"This is Blake's plan, what do you think?"
Charles II was noncommittal about this dangerous plan, and the immediate priority, the elimination of the rebels, had not yet been completed.
"Your Majesty, the coalition fleet has armored ships and the coalition army has tanks. These are weapons that our army does not have at all. If we rashly launch an attack on the coalition forces, I am afraid that our army will be attacked by the coalition forces and the rebels!"
The Duke of York knew the current situation very well. What the coalition wanted was money, and what the rebels wanted was life.
If the coalition forces are also at risk, they can directly choose to cooperate with the rebels. There is no need to leave London and plunder elsewhere.
If these words were said by other generals, Charles II might think that he was afraid of the enemy and was timid.
But the Duke of York is the king's younger brother, and his status is completely different from that of the ministers.
"Your Majesty, if we don't want to start a war with the coalition forces immediately, then we must negotiate peace with the other party as soon as possible. The sooner the better, and we must dare to get ahead of those people!"
Chief Minister Hyde was already jealous of some of his former friends in Parliament after he fled London with Charles II.
In this case, he chose to break with the opponent. Now it was obvious that Wang Jun had the upper hand, and there was no need for him to look back.
"It's just that their asking price is very high, so high that we can't bear it. Three hundred and fifty million silver coins, even if it is converted into American colonies, two major fishing grounds, the families of the rebels, and the entire London, there is still a long way to go. gap!"
Charles II felt it necessary to remind everyone that he was not yet at the end of his rope.
London has been given to the coalition forces, and the families of the rebels are also being confiscated by the other side, and they are getting more benefits by the way.
The Duke of York has been communicating with the coalition forces, but due to the current situation, little success has been achieved.
Charles II believed that the possessions in North America could be discounted to 200 million silver coins, the two major fishing grounds were worth 100 million silver coins, and the wealth in London was worth 20 million silver coins.
Five hundred thousand rebel family members and their property were worth 50 million silver coins, a total of 370 million, which already exceeded the other party's previous conditions.
"Are they still not satisfied with our previous conditions?"
Finance Minister Danby has had enough tolerance for those greedy bastards. He has a bottom line and will not tolerate their exorbitant prices.
"The problem is that the rebels also offered the same conditions, counting those Zimin who are loyal to His Majesty as gifts to please the coalition forces!"
Foreign Secretary Pepys explained to his counterpart that the situation was much worse than it seemed.
"If we cannot offer more favorable terms than the rebels, they can take advantage of the confrontation between our army and the rebels to plunder His Majesty's Zimin like crazy, and they are doing so!"
The Duke of York is somewhat at a loss to solve this thorny problem. Basically what he can think of, the other party can think of.
Now the damned Parliament is finally gone, but the rebels still exist.
It seems impossible for the time being to get the coalition forces to help us eliminate the rebels.
The rebels are the best bargaining chip in the hands of the coalition. Without this bargaining chip, they will have a direct confrontation with the royal army.
"Munch, what do you mean?"
Charles II also wanted to listen to the proposals of his benefactor to help him return to England, and consider adopting them if they were feasible.
"Your Majesty, I have thought of three possibilities for the moment!"
"Oh? You might as well say it!"
"Considering that the Ming Empire is joining forces with France to carve up Spain, and the situation of our ally is now very critical, there has been no news of the Spanish army's victory for a long time. We have to prepare for the worst, that is, our army will go on its own Faced with military threats and even military attacks from the Ming army, the French and the Dutch army. In this way, we may face three possibilities. First, our army and the rebels will both lose in the fight, and the coalition forces will wipe out both of us and eventually divide us Our country’s homeland. Second, the coalition reached an agreement with one of the parties and signed an indemnity to cede territory to help it eliminate the other party. Third, the coalition helped both of us for a long time, consuming our country’s national and military power, and leaving us trapped on the British Island. And they can carve up anywhere except Europe."
"Is there any countermeasure?"
"Your Majesty, I think we can either satisfy the other party's appetite and sign relevant agreements to help our army defeat the rebels. Or maintain the current situation, but this situation will bring great uncertainty because we don't know whether the rebels will We will choose the former one. Or, we abandon the British mainland and withdraw the main force to North America. Leave the trouble to the coalition forces and rebels to solve."
"……retreat?"
"I'm afraid that's the case! France doesn't want us to interfere with their dominance of Europe, the Netherlands doesn't want us to affect their maritime trade, and the Ming Dynasty is eager to get our compensation. If you think about it all, only by giving up the British mainland can the interests of the three parties be satisfied at the same time. Our colonies in North America are larger than those in the mainland, with a better climate and more fertile land. Moreover, France and the Netherlands both focus on the mainland. After we recover in North America, we can quickly expand westward."
"Um!"
Charles II looked at North America for a long time, but in the end he could not make up his mind. After all, the matter was too important to make a hasty decision.
Of course, what Munch said makes sense.
At least if they stay on the mainland, with the rebels in check, they won't be able to take the initiative in negotiations at all.
"Your Majesty, one more thing, if we can go to North America, we can still keep the fleet!"
"……Um!"
Blake's fleet was the only card in Charles II's hand that had more cards than the rebels, and he would not give it up until he had to.
The Dutch Navy very much hoped to destroy its own fleet, but Black had always led the fleet to avoid the battle and did not have a head-on confrontation with it. Generally speaking, the tactics were correct.
But when the Ming fleet with dozens of ironclad ships arrived in Europe, the situation was completely different.
Once the coalition fleet decides to carry out encirclement and suppression, it may be difficult for Blake to even use evasive tactics.
After discovering the hiding place, you can either choose to engage in a decisive battle with the opponent, or flee directly to other places outside the homeland.
No matter what happens, it means that you will lose this card, and you will not be able to count on the fleet to play its due role for a long time.
According to Monk, if the fleet can be saved, it is certainly a very successful strategy!
Since there are no ironclads, the country's shipyards do not have the relevant technology.
The Royal Navy has become second-rate in the world, and may even be inferior to the Ottoman Navy, which continues to purchase ironclad ships in the future.
Charles II did not want to see this happen, but it was impossible to help the navy improve its strength without destroying the rebels and compromising with the coalition forces.
The Ming Dynasty, France, and the Netherlands, which possess ironclad ship construction technology, will never transfer this technology to a country that is hostile to them.
It is conceivable that the naval fleets of these three countries have been equipped with dozens of ironclad ships, but the British Royal Navy does not have even one.
How ridiculous will the scene be?
By then, the country's main fleet may not be able to defeat even one of the opponent's squadrons.
Since Britain is an island country, Charles II never thought of giving up competing with those three countries for maritime hegemony.
But now circumstances forced Charles II to think carefully.
Regarding Munch's proposal, we still need to think carefully before making a decision.
At the same time, he replied to Blake and temporarily shelved the battle plan he had drawn up.
Prince Rupert was told to exercise restraint as much as possible and not to engage in combat with the coalition fleet.
The opponent has the ability to destroy the main fleet of the Royal Navy in a short period of time, so it is very unwise for our side to attack at the moment.
If it is discovered that the coalition fleet intends to destroy itself, it can immediately escape to anywhere in the world.
Because Charles II was still unwilling to make compromises and concessions, after sweeping most of the towns along the Welsh coast.
Jiexuan decided to implement the fifth phase of the battle plan, which was to launch the Battle of Manchester!
That is to attack the surrounding urban agglomerations headed by Manchester City, including Warrington, Stockport, Oldham, Bolton, Rochdale, Wigan, Chorley and other cities.
If both William II and Budes are encroaching on their respective war zones in an orderly manner, then except for the central region of England, other places will be slowly eaten by the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces.
Since the scope of this operation is relatively large for the Marine Corps, Jiexuan's estimated time for the Battle of Manchester is about two months.
After completing the campaign, the weather would turn colder and the fleet would return to Bristol Bay for the winter.
Then Jiexuan will discuss the battle plan for the coming year with William II and Budes to see if Britain can be killed within two years...
Due to Manchester's geographical location, the fleet traveling upstream from the river mouth could help the Marines save more than half the distance and energy.
The actual distance the Marines had to cover was no more than a hundred miles, and the actual distance they had to cover was eighty miles at most.
However, to the British defenders and Ju Min in the target area, this is equivalent to the devil coming to the door!
At this time, the city of Manchester had gathered more than 2,000 defenders and mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers for coordinated defense.
There were more than fifty heavy artillery pieces in the city, and hundreds of mortars were also manufactured.
All this was seen by the Ming army pilots who conducted aerial reconnaissance. Jun Min in the city saw the actual airship for the first time.
In view of this situation, Jiexuan ordered the Marines to capture surrounding cities first and finally besiege Manchester.
Therefore, after Warrington, cities such as Stockport, Oldham, Bolton, Rochdale, Wigan, and Chorley were all captured by the Ming army within a month.
There are exactly six cities, and each Marine Brigade can be assigned one...
More than a thousand defenders were killed, injured and captured, and more than 150,000 slaves were captured.
After the obstacles around Manchester were cleared, the city was reduced to an isolated island.
If the British cavalry wanted to go out to report the news, they would be killed directly by the marines. After all, horse meat is also fresh meat.
Although it is not as delicious as beef, mutton, and pork, it is still better than eating compressed biscuits.
Both the defenders and the Min soldiers were ready for street fighting, because the castle was very small and could not protect the personal safety of most of the city Min soldiers.
Unlike war-torn European countries, the British mainland has not been invaded by foreign enemies for a long time, so the scale of the bastions everywhere is small.
What's more, the Ming army's clearing tactics were a very fatal blow to the British army who were in a solid wall state in the bastion. Once Ping Min was kidnapped by the opponent, their persistence would be meaningless.
Suppose a thousand soldiers defend a defense area of one hundred square miles, or even one thousand square miles.
However, apart from them, there are only a few civilians and livestock, which is equivalent to holding on to an uninhabited land!
Previously, the tactics of the Marines were very simple. If the defenders attacked, they could ambush and bring reinforcements. Otherwise, they could scrape the ground as they pleased.
Now, let the defenders in Manchester have a taste of the power of Ming artillery and missiles!
How about Liverpool?
Wasn't it turned into ruins by the fierce artillery fire?
Although there is currently no fleet support, tactical missiles can be launched from land.
If the number is large and the salvo is launched, its power will still be no less powerful than the fleet using naval guns to carry out fire strikes on the shore.
The explosive warhead installed in the missile is also the natural enemy of wooden houses. After the explosion, it will cause a fire.
Prior to this, many people in the city had taken the opportunity to flee to Leeds in the north, Sheffield in the east, and Stoke in the south.
It can be seen that the will of resistance in the city is not strong, and many people have learned about the tragic results of Liverpool, so they are not optimistic that the defenders can repel the invading enemy.
When the enemy launched the overwhelming "Eastern Devil", everyone in the city knew why Liverpool was razed to the ground.
A small group of people even escaped from Liverpool. Unexpectedly, the same scene as yesterday was reenacted in Manchester...
"my God!"
"Has Satan arrived?"
"Bless me from this disaster!"
When buildings one after another exploded and collapsed due to such sharp weapons, fires broke out in the neighborhoods, and the fires gradually got out of control. Many people could only insist on praying, hoping that God would use divine power to deal with the devils outside the city.
The soldiers of the King of Ming Dynasty do not believe this, nor are they afraid of this, because the only god in the world is Emperor Haojing!
There is no other God but this God!
Emperor Haojing led everyone to defeat the dog Tatars and regained Liaodong and Nurgan Dusi.
After changing its previous decadent attitude, the country became stronger and stronger, and it conquered a huge territory that even the Tang and Han Dynasties combined did not have.
There are airships in the sky, tanks on the ground, and everyone can hear the radio and watch movies. Emperor Haojing's civil and martial arts far surpassed the Qin Emperor, Han Wu, Tang Zong, and Song Zu combined.
Although the body is not a divine body, there is no doubt that the immortal power has appeared in the world for the first time since ancient mythology!
Everyone agreed that Emperor Haojing, who has immortal power in the world, is a god!
God of War, God of Wealth, and God of Love, three in one!
Otherwise, how could we win battles, conquer land, and ride foreign horses? ? ?
If Xiyi doesn't believe this, then let them accept divine punishment!
Launching hundreds of missiles and thousands of artillery shells into the city would be a divine punishment!
If you can still persist, then we men will continue to condemn you...
How the Marines played against Liverpool before, now the Marines will play against Manchester.
If the Xiyi in the city can hold it, they will defend it; if they cannot hold it, they will surrender.
If you can't hold on and are unwilling to surrender, then you might as well die!
Fortunately, this intensity of attack only lasted for two days. The reason is simple: the missiles brought by the Marines were used up.
There is no inventory on the ship. If you want to play this way, you can only wait until the new batch of support fleet arrives in Europe.
