To be honest, although they have received reinforcements, the strength of the Allied fleet is still inferior to that of the Parliamentary fleet.
The reason why we finally achieved a brilliant victory is just because...
It's better to come early than to come by chance.
If the fleet led by Thomas Rodri had appeared from the beginning, it would have only caused some trouble for the parliamentary fleet at best.
With the overwhelming number of ships in the parliamentary fleet, Robert Blake could calmly deploy it without affecting anything.
However, the battle has entered a fierce state. This new force suddenly appeared, and the parliamentary fleet no longer has the ability to mobilize troops to deal with it.
Moreover, this new fleet appeared suddenly in front of the coastline and around the peninsula, leaving no time for the parliamentary fleet to react.
Entering the battle as soon as it appeared, it received extremely ferocious artillery fire from behind.
Otherwise, with the slow speed of sailing ships in this era, they could be discovered early by the parliamentary fleet even if they came from a distance.
Everything was such a coincidence, but it created a victory that turned the world around.
On land, Parliamentary forces had defeated the Allies and were about to march into Scotland.
What the defeated Allied forces needed most was time to regroup and regain their strength. The parliamentary army was pressing forward step by step, obviously not intending to give them this opportunity.
This was undoubtedly a disaster for Charles II and the Allies.
As a result, at the critical moment, it was the navy that made extraordinary achievements.
After defeating Robert Blake, Marton Tropp was in high spirits and immediately ordered the mighty fleet to move towards the mouth of the Thames River.
He planned to attack London and knock down the mountain to shake the tiger.
If they can take the opportunity to completely destroy the British fleet, the Dutch will become the most powerful force in the entire North Atlantic.
"Commander, we can't let the Dutch get bigger."
On the Imperial Fleet side, someone quietly reminded Kong Zhiguang.
The empire came from as far away as Europe, although its primary target was Britain. But obviously we do not want to see a powerful unipolar force emerge in Europe and cultivate a powerful hegemon.
Kong Zhiguang is confident about this.
"Don't worry, London can't be captured."
Although he has never gone deep into the interior of England, he has already made a judgment based on the current map.
In his eyes, London, the British capital, is in a unique position.
It has an excellent port, which can make maritime trade prosper. But it is still far away from the ocean, so it will not be attacked by enemies on the sea.
If the enemy wanted to attack London from the sea, they would have to capture many military fortresses along the Thames River.
With the strength of the Allied fleet, can it be done?
One day later, the Allied fleet, which had finished its rest, began to attack.
It was mainly the Dutch and Scots who were in high spirits.
At the military meeting, Kong Zhiguang clearly raised his objections. But because of the addition of six new third-level battleships, Marton Tropp's voice has greatly increased.
He decided to use this battle to gain prestige and realize the Dutch ambition to dominate the North Atlantic.
He excluded the Imperial fleet from the order of battle.
The imperial fleet was naturally very happy and cruised leisurely in the outer sea, protecting the Allied fleet's retreat.
The Thames estuary is not very wide.
One advantage of this is that tight and solid defenses can be deployed on both sides of the strait to effectively block the enemy.
Marton Tropp commanded six third-tier battleships to slowly approach the Isle of Sheppey on the south coast. We plan to capture this place and use it as a base for our next advance.
The British troops on the shore were already well prepared, and when the Dutch warships approached, they immediately fired back.
In this fight, the Dutch fleet suffered a heavy blow.
The third-level battleship is of course the king of naval battles in this era, with almost no opponents. There is no problem with the Dutch's operation, and the linear array can exert maximum firepower very well.
But the problem is, now we are attacking land!
In this era, warships from other countries could not defeat third-tier battleships. That was because the sea was too rough and the waves affected the range and accuracy of the front-mounted artillery.
It must be within three hundred meters to carry out an effective strike.
Third-level battleships can take advantage of this to bully the enemy and win easily.
However, the Parliamentary Army's fixed fort on the Isle of Sheppey was fixed.
As we all know, the range and accuracy of cannons on stable land are much higher than those on the sea.
Especially the forts on Sheppey Island are equipped with heavy cannons of more than 20 pounds in order to defend against large warships.
They could fire from a thousand meters away, far and accurately, and inflicted heavy damage on the Allied fleet on the spot.
When the bronze cannons on the third-level battleships fired, the weak firepower could hardly cause any damage to the fort.
The artillery battle lasted for an hour. Half of the six third-level battleships were hit by artillery fire and suffered serious scars. More than a hundred soldiers were killed or injured.
Seven of the remaining warships were sunk and four were seriously damaged.
The Scots were the first to give up and retreat one after another.
The royal fleet did not dare to leave its limited wealth here and also withdrew from the battlefield.
When Marton Tropp saw it, his old face was red and blue, but he could only end the performance in despair.
At this point, the Allied fleets reached a consensus.
With their strength, there is no possibility of capturing London from the sea.
They simply controlled the entrance to the Thames River and blocked the remaining strength of the parliamentary fleet inside.
From now on, the Allies no longer have to worry about attacks and harassment from the sea by the Parliamentary Army.
Three days later, the Portuguese fleet also arrived to join them.
After learning that Portsmouth Harbor had been burned to the ground by the Portuguese, the gloom in everyone's minds finally dissipated.
News on land is always faster than on sea.
Charles II, who was in Edinburgh, faced the temptations of Irish and Welsh envoys with a very firm attitude.
He had already lost Scotland and could no longer afford to lose Ireland and Wales. Otherwise, what is the point of this king?
Just when he sternly rejected the attitude of representatives of both parties seeking independence, news of the failure of the land war came.
Hearing that the 100,000-strong army was defeated and that the Parliamentary Army was about to enter Scotland, Charles II and others were completely panicked.
Looking at it, Scotland may be big, but where can it go?
In panic, Charles II was like a drowning man, just trying to hold on to all hope.
Without saying a word, he agreed to the terms of the Irish and Welsh people and agreed to the independence of the two places in exchange for their sending troops.
At this point, although he, the British king, is still nominally the co-owner of the four British islands, he is only in name only.
Scotland, Ireland, and Wales all received independent administrative powers, and they did not have to pay taxes or perform any obligations to the British government.
On the second day after the tripartite agreement was signed, news of the victory in the naval battle came in a hurry.
Charles II was stunned, feeling a fishy smell stuck in his throat, and fainted on the spot.
He was so stupid that he actually gave up Ireland and Wales.
(End of chapter)
