In the Middle Ages, people drew cards to be promoted to nobility. - Chapter 751

Under the golden iris flag, the Vice Admiral and Governor of Cuba standing on the bridge was watching the British landing operation with a telescope.

“Strictly disciplined and well-equipped, when did the British’s pocket army become so powerful?”

Governor Enrique is not a fool who only talks high and relies on prominent family backgrounds or nepotism to gain power.

On the contrary, he is a typical civilian general. He once encircled and suppressed the Carlist rebels supported by the British in the mountains, and also fought against the British Army. He knew very well that these British war machines were not as majestic as they looked. .

The captain of the Joan of Arc, a naval colonel, reminded: “With all due respect, Governor Enrique. The Cuban squadron only has one battleship, three cruisers and some small and medium-sized gunboats. Between the Richelieu and the mainland We should avoid conflict with the British until the fleet arrives.”

Enrique hummed: “Although I don’t understand the navy, I can still do simple counting.”

His voice paused slightly, and then he said: “Is it possible for us to retreat in such despair? Colonel Guillaume, we have given in too many times to those damned, grass goats, deserving of hell, and British guys who believe in Satan. !”

Enrique is a Spaniard, a new representative of the bourgeoisie, and a trusted general personally promoted by Queen Isabella II.

It was also in this world line that the marriage of Isabella II and the Bourbon dynasty led to the birth of the “United Kingdom of France and Spain”.

Ever since the last War of Spanish Succession, when France helped Spain recover Gibraltar, which had been lost for nearly two hundred years, Governor Enrique has become a “hardcore French stick”.

In his view, only by embracing France’s thigh can Spain, which is declining in power, return to its former glory.

Colonel Guillaume hesitated for a moment, and then said: “I think you should wait for the report from the mainland before making a decision.”

He was not worried that the Governor Enrique in front of him, who loved France more than he usually showed, and who struck hard at the rebels who resisted French rule, would be a traitor with evil intentions, but sometimes, it was this kind of person who was prone to bad things.

“Then just wait.”

Enrique snorted, a little dissatisfied, but fortunately the call came back faster than he expected.

The signal soldier hurried over: “Your Majesty General, please send a message from home, asking us to exercise restraint and try not to engage in firefights with the British.”

Enrique frowned: “So, we just watch like this?”

“His Majesty the King hopes that we will find out why the British are going to war and then make a decision.”

The Republic of Texas is actually a tough one. Compared with the indigenous people, the small Latin American country, even excluding the wolves, is among the best. It has had many conflicts with the regional power Mexico, and has always had the upper hand.

With the despicable and shameless pragmatic style of the British, it is impossible to choose this target to show their military power, right?

“How did the intelligence department analyze it?”

The signal soldier gave the answer: “They speculated that Texas should hide some kind of mineral, magic stone or white crystal, and the reserves were extremely rich. Or they finally made up their mind to eradicate this piece of land that seriously threatened British North America. A cancer of safety.”

Enrique snorted coldly: “If they want to eradicate the cancer, they have eradicated it long ago. Mexico has such rich silver mines, and the size is larger. Didn’t the British just take action directly? Or is it hidden under Texas? The theory of enchanted stone mine is more reliable.”

White crystal and magic stone mines are the cornerstones of the world’s second industrial revolution. Other countries are still using queuing and shooting tactics. The British Army has already deployed land cruisers and armored airships. It is simply not like the army of the same era.

This cliff-like lead is due to its almost semi-monopoly on magic stone and white crystal mines.

The remaining industrial countries can only burn coal, and even coal mines are extremely scarce, such as France, which has lost the Alsace-Lorraine region.

Spain is not a place rich in minerals. The industries of both countries rely on overseas colonies.

But if the two sides go to war and the sea access is blocked, France’s war potential will be immediately cut in half.

Enrique clenched his fists: “If there is really white crystal or magic stone under Texas, we can’t give in! Give me the order and the whole ship will prepare for battle.”

Captain Guillaume was shocked: “General, the empire and our allies are not ready for a full-scale war with the French!”

At present, Tsarist Russia is trying to abolish serfdom, but the local nobles do not buy it at all. After all, if serfdom is to be abolished, serfs must be given a piece of their own land.

There is no point in expecting the nobles to cut their flesh. They can only rely on the government to fund the acquisition of land. At the end of the day, they have to distribute some farm tools so that the liberated serfs can go to the frozen soil to open up wasteland. This requires a lot of money.

At this time, Tsarist Russia had no intention or ability to expand externally.

France is ushering in a period of rapid development of national power. On the one hand, it is carrying out colonial expansion around the world, and on the other hand, it is vigorously following up on the second industrial revolution. Once a war breaks out, it will definitely be interrupted.

“I’m not crazy. The empire is not ready for war, but the British are also not ready for war with us. Only by making this gesture can we win more benefits with a small effort!”

Aboard the King of the Seas.

Admiral George frowned. He did not expect that the French would be so aggressive now. A mere colonial squadron would dare to provoke the British Empire.

He was certain that within an hour, the expeditionary force would be able to send the enemy fleet to the bottom of the sea.

But he didn’t dare to do this. Neither the empire nor his allies were ready for war.

Moreover, the alliance between Britain and Germany is unilaterally biased towards Germany.

Because once the German Confederation is sandwiched between France and Russia, Britain must personally intervene to mediate.

Even if Germany advocates “the land under the sun” and becomes more and more tough on Britain, in Vienna, the voices of anti-British factions are no less than those of anti-French and anti-Russian factions.

Otherwise, France and Russia, two hegemons that divide the European continent equally, will emerge. The new continental system formed by the two will directly exclude Britain from Europe, and those small countries in Europe that are fence-sitters will also turn to the continental alliance.

By then, it will not be Britain that blockades them at sea, but on the contrary, they will be blockaded by them on land and squeezed out of the European circle.

On the contrary, if France declares war on Britain, Emperor Franz the Great will most likely choose to stay put, unless the French navy directly opens the door and lands on the British mainland.

When Britain and France go to war, Tsarist Russia, as an ally of France, must help the situation. After all, this hungry bear has been eyeing British Persia and British India for a long time.

Without a land fulcrum, the war can only turn into a protracted sea blockade, which is a lose-lose strategy.

If the empire cannot capture the French mainland, it will be difficult to achieve more victories. Even if it forces France to negotiate peace, it will not gain much benefit.

After all, what cannot be obtained on the battlefield cannot be obtained at the negotiation table.

We can’t expect a small country like Belgium to stand up and act as a pioneer in the fight against France, right? I’m afraid it will kneel in the first round.

“We can’t fight, at least not now, but we can’t retreat either. If we give in to a French fleet, the throne of world hegemony should also change hands?”

Admiral George was tangled: “Pass my order and prepare for battle, but no one can fire the first shot at those damn Gallic chickens without my permission!”

Thus, a dramatic scene was born.

Both sides were on the verge of a fight, but they were both afraid to use their weapons, and they were like two cats facing each other, trying their best to roar, arching their backs, and puffing their fur, but they dared not cross the line.

…

In New Naples, on a tower, more than a dozen Texas scouts were carefully observing the enemy’s landing process.

A cornerman was a little dissatisfied and said, “Boss, what do you think the patriarch is thinking? We just watch them land and occupy New Naples?”

“Just follow orders.”

The centurion glanced at him and said nothing.

This glance made the cornerman feel cold all over. He stepped aside awkwardly and carefully observed how the British deployed their formation in the port of New Naples through the telescope on the lighthouse.

The more he looked, the more frightened he became: “Boss, these British guys are much stronger than the state militia in the colonies. Look at their land ships. Even if you use artillery to bombard them, they may not be able to penetrate the armor on them.”

The centurion was a little surprised: “What land ship? How do you know that piece of iron is called this?”

The cornerman was just a little stunned, and then answered calmly: “Boss, have you forgotten that in the north, the British drove this kind of iron thing to massacre the black rebels. The small-caliber artillery they captured from the colonial army hit it, and it only produced a string of sparks.”

Suddenly someone shouted: “The French are coming!”

The iris flag was so eye-catching in the dark, which meant that the only two naval powers in the world had appeared. Their naval quantity and quality were all leading by a cliff. For example, the navy of a regional power like Mexico, they only needed a squadron to easily send it to the bottom of the sea.

Originally, there was only one naval power of this level, Britain.

In the era of sailing warships, it was fully capable of sending all the fleets of the following powers to the sea in one battle.

That is, the advent of the ironclad era swept all the previous sailing warships into the garbage dump of history, and the French, who inherited the Spanish legacy, barely had the qualifications to launch a naval arms race against the British.

The corner leader was very excited. Britain and France were old enemies and had been fighting each other for hundreds of years.

“Boss, this is good news.”

The centurion was not optimistic: “If the British are jackals, then the French are jaguars, and we are the meat they are fighting for.”

In terms of colonial policy, the French are sometimes even more cruel than them.

After all, the British no longer lack industrial raw materials, and they are expanding all over the world. The purpose is to expand their own market and dump industrial products in exchange for profits.

The French are different. They lack industrial raw materials in their own land and often cruelly exploit the natives of the colonies to make them slaves in order to mine industrial raw materials.

Of course, as an industrial country, France also attaches great importance to the development of overseas markets, but the emphasis is different.

The Germans who just took advantage of the colonial trend are different. Germany has no shortage of industrial raw material production areas and markets. Galicia, Hungary, and Illyria are all rich in mineral resources.

Even the Teutonic Knights in its northeast belong to its sphere of influence.

The “land under the sun” and “development of living space for Germans” they claim are actually to change the cage and establish the so-called “new Germany” in the colonies.

The centurion’s tone was very cold: “Don’t expect a French squadron to dare to fight the British. They are just another robber who came to watch the show and wanted to get a piece of the pie.”

Not all Bourbon kings were as generous as Louis XVI, who sold his head to support the United States in the original historical line. On the contrary, these generations of Bourbon kings were unusually shrewd and capable, and they managed to stabilize the monarchy in France, which was already shaky.