I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 98 The victory of the Battle of Dunkirk

When it was almost noon, the king and the bishop simply ate some "king's bread", that is, the bread was filled with cheese, ham and fresh vegetables, and drank hot sweet wine, and then went back to the tower, and in this one In less than an hour, the battle situation has changed again.

  Speaking of which, as long as they have military talents, they all know how important the terrain of the battlefield is to the entire battle situation. Generally speaking, they will try their best to understand every hill, flat land and even rivers and lakes on the battlefield. And Viscount Turenne has a special ability more than ordinary generals, that is, the understanding of the sea, don't forget, after his brother inherited the throne of the Duke of Sedan, he is like the second of every noble family. Son, at the age of fourteen or fifteen, he entered the army of his uncle, Prince Maurice of the Netherlands, who would soon become the Republic of the Netherlands, half of the Commonwealth of the Netherlands. Facing the sea, the navy accounts for the vast majority of their army. To say that a Dutch officer knows nothing about the sea is really a big joke that can make people laugh from the Hundred Years War to the Thirty Years War. Needless to say, Viscount Turenne's uncle was called the genius Maurice, and it can be said that he resurrected Europa's professional army - this is one of the reasons why Viscount Turenne truly surrendered to the king. In the king, he saw a lot of excellence that once belonged to Prince Maurice, especially the importance of the sense of responsibility and morality of the soldiers.

This Prince Maurice certainly did not hesitate to teach his nephew. By his side, Viscount Turenne can be said to have laid the most solid foundation. Among them, Prince Maurice often talked to him about 1600, the Netherlands. The Battle of Newport between the Commonwealth and Spain, in which the Commonwealth of the Netherlands won a remarkable victory, but Prince Maurice still believes that there are many things to regret, one of which is that when they were fighting, the tide It rose so suddenly that both armies had to move, and if that had been what he had anticipated in advance, he would have left more Spaniards in place than allowing the Spaniards to continue to keep the nuisance of the Dutch transport line. military so that the battle ultimately failed to achieve the results they had hoped for.

So before the war, Viscount Turenne had mentioned to the king - although the king was not going to interfere with any plans of the general, it was for this reason that Viscount Turenne reciprocated and told the king about his entire battle. The plan - he said that he would force (if the Spaniards did not do so) the Spaniards to line up with them along the coast, and when the tide receded, when the fighting began to heat up, the tide would recede and the Spaniards' army would be exposed On the right flank, he would mobilize his cavalry reserves to detour from here to attack the unsuspecting Spaniards.

And now, just as the Viscount Turenne had expected, the sea, shimmering with golden light in the sun, was slowly receding into the sea in people's unconsciousness, those stranded fish were still struggling, the French cavalry prepared The team has already begun to gallop, the heavy and hard horseshoes have stepped on the soft sand, leaving deep pits on it, and rushing towards the Spanish army, who has not yet felt it, in the splash of water - they are still immersed in the law. In the battle of the main army, this can be said to be an unexpected, one-sided massacre.

When there is no need to face the large-caliber muskets of the Spaniards, the lances of the edicts can still make countless enemies tremble, when a guy who is covered in heavy armor from man to horse crashes into the formation. , is no different from a solid iron cannonball, leaving behind a **** road. Although some officers immediately shouted for the spearmen to turn, it was too late. When the edicts ordered the knights to draw their broad swords, they were defeated. When the Spaniards and the British cavalry colleagues attacked side by side, Prince Condé, who was in charge of the left wing of the Spanish army, realized that the situation was over, and he began to call for his soldiers and officers, and lead them to the right flank of the French army. Kirk, as long as they come to Dunkirk and enter the city, they can at least keep this part of their existing power.

Prince Condé's idea was very correct. When the king saw the soldiers wearing light maroon shoulder straps running towards Dunkirk on the tower, he couldn't help shouting. Fortunately, Viscount Turenne did not live up to it. The king's expectations, he ordered Sebastian Vauban (this was the king only to know after) to lead only one hundred cavalry and three hundred infantry to intercept - this is the hostility to those who used to work closely The bad thing is, after the war, Viscount Turenne said that he had been keeping an eye on the Prince of Condé, knowing that he was both good at fighting and good at escaping...

Vauban has an outstanding talent in field fortifications, like some kind of echo, and he is also quite good at defense. He led his soldiers to occupy a long and broad sand dune first, and then chopped down the carriage that carried the baggage. The wheel frame, erected a temporary fortification, and ordered the musketeers to rely on it to shoot at the army of Prince Condé—Prince Condé was worthy of being a brave warrior. stood beside him, but smiled at the Viscount Turenne - the first wave of horses that hit the Prince of Condé was killed, he fell to the ground, and several trusted officers dragged him back, in fact if he hadn't Prince Condé may have already ended up with his beloved horse.

To say, if Prince Condé can be given some time, he may also be able to play another ending, but there are not a few people who have the same idea as him, and suddenly find that they are surrounded by people - I mean, they are all French When he left, the Duke of York in England immediately turned pale and had to abandon the soldiers who were entangled by the New Model Army, and resolutely retreated. As soon as he left, the mercenaries of the Holy Roman Empire followed them. The tradition of slipping away when the war was unfavorable, leaving Marshal Don Juan of Spain and his soldiers to persevere hard - did not last long, at least the Prince Condé had not been able to break through the Vauban line of defense here, and the French army was approaching them.

The king was not sure at that time that Prince Condé had been captured, and when he heard the news, he involuntarily shouted, "Long live!" and waved his hat, even the bishop couldn't help showing a not enough A huge reserved smile.

The French army's pursuit and annihilation of the enemy continued until the moon rose, and it would take two days for the specific figures to be counted. About 400 people were killed by the French and the new model army, most of whom were killed. They were killed in the head-on conflict with the Spanish phalanx at the start of the war, but in contrast, more than 1,000 Spanish coalition troops were killed in action, although most of them were British, and more than 5,000 were captured, and these people were large Some are Spanish.

   But to say that the biggest capture was the Marshal Don Juan of Spain, he was the illegitimate son of King Philip IV of Spain and a dancing girl, and was highly valued by the king. The other was Prince Kongdai, a complicated figure.

The Marshal of the Spaniards, accompanied by the Viscount Turenne, had an audience with the king, who was impeccable in his manners and demeanor, and heard that he refused to surrender to the new model army of the British, because they were subservient to a tyrant, but Louis guessed that. This gentleman did not want to fall into the hands of the British, namely Cromwell, who was now at war with the Spaniards - he did not look alarmed, and even expressed his willingness to see Paris with his own eyes. Prosperity, he also knew that his father would soon try to redeem him.

   He was indeed treated like a prince, and his shelter, food, and supplies were second only to the king and bishop.

Compared with this Mr. Tang Huang, Prince Kong Dai's treatment was much worse. After all, he was still a traitor. He was locked in a simple room, always sitting beside the bed with his head lowered, looking like Very frustrated.

   "Did he ever mention to see me?" Louis asked.

   "Not yet," said Viscount Turenne, and then he added at once: "I think it will be soon, Your Majesty."

Seeing his nervous look, Louis couldn't help but smile, knowing that what the Viscount was worried about was that he was unwilling to forgive Prince Kongdai, but even if it wasn't because of the convention here and now, he would not execute Prince Kongdai, or even exile him, because In the military, Prince Condé does have his outstanding points, as well as some of his friends and subordinates. There are still undercurrents in France. The king now even wants to borrow the cat's hand, not to mention the One such military figure.

   "Don't worry," Louis said to Viscount Turenne: "You can persuade him slowly, we still have time—I mean, after the capture of Dunkirk."

   "It won't be a week, Your Majesty, just watch," said Viscount Turenne proudly.

This is not a lie. The defenders of Dunkirk saw that most of the reinforcements were wiped out, and they lost their previous courage and faith. surrendered just a few days later.

When he heard the good news, the king was discussing with the bishop about the funeral of the fallen soldiers. The king had the intention to hold a big mass for them, but the bishop had to remind him that if he did, this matter would be a problem. to become the norm. Routines are routines, and the king is so insistent on this point that he really doesn't understand that his mother, the Queen Mother Anne, can hold mass after God knows who (Louis can only remember a few saints so far) as she pleases , why did Mr. Bishop disapprove of the Mass to commemorate and comfort those soldiers who died for him and for France?

The presence of an interrupting person made the bishop take a breath, but the king immediately grabbed the Viscount Turenne. Of course, the Viscount also agreed to hold a mass for the soldiers. Two to one, the bishop was defeated, but Afterwards, the good news made them raise a sweet wine to celebrate together.

Viscount Turenne proposed that the king should be at the forefront of the army's entrance ceremony in military uniform. The bishop agreed, and Louis did not refuse, because considering that Dunkirk would eventually be handed over to the British, General Munch of the New Model Army was afraid that he would get involved with Viscount Turena over who advanced the city, but if it was the king, then even Cromwell would have nothing to say.

  ———

   The same night, Blois.

Painful and hurried gasps came from the heavy curtain, and the servant of the Duke of Orleans got up from the cot, lit a candle, held the candlestick in one hand, opened the curtain with the other, and moved the candle light to the on the Duke's face, he exclaimed in horror!

   (end of this chapter)