Chapter 2999

The highly provocative joint naval exercise held on Horn Bay, which is hostile to the Vales countries of Fizhen, actually broke the military blockade of the Fizhen Navy fleet on the east coast of Wilnoa.

This war of independence originating from the New World has now expanded into an "International Anti-Fijian War" that has spread throughout the New World and the Old World. A storm of criticism.

One of the sharpest sarcasms comes from Mr. William Pitt, Jr., Lord North's number one political enemy:

"Our government has been committed to coordinating the conflicts among the countries on the mainland for many years, trying to resolve the disputes, and now it has finally successfully resolved the conflicts among the countries on the mainland, making them coordinate and oppose the Kingdom of Feizhen!"

"Benefiting from our principle of 'glorious isolation', when we are in trouble, no country is willing to stand up and solve our problems."

"Yes, we got the 'isolation' as we wished, does anyone feel 'glorious'?"

...

The major setback in the diplomatic arena, coupled with growing divisions within the ruling party, has nearly paralyzed North's cabinet.

As for the proposal to send more troops to the New World in response to Earl Winthrop's request for help, it unfortunately failed to pass the parliamentary vote, and the Colonial Department of the Cabinet was asked to formulate a more realistic proposal.

In this precarious situation, the parliament and the king demanded a "more realistic proposal", but ruled out the only realistic option of "negotiating with the Continental Army" in advance, so this request itself is unrealistic Yes, it should come as no surprise that new proposals have been delayed.

At the same time, the revolutionaries in the New World will not wait patiently for the Fiji government to sort out the mess, make up their minds, and take the lead in launching military operations at their own pace.

In late March 1628, the Northern Continental Army led by George Vasa and the Asa Corps from Shizhu Town joined forces in the Forge Valley. A total of 30,000 troops were armed with new weapons and equipment purchased from the Far East, including the "Wind Gun" ", magic grenade, grenade, land combat mechanical armor "steel cavalry" and the latest air combat mechanical armor "wing cavalry" produced by the Far Eastern Academy of Military Sciences.

This army of strong soldiers, horses, horses and well-equipped equipment, together with a legendary colossus captured from Winterhold and refitted by Joan himself, set off from the Forge Valley on March 26 and marched northward in a mighty way. Freeport where General Clinton is stationed!

In the three years since the outbreak of the War of Independence, apart from the small-scale "Battle of Granary Hill" at the beginning of the war, this is the first time that the Continental Army has taken the initiative to attack the city where the regular Filipino army was stationed, marking that the war has developed into a new stage. The Continental Army is shifting from "strategic defense" to "strategic offense" in an all-round way.

So what's next?

After being tempered by the flames of war and replaced with advanced equipment, will the brand-new Continental Army fight a real offensive and defensive battle with Fiji's regular army in Freeport?

At that time, including Joan, most people who followed the progress of the war expected so.

However, the subsequent evolution was beyond people's expectations, but it is reasonable to think about it afterwards.

General Henry Clinton, who led 20,000 troops to garrison Freeport, went out of the city to investigate the enemy's situation after receiving the news. He witnessed the morale of the Continental Army, and saw the mechanical armor shining coldly and brilliantly in the enemy's camp. And after the particularly conspicuous green ice statue, General Clinton only considered for half a minute before deciding that the free port would never be defended!

In the evening of the same day, before the Continental Army approached the city, Clinton led the troops to board the ship and leave the port, and retreated overnight by sea to Midgard City, which was more suitable for organizing defense.

George Vasa's troops regained Freeport without bloodshed. They originally planned to regain Midgard City in one go, but a news from the south delayed their progress to the north.

When the time came to the beginning of April 1628, the Southern Continental Army rebuilt by General Nathaniel Green, together with reinforcements from Canaan and the Far East, had a total strength of more than 30,000. They surrounded the city of Leiden and cut off the land passage. , making this port city an isolated island.

In contrast, after the Feizhen Southward Corps experienced a disastrous defeat in Delin Township, there are only 15,000 Fizhen regular troops stationed in Layton Port, and there are nearly 10,000 liberated black soldiers. The "Free Corps" composed of slaves and royalist militias, although large in number, could not fight tough battles.

In order to relieve the pressure, Earl Winthrop had to recall General William Howe's fleet to Pike Bay to ensure the smooth sailing between Leiden Port and the northern colonies. The Leigh mercenary group sailed from Port Prince and came to Port Layton for reinforcements under the escort of Howe's fleet.

In mid-April, Enfield's troops successfully disembarked at Leiden Port, which significantly increased the strength of the defenders. Coupled with the superiority of the navy, Earl Winthrop could finally breathe a sigh of relief and wait patiently for reinforcements from his home country.

As the balance of forces between the two sides changed, General Green was not sure about attacking Clayton City, and the offensive and defensive sides fell into a stalemate.

George Vassar has been paying attention to the battle situation in the south. Seeing that the Green Corps is caught in a dilemma outside the city of Leiden, he has hesitated whether to divide his troops and go south, and first assist General Green to recover the Port of Leiden.

However, after discussing with his staff, Vasa gave up the idea of ​​dividing his troops to the south, and sent a letter to General Green, instructing him not to rush to attack Leiden City, but to hold back the Winthrop Corps and the Feizhen Fleet, so that they have no time to take care of the northern forces. War is enough.

The Northern Corps of the Continental Army under the leadership of Vasa himself can take this opportunity to expand the results of the battle and recover a large area of ​​lost land including Midgard City until they annihilate Clinton's troops, eliminate the hostile forces in the northern theater, and eliminate their worries. He marched southward and joined forces with the Green Corps to attack Port Leiden, and finally played the triumphant song of the "War of Independence" in his hometown.

The strategic concept proposed by General Vasa did not cause much controversy within the Continental Army, but the Continental Army's overseas allies put forward different views.

On April 15, 1628, Lord Helena Drake, Commander of the Far East Navy, George Vasa, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, General Viglaf, Military Advisor, and Crofar Zion, Crown Prince of Canaan, held a virtual meeting on "Cloud Network" A secret meeting was held in the meeting room, and the generals of the three parties discussed the next battle plan together.

During the talks, Vasa put forward the plan of "first north and then south", requesting the Canaan Air Force and the Far East Navy to rush to Freeport as soon as possible, join the Northern Corps of the Continental Army, and then jointly attack Midgard City.

The Northern Continental Army, the Asa Corps of Shizhu Town who received special training in the Far East, the Canaan Air Force, and Admiral Helena's fleet, the combined strength has greatly exceeded Midgard's defense force, plus there is a siege weapon " "Green Ice Colossus", this battle must be won!