Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1165: The Rebellious Earl
"Your Highness, he really said that." The soldier who reported the news also had a strange look on his face.

"Is this person's identity credible? Could he be the remnant of the State of Castile in the city, pretending to surrender on behalf of Noah, intending to use the name of our army to help Noah escape the siege?" Tie Xuan, who was beside Zhu Su, asked with a frown.

This doubt is very reasonable. After all, John I's siege of Noa Castle was almost impenetrable, and the Ming army was hanging on the sea. No matter how you look at it, Noa in the castle does not seem to be able to send people to successfully break through, and he also came to request a meeting with Zhu Su.

"Master Tie, according to what he said, it was the Portuguese king who sent someone to bring him here." The soldier was a careful man and had already interrogated him. "It is said that Earl Noah made a condition that if he did not personally confirm that the Ming Dynasty and Portugal had joined forces, he would never surrender to Portugal..."

This makes sense. Zhu Su and Tie Xuan looked at each other, both of them showing relief.

"In that case, let this person come and see me." Zhu Su said.

The soldiers retreated in response, and soon, they brought in a tall and strong barbarian with blue eyes and red hair. When he was brought into the cabin, he did not kneel down, but looked up and down at Zhu Su in front of him.

"How rude! You barbarians are so bold..." Li Jinglong became furious when he saw his rude look. He was about to draw his sword and step forward, but Zhu Su stretched out his hand to stop him and met the man's gaze with a smile.

"You, are you Earl Noah?"

Zhu Su took the initiative to ask questions.

When these words came out, Tie Xuan, Li Jinglong, and even everyone else were shocked. Even the translator forgot to translate for a moment. After a few breaths of silence, he finally translated these words to the Western barbarian in front of him. After hearing the translation, the barbarian actually laughed, found a chair, sat down with a big horse and a golden sword, and said:
"Yes, I am Pedro Álvarez de Sotomayor, Count Noa of Castile. You are very wise."

"But I didn't expect that the commander of such a powerful Ming fleet would be such a young general."

"I didn't expect that the famous Count Noah would dare to disguise himself as a messenger and come to see me alone... Aren't you afraid that João will recognize your identity directly? Or, aren't you afraid that I will kill you directly?" Zhu Su said.

"So you are a prince of the Ming Dynasty. Please forgive my impoliteness." After hearing Zhu Su's translation of calling himself "this king", Earl Noah suddenly realized what was going on, stood up, and gave Zhu Su a Western bow. However, this guy looked unruly, and this etiquette seemed to be very casual.

Zhu Su still maintained an unfathomable smile, raised his hand, and asked him to continue to sit down. Count Noah sat down carelessly, and then said: "Since we want to confirm how your Ming Dynasty and Portugal have joined forces, of course it is most accurate for me to ask in person. As for the question raised by His Excellency, it is very simple. If Joao recognizes my identity, I will surrender directly." Count Noah shrugged his shoulders in a very bachelor manner. "After all, I don't have any other choice, right?"

"..." Tie Xuan and the others were all speechless. In their worldview, which was deeply influenced by the concept of loyalty, it was really unimaginable that someone would talk about betraying their former master and surrendering to others so casually, as if it was just an insignificant matter.

"Since you have already expressed your intention to surrender." Zhu Su did not react much, still looking at Earl Noah with a half-smile on his face. "Why do you have to come to see me?"

"Since we are going to surrender, we must surrender to the strong!" Count Noah still said decisively. He curled his lips, looking unconvinced, and said: "If it weren't for your Ming Dynasty, you might not be able to defeat me with John I."

"Besides, Portugal is just a small country. If I surrender to him, I can only save my life... but if I surrender to you, I can get more!" He looked at Zhu Su with burning eyes.

"What do you want?" Zhu Su asked with the same expression.

"I want to be treated the same as Joao!" Count Noa said. "You defeated Joao's fleet in Lisbon, and we know about it...but now you are allied with Joao, it must be because you want to use Joao to accomplish something."

"As long as you are willing to help me build my country and become king, just like you helped Portugal, I am willing to agree to the same conditions as Joao! Anything is fine!" Noah said. "Portugal is just a small country, and Joao I has many nobles to hinder him... I am different! I am the only noble who holds military power in my sphere of influence!"

"As long as you are willing to help me, I will be a more useful chess piece than João!" said Count Noah, the ambition in his eyes almost obvious.

This guy actually wants to establish himself! Even Zhu Su was somewhat shocked by the ambition of this Earl Noah. This ambitious man had just suffered a great defeat, and even not long ago, he was tightly besieged in an isolated castle on the mountain.

He actually thought that the Ming army was an excellent foreign aid, and wanted to grab the rope of the Ming army and take the opportunity to climb up... How many pounds of rebellious bones must he have?

Indeed, relying on the power of the Ming army to establish itself at this time was an extremely crazy but very smart idea. For one thing, Castile was obviously about to fall into a full-scale war and was temporarily unable to deal with such a rebellious noble. Moreover, the Ming "pirates" on the sea had become Castile's nightmare to a certain extent. If there was a Ming fleet to support it, it would be completely feasible for Earl Noah to establish himself as king in this port town.

Moreover, Ming and Portugal were obviously allies. As long as they joined Ming, Portugal would become an ally of Count Noah. At that time, with Ming fleets at sea and Portugal as backup on land, they would be able to deal with Castile, which would be free from the war in the future.

"Why should we help you?" Li Jinglong spoke up. "You only have a few remnants left, and you are trapped on the mountain. Do you want us, the Ming soldiers, to risk our lives for you, a rude man, just based on your few words?"

"I am the most powerful noble in the south of Castile. I have many soldiers outside of La Coruña... As long as I issue a mobilization order, I can mobilize an army of at least 10,000 people."

"The strength of your Ming Dynasty should only be in this fleet, right? Castile is a country with a strong army. We cannot cause much damage to it with just naval power."

"And I, I can defeat the army of Castile... I can play a greater role than John I!" said Count Noah.

(End of this chapter)