My British Empire

  Chapter 446 Normandy Crisis

   Just when Rennes, the capital of Brittany, was approached by the British army, Rouen, the capital of the Normandy region, was also facing the same situation.

  In other words, the Alexander Knights divided the British army into three groups, taking the regiment as a unit, and together captured the entire Normandy area.

  Although some cities in the Normandy area have changed their flags, they are managed by Protestants after a new look.

  But the vast rural areas, as well as most of the cities, are still loyal to the King of France and stand on the side of the Catholic League.

  So, the British army divided its forces and swept across the entire Normandy region, almost all cities and rural areas west of Rouen. With the help of the British army, they seized the rule.

   In other words, most of the Normandy region has been separated from the Catholic Church.

   In this way, the Duke of Guise, who was attacking the city of Orleans, was very annoyed.

   Protestant attempts, of course he understands.

  As long as the Normandy area is captured, the Catholic League will suffer from both sides. That is to say, Paris will not only be unable to transport supplies from the Loire River and the Seine River to Paris, but will face the danger of being attacked by the Huguenots and the British army on both sides.

   So, the Duke of Guise couldn't sit still.

After unloading the heavy task of attacking the city of Orleans, he hurried to the Paris area and the central area, no longer caring about the Huguenots' attack on Paris, but directly led thousands of troops, and tens of thousands of temporary recruits, to attack the city. Rouen.

  Although Paris has great political significance, both the queen mother and the king have been transferred to the countryside. In addition, Paris has always been the stronghold of Catholicism, with a high city and many soldiers, which is much more difficult than Orleans.

   Therefore, it is better to drag the main force of the Huguenots in Paris.

  So, after the Duke of Guise came to Rouen in a hurry, he directly surrounded the capital of Normandy.

  Count Gabriel, who was guarding the city, was definitely a true Protestant. Even though there were only more than 4,000 troops in the city, he still refused to surrender, and sent people to deliver a letter, asking for the support of the Alexander knights.

   Outside Rouen.

  The tens of thousands of troops led by the Duke of Guise surrounded the city of Rouen, and artillery bombarded the entire city continuously.

   Although Rouen, led by the Earl of Gabriel, has sufficient supplies and small arms, it lacks enough cannons and gunpowder. How to confront the Duke of Guise's cannons can only be passively beaten.

   Time came to June of 1562.

   A week after the siege of Rouen, a fortress in the city of Rouen was finally breached. Immediately, people in the city were panicked, and voices of peace were heard endlessly.

   In response to this, Earl Garribuel immediately summoned officials and generals in the city to speak, and continued to explain his views.

   "Gentlemen, at present, although the Duke of Guise has besieged Rouen, as Protestants, we should uphold God's will and stick to this city!"

  Looking at the faces of these people, Count Garribuel continued:

  “Catholics cannot make us submit, and absolutely cannot change our beliefs, God will bless us!”

   After he finished speaking, a pious smile appeared on his face, while the other audience seemed to be cheered up, and they were also full of energy and pious.

   "Also, the English are already gathering troops and are gathering towards us. As long as we stand firm, the English will rescue us in a few days and join us to defeat the Duke of Guise."

  With the addition of faith and the message of rescue, this restored the confidence of the audience. The breach of a fortress did not allow them to surrender.

  In history, the British were unwilling to participate too much in the French civil war. Of course, the main reason was that Elizabeth I was eager to stabilize her throne and the debt-ridden treasury did not allow it.

  Without the support of the British, Count Garribuel held on for a month in Rouen before the city was broken.

   Outside the city, the Duke of Guise is holding a telescope, observing the city wall of Rouen, thinking about the fighter.

  Although it took a week to break through a fortress in the city of Rouen, the price paid was very high-more than two thousand French soldiers were killed and injured.

  If this continues and the city of Rouen is captured, more than half of the entire army will be killed or injured, which is not in line with his estimation.

   Watching the Rouen soldiers on the wall continuously drive down the French army who had ascended the city, and they were determined and showed no sign of flinching.

   This made the Duke of Guise feel a headache.

   "Antoine, do you have any means to capture this city?" Looking at the Duke of Vendome next to him, the Duke of Guise greeted cordially.

  Generally speaking, when addressing nobles, one cannot directly address them by their first names. Only those who are close to them can call them by their first names, and the Duke of Guise’s move is just to win him over and show his closeness.

  The Kingdom of Navarre is a vassal state of France, so although it is also a king, it is still the Duke of Vendôme in France and owns the territory of Vendome. In France, it is generally called the Duke of Vendome.

  Antoine de Naval, also known as Antoine de Bourbon, his son is Henry IV, the founder of the French Bourbon dynasty in history.

  Although he was the leader of the Huguenots at the beginning, after the Duke of Guise aggressively captured the central region, he immediately changed his flag and became a member of the Catholic Church.

  So, at this moment, the Duke of Guise also brought him to Rouen, and together they captured the capital of the Normandy region.

  The voice of the Duke of Guise came to his ears, Antoine quickly raised his head, and met the kind eyes of the Duke of Guise. After thinking for a while, he shook his head and said helplessly:

   "My lord, Rouen is guarded by the Kingslayer, who is determined to defend. In addition, the city is basically full of Huguenots, so it cannot be easily captured! We can only attack by force!"

   "Really? That's the only way to go, I'm just afraid that the English will come to help!"

   After not getting the answer he expected, the Duke of Guise was not very disappointed. He only looked at Rouen with an ugly face and said.

   At the same time, in the city of Caen, two hundred miles away from Rouen, Knight Alexander received a distress letter from Rouen.

   In this regard, Mr. Knight received the messenger very kindly. After learning the purpose, he expressed regret that there was nothing he could do at this time.

  Using insufficient food, grass and gunpowder as an excuse, he prevaricated, but he said that he could send 500 cavalry to support.

  The courier had no choice but to take five hundred cavalry and headed towards Rouen.

   After the messenger left, Knight Alexander looked at the map of France and couldn't help but fell into deep thought.

  He has his own ideas about saving the city of Rouen.

  After learning that the morale of the city of Rouen was high, and more than 2,000 French troops were killed or injured in a fortress, Knight Alexander prepared to delay the rescue time and let the Duke of Guise and the city of Rouen confront each other for a while.

   There are two reasons.

  One is because the Duke of Guise has a strong army, and the British army is not enough to fight him head-on.

  The second is because, considering the situation in the Normandy area after the victory of this battle.

  The Protestants are too powerful, which is not conducive to the rule of England, so it is better to consume some.

  The best rescue time is when Rouen is about to break down.

  (end of this chapter)