Erdan was a little confused.

He glanced at Qiu Song, and finally set his sights on Zheng He.

Along the way, Erdan had not come into contact with Qiu Song.

However, in Erdan's view, Qiu Song was one of those untouchable people, whereas Zheng He could be communicated with well.

He couldn't even understand that the Ming Dynasty would actually send a seemingly brainless person like Qiu Song as the deputy envoy of this fleet. It was incredible.

However... Looking at it in detail, this may not be without benefit to Erdan. People who are wise are not familiar with power and deceit, and can just complete the Pope's strategy of diverting troubles to the east.

So he smiled and said: "We have prepared more than a dozen loyal pilots. The waters in the Venice area are complicated and they know the hydrological conditions well. In addition, we have also prepared supplies at the ports in Sicily.

, the Pope hopes that the navy can launch an attack quickly."

Zheng He frowned. In his opinion, the fleet was exhausted after eight months of sailing. At this time, urging the fleet to fight the Venetian immediately had ulterior motives.

What's more, he already knew the situation of the Venetians. Although this country was not small, it had been engaged in business for hundreds of years. Now... it owned tens of thousands of ships.

Although most of them are small ships, Venice's battleships and navy are quite large, and they have dominated Europe for many years.

In addition, this country has accumulated wealth for hundreds of years, and it can be said that there are countless extremely wealthy people, and they have a considerable number of mercenaries for them to drive.

There's money, there's boats, there's people.

As the commander-in-chief of the fleet, Zheng He hoped to be more cautious, first detect the reality and find the opponent's weaknesses.

As for this pope, we also need to be careful and guard against him.

Zheng He hesitated, not yet speaking.

Qiu Song said, "In that case, let's go to Venice and take Venice first."

Erdan was stunned.

His original intention was...to attack Venice.

But taking Venice has another meaning.

Venice is a fortified city. In order to protect their property, they have established strong defense measures. Coupled with many defenders, this is a city that is impossible to attack by sea.

Of course, to Erdan, it doesn't actually matter what Qiu Song says, as long as Qiu Song is willing to attack, everything will be fine.

Erdan was overjoyed and immediately said: "Then, I will wish the general success."

Qiu Song said: "Don't forget the gift you promised!"

"Of course." Erdan said with a smile.

Qiu Song, however, had a serious face: "I'm serious, don't think I'm joking."

Erdan stopped smiling: "Of course."

Erdan retreated.

Zheng He frowned: "General Qiu, isn't this a bit reckless?"

Qiu Song said: "Eldest brother has told us to attack immediately without any hesitation."

Zheng He, however, was full of doubts: "What we are worried about is the Pope. They are so enthusiastic in hoping that we will fight with the Venetians. They are afraid that the snipe and the clam will fight and the fisherman will gain."

Qiu Song said: "But my eldest brother told me to attack immediately!"

Zheng He said: "We are telling you the Pope's intention..."

"Brother, tell me..."

Zheng He looked tired. He was very tired. The fleet had too many things to worry about, and he had to deal with the unexplainable situation in front of him.

So he sighed: "That being the case, then... act decisively!"

…………

A group of navy began to gradually break away from the fleet.

Although the navy's men and horses were traveling with the fleet on the Western Ocean, they were not subordinate to each other. They carried 3,000 model battalion captains and a fleet of more than 3,000 Ming naval forces, all returned to Qiu Song.

control.

In order to prepare for today, they have been practicing repeatedly in the water village for several months.

After that, we sailed for eight months and arrived here.

Several ships wrapped in iron armor and dozens of fast boats have now begun to move towards the established route.

As for the fleet going to the Western Ocean, they followed behind and provided support at any time.

This fleet of tens of thousands of people was divided into two, linked end to end.

The wind and waves in the Mediterranean are not big. Compared with the vast ocean, this place is like an inner lake. From now on, Qiu Song ordered that the provisions of all personnel on the ship begin to increase.

In the bottom warehouse, all the sealed cans of beef, vegetables and fruits were taken out for people to eat as much as they wanted.

Along with the fleet, in addition to a dozen pilots, Erdan and Donkey Ball were also traveling with them.

"I really didn't expect that everything was successful." Donkey Ball couldn't help but sigh excitedly. He used Latin and tried his best to prevent the partition wall from having ears.

There was a smile on Erdan's lips. He was obviously very satisfied with the current results: "Yes, the Ming Dynasty's navy is very powerful. It seems that... it can severely damage the Venetians."

Donkey Fairway said: "I hope it can be severely damaged... Is the Pope ready?"

"Yes, he has already begun to summon knights from France and the Holy Roman Empire. The fief knights of the Papal State will also be recruited. In addition, there are also mercenaries from Switzerland..."

Donkey Qiu said: "What is the Pope's plan?"

"If the navy of Venice fails, then under the threat of these Ming fleets, some of us will go to Venice. In order to protect their property, the merchants in Venice will be forced to ask us to help them resist the Ming Dynasty.

Fleet. Of course... they also have to pay the price..."

Donkey Ball smiled and said: "When someone falls into the sea, in order to prevent themselves from drowning, they will agree to any harsh terms, right?"

Erdan nodded: "If Venice wins, then... these Ming fleets, which took eight months to arrive here and suffered heavy losses, the Pope can make demands on them in the form of supplies and assistance.

.If necessary...we can even pretend to let them dock for supplies and then attack them."

Donkey Ball frowned: "Will this tear up the agreement we concluded with them..."

Erdan said: "This is the Lord's arrangement..."

Donkey Ball seemed to get some relief from these words, so he acted relaxed, pursed his lips, and shrugged.

"But..." Erdan said calmly: "If the Ming army wins, and we also learn that the Pope has begun to call on the European knights to assist the Venetians and resist the Ming navy, we must be prepared."

Donkey Fairway: "You mean... we might have to prepare ourselves to be called by God?"

Erdan frowned lightly and said, "Yes."

Donkey Ball nodded, but didn't say anything else.

For them, it actually didn't mean much whether the Ming army won or lost. They had made all the preparations. The only thing that surprised them was actually why the Ming army was so stupid and relaxed.

Fall into their trap.

But no matter what, they were successful. No matter what the final outcome was, the winner was the Pope.

The Venetian merchants and these Ming troops were all losers without exception.

Donkey Ball couldn't help but sigh: "It's a pity that we may not be able to see that the merchants of Venice will return to the embrace of the Lord."

Erdan remained silent.

Half a month later.

The fleet suddenly arrived at a certain coast.

Facing this unexpected fleet.

The sea here is surprisingly calm.

Although there were many small and medium-sized merchant ships coming and going, and they stayed far away from the fleet, the fleet seemed to have no interest in attacking these small ships.

However... Erdan is constantly using speedboats to communicate with the land.

The news he learned was that he suddenly and recklessly broke into the Mediterranean. Apparently, the Venetians had already learned the news.

And the Venetians have obviously realized that this fleet coming from afar is aggressive this time.

The news soon spread to many cities in Europe.

Following this, in addition to strengthening their defenses, the Venetians also began to assemble their fleets in the nearby waters. Of course, they did not seem to intend to engage in a decisive battle with the Ming Dynasty's fleet in the vast Mediterranean.

Instead, they hoped to lure the Ming fleet to attack Venice's coastal defenses, while at the same time, the Venetian fleet ambushed the Ming fleet behind.

This is also the reason why the Ming fleet was able to go smoothly all the way.

In addition, the Venetians also played a trick.

They vigorously promoted the power of the Ming Dynasty Navy, which made many people panic.

And the result of people's panic... precisely brought huge benefits to the Venetians.

In panic, many people began to rush into Venice with their wealth.

This is actually understandable.
To be continued...