Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1464 Pursuing the King's Army

"My lord, the king secretly led the main force to leave Shrewsbury three days ago. Now Shrewsbury is full of old and weak soldiers. We have been deceived!"

"What!? Get a map!"

The earl of Essex was shocked to hear that the king had left the camp three days before.

The generals of the parliamentary army gathered in front of the map. After they judged that the king led the main force to leave the camp, where would the disappearing king and the main force of the king's army be!

Cromwell was accepted by the parliament as a core member because he personally commanded the arrest of the Earl of Stratford. He formed a 60-man cavalry team to join the parliamentary army and was appointed as a major of the cavalry.After joining the Parliamentary Army, the Earl of Essex designated two more cavalry squadrons for Cromwell to command. He can now command 3 cavalry squadrons, with nearly 200 cavalry, and is eligible to participate in the operational deployment of the Parliamentary Army.

"The king's subordinates have capable people. They let the king leave Shrewsbury secretly. The goal must be to go straight to the city of London. We need to catch up immediately! We can't let the king approach the city of London, which may cause the morale of the army to fluctuate! Theirs The marching route is most likely to capture Oxford through Warwickshire, and then use Oxford as a camp to surround the city of London." Cromwell pointed out on the map a marching route that was most likely to be the king's army.

"It is indeed very likely that this is the marching route. Immediately follow up with the whole army!" The Earl of Essex, who had been deceived for three days, realized that something was wrong, and he had to respond as soon as possible to the king's surprise attack on the city of London.

The Earl of Essex, who came back to his senses, immediately sent 12000 infantry and 2850 cavalry to chase after him on a rapid march, and reserved 3 infantry regiments, 11 cavalry squadrons, and several artillery as reinforcements to follow up.

At this time, Wang Shi had not left their station for long, and they had already seized the opportunity to march at a normal speed, waiting for work at leisure.

"According to the time, the parliamentary army should have discovered our intentions. Presumably they should only leave a part of their troops to transport the luggage, and the main force will bring a few days of dry food to chase us. They are exhausted and we are waiting for work. It only takes one battle to defeat them." Astley said to Sun Chuanting while sitting on horseback.

Sun Chuanting did not show a very satisfied expression.The reason is simple, what he proposed was a plan to surprise the city of London, but now their marching speed is too slow!
Three days passed and they didn't get much distance.Is this a surprise attack or a tour? !

There are a large number of peasants in the king's army, and there is a lack of adequate means of transportation prepared in advance, especially the transportation of artillery is very slow.Without artillery and unable to conquer important towns, this led to the extremely slow march of Wang Shi.

"Is our marching speed too slow?" Sun Chuanting complained.

"The war broke out too hastily. Neither the parliamentary army nor our king's army has raised enough horses... Our speed of action is certainly not fast enough, but the speed of the parliamentary army is about the same as ours. If they find us at this time Leaving the original station, it will take at least 7 days to catch up with us through a rapid march." Astley said without haste.

Sun Chuanting had nothing to do with Astley's answer. The speed of their march really drove Sun Chuanting crazy. Let's put it this way, it is estimated that the march will take half a month for a distance of about 200 kilometers.

If this was the Far West Expedition Army led by him, it would definitely not spend more than half a month on a surprise attack, as it would not be able to reflect the combat concept of the speed of soldiers.

Facing the king's army dominated by peasants and urban militia, Sun Chuanting was in no hurry.

It's not that King Charles, Astley, the generals of the parliamentary army and others don't want to speed up the march. On the one hand, the artillery is heavy and difficult to transport. The high-intensity march that lasts for a few days can break the morale of the army. At that time, there will be a large number of peasants and militiamen fleeing halfway, let alone fighting.

Both sides tried to conduct a slow chase while maintaining morale and supplies.

After the parliamentary army noticed the king's marching route, they began to deploy defenders on the road to London to resist the king's offensive as much as possible.

The king's army encountered resistance from towns that supported the parliament on the road. Their marching speed was slower, and they had to go through a series of small and medium-scale battles to make the local parliamentary army surrender along the way.

Prince Rupert, who served as a general under King Charles, had experience in joining the army from a young age in the Netherlands and Germany. He led the cavalry to victory in a series of battles, which made King Charles I value Rupert more and appointed him as the Deputy Commander of the King's Army to boost morale.

Sun Chuanting did not say much about the 20-year-old Rupert's role as deputy commander.The half-German, half-British prince had a fierce fighting style, and Sun Chuanting didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing for him to be the deputy commander of the king's army.After all, since ancient times, heroes have been born as teenagers, Xiang Yu broke the boat in his 20s, and Huo Qubing was sealed as a wolf at the age of 21.

The king's army sang triumphantly all the way, and the king's cavalry led by Prince Rupert was in full swing, which greatly boosted the morale of the king's army, but the speed of the king's army's advance was delayed after all.

Just like Astley's judgment, the vanguard of the Parliamentary Army led by Essex, who arrived late seven days later, caught up with the King's Army near Mount Edge in Warwickshire.

The king's army waited for work at leisure, took the lead in choosing the venue for the battle, and occupied a favorable terrain.

The parliamentary army that came from afar was somewhat exhausted due to the hasty march, but the Earl of Essex, as the commander-in-chief, had to bite the bullet and also came to the plain under Mount Edge to deploy defenses.He had to stop the king's army here and prevent the king's army from continuing to advance towards the city of London.

The situation is not favorable for the parliamentary army. They originally had more than 20000 troops, but now only 15000 of the vanguard have caught up with the king's army. There are still 3 infantry regiments, 11 cavalry squadrons, and some artillery and luggage are still on the way .

However, the king's army obviously didn't want to give the parliamentary army a chance to breathe. On the day the two sides met, they began to line up on Mount Echi to prepare for the next day's battle.

The commander-in-chief of the king's army is Earl Lindsay, and the deputy commander is Prince Rupert. The king's army has 11000 infantry and 2700 cavalry.

The commander-in-chief of the Parliamentary Army is the Earl of Essex, and the Parliamentary Army has 12000 infantry and 2850 cavalry.

The king's army was almost equal in number to the parliamentary army and was not at a disadvantage.

However, when the situation was good, the commander-in-chief and deputy commander of the king's army, the old Earl Lindsay and the young and energetic Prince Rupert, had a dispute over the choice of battle formation.

(End of this chapter)