The Rise of the European Emperor

In Cork City, Ireland, after two or three months of preparation, Earl Edward was finally ready to attack the McMurrow dynasty in the southeast of Ireland.

Earlier, Edward sent people to contact Scotland and France. The two countries were also very happy when they heard that Earl Edward was about to rise up. Because, Earl Edward said, after winning the McMurrow Dynasty, the next step is to attack the Pale and the Earl of Kildare. It's all about making things bigger, and it's ecstatic to Scotland and France.

Before, Louis XII was angry that Count Edward was disobedient and unwilling to attack Calais. This also led to a sharp decrease in French support to Earl Edward in the past two years, far less than that of the Scots.

However, at this moment, Earl Edward suddenly rose up and said that he was going to attack Dublin, which made Louis XII very happy. After all, for the British, Dublin is no less important than Calais, even higher than Calais.

After all, since the end of the Hundred Years War between Britain and France, France has grown into a hegemonic power in Europe through the baptism of war. Calais is said to be Britain's nail and foothold on the European continent, but in fact it has lost its significance. Because, now Britain, it is impossible to have the national strength to compete with France. At most, it can only act as a spoiler, making France uneasy, but don't even think about repeating the situation that swept France during the Hundred Years War between Britain and France.

Therefore, the current Calais is more of an idea of ​​the British, but it is not practical. But Dublin is different, Dublin is the UK's main stronghold on the island of Ireland. Although the British had long claimed the island of Ireland as their own territory, the king also asserted himself as the Duke of Ireland. However, the British royal family's territory on the island of Ireland is only a place like "The Pale" centered in Dublin. And, its core is in Dublin. The British king's control over the island of Ireland revolves entirely around Dublin.

If Earl Edward conquered Dublin, it would not only greatly expand his own territory, but also make the British royal family lose its only stronghold on the island of Ireland, and thus lose control of the entire island of Ireland. Therefore, the importance of Dublin is more weighty than Calais.

After hearing that Earl Edward was going to attack Dublin, Louis XII immediately instructed the Chancellor of the Exchequer to allocate funds to help Earl Edward hire another 2,000 mercenaries. Moreover, according to the request of Earl Edward, a fleet was sent to prepare to block the coast of The Pale area after the war to prevent the leakage of information.

At the same time, on the Scottish side, James IV also greatly appreciated the plans of Earl Edward. Scotland is different from France, they face England and the pressure is much greater than that of France. They were all the more supportive and happy about the Earl of Edward's attempt to drive the English powers out of the island of Ireland. Because, England certainly will not be willing to lose control of the island of Ireland. By then, the British will have to fight. Scotland, on the other hand, can happily watch the English unlucky.

so,

King James IV of Scotland, from the Scottish Highland warriors, selected a thousand elites and joined the Earl Edward in the name of mercenaries. At the same time, Scotland also sent a fleet, intending to join forces with the French to blockade the eastern coast of Ireland after the war.

However, for the sake of safety, Earl Edward plans to launch an official attack after the autumn harvest...

The reason why it is set to be after the autumn harvest is because The Pale area is the direct territory of the British King. After the autumn harvest every year, several ships of grain will be transferred from The Pale area as taxes. These grains were collected and transported by the Earl of Kildare, who was in charge of The Pale area.

However, in normal times, England and Ireland have little communication. If there were many contacts, the King of England would not have entrusted the Earl of Kildare to take over the Pale area. Apart from sending ships to Dublin to take away the grain and taxes due after the autumn harvest every year, the connection between England and the island of Ireland is relatively small. Of course, with the exception of some local merchant ships. After all, there are also merchants who pull the goods to Ireland to sell.

Therefore, before the confiscation of the autumn harvest, if Earl Edward rashly launched an attack, then the British royal transport ship that came to transport the tax and grain would definitely bring the news of the accident on the island of Ireland back to England. In this way, Henry VII has the opportunity to prepare.

However, Earl Edward is still relatively weak and cannot withstand the full attack of Henry VII. So, Earl Edward heeded the advice that Marin sent through the North Sea Chamber of Commerce - he disguised himself as the monarch of the McCarthy dynasty established by the descendants of the kingdom of Munster to confuse the British. Even the flag that Earl Edward temporarily used was changed to the flag of the McCarthy royal family.

When the Earl of Edward attacked the McMurrow dynasty, the British in Dublin probably thought it was a battle between the local powers on the island of Ireland. By the time they reacted, the army had already surrounded Dublin. At the same time, the French and Scottish fleets will also blockade the eastern waters of Ireland for a period of time, giving Earl Edward enough time to conquer Dublin and the Earl of Kildare and complete the digestion. In this way, when the British reacted, Earl Edward had already stood firm and had the ability to fight against Henry VII.

In this way, when the spies sent by Earl Edward to Dublin reported that the grain requisition ship of the British royal family had left, Earl Edward officially led the army to attack the McMurrow dynasty.

Edward's army crossed the sea directly to the McMurrow dynasty in the east. With the help of French ships and Scottish ships, Edward's army of 8,000 people boarded the ship directly, bypassing the Earl of Wexford, and directly in McMurray. The east coast of the Luo Dynasty landed. Then, the army unloaded 20 12-pound bronze cannons reinforced by Marin from the ship and headed directly to Wicklow, the capital of the McMurrow dynasty...

At the same time, on the distant Italian peninsula, Gonzalo de Córdoba also completed the tactical drill of artillery bombardment + blasting, and the army began to set off for several important French strongholds such as Naples...

The situation of the French army was very bad at this time. There was very bad news from the Principality of Milan - Ludovico Sforza, the former Duke of the Principality of Milan, came back with the army.

Now that Ludovico Sforza has recaptured Milan, he will naturally not provide food to the more than 30,000 French troops on the front line in Naples. In this way, the French overland supply line was cut off at once...

Although it is said that there is still a little stock of food, but the army of more than 30,000 people eats quickly. Originally, the French were counting on the autumn harvest of the Principality of Milan.

As a result, when the autumn harvest was completed, a large pile of grain was gathered and prepared to be transported to the front line in Naples. At this time, Ludovico Sforza suddenly rushed out and cut off all the food in the Principality of Milan...

This result was unexpected by the French. Therefore, the morale of the French army suffered a great blow. Although, Genoa, as a force close to France, expressed its willingness to transport food from the French mainland. But the temporary change in plans has left the French in a panic. It is really difficult to get enough food in a short time.

Moreover, the French did not dare to divide their troops to attack Ludovico Sforza at this time. Because, at this time, the Spaniards are pressing the French to play. There are too many people to win, not to mention the division of troops? Therefore, even though they knew that the Principality of Milan had fallen, the French did not dare to divide their troops to rescue them to avoid being taken advantage of by the Spaniards. Moreover, even if the troops were divided, it would be difficult to retake the Principality of Milan. As tall and strong as the city of Milan, unless there is something like Old Lu, the city gate should be opened in the city. Otherwise, if you want to capture the city of Milan, you won't be able to get it done in a few months...

Gonzalo obviously knew that the French army in Naples was unstable at this time, but as an enemy, he had no sympathy for the French, and only felt that the opportunity should not be missed. So, Gonzalo took 20,000 troops, taking advantage of the instability of the French army, and launched an attack on the 20,000 French troops in Naples. And the 10 heavy artillery pieces were lined up in front of the oak city gate and began to bombard the south gate of Naples city in order to blast a hole so that the powder keg could be placed...

In this way, the two attacks launched by different forces in different areas, because of Marin's sake, adopted the method of shelling + powder keg blasting. Against all-oak city gates, this approach couldn't have worked better...