Chapter 1565 Leon is very busy

The news that the treasure fleet was blocked in Guantanamo finally reached Santo Domingo.

Admiral Leon, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, was furious!

After the anger came boundless fear. Mexico and Cuba accounted for two-thirds of the revenue of the entire Americas. America was militaristic... Oh no, the money bag of the wise and capable King Philip II!

As a senior general of the empire, he naturally knew that the Habsburg dynasty had been heavily in debt for a long time, and the reason why it had not gone bankrupt was because the creditors knew that Philip II had an endless supply of American treasures. That was why they were confident in continuing to lend him money to support him in becoming bigger and stronger and creating greater glory.

If the creditors knew that the treasure fleet, which had never been in trouble, had been robbed of most of its income, it would definitely cause a great panic. When the creditors came to collect the debts, the emperor, who was best at saving face, would lose face and chop off the head of the person directly responsible.

"Absolutely not!" Touching his cold neck, Admiral Leon hysterically ordered the fleet to prepare for departure immediately!

The next day, he led an advance fleet of eighteen large sailing ships and traveled day and night to rescue the four treasure ships.

As mentioned before, because of the ocean currents and wind direction, the Spanish fleet could not enter the strait from the south side of the Windward Channel, but had to bypass the island of Haiti and enter the strait from the north.

The entire journey is one thousand kilometers and takes about ten days.

So after setting out for several days, the fleet was actually circling around the island of Haiti.

This made it convenient for the base to convey the latest news to him.

Five days later, the admiral received a report from land that Eastern pirates had discovered Guantanamo and captured the escort fleet and four treasure ships.

This news was reported by sailors who went into the mountains to hunt, crossed mountains and rivers to escape from Guantanamo, and trekked to Santiago, 150 miles away... where there was a Spanish stronghold... and then took a boat from there to Santo Domingo.

This instantly made the action of reinforcing Guantanamo meaningless. The admiral thought painfully and decided to return immediately - with the help of the northeast trade wind, he could return to Santo Domingo in four days.

Although nine days would be wasted in this way, if we continue walking, more time would be wasted.

At the same time, the admiral, in the name of the imperial envoy, directly ordered the entire Spanish American colonies to enter a state of war readiness!

All the anti-smuggling fleets and reconnaissance ships in the governor's jurisdiction will be dispatched immediately! We must search the mountains and seas to find those damn Ming pirates!

The entire Caribbean was quickly mobilized, and a variety of news came in after the admiral returned to Santo Domingo.

The most valuable one was that several patrol fleets reported seeing a treasure fleet heading towards Panama!

The admiral discussed with his staff and concluded that the Ming people were most likely planning to make another move in Panama, then abandon their ship and cross the Isthmus of Panama - the narrowest area between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and return to the Pacific Ocean from land!

The staff officers with wild imaginations thought that the Ming people might have a fleet on the west coast of Panama to meet them. As for the heavy cargo, they could just carry the precious gold on the road, or rob a few animal-powered transport teams to help them carry it.

The admiral didn't care about the Ming Dynasty people now. He just wanted to take back his treasure ship. According to intelligence, it seemed that only three of the four treasure ships were left!

Admiral Leon estimated that the ship had been sunk, which made him completely lose his mind. He led the fleet to set out again that day and rushed to Panama!

Just two days after he set out, Colonel Tiago and the tax collector arrived in Santo Domingo.

They could not wait to repair the galley, and like the previous crew members, they walked over the mountains and reached the Santiago stronghold, where they took a boat to report to the general.

Because they were held captive by Lin Feng for eight days, they arrived eight days later than the previous group. As a result, they were delayed in reporting important intelligence to the general - there were no treasures on the three treasure ships, only a group of stinky slaves and death row prisoners who wanted to rob the silver vault!

By the time Santo Domingo used the fastest galley to catch up with the admiral's fleet, it was already seven days later...

The admiral is almost in Panama, three thousand miles away.

Admiral Leon was completely confused after receiving another version of the latest news.

He couldn't help but sigh to the sky, "Oh God, are you trying to kill me?"

Just as he was hesitating whether to continue moving forward or go to Panama first to retrieve the three treasure ships, he encountered a ship sent by the Governor of Panama to deliver a letter to him.

The messenger reported that three days ago, a group of thugs drove a treasure ship to plunder Panama Bay.

Fortunately, a large amount of gold and silver had just been transported away, so the thugs did not succeed. However, relying on the large and sturdy ship, they rushed around in the bay, overturning most of the galleys that tried to stop them, causing heavy casualties.

After looting a large amount of supplies, the thugs set fire to the port and sailed away with the ocean current...

Commander Leon thought that they were heading north to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras to rob. But seeing that these thugs were experienced and would run after shooting, it would not be easy for him to catch them.

But now the situation is very clear. Those damn Eastern pirates reached a deal with the criminals - the Ming people set them free and gave them three expensive treasure ships.

In return, the desperadoes crossed the Caribbean Sea with great fanfare and headed for Panama, luring away the Atlantic Fleet and giving the Ming people a chance to escape.

So much time has passed since he gave the order, and the anti-smuggling fleets in the entire Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and Central America have been mobilized, and hundreds of reconnaissance ships have been dispatched, but there is still no trace of the Ming fleet.

This is enough to show that they are no longer in the area controlled by Spanish colonies.

After further analysis, Commander Leon and his staff speculated that the Ming fleet should have headed north through the Windward Strait after leaving Guantanamo.

According to the information provided by Colonel Tiago, the 'Flying Dutchman' can sail against the wind. Although Commander Leon does not believe in the nonsense of the 'ghost ship', he can accept that the Ming warship may have the technology to sail against the wind.

This way they could sail north and leave the Windward Strait from the north...

He believed that this analysis must be correct, because leaving the Windward Strait and heading north, he could reach the uninhabited Inagua Islands. Then he could sail eastward into the Atlantic Ocean without passing through any Spanish colonial waters.

That’s why their report has not been discovered yet!

The commander suddenly thought that if he had not turned back and continued to sail around Haiti, he might have encountered the "Flying Dutchman" head-on.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs in the real world.

Suppressing the growing frustration and anxiety in his heart, he continued to analyze with his staff - the Ming fleet had only two choices after entering the Atlantic.

One is to go to Europe along the Atlantic Current, but that is where the Spanish mainland is located, with more than a dozen powerful fleets. Are they seeking death?

The second is to go south to South America.

As for going directly east to Africa, it was impossible because this route was controlled by the North Equatorial Current from east to west and could only be a one-way trip. Although the people of the Ming Dynasty had the technology to sail against the wind, he believed that it could only be used for short-distance sailing and it was absolutely impossible to cross the ocean against the wind.

Therefore, the Ming people probably went south to America. In that way, they could get supplies in the Portuguese colony of Brazil, and then choose to drift along the westerly wind to the Cape of Good Hope and return to Asia via Africa.

Of course, you can also continue south, bypass America through the Strait of Magellan, and return to Asia following the prevailing westerly winds in the Pacific.

Both options are similar, but the premise is that they can get enough supplies in Brazil. Without supplies, crossing the ocean is simply a waste of time.

Brazil is the only colony Portugal had in the Americas. Argentina, further south, was a Spanish colony.

So Leon can conclude that the Ming fleet must be heading towards Brazil!

~~

Knowing the other party's whereabouts, Leon finally regained the composure that an imperial marquis, admiral, and fleet commander should have.

He first ordered the Panamanian messenger to take back two of his handwritten letters.

A letter was sent to the Governor of Panama, asking him to immediately notify the colonies on the east coast of Central America to be on high alert and not let the criminals succeed again.

The other letter was to the Vice King of Peru. In the letter, he informed His Highness Jose, who ruled South America, of his judgment, and in the name of the imperial envoy, requested Vice King Jose to order the entire South America... especially Argentina, to keep the Ming fleet out and not sell them even a single hemp rope!

At the same time, give your utmost assistance to bring to justice the Eastern criminals who dared to rob His Majesty's treasure as soon as possible.

We must also find ways to put pressure on Brazil and make the Portuguese realize the seriousness of the situation - providing assistance to Ming pirates is equivalent to making an enemy of Spain!

Then, Admiral Leon wrote a secret letter to His Majesty Philip II in Madrid, reporting the accident in America and expressing his willingness to take full responsibility. But he asked His Majesty to give him a chance to wash away the shame - even if he had to chase to the ends of the earth, he would destroy the Ming fleet that humiliated Spain and take back His Majesty's treasure!

He said in the letter that this was not just to atone for his crime. More importantly, it was to show that Spain would never let go of the robbers of the treasure ship. I believe that after this, no country will dare to covet your Majesty's treasure fleet!

At the same time, for the sake of safety, please send another fleet to Santo Domingo to escort the remaining treasure fleet. Of course, it would be even better if another fleet could be sent to assist in the defense of Argentina...

This music sheet, which was polished by professionals, almost moved Leon himself. Based on his understanding of Philip II, this should also be what His Majesty the King wanted to see.

After Admiral Leon asked Colonel Tiago to take the letter to the king back to Santo Domingo, he led the fleet directly to Colombia without waiting for approval, preparing to replenish supplies and rest for a while before rushing to Brazil!

As the saying goes, sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. The crew members who had been on the sea for a month were already exhausted and complaining. Moreover, they were about to pass through the terrible equatorial doldrums. If they were not given a holiday to relax, they might cause a mutiny during the journey.

Fortunately, nature is fair to everyone, and the same problem will be encountered by Chinese people...

p.s. Sleep.

(End of this chapter)