Three Hundred and Fourteenth Action to Take the Sea

"Colonel, I'm so sorry."

At the gate of the villa, Carmen with a smile and Noah with a cold face escorted Nelson out of the hall.

Nelson was helpless.

"Don't ever apologize for God's arrangement, since Drake is sick..."

click.

A piece of plaster in the shape of a human head fell from the sky, hit the ground with a bang, and split into eight petals.

The three of them raised their heads in unison, and saw a handsome, strong young man in loose pajamas.

He was leaning on the window sill, stepping on the plaster sculpture on the pillar of the hall...to be precise, on the severed neck of the decapitated goddess of Sagittarius, Queen Boudica, the guardian of the Celtics.

It's embarrassing...

Lorraine blushed rarely, and jumped down from the half height of the first floor with a bang, and kicked on the stubble of her neck with the support of her feet. Poor Queen Boudica peeled off the stone pillar of volcanic rock, and fell on the steps leaking fine debris superior.

Crash!

Lorraine pretended to be calm and patted the ash on his hands: "Then what, the guardian queen of the Celts... I have long wanted to replace her with the grandmother of the whalers."

Half an hour later, fully dressed Lorraine finally met Nelson in the big study.

It's not really polite.

Nelson can be regarded as a close friend, and meeting in the big study will make the relationship between the two parties alienated. But there is no way, the desk in the small study is still poked with a knife, and the doorknob was pulled in two by Lorraine for some shady reasons.

Not even Offie could get out of the house until the locksmith arrived, and it was even less likely that Nelson would get in decently.

As a last resort, the big study is at least far better than the lawn.

The guest and host sat down, each with curiosity.

Lorraine felt that Nelson definitely didn't come here to visit a doctor, and Nelson wanted to know the secret behind the majestic head of the family who never left.

The two faced each other for a long time, and spoke at the same time.

"Colonel..." "Drake..."

"Tell me..." "Tell me first..."

"Then I'll say..." "Then I'll say it first..."

ah! God!

Fortunately, Fenrir happened to come in with coffee,

Lorraine quickly took it over, and ended the embarrassment of speechlessness through the pass of delivery.

"Colonel, please explain why you are here."

Nelson smiled wryly and took a sip of his coffee, forgetting to add the usual milk and sugar, the bitterness was jaw-dropping.

He quickly put down the coffee and cleared his throat: "Do you still remember our discussion in Port Royal last month?"

"Consensus?" Lorraine frowned and recalled, "You mean colonial friction?"

"Yes!" Nelson waved his fist vigorously, "I talked to the governor and received a formal order from the admiral, so I need your help!"

...

Here's the thing.

After the Port Royal Conference, Nelson, who was obsessed with meritorious service, immediately began to lobby the Governor of Jamaica, Major General John Darling.

Major General Darling is also a man who is keen on fame and fortune.

He was middle-aged, deeply favored, and was ordered to represent the king to take charge of the core of Great Britain's rule in the Caribbean region, military and political affairs in Jamaica and its surrounding islands, and his power and reputation were at their peak.

But he still lacks a title of nobility that makes him linger in his dreams and can sway his descendants. For soldiers, the most convenient way to obtain titles is of course war.

Major General John Darling planned to use troops against the Spanish colonies in Central America, intending to obtain fertile and vast land, and strive for a high-quality military port for the navy, breaking the Spanish's dominant position in the southern Caribbean sea.

Nelson's lobbying coincides with his thoughts.

Two people who wanted to achieve their lives from the Spaniard came together and quickly agreed on a plan of action.

The whole plan is divided into three stages, named [Operation Soaring the Sea].

In the first phase of the sea campaign, Major General Darling will send a small force to land on the Mosquito Coast, march west along the San Juan River, and head north to Lake Nicaragua.

In the second stage, the landing force will jump over the lake to capture Managua, capture the essence of the Nicaraguan colony, and prepare logistics for the third stage.

In the third stage, use the whole of Nicaragua as a bridgehead, gather no less than two regiments of troops, cooperate with the navy to seize Puerto Barrios, and take full control of the Gulf of Honduras and nearby islands and reefs.

In Lorraine's view, this action is strongly biased.

Although Major General Dahlin is the initiator and main planner of the operation, he will surely gain the greatest merit. But assuming the operation is successfully concluded, the Navy is actually the one that reaps the biggest dividends.

Port Royal, the Cayman Islands, and Port Barrios will be connected into a box door, and the entire southern Caribbean Sea will become a place where the Royal Navy gallops recklessly.

Even the operation process itself, whether it is landing across the sea, marching across the river or jumping over the lake, is not the field that the Army is good at. It is impossible for Major Darling to act alone without the Navy.

Nelson has been determined to be the commander-in-chief of the land and sea in the first and second stages. Major General Darling will only personally command the third-tier army, because at that time, Nelson will command the navy.

Lorraine teased the coffee cup in front of him curiously.

"Colonel, what I'm most curious about now is what you used to impress Major General Dahlin. The operation to take the sea is almost a tailor-made combat plan for you, and the army cannot do without you for a moment. Once the operation is successful, your meritorious service will also be inexhaustible." It will not be weaker than John Darling, the initiator and promoter."

Nelson smiled mysteriously: "It's very simple. Major General Darling discussed a similar plan with Sir Parker during the Battle of the Windward Islands. Sir Parker rejected it."

"Because of the Battle of the Windward Islands?"

"No, Sir's reason is that he doesn't like the heat and humidity of Central America."

Lorraine blinked: "In other words, you have persuaded Sir?"

Nelson's shoulders slumped suddenly: "I think...probably..."

"perhaps?"

"Sir said that my military rank is not suitable for commanding an overly large fleet, and a small fleet of about 100 ships does not need to approach the Gulf of Honduras at all. The Spaniards will send me into the sea to feed the fish..."

"The implication is that Jazz is not going to support the sea-taking operation?"

"He agreed." Nelson sighed, "It's just that he also said that the composition model of the Halloween fleet was very valuable for reference. This time I can still use the power of patriotic businessmen to make up for the lack of strength of the fleet by hiring... ..."

That's the whole background of events.

Lorraine could tell that the old fox Peter Parker did not agree with further intensifying the conflict between Britain and Spain.

This may be because Spain is a veteran maritime power, decadent but not decadent. What its New World Navy lacks is never guns and combat effectiveness, but a lack of enterprising spirit like Britain and France.

But no matter how lazy a lion is, it has its own low line.

If Parker or his flagship, the Prince of Wales, appeared rashly in the Bay of Honduras, it would most likely cause a misjudgment by the Spanish Navy, which would trigger a full-scale war between the British and Spanish New World fleets.

However, Sir Parker also could not resist the great temptation to control the Gulf of Honduras and the southern Caribbean.

This dilemma may have tormented Parker before the Windward Islands naval battle, but until now, Nelson gave him a wonderful compromise choice.

A small formation, with hired armed merchant ships and a mere Jamaican government land force, represented neither the New World Fleet nor the Colonial Army.

The Nicaragua and Honduras areas they were preparing to attack were also weak areas of Spanish colonization. Except for the final goal of Puerto Barrios, Spain would not care too much about the remaining gains and losses.

Even Lorraine thought it was the perfect wartime regional friction.

Regardless of whether the outcome is victory or defeat, everyone can safely drink red wine at the negotiating table, and there is no need to worry that the other party will use the wine glass as a murder weapon.

So there is only one question left before Sir Parker, how to win.

As the active party who provoked the friction, he must assume the obligation not to let the friction escalate into a war. This means that the fleet handed over to Nelson must be small, but its combat effectiveness must not be weak.

This requirement is difficult for any admiral, but only Nelson is different.

Nelson, who had successfully executed the Halloween operation, showed Sir Parker the hope of making a small fortune, and the core element of this hope is undoubtedly Lorraine.

In other words, Lorraine is likely to have been in Sir Parker's calculations all the time, even if the two sides have never met each other so far.

"The French are right. Peter Parker is an old fox who has become a spirit..." Lorraine gritted his teeth, and the voice he spoke was mixed with Chinese, English and French, making it impossible to understand the truth.

Nelson looked at him in embarrassment: "Drake, I didn't know you were ill before I came... If you refuse, I will tell Major General Darling that the lobbying failed."

Lorraine's mind was spinning rapidly, weighing the advantages and disadvantages in his mind, and the final conclusion was that this was an important step for him to achieve a class leap.

He never forgot what Shaq had said to him in the Royal Navy Dockyard about what real authority was.

This is no longer the era of Francis and Elizabeth. Even officers like John Darling have to work hard to become nobles. It is simply wishful thinking for privateers to step on the high ladder with their own strength.

But all delusions are based on reality. Lorraine's road to promotion is only steep, but it is by no means a dead end.

He must have wealth, top-notch wealth; he must have merit, which is difficult for ordinary people to achieve; he must also have the favor and favor of important officials in the political circles or the military, and at the right time, they will introduce himself to the king or the House of Lords. at the table.

Among them, he has been accumulating wealth, through smuggling, chambers of commerce, looting, and war, exhausting all methods, and it is also extremely fast.

Merit is an accessory to wealth, and the Halloween operation is one of them, and the sea-seeking operation that is before us is another excellent opportunity.

The hardest part is referrals.

Peter Parker's weight is definitely enough. When he grows old and weak, Nelson, the destined legend, will grow up and become a referrer not inferior to Sir Parker, or even better.

Lorraine found that she seemed to have no reason to refuse Nelson's invitation.

Thinking of this, Lorraine smiled lightly: "Colonel, I only have one question."

"Excuse me."

"Do you know your identity in this operation? I mean, why do you think Sir Parker accepted your lobbying. Was he persuaded? Or is he trying to promote you as always?"

"I'm just an insignificant pawn on the chessboard." Nelson said in a deep voice, "I have what I want, and I'm ready to suffer failure or even be abandoned."

"I didn't expect you to underestimate yourself so much..." Lorraine smiled and stretched out his hand, "Please tell me the time and place of the assembly, Mr. Admiral."

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