Marin continued to torture his soldiers and apprentice knights with intensive training. Although the training was hard, Marin prepared a lot of delicious food and did not treat them badly.
You know, high-intensity training requires high-energy food to withstand it. Otherwise, if the light consumption is not replenished, the bodies of these guys will collapse.
However, Marin was still not satisfied. Because, this group of guys stumbled and landed on the beach in broad daylight, but in the middle of the night, they were still in a mess? Of course, this takes time. After all, practice makes perfect.
Originally, Marin sent a ship to Cork off the coast of Ireland, just for reconnaissance and pretending. But more than ten days later, the reconnaissance ship brought back a piece of news that shocked Marin - Cork City is an empty city...
Marin was puzzled, so he asked the captain for details...
The captain was Kidd, a Frisian who had taken the lead in surrendering at Harlingen. This time he was ordered to go to Cork, Ireland for reconnaissance. When he got to the coast, he found that there was no ship on the other side of Cork Bay to patrol.
Therefore, he felt very strange. Because Cockle Bay is an important trading port on the island of Ireland. It can be said that many specialty products on the island of Ireland are exported to the European continent through the port of Cork. And many commodities on the continent also enter Ireland from the port of Cork.
There is no reason not to send warships to patrol such an important commercial port to ensure safety.
Kidd had also been on a merchant ship before, and he knew that Cork Port was a very prosperous port, mainly engaged in the export of wool and leather on the island of Ireland, as well as the import of salt, iron, and wine from the European continent and the United Kingdom. At the beginning, the merchant ship that Kidd was on board also came to Keke to pull wool for the Flemish wool spinning factory.
Kidd was surprised that he didn't find a ship after turning around Cockle Bay a few times. So he simply drove the boat into Cockle Bay, along the River Lee into Lake Mahon on the edge of Cork City. However, I didn't even see a ship...
Kidd was surprised now, he quickly took a few people ashore, and entered Cork City to inquire about the situation...
Cork City was an important stronghold for the Norman nobles in England to continue to conquer the island of Ireland after conquering England in the 12th century. Another important stronghold is in the Dublin area on the east coast of the island of Ireland.
Therefore, people in Cork City understand English. As it happens, the medieval Frisian language is very similar to English, so Frisians can communicate with people who use English.
After Kidd took his men ashore, what he saw was a desolate scene—there were not many people on the street. Even if there are people, what they see are people with yellow and thin faces.
This puzzled Kidd. Ten years ago, when he came to Cork, Cork was one of the most prosperous cities in Ireland.
So, he took out a few coins and asked the locals about the situation...
Kidd was taken aback by what he heard...
It turned out that last year, the locals of Cork City took refuge in a young man who claimed to be the second son of Edward IV, Richard, Duke of York. Moreover, this young man who claimed to be Richard, Duke of York, was also recognized and supported by France and Scotland, two major powers.
In fact, this young man who claimed to be Richard, Duke of York, was a fake at all. His real name was Perkin Warbeck and he was a French businessman. Under the instigation of the French, he pretended to be Richard, Duke of York.
The real Richard, together with Edward V, was crucified by Richard III inside the walls of the Bloody Tower of the Tower of London. It's just that outsiders don't know the truth. Because only Richard III knew about this matter. But in order not to bear the notoriety of regicide, Richard III obviously would not admit it. The remains of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, were not discovered by chance until 1674, during the renovation of the Tower of London.
Therefore, many people believed Parkin Warbeck's claim to be Richard, Duke of York. The mayor of Cork City, together with the 15 most powerful dignitaries, decided to gamble everything in order to become a "Dragon Merit". Because, the fake Richard promised that as long as he "recaptured" the English throne, he would make the heads of these 15 families the earls, and the mayor of Cork would directly be named the palace minister...
Just such a flicker, plus the French and Scots testified for the fake Richard. As a result, the dignitaries of Cork City, with a hot brain, brought all the strong men and ships of Cork City, and followed the fake Richard to land in England to compete with Henry VII for the throne...
But in October 1497, the false Richard was defeated by Henry VII. Then, the fake Richard was imprisoned in the Tower of London, and the unlucky dignitaries of Cork City were all beheaded by Henry VII, without even going through the motions of the trial, they were dragged out and chopped up...
So, in Cork City, only the old and the weak, women and children are left...
To make matters worse, Cork's foreign trade was paralyzed as the ships were taken away by the false Richard. However, Cork City does not produce food locally, so it relies on importing it from overseas. Now that the trade was cut off, the locals began to starve. In desperation, the old and weak women and children in Cork had to go out of the city to dig wild vegetables. Even, eating bark and leaves to satisfy hunger.
So, when Kidd landed, he saw a desolate city of Cork...
Cork City is a very special city in Ireland. Originally, he belonged to the Earl of Desmond established by the nobles of the Norman Conquest. However, because of its excellent port properties, it was later granted the status of an autonomous trading city by the British king, breaking away from the rule of Earl Desmond.
However, because he followed the wrong master, all the main members of the 15 powerful families in the city, as well as all the young men in the city, were killed by Henry VII. Therefore, the city is now in an extremely difficult situation.
Originally, someone in the city proposed to seek refuge with Morris, the current Earl of Desmond. But Morris was a man of poor character. He is said to have become Earl of Desmond after murdering his brother James in 1487.
Therefore, many people worry that after taking refuge in Morris, they will be killed by this ruthless Earl...
Moreover, Morris recently, because the small kingdom of Brian established by the descendants of the original Munster Kingdom changed the monarch in 1498, the two countries began to compete. Morris wants to annex Brian's small kingdom, but Brian will definitely not agree. Therefore, the two sides put all their energies into the battle, and when Chen Bing confronted each other at the border, how could they have time to take care of other places
(Note: The forces on the island of Ireland are intertwined and complicated at this time. It is mainly divided into three major forces: one is the territory directly under the British king in Dublin; the second is the nobles who conquered the Normans at the time, mainly including the Earl of Desmond and the Earl of Ormond And the Earl of Kildare. These Norman Earls recognized the king's right to rule, but also hoped for territorial autonomy, just like the German princes; this third-party power is a small kingdom in Ireland, such as the descendants of the Kingdom of Munster The small kingdom of Brian established and the small kingdom of McCarthy established by the McCarthy family, etc... These small native kingdoms do not obey the British king, and occupy most of the territory of Ireland. However, they are divided into many small countries and are not unified. Therefore, it is difficult Confrontation with the King of England. Of course, the British are currently in a mess at home and have no time to manage Ireland. It was not until the late 16th century that they began to conquer the small aboriginal kingdoms of Ireland, and the conquest was not completed until 1609...)
Therefore, the Cork people did not look for Morris, and Morris did not have time to take care of other things. As a result, Cork City has become an empty city, and people's lives are difficult.
Because there are no strong men, a random army can occupy this empty city at this time...
After Kidd heard the news, he immediately boarded the ship and returned to report to Marin...
Marin was stunned when he heard Kidd's report—what? An empty city? Doesn't this force me to occupy? Unexpectedly, a joke that was fooled at the beginning will become a reality...