Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

I saw the figurehead placed on the huge ship with a displacement of more than one thousand tons - a beautiful goddess stepping on a huge clam shell, suddenly released a faint but not negligible light, directly dispelling the sea god's power in the sea .

"Impossible, impossible! How could the Serisian fleet be blessed by divine power?" Strozzi couldn't believe his eyes.

Not to mention him, there are probably not more than three people in this world who know that Ma Youfu inherited the priesthood of "navigation" from Aphrodite.

Aphrodite is not a serious sea god like Poseidon, and the scope of application of the priesthood of "navigation" is far less extensive than the inheritance of sea god obtained by Strozzi.Ma Youfu can't control the sea water and sea wind, and can't order the animals living in the ocean to work for him.However, it is still very easy for him to create a few figureheads that contain Aphrodite's divine power to bless the ship's smooth sailing and not be affected by various disasters.

Strozzi was not reconciled, and continued to use the Seagod's power to summon the vortex.But it didn't work until all the magic power gained by sacrificing slaves was exhausted.

At this time, the two Normandy columns had completely surrounded the pirate fleet. Looking down from the sky, the ships of both sides formed an "I" shape in the vast sea area.The Normandy fleet is the two horizontal lines, and the pirate fleet is the vertical line.

Although the loading skills of the English gunners were not yet proficient, at this time, all the large and small artillery in the fleet had been prepared.

"Fire!" Andre's voice was filled with uncontrollable excitement.With the continuous roar of the artillery, he could feel the wooden deck trembling under his feet, as if welcoming the arrival of a new era of naval warfare.

After the warships on both sides have narrowed to this distance, even rookie gunners who barely pass the artillery skills do not need to worry about the hit rate.

Accompanied by the roar of hundreds of artillery pieces, the sea was suddenly filled with smoke.Since there is no telescope, in this environment, it is not easy to know the shelling effect with the eyes alone.It's just that the screams of the pirates kept drifting along the sea wind, and there were very few counterattacks from the opponent's artillery.With these two points, Andre knew that the enemy had suffered heavy losses from his own attack, and this battle had already been won by [-]%. .

A few more salvos and the Sons of Salt Mist pirates will be history.

While waiting for the artillery to be reloaded, Andre suddenly saw a flying fish leap onto the deck and land at his feet.Then, this creature with a magical aura on its body started to speak in human language: "I am Johannes Strozzi, the captain of the Pirates of the Sons of Salt Mist! Damn it, stop me! I and The Marquis of La Manche has an agreement! We are allies until the undead pirates are wiped out! Stop your perfidious and brutal attacks!"

Andre sneered and couldn't help showing a smug expression.

For a mercenary like him who lives on the sea, the Son of Salt Fog, who was once mysterious and possessed the power of the sea, was still a character that made people change their faces.But now, the famous pirate has been beaten to the ground by himself, and even asked for peace.

This is the result he never dreamed of in his sweetest dreams.

"If it weren't for the appreciation of the Marquis, the new ideas for naval warfare he provided, and these powerful warships, I would never have achieved what I am today." Andre sighed in his heart.

He didn't expect that the step he jumped off the lifeboat in embarrassment and set foot on the Provence beach was the most important turning point in his life.

Strozzi's exasperated voice brought Andre back to reality.

Andre wants to completely wipe out the Pirates of the Sons of Salt Mist today, but he has already been ordered by Ma Youfu. If Strozzi's pirates are dishonest and try to rob the merchant ships of the Seven Saints camp, then they can do so appropriately. Learn a lesson, but don't kill them all.Because the Son of Salt Mist is a very important part of the plan to deal with the undead pirates.

"Mr. Strozzi, I can stop the attack, but you must release all the hijacked Genoese merchant ships."

"Yes." Strozzi agreed to the condition without thinking about it.

Now that the pirate fleet has suffered heavy losses, and their magic power has been exhausted, they are no deterrent to the Genoese who surrendered.I can't even spit out the meat I ate in my mouth.

Andre continued to say to the flying fish: "In addition, in your fleet, the severely damaged and powerless ships must be kept as my trophies. I will give you an hour to transfer personnel."

"No, that's too much to ask! I can't let the pirates following me abandon their ships, it would make..."

It's a pity that Andre was too lazy to listen to Strozzi's noise, and trampled the flying fish into a fish cake.

But this time, Strozzi did not dare to retaliate against each other.

Under the deterrence of the black hole's artillery, he finally cut his wrists with pain, and gave up the injured one carrack galleon, four caravel sailboats, and four galley warships.

The originally prestigious Sons of Salt Mist pirate group lost nearly half of their ships in one fell swoop.

Chapter 390

After Strozzi left in despair southward with the remnants of the defeated army, Andre sent people to board the nine ships left behind by the opponent.These professional artillery craftsmen and shipbuilders will evaluate the damage caused by artillery of various calibers and different types of shells to ships, and then Andre will summarize and report to Ma Youfu.

Advances in weapons do not happen overnight.Actual combat is the best teacher. Ma Youfu can test his fleet's deficiencies that need to be improved.

The Normandy fleet towed these captured ships, while repairing and researching, they slowly sailed north.

The rescued Kirk ships also fired their cannons to thank the Normandy fleet, and then followed closely behind.The Genoese who suffered two consecutive attacks during this trip to Egypt have become frightened now, for fear of encountering danger again.Fortunately, the artillery of the Normandy fleet still gave them enough sense of security.

Five hours later, Andre met Rinaldo, who was "chasing" the Son of the Salt Fog south.

The commander of the Genoa navy, who had been patrolling in place, decided to set off to pursue him after confirming the news that the Son of Salt Mist had been repulsed and fled southward in desperation.

Although this kind of futile behavior has no real effect, at least you can deceive yourself.Show an attitude of hard work and be able to explain to the Governor and the Senate.

After Rinaldo met the Normandy fleet led by Andre, he was first surprised by the strength of the opponent's fleet, and then immediately put on a friendly gesture, boarded the Rouen himself, and met with Andre.

Andre, who used to be an inconspicuous offshoot of the Doria family, has now become the savior of the Genoa fleet. Although Rinaldo still doesn't want to accept this fact, he still has to let go of his aristocratic reserve to please the other party. .

Andre didn't have the arrogance of a villain, he welcomed Rinaldo very politely, and invited him to have dinner in the renovated restaurant.

Since the voyage was not long, there was a lot of fresh food on the Rouen, and it was rare for the two admirals to enjoy a meal that was as good as it was on land.

After drinking and eating, Rinaldo ordered his servants to bring out a beautifully decorated wooden box and place it on the dining table.He opened the wooden box, and the various gold coins and jewels inside immediately reflected charming light under the candlelight.

"Marshal Andrei, this is a gift I received from those pagan merchants during my stay in Alexandria. In order to thank you for your helping hand today, I will pass this gift on to you. And if you are willing to satisfy me A small request, the Adorno family will give you more in return..."

After Rinaldo returns to Genoa, he will definitely report to the Governor and the Senate about the voyage to Egypt.Although he finally succeeded in transporting the grain back to the country, the process was full of difficulties, and Rinaldo's performance can only be described as "full of mistakes and omissions".

Being hunted down by the Mulholland fleet and losing a total of thirty galley warships, this is already an ironclad fact, and there is no room for turning around.But in today's battle, Rinaldo felt that he could still make some improvements with his hard work.

Anyway, in the entire fleet, except for myself and the mage on board, no one knew that I had fallen into despair, and no one knew that I had sent a distress message to the outside world.

Therefore, Rinaldo hopes to describe today's naval battle in the report like this: After discovering the Sons of Salt Mist pirate group, the brave Marshal Rinaldo immediately led all the warships to face it.

The cunning and cowardly pirates knew that they were no match for the Genoese fleet, so they used evil magic to summon fog and attack the merchant ships behind.

Under the threat of pirates, merchant ships surrendered one after another.But even in the face of such a disadvantage, Admiral Rinaldo did not give up, overcame the interference of evil magic, and pursued the pirate group.

Fearing the power of the Genoa fleet, the Sons of Salt Mist pirates ran into the Normandy fleet head-on while fleeing south in a panic. They were hit by heavy artillery and suffered heavy losses.

Marshal Rinaldo ended the pirate attack without firing a single shot, with only one ship Kirk lost.

He emphasized his own role and downplayed the support of the Normandy fleet. Naturally, his purpose was to make a good impression on the governor and the Senate, so that he could earn more political capital as a "Genoa hero".

Andre looked at the box on the dining table worth at least a thousand Genovino gold coins, and thought to himself: "The Adorno family really spent their money..."

After thinking for a while, he accepted the box and agreed to the other party's request.

The Adorno family gaining power is not a good thing for the Doria family.But what does this have to do with Andre, a collateral branch of the family that has been neglected since childhood?

During this period of living in Provence, Andre felt the most fulfilling and fulfilling time in his life.It is obviously more important to serve the Marquis who appreciates him than to be loyal to the family that does not value him.

Before, when Andre went to Genoa to recruit sailors and naval officers, he had been instructed by Ma Youfu to expand his influence in the Republic as much as possible.

He feels that now is a good opportunity.

Isn't Rinaldo, who wants to pretend to be a Genoese hero with lies, a breakthrough?

Seeing Andrea accepting his bribe, Rinaldo breathed a sigh of relief and invited him to go to Genoa.

Andre didn't agree immediately, but after asking Ma Youfu with a message technique, he got new instructions before agreeing to Rinaldo's invitation.

In this way, the two fleets merged into one and continued to sail north.

The rest of the journey was finally safe from danger, and the fleet arrived in Genoa without incident.The Normandy fleet only left Andre's flagship Rouen for a "friendly visit" in Genoa, and the rest of the fleet was led by the former captain of the Mary Rose, the English knight John Norfolk, and returned to Marseille.

After the fleet docked at the port, it was immediately warmly welcomed by the people.This was the first major victory since the fall of Corsica and the interruption of all maritime trade by Genoa.This allowed the people of Genoa, who were in difficult times, to see the hope of victory.

Of course, the most important thing is that with the arrival of a large amount of Egyptian grain, the rising price trend on the northern shore of the Mediterranean Sea will be curbed, and the people's lives will be greatly reduced.And the wealthy businessmen and oligarchs who invested in this "Egyptian Expedition" can also make a lot of money.

Although some careful people found that the returning Genoa fleet seemed to have shrunk a bit. In the naval battles in the Mediterranean Sea, none of the galley warships that had been used as the main force were actually seen.

However, in the atmosphere where the governor and all the Senate came to welcome the pier, the guard of honor and the band clattered out, and the bishop of Genoa wore a full set of outfits to hold the celebration ceremony, these "noises" were quickly drowned in the cheers.

As the commander of the Genoa fleet, Rinaldo naturally became the protagonist.

While waving his captain's hat, he walked down the battleship from the gangway, enjoying the cheers of the crowd throughout the process.

"Our warriors are back! This voyage is comparable to the feat of the Argo in ancient Greek mythology!" Tommaso, Governor of Genoa, gave Rinaldo a hug with an exaggerated expression.

As a member of the Di Campofregoso family, he actually didn't want to see the rival Adorno family grow stronger, but he couldn't go against the general trend right now, so he could only pinch his nose to express a warm welcome.

"It's all because of the blessing of the Seven Saints that the fleet has overcome all kinds of dangers during the thousands of miles of voyage. In addition, there is also the help of the Marquis of Lamanche..."

"Let's talk to the Senate and the Prosecutor's Office about these boring things later, let's celebrate to our heart's content now!" the governor raised his arms and shouted, which immediately attracted a lot of approval.

But Rinaldo couldn't relax.

The highest power framework in Genoa is the Governor, the Senate, and the Procuratorate, which are the three checks and balances and the separation of powers.

Once elected, the Governor, who serves for life, is in charge of the entire army of Genoa and has executive power.The Senate, composed of members elected by the eight Genoese noble families, was responsible for legislation.The procuratorate is composed of young people from various noble families. They are lawyers or heads of government departments, and they have the power to supervise the financial, judicial, and administrative fields of the Republic.

The positions of the above three are all monopolized by the Genoese nobles, and there is no such thing as elections.

This oligarchic system is obviously inferior to its sworn enemy Venice in terms of political vitality.So it is no wonder that Genoa is increasingly at a disadvantage in the Mediterranean hegemony with Venice.

In another world line, it was not until Andre Doria became the governor of Genoa that this system was broken. The governor was changed to a two-year term, and the Senate and the Procuratorate, which were monopolized by the big nobles, were also absorbed by a wider range of social classes. Great Council and Small Council replaced.

Of course, Andre Doria, who was still young at this time, did not consider the pros and cons of the republic system, and he was in the joy of "returning home".

Although compared to Rinaldo, Andre, who came down from the Rouen, did not receive much attention.There were not as many people looking at him, the rapidly rising Crusader admiral, as there were looking at the Rouen behind him.

The Genoese, who have a good understanding of the sea and ships, are carefully evaluating the rebuilt Rouen, which is quite different from the contemporary Carrack galleon.

Especially the rows of densely packed gun ports on the side left a deep impression on people.

But for Andre, the attention of passers-by and the public is irrelevant.Because today, the patriarch of the Doria family, his distant uncle Benedito Doria, came to greet him at the pier in person.

Chapter 390 Nine Venus Club

Andre's distant uncle had never looked at his nephew since he was a child.When Andre's parents died early and became an orphan, they did not provide any help.Otherwise, Andre wouldn't be a mercenary and risk his life to gain wealth.

In stark contrast, Beneditto's two sons not only received a good education since they were young, but also entered the bureaucratic system of the Republic immediately after graduating from university. The Senate isn't a problem either.

But now, the two sons of Beneditto, who were originally regarded as the future hope of the Doria family, are being reprimanded constantly at this time, and Andre, the abandoned son of the family who was once neglected, has become "other people's children". ".

"Ambro, Pantaleone, you need to learn more from Cousin Andre in the future. When you spend your days buried in a huge amount of documents and are complacent because of your status as a senior bureaucrat, he has established What a glorious achievement to be the first admiral in the history of the Doria family!"

Under the teaching of their father, Beneditto's two children kept nodding and flattering Andre.

Although Andre could see that the other party's mouth was wrong, he was still quite straightforward.

If Ma Youfu had chosen "Fight ○ Sphere" when copying the book, I am afraid that at this time Andre would have felt the emotion of "30 years in Hedong and 30 years in Hexi, don't bully the young and poor".

After returning to the mansion of the Doria family, Beneditto held a grand banquet for Andrea.

In the early morning of the next day, after the banquet was over, the head of the Doria family called Andre into his study for a secret conversation.

"Andre, I wouldn't be surprised if the family didn't help you enough in the past and you had complaints in your heart. But it's different now. I hope you can understand that only by relying on the strength of the Doria family can you be more It is possible to achieve greater success in the Republic. Neither of my two sons has any great talents. In the future, this family will be at the helm of you."

Beneditto's frank remarks are more heart-to-heart than the previous scene.Andre did not pretend to be false, and expressed his true thoughts: "Uncle, my current ambition is in the sea, and I have no interest in the politics of the Republic. By following that Lord Marquis, my horizons have broadened a lot, and I don't want to live forever. Trapped in this city."

Seeing the disappointment in Beneditto's eyes, Andre added: "Of course, uncle, if you want the Doria family to take a step further in politics, I can also find a strong support for you. If you can get With the assistance of the Marquis of La Manche, I think the Doria family will definitely be able to become a wealthy family no less than Adorno and Campofregoso.

"The French..." Beneditto had very complicated emotions towards this extraterritorial power that once dominated Genoa.

The Doria family has a long history with France.

As early as the Crusades, members of the Doria family fought side by side with knights from France.The military tradition of the Doria family was also cultivated from that time, and many outstanding generals emerged later.The Republic of Genoa's ability to conquer Sardinia also relied to a large extent on the fighting power of the Doria family.

At the Battle of Crecy, Ottone Doria commanded [-] Genoese giant shield crossbowmen, who joined the French against England.But it is a pity that Genoa's crossbow was no match for England's longbow and suffered a big defeat.Moreover, when the Genoese retreated, they were regarded as cowards by the French and attacked by their allies.