Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1479 Divided Parliament
"The king's favorite, the Earl of Stratford, has been crowned, but the king has occupied Oxford, which could threaten the safety of our city of London at any time. And the Earl of Essex, the commander-in-chief of our parliamentary army, was timid and did not completely defeat him. The king's determination! In a series of battles before winter, the Earl of Essex did not dare to completely defeat the king, so he missed several chances to defeat the king one after another, causing our parliamentary army to lose nearly 3000 troops in the battle of Mount Edge people!"

"One of the chances was that when the king was still in Nottingham, the number of the king was less than 1, and our parliamentary army had 2 people. It was completely possible to besiege the king in Nottingham and occupy the territory of the northern royalists in one fell swoop. The second chance After the Battle of Mount Edge, the King's Army also suffered heavy losses. Our rear guard arrived the next day, and we could find the King for a second battle. The King's Army would definitely not be able to continue fighting without supplies. The third The second chance is outside the city of London, the 5000 militiamen in London support our parliamentary army, and the number of our parliamentary army has returned to 2, which can completely force the king to fight us outside the city of London.”

"However, the Earl of Essex let go of the three chances, and the war that could have ended this year was infinitely delayed. If this continues, the war with the king may not end next year, and there will be more people died because of this war."

After Pym impeached the Earl of Stratford, Cromwell, a MP and cavalry officer who returned to London, took the initiative to impeach the Earl of Essex, Commander-in-Chief of the Parliamentary Army in Parliament, which caused quite a stir in the House of Commons.

Of course, the parliament wanted to make the king compromise as soon as possible, and signed the "Great Protest" to confirm that the parliament enjoys the sovereignty of the country. Hearing that Cromwell on the front line criticized the Earl of Essex, he asked the Earl of Essex, who was also a member of Parliament, attack.

Cromwell was both an MP and an officer, and he had personally experienced the previous battles. His words inevitably made the parliament worry that the Earl of Essex's indecision would lead to the defeat of the parliament.

The Earl of Essex faced doubts from more than 200 members of the House of Commons.

It's good that he is leading the parliamentary army, but the soldiers of the parliamentary army all follow the call of the parliament. The most important thing is that the parliament manages the money. Without the money of the parliament, the parliamentary army might disperse.

Charles I always wanted the parliament to listen to him because he could get a lot of money from the parliament.

The parliament was originally a place where nobles, squires, and business representatives gathered. It had legislative power. Its resolutions could satisfy most classes with the right to speak and collect taxes in a legitimate manner.

On the contrary, the new tax imposed by the king himself was not supported by many classes, which led to class resentment in London and other places with relatively developed economies.

Even the Earl of Essex was appointed by the Parliament as Commander-in-Chief, so he had to act according to the face of the Parliament.

"My lord, Cromwell impeached you for your inaction in the previous series of actions, which resulted in the king's army being able to retreat smoothly every time. Is there such a thing? If so, why didn't you actively attack?" Pym Challenged to the Earl of Essex in the House of Commons.

The Earl of Essex said helplessly in the face of the doubts of the members: "The king is the king of our England, and our soldiers have doubts about the legitimacy of taking up arms against the king. Even if we defeat the king 99 times, he is still the king." The king, and his descendants are kings. But if the king defeats us only once, then we shall all be hanged, and our descendants shall be slaves."

Members of Parliament heard the Earl of Essex's defense, and many of them fell into hesitation and entanglement.

The Earl of Essex's worry was exactly the same as that of most members of parliament. Even if they defeated the king, according to British tradition, Charles I would still be the king.

If there is a little carelessness, then what awaits them after the failure of their group who betrayed King Charles is the gallows.

"The Earl of Essex will become the sinner who led to the defeat of the parliamentary army if he continues like this. Since you are afraid that the king will settle accounts afterwards, why don't you completely defeat the king and take the power of the king back to the parliament. The king can still be the king, And the parliament will exercise the sovereignty of the kingdom?" Cromwell stood up to refute the earl of Essex.

"The king has the power of the king, and the parliament has the power of the parliament. You are just an unknown person who has not been on the battlefield before the war, but you frequently accuse me of wrong command. You are disobeying orders and attempting to rebel!" The Earl of Essex berated Cromwell.

Two people representing different positions quarreled red-facedly in the House of Commons, causing the House of Commons to also be divided into two factions.One faction sympathized with the earl of Essex, and believed that a conservative victory should bring the king to his knees; the other, for Cromwell, believed that the king should be completely defeated in a decisive battle, and almost all his powers should be limited.

In the end, the two sides were almost evenly matched, and neither faction was able to persuade the other faction to agree with its views.

"I propose to form a new army, in addition to the parliamentary army led by the Earl of Essex, the Army of the Eastern Confederacy, with the five counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Essex and Hereford supporting me The militia formed with the idea, unified training, and coordinated operations with the parliamentary army." Seeing that he could not successfully impeach the Earl of Essex, Cromwell proposed the idea of ​​forming another new army.

"Cromwell, your qualifications are still too young to command the coalition forces in five counties." Pym and other councilors said.

"After discussion, we plan to appoint the Earl of Manchester as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Union Army, and Cromwell as the commander-in-chief of the cavalry." Members of Parliament who supported Cromwell said.

After the execution of the Earl of Stratford this time, divisions arose within the Parliament, which were divided into the Parliamentary Army led by the Earl of Essex and the Eastern Union Army led by the Earl of Manchester.

It seems that the parliament has been weakened by internal strife, but it may not be a bad thing for the Eastern Union Army to break away from the restrained parliamentary army.

"Now the king's army and our parliamentary army are evenly matched. Whether it is the people who support the king or the people who support our parliament, there are only five to five people. If we want to end the war within our Britain before next year, it is best to find an external to break the deadlock within us.” The active Cromwell once again put forward his ideas to Parliament.

The Parliament executed the Earl of Stratford within a short period of time and separated the Eastern Alliance Army. At this time, seeing Cromwell put forward a new suggestion, he was unable to react for a while.

"We should pay to hire the Scots' Pledge Army to deal with the king. The king is not only the king of England, but also the king of Scotland." Cromwell glanced at many MPs.

(End of this chapter)