Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 796 To copy the small British treasury

Since most of the main warships in service in the UK have been dispatched to fight, the Royal Navy has always had the upper hand in battles with the Dutch Navy in the past year, and no one would have thought that the Dutch Navy would attack the British mainland. Therefore, from entering the English Channel to arriving at the estuary of the Thames River, this Ming-Dutch mixed fleet did not encounter any British naval vessels along the way, and even many passing merchant ships would stay away from this fleet carrying the British Navy flag. Tribute.

After receiving De Knight's order, the speed of the entire fleet was reduced to the minimum so that it could calmly sail into the Thames Estuary after dark.

"Your Excellency, in an hour, perhaps we will create a miracle in the history of naval warfare!
May God bless us! "

"General De Knight, please rest assured, this time we must let the British know why Lord Ma has three eyes!"

As night fell, De Knight smiled and bid farewell to Zheng Zhibao, took the guards down from the second deck of the "Rage", and sailed to his command ship in a small boat. kicked off.

At nightfall on the eighth day of the seventh month of Chongzhen 20th, the Ming and Dutch mixed fleet took advantage of the rising tide in the night, and more than [-] large and small ships went upstream in a "one-character" formation, and sailed into the Thames River driven by the tide. .

There is a Sheerness Fort on the east bank not far north of the Thames River estuary. The entire fort is made of four huge granite blocks and is equipped with eight 24-pound to 36-pound heavy guns. It belongs to the jurisdiction of the Fifth Division of the British Army. The fort is stationed There is a battalion of the British army, the commander is a major battalion commander Pierce.

The reason why Sheerness Fort is guarded by so many troops is not because it is the first line of defense against possible incoming enemy ships, but because it is also a storage place for many important strategic materials.

There are several huge warehouses in the center of the barracks, which are stacked with a large amount of wood, resin, paint, nails, cables, anchor chains and many other strategic materials for shipbuilding, for the Chatham Dock not far from the fort. .

Chatham Dockyard is the British Navy's warship construction base, with thousands of workers working in it. Most of the main battleships of the Royal Navy are built and launched here.

In addition, there is an underground warehouse in an important position of the Sheerness Fort, which stores nearly five tons of gold, which the British have looted from various colonies for nearly a hundred years.

As early as half a year ago, when De Knight sent spies to collect various intelligence along the Thames River, he found out all the relevant information.

In summer, the banks of the Thames River are humid and hot. After nightfall, except for the soldiers on duty at the fort, the officers and soldiers in the Sheerness Barracks are all shirtless and barebacked, and gather together in small groups to play or gossip. , even Pierce, the camp's supreme commander, who has always paid the most attention to military appearance, took off his heavy military uniform, put on a vest and shorts, and lay on a rocking chair outside the house, talking with several mid-level officers about the recent war between Britain and the Netherlands .

The current time is less than eight o'clock in the evening. The British army's regulation is to turn off the lights and go to bed at 09:30. Before that, no one is willing to stay in the airtight barracks.

Everything is as usual, no matter what topics are discussed among the officers and soldiers, everyone's mentality is extremely relaxed, and no one will realize that a huge crisis is quietly approaching.

Before the advent of modern weapons, the huge natural moat of the English Channel isolated all threats of force to the British mainland. The British Royal Navy, which is rising strongly, blocked the enemies from the European continent from the ocean, regardless of the European continent for thousands of years. No matter how the situation changes, countries are fighting each other, the British have long been accustomed to watching the fire from the other side.

Only the UK beats others, and no one has ever come to beat the UK.

"Boom!"

A thunderous sound seemed to come from the distant sky. The officers and soldiers who were talking and laughing were stunned almost at the same time, and many of them looked up at the sky subconsciously.

Although the jet-black sky was gloomy, it didn't have the dull feeling before the heavy rain.

"There are enemies!

Assemble each company! "

Pierce, who was lying leisurely on the rocking chair, jumped up from the chair as if on a spring and yelled. Then, as if to prove that his order was correct, there were loud noises like thunder one after another, and he hoped not far away. There was a faint exclamation and screams from the Ernes fort, and then bullets smashed into the barracks with a whistling sound. In the blink of an eye, the howls sounded. Hit, or be killed by the bouncing and rolling projectile after landing.

"Captain Sauls!

Bring your men to support the battery!

Captain Quinton!

Erlian went to the riverside fortifications to assemble!Prevent the enemy from landing!

Three in a row assemble!

Follow me! "

Although the incident happened suddenly, and he didn't know how many enemies there were, nor how they took the risk to enter the British mainland, Pierce, who had experienced battles, still responded decisively.

As for who the enemy is, don't think about it.

Who else but the damned guinea pigs would suddenly attack the British mainland.

On the River Thames, 24 medium-sized gunboats lined up, fiercely bombarding the Sheerness Fort and Barracks, whose coordinates had been calibrated long ago, from different directions and angles. In the night, dark red flames spewed towards the direction of the fort. Then, the gunboat that had finished firing on one side was slowly adjusting its posture, and turned the unfired muzzle on the other side of the ship to the target position.

Twenty small gunboats are approaching the east bank of the Thames River. Because the artillery on these gunboats is less powerful and has a shorter range, they are not involved in the attack on long-range targets. Their mission is very clear, close to the river bank, Destroy the bunkers and fortifications on the shore, transport and cover the soldiers on the ship to land.

The ultimate goal of De Knight's battle plan is to plunder the British's strategic reserves, take away what can be taken away as much as possible, and destroy what can't be taken away. The Sheerness Fort is just an appetizer, and the Chatham Dockyard It is a big meal. There are probably many British warships under construction and maintenance. As long as they can be completely destroyed, the British navy will be severely damaged, and it will be unable to compete with the Dutch navy in a short time.

On the second deck of the "Raging Wave", Zheng Zhibao stood on the side of the ship and watched the direction of the fort that was already on fire. He felt the vibration of the hull caused by the firing of the cannon, but he was thinking about how to share the spoils with the Dutch.

Regarding the various materials and gold stored in Sheerness, the Dutch have already confessed frankly, and promised to share all the spoils equally.

This is not because the Dutch are so righteous, but when de Knight proposed a sneak attack on the British mainland when he first formulated the strategic plan for the entire naval battle, and asked the Ming Dynasty Navy to send a "Mending" class warship to participate in the operation, Liu Guoneng After discussing with Zheng Zhibao, they did not agree.

What the Ming Navy lacks is the ability and experience in frontal combat on the ocean, and sneak attacks are of no value in training the team, and in the event of an accident, the warships involved in the operation are likely to be trapped in the river waiting to die, right? Come on, we're not interested in this kind of thing.

In desperation, the Dutch had no choice but to show their cards and revealed the news that there was a large amount of gold hidden in the target area. Therefore, Liu Guoneng and Zheng Zhibao immediately agreed and had friendly consultations with the Dutch side on how to allocate it. Finally, the two sides reached an agreement .

"I don't want those lumber, paint, etc., so I can't bring these rags back after the war, right?
Daming has no shortage of these things, but these Hong Yi are rare to see anything!
All we want is gold!
Price those woods and the like to the Dutch, exchange them all for gold and take them back! "

Amidst the continuous rumble of gunfire, Zheng Zhibao stroked the beard on his chin and made up his mind.

(End of this chapter)