Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1402 The right of first refusal and South Africa ([-])

"What's the situation in South Africa now?" Guo Zili skillfully lit a pipe for himself, then sat comfortably on a big armchair, and said complacently.

Colonel Guo Zili is now the new Chief of Staff of the National Armed Forces, the top leader of the entire army with [-] years of experience—well, at least the top leader in name—and concurrently the Minister of the Navy.Well, he is still a colonel and a major general, in order to be symmetrical with this prestigious position.

However, if you think that the throne that Guo Zili sits on has a lot of real power, then you are wrong.In fact, the reason why he was promoted from the position of Commander of the Second Fleet to the Minister of the Navy, and at the same time was elected as the Chief of Staff of the National Armed Forces, was actually because of his special experience and identity.

As we all know, this person is more radical than ordinary naval officers, and he has close contacts with army officers on weekdays. He is nicknamed "the army in the navy" by the naval system.Therefore, after Mo Ming stepped down from the position of chief of staff, the National People's Congress considered the balance and coordination of the navy and army, and elected Guo Zili, which was a compromise.After all, he is the only one in the navy who can be accepted by the army, and the army system has held the position of chief of staff for more than ten years, and it is indeed a bit outrageous. The boy took advantage of it, and grandiosely became the chief of staff of the whole army, merged into the executive committee, and became one of the "nine elders" on the east bank.

However, Major General Mo Ming, the founder of the East Coast Army and the actual operator of the company-to-battalion operation, still firmly holds the post of Minister of the Army, and it seems that he will continue to serve for two consecutive terms until he retires, which makes many people in the Navy Disappointed because it means everyone is dealing with this strong man, which is unfortunate.

At this moment, the people who are being questioned by someone Guo in the office are Ding Wei and Mo Lieel, who are about to be transferred to the Second Fleet as the commander and deputy commander, the "Fubo Wanli", the battleship "Donganism" and some escort gunboats. It will also be transferred to the battle order of the Second Fleet, and the battleship "Free Trade" will be assigned to the First Fleet.As for Wang Tiehammer, the veteran of the navy and the commander of the Third Fleet, he had officially retired at the end of last year. Along with him was Han Dezhi, who retired with the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel respectively. The commander of the Third Fleet was replaced by Major Chen Tumu, who was also young. His superiors transferred the young and vigorous Major Jiang Yaohui and the battleship "Control Dongfang" to the battle order of the Third Fleet. They were regarded as Commander Chen's deputy and helped him share some work. , Another: During the former Third Fleet period, the "Common Market" was incorporated into the First Fleet, and the captain was Lieutenant Commander Juan.

In this series of transfers, we can also sadly find that the older generation of founders on the east coast have gradually aged and withered, and few of them can really continue to "jump". One or two sessions will be accepted.For example, Chen Tumu, a so-called naval officer who has been dealing with coastal defense forts for a long time, has also become the commander of the Third Fleet, which is already very illustrative.Of course, the Third Fleet has few ships, few people, few tasks, and a simple environment. It does not require the commander to be very capable. It is enough to transition safely. Don't think too much, not to mention that the superior also arranged for an experienced Major Jiang Yaohui of strength assists him, so there is basically no problem.

However, Major Ding Wei, who served as the commander of the Second Fleet, was not Chen Tumu's "land navy". Locally, the experience can be regarded as relatively rich.Therefore, it is more appropriate for him to be the commander of the Second Fleet, which seems to be more and more important in the future, and to protect the western Indian Ocean for the East Coast Republic of China.

At this time, he heard Guo Zili ask about the situation in South Africa, and after organizing his language a bit, he replied: "I went to the National Intelligence Agency to check a lot of classified information, and generally speaking, the situation in South Africa is relatively stable. , there is no large-scale war in the local area, but the tense situation is inevitable. It is said that the governor of the Dutch Cape Town colony, Van Riebeck, took the lead in ordering the closure of trade with British South Africa, and then Sir Montague also ordered the suspension of the Dutch By way of entering the Karma Kingdom, the two sides are basically in a state of incompatibility. As for whether a war will break out because of this, I think it is possible because of the conflict between the two East India companies. Great, and with the usual brutality of the Dutch East India Company, they are likely to attack the British East India Company's industries everywhere."

It is said that when the Dutch East India Company fought with the Portuguese, from Taiwan and Macau to Mozambique, it was a 17th century version of a global war. The rights and interests of Ceylon, India, Japan and other places have since lost their dominance in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific.

Speaking of the British and Dutch East India Companies, they are really old enemies. The vendettas in the East Indies were not once or twice. The contradictions between the two sides were so great that the first time the British and Dutch At the end of the war, when the three-level council of the United Provinces decided to give the British East India Company the same trade status in the East Indies, Batavia strongly opposed it, because it greatly damaged their interests and prevented them from completely monopolizing the spice trade. , grab excess profits.

This time the Anglo-Dutch war broke out-although the news may not have spread to the Far East-it would be unthinkable if the dominant Dutch East India Company did not take the opportunity to kill the British East India Company.Therefore, it is unanimously predicted that Batavia will take the opportunity to attack the British merchants, monopolize the spice trade, and prevent any outsiders from interfering. South Africa, as an important intermediate node in the trade of the British East India Company, has the possibility of being attacked. very high.

"The British ordered a large amount of food, military supplies and daily necessities from us a while ago, and the quantity is quite large. It seems that they have received reinforcements. At least a lot of new immigrants have arrived. Otherwise, if they purchased supplies like this." Guo Zi Li also expressed the conclusion in a report submitted by the General Administration of National Intelligence, "It seems that they must have made some preparations. If the Dutch attack brazenly, they may not have much advantage in the short term, but in the long run, they will be able to take advantage of it. The ones on the street must be British, after all, the difference in strength is too great. The task of your Second Fleet is to keep an eye on the movement of British South Africa at all times, and try to transmit the information back as soon as they start the war. The layout of the executive committee in the next stage is crucial."

Ding Wei nodded slightly when he heard the words, expressing that he understood.

"Chief of Staff Guo—" At this time, the young Major Morie Eel suddenly plucked up the courage to ask: "If the situation in South Africa changes suddenly, will the Joint Chiefs of Staff allow my Second Fleet to cooperate with the local government to carry out armed intervention? It means that once the group of people in British South Africa can't stand it anymore, can we find an excuse to end it ourselves and intervene in the war between them in the name of maintaining the stability of the situation, so as to protect our country's interests to the greatest extent?"

Mo Lie's people kept the two of them silent for a while.In fact, regardless of Guo Zili's original intention, if he is still the commander of the Second Fleet, then maybe he will brazenly send troops when the situation is not right, and the joint army will intervene in the situation in South Africa, making it go in the direction that people on the east coast want to see.But after all, he is no longer the commander of the Second Fleet who can be willful, but the chief of the general staff of the Republic of China on the East Coast. As the saying goes, different positions have different things to consider, so he is not too daring now. An order with unpredictable consequences has been issued, so he can only reply: "Major Mo, follow the command in all actions, wait for the instructions of the superior, and don't act privately, understand?"

"Understood, Chief of Staff." Mo Lieel replied solemnly.

After accepting the instructions from the new Chief of Staff here, Ding Wei and Mo Lieel, the young and old, left the Joint Staff Headquarters and arrived at the Dongfang Port Military Wharf in a special carriage. Two newly renovated "August [-]th" The "Japanese" class battleship is quietly mooring here.These two ships have been in service for a long time, and have carried out many transoceanic missions, including escorts, demonstrations, and battles. The safety hazards inside and outside the warships are still not small. It is rare to have a few months for a serious overhaul, so this boat is probably in the best condition in years.

The sailors are also busy on the deck, some are practicing, some are doing cleaning work, and some are hoisting cargo-mainly bacon, salted fish, spirits, barrels of flour, cheese, grease, Canned food, vegetables and other food, and a lot of ammunition. After all, they did not go alone to South Africa this time. There were also more than 2000 officers and soldiers of the "famous" cannon fodder army, the National Defense Army.This force was led by Captain Yang Liang, who had made great contributions to the port of Diu in India, and went to the Hezhong area to join the battle sequence of the South African Garrison Army. Take a look at the power of the Karma Kingdom in South Africa and lay a good foundation for the expansion of the East Coast people in the local area. They are all cannon fodder troops anyway. Even if they lose, it doesn't matter, no one will feel distressed!

Two "August [-]th" class battleships, six "Madao" class escort gunboats, plus four immigration transport ships that took their ride (carrying thousands of exiled Indians to South Africa, New China and Australia) ), is the entire lineup of their fleet.After sending someone to contact the captains of the ships and knowing that everything was ready, Major Ding Wei lit his pipe, took a last look at the increasingly prosperous urban area of ​​Dongfang Port, and then ordered to pull anchor and set sail for the South African River Port.

The transatlantic operation went without risk, and on June 1665, 6, the entire fleet sailed into the capital city of this river region in turn.It is said that because of the gradual rise of Dayuan Port, Hezhong Port, the first foothold for people on the east coast in South Africa, has gradually been compared. There is no way, this is a river port after all, and the conditions are not as good as those in the south.

Moreover, the upper reaches of the Berg River carry a huge amount of sediment, and a lot of it is deposited near the seaport every year, forming sand dams and sand spits of different depths, hindering navigation.Hezhong County had to expend a lot of manpower and material resources to dredge the silt—there are as many as seven "Qingtang Army" series dredgers working in the county, which is also scary—the cost is really too high and not worthwhile, so The mooring points of many ships have been moved to the south side of Dayuan Harbor. Apart from the lack of water there, the port conditions are much stronger here.

However, Hezhong Town did not give up. I heard that they planned to build an artificial breakwater near the mouth of the Beg River to keep the waves out, slow down the formation of sand dams, and try their best to save the future of Hezhong Port.It's just that this project is expensive, and the county government's attitude towards the two ports of Hezhong and Dayuan is not partial, so they are destined to spend many years before they can complete this somewhat huge project.Before that, they probably could only exist as the largest fishing port in the middle of the river.

After the ships moored into the port, more than [-] officers and soldiers of the National Protection Army disembarked first, followed by about [-] Tupi Indians from the Hue area, and finally the East Coast Navy officers, soldiers and sailors who disembarked to rest.The officers and soldiers of the National Defense Army will naturally be included in the combat sequence of the South African Garrison Army. As for the Tupi Indians, according to the plan made before departure and the meaning of several officials from the National Development Administration on board, they will be relocated to those located in the South African Army. Living in the newly established pioneer settlements in the western half of the Great and Little Karoo Plateau, while supporting themselves, they also serve as the frontiers against the Xhosa blacks.

In the past two years, as the Hezhong side continued to send more than [-] officers and soldiers of the South African Cavalry Battalion from the station to go deep into the large and small Karoo Plateaus to attack and kill the peripheral tribes of the Kama Kingdom, the local black forces have gradually been driven to the east. further afield.After all, they are not fools. In this kind of endless grassland Gobi, it is absolutely unwise to go head-to-head with the people from the east coast who have the advantage of cavalry. Isn't that giving someone a head?Therefore, they retreated decisively to the east, ceding the western half and even the central part to the people on the east bank, and only lived alone in a few scattered areas in the east, no longer the arrogance of the past.

Therefore, the National Development Administration decided to relocate the exiled Tupi Indians here, also in order to completely occupy and digest these lands abandoned by the Kama Kingdom.As for the three towns of Tianxiong, which are rich in water and grass, it is probably not their turn to settle here. This is reserved for the detained immigrants from the Huai'an Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty-the people on the east coast are still very clear about these things. , as the saying goes, there is a difference between inside and outside.

(End of this chapter)