Chapter 1845: Calais

Now that he had decided to let go, Francois I soon summoned Bidus, who had made a special trip to Paris. Bidus was an Italian, but not a Venetian, but a maritime mercenary leader, a very experienced commander of oars and sailors who had served as squadron commander in the Venetian Navy.

However, Venice has been digging the Suez Canal in recent years, and at sea it tries to avoid conflict with people and is relatively peaceful. Therefore, Bidus can't find any good upper-level opportunities for the time being.

Moreover, Venice is a commercial republic. Although there are nobles in the country, it was passed down a long time ago. The governor of the Republic did not qualify for the title of knight.

Therefore, for Bidus, it is best to find a monarch to serve, and then rely on credit to obtain knighthood and fiefdom. Then, maritime powers such as Spain, Portugal and England became his choice.

However, Spain itself is a naval power, with a large number of naval talents, and there is no shortage of him. Portugal and England are devoted to the development of sailboats, and Bidus's experience in paddle sailing is useless.

Then, only France is left. France was beaten together by England and Spain, the navy was miserable, and there was a lack of naval warfare commanders. It was Bidus ’chance to play.

However, whether it is in the Mediterranean, or in the Atlantic and the English Channel, the enemies that France faces at sea are too powerful. If you want to mix up with the military of Shanghai in France, the difficulty is hell. If you only rely on paddle sailing experience ...

Bidus thinks for a long time, and feels that it is unrealistic to compete with Spain on the Mediterranean Sea in Spain. Moreover, Spain has money and can build many paddle sailboats, forming a quantitative advantage.

And England ... Bidu thought for a long time, and felt that there was still a chance ...

Although there are many ships in England, most of them are commercial ships of the five-port alliance and other civil organizations. Only when the royal family needs it, it will be called from the people. In other words, England actually has no dedicated warships. This is inseparable from England ’s poor finances. Although it is also one of the European powers, England ’s agriculture is sparse and only sheep raising has an advantage. The wool textile industry is developing and has not yet formed a dominant industry. Therefore, the finances of England can only be considered better than that of the poorest Habsburg family among the big European countries.

Therefore, it is impossible to build a warship with a cost of at least several thousand gold coins and keep a large number of sailors for a long time.

As a result, Bidus gave the opportunity to study and decipher the tactics of the English navy. Then, he personally visited the English Channel and discovered a very interesting phenomenon-although the English Channel is windy, sometimes the wind will become smaller, and even the wind will occasionally calm down.

Although the proportion of breezes and calm waves is very small, there are also some. Unlike the Atlantic Ocean, there are strong winds all day long. Then, this gave Bidus an opportunity to think of the tactics for the Cork sailing in England ...

"Your Majesty, I have studied the sea conditions of the La Manche Strait (the French name for the English Channel) and found that there are heavy winds in winter and small winds in summer. Sometimes, it is still a breeze, and occasionally there is no wind."

"And Your Majesty should know that the Mediterranean Sea has a gentle breeze or even no wind. Therefore, paddle sailboats are often used over there. While the upper Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel have higher winds, wind sailboats are often used."

"And in the breeze or even no wind, the paddle sailboat has an absolute advantage. Because, if there is no wind, the sailboat will be unable to move on the sea or move very slowly."

"But paddle sailboats are different. Although there is little wind or no wind, the sails can't provide much power. However, we have paddles! In the breeze or even no wind, the mechanical power of the wind sailboat is basically abandoned. The presence of oars has more advantages ... "

"So, I think of a tactic against the English fleet-in the summer breeze or no wind, send a paddle sailing ship against the British warship ..."

"Wait-I would like to ask, Mr. Bidus, how to ensure safety when the paddle sailboat is in the station normally? How should the English fleet kill the door to destroy the warship?" John Rafi interjected and asked. .

Pregent Piddu thought for a while and replied:

"Actually, someone has provided us with an example-the Grand Prince Marin of the Beihai Kingdom ..."

"What? You mean ..." Francois I was taken aback.

"Build a fort that guards the mouth of the bay in Brest Bay! I used to go to Brest Harbour and found it to be a good haven. Moreover, the Crozon Peninsula on the south side of the bay extends into the sea and just happens to bring Brest Bay Wrapped up. "

"If we learn from the practice of Grand Duke Marin of the North Sea country and erect a fort in the northwest corner of the Crozon peninsula. At the same time, if we also erect a fort on the seaside west of Brest on the opposite side, we can block the invasion of enemy warships. If there is The protection of the fort, even if England knows that there are warships in the harbor? They ca n’t get in ... "

"Okay!" François I shouted excitedly at the table.

"With this suggestion alone, I decided to use you! With the protection of the fort, Brest Bay will become a safe military port, and I will no longer be afraid that the English will come to the door again!"

"Mr. Bidus, I decided to grant you the position of commander of the Brest Fleet, intending to overhaul the military port in Brest. At the same time, prepare the warship ... By the way, do I have to paddle the sailboat?" François I asked .

Bidus replied:

"Strictly speaking, after the transformation of increasing the mast and expanding the sail area, this kind of boat can no longer be called a paddle sailboat, but should be called a sail paddle boat ..."

"Sailboat ... not very nice ..." François I frowned and continued:

"Well, the introduction of this kind of ship is to prepare to regain the Calais fortress. Therefore, how about naming this kind of sail paddle boat as" Calai boat "?"

"Your Majesty is brilliant!" What can others say? The king has put down his name, everyone can only agree. Then, this kind of sail paddle boat was called "Calai boat". Compared with the authentic paddle sailing, it strengthens the sails and enhances the maneuverability in areas with high winds.

For a time, the emperor and the prince were all happy, and they were celebrating the birth of the Calais. Only John Raffy, a spy, frowned quietly, feeling a little troublesome.

No one here knows that this Calais ship has shined in its original history. Even, it has influenced the French naval warfare thinking for hundreds of years ...

Originally ~ www.wuxiaspot.com ~ Pregent Pittus was actually recruited by Louis XII in 1512 to fight against England at sea.

At that time, the monarch of England was Henry VIII. Hengba frequently ordered England to attack the French coast, causing huge losses to France. In desperation, Louis XII had to hire Pregent Pittus to bring a few Calais to try to confront the English navy.

As a result, this trick received a strange effect. Pregent Pittus, with six small Calais ships of about 200 tons, actually attacked England frequently. In the end, he also killed Edward Howard, commander of the English Navy. Then, for decades, England lived under the shadow of the Calais ship, and it was difficult to find effective countermeasures.

Of course, this is not without benefits. For England, the benefit is that England later eliminated the Kirk sailboat and gradually developed the Galen ship that is more suitable for large sailing and naval battles ...

Before the appearance of the Galen ship, England felt the fear of the Calais ship for decades ...

(The above are all true history, the next chapter will describe the reasons for the formation of British and French naval warfare ideas)