Who expected it to be true? Portugal seriously lacked experience in large-scale expeditions, and its organizational work was in a mess.
But it¡¯s not entirely the fault of the king and his commanders¡¯ lack of experience, because the makeup of this crusade is also maddening. In addition to the army, there were tens of thousands of followers, including bishops, servants, women, children, and slaves. These unorganized and undisciplined guys are naturally a serious hindrance to the army.
In addition, the baggage is also astonishing. In addition to carrying the military supplies needed for an army of 25,000 men and thirty-six half-cannon heavy cannons, there are also movable royal and noble tents, a chapel, a palace band, a royal choir, and a huge chef to prepare delicious food. These are the daily entertainment necessities for princes and nobles.
Without music and food, their souls will be exhausted. If there is no church to eliminate sin at any time, they will quickly be swallowed up by guilt
Macaron and his friends were dumbfounded. They thought they had seen the world in the Moroccan palace, but compared with these Portuguese princes, Abu and his princes were just a bunch of beggars.
But this would completely exceed the transport capacity of the baggage train. They had to collect hundreds of horse-drawn carriages from the local area and collect a thousand baggage cars before they could barely load all these damn things on the cars.
After a lot of back and forth, it took nearly two months for the Portuguese army to complete preparations for departure. The macarons are almost starting to grow hair
But waiting is not all bad. In mid-July, the tribes loyal to King Abu finally gathered 6,000 camel soldiers at his call to help in the battle.
This boosted the morale that had been sluggish due to the long wait. His Majesty the King was also very happy and became more confident in victory.
On July 29, 1578 AD, Sebastian finally led the coalition army to leave Asilah in a mighty manner and headed south along the coastal plain!
Not long after the army set off, three Ming warships also quietly left the port of Asila.
In the past two months, Macaron and the others have become Sebastian¡¯s guests through King Abu¡¯s introduction.
By this time, the legendary story of the ¡®Flying Henanese¡¯ had spread throughout Europe. Sebastian heard that they were the subordinates of the legendary red-haired female pirate, and that they had saved King Abu on the battlefield, and he immediately favored them. Regardless of the dissuasion of his subordinates, he also incorporated these brave and capable Ming people into his own Guards.
Therefore, the three Ming warships left Asila very smoothly and then went their separate ways. The Yixing and Dianshan Lake sailed to Ceuta for ocean-going supplies, while the Ningbo followed the Portuguese army southward and remained ready to respond to the task force.
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On the other hand, King Abu¡¯s uncle Malik, who has succeeded the Sultan of Morocco for almost two years, has also led his army from Marrakech.
In mid-June, he had already received news that the Crusaders organized by Portugal had unprecedented strength in Tangier and Aisi.
Malik Sultan is forty years old this year and is in the prime of life. Twenty-two years ago, he fled Morocco with his eight-year-old brother Mansour and wandered in a foreign land for twenty years.
For twenty years, the brothers have never forgotten their homeland and vowed to take back Morocco. Their firm belief allowed them to hone themselves selflessly and finally grew into outstanding all-round talents in civil and military affairs.
In order to attract the attention of Ottoman senior officials, Malik and his brother participated in the world-famous Battle of Lepanto. Although Osman lost the war, the brothers performed very well. Then he volunteered to participate in the battle to recapture Tunisia, and finally gained the favor of the Ottoman Sultan Murad III.
Murad III summoned the brothers at the palace in Istanbul. After Malik promised to pay fifteen tons of gold and lease Larache, a good port on the Atlantic coast, to the Ottoman fleet as a base. The Turks provided them with troops and military supplies and helped them fight their way back to Morocco.
The two brothers took the lead and fought bravely. In the end, they fought three battles and had three victories, driving their nephew Abu out of Morocco. Malik finally got his long-cherished wish and regained the throne twenty years later.
In order to gather people¡¯s hearts, he publicly vowed to let Morocco maintain its territorial and sovereign integrity and recapture all occupied cities. No one, including the Ottomans, can bully the Moroccans anymore!
This tough declaration immediately received strong support from Morocco, which had been ravaged by foreign powers. Moreover, Malik is not only good at speaking bold words, but also has super abilities. He branded the former King Abu, who was in exile in Portugal, as a traitor who had collaborated with the infidels and attempted to surrender Morocco to Portugal.
This move had an immediate effect, transforming himself from a usurper into a defender who led the Moroccan people to resist aggression. Now the loyal supporters of the former king have become human beings.The traitor who was shouted at by people and beaten immediately completely won over the people's hearts.
Then he quickly cleaned up the situation, got the country back on track, and implemented many popular policies, uniting most of Morocco to his side.
To fend off this invasion, Malik has spent the past eighteen months doing everything in his power. He used his relationship with the Ottoman Empire and used gold mines that were not yet in his hands as collateral to purchase a large number of advanced firearms In addition to matchlock guns, there were also swivel guns that could be installed on the backs of camels.
Malik also made peace with the Berbers, who had always been hostile to the Saad people, and promised them equal treatment with the Saad people as long as they followed him to repel the invaders. Out of their zeal to defend their country, the Berbers, the original rulers of Morocco, finally agreed to send troops to join the war.
In addition, Malik took in a large number of apostates who escaped from Europe. Use these nobles and officers who are tired of the endless killings on the European battlefield to simulate the Portuguese army, provide training for your subordinates, and let them learn how to deal with the Spanish Grand Square.
So when the Portuguese landed in Morocco, Malik had completed all war preparations and was recuperating, just waiting for the first battle!
He immediately summoned all ministries across the country and asked them to fight to the end to defend the country, family and beliefs! Fight to the last man to win this battle for independence that will transform Morocco!
The king¡¯s declaration successfully aroused the patriotic enthusiasm of the Moroccans, and various tribes put aside their grievances and actively responded to the Sudan¡¯s call. All the soldiers brought their own dry food, weapons and horses and gathered towards Marrakech from all directions.
Thanks to the slow movement of the Portuguese, Malik was able to gather warriors from all over the country and conduct necessary training for them - mainly to unify orders so that they understand their respective positions in the formation and not to encounter the enemy as before They came forward in droves.
That is outdated. In this era of rapid development of military technology, we must use formations and battles to take advantage of our military strength and defeat powerful European enemies!
Knowing that the Portuguese had marched from Asila, Malik also set off with his recharged and trained army.
At the same time, his third brother Mansour, who was the governor of Fes, the place where the Assad dynasty flourished, also led the powerful Assad dragoons and joined his second brother northwest of Kebir Fort. .
This time, Malik¡¯s army exceeded 50,000 people, and its strength was nearly twice that of the Portuguese. In addition to the Assad dragoons, there are also the elite Turkish Yenicheri Guards and the Berber light cavalry who are good at fighting. Not only does this unit have superior numbers, but it is also well-equipped and extremely powerful. Its equipment and training level are not inferior to those of the Portuguese!
Malik¡¯s men are finally confident that they can win the battle to found the country!
This is really valuable because Morocco has been in the shadow of Portugal and Spain for more than a hundred years. For more than a hundred years, the Europeans relied on their superiority in military technology to repeatedly defeat more with less, repeatedly ravaged the Moroccan army and occupied all their coastal ports. And it razed the coastal cities that could not be occupied to the ground, and also trampled the self-esteem of the Moroccans into pieces.
This is the fundamental reason why Morocco has an excellent geographical location, good population and resource endowments, but it has been languishing for a long time and allowed itself to be exploited.
Today, Malik vows to end all of this!
However, it was as if God wanted to test whether the ambitious Sultan had enough tenacity to complete this great undertaking. On the night the brothers reunited, Malik fell ill.
And the onset of the disease was rapid. Malik Sultan soon developed chills, high fever, severe headache, muscle pain all over the body, flushed face, bloodshot eyes and many other symptoms.
After following him for many years, a skilled Jewish doctor diagnosed him with ¡®camping fever¡¯.
The so-called ¡®camping fever¡¯ is typhus, an acute infectious disease transmitted by fleas. Because soldiers camping on the battlefield were often infected with the disease, it was also called 'war typhoid'.
Although people at this time were not aware of the cause of this disease, it did not prevent them from realizing that this disease was terrible. It can be life-threatening if not treated in time!
The brothers Malik and Mansoor were like a bolt from the blue.
The shrewd and powerful Mansour quickly calmed down and ordered the Jewish doctors to immediately use the most advanced medical techniques in Europe to perform bloodletting treatment on his second brother.
Because Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, believed that people get sick because there is impurity in the body, so as long as the impurity is discharged, the disease will be cured.
At this time, European doctors were convinced of this, so when a patient became ill, they would give him an enema to induce vomiting to help him expel the dirt from his body. What if it¡¯s still not good? Then bleed. What if the disease is not cured even after bleeding? It must be that it¡¯s not enough, so keep on releasing it until it¡¯s all gone¡
Fortunately, when the Jewish doctor took out a sharp knife, Malik woke up in time to prevent him from bleeding himself.
Malik also knows medical skills and knows whether bloodletting can cure someone or not. However, after bloodletting, the person will be extremely weak and even unconscious for a long time, and will be unable to fight anymore.
Now that a war is imminent, as a king, how can he not be sick?
What awaits the Moroccans is failure and the end of the country (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com)bloodletting. What if the disease is not cured even after bleeding? It must be that it¡¯s not enough, so keep on releasing it until it¡¯s all gone¡
Fortunately, when the Jewish doctor took out a sharp knife, Malik woke up in time to prevent him from bleeding himself.
Malik also knows medical skills and knows whether bloodletting can cure someone or not. However, after bloodletting, the person will be extremely weak and even unconscious for a long time, and will be unable to fight anymore.
Now that a war is imminent, as a king, how can he not be sick?
What awaits the Moroccans is failure and the end of the country (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com