So the Kaiyuan, at its own pace, circled around the stern of the temporarily out-of-control San Lorenzo, blew up its fuse with heavy artillery, and then fired straight into the bottom, killing all the crew members in the cabin.

Watching the massacre taking place on the San Lorenzo, the 'Soldier's Father' on the San Felipe was completely enraged.

"They have clearly defeated the San Lorenzo? Why are they still trying to kill them all?!" The Marquis of Santa Cruz blushed and his goatee twitched.

This kind of scene almost never occurs on the battlefields of Europe. Usually the defeated party surrenders gloriously, and then the country pays the ransom and redeems the captives.

"Isn't it the same in Lepanto?" said Cervantes, a secretary who also had a goatee. "Perhaps for a great power, it is more important to weaken the enemy's power than to extort ransom."

When mentioning Lepanto, the Marquis calmed down. He had realized that the most fundamental reason for Spain's defeat this time was that it did not regard the Ming Empire as an enemy of the same level as the Ottoman Empire.

However, the Ming Empire, at least in terms of navy, was far superior to the Ottoman Empire and Europe. Therefore, failure was doomed the moment the troops were dispatched.

The Marquis quickly forced himself to calm down. He knew that what he had to do now was to fight for the dignity of the Spanish Empire.

It was obvious that the opponent's commander was a veteran who would not be fooled, and his plan of using himself as bait was doomed to fail.

Moreover, time is on the other side, not on their own. When the surrounding wars are over one after another, the Ming warships will soon approach their flagship.

At that time, there was no chance for even a final showdown.

He decisively ordered the blue cross flag to be hoisted, meaning that he ordered the Isabella to approach and engage the enemy until the flagship raised the red flag.

At this time, the San Felipe was about 500 meters farther away from the Kaiyuan than the Isabella. The Marquis had to ensure that he arrived in time and not let the latter face the ferocious Ming flagship alone for too long.

So he ordered a right turn, sailed full, and approached the enemy ship from the right rear, so that most of the track would be in the blind spot of the enemy ship's shooting.

The speed at which a warship turns in this era is very demanding on one's patience, and the Marquis took this opportunity to give a few instructions.

He ordered his men to ring the bell for assembly, and soon the crew and soldiers on the flagship climbed up from various hatches and assembled on the open deck.

It takes time to assemble the crew on such a large ship, but the nobles all live in the best-equipped stern deck, and they can usually get out by just pushing open the door.

However, although half of the ordinary crew members and soldiers had gathered, there were still few nobles to be seen.

Although he guessed what was going on, the Marquis still looked at Cervantes with an inquiring look.

"They followed the messenger boats last night." Cervantes shrugged and said, "If your Excellency hadn't reminded them, many stupid people might not have come up with this perfect excuse."

"I just want to do them a favor. My family has only settled in Madrid a few years ago." The Marquis confessed, and then laughed at himself and said, "I hope they will accept my favor."

"If they still have a chance to return home alive." Cervantes was also born into a minor noble family and was also a writer, so naturally his words were more offensive than those fat-headed guys.

"I thought they would invite you to go with them." The Marquis smiled and said, "After all, you have more experience in this area."

"If I leave, who will publish Don Quixote for me?" Cervantes said depressedly.

Yes, he is Cervantes, the greatest writer in Spanish history.

Cervantes was born into a minor noble family and lived in the greatest era of Spain. Naturally, like other young nobles, he was full of ambition to serve his country and longed to make achievements on the battlefield like the Marquis of Santa Cruz.

A few years after joining the army, he participated in the Battle of Lepanto led by Don Juan and the Marquis of Santa Cruz. In the battle, his left hand was broken, which earned him the nickname "Yang Guo of Lepanto".

Afterwards, he followed Don Juan in his campaigns, participated in a series of battles, and made many military achievements. He was finally allowed to retire with honor in 1575. Because of his outstanding performance, Don Juan gave him a letter of recommendation to Philip II, and the Governor of Sicily, Duke of Sansa, also wrote a letter of recommendation for him.

With the recommendation letters from two great men in his arms, Guoer took a boat back to his homeland, and his future seemed bright. However, great writers in history always have a rough fate, and he naturally had to taste the taste of being teased by others.

While passing through the Moroccan waters, Cervantes' ship encountered a storm, lost contact with the fleet, and was captured by Berber pirates.

The pirates would not have been interested in a disabled man, but the two letters of recommendation from important people on him made the Berbers think he was an important person and demanded a huge ransom before they would release him. Cervantes could not pay, so he was sold several times and finally ended up in the hands of the Governor of Algiers of the Ottoman Empire.

There, he met his savior, Liu Zhengqi, the plenipotentiary representative of Jiangnan Group in Cairo, the lover of Queen Mother Osman, and the Count of Suez. Liu Zhengqi felt sorry for him and offered to pay the ransom for him.

The governor was busy trying to curry favor with Representative Liu, so why would he ask for his money? He released Cervantes and sent a ship back to Madrid. However, because of the strange experience of being captured and then released without compensation, the two letters of recommendation were no longer valid. Cervantes did not get to see the king in the end. When he was at a loss, he met his old boss, the Marquis of Santa Cruz. The Marquis was in need of people, so he invited him to go to the Far East with him to clear his doubts with his military achievements.

Cervantes was too embarrassed to go home, so he followed him to New Spain, and then came here...

~~

After all the crew members and soldiers were assembled, the Soldier's Father gave his speech.

Looking at these men who grew up with the Spanish Empire, he told them in a fatherly tone that the empire had risked everything for this war. If they lost this war, the empire would fall from its pedestal and the country would become the target of public criticism.

We will become the sinners of the end of the empire, and every family will bear the stigma and suffer the most unfair treatment.

The crew and soldiers' eyes immediately turned red, obviously struck by the Marquis' words.

The flagship was basically staffed with Spaniards from the Iberian Peninsula, and the Father of Soldiers knew very well how to arouse their passion and spirit of sacrifice.

It was only 80 years ago that the Castilians completely broke free from the 800-year-long rule of the Moors and established the independent Kingdom of Spain.

Subsequently, the whole of Spain burst into a fiery patriotic enthusiasm and enterprising spirit. In just a few decades, it built the world's strongest army and navy, becoming the first empire in human history that spanned five continents!

Today, the empire is still advancing, and all its citizens are deeply proud of it, and like Cervantes, are willing to sacrifice their lives for its great journey!

Therefore, no one could accept the tragic ending of the empire's sunset, let alone become the culprit for the empire's end. The slightly exaggerated statement of the father of soldiers turned all these rednecks of Castile into powder kegs ready to explode.

Then he changed the subject and said in a deep voice: "Follow me, use your courage and sacrifice to win something, and avoid all this for your country and your family! God bless Spain!"

"God bless Spain!" The sailors and soldiers roared loudly, completely disregarding their lives.

Cervantes looked at this scene and felt it was so familiar. In Lepanto, when the situation was desperate, the father of soldiers also encouraged his soldiers in this way and led them to turn the tide.

He was one of them that time. As a result, the soldier's father won the war but lost his arm...

"Can a miracle happen this time?" He couldn't help but ask in a low voice after the soldiers were dismissed and returned to their battle posts.

"If it always happens, what's the point of calling it a miracle?" The Marquis said calmly, "Don't worry, since I promised you, I will definitely help you publish that novel."

"Don Juan even recommended me to be an official." Cervantes rolled his eyes and said, "Let's talk about it after I survive."

"Yes." The Marquis nodded, and seeing that the Isabella had already approached the enemy ship under fire, he ordered his men to raise the red flag immediately.

That means fighting to the death!

At this time, the San Felipe also approached the stern of the enemy flagship from the other side.

"Do you think I look like your Don Quixote who challenged the windmill?" The Marquis put on his own helmet and asked someone to get one for Cervantes.

"A bit like that, but you've been much more successful than him." Cervantes refused, he raised the quill in his hand and said, "Sorry, I'm just here to fight. The Ming people saved me, I can't fight them."

In fact, with his qualifications, he could be a captain. But he was only willing to be a clerk. Unexpectedly, he discovered that he also had the talent of being a writer...

"I don't plan to let you fight." The Marquis laughed and said, "After this battle, can you tell me what happened to Don Quixote?"

"I've only written the beginning, who knows what the ending will be." Cervantes shrugged.

"That's right." The Marquis nodded and said to Cervantes, "Record this battle of honor!"

"This is my duty." Cervantes nodded, dipped his quill into the ink bottle, and began to write down the Marquis' words on the writing table:

"My plan is to approach the enemy ships from both sides with the Isabella, just like the Florence and San Lorenzo just now. In the past two days, the enemy ships have become accustomed to our combat method of firing first and then boarding, so they are waiting there. But this time I will cancel the bombardment and directly hit the enemy ship with the bow, and then board the ship from the stern to engage in hand-to-hand combat..."

~~

The Felipe and Isabella approached the Kaiyuan at the same time, preparing to engage in boarding battle from the rear on both sides.

However, when the two sides were a hundred meters apart, the Kaiyuan, which was about to be attacked from behind, suddenly started to move backwards...

Holy shit, the boat can go backwards?!

The Spaniards were all stunned. Obviously, they knew nothing about the Ming people's sailing equipment.

'Pride and ignorance are our greatest enemies...' wrote Cervantes.

ps. The space is not enough again, I cover my face and leave...