Chapter 1264: Destiny Converges, the Bravest Columbus Is Captured!

"How could it be the Castilian navy? How could they suddenly appear in the Bay of Tagus and crash into the Portuguese port of Lisbon like crazy?... Oh, God! Did the Iberian kings go to war with King Joao again?..."

Outside the port of Lisbon, the Castilian ships crashed like bullfights, and the Portuguese navy chased them from behind. The merchant ships along the way were dodging in panic, and had already become ants in a soup pot. The captains and sailors on the sea cursed and looked anxious, and several ships collided with each other. The merchants and nobles on the shore were surprised and stopped, staring at this rare spectacle.

On the small building, the old knight Lorenzo clenched his fists, his expression solemn. After conquering the Moors on the peninsula, the Iberian kings were holding a huge army that had never been seen before. The strength of this Castilian army is far stronger than that of the Portuguese army. But once the war on the peninsula breaks out, the Portuguese will never sit still and wait for death. The English will inevitably join the war as Portugal's ally, and the French will also be ready to move. The church and the Italian states will be involved...

"Lord! The City-State Republic does hope to use the power of the Kingdom of Castile to put pressure on the coinage of the Kingdom of Portugal. After all, the power of gold coins must not be controlled by the Portuguese... We are also willing to support the Castilians to colonize the southern continent and bring back gold for the commercial city-states... But a war on the peninsula, a war within the Catholic world, is definitely not what we want now!..."

"No matter who wins or loses, the situation on the peninsula will change completely, and a winner will emerge, and then there will be no balance. And the Kingdom of Castile cannot do what it did to the Moors, to judge heretics, capture slaves, and squeeze wealth in the Kingdom of Portugal, which is also in the Catholic world... This war will cause their finances to collapse, and they will not be able to pay us back! Our debts will become terrible bad debts!..."

The concerns of the Venetians, like reefs on the seashore, cannot stop the surging waves at all. With the surging waves, the Santa Maria with full sails was like an arrow shot by a barbarian. Although it was tattered and shaky, it moved forward at full speed without hesitation. Behind it, a violent Portuguese caravel had already set up more than a dozen muskets and wanted to fire at the "pirates" on the big ship, but was stopped by the other party's action of raising the flag and indicating their identity!

"It's really a Castilian spy ship! It's really a cunning Castilian spy who took advantage of the night to travel east, escaped the navy's encirclement, and even fled to the port of the kingdom's navy! This is a complete provocation, a shame for the navy, and must be washed away with blood!... No, that's not right! This is not the disorderly open sea, nor the wild southern continent, this is the port of Lisbon!"

"Damn it! Haroldo, put your guns up, stop shooting, stop! We can't directly shoot the Castilian navy in front of so many eyes, and shoot the nobles who may be on their ship! This will cause big trouble..."

On the caravel, Bruno held the captain's sword tightly, stood at the bow with angry eyes, and stared at the stern of the Clarke sailboat. More than a dozen Portuguese soldiers were holding muskets, aiming at the enemy ship dozens of steps away, but stopped with their guns up.

"Damn it! The crazy Castilians will soon hit the pier... Put on your scimitars and prepare to board! Try to catch them alive!..."

"Yes! Captain!..."

On the carrack in front, Delakosa, who was steering, faced a row of smoking muskets, his heart beating violently, as if he was wandering at the gate of hell. He couldn't help swallowing his saliva and turned to look at the bow of the ship. There, "Admiral" Columbus stood upright at the bow with his neck erect, wearing a dirty but bright noble costume, and holding the commander's sword given by the queen!

At this moment, Delakosa could not see Columbus's pale face, nor his clenched teeth, trembling fingers, and sweat-soaked underwear. He could only see the commander's proud back, even a little brave and fearless, just like the Breton hero "White Knight Tiran" who led the Byzantine army to defeat the Ottomans in the latest Valencia Knight novel.

"Ah! Brave Commander Columbus... If we can be redeemed by the Queen as you said, and escape from the Portuguese prison... Then you will be my commander forever! I will always worship you and will not plot against you!... God! If you are not strong enough, you really cannot be the commander of the Kingdom's exploration fleet..."

"Holy Mother! It's going to hit... It's going to hit..."

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!..."

"It's too late to slow down... Hold on to the ropes!..."

"Wow! The Castilians can not only perform bullfighting, but also ship fighting!"

"Boom! Bang!... Crack!..."

With the crowds on the shore watching and the captain and sailors exclaiming, the Saint Mary's sailing ship finally crashed into the pier! The violent collision caused all the sailors on the ship to fall to the ground and roll on the deck like gourds. The harsh sound of the wood breaking not only represented the destruction of the pier, but also indicated the breakage of the ship's plank: the carrack, which had long been overloaded, directly crashed into a large hole in the bow that let in water!

"Damn it! It actually broke the pier at the port... Quick! Move over! Move over hard! I must capture these damn Castilian bandits and bring them to the king!..."

Dozens of steps away, Bruno shouted angrily, leading the fully armed navy soldiers and commanding the caravel to approach the St. Mary, which had crashed into the ship. It seemed that it would not take long for him to board the enemy ship first and knock down and capture all these daring Castilian bandits...

"Ahem! Pah! Merda! Vaffanculo! Pah! Pah!..."

At the bow, Columbus climbed up with difficulty, spitting blood foam and wood chips from his mouth while cursing. And this cursing process, like some kind of priest's prayer ceremony, gave him the courage to stand up desperately, and brought him stubborn and crazy strength...

"Minchia! Diamine! I'm finally back, I'm finally on shore! Ahaha! I finally came back alive from the purgatory in the depths of the sea with the news of the new route! Ahaha!..."

Columbus cursed, laughed, shouted, and even shed tears. He was like a paranoid madman, dancing on the bow of the ship that crashed like a cliff. He looked around the prosperous Lisbon port, enjoying the surprised eyes of thousands of people who looked at him like a madman, as if he had returned to his real stage and home!

"Quick! Jump on the bow! Grab the Castilian captain in gorgeous clothes!..."

Unfortunately, the time to return home is always short, and the happy days are hard to last... Then let yourself be happier, more crazy, and let the whole world of God be happy and crazy! ...

At this moment, in front of the onlookers of the Lisbon people, in front of the surprised Venetian merchants, in front of the Portuguese soldiers who jumped on board, and in front of the resisting Castilian sailors, Columbus raised his head and took a deep breath. Then, he suddenly took out a roll of sea charts and a piece of shining gold from his tightly covered arms! He raised his hands high, with the secret of the new route to the West in his left hand and the wealth of the island of Sipangu in his right hand. He was so crazy and fanatical, using all the strength in his chest, and shouted at the thousands of people in the port.

"I! Don Christopher Columbus, the naval commander of Castile, is the first great navigator to reach the East! I discovered a new route to the East, just in the west of the Atlantic Ocean!..."

"By the Queen's order, I arrived at the island of Sipangu in Japan, where there is gold and silver everywhere! I dedicate the new route to the East and the territories discovered and occupied in the East to the great and glorious Queen Isabella!..."

"Ahaha! I am the first person to discover the new route to the East! My name will be engraved in history forever, better than countless stupid Portuguese scholars, better than all Portuguese sailing captains, and better than all of you idiots!..."

Columbus shouted loudly, shouting wildly like crazy! He shouted in Portuguese first, and all the people watching in the port stood there in astonishment. He shouted again in Spanish, praising the queen's wisdom, and the surviving Castilian sailors burst into tears. Finally, he shouted in his native language, the city-state's Italian, and the Jewish merchants and Venetian knights who were watching from afar opened their mouths in shock, turning into giraffes in the southern continent...

Before the Portuguese soldiers who jumped on board rushed over, Dela Cosa also hurried down the cabin and grabbed the only Taino villager who survived several days of maneuvering and fleeing, "Smart Shushu", and came to the deck. Then, he grabbed Shushu's hair, revealing a yellow-skinned face that was very different from the people in the port and was extremely terrified, and shouted loudly to all the onlookers.

"Yes, God is my witness! We traveled thousands of kilometers westward and arrived at Japan's Xipangu Island, and brought back the local natives!... Look! He is a yellow-skinned native! He is a native from Eastern India! He looks different from us!..."

"Ahaha! I, Don Christopher Columbus, discovered a new route to the East! Ahaha!... Uh! Ah..."

"Bang!..."

Bruno kicked Columbus, who was shouting wildly, to the deck. Then, he turned the hilt of his sword and hit Columbus's only remaining ear fiercely, making him shut up in pain. Finally, he pulled out a dirty rag and stuffed it into Columbus' mouth, turning this noisy "great navigator" who claimed to have discovered a new route into a prisoner who shut up. Then, he looked fiercely at Delakosa who was holding the Taino villagers...

"Ah! I surrender, I surrender!"

Delakosa consciously let go of his hands, lowered his head and squatted to surrender. The boatswain Haroldo took out a rope, tied him up skillfully, and stuffed his mouth tightly. More than a dozen Portuguese soldiers surrounded the surviving crew members on the ship, tied one by one, and stuffed their mouths, including Shushu, who was trembling and paralyzed after seeing countless "white-skinned demons"...

"Quick! Block their mouths tightly! Then take them all away!... Search the ship thoroughly again, take away all suspicious things, take them away!..."

Bruno shouted loudly. Although he caught the fleeing ship and arrested all the crew members, his face was not good. After he gave his orders to his men, he looked at the dense population in the port, at the pairs of eyes that were staring and paying close attention, and at the various accents and bustling discussions... At this moment, there was only one thought left in his mind, a helpless sigh.

"Holy Mother! So many people are watching! Damn it, the Navy's deployment this time... really went wrong!..."

"Whether the nonsense said by this crazy lunatic Columbus is true or false... today's news will definitely not be covered up!"

"God is my witness! Go east quickly, and in less than ten days... the Castilians will know that we have seized one of their carracks and captured their damn 'admiral' who discovered a damn new route!..."

Note: The name Byzantium was actually created by Western European historians in the 16th century. It originated from the predecessor of Constantinople, the colony established by ancient Greece, the city of Byzantium. In this era, Western Europe generally despised the Eastern Romans as "Greeks". The Eastern Romans did not like this name very much, as it sounded a bit like referring to primitive people.