Palace of Versailles, on the banks of the Grand Canal, residence under house arrest of the Duke of Richelieu.

A thriving vineyard sits on the edge of a beautiful single-family villa, and everything around you is so tranquil and relaxing under the warm morning sun and breeze.

The plants in the vineyard were grafted from the back garden of the Palace of Versailles by the Duke of Richelieu.

It is said that His Majesty was pleased to see this old friend in such a leisurely manner, and specially presented him with a batch of vines of the finest quality.

At the end of May, the vineyards are already filled with fruity aromas.

The Duke of Richelieu got up early in the morning and strolled through the orchard with seven or eight of his attendants, picking the crystal grapes by himself like an unskilled but enthusiastic farmer.

The Duke was dressed in a sturdy but rough canvas garment, without trousers, and instead of ornate cowhide boots, he wore a pair of straw-woven flat straw boots.

Judging from his clothes today, almost no one could recognize this as the famous Duke of Richelieu, but he really looked like an ordinary old peasant in the countryside.

The Duke's entourage also joined in the harvest with a smile and a smile, as if they were following a kind grandfather on an outing to the countryside, even though they were in fact agents assigned by His Majesty to keep an eye on the Duke.

After nearly a year with the Duke of Richelieu, these watchmen gradually relaxed their vigilance, and no longer faced the enemy as they had at the beginning, and had to report to His Majesty the King at the slightest disturbance.

They all realized that the Duke of Richelieu had no ambition at all, and that he was either fishing and playing chess or making wine and growing vegetables every day, and although the Duke was not good at the skills of these commoners, he was always happy to do so, and often invited them to play with them.

Even many of the new agents were shocked to see the Duke in person, and couldn't believe that this kind, easy-going, leisurely and indifferent old man was the legendary Duke of Richelieu.

It had been a long time since the watchmen had reported to the king the suspicious behavior of the Duke of Richelieu.

This was partly due to the fact that the Duke of Richelieu did not show any abnormality, and partly because His Majesty no longer seemed to be as resistant to the Duke's interest in politics as he had been at the beginning.

Especially in recent times, after the death of Madame du Barry and the regentship of the Duke of Orleans, the surveillance of the Duke of Richelieu has been much looser, and even the retinue installed here has been reduced by nearly half.

Even recently, the Duke of Richelieu had a very rare public discussion with a visitor about the current political situation, and when the matter was reported to His Majesty, Louis XV did not react to it, which was equivalent to acquiescing to the Duke of Richelieu's interest in political affairs.

And after this temptation was tacitly approved by His Majesty the King, the watchers also understood it and very consciously further relaxed the surveillance and listening of the Duke.

"Oh yes..."

In the vineyard, a watcher whispered to a colleague:

"The Duke of Agilon is coming to visit in the afternoon, do you need to record this conversation?"

The colleague hesitated for a moment, then shook his head:

"No need, it seems that the surveillance of the Duke will end soon, there is no need to offend the Duke at this juncture, and the Duke of Agilon has been very low-key recently, it should just be a heart-to-heart conversation between the uncle and nephew."

"That's right."

...

A few days later, on 2 June, in the port of Calais.

The port of Calais is the northernmost port in France and the closest to the British mainland, bordering the Austrian-controlled lowlands and only 400 miles from Paris.

And best of all, it's only 60 miles from here to the port of Dover in the UK.

In good weather and calm sea conditions, the contours of Dover Harbour on the other side of the river can be seen from the port of Calais, and those who are physically and hydracually good can even cross the entire English Channel from here.

Also due to

Due to its unique geographical location, the port of Calais was not only an important hub for private trade between Britain and France, but also the most important military fortress for France to contain British naval hegemony.

Therefore, this port is completely a must between Britain and France, but whenever France wants to attack the British mainland, Calais is undoubtedly the first choice, including Napoleon's army here when he tried to attack England.

Correspondingly, when Britain intended to invade France, its first strategic objective must have been here.

Therefore, the French can be said to have heavily defended the port of Calais, and more than ten heavy coastal defense batteries have been built.

These batteries surrounded most of Calais and covered the entire port area with enough artillery fire.

In command of these batteries, as well as an entire subordinate artillery regiment, was an experienced and retiring lieutenant colonel commander, Lieutenant Colonel Carville.

...

On the evening of June 2, the sunset was like fire, and the crimson of the sky was reflected from the sky to the sea, extending to the infinite distance where the water and the sky meet, as if the entire North Sea was bathed in a raging fire.

Lieutenant Colonel Cavill stood on the rooftop terrace of a seafront fort, blowing in the salty sea breeze, looking restlessly at the thriving harbor district beneath him.

A steady stream of merchant ships commuted to and from the harbor, most of them British and French, but there were also merchants from the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, and a number of small North German coastal countries, and even from the top of the fortress you could hear the bustle of the harbor.

As the sky grew darker, the port and the city were covered in a hazy light, and Lieutenant Colonel Cavill squinted, the lights in the blurred vision like starlight reflected on the water from the heavens.

Although the lieutenant colonel had been stationed in the port of Calais for nearly fifteen years, and he had seen such a scene for fifteen years, at this moment, he still stared intently at the quiet and peaceful port area he guarded, as if a wanderer who was about to leave was gazing at his homeland with reluctance.

Lieutenant Colonel Cavill watched for a while longer, until the setting sun began to kiss the western horizon.

He sighed, and cautiously turned his head to look around, making sure there was no one around, before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from his chest, which he had apparently read more than once.

The letter was long, but Lieutenant Colonel Cavill's eyes were fixed on the place where the money had been registered, on the familiar inverted triangle emblem on a white background, the coat of arms of the Richelieu family.

When Lieutenant Colonel Cavill had just entered the ranks of the upper ranks, the Duke of Richelieu was still known as Marshal Richelieu, and he had quite a good influence in the French Army.

The lieutenant colonel therefore did not hesitate to take refuge in the Duke of Richelieu, and proved his loyalty in many missions, and was deeply trusted by the Duke of Richelieu.

Lieutenant Colonel Cavill thought that he could easily become a general with the help of the Richelieu family, but the world always failed to meet people's wishes, and the rise of the Duke of Choiseul completely shattered his hopes.

The lieutenant colonel soon fell victim to the political struggle between the two dukes, and with Choiseul in power, he was sent to the port of Calais as a garrison officer in the prime of life, losing all hope of promotion.

But despite this, Lieutenant Colonel Cavill did not resent the Duke of Richelieu, on the contrary, he maintained contact with the Richelieu family during the fifteen years he was stationed in this fort, and proved his loyalty at all times.

And this is probably the reason why the Duke of Richelieu entrusted him with this important task.

The lieutenant colonel knew in his heart that if this mission could be successfully carried out, then he might be able to seize the hope of promotion during the last period of his service.

Lieutenant Colonel Cavill took one last look at the contents of the secret letter, then tore the entire letter into shreds and threw it into the howling sea breeze.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Lieutenant Colonel Cavill glanced at the British cruisers cruising in the distance, nominally escorting his own merchant ships, but in reality merely showing off their muscles to the French in Calais on a daily basis.

"Timing... It's almost exact."

Lieutenant Colonel Cavill nodded, took a few deep breaths, and walked downstairs toward the harbor without looking back.

...

Before the sun had completely set, a large armed merchant ship of British nationality sped up and sailed into the port area under the guidance of the customs officials of the port of Calais, and landed smoothly on the pier.

The customs officers were about to board the ship as usual, when they saw Lieutenant Colonel Cavill leading a group of heavily armed soldiers to the dock and motioned for the bureaucrats to stand down:

"Gentlemen, this place has been taken over by the garrison, and we suspect that the ship's motives for coming to the port of Calais are not pure."

When the British captain on deck heard this, his face suddenly changed, and he didn't know how he had offended the officer, so he hurriedly smiled and flattered in French, which was not very fluent:

"Good evening, sir! Of course, a big man like you can see that we are a bunch of honest businessmen, and the boats are full of fabrics and clothes, and if you like British clothes, you can pick a few boxes, and I will make friends with a heroic soldier like you..."

At the same time, the mercenaries on the deck who served as escorts also looked at the French soldiers on the dock who were waiting for them, and the keen mercenary captain frowned even more, and had secretly ordered his subordinates to take the weapons and distribute them.

The well-informed captain of the mercenaries also realized that something was wrong, and vaguely realized that they could not stay in Calais tonight.

Lieutenant Commander Cavill didn't listen to the captain at all, but just glanced at the large armed merchant ship in front of him.

These vessels are generally used for ocean-going voyages, either converted from decommissioned warships or produced to the standards of warships, and even the British Royal Navy will use such ships as frigates with decent firepower and flexibility.

"You vile and cunning Brits!"

Lieutenant Colonel Cavill suddenly roared, drew his command knife and pointed at the gun deck of the merchant ship, and said angrily:

"What kind of merchant ship is this, this is clearly a warship, what are you going to do when you sneak into Calais Port?! Soldiers, immediately control all the people on board, and shoot the resisters directly!"

"What?!"

Not to mention the British captain, even the customs officials next to them were taken aback.

What kind of warship is this, it is clearly just an ordinary armed merchant ship.

Could it be that a lieutenant colonel officer who has been stationed in the port area for fifteen years can't tell such a clear difference?!

And the soldiers who were close to Lieutenant Colonel Cavill naturally did not do such useless thinking.

They immediately marched forward in formation, set up the gangway that had been prepared, and in an instant they were about to get on deck to control the British merchant ship.

The English captain's face was terrified, and he leaned out to say something.

However, the mercenary captain beside him pushed him away, stepped forward and pulled out his pistol, aimed it at the French soldier on the gangway, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The dull sound of gunfire seemed to silence the entire port of Calais for a moment.

A French soldier who struggled to climb was shot in the chest, and his legs and feet immediately weakened, and he fell directly into the sea from the gangway more than 20 feet high, and the blood gushing out quickly dyed the surrounding sea water light red.

The sailors, sailors, officials and merchants on the surrounding docks all subconsciously stopped talking and looked at the British merchant ship and a group of French soldiers with dazed expressions.

The British shot French soldiers in the port of Calais?!

In today's era of peace, it is difficult to believe such news even if it is printed in the newspapers, but it really happens in front of everyone's eyes.

The gunfire itself was a serious diplomatic incident.

Not to mention, this is just the beginning.

After the mercenary captain fired the first shot of resistance, the rest of the guards also woke up from a dream, and immediately rained down bullets on the French soldiers below under the cover of the ship's side, doing their best to prevent them from boarding.

The French soldiers in the back row were also prepared and did not need to

As soon as Lieutenant Commander Cavill gave the order, he immediately raised his gun and fired back to cover the vanguards who boarded the ship.

The two sides immediately began to exchange fierce fire, and the dock, which was usually soaked in seawater, was soon covered with blood.

The sound of gunfire and the wails of the wounded resounded in the port of Calais, and the peace enjoyed by this prosperous port area for ten years was completely shattered in this instant.

The docks were filled with panicked civilians who ran away, and many of the moored ships reacted quickly, scrambling to set sail for the escape of the land.

On the deck, the British captain, bathed in the rain of bullets, squatted down with his head in his hands, looked frightened, and shouted to the mercenary captain:

"My God, what the hell are you going to do, it's an army soldier!"

"Don't be stupid, get out of Hong Kong!"

The mercenary captain pulled out his short knife, gritted his teeth and roared:

"This must have been a premeditated accident! If we fall into the hands of the French, we don't want to go back alive!"

The British captain's face turned pale and he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

As a well-informed captain, he had also heard of the recent stalemate between England and France over the war in southern Italy.

But he never imagined that this kind of bad luck would fall on him.

But no matter what, there is really only one option to escape now, and you must not be caught by these Frenchmen with your hands tied.

He didn't dare to delay for a moment, and hurriedly ordered the sailors to prepare to set sail and leave the port, taking advantage of the terrain to temporarily resist the French boarding while the mercenaries on the ship could take advantage of the terrain.

After a few moments, the gunfire gradually subsided.

Dozens of corpses lay on the docks, both of French soldiers and British mercenaries wounded and fallen from the deck, and many more fell directly into the sea and disappeared after a few waves crashed.

In the salty and humid sea breeze, there was a quiet smell of blood.

The armed merchant ship from Britain was finally out of danger and slowly sailed out of the harbor in the howling sea breeze.

The sails on all the masts had been raised, and the surviving crew were eager for a storm to send them back to their home country in an instant.

Although they had not yet fully left the port, at least the heavily armed French soldiers could not pose any threat to the merchant ship.

The English captain sat on the bloodied deck, turned his head to look at the dwindling port of Calais, his face pale with a cross drawn on his chest, and thanked God for sheltering him from the hands of these damned French madmen.

It's just that his thanks seem to be a little too early.

Suddenly, I heard a deafening roar all around the port of Calais.

Immediately after, in the British captain's field of vision, he saw hundreds of black shadows speeding from all directions, and they expanded sharply in his field of vision, and there was no time to react.

"Shelling! Get down!"

The mercenary captain shouted, and flew at the captain to push him to the ground.

The cannonballs were overwhelmingly leaning around the merchant ship, and although most of the shells only fell into the sea and splashed in waves, more than a dozen heavy lead bullets smashed into the merchant ship's hull, shaking the entire deck like an earthquake.

After a round of shelling, the British captain leaned out in a daze amid the flying wood chips and dust mist.

Only then did he realize that the dozen or so coastal defense batteries deployed around the port of Calais had already aimed their guns at the merchant ship, no, it should be said that the French had prepared for this bombardment in advance.

Not only that, but on the heights and hills around the port of Calais, more than 30 field artillery pieces were also deployed in advance, and the guns were also aimed at the ships in the port area.

The English captain had almost given up thinking, and he looked at the smoke rising from inside and outside the harbor in despair, completely unaware of what the French were trying to do.

And he knew that he would never know the truth, and under the bombardment of nearly sixty shore defense guns, everyone on this ship was doomed

Buried in this foreign sea.

...

The deafening roar continued for several more rounds, and the British merchant ship had lost all power under the shelling, and the hull was flooding on a large scale, and in a few tens of minutes, this large merchant ship would be transformed into a submarine ruin thousands of years later.

Lieutenant Colonel Cavill, who was in the distance, lowered his binoculars after confirming that the ship was beginning to sink, his face expressionless as he knew what he was thinking.

"Sir—" The lieutenant colonel's lieutenant swallowed, and after a few more pauses, he spoke:

"Now that the enemy ships are incapacitated, it's time for us to salvage and capture the captured British spies, and if they really come to plot against the port of Calais, we should be able to interrogate a lot of information."

To tell the truth, even the adjutant did not trust his commander's judgment on how that ordinary large merchant ship could be full of British spies who had come to sabotage the port of Calais.

"No! That's not the priority!" Lieutenant Commander Cavill shook his head suddenly, his gaze was extremely determined, and he stared fiercely at the merchant ships flying the British flag throughout the harbor area:

"It is now possible that all British ships have invaded Calais."

The adjutant stared, unable to believe what he had heard:

"This... What do you mean...?"

Lieutenant Colonel Cavill could not refuse:

"Immediately issue a notice to the whole of Hong Kong that no ship shall leave the port now, and that the soldiers may at once control the crews of all British ships; In addition, in the event of any unauthorized departure of any ship, the shore defense batteries and artillery regiments are allowed to open fire freely and sink them!"

...

Soon, Lieutenant Colonel Cavill's order was transmitted throughout the port area.

Not surprisingly, this order caused an instant panic among the captains, especially among the British ones.

Most of the merchant ships of the rest of the countries were aware that this was a dispute between Britain and France, and had nothing to do with them, so they basically chose to obey Lieutenant Colonel Carville's orders and stay in the harbor while they were on guard.

As for the British merchant ships, few of the captains ordered the entire crew to give up resistance, choosing to leave their fate in the hands of the French for no apparent reason.

Relying on their speed and agility, the small schooners set sail as soon as they received the news, and fled as fast as they could to the open sea.

The artillery deployed on the shore immediately followed the order to block it, and the total number of shells fired by these guns in these few hours even exceeded that of previous years, and the overwhelming network of artillery fire continued to vent towards the waters of the port area, and the mountains and forests around the port area were even covered by a lingering white smoke of gunpowder.

And the bulky large merchant ships also knew very well that if they rashly broke out, with the speed and agility of their ships, they would most likely suffer heavy damage under the fire of the French, and most likely die at the bottom of the sea like the original armed merchant ship.

Therefore, after a very short period of communication, the captains of several large merchant ships agreed to take a leap and choose the most desperate countermeasure:

They distributed weapons to the sailors and the ship's bodyguards, and took advantage of the fact that the French army was scattered and took control of the ships, took the initiative to kill them from the ships, and gathered together to form a temporary force in an attempt to capture the port of Calais directly from land.

This decision was quickly supported by other British captains, many of whom gritted their teeth and joined in, and in less than half an hour, nearly 2,000 British sailors had gathered together and were preparing to seize the dozen or so coastal defense batteries on the shore.

Lieutenant Colonel Carville, who was stationed at the command post, did not panic at all, but smiled with great satisfaction for a while, and then ordered the garrison to gather its forces and concentrate on street fighting with the British sailors in the harbor area.

The sudden flames of war soon reached the urban area of Port Calais.

Despite their superiority in numbers, the French could not exert their numerical superiority in street battles in the winding alleys and streets of the city, and had to engage in close-quarters and even hand-to-hand combat with British sailors street by street.

Civilians hid in fear in their homes, closed their doors and windows, and silently prayed that this unjustified disaster would end as soon as possible.

The swords and smoke of gunpowder became the theme of Calais tonight, and French soldiers and British sailors could be seen fighting desperately on almost every street.

Many of them were already covered with blood, as if they had come out of a pool of blood, and they did not know whether they were left by the enemy or by themselves.

Fierce fighting lasted until 9 p.m. before the winner was barely decided.

Although the British sailors were quickly outnumbered by the regular army due to their inferior equipment and organization, the difficult terrain of the city and the heavy cost of the French soldiers finally drove them into a small pillbox for the final encirclement.

Just when everyone thought that this farce and conflict would end with the surrender of the British, something suddenly changed in the waters off the port of Calais.

Under the hazy moonlight, five heavy cruisers of the fourth rank flying the flag of the Royal Navy crossed the broken waves and sailed openly towards the harbor.

Apparently, the convoy cruising the English Channel had also learned of what had happened in the port of Calais from the fleeing merchant ships, and hastened to Calais to defend the interests of its own people.

In the command post of the garrison, as the British warships approached, all the officers could use binoculars to see clearly the signal flag of the other flagship, which was the meaning of requesting communication.

However, Lieutenant Colonel Cavill said that the British's request for communication was nothing more than a despicable excuse for approaching the port area, and that their actual purpose was to provide reinforcements to the British spies who were still stationed in the city.

Therefore, the response to the Royal Navy was not a representative sent by the French side, but a rain of bullets from a salvo of sixty guns.

The merchants in the harbor stared in disbelief at what was happening in front of them, the battleships of the British Royal Navy were being bombarded by French artillery?!

If everything that happened before this was only a contradiction between the French side and the British people, which could only be regarded as a serious diplomatic accident, then now, France's behavior is undoubtedly a naked military provocation against Great Britain.

What the hell is this world, is another war between Britain and France about to start?

At this moment, most of the merchants in the port have only this idea.

On the sea, the British battleships that had been bombarded suddenly also immediately changed the signal flag representing friendly communication, and the five heavy cruisers also changed their formations in a very short time, lined up in a line, and aimed half of their guns at the port area of Calais.

Perhaps in order to avoid accidental damage to the merchant ships of other countries, or perhaps not wanting to expand the conflict with France and just giving a warning, the Royal Navy did not rush to return fire after changing formations.

However, the French coastal artillerymen did not pay any attention to the actions of the Royal Navy, and immediately after the reloading, they carried out a second round of bombardment.

The Royal Navy, which had suffered two rounds of shelling in a row, finally gave up the possibility of negotiation and immediately responded to the provocation of the French with artillery fire.

Hundreds of tongues of fire burst into the dark sea, and shells slammed into Port Calais mercilessly with a sharp whistling, and almost every round of shelling reduced several bustling neighborhoods to rubble-strewn ruins.

Because it was already dark, and the distance between the two sides was almost within the limit range of each other, it was difficult for the British and French shelling to effectively inflict damage on each other's firing points.

But despite this, neither side took the initiative to end the shelling.

The incessant roar of artillery continued into the night, and almost half of the city of Calais suffered varying degrees of damage, as did five heavy cruisers of the Royal Navy.

Until the next day, close to dawn, the two sides of the artillery battle, which had almost run out of ammunition and food, were still facing each other in this sea area, and neither of them took the initiative to give in.

And just when the two sides were in a standoff, the naval reinforcements of Britain and France also received the news almost at the same time and rushed to this land of right and wrong.

France

The North Sea Fleet and a main fleet of the Royal Navy rushed to the port of Calais from the west and north, respectively.

When the civilians and merchants in the port of Calais saw the reinforcements of the main fleets of the two great powers meet here, they could not help but sweat.

If these two main fleets also join this military conflict and stage a large-scale naval battle with 100 ships here, then a new Anglo-French war is almost a certainty.

To everyone's relief, the commanders of both fleets were completely rational at this time.

They sent envoys to each other's flagships in small boats to negotiate, and soon came to an agreement that both sides agreed to abandon the conflict and leave all the subsequent troubles to the diplomats.

With the reconciliation of the two fleets, the shelling that had lasted all night in the port of Calais came to an end.

Five damaged British cruisers were incorporated into the main fleet and returned home, while the French Northwest Sea Fleet was stationed in Calais to maintain order, and all merchant ships were allowed to move back to normal.

Although everything seems to be quickly returning to its usual state, the ruins and hideous craters of Calais are a constant reminder that this incident is not something that can be treated as if nothing happened after the two sides shook hands.

If not handled properly, the two fleets may reunite in the port of Calais at some point in the near future, but by that time, the two sides will probably have to fight each other and have a bloody storm.

The military conflict may have ended, but the political and diplomatic conflict has only just begun.

......

Just one day later, on June 4, Paris, just four hundred miles from the port of Calais, learned what had happened that night in the northern port.

In the Schwarcel manor, the duke's eyes widened as he looked at the latest urgent report, and he who had always been calm was a little out of shape for a while.

"There was an exchange of fire with British merchants and an artillery strike with the Royal Navy...?"

The Duke of Choiseul put down his report and paced back and forth in his study, and the Duke looked very distraught in a very rare way:

"Is it a coincidence, no, it can't be a coincidence... Damn, there can be such a means..."

And after a long period of deliberation, the Duke of Choiseul gradually regained his composure, and his eyes were full of fierceness, and he muttered to himself:

"In this case, it is only a matter of calculation, no matter how Versailles reacts, as long as the war starts, I will be the final victor."

...

Almost at the same time, the Palace of Versailles, inside the King's Suite.

Louis XV listened to the press secretary's urgent request for a briefing, but he did not come back to his senses for a long time.

"Your Majesty," the press secretary bowed his knees, and carefully added in the most respectful and humble tone:

"The British ambassador, Baron Betura, has arrived at Versailles, and he has threatened that France must have an explanation for the incident."

But Louis XV sat in his chair as if he had not heard, his eyes glazed over, not knowing where his thoughts had wandered.

And His Majesty's closest courtiers all know that His Majesty's thoughts are most likely drifting to Duke Choiseul.

"I warned him, I warned..."

After a long time, Louis XV closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and muttered to himself, the king's voice low and cold, and the murderous air was already overflowing:

"Choiseul, my brother, you crossed the line."