Chapter 1661 Captain Drake

Birds chirped in the sanatorium. The morning light had dispelled the mist, but it was still cool and pleasant.

"What if he doesn't give birth to a child?" Zhao Hao poured Liang Qin a cup of Wuyi black tea and asked, "Who will the throne of Portugal be passed on to?"

"That's going to be fun. I heard that the most popular candidate after him is King Philip II of Spain." Liang Qin held the teacup and blew white air lightly, saying, "This European country is really weird. The kings of all countries are relatives."

"Maybe by then, Spain and Portugal will merge..." Liang Qin said, raising his head suddenly, "We can't allow this to happen! Spain is much stronger than Portugal. If they control the routes from Africa and India to Malacca, we will be attacked from all sides!"

"Hmm." Zhao Hao took a sip of tea and nodded. Liang Qin's speculation was not wrong, because the Spanish thought so too. Unfortunately, they were beaten up by the British and the Dutch in turn, and lost their maritime hegemony, and ended up making things easier for others.

But that's all for later. Liang Qin was able to see all this, which was already precious.

"So, sir, you have to let Sebastian live in Luzon for a few years." Liang Qin had already understood most of it and said, "Once his great-uncle, who is buried up to his neck in the earth, dies, he will be valuable again!"

"That's right." Zhao Hao nodded with a smile and said, "But I don't think his great-uncle will live much longer."

"What do you mean, young master?" Liang Qin asked in confusion. After all, the old man was already sixty-seven years old, and he lived a long life. It was not surprising that he lived to seventy-six.

"Didn't you say that Philip II has the highest support?" Zhao Hao put down his teacup and asked, "Then who is this support coming from?"

"It's mainly the great nobles and the upper class of society." Liang Qin said, "These people don't care who is the king, as long as their interests are guaranteed. And if Philip II wants to stabilize Portugal, he has to give them greater interests, so they actually support the merger..."

As Liang Qin spoke, he suddenly realized, "Could it be that the Portuguese nobles would cooperate with Philip II to get rid of King Henry?"

"We cannot rule out this possibility." Zhao Hao said calmly, "And this possibility is under our control."

Liang Qin opened his mouth wide, and after a while he understood what was going on, "Sir, you mean... if we defeat the Spanish expeditionary fleet in the upcoming war, then their king will have to forcefully push for the annexation of Portugal in order to save his reputation?"

"That's right." Zhao Hao nodded, stood up, and looked at the city on the hill in front of him with his hands behind his back. "It's not just to save our reputation. I heard that the King of Spain mortgaged his crown for this expedition, and only then did he borrow enough military funds from the bankers in Genoa. If we defeat Spain in this battle, the finances of the Habsburg royal family will be completely bankrupt. They will only have one way left, which is to annex Portugal in exchange for the king's crown!"

Liang Qin stood up and praised sincerely: "Young Master, you really have a broad vision and a thorough plan!"

"Hey, don't say such cheesy things." Zhao Hao smiled and shook his head, looking at him and said, "How about it, can you hold on for another year?"

"Too capable, it must be possible!" Liang Qin seemed like a different person, and said excitedly: "This person is afraid of no hope. Since the young master has said that the time for change is coming! Let alone one year, even if it is ten or eight years, I will stick to my post!"

He laughed and said, "If nothing else, it's worth it just to see the Portuguese leave in disgrace!"

“Hahaha, it seems that you’ve been pissed off by the Portuguese in the past few years.” Zhao Hao smiled and patted him on the back, saying, “Don’t worry, I will definitely get it back to you with interest!”

~~

After solving Liang Qin's problem, Zhao Hao did not let him leave, but asked him to accompany him to continue receiving guests... Oh no, to meet guests.

Mr. Zhao did not meet Sebastian first, but asked someone to bring the British Captain Drake first.

As we speak, Drake has been in Luzon for more than two months.

He and his crew first stayed on a small island specially used for quarantine for two months. They were shaved of their messy hair, beards and body hair, including the hair there, by epidemic prevention personnel wearing full sets of protective clothing. Then they were repeatedly washed more than a dozen times with soap with a strong smell of sulfur and boiling hot water, finally rubbing off the dust they had accumulated for decades.

Disliking them for being dirty is secondary. The key is to get rid of the lice, fleas and other parasites on their bodies. The group's epidemic prevention department has designated ships and crews from the ocean as the highest risk source of infection. The virus carried by these stinky red-haired people has harmed the entire Americas. Although Asians have much stronger resistance, the risk of them causing infectious diseases is still very high, and we cannot relax at all.

So even his Golden Deer was disinfected repeatedly for a whole month. Only after all the hordes of rats and parasites inside had died did the staff of the group's statistics bureau board the ship in protective clothing to check the items.

During these two months, they also underwent strict hygiene habit correction.

First, those who urinated or defecated in public were punished with flogging, ten lashes for urinating and twenty lashes for defecating. They were flogged until their skin was torn and their flesh was torn, and they dared not urinate or defecate in public again.

And they have to take a bath every day, which is terrible! You know, in Europe, which is known for "not taking a bath for a thousand years", taking a bath is considered a dangerous and decadent thing.

The so-called danger was because the threat of the Black Death always loomed over Europe. Doctors, helpless, attributed the cause of the disease to the rotten air and advised people not to take a bath to prevent the Black Death. The reason was that taking a hot bath would expand the pores, and the germs in the air would take the opportunity to enter the body and easily cause the disease.

As for the decadence, it was because in the Roman period, public baths were places for prostitution. Europeans believed that the fall of the Roman Empire was due to excessive indulgence in bathing. Even the pope and cardinals had trysts with prostitutes in the bathroom.

After reflection, the Catholic Church, which is best at objectively finding reasons, regarded bathing as the root of depravity. On the contrary, not bathing was regarded as a symbol of holiness. People believed that a dirty body could better approach God. There are also examples of people who insisted on not bathing, washing their faces, and washing their feet for 50 years and finally succeeded in canonization.

So although he felt refreshed every day and his old problem of itching and festering all over his body was gone, Captain Drake immediately protested when he saw Zhao Hao, believing that taking a bath every day was a defilement of the Queen's envoy, that is, a defilement of Her Majesty the Queen, and it was a repeated defilement.

Zhao Hao sat on the rosewood chair with a smile on his face, gazing with interest at this famous star pioneer who would later become famous and who single-handedly brought Britain into the Age of Navigation.

This Francis Drake, later known as Sir Drake, is the founder of the spirit of the British Royal Navy!

Before Drake, the British Navy was almost just an inland fleet, and did not dare to go out to sea to challenge the formidable Spanish Navy. It was the privateering captains represented by Drake who changed the temperament of the British Navy, injected them with aggressiveness and enterprising spirit, and the national spirit of closely linking personal destiny with the rise and fall of the country!

The progress of history is an inevitable trend, but it is also inseparable from the exemplary role of outstanding individuals. Drake's great success has made him a British idol. He has inspired generations of British youth to board ships and take risks, placing their hopes of success on the ocean.

Zhao Hao looked at this energetic, cunning Englishman who was just 40 years old with admiration. But he had murderous intentions in his heart...

After all, Spain is only the immediate enemy, while Britain and the Netherlands are the real threats in the future!

Drake had been through life and death for more than a decade, and was extremely sensitive to danger. Sensing Zhao Hao's flash of murderous intent, he immediately fell silent.

He thought quickly in his mind, but he couldn't figure out why this Young Master Zhao, whom he met for the first time, looked at him with such a mixture of love and hate.

"Have you finished?" Zhao Hao had not expected that Drake would be so sensitive. He smiled warmly and said, "I have a question, please answer it."

"Please speak, sir." Drake bowed.

"You should know that my men once sailed around the world a few years ago." Zhao Hao said with a smile.

"Of course." Drake nodded, his face full of admiration, "They also destroyed the Spanish Caribbean Fleet, looted Philip II's treasure ship, and plundered the west coast of America! The red-haired female pirate of the Ming Dynasty and her Flying Dutchman are truly idols for us...for those of us who have been oppressed by the Spanish!"

"The Flying Dutchman? The red-haired female pirate?" Zhao Hao was confused and didn't know what this was all about.

Macaron, who was translating, hurriedly explained to Zhao Hao. In fact, he didn't know the reason, but he roughly guessed that it was a misunderstanding of pronunciation and a rumor.

But at least Zhao Hao understood that the red-haired female pirate was Lin Feng, and the Flying Dutchman was the eternal sinner Liu Daxia. Young Master Zhao couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "What the hell is going on here?"

It took him a while to remember the topic, and he sneered, "Why did I hear from them that Francis Drake was a pirate who committed all kinds of crimes in South America?"

"This..." Captain Drake blushed and argued: "The King of Spain emptied our British treasury, persecuted us Protestants, and forbade our ships to trade in America. Eleven years ago, my cousin and I encountered a storm and our ships were severely damaged. At first, the Spanish governor agreed to let us enter the port of Veracruz to repair the ship. But as soon as we landed, the Spanish suddenly capsized and executed all our men. Only my cousin and I escaped..."

Drake's eyes were filled with tears. He said angrily, "From that day on, I swore to take revenge on the Spanish in my lifetime! After obtaining the Queen's permission for revenge, I began to attack and plunder the Spanish endlessly!"

As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Hao eagerly and said, "So, sir, we have a common enemy - Spain! This time, Her Majesty the Queen sent me all the way to Asia in the hope of seeking an alliance with your country to attack the Spaniards together!"

(End of this chapter)