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Volume 1 Chapter 775 Ying-Pu prepares for war

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    Britain was really ruthless this time. For Augustus, the rise of the Prussians seriously threatened Britain's position as the world's largest power.  And looking at the current situation of the Prussians, they are no longer just a threat. The Prussians are already on the road to challenging British authority.  "Order the Royal Navy to immediately begin martial law on all routes, levy punitive taxes on Prussian merchant ships, and increase the vigilance of the troops on the European roads. If necessary, civilians can be forcibly recruited immediately. The government immediately protested to the Prussian government  , Tell the Germanic barbarians in Brandenburg that if they continue to dare to invade the territory of the Holy Kingdom of Great Britain, what they will get will be war!" Despite these words against Augustus later!  , Fox also expressed concerns about whether it would further irritate the Prussians, but Augustus was noncommittal about this.  "Didn't the Prussians worry about irritating us when they took action against us? Why should I worry about them now!" After Augustus finished speaking, Fox had no choice but to shut up.  .  On October 19, the Prussian army and Dayton annihilated the main force of the Continental Army. After that, the Continental Army collapsed. At the same time, Prussia did not have any scruples. The Prussian Army on the Western Front headed by Scharnhorst followed the previous  The Continental Army marched westward.  On October 23rd, Columbus surrendered, and after that, every town in Ohio was almost handed over to surrender on October 30th.  Prussian troops approached Wheeling to intimidate Pittsburgh.  While the Prussian army was pressing forward step by step, Wodenhall led his British army to confront the Prussian Colonial Fourth Division led by Arbery on the front line in Richmond, the capital of Virginia.  Originally, Wharton Hall learned the news that the Prussian Fourth Division was heading north.  He was preparing to lead the army quickly south to block the Prussian army at Greensboro, the capital of North Carolina. However, who knew that on the way, Wharton Hall received news of the fall of Greensboro.  Under this situation, the helpless Wharton Hall had no choice but to change his original plan and lead his army to retreat to Richmond.  While Wharton Hall was defending Richmond, the British Governor-General of North America and Canada also responded to Wharton Hall's request and urgently dispatched 3,500 British soldiers to Richmond by ship for support. In addition, the West Indies  The archipelago also mobilized all its defenders and raised 6,000 people to reinforce North America.  In this way, as long as it can ensure that Richmond can withstand the Prussian army's offensive for ten days in its own hands.  Then the two supporting armies will be able to set foot on the North American continent.  By then, the number of troops under his command will exceed 20,000, and in this way he will be able to surpass Prussia's Fourth Colonial Division in terms of military strength.  And after removing the threat from the Fourth Division.  Wodenhauer was able to mobilize all his strength to deal with the main offensive of the Prussian army on the western front.  For Wharton Hall, this is the only feasible solution at the moment.  The Prussians knew what Wodenhall was thinking, but at the moment Arbery had nothing to do.  Richmond is a very important city in the hands of the British.  for this city.  The British have also put a lot of effort into it, and they will definitely pay a huge price to win it, not to mention that the British army currently guarding Richmond is no less than the Prussian army.  Although the Fourth Colonial Division is a new division, it benefited from Prussia's shadow division policy, so its combat effectiveness is not bad.  However, the Fourth Division currently has less than 8,000 troops. In contrast, the British troops in Richmond area exceed 10,000. Arbery even thought that if he had not defeated all the divisions,  flag to confuse the enemy.  The British will definitely take the initiative to send out their troops to start a decisive battle with themselves.  Arbery¡¯s request for aid was also sent to Atlanta, and this is the case.  Bruneck had already anticipated this, so Prussia's colonial Second Division, which was originally stationed on the westernmost front, had transferred its main force eastward two months ago and had now arrived in North Carolina.  Therefore, in Arbery's view, the safest thing at the moment is to stop the British troops in Richmond from moving rashly. The Fourth Division is not yet capable of capturing Richmond.  November 2, 1794 Just when the British troops in Richmond were puzzled that the Prussian army did not launch an offensive against Richmond, Walton Hall received a piece of intelligence.  "You mean that the Prussian army outside the city is not full, with only more than 7,000 troops?" "That's right, General, the banner the Prussians put up is confusing. According toAccording to the information we have received, the Prussian Colonial Fourth Division has never been full, so their strength is not the more than 12,000 people we had expected, but only more than 7,000 people!  "A British officer stood in front of Wharton Hall and said. "Using these two days, the British scouts arrived at the Fourth Colonial Division for reconnaissance. However, they were unable to do so due to the harassment of the Prussian cavalry.  Success. But luck came to the British army. A group of British scouts undoubtedly captured a low-level Prussian officer who left the camp without permission, and then learned this important information from the officer's mouth. "Damn it, we."  Everyone was deceived!  "Wharton Hall roared, the anger on his face obvious. Previously, the Prussian Colonial Fourth Division had always been under the banner of full strength. Not only that, according to secret information from British spies, the Fourth Division was exactly the same force.  The reorganized division reached 12,000 people. It was this kind of intelligence that led Wharton Hall to adopt a relatively passive defensive strategy. What Wharton Hall did not know was that there were records of the Prussian colonial government.  In the treasury, the Fourth Division is indeed a fully-staffed division. This is mainly because Bruneck suddenly thought that after the Georg case, he could use this to confuse the British spies secretly. Therefore, Bruneck did not order  Re-verify the soldier files of the Fourth Division. In this way, the actual soldier files of the Fourth Division and those previously concealed by Georg together constitute the information of the Prussian Colonial Fourth Division.  According to the information, the strength of the 4th Colonial Division was 11,600. Thinking that he had been anxious about the possible offensive of the Prussian army outside the city these days, Wodenhall's anger became even stronger. "The order.  The army stopped building offensives.  In addition, rest early today and officially send troops to attack the Prussian army tomorrow!  "Wharton Hall made a decision. Early on the morning of November 3, the British troops in Richmond began to assemble under the city of Richmond. Arbery was shocked to learn of the strange movement of the British troops, and then held a small meeting  At the military meeting, after learning that the British army might launch an attack, Albery immediately ordered the Prussian army to set up a line on a small high ground next to the camp. Among the more than 7,000 troops of the 4th Colonial Division, there were 2,000.  Although the Fourth Division was not fully equipped, it was only an infantry regiment. The cavalry regiment and the artillery regiment were both at full strength after Albery's order was issued.  They began to move towards the high ground, and at the same time, the two cavalry regiments spread out on the flanks. As for the artillery, they were immediately deployed in the center above the high ground, with the infantry in the center and the cavalry division on the two wings.  Arbery deployed a very conservative battle front. At nine o'clock in the morning, a neat British army appeared in Arbery's telescope. "The first division attacked from the front, and the second division attacked from the right wing.  The enemy launched an attack from the side and ordered the cavalry troops. If the second division was intercepted by the enemy cavalry, they must push the enemy cavalry back!  ¡± With Wartonhall¡¯s order, the entire British army¡¯s ranks suddenly changed. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????.   "Your Majesty, that North is here again.  This time he brought strong protests from the British and a threat of war!  "Horn came to William and said. Hearing that North had brought the British threat of war, William's originally calm heart stirred up waves. "Although I had expected this day to come.  But I didn't expect this day to come so quickly. Go ahead and ask Rocks to see North on my behalf. Also, tell Rocks that Prussia has no way to retreat. Go and find Mehad!  "At this time, William no longer wanted to compromise with the British. Within a few months, the Prussian army had recovered from the last war. At least the major regiments had returned to full strength. Not only that, under Prussian control  The three imperial divisions have also been reorganized. This means that Prussia has a total of 28 divisions with a total strength of more than 320,000. "Lord North, the Prussian royal steward Hornde represents the King of Prussia.  After rejecting our request, Hornde also told us to go to Mr. Rocks if we need anything!  "Outside the Brandenburg Palace, a British attendant hurriedly ran to a carriage outside the palace gate and said to the people in the carriage. "Hearing that the Prussian King did not intend to receive him, North had a complicated expression on his face.  Nothing could be further from his mind. As a British man, North¡¯s heart is naturally filled with doubts.He was very patriotic, but for North, he was unwilling to see Prussia and Britain go further and further down the road to war.  The more he learned about Prussia, the more awed North became about the country.  Unlike the strong capital atmosphere in the UK, in Prussia it can be said that the entire country is a fanatical militant. With Prussia¡¯s victory in foreign wars, the national pride of the German nation has risen to a new level.  It seems that all the Prussians are willing to fight endlessly under the black eagle flag with gold background.  And it is undeniable that in terms of army strength alone, Prussia is undoubtedly the number one in the civilized world. Prussia has more than 300,000 troops. Just thinking of this number makes North shudder.  What do London think? Are they planning to give up the territories they won at the cost of the lives of countless British soldiers?  North thought to himself.  On November 20, 1794, when the London government received news that the North American colonies were invaded by Prussian troops.  The British government in London has ordered a national state of emergency, and all young men and women who have reached the legal age must accept the country's conscription order without compensation.  At the same time, all weapons workshops in the UK received large orders from the British government.  The British Royal Navy has imposed martial law in the Atlantic, North Sea and English Channel, and all Prussian ships have been subject to mandatory inspection by the British Navy.  Just after the British government began to mobilize, on November 26th.  The Prussian government declared a state of war mobilization across the country, and all front-line combatants canceled their vacations.  At the same time, as the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, William announced that all the princes of the Holy Roman Empire had the obligation to fight for the emperor. Depending on the strength of the princes, William ordered these princes to provide varying numbers of troops to fight for the emperor!  At the same time, the Prussian government also sent a request to the Swedish government, hoping that Sweden could include the navy in the Prussian Navy's order of battle.  Regarding the Swedish Navy, early on Prussian leaders decided to take advantage of the revival of the Continental Congress to expand Prussia¡¯s colonies in North America.  After considering that this might trigger an Anglo-Prussian war, the Prussian government made this request to Sweden.  Finally, after more than a month of negotiations, Prussia supported Sweden in cities on the Baltic Sea in addition to Prussian territory.  Only after establishing a pan-Baltic kingdom and providing two million gold marks to Sweden in the name of Wilhelmine's dowry did the Kingdom of Sweden agree to the Prussian request.  Of course, in addition to this, the Swedish Navy also proposed.  If the situation is tilted toward a possible total defeat.  The Swedish Navy has the right to withdraw early.  ??In the end Prussia agreed to the Swedes' request.  In this way, on November 27, the day after the Prussian government announced a state of war mobilization, nearly a hundred warships were assembled in the waters of Jutland.  And Prussian Navy Minister Mehard personally served as the commander of this combined fleet.  There is a strong possibility that war between Britain and Prussia is about to break out. At this time, other countries on the European continent also began to wait and see. After Britain and Prussia declared a state of war, France was the first to respond.  Louis XVI in Paris issued an order to mobilize the army in the name of guarding against the possible spread of the Anglo-Prussian war to France.  The 20,000 troops controlled by the Bourbon royal family and the 20,000 troops brought by Napoleon from southern France totaled 40,000 troops and were deployed to northern France by Louis XVI.  Countries such as Spain, Italian city-states, and Russia are far away from areas that may be affected by the Anglo-Prussian War.  So we are still waiting and watching.  But obviously these countries do not include the Netherlands.  The increasingly serious situation has made the hair of William III, the ruler of the Netherlands, a lot paler. You must know that the geographical location of the Netherlands is destined. Once the Anglo-Prussian war starts, the Netherlands will be at the center of the war.  In other words, no matter which side the Netherlands falls to, after the war begins, the Netherlands will definitely be attacked by the hostile party as soon as possible.  There are also divergent opinions in the Netherlands, and a considerable number of ministers suggested that William III adopt a neutral attitude.  But obviously, for William III, even if he declared the Netherlands neutral, the security of the Netherlands would not be guaranteed.  In the end, William III considered that the Dutch mainland was the European continent after all, and it was obvious that Britain would not be able to withstand the offensive wave of the Prussian army on the continent anyway, so he decided to lean on the Prussian side.  Within the Holy Roman Empire, after receiving William's mobilization order for a week, most of the imperial princes did not dare to raise objections and could only immediately start mobilizing their own standing armies.Get ready to go to Frankfurt.  In half a year, the situation in Hungary has changed drastically. Alexander was finally defeated by Ferdinand, and Ferdinand used the power of defeating Alexander to begin to establish his own authority in Hungary.  Under the shock of countless heads, various princes in Hungary finally chose to obey Ferdinand.  However, Ferdinand's surge in power was obviously not in the interest of Austrian Karl. Therefore, after Ferdinand unified Hungary, Karl not only immediately transferred back the Austrian army that originally helped Ferdinand attack Alexander, but also mobilized troops from home to fight in Hungary.  Border garrisons serve as a deterrent.  When William's order reached the hands of Karl and Ferdinand, their attitudes were completely opposite.  In Karl's view, William's order made him complain. The standing army in Austria currently only has more than 50,000 people, and William's order to Karl is that Karl must personally lead 5,000 Austrian troops to join the imperial emperor's army.  Under the banner.  Although five thousand men is only one-tenth of the current total strength of Austria, for Karl, it is obvious that what makes him complain is the word "personal" in William's order!  Karl can still remember the days when he was coerced after going to Frankfurt to accept William's canonization last time. For a person in power like Karl, it is enough to experience such a day once, and he really doesn't want to experience it a second time.  ¡°But Karl also knows that he currently has no strength to refuse William¡¯s call.  Although the Prussians have entered a state of war, after all, the army has not officially begun to mobilize to declare war on Britain. In this case, if Karl dares to take the lead, Ferdinand stationed in Stuttgart and Bl¨¹cher stationed in Brno will not be able to  Will lead his troops to march towards Vienna immediately.  "And in Karl's view, William's recruitment of the princes of the empire is actually a test of the princes.  The British have less than 20,000 troops on the European continent. Not to mention the whole of Prussia, the Dessau Army currently stationed in Dortmund can drive all the British troops on the European continent into the sea to feed the fish.  And Karl did not believe that the British Army could defeat the Prussian Army. In this case, William's large-scale request from the princes within the empire to lead troops to Frankfurt to assist in the war was obviously not just for combat purposes.  (To be continued)
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