Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1684 Dilemma

Those who followed Captain Guo back to Cape Town were part of the South African Cavalry Battalion and the Eighth Mixed Battalion. They all returned from the eastern front. There were a total of thousands of people.

Among them, the South African Cavalry Battalion has more than [-]% non-professional soldiers in the reserve force, and they have to rush home to deal with farming. Therefore, it is normal to send them back after a long battle.Especially since it was already the beginning of May, the harvest of the crops in the field was probably completed, and the plowing work of the field was also coming to an end. The officers and soldiers of the South African cavalry battalion were more or less unhappy. It is not impossible to force them to fight on the front line, but there will certainly be many complaints in private, and there is no need for that.

Speaking of which, I have to mention that the first phase of the South African piercing operation has now been completed.Under the personal command of Commander Guo Handong Guo, the eastward detachment composed of the Army's Eighth Mixed Battalion, No. Traveling eastward in the moist valley, they fought continuously and defeated many tribes, large and small, with almost no effort.

Probably the only thing worthy of credit in these battles was encountering a Xhosa army that looked like it.Among these people, some guys who looked like officers were wearing leather armor, and there were some soldiers holding matchlock guns beside them. This surprised the soldiers on the east bank who attacked: the Dutch who traded most frequently with the Xhosa blacks , The English have been driven away one after another, and even the French later lost their colonies after a short-lived. Where did these guys buy weapons?

However, when he saw the leather armor covered with patches and holes, and the worn-out Sur-style arquebus (with the imprint of a craftsman produced in Birmingham, England), Guo Handong, the leader of the team, understood at once. This is what the Xhosa people have saved for many years!It is estimated that they bought a lot of weapons, armor and other military resources from the Dutch and the British, which played an extremely critical role in suppressing their own internal opposition and annexing surrounding tribes.However, after many years, the loss of these military equipment is naturally great, and they have no production capacity, and even limited maintenance capacity, and wars are frequent, so we can know how much they can save up.

This Xhosa black army, which took a lot of effort from the east coast army-that is, just a little more effort-was able to have a few horses for the officers to ride, and some leather armor for protection, A team of arquebusiers acting as guards is good enough.No matter how much, they can't get it out, after all, external trade has already been cut off!

In fact, the people on the east coast have never been too worried about the Xhosa black musketeers and a few cavalry, because they will never be able to beat the east coast people in this game.What they are most worried about is actually that these Xhosa people use their own advantages, their familiarity with the terrain, and the bravery of barbarians to hide in the mountains and ravines to launch a surprise attack on the army on the east bank. In close hand-to-hand combat, maybe the east coast army will suffer some losses.

You know, in the countless battles over the years, the East Bank has actually suffered this kind of loss several times, with losses ranging from dozens to hundreds of people each time.In the most serious case, the Tianxiong County Security Corps was ambushed, and all the companies were wiped out, and no one was able to return. It was also tragic.The spears, javelins and short spears of the Xhosa blacks, as well as their seemingly fearless fighting courage, left a deep impression on the people on the east bank—fortunately, there are not many such combat-friendly troops in the Kama Kingdom. Otherwise, the people on the east coast will suffer a major setback in their plan to penetrate South Africa.

The topic returns to the East Coast Army that has completed the first phase of the South African penetration operation.The farthest they went east this time was almost as far as New Brittany, and then the whole army went north to cleanse the Xhosa black forces active in the arid zone of the Great Karoo Plateau, which can be regarded as cutting off the Kama Kingdom. The outer wings forced them to continue to flee eastward and northward, so they withdrew their troops and returned to the camp due to supply difficulties, and returned to Lishan County, the starting point. This is also the only place that can provide them with stable supplies.As for the surrounding villages and towns, it is still difficult to support themselves, let alone supply the needs of an army of thousands of people.

Now the No.11 mixed battalion is still stationed in Lishan County, and based on this, a small-scale troop is sent to sweep around to see if any remnants of the enemy have been let go.The first part of the South African Cavalry Battalion and the first part of the Eighth Mixed Battalion took the remaining supplies and went to Guangcheng and Yincheng. Therefore, before Guo Handong left, he ordered hundreds of them to go there to suppress the bandits and keep one side safe.

All in all, the first phase of the South African piercing operation was completed relatively smoothly. A total of more than [-] enemy soldiers (including a large number of black women and children) were killed, wounded and captured. Although the main force of the enemy was not touched, it was considered a surrender I got a satisfactory answer sheet.What now restricts the soldiers on the east coast from further chasing north is actually the local drought, harsh climate, almost no traffic roads, and extremely difficult supply problems.

Guo Handong brought more than 3000 people to the east at the beginning, but as a result, the supplies accumulated for several years in Lishan County were sold out in a few months. In addition, Tianxiong and Hezhong counties spent a lot of money to send another batch here. It was only then that they were able to stand up, but they were also unable to carry out new military operations, so they had to withdraw their troops and return to the camp.What the people on the east coast should do now is to quickly set up villages and towns in these so-called marginal areas, enrich immigrants, build roads, develop production, and save for several years after they can support themselves before conducting a military operation of a medium scale or more. possibility.

After all, the cost of transshipping materials from other places is really too staggering. It can be used as a temporary emergency, but it cannot be used as a conventional means. The nearby development of agriculture and basic handicrafts in Lishan County can produce gunpowder (the projectile soldiers have their own molds), Water bladders, military boots, saddles, belts and other materials can be easily processed into gun parts and repaired some equipment - this is what the Hezhong District Administrative Office should do most, otherwise, it will face the problem of a short combat radius next time , unless the key supplies can be obtained from the enemy, and the so-called food for the enemy, but this is easier said than done!

"Hurry up and give bonuses and subsidies to the brothers in the South African Cavalry Battalion. They are still in a hurry to go home and do farm work. There is no delay." In front of the large warehouse built in the Dutch era in Cape Town, a member of the Eighth Mixed Battalion The logistics staff officer said loudly while urging several militiamen from Changqing County to open the warehouse door quickly.

Because the commodity economy is not active enough, coupled with the shortage of cash - a large amount of silver dollars, gold and diamonds in South Africa basically flow to the mainland in exchange for industrial products, such as railway equipment - subsidy and bonus distribution in South Africa, in kind Has always been the big head.It just so happens that there are many materials hoarded by the Dutch in the city of Cape Town. Except for some that have been sent to Hezhong counties, there are still considerable "hard currencies" such as cloth, dried meat, grain, wine, dried fruits, and spices. , and the state of preservation is still quite good, so Jiao Tang, the former regional administrative commissioner, swiped his pen before resigning, and directly promised these things to the South African Garrison Command, which will be used to distribute various subsidies and bonuses. good.

Lieutenant Colonel Guo Handong only came over for a while during the distribution period, and after a few words of advice, he returned to the former Dutch Governor's Mansion, Fort Good Hope, and met with the new commissioner of the Hezhong District Administrative Office, Bai Yutang.He and Bai Yutang are old acquaintances. After all, there are not many second generations at their age, and there are only a few people who have made some achievements, and they can be called by name. After working for a while, he didn't have any surprises, let alone any resistance—everyone is here to gain political achievements, and cooperation with each other is the right way. You govern the internal affairs, and I expand the territory. The two have nothing to do with each other, and each takes what he needs. .

"Commissioner Bai, have you seen the Dutchman who lived in the dock hotel for more than a month?" Guo Handong, who was busy with travel and dust, asked in a loud voice as soon as they met.The Fort of Good Hope has obviously lacked cleaning in the past few months. The room is dusty, and it must have been unoccupied for a long time.After Bai Yutang arrived here, the officials here just sent people to tidy up a few rooms to give Commissioner Bai and his entourage accommodation and office use. The place where they are now is the late Cape Town Governor Fan Liebeck's bedroom-cum-office space.

The Dutchman mentioned by Guo Handong was named Joann Matt Solko, who was the governor of Batavia from 1653 to 1678.However, in this time and space, because many things have changed, this gentleman received a letter of appointment from the 17-member committee in Amsterdam at the beginning of this year, ordering him to go to Cape Town immediately to negotiate with the people on the east coast about the Dutch South African colony. It's not a good job either - the one who succeeded him as Governor of Batavia was Ricklaw Van Goins, the unlucky ghost who only served as Governor of Batavia for three years in history.

Matt Solko and several entourages arrived in Cape Town on a Dutch merchant ship full of spices.The people on the east bank did not embarrass the Dutch ship that came uninvited. It's just that Jiao Tang resigned because of his health, and no one received him for a while, which made this guy very depressed.

This time, after Bai Yutang, the new regional administrative commissioner, took office, he met him once, but it was no different from not meeting, because Bai Yutang is just a regional administrative commissioner appointed by the central government, and he can be arbitrary in the local area. However, he has little say in the important matter of the Dutch South African colony.Therefore, he suggested that Matt Solko continue to go to the mainland on the east coast to negotiate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but this was rejected by Matt Solko himself.

For this, Bai Yutang didn't think he was disobedient, and let him go.At the same time, he also understands the contradictory mentality of the Dutch East India Company, that is, after his colony was snatched away by the people on the east coast and received such a big slap in the face, do they want to get back?If you want to get back the place, then what method to adopt and what kind of consequences to face are difficult things to decide.

Bai Yutang reckoned that the Dutch would eventually choose to block the people from the East Coast in the Ming Kingdom in the Far East, that is, violate the tacit agreement reached with the people from the East Coast, increase trade with the Qing Dynasty, and even send more officers and Technical personnel went to the territory of the Qing Dynasty to help them improve their military strength and indirectly attack the interests of the people on the east coast.

This was Bai Yutang's estimate that the Dutch were the most feasible tactic, because it would not only increase their short-term economic income, but also increase their influence in the Qing Dynasty in the long-term. The benefits should not be underestimated.But at the same time, the consequences of doing so are quite unpredictable, because once the East Bank discovers that the Dutch East India Company is violating the law, they may directly cut off various trades with the company in Ningbo, which will undoubtedly be huge. Affects Dutch earnings.

In addition, the Dutch are also aware that the various colonial activities of Fujian Wang Zhenggong in the northern part of Formosa Island in recent years may not be without the help of people from the east coast.Otherwise, with Zheng's level, how could it be possible to obtain the galleons and all kinds of guns and cannons that are popular in the West?Therefore, the forces that funded Zheng Chenggong’s colonization in Taiwan threatened the important profit point of the company, Formosa Commercial Station (which is also one of the support points of Japanese trade), and it is also one of the countermeasures that people on the east coast may take. one.

Therefore, the Dutch East India Company is really a mousetrap now, and I don't know what to do.They wanted to fight back against the people from the east bank who slapped them, but they were afraid of this and that. They fought back and forth with an abacus, and they were reluctant to part with this and that. In the end, it was estimated that the 17-member committee in Amsterdam had to make up their minds. Even the Prince of Orange himself might make the decision—this is no joke. Now that the Prince of Orange’s reputation in the United Provinces is in full swing, a behemoth like the Dutch East India Company has to move closer to him. This is evidenced by the purchase of bonds issued by the government with almost all of the company's cash flow. For this reason, these bonds have to be distributed to shareholders as dividends for the previous year. The posture of kneeling and licking is indeed quite awesome.

Therefore, the Dutch East India Company, which is in a dilemma, does not dare to specialize at all now. It still depends on the face of Amsterdam to finally decide its attitude towards the people on the east coast, whether it is peace or war, or a slightly hostile neutrality!

(End of this chapter)