Robert Blake, commander of the Combined Fleet, knew that hundreds of ships required huge military expenditures every day.
European countries have just emerged from the quagmire of the Thirty Years' War, the people are extremely depressed, and there is not much remaining military spending.
Spain and England were in a slightly better situation because they had colonies to transfer benefits, and they both needed to borrow from private banking syndicates.
The combined fleet was outside Gibraltar, hesitating for more than half a month without firing a single shot.
Huge amounts of military expenditures are spent every day. The nobles of various countries cannot afford this price and continue to put pressure on the king and prime minister.
Robert Blake, commander of the United Fleet, knew that if this situation continued, all countries would definitely discuss removing him from the position of commander.
Robert Blake held a military meeting of the Combined Fleet. The Combined Fleet could not wait any longer. Even if it had to pay a certain amount of casualties, it must achieve some results.
The meeting was held smoothly, except for France, which had been basically wiped out. Only a French nobleman named Lefa Oakes, who had no position, was left to attend the military meeting.
Robert Blake spoke openly and honestly to everyone about his concerns.
These people are all old foxes, and there is no need to show off in front of them.
Once an attack is launched, it comes down to which fleet will carry out the mission with the greatest casualties.
Unless he makes it clear, these people may not fully carry out his orders.
After the commander-in-chief of the United Fleet, Robert Blake, told the relevant matters, he asked: "This is the matter, and we cannot delay it any longer.
We must achieve results as soon as possible. You have been thinking about it for so many days. What are your ideas? Let's analyze the pros and cons together. "
George Monk, commander-in-chief of the English fleet, acted as a staunch supporter of Robert Blake.
The first person spoke: "The only strategy we can adopt now is to attack Gibraltar.
If you want to attack Gibraltar, you must face the powerful coastal defense artillery of the Great China Empire.
The casualties of the combined fleet will not be too low.
If the Great China Imperial Navy fleet takes the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on us from the Strait of Gibraltar.
The combined fleet must deal with attacks from coastal defense artillery and the Imperial Navy fleet.
It is difficult for us to coordinate operations on both fronts. Even if we achieve some results, we must pay more casualties. "
Robert Blake, commander of the Combined Fleet, frowned and said: "This stupid method will cause heavy losses to the Combined Fleet, and we must avoid this situation.
If it cannot be avoided, try every means possible to reduce casualties. "
The reason why he said this was to prevent fleets from various countries from having their own small ideas, thinking that it would be too difficult to storm Gibraltar and not wanting to fight this war.
Robert Blake would not be willing to let the English naval fleet attack Gibraltar now if nothing was prepared.
Dutch Navy Vice Admiral Marton Tropp frowned and said: "It's not okay to be so reckless. Naval combat is an art.
Instead of being like those idiots in Spain, they just know how to pass by blindly.
In this way, even if the combined fleet gathers all the elite naval forces in Europe, it will be exhausted.
The cost of destroying the Imperial Navy is the destruction of the combined fleet, so why should we launch this war? "
Spanish Admiral Oquendo heard his old rival disparage the Spanish navy.
Even if they did lose to the Dutch navy, which was weaker than them, these words sounded very harsh.
Spanish Admiral Oquendo sarcastically said: "Marton Tropp, you made it very clear. Can you come up with a feasible solution to the situation at hand?
As a member of the Spanish Navy that you mocked, I now have ideas for dealing with the situation at hand. "
When Vice Admiral Marton Tropp heard what his old rival said, he immediately stood up, waved his hand and said: "If you have a way, then you can say it.
The glory of the navy cannot be just talked about with words, it must be fought out on the battlefield. "
The commander-in-chief of the United Fleet, Robert Blake, saw that the smell of gunpowder between the two was getting stronger and stronger.
He couldn't sit back and watch the two of them fight on this occasion.
The combined fleet will also attack Gibraltar. Once there is internal strife, everything will stop.
Robert Black stood up with a smile. He stepped forward to grab Oquendo, and motioned with his eyes to George Monk to grab Marton Tropp.
The quarrel between the two must not be allowed to escalate.
Robert Blake, commander of the United Fleet, looked at Oquendo and asked: "Mr. Oquendo, you just said that there is a way to solve the problem we are encountering now.
What exactly is the method? Let me tell you for everyone’s reference. "
Spanish Admiral Oquendo saw that the situation was now under control, and everyone looked at him.
He is not a young man in his twenties or thirties, and he will not be impulsive. The reason for doing this is to improve the performance of the Spanish fleet.
The Spanish fleet has made outstanding contributions to the combined fleet. The Spanish fleet will not participate in the first wave of exploratory attacks with the largest casualties.
Robert Blake, as an Englishman, would do everything possible to delay the attack rounds of the English fleet.
The first wave attacked Gibraltar and withstood the most powerful artillery fire from the Chinese Empire. This task could only be left to the Dutch fleet.
As a small country in Europe, the Netherlands has no legitimate reasons and cannot withstand the pressure from the alliance of France, England, and Spain.
It is precisely because of this that Marton Tropp wants to stop Oquendo, which creates a tense situation.
He also did this to preserve the newly developed Dutch navy.
Spanish Admiral Oquendo expressed his battle plan in concise language.
"The Combined Fleet is stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, and I think you have all forgotten the Mediterranean Sea.
The fleets of Spain, France, and the Holy Roman Empire in the Mediterranean are not small naval fleets when put together.
If the situation is urgent, our Spanish Habsburg Kingdom can dispatch more than a dozen warships in the Mediterranean.
Don't forget, the Great China Empire is a big country in the East, and their homeland is thousands of miles away from Europe.
We in Spain have bought important information. The Great China Empire has no factories that can produce ammunition near the Mediterranean Sea.
what does that mean? This means that unlike the United Fleet, the Dahua Empire can consume unlimited ammunition and can obtain supplies from home at any time.
The Strait of Gibraltar is blocked in the Mediterranean direction, and the Strait of Gibraltar is blocked in the Atlantic direction.
We will send another fleet to pretend to attack Gibraltar and consume the ammunition of the Great China Empire's coastal defense artillery.
The Imperial Navy fleet attacks the Mediterranean fleet.
The combined fleet can take advantage of this gap and enter the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Great China Imperial Navy Fleet attacks the Combined Fleet. This is not exactly what we want. It happens to be a decisive battle with the Great China Imperial Navy Fleet in the Atlantic Ocean.
It is more in our interests for the Imperial Navy fleet to remain stationary in the port.
Cargo ships from the Mediterranean direction cannot get through, and the shells of the coastal defense guns will soon be exhausted.
This is exactly the siege tactic I came up with. "
Spanish Admiral Oquendo glanced sideways at Marton Tropp.
He smiled secretly in his heart. This was not only a decisive blow against the Great China Empire, but also a decisive blow against the Dutch naval fleet.
The Dutch navy has not made any achievements now, and it must be used as a target to consume the ammunition of the coastal defense artillery.
Dutch Navy Vice Admiral Marton Tropp has always felt that Oquendo has no good intentions, and now he has completely exposed his thoughts.
But this strategy was a conspiracy. The Dutch navy knew that there was a big pit ahead, but they had to jump into it.
Marton Tropp was unwilling, and he quickly found a loophole and asked: "The Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea are separated by the Strait of Gibraltar.
Our communication ships cannot pass through the Strait of Gibraltar, so how can the two armies communicate effectively.
If they cannot communicate quickly, the Dahua Empire's naval fleet, with its powerful strength, is likely to defeat them one by one. "
Spanish Admiral Oquendo heard Marton Tropp's doubts.
This is just an insignificant component of his plan.
The reason why this person did this was to stop his plan.
Oquendo snorted coldly and said: "A frog in a well cannot see the vastness of the sky.
As a naval general, wouldn't you know about lighthouses.
Just build a lighthouse-like device on the road, such as a beacon tower.
You can quickly send messages between the two places.
The Dahua Empire has very few military forces, and they can only defend Gibraltar.
Our country mobilized heavy troops on land and failed many times to attack Gibraltar.
But it also curbs the possibility of the Great China Empire going north and ensures the safety of the Beacon Tower. "
When Dutch Navy Vice Admiral Marton Tropp heard about the Beacon Tower plan, his eyes darkened.
Robert Blake, the commander-in-chief of the United Fleet, clapped his hands and shouted: "Okay, this strategy is very clever.
No matter how the Great China Imperial Navy Fleet reacts, the Combined Fleet has a way to deal with it. "
After the combined fleet determines the next plan, it will send troops to implement the plan.
Countries with different ideas originally do not want their own navies to become cannon fodder.
Countries exchanged interests in private and finally decided to conduct feint attacks in rotation.
The first day was the Netherlands, the second day was England, and the third day was Spain.
The three major naval countries mixed warships from other countries to form three squadrons.
Each squadron attacks for one day, constantly feigning attacks on Gibraltar, and consuming the ammunition of the Great China Empire.
…………………………
4343 years (AD 1646), November 12th.
The commander-in-chief of the United Fleet, Robert Blake, waved his hand, and a passionate horn sounded.
All the warships of the Dutch fleet raised their sails and prepared to pretend to attack Gibraltar.
Robert Blake had received news that the Mediterranean Fleet had sent a message through the beacon tower and that they were besieging the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Mediterranean Fleet has arrived at the designated position, and the Combined Fleet will officially begin its attack.
In order to continue to delay time, Robert Blake gave the Mediterranean fleet time to assemble and the beacon tower to be built.
He had exhausted all means and made a promise to end the war as soon as possible, so he was not removed from office.
Dutch Navy Vice Admiral Marton Tropp frowned and ordered the fleet to attack Gibraltar.
This result was achieved only after he threatened to withdraw from the United Fleet.
Each squadron rotates after one day. Even if the Dahua Empire has sharp artillery, the price it bears is not high.
However, the Dutch naval fleet withstood the strongest firepower attack from the Dahua Empire, and this result is irreversible.
Even in the combined fleet, all countries have a common goal, but each country is treated unfairly.
Dutch Vice Admiral Marton Tropp saw that the fleet had entered the range of the coastal defense artillery.
The artillery of their warships has not yet been able to hit the shore.
In this case, the only option is to speed up and rush to the shore.
Even if the fleet suffers heavy losses, it still has to achieve some results.
The fleet's victory determines the distribution of post-war spoils.
All Marton Tropp heard was a huge explosion.
The warship ahead of him on the left was hit by a cannonball and immediately burst into flames.
Marton Tropp felt very heavy. The difference in artillery power between the two countries was too great.
If it weren't for the small number of people in the Dahua Empire and your huge artillery gap, he would definitely not dare to lead the fleet to attack.
Marton Tropp personally raised the flag and ordered the ships to speed up the attack.
…………………………
Admiral Li Pinglang saw Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang approaching with an anxious expression.
He listened to the constant roar of cannon outside.
"Chief of Staff Gu, this should be a general attack by the combined fleet.
They finally couldn't bear it anymore. I thought these people could bear it better than me.
I am waiting for reinforcements. I should know by now what the combined fleet is waiting for these days. "
Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang sat down and drank a large cup of tea, and he said: "Admiral Li, you are really too confident, I can't compare with you.
It is now clear that the combined fleet is blocking the direction of the Atlantic Ocean, and European countries have formed smaller Mediterranean fleets to block the direction of the Mediterranean Sea.
They want to use siege tactics to trap our army in Gibraltar. "
Admiral Li Pinglang laughed after hearing this: "Haha, these people don't understand the situation of our army at all.
Most of the firearms brought and transported by our army have been transferred to Gibraltar, and a small number remain on the Aegean islands for emergency use.
They blocked the Strait of Gibraltar, and that didn't do much.
If weapons really arrive, it means the arrival of warships supported by the Navy's Third Fleet.
Instruct Niu Baoguo to use coastal defense artillery to bombard the combined fleet hard without saving ammunition.
I want to use cannons to make these European navies remember. "
Admiral Li Pinglang's order soon reached the ears of Niu Baoguo, Acting Governor of Gibraltar.
Niu Baoguo smiled happily and said: "Admiral Li has a rare luxury, brothers give me a hard beating.
There is no need to pursue two cannons to destroy a target, even if it is five or ten cannons, it is still very worthwhile. "
After Niu Baoguo issued the order, Gibraltar's shore defense artillery became even wilder.
The aiming time of the coastal defense artillery was significantly reduced. When the gunners thought it was possible to fire, they no longer hesitated and fired immediately.
The accuracy of coastal defense artillery dropped significantly, but more enemy ships were hit.
Niu Baoguo used his telescope to see the wooden enemy ships on the sea, which could not withstand a blow from the coastal defense artillery.
The enemy ship's artillery has a very short range, and they have to get close to the shore to hit the shore defense guns.
The power of the artillery is still very weak, and it cannot break the shell of the shore defense gun made of reinforced concrete.
Niu Baoguo said happily: "Our army will definitely win this war."
Admiral Li Pinglang stood on the deck of the ironclad cruiser Qilianshan.
The Imperial Navy Fleet of the Great China Empire will also determine when it is appropriate for the Imperial Navy Fleet of the Great China Empire to attack based on the situation on the battlefield.
They will naturally attack the enemy. The Imperial Navy fleet came to Europe just to have a good fight. (End of chapter)
