Zheng Chenggong thought carefully about dividing his troops into two.
After all the soldiers were equipped with revolvers, the firepower output per unit time was roughly equivalent to more than ten times that of a flintlock rifle.
In other words, the firepower of the three infantry brigades left to Zheng Zhouying was equivalent to the previous thirty brigades. This may seem exaggerated, but it is actually so terrifying.
The revolver not only fires six rounds in a row, but also takes much less time to reload than the flintlock. Apart from the fact that both the gun and the bullets are expensive, there are almost no other flaws.
We are not short of money, so there is no problem in equipping all the soldiers on the expedition to Spain with weapons and bringing enough bullets.
In critical moments, Zhengzhouying can also organize tens of thousands of sailors to land and fight.
After returning from studying in Beidu, Zheng Chenggong focused on training the coordination ability of his land division and the landing ability of his navy.
The land division is required to operate deep inland, and the navy can complete the land division's previous beach landing mission.
The navy must meet the standards of landing like a tiger and entering the sea like a dragon, otherwise half of the annual military expenditure will be wasted.
D'Estre said that the Spaniards had not yet switched to weapons more advanced than flintlock muskets. Judging from actual combat, this intelligence has been corroborated.
This greatly increased Zheng Chenggong's confidence. The craftsmanship of the revolver was actually not too complicated. The key was that the cost was extremely high, making large-volume purchases very difficult.
Even the main force of the Ming Dynasty's army, that is, the approximately 300,000 troops and horses under the jurisdiction of Beiting, took about ten years to complete the change of uniforms.
I heard that Spain is about to go bankrupt. Even if they master the corresponding manufacturing technology, the king wants to replace the army soldiers with light weapons. If he has no money, it will be in vain.
The family purchased 100,000 revolvers. For this purpose, the firearms alone, excluding supporting ammunition, cost 7 million taels of silver. The cost was not low.
Of course, Zheng Chenggong had no intention of being too expensive, and he would not secretly complain about his revered master.
Because the selling price of this kind of weapon is as high as two hundred taels of silver, which is equivalent to the price of twenty flintlock muskets. This is still a friendly price.
I respect the teachings of my master. Why should good items, especially weapons, be sold at low prices for external sales?
If outsiders can make it, make it. If you can't make it, don't think it's too expensive. If it's too expensive, don't buy it. No one is forcing you to come to Ming Dynasty to buy it!
Even in the French army, only the most elite dragoon troops are equipped with this weapon.
So much so that D'Estre privately asked Zheng Chenggong if he could sell him a batch of relatively cheap second-hand revolvers...
To buy new guns, ten thousand guns would cost three million silver coins.
Colbert thought it was expensive, so he planned to use slave trade to exchange for it.
D'Estre couldn't afford to wait, so he turned his attention to second-hand weapons.
It would be no problem for Zheng Chenggong to resell it, and the respected master had already considered this.
After the war, just pick out a batch of revolvers that have been used but are good in all aspects and sell them to D'Estre as a favor.
A new gun bought for seventy taels of silver would be resold for one hundred taels...
I am determined to do this business!
D'Estre could buy it with money or exchange it with loot.
As long as the price can be negotiated, Zheng Chenggong can accept it.
Selling guns was a matter after the war, and now Zheng Chenggong still had to concentrate on attacking Madrid.
The straight-line distance from Valencia to Madrid is about 600 miles. It takes the infantry 15 days to walk 45 miles every day.
More than two weeks were enough for the old guy Philip IV to mobilize troops from other places after learning the news.
If the Western Yi had a method of sending messages such as carrier pigeons, they might have known about it by now.
Then the first task of our unit is not to reach the city of Madrid directly, but to guard against the Western cavalry troops who may launch a surprise attack.
Although d'Estrère was very trustworthy and delivered a thousand war horses, the number was far less than Zheng Chenggong's demand.
The war horses were also bought on credit, and after the war, second-hand revolvers would be used to offset the cost.
If possible, Zheng Chenggong hoped that this friend he had just met would send another two thousand horses to meet his urgent need.
With three thousand cavalry equipped with magazine-type bolt-action rifles, Zheng Chenggong would feel more at ease.
At present, it is almost an impossible task to use a thousand cavalry to protect more than 30,000 people from enemy cavalry.
"Commander, the French warship is coming!"
"Saw it!"
Prior to this, Zheng Shengying had led two Yoshino, two Laiyuan, 12 Zhiyuan, and more than a hundred wooden warships to the north to cooperate with the French fleet to capture the coastal city of Barcelona.
Since his teacher came from the same school and was his cousin, under the guidance of his respected teacher, his vision and talents have improved rapidly. Now Zheng Shengying is the most trusted person among his peers.
Zheng Chenggong served as the commander-in-chief of the Spanish expedition and personally led the army to attack Madrid, while Zheng Shengying became the fleet commander.
Mainly responsible for leading the fleet to harass the Xiyi cities along the route, annihilating nearby enemy warships, and opening up connections with the French army.
The French army had already stationed 20,000 people in Perpignan before, which was later increased to 50,000, and to 70,000 before the war began.
The commander of this force was the battle-hardened Marquis de Turenne, because this arrangement made Louis XIV very relieved.
Turena had been in the Ming Empire for many years and knew Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Shengying. He was also fluent in spoken language, which made it easier for the two armies to join forces to deal with the Spaniards.
After D'Estre returned to Toulon, he took his fleet to Perpignan, near the French-Spanish border, and explained his opinions to Turenne.
After Zheng Chenggong's troops landed in Valencia in large numbers and the Spanish troops in the Barcelona area rushed over to help, it would be more advantageous for our own side to send troops again.
But Turena listened and came to his own opinion, and the reason is simple.
The Barcelona Defense Zone, like Pamplona, is a strategic town in the east and west that restrains the French army from moving south.
As long as this defense zone is lost, we can drive straight in and attack at will on the east coast of Spain.
Benavides, who is responsible for the defense here, will not divide his troops easily. Dividing his troops may not save Valencia.
Due to the reduced strength of the defenders, the Barcelona area is likely to be captured by our own side.
D'Estre thought about it and felt that Turenne's analysis was indeed outstanding.
But how to attack the enemy's defense area that is close at hand?
The Barcelona Defense Zone was a defense zone built around the city, but the focus was not on the city, but on the Pyrenees.
If the French infantry wants to pass, they will have to forcefully attack the Western Army on the mountain, which will cause huge casualties.
Turenne had already thought of a way to deal with this. He had been waiting for D'Estre just to use his fleet.
The way to attack Barcelona is simple, let the French Mediterranean fleet transport the army.
Directly bypassing the Western Army in the Pyrenees Mountains, outflanking them from the sea, and reaching the gates of Barcelona!
After the French Mediterranean Fleet has three ironclads and the arrival of Zheng Chenggong's fleet, the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet is now completely at a disadvantage.
Turena was not in a hurry to attack, but first asked D'Estre to contact Zheng Chenggong.
As long as the Ming fleet is assisted, it will be easy to destroy the enemy fleet with Barcelona Port as its main base in one fell swoop.
The Spanish Mediterranean Fleet has more than a dozen bases, half of which are located on the mainland, and half of which are located in the southern Apennine Peninsula and Sicily.
When the fleet in the east learned that the fleet of the Franco-Holmish alliance passed through the Sudan Canal in large numbers, it ran directly to the Adriatic Sea for fear of being destroyed.
The Western Fleet has about fifty combat ships, and its home bases are Barcelona, Valencia, Almeria, Gibraltar, Palma on the island of Mallorca, and San Antonio on the island of Ibiza.
It is impossible to search for enemy ships from base to base, and it does not need to be so troublesome.
After D'Estre understood Turenne's tactics, he found Zheng Shengying first.
After the two fleets converged, d'Estre explained his side's tactics to Zheng Shengying.
Zheng Shengying decided to cooperate with the French fleet and first destroy the Spanish fleet huddled in Barcelona Port.
Then conduct a dragnet search of other ports, and if an enemy ship is found, one will be sunk, unless the other party surrenders voluntarily.
Within an hour, more than fifty Spanish ships in the port of Barcelona were turned into burning bonfires.
There may be a lot of merchant ships inside, but it doesn't matter at this point. D'Estre doesn't care about this loot at all.
The important thing is that in this battle, with the cooperation of the Ming fleet, his fleet suffered zero losses, which is a rare thing.
The Marquis of Turenne followed the first batch of landing troops to attack the beach of Barcelona, and D'Estre was also responsible for continuously transporting the French infantry from the rear.
The 20,000 French troops who had just arrived were mainly infantry, artillery, and armored troops, with very few cavalry. However, after having steam tanks, they were not afraid of the Spanish cavalry's counterattack.
In particular, many of the non-commissioned officers and officers in this group of troops were those who followed the Marquis of Turenne in the Eastern World. Their loyalty and discipline are unquestionable, and their combat effectiveness is even more extraordinary.
It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the strongest among the French army, especially because he can skillfully use infantry and tank coordination tactics to restrain the assault of more than 2,000 Spanish cavalry on the beach.
Although the elite troops under Turenne still mainly used flintlocks, each of the vanguard troops carried a short musket and were equipped with a large number of grenades.
As long as the tanks can stay in front to block the Spanish cavalry, the infantry in the rear can continue to kill the opponent with the weapons in their hands.
After Count Benavides discovered the French army's actions, he immediately ordered his cavalry troops to attack, hoping to drive the French army into the sea.
Although this move was extremely risky, it was undoubtedly the right choice, because once the French army landed and established a foothold, it would be difficult to defeat it.
Benavidez already knew that his opponent was the famous Turena, a name that spread from the West to the East and then bounced back...
It was said that Turena had achieved considerable military exploits for the Yellow-skinned Monkey Emperor. Although Benavidez was disdainful of this, he was always wary of him.
If he defeats this guy, there is no doubt that he will become the most powerful general in the Spanish Empire and even be promoted to marshal.
On the contrary, the damage to reputation is insignificant, but it is really possible to be directly maimed or even killed by eyeless cannon fodder...
Benavides placed five thousand men in the Pyrenees and as many more in the towns below the mountains as far as Barcelona.
There are 10,000 people in Barcelona and 10,000 people in the rear hinterland. This is to prevent them from launching a counterattack from the rear if the city falls quickly.
When the French army carried out a beach landing, Benavidez only had 3,000 cavalry that could be dispatched quickly. Basically, except for his own guards, he sent all of them.
The Western Army's offensive was massive. On a half-mile front, they used both wall riding and detachment methods to attack the French infantry who had just stepped onto the beach.
The problem is that although there is a sea behind the French infantry, there are a large number of warships on the sea!
Thousands of naval guns could not cover the three thousand Spanish cavalry with a single firepower, which was very uncomfortable.
Although the steam tank cannot start immediately after landing, the lack of an engine will not affect the firing of the tank gun.
As long as the Spanish cavalry does not destroy these steel monsters, they will continue to spray out artillery fire and continue to kill the target.
After rushing through the fire net of the naval guns, there were about 2,000 Spanish cavalry left. Facing more than 7,000 French infantry, they had a good chance of winning.
However, the French infantry inherited the characteristics of the Marquis of Turenne when he fought in the Eastern world, and each one was heavily armed for defense.
There is a steel plate on the front of the torso and a chicken helmet on the head. Without the horse to collide, it cannot be killed with a musket.
The hit rate of mounted fire was extremely low. Instead, the French infantry fired a volley after the prey approached, causing great damage to the Western army.
Volley guns, grenades, and spears if you get close, you will be bombarded by tank guns at any time.
This batch of blocking made the Western Army's cavalry units extremely uncomfortable during the assault and found it difficult to move.
In the end, they did not choose to die with the enemy, but turned around and ran away at the critical moment.
Only about 500 people managed to escape from the battlefield, and the rest were either dead or injured.
Even those who were alive would be captured by the French army, then put on ships and transported to the mainland for custody.
After repelling the first round of attacks by the Western Army, the calm Marquis of Turenne immediately ordered his troops to stabilize the beachhead position and then gradually advance toward the port.
In his view, even the capture of the strategic city of Barcelona was only the first small step towards the elimination of the Spanish Empire.
There is another reason to hit here first, that is, this city is the richest place in Spain outside of Madrid.
We can't let the Ming army take the city as their own without paying attention!
Although it is said that they will withdraw in the future, it is estimated that after the Allied forces leave, nothing will be left in the city except the city wall...
As long as our troops can occupy the city, it means that His Majesty the King's initial investment has begun to pay off.
It is estimated that Count Benavidez will not give up here easily, especially before his troops suffer heavy losses.
Turena estimated that this guy should have less than 50,000 troops, which meant that he would have to fight one or two more decisive battles before he could take the initiative on the eastern battlefield.
But with the fleet's artillery cover, it would be much easier to attack the city.
No matter how strong the city walls of Barcelona are, they cannot withstand the day and night bombardment of the French fleet!
