Since most of the main warships in the British service have been dispatched to fight, in the past year, the Royal Navy has always had the upper hand in fighting with the Dutch Navy, and no one would have thought that the Dutch Navy would attack the British mainland. Therefore, from entering the English Channel to arriving at the mouth of the Thames, this mixed Ming-Dutch fleet did not encounter any British naval ships along the way, and even many passing merchant ships would pay tribute to the fleet holding the British naval flag from afar.

After receiving the order from De Nate, the entire fleet's speed was reduced to a minimum so that it could calmly enter the Thames estuary after dark.

"One hour later, perhaps we will create a miracle in the history of naval warfare!

May God bless us!”

"General De Nate, please be relieved. This time we will let the British know why Prince Ma gave birth to three eyes!"

As night gradually fell, De Neat said goodbye to Zheng Zhibao with a smile, and took his guards to get off the second deck of the "Ru Tao" and sailed towards his command ship in a small boat. This surprise attack at sea gradually kicked off.

At night on the eighth day of the seventh month of the 20th year of Chongzhen, the Ming and Dutch mixed fleet took advantage of the rising tide of the night, and more than 20 large and small ships flowed upward in a "one-character" formation and drove into the Thames River under the tide.

There is a Hierness Fortress not far north to the east bank of the Thames estuary. The entire Fortress is made of four huge granite turrets and is arranged with eight 24-pound to 36-pound artillery. It is under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Division of the British Army. The Fortress is stationed in a battalion of British troops, and the commander is a major battalion commander Pierce.

The reason why the Hierness Fort has so many troops is not because this place is the first line of defense to prevent possible attacks on enemy ships, but because it is also a storage place for many important strategic materials.

There are several huge warehouses in the center of the barracks, which are piled with a large amount of wood, resin, paint, nails, cables, anchor chains and many other strategic materials for shipbuilding for use in Chatham Dock, which is not far from the fort.

Chatham Dock is a British naval warship construction base, with thousands of workers working in it, and most of the main battleships of the British Royal Navy were built and launched here.

In addition, there is an underground warehouse in an important location at the Hierness Fort, which is stored in nearly five tons of gold, which was plundered from various colonies in the past hundred years by Britain.

As early as half a year ago, when De Neat sent spies to collect various intelligence along the Thames, he inquired about the relevant information clearly.

The banks of the Thames in summer are humid and hot. After nightfall, except for the soldiers on duty at the fort, the officers and soldiers in the Hiernes barracks gathered together in groups of three or five, playing or chatting. Even Pierce, the highest commander of the camp, who has always paid the most attention to military appearance, took off his thick military uniform, put on a vest and shorts, and lay on a rocking chair outside the house, talking with several intermediate officers about the recent war between Britain and the Netherlands.

It's now just before eight o'clock in the evening. The British army's regulations are to turn off the lights and go to bed at half past nine. Before that, everyone was unwilling to stay in the airtight barracks.

Everything is as usual. No matter what topics the officers and soldiers are talking about, everyone's mentality is extremely relaxed. No one will realize that a huge crisis is approaching quietly.

Before the emergence of modern weapons, the huge natural barrier of the English Channel isolated all the threats to the British mainland. The British Royal Navy, which was rising strongly, blocked the enemies from the European continent from the ocean. No matter how the European continent has changed for thousands of years, countries have fought each other, and the British have long been used to watching the fire from the other side.

Only Britain beats others, and no one has ever come to fight Britain.

"Dong!"

A muffled thunder sound seemed to come from the distant sky. The officers and soldiers who were chatting and laughing were almost stunned at the same time, and many people subconsciously looked up at the sky.

Although the ink-black sky is gloomy, it does not have the dull feeling before the heavy rain comes.

“There are enemies!

Each company gathers!"

Pierce, who was lying leisurely on the rocking chair, jumped up from the chair like a spring, and then, as if to prove that his order was completely correct, loud thunderous sounds started one after another. First, a faint scream of exclamation came from the Hiernes Fortress, and then one after another of the projectiles roared into the barracks. In the blink of an eye, the howling sounded. In the darkness, there were countless British soldiers either hit directly or were taken away by the projectiles that bounced and rolled after landing.

“Captain Thors!

Take your people to support the fort!

Captain Quitton!

Second Company went to the riverside fortifications to assemble! Prevent the enemy from landing!

Three consecutive gatherings!

Follow me!"

Although the incident happened suddenly, I don’t know how many enemies there were, and I don’t know how they were willing to enter the British mainland, Pierce, who had been through the battle formation, responded decisively.

As for who the enemy is, there is no need to think about this.

Apart from the damn Dutch pig, who else would suddenly attack the British mainland?

On the Thames, twenty-four medium-sized gunboats lined up, bombarding the Hiernes Fortress and barracks, which had been calibrated from different directions and angles. In the night, dark red flames were spewing towards the turret. The gunboats, which had already fired on one side, were slowly adjusting their posture and turning the muzzle that had not yet been fired on the other side of the ship to the target position.

Twenty small gunboats were approaching the east bank of the Thames. The guns on these gunboats were not involved in the strike of long-range targets because of their small power and close range. Their mission was very clear, approaching the river bank, destroying bunkers and fortifications on the shore, transporting and covering the soldiers on the ship's landing.

The ultimate goal of the combat plan formulated by De Neat is to plunder the strategic reserves of the British, take away what can be taken away as much as possible, and destroy what cannot be taken away. The Hilles Fortress is just an appetizer, and the Chatham Dock is a big meal. There are probably many British warships under construction and maintenance. As long as they can be completely destroyed, the British Navy will be greatly damaged and will be unable to compete with the Dutch Navy in a short period of time.

On the second deck of the "Nutao", Zheng Zhibao held the ship's side and watched the direction of the fire-burning turret, feeling the vibration caused by the cannon fire, but was thinking about how to share the trophy with the Dutch.

The Dutch had already told the matter of Hierness storing various materials and gold, and promised to share all the spoils with the Ming and Dutch sides evenly.

This is not how righteous the Dutch were, but when he initially formulated a strategic plan for the entire naval battle, when De Nate proposed a suggestion to attack the British mainland and requested the Ming Navy to send "Butian" class warships to participate in the operation, Liu Guoneng and Zheng Zhibao did not agree after discussing it.

What the Ming Navy lacked was the frontal combat capability and experience on the ocean, and sneak attacks did not have the value of training the team. And once an accident occurred, the warships participating in the operation were likely to be trapped in the river and wait for death. Sorry, we are not interested in this kind of thing.

In desperation, the Dutch had to show off and told the news that the target Dizang had a lot of gold. So Liu Guoneng and Zheng Zhibao immediately agreed readily and had friendly consultations with the Dutch side on how to allocate, and finally reached an agreement.

"I don't want those ruthless wood, paint, and so on. I can't return with these rags after the war, right?

The Ming Dynasty was not short of these things, and only these red barbarians were interested in everything they saw!

We only have gold!

Take all the woods and other quotations to the Dutch, and exchange them all for gold and bring them back!"
Chapter completed!