The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 121 Unlucky Nelson

After the action plan is determined, the discussion meeting ends.

Representatives of each party informed their own monarchs and began to prepare for action.

Zhu Jianxuan first had to release all the British prisoners and even return some of the weapons.

Then, with the assistance of the transport ships from Britain, most of the prisoners were sent directly back to the British mainland, and a small number were sent to Quebec.

Before Zhu Jianxuan signed the order to release the prisoners, he briefly looked through the prisoners' situation report.

It was just a sudden impulse, and I wanted to see if there were any historical figures I was familiar with in the list of officers and nobles.

As a result, Zhu Jianxuan actually found one, and it was the person he had once paid special attention to.

Horatio Nelson, captured in Nicaragua.

Nelson, the spiritual totem of the British Navy in history, was really too unlucky this time.

As a naval officer, he was sent to Nicaragua by the Governor of British Jamaica to control the waterway of the San Juan River into Lake Nicaragua.

That is to say, he has to carry out the mission on the inland rivers, which does not give full play to his advantages.

It happened that the Ming Dynasty's navy and army, along with the American militia, were sweeping across Central America, and they captured Nelson's troops directly in Nicaragua.

The settlement in that part of Nicaragua was small and could not accommodate too many prisoners.

The main reason was that Nelson was already the captain of a frigate and his value as an officer was obviously higher, so he was sent to New York for centralized management.

After seeing what happened to Nelson, Zhu Jianxuan vaguely remembered that he seemed to have had very bad luck in his original history.

He lost one eye and one arm early on.

He was shot and killed in the successful Battle of Trafalgar and did not return alive to receive the title of Earl of England.

However, Zhu Jianxuan did not actually realize that Nelson might just be unlucky on the battlefield.

Nelson's life experience is quite lucky.

He was supposed to have met a British prince at the same time and place, in the New York area in 1782.

William, the third son of the current British King George III, will become the British King William IV in the future. He is known as the Sailor King because of his long service in the navy.

At the same time, he also met British Rear Admiral Samuel Hood, and Hood and Nelson formed a relationship of both teacher and friend.

Hood was later promoted to lieutenant general and admiral, serving as commander of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet and pioneering a new generation of naval tactics.

Hood admired Nelson very much and inadvertently paved the way for Nelson's future.

Nelson would later call Hood the first man in the British Navy.

In this world, because the Ming Dynasty participated in the North American War, Britain did not transfer its main fleet to North America, and Nelson did not meet Prince William and Hood.

But now he is being targeted by Zhu Jianxuan.

People with talent and potential also need opportunities to grow quickly and thus develop their abilities.

Zhu Jianxuan didn't think much about it and just asked someone to call Nelson over.

Nelson, 24 years old, still has both his hands and eyes intact. After living in cool New York for two years, he is in good spirits.

Nelson had no idea why the King of Wu of the Ming Dynasty and the King of America wanted to see him specifically.

I could only follow the translator's instructions and bowed my head:

"See Your Majesty."

Zhu Jianxuan did not bother to be polite with Nelson and directly stated his purpose in English:
"Captain Horatio Nelson, the war between Ming and Britain has now completely ended, and both sides have signed and approved an armistice treaty.

“At the same time, Ming and Britain will cooperate on European, American and African affairs and establish an alliance.

"I have signed the order to release the prisoners, so all British prisoners, including you, are now completely free.

“But it will still take time to get you back to Europe.

"At the same time, as the King of Wu of the Ming Dynasty and the King of America, I admire your talent in naval warfare." "If you can be loyal to me and serve in my naval fleet, I can let you directly serve as the temporary captain of a third-level battleship.

"Once you have learned the language and writing of the Ming Dynasty, commanded a battleship in actual combat, and demonstrated your ability to be a captain, you can become a formal captain.

“While serving as the temporary captain, I will grant you the title of a Wu or American countryman.

“You can think of it as a title similar to that of a British knight, which entitles you to ten square kilometers of land in the Great Plains of North America, which is approximately equivalent to 2,400 acres.

"After becoming an official captain, they will be promoted to squires, and the area of ​​their fiefdoms will be doubled.

"You will then continue to be promoted based on your merits and performance.

"If you can command a naval fleet, participate in actual combat and win, you can also obtain the title of state earl and 200 square kilometers of land."

Zhu Jianxuan came to North America to become the King of the United States and has been dealing frequently with Americans in the past few months.

My English level has gradually improved without me noticing, and my accent has also changed a bit, becoming closer to the accent of this era.

First announce that the other party is free, and then let the other party choose whether to stay, which is considered a display of sincerity.

Zhu Jianxuan originally told Captain Cook's accompanying translator that if he found Nelson and brought him to him, he would directly grant Nelson the title of Baron.

But that was to offer high enough conditions to drive Nelson to go from Britain to Ming Dynasty or Australia on his own initiative.

Now that I found him directly in the prisoner camp instead of inviting him from Britain, I will not offer the same conditions as before.

Nelson is still very young. If he is given a higher title too early, there may be a situation where there is nothing left to be awarded in the future.

At the same time, it is also necessary to correspond to the titles of existing North American military officers.

The deputy captain and temporary captain are country gentlemen, and the official captain should be a country gentry. The extra excess will make other officers feel unfair.

No matter how powerful Nelson was in history, he was just a barbarian young officer in the eyes of the Ming officers at that time.

Nelson was completely confused now.

The Ming Dynasty and Britain signed a ceasefire. He knew that when the British Navy sent enough ships to pick up the prisoners, he would be free again.

But Zhu Jianxuan's subsequent invitation completely shocked Nelson.

Nelson originally served as a frigate captain in the British Navy. At that time, Nelson's ideal was to become the captain of a battleship.

As a result, not only did his dream not come true, but he was captured on land, which was very frustrating.

Now, things have taken a turn for the better and my ideal is right before my eyes.

You can also become a knight directly.

It was like a gift package fell from the sky and hit me directly on the head.

Zhu Jianxuan knew that Nelson had great potential and how great his influence on history would be, but Nelson himself did not know.

Nelson was now a 24-year-old bachelor naval officer.

So he was very excited.

Although there are other kings to follow in the future, and it should be necessary to continue to stay in North America.

But for Nelson, the choice was not difficult to make.

Since the two sides have completely ceased fighting and are about to become allies, defecting to the Ming Dynasty or America would not be considered a betrayal.

The European countries have been at war with each other for a long time, and their people's attitude towards their country is a bit like that of the princes in the Spring and Autumn Period.

It is not a big deal for someone from one country to work in another country.

Not directly defecting to an enemy country while holding a national position is considered to have a normal moral level.

The young Nelson couldn't say no:

"As you command, I will serve you... It is my honor, my majesty!"

(End of this chapter)