Steam Daming: Stop calling me to supervise the country

Chapter 317 Mediterranean Fleet

Zhu Zhanqian learned something about France and Ingoland, and stayed for a few days to discuss the countermeasures. The King of Tours expressed his willingness to send troops to follow Zhu Zhanqian to attack France and Ingoland. Of course, there is no doubt that they also Wanting to get a share of this matter, Zhu Zhanqian naturally nodded in agreement based on the principle of having one more friend and one less enemy.

A few days later, he returned to Suez with Zara and others.

The excavation of the canal did not take place in a day. After Zhu Zhanqian stayed here to oversee the work for two months, he finally received the news of the Fourth Fleet of the South China Sea that had previously circumvented the African continent.

When Zhu Zhanqian received the news, he excitedly brought people to the other end of the Suez Canal, along the Mediterranean coast.

At this time, the port has not been developed here, and it will be planned in the future, but it will not be completed very quickly, so the small boats will come to the shore.

Seeing Yang Feng bringing a small number of soldiers to the shore, Zhu Zhanqian smiled instantly, rushed forward, and clapped Yang Feng's shoulders with both hands: "How is everyone safe?"

Yang Feng immediately knelt down on one knee and struck fists and palms together: "Reporting to Your Highness, luckily, the fleet lost two warships at the Cape of Good Hope, and the rest arrived safely, and found the location of Eunuch Hou Xian and others. "

"Okay, okay, as long as everything is safe."

"Where is Mr. Hou Xian?"

"Your Highness, we sailed into the Mediterranean Sea based on the memories of the crew members who came back before, and found Mr. Hou Xian and others on an island called Menorca, because Menorca belongs to a country called Spain. We went to At that time, Eunuch Xian led the rest of the soldiers to fight some of their fishermen, and captured them by the way, while Eunuch Xian was still on the island."

Zhu Zhanqian said in surprise, "Why didn't you bring them back first?"

"Your Highness, don't blame it. It's not because of the unwillingness of attributes, but because Eunuch Hou Xian is unwilling. Eunuch Hou Xian said that the day when Lord Zheng He's vengeance is avenged is the time for him to return." Yang Feng said helplessly.

Xiaosheng was a little worried when he heard that his adoptive father hadn't come back, but he didn't say much when he knew that he was at least safe now.

Zhu Zhanqian glanced at Xiaosheng, then turned his head and said to Yang Feng: "Let the soldiers rest for a while, now there is our fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, although there are not many warships, the supply of ammunition and supplies can now be transported by land." Here, I intend to go to France as soon as possible."

The canal is not open, and the speed of supplies must not keep up, but Zhu Zhanqian feels that relying on the existing strength, it is enough to occupy some French sites on the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea as his early base.

Now Britain and France are fighting hard, so at this time, France's troops are mainly on the northern front, and they will enter France's southern front from the Mediterranean Sea. In theory, their troops should be insufficient.

Zhu Zhanqian didn't hesitate, and Yang Feng only brought one ship this time, because they didn't have enough fuel, and it was the first time they had to explore the route, so they brought a few experienced sailors, and the others Fuel is loaded as long as the space can hold fuel, and the fuel on other warships is basically emptied.

"Yang Feng, go back with the fuel first, and bring a few more warships over here. The king will prepare the fuel and supplies, wait for the warships to arrive and transport them to the island, and then take the soldiers there, and try to start the attack within half a month. Landing operations on the south coast of France."

Yang Feng took the order and immediately returned to the place where Hou Xian and the others were now, first to tell them the good news and arrange things.

Zhu Zhanqian started to arrange the transportation of materials from Suez City.

Suez City itself does not have a surplus of supplies at present. It needs to supply so many laborers who dig the canal, and they are all transported so far away by steam warships. It costs a lot of money, and then transported to the Mediterranean coast by land, no matter how cheap Things, plus travel expenses, are expensive.

This is not a battle, it is burning money.

Zhu Zhanqian cannot use the troops in Suez City now, and these soldiers are now enough to protect the normal excavation of the Suez Canal. To maintain the work of these death row prisoners and slaves, sufficient force is needed to deter them, so Zhu Zhanqian plans to use small troops first Try landing combat.

When the warship docked a few days later, it still had to rely on the small boat to deliver supplies and load supplies. After the stuff was loaded, Zhu Zhanqian also boarded the warship and headed to the island.

As soon as he arrived in Menorca, he saw several sailing ships not far away trying to land on the island, and Zhu Zhanqian immediately ordered them to go.

Those sailing boats saw Da Ming's warships and started running immediately, but they were quickly caught up and surrendered without firing a shot.

Holding these sailing boats, they landed on the small island together and tied them all up. There were quite a few people in the group, about 200 people. Although they were dressed as fishermen, they didn't look like ordinary fishermen. , a little too fair, the clothes are very fisherman's, and the face is clean as hell.

More importantly, their postures of surrender are uniform.

Clearly professionally trained.

Zhu Zhan asked Yang Feng to suppress all of them and torture them severely. What is the purpose of the other party's approaching our island quietly.

And he himself went to see Eunuch Hou Xian first.

Hou Xian now looks 20 years older than when he set off. He was a man who was a bit rich before, but now his face and skin have become dark because of long-term exposure to the sun, and his skin is not good. Few places are exposed to the sun and peeling, looking very haggard.

"Eunuch Hou Xian..."

"My humble minister, Hou Xian, pay my respects to the Great Pearl River...His Royal Highness the King of the Sea." Hou Xian greeted Zhu Zhanqian the first time he saw him.

When he set off, Zhu Zhanqian was still the childlike King of Zhujiang County, but now he is the tall and handsome King of Daming.

"Eunuch Hou Xian has suffered all these years."

Hou Xian burst into tears: "Knowing that Master Zheng He has completed his journey and returned to Daming, Hou Xian feels that this trip is extremely glorious. Knowing that His Royal Highness Haiwang came thousands of miles away to avenge Lord Zheng He, Hou Xian feels that This trip is worth it, and I think it's worth it for Lord Zheng He." Hou Xian knocked his head heavily.

Zhu Zhanqian hurriedly supported him to stand up: "Eunuch Hou Xian, I am late, but you can rest assured that I will avenge Zheng He's revenge. The suffering you have suffered all these years will definitely not be in vain."

"Your Highness, with these words, Hou Xian will never hesitate to die." Hou Xian's eyes were a mixture of excitement and determination, and the soldiers who followed Hou Xian also shed tears.

Looking at the scene of a group of people bowing their heads and crying, Zhu Zhanqian couldn't say any words of comfort for a while. Those who have been living in foreign countries all these years know how much they have suffered without thinking about it.

When they calmed down a bit, Zhu Zhanqian said: "Eunuch Hou Xian, Xiaosheng didn't come with me. I asked him to help me manage the opening of the canal over there. He wanted to come, but because there were also If you can't do without him, it's hard for you father and son to meet later."

Hou Xian was very pleased and said: "I feel very honored that Xiaosheng can win His Highness's trust by His Highness's side. Family affairs can't be compared with state affairs. My father and son will have time to have a long talk after their triumphant return."

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhu Zhanzhi got to the point: "Eunuch Hou Xian, I think the two steam warships from before have been abandoned on the shore, and the number seems to be wrong."

Hou Xian sighed helplessly: "Your Highness does not know that the fuel of the steam warship has long been exhausted. We sailed with sails, and later damaged two ships. In order to avoid being snatched by others, we planned to put the warship It sank, but I didn't expect Spain, the original sovereign state fleet of this island, to fight us and take away the warship. Later, we put explosives on the ship. When they came to snatch it, we took the ship Blow up and kill many of them, so there are only abandoned warships left on the shore, if not for the team you sent this time, we may not be able to hold on for long."

The determination to break the boat and sink the boat, until the end of the mountain, Hou Xian never thought of running away, he made up his mind that even if he died, he would die here.

Fortunately, he waited until Zhu Zhanqian.

If Zhu Zhanqian really did what Zhu Gaochi and the ministers of the court said at the beginning, wait for them to discuss in the country, and then wait for Zhu Zhanji to return from the Northern Expedition. He will start again. What is waiting for him is the corpses of Hou Xian and others up.

Just like the soldiers in the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, the only difference is that Zhu Zhanqian did not hesitate, did not weigh the pros and cons, and was not influenced by the court. He tried his best to rush over.

"When I came here today, I caught a group of people and looked at the fisherman, but obviously they weren't. Are they Spanish?" Zhu Zhanqian asked.

"Your Highness, I don't think it looks like a Frenchman."

"Oh? How did you recognize it?"

"I can't say why, these two places are connected together, they are very similar, but after staying for a long time, I always feel that there are some differences."

After Yang Feng and others questioned, it turned out that the other party was French.

Hou Xian has been in the west for a long time, so he knows some French language, so he is in charge of interrogating this group of French people who quietly approached the island.

I have to say that this group of people cooperated surprisingly, they didn't even use any torture, they answered whatever they asked, they knew everything, and they talked endlessly.

Zhu Zhanqian was sitting next to him, learning French while listening to it. He knew a French saying hello before, called Bungy Pig.

It was only then that he realized that the super-strong memory that he could never forget was so easy to use. He used to think that his golden finger was a useless skill.

After the investigation, Hou Xian walked over and said, "Your Highness and the others have confessed that they are from France and belong to the private guard of the Duke of Marseilles. Because they discovered our army's steam warship, the Duke of Marseilles sent people to snatch it."

"Oh? Who gave them the courage?" Zhu Zhanqian smiled disdainfully.

"Because our deal with Ingoland led to Ingoland obtaining a steam warship, it was defeated in coastal France. Later, Spain snatched our steam warship without fuel. The coastline is showing off its power, so they found that there was a steam warship on the sea this time and wanted to snatch it."

Zhu Zhanqian's face sank and he said, "Is the place where the Duke of Marseille is located far away from us?"

"Your Highness, the port of Marseille is the closest French port to our island, just cross the sea to the south."

Zhu Zhanqian fell into contemplation, the distance was not too far, and it was on the southern French front, where there were not enough troops, Zhu Zhanqian felt that he could try a fight first.

But according to their current strength, they only have the strength to fight one fight. If they can't win or they can't occupy the place if they win, it is tantamount to wasting resources. They are short of resources now.

After a brief hesitation, Zhu Zhanqian still decided to fight.

Zhu Zhanqian asked the captured French guard and said, "Is there a small port near Marseille?"

"I know a formerly abandoned port, not far from the outskirts of the city. It was a port a long time ago, but because the city's center of gravity has shifted, this port is considered deserted. Only some small fishing boats dock, and my family lives there."

Zhu Zhanqian rewarded him with a little silver for his cooperation.

"Let's not be too late. We have nearly 800 people here and eight warships. Now follow me to see the port. If the conditions are met, we will capture it immediately."

The group of people who had just arrived on the island were ready to set off again with the whole army.

The warship set off to the south coast of France, but the French hadn't reacted yet.

When their fishing boats and merchant ships saw several huge steel giants appearing on the sea, someone immediately returned to Marseilles to report, and the whole city of Marseilles was on alert.

But Zhu Zhanqian's destination was not the city, but the old port outside the city. There is almost no defense here, only some fishing boats and merchant ships.

Seeing that the situation was right, Daming's warship sailed into the port. Without any communication, the soldiers of Daming disembarked one after another with their weapons in hand, and directly used force to drive out the few people who were here.

In order to survive, these people don't want fishing boats, so let's run away first.

The Ming army occupied this port very close to Marseilles almost without firing a single shot. Zhu Zhanqian then ordered to build fortifications around the port and dig trenches. The whole army was ready for battle, and immediately sent ships back to the Suez Canal to continue transportation. Some soldiers and supplies came over.

The Duke of Marseilles in the city of Marseilles learned that a steel warship had occupied their old port, and immediately led the defenders in the city to kill them.

The distance is only a few miles, and they came very fast.

The fortifications hadn't been built yet, and the cavalry had already arrived in the distance, and the opponent came over without saying a word.

There is no doubt that what greeted them was the bombardment of Daming.

boom

boom

boom

The high morale of the Marseille cavalry, facing the overwhelming artillery fire, was also confused for a while. The Duke of Marseille, who took the lead, immediately retreated. He was very afraid of death.

After a short confrontation, the French army experienced the fear of cannons.

Finally, when the evening was approaching, the Duke of Marseille came to the front of the Ming army in the capacity of a conversation.

A handsome young man with gorgeous clothes and long curly hair is the romance of the French.

Pointing forward with the long sword: "Who is coming? Why come to France? Please retreat quickly."

Zhu Zhanqian stood in the dusk, with his back to the sea, looking at the Duke of France and his army in front of him with stern eyes, and said loudly.

"This is the King of the Sea of ​​the Ming Dynasty. He has brought millions of troops of the Ming Dynasty across the ocean. He wants to seek justice for Zheng He. Those who want to insult me, the Ming Dynasty, bow their heads in front of the horse, and anyone who resists will be killed."

The Duke of Marseille didn't know who Daming was, nor did he know what justice Zhu Zhanqian wanted to seek.

Zhu Zhanqian said again: "In the name of Emperor Ming, I come here to judge Charles VI, the criminal king of France. All French soldiers and civilians will not be killed if they surrender."

(End of this chapter)