Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1471 French Santo Domingo ([-])

"Commodities are still abundant..." Some soldiers of the First Mixed Battalion immediately took control of the coastal defense forts and fortresses, and then the distraught Captain Lan Fei ordered people to smash open the various warehouses on the pier, and then inspected them. The supplies inside.Captain Cai Anguo of the Navy also rushed into the port quickly, but he was a step too late. When he asked Lan Fei how many spoils he had captured in this battle, he only heard such a seemingly unnutritive reply from the other party.

"There are ironware, textiles, daily necessities such as salt, vinegar and oil, daily necessities, alcohol, and various purchased tropical specialties. The French colonies such as Guadeloupe, Martinique, etc., may also have some unspeakable business with smugglers or pirates rampant in the Caribbean." Captain Lan Fei added: "I doubt that these Frenchmen have anything to do with Tom The pirates on Ertuga Island are inextricably linked, and some of the goods here are likely to be sold to the pirates. As for the stolen goods of the pirates, there must be some merchants in Cape de France who are secretly buying them. You know, the French They have always claimed that Tortuga Island is also their territory. Of course, these have nothing to do with us, no matter whose goods it is, we just accept it! Could it be that those merchants or pirates still Dare to ask us for it? I only promised to guarantee their personal safety, but I didn’t say that their property is also safe. In fact, this is impossible!"

"Hehe, the big scandal of traffic piracy is new, but it's useless to talk about it. These days, in the Caribbean Sea, who doesn't get involved with pirates! Otherwise, what do you think those pirates are doing?" Living so well, the pirate leaders on Tortuga Island and the Bahamas openly live in villas, and there are a lot of luxuries to enjoy. Who sold them? Who sheltered them? Not to mention there are still The British bribed the pirates who attacked Jamaica, they are simply bastards!" Captain Cai Anguo laughed and said.

Of course, not only the Europeans had connections with pirates, but the East Coast Republic of China also sent people to the Caribbean Sea to "united battle" against pirates in the early days, in order to obtain experienced sailors.The current Caribbean shipping company is not a good bird. They trade with pirates in the mouth of the Mobile River all the year round, taking what they need in order to obtain certain benefits.Although they themselves shouted "severely punish the pirates" all day long, what dirty things did they do in private!

"By the way, how many are there? I mean all kinds of valuable goods?" Cai Anguo asked again.

"In fact, there are no valuable goods, because most of them can be produced cheaply in our country, and their cost and quality are higher than these French goods. Of course, that is under normal circumstances. Now the cost of obtaining these goods is zero, which is just right. They were sold to subsidize military expenses. Well, the total value of all cheap textiles, daily necessities, and metal utensils is only tens of thousands of yuan. Even including the batch of tropical goods, the total value is only a little over [-] to [-] yuan , not much. Well, the good news is that the market is ready, Huaiyuan Island is in need of a large amount of production and living materials, as is the Kingdom of the Free State at the mouth of the Mississippi River. If it doesn’t work, you can also hand it over to the Caribbean Shipping Company, they There are some ways to digest these things, but the lower prices are too harsh." Lan Fei put on his general hat and walked out of the door, saying: "I will find someone to seal this place immediately, and you send some representatives over here , together with our people to count the supplies and make a list."

Leaving the wharf warehouse that made everyone feel that the trip was worthwhile, Captain Lan Fei, surrounded by guards, came to the office of Governor Claremont in the city.The owner has changed here, there are several guards with guns at the door, and the staff staff come and go in and out of the imposing gate, constantly conveying orders to every corner inside and outside the city.

After questioning—in fact, interrogation is more appropriate—the French learned that there were originally more than 3000 gentlemen, freedmen (usually mixed races), indentured slaves, and black slaves in the French corner city.But after the previous battles, the population in the city has suffered a lot. There are still about 2000, um, more than 2000 panicked colonists and their servants.

These people, the east bank also intends to tax them on a head-by-head basis. This is one of the privileges of the winners, which stems from an ancient tradition. The French have nothing to say about this and express their acquiescence. There are more than 2000 people, and if each person is charged ten yuan, they can receive a head tax of more than 2 yuan; if the materials and money found in the public treasury, private shops, and mansions in the city are counted, the total value will be 10 yuan. After all, there is no problem at all breaking through 15 yuan.What's more, if some of the goods grabbed can be reasonably valued, the total value of the goods can be raised to a higher level, reaching [-] yuan.

Looking at it this way, the benefits of capturing Santo Domingo, the core stronghold of the French Caribbean colony, are still possible.At least, the cost of the ammunition thrown out by Captain Lan Fei's "big health care tactics" and the shortened barrel life can probably be recovered and there is still a lot of surplus.It seems that if you want to make quick money, you still have to do business without money!

On May 1667, 5, the second day after the people from the east bank occupied the corner of France, hundreds of officers and soldiers of the Fengguo army, led by the staff officers of the east bank, split up and raided some manors on the outskirts of the city. go.These manors mainly grow cash crops such as cotton, indigo, sugar cane, and tobacco. Only a small part of them grow corn, cassava and other food crops, and they are mainly used to supply the daily needs of the whole island.

Raiding these unarmed manors is naturally effortless. In fact, these manor owners basically gave up resistance after learning that the corner of France had fallen, so the east coast team dispatched easily recruited A large amount of "ransom" came up - except for a little cash such as French Tourliver and Spanish riyal, most of it was sugar, tobacco, cotton, indigo, grain, bacon and the like, adding up to It looks like tens of thousands of yuan, not too much, but it must not be said to be less.

And after cleaning up the corner of France and its surrounding areas, there is actually not much need to go to other places in Santo Domingo, France.Those places are not only sparsely populated, the environment is extremely harsh, and there is very little oil and water. Instead of sending people there to make troubles (if the "winning the jackpot" encounters an epidemic, it will be a lot of fun), it is better to take a break and then Sending troops to attack the next French colony in the Caribbean, that would be the most profitable way.

Ever since, after meeting and discussing with the navy, the two sides quickly set their next combat target, which is St. Christopher Island in the Leeward Islands, which is later known as St. Kitts Island.At present, the island is a colony shared by Britain and France. Its economy is dominated by tobacco planting and trade. Although the oil and water are not very rich, the advantage is that it is weak and easily captured by the army on the east coast. After all, the persimmons are picked first. That's right.

However, just as the army on the east coast rested for a few days and was finally ready to set off on May 5, an episode occurred outside Cape de France, that is, a relatively large-scale pirate fleet—a conservative estimate of seven or eight ships The ship—approaching from a distance, seems to be peeking at the Cape de France that has just been captured by the east coast (currently the golden lily flag of the King of France has been removed from the fort and the city, and the national flag of the East Coast Republic of China has been raised) , This made Captain Cai Anguo feel a little worried. He was worried that once the two "Star" class light cruisers left, whether the ordinary transport ships of the East Coasters could successfully transfer personnel and materials task.

This is not unfounded worry, but a real real threat.You must know that Tortuga Island, a well-known pirate distribution center, is very close to the port of Cape de France, and the French have always claimed that this island is French territory, so if it is said that the colonists belonging to Santo Domingo have nothing private with these pirates Goulian in the book, tell me who the f*cking letter is!Based on what the people on the east coast have learned so far, at least helping the pirates sell their stolen goods and providing them with boats, ammunition and other supplies is something that cannot be escaped!

As for whether there are any other more in-depth activities, such as secretly driving pirates to use for me and helping the French achieve some ulterior purposes, there is no evidence for this at the moment, so it is not easy to make random guesses, but Cai Anguo and Lan Fei tend to think there is.Because of empathy, they will definitely do this if they are in the position of the French governor, because these pirates are excellent gloves for dry and wet work, it is a pity not to use them!

Therefore, just after the people on the east coast won a victory, when the flag of the east coast was flying over the corner of France, a few pirate ships ran over to peek at it. Practical difficulties that must be addressed.But how to solve it is really quite confusing.

"Attacking Tortuga Island is not advisable!" Captain Cai Anguo, the naval commander, immediately vetoed the proposal, and the reason was simple: "Our navy is insufficient, and the only two 'star' class light ships The cruiser is not enough to complete the task of scaring off the pirate fleet. On the contrary, it may be forced by these pirate ships. Although it will not be a big problem, it is very difficult to control the sea. Moreover, even if we take advantage of the pirates' attention and send some soldiers Land in an unobtrusive corner of Tortuga Island, and then what should I do? There are too many pirates on the island, and there are many vicious ones. Many pirate leaders have rifles. In a real fight, we may not have the upper hand, especially when the supply line is cut off and there is no backup. Taking a step back, even if we successfully landed, repelled the pirates, and then occupied their material depot, this problem Is it really solved? I don’t think it may be! At least, these pirate ships can leave at any time. We can’t stop them. They still have the ability to fight in the short term, and they may not have other supplies. I was watched here in the corner of France, and I couldn't leave for a while."

"There is only one way, and that is to send out the 'Grocery Merchant No. 1' water supply ship (this is a motor sailing ship) and notify Air Canada to send some ships to assist in the defense. As long as they come over two or three 'Falcon Island' 'Class escort gunship, we can basically survive in peace. Although this kind of ship is slow and cannot catch up with light pirate ships, it is better in protection and strong firepower, and idle pirate ships dare not catch up with them. Captain Cai Anguo continued: "However, it may take time. Air Canada may not have ships in the port. After all, reinforcements may not arrive within a month or two. This time is enough for the French on other islands. People are ready, you know, the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe have as many French people as Santo Domingo."

Speaking of this, basically both of them understood the current situation, as for the next step, it was up to them to decide.

"I suggest keeping the original plan unchanged!" After thinking for a while, Captain Lan Fei resolutely said: "There are still 400 healthy officers and soldiers in our department. I decided to let Lieutenant Zheng Dalin lead two A company of regular troops (480 people) and some of the wounded and sick stayed in the French corner. This place is very important. I don’t feel relieved if we don’t send elite soldiers to stay here. I believe that with these people, whether it’s the French in the city or Tortuga The pirates on the island dare not act rashly. Especially those pirates, I know their temperament too well, that is, they rush to things that are beneficial, stay away from things that are not beneficial, and go ashore to attack tough things. I believe they will still do it. Can’t come out. As for the remaining officers and soldiers (approximately more than 800 people), I will personally lead them to board the ship and leave, and still attack St. Christopher’s Island as originally planned to save time.”

"Your plan is not impossible..." Captain Cai Anguo hesitated for a while, and then said: "How about it?" Grocery Merchant No. 1 pulled out and still sailed to the mouth of the Mobile River, looking for people from Air Canada, please invite them Come to support. President Ding is a sensible person, and he will definitely make proper arrangements. Even if there are not enough ships at hand, he will find a way to transport some black eight-banner warriors from the Free State to Cape-de-France Port to help us suppress the place , Guarding the city. Alas, Cape de France, block it, anyway, with the food reserves in the city, even if it is blocked for a year or so, people will not starve to death. You're an eye-catching pirate, be afraid of hair!"

After the plan was made, the people on the east coast did not delay. In the early morning of May 5, the fleet was fully loaded with supplies and personnel, and quietly left the anchorage in the Cape-de-France port and set off for the open sea.After the fleet and the main force left, during the day on the 8th, Lieutenant Zheng Dalin, who stayed behind, immediately declared martial law in Cape-France. Necessary for order.

(End of this chapter)