Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1125 Research and Judgment of the Situation ([-])

"How is the current situation of the navy?" Mo Ming, chief of staff of the National Armed Forces, put down the binoculars on his chest and turned to ask his followers.

A multi-arms combined drill is going on in the vast sky and earth by Milin Lake. The infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineers, and heavy soldiers of the army are all in battle, and the drill is carried out in accordance with the drill subjects. Thousands of people participated in the drill.Today, the East Coast Army has three and a half battalions (the fourth battalion being formed in Luocha County is a shelf battalion), and each battalion is a mixed battalion with infantry, artillery, cavalry, workers, and equipment (about 1450 people), with a strong independent combat capability, and all kinds of training all year round - long-distance marches, fast maneuvers, roundabouts, outflanking, breaking peaks and so on, it can be said to be extremely hard.

In addition, the number of live ammunition fired by its infantry and artillery far exceeds that of the average European army. It can be said that, apart from their lack of experience in large corps operations (this is affected by innate conditions), they are more than a thousand soldiers. They still have strong fighting abilities in small battles - not to say how high their morale and fighting will are, but their fighting skills are very proficient, almost becoming instinctive under the deterrence of leather whips and army sticks.

Furthermore, the army on the east bank is a fully firearmed force. The soldiers are equipped with 32-C modified rifles with bayonets, and the number of artillery is also extremely high.At this time in Europe, even the more capable French and Swedish armies had a large number of soldiers with cold weapons. The tactics and tactics were quite different from those on the east coast, and the density of firepower projection was also quite different.In a small-scale battle of thousands of people, the four battalions of the East Bank Army (with 32 artillery pieces and 440 cavalry) opened up a majestic formation, which can definitely blow up the European army with a large number of spearmen-of course the battle The result was affected by many aspects, so it cannot be simply compared with paper data, but the configuration of eight artillery pieces in a battalion is already several times that of the European army at this time, so it is naturally a big advantage in fighting.

Such a small and elite army, supplemented by a very large number of trained militias, strong fortresses and convenient transportation conditions, no foreign army with more than 10 people really can't do anything to the people on the east coast.And transporting [-] professional troops across the sea to the east coast to fight, sorry, no one on this planet has the ability to do so at this time.

Marshal Mo is the Minister of the Army. Since he took office, he has basically done two things: hone the combat effectiveness of the army and actively expand the size of the army.Of course, as one of the nine members of the Executive Committee, he also has the title of Chief of Staff of the National Armed Forces (commonly known as "Military Chief"), and he theoretically has the authority to guide naval affairs, that is, he can Plan the direction of the navy from a grand strategy, just like Lu Ming, who was the chief of the military department as the minister of the navy, did the same.

The decision made by the executive committee to send the navy to the coast of East Africa to find food may not be without Marshal Mo’s efforts. The reason is also very simple: the military expenditure is limited, and the navy occupies the majority, so they stay at home for a long time It's not a problem to be idle, you still have to take the initiative to go out and create benefits.Since the Second Fleet of the Navy "hands-on" off the coast of East Africa in May last year, ten months have passed, and the first batch of battle results have been counted and just sent to China, so Mo Ming has just asked this question.

"Reporting to the Chief of Staff, Deputy Director Wang of the Logistics Department just reported yesterday that the inventory team led by him has counted a large amount of money and property, including seven boxes of gold and silver, which is estimated to be equivalent to more than 39 silver dollars by weight, but because The fineness is poor, so it needs to be sent to Shipu Mint for recasting. In the end, it may be slightly less than 39 yuan. Half of the money will be escorted to the Army’s No. 50 Prison for storage as an emergency reserve fund for the Ministry of Finance, and the other half will go It is at the discretion of the military department (according to the agreement, 1278% goes to the navy); in addition, there are 118 pieces of ivory, 25 pieces of leopard skins, 371 pieces of rhinoceros skins, 1022 pieces of antelope skins, 152 pieces of buffalo skins...; well, there are also 201 baskets of dried fruits ( Reported here, everyone is full of black lines, even grab this?), 2088 baskets of vanilla, 5063 bags of sorghum, 9448 barrels of cassava..." A staff officer reported with a small notebook, and added a sentence after the report : "In addition, there are still 166 livestock, 4699 pieces of old wood that have been dried in the shade, and [-] black slaves on the island of Comoros. Because most of the seized materials are real objects and are relatively scattered, it takes one to sell them for cash. The specific amount cannot be calculated for the time being.”

"The harvest is still not small." Mo Ming praised lightly, and said: "After all, there are still 60 to 20. Even if the domestic sales are discounted, there are limited discounts. Half of the army and navy will be more than [-]. Yuan, not bad, it’s not without a small supplement to military expenses, at least the maintenance and training expenses of the newly added battleships and frigates have been earned. It’s just that this kind of business can’t last long, the economy on the coast of East Africa is not very developed, and the navy can at most If you can fish there for another year, there will be no lucrative future. Well, at the end of this year, you can send people to Xinhua Island to inform those people to return to the mainland to rest. After two years of fighting abroad, there will be a lot of casualties. It's really not easy."

"Chief of Staff, where is the next step after the navy has seized the coast of East Africa? The Caribbean Sea? I heard that since our navy's privateer fleet withdrew from that sea area, smuggling ships from France, Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Northern Europe are now It's rampant again, and the pirates are becoming more and more powerful, is it possible to let my navy from the Great East Coast enter this sea area again, so that the smugglers in the old continent can improve their memory, and by the way, they can also fight against some pirates?" There was a young asked the staff officer.

"There is no way for pirates to fight together, and there is no need." Mo Ming laughed twice, stopped watching the military exercises ahead, and chatted with a group of young staff officers: "In the past, pirates were All countries in the Old Continent are wanted together and have nowhere to go, so they can be drawn into the united front by us. But now the British have already recruited pirates regardless of face, and Spain has also faintly released goodwill to attract pirates. There’s a problem. Sailors, it’s better to train them yourself, the most reliable model is the officers from the Bingtuanbao and the nautical school plus the sailors trained by the fishing company.”

"However, when it comes to whether or not to go to the Caribbean, this matter is very complicated. I personally support it, and I believe the navy has the same attitude." Marshal Mo has never shy away from expressing his views on certain matters in public. At this time, his This sentence aroused the interest of many staff officers. Although they were not naval officers, they were still very interested in going to sea to attack enemy countries. After all, these young people who were deeply influenced by communist ideology were naturally more enthusiastic about war.

"Chief of Staff, do you need the authorization of the Executive Committee to go to the Caribbean? Maybe you also need the invitation and assistance of the Spaniards." Someone interjected.The navy is not like the army, it is a technical arm, and its logistics preparation is far more troublesome than the army, and the cost of fighting is also very high. Without the authorization of the executive committee and the national financial appropriation, it is okay to say that it is short-term and small-scale. If a large group of battleships form together If you leave the port for a long time to fight, it will not be sustainable at all.

Moreover, the Caribbean is a more sensitive place. In order to avoid being collectively hostile by Europeans - after all, the official pirates have disappeared under the negotiation of various countries, and it is obviously courting death to engage in private piracy - they have completely left this area. Fortunately, the English are now the first to disregard their face and openly mix with pirates, which has in fact broken the tacit agreement among European countries not to conduct official privateers for 20 years. In this way, if the East Coast Navy takes the opportunity Returning to the Caribbean Sea again, then it is not as blinking as before-of course, it would be better if they had the authorization and invitation of the Kingdom of Spain.

"The executive committee is undecided now." Mo Ming said, "There is nothing to say to those conservative and cowardly white shirts. If you tell them that the navy's return to the Caribbean is for the country's future strategic considerations, they will probably push back; but if If you tell them that the navy is going to the Caribbean Sea to fight against smuggling ships and pirates (some pirates themselves are also part-time smugglers), if it can effectively increase the market share of our products in the southern New World, then they will probably be a little moved. Now those guys are right Judging the situation is very problematic. They believe that judging from the consistent performance of the Cromwell government, if our navy rashly intervenes in the Caribbean Sea, it is likely to arouse the hatred of the British. The worst case is to be involved in the war and face For Portugal, France and England, it indirectly helped the Spaniards out of the trap. The benefits did not fall too much, but most of the European market may be lost, which in turn caused a complete collapse of the national economy and the country was in turmoil. So they are now very contradictory and undecided , Waiting for the Spaniard to offer better terms to convince himself."

"How is this possible! How is it possible for the British to fight us in an all-out manner! They have a lot of foreign debts and a serious shortage of military expenditures. If it weren't for the French subsidies from time to time, how could they be so arrogant!"

"If you look forward and backward at all times, how can you do things! The country does not need stagnant bureaucrats, but aggressive politicians!"

"These gang of national thieves are really wronging the country!"

Mo Ming waved his hand, suppressed the excited young officers, and said nothing.After nearly ten years of peace, the conflict between civil servants and military generals on the east coast has gradually become more serious, especially those "military aristocratic" groups that have gradually formed. They are extremely eager to start a new war. After all, this matter their vital interests.Of course, civil servants are strongly opposed to this. Even if a new war cannot be prevented, they will try to delay the outbreak of the war. It depends on the outcome of the game between the two sides.

There was a siren sound on the lake. This was a boat transporting immigrants.Recently, the executive committee has placed several settlements on the border between Brazil and Uruguay in later generations, namely Tuqiao Township near the small town of Erval, Hengtang Township near Centurion, and Pedra Township. Bailu Township near the small village of Pedras Altas, Chuuniugang Township near South Lavras, and Liantang Township near South Casapava.The five settlements cost a lot of money, and the investment is very small. Perhaps the white shirts are using this method to silently protest to the military attaches: look, the money is used for construction, sorry, there is no money to fight for the time being.

(End of this chapter)