it cannot shake this small castle in the slightest.
"Hold, hold on, we must not let them attack the castle, otherwise we will all die here."
On the castle wall, Nanjiro shouted loudly.
The warriors under his command all showed determination on their faces, watching the Portuguese attacking like a tide, and began a brutal battle to defend the city.
Various defensive equipment such as rain of arrows, burning oil, rolling stones, rolling logs, muskets, explosive packets, etc. were constantly being staged. The Portuguese's attack was stagnant. For a while, they were unable to capture the small building in front of them.
castle.
Just when the Portuguese launched a fierce attack on Sao Tome Island.
In the sea just over a hundred miles away from Sao Tome Island, the Spanish fleet led by Duke Colste has quietly sailed towards Sao Tome Island.
"Is the information accurate?"
Duke Colster looked at the sea ahead and asked the adjutant Real beside him.
"Your Majesty the Duke, we have received accurate information. The Portuguese fleet should be attacking the Japanese on Sao Tome Island at this time."
"This time, the Portuguese have concentrated almost all the country's warships. There are more than 30 warships and a huge fleet of more than 10,000 people. It can be said that they are bound to win the island of Sao Tome."
Real said with great certainty.
"Hmph~"
"That's just right. If we send all these Portuguese warships into the sea, we will have one less opponent at sea."
"These Portuguese, like English pirates, now specialize in robbery."
Duke Colster sneered and said: "We have asked them to give up this São Tomé Island several times but they have refused to let it go. Now it has been snatched away by the Japanese. Isn't it going to be in our hands again?"
"Tsk, tsk, after hiding in Sao Tome Island, we can use this island as the center to expand colonies to Gabon and Cameroon. Our homeland is close to here, and we have a natural advantage. We must occupy as many colonies as possible."
"At that time, as long as we occupy the colony first and the Ming Empire wants to occupy it, we will be justified. But if the Ming Empire occupied the colony first, it will be difficult for us to rob it."
Duke Colster took the map, drew a circle on it and said.
Then he looked at the other two large islands in the Gulf of Guinea and asked, "Who is occupying these two islands now?"
"Your Majesty the Duke, San Antonio Island originally belonged to the Portuguese, but now it is occupied by the Persian Empire. Formosa Island is occupied by a company called Saber Colonial Trading Company. This Saber Colonial Trading Company is said to be composed of retired Ming Dynasty soldiers.
Made up of soldiers, they are very difficult to mess with."
Real replied quickly.
"Persian Empire?"
Duke Kolster frowned and said, the Persian Empire was very glorious in history, and once established a large empire spanning Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Everything about the Persian Empire is clearly written in European history books.
"They also came to West Africa to join in the fun?"
"Yes, Your Majesty Duke~"
"According to the intelligence we have, an armistice agreement has been reached between the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire. Over the years, the Persian Empire has learned from the Ming Empire in many aspects, and purchased a large number of arms and weapons from the Ming Empire, and its strength has grown rapidly.
.”
"But there is no expansion land around the Persian Empire, so it is normal to colonize here in West Africa."
Real replied.
"The Persian Empire has disappeared in the long river of history. Now the Persians can hardly breathe under the pressure of the Ottoman Empire, and they still come to snatch colonies from us."
"After visiting São Tomé more often, I went to rob the Persian island."
"If we can't afford to offend the Ming Dynasty, how can we afford to offend the Persians?"
Duke Colster thought for a while and said.
"In the entire West Africa, we must occupy at least more than half of the colonies. This time we will first eliminate the Portuguese, and then sweep away the Persians. Then we will also act as pirates and take over all the colonial strongholds of the English, French and Dutch.
Scan it once."
"At that time, with the Gulf of Guinea as the center point, the areas to the north and west will belong to our Spanish Empire, while the areas to the east and south will be reserved for the Ming Dynasty."
"Hmph, as for other countries, they are not qualified to compete for colonies!"
Duke Colster seemed extremely confident when he spoke.
Of course, the powerful Spanish Empire at this moment should have such confidence.
Successive foreign wars resulted in huge victories, allowing the Spanish Empire to gain huge benefits.
There were Spanish colonies on the British Isles, the French ceded a large amount of southern land and islands in the Mediterranean, the Portuguese lost several pieces of land and a large number of colonies, and even the powerful Ottoman Empire had to cede land in the Aegean Sea.
Several islands to Spain.
Powerful Spain has the most powerful army and naval forces in Europe, and also has good relations with the Ming Empire in the far east.
Therefore, everyone in Spain believes that in the entire world, only the great Spanish Empire can be compared with the Ming Empire.
The two empires, one in the east and the other in the west, jointly maintain the order of the world. All other countries and regions should listen to the opinions of the two empires.
As for the colonies in West Africa, Spain has actually regarded them as its own food for a long time and does not want to share them with others.
"What the Duke said is true~"
"In this world, only our Spanish Empire and the Ming Empire are qualified to divide the world. Other countries can only obey our distribution."
Real also said confidently.
Great Spanish bullfighters, they are proud enough!
The mighty Spanish fleet rushed towards Sao Tome Island. At this moment, the Portuguese were not aware of it at all. They were trying their best to attack the castle on Sao Tome Island, but they did not know what was behind them.
