Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 2177 - 1572: When the Stars Shine, Spain, First Expeditionary Army

October 1495. Castile, Guadalquivir Rivermouth, Seville Port.In late autumn, Seville, the rainy season is imminent but has not yet arrived. The sky is broad and clear, yet the horizon is blurred like a dream. The ocean’s color shifts from deep blue to pale, resembling a new sheepskin scroll yet to be inscribed. The rising tides quietly surge, carrying the stickiness of grape skins and the salty fragrance of seaweed. From the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, as they gradually enter the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, tall masts can be seen lined up, all anchored at the stone pier near the port.

At this moment, the masts that tower above are all adorned with the banners of the Castilian Royal Family, signaling the impending departure of the Castilian Expeditionary Army. Beneath the masts, sailors and soldiers inspect the ships, while groups of craftsmen and immigrants load supplies. As the sea breeze blows, the masts with hanging sails tremble in the wind, and the low sound suppresses the clamor of the people, much like an ancient spell being chanted.

"I stand at the departing port, listening to the gospel bestowed by the Almighty. He says, ’Mundus nondum scriptus est, crux expectat mare. The world has yet to be written, the Cross awaits the voyage.’"

"Indeed! Revered Father Ramon, you speak well! The East’s India, Cipangu, and Khitan, those countless Easterners are awaiting the enlightenment of the Lord’s light, waiting for noble, devout clerics like you to guide their hearts... Donde termina la costa, comienza la palabra de Dios! Where our voyage ends, there begins the Gospel of the Lord!"

Under the highest mast are two Castilian nobility. They stand together at the bow of the "Saint Clarida," gazing at the golden-red sea reflecting the sunset. Among them, the taller and stronger one is dressed in Castilian officer attire, wearing a noble sash hat adorned with feathers, with a splendid fleet commander’s sword at his waist. The other wears a monk’s plain gray robe, carrying a Church Scripture box, and around his neck is a simple wooden cross amulet. The meaning of "Saint Clarida" is the "Holy Light" of the Almighty.

As the most radiant symbol of the Almighty, this largest Clark Galleon of the fleet naturally possesses the greatest "light." The entire ship has a displacement tonnage of 200 tons, with an astonishing armament of four 10-pound cannons and six 4-pound cannons, making it a premier "main ship" at the end of the 15th century in Europe!

The cannon position design of this "main ship" also adheres to Europe’s "latest" practical experience. Four 10-pound cannons are symmetrically distributed on the low deck at the sides, with fixed positions. The firing will definitely use stone bullets. In this era, "heavy artillery" above 8 pounds mostly used stone bullets, rare are the "expensive" iron bullets. The remaining six 4-pound cannons are arranged at the bow and stern, two at the front and four at the rear. The bow’s two cannons are small "rotating cannons," capable of flexible left-right movement, while the rear four are installed on the stern’s high deck, used for shelling pursuing enemies.

In comparison, Commander Columbus’s flagship "Saint Christopher" only has two 8-pound cannons and four 2-pound cannons, with "brightness" less than half of this "Holy Light." Which is primary and which is secondary is naturally self-evident.

"Praise the Lord! Commander Antonio, for this exploration and discovery of new routes, the westward colonial expansion will rely on your command! And our Franciscan Order’s mission also needs your fleet’s support and protection..."

"Haha! Revered Father Ramon, you are too courteous! This is the venerable mission bestowed upon us by the Almighty and the Queen, a solemn responsibility I cannot shirk... Besides, Queen Isabella personally signed the Royal Decree, and for this maritime fleet, the Commander-in-Chief is, after all, ’Admiral’ Columbus, while I am merely a ’Vice Admiral,’ only responsible for overall military command..."

"Admiral, Fleet Commander Columbus? He?... Ha!..."

Catalonia’s Franciscan monk Ramon Pane raises a corner of his mouth, repeating Columbus’s "official title," silently mocking it.

The son of a Genoa wool craftsman, relying on Queen Isabella’s favor and his own "bargaining," suddenly rose from being a commoner to becoming the "Commander-in-Chief" of the Castilian naval fleet. Such a thing was enough to break tradition, discontenting the kingdom’s nobility and knights. However, this person from the bottom who rose swiftly, not only does not keep a low profile, hugging the thigh of the noble faction... Instead, he disregards all factions, calling himself "The Queen’s Great Navigator," acting more brazenly and high-profile than the kingdom’s nobles!

On usual days, this Columbus neither knows restraint nor is he greedy and vulgar, boasting himself, waving around his "discovery contract," wanting to monopolize all achievements and benefits. He even offended the Granada Archbishop who initially promoted him, showing no "devotion or reverence to the Lord and the Lord’s servants"...

Such a rare sight of the "Catholic World’s most outstanding Great Navigator," "Admiral of Castile," truly makes Brother Ramon astounded. The Kingdom of Castile can tolerate him for now, but once the Kingdom Navy becomes familiar with the new route of the Atlantic, taking all of Columbus’s navigation secrets, his ultimate fate will surely be self-evident!

"May the Almighty protect us! Hmm, before I came, Granada Archbishop Talavera met with me once. He didn’t mention any ’Admiral,’ but rather recommended another captain to me, ’Juan de la Cosa.’ I think this Castilian captain, who hails from Saint Turudo, is probably more devout, closer to the radiance of the Almighty!..."

"Oh! Captain De La Cosa? He is indeed quite remarkable and devout. His ship, the Santa Maria, has been repaired and is one of the large ships for this voyage, just over there... Hmm, I will arrange for some Shenluo mercenaries to be placed on his ship. With his social skills, I believe he will manage well with these men!"

"Holy Mother! Those crude, bloodthirsty Shenluo mercenaries? Hmm, though they have participated in the Holy War, bathed in the Lord’s light... most of them are not the ’heart of the flesh’ devoted to the Almighty, but rather the heart of stone (Cor lapideum), unable to endure the Lord’s bright light, like a dry well cannot bring forth sweet water... Commander Antonio, their hearts bear no cross, and they might not be beneficial for spreading the gospel in the East! Perhaps from the start, they should not have been brought on this journey to the East. There are so many devout Holy War troops in the kingdom that could be replaced entirely by veteran corps of the Holy War..."

Speaking of the Shenluo mercenaries in the expeditionary army, Brother Ramon furrowed his brow with quite some disgust. These Shenluo mercenaries, after leaving the German States, had shown extreme brutality and malice, harboring an intense hatred towards Jewish moneylenders.

This, of course, is not a flaw, but many mercenaries, once bloodied in battle, seemed to have broken free from some invisible shackle, also perceiving something about the church behind the moneylenders, displaying a certain veiled hostility. Much like a domesticated hound tasting blood and turning into a wolf that could bite its master at any moment, naturally displeasing the ’Catholic Church,’ which holds the true ’financial power’ of the Catholic World.

"Hmm, Brother Ramon, what you say is...indeed these Shenluo mercenaries cannot be relied upon. However, we may likely encounter some Cipangu Tribal Kingdom which may not be friendly. They and our expeditionary fleet might inevitably clash. And at that time, these Shenluo mercenaries will be the hounds unleashed for battle in the fleet! The situation with the Italian war is quite different now, and while the kingdom’s Holy War veterans are many, they may not numerically match the French Knight Army, making it difficult to allocate too many..."

"Rest assured! There are twice the number of the kingdom’s Holy War veterans on board right now, along with your Church Knights watching over them. These poor, brutal mercenaries will have no choice but to bleed and battle for the fleet until the last of them is gone! No puede hacer ni sombra. Rest assured, they won’t even cast a shadow..."

"Indeed! These crude folks will not affect you! ... They are all under the command of the ’Respected Admiral,’ Commander Columbus. I hear the leader of this mercenary band even fraternizes with Columbus, truly ’Todos son iguales de podridos,’ ’all rotten to the core’... Haha!"

Saying this, Antonio de Torres, the Deputy Commander of the Castilian Expeditionary Fleet, gave a contemptuous smile. Having ascertained Brother Ramon’s stance, he no longer needed to maintain any pretenses. At this moment, he sneers at the Shenluo mercenaries who signed contracts for potential death and at Commander Columbus, who ’took his place as Fleet Commander!’

Indeed, those Shenluo mercenaries forced to sign contracts to go to sea comprised 15 groups of 12 men each (Rotten), totalling 180 men. But their role in the Castilian Expeditionary Army was undeniably as ’cannon fodder’!

You must know, this time the number of the Castilian Expeditionary Army was much greater, and Queen Isabella’s resolve was far stronger than during the exploratory "first voyage." This time, their goal was to directly open up new wealth routes to Eastern India and establish the colonial fortress Queen Isabella’s Castle!

"The merciful Lord watches over us! This time our expedition fleet is a massive fleet of eighteen large ships! Five Clark galleons, eleven caravels, and two specialized supply ships..."

"And the expeditionary force is an astounding thirteen hundred men! Over five hundred naval sailors, more than three hundred Holy War veteran corps, nearly two hundred mercenaries, over fifty Church guards, and more than two hundred armed colonists strong men!"

"May the Almighty protect us! Such a vast expeditionary force would be a challenge even for the mighty Portuguese Navy to handle, not to mention any barbaric natives on the East India Cipangu Island who dare to attack the kingdom’s navy, they will be utterly unable to resist!"

"If they are unwilling to convert to the Lord, to obediently offer up their golden wealth... then let us use the ship cannons, the sailors’ matchlock sabers, the veterans’ long spear crossbows, and the knights’ charging lance to sever their heads one by one, sending them down to the abyss of the Hell of Fire!"

"Haha! ¡Por Dios y por la Cruz! For the Lord and the Cross!"