While Tainan City was in a state of panic, Baguio, a thousand miles to the south, was experiencing cool breezes and people had to wear long sleeves.

So Zhao Hao comes to this summer resort surrounded by mountains almost every year to rest for a while.

Still on the viewing balcony of the villa that was decorated with flowers and overlooking the sea of ​​clouds, Zhao Hao and Ma Xianglan had breakfast facing the beautiful scenery of the red sun shining on the mountains. They had a cup of coffee with fresh milk and felt that all the fatigue from the previous night was swept away.

"That would be great if I could just stay here like this and do nothing." Zhao Hao couldn't help but sigh.

"I'm looking forward to retiring soon." Ma Xianglan smiled lightly, and faint crow's feet appeared at the corners of her eyes. "I can't remember how many years ago I last painted orchids."

As she spoke, she suddenly remembered what happened in the past. She glanced at Zhao Hao and said, "Master, you haven't written poetry for many years. Who is singing the sad song of Yuefu? The wind is howling, the rain is howling, and the lamp is burned out again in another night... Master, do you believe that this is your work from the past?"

"I don't know what's lingering in my mind. I'm bored when I'm awake, and I'm bored when I'm drunk. I've never been to Xie Bridge in my dreams..." Zhao Hao pretended not to hear her implication, coughed and said, "Oh, no. I don't believe it myself."

"I really miss the days in Caijia Lane..." Ma Xianglan sighed softly, "If life could only be like the first time we met, it's absolutely true."

"If life could always be like our first meeting, why would the autumn wind bring sorrow to the painted fan? People's hearts change easily, yet it is said that the hearts of old friends are easily changed..." Zhao Hao recited it subconsciously, but saw Ma Xianglan staring at him with eyes wide open in disbelief.

"It turns out that the master has always had the full story!"

"Uh." Zhao Hao suddenly remembered that he had only memorized the first sentence, and nothing more. He had planned to save such a destructive word for future use in picking up young ladies.

Unfortunately, I forgot about it later. Later, I was almost 40 years old. As the saying goes, people are free from doubts at the age of 40. So, people should not worry about troubles when they are 40.

He couldn't help but laugh, gently held Sister Ma's hand, and said softly: "The most romantic thing I can think of now is to grow old with you."

These plain words were totally incomparable to Nalan's gorgeous rhetoric, but Sister Ma softened all of a sudden. The sadness about the passing of time and the anxiety about the fading of beauty and love all disappeared in an instant.

The couple was just about to regain some of the feeling they had in the past when they suddenly heard footsteps coming up the stairs. They hurriedly sat up straight.

Then Chang Kaiche was seen climbing up the stairs panting. He was so happy that he didn't notice the murderous look in his boss's eyes.

"Boss, good news! Philip II finally accepted our terms unconditionally!"

"Really?!" Zhao Hao also became alert at once, snatched the overseas telegram and looked at it carefully.

~~

As I said before, in fact, in the spring of the year before last, the Spaniards could no longer bear it and asked for peace.

Zhao Hao also hoped to end this protracted war with Spain, so the two sides hit it off and temporarily ceased fighting from April of the 15th year of Wanli, and began arduous armistice negotiations.

The negotiations were not going smoothly, firstly because Spain had been the best in the world for too many years and could not adjust its mentality at all. Even though they were the ones who needed a ceasefire more, they still put on a face of giving peace and did not want to suffer any loss.

The two sides had several rounds of tough negotiations in Lisbon, and the Spanish were only willing to recognize that Luzon belonged to the Ming Dynasty and agreed to resume the galleon trade. The maximum compensation was one million pesos.

As for the proposal made by the group's plenipotentiary representative Don Paul to transfer western North America to the Jiangnan Group and Guyana to Portugal as war compensation, the Spaniards simply ignored it!

After receiving the report in the autumn of that year, Zhao Hao was almost amused by the arrogance of the Spanish. Luzon was already in his hands, so why did he need their consent?

There is also the restoration of the sailing trade. Now there are two smooth trade routes between Jiangnan Group and Europe... the Africa route around the Cape of Good Hope, and the North Africa and Middle East route through the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. Trade with Europe is not affected at all, okay?

It was the Spaniards and their American colonies who were in desperate need of the galleon trade!

As for the one million pesos, to give to beggars...

Zhao Hao understood everything completely. These red-haired devils had no idea what it meant to judge the situation. They were just a bunch of bastards who wouldn't cry until they saw the coffin!

Only when they are beaten to a pulp by reality, will they know how to turn around and call me brother...

So Zhao Hao ordered Don Paul to stop negotiating with the Spaniards.

But because the telegraph had just been invented at that time, it was not until the beginning of the 16th year of the Wanli reign that Don Paul received the news.

Therefore, the termination of the negotiations did not affect Philip II, who launched a punitive war against his disobedient sister-in-law.

On the one hand, Queen Elizabeth executed the Queen of Scots whom he supported, but the key point was that this daring woman actually signed an alliance treaty with the Dutch and promised to provide military and financial support to the latter.

This meant that England and Spain had entered an official state of hostility, a fact that Philip II could not avoid. As the king of Europe, if he did not respond to the challenge, it would mean the collapse of his throne!

In the end, the war broke out as expected in 1588, the 16th year of the Wanli reign.

This time, England was without their Captain Blake, but they still had Hawkins, a maneuverable warship, and well-trained gunners.

On the other hand, Spain was in a worse situation. Not only did they lose the great naval commander, the Marquis of Santa Cruz, many experienced naval officers and sailors, and countless warships...

Although the successor of the Marquis of Santa Cruz, the 38-year-old Governor Sidonia of Andalusia, came from a prominent family and was an excellent administrator, he had never commanded a large fleet.

After taking office, Sidonia found that the reality he faced was an incredibly bad situation after the strait had been blockaded by the Ming-Portuguese joint fleet for many years.

The glory of the Invincible Fleet had long been shattered in the repeated defeats against the Ming people. Without the transfusion from America for a long time, the country was in a great famine, and the soldiers were also owed wages for a long time. How could the morale of the Spanish army be there?

Despite Sidonia's effective and down-to-earth work and overcoming numerous difficulties, this huge fleet of 130 ships of various sizes set sail as scheduled.

However, it could not change the major shortcomings of the Spanish fleet, namely low morale, backward tactics, and insufficient long-range shooting capability - even though the Spaniards had tried their best to increase their firepower after years of fighting with the Ming fleet.

Compared with the expedition to Luzon, the quality and quantity of Spanish shipborne cannons have been greatly strengthened and improved. However, their backward manufacturing level has hindered the military reform. Not to mention making excellent artillery like the Ming people, even the long-range cannons of the English were not made by Spanish craftsmen.

So in this war with England, they still faced the same problems as when fighting against Ming warships.

Moreover, after observing the combat methods of Ming warships, the English have become more determined to rely on artillery and mobility advantages to deal with the Spanish fleet, which is still several times larger than their own.

The result was not unexpected, at least Zhao Hao and his staff had expected it...

In May 1588, in the Battle of the English Channel, the Spanish fleet, which had 130 warships of various sizes and more than 30,000 soldiers, was defeated by the mobile and flexible British Navy.

To make matters worse, the defeated Spanish fleet encountered a hurricane on its way back, and many ships were lost in the Scottish waters.

The inexperienced Sidonia panicked and led the remaining fleet to flee northward, bypassing the British Isles and returning to Spain. As a result, many warships were stranded or even sank.

The warships that managed to return to Spain also suffered heavy casualties due to the long voyage that far exceeded plan.

In another time and space, after learning the news of the failure of the Invincible Armada, Philip II displayed the most glorious kingly demeanor of his life.

He said, I should thank God for giving me such great power. If I want, I can easily build another fleet. As long as the source is continuous, a stream of water may be blocked sometimes, but it will not change the final result.

But this time, Philip II could no longer pretend to be a boy. Portugal had become independent and was eager to take revenge. The treasury had already been depleted in the war with the Ming people. The route to the American colonies was also cut off again by the Ming fleet after the negotiations were stopped...

For a time, this king of the world, who was in the magnificent Royal Palace of Madrid, found that his empire had reached the end of its rope.

The bad news came one after another, and the Dutch were greatly encouraged and began to counterattack frantically. The French were no longer satisfied with secretly supporting the Dutch revolution and were ready to take action themselves.

Even the Ottoman Empire, which had been very quiet since the death of the Queen Mother, was sharpening its knives and preparing to launch another expedition against the Habsburg Empire.

Not to mention the Portuguese who had a grudge against their country and the English who were blinded by victory.

A terrifying encirclement has been formed. If we are not careful, the country will be destroyed.

Faced with the enormous crisis, this proud king of the world finally adjusted his mindset and understood what it meant to be under someone's roof and not to bow your head.

He knew that the only way to resolve the crisis was to sign a new peace treaty with the Ming people. Even signing a peace treaty was not enough, he had to try to form an alliance to fundamentally change the situation.

But when he sent envoys to Lisbon to express his willingness to transfer western North America to the Jiangnan Group and Guyana to Portugal as war compensation, he was rejected by Don Paul.

Facing the stunned Duke of Alva, Don Paul said righteously: "I have told you before that our group never bargains and will not wait for anything after the deadline. The previous favorable conditions are no longer valid. If you want to negotiate peace, our group now demands the entire North America, Portugal and Venezuela."

However, this time, Philip II agreed.

"Just tell me if I'm cheap or not..." How could Zhao Hao not burst into laughter? He had been holding back his anger for several years, and now he was finally letting it out!