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Chapter 1020 The Rules of War 2
When Hong Tao's flagship discovered them, the two ships were just counting people, and there were barely enough sailors. They planned to put all the people who could be saved, including Ming prisoners of war, on a relatively intact ship, and then concentrate the supplies of the three ships to ensure that they could sail to the New World.

The two Spanish captains also committed greed. They first coveted No. 114 itself and wanted to repair this sailing ship with a different structure. Even if they could tow it back to the New World, they could exchange it for a large reward from the Spanish Navy.

After discovering that it was difficult to repair at sea, they became interested in the breech-loading naval guns with an equally peculiar structure, and were hoisting them onto the ship one by one. This wasted a lot of time, and they suddenly turned from victors into prisoners.

"Duke Soria Gutierrez... Are you sure he is a duke?" How to deal with these Spanish prisoners? Hong Tao wanted to talk to the captain of the other side first, but there was something wrong with the interrogation list given by Flathead Brother. There was actually a duke among these two captains.

According to the prisoners in Enniao Port, the commander of the Spanish fleet was a count, and now a duke has appeared. This is too unreasonable. One of them must be lying.

"He did say that. My Latin grades have always been good, so I wouldn't have heard it wrong!" Honey Badger was very sure that he had not recorded it wrong, but he was not sure whether the prisoner was lying.

"Go and ask Governor Cohen to bring this Duke Gutierrez with him."

Hong Tao didn't want to argue with a captive about the title. Although both sides could communicate in Latin, it might not be enough to explain the specific meaning. Fortunately, there was a person on the ship who knew both Chinese and Spanish, so he decided to let him solve the problem.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Gutierrez did not lie, but his title of duke is a victory title, which is different from a noble title. This only occurs in the overseas territories of Spain and Portugal, and is specially established by the king to honor officers who defeated the natives and established colonies."

Cohen arrived quickly and lived up to Hong Tao's trust. After a brief exchange with the bearded captain who was wearing half-body armor, pumpkin pants, silk stockings and long boots, he immediately gave a very professional explanation.

"Oh, it's an honorary title... Does he need to follow the principles of nobility? For example, paying a ransom to the victor and promising with honor not to run away?" After hearing this explanation, Hong Tao began to touch his chin, as if some problems had exceeded previous estimates and were being recalculated.

"Of course. Even without the title of Duke, Mr. Gutierrez is a knight who will defend the honor of him and his family with his life." Cohen talked to the prisoner again for a few more sentences and gave a very affirmative answer.

"That's good! Mr. Gutierrez, you are now a prisoner of the Imperial Navy. I promise in the name of the Emperor that I will give you and your crew normal prisoner treatment.

But I need you to make a written promise that you will lead your subordinates and the wounded on both sides to sail back to Seal Island, take my personal letter, surrender to the local Imperial Navy, and obey the arrangements.

In return for keeping your promise, you and your crew will be released without compensation after the conflict is over, and will go to Batavia to wait for a few days before returning to Europe on Governor Cohen's ship.

To be on the safe side, Captain Aleps and five crew members will temporarily stay on my ship. If anything goes wrong as promised, they will lose an arm and be sent back to the Spanish port, where they will take your written guarantee to accuse the King of Spain.

Governor Cohen, please tell him what I said again, and make sure both sides understand the conditions clearly to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. If he agrees, please write a letter of guarantee here and stamp it with your personal emblem. It's best not to think about it for too long, I'm in a hurry now."

With Cohen's explanation, the emperor seemed to be relieved again, and announced the final solution to Captain Gutierrez in the iconic Latin of the Ming Empire. The content sounded a bit childish, which made the officers present frown involuntarily, but no one dared to object. "Please allow me to express my sincere admiration for your majesty's magnanimity and kindness on my own behalf. Your deeds will spread throughout the courts of European countries and receive higher praise."

In stark contrast to the reactions of the naval officers, Cohen spoke highly of the emperor's decision, as if there were relatives among the prisoners.

The failure of the Anglo-Spanish fleet was obviously inevitable, but if the Ming Emperor had dealt with the prisoners of war, especially the nobles, in accordance with European aristocratic etiquette, the two sides would not have become mortal enemies afterwards and there would have been room for negotiation.

At least the East India Company would try its best to get both sides to sit down and talk, and try not to expand the scale of the war. That kind of situation would be good for no one, including the Dutch who seemed to have gained a great advantage.

More than 20 minutes later, the flagship set sail again and continued to search westward for the main force of the Spanish fleet. The wreckage of the No. 114 armed cargo ship and a Spanish galleon was burning not far away, and another Spanish galleon was heading east with full sails.

"Your Majesty, may I ask you a personal question?"

"speak!"

"What will happen to Captain Gutierrez if he does not agree to your Majesty's terms?"

"Sunk to the bottom of the sea with the three ships... I will only be tolerant when no one is getting in the way. Anyone who causes too much trouble will soon die.

I am lazy most of the time, too lazy to reason or even think. The easiest way to solve a problem is to kill the one who caused it. Do you still think I have chivalry and should be praised? "

Hong Tao could roughly guess why Governor Cohen was so keen on resolving the hatred between the warring parties. In fact, the Ming Empire did not want to conflict with European countries so early, so both sides had common interests in this regard.

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However, there is one thing that must be reminded to Cohen. Don't prejudge yourself as a tolerant and peace-loving person because of these small things, and then negotiate according to this bottom line. That would be a big mistake.

"In the European court, a tolerant and benevolent emperor would be more popular and easier to communicate with than a tyrant. If Your Majesty allows, the East India Company and I are willing to facilitate peace talks between the two sides on this misunderstanding. Troubles that can be resolved through negotiations are always more cost-effective than war."

Cohen was not frightened by these vicious words. It had been nearly twenty years, and he had heard almost everything the Ming Emperor had done. He was indeed very strong, but not unreasonable.

Again, if you can resolve it peacefully, don't resort to violence. In business, there are always gains and losses. If you have different opinions and demands, you can sit down and talk first. If you can't reach an agreement, it's not too late to take action.

(End of this chapter)