monarch

On November 11, the Duke of Alva arrived in Rodrigo City, located on the border between Spain and Portugal. This city was built on a highland in the plain and was the preparation base for the Spanish invasion.

There are usually two routes to enter Portugal from Spain. One is to cross the border via Rodrigo City, cross the Coa River, and then pass through the Almeida Fortress to enter the north of Portugal, from where you can go all the way to Coimbra. and Porto, two large cities in the north.In addition, there is another route that goes west to the capital Lisbon via the Elvas Fortress in the south.

Although the latter could reach the capital of Portugal as soon as possible, the Duke of Alva decided to focus his attack on the Almeida Fortress in the north after some trade-offs.In his view, the real enemy of Spain is not Queen Elizabeth of Lisbon, but the Duke of Braganza, who has deep roots in the north.An attack on the fortress of Almeida would force the Duke of Braganza to come to his rescue from Lisbon.And as long as the Spanish army captures the Almeida Fortress and continues to march westward, northern Portugal can be separated from the rest of the country, and the power of the Duke of Braganza will also be blocked in the northern mountains.At that time, as long as Spain offers sincere conditions, he will agree without hesitation.

The Almeida Fortress is less than twenty miles away from the city of Rodrigo on the other side of the border. It is built on a flat highland in the east of the León Plain, facing the ferry of the Coa River.Unfortunately, the location of the fortress was still too far away from the river to attack the enemy crossing the river.Outside the artillery range of the fortress, many passages were left for the enemy to freely enter and exit, but after all, this fortress guards the nearby commanding heights, and at the same time it is on the only way for commodity circulation, so it can be regarded as the northern part of Portugal. One of the most important strategic strongholds.

On November 11, the Duke of Alva led 3 people across the border, crossed the Coa River that night, and surrounded the Almeida fortress.According to the normal deployment, there should be 2 soldiers guarding the Almeida Fortress at this moment, but since the news of the war with Spain came, nearly 500 people have fled home. None of the militiamen escaped.The commander of the fortress did not support the new regime in Lisbon, and was deeply afraid of stirring up a mutiny. Not only did he not dare to deal with the escape behavior severely, but turned a blind eye to it.So like an avalanche, one or two people escaped at first, but by the end of October, the entire team had escaped in the dark.

In addition to the shortage of personnel, the supplies of the fortress are also stretched.Many soldiers were unarmed, and more than 200 did not receive clothing and hats, and the absence of bullet pouches, canteens or coats was hardly a problem.It is gratifying that the food and gunpowder in the fortress are still sufficient, which also gave the Portuguese a little confidence to resist.

On November 11th, all the artillery and supplies of the Spanish army finally arrived outside the Almeida Fortress, and the artillery positions had also been built. 5 artillery pieces began to fire non-stop at this ancient fortress built in the 65th century.In this era, although with the help of firearms, the siege of a fortress is still a protracted project.The landing point of the shells is determined by probability, and to open a breach in the wall of the fortress enough for the commando to enter, a large number of shells need to fall on the wall. This is not a goal that can be achieved overnight.

Three days after the siege began, the Duke of Bragança personally led 1 Portuguese troops to the upper reaches of the Coa River not far from the fortress. Their arrival caused cheers from the fortress defenders who were under heavy shelling.But to the disappointment of the defenders, the Duke of Braganza didn't seem to have the intention of launching an attack to clear the fortress. He just confronted the Spaniards, using the flags and drums in his camp to try to cheer up the increasingly low morale in the castle. .

The most powerful army in Portugal is almost all the chips that the Duke of Braganza has now. Queen Elizabeth asked him to use these troops to defend the capital, and the northern partisans expected him to use these troops to protect the north. The territories of the nobles are inviolable, but all he thinks is to firmly hold this army in his own hands. This precious resource can only be used to maintain his own position, and become a negotiation with the Spaniards when necessary. chips.The Duke of Braganza never dared to put these chips on the table, especially when the trend of the game became unfavorable.

At dusk on November 11th, the shelling had lasted for five days. The Spanish artillerymen who had been busy for a day were still repeating the monotonous shooting work. The stone wall of the opposite fortress was already scarred, but it seemed that there was still a long way to go before it collapsed. for a while.

At 05:30 in the afternoon, the Duke of Alva appeared on the artillery positions, and his arrival caused a burst of cheers from the soldiers.The Duke came here this time to inspect the effect of the shelling. According to his timetable, the Spanish army should capture the Almeida Fort within ten days. Open a breach that can be attacked by commandos.

Duke Alva looked at the damage to the fort with a telescope, "It seems that the effect of the shelling is worse than I thought."

"Their defenses are very strong." The adjutant next to them explained, "Most of the gunners and soldiers are hiding in the fortifications. Our shells can't hurt them at all. We can only expect the outer walls of the fortress to collapse during the shelling. But I’m afraid it will take a lot of time.”

"If we delay here for half a month, then the snow season will come." Duke Alva said seriously, "The heavy snow will close the valley, and the army will not be able to pass until the snow melts next spring. If the snow melts and triggers flash floods , may have to wait until early summer. Then when will we be able to smash the Portuguese resistance? Next autumn? It will be too late, and I must quickly end the matter here, otherwise the plan to invade Britain will be delayed for another year."

"Then it will be 1560." The adjutant murmured, "By that time, the Britons would have already been ready for battle, and the probability of a successful invasion is almost gone."

"By then there may not be any invasions at all." Duke Alva sneered, "Our finances may have collapsed by then, and you and I will be busy suppressing rebellions and riots everywhere. As for those who have consumed countless gold coins The fleets built were left to rot in shipyards because Spain had no money to run and maintain them...without the navy, the overseas empire could not have survived at that time."

"If the Portuguese cannot be defeated before next spring, then no matter what, we must sign a peace treaty with them, even if this crown is given to Elizabeth or the Duke of Braganza for free, we must reach a compromise with them." He resolutely Said.

"But what if His Majesty disagrees?" the adjutant asked.

"Then I will resign." Duke Alva said, "If His Majesty is unwilling to listen to my opinion, then I can only express my attitude in this way."

"Speaking of your attitude..." the adjutant carefully looked around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation, "were you a little too tough when facing His Majesty? Although you are his father's veteran, but After all, he is the king, as long as he is sitting in that position, he will not be willing to be preached by others, sometimes you should make some concessions."

"I led the army to attack Portugal according to His Majesty's wishes. Isn't this considered a concession?" Duke Alva kicked the clods on the ground with his toes dissatisfied. On this great invasion!"

"Keep your voice down, my lord!" The adjutant quickly reminded, "If His Majesty hears this, what will he think? No matter what you think of him, he is a king, and there is a line between kings and mortals." An insurmountable gap...don't let him hate you!"

Duke Alva lowered his head and did not answer.

"Forget it, Your Majesty, what's going on with Prince Don Carlos?" The adjutant persuaded Duke Alva uneasily, "The inheritance of the throne has been a muddy water since ancient times, why do you need to get yourself involved? ?”

"If he becomes king, it means that Spain has sinned deeply, and this is the punishment she deserves!" Duke Alva raised his beard in anger, "You know he even compares himself with the king of Britain, intending to Do you personally rule in Portugal? How could I agree with such ignorant fantasies!"

"But he is the heir to the throne after all." The adjutant continued to persuade, "and he will be the only heir to the throne for the foreseeable future... The queen is dying, and it is said that her majesty wants to marry the daughter of Henry II of France, but no matter what , Prince Don Carlos is the eldest son of His Majesty, and his inheritance is difficult for others to challenge."

"Then when he succeeds to the throne, I will resign, if there is such a day." Duke Alva said, "I will go back to my manor to live in seclusion, and just ignore world affairs."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." The adjutant shook his head, "He is narrow-minded, I'm afraid he won't even let you live such a pastoral life."

"Then let him do as he pleases!" Duke Alva laughed openly.

Although the adjutant did not agree with the Duke's actions, he had to admire his boss's attitude.

Duke Alva turned to face the fortress again, "It seems that we have nothing to do with this tortoise shell, we can only continue to consume gunpowder and shells, I hope..."

Before he could finish his words, there was an earthquake-like rumbling noise from the inside of the fortress, the ground shook wildly, the top of the fortress was torn into pieces and thrown into the air, boundless smoke and fire burst from the torn apart The hole erupted like the eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed Pompeii.

Countless stones smashed towards the direction of Duke Alva, and the adjutant hurriedly dragged him into the trench.The cannon weighing a thousand catties was thrown into the air like a child's toy, and fell into the mud far away, breaking a huge pothole.

When the gunpowder smoke finally dissipated, Duke Alva crawled out of the trench, coughing violently, and his body was also covered with gunpowder smoke and dust.

In front of the Duke of Alva, most of the fort had completely disappeared, and what remained on the foundation were only ruined walls and stone fragments.And the debris like rain continued to fall on the top of the completely paralyzed fortress.

"It's the ammunition depot, their ammunition depot exploded!" Duke Alva opened his mouth and shouted loudly, his eardrums were still aching, "Our shells ignited their ammunition depot!"

What he said was the truth of the matter, a lucky shell flew through the door when the Portuguese opened the door to deliver gunpowder, and ignited the 15 pounds of black powder stored inside.So in an instant, this strong fortress was wiped out in the air waves of the explosion.

"Should we send a commando to attack? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." The adjutant asked loudly into Duke Alva's ear.

Duke Alva squinted his eyes, looking at the hellish scene in front of him: all the buildings with more than two floors in the entire fortress city had collapsed, and the sound of wailing and moaning was coming from the ruined walls, desperately blowing in the wind. lingering.The fortress was surrounded by fragmented corpses, and the gunners and soldiers were torn apart by the blast and thrown into the distance like rag dolls.The sun had sunk below the horizon, but the fires raging in the city made the sky as bright as day.

"It's not necessary." Duke Alva shook his head sadly. Anyone who sees such a tragic scene will surely be touched, "This fortress no longer exists, and there is no need to increase casualties for it... …give those valiant defenders a night's rest, and tomorrow we send messengers there, and they will surrender, for they have nothing left to guard."

"What about the Duke of Braganza's army? Will they come to support the fortress?" The adjutant was still a little worried.

"He doesn't even want to rescue the complete fortress, so how could he come to save this pile of ruins?" Duke Alva looked at the Portuguese military camp in the distance, where the lights were brightly lit, and it was obvious that every pair of eyes was focused on the burning fortress , "He will leave at dawn tomorrow, leaving the rest of the fortress to us."

The Duke made a sign of the cross on his chest devoutly, "This is really God's blessing, I hope He hasn't completely abandoned Spain, which is full of disasters!"