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Monday, July 9, 1635.

Compared to just over two months ago, Kinsale Harbour, Ireland, once home to just a thousand people, has become a sprawling barracks fortress. A considerable number of houses were demolished by the Spanish army, all the stones and bricks were piled on the temporary defensive line on the outskirts of the city, and the Irish civilians who had been driven out of their homes cowered pitifully in the dilapidated corners, cursing the Spanish defenders in the city and the English army and navy besieging the port of Kinsale with innocent and resentful eyes.

Every day, the English besieging Kinsale Harbour would send a barrage of cannonballs from the northern interior or sea, battering the tiny port town day by day, and weakening the little remaining morale of the Spanish army. Fortunately, the Spanish Army and some of the navy that had withdrawn ashore also had a lot of American-style cannons, which were able to fight back-for-tat, forcing the threat from the inland rivers and seas back a few miles away, so that they did not completely collapse in this defensive battle.

Compared to the abundant logistical supply and combat space of the English army and navy in the periphery, the Spanish defenders suffered enough in the small defensive space of Kinsell Harbor, and the internal strife caused by the continuous grabbing of supplies in the city made it even worse for the defenders who had been burned by the fire to most of the landing materials.

In order to feed the more than 9,000 army and navy officers and men in the city, even if they were frugal or disregarded the lives and deaths of Irish civilians, most of the food reserves had been depleted, and the stock of gunpowder and shells was even more precarious in the intermittent artillery battles, and the shortage of medicine also led to a sharp increase in the death toll of the wounded soldiers every day.

A chapel in the city served as the recuperation place for the Marquis de Santa Cruz and the headquarters of the defenders. The seemingly sturdy stone church was in dilapidation by this time, and many of its facades had been shattered by shells fired by the English. Even so, there were still many Spanish soldiers huddled at the base of the wall with their weapons in hand, looking weakly at the sky.

The church's Irish priest had been smashed into a fuzzy lump of flesh by an English mortar shell that had rained down from the sky a month earlier, and now only a few monks were still crouching in a large room in the church, tending to the injuries of the Spanish commander, who was getting worse.

“…… Your Excellency the Marquis, we need gunpowder, cannonballs, medicine and food. If we don't get help within half a month, I can't guarantee that the soldiers will be able to resist the attack of the English......" A Spanish general stood in front of his hospital bed with a dejected expression, his face sloppy and gray after the battle, his beautiful hat with feathers long gone, the cloak behind him shattered into strips of cloth, and his ornate cuirass pitted, as if he had repelled a tentative attack by the English army not long ago.

Outside the church, there was the dull and piercing sound of mortar shells crashing into the building, and the screams of the unfortunate ones, and even the floor of the room could be felt shaking. The English shells were the most vivid annotation of the Spanish general's statement at the right time, and the face of the old man in the hospital bed twitched slightly.

"Then pray twice a day for God's favor......" the Marquis de Santa Cruz coughed. Gently stroking the wound under the gauze on his left arm, which was gradually festering and inflamed due to the burns of Yan zhòng, his expression was cold and miserable, "If God abandons me and the Kingdom of Spain, then you can choose the most decent way to make peace with the English." ”

The meaning is very tactful, probably the Marquis of Santa Cruz also thinks that he is unlikely to survive for half a month, just to find a more convenient excuse for his subordinates to surrender at that time, once the Spanish commander dies, this army can lay down its arms.

"God bless Spain, bless you......" The Spanish general bowed his head and drew a cross on his chest. Then silently exited the room.

"My wise and brave grandson Oscar, you will inherit the glorious Marquis of Santa Cruz, my dear daughter Anna, how much burden will you bear to protect Oscar......" whispered words that almost only he could hear. Albert fell into a state of fever again, and fell into a deep sleep in the hands of several monks, at which point any shelling from outside the church was unlikely to wake him up.

……

An English blockade fleet of three small warships slowly sailed across the ocean a few nautical miles from the mouth of the Bandon River in the afternoon sun. The English sailors on deck were either shaking their rum bottles or leaning against the deck guns with a big grin and telling vulgar jokes.

"Mr. Captain, there's movement in the south! There are boats approaching. A lot! The mast lookout poked his head out of the mast lookout and shouted in the direction of the console.

"Is it Spaniard?" The middle-aged captain of the English Navy, who had thrown away the bacon, quickly raised his binoculars and looked along the lookout's arm, with a disdainful sneer on the corner of his mouth.

"Oh God, it's the ...... of the Americans' fleet" A few seconds later, a shocked and complicated expression appeared on the face of the captain of England, and both eyeballs almost burst out.

In the telescope, three large snow-white warships are leading more and more familiar black-and-white camouflage warships towards the port of Kinsale, almost several times the number of their own. The ships seemed to have their sails folded, their thick chimneys spitting black smoke as they approached at a rate of at least eight knots in envy.

"Damn it! Didn't they declare neutrality, what are they doing here? Raise the sails, hoist the flag, notify the other ships, and all get ready for battle! The captain of England, who had not yet received news from home, was still trembling with his hand when he put away his binoculars, but he still gave the order to meet the battle in the spirit of duty.

Stunned to look at the visibly nervous but resolute captain, the English sailors, after a few seconds of stiffness, began to run frantically towards the deck gun emplacement, carrying out powder kegs and solid shells, and began to clean the chambers with a cannon brush, just as the deck bell, a symbol of combat readiness, rang belatedly. At the same time, the same action took place on the other two small English ships, where the chaotic English sailors scurried up and down, desperately pulling the ropes at the orders of the officers, trying to reorient the ships and gain the upper hand.

On the bridge of the Xijun Princess, the flagship of the European Fleet of the Chinese Navy, Zhang Chunrui and Sun Yang put down their binoculars at the same time, and smiled helplessly at each other, especially the latter, who almost laughed out loud.

"They probably didn't know that war had been declared, and they were too nervous...... Do you want us to be more gentlemanly and let them back down with dignity? Sun Yang gave a military salute to Zhang Chunrui, and after receiving permission, he personally walked out of the command cabin and called a junior officer.

Three English ships were already lined up in a tandem battle formation. However, the Chinese and American naval fleet, which was less than two nautical miles away, did not seem to have the intention of fighting immediately, but gradually divided into two columns, one on the left and one on the right.

"Do they want to surround us? Damn, the direction of the wind doesn't work for them! The captain of England, who was the commander-in-chief of the fleet, had a cold face, forcibly suppressed the fear and anger in his heart, and stood on the side of the ship and talked to himself.

The deck guns on one side were already in place, but just looking at the dozen or so gorgeous battleships on the opposite side that were larger than themselves, almost none of the English gunners had a good expression on their faces.

"God, I bet even the King Charles may not be more beautiful than the American ship......"

An old gunner muttered. I couldn't help but compare the gorgeous battleship I saw with the latest English sail warship that is now being built in the city of London, compared to the King Charles, which will take at least a year to complete, the gorgeous battleship in front of me is already suffocating.

"Mr. Captain, look...... They put down a small boat, oh, over here, as if it were a messenger! The lookout shouted again, and the news immediately relieved almost everyone on deck who were nervously on standby.

……

The Huamei European fleet, with the large light cruiser Princess Hosojun as its flagship, covers a supply fleet of 3 transport ships. Drive mightily to the open sea at the mouth of the Bandon River in Port Kinsale, Ireland.

The defeat of the main Spanish navy a few months ago made it easy for the English navy to blockade the port of Kinsale, but now, several small English warships cruising outside the harbor were frightened by the lineup in front of them.

The standoff actually lasted less than half an hour. In order to "dispel" the concerns of the English navy, the commander of the Chinese and American fleet, Colonel Sun Yang, very politely sent a small boat and sent a letter to the English. This means that China and the United States are already in a state of war with England, and the nearby waters have been designated as a no-sail zone. For the sake of the traditional friendship between the Chinese Navy and the English Navy over the years in maintaining the safety of the Atlantic route, I hope that the English side will surrender with dignity......

Do you agree? Agreed? Or do you agree?

Without waiting for England to make any choice, 10 gorgeous light cruisers were at a distance of half a nautical mile. Two columns, one on the left and one on the right, sandwiched the small ships of England in the middle, and while raising the greeting flag, all the naval guns were aimed at the English, especially the twin 120-mm heavy naval guns of the three Princess-class large light cruisers, which looked particularly "kind".

The reason is so absurd or incredible, but not incomprehensible. He only has 3 small ships, and the Chinese and American Navy has 10 1,000-ton ships here.

Fighting for the honor of the Kingdom of England? To hell with it, it was almost impossible to win, and even escaping seemed to be a luxury, because the American fleet on the opposite side completely ignored the wind and currents.

The captains of England who received such a "polite" letter of negotiation were frightened and helpless at this time.

After a few minutes of silence, the captains of all three English battleships gave the same answer, lowering their sails and reluctantly raising the flag of surrender.

An hour later, a disarmed English warship was used as a release vessel, and all the English sailors were stuffed into it and told they could leave. Then the guns of the Chinese and American fleets roared, and the remaining two empty English warships were blown to pieces.

The English watched as 10 Chinese warships blocked the mouth of the Bandon River, and then 3 transports swaggered into port, unloading hundreds of tons of food and military supplies. Without firing a single shot, he let the Chinese and American fleets lift the blockade of the port of Kinsale, and the English sailors could only evacuate in disgrace no matter how unhappy they were.

The only thing they could do now was to quickly return to Cork City and send the news to Cromwell, the supreme commander who organized the siege of the Spanish army in Cork City.

A few days later, when the three English captains learned of the outcome of the one-sided naval battle between the English Navy and the Chinese and American Navy, they were so frightened that they thanked God again and again, and were deeply glad that they had made a wise choice.

……

At the quays of the port of Kinsale, the filthy and desperate Spanish soldiers let out a shocking cheer, and even this cheer made the English artillerymen who were firing on the northern outskirts of the city stunned, not knowing what had happened, and the artillery battle between the two sides, which lasted for several hours, came to an abrupt and abrupt end.

"My lord, are they here to take us away?"

"Damn it, get out of the way, you're so unreasonable! I'm going to apply to hang you all here! ”

"Oooh! It's all ours! Wine, O Madonna! And wine! ”

Every net bag that was lowered from the transports Gray Whale. All to the delight of the Spanish soldiers crowded by the docks. Ignoring the shouts and whips of the officers, the ragged Spanish soldiers pushed and shoved each other and clung to the hanging nets, clutching at the ropes and stretching out their hands at the familiar cans of fine food, bags of dry food, or wooden barrels containing shoddy fruit wine.

"If we come a month late, we guess the English will welcome us." Seeing that the transport ship where his wife Yan Xianping was located not far away was unorganized and undisciplined by the Spaniards, delaying the unloading of supplies, Sun Yang couldn't help but laugh.

"We have a maximum of two days to help them, and there are more important things to do." Looking at the inland direction of Kinsell Port, Zhang Chunrui looked at his pocket watch, turned around and walked towards the command cabin, while still commanding the adjutant beside him. "Prepare at once, I'm going ashore to meet the Marquis de Santa Cruz."

"Brother Zhang, if the English in the northern suburbs of the city launch an artillery bombardment at this time, I am afraid it will affect our unloading." Sun Yang reminded softly behind him.

"It's already a state of war, and there is no need for other excuses, but before occupying the Isles of Scilly to build an outpost, you have to pay attention to saving ammunition." Zhang Chunrui walked into the cabin without looking back.

……

To embolden Spain, the Chinese and American fleets launched a small artillery bombardment a few kilometers inland on the English front, with naval guns constantly bombarding with dozens of shells per minute.

Shells whizzed over the harbor. It was only about ten seconds before a huge explosion and smoke rose from the positions of the English troops north of the port of Kinsale, and almost every explosion provoked hysterical cheers from the Spanish defenders.

People turn on their backs. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, the English heavy mortars that were hit in the gun position were overturned in the shock wave, the stacks of solid shells splashed like stones, and the explosion of powder kegs made the surrounding artillery positions a hell on earth. The torn and charred corpses of English officers and soldiers fell from the sky like autumn wind and falling leaves.

The besieging English army was overwhelmed by the sudden artillery fire, discarded almost all of its artillery, and retreated towards the city of Cork. All previous results were reset to zero at once today.

Inside the chapel, several junior officers of the Chinese Navy stood guard outside the door, while inside the house, a Chinese Navy medic was carefully cleaning the wounds of Albert, Marquis of Santa Cruz, and injecting penicillin.

"God bless, General Zhang, it's a pleasure to meet you in Ireland." The Marquis of Santa Cruz smiled weakly and wryly. He had already received the latest report on the situation of the battle, and the English had retreated before they could see the face of the American ** ships, and a large number of supplies were being sent into the city in a steady stream, which was a great salvation for the Spanish defenders who had run out of ammunition and food.

"Your son-in-law and daughter are waiting for news in A Coruña, and I will pick you up on behalf of Mr. Shi's family." Zhang Chunrui took off his military hat and sat down politely on the chair next to the bed, "This is also what His Majesty the King of your country means." ”

The interpreter quickly conveyed Zhang Chunrui's original words, and all the Spaniards present were stunned.

Looking at the subordinates or monks around them, everyone bowed their heads, as if they were facing a choice that was even more unacceptable than the attack of the English. The Marquis of Santa Cruz sat up with his body propped up, clasped his hands on his chest, and returned the favor to Zhang Chunrui: "If it were in Spain, I would be happy to take the general's warship to A Coruña to meet my daughter, but not now, I am leading the glorious Spanish legions to fight the English." The war is not over, and I cannot abandon every Spanish warrior here. ”

Zhang Chunrui frowned slightly, slowly turned around, and looked at the military doctor who was packing the medical box.

"General, I have injected His Excellency the Marquis with a sufficient dose of antibiotics, as long as you pay attention to disinfection and dressing, oral sulfonamide can also achieve subsequent treatment effects." The military doctor quickly stood up and answered Zhang Chunrui's wordless question.

"Then, I'll try to unload all supplies within two days, and leave a liaison group for you to send, enough supplies to support your army for a few more months. My fleet will soon blockade the St. George's Strait and the Bay of Lee, which should help you in your subsequent land operations. We hope to have the opportunity to have lunch with you in the Azores. Zhang Chunrui didn't bother to take the time to convince the stubborn old man that, in his opinion, the Chinese and American Navy had done its best to save the Spanish army by taking military risks.

"Friend, shouldn't we face this challenge together? If your country can commit troops on land, then I believe that Cork City will be taken quickly. At the moment when Zhang Chunrui was about to get up and walk out of the room, the deep voice of the Marquis of Santa Cruz suddenly sounded.

"That's all my fleet can do without official notification from home." Zhang Chunrui glanced at the interpreter, put on a military cap, saluted the old man, and walked out of the room.

"Maybe I'm too greedy, the Americans are already in the war, we shouldn't continue to be pessimistic, be brave and we can launch a counterattack, then it's time for the English to be out of luck!"

The artillery support of the Chinese and American fleets was still rumbling in my ears, and it sounded particularly pleasant. As if he felt that God had favored him, the Marquis of Santa Cruz actually had a flush on his face and joked with his subordinates around him. (To be continued)