The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 140 Alboran Sea

On July 7, at 30:6 in the morning, when Admiral Nicholas Haddock, commander of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Task Force, saw the Alboland Island not far from the coast of North Africa through his telescope, he knew that they had arrived. We are very close to Gibraltar, with at most one day's sailing left, and the fleet will be able to get a rare period of rest.

More than a month ago, Haddock received several letters asking for help from the Governor of Gibraltar in Alexandria. The letter stated that the Spanish were assembling and mobilizing a large number of ships, and even transferred several main warships from the Windward Fleet in the Caribbean in an attempt to block the Strait of Gibraltar again, cut off the British army's material supplies, and then cooperate with Land forces capture Gibraltar.

Worried that his retreat would be cut off, and seeing that the port of Damietta held by the Qi people would be difficult to capture in a short period of time, Haddock left more than 20 warships and armed merchant ships to continue besieging the port, and led the army himself. Some ships pulled anchor and set sail, returning to Gibraltar.

Although the pesky Spaniards were weak and suffered repeated defeats, they showed great resilience. For the sake of the dignity and glory of the so-called kingdom, they cheered up again and again and were obsessed with retaking Gibraltar. It was really too much.

It's time to give Spain a heavy blow!

However, deep down in Haddock's heart, he always believed that the ongoing Anglo-Qi war should not be extraneous and forcefully involve Spain, because this would greatly distract England's power. Although Spain's strength declined severely after the War of Succession, its navy was in a state of decline, and its finances were on the verge of bankruptcy almost every year.

But after all, Spain is also a large European country with a population of seven to eight million people, and it also has vast American colonies. Although it has lost global maritime hegemony and European hegemony, it is still a tiger and a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Why do you have a lot of strength on your body? Even if you can't threaten the security of England, you can cooperate with Qi to cause trouble for you, or use the convenience of the American territories to harass the British colonies and disrupt England's Atlantic trade. , things that happened by the way.

Haddock once suggested to the Naval Committee that after the outbreak of the Anglo-Qi War, even if he did not try hard to win over Spain and get them to side with England, he could not push Spain to Qi's side and become his enemy. To this end, England should first return the island of Menorca, which it captured in the War of Spanish Succession, to the Spanish to reassure itself. Then, he promised them that after the war is over, he can negotiate with them about the ownership of Gibraltar and discuss the complete restoration of peace between the two countries.

Haddock believed that once England made these moves, the Spanish would feel their sincerity and maintain strict neutrality in the war. Perhaps, they could also take advantage of the sharp conflict between Qi's vassal Qing and its competition for territory in the Americas to make them lean towards England and jointly deal with Qi's war.

However, the short-sighted naval committee and cabinet government ignored their own suggestions, and instead adopted empty promises and threats of force to force the Kingdom of Spain to surrender. This behavior ultimately caused the Spaniards, whose self-esteem was seriously injured, to make the most drastic move. In response, they used force to regain Gibraltar and Minorca, and formally declared war on England in January this year.

Now that Spain has declared war, England should face it and organize a huge maritime force as soon as possible to defeat the Spanish navy and threaten their homeland, thus forcing it to withdraw from the war in the shortest possible time.

However, in order to quell the domestic opposition and even more to restore his reputation, the first minister of finance in the ruling cabinet (the predecessor of the British Prime Minister) Earl Walpole actually wanted to send limited naval power to Egypt in order to attack Qi's invasion. Red Sea-Mediterranean trade, and cut off their access to war supplies from Egypt.

To be honest, Haddock was opposed to this war plan. Although this move would indeed hit a weakness of the Qi people and destroy the opponent's prosperous Mediterranean trade, this move would not be worth the gain and would anger the Ottomans for attacking Egypt. The empire would have a very negative impact on the English merchants engaged in trade in the country, and would even endanger their lives. It would also ruin England's business opportunities in the region, thereby losing a huge market of more than 20 million people.

Furthermore, the Qi people’s trade focus has always been around the Indian Ocean. Whether it is the Red Sea-Mediterranean trade or direct trade with Europe, they do not account for a high proportion of Qi’s overall trade share, thus causing losses to them. It must also be extremely limited.

Don’t forget that the Netherlands and the French, who have very close relations with Qi, will bypass the Cape of Good Hope and continuously transport a large amount of Qi’s goods to Europe. This will also allow Qi to achieve indirect trade with Europe--but Just a slight loss of transportation benefits.

"Alas, this war may be a huge disaster for us in England." Haddock shook his head, as if to throw away the complicated thoughts in his mind, and began to focus on thinking about what to do after arriving in Gibraltar. Launch an attack on the Spanish Navy.

"General, it has been two days and the Barbary pirates have not appeared again." Haddock's adjutant, Major Pim Hawk, came over and said happily: "They may be being severely attacked by our Royal Navy. I'm so frightened that I don't dare to harass us anymore."

"Pim, why do you think those weak Barbary pirates continue to launch sneak attacks against a powerful naval fleet?" Haddock smiled slightly and looked at his adjutant thoughtfully.

"There is no doubt that these Barbary pirates must have been instigated by the Qi people to launch a desperate attack on our fleet." Major Pim Hawk said: "But I think there may be another hidden reason behind their move. An unknown conspiracy."

"Oh?...Then what is this conspiracy?"

"The Qi people seem to want these unworthy Barbary pirates to delay and delay our fleet's journey, which may create more favorable opportunities for Qi and Xi to jointly attack Gibraltar."

"Very good, Pim." Haddock nodded happily, "Your guess coincides with mine. The enemy does not want our fleet to reach Gibraltar as soon as possible, so it must have some intention. You know, in the early days, those The raids and other military operations launched by the Barbary pirates were to serve the political interests of the Ottomans. But as the Ottomans gradually lost actual control over North Africa, the purpose of any of their actions basically changed to obtaining benefits for themselves. Today, these The despicable pirates colluded with the Qi State and were driven by the Qi people to interfere with the normal trade activities of other countries in peacetime. During the war, they were not afraid of risks and launched attacks on us. Presumably, the Qi people must have promised them A lot of profit. So, with their crazy actions, maybe there will be an unknown danger waiting for us in Gibraltar."

"Is the general worried that Gibraltar has been captured by them?"

"Yes, with its vast hinterland at its back, Spain can organize a steady stream of troops to attack Gibraltar. And the cunning Qi people may also encourage the Moroccans to dispatch a considerable number of troops from Gibraltar under the cover of their warships. After all, Ceuta, where the Qi people are based, is less than twenty miles away from Gibraltar and can be reached in a few hours. In addition, I am also worried about whether the Qi expedition fleet will regroup and then Sail into the Strait of Gibraltar and look for opportunities to attack our fleet and merchant ships passing here."

"General, I don't think Qi's expedition fleet will regroup and sail near the strait to attack us." Major Pim Hawk hesitated for a moment, then said firmly: "The sea is vast, and a few scattered forces The fleets cannot communicate with each other at all, how can they come together at the same time?"

"What if the people of Qi had made relevant plans before the war?" Haddock said, with a trace of solemnity on his face, "After a year of fighting at sea, our Royal Navy has also been divided into several parts. Our fleet does not have an absolute numerical advantage when facing the Qi expedition fleet."

"General, in the past year of fighting at sea, although our Royal Navy suffered some heavy losses, the losses suffered by the Qi expedition fleet may not be small. The battle report obtained from the Naval Committee can confirm that the Qi people lost at least ten If we add some of their warships that have lost their combat effectiveness due to injuries, then the number of ships they can finally use for battle should be less than half of the original fleet size. Such strength should not be enough. "

"In war, it is certainly necessary for a professional naval officer to maintain due optimism and belief in victory. However, in the ever-changing war situation, we should also maintain the necessary vigilance and prudence, and never Underestimate the strength of the enemy, let alone despise the opponent strategically and tactically. Qi is an opponent worthy of our high attention. Not only does they have a powerful national power that far exceeds ours in England, and a huge population several times ours, but also, they In the military field, many epoch-making weapons and equipment have been invented and manufactured, and have been leading the scientific and technological progress of the entire world. In this war, we in England do not expect to defeat the other party. We only need to drag the other party to the negotiating table and sign a contract. A peace agreement that is not too harsh is the greatest victory for our Royal Navy." "General, you...are you too pessimistic about this war? Because of the long distance, the Qi Navy needs to cover tens of thousands of miles. , can enter Europe. In this way, our Royal Navy will have absolute geographical convenience and the advantage in the number of warships. Even if the Qi Navy warships are equipped with steam engines and surpass our naval warships in maneuverability and speed, they will not be inferior in strength. They can crush us, let alone defeat us at the doorstep of Europe. I believe that after more than a year of consumption, the people of Qi must also feel very strenuous. Because, they not only have to fight with us England in Europe , they also have to take into account the war between the Ottomans and the Austrians, and the war between the Persians and the Russians, in order to prevent the military collapse of these two declining empires. It is said that the Qi people also intervened in the tribal wars and conflicts in Afghanistan. Regarding the civil war in western Myanmar, no matter how strong their national power is and how abundant their finances are, they will definitely not be able to deal with so many regional conflicts at the same time. As long as our Royal Navy inflicts a heavy blow on the Qi expedition fleet, we should be able to force them to the negotiating table."

"Hahaha..." Haddock couldn't help laughing after hearing this, "I have to admit that the optimism of you young people has deeply infected me, making me suddenly full of endless fighting spirit. Perhaps, All the changes in the situation are just as you deduced, the people of Qi..."

"Report to the general!" A signal officer quickly stepped onto the command podium and reported with a stern expression: "The warning fleet ahead sent a signal and an unidentified small speedboat was discovered."

"Huh?" Haddock immediately stopped smiling and showed a cautious expression, "Did the alert fleet explain that the small speedboat was spying on and following our fleet, or did it inadvertently break into our route?"

"No, General." The signal officer shook his head and said, "The second message from the alert fleet indicates that they have sent warships to try to capture or drive away the small clipper."

"Order the alert fleet to find out the identity and intentions of the small speedboat in the shortest possible time."

"Yes, General."

"Send a combat readiness alert signal to all personnel in the fleet."

"Yes, General."

"Order all transport merchant ships to reduce their speed and line up at the rear of the fleet."

"Yes, General."

"General, do you suspect that the ship is Qi's reconnaissance ship?"

"Whether it is Qi's reconnaissance ship or not, we need to treat it with caution." Haddock felt a little uneasy deep in his heart. "Perhaps, the Qi expedition fleet is really gathering in front of us, or it may be Spain. The fleet sent by the Japanese will prevent us from reaching Gibraltar. It is not even ruled out that the expedition fleet of Qi will join forces with the Spanish navy and wait for our arrival in the waters ahead. "

At 7:20 a.m., the cruise ship "Corris" of the vanguard fleet sent a signal, and an unidentified small speedboat fired five signal flares into the air.

At 7:40 in the morning, the English fleet completed its formation change. More than 2 transport merchant ships with weak weapons fell behind the fleet and moved slowly at a speed of 3- knots.

At 7:55 a.m., the cruise ship "Coris" sent a signal and found a large plume of black smoke more than ten nautical miles ahead.

At 8:10 a.m., the English vanguard fleet confirmed that it had discovered numerous Qi warships, numbering more than thirty.

At 8:25 a.m., after thinking for a long time, Admiral Haddock, commander of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Task Force, hoisted the battle signal flag and ordered all fleet officers and soldiers to move forward with all their strength to defeat the enemy in front of them.

Subsequently, Haddock gave the signal to form a sailing formation. A few minutes later, another "big sail, sail to windward" was made, and the accompanying compass signal was now north-northeast.

This signal does not intend for the fleet to form a battle formation in advance, but for the unorganized battleships to sail to windward one by one, preparing to engage the enemy before carrying out battle line bombardment.

At 9:15 a.m., the vanguard fleet sent another signal. Fifteen nautical miles northwest, another fleet was discovered, numbering around ships.

Haddock signaled, "The fleet is attacking the target. The Qi warships are directly ahead and seize the T position."

At 9:40 in the morning, the leading cruise ship "Corris" sent a signal, "A Qi armored warship is approaching at high speed and is about to engage the enemy."

However, this signal made all the captains of the Royal Navy a little confused. What is an ironclad battleship?

Aren't many of Qi's sail warships equipped with iron armor on important parts?

Could it be that this is what the "Corris" reminded everyone?

At 9:47 a.m., with a rumble of cannons coming from the sea, the second grand naval battle between Qi and Britain - the Battle of Alboran - began.

(End of this chapter)