The Lower Saxony region, located in northwestern Germany on the border with the Netherlands, covers an area of nearly 50,000 square kilometers. From the Emes to the Elbe, from the summit of the Harz Mountains to the North Sea coast, there are fascinating landscapes everywhere.

Lower Saxony has fertile lowland plains, mysterious forests, romantic and beautiful Harz and Weser mountains, and the northwest coast is one of the last important fishing areas in Western Europe.

The salt and potash mines in the Harz foothills, and the largest iron deposits in Germany in Salzkitt and Braunschweig, constitute a strategically important position in the history of Lower Saxony in the German region.

But such a place where agriculture flourished and resources were abundant was ravaged over and over again by the warring parties in the flames of the Thirty Years' War in Europe. Hanover, Oldenburg and other German city-states were all involved in this initial and religious conflict, but in essence it was a war game in which European countries competed for regional control from the Holy Roman Empire.

The third phase of the Thirty Years' War in Europe came to an end in early 1635 when the last Protestant army of Germany broke up. From the beginning of the war to the present, Denmark, whose heart is higher than the sky and whose fate is thinner than paper, has been beaten and bruised, the powerful enemy of the Kingdom of Sweden has also been completely defeated because of the death of the king, and the Spanish and Holy Roman Empires under the leadership of the Habsburgs have stood on the new commanding heights of Europe.

The only thing that is out of step with history is that Frederick V, Elector of the Palatinate, the originator of the war, dramatically enclosed a piece of land along the northwestern coast of Lower Saxony with the intervention of France and England. Although he did not regain the title of Elector of the Empire, he reached a peace agreement with the Holy Roman Empire under the mediation of France, and still received "compensation" from another Marquis of Emden, and leisurely withdrew from the war as a bystander.

Emden, located on the right bank of the Gulf of Dolart, at the mouth of the Ames River. Although it dates back to 800 AD, at the beginning of the 17th century it was a small fishing port on the north-west coast of Lower Saxony.

But it was such a place in the eyes of the German states that "the betrayal of the Protestant Union was a shame." However, with the support of another country on the other side of the Atlantic, in just a few years, it has become an iron bucket that is difficult for the surrounding powerful countries to eat. Emden not only became the only port in Germany that had a fixed trade partnership with China and the United States, but also imported a large amount of grain and livelihood goods exported from China and the United States into the ruined hinterland of Germany.

However, during the tragic war, even though Frederick V had the full support of the United States behind the scenes, and vigorously collected the German refugees who fled the center of the war, the overall strength was still very weak. Including the refugees who fled from the surrounding area, the population of Port Emden is just over 10,000, and the total population of the entire Marquis of Emden is less than 250,000. The actual territory of the control zhì is only a little more than 1,000 square kilometers.

The Gothic-style cathedral, which began construction more than a decade ahead of schedule, has become a symbol of the historic port of Emden, but in a few new neighborhoods near the port, there are still a number of magnificent, concise and bright American buildings similar to the Azores Serra Island.

……

Monday, September 17, 1635.

In the three-storey Huamei Consulate in Emden, the new consular officer, Dai Botong, was standing on a closed balcony with clear windows, quietly looking at the port to the south.

In the line of sight, the Chaoyang-class large sail merchant ship Linfeng was slowly approaching the shore. A number of port tax collectors in high-end clothes were waiting with a group of soldiers, and the docks were full of eager porters.

"1,200 tons of old grain from the previous year, 200 tons of civilian goods, 1,500 of the latest 34A flintlock rifles. 16 8-pounder guns...... Minister, Frederick V has no choice but to lead this informal diplomatic peace talks in the face of you, the 'niece of the Wittelsbach family'. Dai Botong turned his head and said with a smile to his "fiancée" Dai Qingqing, whose stomach was already slightly bulging, "Now I will use up all the loan amount for next year's Emden support." If he doesn't make some achievements, I'm afraid we will all be angry. ”

"It's not the French and the Dutch who are trying to make a bad deal, they don't really help us mediate." Dai Qingqing held her waist. Reluctantly stood up and walked to Dai Botong's side, the smile on the corner of his mouth was still cold, "Maybe even Frederick V will follow the pole and let us increase our support for him." ”

"There is no such thing as a free lunch, and Frederick has received at least 5,000 tons of grain from us last year to now at half the price of the European market, which is more than enough to feed all his troops. If we cut off the supply, he could be swallowed up by the Count of Oldenburg at any time, after all, this was once Oldenburg's sphere of influence. Dai Botong waved his hand disapprovingly, took Dai Qingqing into his arms by the way, and touched the other party's big belly warmly, "It's not time for us to take the initiative to show up, just wait for the news...... Also, are you planning to wait until your child is born before getting married? ”

"I haven't figured it out yet." Dai Qingqing gently broke free from the other party's arms and pushed open the glass expressionlessly. A slightly salty sea breeze blew into the balcony, lifting Dai Qingqing's long hair, and also making her face a little bloody turn much paler again, "If the matter in Ireland is not settled, I am not sure......"

This remark made Dai Botong fall into deep thought.

"Your Excellency Consul, there is news from the Marquis of Emden...... England rejected Spain's demands, the Dutch made no comment, and the French side seemed to have the intention of abandoning their good offices. A European clerk appeared at the entrance to the balcony, carefully picked up a paperwork, and quietly withdrew.

"That is to say, now the first round of talks has collapsed? Well, before there is a greater military move, the English do not feel that they will really be defeated by the Spaniards......" After reading the content of the letter, Dai Botong remembered Su Zining's explanation before leaving, and he was not surprised by this result, "Then we can only expect the Irish side to come with news that makes the English nervous, and as for the movements of the Dutch, we will step up the collection of intelligence." I was always worried that the Dutch would throw things up. ”

"Holland?" Dai Qingqing was a little surprised, a little incomprehensible.

"As long as Spain does not lie down, the Netherlands is England's staunchest ally, and it is not normal for them to adopt a completely neutral attitude this time. I don't believe there was no other covert relationship between the Netherlands and England that allowed England to be so assertive after losing the vast majority of its navy. Dai Botong touched his chin and frowned, "I also asked Brother Su, but he wasn't sure how the Dutch would respond, after all, this history is completely new...... We are all guilty of historical cognitive dependence. ”

said. Dai Botong also spread out his hands and made a helpless movement.

……

Wednesday, September 19, 1635.

The jumble of gunfire, whistling shells, black-and-gray rubble, burning ruins, and undulating crowds paint a picture of the city's offensive and defensive battles in the Irish wilderness in late summer.

120 mm naval high-explosive shells from the bay to the east kicked up clouds of black and orange smoke over the castle in the southeast corner of Cork City, and the ruins of the collapsed fortifications and the shattered human body piled up a terrifying gentle slope south of the ramparts.

After the artillery fire of the Chinese navy was covered, a group of Spanish soldiers in brown leather armor and feathered iron helmets appeared at the bottom of the gentle slope, holding flintlock pistols or spears, hunched up.

High above the ruins of the ramparts, a large expanse of English soldiers in tattered grey and white costumes emerged again. Amid the roar of rows of flintlock guns, the Spanish officers and soldiers under the gentle slope screamed again, blood splattered, and corpses rolled down.

"Your Excellency, Marquis. The English are cunning foxes who hide in dead corners and are hardly afraid of any artillery! A Spanish officer, with a pale face, let out a desperate sigh at the Marquis de Santa Cruz beside him. In half a month, more than 1,000 people were killed and wounded, and we haven't even seen a single street in Cork City. Maybe we should attack in another place, like west. ”

"Somewhere else? Then we will lose the cover of the Americans' naval guns, and the situation may be even worse than here! Albert, Marquis de Santa Cruz, held up the binoculars, observing the effects of the previous bombardment, and was helpless against Cromwell's defensive tactics of seeing through the range of the American naval guns.

"Lieutenant, can you let your army's naval guns cover fire again." The Marquis de Santa Cruz turned around and threw a friendly smile at a young Chinese naval officer who was serving as a campaign liaison not far behind.

"At maximum range, the number of warships that can be deployed in the river section there is limited, and the density of firepower cannot cover all siege areas."

As a field liaison officer, Hu Huan has also experienced the ups and downs of pat his chest and pretending to be forced to be assured to being full of stomach troubles in this week. In front of Cork City, the more than 7,000 English troops in it relied on the strong fortress defense, and stubbornly withstood the firepower of the Chinese and American European fleets, and also pressed the Spaniards attacking the city under the fortress and could not advance a step.

The reason for this is that there are too many dead ends in the fortifications in this attack area, and the sparse naval artillery fire cannot effectively kill the defenders, and even the fortifications in some sections are so strong that even 120 mm heavy guns cannot shake them. Coupled with the fact that the Spaniards lacked cover firepower for a close-range attack, the slightest approach would result in cross-fire from the English defenders from several directions.

"Should we be jealous of Ireland having such a city, or should we be envious of Cromwell for choosing the right place......" The Marquis of Santa Cruz could only sigh heavily when he saw that the Chinese Navy had no tricks.

"Lieutenant, maybe we can get the Army up and use machine guns and mortars, so we can have immediate close fire cover. Isn't that what our Army does? A young Chinese second lieutenant muttered behind Hu Huan, which suddenly made the anxious Hu Huan turn around.

"Dispatch of army troops? It might be a good idea, otherwise in a few days, the Spaniards will be completely backing down. Hu Huan's eyes lit up and he looked very excited, "Send a telegram to the general immediately, requesting that the infantry company of the Foreign Legion from St. Marys Island be transferred over." ”

Discussion after discussion, before the new combat plan could be answered, another round of naval artillery fire coverage began. This time, the three princess-class large light cruisers went into battle together, and the 12 120-mm naval guns fired the highest rate of fire, and the smoke and dust of the undulating explosion once again covered some of the fortifications in the attack section, which seemed to be quite loud, and also made the Spanish officers and soldiers who had been repeatedly defeated in the distance let out hysterical cheers.

……

"No, the army cannot be dispatched until the worst of the moments. This is our most crucial political gesture, in fact, whether the Spaniards can take Cork. It doesn't matter to us. On the Princess Xijun, Major General Zhang Chunrui did not hesitate to reject the opinion of Hu Huan, the front-line liaison officer of the field, "And we only have two infantry companies of the Foreign Legion on the Isles of Scilly, and we need to protect our most important logistics base, and we must not leave." ”

"Is it possible to remove a few organs or guns from a warship?" Colonel Sun Yang suddenly said on the side, and the eyes of the naval officers in the general headquarters lit up.

The expensive new 32A rotary tube machine gun has not completely replaced the organ machine gun in the Chinese Army, and there is not even one on the warships of the Navy, because so far the Navy has not had much opportunity to use this melee weapon on the side of the ship.

"That means we need to get the sailors ashore to fight?" Zhang Chunrui touched his chin. Walking around the cabin, he looked at Cork City to the west, and sighed slightly, "We really lack independent amphibious combat capabilities, it would be nice to have marines......"

"General, Lieutenant Hu Huan called, the Spaniards failed again, and this time their attack only lasted ten minutes. Lieutenant Hu Huan had already recorded several blind spots in the English defenses, which our naval guns could not hit at all. The operator came over. Once again, an unpleasant result was given, and the naval officers in the command cabin looked more anxious than the Spaniards at this time.

"The 75-millimeter naval guns and organ machine guns on the Blue Whale and the Horned Whale were removed, and each ship selected a group of gunners to bring light weapons. Listen to Lieutenant Hu Huan's command! Walking to the porthole, raising the binoculars and observing for a few minutes, Zhang Chunrui finally patted the bulkhead and gave instructions.

……

A 75-mm naval gun with a detachable land marching gun mount had a total combat weight of just over 1 ton. At present, it is the only naval gun in the Chinese and US Navy that can quickly switch between land and sea status, thanks to the opinions put forward by the bigwigs of Beiyang Shipbuilding Group to NORINCO when designing a series of offshore patrol ships.

More than 80 sailors were drawn from non-important posts on the ships of the Chinese and American European fleets, with two 75-mm naval guns, two organ machine guns, and a number of rifles. A temporary Marine Corps was formed, and the commander-in-chief of the front line was Lieutenant Hu Huan.

Chinese sailors joined the Spanish army in the sequence of ground operations, and on 20 September the offensive was unexpectedly effective. When the clichéd naval artillery fire was covered, the English defenders who came out of the ruins were shocked to find several strange large guns standing more than 200 meters below the gentle slope of the ruins.

Two organ machine guns fired at the same time, and a storm of bullets swept across the ruined position, and this sudden close-range dense fire suddenly knocked the half-exposed English defenders on their backs.

When the familiar figure of an English gunner pushing a gun cart re-entered the stone tower in the corner of the ruins, a 75-mm naval gun of the Chinese Navy, which had been aimed long ago, roared. At a distance of less than 300 meters, the shells entered the turret in a matter of tenths of a second, and the debris and fire from the blast wave blew up the English 2-pounder cannon that was trying to suppress the attacker into parts, killing all the gunners.

The defenders' firepower was instantly scattered, and the Spanish army, which had plummeted from the pressure, immediately swarmed forward, and hundreds of soldiers quickly broke through the ruins and engaged in bloody hand-to-hand combat with the second wave of English defenders.

Spears, bayonets, butts, stones, two groups of European soldiers dressed in different uniforms and armor scuffled together, and behind them, more Spanish soldiers with feathered iron helmets continued to pour in, and to the north of the ruins, in the undulating neighborhood of Cork City.

"God willing, the children are up!" The Marquis de Santa Cruz excitedly threw away his binoculars, greatly pleased, and also amazed by the improvised method of cooperation of the Chinese and American fleet.

……

In a church north of Cork City, Cromwell was still having breakfast, and after more than a week of defensive battles, his subordinates had long understood the deployment of defensive battles, and it seemed that today would be another day destined to be unlucky for the Spaniards, and there was no need to report everything.

"Mr. Cromwell, the Spaniards have broken through the defenses!" An English officer walked into the church with holes all over his body, his face smeared with blood and dust, looking terrifying.

"They found a way so quickly?" Cromwell spilled tea on his chest as he had just eaten it. This precious "Portuguese-style Oriental drink", which was just emerging in England's high society, was tasted by Cromwell every day during the war.

"Do you continue to fight them in the streets, or do you retreat?" The English officer asked cautiously.

"Ignition, stop their follow-up attack, prepare to retreat." Cromwell left the table and pointed to his back with a sneer, "After withdrawing, blow up all the bridges on the River Leigh." ”

"But this will completely destroy the ...... of Cork City," the English officer who heard the order was startled.

"It's obvious, and what we're going to do is keep the Spaniards, the Americans, and the Irish going nothing." Cromwell took off his cloth nonchalantly, as if he were now fighting on Spanish soil, "Execute the order, we will rush to Dublin to continue the fight." As long as we hold out, the American fleet will have to give up support for the Spaniards! ”

The southeastern section of Cork City, which had been almost beaten into ruins by artillery fire, fell into the hands of the Spanish army, which finally triggered a chain reaction on the entire southern defense surface of the city. The Spanish army occupied more and more defensive positions, and then finally expanded the offensive breakthrough at dusk the next day, breaking into the city. To their surprise, however, instead of fighting for every inch of land, the English defenders set the houses on fire in the main blocks.

Smoke and fire enveloped half of the city, countless grains that had been "collected on the spot" by the English defenders in the early stage were burned, Irish people who had been driven out of their homes were crying everywhere, and every street was filled with innocent Irish people who had been burned to death by the fire, and the Spaniards who had entered the city had to stop advancing.

"Lieutenant, has the conscience of the English been eaten by dogs? Are they going to do it in every future battle for the city? The Chinese second lieutenant followed behind Hu Huan with a 30A rifle and looked at the city in front of him in amazement.

"Mankind has been doing this since there was war."

Hu Huan threw away the weapon in his hand, sat aside, took out the dry food and water bottle in his pocket and ate it heavily, a beautiful naval uniform had been mottled into black and white camouflage by smoke and dust at this time, just like the national fleet blocking the Li River. (To be continued......)