Wales has a small population to begin with, and the combined population of the three cities of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport is about the same as Bristol, or even less.
There are only tens of thousands of people in each city, but they are all besieged by a Ming Marine Brigade. This is tantamount to facing a disaster!
Regarding the cities in Wales, the soldiers of the Ming army treated them equally as they did those in England.
There is no need to be polite to the Westerners at all, and they have never been polite to the mainland.
Due to the small number of defenders, their combat effectiveness was extremely limited, and they lacked heavy weapons that could destroy steam tanks.
Swansea was captured by the Marine Brigade that day. Except for some who fought desperately to break out, the remaining more than 200 people surrendered.
For a combat unit that lived alone, the capture of more than 30,000 local residents was a considerable gain, and it did not cost much in casualties.
The second city to be captured was Weston, located on the east coast of Bristol Bay. Since the city was directly on the seaside, it was convenient for the Ming fleet to directly launch artillery attacks. The Marines' landing on the beach was tantamount to attacking the city.
The defenders were unable to fight back under the fierce bombardment, and they did not expect that the British mainland would be bombarded by the yellow-skinned monkey fleet.
As a result, they resisted for less than seven hours. Before dark, the defenders could no longer withstand the thunderous tactics from the Ming army and chose to surrender.
If they continue to resist, they will die. Neither the defenders nor Ju Min intend to be bombarded to death, let alone commit suicide.
One more day of life is better than the death of Charles I and Cromwell...
For the weak, the purpose of living is just to live.
Those achievements, dignity, enjoyment and other things belong to the strong.
The weak are almost exhausted just by being alive, so how can they have any energy left to pursue other ethereal and nihilistic things?
Even the king had been executed before, and the country was already in chaos. Whoever wanted to defend would be better off.
While King Charles I was alive, he fought with Cromwell for several years.
Now his son was renewing his war with Cromwell's son, and that was not the end.
Britain was still fighting against the Netherlands and France externally, and had also fought against the distant Ming Empire before.
Many Pingmin and soldiers are tired of the war and are afraid that one day they will be affected by the war.
Now at least make sure you don't die, that's all. This is their minimum requirement.
If they can save their lives by going elsewhere, they are willing to try it...
The current situation is that it is impossible not to leave. The enemy is so strong that everyone can only endure the humiliation and go with the flow.
Six days later, other troops successively captured Cardiff, Newport, Gloucester and other cities, and loaded the prisoners and loot onto ships.
Five marine brigades were sent to the outskirts of Bristol to participate in the siege of the city.
According to the Ming Dynasty's city level standards, London and Birmingham in the UK are considered first-tier cities.
Liverpool and Manchester are considered second-tier cities, and Newcastle and Bristol are third-tier cities.
Comparing the population numbers, they are 500,000, 300,000, and 100,000. These are obviously three levels.
Since Liverpool is a seaport city and the largest port in the UK, there are not that many permanent residents.
Many people in the city are sailors and their families who came here to work from other parts of the UK, and it would be bad luck for them to be caught.
How many people are there in Bristol? You have to fight to find out...
Ju Min in the city heard that Weston in the southwest of the city had been captured by yellow-skinned monkeys, and the wealthy people were immediately frightened out of their wits.
Because there had been bad news from London before, and with this content, no one was not afraid.
Many wealthy people were afraid that their property would be robbed by yellow-skinned monkeys, so they fled inland with their families overnight to seek refuge.
The first more reliable place to stay is Swindon, east of Bristol. If that doesn't work, you can only go north to Birmingham or Coventry.
When a rich man runs away, the poor will naturally follow him. Some people are even servants in a rich man's house, and they can only take their family members with them to escape with their master.
As bad news came one after another, rumors spread among the fleeing army.
Some say that yellow-skinned monkeys carry diseases, some say that they are invulnerable, and some even say that they sold their souls to the devil...
All in all, it is understandable that the British army could not resist the yellow-skinned monkey's attack.
However, both the nobles and wealthy businessmen were dissatisfied with this unfavorable war situation.
So who exactly is responsible?
It seems that the outcome will depend on the resumption of battle between the Royal Army and the Parliamentary Army. This time, the winner will be in charge.
Only a handful of people realized that there was no winner this time.
The winner of the duel will eventually face the siege of the French, Dutch, and Yellow-skinned Monkeys, all of whom have deep grudges with the British.
Unless King Arthur or King Charles the Lionheart is resurrected, what chance does our side have of winning?
According to the latest news, the French army has launched a large-scale offensive in southern England.
Hastings, Eastbourne, Brighton and Hove, Worthing, Portsmouth, Havant, Southampton and other places were all attacked by the French army.
Because it is a special period, some people are still dreaming that the royal army can temporarily cease fighting with the parliamentary army and unite with the outside world to defeat the foreign enemies first.
But this is just wishful thinking. Both the royal army and the parliamentary army regard each other as the first target to be eliminated. How can they bother to defend themselves against foreign enemies first?
It would be easy to say if Charles I was alive, but this king had been beheaded by Cromwell, and this became a knot that both parties could not untie!
Want to untie it?
It's easy, just one request - please resurrect Charles I!
If you can't do that, keep fighting until one side wins.
Charles II led his troops to recapture London this time in order to execute the leaders of the rebellion.
With Cromwell dead, the parliamentary army no longer had the same fighting spirit as before. Now the royal army, aiming for revenge, has gained a morale advantage.
The nobles who knew Charles II believed that even if they united with foreign enemies, their king would have to destroy the parliamentary army first before talking about anything else...
I heard that the Parliament also wanted to restrict the royal power. When foreign enemies invaded, it was strange that the king readily agreed.
Maybe the second civil war will be much larger than the first one, and like the first time, both sides will fight to the death!
Regardless of the pattern, the current goal is just one - to kill the opponent!
With the defenders and more than half of Jumin retreating first, the Ming Marines occupied Bristol effortlessly.
However, they still captured nearly 30,000 Ju Min who did not believe the rumors. Now they could believe it, but it was too late.
The total number of captured soldiers and Pingmin in the third phase of the battle was about 150,000. Adding the results of the previous two phases, the total reached 600,000.
The money from selling miners can almost purchase two level three ironclad ships for the fleet...
After completing the third phase of the battle plan, Jiexuan began the fourth phase, which was to sweep all the towns along the Welsh coast.
Theoretically speaking, the northern part of the Cornwall Peninsula in southwest England is also owned by our side. Considering the situation of our ally France and the need for supplies from the other side, Jiexuan does not intend to cause unnecessary conflicts.
The opponent has three times more troops than our own. According to the proportion of troops sent, we have to leave the largest piece of meat for them, otherwise Budes will not be able to explain to Louis XIV.
After the expedition fleet has swept through Wales, it will then go around the west coast of northern England. In this way, the mission is almost completed.
June is a good time to carry out raids. In addition to the wounded and sick, the still-unsatisfied subordinates also support the commander in continuing to deal with these desperate Westerners.
At present, all the coastal cities that should be attacked in the war zone have been attacked, and the remaining ones are all small targets like miscellaneous fish. Fortunately, they are numerous.
As long as each department is not afraid of trouble, the results can be accumulated.
After all, if you save a lot of copper coins, you can exchange them for ingots of silver!
Of course, it was impossible to deliver less than 30,000 marines to Wales, which was surrounded by sea on three sides.
In this way, the battle line would be stretched too long. Once encountering a sneak attack by the British army, especially the shelling from the shore by its fleet, all our own units would be unable to avoid it.
Even if he has the initiative on the battlefield, Jiexuan does not intend to take too big a step. He still has to fight steadily and encroach on it step by step.
Start with the south coast of Wales, then the west and finally the north.
After the Marines landed on the beach, in order to avoid being attacked by the opponent's cavalry, they had to go as deep as twenty miles into the hinterland.
It is best to operate within ten miles. When the situation is unfavorable, the fleet can also implement cover and retreat.
More than 20,000 people attack about 20 targets, and on average there are more than 1,000 people per target.
Fortunately, the Marines were heavily armed with strong firepower and steam tanks to assist them, so it was not difficult to deal with the town.
"Marshal, are you afraid of those yellow-skinned monkeys?"
After hearing the news about the successive high-level affairs in the mainland, Prince Rupert could no longer bear Blake's shrinking tactics.
"As the fleet commander, my mission is not only to fight, but also to protect the fleet!"
Blake had no interest in going to war because he knew that after the Ming Empire's fleet arrived in Europe, he would not be able to win the naval battle at all.
"Now our country's land has been invaded, our wealth has been plundered, Ju Min has been enslaved, the enemy's army is attacking cities and territories, and the enemy's navy is running rampant, but you are using this reason to passively avoid war. I'm afraid this is a shame for everyone, right? "
Prince Rupert didn't know how Cromwell could use such a timid person. It was probably due to luck that he followed the Spanish fleet to raid the Yellow-skinned Monkey Country.
"Your Highness, if you can defeat the opponent, I will obey your command. Otherwise, we will lose even the fleet, and Britain may be... worse than Sweden!"
Blake was very thoughtful about avoiding combat.
The opponent is coming and has a large number of armored ships. Any mistake on your part will lead to the annihilation of the entire army.
"Is this your countermeasure? Can you win by hiding here and doing nothing? Are you just watching the sailors' families being slaughtered and humiliated by the yellow-skinned monkeys?"
"The enemy has twenty ironclads. We don't have such weapons. They are all wooden warships that are improvised. It is impossible to win a naval battle. If you can give me even ten ironclads, I am willing to go to war immediately!"
"...This is not a reason or excuse to avoid fighting! Back then, the French army had much more heavy cavalry than our army on the other side, but they were still completely defeated by our army!"
"Your Highness, that was back then! Now our artillery shells can't destroy the enemy's armored ships at all, and neither can arson ships. How to win? Wait for the opponent to hit the rocks or run aground?"
"...You are the fleet commander, and it is your duty to defeat the enemy fleet. Don't ask me!"
Prince Rupert responded to Blake's question in an almost growling tone, but the answer wasn't necessarily an answer, let alone in this dire situation.
This fellow was a Cromwellian, and Prince Rupert thought it would be more appropriate to replace him with Sir Paine or Sir Montague.
However, in view of Blake's previous achievements in fighting the Ming Dynasty and the British, Charles II overcame all objections and not only pardoned Blake, but also allowed him to continue to command the country's main fleet.
Now not only does this guy not want to repay his kindness, but he also plans to die without saving his life...
After Blake's main fleet merged with Prince Rupert's squadron, the size of the fleet reached 355 ships, of which 126 were warships and the rest were armed merchant ships.
It seems to be huge, but if you want to destroy the Ming army fleet, Black thinks it is not enough. To be precise, it is far from enough.
There must be at least five hundred ships to increase one's chances of winning.
Otherwise, our own side would not be able to take down the opponent's armored ships alone.
But it fought twice with the Netherlands, especially the second Anglo-Dutch War which was not over yet.
After the Netherlands acquired ironclads, we have suffered the loss of no less than 80 ships.
The ships suitable for combat can be collected in the local area, and they are basically all here. The number of battleships cannot rise sharply in a short period of time.
After thinking about it, Blake could only think of a not-so-smart solution for the time being.
That is to let the fleet fight to destroy as many of the opponent's wooden warships as possible, and then force the opponent to withdraw its troops and retreat.
This is the most typical strategy of promoting peace through war. It seems to be the most feasible method when our allies are weak and we do not have ironclad ships.
But those ironclad ships are not fixed targets on the sea. On the contrary, their speed is faster than the fastest sailing warship.
If one's side wants to achieve the established results, it must use some warships as bait to attract the opponent to take the bait.
Then send a squadron to outflank the opponent's wooden battleship group. These two tasks are actually very far apart.
It is difficult to withstand the attack of an ironclad ship, and it is also difficult to fight against the opponent's wooden warship. It is likely that there will be no return.
"Your Highness, I have written the prepared battle plan in a letter, and please send someone to bring it to His Majesty. If Your Majesty agrees to this battle plan, I will lead the fleet to attack. All responsibilities will be borne by me and have nothing to do with you! "
When things got to this point, Blake also thought about the possible consequences of avoiding the war, so he took out the letter he had written and handed it to the other party.
"...Okay, I will send someone to your Majesty immediately!"
After seeing it, Prince Rupert also understood that this was a suicide attack and would cause considerable casualties.
But he couldn't think of a better way, so he nodded in agreement.
The British navy could not be timid when facing the Spanish Armada, and it would not be afraid now when the yellow-skinned monkey fleet invaded.
Now it depends on how Charles II decides whether to complete his victory in one battle and mobilize the main force to fight the opponent to the death, or to continue to save the ship and avoid the battle.
According to Blake's wishes, he would lead a squadron and try his best to hold off the enemy's ironclads, while Prince Rupert would deliver the fatal blow.
The other party generally agrees with this. As long as His Majesty the King agrees, the fleet can pull anchor and set sail that day to implement the revenge plan!
