Dominate the Country

Egypt, Alexandria.

The sun finally set, and the sky turned from blood-red to boundless darkness. A brutal battle also came to an end.

The French fleet slowly disappeared into the port of Alexandria, leaving only smoke, blood and screams on the ground.

In the past day, a small squadron of the British Mediterranean dispatch fleet, combined with the Chinese fleet led by Zhu Xun, and with the support of the Alexandria Port fort, tenaciously withstood the attack of the main force of the French Mediterranean fleet led by French Admiral Brues. .

After receiving Chen Han's warning, Istanbul quickly established a relationship with the British. When the French expeditionary force left Toulon, in Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire had already formally signed an agreement with the British and reached a war against France. consistency.

Although the French have always kept the destination of this war strictly confidential, Napoleon has been asking the European Office for British intelligence for the purpose of confusing Chen Han. But Istanbul and London, in the face of countless evidences, had no doubts about who the French were targeting.

The establishment of an expeditionary force requires too much work, and Napoleon also needs to have a very detailed understanding and research of his destination, and many traces are exposed inadvertently.

For example, he is frequently inspecting the navy and fleet, and seems to have forgotten the complaint he made to the European Office a few months ago - attacking Britain is courting death!

He was studying all the dynamics of the world political situation. At the same time, he was very, very concerned about the war in India and all the news about the activities of the British Nelson fleet.

He selected many, many strong soldiers, because Egypt is a place with far more desert than green land, and the temperature there is hot. In order to enable his army to fight under the blazing sun and walk through the hot, endless desolation In the arid desert, he must select soldiers who can endure hardships and are physically strong.

He also selected a group of senior officers, with Berthier continuing as his chief of staff and the brave Admiral Bruyès as commander of the fleet. In addition, there are a number of famous generals such as Kleber, Discher, Lannes, Bessières, Murat, Juno, Davout, Marmont and so on. Josephine and her ex-husband's son, Eugène Beauharnais, also traveled as Napoleon's aide-de-camp.

Out of his extensive interest in science, literature and history, he also took many scientific research and engineering technicians with him on this expedition. The famous mathematician Monge and chemist Bertolet selected 21 mathematicians, 3 astronomers, 17 civil engineers, 13 naturalists and mining engineers, 13 geographers, and gunpowder engineers for Napoleon. 3, 3 architects, 8 designers and draftsmen, 10 mechanics, 1 sculptor, 15 translators, 10 literati, 22 printers, with Latin, Greek and astronomical scripts typesetting font. In addition, there is a rich collection of books.

Haha, Tianfangwen. Napoleon's secret operation actually left a lot of clues. As long as you pay attention and search with confidence, you will make a satisfying discovery.

The Office in Europe used these details to convince the Ottomans, and it was logical that it also convinced the British.

It was Toulon, the port of Toulon on the Mediterranean Sea, the starting point of this legion, not Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast of France.

Napoleon's legion was numbered seven, with a total of 37,000 land and sea soldiers. On the eve of boarding the ship, he delivered a very stimulating speech to the troops, promising that each soldier would receive 6 acres of land when he returned home in triumph.

This huge fleet has as many as 130 transport ships, one-third of which come from Naples, Italy, and are escorted by a fleet of 13 battleships and as many as 42 three-masted clippers. Among the battleships, Vostok and Amiral were first-class sailing battleships each equipped with 120 guns. The army on the transport ship consists of 19 infantry regiments, 7 cavalry regiments and 28 companies (artillery company, engineer company, mine engineer company, etc.), with a total of 24,300 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, 3,000 artillery, and 1,000 non-combatants. .

When the fleet sailed out of the port of Toulon, the sun in the sky was so dazzling. The bright sunshine shone over the ships arranged in a semicircle, making it magnificent and majestic. Most of the officers and soldiers had been with Napoleon for a long time. They believed that as long as he was around, victory was guaranteed.

6 acres of land, the hearts of French soldiers are full of confidence and good hope for the future.

The destination of this French expedition was strictly kept secret, and only a handful of senior officials knew it was headed for Egypt. Until the last minute, it was officially described as the left wing of the English Legion, and it was announced that they would pass through the Strait of Gibraltar, bypass Spain, and land in Ireland.

How sophisticated must Paris be to agree to such an offensive plan? And what about the right wing of the English Legion? Where is it? Has France concentrated its forces and fleets on a large scale in its Atlantic coastal ports?

This historical news reached the ears of Nelson, the commander of the British Mediterranean Dispatch Fleet. This British naval star really believed that Napoleon was going to attack the British mainland. He believed it when the French navy left the harbor and headed straight for the island of Malta. However, he led the main force of the British Mediterranean fleet to defend Napoleon in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Nelson in this time and space will no longer suffer such humiliation. But he was still confused by Napoleon's fake actions. He thought Napoleon would lead the fleet into Naples.

This city ruled by the Bourbon family [from Spain] has recently been affected by the French Revolution and has also erupted in the Republican Revolution. King Ferdinand IV was forced to flee to Palermo. Palermo is the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily, and the king of the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples is Ferdinand IV, but the two countries did not merge at this time. Europe is so strange.

Ferdinand IV is not only from the Bourbon dynasty, he is also the brother-in-law of Louis XVI, and his queen is the biological sister of Queen Marie. After Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were beheaded, the king and his wife were extremely shocked and terrified, and Naples and Sicily joined the First Anti-French Alliance.

In the original time and space, Ferdinand IV was still the king of Naples for two years after the failure of the First Anti-French Alliance, because Napoleon turned north to confront Austria. By the time Napoleon went on an expedition to Egypt, Ferdinand IV had already enjoyed his own rights. When Napoleon was fighting in Egypt and had no time to take care of Italy, he recruited 70,000 soldiers under the instigation of his queen to join the army of Austria and other countries to march into the Roman Republic, attack the French army occupying Rome, and led the army into Rome at the end of 1798. But the army of Naples was immediately defeated by the French army, and Ferdinand IV fled back to Naples in a hurry. Later, with the march of the French army, he took 600 royal family members and ministers to exile in Palermo, Sicily on Horatio Nelson's "Vanguard" at the end of December of that year, and put himself under the protection of the British Navy.

But now in this time and space, Napoleon's trump card is different, and his march and operations in Italy have become smoother. And under the guidance of the European Office, Napoleon got in touch with the revolutionaries in Naples, who decisively launched a riot, and Ferdinand IV fled in a hurry.

It's just that the lower classes of Naples are very pious and loyal to the Bourbon dynasty [the revolutionary government is not that kind of monotheistic]. Historically, they were extremely opposed to the republican government of Naples, which caused a civil war.

But now the Republicans of Naples have occupied the Castello San Elmo, declared the establishment of a republic, and are protected by the French army. More precisely, they are protected by Napoleon.

But the rule of the Naples Republican government is still shaky and unstable. The people of a country are the foundation.

Nelson was confused. He judged that Napoleon would lead the army to land in Naples to deter local opposition. After all, Napoleon enjoyed huge interests in the Italian region. He would not allow the Republic of Naples, which he protected, to fall, which would greatly affect his prestige.

So Nelson ordered the fleet to hoist all the sails, take the shortest route, and head straight to Naples, hoping to destroy them in the sea before the French army landed. As a result, when the main force of Nelson's fleet was wandering in the waters of Naples, Napoleon's fleet was resting on the island of Malta.

Malta is located in the central Mediterranean. It is a major transportation route from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, and it is also the best port in the Mediterranean. At that time, there were 30,000 residents on the island, which was guarded by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. When the French fleet arrived on the island, Napoleon immediately sent troops to land. The knights on the island surrendered after only some symbolic resistance. Napoleon declared the island to be the territory of the French Republic, abolished the Knights of St. John, confiscated their land, and established a new government.

When the French fleet left the island, Napoleon left three regiments of French troops to guard Malta to ensure that the French army's shipping in the Mediterranean could be unimpeded.

Then when Napoleon's army appeared before the world again, it was the evening of the day before yesterday.

A French cruiser appeared outside the waters of Alexandria.

What made Chen Ming laugh later was that just three days before the French army arrived at Alexandria, Nelson led the main force of the fleet to wander around Alexandria. He stayed in Alexandria for four days, but 70 hours before the French arrived, he got some exciting news from somewhere, and insisted on leading the fleet north to Smyrna despite Zhu Fu's dissuasion.

Iram was absolutely on the same side as Zhu Fu on this point. Nelson finally left a small fleet with two three-level sailing battleships as the center, and together with Zhu Fu's small fleet, they defended Alexandria. And he still led the main force of the fleet to Smyrna.

Zhu Fu and Iram didn't know who Nelson got the news from, and what important news it was. The British would not exchange intelligence with them. Anyway, Nelson left!

Then the French came.

The French cruiser delivered Napoleon's notice that he wanted everyone to surrender, and then he would guarantee everyone's life safety. This unreasonable request was of course rejected by everyone. Then the second request of the French was also rejected by Iram.

Napoleon wanted the Ottomans to hand over the French consul here, Magallon, which was obviously impossible.

Napoleon's understanding of Egypt may still be lacking, but Magallon must know it well. The latter was imprisoned half a month ago.

The first day of contact between the two sides passed so "peacefully". Until yesterday, the French fleet began to bombard Alexandria. Although Europe now has some Minié rifles equipped with the army, they have not yet developed the hexagonal cannon.

China chose to keep these two weapons secret, but on a large-scale battlefield, it is impossible to keep a large number of individual weapons and artillery secret, and this is not a normal garrison. The Spanish had obtained the general information of these two weapons at least a year ago.

Then the secret of the Minié rifle was obtained by another European country, which was the second country to obtain the Minié rifle after the Russians. And Spain also made the same choice as Russia, keeping it secret after getting it in its hands.

As a result, as far as the European Office knows, the French exchanged it with real benefits from the Spanish in the autumn and winter of last year. There may still be a few Minié rifles in Napoleon's legion, but the hexagonal cannon is definitely a very rare rarity.

The indifference between the two sides' artillery made the naval battle in Alexandria Port a prerequisite for its establishment.

If this is like the coast of America, the weapons on both sides have a gap in time, and the battle in Alexandria Port does not need to be fought.

…

After yesterday's test, the main force of the French Mediterranean Fleet, which was serious today, caused heavy losses to the port defense fleet.

The fire on the Li Guang has been extinguished, but its hull has been destroyed beyond recognition. The powerful firepower of the French fleet hit the sides of the Li Guang like a heavy punch. The iron bullets smashed the hull to pieces, and the hull wood flew across, and even caused a small explosion inside the hull, which not only killed and injured more than a dozen Li Guang sailors, but also caused a lot of trouble for the Li Guang.

When the battle was the most difficult today, Zhu Fu had the idea of ​​sinking with the ship. But God bless, he finally survived today.

Cai Qian was sent off the ship at noon, and a flying splinter of wood pierced his stomach like an arrow, piercing through it completely. It is not certain whether he can survive in the future.

Zhu Fu's mood is even more complicated. He knows the preciousness of the sailing battleship, but now the new ship Li Guang can be said to be destroyed in his own hands.

But shouldn't he confront the French in Alexandria?

As long as they can hold on and prevent the French from landing, the French fleet can only stay outside the mouth of the Nile River. When Nelson returns to kill, it is possible to bury Napoleon's entire elite army in the sea.

With this temptation in front of him, Zhu Fu could not resist. The commander of the British squadron, who was originally unwilling to confront the French, immediately made up his mind after listening to Zhu Fu's reasons.

Whether it was yesterday or the more cruel today, the British fighting will was no worse than Zhu Fu's fleet.

Looking at the calm sea, Zhu Fu's face was cold and hard. This naval battle has come to an end, and both China and Britain have tried their best.

The damaged warships are not only the Li Guang, which cannot be saved, but also the four third-level sailing battleships, including the British, which have suffered serious losses.

And more importantly, it has been three days, and Nelson's grandson has not appeared yet.

Zhu Fu is already desperate.

Tomorrow is the fourth day. The warships are trapped at the mouth of the Nile River, just like in a positional war, and have become artillery batteries. They, the British, can only hold out for one more day tomorrow, but in the next day, can Nelson bring his fleet to the port of Alexandria?

Zhu Fu had no idea.