The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 110 Canary Islands

July 1725, 7, Gran Canaria.

In the evening of the fifth day after the Battle of Cape Verde broke out, Vice Admiral Edmondo Grant of the Royal Navy of England, who was stationed on the former Spanish island of Gran Canaria, received the news.Immediately, he was faced with a difficult choice. He didn't know whether to continue to stay here, pick up the retreating Cape Verde advance fleet, and then gather all his strength to continue to attack the Qi Navy, or give up on the captured islands. Retreat to England and join the main fleet.

The fast communication ship sailing back from Cape Verde reported the arrival of the Qi expedition fleet. Its size and number were as they expected. There were about fifty ships, of which 35 to 1000 warships could be put into combat. Ten ships, and there are many large ships with a displacement of more than [-] tons, their strength cannot be underestimated.

Rear Admiral William Fisher, commander of the Royal Navy's advance fleet stationed in Cape Verde, brought him a decisive message. He would launch an attack on the Qi expedition fleet early the next morning to help the Royal Navy explore the Qi naval warfare. The strength is both weak and strong, and they try their best to consume the Qi expedition fleet.

There is a 4:1 disparity in strength, and based on the strong combat power of the Qi Navy and the superior maneuverability of its motor and sailboats in the Battle of Algeciras Bay two months ago, Lieutenant General Grant was not optimistic about the outcome of the advance fleet. Perhaps half of their ships were sunk or captured by the Qi people.

It is said that after that naval battle, the generals of the Royal Navy came to the unanimous conclusion that it was best not to attack the Qi fleet without an absolute numerical advantage.This is because Qi's warships have obviously more powerful artillery, more threatening shells fired, and stronger hull protection. In particular, some of the motor-driven sailing ships equipped with steam power also have unparalleled maneuverability advantages. .

In the Battle of Algeciras Bay, the Royal Navy of England, with three times the number of warships, was unable to completely annihilate the Qi Navy, which only had eight warships, and allowed the other party to severely damage several of its own ships. This made the Royal Navy Shocked.

The opponent's flexible movement, ferocious artillery, overwhelming rockets, and professional and brave officers and soldiers all left a very deep impression on the Royal Navy ships participating in the battle.

After the war, a senior naval admiral suggested that in response to the attack by the Qi Navy, the Royal Navy of England should concentrate its main fleet and besiege it with a 2-3 times numerical advantage, mixing the entire battlefield together and turning it into a chaotic battle. , in order to limit the mobility and firepower advantages of Qi's warships.As long as the Royal Navy invests enough troops, the Qi warships will not have much room to maneuver and can only be forced to engage in artillery bombardment with the Royal Navy.

But now, the Qi expedition fleet is coming in large numbers, and the number has reached nearly fifty, and there must be many motor and sailing ships among them. So the Royal Navy of England, which uses pure sail warships to meet the enemy, should be cautious and not take risks easily and lose precious valuables. battleship.

"Where is Colonel Johnny now?" Lieutenant General Grant asked his adjutant.

"General, the squadron led by Colonel Johnny should be near Essaouira and Safi at this time to attack and destroy Moroccan coastal port towns."

"Send a quick liaison ship to inform them that after carrying out the mission to attack the coastal towns of Morocco, they do not have to return to the Canary Island and go directly to Gibraltar to rendezvous with the Mediterranean Fleet."

"Yes, General!"

"Order Colonel Kelly to stop the attack on Tenerife and withdraw all warships to the port of Las Palmas."

"Yes, General!"

"Order Lieutenant Colonel Will to prepare a large amount of tinder on Canary Island and Tula Island, burn settlements and farmland, fill up all water wells, kill all livestock, and destroy major defense facilities."

"Yes, General!"

"Order all officers and soldiers of the fleet to pack everything that can be taken away from the island into ships and be prepared to evacuate at any time."

"...Yes, General!"

"Vice Admiral Grant, aren't we going to do any blocking here?" Rear Admiral Hal Wise, deputy commander of the fleet, heard the series of orders issued by Vice Admiral Grant. Apparently he wanted to leave without a fight after hearing the arrival of the Qi expedition fleet. His strong sense of military honor was immediately offended.

"Rear Admiral Wise, do you think that the more than ten warships we currently have can stop the advancement of the Qi expedition fleet?"

"No." Major General Wise shook his head and said, "But we can't just run away like a hyena without firing a shot!"

"Rear Admiral Wise, we need to save every precious battleship of the Royal Navy." Lieutenant General Grant said solemnly: "We cannot make unnecessary sacrifices and cannot send precious battleships to the guns of the Qi people. .We in the Royal Navy of England must clench the five separated fingers into a powerful fist, and then look for the most suitable and favorable opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the Qi people."

"But leaving without a fight will make all officers and soldiers feel fearful and timid. Our Royal Navy has defeated enemies one after another over the years, relying on fearless courage and perseverance to dare to fight against the powerful. The enemy launches a decisive attack. If, when facing the Qi Navy, we choose to retreat and escape, then the morale of the entire army will become low, become timid, and then lose the confidence to defeat the opponent."

"No, I believe that the young men of the Royal Navy will not lose their courage to face the enemy because of their temporary retreat." Lieutenant General Grant said firmly: "Facing the invasion of the Eastern world, each of us is full of high spirits The fighting spirit. Because we are defending the great England, the sacred Christian world, and the most devout faith in our hearts. The invasion of Qi is no less than another invasion of our Western civilization by the pagans. Every one of our Lord’s The people have the obligation and courage to guard it and defend it, and then they will burst out with strong fighting power when facing the people of Qi."

In the past few months, in order to win the support of European countries, the Kingdom of England, in addition to promising many benefits, has also continued to exaggerate the attributes of Qi's Eastern civilization, and did not hesitate to portray the war between them and Qi as a war between different civilizations and races. war, and constantly appealed to European countries that in order to defend the Catholic world and defend Western civilization, they should join hands to fight against the invasion of Qi.

Although this kind of propaganda greatly mobilized the enthusiasm of ordinary people and the army to participate in the war in England, few European countries responded and watched the war with cold eyes.

Oh, we are both in the Catholic world and we are both people of the Lord, so what?This does not hinder the fact that in the past hundreds of years, for the sake of territory, wealth, and the desire of the monarch, everyone fought to death with each other, leaving the entire Europe covered with bones and blood.

Even though they are both Protestant countries, it does not prevent England from secretly attacking the Kingdom of Sweden, and even united with Denmark to attack Sweden, which made the ambitious King Karl XII stop in Norway, and he was depressed about this.

"Major General Wise, in order to boost the morale of the Royal Navy officers and soldiers, when we lead the fleet to retreat, we will sail along the coast of Morocco and raid the country's coastal towns and ports along the way. In this way, we can not only attack and weaken the most important country in Qi An ally can also maintain the officers and soldiers’ desire to fight.”
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Ye Xianghui, the commander of the Qi Guards on Taihua Island (today's Tenerife), held a bloody long knife in his hand and looked coldly at the Spanish woman huddled in the corner of the room. She hugged her tightly. Seeing the young child crying and shaking, he hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked out.

There were scenes of killings everywhere in the village, and sporadic gunshots could be heard from time to time in the distant wilderness.Walking through several dilapidated houses, you can faintly hear the suppressed sobs of women and the beastly roars of men coming from inside. "Who set the fire?" Ye Xianghui reached out to call for a guard and asked sternly.

"It was the Indian natives who set the fire." Seeing the captain's fierce eyes, He Xintang immediately threw the blame on the silly Indians. "They probably didn't grab anything. They just got angry and threw the blame on them." The house was set on fire."

"You damn dead people, don't kick them with your big feet!" Ye Xianghui cursed, but seeing the fire raging in those houses with no hope of saving them, he couldn't help but shake his head.

Damn it, it's such a pity that this house burned down, and new immigrants have come, and it has to be rebuilt with time and effort.

"Captain, if we kill all these rebellious Spaniards and Berbers, won't we be able to free up all the houses and land?" A stout man came over with a musket and saw Ye Xianghui felt sorry for those burned houses and said nonchalantly.

"Okay, let the brothers stop. We have almost finished killing those who need to be killed." Ye Xianghui glanced at the other party and greeted loudly: "In the future, the island will still need people for farming and road construction, but don't kill all the people." Kill them all. Otherwise, the governor will definitely blame them."

Two months ago, England sent troops to attack the Canary Islands, first seizing several eastern islands occupied by the Moroccans, and then attacking the core island occupied by the Qi people.However, after being heavily bombarded by coastal defense batteries, England was unable to enter the port, so the island was blockaded and besieged in preparation for a slow attack.

Perhaps because he was worried that the protracted siege would deplete the island's material reserves, Governor Sui Qingliang ordered the entire island to implement military control, confiscate the grain stored by all residents, and then distribute it uniformly.

However, this move was opposed by the original Spanish residents and the indigenous Berbers, who believed that the Qi people were depriving them of food in order to cleanse and genocide them, and they immediately launched a violent resistance.

It was during the War of Spanish Succession that Qi united with the Kingdom of Morocco to seize the Canary Islands, including Taihua Island. So far, it has only been more than ten years, and the number of immigrants is less than 500, and they are still stationed in separate areas. In several places, there are less than 800 Han people among them. Compared with the more than [-] Spanish residents and Berbers, they are very weak.

If the Qi people hadn't deported many Spanish colonial government officials, soldiers and family members after occupying the island, and confiscated all the muskets and swords from the original residents, they might not have dared to sleep at night.

When Governor Sui Qingliang heard that the former Spanish residents and Berbers were resisting the order of military control, he immediately dispatched several cavalry escorts to suppress them, killing several of the troublemakers and imprisoning a dozen subordinates, which was considered to be somewhat stable. situation on the island.

But who would have expected that after being besieged for two months, the English would drive warships to the shore from time to time and fire several cannons in the direction of the port. They continued to exert military pressure on the island and tried to force the Qi people to land.When those Spanish residents and Berbers who were dissatisfied with the "kingdom" saw that the Qi people were in trouble, their thoughts became alive again, and they began to secretly prepare to attack the port forts and cooperate with the English to seize Zhiyuan Port (today's Tenerife Island). Port of Santa Cruz).

A few days ago, more than [-] Spanish residents and Berbers sneaked into the port at night and prepared to attack two forts.However, they were discovered by the officers and soldiers on duty, and a fierce battle began.

After hearing the news, the rural escorts in Zhiyuan City immediately went out to support the city, and attacked with the naval officers and soldiers stationed at the fort, defeating the rioting Spaniards.

Fortunately, several English warships lingering outside the harbor were unaware of the situation on the island and did not dare to take the opportunity to launch an attack, which relieved the Qi people who had always been cautious.

At dawn the next day, Governor Sui Qingliang ordered the escort to follow the prisoners' confessions and launch bloody revenge on the Spanish villages and settlements that launched the riot.

Ye Xianghui has led more than 60 escorts to conquer three villages. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy. He has killed and captured more than [-] people. In addition to young and strong men, there are also women and children. His methods can be described as brutal. .

"According to my wishes, when our Qi army arrives, all the Spaniards and Berbers on the island must be moved out to solve the resistance problem here once and for all." The stout man muttered, At the same time, he asked a dozen Indian natives to pile up the dead bodies and prepare to burn them.

"If all the people are moved away, who will farm the land, build roads and build houses?"

"Just move people here from the mainland, or from Qianzhou. Otherwise, you can move some people from Qin or Annan. It's much more reliable than these Spanish barbarians and natives!"

"To put it lightly, an immigrant costs at least 30 to [-] yuan. Who will pay for it? Over the years, we have only been able to get in and out, and we have spent a lot of money. We have relied entirely on Qianzhou for support. This has long caused people to complain. ”

"Hi! Those people in Qianzhou are all looking for money. We are guarding this island, but we are opening up the border for our country. As long as we firmly control this place, the European barbarians cannot kill them casually. Go to their Qianzhou!... They are so stupid, how much money do they support each year and then they complain?"

"Okay, okay, what a nonsense!" Ye Xianghui said impatiently: "We just have to obey the orders of the officials above. Is it possible that you are allowed to be the governor and worry about these important affairs of the country? "

"Isn't my heart unbalanced? We don't have good food or clothing on this shabby island, and we have to fight to the death with the English barbarians, but those Qianzhou people are happily digging for gold in the back, and we can live a rich life. Good days of peace.”

"You are the only one who complains so much! Look at those Indian natives and Japanese samurai, they are all extremely satisfied..."

"Da da da……"

A few people were talking when they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves. After a moment, a cavalry guard quickly ran forward with an expression of joy on his face.

"What, all the English warships have withdrawn?"

"That's right, before noon today, several observation decks saw the English warships withdrawing to the east." The guard who reported the news said with a smile: "The naval officers and soldiers of the fort said that it must be our Qi expedition fleet coming! "

(End of this chapter)