So far, the development of European civilization has revolved around the Mediterranean.

Just like the great unification that all Chinese dynasties dreamed of, the standard was to at least reach or exceed the territorial scope of the Qin Empire.

The great unification that all European dynasties dreamed of was undoubtedly to turn the Mediterranean into an inner lake of the empire, just like the Roman Empire.

In the East, all dynasties after the Qin Dynasty regarded themselves as the successors of the Qin Dynasty.

In the West, any empire that wanted to dominate the Mediterranean regarded itself as the successor of the Roman Empire.

After countless dynasties rose and fell, the two orthodox Roman competitors that came before us today were the "Holy Roman" Habsburg Dynasty and the "Green Roman" Ottoman Empire.

Yes, even the Ottoman Empire of the Turks was not immune to this. After all, the orthodox Roman Empire was in Zhangjiakou... oh no, in Byzantium. The Ottoman Empire was the direct descendant of the Eastern Roman Empire, so why shouldn't it have a Roman heart?

Besides, the Holy Roman Empire has no right to laugh at the impure Germanic people. In the Roman era, the Germanic people were unadulterated barbarians.

Moreover, the so-called empire was nothing more than a loose political alliance. Therefore, the Holy Roman Empire, which was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire, could not convince the Ottomans at all.

Since the day when Constantinople was captured 120 years ago, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II has idolized "Caesar" and called himself the Roman Emperor after completely destroying the Eastern Roman Empire. Since then, it has been the dream of generations of Ottoman rulers to have only "one empire, one faith, and one emperor" in the Mediterranean.

For hundreds of years, the Ottomans continued to exert their strength on land and sea at the same time, dreaming of turning the Mediterranean into their own inner lake. However, compared with the unstoppable army that was devastating the Mediterranean coast, the Ottoman navy encountered stubborn resistance.

The reason is simple, because European countries are used to taking advantage of their neighbors, and it was still early for the Ottomans to reach Western Europe from land. Once the Mediterranean was controlled by the Ottomans, they could beat anyone they wanted in Spain, France, and the Italian Peninsula.

Moreover, the Mediterranean is the lifeline of trade between Europe and the East, so it must not be lost.

Therefore, throughout the 16th century, the focus of the struggle between the Holy Roman Empire and the Green Roman Empire was on the control of the Mediterranean.

After exerting all their efforts to seize Rhodes and control the eastern Mediterranean, and in 1538, after defeating the Spanish fleet in the Battle of Preveza, the Green Romans once took the initiative in the Mediterranean hegemony.

However, in the bloody Battle of Malta in 1565, the Spanish army and the Knights Hospitaller defeated the Ottoman Empire with fewer troops, breaking the myth of the Ottoman Empire's invincibility. Six years later, in the Battle of Lepanto, the Ottoman navy suffered another devastating blow.

However, the countries of the Holy Alliance were scheming against each other, and Western Europe was unwilling to invest more troops to help Venice regain the eastern Mediterranean.

As a result, two years later, the Ottoman navy made a comeback. Under the pressure of the powerful army, Venice made a separate peace with the Ottoman Empire, and the Holy Alliance was declared collapsed.

Ottomans did not have the courage to challenge the entire Catholic world again for the time being. After regaining Tunisia, they calmed down and began to focus on resolving internal conflicts.

Therefore, the Mediterranean Sea has now ushered in the long-awaited peace. The Ottoman fleet can sail freely on the southern side of the Mediterranean Sea. As long as the scope of its activities does not exceed Tunisia, the Catholic countries will pretend not to see it.

~~

So as soon as Sebastian saw the Ottoman fleet, he knew that they had arrived in Tunisia.

Seeing the Ottoman galley fleet approaching rapidly, his hair stood on end, mainly out of fear.

If I fall into the hands of pagans, wouldn't it be a shame for Catholicism?

Moreover, Portugal cut off the Ottomans' financial route by bypassing Africa, and the two countries fought each other in the Indian Ocean. He couldn't even imagine what a miserable end he would have if he fell into the hands of the Ottomans.

Abu was also scared, because he was driven out of power by the Ottomans. If he was caught by the other side, it would be good to send him to Istanbul to be executed, but it was more likely that he would be sent back to Morocco to be dealt with by his two uncles... That would be worse than death.

"Run, don't let them catch you!" Sebastian screamed in his childish voice.

"There's no wind, where can we run to?" Macron was also nervous. He looked at his men who were preparing for battle in a panic and said, "We can only fight them!"

"We've used up all the shells. What's the point of fighting?" someone suddenly appeared and asked.

"You can't be a prisoner!" Pan Qiaoyun grabbed him by the collar and yelled, "It's all your fault. You killed us all!"

"We must protect His Majesty's life first." Fang Wen said sternly, "Have you forgotten the oath you swore when you set out?!"

"Alas..." Pan Qiaoyun let go of his hand dejectedly. Of course, he would not forget. The day before departure, all of them solemnly swore in front of the coast guard flag and in front of the young master - to overcome all difficulties, not be afraid of sacrifice, obey orders, and complete the mission!

Sebastian thought he was referring to the oath taken by all the guards to defend the king to the death before setting out from Lisbon.

Thinking of how they rescued him from the battlefield and have been protecting him faithfully for a month, Xiao Sai couldn't help but feel deeply moved, thinking that the Chinese people really valued their promises.

Although they brought him before the Ottomans, the king believed that it was because the Ming people were unfamiliar with the Mediterranean and that they did not deliberately betray him.

Sebastian had been king for so many years, how could he not see that the panic of these Ming people after discovering the approaching Ottoman fleet was not fake?

Thinking of this, he sighed and said to his knights: "You have already paid everything for me. I allow you to surrender with honor!"

Sebastian laughed bitterly and said, "Before I surrender, I hope you can kill me and don't let me fall into the hands of the Ottomans. Because Catholicism does not allow suicide."

"Your Majesty," Macron said with tears in his eyes, "I'm sorry I can't obey your order..."

"Then you come." Macron looked at Abu again.

"I help you, but who can help me?" Abu said with a sad face, "We in Islam don't allow suicide either."

"Okay, stop being stupid." At this time, the man said leisurely: "This is Tunisia, three thousand miles away. Who knows you two fools?"

"Uh..." The two were stunned when they heard this, and then they slapped their heads at the same time and said, "Oh, right, who knows us?"

"So as long as you don't admit your identity, everything will be fine." The other person said, "We will definitely not leak the secret, so you two can rest assured."

"If we are not ourselves, then who are we?" Abu asked.

"Your name is Alibaba. You are the Arabic translator we hired from Morocco. You can fill in the details yourself." The man said, and then said to Sebastian: "Your name is Ronaldo. You are our Portuguese translator. You can also fill in the details yourself."

He said to Macaron in fluent Portuguese: "We are from the Ming fleet that sailed around the world. After being attacked by the Spanish in America, we were separated from the main force and unable to return to the Ming Dynasty. We could only make a living in Europe. As a result, we were discovered by the Spanish and chased into the Mediterranean. Do you remember?"

"I see..." Macron seemed to understand something, but now was not the time to get to the bottom of it, so he quickly gave orders, asking everyone on the three boats to give a unified statement.

~~

Finally, under the dual pressure of orders and reality, the crew raised the white flag in humiliation, laid down their weapons, and allowed the Ottoman warships to approach.

Once the pedal with the iron hook hooked onto the deck of Ningbo, there was no possibility of escape.

Everyone on the boat was greeting Fang Wen’s ancestors. His presence reached its peak at this moment, and his whole body was glowing.

The Ottoman sailors wearing white turbans boarded the deck of Ningbo in full gear, skillfully controlled all the vital parts, drove the crew members to the deck, ordered them to kneel, and then tied them up with ropes behind their backs.

The Ottoman Navy started out as pirates, and they were much more professional at this kind of thing than at fighting a war.

After the Ningbo was completely under control, an Ottoman officer came over and asked, "Who understands Arabic?"

Fang Wen pushed Abu and said, "Don't panic. Our lives depend on you."

It was not known whether Abu was scared or acting, but he came out with his crotch wet, knelt on the ground and said that he was the translator they hired.

"What's going on?" The officer looked at the crew members strangely and asked, "Why are there only Oriental faces on the ship?"

Abu followed Fang Wen's instructions and stumblingly recounted the whole story of this gang.

After hearing this, the other party's attitude changed drastically. He first thanked Allah, then hurriedly asked someone to untie them, and apologetically asked Macron and the others to get up.

"Are you really from the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet?" the other party asked again.

Macron then stuttered in Arabic and replied, "Otherwise, how come there are so many Ming men in the Western world?"

"That's true." The officer agreed with his statement, and immediately put one hand on his chest and bowed, introduced himself very politely, and then welcomed the distinguished Eastern brothers on behalf of the fleet commander, the Governor of Tunisia, and the Ottoman Empire.

"My goodness, when did the two countries become so close?" The team members could all understand Arabic, and they couldn't help but whisper to each other: "Did the two countries get along?"

"Nonsense, our princess is still a child..."

Seeing that Macron and the others were puzzled, the officer smiled and said, "The details will be revealed when you follow us into the port."

As he said this, he waved his hand and ordered his men to withdraw, return all the spoils intact, and not take a single penny off the ship.

No one cared about Sebastian's existence from the beginning to the end. It was not because he had learned Fang Wen's skills, but this was the Mediterranean Sea, and a red-haired ghost on the ship was too common.

~~

When the three Ningbo ships followed the Ottoman warships into the Gulf of Tunisia, the Ottomans on the shore actually sounded a welcome salute.

It was not until the boat docked and everyone saw a group of people in white turbans on the shore, surrounding a fat man from the Ming Dynasty, coming to greet them, that their doubts were finally resolved.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Liu Zhengqi, the group's plenipotentiary representative in Ottoman Empire." The fat man in a straight robe smiled and bowed to them.

"Thank you for your hard work over the years."