The Rise of the European Emperor

Henry VII was a wise monarch, of course, his stepfather Thomas Stanley was an old fox. As soon as the two foxes negotiated, they made a detailed plan to trap the French. Of course, they didn't know that they were just mantises catching cicadas. In private, there was a oriole in ambush.

However, it's not their fault. Because of the ignorance and barbarism of the Middle Ages, there are very few people in Europe who are good at intrigues. The likes of Henry VII and Thomas Stanley are already outstanding.

Henry VII understood that there were many French spies in London. Even among the officials, there may be French eyeliners. Of course, Henry VII can be sure that his trusted ministers are fine. Because he had already sent someone to investigate his cronies in detail.

In order to further deceive France, Henry VII convened Congress, asking Congress to grant the right to levy a war tax. In this day and age, the king did not need parliamentary approval to use force. However, to raise the taxes needed for the war, Congress must authorize it.

In Parliament, Henry VII spoke generously, berating Edward for this treason. Meanwhile, he denied Edward's allegations. Henry VII believed that Richard III's murder of the monarch was unequivocal, and it was clear to all of England. As for his status as unsuitable to be a king, isn't he married to Princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Edward IV... So, Henry VII decided that he is the legitimate monarch...

Of course the members of Parliament agreed, because they were the ones who made Henry VII the king of England in the first place. Therefore, they naturally won't slap themselves in the face.

Moreover, the MPs understood that once Edward won, there was a high possibility of liquidation for those who supported Henry VII. Therefore, Henry VII won, and they had a good end. Otherwise, it is likely to be hanged.

Therefore, for Henry VII's request for an additional war tax, Congress approved it. However, what puzzled them was that the amount of war tax Henry VII demanded was a bit large...

How did they know that Henry VII was trying his best to deal with Edward on the surface, but in fact, he was planning to use his national strength to destroy the French invaders.

To fight an Edward, Henry VII does not even need the support of Congress to cover the related costs. But to fight the French army, it will cost a lot...

According to intelligence, the French army will probably send an army of more than 20,000 people to invade England. As for the number of ships, there are about 100 large ships (with a displacement of more than 200 tons, which is considered a large ship in this period), and the rest are many small ships, about a few hundred ships, to carry 20,000 troops.

Henry VII has sent clippers to Italy and the Baltic region to recall those large merchant ships, and it is estimated that they will be back within this month. Where those ships were sent to, there was a record in the Five-Port Alliance, and it was convenient to send a clipper to chase them.

Moreover, Marin actually gave enough time to return. Chances are, there's no need for a recall, those ships are almost back.

There were more than 100 large merchant ships that were set aside. Although the number was not much different from the large French ships, the British were better at naval warfare. Moreover, there are many masters who know archery. In naval battles, it is very important to shoot rockets to burn the sails of enemy ships, and to kill enemy personnel with ordinary arrows. Of course, we're talking about traditional naval battles...

French sailors are not as familiar with naval warfare as English sailors, and archery is no better than the English. As for the installation of artillery on the ship, the French have not done it yet. Because, the main ship type of the French, like the British, is the Kirk sailboat. Only in the Mediterranean port of Marseille and other places, influenced by the nearby kingdom of Aragon, some Clark sailboats appeared and were also equipped with some artillery, but the number was very small. Moreover, the caliber of the artillery is also very small, only two or three pounds. In fact, it is only an infantry artillery that has been put on the ship, and its power is not large.

Therefore, as long as the main force of the English navy is present, even if the number of French naval ships is dominant, they cannot defeat the English navy. That's why, the French had to reconnaissance and confirmed that after the main force of the English navy was transferred,

An important reason for being willing to send troops.

...

Henry VII's speech in Congress was quickly revealed by some big-mouthed MPs. However, the cunning Henry VII just wanted to release the news, so as to reassure France.

As a result, spies from France and London sent back information one after another—Henry VII was very angry at Edward’s words, and seemed to plan to use his national strength to destroy Edward’s army that landed in northwest England... In this way, the French were even more not worried……

But in private, in the inner palace that outsiders can't see, Henry VII summoned Thomas Stanley and other men to discuss the important matter of preparing for France...

"John (John Deingham, Henry VII's palace minister), are all the supplies ready?" Henry VII looked at his prime minister with concern.

"Your Majesty, it is still under preparation. Because it is a naval battle, it may be necessary to reserve a large number of arrows this time. According to the minister's estimation, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of long arrows will be needed to meet the needs of the naval battle. However, the current arsenal is about There is only a reserve of 100,000 arrows. If you collect arrows from all over the country, it is estimated that you can collect 100,000 arrows. However, it is not enough." The palace minister, Baron John Deingham replied.

Because we have to fight the French to the death at sea, the shooting of the ships at sea will become the theme. There are about 6,000 sailors in the English Navy who are skilled at archery. If each person carries a quiver with 30 arrows, more than 180,000 arrows are needed.

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

But the naval battle is different. In the traditional naval battle, it is not a direct battle against the side at the beginning, but requires constant testing and shooting each other. Only when both sides have lost patience, or one side is suppressed, will a battle to take over will be launched, and the world will be settled in one battle.

However, the British navy sailors, who were good at archery, must have the upper hand in such mutual probing attacks. Therefore, there is no need for them to jump into the boat and slash with the enemy prematurely. You know, the dense rain of arrows can also kill a lot of enemy troops. Moreover, rockets can also burn the opponent's sails. If you are lucky, you may also burn the other party's ship. Therefore, the English navy will definitely choose to fight for a long time first, and rely on the bow and arrow to suppress the French crew. When the morale of the French is depressed by the rain of arrows in England, and then jumping into the boat to help fight a decisive battle, the odds of winning will be even greater... For a long time, the English navy has been suppressed by this tactic to make the French navy unstoppable...

Because the fighting time is very long, there are many opportunities for mutual shooting. Therefore, an archer often has to be equipped with several barrels of arrows. Therefore, for the more than 6,000 English sailors who are good at archery, the reserve of 100,000 arrows is definitely not enough. At best, every navy archer should carry more than 100 arrows. Just this way, at least 600,000 arrows are needed...

Henry VII gritted his teeth and said:

"Instruct all blacksmith shops in the private sector to make arrows with all their might. And carpenters make every effort to make arrow shafts. At the same time, I instruct those farmers who breed ducks and geese to slaughter them on a large scale to supply enough feathers for arrow feathers... We must gather enough feathers as soon as possible. 600,000 arrows! Of course, don’t let the collection of civilian arrows go unnoticed. Now that all people are shooting arrows, there should be quite a few arrows that meet military regulations. All arrows that meet military regulations are collected and used as war preparation materials!”

There are quite a lot of folk archers in England, but not all arrows meet the military requirements. Many poor families practice archery, but they use low-quality arrows with poor workmanship and are not suitable for use in the battlefield at all. Therefore, although there are many people who shoot arrows in England, the arrows that can meet the military requirements are not many. Many ordinary people, because iron arrows are expensive, even use stone arrows and bone arrows for their daily use, and the workmanship of arrow shafts and arrow feathers is also very rough. Only the wealthier families will be equipped with a barrel of 30 high-quality arrows made of sharp iron arrows, and the arrow bodies and arrow feathers are also more exquisite in workmanship. Such arrows meet military requirements.

After a short pause, Henry VII continued to order:

"Send people to those sheep farms to collect enough suet for rockets in naval battles..."

In naval battles, rags are often tied near the arrow and dipped in grease. Fire it up and it becomes a rocket. Shooting a rocket onto an enemy ship can not only kill the enemy, but also possibly ignite the sails and even the hull of the enemy ship, killing two birds with one stone. Therefore, in naval battles, the English Navy likes to shoot rockets. As for oil, England is a big country for raising sheep, and there is no shortage of sheep oil. Although grease is expensive these days, Henry VII clearly didn't want to pay for it. Therefore, only in the name of war needs, forcibly confiscated sheep oil from sheep farmers...

In order to defeat France and eliminate the threat, Henry VII also went crazy. To this end, Henry VII planned to prepare hundreds of thousands of long arrows and enough suet, and planned to use the sky-filled rockets to send the French and French ships into the sea to feed the fish...

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

"Charlie, how's the collection of ships going? And the recruitment of sailors?"

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

Henry VII frowned and said:

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

Charlie Johnson said with some embarrassment:

"Your Majesty, some ship owners have some backgrounds, and we don't want to force them..." The owners behind some large ships are nobles, and Admiral Charlie Johnson is of course not good at forcing them. Therefore, the large merchant ships that are usually recruited are actually more than 100 large merchant ships with weak backgrounds.

Henry VII frowned after hearing this, and then revealed madness in his eyes, he said fiercely to Charlie Johnson:

"All forced recruitment, this time is the battle of national fortune. If we lose, we will have nothing. Therefore, all forced into the navy and participate in this naval battle!"

"Most of the ships are fine, but... Among them, there are dozens of non-British ships..." Charlie Johnson said hesitantly. In the face of national wars, domestic ships are of course bound to participate in the war, but foreign ships...

"Not from England? Whose ship?" Henry VII frowned.

"Mainly from the Hanseatic League, they have a trading post in England, and there are more large ships..."

"It turned out to be them..." Henry VII suddenly realized.

Indeed, now the Hanseatic League is in its glory days, 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. They naturally have a lot of big ships in their hands.

In the end, after hesitating for a while, Henry VII ordered:

"Forcibly borrow the boat! But don't hurt those Hanseatic merchants... In addition, promise to pay high commissions... However, in order to urge them to participate in the war and prevent them from failing to work hard, the captains will be replaced by our people, and the sailors will also be replaced. half!"

Charlie Johnson nodded and immediately went to arrange the "borrowing" of the boat. In order to deal with France, the whole of England was nervously preparing. From the outside, it seems to be planning to deal with the Edward rebels in the north. But in fact, it was to deal with the French... In order to defeat the French, Henry VII was also crazy, and even forcibly "borrowed" foreign merchant ships. The Hanseatic League of this period was not a vegetarian. Afterwards, they would definitely take some commercial countermeasures, such as trade sanctions, and it would definitely make England hurt.

But now Henry VII can't care so much anymore. For him, defeating France is the most important thing. If he loses to France, he won't be able to keep his throne, and maybe people will be killed like Richard III. So, what is it to offend the Hanseatic League? As long as France is defeated, England can gain decades of stability and gain a great reputation. Therefore, some costs are nothing at all.

Even, Henry VII also hoped that through the victory of this naval battle, he could take the opportunity to counterattack to the mainland of France and retake the fortress of Calais. In this way, England will regain a foothold on the European continent. And with this foothold, England can ensure that it has enough ability to intervene in the European continent. For example, send an army and harass the northeastern border of France or something...

What makes Marin laugh or cry is that the 10 200-ton Kirk sailboats that his North Sea Chamber of Commerce has long moored on the London dock were also confiscated by Henry VII...

The spies of the Beihai Chamber of Commerce immediately sent people non-stop to the north to find Marin's camp in the deep mountains and old forest, and asked Marin how to deal with it. Marin was a bit dumbfounded, but he knew that it would also be good for him to defeat the French navy. So he commanded the messenger:

"Let them obey the call, but our core sailors don't fight, only hand over control of the ship and the English sailors hired locally. It's not worth it to fight for the English..."

After speaking, Marin shook his head and said:

"Henry VII is really crazy... However, this is probably the only way to completely defeat the French... If you are not crazy, you will not survive..."

However, Marin added another sentence in his heart - "Even if you are crazy, it is difficult to survive..."

Because, Henry VII is just the mantis catching cicadas. And Marin and his army of 20,000 who were hiding in the old forests in the mountains of northern England were the oriole who had the last laugh...