Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1874 East Coast People's America ([-])

"Damn you, dare to resist, fire me! Fire!" Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yu said angrily on the front deck of the escort gunship "Gu Yu", looking at a three-masted sailing ship fleeing far away.

Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yu was originally the commander of the South China Sea Squadron of the First Fleet of the Navy. During the large-scale transfer of the naval system a while ago, he was moved from the comfort zone of the mainland to the hot and humid Caribbean Sea to serve as the Caribbean Sea Squadron of the First Fleet. commander.He was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Liu Fubo, the former Commander of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk Squadron of the Third Fleet. He has served in the Far East for many years. He started as the captain of an inland river shallow water gunboat. He has rich experience and hard work.

Lieutenant Colonel Ding Zhen, the former commander of the Caribbean Sea Squadron of the First Fleet, went to Cape Verde to serve as the commander of the Cape Verde Squadron.Lieutenant Colonel Cai Anguo, commander of the Cape Verde Squadron, went to the Far East again to serve in the Third Fleet.Oh, by the way, the commanders of the three major fleets have also switched with each other. Colonel Li Zemin is now the commander of the Second Fleet, Colonel Morie is the commander of the Third Fleet, and Colonel Jiang Yaohui, who has been in charge of the Third Fleet for many years, got his wish and went to the third fleet The First Fleet is in charge of the most powerful maritime force of the East Coast Republic of China. It can be regarded as his recognition of his hard work over the years, and I heard that he is now enjoying the treatment of a major general, and he is the only one among the commanders of the three major fleets. , faintly also indicates the status.

In all fairness, Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yu was actually reluctant to come to the Caribbean, a place where he felt uncomfortable everywhere.It is hot and humid here, diseases are frequent, ocean currents are changeable, wind direction is turbulent, the situation is complicated, and severe weather is not uncommon, which makes every newcomer feel very awkward, and it takes a long time to adapt—or there are many People die before they have time to adapt—compared to the mild climate, rich prosperity and relative calm of the mainland, it is simply incomparable.

Well, I know it's immature to be envious of being the commander of the South China Sea Squadron, many people say that's too easy.Anyone who is a bit self-motivated in their careers prefers to accept challenges one after another, and has the courage to work in places where they can best demonstrate their abilities. However, the environment in the Caribbean Sea is too harsh, although this place is very important to the country.

"Commander, that ship is specially designed for smuggling, and it is traveling at such a high speed that it will be very difficult for us to catch up." The captain of the "Gu Yu" put down the binoculars on his chest, and shook his head helplessly, "Besides, they are very The determination of a strong man to cut his wrists. As soon as he finds something wrong, he will start to throw away the low-value but relatively tonnage cargo in the hold. If this continues, they will soon lose their speed, and we may not be able to catch up again. "

In fact, the "Jieqi" class escort gunship, which has gradually become the backbone of the East Coast Navy, has a speed that is not slow, but it is only compared to the heavy professional warships of other countries. Compared with those specially designed for smuggling and trade And the caravel designed is still quite inferior.Especially after these smuggling ships threw away a lot of cumbersome cargo in order to escape, they couldn't catch up. After all, this is not a "star" class light cruiser specially designed for anti-smuggling, but to go to the battle line The escort gunboat that was fighting hard against the enemy, so the smuggling ship of unknown nationality in front of him must not be able to catch up.

"They are sailing to the shallow water area. Our ship has a deep draft, so I'm afraid it will be dangerous." The navigator, who had been observing the enemy's situation ahead, also made a sound at this time, which made Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yu even more upset, but he He was also a sensible person, and after looking at the smuggling boat for a few more times, he finally gave the order to turn the rudder.

This order let everyone secretly breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the new chief is not the kind of unreasonable fighting maniac, and he is not so keen on helping Air Canada take advantage of the fire, which is very good.You know, the Admiralty has never assigned any rigid anti-smuggling tasks to their Caribbean sub-fleet, and they have never received a penny from the customs. It is also best to send those fast light cruisers to help in anti-smuggling. Their relatively heavy battles are simply far away from this kind of pursuit, and it is better to focus on training and deterrence.

The so-called deterrence is actually very simple, that is, to wander around the British islands, French islands, and Dutch islands from time to time, wander on other people's routes, declare your existence, and let everyone know you and know you. You, fear you, the right to speak and influence come from this little by little.

In recent years, the strength of the Caribbean Squadron of the First Fleet has grown rapidly. It currently has two "Jiqi"-class escort gunboats, four "Star"-class light cruisers and a fresh water supply ship, a total of seven ships The strength of the ship is already relatively outstanding in the Caribbean region.After all, these are professional warships, not military and civilian ships improvised like other countries, cruising along fixed routes on weekdays, fighting smuggling and declaring force at the same time, the effect achieved is quite good.At least, the Spaniards are relatively honest under this declaration of force, as evidenced by the fact that many ports along the Caribbean Sea have continued to allow customs to be controlled by the East Coast for many years.

The "Gu Yu" then sailed at sea for several days, until the afternoon of February 1683, 2, it quietly sailed into the port of Veracruz on the west side of the Caribbean Sea.

This city is an important port of the Kingdom of Spain in the New World, where the treasure fleet must pass. Every year, the taxes, specialties, and gold and silver bars of central and northern New Spain are concentrated in this port, and then delivered to the port full of goods from the Old World. The treasure fleet brought back to Europe.Therefore, the trade here is very prosperous, and even the customs established here by the people on the east coast are also making a lot of money, bringing a large amount of tax revenue to the Kingdom of Spain-this is very difficult to do before the people from the east coast come , Corrupt colonial officials colluded with foreign smugglers to let a large amount of import and export duties that belonged to the king go to waste. The king brings in a lot of customs revenue, doesn't he?

Of course, many years after the East Coast people took control of the customs, the dissatisfied forces in the past have long since disappeared. The division and disintegration of the East Coast people has long ceased to be a problem.Moreover, many Spanish port officials have long been bribed and corrupted by people on the east coast. Even warships in active service on the east coast can dock in an important port city like Veracruz with dignity, so what else is there to say?

There are also two Spanish warships moored in the port.The tonnage of the warship is not large, and the oak hull looks a bit old, but the firepower is not bad. There are a total of 18 artillery pieces of various types, which can be ranked first in the Caribbean Sea.There is no doubt that this should be the main battleship of the Spaniards' Windward Fleet, and it is an important part of the Spaniards' military presence in the Caribbean Sea.

However, I heard that the Spaniards intend to obtain loans from the east coast to order new ships. These warships are mainly the lighter "Star" class light cruisers, a total of six ships, plus two "Jie" class frigate gunboats (both without steam) version of the propulsion system), plus some spare parts and personnel training costs, the total will cost about 22 pesos.Some of these warships will be added to the Lima Fleet, and some will be added to the Windward Fleet, or the latter is the big head, because the Pacific side does not need too much sea power.

After these warships are added, the strength of the Windward Fleet will be significantly improved, which is very important for controlling Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola (the entire island is now owned by Spain) and other outlying islands that are more important to the Kingdom of Spain.At least, if France and England do not mobilize large-scale warships from the mainland, it will be difficult to suppress the Spaniards in strength. It can even be said that their strength is not as good as the Spaniards, and they are suppressed by the Windward Fleet.

And if you count the Caribbean Sea Squadron of the East Coasters, the Spanish quasi-allies, the warships of the two countries "combined swords" in the Caribbean Sea, not to mention controlling the entire sea, keeping their respective islands and maintaining the tranquility of the sea. Yes, no one can challenge the joint strength of the Windward Fleet and the Caribbean Sea Squadron on the bright side.

"I heard that the Spaniards want to continue to mortgage the customs in exchange for our country to provide them with loans to buy ordnance and order ships. This time, the Windward Fleet should be able to get three melons and two dates." After the ship anchored and moored , the captain of the "Gu Yu" said with a smile to Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yu: "The Spanish at the customs in Veracruz, Havana and other places can actually take it back, but they are not stupid after all. It’s a decoration, and you can’t get much money at all, so it’s better to continue to hand it over to Air Canada. However, it’s also a good idea to mortgage the customs revenue, and you can get a lot of loans at once, which is very good for Spain, which lacks armament updates. important."

What the captain of the "Gu Yu" said was not aimless, but what he heard from a local colonial official with a big mouth when he docked in Puerto Bello.Based on the analysis of the current situation, he thinks it is still very possible, but it is not possible to simply mortgage the customs, and it is estimated that some people on the east coast will take advantage of some territory-this point, even the Spaniards in Puerto Bello are very fond of it. Clearly, it shows that the people on the east coast can safely and boldly expand in areas such as the Pampa Plain, the Chaco Plain, and the central and southern regions of Chile. Forget about the money.

"Properly enhancing the strength of the Spaniards is in line with our long-term national policy." Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yu is worthy of being a person who has studied the central government documents for a long time, and he has a good grasp of the spirit. He continued: "Strengthen the Spanish army. Strength, can improve their self-protection ability, so that they will not be beaten badly, so that they collapse quickly. The same is true for improving the naval strength of the Spaniards, especially the Windward Fleet in the Caribbean Sea, it is necessary to persuade the Spaniards to vigorously Investment, because it is very important for the two sides to jointly control the local situation. In fact, the Windward Fleet has existed for so many years. It is said to be a Spanish fleet, but if you really want to look closely, it has been helping us indirectly. After all, the Caribbean The stability of the regional situation is our greatest interest. We have little claim on the territory of the Caribbean Sea, as long as we have a foothold, but commercial interests must not be let go to others. The Americas belong to the Americans, and our East China The Coastal Republic is the most outstanding representative of the Americans, so this America is also the America of our East Coasters, it is better for businessmen from the Old World to go aside.”

Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yu's words made everyone chuckle.That's right, the Windward Fleet and the Caribbean Sea Squadron work together to gain the upper hand in the Caribbean Sea.After coordinating their respective interests in the future, they can even join hands to expel the colonial forces of other countries, and take back some islands occupied by Britain, France, and the Netherlands one by one (French Santo Domingo returned to the embrace of the Kingdom of Spain, gave them a lot of confidence).After expelling the colonial forces of other countries, the market is almost unified by the people on the east coast. What a huge benefit this is.

Of course, there are so many interest groups involved in this kind of thing, the Spaniards may not have the courage to do so.But no matter what, it is no problem to strengthen their strength at this stage. This will make this big country on the decline channel more or less able to protect itself-people on the east coast have not yet had time to enjoy the beauty of "Spain" Before the delicious cake, they will never allow others to get there first.

"After landing, talk to the people from Air Canada to see if they have any troubles that we can help solve. It's not easy for them to manage the customs here. Well, you should focus on asking about the recent movements of the Sumo gang. , They haven’t had any troubles for a long time, and they are a little too quiet, which is not in line with their usual style. This matter should be asked in secret, try to find the head of the customs, and others are unreliable.” Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yu saw Looking at the bustling commercial street in the city of Veracruz in the distance, he whispered to the captain.

The Somo pirate gang located in Texas is undoubtedly inextricably linked with the East Coast military and Air Canada. People have also been serving the interests of the East Coast Republic.According to the arrangement of the National Intelligence Agency, the Veracruz Port Customs is an important channel for the exchange of intelligence and news between the two sides, so this is what Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yu said just now.

The captain is also an old man, and this is not the first time he has experienced this, so he nodded silently, planning to ask the chief officer in secret as soon as he landed, to see what the bastards who have settled down in Texas have done recently." "performance" and what kind of assistance is needed, and then he will report it up. If it can be solved on the spot, it will be solved on the spot, and if it can't, arrangements will be made later.After all, Su Mo's gang is still a relatively important pawn, and they will not give up easily.

(End of this chapter)