Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1148 Going North ([-])

Town Harbor Naval Station, 1658 January 1.

In the cheerful "Navy March", one after another, the main ships of the East Coast Navy began to leave port: "August [-]th", "East Coast Principle", "Strong and Unyielding", "Totoaba", " Zheluo Salmon, Piranha, Saury, Calamari, Hake...

Every time a battleship leaves port, the salute on the pier will be fired once, and there will be a burst of applause from the crowd watching the ceremony on the shore.And in a total of nine combat ships and seven auxiliary ships (a coal carrier, a troop carrier, a repair ship, a hospital ship, a water supply ship, two ammunition supply ships) When laying anchor and mooring outside the estuary of Duck Lake, Chairman of the Executive Committee Qiang Quansheng, Chief of the General Staff of the Military Department Mo Ming, and Minister of the Navy Li Yi sailed past the bows of these ships in turn on steam offshore liaison ships. A simple military parade took place.

After the military parade was over, Qiang Quansheng returned to the capital by boat, while Mo Ming and Li Yi had a brief conversation with Lieutenant Commander Han Dezhi, who led the team this time, at the pier.

"This trip north to San Juan Port has three main purposes. One is to crack down on smuggling ships and contribute to the expansion of the market share of our products in New Spain and Peru; the other is to cooperate with the Fourth Battalion of the Army. Do more to fight against pirates, clear up the local maritime security situation, and lay the foundation for the next step of the Caribbean Shipping Company's local business development; third, patrol around the major ports in Spain to deter various potential hostile elements, so that our country The life safety of the customs employees sent to the local area can be guaranteed..." Mo Ming first made a request to the Han Dezhi Squadron on behalf of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and these are basically the requests of the Executive Committee, covering political, economic interests and national interests. The strategic layout for the next few years can also be seen from this to see the great significance of sending a fleet north to the Caribbean Sea from the east coast.

"The more than ten ships of your department have already concentrated a considerable part of the essence of our navy. Once you suffer losses, the strength of our navy will be severely weakened. Therefore, your department should pay more attention when choosing an enemy, and you must not be used as a gun by the Spaniards." So, to fight head-on with the British main fleet. I remember that the Penn fleet of England still hangs around Jamaica from time to time. I hope you will be careful, try to preserve your own strength, and don't take the initiative to provoke - of course I believe the British will also They are more restrained, they are not lunatics or fools, and they know how to avoid being involved in multiple wars at the same time." Li Yi, Minister of the Navy, also gave Han Dezhi some advice from the standpoint of the navy.

Han Dezhi is also an old man who has been in the navy for many years, and he already knows these things well. Hearing the instructions of the two superiors at this time, he naturally patted his chest and promised to only do what he should do, and never stand out for what he shouldn't do. And the situation will be strictly controlled within a certain range, without affecting the maritime trade line from the mainland to Europe.

After speaking clearly, the two military officials signaled that the fleet can set off.After Han Dezhi gave a military salute, he returned to the flagship "August [-]th" in a traffic boat, and immediately ordered the anchor to be pulled out and the green flag to follow was hoisted.The entire fleet will go south to the southerly waters of the La Plata Estuary, catch the westerly wind and cross the Atlantic Ocean, and then go to the South African River Port to load some personnel and materials.

The journey to South Africa was uneventful. Anda Fifteen and more than a thousand officers and soldiers from the entire battalion were squeezed into a troop carrier. After more than ten days of ups and downs, they docked at the South African River Port smoothly, and then were allowed to go ashore to rest for the entire three months. God, by the way, purchase and collect materials.

The days of waiting were monotonous and boring. Perhaps only when groups of dejected Black Eight Banners soldiers dragged their families to the pier to gather, did they discover a little bit of fun.Yes, that’s right, these black flags are the citizens of the so-called free state that will be moved to North America to establish a country-the masters on the east coast boast that it is as beautiful as a paradise, saying that the water and grass there are rich, not as dry as South Africa, and the forest There is so much food here, milk and honey flow in the river, and the surrounding Indian tribes are all friendly neighbors, etc., but in fact, the officers and soldiers of the Black Eight Banners and their families are still skeptical about this. They have exhausted all means, their mouths are worn out, and they promised a lot of cattle, sheep, food and agricultural tools as moving expenses, but there are still only more than 1000 Black Banners officers and soldiers who are willing to relocate, and even counting their families, they are only seven or eight thousand. Compared with the total number of more than [-], it is a sky and an earth.

Don't you see, up to now, in the outskirts of Hezhong and towns where two black people gather together, a large number of families of Black Eight Banners warriors are still grazing cattle and sheep step by step, tending the sorghum, peanuts and sesame in the field, and they are mostly talking about the masters of the East Bank this year The price of peanuts has risen, the price of sesame has dropped, and the quantity of wool or leather purchased has increased. They have no intention of relocating at all, which really makes the officials of the Hezhong District Administrative Office who have established the purpose of "peaceful relocation" Sad gray hair.

But there is no way, as the above said, the Black Eight Banners have made great achievements, and it is okay to use the South African garrison to exert pressure, but if it is suppressed, it will be a bit ugly, so try to be prepared with both hands, and lure them on the surface (on the one hand, give enough relocation fees , on the other hand, let the Black Eight Banners who came back from North America to visit their relatives come forward to speak out), secretly use the army to deter and pressure, and strive to get these Black Eight Banners away under both hard and soft tactics.

Anda Fifteen and the others couldn't control the thoughts of the gentlemen in the court, and they also looked down on those black eight-banner warriors, so they always took an indifferent attitude towards it.However, considering that they may stay in the Mississippi Estuary for a long time in the future, and have a lot of opportunities to deal with the Caribbean Shipping Company and the Black Eight Banners Free State, they still maintain a friendly attitude on the whole—they allocated money from military supplies. Some salted fish, canned food, and tobacco were given to the Black Banners, and the Black Banners returned some hard currency spirits in the army, and both sides were happy.

On January 1, in the Port Authority of Hezhong Port Wharf, the logistics staff of the Fourth Mixed Battalion of the Army took the checkbook and began to settle the payment for the suppliers of Hezhong Port.At this time, the shipment of all kinds of materials was coming to an end. Dozens of South African cattle were hoisted onto the ships with mooing cries, and buckets of sorghum rice and flour had already been neatly piled up in the cabin. , the vegetables were sent into the kitchen for the first time—it was almost time to set off!

In the afternoon of the same day, a huge convoy of 22 ships (including 6 old ships of the Caribbean Shipping Company) left the South African River Port in turn.These ships sorted out their formation slightly off the coast of South Africa, then set sail, and headed north along the strong Benguela cold current. They took a short rest and replenished some supplies in Jakobshaven, New Courland, and then started again. embarked on a transatlantic journey and finally entered the chaotic port of Recife on February 2.

Due to the successive withdrawal of mercenaries from the East Coast and New Courland, coupled with the desperate attacks of the Portuguese in recent years, life in Dutch Brazil today is quite difficult: the production of high-value commodities such as sugar and tobacco is affected by the situation The population of Boer, the Netherlands, who immigrated here suffered a lot in the long-term tug-of-war. The population of cities such as Recife, Olinda, and Fortaleza dropped sharply, and the whole of Dutch Brazil was shrouded in gloom. It has almost become a huge blood loss for the West India Company. The company's unhealthy finances (because the stalls are too large and the colonial strongholds are spread all over the American continent and the coast of West Africa) are now even more worried about collapse-according to According to unreliable gossip, the Dutch West India Company, a colonial enterprise mainly invested by Zeeland businessmen, can no longer hold on. The shareholders are tired of long-term losses and intend to bow their heads to the Dutch provincial businessmen they once hated. In order to obtain capital injection from the East India Company, it is a pity that the East India Company is currently engaged in many wars and colonial activities, and the capital chain is also very tight. It has only been a symbolic dividend for many years, so it has simply rejected Zelan people's request.As a result, the shareholders of the West India Company are now considering liquidating some non-performing assets to restructure debts (the New World Friendship and Mutual Bank of the East Coast Republic has successively lent many sums of money to the company in recent years, and there are still more than 20 yuan of principal and interest outstanding. repayment), otherwise the company is likely to be overwhelmed and lead to bankruptcy.

As a regional power in the southern New World, the East Coast Republic of China has also been paying close attention to the situation in Dutch Brazil this year, and they are particularly concerned about the future of Recife and other places-the executive committee has even made a purchase from the Dutch West India Company. Recife's motion, although it may have violated the original agreement with the Portuguese, is more serious in nature, but it is not without a solution.For example, can the Portuguese exchange the territory adjacent to the east bank? Of course, this is likely to anger the Portuguese. After all, the broken land in Recife has been sold twice by the people on the east bank, and everyone will be furious.

On February 2th, the east coast convoy sailed away from the port of Recife in a low-key manner, and then easily cut into the North Atlantic circulation along the nearshore wind. After sailing westward for more than ten days, it arrived quietly in a stormy afternoon. off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.The soldiers of the Spanish Colonial Legion guarding the harbor were frightened out of their wits by the dense foreign ships in the open sea. While shouting "The British are coming", they fired randomly, regardless of whether the range was enough or not.The soldiers guarding the fort were like this, and the three Spanish warships that were stationed in the port also did not dare to leave the port to fight, so they could only cross the hull, intending to act as a movable fort, and the whole scene fell into extreme chaos.

In the end, it was the East Coast people who ended all this. More than 1000 officers and soldiers from the Fourth Mixed Battalion of the Army landed on a remote coast, and then forcibly disarmed several small forts nearby, and raised the flag of the East Coast Republic of China. It was like waking up from a dream, and then welcomed the arrival of the people from the east coast with great joy.

(End of this chapter)