Bringing the Railway to Daming

Henry IV, a king who rose to power through military means, naturally considered the possibility of the Ming army attacking London via the Thames.

Therefore, while arranging defensive measures against the enemy coming from the south by land, he also did not forget to deploy troops to defend downstream along the Thames River. In fact, as an important gateway for the capital of England to the outside world, the lower reaches of the Thames River already had many defensive facilities.

For example, small castles serving as both garrison and sentry posts were set up along the river, housing not only dozens of longbowmen but also at least one catapult.

The larger castles were garrisoned with hundreds of longbowmen, and in addition to catapults, they were also equipped with one or more replicas of general's cannons.

Henry IV and others believed that with this arrangement, the Ming army would not only fail to attack London from the Thames, but if they did take this route, even if they reached the walls of London, they would be exhausted and worn out.

Therefore, they believed that if the Ming army commander was not stupid, he would not have chosen this path.

However, a week later, Henry IV received news that Ramsgate had fallen, the First Fleet had been destroyed, and Schauderson had also fallen.

"Wilson is so incompetent that he couldn't even resist the Ming fleet despite having a naval port as a backup?!" Henry IV first berated the fleet commander he had personally appointed because of the destruction of the First Fleet.

Since contracting that strange illness, his temper has become increasingly volatile. He would often fly into a rage and whip his servants, so the ministers have gotten used to seeing him lose his temper.

But Henry IV quickly calmed down and said, "They first captured Ramsgate and then destroyed the First Fleet. It seems that the Ming army really wants to rely on its navy to attack London from the Thames."

Upon hearing this, a minister said, “Your Majesty, this may be a good thing—the Ming army probably doesn’t know that we have made so many military deployments in the lower reaches of the Thames.”

"Right now, if Your Majesty simply moves more troops to the east and strengthens the defenses of the river fortresses, the Ming army may be driven away before they even reach the walls of London."

Henry IV scratched an itchy spot, only stopping when he found he had scratched it raw. His face was ashen as he said, “We should strengthen our forces in the lower Thames, but we also need to leave some troops in the south—it would be bad if the Ming army sent a cavalry force to attack from the south and we were caught unprepared.”

"Your Majesty said so."

Henry IV frowned as he discussed the redeployment of defenses with his ministers and generals.

After the meeting concluded and the ministers left, he summoned his attendant and asked, "How is the investigation into black magic and witchcraft that I was asked to inquire about progressing?"

At this moment, Henry IV desperately hoped that black magic and witchcraft truly existed, so that not only could his strange illness be cured, but he could even use black magic to eliminate the Ming army.

However, the guard's answer greatly disappointed him.

"Your Majesty, in the past few days we have found several people who claimed to know black magic or witchcraft, but after verification, we found that they were all frauds... Perhaps black magic and witchcraft do not exist in this world."

Henry IV suppressed his rage, his cheek twitching slightly, and said, "Just because you haven't found it doesn't mean it's not there. Expand the search area and continue the search."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the guard replied reluctantly.

Just as the guards were about to leave, Henry IV said again, "Go and bring young Henry and the Queen here."

The guard nodded and left.

Before long, they brought over Wang Houqiong and a blond young man of about eighteen or nineteen years old.

The blond youth, who bore a resemblance to Henry IV, was none other than his eldest son, Henry Lancaster. Henry IV's given name was Henry Bolingbrook.

In Europe at that time, it was quite normal for fathers and sons to share the same name; otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many generations of names. After all, there were only so many names to choose from in Europe at that time, and even fewer with meanings suitable for a monarch.

Henry the Younger was the adopted son of the former King Richard II, and thus received an excellent education from a young age. After Henry IV usurped the throne, he was further granted the titles of Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, Duke of Aquitaine, and Duke of Lancaster.

It's fair to say that if young Henry could truly control these fiefdoms, half of England would be his.

Unfortunately, even though he was the first Prince of Wales, Wales was actually controlled by the confidants sent by Henry IV, and young Henry spent most of his time in London, only visiting his fiefdom occasionally.

Clearly, Henry IV did not trust his eldest son, who had been Richard II's adopted son, as much as he outwardly appeared. Upon seeing Henry IV, young Henry politely gave a courtly bow and asked, "What brings you here, Father?"

Queen Joan, who was following behind, also looked over with curiosity—Joan was Henry IV's second wife and Henry's stepmother. She was only thirty-seven years old this year and still had a charming appearance.

Henry IV said, “Young Henry, you must have heard that the Ming army has attacked Great Britain and now even the First Fleet has been destroyed.”

"As expected, they will soon cross the Thames to attack London—although we have made many preparations in the lower Thames, to be honest, I don’t know if we can stop the Ming army."

"Therefore, I hope you and your mother will travel to Wales together. If London falls, it will be the last refuge for our Lancaster family."

“You must remember that if Scotland and Ireland do not join the war, then even if you become a vassal of those Ming people, do not fight them head-on.”

"Similarly, if Scotland and Ireland join the war but are still at a clear disadvantage and no match for the Ming people, then you should prioritize the preservation of your family. Do you understand?"

Young Henry frowned upon hearing this and asked, "Father, are the Ming army really that terrible?"

Henry IV said, “Our cannons and muskets are all copied from theirs. Don’t you think they are formidable? In fact, since the Ming army landed in Great Britain, we have not only failed to win a single victory, but we have not even put up a decent resistance.”

Henry looked shocked at first, but after regaining his senses, he slowly nodded and said, "I understand, son."

Henry IV patted his eldest son on the shoulder and said, "Then don't delay. Pack your things properly today, and leave with your mother tomorrow. But don't let too many people know. If anyone asks, just say you're going to Wales to check on how the tax work is going."

Henry nodded again.

Queen Joan and Henry IV exchanged a silent glance for a while before leaving together.

···
···
a few days later.

The warships of the Ming Dynasty's Three Feudatories Alliance fleet entered the Thames River.

Upon seeing this, the English soldiers atop a large castle at the river mouth immediately shouted loudly.

Soon, a major in charge of the castle appeared on the top of the castle, squinting as he looked at the Ming army warships on the river in the distance.

His expression changed slightly after just a few glances.

At this moment, the other soldiers also got a clearer view of the Ming warships, and they all exclaimed in low voices.

"My God, how come the Ming army's warships are so big?!"

"It was almost several times the size of the Great Kirk, no wonder the First and Second Fleets were destroyed."

"How many soldiers can such a large warship carry? And how many catapults can it be equipped with?"

"Fool, why would the Ming army's warships be equipped with catapults? If they were, they would be equipped with cannons."

"Mount them with cannons, wouldn't that be even more powerful? And there are more than a dozen of these massive warships!"

"···"

Hearing the soldiers' increasingly frightened expressions as they discussed the ship, the major finally snapped out of his daze, sternly surveyed the crowd, and shouted, "So what if the warship is big? The bigger it is, the easier it is to be hit by catapults. Don't you understand such a simple principle?"

"This time, the royal court has two to three times the usual number of troops stationed at its fortifications along the lower Thames. If the Ming warships dare to enter, we can make sure they can't leave!" (End of Chapter)