Chapter 653： The crossing begins

At the end of May and early June, the French fleet and men were ready. -At the same time, more than one hundred large ships and outstanding sailors who were deceived abroad by the British also returned to England one after another.

However, when these ships returned to their voyages, they basically met the Clippers sent by the royal family, and were notified of the impending outbreak of the Great War between Britain and France. Therefore, those ships avoided the French when returning from Italy and the Baltic Sea.

Merchant ships returning from the Baltic Sea did not pass the Calais Strait, but concentrated directly north of the Thames estuary. It is best to prepare for interception through the Calais Strait at any time. In order not to be discovered by the French, dozens of large merchant ships returning from Italy chose to cross the English Channel at night and then hid in the Southampton Bay on the north side of the Isle of Wight.

Southampton Bay is located on the south side of Southampton Port, at the intersection of the estuary of the Test River and Icahn River. The bay is relatively wide. On the south side of Southampton Bay, there is the Isle of Wight, which is an excellent hidden ambush place from the Solent Strait between the Isle of Wight and the mainland of England. The 54 large merchant ships returning from Italy were ambushed in Southampton Bay, repaired in Southampton Port, and supplemented with reorganized bow and arrow, sheep oil, swords, armor and other naval war materials. Then, these ships were in Southampton Bay, waiting for the French fleet to cross ...

However, the French did not quite understand the arrangement of the British. The French do not have telescopes. Although the English Channel is only one or two hundred kilometers wide, it can be difficult to see very far through the ‘naked’ eyes. What's more, the Southampton Bay of the ambush fleet is separated by a small Isle of Wight. This island, which was taken by Marin, blocked the French.

As for the Strait of Calais, it was only over thirty kilometers wide, and the French sent ships to see the opposite. However, the British did not have any combat ships at all here, only a few small fishing boats. Finally, after reconnaissance, after finding nothing strange, Louis XII decided that 20,000 French troops, together with tens of thousands of horses and hundreds of artillery, and a large number of logistics supplies such as food supplies, were shipped together and immediately Ready to cross the sea ...

But when Louis XII came to the mouth of the Seine in person and arranged for the French army to cross the sea on a large scale, Marin suddenly sent his men to chase and said-the battle on the island of England was "missing" and the two sides were facing each other, but they can watch The army on the opposite side does not look very sharp. At the same time, 10 merchant ships of their own in the Port of London were forcibly conscripted by Henry VII as military vessels, so they worried that the situation would change, and asked the French army to delay the crossing, and wait until the situation became clear ...

These words are very vague, and did not name the ten commercial ships that were forcibly recruited by the British. And the French are already on the line at this time, what are you talking about ...

Marin's messenger ran to say this at this time, so angry that Louis XII almost wanted to kill Marin's messenger. Because, this news is too morale. Moreover, the news is so confusing, it does not provide any valuable information. Just suspicion, let the 20,000 French army and more than 10,000 strong people on the string, and the animals and supplies stop crossing the sea ... doubt you are a hammer ...

Louis XII impatiently drove away Marin's messenger and blocked the news. Then, firmly arranged that the army began to cross the sea ...

In fact, Marin was intentional. He deliberately sent a messenger to stop when the French army was about to cross the sea. At this time, a fully prepared Frenchman is unlikely to listen to Marin's persuasion. In this way, the French will suffer a big loss in the future, so don't blame Marin-it's really not me who counts you, I finally stopped you, you just don't listen ...

In fact, Marin's messenger arrived in Paris long before, but he never showed up. When the French ‘get’ all the army and supplies to the seaside, they all prayed and were about to cross the sea before they suddenly appeared, blocking the French from crossing the sea, and the reason was vague ... Will the French listen?

But it doesn't matter, Marin just wanted to take himself out-I gave you a warning, you have to cross the sea, don't blame me if you are hungry ...

Louis XII did not believe in Marin's intelligence, but his men repeatedly carried out reconnaissance in the English Channel, and indeed no trace of the British large fleet was found. Therefore, he believed the eyes of his men, not Marlin's vague judgment.

Even Louis XII suspected that Marin deliberately prevented the French from crossing the sea. Perhaps Edward knew something and did not want the French to cross the sea to participate in the decisive battle. In this way, after the victory of Edward, there is no need to share the benefits with the French ...

What Marin's messenger said was also very vague, saying that let the French wait for a while, and wait for the situation to clear the sea-Minglang you a hammer! When the situation is clear and the decisive battle is over, what else can the French divide? How can France annex England if it takes the opportunity to gain a foothold in England?

Anyway, the clever Louis XII didn't believe what the Marin messenger said, but believed his own judgment-this is the merit of smart people, but sometimes it also becomes a shortcoming ... Moreover, thousands of troops are ready, never Will stop sending troops because of a doubtful sentence-the arrow is on the string, and I have to send ...

After driving away Marin's messengers who were "gut's minds", Louis XII held a grand expedition ceremony at the mouth of the Seine. Then, the first ships began to load infantry and prepared to cross the sea ...

Because there are too many troops, animals and supplies crossing the sea, they can't fit in one sex. Therefore, the French decided to cross the sea in two batches. Among them, the 100 large ships collected from all over the country will not bear the task of carrying people and cargo. Their task is to **** the fleet and prepare for the British counterattack. The remaining small and medium-sized ships are responsible for loading personnel and materials. Of course, those nobles and knights acted with the big ship. If necessary, they will also participate in naval battles.

The first batch of ships was 5000 infantry and 5,000 civilians, as well as a large number of construction materials. Their task is to first reach the coast of England and find a foothold. Then, embark on the shore and start to build camps and temporary long bridge wharves to supply ships for docking.

The first batch of 5000 infantry landed on the shore to protect the foothold. The 5,000 people are responsible for the construction of temporary military camps and temporary bridges.

Not only the 10,000 people, but also a lot of building materials. There are wooden piles, fences and tents to build camps, and a large number of timbers to build temporary long bridge docks ...

As for the destination of this crossing, the French chose Hastings, a five-port alliance port ...

This place was chosen because it was one of the most important ports in the English Channel in the early 16th century. The pier and harbor here are very suitable for the call of the army.

As for other places ~ www.novelhall.com ~ The French are not familiar with the local hydrology and do not know whether the water depth is suitable for landing ... If the boat is stranded in the coastal area where the water is shallow, then it is over ... So, the French choose Landing in the port of Hastings, a five-port alliance ...

In fact, England also has many excellent harbors in other areas of the English Channel. For example, the Plymouth Port to the west includes the Port of Southampton with the ambush fleet of Henry VII. However, the French's strategic intention was to quickly surround London. Therefore, those ports on the west side do not meet the requirements of the French.

Only Hastings Port, closer to London, is located in the southeast of London. After landing from the port of Hastings, the army could encircle London in two or three days. Then ... Hey, hey ... Louis XII "lu" has a smug smile-England, you are mine ...

After standing on the high platform of the dock and giving a speech of encouragement, Louis XII "pulled out" his sword and ordered with great enthusiasm:

"set off!"

So, the first batch of ships full of 5,000 infantry, 5,000 civilians and a lot of construction materials, escorted by 100 large ships, went straight to the important port of Hastings, England ...