'Many times, people are at the turning point of history without knowing it. Only a very small number of visionaries standing at the pinnacle of humanity can see the future from a single leaf and even prepare for the rainy day.'

'The War of the Three Kings is such a notable example. This war not only freed Morocco from the dangerous situation of being besieged on all sides, but also ruined the national fortune accumulated by Portugal, the first sea-going empire in human history, for nearly a hundred years. With few survivors, the Portuguese king was instantly paralyzed. This laid the groundwork for the Portuguese War of Succession two years later.'

'It also significantly contributed to the rise of the sea power of the distant Eastern Empire. Although the Ming Empire already had the strength to take over Asia and Africa, it was still extremely sad that it easily gained half of the world. Since then, although the world is still divided between the two heroes, Portugal has reluctantly given way to the Ming Empire.'

'This war had an even worse impact, which was that the Ming Empire finally found an opportunity to intervene in European affairs. They cleverly deepened the contradictions between countries and seriously interfered with the trajectory of European development, allowing the old and the old to remain immortal and the progressive to regress. After Europe stood shoulder to shoulder with the Eastern Empire for the first time in human history, it quickly declined again.'

'So I say that Sebastian I should be held responsible for the current situation in Europe. He might as well have died on the banks of the Mahazan River.'

——Excerpt from Horatio Nasser’s Preface to the Translation of Sea Power

~~

It was obvious that the captain of the guard wore the king's armor to attract the attention of the pursuers and give the real king a chance to escape.

This was the suggestion of the Ming people. It is said that in the Ming Dynasty this strategy was called "replacing one fruit with another."

In the previous battle, the Ming people served as the guards musketeers, killing and wounding a large number of Moroccan troops. They also bravely protected the king's life and remained with him until the great rout, which naturally won the trust of the captain of the guards.

In addition, all of the captain of the guards' men were killed in the battle and he himself was seriously injured, so he could only trust them.

Lord Earl, you can rest assured. Ming men always keep their promises. If they say they will protect the king, they will protect him to the end. If they say they will take him away, they will take him away.

It's just that the destination of escape is a little bit further away...

But Macron and his men had made a special stretcher before the war, which was shaped like a rectangular wooden box... well, it was a thin Western-style coffin, but it had a circle of wooden handles on the four sides to make it easier for multiple people to carry the coffin... Oh no, carry a stretcher.

They put the unconscious king into a stretcher, and to prevent anyone from recognizing him or the king from accidentally falling out, they put a lid on it and tied it up with ropes.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this was actually intended for kidnapping.

Eight team members formed a circle and carried the coffin together. The rest of the team members, fully armed, gathered around and blended into the fleeing crowd as they fled north.

Intentionally or unintentionally, they squeezed in and out of the crowd and got rid of the king's last few followers.

When they fled to the Mahazan River, they saw the river bank was densely packed with Portuguese militia who had arrived there earlier.

The river, which was previously wadable, has now surged in water due to the tide and has ruthlessly swallowed up some people who recklessly jumped into the water.

The shouts of the pursuers behind them were getting closer and closer, so they didn't care about anything else. The Portuguese who could swim took off their armor, jumped into the water, and tried to swim across the river.

The macarons were not wearing armor to begin with, so they simply pushed through the crowd, carried the stretchers into the water, and began to swim towards the center of the river by stepping on the water.

They are the glorious marines of the Coast Guard. Five-kilometer armed swimming is their daily training. Even though they have been on a business trip for five years, they have never lost their basic skills.

As for the unconscious Sebastian, there was no need to worry. The stretcher was made into a coffin shape, and another purpose was to use it as a canoe for him. All the gaps had naturally been sealed with hemp rope and tar, so there was no need to worry about water leaks.

The team members held the coffin and swam to the middle of the river, but did not continue to cross the river. Instead, they swam downstream under the cover of night.

As they swam farther and farther, they soon could no longer hear the noisy sounds of people and horses, only the sound of rushing water and the team members' slight breathing.

When he swam to the confluence of the two rivers, Macaron saw a few red dots on the river surface in front of him slightly rising and falling.

Macaron quickly pursed his lips and made a rhythmic chirping sound.

Soon, there were birdsong on the other side, and then the sound of oars paddling in the water. The special operations officers who were waiting for them came over in a few black-painted boats.

Everyone first hurriedly carried the "king's coffin" to a boat, and then with the help of the special section officers, they climbed onto the boats one after another.

"Count the points." Macron wiped the water off his face and instructed the special operations officer.

They began to count the number of people on each boat, and a total of 43 new people boarded the boat.

"Someone has sneaked in!" Macron was surprised. He had a total of fifty brothers around the king, and eight of them were killed in one day, so the number should be forty-two.

Upon hearing this, the team members immediately drew out their daggers, put them against the necks of the people next to them, and began to exchange secret signals.

Then I heard voices coming from every boat:

"Recycle--"

"refrigerator!"

"Color TV!"

"washing machine!"

"Electric fan!"

“Old computer!”

“Old phone!”

“…”

As a result, on one of the boats, a guy who was also wearing a guard uniform couldn't be matched.

Four or five daggers came up, and the man hurriedly said in broken Chinese: "I am Abu..."

The team members quickly tied his hands behind his back and blocked his mouth, then shone the ship's lights on him and saw that he was indeed the deposed King Abu of Morocco.

"What's going on?" The team members looked at each other.

"Let's leave here first." That person suddenly said.

"Yes, Chief." The staff members quickly rowed the boat and headed down the river towards the estuary.

"Sir, what should we do with Abu?" On the boat, while he still remembered him, Macron quickly asked.

"You didn't count me just now." Someone complained first, "You always forget me every time you count."

"Your Excellency could have reminded us," Macron quickly apologized.

"If I speak, you won't realize there's one more person." The man sighed and said, "Keep him, even though he has no value. But doesn't the young master always say that even a piece of toilet paper has its use?"

"Okay." Macaroon nodded quickly.

~~

Half an hour later, several small boats arrived at the mouth of the Mahazan River, where the Ningbo was waiting quietly.

In fact, the important port city of Larache is located at the river mouth. Fortunately, the Moroccans had no navy, and because they were worried about the Portuguese attack, the defenders all shrank in the city and dared not come out, making the task of receiving the enemy very easy.

After everyone was on board and the boat was recovered, the Ningbo quietly sailed into the depths of the ocean.

The Marines then breathed a sigh of relief and lay down on the deck in a mess, looking at the starry sky, smoking and drinking, and relaxing their tense minds that had been tense all day.

They participated in a war that was far more intense than they could have imagined. Even though they had been careful to protect themselves, eight people were still killed...

To be honest, the team members were not mentally prepared for such a brutal battle. They thought it was just a fight, just like the previous Moroccan War or the wars between European countries, you charge, I charge, if things go bad, you retreat, if you can't escape, you surrender.

Unexpectedly, both sides fought to the death, and I'm afraid that seven or eight thousand people were killed.

Moreover, the players were on the losing side, so the psychological pressure was naturally greater.

"Damn it, I didn't expect these red-haired ghosts and white turbans to be so ruthless when playing with their lives."

"Yes, I finally understand why the drill rules stipulate that the Marines are not allowed to leave the fleet's protection and go deep into the inland. It turns out that you have long known the danger of the enemy."

Everyone nodded in agreement. As they gained more experience, they realized that many of the seemingly rigid rules in the drill manuals and military regulations were actually learned through bloody lessons...

I just don’t know whose blood was shed that made the young master accumulate so many valuable lessons.

"We are so lucky to have a coach like Gongzi." Someone sighed sincerely: "The Portuguese were screwed by their king."

"Yes, most of the nobles died in the war, and many families were wiped out. I don't think many people escaped across the river. They only have such a small population, and now the entire country will be ruined." Everyone sighed.

"But Sebastian's performance was still remarkable." Someone also spoke up for the Portuguese king, "He almost won both assaults, but lost because he underestimated the enemy. If his cavalry had more energy, the result would be hard to predict."

"That guy is really hardworking, unlike Abu, that coward." The most admired people in the military are warriors. Sebastian won the respect of the Marines with his bravery, which is why so many people spoke up for him.

"I don't know if he can survive this or not."

"That was a pretty solid hit."

"Yeah, if he dies, won't our mission fail?"

As soon as these last words were spoken, all the team members sat up and looked towards the brightly lit medical room in the stern tower.

~~

In the infirmary, the task force's doctor and the ship's doctor were performing surgery on the Portuguese king.

Although it was tens of thousands of miles away from the mainland, the medical equipment and medicines on board were surprisingly complete. The two doctors were also outstanding surgeons at Jiangnan Hospital.

After checking, they found that fortunately the Camel's swivel cannon had a small caliber and little power, and was protected by well-made armor. Sebastian only had a comminuted fracture of his right shoulder. Although he might become disabled in the future, his life was not in danger.

Also thanks to the armor, the gunshot wounds on his body were not fatal, but only caused some flesh wounds of varying degrees.

The two doctors skillfully splinted the wound while informing the outside world of the situation.

"That's good." In the sailor's activity room, Macron breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the news. Then he turned around and looked at Abu coldly. What was going on with having someone interrogate him in Arabic?

In fact, the situation is not complicated. When Abu saw that he was doomed to fail, he decided to follow the Ming people. This was how he survived before, so he naturally had path dependence.

But he was worried that they would abandon him after he became worthless, so he secretly changed into the clothes of the dead guards, and painted his face black with ash to prevent them from recognizing him. He followed them all the way, and when he went into the water after dark, it would be even less likely to be discovered.

"You're a pretty good swimmer then..." Macaron couldn't help but laugh, "You're not good at anything, but you're the best at running away."

"It's just that I won't drown." Abu said modestly, "Two brothers saw that I couldn't keep up and thought I was injured, so they kept pulling me to swim. If I knew who they were, I would definitely give them four female slaves each."