Chapter 449 Potential Threats

In mid-to-late May of the 26th year of Shenwu, on the third day after the end of the Anglo-Dutch naval battle, when the European Zhutun Army Command of the Chinese Empire was preparing to declare war on the Netherlands and take the opportunity to take a piece of the pie, it suddenly received a purple alert for illness from both the British Embassy and the Imperial Security Service.

In the Empire of China's disaster warning system, the disaster level is divided into five levels of warning: blue, yellow, orange, red, and purple. Among the five levels of early warning mechanisms, the first three are more common. Blue, yellow, and orange are the symbols of disasters such as high winds, earthquakes, fires, and floods in non-war conditions, with orange being the highest. Red is a disaster in a state of war, and it is often indicated as a danger signal such as a large-scale invasion and massacre by the enemy. Purple is the most special, and was set by the Supreme Command of the Chinese Empire as an early warning sign for large-scale spread diseases such as plague.

Due to the backward medical technology, countries, including the superpower Chinese Empire, are unable to prevent and control the huge impact of this large-scale plague on the country, so once the plague appears, its threat is often much greater than that brought by other natural disasters and wars, so all countries list it as the biggest threat.

After receiving the purple alert, the European Residence Army Command of the Chinese Empire immediately abandoned its plan to declare war on the Netherlands. The Black Death, the plague that plagued the 14th and 15th centuries, made a comeback and invaded England again. Expanded from London's West End to the East End within half a year. From February to June 1655, the death toll in London grew rapidly from 17 to 43,256, an increase of several hundred times the number of summer episodes, and after June, the epidemic began to increase, and the death toll increased dramatically.

The plague has always existed, but the British government concealed it for fear of affecting the course of the British war with the Netherlands, and even more so from the Chinese Empire, fearing that the plague would affect the Chinese Empire's message about whether Britain could defeat the Dutch.

It was not reported until the British Navy won the naval battle and the British Home Office was unable to conceal the plague.

Due to the severity of the plague, the Imperial Chinese Consulate in London urgently evacuated the nationals stranded in Britain, and the Royal Chinese Navy's European task force canceled its holiday rest and used it all to evacuate overseas Chinese.

Most of the Chinese in Britain were engineers and technicians sent by the Chinese Empire to assist in British construction, and their evacuation greatly affected the operation of British war planes. In particular, the evacuation of Chinese advisers, instructors, and engineers from the British War Office and the Army system caused the abortive of the British War Office's plan to land on the Dutch mainland.

Originally, after Britain won the naval battle of the ** Islands, it could directly carry the army to land in the Netherlands and give the Netherlands the final blow to end the Anglo-Dutch war. However, the sudden attack of the plague directly paralyzed the British warplanes, causing Britain to lose its best fighters.

In response to the impact of the plague, governments around the world have taken measures. All goods exported from Britain were banned from entering the country, which dealt a heavy blow to British industry and commerce, and caused heavy losses.

The Chinese Empire's base on the British Isle of Wight was closed and placed under strict martial law, and the six integrated infantry divisions that had been assembled there were forced to evacuate to Gibraltar because of concerns about the safety of the food supply provided by the British.

The plague was unprecedented, with one-quarter of London's population and about 100,000 people dying. More than half a million people died in the British Isles, or one-sixth of the British population, leaving Britain in turmoil.

The main force of the Dutch navy was annihilated, causing panic throughout the Netherlands for a time. However, the sudden disaster in Britain gave the Dutch a life-saving respite. On the one hand, the Dutch parliament allocated funds to rebuild the navy, and on the other hand, it sent people to secretly infiltrate Britain to cause trouble.

Knight, who lost the naval battle, smuggled a loyal group of men into several British naval bases to gather intelligence in order to atone for his crimes. By chance, Knight took advantage of the large-scale evacuation of the Chinese Empire in London and secretly infiltrated the Army Arsenal and Arsenal in the western suburbs of London to detonate it.

The huge explosion killed more than 6,000 workers in the arsenal, the flames soared several hundred meters into the sky, the surrounding buildings were destroyed, and caused the 8.12 London fire, which lasted for more than four days, burned more than half of the city of London, and lost more than 20 million pounds, dealing a fatal blow to the British government.

After Knight succeeded in causing the world's first large-scale terrorist attack in London, England, the Dutch Speaker reinstated Knight as commander-in-chief of the navy and demanded that he atone for his crimes.

After the Battle of the Faroe Islands, Knight already had a deep understanding of the British Royal Navy. At this moment, Britain's internal order was chaotic, the Chinese Empire was withdrawn, and the British Navy was arrogant and lax after the victory. Knight decided to lead the remnants of the fleet to attack the two main fleets of the British Navy at the Thames and Portsmouth naval bases.

Knight had already figured out the situation of the British Navy in the River Thames and the port of Portsmouth, where most of the Royal Navy's main fleet was anchored.

The Imperial Chinese Navy was busy evacuating overseas Chinese, and there was a gap between the Isle of Wight Naval Base and the British Portsmouth Naval Base. The Thames, the route, and the deployment of troops were also clear, so on August 16, Knight attacked the British naval base while the whole of Britain was concerned about the fire in London.

Knight knew that the British navy was lax in its defenses, especially the possibility of a night sneak attack, and used spies to obtain the tides, water levels, and shipping routes of the Thames, as well as military intelligence in the London area, and also trained sailors in night combat.

After receiving the Führer's authorization, he devised two bold and rare battle plans: the first was a sneak attack on London. Assemble the fleet outside Texel Island and then sneak into the mouth of the Thames, sail up the Medway River to the British fleet's battleship dock Chatham, and then sink or burn the British battleship.

The second was a surprise attack on Portsmouth, Britain's largest naval base. Since the exit from the Portsmouth naval base was directly opposite the Isle of Wight, where there were the land, sea and air military bases of the Chinese Empire, the British had always believed that the troops of the Chinese Empire were there, and no one in the world dared to attack Portsmouth. Therefore, the lax defenses, coupled with the fact that during this time, in order to prevent the spread of the plague to the base, the Chinese Empire had strictly ordered warships not to enter the vicinity of Portsmouth to patrol, which created an opportunity for Knight to attack the Portsmouth naval base.

This ultra-bold plan was approved by the Dutch hierarchy, and Knight would reverse the outcome of the Anglo-Dutch war if completed.

But such a "bold" plan also carries great risks: regardless of the various British defenses along the way, the Thames estuary and the Medway River alone are full of sandbar shoals, and only when the tide rises and the wind is downwind can it be passed, and if the slightest negligence misses the tide level or the wind direction is not favorable or the wind is not strong enough, the warship may run aground, and all the warships of the British Navy may have entered the harbor and cannot fight. In addition, the reliance on hardware was one of the reasons why the British did not anticipate this surprise attack: between the mouth of the Medway River and Chatham, there was an 800-yard long and 14.5-ton large chain of Hengjiang Iron Chain. No one could have imagined that the Dutch fleet would dare to penetrate deep into the belly of the enemy and lead the flames of war to the doorstep of the British Empire.

Similarly, in the event of a surprise attack on the Portsmouth Naval Base, Knight would face a huge threat from the Imperial Chinese Navy and Air Force from the rear on the Isle of Wight, and the slightest surprise attack on the fleet would be doomed. After the war, even Knight had to admit that if the Imperial Chinese Navy moved faster, he would not be able to retreat with his whole body. It was a difficult and dangerous situation, and it really scared him.

It is said that war is a big gamble, so the goddess of victory probably often favors those who dare to make huge bets at critical moments, so a miracle in the history of world naval warfare appeared.

On 16 August, Knight sailed to the mouth of the Thames with two Dutch fleets (48 battleships, 60 small boats, and 47 arsonists). Taking advantage of the high tide in the night, the advance fleet traced the Thames River downstream, shelled all the way, and soon occupied the British Hillness Battery, seizing four or five tons of gold and a large amount of timber, resin and other materials stored in Zài. The Dutch fleet went on a rampage, finding and destroying the British ships it found, and some of the best warships were captured and ready to be taken home as trophies. The Dutch fleet even shelled London.

On the 17th, the Dutch fleet drove straight to Chatham Docks. The British Navy anchored 18 huge ships here, each of which was more than 1,000 tons, and the Dutch fleet entered and dumbed the batteries on the shore, and the landing force and arsonist personnel dismantled or destroyed the obstacles on the river, and soon the British lost 6 huge ships. Among them, Munch's flagship "Royal Charlie" was brought back to China by the Dutch.

The British, with their "gentlemanly demeanor," were naturally not ashamed of such a surprise attack, and an eyewitness to the British army wrote: "The destruction of these mighty and brilliant warships is the most heart-wrenching thing I have ever seen in my life." Every true Englishman will cry tears when he sees it. ”

The Dutch fleet sailed for three days before returning safely. Knight then blocked the Thames estuary for months.

At the same time, another Dutch fleet headed south, taking advantage of the darkness to sneak away from Imperial Chinese and British patrol ships, and sailed into the Portsmouth naval base.

Just like the Philippine fleet and the Invincible Armada of the Spaniards were burned by the Dutch navy, the Dutch played quite well about the sneak attack on the port and set fire to the ship, and they can be called expert-level.

The British Navy, which was dazed by the plague and fire, never expected that the Dutch would dare to come over and attack so boldly, and in the base on the Isle of Wight opposite, although Commander Huang Zupei received a report of the Dutch's sneak attack on the British base, he did not reinforce it, and the British Navy lost more than 200 warships of various types in Portsmouth, of which more than 30 large battleships were burned, and the base was burned to the ground.

The surprise attack caused nearly 6 million pounds of British damage and humiliated the Royal Navy. The defeat of England, coupled with the twin disasters of the plague and the Great Fire of London, was no longer able to fight.

The surprise attack accelerated the negotiation process between Britain and the Netherlands, and the two countries lost both sides in this war, and the ultimate strategic goal of the Chinese Empire was achieved, which was to torture the two potential world naval powers in the cradle, so it actively came out to mediate and reap the benefits of the two countries.

On August 25 of the same year, under the mediation of the Chinese Empire, Britain and the Netherlands signed the "Peace of Breda", according to which Britain relaxed the "Navigation Regulations" and renounced its rights and interests in Dutch North Africa, and the Netherlands formally ceded Suriname in Dutch South America and recognized Britain's colonial sphere of influence in the world. This peace treaty effectively meant that the British and Dutch divided their spheres of influence in the colonial rivalry. The Second Anglo-Dutch Battle then came to an end.

After the two Anglo-Dutch wars, both Britain and the Netherlands suffered heavy losses, with direct war losses of more than 500 million silver dollars and indirect losses of more than 1 billion silver dollars. The armistice negotiations between the two countries were not arguing, and it can be seen that both countries did not have the strength to fight it, so they rushed to end the war.

Originally, the Chinese Empire was ready to delay for a few more days, but the conditions put forward by both countries were very simple, and as a result, the two countries actually signed a treaty without mediation.

However, the true strategic purpose of the Chinese Empire had been achieved, and neither Britain nor the Netherlands would be able to rise to the status of a naval power for the next two decades.

After the Chinese Empire had strangled two potential adversaries, it turned its attention to a third potential adversary, the French Navy.

After more than ten years of rapid development, the French Navy has developed very strongly. After the destruction of the main forces of the British and Dutch navies, the main forces of the French navy became a powerful presence in the Euro-Atlantic and Mediterranean regions, with the exception of the Royal Navy of the Imperial Chinese Navy, posing a potential threat to the Imperial Chinese Navy.

By 1658, King Louis XIV of France was twenty years old. All along, this king was the king who was overridden by the French cabinet and the French cardinals. Louis XIV studied at the Confucius Institute from an early age and was deeply influenced by the culture of the Chinese Empire.

The fate and life path arranged for Louis XIV by Emperor Deng Haonan seemed to have paid off, but the final result surprised Deng Haonan and the Chinese imperial government.

Under the influence of Chinese culture, the twenty-year-old Louis XIV reached a point of pure use of politics. With the covert support of the Chinese Empire, Louis XIV staged a palace coup d'état that shocked the world in the 29th year of Shenwu. He imprisoned his mother, assassinated Cardinal Marsalin, appointed his subordinate Plessy as Cardinal, and concentrated power in Louis XIV. At the same time, Louis XIV sold goodwill to the Chinese Empire, obtained diplomatic support from the Chinese Empire, and pressured Prime Minister Richelieu and his cabinet to be accountable to the king, thus centralizing the military and political power of France.

Louis XIV, who held the power of France, advocated the supremacy of royal power in politics, advocated "I am the state", and used the "divine authority of the monarchy" to create a theoretical basis for the supremacy of royal power. Louis XIV pursued a high-handed policy towards the aristocracy, canceling the right of the Paris High Court to accuse the royal edict, refusing to convene the Council of the Three Poles of the Kingdom, and ruthlessly suppressing the provincial nobles who dared to rebel. At the same time, the Palace of Versailles was built, and the great nobles from all over the world were summoned to the palace to serve the royal family. Louis XIV also sent "judicial, police, and financial supervisors" to the provinces, reorganized armaments, expanded military resources, introduced new weapons and advanced technology, and placed the control of the dispatch of the provincial armies in the hands of the central government. Ideologically, all subjects were required to adopt Catholicism. Economically, Louis XIV handed over the economic problem to Colber and promoted mercantilism.

In accordance with the strategic objectives of the Chinese Empire, Louis XIV and his government were supposed to be pro-Chinese. Although on the surface, the French government pursued a policy of goodwill toward China, but with a series of actions by Louis XIV, the Shenwu Emperor Deng Haonan and his imperial government were puzzled.

The construction of the Palace of Versailles was facilitated by low-interest loans from the Chinese Empire to France, and Deng Haonan's purpose was to corrupt the whole of France after Louis XIV became accustomed to a life of luxury. However, Louis XIV was not trapped by a life of luxury.

The Chinese Empire supported France's military build-up and hoped that France would become an army power rather than a navy. However, Louis XIV was very much interested in the powerful military power of the Chinese Empire, and his military policy was to develop the navy, land and air forces at the same time. Far from weakening, the navy is constantly strengthening.

Louis XIV wanted the French navy to fill the gap in the weakened Anglo-Dutch navy and dominate the European seas, but this policy was clearly not in line with the European strategy of the Chinese Empire.

On land, the Chinese Empire hoped that Louis XIV's powerful army would then fight Spain, and that it would be in the interests of the Chinese Empire for the two European land powers to fight. However, Louis XIV became involved with the Spanish Empire and began to encroach on the vassal states of the Holy Roman Empire and expand into northern Europe.

The Second Crusade was still not over, and the Holy Roman Empire was one of the main forces fighting against Turkey. France's encroachment on the vassal states of the Roman Empire was bound to affect the situation of the war, and the strategic goal of both the Russian Empire and the Chinese Empire was to completely defeat the Ottoman Empire.

Although Louis XIV repeatedly emphasized friendly relations with the Chinese Empire, he was slow to withdraw from the European Union and return to the framework of the Central Powers.

All indications are that Louis XIV was very cunning, and there were actually signs of disobedience to the Chinese Empire.

In the Qinzheng Hall of the Forbidden City, Emperor Deng Haonan of Shenwu asked about the situation in France when he convened his ministers to discuss European strategy.

"Our aim was to raise Louis XIV to be a faithful dog and not a wolf ready to bite"

"The emperor doesn't have to worry too much," Li Jiguo, the new first and auxiliary minister of the cabinet, replied: "According to the news sent back from the Imperial Consulate in France, after Louis XIV took power, he always sent notes to my ambassador to France, talking about the goodwill and friendship between China and France that will last for generations. Many of the French cabinet officials asked me to ask my adviser to live in France, and judging from the Chinese civilization that he had studied for fifteen years, Louis XIV, although he wore the skin of a white man, was in fact no different from the Chinese."

Deng Haonan nodded, he didn't know much about the historical Louis XIV. In addition, history has now changed, and the judgment of Louis XIV can only be obtained from other populations.

If he could, Deng Haonan hoped to be able to see Louis XIV with his own eyes, so that Deng Haonan would feel at ease.

However, it is clearly difficult in this day and age.

Lin Feng, the secretary of the Ministry of War, said: "Enlighten the emperor, Louis XIV is not simple. At the age of twenty, he took control of France, and although our empire played a key role in it, Louis XIV was not as willing to be controlled by the empire as he appeared to be, judging from his military policy, he never gave up naval construction, which would pose a potential threat to the imperial royal navy. ”

Li Jiguo said with a smile: "France owes a lot of debts, and France will be dragged down in less than ten years if Louis XIV goes on with such reckless force." Isn't this exactly in line with the strategic purpose of the Empire? France is the last potential threat to Europe, and even if the mop crosses him, the power of France will not really threaten the empire at all."

Deng Haonan thought for a while and said: "It makes sense for the two ministers to continue to pay attention to Louis XIV's attitude, and the military is closely monitoring France's military plans to be prepared."

The two hurriedly saluted and said yes. A