Chapter 652： Crazy preparation

Henry VII is a clever monarch, and of course, his stepfather Thomas Stanley is an old fox. As soon as the two foxes negotiated, they drew up a detailed plan to pit the French. Of course, they didn't know that they were just mantises that caught cicadas. In private, there was a carduelis ambushing.

However, this should not blame them. Because of the ignorance and barbarism of the Middle Ages in Europe, few people in Europe are good at conspiracy. Things like Henry VII and Thomas Stanley are already outstanding.

Henry VII knew that there were many French spies in the city of London. Even among the officials, there may be French eyeliners. Of course, Henry VII can be sure that his cronies are no problem. Because he had already sent someone to investigate his cronies in detail.

In order to further deceive France, Henry VII convened Congress and asked Congress to grant the right to collect war taxes. In this era, the king ’s use of force did not require approval by Congress. However, if you want to levy the taxes necessary for war, you must obtain authorization from Congress.

In Congress, Henry VII generously reprimanded Edward's rebellion. At the same time, he denied Edward's allegations. Henry VII believed that the killing of Richard III was unmistakable, and it was clear throughout England. As for his identity is not suitable for being a king, isn't he married Princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Edward IV?

Members of Congress of course agree, because it was they who held Henry VII as the King of England. Therefore, they naturally would not hit their faces.

Moreover, the parliamentarians understand that once Edward wins, it is possible to liquidate those who support Henry VII. Therefore, Henry VII won and they had a good ending. Otherwise, it may be hanged.

Therefore, the request of Henry VII to increase the war tax was approved by Congress. But what puzzled them was that the amount of war tax requested by Henry VII was a bit large ...

Where do they know that Henry VII is desperately trying to deal with Edward, but in fact, he is trying his best to destroy the French aggressor army.

To fight Edward, Henry VII can even afford the related costs without even relying on the support of Congress. To fight the French army, it will cost a lot of money ...

According to intelligence, the French army will probably send more than 20,000 troops to invade England. As for the number of ships, there are about 100 large ships (displacement of more than 200 tons, which is even a big ship during the period), and the rest are many small boats, probably hundreds of ships, to carry 20,000 troops.

Henry VII had sent a Clipper to Italy and the Baltic region to recall those large merchant ships, and it is estimated that he would be able to return within this month. Where those ships are sent to is recorded in the Five-Port Alliance, and it is also convenient to send the Clippers to chase them.

Moreover, Marin actually gave enough time to return home. Maybe there is no need to recall, the ships are almost back.

There are more than one hundred large commercial ships that have been opened. Although the number is not much different from that of the French big ships, the British are better at naval warfare. Moreover, there are many masters who understand archery. In naval battles, it is important to shoot rockets to burn the sails of enemy ships, and ordinary arrows to kill enemy personnel. Of course, here is the traditional naval warfare ...

French sailors are less familiar with naval warfare than British sailors, and archery is no better than English. As for loading artillery on board, the French have not yet done so. Because the main ship type of the French, like the British, is also a Kirk sailing ship. Only the Mediterranean port of Marseille and other places, under the influence of the nearby Kingdom of Aragon, there appeared some Clark sailing ships, also equipped with some artillery, but a small number. Moreover, the caliber of the artillery is also very small, only two or three pounds. In fact, the infantry artillery is only loaded on the ship, and it is not powerful.

Therefore, as long as the main force of the English navy is in place, even if the number of French naval ships is dominant, they cannot beat the English navy. This is also an important reason why the French have reconnaissance and confirmed that the main force of the English navy was released before they were willing to send troops.

...

Henry VII's speech in Congress was quickly revealed by some big-mouthed MPs. However, the cunning Henry VII is to let the news go out, so that the French heart can be settled.

So, the spies in France and London sent back intelligence-Henry VII was very irritated by Edward's words, and it seemed that he planned to do his utmost to eliminate Edward's army who landed in Northwest England ... So, the French not worried……

But in private, the inner palace that no outsiders could see, Henry VII summoned Thomas Stanley and other men to discuss major events in preparation for France ...

"John (John Deinham, Henry VII's palace minister), are the war preparations fully prepared?" Henry VII looked at his prime minister with concern.

"Your Majesty, it is still in preparation. Because it is naval warfare, it may require a large amount of arrows to be stocked this time. According to the estimation of the minister, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of long arrows are needed to meet the needs of naval warfare. However, in the current arsenal, probably There is only a reserve of 100,000 arrows. If you collect arrows from all over the country, it is estimated that 100,000 arrows will be collected. However, it is still not enough. "Baron John Deinham, the minister, replied.

Because it is necessary to fight against the French at sea, shooting across the sea will become the theme. The English Navy has about six thousand sailors who are good at archery. If each person carries 30 arrows, more than 180,000 arrows are required.

However, this is only equipped for land combat. For naval battles, each archer must have more than one arrow. Because, after shooting an arrow with a quiver, the archer needs a long rest period. After all, archery is also very labor intensive. But the opponent will definitely not give you a slow rest. By the time you finish shooting the arrow of a quiver, your opponent must have launched a decisive charge. Therefore, in land battles, archers have basically no chance of shooting a second barrel of arrows. Unless, in the city offensive and defensive warfare, there is such an opportunity.

However, naval warfare is different. In the traditional naval warfare, it was not a direct battle at the beginning, but it required constant trial and error, and fired with each other. Only after both parties have lost their patience, or one party is suppressed, will they launch a side-to-side battle, and the battle will be determined.

However, British navy sailors are good at archery, and they certainly have the upper hand in this mutual temptation attack. Therefore, it is not necessary for them to prematurely jump directly with the enemy to help cut. You know, the intensive arrow rain can also kill the enemy a lot. Moreover, the rocket can also burn the opponent's sail. With good luck, it is possible to burn the other ship. Therefore, the English navy will definitely choose to fight for a long time first, relying on bows and arrows to suppress the French crew. When the French were depressed by the arrow rain in England and the morale was low, and then jumped to help fight the battle, the chances of winning were even greater ... All along, the English navy was relying on this tactic to suppress the French navy ...

Because the fighting time is very long, there are many opportunities for mutual shooting. Therefore, an archer is often equipped with several barrels of arrows. Therefore, for more than six thousand English sailors who are good at archery, the reserve of 100,000 arrows is absolutely insufficient. The best thing is that each naval shooter has more than 100 arrows. Just this way, you need at least 600,000 arrows ...

Henry VII gritted his teeth and said:

"Instruct all the blacksmiths in the private sector to build arrows. The carpenters make the shafts. At the same time, the farmers who raise ducks and geese are slaughtered to supply enough feathers for the arrow feathers ... 600,000 arrows! Of course, do n’t let go of the collection of civilian arrows. Now there are a lot of arrows suitable for military archery. All arrows that meet military regulations are collected and used as combat supplies! "

There are quite a few people in England who shoot archery, but not all arrows meet military requirements. Although many poor people practice archery, they use inferior arrows, and the workmanship is very poor, which is not suitable for battlefield use. Therefore, although there are many people shooting in England, not many arrows can be collected that meet the military requirements. Many ordinary people, because iron arrows are expensive, even use stone arrows and bone arrows as usual, and the shafts and feathers are also very rough. Only the wealthier people will be equipped with a set of 30 good arrows made of sharp iron arrows, and the body and feathers of the arrows are also more sophisticated. Only such arrows can meet military requirements.

After a slight pause, Henry VII continued to order:

"Send people to those sheep farms to collect enough sheep oil to be used for rockets during naval warfare ..."

During naval battles, rags are often tied around the arrows and dipped in grease. When it's on fire, it becomes a rocket. Shooting a rocket on an enemy ship can not only kill the enemy, but also ignite the sail or even the hull of the enemy ship. Therefore, during the naval battle, the English navy liked to shoot rockets. As for fats and oils, England is a big country for raising sheep. There is no shortage of goat oil. Although fats and oils are expensive this year, Henry VII apparently did not want to pay for them. Therefore, it is only in the name of the need of war to forcefully confiscate sheep oil from sheep farmers ...

In order to win France and eliminate threats, Henry VII is also crazy. To this end, Henry VII intends to prepare hundreds of thousands of long arrows, and enough sheep oil, intends to use the rockets to send the French and French ships into the sea to feed fish ...

After explaining the supply of arrows, Henry VII turned his attention to Navy Secretary Charlie Johnson:

"Charlie, how well did the ship's recruitment work? And the recruitment of sailors?"

"Your Majesty, 180 medium-sized warships (with a displacement of more than 100 tons) and more than 200 other boats have been collected. In addition to more than 100 large ships (with a displacement of more than 200 tons) that have been cheated overseas, there are 15 large ships in the country. They have all been hidden in river bays on the southeast coast. Once the war begins, these ships will all attack and attack the French fleet! "

Henry VII frowned, saying:

"Is there only so many big ships in England? I remember there are at least 200 or so big ships? Why are there only so many ships to apply for?"

Charlie Johnson said awkwardly:

"Your Majesty, some shipowners have some beginnings, and we are not good at forcing others ..." The host behind some big ships is the nobleman, and the Navy Secretary Charlie Johnson is certainly not easy to force. Therefore, the large merchant ships that are usually applied for are actually more than 100 large merchant ships with weak backgrounds.

Henry VII frowned when he heard it, and then his eyes showed madness. He said fiercely to Charlie Johnson:

"All forcibly, this is the battle of the National Games. If we lose, we will have nothing. So, all forcibly entered the navy to participate in this naval battle!"

"Most ships are fine, but ... among them, there are dozens of ships that are not British ..." Charlie Johnson said hesitantly. In the face of the national war, the ship of its own country is of course obliged to join the war, but the ship of the foreign country ...

"Not British? Whose ship?" Henry VII frowned.

"It's mainly the Hanseatic League, they have stores in England, and there are more big ships ..."

"It turns out they ..." Henry VII suddenly realized.

Indeed, the Hanseatic League is now in a glorious period, and the Hanseatic League is still very influential in Britain. Even during the Hundred Years War between Britain and France, the King of England hired the Kirk sailboat of the Hanseatic League to help transport troops to France. There are naturally many big ships in their hands.

Eventually, after hesitating for a while, Henry VII ordered:

"Forcibly borrow the boat! But don't hurt those Hansa merchants ... In addition, promise to pay a high commission ... However, in order to urge them to join the war and prevent them from working hard, the captain must be replaced by ours, and the sailors should also be replaced. half!"

Charlie Johnson nodded and immediately arranged to "borrow" the boat. To deal with France, the whole of England was prepared nervously. From the outside, it seems that it is going to deal with the Edwardian rebels in the north. But in fact, it was to deal with the French ... In order to defeat the French, Henry VII was also mad, and actually even forced to "borrow" foreign merchant ships. The Hanseatic League was not vegetarian at this time. Afterwards, they will definitely make some commercial countermeasures, such as trade sanctions, and it will definitely make England hurt.

But now Henry VII can't manage that much anymore. For him ~ www.novelhall.com ~ defeating France is the most important thing. If he loses to France, his throne will not be saved, and maybe people will be killed like Richard III. So, what offends the Hanseatic League? As long as France is defeated, England will be able to gain stability for decades, and it will also be able to win its reputation. Therefore, some costs are nothing.

Even Henry VII hoped that through the victory of this naval battle, he would take the opportunity to counterattack to the French mainland and retake the Calais fortress. As a result, England will regain its foothold on the European continent. With this foothold, England can guarantee sufficient interference with the Continental. For example, send a soldier to disturb the border of northeastern France ...

What makes Marin cry is that his ten North Sea Chamber of Commerce long-term moored ten 200-ton Kirk sailboats in London docks were also conscripted by Henry VII ...

The spies of the Beihai Chamber of Commerce immediately sent people to the north to find Marin's big camp in the old forest of the deep mountain, and asked Marin how to deal with it. Marin couldn't help crying, but he knew that Britain's defeat of the French Navy was good for him. So he told the messenger:

"Let them obey the call, but our core sailors do not participate in the war, only handing over the control of the ships and the English sailors hired locally. Desperately for the English, not worth ...

After that, Marin shook his head and said:

"Henry VII is really crazy ... However, it is probably only such a crazy demon that can completely defeat the French ... not crazy and not alive ..."

However, Marin added a sentence in his heart-"It is difficult to survive even if it is crazy ..."

Because, Henry VII is just the mantis that catches cicadas. And Marin and his 20,000 army, hiding in the old woods of the deep mountains in the north of England, are the cardinals who laugh to the end ...