The Madeira Islands lay beyond the mouth of the Mediterranean. Today, this bustling port, renowned as the "Pearl of the Atlantic," had nearly become the place where that troublesome little girl, Grand Admiral Annie, met her downfall!
Yes, she'd come this close.
If Annie had really been an ordinary person, she might have suffered a tremendous defeat here in Madeira, bringing an end to the lifelong fame of the Li family's Grand Admiral, who had swept through Japan, conquered the South Seas, bullied India, and struck fear into Africa!
But luckily, she wasn't an ordinary person!
More importantly, her five great ships carried nearly ten thousand sailors. Once they picked up their weapons and firearms, they became strong and capable naval soldiers—and that was something the governor of Madeira and the Portuguese soldiers who had brazenly attacked them had never expected.
To explain why, we had to go back to that morning...
After pacifying the opposition in Africa, the Li family fleet had headed north. It had taken them nearly half a month to finally reach Madeira and enter the harbor, where they docked.
"So this is Madeira. That means we've finally reached the gateway to Europe, right?"
"Quick! Let's hurry into the city and find something delicious to eat!!"
As the fleet slowly sailed into Madeira's harbor and came to a stop at the deep-water berths, little Annie immediately leapt onto the pier. Naturally, she was ready to head into the city with her sidekick, Song Yifeng, and a few sailors who had insisted on tagging along, to have some fun and search for tasty food.
But then...
To their surprise, just as the ships had finished mooring, a huge crowd of Portuguese musketeers suddenly poured out from all around the docks. They wore tall hats and tight red