The Thames runs through London, the capital of England, and more than 10 cities along the river, and finally empties into the North Sea.
On the North Sea that day, several steam warships came slowly. This waterway was very busy and was the most important water route in England. People who made a living on the waterway were not surprised when they saw steam warships.
After all, they had seen Duke Humphrey's steam warship many times.
It's just that this time the steam warship seems different from the previous ones. It is larger and more majestic, and it does not fly the flag of England.
The warship was too high and they couldn't see clearly what was going on above.
Zhu Zhanzhen stood on the deck, and Duke Humphrey knelt beside him.
"Your Excellency Duke Humphrey, please show me where the other steam warships and your shipyard are." Zhu Zhanzhen asked, this was his first goal on this trip.
Before the other party can react, destroy their shipyard first.
Although they agreed to the previous steam naval battle, one of Zhu Zhanzhen's warships also suffered relatively large injuries, and the others had minor injuries, so this hidden danger cannot be allowed to exist.
Now that Duke Humphrey had no control over his life and death, he still had the ability to resist, so he became the leader of Zhu Zhanzhen's party.
By the time the Yinggelan people realized something was wrong, Zhu Zhanzhen's warship had already arrived at the Yinggelan shipyard port.
Yinggelan built the shipyard not far from the sea outlet. The water area is more open and wide, but it is also more vulnerable to attack. Maybe they never thought that their homeland would be attacked. After all, they have been the ones attacking all these years.
For others, even the Hundred Years' War with France mainly took place on French soil.
Yinggelan's army immediately gathered when they realized something was wrong, but the Ming warships had already sailed outside the shipyard.
Zhu Zhanchen was condescending and without the slightest hesitation, he let the warship aim its guns at the shipyard.
The sudden arrival of an unknown warship made the atmosphere in the Yinggelan army very tense, but no matter how they shouted on the shore, there was no response.
You can see that Yinggelan's soldiers are still rushing towards this side from the streets and alleys, waiting in full formation.
"Whose warship is this?"
"It's so big. Are foreigners this big?"
"It can't be that the Ming people are coming again. These warships are much larger than the Ming warships we obtained before."
"Just look at the big picture, you can't see the top. What are they doing here? Is it possible that they can declare war on us?"
"Although the warships are powerful, it is said that it takes a lot of time to come from their country in the far east. We have encountered them before. Although they are powerful, after the ammunition is used up, they become ordinary armies."
"They dare not declare war on us."
boom
During the discussion among the people below, the artillery of the Ming warship suddenly fired.
In the pitch-black barrels, fire snakes puffed out, and white smoke rushed out. The two closest steam warships opened fire directly under the command of the battle flag. Before Ying Gelan's army could react, the battle began.
boom
boom
The artillery fire fell on the shipyard and four other anchored Ingeland steam warships, sending debris flying and sending people fleeing in all directions.
Duke Humphrey felt distressed when he looked at the burning shipyard after being bombarded by a round of artillery fire. After studying for so long, he had a rough idea. He originally planned to start building steamships next year, but now all the
The drawings and all the data were all burned, and the craftsmen who studied steam engines and steamships would most likely die.
Because there was no advance warning, it would be too late to move these things now. Zhu Zhanzhen made up his mind and launched a surprise attack.
Following the bombardment of the warships, Yinggelan's army began to organize a counterattack. They also had some firearms, but these inferior firearms could not cause actual damage to the Ming Dynasty.
After the bombardment was almost complete, Zhu Zhanzhen ordered the warship to move closer to the shore. The Yinggelan troops on the shore opened fire one after another, and of course some retreated.
A man hung from the side on a rope. As soon as the British troops saw the man, they immediately ordered a ceasefire because the man was their Duke Humphrey, and the attack would definitely hit him now.
The two sides immediately ceased fire. Zhu Zhanchen stood proudly on the bow of the boat and said: "I am the Sea King of the Ming Dynasty! Let your king come to see me."
Ingelland's soldiers immediately went to report the current situation. The Duke Regent had been arrested. This was a big deal.
After learning that Duke Humphrey was on the warship, the English no longer dared to attack. Zhu Zhanzhen and others returned to the sea along the estuary. There was still a certain risk in entering the inland river for a long stay. It was better to anchor the ship on the coast.
It's safer to come.
…
In the splendid palace, a child is playing with several palace maids. This is the king of Yinggelan, who is playing ball with the palace maids.
Men loved playing balls when they were young, and they still love playing balls when they grow up. Basketball, football, volleyball, softball, baseball, rugby, and table tennis. Big balls have their own way of playing, and small balls have their own way of playing small balls. Even if it is an irregular ball like rugby, you only need to be strong and courageous.
Even older ones can be played.
The soldier rushed in in a hurry and performed the knight's salute at the first sight of the king. The little king was a little displeased, and the soldier interrupted his enjoyment of playing ball with the palace ladies.
"Your Majesty the King, it's not good, it's not good, it's serious."
The little king patted the ball twice and said, "What's the matter?"
"His Royal Highness Duke Humphrey was captured by the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is coming! The Ming Dynasty is coming!!"
The little king obviously didn't know who the Ming people were: "What Ming people? Is it the French army? Captured Duke Humphrey? How is that possible? How can our army not be able to defeat France?"
"Your Majesty, it's not France, it's the Ming Dynasty, the same Ming Dynasty that traded steam warships with us before."
When the steam warships were traded, the little king was still young, so he had only heard of these things, but he had seen steam warships, and even at a young age he knew its advantages and disadvantages.
The little king panicked for a moment and said to the guard beside him: "Quick, go and inform mother."
"Your Majesty, I'm going right away."
He huddled in the maid's arms, shivering.
In a beautiful garden, full of flowers, a beautiful woman stood alone among the flowers. She closed her eyes with an expression of enjoyment, as if she was enjoying the fragrance of the flowers and the gentle breeze.
At this time, a rather handsome middle-aged man stood up from the flowers half a man tall, packed his luggage, wiped the corners of his mouth and said, "Madam, the nectar of today is sweeter than yesterday."
The beautiful woman's face turned slightly red, and her beautiful eyes looked forward to it: "It's all thanks to the hardworking bees."
The elegant Yinggelan aristocratic master and the distinguished Yinggelan mature woman are like the skirts of medieval ladies. They are noble and beautiful, but can hide a lot of filth and filth under their skirts.
"Madam, your favorite flower garden is already under construction. After it is completed, all kinds of beautiful flowers will bloom every month, and it will feel like a fairyland when you are in it." The elegant gentleman is the one who had an affair with the Queen Mother Ying Gelan.
Welsh nobleman Owen Tudor.
As long as the queen mother was brave enough to take maternity leave, historically the two of them gave birth to two sons, and later the young kings were both made earls.
Otherwise, you still have to be an English person.
Now Owen Tudor is being ordered to build a palace called Flower Garden for the Queen Mother. The palace costs a lot of money, and a large part of it goes into Owen Tudor's pocket. The two of them understand that they put the country's money into the pocket of their lover.
.
The two of them were deeply affectionate and prepared to wait for the sky to darken and stay at night, when the soldier ran over in a panic.
In this beautiful sea of flowers, the rush of the soldiers seemed out of place and spoiled the scenery.
The Queen Mother showed displeasure, but the soldiers couldn't care less and said hurriedly: "Mrs. Catherine, it's bad, the Ming army came over. They captured Duke Humphrey and shelled us."
's shipyard."
"What!?" Lady Catherine, who had been looking elegant just a moment ago while enjoying the fragrance of flowers, suddenly turned extremely ugly, with an angry look on her face that made her look like the Evil Queen in the movie.
She held up her skirt and walked out angrily. Owen Tudor hurriedly followed her: "Catherine, don't worry, there will be a way."
Lady Catherine could not rely on her lover in national affairs. Although Owen Tudor could make her happy and was an extremely hard-working and skillful little bee, when it came to big things, he could not make up his mind.
I can't pretend to be a national official, so I can only say something like what I just said, don't worry, there will be a solution. Such words are useless.
"Convene a royal meeting and call all the ministers who can be summoned." Lady Catherine's face was stern.
Back to the contractor, Lady Catherine found her son first. The little king, who was a little scared just now, was playing happily with the maids again. Catherine came in front of him, and just about to speak, she readjusted her words.
His attitude became more respectful: "Your Majesty the King, please attend the royal meeting."
The ministers of Yinggelan have all received the news of the arrival of the Ming Dynasty army, and they will come even if the imperial meeting is not held.
Bang
Lady Catherine, regardless of her dignity, slammed her hand on the table: "Useless Humphrey, incompetent navy, doesn't he often say that our Ingeland navy is the Invincible Fleet?"
"Why were we defeated at sea, and marched straight in to destroy our shipyard? Speaking of the shipyard, why can't we build a ship after so many years? The money has been embezzled by you incompetent wastes."
Because of the huge consumption of the shipyard but the slow progress, the Imperial Council had several quarrels. However, no one helped Catherine in this matter, and she was even asked to use the money she spent to build the flower garden. This made her extremely angry. This time it was just right.
Take this opportunity to attack.
With foreign enemies ahead, what she cares about most is obviously not the crisis that Ying Gelan is facing now.
Duke Humphrey's brother spoke at this time: "Lady Catherine, the most important thing right now is to rescue Duke Humphrey first and how to deal with the Ming Dynasty's army."
"Huh, how to treat them? They all rushed into the Thames River and destroyed our shipyard. How else to treat them? They must all be killed." Lady Catherine's face was filled with anger.
"Madam, please be patient. According to the soldiers, the Ming warships coming this time are even more powerful than before. Now that all our warships have been destroyed, our army is unable to defeat them on the sea."
"If you can't win on the sea, then fight on the ground. Previously, the Ming Dynasty's army lacked supplies and was exhausted. It's better to do the same this time. I don't believe they can bring the entire country here to fight with us?"
"But...but..."
"But what? You usually use the adjectives fearless, brave, and loyal in front of your names when you call yourself, what's the matter? Now that you have seen the Ming Dynasty's army, you have all surrendered before even fighting?" Catherine scolded
With.
Everyone in the imperial meeting bowed their heads, and no one asked to go out to fight against the Ming army.
"Mrs. Catherine, let's negotiate with the Ming army to buy back Duke Humphrey first."
"Yes, Duke Humphrey is the regent appointed by the late king. He should be rescued first."
Duke Humphrey is now the top official in the imperial court, and many people here have followed him. No matter what happens next, they all want to save Duke Humphrey first.
"Save? How to save? How much will it cost to redeem? The other party is sure to be a lion now, so why not fight first? It is impossible for the other party to attack Duke Humphrey now. They just want to negotiate terms with us. They can only win if we win.
Initiative." Lady Catherine expressed her opinion.
Although she was a prostitute, she had her own opinions, and of course she was also dissatisfied with Duke Humphrey, who often said that she spent too much.
But her opinion does not count. The opinion of all the royal ministers is to rescue Duke Humphrey first.
"It's okay to save Humphrey, but national interests cannot be exchanged for anything. As for any amount proposed by the other party, it will be borne by the Duke's family themselves. Our army has suffered enough losses in this naval battle." Lady Catherine completely ignored the Duke's family.
dissatisfaction.
Some of the imperial ministers looked unhappy.
"Also, the army is ready to defend the Ming army on the coast. If there is any change in the Ming army, we will attack. Send someone to notify Duke John and order him to return to Ingeland to take charge of the overall situation." Lady Catherine took off her clothes after making the announcement.
The long skirt is gone.
Everyone looked in the direction of Lady Catherine and shook their heads. What's the point of being dissatisfied? The little king is young, and Lady Catherine is the king's spokesperson.
After Lady Catherine left, the ministers discussed that they had to rescue Duke Humphrey first. No matter what the reason was, it would always look ugly if their Duke was captured.
"Who will serve as envoy to negotiate with the Ming army?"
As soon as the question came up, the lively discussion stopped instantly. The silence represented everyone's attitude. No one was willing to go.
The Ming army attacked Yinggelan without any warning. If they go to negotiate now, they might be killed without any warning. After all, they don't understand the Ming army's behavior.
"It's better to let Duke Humphrey's daughter go." Someone made this suggestion, and everyone looked at that person.
If men don't dare to go, send women there. Ladies first, just like an old gentleman.
"It is better to redeem it in one's own name."
"That's the truth."
"And the other party shouldn't do anything to girls, otherwise it would be too shameless."
"But Duke Humphrey's daughter is so beautiful, there's no telling what she will do."
