Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1226 Hejian ([-])

"Ah! ****!" A settler on the east bank held up a sharp dung fork to push the attacking mestizos on the haystack, roaring.The corner of the mestizo's mouth that was strangled by him continued to overflow with blood, and his eyes gradually began to loosen, seeing that he could not live any longer.

"Hey, these Ross immigrants are really tough, and they are incompatible with the Spaniards. They are indeed much better than those Italian non-nationals at both ends of the head." Xu Zhongwu, who was buying honey in the stockade, opened his mouth wide and said in surprise.

This is Torch Township, located near the later city of Monte Caseros in Argentina, a small settlement with less than 72 people, mainly engaged in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishing.Because a [-]-ton small steamship he had agreed to sank unfortunately not far upstream, Xu Zhongwu and a group of hired workers had been staying here for more than a week, and they had not been able to wait for the passing ships to leave.Seeing that the money in his purse was decreasing day by day (the board and lodging of more than a dozen hired workers was also a considerable expense), Xu Zhongwu was already thinking about whether he should hire some mules and horses here in Huoju Township and go to Baishui by land. Let’s just walk over to Dian, it’s not too far anyway.

In fact, the accidents of inland river boats in the north of Huoju Township are not the same. That place is basically the largest "ghost gate" in the middle reaches of the Wujiang River. The meeting was recruited, and four or five ships have sunk there so far, which has caused even more setbacks to the underdeveloped shipping industry in the middle reaches of the Wujiang River.At present, it is said that Mr. Chen Kechen has reported to his superiors, requesting to mobilize [-] non-national laborers and several steam dredgers to dig the river on the opposite bank of Huoju Township, cut and straighten this big turning river, and add a lighthouse. It is convenient for ships to sail at night, and the accident-prone section of the river has been completely transformed into an ordinary section suitable for navigation.

But this is not a matter of the year of the monkey. Xu Zhongwu only knows that he will be trapped in Huoju Township, a settlement where Ross immigrants gather, doing nothing, wasting money every day, not to mention breaking his heart.But the boss was heartbroken, and his hired hands seemed to be having a good time, wandering around the country all day, flirting with the Ross girls, not to mention how comfortable they were.

Of course, after wandering around for several days, they also encountered some "fun things" - a group of about ten mestizo cavalry suddenly rushed into a small village outside Huoju Township, and they were so drunk that they did not know each other. Indiscriminately whipped the immigrants on the east coast who were pioneering and logging there with a whip, and angrily denounced them as "thieves who stole King Philip's property" and "shameless and obscene slaves of Ross".

This naturally aroused the anger of the pioneering Ross immigrants, so dozens of men, women and children rushed out of the village, armed with muskets, spears, sticks, scythes and even dung forks, and surrounded the dozen or so cavalry. Then there was a massive slashing and killing, killing six people and capturing six people on the spot, which made people's blood boil.The helpers under Xu Zhongwu are still discussing the glorious deed of a big-armed Russian woman stabbing a Mestizo cavalryman off his horse with a bamboo pole, and then beating him up and knocking him unconscious.

However, after this kind of thing happened, Xu Zhongwu became more and more afraid to stay in the village. God knows if the Spaniards will come to retaliate!I heard that they have a whole regiment of more than 1000 soldiers stationed in Posadas City. If hundreds of people are sent to take revenge, there are less than a thousand old and young men in Huoju Township. I'm afraid they won't be able to resist , not to mention that they still lack weapons and ammunition, how can they fight the Spaniards?The only hope now is that the Spaniards are too timid to retaliate openly, but Xu Zhongwu thinks he can't take the risk, so he plans to go to the village to hire guides and mules, and prepares to walk along the river towards Baishuidian. go.

"Mule and horses can be given to you, but there is no guide willing to go with you at this time." Said Sergey, a former Ross immigrant and small rancher who served in the army on the East Bank in his early years. A short leather jacket, with a machine-made saber hanging from his waist, looks like it was the standard equipment when he was a soldier.

"Why?" Xu Zhongwu was a little puzzled.

"Everyone knows that the Spaniards may come to take revenge, so the boys plan to stay in the village to fight against the enemy together." Sergey said with an elusive look, "You have also come to us several times, in my opinion They are similar to those profiteers who come to the village to collect leather, grain, and honey, the difference is only that whose tricks are better. Come on, young man, if you don’t have the guts to stay here, get out, Huoju Township doesn’t need cowards!”

"You—" Xu Zhongwu was choked to death by the middle-aged man's words, and his blood began to surge, and he felt a little angry all over his body.

"Most of the people here are from Archangel and Vologda, where the crops are bad, but the population is growing rapidly, so everyone is hungry. Optimists think it's okay, pessimists say Thousands of people starve to death there every winter. Even if the Zeliang, Oschaks, Turukhansks, and Karelians work hard to farm, fish, and hunt, there is no way to guarantee their survival. I and my family survived the long winter safely." Sergey said slowly, "The officials there were extremely insane, and the people below reported to him that more than [-] deer were found in a certain tundra area, and then he With peace of mind, I came to the conclusion that the more than [-] residents of Arkhangelsk can rely on hunting to survive even if the harvest in the fields is not good. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it, but this is the level of Ross officials.”

"When we were in Ross, we fought the cunning bream and barracuda in the water, and the fierce wolverines and bears on the shore. Every day, people were injured or died. The dark forests covered our pain. The storm wind blowing from the northern ocean throughout the forest knows this pain. There is no sun in winter, and the wind in summer can even freeze clothes. In order to avoid heavy taxes, many people have to hide in the forest. The people who came here gradually became the playthings of usurers and were even caught by the officials and jailed. Many children were poorly nourished and ate bread mixed with bark and moss, so their stomachs were very big and they became sluggish. Depressed and anemic, and then turned into a small lifeless person, with thin hands, feet and a big belly, with a dull mind, and finally died in a corner where no one cares about. When I first came to the East Bank, many people were in Say some poor eat poorly, and may starve to death, but any poor man on the east coast is the favor of fate and a great rich man compared with these unknown people. The poor people of Ross who hide in the depths of the woods It is even unimaginable that there are people ten times happier than them in the world who are considered "poor" in need of relief. The poor on the east coast sometimes spend more than twice their total living expenses on clothes. The poor on the east coast have How many will sleep in the open air? If they are allowed to sleep like the hundreds of thousands of poor people in Vologda and Archangel who are dying of starvation, they may all die within a week..."

"There are quite a lot of wandering beggars in the northern provinces. The lords sometimes try to straighten out order and bring these hungry bellies to their knees, but their attempts have never been successful. Fortunately, they now have a new choice. Countless hungry northern residents-- From Arkhangel, Vologda, Perm, Vyat and Ogniec - moved from the forest between the Long Hills and the Arctic Ocean, boarded a merchant ship to the east coast, and lived A life with enough food. The 985 Ross immigrants from Archangel in Huoju Township swore allegiance to the government of the East Coast Republic of China from the first day they landed. Go! Just rely on those mixed-race mestizo bastards? Are they worthy?" Sergey spat heavily on the ground, and said contemptuously: "They are weaker than girls, and their eyes are full of hesitation and fear. Fear, without the determination to die and fight to the end, the hunter boys in Torch Township can beat them three!"

After all, Xu Zhongwu was a little young, and Xu Zhongwu was a little passionate when he was told by Sergey, and immediately said loudly: "Huh! Are you the only ones who have blood? I don't want to leave, but I want to see if the Spaniards have superpowers! But I will ask my assistant to take a few people to ride a horse to Baishuidian downstream, contact a ship as soon as possible, and deliver the goods while pulling some weapons and ammunition for you. But this requires you to issue an official letter to prove their identity Otherwise, the quartermaster in Daxing County would not believe their words so easily."

"Very well, that's what a man should say." Sergey said with some surprise, "If we have enough weapons and ammunition, then even if all the mestizo bastards come over, we can still They were all defeated. I have this confidence that those people are pampered and soft bastards who only bully the Krandi savages. Once they fight with real swords and guns, they will be scared and cry like children. "

"It's not good to underestimate the enemy too much." Xu Zhongwu said, "Should I inform Section Chief Chen in Xiaolou Township? I have to report this matter to him. Maybe he can support some people or supplies here."

"I've already done it before you noticed it, young man." Sergey laughed, patted Xu Zhongwu's shoulder, and said.

"Then what are we going to do now?" Xu Zhongwu said eagerly. He and the dozen or so hired workers under him each had a rifle with plenty of ammunition, and felt that they were a considerable armed force in the village.

"Now? Work! Farming, fishing, mowing, logging, what to do! There is so much work in the field, is it possible that they are all busy? Boy, hold your breath, the Spaniards haven't come yet, we You have to live, you can't do nothing just because you are worried about the enemy's revenge?" Sergey shook his head and said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)