Chapter 1635: Hindsight is better than a god
On the Ningbo, the task force members read the rescuer action plan drawn up by the young master five years ago with great anticipation.
The superiors first explained with a guilty conscience why they were sent to carry out this mission - it was not because the fortune-telling showed "good luck in the West"!
Mr. Zhao said that all his inferences were based on military intelligence, rigorous analysis and bold guesses.
First of all, based on the confessions of high-ranking Portuguese prisoners and the relevant information collected by the agency and the group, it can be judged that the Ottoman Empire, which is at the forefront of the world, will never give up Morocco, which is located at the throat of the Mediterranean.
Therefore, while the old king is dead and the new king's foundation is stable, the Ottomans will definitely use the old king's two brothers in Istanbul to subvert the Moroccan regime.
Zhao Hao, a wise man after 20 years of preparation, concluded that the super-powerful Ottoman Empire would certainly use all its strength this time, so unless the Portuguese came to the rescue as a whole country, King Abu would have no chance of winning.
So will the Portuguese come to the rescue as a whole country? Zhao Hao's answer is definitely yes.
There are three reasons. First, Morocco is located on the south bank of the Strait of Gibraltar, facing the Mediterranean Sea to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Once controlled by the Ottomans, it will seriously threaten Portugal's maritime trade lifeline.
Second, Portugal itself was facing a serious crisis. If it lost North Africa, it would trigger a series of chain reactions, which might lead to the complete collapse of its maritime trade empire.
Third, the King of Portugal was young, impulsive, and arrogant. He would not allow others to sleep beside his bed. So he would not only mobilize the whole country to send troops, but also lead the army himself!
Seeing this, the macarons all turned into pink strawberry flavor. He and his friends were all stunned.
"Everything was predicted correctly five years ago! Your military intelligence is so amazing!"
"It turns out that it is the power of science, not the power of shamans..."
"I see. Military intelligence is the science of exorcism..."
After solving their doubts, everyone couldn't wait to read on. Although the predictions about the past were exciting, they were just for show. The predictions about the future were truly valuable!
Mr. Zhao scientifically predicted that the Portuguese would lose this battle and listed ten major reasons.
The three most important reasons are that, firstly, Morocco had lost its sovereignty, suffered internal and external troubles, and its people's livelihood was in decline. The people were very dissatisfied with King Abu and his son who had surrendered to the infidels. Therefore, the Portuguese joining would only make the people more disunited and turn the original unjust war for the throne into a just war against aggression. The side that fought against the invaders would receive a huge bonus.
Secondly, the Portuguese army was used to small-scale battles and was not good at large-scale battles. The Spanish phalanx they copied was a formation that was completely designed for the European battlefield, and it was not effective when moved to North Africa. Moreover, the Moors were mainly light cavalry, and with little difference in firearms, they were able to completely defeat the Spanish phalanx.
Thirdly, the hot weather in North Africa was a severe test for the invaders. If the Moroccans adopted the tactic of luring the enemy deep into their territory, they might even wipe out the Portuguese.
Based on the military geography he had collected, Zhao Hao even "analyzed" the Portuguese route of advance and the Moroccan countermeasures, and judged that the two sides would most likely fight on the banks of the Mahazan River, and attached the results of the war game simulation of the General Staff...
In fact, it is not wise to give such an accurate prediction simply from the perspective of playing tricks, but since it is related to the success or failure of the operation and the safety of the task force members, Zhao Hao cannot hide it. Even if he is suspected of being possessed by a fox spirit, he must provide as much detailed information as possible.
Fortunately, the team members only regarded him as Zhuge Liang and did not regard him as a monster. At most, he was just a shemale.
Besides, Mr. Zhao's last words also made them unable to think about those trivial things -
Zhao Hao told them in the mission book that if this operation succeeds, the Portuguese Empire's fortune will be seized by us, and Ming will quickly replace Portugal and become a global empire on par with Spain. It will also gain a platform to intervene in European affairs and strangle future major competitors one by one in the cradle!
"This is about the fate of the Ming Dynasty for 500 years. If you succeed, your achievements will go down in history. You cannot afford to fail. Remember this!"
Mr. Zhao wrote at the end. Isn't this more exciting than Bo Ran?
At least Macaron and his friends were excited after knowing their mission. They immediately felt that the five years of waiting were worth it. If a person can have such a legendary experience that goes down in history, his life will be worthwhile.
Of course, the prerequisite is that the little red-haired king must be brought back to the Ming Dynasty alive!
Despite the young master's miraculous predictions and the results of war games as a reference, it is still an extremely difficult and almost impossible task to steal the king of a country from the army... no, rescue him, and bring him back to the Ming Dynasty thousands of miles away.
However, the team members were so excited that their macarons turned red. They didn't care about the difficulty of the task at all. They immediately spread out the map and began to study the specific action plan.
Only then did they realize that all the hard work of the past few years had not been in vain. When the team members closed their eyes, they could see the mountains and rivers of northern Morocco in their minds.
After some analysis, they found that the location of the decisive battle was very likely to be on the banks of the Mahazzan River. Because the northern central part of Morocco is a large mountainous area, only the western coastal plain is suitable for the deployment of a large army. The Mahazzan River is located exactly in the middle of the coastal stronghold controlled by the Portuguese and Marrakech, the capital of Monaco. Although it is a plain, the terrain along the river is high in the south and low in the north, which is very advantageous for the Moroccan army attacking from south to north.
Macron and others put themselves in the Monegasque shoes and thought that if they were Monegasques, they would also choose to strike hard at the invaders on the banks of the Mahazan River.
But this inference was based on their long-term reconnaissance of northwestern Morocco. The young master had never been here, but he was able to make the same inference based only on non-standard maps and hearsay.
It's like making plans in bed and winning battles thousands of miles away!
After determining the location of the battle, the team members began to think step by step over the next few days about how to rescue Sebastian, how to safely withdraw from the battlefield, escape from Monaco, and how to return to Ming Dynasty if the battle went badly.
The task was too difficult, and there were so many situations to consider that when the fleet arrived in Morocco on June 5, they still had a lot of details to discuss...
~~
After crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, the Portuguese expedition fleet consisting of 500 large and small ships was too large to accommodate a single coastal outpost.
King Sebastian had to order the fleet to land in Tangier and Asilah, two Portuguese-controlled coastal fortresses 70 miles apart, and then join forces.
As soon as he landed, the king used the telescope presented by the Indian viceroy to discover that there were Moroccan scouts lurking on the hills on the east side. Without thinking, Sebastian ordered the Guards Cavalry to launch a charge.
Although the Monaco Light Cavalry fled without achieving any results, the defenders on the Asilah Castle, the expedition officers and soldiers who were still on the ship and had already landed were all impressed by the king's heroic performance.
The shouts of "Long live the king" echoed throughout the coast, and the morale of the Portuguese army was greatly boosted!
"This little red-haired king is quite capable." Macron saw King Sebastian riding back on his horse and waving his hand in a dashing manner in response to his soldiers, which once again set off a wave of cheers.
"Of course, he ascended the throne at the age of three and has been king for more than 20 years." Someone suddenly appeared beside him and said:
"His physical defects stimulated him to pursue manliness. He deliberately carried out harsh training in various harsh climates and environments - hunting, jousting and even bullfighting. He also often went out to sea alone in a small boat in a storm to temper his will. Therefore, he has a strong physique, a strong will, superb riding skills and high martial arts, so he can be loved by the whole people."
"How do you know so much?" After years of getting along, Macaron has become accustomed to his boss's mysterious appearances. To be honest, a boss who seems to be non-existent when nothing happens and only shows up when something happens is really great.
"This is my job." The man smiled and said, "It's also my hobby..."
"But it should just be a rumor that he has a physical defect, right?" Macaron asked, "Who can actually see his thing with their own eyes?"
"I saw it with my own eyes..." But then someone said faintly, "This young king doesn't like to stay in Lisbon. Instead, he travels around and hunts with a group of noble sons. So it's not difficult to get close to him and see his little brother when he goes swimming."
"It's not difficult, that's for adults..." Even Macaron was enthusiastic about the king's gossip. "Does he really have a defect there?"
"He is the same age as you, but only one-third of your size." The man sighed, "You can say he is just a grain of rice."
"My..." Macaron felt a chill in his crotch and immediately didn't want to continue the conversation.
"We are all men, and there is nothing wrong with taking a look. Alas, this is the only insignificant skill I have, but I am still so annoying." The man was usually in a low mood, and it took him a while to remember the main thing and said:
"By the way, before the battle begins, you must try to get close to the king. The closer to him the better."
"Of course." Macron nodded and said, "We have extensive experience in this area, but we are afraid that we don't have enough time."
"Don't worry, there is enough time." The other person whispered, "It would be good if the Portuguese can continue to advance in July."
"Good fellow, what's the point of fighting?" Macaron sneered, "Don't you understand the principle of speed being of the essence in war?"
"Although the Portuguese army imitated Spain in every aspect, it skipped the most critical military reform." The man whispered, "So they still fight in the medieval way..."
He pointed to the shore, where a child wearing a small golden armor was reporting something to the king. He said, "Did you see that? The little duke was only ten years old, but because his father died suddenly, he had to go to the battlefield. Otherwise, the king would not be able to command his vassal."
"A vassal of a vassal is not my vassal?" Macron said what King Abu often said.
"Yes, that's what I mean." The man nodded and said, "So their efficiency is shockingly low, and the nobles, big and small, are all very pretentious. Even when going to war, the king needs thousands of people to serve him, the duke needs hundreds of people to serve him, and the most ordinary noble has dozens of servants and slaves. They are very pretentious. Tell everyone to be patient... and say that this is a good thing. The longer the preparation time, the higher the chance of success."
ps.Write another chapter...
(End of this chapter)