Daming 1805

Chapter 237 Cecil and Newcastle
April [-], the first year of Ankang, Ming Dynasty.

Kingdom of America, Virginia, Norfolk Harbor.

A large fleet cruised in and out of the bay where Norfolk lay.

The battleship Guangdong of the Ming Dynasty docked at the pier of the Norfolk Naval Port.

Guangdong is the first ship of the last traditional battleship of the Ming Dynasty.

The full load displacement is [-] tons, and the maximum speed is [-] knots.

It has two twin-mounted 240mm naval guns and four twin-mounted [-]mm secondary main guns.

Sixteen 160mm secondary guns, sixteen [-]mm secondary guns, two sets of quadruple torpedo tubes.

Before Zhu Jingyuan's new battleship was built, it was currently the strongest battleship in the world.

Nelson and Wellesley, the two commanders-in-chief of the British Navy and Army, and the officers of the British Navy and Army, stood on the pier watching the fleet with complicated emotions.

A year ago, this ship and its commanders were the old enemies who made themselves the most cautious and valued. .

Now he has to welcome the other party into his port and invite the other party to help him deter the enemy.

Moreover, the surrounding officers and sailors all looked at the warship approaching the pier with envy and fear in their eyes.

The capital ships previously built by the British Navy had a full load displacement of less than [-] tons.

Even if the warships built by the Ming Navy are based on the mentality that enough is enough, they are all larger than the British ships.

After Guangdong came to a complete stop, the gangway was lowered, and two groups of guards disembarked first to open the way to inspect the scene.

The Governor of the North Yinzhou Fleet of the Ming Navy, Admiral Zheng Haiping, came out of the cabin with a group of naval and army officers.

As the master of the counterpoint, Nelson immediately went up to greet him with two guards.

This is not the first time the two sides have met, but it is the first time they have met as friendly forces.

In the past, it was directly a matter of wishing to send all the opponent's fleet to the bottom of the sea.

When we meet now, it feels like old friends meeting again, and they greet each other with smiles and hands.

"General Zheng is here, Norfolk is in full bloom, welcome, welcome..."

"General Nelson is polite, Mr. Zheng also has a rare opportunity to enjoy the sights of Norfolk."

Seeing that the two seemed to be very cordial, the surrounding officers and soldiers at all levels also became excited.

There was an inexplicable burst of cheers at the scene.

Zheng Haiping heard the sound, smiled and waved to the surroundings, and immediately there was another burst of cheers.

Nelson tried his best to smile, and introduced Wellesley to Zheng Haiping, Virginia's acting governor William Cabell, and then a group of people entered Norfolk Harbor City, which is also the temporary seat of the Virginia state government.

Both parties had serious business to discuss, and immediately became serious after arriving at the barracks.

Nelson, Wellesley, and Kabell took turns to explain the current situation under their respective control.

Zheng Anping is an admiral, and Nelson spoke first:
"Our cruiser fleet is still blocking the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, controlling the sea in the bay.

"The fleet controlled by the North appeared around, but after Da Ming sent out the notice, the other party did not launch an attack."

Zheng Anping nodded slightly:
"The Great Ming Northern Yinzhou Fleet I brought can take over the prevention and control of Fork and the waters around the Chesapeake Peninsula.

"As long as Bonaparte and Adams hadn't lost their minds, they wouldn't have attacked the Ming Fleet at this time.

"Your fleet has worked so hard for so many days, you can rest..."

Nelson immediately said:
"It's not hard, our fleet will continue to patrol the entrance of the bay, and the Ming fleet will cooperate with the patrols in turns."

Nelson didn't want to completely hand over the control of the Gulf to Da Ming. God knows what Da Ming will do after the war is over.

Zheng Haiping glared at Nelson, seemingly a little unhappy, but he didn't argue here:

"It's still a tough time at this time, since your people can withstand it, then continue patrolling.

"The fleets of both of us should command and dispatch separately, patrol the current sea area independently, and not interfere with each other.

"How about the army? Are there any soldiers on the peninsula to the north?"

Wellesley immediately opened his mouth and said:

"Several cities around Norfolk, mainly Suffolk, and Williamsburg in the northwest of Newport News, have built two relatively complete lines of defense...

"Our troops on the upper James River successfully checked the trend of Napoleon's troops.

"It has forced Napoleon's troops to give up their plan to continue their rapid assault on Norfolk and Newport News, and Napoleon's troops have also begun to build defense lines in situ."

An army officer next to Zheng Haiping, a major general in charge of the tasks accepted by Long Island and the Chesapeake Peninsula, Mu Yongfu asked Wellesley directly after hearing this:
"How about Richmond? Dongyi Peninsula, that is, your Chesapeake Peninsula. I remember that there are two counties belonging to Virginia at the southernmost tip. Are they still there?"

The Ming court decided to establish the Dongyi feudal state in the Chesapeake Peninsula and Long Island, and temporarily no feudal king.

The Chesapeake Peninsula, an uncomfortable-sounding name, was also renamed Dongyi Peninsula by the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty.

The Chesapeake Bay on the inner side of the Dongyi Peninsula is also named Dongyi Inner Bay, and the Delaware Bay outside the peninsula is named Dongyi Outer Bay.

The name of Changdao is a free translation, which is relatively easy to understand and conforms to the shape of Longdao, so it continues to be used.

Mu Yongfu is a descendant of Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qian, who is also the descendant of Muying, the son of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Gao of the Ming Dynasty.

Mu Yongfu, who was born in the Mu Palace, is the top veteran nobleman in Ming Dynasty and the top nobleman in the world.

Mu Yongfu is still the son of the contemporary Qian Guogong. Although he is not the eldest son, Daming is still the successor to see the assessment and not the order.

Therefore, if Mu Yongfu performed well, he would have a chance to inherit the title.

After Wellesley learned of Mu Yongfu's identity, his expression became extremely serious and serious:

"Sorry, we've lost contact with Richmond, which is likely lost.

"The two southernmost counties of the Chesapeake Peninsula have also been taken by Northerners."

Mu Yongfu immediately said with some disgust:

"Richmond is besieged, and it's justified if we can't defend it. What's going on with the two counties at the southernmost tip of the Dongyi Peninsula?

"Didn't you specially arrange troops to garrison such an important place?
"Even if the army couldn't think of it, wouldn't the navy not think of its importance?"

Wellesley and Nelson looked a little embarrassed, because this result was to some extent allowed by the two.

So the two apologized together on the surface sincerely, but without emotion in their hearts:
"I'm sorry Your Excellency, we failed to hold the peninsula..."

Mu Yongfu flattened his mouth:
"What's the use of saying sorry now? Forget it, I won't argue with you anymore.

"Duke Yanping, it's meaningless for me to stay here, so I'm leaving first.

"I've got to deal directly with the French and the American North."

Zheng Haiping understood what Mu Yongfu meant, and ordered while nodding slightly:

"Qiu Lianggong, take a cruiser and send General Mu there, and Mr. Ruan Yuan can also go there directly."

Qiu Lianggong is the rear admiral in charge of this task, and of course he is not surprised by this task that has been arranged long ago.

Ruan Yuan was in charge of the civil affairs of the Dongyi Peninsula, the Right Chief History of the Dongyi Kingdom, and he had been assigned a position long ago.

The purpose of the two coming ashore was to meet Nelson, Wellesley, Cabell and others.

In the future, we may have to deal with each other frequently, and getting to know each other in advance can avoid unnecessary troubles in the future.

Qiu Lianggong and Ruan Yuan got up at the same time, bowed their hands and said goodbye to Zheng Haiping, and left the meeting room with Mu Yongfu.

The fleet that Qiu Lianggong belonged to didn't dock at all, just cruising outside the Norfolk port.

The landing force to which Mu Yongfu belonged also remained on the ship and did not disembark.

Several officials and staff under Ruan Yuan also stayed on board.

The three leaders returned to the ship directly, and the fleet set off directly.

Turn outward again, leave the inner bay of Dongyi, go north along the coastline of the peninsula, and enter the outer bay of Dongyi.

Under the guidance of several American pilots, they went all the way north along the fjord until they reached the deepest part of the fjord.

The junction of the northeast corner of the Dongyi Peninsula and the mainland, the northernmost Newcastle in Delaware.

There are three states in the Dongyi Peninsula, and the southernmost corner belongs to Virginia.

The northeast region belongs to Delaware, and the west and central regions belong to Maryland.

The area on the west side of the peninsula's border with the mainland belongs to Cecil County, Maryland.

The administrative center of Cecil County is a small town called Elkton, with less than two thousand residents.

The western side of the peninsula's junction with the mainland belongs to New Castle County, Delaware.

The administrative center of Newcastle County is called Wilmington, which can also be translated into Wellington, or Wilmington.

The name comes from the British mainland and is widely used in the British colonies. There are several Wilmingtons in the United States and Canada.

The town of Wilmington in Delaware has a population of more than [-]. This number seems completely inconspicuous in modern times, but it is currently the largest town in the entire Delaware state and the capital of Delaware.

During the American War of Independence in history, Wilmington was occupied by British troops, so Delaware moved its capital to Dover in the inland south, and did not move back after the War of Independence.

Now the entire Delaware has directly joined the Northern Group at the invitation of Adams and Napoleon, so there is no war in the mainland, so the capital remains in Wilmington.

Regarding the handover of the Dongyi Peninsula, there are some detailed issues that need to be discussed with relevant personnel in Wilmington.

The key is related to the city of Wilmington itself.

Strictly speaking, the city of Wilmington does not belong to the Dongyi Peninsula, and the urban area is actually outside the peninsula.

But Newcastle County, to which Wilmington belongs, has at least half of its land on the peninsula.

The opposite Cecil County is also in a similar situation, and part of the area to which the county belongs is outside the peninsula.

As for how to divide these parts that belong to the area outside the peninsula, there is actually no clear way at present.

In such an urgent situation, Zhu Jingyuan, British and French officials, and Napoleon did not consider it so meticulously.

After Mu Yongfu, Qiu Lianggong, and Ruan Yuan received the mission, they realized that this problem might exist during the internal discussion before carrying out the mission.

So the three of them immediately learned about the local situation through the personnel of the United States and the personnel of the West Factory, and then made a general analysis first.

If Ming got the complete two counties of Newcastle and Cecil, including their land outside the peninsula, then the largest town on the Dongyi Peninsula would be Wilmington.

If these lands are not used and the boundaries are drawn directly from the geographical boundaries of the peninsula, then the largest town... no one knows which is the largest town, anyway, there are at most 2000 people.

The settlements on the entire Dongyi Peninsula generally have a population of 2000, or even only a few hundred or dozens of people.

The entire peninsula covers an area of ​​more than 4000 square kilometers, with a total population of about 32. The average population density is 22 people per square kilometer, which is similar to that of Inner Mongolia in Zhu Jingyuan's previous life.

Moreover, the population of Inner Mongolia still tends to be concentrated, and the people on the Dongyi Peninsula are almost evenly distributed.

Army Major General Mu Yongfu believes:
"If our Ming goal is to defend the peninsula as conveniently as possible for a long time, then we should use geographical boundaries as the boundary, so that our future land defense line will be as short as possible.

"If Daming's goal is to use this peninsula as a base to attack and expand its land, then it should try to obtain as much land as possible from these two counties outside the peninsula.

"In this way, our usual garrison troops and subsequent offensive troops do not have to be limited to the peninsula.

"This can increase the enemy's defensive area, and it will be easier for our army to break through after lengthening the defense line."

Rear Admiral Qiu Lianggong then added:
"My view is that you can't pick the narrowest physical boundary, it's better to take the entire jurisdiction of the two counties.

"I suggest that in the narrowest place, use the existing bays and river channels to build a canal to connect the inner and outer Dongyi Bays, so as to facilitate the transfer of the navy and the deployment of two lines of defense.

"It is best to have a certain distance between the canal and the border so that we can protect the canal on both sides of the canal."

You Changshi of the Dongyi court sighed and said:
"The question now, two generals, is whether to get Tessie to accept the demarcation of jurisdictional boundaries, rather than demarcation of geographical boundaries."

Qiu Lianggong laughed:
"It depends on Mr. Ruan's skill. Just like our Prince Dashi did in Xiyang Cape, let these Xiyi voluntarily hand over the land we need."

Ruan Yuan seemed unsure and sighed and said:
"I hope that this negotiation can be resolved by ourselves, and I hope that there is no need for His Royal Highness Prince Dashi to come forward."

Qiu Lianggong's fleet slowed down and entered the Waidongyi Bay in the early morning of the next day.

There are patrol fleets from the northern part of the United States in the bay, all of which are low-level cruisers.

The officers and soldiers on the fleet have already been notified that Ming's fleet will enter the bay and go to Wilmington for negotiations.

Now that they suddenly saw Da Ming's fleet barging in, they were still a little nervous and flustered, and asked about the situation here with a semaphore.

Qiu Lianggong asked people to respond to them normally, and then he led the main fleet to stay in the bay to prevent various emergencies.

Let the fleet headed by two armored cruisers carry Ruan Yuan, Mu Yongfu and guard officers and soldiers deep into the bay.

That afternoon, the fleet that Ruan Yuan was on board entered the mouth of the Delaware River and slowly sailed into the Wilmington Pier.

Ruan Yuan and Mu Yongfu came to the bow and looked at the pier that was getting closer and closer, but gradually found that there were people everywhere on the pier at this time, a scene of a sea of ​​people.

"Is this the whole town coming out..."

(End of this chapter)