In the side hall of the main hall, the face of Charles I, who originally had a solemn expression, became increasingly gloomy, and his eyes looked at the Grand Duke Rose who had already been waiting in the side hall with some scrutiny.
Even when facing Charles I, Grand Duke Rose just stood up and saluted Charles I: "I have met your Majesty."
With a flick of his sleeves, Charles I sat down, stared at Grand Duke Rose and said, "Grand Duke Rose, aren't you sitting in charge of the Strait of Gibraltar? Why did you return it in such a hurry?"
Grand Duke Qiangwei said calmly: "Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty invaded the port. I came back this time to hope that your Majesty can send troops to reinforce the port to ensure that the port is not lost!"
Seeing how the Grand Duke Rose looked dedicated to his country, Charles I, who knew clearly that the Grand Duke Rose had escaped from the battlefield, was so angry that he clenched his fists.
If possible, Charles I would have wanted to drag the Grand Duke down and chop off his head, but Charles I could not do that.
He is just unifying Spain. The power held by a group of nobles in the country is no worse than that of his king. Especially the Grand Duke of Rose is the representative of many nobles. Even he, the king, cannot target the Grand Duke of Rose. Otherwise, once
Regarding Grand Duke Qiangwei, I don’t know what kind of association it will make those nobles have.
Taking a deep breath, Charles I looked at Grand Duke Rose, tried his best to show a smile on his face and nodded: "It is rare that Grand Duke Rose is dedicated to serving the country. I am deeply gratified. It has been hard work for the Grand Duke to return all the way. It's early."
Go back and rest."
When he saw the Grand Duke Rose, he wanted to get angry, but there was nothing he could do to the Grand Duke Rose, so Charles I could only suppress his inner anger and did not want to see the Grand Duke Rose.
Grand Duke Rose also understood that Charles I did not want to see him at this moment, so he had no intention of staying to continue irritating Charles I.
But when he got up to leave, Grand Duke Rose said to Charles I: "Your Majesty, when I left the port, the Ming Dynasty fleet was attacking the fleet. If there is no miracle, I am afraid the port will not be able to hold on for a few days, so I ask your Majesty to come as soon as possible
Send troops, otherwise the Strait of Gibraltar will be in danger!"
The fists were clenched and rattling, and Charles I could be heard gritting his teeth and saying: "I know it."
When the Grand Duke Rose walked out of the hall, not far away, he heard the sound of banging things coming from the hall behind him. Obviously, this was Charles I smashing things to vent his inner anger.
Not long after, many ministers in the kingdom were summoned. Many of them were well-informed and had already received the news, so they understood the purpose of Charles I summoning them, but most people did not have such channels.
, so I don’t understand why the king summoned them in a hurry at this time.
When Charles I told the news about the Ming Dynasty's attack on the Strait of Gibraltar, many people exclaimed in surprise.
Just as the monarchs and ministers of the Ming Dynasty all thought that the Ming Dynasty was a celestial kingdom and that all barbarians were barbarians, these ministers of the kingdom were obviously immersed in Spain's invincible past.
In the eyes of these people, although the world is big and there are many countries, there are few that they can take seriously, let alone give them a sense of crisis.
But now the king actually told them that someone was attacking the Strait of Gibraltar. Some people blushed and said: "It's so rampant. Do you think the Kingdom of Spain is easy to bully?"
Of course, this person did not know much about the Ming Dynasty, but all the ministers who knew something about the Ming Dynasty were standing there one by one, their faces full of contemplation, with no intention of speaking at all.
King Charles I frowned and said with a focused gaze: "Let's talk about how we should respond to the Ming Dynasty's invasion of our country."
"War, what else is there to consider? Only a war can let people know what it means to be a maritime power."
Some people simply remained silent, while others clamored for war. The result can be imagined. From the standpoint of Charles I, people from the Ming Dynasty had already come to the door. If he, the king, did not dare to fight, I am afraid that
He will be laughed to death.
The mighty army could be said to be following the Grand Duke Qiangwei, but in just one day, more than ten miles away from the city of Toledo, the flags covered the sun and the smoke billowed.
Such a big movement naturally alarmed the people of Toledo City. After receiving the warning, the Toledo City Guards hurriedly closed the city gate. A group of generals gathered on the city wall and looked out from a distance.
I saw a cloud of smoke billowing from the distance, and beneath the smoke was a huge black army.
As the saying goes, once the number of people exceeds 10,000, there is no limit. What's more, this time Yu Dayou brought nearly 20,000 men and horses to kill them. With tens of thousands of people spread out, the momentum was really amazing.
Several generals looked at the Ming army's formation in the distance, which looked like divine soldiers descending from the sky. They were all stunned, with expressions of disbelief on their faces.
Not long ago, they were discussing with King Charles how to mobilize troops and how to rush to the port to stop the Ming people.
As a result, it had only been a day, but Akito's army had already appeared at the gate of the city.
Some generals squinted their eyes, but they were counting the time in their hearts. According to Grand Duke Qiangwei's speed, it would have taken nearly ten days to rush back from the port. However, Mingren's army was only less than two days behind Grand Duke Qiangwei.
If you calculate it this way, it shows a lot.
At least a lot of things can be seen from this time alone. The first is the approximate time of the fall of the port, the speed of Akito's march, etc.
The more you think about it, the more frightened you become.
At the same time, in the palace, Charles I was taking a lunch break. When the attendants shouted outside the dormitory, Charles I angrily pushed away the body of a noble lady in his arms, and put on his clothes.
He walked out and shouted angrily: "Didn't you see that I am resting? What happened to disturb my rest?"
The attendant said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, Ming Ren... Ming Ren is here!"
Charles I was stunned for a moment, looking at the attendant with some confusion. It took a while for Charles I to react, and said loudly and sharply: "What, what did you say? Mingren is here, how is this possible?
.”
The attendant was startled, obviously shocked by Charles I's reaction, but the attendant turned to Charlie with great certainty: "Your Majesty, the Ming army is outside the capital at the moment..."
"Follow me out of the palace. I want to see who is playing tricks. How could they suddenly kill such a long distance from the port to the capital? Could it be that all of these Ming people are...
The magic weapon failed to show up in the city in such a short period of time."
Not long after, Charles I was seen hurriedly appearing on the city wall. When the generals saw Charles I, they hurriedly came up to meet him.
Charles I waved his hand, indicating to the generals that they should not be too polite, and then stood at the city wall and looked outside.
With just one glance, Charles I's expression changed drastically, because as far as he could see, there were all black masses of human heads. Looking at the size of the army formation alone, judging from Charles I's experience, the Ming army under the city at this moment was at least as large as
Thousands of them.
You must know that the number of defenders in the city at this time is only three to four thousand people. After all, a large number of domestic soldiers and horses were recruited by Grand Duke Rose and gathered at the port.
As a result, tens of thousands of troops were wiped out in one battle, and the direct consequence was that the country was empty. Even important places like this were only guarded by thousands of soldiers and horses.
In fact, if the Kingdom of Spain had not been unlucky enough to be targeted by the Ming army, Spain would have been in great power, with 60 to 70% of its military strength spread overseas, leaving only a handful of soldiers and horses in the country. It would have been perfectly normal, and it would have been impossible.
There was a situation where soldiers were sent to the city.
However, Spain happened to provoke the Ming army, and this resulted in this situation.
It was precisely because of the emptiness in the country that Charles I was so panicked when he saw the numerous soldiers and horses of the Ming army below.
Facing an army of tens of thousands, Charles I was able to establish Spain and lead it to become a maritime power. He was certainly not a fool. He knew very well that the thousands of troops in the city alone would not be able to defend the city.
Since there is a risk of losing the city when defending it, we must find a way to solve the immediate problem.
Turning his eyes, Charles I had an idea and glanced at the ministers around him.
After all, within a short time, many ministers who had received the news rushed over, and one by one they worried with Charles I.
"Whoever is willing to go out of the city to talk to the Ming people on my behalf, just ask if they want anything. As long as we can do it, we will not refuse."
We have been beaten right at our doorstep, so there is nothing to be embarrassed about. As long as we can get through the current difficulties, we can gather our troops when the time comes and find a way to get back.
As the saying goes, a man who can bend and stretch is a man.
Although Charles I did not know such a sentence, this is what he did. As the leader of a country, he did not care whether it would be a loss of face to ask for mercy. In his eyes, face was not as important as his own safety.
Rumor has it that Akito is killing people like crazy. Not to mention how upset these ministers and generals are. If they had known this, it would have been better for them to come later. It would be better than being stared at by Charles I now.
If one is chosen to become an envoy, wouldn't it mean that there is no return?
Whenever Charles I's eyes fell on someone, that person lowered his head, wishing for a crack in the ground to hide in.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Charles I sighed in his heart, stretched out his hand and said: "Earl of Bauhinia, why don't you go out of the city on behalf of me?"
When Earl Bauhinia's name was called, he was stunned for a moment, and then showed a bit of a wry smile on his face, but he did not refuse, but accepted.
Creaking, the city gate opened, and only a few figures were seen walking out of the city gate. Then the city gate closed with a bang, leaving only Earl Bauhinia and his party who came out of the city.
Several sentinels came quickly, stared at Earl Bauhinia and shouted: "Who are you and why are you leaving the city?"
Earl Bauhinia tried his best to use the extremely poor Ming Dynasty Mandarin: "Messenger, we are the messengers!"
Several sentinels spent a lot of effort before they could hear Earl Bauhinia's words clearly and figure out the purpose of this group of people.
In the temporary camp, Yu Dayou looked at the group of Earl Bauhinia brought by the sentry. He just sat there and watched with interest.
Count Bauhinia, who felt as if he was being looked at like a monkey, was not only holding back his anger, but the situation was not as good as others. He was here to seek peace on behalf of the king. If he had to act on his temper, let alone the failure of the peace talks, he would
The bad thing is that his own life will be at risk.
After spending a lot of energy and suppressing the anger in his heart, Earl Zijin said to Yu Dayou: "Our country and your country were originally harmonious countries, but for some reason it has come to this point. Our king is considerate of the people of both countries and does not want to be with your country.
Your country has provoked a war, and I have been specially ordered to come here. I am willing to negotiate peace with your country."
Yu Dayou raised the corner of his mouth slightly, glanced at Jiao Yuan beside him, and signaled Jiao Yuan and Earl Zijin to speak.
Jiao Yuan, who was sitting aside, nodded to Yu Dayou, then looked at Earl Zijin, and shouted, "Are you aware of your guilt?"
Regardless of whether it was Jiao Yuan or Yu Dayou, they had learned extremely fluent Spanish in the past few years, so Count Bauhinia could hear clearly and clearly.
With a bit of grievance and confusion on his face, he said: "What does this gentleman mean by this?"
Jiao Yuan waved his hand and said with a bit of domineering: "You, a small country, dare to attack the fleet of our country at sea. What if this is not a crime?"
"Misunderstanding, this must be a misunderstanding. Our country has always loved peace..."
With a pop, Yu Dayou, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but spit out a sip of tea. He saw Yu Dayou looking at Earl Bauhinia with an unbelievable expression on his face. After a long time, he said: "I admire you. I admire you."
To be honest, even Jiao Yuan deeply admired Earl Bauhinia's shamelessness in telling lies. At least he couldn't say such shameless words.
After patting the desk, Yu Dayou stared at Earl Bauhinia and said: "There is no need to talk nonsense. Aren't you here on behalf of Charles I? Then you will send a message to Charles I on my behalf, asking him to honestly apologize and start.
If the city surrenders, I will definitely be able to give him a way out and preserve his prosperity for the rest of his life. If not, huh..."
Count Bauhinia, with a look of embarrassment on his face, said to Yu Dayou: "My lord, His Majesty the King is very sincere. Our country is willing to spend millions of gold coins to apologize to your country, and I also ask your lord to withdraw the troops..."
Picking up the tea cup, Yu Dayou ignored Earl Bauhinia and just sipped the tea quietly. However, Jiao Yuan stood up and stretched out his hand towards Earl Bauhinia and said: "There is nothing else to talk about. Please go back to the city to spread the word."
Earl Zijin couldn't help but said loudly to Jiao Yuan and Yu Dayou: "You two, you two, we are sincere. War is inhumane. If you are not satisfied with the compensation, we can talk again, we can talk again..."
He glanced at Earl Bauhinia quite disdainfully and heard Yu Dayou say slowly: "Tsk tsk, your country is really sincere. It is only willing to give out one million gold coins. I am afraid that the property of any big noble in your country will be lost."
It won't be less than one million gold coins." As he spoke, Yu Dayou had a look of worry on his face, waved his hands and said: "Master Jiao, see off my guest!"
Earl Bauhinia said in a panic: "Whatever you want, we can talk about it later!"
Earl Bauhinia was very uncomfortable with Yu Dayou's unconventional behavior. In his opinion, Yu Dayou definitely wanted more benefits. As long as Yu Dayou was willing to negotiate, they would not be able to give them more benefits, but the prerequisite
