My British Empire

  Chapter 442 Preliminary Foothold

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   After rejecting Colonel James' proposal, Knight Alexander looked up at the port of Le Havre, which was gradually becoming clearer.

  The knight aimed the monocular at his left eye, and looked at the vast sea in front of him, as well as the wharf where many merchant ships were moored.

  However, what made him unbelievable was that the port of Le Havre suddenly became much quieter today, and there were only a few ships sailing and docking there on the sea, which was completely unreasonable.

   "Didn't you say that the port of Le Havre is one of the most prosperous ports in France? Why is it so quiet today!"

   A trace of temptation could not help but appear in the knight's heart. His handsome eyebrows were slightly frowned, and his whole face inexplicably showed a pitiful expression, which made Major James' heartbeat beating again and again.

  The arrival of hundreds of warships made the port of Le Havre feel vigilant.

  Businessmen, laborers, and various vendors left the pier one by one in fear, and walked quickly to a safe place to save their lives.

  The army at the port came to the city wall in a hurry and panic. The artillery was in position and began to aim, while other soldiers stood on the wall, waiting for orders.

  If you look carefully, you will find that the soldiers in these ports did not wear the uniforms of the French army. Instead, they looked like militiamen, with various fancy clothes and strange things.

  The weapons in their hands are relatively uniform, spears, matchlock guns, bows and arrows, but judging from their trembling legs, these people are inexperienced.

   "My lord, please look, a large wave of warships is coming ahead, aggressive, Le Havre is in danger!"

  Besides, a man with a big belly pointed at the British fleet gradually appearing ahead, opened his mouth in surprise, and said worriedly.

   "Hahaha!" Marini, who was standing in the center with a telescope in his hand, stroked his messy beard and laughed loudly.

   "Don't worry, this is the English, the army of the Protestant country, here to help us deal with the group of Catholics!"

  When he saw the flag flying on the ship in the telescope, Marini's heart was slowly relaxed.

  As Prince Condé's adjutant, he certainly knows something that others don't.

  For example, in order to borrow troops from the English, the Big Three Huguenots did not hesitate to sell the Normandy region to the English. Of course, the premise was that the Catholic League failed.

  So, these days he has been suppressing the Catholics in the city, while making a lot of money.

   Confiscated the property of Catholic merchants and civilians, and issued a special appropriation to the city hall to maintain the military expenses of the Protestant army.

   Once the English come, the situation in France will definitely change drastically.

   "This is the English fleet and our reinforcements. Send someone to deliver the message quickly, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstanding!"

  Marini hurriedly ordered to the potbellied Mr. Mayor.

   "Yes, Your Excellency!"

  Although he is the mayor, his status is still inferior to that of the actual controller of Le Havre Port in front of him.

   Then, in a joyous atmosphere, Knight Alexander and a group of army soldiers boarded the territory of France and arrived at the port of Le Havre.

   "Hello, Monsieur Chevalier, welcome to Le Havre!"

   "Hello, Your Excellency!" Knight Alexander replied a little bluntly.

   Afterwards, the two, on behalf of the forces behind them, had a friendly and cordial discussion with their big brother's opinions. The two reached the following agreement:

  First, the English army cannot burn, kill and loot in the Normandy area to maintain order.

  Second, the French side provided 50,000 pounds as an early reward fee, which will depend on the outcome of the battle.

  Third, the British army can only reasonably occupy Normandy after expelling all the Catholic League troops.

  Fourth, after the end of the Normandy War, the British army can cooperate with the Protestant army under reasonable circumstances to attack the Catholic League together.

  Fifth, Le Havre must be occupied by the British army. As the rear of the army, it is also a retreat.

  ...

  The agreement stipulates a series of conditions, which have requirements for Protestantism and England, but compared with the occupation of Normandy, these conditions are not a problem.

   On the second day after the signing of the agreement, the knights of Alexander, who had a day off, began to divide the army into three regiments (about 2,600 people each), and began to attack those cities that still belonged to the Catholic League in batches.

  In April, this sentence is popular throughout Normandy: The king in England is back!

  Many Catholic nobles scoffed, but ignorant Protestants were ecstatic. They naively believed that the English were here to support them.

  ...

  The Brittany region is located on the Brittany Peninsula in northwestern France, between the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay.

  The capital is Rennes.

  If we say that Brittany is the most impressive, only the Rose Coast.

  The pink coast between Brest and Rennes, located in the north of Brittany, is called the Rose Coast.

  Such a romantic name is not out of imagination, but in this area, you can see many rose-red granite scattered on the coast, and the strange-shaped stones form a very special landscape. Walking on these beautiful rocks and looking carefully, you will find that these stones do not show a romantic rose color under the sun, but the stone itself is faintly pink, and it also spreads a little light.

   As mentioned above, Brittany was immigrated by the Celts, speaking customs and language, which is very different from other places in France.

  So, for this expedition, the Duke of Edinburgh took most of the Scots, which can effectively downplay the face of the conqueror and make it easier to capture the Brittany region.

  Brest Port is the largest port in the Brittany region. The merchants who come and go basically shuttle between England and Brittany for business.

  So, instead of French, the whole city speaks Celtic and similar English.

  It was just dawn, and the guards got up early in the morning, yawned helplessly, opened their sleepy eyes, and started a day's work.

   At this time, the gate of the city was a little different from usual, but suddenly there were more people, and the queue to enter the city became stronger and stronger.

  A city guard looked at the team below who took turns paying money to enter the city, and was curious in his heart, and said to his friend beside him:

   "How come there are so many people traveling recently?"

  The partner on the side looked at the little soldier who asked the question with a look of contempt, and said in an envious tone:

  “France has recently fought a war, and the price of everything has risen. Many merchants go to the UK to buy goods and sell them in France. They really make a lot of money!”

  Although decades after joining France, most Bretons still regard France as a foreign country.

  (end of this chapter)