My British Empire

Chapter 160 The Menacing French Navy

ps: Ask for tickets, ask for hugs

The scene of crowds in Lyon, France, is just a part of it. In Paris and Marseilles, people came and went, and mercenaries, large and small, began to gather to respond to the king's call.

You must know that Swiss mercenaries have always been the first choice for the French king. Now it is a rare opportunity to make money, so of course everyone should seize it.

According to historical records, in the 6th century BC, ancient Greek sailors sailed westward along the Mediterranean Sea on sailing ships and moored their ships in a small bay called Massilia. This was the prototype of Marseilles. In 1999, the throughput of the port was second only to the ports of London and Liverpool, making it the third largest port in the world at that time.

Marseille is located on the northern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, 836 kilometers away from Paris in the northwest and 350 kilometers away from Lyon.

The terrain around it is undulating, surrounded by limestone hills on three sides. The southeast is close to the Mediterranean Sea, the water is deep and the harbor is wide, there are no rapids and dangerous shoals, and the 10,000-ton giant ship can pass unimpeded. In the west, there is the Rhone River and the flat valley to connect with Northern Europe.

So relying on the superior conditions of Marseille Port, this is also the headquarters of the French Navy.

The center of Marseille Port is Massilia, and Marseille Port is also called Massilia Port.

Masilla is 800 meters long from east to west and 250 meters wide from north to south. The harbor is rectangular in shape, with narrow and long waterways and dangerous terrain. Currently, it not only has commercial transportation value, but also is the heartland of Marseille.

A number of bustling streets stretch from here to the east, south, and north. There are majestic and fortified castles built here, facing each other from the north to the south, like two mighty warriors guarding the two banks.

The streets around the castle are bustling, priests, clowns, merchants, beggars, and drunk sailors together form the prosperous scene of Marseille Port.

Today, the Port of Marseille is more lively than ever, with all kinds of vendors and characters gathered together. Today is the day when the French Navy sets sail.

It's ridiculous to say that the French navy is now called a navy, but in fact it can't even beat the pirates in the Mediterranean Sea.

Before Henry II gave the order, the French Navy had only five three-masted Spanish warships, the largest of which was only 1,000 tons. However, it must be known that England built the Sovereign as early as Henry VIII, which reached 1,500 tons, which is worthy of the name. crushed the French army.

Although Henry II's navy was not good, he was rich. Therefore, under the heavy bleeding of Henry II, even Venice, which had been invaded by the Ottoman Empire, sent forty warships and a thousand navy to support.

Coupled with the large number of merchant ships recruited from the people, the French navy swelled like a blown air. In the end, the entire navy had more than 100 ships and more than 5,000 sailors, which seemed to be enough to crush the English navy.

Although most of them were small boats with a tonnage of no more than 500, they were indeed bluffing, and Henry II was very self-aware. He hired the Venetian admiral Renardo Ferdi as the commander of the entire navy.

"General Ferdi, I hope God bless you, beat up those Englishmen hard!" The bloated mayor of Marseille looked at the handsome and tall Venetian general in front of him with a smile, and flattered him a little.

"You must know that His Majesty the King has high expectations of you. After the war, I think your prestige will spread throughout the Mediterranean coast and throughout Europe!"

Jacques Maunuri, as the mayor of the municipality of Marseille, has always been a slick and smooth figure. This time he not only completed the task assigned by the king very well (although the king cannot directly interfere with the specific affairs of Marseille, it is easy to exert pressure) .

For the Venetian general in front of him, with his strong background, Mayor Monuri had to compliment him, hoping to win over the relationship.

Renardo Ferdi's Ferdi family is a well-known merchant family in Venice. His family has more warships than France, and his business has spread all over Asia, Africa and Europe. Although Venice has declined a lot, the foundation is still deep. A little leak is enough for him to eat.

"Yes! I hope those savages in England don't let me down."

Reinaldo Ferdi said with a haughty face, without paying attention to the Englishman at all.

To be honest, the current English navy can only bully the French, and in the eyes of a naval power like Venice, England is on the same level as France.

The two stood on the deck, looking at the battleships lined up from near to far. These fleets that were about to set sail gave them a lot of confidence.

"Your Majesty the Mayor, promise to His Majesty the King on my behalf that I will not come back until I defeat the English!"

Feeling the thick and slightly salty sea breeze, the sound of seagulls twittering in his ears, as well as the deck shaking from time to time, and the sails bulging by the sea breeze, Ferdy can be sure that the sea is indeed his home field. Anyone can beat themselves.

"Oh! Your Excellency, since you are so confident, I will wait here for news of your victory!" Standing on the deck for a while, smelling the uncomfortable sea breeze, the mayor of Marseilles was about to go down.

"Your Excellency, I hope you can come back with a big victory. I am here waiting for your good news!"

The mayor of Marseille got off the boat and watched the fleet go away with tears in his eyes, looking affectionate.

To tell the truth, Mayor Monuri wished that the Venetian would fail, so that the strength of the Venetian would be reduced a lot.

However, many of the merchant ships of the wealthy Marseille merchants were requisitioned by Henry II, and even his family. If they fail, they will lose a lot!

With such a tangled mood, His Excellency the Mayor watched the fleet leave.

At this time, a few pigeons flew away from the vicinity of the port. Except for the rest, everything in the port is normal.

The homing pigeons flew very fast. Eight hours later, the homing pigeons arrived in Paris. After that, several homing pigeons flew away from the sky in Paris. A few hours later, the homing pigeons safely arrived in Calais, the stronghold of England in France.

Afterwards, a small sailboat quickly ran out of the port of Calais, crossed the English Channel, and came to Hampshire, and then the information was passed to Edward.

"Major James, what do you think we should do?"

Edward looked at Major James, who had an uncertain face, and asked inquiringly.

"Your Majesty, it seems that the French are coming in menacingly. We can't fight hard, we can only focus on defense!"

James considered it for a while, carefully looked at Edward's face, and said slowly.

He was worried that Edward was young and energetic, and he would let the navy directly fight the French army. Such a wrong decision made him embarrassed.

That's why he seemed so hesitant. After all, this method is very useless.

"Major James, I trust you. I don't know anything about the navy. You are in charge of fighting the French army!"

(end of this chapter)

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