Chapter 376: The Peerless Duo

[Summary of this chapter, Li Zicheng appeared, welcome friends to subscribe and support]

At a time when the Chinese Empire was booming in industry and national strength, Europe also underwent heavy changes.

That is, after the Dutch bourgeoisie, the bourgeoisie also broke out in England.

In the summer of the ninth year of Shenwu, in order to support France and Sweden against the Spanish army, and in order to satisfy his personal luxury, on July 3, King Charles I of England bypassed Parliament and raised the summer tax in England, Scotland and Wales by 10%, to the detriment of the new aristocracy of the English bourgeoisie.

Charles I bypassed Parliament more than once to raise taxes, and this time the area of tax increase was expanded from England to Scotland and Wales, which immediately touched the nerves of the new aristocracy.

Parliament was undoubtedly against Charles I, and they were always looking for ways to limit the power of the crown, but only financial trickery could hold Charles I.

However, when Parliament opposed Charles I's draft tax increase, Charles I became angry again and dissolved Parliament. This was the seventh time that Parliament had been dissolved since Charles I's accession to the throne, and the Parliamentary Elders' House was outraged by Charles I's "barbaric" behavior.

The Parliament and Scotland had a secret agreement to form an alliance on taxation to prevent the British Crown from increasing taxes.

Immediately after the dissolution of Parliament, the House of Elders consulted with the Scottish side to secretly plan a second Scottish uprising.

At the end of August, an uprising broke out in Scotland against Charles I's tax hikes. Charles I, knowing that it was Parliament again, became increasingly dissatisfied with Parliament and decided to abolish the parliamentary system.

However, England's finances were in the hands of Parliament, which needed funds to suppress the Scottish uprising, and Charles I was short of money and had to negotiate with Parliament.

For this reason, Charles I had to convene a tripolar council, which only annoyed him even more.

The Tripolar Council was convened, and the nobles of the parliament drafted the Great Remonstrance, in which they attacked Charles I for his tyranny*, and they demanded the restriction of the king's power, the abolition of the king's monopoly rights, and the supervision of the activities of the king and his ministers. The most important thing was to limit the king's right to raise taxes at will, for which Charles I refused to accept the Great Protest.

Charles I struggled with Parliament for several months, but without any results, he plunged Charles I into a serious political crisis.

Parliament organized a massive propaganda team in London to denounce the tyranny of Charles I*. The streets of London were filled with protesting citizens, workers' strikes, merchants' strikes, and student strikes, directed at Charles I and his eagle dogs. Charles I slept day and night, and finally broke with Parliament in a rage.

On the 7th day of the first month of the 10th year of Shenwu, Charles I left Charles I left London, and went north to York City to organize the royalist army, preparing to suppress the "rebellion" of the parliamentary faction by force.

On March 2, 1640, 1640, the butterfly effect from the Chinese Empire finally affected the island of Great Britain. Charles I raised the banner of the royal army in Nottingham and announced a crusade against the rebels in Parliament, thus kicking off the English Civil War.

Charles I's royal army fought the first large-scale battle with the Parliamentarian army led by the English Parliament at Mount Edge. The royal army had more than 17,000 troops and the parliamentary army had 17,500 troops. The cavalry on both flanks of the Parliamentarians were defeated by the counterattack of the royal cavalry, but the infantry in the center repelled the attack of the royal infantry and routed it, and the two sides suffered casualties on both sides, and the battle was undecided.

However, the royal army was aggressive, Charles I controlled three-fifths of the country, and the congressional faction was passive. The defeat of the Parliamentary army in the early stages of the civil war was mainly due to the wavering and compromise of the elders who held the leadership of the Parliament, unwilling to make a complete break with the king, satisfied with vested interests, and had no intention of overthrowing the king. Militarily, it was mainly due to the fact that the commander-in-chief Essex and others were passive and slack, lacked the spirit of taking the initiative to attack, and the army lacked training and was poor.

On 29 March, Wang's army captured Oxford, and on 12 April, Brentford, seven miles from London, and the capital was in dire straits. A militia of more than 14,000 artisanal workers, apprentices, and civilians rushed to the front, and the Parliamentarian army was greatly strengthened, forcing the royal army to abandon its plans to attack London.

But looking at the whole of Britain, the Parliamentarian army was very disadvantaged.

On May 9, Wang's troops attacked London in three directions, and the capital was once again in an emergency.

Eight regiments of the London militia thwarted the attack of the royal army together with the Parliamentary army, and London was once again turned into a safe place. Because Charles I was afraid of ruining his Buckingham Palace, he refused to use heavy artillery against the city of London, and at the same time, when fighting, tried to avoid approaching the city of London for battle. As a result, when the royal army attacked London, it suffered setbacks at every turn, and the attacks were repeatedly defeated.

However, outside the battlefield of London, a group of outstanding generals represented by Cromwell emerged in the Parliamentary army. Cromwell personally organized the 12,000 troops of the "Eastern Alliance", and won several battles in the east that year, and his prestige increased significantly.

In order to turn the tide of the war, the Parliamentary Elders' House finally made up its mind to end the civil war with Charles I.

To this end, the new nobles of Parliament spared no expense in aiding the three principalities of Scotland, Wales and Ireland, asking them to renounce their support for King Charles I.

At this time, the actual ruling area of England was only England, and although Wales and Ireland were incorporated into England, they actually belonged to China, and they rejected Charles I, who was of Scottish descent, so they immediately abandoned their support for Charles I after receiving huge assistance from Parliament. At this time, Scotland was still an independent country, but chose to support Charles I because of his Scottish royal blood. Now Charles I's expropriation of Scotland has aroused the resentment of the Scottish royal family and Parliament, and at the same time severely harmed the interests of the new Scottish aristocracy. Eventually, the Scottish Parliament accepted the terms of the English Parliament, signed the Treaty of the Holy Alliance, and in September launched an army to join the English Civil War.

In mid-September, Wales, Ireland and Scotland were all involved in the English Civil War, which broke out.

The Scottish army crossed the border and entered Britain on 4 September. The Earl of Levine led the Scottish Army to liberate most of Yorkshire and joined forces with the Parliamentarian army under the command of Ferdinand Fairfax. At the same time, the Welsh and Irish Allied forces regained much of Lincolnshire. In October, the Eastern Confederate Army joined them. In November, the Parliamentarian army began to lay siege to Yorktown, the northern stronghold of the royal army.

In order to prevent the fall of Yorktown, the "northern capital" of the royal army, Charles Quan* Wen I ordered Prince Rupert to lead the royal army from Lancashire to the north to help Yorktown.

At the same time, Charles I felt that the situation was not good, so he asked the Allied member states to intercede.

The ambassadors of the three Central Powers, France, Russia, and the Chinese Empire, sent separate notes to the English Parliament, demanding an end to the civil war.

Among them, France is the most worried and demanding. Because France was in the midst of the invasion of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, most of the country was waiting for rescue, and it would be difficult to do without British economic assistance. And the Russian Empire, standing in the position of the Central Powers, merely protested, because the Russian Empire was in a fierce war with the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and could not take care of the internal affairs of Britain and could not help.

For the Chinese Empire, there was still some contradiction at this time. The established policy of the Chinese Empire was to want the countries of Europe to become a pot of porridge and consume the economic accumulation of European countries for two hundred years. But if the British bourgeoisie succeeds, it will lead to the birth of a powerful Britain, which will have an impact on the future global hegemony of the Chinese Empire.

The same is to follow the capitalist road, but just like the survival principle of the Tibetan mastiff, the strong Tibetan mastiff will kill the weak brother. The Chinese Empire would choose to support a backward feudal king, rather than help the bourgeoisie.

The final attitude of the Emperor of the Chinese Empire has not yet been obtained, so the Imperial Chinese Embassy in Britain only protested and did not take any real action.

However, by this time, the Chinese Empire had opened the gateway to Europe and controlled the Suez Canal. In the Suez Canal Zone, the Chinese Empire stationed 120,000 troops, and the Royal Chinese Navy's Mediterranean Fleet was ready to sail into the English Channel and intervene in the British Civil War.

In order to ensure global hegemony in the future, the Chinese Empire's Egyptian Residence Army Command hopes to understand the operational thinking and tactical concepts of various countries, so the Chinese Empire sent many officer observation groups into France to observe the Franco-Spanish War, enter the Russian Empire to observe the Russian-Turkish War, and the British Civil War, also sent an observation group into the royal army of Charles I, and set up a field advisory group in Yorktown.

Charles I was very fond of the officer advisory group of the Chinese Empire, because he knew the outstanding achievements of the imperial army of the Chinese Empire, so many British officials in the royal army tended to listen to the advice of the Chinese imperial officials.

At the end of December, Rupert joined up with the defenders of York, commanded by Newcastle. The royal army, which had the advice of the Chinese emperor's officials, thwarted many attacks by the parliamentary army, and finally due to the weather, the parliamentary army automatically withdrew from the siege and retreated westward.

At the beginning of January 1641, the first large-scale battle since the civil war took place between the Parliamentarian army and the royal army in the steppe of Kamko.

Located in the eastern part of England, the Kamganko Grasslands are about seventeen miles long from east to west, with a wide deep gully on the southern edge of which there is a small plateau overgrown with shrubs and rye.

At about 9 a.m. on January 9, Rupert led his troops to a village at the eastern end of the steppe and quickly occupied the entire steppe. When the parliamentary army, which was retreating westward, learned of this, they immediately turned around and attacked it.

At about 13 o'clock, the parliamentary army assembled on the small high ground south of the ditch. Both sides were deployed according to the principle of infantry in the center and cavalry on both flanks.

The deployment of the royal army was that Newcastle led the infantry in the center, Prince Rupert led the cavalry on the right flank, and Goering led the cavalry on the left flank. Rupert, based on the experience of Mount Egi, deployed his forces in echelons, pushing the front line to the edge of the ditch, with the main force behind, so as to carry out defense and counterattack. The Parliamentarian Ferdinand Fairfax infantry was in the center, Cromwell with cavalry on the left, and Thomas Fairfax with cavalry on the right. The king's army was in the north of the ditch, and the parliamentary army was in array in the south of the ditch.

It was the middle of winter, and the weather was cold, with occasional snow and sometimes sleet.

Both sides waited for the other to strike first and then make timely formational adjustments.

Until about six o'clock in the evening, there was still no movement on the position. Rupert's army looked exhausted after nearly a month's march. Both Rupert and Newcastle decided that there would be no fighting that day, and were ready to go back to the rear to eat and rest.

However, just as Rupert and Newcastle were preparing for a peaceful night, at eight o'clock in the evening, the left cavalry of the Parliamentarian army suddenly rushed down the high ground and swooped down on the king's army. Then, the infantry in the center and the cavalry on the right flank also rushed into the enemy position.

Cromwell commanded the cavalry on the left flank to cross a deep ditch and quickly destroyed the first line of cavalry of the royal army. Subsequently, the Lesley Scottish cavalry entered the battle, overwhelming Rupert's second line of cavalry. Rupert himself, pursued by the Scottish cavalry, fled in the direction of York, and finally saved his life.

About an hour and a half into the battle, the left flank of the Parliamentarian army had already won. At the same time, however, the Parliamentarian infantry in the centre and on the right flank were fiercely counterattacked by Newcastle's Royal infantry and Goering's Royal cavalry. The Parliamentarian infantry retreated under the counterattack of the king's army, and finally retreated behind the small plateau, and was in a bad situation on its right by the Goering cavalry.

At this critical moment, Cromwell ordered Lesley's troops to pursue Rupert's remnants, and he himself led his cavalry back behind Goering, attacking from north to south, and crushing Goering's cavalry in one fell swoop. Cromwell then concentrated his forces on Newcastle's infantry wedged in the centre of the Parliamentary position, and won a resounding victory.

It was almost late at night when the battle ended. In this battle, the parliamentary army invested a total of 37,000 troops, including 8,000 cavalry. Wang's army invested 29,000 men, including 9,000 cavalry. As a result, Wang's army suffered more than 3,000 casualties, captured more than 2,000, and lost a large amount of supplies.

On 11 January, the Parliamentarian army marched into Yorktown and bribed an officer of the Yorktown garrison to capture Yorktown, and the king's army was defeated.

When the city was breached that day, Charles I took refuge in the Imperial Chinese Empire's battlefield pavilion in York. The British Parliamentarian army tried to enter the museum and search it, but was forcibly stopped by the soldiers of the Chinese Empire. The soldiers of the Imperial Army of the Chinese Empire did not buy it at all, and no matter how persuaded by the British army, they would not let them in.

"I'm Cromwell, and I want to see your supreme commander here."

The British brought in Cromwell, who won several battles and was in high spirits. He captured Charles I all the way and wanted to make a great contribution, so he prepared to forcibly enter the mansion of the Chinese Empire.

The commander of the Chinese Imperial Battlefield Observation Group in York City was Major General Li Zicheng, who was once received by the Emperor Shenwu of the Chinese Empire, so compared to Cromwell's high spirits, Li Zicheng was even more indispensable.

"I am"

Cromwell saw a big officer, whose burly appearance was no worse than him, and his eyes were murderous, which made him shudder.

"What's your name? We're going to go in and search, please get out of the way of your people."

At this time, Cromwell was just a school officer, but he was domineering.

Li Zicheng said coldly: "You have no education at all, don't you British ** people know that when you see an officer with a higher rank than yourself, you should be honored as a commander?" ”

Cromwell was stunned for a moment, and only then did he notice Li Zicheng's military rank, a big fish head on the epaulettes, a typical rank of major general in the Chinese Empire. Cromwell usually paid attention to various ** things, among which he was very interested in the military affairs of the Chinese Empire, so he was familiar with the military rank system of the Chinese Empire.

"So what?"

Cromwell snorted coldly and said, "We are not a country."

Li Zicheng smiled faintly, continued to frustrate his spirit, and said: "The Kingdom of England and our Chinese Empire are allies, as allies, there is only a difference in authority and responsibility, and there is no difference in military rank."

Li Zicheng pointed at Cromwell and said, "You must salute and salute me, otherwise I will sue General Sù Fernand."

"You-"

Cromwell choked with anger and glared at Li Zicheng, who was smiling but unyielding.

Helplessly, Cromwell had to sigh and salute very reluctantly: "Good sir, Lieutenant Colonel Cromwell, commander of the 17th Cavalry Regiment of the British Army, salutes you"

Li Zicheng smiled proudly and returned a military salute.

"Now you can explain what you came for"

Cromwell held back his anger and said, "We suspect that King Charles I of England is hiding in your country's pavilion, he is an extremely evil guy, please allow us to enter and search to ensure the safety of your country's officers and soldiers."

Li Zicheng smiled, and secretly scolded Charles I in his heart for being really bad.

"Thank you for worrying that we don't have Charles I in the hotel, you can go back"

Cromwell couldn't help but say loudly: "I repeat, we are going to go in and search, please don't stop it"

Li Zicheng also shouted: "I warn you again, you have to go in and search - it is impossible to drop, please stop being verbose"

With a wave of his hand, the hundreds of British soldiers surrounding the hotel immediately raised their muskets.

Similarly, more than a dozen soldiers of the Chinese Empire on this side also raised their rifles, and the two sides were tense and had a great sense of competition.

However, soon the morale of the British soldiers weakened. Because their muskets had no weapons on them, while the rifles of the soldiers of the Chinese Empire were loaded with long bayonets. The British soldiers didn't pay attention just now, but at this moment they found that the bayonets on the muskets were aimed at their hearts, and it was definitely the British soldiers themselves who suffered in this conflict.

More than a dozen Chinese Imperial soldiers with bayonets actually forced dozens of British soldiers nearby to retreat three or four steps, and Cromwell was immediately embarrassed.

"If you don't get out of the way, I'll have to break in" Cromwell said fiercely: "You are responsible for something"

Li Zicheng really met the more he was more energetic, and said directly: "The pavilion of the Chinese Imperial Battlefield Observation Group here is protected by the Neutrality Law, if you dare to step in half a step, I guarantee that you will not see the sun tomorrow." By the way, the Chinese Empire is an ally of Britain, and you will be responsible for everything you say and do."

At this time, Li Zicheng suddenly saw General Fernand coming, so he whispered to Cromwell: "There is a kind of you try"

Cromwell was furious and was about to go in, when General Fernand suddenly shouted: "Stop"

Cromwell wanted to rush straight in, he was ready to be reckless. However, Fernand saw that the soldiers of the Chinese Empire were about to shoot, and he was afraid that the situation would be too big to explain, so he stopped Cromwell.

After all, the Chinese Empire was an ally of Britain, and even if there was a civil war in the United Kingdom, Parliament would not offend the Chinese Empire for this. On the contrary, Cromwell will be severely punished, and even dispose of Cromwell in exchange for the Chinese Empire siding with the side of the parliament.

Fernand saw this to stop Cromwell, and he didn't want to lose Cromwell, a general who could fight. But it was precisely because of this incident that Cromwell's attitude towards the Chinese Empire changed drastically, and he held a grudge against him from then on. X