Daming 1805

Chapter 231 I Must Rely on Daming's Power
Nelson led his fleet to chase through the Delaware Bay before slowing down.

After calculating the results of normal battles, our side damaged a total of seven enemy cruisers and directly sank three cruisers.

In terms of encounters at the cruiser fleet level, this result can be regarded as very good.

But now Nelson is in a bad mood.

Nelson left the commander and came to the deck of the battleship he was on. Holding a telescope, he looked at the slowly sinking warship in the distance and the lifeboat floating on the sea. He muttered in a low and slow tone:
"Those were supposed to be our own ships, those people were supposed to be our sailors, we were comrades who fought together, we shouldn't have fought..."

Listening to Nelson whispering, Wellesley seemed to want to comfort him:

"It's not our fault. It's Napoleon and Adams who were wrong. If Adams hadn't launched a coup, we wouldn't have needed to fight. America has already been established..."

Nelson subconsciously asked:
"But why did Adams launch a coup? After he launched a coup, he would become a duke. Even if he didn't launch a coup, he would have a great chance to become His Excellency the Duke..."

Wellesley said with a wry smile:
"Because politicians are stupid."

British Foreign Secretary Grenville also came out of the cabin, heard the conversation between the two, straightened his bow tie and said:
"Because the Congress of the United States did not take into account the interests of the northerners who did not constitute a majority, the southerners thought they could bring the northerners to their knees by force and power, and the northerners were not prepared to submit.

"America should not be one country in the first place. It should be divided into at least two parts, North and South, or even three parts."

After saying these two sentences, Grenville looked at Nelson:
"Your Excellency Nelson, please send me to New York right now. We just won a big battle, which shows that the northerners can't block the south. Now is a good time to negotiate."

Nelson planned in his mind:
"Then let's split up."

Nelson commanded the fleet to be reorganized into two parts, part of the fleet to send Wellesley and the army generals to Richmond, and part of the fleet to send Grenville to New York.

Both sides rescued the soldiers who ran out of the sunken ship. After all, most of them were their former companions.

From the mouths of these soldiers, Nelson and Wellesley got some bad news.

The capital ship of the Northern Fleet did not go south at all, and remained stationed near New York Harbor. Therefore, when the cruisers of the Northern Fleet fled, they did not enter the Chesapeake Bay, but ran directly north.

Meanwhile, the lands north and west of Richmond had all been lost, and Richmond itself was under siege.

At the same time, Napoleon personally led the team, bypassed Richmond, and attacked Petersburg south of Richmond.

Petersburg is the gateway to the south of Richmond. Once Petersburg is lost, Richmond will be completely dumped.

By then, all of Virginia would be gone.

Fortunately, the naval battle commanded by Nelson directly broke the northern sea blockade, giving Richmond and Petersburg the opportunity to communicate with the outside world by sea.

After receiving the news, Nelson stopped slowing down the rescue of those who fell into the water, and left some life-saving facilities for them to find a way to go ashore. Anyway, the battlefield is not far from the coast.

Immediately returned to the voyage with all strength, and sent Wellesley and the army officers into the Chesapeake Bay.

After arriving in Norfolk, let the main fleet take turns cruising at the entrance of the bay and repairing in turn.

Wellesley and Army officers changed boats and headed up the James River to Richmond and Petersburg.

As a result, before they reached the bifurcated rivers leading to the two cities, they encountered a broken soldier ship floating down the upper reaches.

I asked the broken soldiers to inquire about the situation, but only got some messy news, only knowing that the battle ahead was defeated.

Not long after, they encountered a Virginia militia colonel, William Henry Harrison, son of Virginia's old governor, Benjamin Harrison.

It was through Harrison that relatively accurate news was obtained, confirming that Petersburg had fallen and that Napoleon had led his troops into the city.

After Petersburg was lost, Richmond, which was really besieged, was also difficult to hold. After Richmond was gone, the whole of Virginia was almost gone.

Virginia was the first colony in British North America, and Richmond was the de facto heart of the American South.

Once Richmond falls, once Virginia loses, it will deal a huge blow to the morale of the entire southern United States.

At the same time, the other party conveyed even worse news that Kentucky and Tennessee in the west had all surrendered.

In other words, all the land west of the Appalachian Mountains has been lost.

Three of the eight states in the south disappeared directly.

The remaining five states, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, are all impact plains, undefensable terrain.

Moreover, these areas have abundant precipitation, and there are quite wide rivers in the five states, all of which flow from the inside out.

Now that Napoleon's troops occupy the upper reaches, as long as the troops are sent down the river, they can penetrate all five states in turn.

Listening to the introduction, Wellesley asked back with a face full of disbelief:

"How could it be so fast? How could it be so fast? It has only been more than a month since the coup in New York!"

Harrison said with some trepidation:
"According to the last news from the west, except for a few cars, all of them are bicycle soldiers.

"A few can travel seventy or eighty kilometers a day, and may even exceed one hundred kilometers.

"We, the United States, except for the Appalachian Mountains in the middle, are surrounded by the Great Plains on both sides.

"Although there are quite a few rivers, the inland rivers are relatively shallow.

"We all know that the river in Ohio is one mile wide and one foot deep, and you can cross the river with a little equipment.

"Their bicycle troops can run through Tennessee and Kentucky in a week at most.

"And the French were clearly prepared, prepared to surprise us.

"And we weren't prepared, when the attack started, we didn't have a defensive line at all.

"And Tennessee and Kentucky, there may have been French in it."

Wellesley was obviously taken aback:
"They're all bicycle soldiers? Are they equivalent to mounted infantry?"

Harrison immediately said:

"Yes, there are many bicycle factories and a large number of bicycles in the Canadian area of ​​the French in the north.

"This time they organized a bicycle force of at least 10 people, and the local militiamen were surrounded before they could react!"

Wellesley understood the situation in the west a little bit, and then went on to ask:
"Then what happened to Petersburg? How did it get lost?"

Harrison shuddered immediately when he heard this:
"They were also raids by mounted infantry, and the constant attacks made it impossible for us to build enough fortifications.

"Then gradually concentrated a large number of cannons and curved-fire smoothbore guns, and continued to bombard cities and military camps.

"The troops and citizens couldn't hold on, so some people surrendered.

"Soldiers who were unwilling to surrender, we ran downstream.

"We should go to Norfolk and the Isle of Wight, and build defenses there immediately..."

Wellesley pondered for a few seconds, shook his head solemnly and said:
"Can't retreat! America has reached the most dangerous time!
"We must hold the entrances to the Norfolk Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay.

"You routs are retreating downstream, and the northern mounted infantry must be in pursuit.

"The further you go downstream, the slower the water flow, and the slower your speed will be.

"If you all retreat to the Norfolk area in one go, the other party will follow all the way to Norfolk.

"At Norfolk, you also have no time to organize your defenses.

"Someone must gather the broken troops in the middle, delay the enemy's attack, and buy time for Norfolk to organize the defense line."

Harrison froze for a moment, and then quickly understood what Wellesley meant and the logic behind it.

After a brief hesitation, Harrison tried to stand upright:
"I would like to stay here! Your Excellency!"

Wells nodded vigorously, and said solemnly:

"In the name of Arthur Wellesley, Commander-in-Chief of the United Kingdom and the United States of America, I now appoint Colonel William Henry Harrison Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia Militia.

"In charge and command of all retreating troops in northern and western Virginia.

"You are allowed to use any means, in any way, to resist the attacks of the rebels in Canada and North America, and buy time for the Norfolk, Isle of Wight, and Newport News area to organize defense lines."

Wellesley left a group of officers behind and followed Harrison to gather the rout on the James River and organize the lagging force.

Wellesley himself turned back with most of the officers and returned to Norfolk as fast as he could.

At the same time, on the road, radio equipment was used to notify the ports below, and they immediately entered a combat state, and immediately began to strengthen the defense line.

Throughout the return trip, Wellesley continued to send telegrams, give orders, and assign tasks.

At the same time, he took the time to type a draft, and when the fleet returned to Norfolk, Wellesley would send a telegram to the mainland as soon as he landed.

Explain the latest situation in the United States to Prime Minister William Pitt, and ask the other party to ask Daming for help immediately.

"The troops we and the French are organizing cannot keep up with those on the Northern Yinzhou battlefield.

"Napoleon could have conquered the American South in two months, maybe even one.

"If we want to keep the United States, we must now rely on the power of Ming Dynasty.

"Now in the entire Northern Yinzhou Continent, the only ones we can rely on to reach the battlefield immediately are the troops of Daming.

"According to previous news, Ming has been sending more troops to Texas, Florida and other places.

"A conservative estimate is that there are at least [-] main corps in the two places, all of whom are elites who have participated in the world war.

"They're all around the battlefield, they can enter the battlefield immediately, as long as we pay enough.

"Between losing all of America, or losing parts of America, I suggest the latter."

(End of this chapter)