Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Just as Tang Bohu was leading the logistics fleet to Western Europe, Western Europe was not peaceful at this time.

The night filled the ancient stone walls of Gaeta like thick ink, and the smoke of the European war was quietly igniting, condensing into a chilling atmosphere at this moment.

After the Spanish troops gathered outside the city, they were like a raging tide, rushing toward this lonely castle layer by layer. This war seemed imminent.

On the city wall, torches swayed and light and shadow dappled.

The French soldiers were wearing heavy armor, holding spears and swords, as well as a small number of matchlocks. Their eyes revealed determination and unyieldingness.

At the highest point of the city wall, the figure of French commander Arthur looked particularly tall.

Arthur is a French nobleman who is over forty years old. He is wearing a silver armor and a saber hanging on his waist, which shines coldly under the firelight.

His face was engraved with the traces of time, but his deep eyes were still shining with fiery light, staring at the Spanish army's position.

This time I was ordered to station here. If this last territory is lost, it means that their French plan to occupy Naples will end in failure. This is a result that their king absolutely cannot accept.

That's why he must hold on to this last territory no matter what, and retain France's last spark in the Italian peninsula.

"rush!"

"Brothers, kill!"

"Capture this place, there will be many rewards!"

…

As the Spanish position launched its attack, the battlefield immediately came to an end.

Boom!

The roar of several artillery pieces broke the silence of the night.

Although due to expensive gunpowder or technical reasons, the effect of current artillery is not significant and the power is relatively small, but it is widely used in the military because it can have a good frightening effect.

The Spanish army carried several small artillery pieces, which not only frightened the French army, but also served as a signal for their Spanish army to launch an attack.

"Come on! Kill all the damn French. Naples belongs to our great Majesty!" Spanish commander Gonzalo personally led the team and said as if he was bound to win Gaeta.

The battlefield was fully launched at night. The Spanish army was like a tide, while the garrison in Gaeta was like a lonely boat.

Facing the invading Spanish army, French commander Arthur showed high fighting spirit and said: "Brothers, we are in a desperate situation, but our faith will never yield. Tonight, we will fight for the glory, for His Majesty the King, and for the sake of France." Fight with dignity. No matter life or death, we must persist until the end!”

"Whether we live or die, we must hold on until the end!" the soldiers shouted in unison, their voices echoing in the night sky, full of pride and tragedy of a fight to the death.

Boom!

The French army's defensive artillery fired immediately, and the battle had begun in full force.

The arrows and bullets of the Spanish army poured down like a torrential rain, and French soldiers continued to fall on the city walls, showing the cruel and bloody side of the battlefield.

Throughout the history of the East and the West, war has been the main theme of mankind.

The French soldiers did not flinch. They also fought back with guns and bows and launched a desperate fight with the invading enemies.

The Spanish soldiers were exposed below and fell down one after another with bullets or arrows. Their lives were also insignificant and they became victims of careerists.

Every charge and every confrontation was accompanied by fierce shouts and screams from both sides. The spark of life bloomed and disappeared in this land.

In fact, major changes occurred in European history during this era.

Not only did their maritime exploration fail to yield huge returns, but because their fleet was sunk by the Ming Dynasty, the royal families that had bet heavily on maritime exploration went bankrupt.

On the other hand, due to the raging impact of smallpox over the years, the population of the entire Europe has been declining sharply. Until now, a large number of people are infected with smallpox and die every day.

Greed is human nature. The rulers of France and Spain do not understand the philosophy of recuperation at all, and they are still fighting for the territory of Naples as they did in history.

"Brothers, kill me!"

Since the Spanish army had already attacked, Arthur waved the sword in his hand to meet them, and they fought madly face to face on the battlefield.

"Come on, kill all these French people!"

The Spanish commander Gonzalo saw his men falling one after another, so he mobilized the morale of the soldiers so that they could fight more bravely.

However, as the battle progressed, although the Spanish army killed many French troops, they found that they could not capture this place in one go, and finally chose to withdraw their troops at the expense of money.

Gonzalo was not too frustrated. This night attack mainly consumed the French army. As long as his Spanish reinforcements arrived, he could easily capture this place and kill all the French troops here.

When a ray of sunlight rose from the horizon, the walls of Gaeta were already covered with blood and debris.

Arthur stood on the highest point of the city wall, looking at the approaching Spanish army in the distance. His heart was filled with helplessness and sadness. Although he and his men are brave and fearless, how long can they hold on?

During this period, after Western Europe was blocked from embarking on the Great Navigation Period, its internal conflicts were not only irreconcilable, but also became more acute due to interests.

This war on the Italian peninsula started in the seventh year of Hongzhi. King Ferdinand I of Naples died. King Charles VIII of France took the opportunity to declare his succession to the throne and became King of Naples.

Naples on the Italian peninsula is not a useless place, but a golden area located in the middle of the earth, and it is also the most prosperous region in Europe.

Although France declared itself the successor to the throne of Naples, the Holy Roman Empire and Spain and other major powers coveted its huge wealth and naturally could not recognize the legitimacy of the French king.

King Charles VIII of France was the first country to take action. He directly led 35,000 French troops across the Alps to invade the Kingdom of Naples and occupied Naples the following year.

In the eighth year of Hongzhi, the Holy See, Venice, Milan, the Holy Roman Empire and Spain organized the "Holy Alliance" against France and began to fight fiercely with the French army.

Faced with such a powerful Holy Alliance army, France also lost a large part of the territory of Naples, and the French army was forced to retreat to the north of the Alps.

In the twelfth year of Hongzhi, the new French King Louis XII inherited the will of Charles VIII, and conquered Milan and won. The next target was Naples.

In the thirteenth year of Hongzhi, France sent troops to occupy northern Italy.

The King of France had agreed to join hands with the King of Spain to conquer and divide the kingdom, but the two allies soon had a dispute over land, and France and Spain went to war.

Because Venice took advantage of the French invasion to expand its power, causing dissatisfaction among countries, Spain, France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope organized the "Cambrai League" to oppose Venice.

The war on the Italian Peninsula, which was originally mainly between Spain and France, had begun to expand during this period, and more and more European countries were involved.

In the 15th year of Hongzhi, the war between France and Spain was reignited. At first, the French army achieved some success with its military advantage, and Gonzalo retreated to Barletta.

In the 16th year of Hongzhi, the first batch of Spanish reinforcements arrived from the Mediterranean. Commander Gonzalo began to counterattack and won in Cerignola. The French army retreated to Gaeta.

Judging from the current situation, as long as Spain successfully captures Gaeta, the entire Italian peninsula will fall into the hands of Spain, which also declares the complete defeat of France.

Familiar with history, we know that this Italian war did not end because of this. It eventually evolved into a war between France and Spain for European hegemony. After that, European countries were also involved. The war lasted for 65 years.

Of course, today's history has quietly changed. The original historical wheel was indeed the internal friction of European countries, but an army flying the Ming flag came here.

At the end of the sixteenth year of Hongzhi, when the war was raging, a mighty fleet came from the Indian Ocean next door.

Just when everyone hadn't reacted yet, Wang Zhi, the governor of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, led the fleet to the port of Cadiz like a flash of lightning.

Time flies, and everyone will grow old.

Wang Zhi was once the youngest factory supervisor, but he is no longer young and has entered middle age.

It's just that his facial features are delicate, his face is white and beardless, and he has always lived a pampered life, and his mentality is much stronger than that of ordinary people. The whole person is still the image of a handsome middle-aged man.

In the Chenghua Dynasty, he became the notorious supervisor of the Western Factory just after he came of age and imprisoned all the corrupt and treacherous civil servants.

In the Hongzhi Dynasty, the emperor did not need the Western Factory. After solving the pests in the Ming Dynasty, the emperor turned his exclusive royal knife to the outside world.

From commanding the countries in Nanyang, to dominating the Indian Ocean, to the new journey of the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

He has become the sharpest knife of Emperor Hongzhi to the outside world. Now the emperor wants to use his knife to kill the Western European continent, so there is bound to be a river of blood here.

But unlike the commander who looks ahead and behind, the soldiers under his command are fearless and even do not hesitate to achieve the established goal of domination by massacring the city.

The sea breeze is howling, the waves are surging, the sailing flags of the Ming fleet are fluttering, and the shiny heavy artillery adjusts the direction, showing the majesty and power of the Ming Empire.

"They dare to touch the merchant ships of our Ming Dynasty flying the dragon flag. It's time to let them experience the threat of our invincible fleet!" Wang Zhi looked at the busy port of Cadiz in front of him, his eyes were like torches, and his eyebrows revealed determination and courage.

The destruction of the two merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty was caused by Spain. Now he led his troops here, and he is the new owner of the sea area here, so naturally he must let Spain pay the blood price for his offense against the Ming Dynasty.

The port of Cadiz is a prosperous port in Spain with a permanent population of more than 10,000. It is also the starting point of the adventurer Columbus.

Boom!

With the orders of the captains, the shells poured down like a rainstorm.

Bang!

One by one, the shells fell accurately in the port of Cadiz, and then there were explosions, and the ships parked in the port and the houses on the shore were set on fire.

"God, what is this?"

"Oh my god, why is the Ming fleet here?"

"It's over, the Eastern devil must be taking revenge on us for sinking their ships!"

...

The Spaniards in Cadiz Port saw the shells flying from the sky, and looked at the buildings and ships being blown up around them, and instantly fell into chaos and panic.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The shells of the Ming fleet seemed to be free, and one by one they drew a series of hot tracks over the port, and then exploded among the city walls, ships and people.

The explosions were deafening.

A castle was crumbling under the bombardment of artillery fire, and bricks and stones were flying. The ships parked in the harbor were overturned by the blast, and the wreckage and debris of the ships were scattered, and the flames shot up into the sky.

It was the most prosperous port in Europe just now, but in the blink of an eye it was like hell on earth.

Under the ravages of the shells, the terrified Spaniards fled everywhere, screaming and shouting one after another.

However, their figures seemed so small and fragile. Many people were swallowed by the flames of the explosion before they could escape, becoming the background board of the Port of Cadiz under the artillery fire.

"Don't let that fleet run away, chase it and sink it!"

Wang Zhi found the Spanish fleet that had just left the port through a telescope. Although this Spanish fleet could not sail far, it carried a large number of soldiers, so he issued an order to sink it.

"Run, let's run!" The Spanish captain knew that the Ming fleet had discovered him, and immediately ordered hastily.

With a neat drumbeat, the three three-masted gunboats led by Wang Wuqing left the Ming fleet and rushed towards the Spanish fleet like an arrow from a bow.

After closing the distance, shells were fired at the Spanish fleet, stirring up layers of waves on the sea, and the warships of the Spanish fleet began to shake under the baptism of artillery fire.

Wang Wuqing's favorite way of naval warfare was not artillery bombardment, but relying on the extremely solid bow of the Ming Dynasty, direct collision often brought pleasing effects.

So he commanded three three-masted gunboats to form a triangular formation, rushing straight to the core area of ​​the Spanish fleet, and sinking these paper-like inland sea ships with the toughness of their own warships.

Bang!

When the three three-masted gunboats collided heavily with a dilapidated Spanish fleet ship, a huge wave instantly rose on the sea.

The ships of the Spanish fleet began to roll over and merge under this collision, and the sailors on the ship screamed in horror, trying to escape from the sinking ship.

But it was too late. All of them fell into the sea like dumplings.

Countless pieces of hull and wreckage floated on the sea. The surviving sailors struggled in despair. They wanted to survive, but the reality was very cruel. A wave rushed over and took them to the bottom of the sea.

The battle lasted for about half an hour. When the gunfire on the sea gradually subsided, the entire sea was full of corpses. These corpses rose and fell with the waves, like fish that had lost their lives. (End of this chapter)