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Spence, the former capital of the Kingdom of Portugal, is the largest political center in southwestern Iberia, and the only one at the mouth of the Tagus River. It is also the largest port in southwestern Iberia, with a total population of more than 1.1 million. Because of these reasons, almost everyone thinks that this will be the next target of Nelson's fleet attack. In order to protect this important city, the Iberian military worked hard here, making the coastal defense guns of various calibers here reach three In addition, the artillery regiment and heavy artillery battalion of the 88th Corps 4 were also concentrated here, which greatly strengthened Lisbon's defense. Brigadier General Thomas, Commander of the 4th Division of the 88th Corps, the commander of the Lisbon defense, even assured Xiao Jie that if Nelson dared to attack Lisbon, he would be beaten to death.

Despite Thomas' guarantee, Xiao Jie was not at ease. After all, the strength of Nelson's fleet lay there, and the British Navy's world number one title was by no means just a bragging rights. In the following time, Xiao Jie put almost all his energy on dealing with Nelson's fleet. Due to the lack of naval support, the Iberian military is very passive. If Nelson's fleet does not take the initiative to attack the coastal cities of Iberia, Xiao Jie and the others will not be able to grasp their whereabouts at all.

On the 217th, the Nelson fleet bombarded Peniche, leaving this small town on the Atlantic Ocean in ruins. At this time, the senior officials of the Iberian military, including Xiao Jie, became nervous, because now the Nelson fleet was less than two days away from Lisbon. According to calculations, Nelson should launch an artillery attack on Lisbon on the 219th or February 20th. Xiao Jie's artillery and the British navy will have the most intense collision here. In the confrontation between the army and the navy, who will be the final victor? Now no one knows the result.

From 218 onwards, all the troops in Lisbon have entered the highest state of alert, and all officers and soldiers have canceled their vacations and all stick to their posts. In order to reduce losses, a large number of civilians also withdrew from Lisbon, but a large part of them were still unwilling to leave. For this part of the people, those who still refused to leave after persuasion could only let it go. It is more nervous, and it is impossible to use the army to forcibly evacuate them from Lisbon.

On the 219th, the Nar Iberian army, which was expected to appear, did not dare to relax a bit, because they believed that the British fleet would definitely come, even if it did not come today, it would appear tomorrow. On 220, all the artillerymen stationed in Lisbon were eagerly waiting for the appearance of the Nelson fleet, but to their disappointment, the Nelson fleet still did not appear today. On the 221st, it was still the same. Nelson's fleet still did not launch a bombardment of Lisbon, which made Thomas very puzzled: Could it be that Nelson didn't dare to come because he knew that he was here, or was this simply the trick of that old fox of Nelson? He simply wanted to wait for us to relax before launching a surprise attack on Lisbon? Thinking of this, Thomas didn't dare to be careless. On the one hand, he ordered all the troops to maintain a high degree of vigilance, and on the other hand, he ordered people to convey this abnormal situation to Madrid, hoping to get Xiao Jie's instructions.

"Who can tell me where Nelson's old fox and his fleet hid? They didn't return to England?" Holding the information from Lisbon, Xiao Jie laughed a little self-deprecatingly.

No one could give him an accurate answer, and the people attending the meeting were all surprised. It was hard for them to believe that Nelson would give up his attack on Lisbon. This is simply as incredible as a cat marrying a mouse. Lisbon is the second largest city in Iberia after Madrid. If the British fleet can destroy it, the blow to Iberia will be very heavy. According to Nelson's past style, no one believes that he will let it go so well Therefore, everyone thinks that Nelson must be hiding in the dark. As long as the Lisbon defenders show their weaknesses, he will definitely launch the most violent attack.

After everyone's discussion, two resolutions were finally reached. One is to order Thomas to continue to maintain a high degree of vigilance. Before the alarm is lifted, he and his troops must not relax in the slightest, and they must not leave anything to Nelson's fleet. flaw. The second is to order the cities along the coast to closely observe the situation at sea, and immediately notify Madrid as soon as they discover the movement of Nelson's fleet, so as to make the fastest response.

Where did Nelson's fleet go? This question has been haunting everyone.

On the 227th, the mystery was finally revealed. Nelson's fleet arrived at Zhibu Luoda and stationed here. Admiral Bruchit, commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, went to the port to meet Nelson in person. after getting the news

They breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the Nelson fleet went directly to Gibro, but the crisis was still not resolved. Although the size of the British Mediterranean Fleet was smaller and it was hit hard in Barcelona before, their two fleets converged in Together, the threat to Iberia has increased a lot. Since he couldn't figure out what Nelson wanted to do, Xiao Jie ordered the intelligence department to closely monitor the movements of the two fleets. At the same time, he also ordered a coastal city to step up its defenses. Before Nelson's fleet left Iberia, they could not relax.

For Nelson's arrival, Bruchit gave a warm welcome and held a grand welcome dinner that night. The middle and senior officers of the two fleets and the local social elites were all invited. The banquet lasted until late at night.

"Mr. Nelson, I am very curious about your mission in Iberia this time. If you want to teach that arrogant kid who dared to blackmail the British Empire a lesson, at the beginning, you did a very good job. It’s beautiful, but in the back, why did you give up the attack on Lisbon, you must know that if you can destroy there, then you will achieve more results than what you have done before, and my subordinates and I thought you It will destroy Lisbon, but I didn’t expect you to come to Gibraltar directly.” After the banquet, Blucht and Nelson came to Blucht’s study, and after a while of greetings, Blucht expressed his doubts.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Bruchit, maybe my actions have disappointed you. I am very puzzled to tell you that my mission this time is not to destroy the cities along the Iberian coast. All I have done before are for It's just to attract the attention of the enemy." Nelson said with a mysterious smile.

"Oh, so that's the case! Then I'm even more curious about your mission this time. Of course, if it's inconvenient, just pretend I didn't ask." Brucht asked very curiously.

"Why is it inconvenient? Frankly speaking, I need your help this time." Nelson said solemnly.

"Oh, then please tell me." Brucht became more and more interested.

After sorting out his thoughts, Nelson said, "Do you know the city of Valencia?"

Brugge nodded: "One of the largest cities in eastern Iberia. Could it be that your goal this time is Valencia?"

Nelson nodded: "To be precise, it is the Valencia shipyard. After a rigorous investigation by our intelligence agency, our opponent has developed a powerful warship, which can be said to be an epoch-making warship. They put the steam engine on The warships have been installed, and the power of such warships has been improved unprecedentedly. They can move to the destination at will without being affected by the wind direction. Although our country is also conducting related research, there is still a long way to go before success. In order to In order to get the accurate data of this battleship, we sacrificed more than 20 excellent intelligence personnel, but lost a small part of the data, but the only thing that is certain is that the combat power of this battleship is absolutely at the level of our most advanced first-class battleship Above all, if the Iberian Navy equips this kind of warship on a large scale, it will definitely be a disaster for us. Therefore, we must kill it in its infancy when it is still very weak, otherwise there will be endless troubles .” Speaking of this, Nelson’s face was very hideous. UU reading www.uukanshu.com

Hearing this news, Bruchit was also taken aback. At the same time, he also agreed with Nelson's point of view. He knew that the artillery of the Iberian army is powerful now. The Iberian Navy has a battleship composed of advanced power and powerful artillery. , It will definitely be a nightmare for the British Empire, so he said firmly: "Your Excellency Nelson, I and my fleet will provide you with the greatest help." The best time to eliminate the threat is when it is still very weak.

"Thank you very much, everything is for the benefit of the British Empire. Your Excellency, I want to know how many warships you can provide me. You must know that the artillery of the Iberian army is very powerful. I suffered a lot from them in Porto. It is." Nelson said with lingering fear.

"Frankly speaking, the current Mediterranean Fleet has not recovered from the last heavy damage, but please rest assured that I will give you the greatest help. Tomorrow, I will give you a formal answer. Everything is for the British Empire interests," Bruchtt said.

The next day, Bruchtt gave Nelson a formal reply. He would send a first-class battleship, a second-class battleship, two third-class battleships, 5 gunboats and 7 three-masted ships. The fleet is eighty percent full.