Chapter 656： Naval battle begins

Valgery was originally one of Louis XII's knighthood slaves, from a common knightly family in Orleans. However, Valjery was loyal to Louis XII, and he was relatively talented among Louis XII's guards.

When Louis XII was lucky to become a king, Valjeri also followed "Chicken Dogs". Because of the centralization of power, Louis XII naturally relied more on these cronies. Even though many big nobles are better, for Louis XII, he valued loyalty more.

"Your Majesty, why don't you let me take part in the fight?" A 15- or 16-year-old boy said dissatisfiedly with Louis XII who was watching the fleet leaving.

"No, Gaston! Child, you are still young, the war is so cruel, wait for you to grow up, I will let you lead alone ..." Louis Twelve turned back lovingly and said to the teenager.

The boy's name is Gaston de Foix, the son of Mary of Louis XII's sister Orleans, and is now only 16 years old. And this guy is also the commander-in-chief of the French army in the battle of Ravenna, which originally occurred in 1512. However, this unlucky **** died inexplicably in that battle. However, the French army won. At that time, he was only 23 years old. But at the age of 23, he can lead more than 20,000 French troops, which shows that he is valued by Louis XII. After all, he is the nephew of Louis XII and must be valued. However, at the moment, Lord Gaston, the Duke of Narbonne, is only 16 years old. Although he is officially a knight, Louis XII believes that his martial arts are not home, and he has not reached the level of being on the battlefield ...

There were no accidents on the first day of the French voyage. After all, the British are not stupid. If the French had just gone to sea, they would send a large number of warships to siege, and it would definitely scare the French back.

But on the night of the first day, Henry VII sent a large number of warships and quietly passed the Straits of Calais in the middle of the night ...

It stands to reason that in this era, sailing in the middle of the night is very dangerous. However, in order to achieve the purpose of sneak attack, Henry VII chose to sail in the middle of the night.

At the same time, there was a riot in the city of Calais, France ...

After all, the British have operated in the Calais fortress for many years. Although they were taken by the French, they still left too many hidden piles. In order to cover the fleet crossing the sea, Henry VII outrageously ordered the agents of the Calais fortress to start a riot that night, attracting all the attention of the French army of the Calais fortress. However, the British also paid the price of losing more than 30 agents. But in the eyes of Henry VII, it was worth it ...

Under the cover of the night and the riots of the agents, about 150 large ships and more than 400 boats passed through the Strait of Calais. Among the 150 large ships, there were 10 Kirk sailboats forcibly recruited from the North Sea Chamber of Commerce in Marin ... Of course, the captain and most of the sailors on the ship were replaced by Englishmen to facilitate command and unified action ... …

After safely passing the Calais Strait, the fleet continued to sail westward. Even after arriving near the port of Hastings, he did not stop, but continued to sail westward ...

As for why this is so? Because the English Channel is a prevailing westerly zone, westerly winds are blowing throughout the Channel. If you come from the east to cover the back of the French fleet, it is likely that the speed is not enough. After all, sailing against the wind.

Therefore, Henry VII let the fleet sail westward along the English side of the English Channel. After dawn the next day, the fleet did not stop detailed navigation, but went westward ...

Moreover, the French did not find this fleet ...

Because the English Channel is one or two hundred kilometers wide, the French sailed halfway, and one hundred kilometers away from the coast of England. But in this era, apart from the traverser Marin, people in other countries do not have telescopes. The human eye can only see the blurred shadow more than ten kilometers away, and it is impossible to see it 100 kilometers away. Therefore, the British sailing westward, the French will not find it even in the daytime ...

At the same time, Wallace's mixed fleet, which was originally ambushed in the port of Southampton, with a dauntless spirit, lined up from Southampton Port and headed southeast-they will be on the sea Interception of the French fleet ...

Wallace was filled with anxiety at this time. Only 54 warships under his command could compete with the 100 French warships. As for the dozens of small boats, they can only play an auxiliary role in the battle between large ships. Of course, they went to intercept the French transport fleet trying to land, but it was not a problem. Moreover, Henry VII originally arranged this way-Wallace led 54 big ships against 100 big ships of the French. The other boats are responsible for intercepting the French transport fleet ...

But when he thought that he would take 54 ships against 100 French main battleships, Wallace could not help but drum. In the past, sea battles broke out between Britain and France. Although England has won every time, the advantage is not great. In every naval battle, the British have no fewer warships than their opponents. Then, by being more familiar with the advantages of naval warfare and archery, it was possible to defeat the French fleet. In other words, the British are not capable of defeating the French army by winning more with less. After all, the ship types used by both sides are similar, only the sailors are of slightly higher quality and have the advantage of archery. Otherwise, the two countries are not very different. Under such circumstances, it seems dangerous to intercept 100 large ships with 54 large ships ...

However, thinking of the promises made before Henry VII, Wallace was full of fighting spirit ... because, Henry VII promised that-if Wallace completed the task of this naval battle well, dragging the French on the sea Fleet, then, after the victory of the war, Wallace will become the hereditary baron and obtain a fertile land ...

Thinking of this, Wallace's heart was very hot ...

The Wallace family is from Scotland and was originally a family of shipowners in New Romney Port, one of the five-port alliance. In 1485, when Henry VII started to fight back from Brittany to England, Wallace's father, Old Wallace, bet on Henry VII to help Henry VII transport French mercenaries to England. Not only that, the old Wallace also gave part of the family property, to Henry VII as military expenses.

As a result, Wallace's father and son, as Scottish merchants, were bound by Henry VII and became a jazz. Of course, it is not hereditary. In other words, Wallace's son cannot be hereditary ...

The title of the baron thrown by Henry VII had a fatal temptation for Wallace. As long as he became a baron, his descendants will be the baron from generation to generation and become the standard aristocratic family. As long as there is no heir or rebellion ~ www.novelhall.com ~ will always be rich.

"For the baron, fight!" Wallace clenched his fists ...

At noon, the French fleet had crossed the middle line of the English Channel farther and closer to Hastings Port. At this time, the French fleet commander Earl Valjeri was surprised to find that-an English fleet appeared in front ... It seems that they came to intercept ...

Earl Valjeri was nervous for a moment. After all, the strength of the English navy penetrated the French. It ’s absolutely deceiving to meet the English Navy Fleet and say not to be nervous ...

But soon, Earl Valjeri was not nervous ...

Why? Because, the good-looking sailors in the fleet report that the opponent's fleet is only about 50 large ships. The rest are boats ...

Although the English navy's combat power is stronger than that of France, it is not the difference between heaven and earth, it is just a skill. Nowadays, with the obvious gap between the enemy and ours, and the fact that our side has a greater advantage, the French have no reason to counsel. Moreover, they are almost approaching the main island of England, and there is no reason to retreat. So Earl Valjeri ordered loudly:

"All the transport ships are on standby! All the battleships, gather together, impact the British guy's fleet!"

Because there are no flags, the French can only rely on the loud-sounding sailor to relay the command. For a time, the sea was full of loud screams of sailors ...

At the same time, the opposite fleet of England. Wallace also ordered loudly:

"All battleships, spread out to meet the enemy! Don't touch it first, use battle and archery to fight the opponent!"

The strength of the Englishman lies in archery. Naturally, it is necessary to disperse the formation and keep a distance from the opponent in order to give full play to the advantages of archery. If he came to France to fight side by side, then the English would have no advantage ....

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