Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1430 Terrace ([-])

On February 1666, 2, in the early morning, it was sunny in Changlu Township.

A team of horses rushed over from the direction of Luyang Island. Half an hour later, under the leadership of the military officer, they galloped out of the Changlu Township farm and set foot on the endless grassland of the Patagonian Terrace.

After traveling south along the direction of the enemy's retreat for more than ten kilometers, the wind on the grassland lost its temper again, blowing people screaming and screaming.In desperation, everyone had no choice but to dismount, and one person led two groups of horses and walked forward on foot.On this lonely grassland, no one or animal can be seen at this moment, except for this cavalry team that is marching silently.This state lasted for about twenty to ten minutes, until the sharp-eyed outpost scouts saw something appearing beyond the dust-stained skyline.

It was a group of Indians walking on foot, their bodies were reddened by the sun, and they were holding weapons such as rapiers, short spears, and matchlock guns. They seemed to be in the same group as the enemies who attacked last night.A cavalry platoon leader was ordered by Captain Guo Handong who was leading the team, and after greeting his subordinates a few times, he got on his horse and galloped over, circling the group of Indians far away.

The Indians did not give in. They waved their weapons, and at the same time shot at the cavalry on the east bank with bows and muskets.The platoon leader who led the team was annoyed, and directly led the team to rush towards them. After paying the price of one dead and two injured, he completely defeated the resistance of the Indians and captured eight of them. .

The intelligence staff took two translators to interrogate the captives immediately, and it turned out that these people were indeed members of the Indian troops that attacked Changlu Township last night!After the people on the east bank stabilized their position last night and pushed the Indians back out of the countryside, they gave up their plan to attack the village, and instead attacked the livestock pens, grabbed some cattle, sheep, and horses, and ran away.As a result, because they were not running fast, the cattle and sheep were left one after another on the way, and they turned south with only the horses.On the other hand, the East Coasters sent a few elite scouts to chase and bite the fleeing Indians on horseback, but the main force stayed in the village, so as not to fall into the Indians' plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain, although the possibility was extremely small.

In the early morning, after a cavalry team arrived from the direction of Luyang Town for reinforcements, Captain Guo Handong didn't hesitate any longer, and immediately led the cavalry company to the south to chase after him, while Second Lieutenant Pei Dade led people to guard the village and clean up the mess.Now, after chasing for more than ten kilometers under the guidance of the scouts, they finally attached a group of Indians who seemed to be separated from the main force.

"Can't you ask any more questions?" After listening to the intelligence staff's report, Guo Handong said blankly: "Then execute them all! Now on the march, I can't take these burdens on the road, dare to attack our Dadong The settlements on the shore, these inferior Indians should have the consciousness to die, let's do it."

"Understood!" The intelligence staff saluted, and then quickly went down to make arrangements.Soon, in a burst of vicious cursing, the captured eight Thuelche prisoners were beheaded on the spot, and their heads were cut off one by one, and they were put in saddle bags, all of which could be taken back The one who received the reward!

After dealing with this matter, everyone continued to move forward in the brutal wind and sand.The scout was not sure where to go at this time, so he could only point in a general direction, and then led everyone on their way.The wind was very strong, the sand was blowing, and no one spoke along the way.Occasionally, some llamas, alpacas, three-toed ostriches, deer or crested wheat hens are seen in the wind and sand. These small animals, which are gnawing on the shoots under the bushes, immediately run away in fright after seeing the large group of people trekking hard. Gone into the distance, and then disappeared into the blurred horizon.

Wind, dust, more wind.The soldiers led the horses and sometimes looked at each other, but they could only signal each other with their eyes.The company commander of the cavalry company seemed to want to boost morale, but he just opened his mouth and said, "Keep walking for a few more kilometers, we will be able to...", and then quickly shut up, because the wind and sand poured in mercilessly. In his open mouth.

An hour later, the scouts found a camp and came back immediately to report.The camp was not big, it looked like a place built with a large pile of timber in the grassland.There was a small fence surrounding many tents made of twigs, bark, and llama skins, and there were still a lot of wood, dry twigs, and a few ostrich bones.

"Damn it, these lowly natives, the trees on the terraced grasslands are scarce, and they still cut them down to build a camp. It's a death penalty!" The officers and soldiers on the east bank were very annoyed after the wooden blocks used as fuel.God is sorry to see, our Dadong’an’s development in the Ludang River and Baoxing River area is not willing to cut down the local groves. Instead, we are transporting building materials from the local area while planning to burn bricks and tiles on the spot. You guys Inferior Indians actually have the nerve to destroy the ecology, it is simply unbearable!

Well-trained soldiers immediately surrounded the camp, and then pushed out more than 20 Tehuelche people who were unable to walk. After inspection by intelligence officials, it was found that all of them had more or less knife wounds or gunshot wounds. Indians who fought last night.After half an hour of brutal interrogation, Guo Handong ordered the execution of these Tehuelche people, and then let everyone continue to move forward. Today, they will not stop until they catch up with those natives who dared to attack Changlu Township!

More than a hundred soldiers also took the opportunity to rest for half an hour before, and at the urging of the officer, they got up again to pack their gear, and then led the horses to embark on the journey.The violent sandstorm lasted until the evening, and it gradually calmed down. The sun fell on the western horizon, very dim, but strangely, there was a scent of grass and wild flowers in the surrounding air, which made people Everyone was a little excited, because there was no doubt that there was a land with rich water and grass nearby.

But in fact, it is similar. After searching for 10 minutes, everyone quickly found a small pool. After identification, the water in the pool turned out to be fresh water—prepared to say, slightly bitter, but still drinkable—by the pool It is also covered with large tracts of reeds, lush grass and a rare grove.There are some overflow rivers to the east of the pool. Probably when the water level rises in autumn, the water in the pool will overflow eastward like many overwater lakes in Patagonia, and then disappear on the arid terrace grassland. Probably the biggest reason why this small pool has no salinization.

The soldiers camped by the pool. They made simple huts out of reeds, carefully arranged the sentry positions, and then sat by the pool, cooking soup in a pot (the beef jerky they carry with them is harder than stones, and must be It can only be eaten after cooking), while taking out fried oil cakes to eat to replenish physical strength, and even some senior non-commissioned officers gathered together to cook yerba mate tea, looking very leisurely-this is a group of people who are used to fighting You're old, you can stay calm anytime.

"The Indians' attacks are endless. Shouldn't the regional administration and the local army department be called on to carry out the 'desert conquest' operation? I think it's time to teach these Thuelche barbarians an unforgettable lesson, and, this It's also a very good way to deal with the white shirt disarmament, isn't it?" The person who spoke was Li Ziqian, Lieutenant Lieutenant, Guo Handong's combat staff officer, who is also a second-generation wearer who married a Russian macabre Kareni Na, she had briefly worked as a tactics teacher in Bingtuanbao before, and later she found a way to transfer to the army. Obviously, she didn't want to spend time in Bingtuanbao.

What he said just now actually meant something, that is, after the new government came to power in 1665, the voices of the civil service against the army's disarmament began to rage again.The officials of the Ministry of Finance waved their account books and clapped the table at the joint meeting, saying that the army with a total of more than 1.6 people (including eight mixed battalions and independent cavalry units, field artillery units, engineering units, logistics units, and various headquarters) Miscellaneous staff, etc.) really can’t afford it, and must be greatly reduced, otherwise the finances are likely to “collapse”.

The model they proposed was to abolish 5800 people from the four mixed battalions, and then lay off some staff officers and miscellaneous personnel.If possible, it is better to cut down part of the independent cavalry, artillery, engineering, and transportation units. The "evil intelligence agency" gendarmerie must also cut "at least one-third" of its personnel in order to control the total strength of the army at 8000 -9000 looks like.They believe that this move can save at least one million yuan in military expenditures every year, and this part of the funds can be used in other places, such as promotion of education, investment in scientific research, and local construction, which is much better than paying the soldiers for nothing.

The Ministry of War is naturally extremely opposed to such a disarmament proposal, but they are also very clear that the size of the army, which rapidly expanded during the East-Portuguese War, is indeed quite impressive now, and the pressure to be abolished is extremely high.According to the previous "routines", basically the civil servants and military generals went back and forth and negotiated, and both sides took a step back. Although the army would not lay off 8000 to 1.2 people, the four mixed battalions were cut into shelf battalions. It is unavoidable that the troops directly under the Ministry and staff staff will be dismissed, and the total army strength will be controlled within [-]. Naturally, this so-called "military shrinking plan" cannot satisfy the Ministry of the Army. Recently, the "creepy ways" have been carried out, that is, to implement the so-called "desert conquest" plan formulated before, and to attack along the Ludang River, Baoxing River, and the overflow lake in the south to expel and eliminate the local Indian forces. It can no longer be a threat to the pioneers on the east coast, and by the way, expand the territory and expand the area of ​​​​the actual control area. In the end, the civil service system cannot find any strong reason for disarmament, and strive to make this massive (Navy and civilian collusion) together) Army disarmament proposal rejected.

At present, this plan is said to have entered the actual implementation stage. The Ministry of the Army has begun to recruit various mixed battalions to enter the northern Patagonia region, and began to stockpile supplies and improve transportation locally, laying a solid foundation for future large-scale military operations. .As several major military officers in the northern Patagonia region, although Guo Handong, Pei Dade, Li Zhixin, Li Ziqian and others are not too high in rank, they are still qualified to know about this matter, so this is why the two people just now dialogue.

Guo Handong's father, Guo Zili, was the Minister of the Navy and the Chief of the General Staff of the Joint Staff Headquarters. He also had a lot of friends in the Army, so he knew these things very well.This time, the combat staff officer asked me. After pondering for a while, I whispered: "The desert conquest operation is already underway. The Ministry of the Army means to dispatch the second, third, sixth, and eighth mixed battalions All, all of the local cavalry battalion, all of the engineering battalion, the first and second companies of the independent field artillery, part of the supply battalion, and the other four cavalry companies on our side, come to the Patagonian platform to suppress Bandits, launched a fatal blow to the Indians. Calculated in this way, the total force we dispatched is estimated to be more than 8000, and the rest of the people have to guard the important areas of the mainland. It is difficult to find a reason for disarmament. As for what will happen after this matter is over, who knows, it can be delayed for a while, maybe what will happen to the situation by then? You know, the French are now dealing with The Spaniards issued an ultimatum, demanding that the Southern Netherlands, Franche-Comté, Lorraine, Strasbourg and other places be ceded to France, otherwise they would start another war, and once a fight broke out, our government might also intervene Yes, at this time, no one dares to say that there must be nothing wrong with our army. So—let’s put it off, wait for changes, and strive to gradually eliminate the call for disarmament.”

"I understand." Li Ziqian nodded lightly, indicating that he had understood, and then went down to arrange camp affairs.

After camping overnight by the Xiaoshuitan, the East Coaster's pursuit force set off again the next day, starting an aimless pursuit.Because the wind and sand covered up the traces of the enemy's activities, this pursuit was destined to be relatively difficult. Guo Handong and others were also very helpless about this. The luck of these Tehuelche people is very good!

On February 2, after another three days in the field, the unit found no trace of the enemy, and it looked as if these people had evaporated out of thin air, much to everyone's dismay.At this time, the people on the east coast, who were about to run out of water, could no longer dawdle in the wild, so they could only identify the next position, and then returned to Changlu Township with a huff - this time the pursuit of the Sotwilche people was in vain. After returning from success, it seems that the time to settle the accounts can only be saved until the main force arrives one after another. At that time, thousands of conscripts will gather on the grasslands of the Patagonian platform. go!

(End of this chapter)