[Henry VIII] Tudor Crown

"Some people are clearly alive, but everyone agrees that he is dead. Although some people are dead, everyone remembers him." William III knew that this was an unpredictable and hard battle, so he fought with Nicholas. Before Bacon spoke, he was already prepared to die: "If England is defeated, I will die as a king."

"Your Majesty..." Nicola Bacon opened his mouth, but he couldn't say a word of comfort.

After all, for a king, dignity is higher than life.

If William III were allowed to die as a "Spanish prisoner", the Duke of Richmond's throne would be in danger.

"I believe that Juana will protect Alexander, Guillaume, and Joan." William III did not have much fear of death, and even hoped that he could use it to return to the era of advanced technology: "As for us, we must Prepare for the worst."

According to the temperament of Philip II, once the Spanish Armada takes England, the Duke of Avar will definitely set up the Inquisition Bureau after another on the land of England, and then hang the Protestants on a few pieces of wood. simple gallows.

Nicola Bacon's father-in-law was Anthony Cheney, a courtier of Henry VIII and a leading figure in Protestant England.It can be said that if Philip II really took over England, the Cheney family and the Bacon family would both be on the blacklist of the Spanish Inquisition.

Just thinking about this scene made Nicola Bacon's stomach ache.

And William III didn't intend to accept his fate, but chatted with Sir Cecil and the Lords of the Navy about the current situation in England after they hurried back.

"There is no doubt that we are facing the most difficult war in history." William III sat at the top of the royal council, and portraits of England's kings were hung on both sides of the room: "Philip II has far more than ours." Naval power, even if Spain is no longer as invincible as Charles V, but a lean camel is bigger than a horse, they are still the most terrifying sea power in Europe. In the face of such an enemy, we have no other choice but to fight .”

The words of William III made the members of the imperial council whisper.

Sir Cecil, who was closest to the king, couldn't help frowning, and said in a deep voice, "Silence."

Those ministers who were afraid of Sir Cecil immediately withdrew their gazes left and right, but their slightly trembling lips still expressed their unwillingness and their heartfelt fear of Spain.

"Your Majesty, we can ask for more help." Francis Walsingham was very grateful that his spy career allowed him to develop a stronger heart than ordinary people, so he was able to maintain his final calmness and confidence in front of William III. Decent: "At least we don't have to worry about France or Italy getting involved, and the Armada isn't as scary as we think."

John Dudley also answered at the right time: "We do not have much advantage in terms of military strength, but compared with Spain, we have multiple supply points such as Calais, Amiens, Normandy, and the Isle of Wight. And compared With the Spanish Navy, we also have a local combat advantage."

Mentioning his field of expertise, John Dudley was finally able to talk eloquently: "The Spaniards don't know how terrible the wind and waves in the English Channel are, so they will pay the price for their arrogance."

"I firmly believe that God is on England's side and bless us to win this war." Up to now, William III can't say more beautiful words, and can only prove with practical actions that he wants to fight Spain to the death determination.

In order to motivate everyone, after the meeting, the king spent two-thirds of his wealth to strengthen the equipment of the English navy and rewarded all those who fought for England.

Consider the net worth Charles V left to Philip II, and the disparity in manpower between England and Spain.William III issued the "Special War Order", which allowed the former ministers to recruit a group of royal pirates who had dealt with the Spanish Navy because of their privateer licenses, regardless of their background.These include Drake, who left his name in history, and John Hawkins, who was born as a slave trader.

At the same time, in order to lull the arrogant Spanish navy, Francis Walsingham had his spies in Paris and the Netherlands spread the word about "a great disagreement among the English generals over how to deal with the Armada".In this way, the Spanish intelligence leader, the Spanish ambassador to Paris, Mendesa, exaggerated England's fear of Spain in a letter to Philip II, making the other party make a judgment that "the combat effectiveness of the English fleet is not to be feared".

"It's just a third-rate country trembling in the corner of Europe." After receiving the report from Ambassador Mendesa, Philip II said contemptuously: "Beating England is as easy as an elephant trampling an ant to death."

"But Your Majesty, your father never trampled this ant to death." Archbishop Granville frowned, in stark contrast to Philip II's expression: "You think Charles V is a man without vision Weak people?"

"I think the reason why my father didn't conquer England was because France stood in the way, which made it difficult for him to start." Philip II said indifferently: "And I just want to correct my father's mistakes and let the voice of God return." land of England."

Facing the confident Philip II, Archbishop Granville wanted to persuade him a little more, but the latter had already left his sight.

Perhaps it was the Spanish Armada that made them overconfident, so after a short shock, Archbishop Granville could only cross the portrait of Charles V, praying that the wise former Lord would bless Philip II. The world is smooth and invincible.

otherwise……

Archbishop Granville really couldn't imagine what would happen to the Spanish navy after its failure.

But God didn't know whether he responded to William III's request, or he responded to the panic of Archbishop Granville.

Just as the Spanish Armada crossed the Brittany coastal defense line and headed for the English Channel, William III's long-standing historical events finally disrupted Philip II's plan, making Philip II in the Pope's call for help. Under the letter, it was impossible to deal with the English navy wholeheartedly-because the Ottoman Empire besieged the island of Malta while the invincible warship was leaving the country, causing an unimaginably fierce battle.

As the navy of the Ottoman Empire continued to approach the island of Cyprus in the Republic of Venice, it greatly threatened the safety of the Christian world—especially the pope himself. Therefore, Philip II had to mobilize part of his military force to support the urgent need after the Armada set off. Republic of Venice.

This also greatly weakened the naval power that Spain used to attack England.

"Your Majesty, it will be very difficult for us to take England with only these people." Although the Duke of Avar, who was deeply trusted by Philip II, was arrogant, he was not a brainless fool.He knew very well that once the Armada entered the English Channel, it had to make a quick decision, otherwise it would easily fall into a protracted war against it.

Moreover, the English navy is good at bombardment warfare, and its hull is also known for its lightness, dexterity and strong maneuverability.However, Spanish naval ships are not suitable for fighting in the English Channel. In addition, the most experienced Spanish admiral, the Marquis of Santa Cruz, was sent by Philip II to support Venice. Great time for England to go to war.

However, Philip II didn't think so, and even wanted to remotely control a war that was destined to win like Charles V.

"Your Excellency, I don't think you need to be afraid of those barbaric Englishmen." Philip II said confidently: "God will help us win this war, and I will use this to prove that I am a king who can fight well."

The Duke of Avar wanted to tell Philip II that real combat with real guns is a completely different experience from talking about war on paper.

Moreover, William III was not a jester used to please Philip II, and Spain had never fought a naval battle with England before.

But things have come to this, what can Duke Avar do other than continue to move forward?

In July 1565, war between England and Spain broke out in the English Channel.

Because the English Navy listened to John Hawkins' suggestion before the war, abandoned the traditional large warships, and focused on smaller, more maneuverable small warships with a large number of artillery and long range, so in the early morning of the war, Following the southwest wind, the Invincible Battleship shuttled from the upwind position to the rear of the Spanish Navy, and then the firepower on both sides cut off the supplies of the Spanish rear ships, causing the Invincible Battleship to be in chaos.

"Philip II wants to fight a blitzkrieg with us, so the only way for us to win is to cut off his rear supplies." William III knew the advantage of the English navy, so let Philip II also try England's blitzkrieg. What kind of taste.

Once the Spanish navy's defenders are cut off, the Armada's morale will be broken in half.

In the next three days, the two sides played against each other three or four times.

Because the English Navy has three supply stations, and Philip II did not get permission from France to anchor in Brittany until after the war, the Spanish Navy did not even have time to drop anchor after the English Navy was replenished. , was caught off guard.

Due to the lack of ammunition in the Invincible Fleet, and the fact that the Spanish Navy is good at the old-fashioned boarding tactics, that is, after ramming the ship, they forcibly board the ship for hand-to-hand combat. When fighting the English fleet head-on, it is unavoidably bulky and strenuous.

Coupled with the small size of the English fleet modified by John Hawkins, it was difficult for the bulky Spanish ships to target.Therefore, John Dudley and John Hawkins, who were in charge of the general war situation, seized this weakness, and let the legal pirates headed by Drake grasp the wind direction, conduct guerrilla warfare against the Spanish navy on the sea, and continuously attack targets with limited ammunition. The constant bombardment made the invincible warship keep as far away from the English warship as possible, so as to avoid being bombarded and bombarded into the bottom of the sea before it collided with the opponent.

"Damn it, can't we just run over those rats?"

"If you want to sink to the bottom of the sea, you can do that." A general who cursed constantly pulled the hemp rope and said with tinnitus that wanted to vomit: "We can only wait for the wind direction to change and the English navy to lose its kinetic energy before we can carry out close war."

"And what if God didn't change the weather?"

"Then we can only pray for our luck."

The general stared at the small ship in the distance, praying that he could return to Spain intact.

On the ninth day of the battle, the Spanish navy, with the wind still unchanged, had no choice but to return to Spain by detouring the North Sea from Ireland.

However, the tragedy did not spare the poor Spanish fleet.

The storm they encountered on the way back swept some ships that were short on resources or damaged in war to the bottom of the sea.

caused losses far beyond expectations.