Chapter 1641: The Thousand-Mile Journey Home

After the Ningbo left Larache, there were three routes before them. One was along the African continent, passing the Cape of Good Hope back to Asia, a total distance of nearly 50,000 miles.

This route was under the control of the Portuguese. The Portuguese regarded it as a secret and absolutely prohibited any unauthorized ships from passing through. Even though the task force had shed blood for the party country, they agreed to let them go empty-handed. But every time they docked for supplies, they would be boarded and searched by the Portuguese. Although their purpose was to investigate smuggling, the king on the ship could not escape the eyes of the Portuguese.

Portugal is a small country, and the king doesn't like to stay at home. He takes his nobles to play and hunt all day long. There are too many citizens who know him. Most of the noble officers have been received by him. So the task force didn't dare to take this risk. If they were discovered, they would have stolen the hope of the entire Portuguese village. Wouldn't they have to risk their lives?

The second route was to sail west to South America, bypass South America and enter the Pacific Ocean, a total of nearly 60,000 miles. This route was not only the longest, but also under the control of the Spanish. The legends of the "Red-haired Pirate" and the "Flying Henan Man" had long been spread to Europe.

It is said that the Spanish are stepping up their preparations for war, and they are eager to attack Luzon and regain their ground. If they run to South America at this time, wouldn't it be a good opportunity to sacrifice to others?

Another route is to go north across the Mediterranean, land at the port of Alexandria, walk a short distance overland, then board a ship in Suez, out of the Red Sea and into the Indian Ocean. The entire journey is almost 30,000 miles.

This route was the shortest, but the problem was that the ship was short-lived and could not travel that land route. Moreover, most of the voyage was under the control of the Ottomans, and the White Turbans were not good people. If they found that the King of Portugal or the deposed King of Morocco was on the ship, they would still be killed.

So it seems that there are abundant choices and it is up to you to choose, but in fact, each route is full of dangers, and the chance of death is much greater than the possibility of returning home safely.

In the previous brainstorming, the number of people who chose the first route was far greater than the others. After all, they had served as the Portuguese king's guards, and Macaron was knighted by Sebastian, so it was still possible to scare the Portuguese.

Even if their treasure was discovered, couldn't they still take the king as a hostage? The chance of survival would be greater than the other two options, right?

Unfortunately, the task force is not a place that values ​​democracy, and that person resolutely chose the third path...

That's why the other two ships were sent to Ceuta to wait.

~~

In order to reduce the number of encounters with Portuguese ships, Ningbo chose to sail north through the deep sea.

They were already familiar with the ocean currents in this area and knew that because the sea level in the Atlantic Ocean was higher and the sea level in the Mediterranean Sea was relatively lower, the ocean currents would automatically carry them into the Strait of Gibraltar.

But the team members were still nervous, wondering whether this trip would be like walking into a tiger's mouth.

"Just answer me one question." Ningbo's captain Xia Xin asked relentlessly, as if he would disobey orders and head south if I didn't explain clearly.

"What shall we do when we get to Alexandria? Shall we dig a canal?"

If ships can sail to the Red Sea from there, who would bother to go around Africa to Asia?

"I'll find a way when the time comes." But the guy didn't take it seriously. He used a local Moroccan nut oil called Argan to smear his exposed skin. This precious oil can both protect against the sun and beautify the skin. Applying a little bit when going out to sea is really worthy of this face.

"Can a living person be killed by holding his urine? It is said that the locals sometimes dismantle the boat into planks, transport them to the other side by land, and then reassemble them... Don't stare at me, I just want to show you that there is a way, I'm not really asking you to dismantle the boat."

"Anyway, just give up on this idea. I will never agree to it."

"Let's not talk about this for now. Help me think of something important." The man finished applying the sunscreen and put the glass bottle into his pocket and said, "When the little red-haired king wakes up and sees that I didn't go back to Lisbon, how are we going to explain it to him?"

"You guys should help think about this, too." He turned around and said to Macaroon and the others who were basking in the sun and smoking on the deck.

"Tell the truth." Macaron's deputy captain Pan Qiaoyun said in a muffled voice: "You are our prisoner now, be obedient and don't do anything stupid!"

"Nonsense." Macaron rolled his eyes at him and said, "Didn't you see how ruthless that kid was on the battlefield? Aren't you afraid that he would starve himself to death or something?"

"Isn't it said that European nobles don't feel ashamed of being captured?" Pan Qiaoyun said in disbelief: "For them, being captured is just paying a ransom? Will he seek death?"

"Don't lead him astray. If he really thinks we're here for the ransom, he'll go on a hunger strike to show you." Xia Xin hurriedly shook his head and said, "Will you really send him back then?"

"That's right." The man said, "Young Master, you went to so much trouble to get this guy back, probably because you want to keep him as a treasure. We... well, you are his savior, so you should try to maintain a good relationship."

"How can this be possible?" Everyone shook their heads and said, "Portugal is about to be destroyed. Once this kid wakes up, he will be desperate to return home."

"Then we have to prevent him from saying it." The man lowered his voice.

"Give me a mute drug?" Pan Qiaoyun said suddenly, but he saw that everyone was looking at him with strange eyes.

"Say less, you've lowered the IQ of the Marines." Macaron turned red, and decided to raise the IQ of the Marines even higher. He coughed and said:

"We can make up a story for him..."

~~

Larache is very close to the Strait of Gibraltar, and Ningbo passed through the throat of the Mediterranean Sea at noon that day, swept by the turbulent ocean current. Because the ship was flying the Portuguese flag, the Spanish Gibraltar fleet guarding the area did not stop it according to the agreement between Spain and Portugal.

That afternoon, the Ningbo arrived in Ceuta, but did not enter the port. After waiting in the open sea for the Yixing and Dianshan Lake to leave the port after their supplies were completed, it headed eastward along the southern coast of the Mediterranean.

This voyage was not easy because August was still summer. The Mediterranean was hot and dry with calm seas. The occasional wind was from the northeast, which was a death sentence for sailboats sailing eastward.

This is why it was galleys that dominated the Mediterranean, rather than sailing ships that relied solely on the wind.

Fortunately, the Chinese sails can sail against the wind, and with the gentle sea and land breeze, this small fleet can barely move forward 70 to 80 miles a day...

Moreover, the pirates in the Mediterranean were following closely. They had long been eyeing these three strangely shaped sailing ships.

In the eyes of the pirates, these sailing ships that sailed into the Mediterranean at the wrong season were simply naked women. No matter what they were like, they would just eat them first.

But they didn't expect that the cannons of these three ships were really powerful, and although the hulls were small, they had strong firepower. After several pirate ships that rushed forward were sunk, the pirates changed their strategy and no longer attacked rashly. Instead, they relied on the fast speed of their light paddle boats to follow the fleet far behind during the day and harass them continuously when it got dark.

Just like a pack of wolves hunting a bison, they first exhaust the prey's mental and physical strength before taking action, and of course, they also have to use up all their ammunition.

So for the next month, the task force members were in a state of high tension. In order to cope with the endless harassment from pirates, they had to turn day and night upside down. As soon as night fell, they were on high alert, keeping their eyes wide open to prevent the pirates from approaching them, and they could not relax and rest until dawn.

If this goes on for a long time, the players will naturally become exhausted physically and mentally, and their condition will become worse and worse.

The only good thing is that now there is no need to worry about the King of Portugal not believing the story made up by Macron.

Sebastian woke up on the tenth day of his coma, and he felt like he had just had a very long nightmare...

When his consciousness gradually returned, he realized that reality had become more terrifying than a nightmare.

His army was annihilated, the nobles and elites in the country were all wiped out, and the treasury was completely emptied because of the war. The young king gambled on the fate of the empire, but ended up losing everything.

Thinking of this, the king was so ashamed and angry that he refused to eat and refused to cooperate with the treatment.

His last knight, Macaron, had to persuade him to think about his country and his subjects. They were in a time of crisis and needed the king's leadership the most. But you didn't even leave an heir. If you can't go back, where will Portugal go?

The king was awakened by this and really stopped his suicidal quest. Because the Avis family had too few male members, only he and his uncle Enrique, who was the regent, were left.

My great-uncle was a cardinal who had taken a vow of virginity, and he was already in his sixties or seventies, too old to have children even if he returned to secular life. So the issue of succession was still unresolved.

Besides, the Pope might not be willing to release him from his virginity vow... Because if he did not go back, once Henry died, the Avis royal family would be extinct. Then according to the blood relationship, the royal succession would fall on his uncle Philip II.

It was a well-known secret that the King of Spain coveted Portugal. And the Pope always tried to please Spain humbly...

When the king thought of this, he was eager to return home and asked why they had not arrived in Lisbon after so long.

Macron worriedly told him that we were intercepted by the Spanish fleet on the way. In a panic, we rushed into the Mediterranean Sea to get rid of the pursuers. However, we were discovered by pirates again. It is said that the Spanish issued a hunting order, and whoever can catch us will be rewarded with 100,000 gold coins, so the pirates have been chasing us.

For now, we can only fight and retreat deep into the Mediterranean Sea, and wait until we are out of danger before we deal with anything else.

The deposed king Abu also testified. And most importantly, there were pirates attacking every night, so Sebastian naturally believed it. He could only rest and recover first, and then make long-term plans after getting rid of the pirates' pursuit.

Unexpectedly, this escape lasted for a month. When everyone was exhausted, the pirates, who were like a thorn in their side, finally stopped chasing them.

Because they had entered Tunisia, waters controlled by the Ottoman Navy.

At this time, Sebastian was able to leave the cabin and was stunned when he saw the green star-crescent pennants on the sea.

They have been surrounded by the Ottoman Empire's Tunisian fleet...

ps. Keep writing...

(End of this chapter)