The Rise of the European Emperor

The result of this battle is self-evident. The French warships blocked in the port of Brest are also difficult to parry when facing more than twice as many enemies.

Facing the English warships that suddenly surrounded and rushed into the port of Brest, the French rushed to fight. Although the French were lucky to use the 12-pound gun in the bow to damage an English warship and cause it to sink. However, my family was even worse-all 8 warships were boarded and set on fire by the English death squad...

In order to keep the 8 only French warships, 1,000 French swordsmen resisted desperately and caused huge casualties to England.

However, probably because of the first actual combat on the ship, although the French swordsmen are proficient in their sword skills, they suffer because they have too little actual combat experience.

England is also ruthless, sending a large number of elites. Under the desperate attack of the English, more than half of the thousand French swordsmen were killed, and the rest were forced to jump ship to escape. The English were also uneasy. More than 300 people were killed and more than 400 people were injured.

But in the end, the English achieved their goal - they burned all eight new French ships. Moreover, he also took the opportunity to take away 9 6-pound guns. As for those 12-pound guns, the English wanted to get them, but the French organized a large number of reinforcements from land and planned to row boats to grab them. In order to avoid problems, the British commander Edward Howard could only order the ships to be burned as soon as possible.

Edward Howard is an offshoot of the Duke of Norfolk's Howard family and an excellent naval officer. Of course, this generation of Duke of Norfolk has been demoted to Earl of Arundel, and Edward Howard can only be regarded as a side branch of the Earl's family. Fortunately, his ability is not bad, and he has been valued by Edward. As long as he makes a few military exploits, he can also earn a hereditary title.

After losing all the new warships and more than half of the well-trained swordsmen, Francois I was so angry that he almost vomited blood. Originally, he planned to use the new fleet to contain the English fleet at sea, break England's monopoly on the English Channel, and prepare for the recovery of the Calais fortress. However, this ambush directly wiped out his year-long efforts.

"Can I just watch the English pirates rampant in my French waters?" Francois I lamented in the meeting hall of the palace.

At this time, Charles, Earl of Nantes, who was determined to become the top official in France, also known as Charles II, Duke of Geddes, suddenly stood up and said:

"Your Majesty, I believe that France cannot defeat England in naval battles. In addition to historical reasons, there is also a lack of outstanding naval combat personnel!"

Francois I waved his hand weakly and said:

"Of course I know, but where does France come from with naval combat talents? It's hard to train some people,

More than half of them were killed by England..."

Charles, Count of Nantes emphasized:

"Your Majesty, I am referring to the naval commander, not the sailor..."

"You mean..." Francois I was a little confused.

Earl Charles solemnly said:

"Your Majesty, France has always lacked commanders and sailors for naval battles. But we don't have them. Our allies have them!"

"You mean...could it be Portugal?" Francois I guessed.

Earl Charlie shook his head and said:

"It's not Portugal! Your Majesty, you should know that Portugal has always had good relations with Spain and England, and will not risk offending the two great powers at the same time to support our naval officers and sailors. What I want to say is Venice..."

At this moment, John Lafite, who had been silent all this time, raised his hand and said:

"Excuse me, Lord Earl Charlie. I remember that although Venice is a powerful country on the sea, they are powerful in galleys, right? But galleys are not suitable for the sea conditions of the Atlantic Ocean, so they can only hang out in places like the Mediterranean where the wind and waves are small. Counting on the Venetians? Are they going to fight the English with their galleys?"

"Haha..." Hearing this, several French ministers couldn't help laughing. They all understand that a galley on the Mediterranean is a different thing from a sailboat on the Atlantic. It is powerful in the Mediterranean, but not necessarily powerful in the Atlantic.

Charles, Count of Nantes, said calmly:

"Don't worry, Viscount John, you will understand after listening to my explanation..."

Then, he cleared his throat and continued:

"As we all know, galleys have low masts and small sails, and are not very suitable for the strong winds in the Atlantic Ocean. The galleys that dominate the Mediterranean are not as good as the Kirk sailing ships in the Atlantic."

"However, this is a general situation. When I was fighting against the Spaniards in Italy, I met a Venetian naval officer named Pregent Bidus. He is the squadron commander of the Venetian Navy and is good at naval warfare. Moreover, I chatted with him and found that he is very proficient in naval warfare. Not only is he familiar with the sea conditions and combat methods in the Mediterranean Sea, he has also conducted research on how warships fight in the Atlantic sea conditions..."

"This time, Mr. Biddus came to Paris to find me, and he proposed a new way to fight against the English warship..."

"What way? Wouldn't it be to use galleys to fight England's Kirk ships?" John Laffey sarcastically said. The reason for his discord with Earl Charles is naturally the common "competition for favor" in the court.

Although Earl Duert is also a favorite, but he has been in charge of underground work for a long time and is a professional intelligence leader. François I still needs his profession very much and cannot do without him.

Then there are the old ministers of Angouleme, who are all trusted and old subordinates of François I, and there is no way to argue. Only John Lafite and Earl Charles, who are both "ministers of resourcefulness" and have the same positioning, naturally compete for the same resources. Therefore, the two often satirize and tear each other down in order to suppress each other.

Faced with John Lafite's sarcasm, Earl Charlie was not annoyed either. Both he and John Lafite were "outsiders" from Germany, so they should be united. But the two are bad because they have the same "personality" and need to rob the same kind of favor. Therefore, it is inevitable that there will be contradictions. But under normal circumstances, Earl Charlie didn't bother to pay attention to John Laffey. It was John Laffey who suppressed Earl Charlie under Marin's instigation.

"Whether Viscount John is right or not..." Earl Charlie said with a smile.

"What is right and wrong?" Francois I asked curiously.

Earl Charles explained:

"The method mentioned by Pregent Biddus is indeed based on the use of galleys, but the ship needs to be modified first..."

"Reformation? What kind of transformation?" Earl Duert asked curiously. The other ministers also pricked up their ears to listen to Earl Charlie's explanation.

Earl Charles explained:

"Aiming at the problem of strong wind and waves in the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel, Pregent Bidous proposed to replace the short mast of the original galley with a tall mast. At the same time, use a larger sail, just like the Kirk sailboat and the Carrack The sailboat is like the sailboat on the Atlantic Ocean. In this way, the galley can also have good maneuverability on the Atlantic Ocean, which is conducive to fighting England."

"Furthermore, Pregent Biddus also designed a tactic specifically for England's Kirk sailboat. I heard it was very good, so I would like to recommend it to His Majesty. Anyway, we have nothing to lose at sea. Okay, why not give it a try. Maybe a miracle will happen?"

Hearing this, the young François I couldn't help but nodded—yes, France has lost so much at sea that it has nothing to lose, so why not give it a go...