In the hall of a military camp on the east side of the military port, Almeida sat at a large long table. Dozens of Franco officers sat on both sides of the long table, and the orderlies were busy serving dinner.
After a day of training, as usual, Almeida would make a summary and comment on the gains and losses of each warship's training. This would be done at the dinner table.
There was a trace of exhaustion on Almeida's face. After all, time is not forgiving. He was over fifty and had been in the army for half his life. Although his fighting spirit was still strong and his eyes were still sharp, his body and energy were somewhat weak.
After taking a few mouthfuls of cold food, Almeida coughed, reached out and tapped the silver wine glass with her fork, and the wine glass made a crisp 'ding' sound. The officers who were eating and talking to each other hurriedly straightened up.
Body, because the lecture is about to begin.
"Gentlemen," Almeida shouted.
"Gentlemen, congratulations. I am very satisfied with the results of today's training. Compared with the training of the previous few days, both tactics and fighting spirit are very satisfactory to me. I think we are back. I saw the results that I led
The fighting spirit and fearless courage of more than 30 small boats when they set off to the east. I saw our bravery when we attacked Guri and Malaka. All of this is back. Congratulations." Almeida's voice was high and her emotions were also high.
Said very enthusiastically.
The officers were very happy when they heard this and said one after another: "Mr. Almeida commanded it well. It is the honor of our lives to fight with Mr. Almeida."
Almeida smiled and said: "Gentlemen, don't say that. I don't want to be your mentor. I just want you to understand that all this glory belongs to my Majesty the Emperor of France, to my great country and their
People. When we conquer the world, we are actually conquering ourselves. Every success will make our hearts stronger, and at the same time
At this time, the rewards brought to us are also more abundant. What we get must not be taken away by others. What we have must not only protect it, but also continue to develop it. We must not lose our adventurous spirit, that is
The source of our spirit and will. Gentlemen, I propose that we raise a toast to His Majesty the King and to the great Franconian country."
All the officers stood up one after another, raised their glasses and shouted.
"For the health of His Majesty the King!"
"For the health of Mr. Commander-in-Chief!"
"cheers!"
"cheers!"
There was a sound of clinking glasses, and the blood-red wine entered the throat, which was extremely delicious.
"Gentlemen, the battle is not far away from us. This time it is the fleet of the Ming Empire from the east. I have always respected them. For ten years, we have reached Champa and the coast of the east, but we have not treated them
Waging war is our respect for them. After all, they are an ancient nation with a long history, self-respect and wisdom. Naturally, we must maintain some respect for them. However, this respect has a bottom line. We must not allow them to come
Rob what we took with our blood
Everything. Our new port in Champa was occupied by them, and the Governor of Manlajia and the fleet there were annihilated by them. They have a huge fleet heading south. They want to seize Manlajia, seize this golden waterway, seize
our interests,
Can we stand by and watch? There is a saying in our country of Francois, if anyone farts in front of us, we will kick their butts hard. This time, we will kick their butts hard and teach them a lesson.
Almeida said loudly.
"Yeah, kick their ass hard."
"The beating was so hard that they never came back and their buttocks were bruised."
Everyone shouted.
Almeida waved her hand to signal everyone to be silent. She said in a deep voice: "Gentlemen, we must pay attention to our opponents and do not take them lightly. However, we must not overestimate our opponents. No one in our Eastern Fleet can defeat us. In addition, I
I might as well reveal a piece of news to you. I have suggested to His Majesty the King that since the Ming Empire has begun to provoke, we have not
It is necessary to maintain respect for them. I suggest that Mr. King allow us to attack the Ming Empire. As long as we can destroy their fleet in this battle, then the coastline of the Ming Empire will be our back garden. The base of our Eastern Fleet will be extended
To the border of the Ming Empire. By then, our achievements in conquering this ancient eastern country will make us famous in history."
"Okay. Great. We've wanted to do this for a long time."
"The Eastern Ming Empire is filled with gold and silver. Now it's time to get promoted and make a fortune."
"Defeat them and conquer the world."
All the officers shouted with joy and were extremely excited.
Almeida watched all this with satisfaction. He knew that the officers under his command all wanted to fight and make meritorious deeds and rob property. He also wanted to complete this great cause in his lifetime. However, the first thing to do was to deal with the situation in front of him.
Fight and defeat the approaching fleet of the Ming Empire.
This is not only his current task, but also a way to get rid of the crisis of confidence he is currently experiencing. You know, although Almeida is the commander of the Eastern Fleet that everyone respects, his position is already coveted. His situation is in
In difficult times, this battle will be his best chance to re-establish his irreplaceable position.
Almeida took a sip of red wine and was about to speak. Suddenly he saw a familiar figure walking in quickly at the door of the hall.
"Father, it's so lively here." Helena walked in quickly.
A group of officers stopped chattering and followed Helena's figure with their eyes. Helena, the commander-in-chief's daughter, was a peerless beauty. They had heard about it for a long time. When they saw her today, she really lived up to her reputation. It made people's souls fly away.
"Helena, why are you here? This is the port military camp, what are you doing here? Who allowed you to come?" Almeida asked with a frown.
Helena said angrily: "Father, I'm here to bring you food and condolences. Why do you just give me a scolding when we meet?"
Almeida said: "What kind of food can I give you?"
Helena said: "Today I met several cooks in the Governor's house. Didn't you praise the delicious dishes they cooked last time? I asked them to cook some dishes for me and sent them to reward my father. Oriental dishes,
Father, let’s try how it tastes.”
"The cooks in the governor's house? How do you know them?" Almeida frowned.
"Oh, it's a long story. I'll tell Father later. Father, aren't you happy? My daughter did this specially for you." Helena pouted.
Almeida sighed and asked: "It's not that I'm unhappy, it's that this is an important military area and you shouldn't come. How can I be unhappy when you're so considerate. So, what about the dishes? I'll try them."
Helena laughed and said, "That's pretty much it. The dishes are on the carriage outside. I'll check if you're there first. I'll ask those cook friends to bring the dishes in."
Almeida was stunned and frowned: "What did you say? Those cooks are here too? Did you bring them in?"
Helena said: "Yeah, what's wrong? They are cooks, so naturally they have to follow. They are in the carriage outside. They haven't gone anywhere."
Almeida snorted coldly, stood up and said: "Let's go and see some good food. The governor's cook? How can he run around? I remember Goya said that his servants are not allowed to walk around. In the West District
, except for the Folangji people, others are not allowed to wander around. How did you get to know them?"
Helena felt very unhappy and pursed her lips without speaking.
Almeida stood up and strode out of the hall, Helena followed behind, pointing to the location, and a group of people came to the carriage in the open space.
"Zhang Yi, come out with your friends. My father is here in person. Bring out the dishes." Helena said.
There was silence in the carriage.
Helena asked again, but still no one answered. Almeida shook her head, and an officer stepped forward and opened the carriage door. There was no one in the carriage, except for a pile of food boxes on the carriage seat.
"Where are the people?" Almeida shouted.
"Ah? They were still here just now. They promised me not to run around." Helena said in surprise.
Almeida looked gloomy and shouted in a deep voice: "Find them."
A group of Franco soldiers immediately started looking around.
Almeida asked Helena with a stern face: "Who are they? How do you know they are the cooks in the governor's manor? Did they say so themselves?"
Helena was speechless, thought for a while and said: "Yes... I guessed it, they didn't deny it."
Almeida said angrily: "What are these words? What did you expect?"
Helena had no choice but to tame her own horse. The horse was frightened and rushed out of the fence. It was rescued by those people on the hillside behind the manor. When Almeida heard this, her face changed drastically.
"What are they doing in the woods in the back mountain? They are spies. The back mountain is facing our military port. They are spies spying on intelligence. There is no doubt about it. Come, come, people, conduct a comprehensive search, and we must find the spies."
Helena's small mouth was half open, with a look of disbelief on her face. She murmured: "No way, how could this happen? That gentleman wouldn't lie to me, would he? I regard him as a friend."
Almeida was about to scold him when suddenly someone not far away shouted: "Fire, it's on fire. It seems like our warship is on fire."
Almeida looked in shock and saw flames rising from the dock where the warship was docked. Almeida cursed repeatedly, glared at Helena fiercely, and ran away.
Helena stood there blankly, her face turned pale, and she was speechless for a long time.