monarch

On May [-], the high-profile Spanish fleet finally completed the final preparations before setting sail.

According to the plan, as many as 350 warships will set sail from the military ports of Cadiz, Lisbon and La Coruña within three days from this day, assemble on the coastline of northern Spain, and then sail through Biscay on the southeast wind. Bay, sailing towards the coast of the British Isles.

A large amount of supplies, food and gunpowder, were sent to the battleship that still smelled of paint at the last moment. Most of the 1 soldiers who were used to establish a forward base in Ireland have already found a dry place in the bottom cabin of the battleship as a place to stay. A large number of shipbuilders-although many warships have joined the fleet, many detailed projects have not been completed, so the shipyard can only hope that they can try their best to repair the unfinished parts during the expedition.

The commander of the fleet was Giovanni Dorea from Genoa, who had just taken over the command of the fleet from his famous uncle Andrea Dorea two years ago.As a prominent family in Genoa, the Dorea family was the pillar of the Habsburg emperor's reliance in the navy. The former fleet commander, the famous Andrea Dorea, was the only one in the era that just passed The Christian general Hayreddin, the "Pirate King" of the Ottoman Empire, fought against. Now that he is over [-] years old, he has passed on his mantle to his grandnephew and continued to serve the sea power of the Habsburg Empire.

At the expedition ceremony held in Cadiz, the envoy sent by the Pope prayed to God for a smooth journey for the fleet, and wished that the sword of God would scatter the black mist of heresy and respread the light of faith to the lost British Isles.On the same day in Rome, according to the edict of Pope Paul IV, the bells on the towers of all the churches throughout the city of Rome were tolled to wish the Spanish Holy Invasion every success.

The shadows of spies, diplomats and speculators roamed the prominent courts of Europe, and countless diplomatic letters, secret letters and notes were scribbled, read and burned in the fireplace.The capitals of various big countries are nodes, and the sea routes and post roads between them are like spider threads, forming a fine spider web on the entire European continent. Every slight fluctuation of the spider thread contains Infinite information.Britain and Spain are now at the gambling table, but it seems that countless audiences care more about the result of the dice than the two protagonists.

On May [-], fleets from various ports assembled on the coast of northwest Spain and headed north, but the weather conditions were not satisfactory. During most of the day, there was a strong westerly wind blowing in the sky. The fleet blew in the direction of the French coast.And when the westerly wind stopped, the sky was like congealed lard, without a trace of wind, even the white clouds hanging in the sky were still.

Under such circumstances, the speed of the fleet has been greatly affected, and maintaining the formation has completely become a luxury.The sailors who made up the Spanish fleet came from all nationalities, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italian-speaking Neapolitans and Germans with heavy accents, all serving under the banner of the King of Spain, many of them before Almost never went to sea.Under such complex weather conditions, Commander Giovanni Dolea could barely rely on semaphore to command the fleet, but accidents continued one after another.

On the third day after setting sail, the two warships collided in the dark night. Before the other ships sent small boats to rescue the victims, they had sunk into the dark seabed, leaving only countless debris on the sea surface. Wood chips and a handful of survivors.As for the damage of the mast and the small problems such as water leakage of the ship, there are countless.The level of craftsmanship of these rush-built new warships is not good, and the cutting corners caused by the serious corruption in Spain have made the quality problems of the warships even worse.

The ensuing accidents dealt a huge blow to the morale of the fleet, and a bigger problem was yet to come: those army soldiers who were carried like livestock in the bottom warehouse, many of them suffered from illnesses due to eating damp and moldy food. dysentery, and the poor sanitation made every Spanish warship a breeding ground for disease transmission.By May 27, more than 6000 people in the entire fleet had been infected, most of whom were bedridden and unable to participate in combat.

At this time, the Armada was about 150 nautical miles away from the southern coast of Ireland.

Three days later, in the early morning hours, in County Waterford, Ireland.

Danny O'Hara waved his whip absently, and drove the sheep along the wet and soft dirt road.It rained all night last night and didn't stop until this morning.The green leaves hanging on the treetops and the branches of the shrubs under the feet are covered with crystal clear water drops.

Shepherd O'Hara tightened the cloak that was wrapped around him. For a short man like him, the old cloak inherited from his father seemed too loose.Although it is already early summer, the air is still clear and cool, making people feel a chill rushing into their lungs every time they breathe.

He gently touched the mane on the back of the horse under his crotch, and stuffed a piece of sugar into the horse's mouth, and the horse let out a satisfied cry.

"Have you heard? Master Cardale is going to sell half of his sheep." He turned his head and said to Paul Martin, who was on the other horse beside him.

Contrary to his companions, Paul Martin is a tall, thin, red-haired young man. He has slender limbs like branches, like rubber stretched out by someone, sticking into his body like crab legs. coordination.

Paul was dozing off on horseback, but when he heard what his companion said, he jerked violently and almost fell off the horse.

"Really? Why?" he asked eagerly, before he settled himself in the saddle again.

"It's not because of this damn war." Danny spit on the ground, "The market for wool is really bad. Now the port is closed, and the cloth and ready-made clothes are piled up in the port and cannot be sent out, and the textile mills have stopped. Workers, who else buys wool? The manor owners in every county in the north are slaughtering their own sheep, and the more flocks there are, the more money they will lose.”

Paul's young face also wore a sad look, "My mother is worried every day that I will be conscripted to fight, especially after the militia began to train...my uncle died in France for King Henry, and when she mentioned the word "war" I'm going to cry and make a lot of noise."

"Even if you want to call the militia, I'm afraid it's just doing some work like guarding the place." Danny gave a short dry laugh, his voice didn't sound so convincing, "I happened to hear the priest and priest of the church talking about it that day. , the outcome of this war will be decided at sea, and even if there is a land battle, it will be on England's side." Even though they have become a nation now, the Irish still have a little bit of suspicion about the troubles encountered by the English. Schadenfreude.

"I heard that the priest is very happy that the Spaniards are coming." Paul bent down and whipped the branches of the bushes on both sides of the road with his horsewhip. , what he said, if it were placed in King Henry's time, he would have been punished by mutilation."

"That's an old calendar." Danny O'Hara shook his head with a smile. "What kind of religious reconciliation is King Edward doing today? Catholics may still be discriminated against, but at least there is no official persecution. So You see, only our priest is as stubborn as he is and still clings to the old ways, who else wants to go crazy with him?"

"He said that the Spaniards came to liberate all Catholics." Paul's horse stepped into a mud puddle full of water, and he quickly clamped the horse's belly with his legs. "He also said that Ireland is the faithful Catholic Fortress, King Philip must have treated the Irish differently."

"Liberation?" Danny O'Hara let out an abrupt laugh, and the nearest sheep were attracted by the sound, and turned their heads with a few stalks of grass in their mouths.

"I've been in war, I tell you, when a man has a weapon in his hand, he has the power to do anything to the unarmed. This power can turn the best man into a beast... That's what war does, it turns man into a beast, maybe man himself is a beast, war just takes away the layer of civilized man from us."

"Have you ever wondered what will happen when those 'liberators' come to the village? They will break down the doors of every house and loot everything with a little gold in it. They will slaughter your chickens, ducks and livestock, Take your grain, and spoil what they can't eat. They'll set the houses on fire, drink the wine they dug out of the cellars of the tavern in the light of the fire, and rape the hapless girls who are still in the village! At that time, they will not care whether the object of their violence is a Catholic Irishman or a Protestant Englishman!"

He took a flagon out of his saddlebag, brought it to his lips, and took a swig of the brandy.

"Why, do you still think that they came here to go to church with you for mass and to bask in the glory of the Lord?" Danny watched the young man's face turn whiter than the snow in winter, " Listen to me, if that time really comes, take your mother and run for your life, and get as far away from this damn thing as possible... War is hell!"

Paul lowered his head, silently digesting the information in his older companion's words.

"If Master Kadar wants to sell sheep, then he definitely doesn't need three shepherds." The young man's voice became deeper, and Danny even suspected that he might cry, "Then he will definitely fire me and stay You and Lenny... After all, I came last, and you and him are old friends."

"The version I've heard is that he only intends to keep one person." Danny O'Hara pulled a branch out of his eyes, "I guess Lenny will stay, this sycophant will please the old man The fat man is happy."

"Then what should I do?" Paul stared blankly at his companion, "Do you have any plans?"

"Me?" Danny yawned. "I want to see the world in the city, to Dublin, even to London. I'm so sick of this life in the country as a stagnant pool."

"As for you." He shrugged. "This war won't last long. This is the advantage of naval warfare. If God wants the war to stop, he only needs to change the direction of the wind. This war will be over before winter." It will be over, King Edward and King Philip, then there will only be one left... just like Lord Cadar's shepherd."

He laughed at his one-liner.

The sheep came out of the woods, where the path turned and the sea appeared on the left side of the road.

Paul looked at the scenery on the sea, and he heard himself gasp, "Holy Mother..."

On weekdays, the two shepherds have passed by this ordinary bay countless times, but what they see now is a scene they have never seen in their dreams: countless warships are heading towards this narrow bay from the sea line. Like a swarm of locusts flying from the sky, the furthest battleship is still a small black spot on the distant sea, while the nearest ones have anchored in the bay.The shouts of sailors came from hundreds of black warships, mixed with the sound of the wind and the rustling of the waves, forming the most shocking symphony that can be played in the world.

The two shepherds reined in their horses and stared blankly at the scene in the bay. Only King Xerxes, who inspected his fleet on the golden throne before the naval battle of Salamis, was lucky enough to witness it with his own eyes. Pass.

"Aren't you worried about what to do if you lose your job?" Danny O'Hara looked at the row upon row of fleets, his voice hoarse with excitement, "Now we can make a fortune."

Paul looked at his companion in surprise, and his mind flashed through the notice posted on the bulletin board of the township office-the first person who warned the Spanish invasion would get a reward of [-] pounds.

"After we split it equally, everyone will get five hundred pounds." Danny patted Paul on the shoulder excitedly, "If you still want to herd sheep, you can herd your own sheep, Master Paul Martin! "

Half an hour later, the two returned to their village. They rode their horses straight into the gate of the village hall. Five minutes later, a messenger flew galloping in the direction of Waterford. , the big bell on the church tower began to ring hysterically.

Three hours later, almost the residents of the entire village embarked on a journey to escape. They took their families and their mouths in a cart loaded with all their valuables, shouting and screaming along the muddy road towards the county capital. struggling, and at the head of the procession the carriage of the venerable curate, the chief champion of the King of Spain in the county, had set off before all the others.