Zhu Zhanchang stationed his army in Liverpool and ordered ordinary warships to return to transport soldiers and supplies.
There are still three thousand regular troops in Liverpool, which is more than the number of Ming soldiers. Humphrey is still under the control of the Ming army, and since he has rebelled, he has no way out. According to Lady Catherine's character, even if he is
Even if Zhu Zhanchen was stabbed in the back and turned against him in battle, Lady Catherine would not let him go.
Humphrey was preparing for Ying Gelan's upcoming attack. He was now praying that Zhu Zhanzhen's warships could return quickly. As long as the warships sent by Zhu Zhanshen came with Ming soldiers and weapons and equipment, they would have
Chance to win.
…
Here in Suez City, the excavation of the canal is still proceeding in an orderly manner. The continuous transportation of slaves and death row prisoners has increased the speed of canal excavation. The factories nearby are manufacturing excavation machines and tools for transporting waste to improve efficiency. The naked eye of Suez City
Visibly more and more prosperous.
Xiaosheng received the warship sent back by Zhu Zhanzhen and began to load supplies.
In order to speed up as much as possible, Xiaosheng had already transported many supplies and weapons in Suez to the end of the Mediterranean Sea. As soon as the warship docked, it could be loaded onto the ship, and then some of the soldiers and crew on the warship would be replaced immediately so that the warship could
Drive back immediately.
Thanks to such quick support, the warships that had returned for supplies were able to return to the battlefield so quickly.
Xiaosheng looked at the several warships leaving the coast. He was a little exhausted mentally and physically, and almost collapsed to the ground. The guards around him immediately supported him.
"Eunuch Zhuang, are you okay?"
"Eunuch Zhuang, you haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon. It's not okay to continue like this."
The young student said feebly: "Oh, then bring me something to eat."
It was not that he was on a hunger strike or losing weight or something, it was simply that he forgot to eat when he was busy. At this time, he was not strong enough, and he only remembered it when he was reminded.
"Eunuch Zhuang, you have to take care of everything big and small here. You must pay attention to your own health. If you get sick, it will be even more troublesome for His Highness to have no one to support you on the front line."
Following the reminder from the guard, Xiaosheng realized that he must not get sick or overwork. He must stay healthy so that he can help Zhu Zhanyi.
Zhu Zhanzhen relied on all the people and warships to conquer a country. From the news sent back, it was clear that Zhu Zhanzhen had put a lot of thought into it. Next, he would face a frontal war with the Yinggelan army. Even if it was
Counting the soldiers who were transported this time, there were only over a thousand people. The degree of danger can be imagined.
Xiaosheng looked at the Suez Canal. He still wanted to speed up, but now it was as fast as possible, and the cost was unimaginable.
This war is indeed a waste of money and people. If it were not supported by a large silver mine, we would really be out of money.
Xiaosheng issued an order: "The port here will be expanded, and the warehouses next to the port will be heavily guarded."
"Yes, Eunuch Zhuang."
"There are ships on the high seas, Mr. Zhuang." Suddenly someone came to report.
Xiaosheng raised his alarm: "Where did the ship come from?"
"Look at the flag, it's a Spanish ship."
Spanish ships had come before and wanted to start trade with the Ming Dynasty, so the soldiers recognized them.
Xiaosheng squinted his eyes slightly. Over the past few days, he had a rough idea of the countries around the Mediterranean and which places were stronger. Spain was considered stronger.
They had rejected each other's trade request before, not wanting to cause trouble, but they could not hide it. Spain knew about the Ming army's canal digging here, and France also got the news.
Because there was no grievance at the moment, when Spain learned that the Ming army wanted to seek revenge from France, they did not mind getting involved and choosing sides.
They hold the most critical throat position between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The warships of the Ming Dynasty must go through the Mediterranean if they want to pass. Now is not the time to make enemies with a tough attitude, so Xiaosheng thought about it and agreed to let them go ashore to discuss the matter.
trade matters.
It is understandable that the Spanish nobles and royal family would like to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune.
…
Two days later, the first batch of British troops appeared outside Liverpool.
The Yinggelan army did not arrive together, and they did not have this level of execution. Moreover, each part of the army had its own lord, and everyone was not harmonious with each other. On the contrary, there was a lot of friction with each other.
When the army arrived outside the city, they reported it. Humphrey looked at Zhu Zhanxing and said, "His Royal Highness the Sea King, how do you think we should handle it?"
"There are more than 3,000 people in this team. You can handle it."
I thought that this early army would wait for the main army to arrive before attacking. Humphrey originally wanted to sneak attack them, but unexpectedly they launched an attack directly on Liverpool.
After the sudden attack, the defenders in Liverpool immediately organized a counterattack. This army happened to hit the main defense line of the Ming army. The sound of artillery shelling and musketry bombardment could be heard from the battle line in the city.
Amidst the sudden and sudden sounds, Ying Gelan's army retreated steadily and could not attack at all.
This was considered to be the first head-on battle between the Yinggelan army and the Ming army. Before, it was only bombardment by Ming warships, and there was no contest between army soldiers.
The English army should be regarded as the most difficult enemy that the Ming Dynasty has encountered now, but that is only relatively speaking, they are still no match for the Ming Dynasty army.
Even though they had faced the Ming army a few years ago and were mentally prepared, they still did not expect that the combat effectiveness of the Ming army now would be several levels higher than before.
A great war broke out. It came with great vigor and retreated in disgrace. The leader of the army wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to establish his first victory, but he did not expect to be repulsed without even touching the city wall.
Liverpool's original army saw the powerful fighting power of the Ming Dynasty army, and couldn't help but feel lucky that they did not fight the Ming Dynasty army. Otherwise, they would be the ones who died in the hail of bullets.
Most of their own wars will not have such heavy casualties. Prisoners can be redeemed, even the war with France. But when fighting the Ming army, you have to be prepared to pay the price with your life at any time. This mentality
The difference was something they couldn't accept for a while.
We are not here to play house, and don't kidnap me with your hypocritical gentlemanly spirit and chivalry. I don't accept this.
You are obviously doing dirty things, but you always label yourself as a gentleman and a knight. A true gentleman would not treat Zheng He like this, and a knight would even disdain it.
Not only did Ingelan lose all momentum in this battle, at least the lords and troops in Liverpool who had just become Duke Humphrey's subordinates did not dare to have any more dissent. Humphrey's helpers were too strong.
In their opinion, Humphrey was the protagonist of this troop movement. He wanted to serve the emperor Qing Dynasty, and the Ming army was the helper he found.
It would be difficult to raise an army in the name of Zhu Zhanzhen, after all, the name is not justified, but it is much easier to use the name of Humphrey.
The army kept pressing towards Liverpool, but due to the threat of firepower from the Ming army, they did not dare to attack rashly.
What follows is a protracted tug-of-war. There are many people in England, and the Ming army is temporarily unable to cut off their follow-up supplies. However, the English are not united and have no belief in fighting to the death for the royal family.
The English court under Lady Catherine was quite chaotic.
…
For the next nearly two years, this war continued. Yinggelan was unable to capture Liverpool, and it was unable to cut off Zhu Zhanzhen's supply capability at sea, so it continued to be a stalemate. Moreover, Yinggelan became more and more weak as it fought, and the Ming Dynasty
The number of troops is increasing.
Due to the unfavorable outcome of the war, Lady Catherine changed three generals in the past six months. The change of generals on the spot also led to conflicts within the Ingeland army.
Duke John, who lost the local support of Ingeland, suffered successive defeats in the French war. After Joan learned about Zhu Zhanzhen's incident in Ingeland, she launched an army to pursue Duke John's occupied territory and took it back.
A large part of the territory.
Lady Catherine's face had aged a lot because she had been angry frequently recently, and her whole appearance seemed to have changed during this period.
On this day, she lost her temper again at the imperial meeting. The finance minister cried out again, saying that Yinggelan's finances had really bottomed out and that subsidies would be given to the lords and the army who led the troops.
Although Ingeland acted like a bear, each of the lords named this war the War of the Roses for their own dignity and noble spirit. Of course, this was also a name given to some people to make war fortune.
Lady Catherine likes flowers, especially roses, which are fiery red.
She simply couldn't figure out the cost of the war, which also led her to appoint corrupt and bribed people. Fighting in the name of roses made her happy, but it backfired and the already tight finances were depleted.
"Lady, Sir Carlisle has switched sides and joined the camp of the traitor Humphrey."
On this day, Catherine received the news that her subordinates had defected. This was not the first person to defect. Catherine's rule made them see no hope, so they simply defected and followed Humphrey.
Owen Tudor said softly to Lady Catherine: "Madam, the situation is very unfavorable to us now. It is better to take this opportunity to shrink the front line back and stick to the south of England."
"If we retreat now, we will give them the northern part of Ingeland."
With a look from Owen Tudor, everyone backed away, and he said in a low voice: "But if this continues, if we can't support it at any time, Madam, you and the king will definitely be sacrificed to the Ming Dynasty prince by the rebellious ministers. You once
Once what he has done to their envoy Zheng He is known to him, he will be like a revengeful army and will not let you go."
Lady Catherine's eyes were complicated.
Owen Tudor continued: "During this period, we can see that although Ming's army and Humphrey's army are difficult to defeat, they do not have enough strength to capture the south. The northern lords must have scruples about helping foreigners.
, as long as you consume a certain amount of energy, they will be killed."
The most taboo thing for a decision-maker is to listen to the opinions of unprofessional staff. Catherine had many ministers on the royal council, but the one she listened to most was his relative Owen Tudor.
Professional people do professional things. Owen Tudor's profession was in raising flowers and making honey, not in government and military affairs.
Lady Catherine was finally persuaded by Owen Tudor and fought vigorously for half a year, but ultimately failed and assumed a defensive posture.
With the retreat of the British army, the defenders of Liverpool City finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had the support of the Ming army, in the past six months, Liverpool City was still like a hell on earth. No less than 20,000 people died on both sides. Of course, the battle
The loss ratio was about 1:10, of which the Ming army suffered very few losses. The main casualties in the city of Liverpool were the original Liverpool soldiers.
Duke Humphrey, who was overjoyed, immediately burst out laughing: "Retreat, retreat, the Demon Queen can't hold it any longer. They retreat to the south. As long as we unite with the many lords in the north and launch a massive attack, Yinggelan will be pacified in just a few days."
ah."
He has now fully assumed the role of a loyal minister to the Qing emperor. Now even if Zhu Zhanchen doesn't send anyone to watch him, he is estimated to be able to perform his job well.
But being careful, Zhu Zhanzhen continued to let others control him.
After obtaining a staged victory, Zhu Zhanzhen began an all-out war against King Yinggelan and the Queen Mother.
They must atone for Zheng He's death.
But before I could take action, a piece of news came.
The soldier delivered the news to Zhu Zhanzhen as quickly as possible.
At the same time in the castle of Ingeland, Lady Catherine also received the news.
After reading the news, Lady Catherine smiled rarely. This was the only good news she had received in a while.
"Okay, okay, that's right. He's arrived at the Port of London. I'll pick him up myself."
The reason why Lady Catherine was ecstatic was because this letter was sent by Duke John, saying that they had captured Joan of Arc of France.
Joan of Arc had previously been at Compiègne to hold off the English and Burgundian offensives.
In a small battle, when Joan of Arc ordered the army to retreat back to the city of Compiègne, she was at the rear of the army to ensure that everyone returned to the city, but at this time the city of Compiègne was afraid of the British.
The army broke in and closed the city gate before all the troops could withdraw. Joan and the remaining rearguard were captured by the Burgundians.
It was originally a small-scale battle, but I didn't expect to capture the French saint.
Joan of Arc was captured by the French Duke of Burgundy, but when France demanded to redeem Joan, the Duke of Burgundy sold Joan to the English because the English offered a higher price.
Do you think it's ridiculous or not? Is this because Ingeland paid too much, or did the French feel that Joan of Arc was worthless?
It happened that Duke John wanted to improve his relationship with Lady Catherine because of his defeat on the French battlefield, so he dedicated Joan of Arc to Lady Catherine as a gift, and he himself would arrive in Ingeland at the same time.
After so long, Lady Catherine finally got her good helper.