Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 351: Naval and Land Battles

Perhaps Western Europe is too far away from Constantinople.

and so……

The feudal lords of Western Europe always seemed so indifferent to the fall of the distant Orthodox base.

Most of them probably still hold the idea that what they do for Christ is nothing more than legal robbery, so naturally, they seem to be very indifferent to the Pope's call.

In order to solve the problem that these feudal lords were not concerned about the war, Pope Innocent II decided to excommunicate those feudal lords who were not concerned.

This even includes the merchants of Venice.

Now the unscrupulous merchants in Venice finally behaved themselves.

No one mentioned how many people the Crusaders had to transport or how many denarii they had to give.

The Song army was not idle either.

Considering that it would cost too much food to travel by land.

Therefore, the Song army was also organizing and training the navy.

It can be said that the fall of Constantinople had little to do with the navy.

At most, it can only be regarded as providing protection for the army to cross the sea.

But next, if you want to attack Rome, you must have an excellent navy.

The task of training the navy was also handed over to Han Shizhong.

Back to Solangi, Srivijaya.

This year.

Rubber has already begun to be used.

Although the current rubber production is not very good.

But it is more than enough to do some small projects and make some novel things.

First of all, of course, it provides a huge help in power generation.

Now in Srivijaya, electricity is already used in small quantities in the royal palace.

Although tungsten filament bulbs have not yet been developed, bamboo filament bulbs will be sufficient for a period of time.

When the bamboo filament light bulb was turned on and the entire palace was instantly lit up, all the maids and slaves were stunned.

and……

To be honest, they have witnessed the changes in Srivijaya over the past decade.

I can only say that...the length of the cement roads in Srivijaya is getting longer and longer nowadays.

For example, some houses in the city are becoming more and more urbanized.

Compared with the previous Srivijaya, it is many times more magnificent.

And it is many times cleaner.

In addition to electrical applications, there are also bicycle tires and car tires.

of course!

It is not fully utilized now.

At best, it can only be considered usable, and it is still a long way from being truly practical.

In addition...

The current rubber vulcanization technology is still a bit inefficient.

Further research is needed to develop faster and more convenient methods of rubber vulcanization.

Try using different catalysts to further shorten the rubber vulcanization time.

This year……

Aircraft powered by diesel engines have also been developed.

can only say……

Can fly.

But if you want to carry a weapon system on it, including the ability to launch missiles or something.

to be frank!
This may be a bit difficult.

Now...

At most, it can fly.

But even so, in terms of reliability, it is still not very reliable.

But it's nice to be able to fly.

This at least proves that this direction is indeed feasible.

The next question is how to optimize it.

For example, how to improve the control system, how to better reduce the weight of the aircraft, and how to build an engine with a better thrust-to-weight ratio.

And how to make a more comfortable cockpit.

The research on the aircraft is mainly carried out in Xuchang, which is also to avoid technology leakage as much as possible.

the second year.

The eighty-first year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

After training a more solid and reliable navy.

Han Shizhong began to roam the southern coast of the Mediterranean with this navy, cooperating with the Fatimid army to recover the entire North African region.

in fact……

It cannot be said that the entire North African region was completely the territory of the Fatimid dynasty, but at least, these places were once ruled by the Fatimid dynasty a few decades ago.

At least it can be said to be a vassal state of the Fatimid Empire.

of course!

Now that Han Shizhong is here, this time it is not just a vassal state, but he is considering bringing it under his direct jurisdiction.

Because North Africa is not very far from Rome.

In addition, some merchants would tip off the nobles and the Pope in the Roman region.

soon……

The Vatican also requisitioned 200 Venetian merchant ships, converted them into warships, and also other existing warships, and they marched towards the southern coast of the Mediterranean in a mighty manner.

The two sides met in a place called Tripoli.

A fierce naval battle thus began.

On Han Shizhong's side, the ship was not only equipped with cannons, but also combined the shipbuilding technology of the East and the West, and moved the catapults directly onto the ship.

The Vatican, in comparison, is far worse.

As soon as the two sides engaged in battle, Han Shizhong's side relied entirely on technology, while the Vatican's side relied entirely on courage.

soon……

The Vatican realized that something was wrong.

only……

It doesn't matter whether we fight now or not.

All he could do was grit his teeth and keep fighting.

The end result was that except for a small number of ships that escaped, the rest of the Vatican's navy all sank to the bottom of the sea.

This battle really woke up the entire Western world.

Because from this battle it can be seen that the Song army is fully capable of attacking them directly from the sea.

Even in this battle, the Kingdom of Sicily, famous for its navy, was defeated.

However, it was only about forty years ago that the Kingdom of Sicily became famous for its navy.

The navy of that time is no longer the same as it was before.

King Roger II of the Kingdom of Sicily almost died in this battle.

Fortunately, he was a good swimmer and was rescued.

Immediately afterwards...

After the failure, the Kingdom of Sicily and the entire Italy, including the Venice region, were immediately placed under martial law.

This business can no longer be done.

I’m afraid the other party will call me directly.

of course!

Due to the constant wars over the years, this business has actually never been very good.

only……

Now it has only become worse.

"How to do?"

Everyone couldn't help but ask this question.

Then...

Pope Innocent II also sent an envoy to meet Han Shizhong.

See where Han Shizhong's bottom line is.

See if surrender is possible.

Han Shizhong also replied: "Aren't you the ones who have been attacking us? We are just defending ourselves."

The other envoy asked, "So you actually have no idea about us?"

Han Shizhong said, "Maybe it didn't happen before, but it does happen now. After all, you can't just pretend nothing happened after attacking us."

The other envoy then asked, "Then how do you want to solve it?" Han Shizhong was just a military general.

Not understanding the thoughts of the upper class, he said, "I can't decide this issue. You have to consult our officials."

The other envoy then reported Han Shizhong's words back to the Pope and the others.

Of course, the Pope and his people did not really want to surrender. After all...

Do you think surrendering to the enemy comes without cost?

not to mention……

The enemy might ask them to abandon their religion and convert to Islam.

of course!

After learning about this situation, the Pope decided to send someone to have a good talk with Han Shizhong and Zhao Xin.

Anyway...

As far as they knew, Zhao Xin was far away in India.

This back-and-forth negotiation might be able to delay the other party for quite a while.

In the hands of King Roger II of Sicily, there is a world map.

Although this world map is drawn very roughly, it is still possible to see it.

India is still a bit far away from them.

of course!

The person who was most anxious at this time was Roger II himself.

Although the peace talks seemed to have begun, in fact, Han Shizhong did not stop his conquest of North African land.

And much of the land in North Africa belonged to Roger II himself.

Han Shizhong couldn't care less.

Anyway...

Your desire for peace talks will not affect my continued conquest of cities and territories.

So much so that King Roger II of Sicily sent people to Han Shizhong many times, asking him to stop.

to be frank!
Han Shizhong also wanted to stop.

The issue is……

If these soldiers stop, what else can they do?

Wouldn't that be boring?
and so……

At this moment, they have to go to war.

Roger II could no longer bear it, so he ordered a few small boats to attack Han Shizhong's warships. Although he did burn several Song army ships with his personal ability,

But this also brought retaliation from the Song Dynasty, and soon the Song army attacked Sicily.

As for other Western European countries, they can only say that they are powerless.

After all, naval warfare is not their strong point.

of course!

In fact, the Song army had no ability to occupy the enemy's land.

At most, it can be said that one person is left behind to collect taxes locally.

And for a country like the Kingdom of Sicily that will resist, it may not even be possible to collect taxes.

At last……

Han Shizhong simply asked the other city lord to pay war reparations, and then returned with the money.

The Western world is simply too big.

The food they brought was not enough to conquer all the lands they saw.

And before leaving, of course, one must engrave a stone tablet to record the achievement.

In the 81st year of the Li Yuan period, the barbarians took the initiative to attack our warships, so Han Shizhong, the governor of Egypt in the Song Dynasty, taught them a lesson.

We can't win by sea...

On the land side, in fact, Rome has not given up yet.

even……

Pope Innocent II also used this naval battle as a propaganda point.

Tell everyone, if you don’t stand up and resist, you will be the next one to be conquered.

It is because the enemy has already reached the doorstep of their Christian home.

Innocent II was also anxious.

Tell everyone, remember, everyone!

No matter whether you are an earl or a knight of Shankari, if you do not participate in this crusade, you will be excommunicated!
Although many people actually don't take the Pope's excommunication seriously at all.

After all, you will never excommunicate me. Will it affect my farming in the countryside?
Only someone like the Emperor of Shinra would be afraid of being excommunicated.

But consider that the enemy has indeed reached our doorstep.

Then go join in the fun!

After Innocent II's mobilization, the whole of Western Europe, including Eastern Europe, finally showed some signs of improvement.

Previously, the feudal nobles could only provide tens of thousands of people at most.

Now, after Innocent II's warning, the whole of Eastern and Western Europe finally managed to gather an army of 150,000 people.

At least……

According to current statistics on paper, this is the case.

And this does not include those who participate voluntarily.

Like civilians and criminals.

If these are added, then their total military strength is estimated to be at least over 200,000.

After the people below reported the number of troops to be sent out in the future one after another.

Now Innocent II finally felt a little more confident.

After all, these are real troops.

even……

In order to get Eastern European countries to join in, Innocent II even resorted to bribing them with money.

But actually...

Some countries in Eastern Europe have gradually realized that they must unite in order to fight against the Song army.

the second year.

The eighty-second year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

The armies of various countries began to gather one after another.

Target, Constantinople!

As for Italy and Rome, some people will stay behind to defend.

But... this is no longer the point.

The point is...

In the next battle, they must recapture Constantinople, and at the same time, it would be best to completely destroy the Song Dynasty's coalition forces on the battlefield.

After several months of long journey, the army finally arrived at the end of the year.

Arrived in Bulgaria.

At this time, Bulgaria had been completely controlled by the Song army.

Even many Bulgarians became soldiers of the Song Dynasty.

After learning about the situation, Yue Fei first asked the garrisons in various places to prepare for defense. At the same time, in order to protect the newly distributed land and the people, he had to leave Constantinople to fight.

of course!

Before leaving, he left his son behind to guard the city.

This would also prevent possible internal strife among them.

Or maybe he was an enemy spy, inciting rebellion in the city.

At most, Yue Fei could only deploy 40,000 to 50,000 field troops.

This is naturally no match for the enemy's 200,000 troops.

only……

There is no way to compare this but we have to fight.

Eastern and Western Europe together number two hundred thousand, but they claim to have four hundred thousand.

As for Yue Fei...

Anyway, no matter how much they claim, they certainly don’t have as many as the other side, so they can only condemn these Christians on the other side first and provoke a war for the sake of their own interests.

The battlefield on the Bulgarian side is also very clear.

Basically, there are mountains in the north, mountains in the south, and in the middle, from northwest to southeast, towards Constantinople, is a river called the Maritsa River.

One can even roughly regard this area as a relatively large basin.

There are two small openings in the southeast corner and northeast corner of this basin.

Yue Fei could deploy his 40,000 to 50,000 troops here.

Even if it cannot be said that one man can block the passage of ten thousand, it is at least a place that is relatively suitable for defense.

(End of this chapter)