The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 107 Europa Universalis ([-])

June 1725, 6, Berlin, Prussia.

"On May 5, at 10 pm, the Royal Navy of England and the Navy of Qi broke out in the Bay of Algeciras near the Strait of Gibraltar, the first large-scale naval battle since the two countries declared war. For this battle, the Royal Navy of England mobilized large and small forces There are 28 warships and more than 500 officers and soldiers aboard, with the intention of capturing the port of Ceuta occupied by Qi in one fell swoop, completely controlling the Strait of Gibraltar, and blocking the Mediterranean Sea. It is reported that the Qi Navy has only eight warships deployed in the Mediterranean, and the garrison army There are less than [-] officers and soldiers, and the strength of the two sides is very different."

"However, after half a day of fierce fighting between the two navies, the English Royal Navy's landing plan was successfully blocked by the Qi Navy. The English ships lost more than ten ships, four of which were sunk, three seriously damaged, and more than 500 officers and soldiers were killed or injured. . Surprisingly, only two ships of the weak Qi Navy were sunk in the battle, and two ships were seriously damaged, with less than [-] casualties among officers and soldiers. By night, the naval ships of both sides broke away from contact and returned to their respective ports."

"On May 5, the English Royal Navy task force, led by General Grant, arrived in the former Spanish Canary Islands and launched an attack on the Qi army and Moroccan army stationed there. After five days of hard fighting, the English landing force successfully Captured Gran Canaria and Tula Island, and annihilated more than 14 Moroccan officers and soldiers stationed there. However, when they subsequently attacked Tenerife, which was occupied by Qi, they were strongly blocked by the Qi garrison, and four warships were damaged by Qi's shore anti-fire artillery. , and ultimately failed to land and seize the island.”

"..."

King Friedrich William I of Prussia gently placed the battle report in his hand on the table, then stood up and walked to the wall on the side of the hall, carefully observing the huge world map.This map was given to him by the military attache of the Qi State in Berlin a few years ago, and it has always been regarded as a treasure and hung in his own war office.

"When do you expect the expedition fleet sent by Qi to arrive in Europe?" William I looked at Hanzhou, which was alone in the middle of the ocean, and then at the geographical location of Europe, and couldn't help but shook his head.

"Your Majesty, the State of Qi officially declared war on the Kingdom of England on March 3th, three months ago." Count Alfred Hugenberg, Director of the Kingdom's General Staff, took a step forward and stood behind William I. Looking at the world map on the wall, "If Qi has prepared for war in advance, their expedition fleet should arrive in Europe in early July."

"What if Qi didn't prepare for war in advance?"

"Then, Qi's expedition fleet may be postponed to August or September in the North Atlantic." Count Alfred Hugenberg thought for a while and said with a smile: "However, with the professionalism of the Qi General Staff Being cautious and forward-looking, it is impossible for them not to make any preparations for war. I believe that when Qi declared war on England, they must have assembled a task force in South Africa and were heading towards Europe. Perhaps, they had already hidden themselves On some unknown coast of West Africa, waiting for an opportunity to launch a ferocious attack on England."

"England planned to take advantage of the Qi expedition fleet's arrival in Europe to try to capture their naval bases in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. However, they were all defeated by the other side and failed to achieve any strategic goals." William I turned his head and looked at the people in the room. An important court minister and general asked, "So, when the Qi people gather more warships and arrive in Europe, what are the chances of the English winning?"

"The English should have a [-]% chance of winning." Count Hugenberg said: "After all, England has a convenient location and can mobilize more ships and more supplies to fight one or several strategic decisive battles with Qi. If , England can severely defeat Qi's fleet coming from afar after the initial war, then England is likely to gain a certain first-mover advantage and put Qi into a passive situation."

"If England is unable to annihilate the Qi expedition fleet in the early stages of the war, then what will be the direction of the war next?"

"Compared with England, Qi has an absolute advantage in terms of naval size and overall national strength. If England cannot severely damage Qi's expeditionary fleet in the early stages of the war, this means that this war will enter a long-term stalemate. The people of Qi can rely on their strong financial resources and superior number of warships to constantly compete with England, while at the same time attacking England's maritime trade and cutting off England's import and export channels. If the time drags on for a long time, three or five years, England may not be able to persist. If we continue, we will eventually have no choice but to seek peace from Qi."

"In other words, the English must fight quickly. When the Qi expedition fleet arrives in Europe, they must launch a strategic decisive battle at sea. Not only must they defeat them, but they must also be severely damaged. In this way, they can force Qi to end this war. war?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"If, in the early decisive battle at sea, the English were defeated, what would be the result?" William I asked softly.

"Your Majesty, if the result that Your Majesty said really happens, then England will fall into a serious national crisis. It is very likely that England will be forced by military pressure and soon seek peace from Qi." Count Hugenberg thought about it. He thought, shook his head and said with a smile: "However, I think the probability of this happening is very low. It is reported that England has mobilized more than 130 warships in response to this war, and they also have personnel and materials from the island The added advantage was a greater familiarity with the sea conditions and climate of the North Atlantic. In this case, England should not have suffered a huge failure."

"...Unless the Qi people also mobilize more than 100 warships from the Indian Ocean region to come to Europe to have a close battle with the English. However, I think the Qi navy will not take the initiative to seek a decisive battle. This is not in line with them. strategic purpose. Because they need to effectively control core areas of interest such as the Indian Ocean and the East Indies, which does not allow them to dispatch too many ships to Europe."

"However, I heard that more than half of Qi's warships are equipped with steam power, and their maneuverability at sea is far greater than that of ordinary sail warships. Do you think Qi will be able to defeat England in one fell swoop with just a small number of warships? Royal Navy?”

"Your Majesty, although the State of Qi is equipped with a large number of steam warships, after all, this new type of power ship has not experienced large-scale actual combat and cannot yet prove its strong combat effectiveness. Furthermore, the sea is vast and boundless, even if the steam warships The maneuverability is slightly better than that of a sail battleship, but in a naval battle involving dozens or even hundreds of battleships, the effect may not be much enhanced. Moreover, the billowing smoke emitted by the steam battleship during its movement also makes this kind of ship It can be detected by the opponent from a long distance, and lacks the necessary concealment and suddenness, which will make the enemy prepare for battle in advance and lose the opportunity."

When William I heard the words, he nodded, then crossed his arms and paced back and forth in the hall, thinking quietly, as if he was considering some important decision.

"Has the Minister of Qi returned from Sweden?" William I stopped and turned to look at his Minister of State, Baron Franz Gutner.

"Your Majesty, the Minister of Qi has returned to Berlin two days ago." Baron Franz Guttner immediately responded: "The news came from Stockholm that King Carl XII of Sweden moved two small buildings near Gothenburg. The island and its ancillary facilities were sold to Qi State at an extremely low price. Oh, by the way, Sweden also received a low-interest loan of up to 100 million kronor from Qi State."

"The people of Qi are really rich!" William I was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "It seems that Sweden has already sided with the people of Qi."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the people of Qi are indeed very rich." Baron Franz Gutner agreed: "They perfectly took advantage of the contradiction between Sweden and England, and provided a much-needed fund, Karl The [-]th Emperor immediately turned to Qi. It is foreseeable that Qi will definitely use the sea base obtained from Sweden to launch attacks on English merchant ships in the North Sea and Baltic Sea." "Has Austria begun preparing to launch an attack on the Ottomans? Already?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Austrians are constantly mobilizing and gathering their troops and moving towards Wallachia."

"So is the Russian's goal determined? Is it to attack the Ottomans together with the Austrians, or to attack Persia from the Caucasus?"

"According to various indications, the Russians have targeted the Caucasus as the direction of their attack."

"What about the Poles?"

"The Polish Parliament is still arguing over whether to authorize King August II to lead troops to attack the Ottomans." Baron Franz Gutner said with a smile: "It may be that the debate in the Parliament will not reach a final decision in a short time. As a result, King August II had left Warsaw and returned to Dresden (the capital of the Electorate of Saxony) to continue overseeing the construction of the Zwinger Palace.”

"So, our neighbors around Prussia are busy with their own affairs at hand, shouldn't it be time for us to take action?" William I glanced at the map on the wall again, then turned to look at his ministers and generals.

"Your Majesty, the war between England and Qi has just begun. We should continue to wait quietly." Count Hugenberg dissuaded.

"A war often faces an unpredictable crisis, but at the same time, it also brews some rare opportunities." William I said solemnly: "When the outcome of the war becomes clear, then make a decision. The correct choice is naturally the safest method. However, we will inevitably gain very little from it."

"More than ten years ago, we united with Russia, Denmark, Poland, and England, and through a series of wars, we finally expelled Sweden from the North German region. However, the ambitious George I (King of England, Elector of Hanover) and Francis However, Frederick IV (King of Denmark) was eager to establish their respective hegemony in North Germany after Sweden, while August II was deeply wary of our expansion to the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea. I think it's time to break all that. We have to establish our superiority in North Germany while England, Sweden and Poland have no time to worry about anything else."

After William I succeeded to the throne, he implemented extreme militaristic policies.In rural areas, a conscription system has been established to allocate service quotas to approximately 5000 households.Enlisted soldiers must undergo 12 weeks of training each year and be called up when the government calls for them, but they still engage in their respective agricultural and industrial occupations at other times.Officers, on the other hand, imitate the training mechanism of the Qi Military Academy and receive specialized military training.

William I greatly increased taxes at home and rapidly increased the Prussian army from less than 4 to 7 (During this period, Prussia’s population was approximately 170 million, making the army account for 4% of the population), second only to France and Russia in Europe. and Austria.Not only that, he also wisely conserved his military strength and avoided alliances with other major powers, which would have plunged Prussia into an unclear and costly war.

Although William I participated in the Great Northern War against Swedish hegemony, after the war, under the suppression of England and Denmark, he gained very little and only obtained southern Pomerania at the mouth of the Oder River.For this reason, he has always been brooding about the two countries, and their relationship has gradually become alienated.

Although Prussia and Austria are both the two most powerful states in the German Holy Roman Empire, their relationship has always been relatively cold due to competition for the right to speak in the empire.When Austria was beaten by the Ottomans many times, Prussia chose to sit back and watch, happy to see the Habsburg dynasty's jokes.

Before Qi declared war on the Kingdom of England, their envoys lobbied William I several times, hoping that Prussia would side with them and form a military alliance.The navy of Qi was responsible for attacking the Royal Navy of England, while Prussia launched an attack on Hanover to seize England's territory in North Germany (because the Hanoverian dynasty took over the Kingdom of England, the Electorate of Hanover formed a co-ownership confederacy with England).

However, William I was noncommittal about this. He neither rejected the Qi people's suggestions nor mobilized an army to march towards Hanover. It seemed that he planned to wait and see for a while.

In fact, Prussia is one of the few traditional friendly countries between Qi and Qi in Europe. As early as 1679, when Qi organized a task force to visit Europe for the first time, the two countries established diplomatic and trade ties.You must know that at that time, Prussia was just an inconspicuous small German state. After 30 years of brutal war, the territory was in ruins and was in need of revitalization. Not to mention its national strength compared with Austria, even Lüne Countries such as Fortress (the predecessor of Hanover), Saxony, and Bohemia were also greatly inferior.

But at that time, Qi State looked at Prussia in a different light. Not only did it sign a series of political, military and economic cooperation projects with them, it also built an embassy in Berlin and stationed a minister plenipotentiary.Since then, the two countries have continued to deepen exchanges with each other, and also received a large amount of investment from Qi, which has effectively promoted the development of Prussian industry and commerce.

However, based on the friendly relations between the two countries, Prussia wanted to rashly accompany Qi to launch a war against the Kingdom of England. Prussia was cautious and did not dare to make a decision easily.England is the largest country in Europe, with a population of more than 700 million, and the most powerful navy in Europe. Together with the Electorate of Hanover, its strength is several times that of Prussia.

"We are now going to assemble our troops in Wolfsburg." William I ordered: "However, we must not launch an attack on Hanover without an order from the headquarters. We need to create a sufficiently tense war atmosphere in the border areas. Let Hanover and England feel the military threat of our Kingdom of Prussia. I believe that this move will definitely satisfy the people of Qi, so that the long-delayed loan of 200 million marks (1 tael of silver is approximately equal to 3.1-3.2 marks) can be delivered in time Give us."

"Yes, my majesty!" Count Hugenberg breathed a sigh of relief.

Well, just creating a war atmosphere and not getting involved in this war for the time being is the best choice for Prussia.

"Oh, by the way, what are the French doing? Are they just actively preparing for their king's wedding and ignoring this war?"

(End of this chapter)