Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 44 Combat Readiness

The news of the war spread quickly throughout the executive committee building as if it had grown wings.All the offices were boiling, almost no one was in the mood to go to work, and they were all crowded in the corridors talking.

Ma Ganzu gently closed the door of the conference room to keep out the noise.In the meeting room, everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Afraid of the fart! Everyone has declared war, let's fight!" Vest couldn't understand the gloomy atmosphere in the meeting room, and shouted loudly.

"I agree, according to the plan." Peng Zhicheng also said nonchalantly, "The army should be fully staffed, and the army should be expanded. When the Spaniards come, fight him!"

Wang Qinian glanced at Peng Zhicheng. Although he looked down on this black-faced army leader, when he was about to maintain the united front, he also pinched his nose and echoed: "As long as the navy has enough manpower, it can definitely ensure that the coastal defense is foolproof."

"I can't do without a fight." Shao Shude said with a stinky face, "Materials cannot be used without restraint from now on, and I don't know how long this battle will last. But are the Spaniards really ready? I can't see Well, it should be that Lima's order has just been sent to La Plata, but the troops scattered in various places have not assembled yet, and the supplies have not yet been hoarded, and the Peruvian fleet should have not arrived. I really don't know how to evaluate their yelling Declaring war with a roar, is it self-confidence or brain damage?"

With a few people at the beginning, several other people also began to express their opinions one after another. Generally speaking, the core meaning is one: If there is no other way, then let's fight.The meeting was held very efficiently. Within half an hour, everyone adjourned the meeting, and then went back to each office to start implementing the plan.

Peng Zhicheng sat down on his chair, then found a stack of documents in his drawer, glanced at them hurriedly, and then smiled at the people sitting in front of him: "You bastards, now you know how nervous you are." Come on, Xiao Wang, show me the new army organization chart for 33, and I am going to suggest that the executive committee implement a new organization and expand the army."

"Xiao Wang" pushed his black-rimmed glasses and reminded: "Minister, I'm afraid that the navy will rebel if you push this schedule up. Although the current war is going on, the executive committee probably won't approve it."

In 1633, the scale of the new army establishment was huge: there were sheds below the platoon, and each platoon governed three sheds, with 15 people in each shed; the platoon added a deputy platoon leader, so that the number of people in each platoon expanded to 1 ; If it is still organized according to five rows per whistle, the number of people per whistle will increase to 47, and three whistles will be more than 237 people.With such a huge establishment, it is really strange that the navy does not fry the pan.

"Haha. Don't be afraid." Peng Zhicheng said with a smile, "It was originally handed over to bargain." In fact, what Peng Zhicheng is really seeking is to fill up the existing three infantry posts, and it is best to add a new post; cavalry and artillery, etc. The technical arms must be expanded on a large scale, and the number of the army should be pushed up to 500.

Peng Zhicheng is actually clear about Wang Qinian's recent series of small actions on the navy side.Wang Qinian also urged the construction of Fort No. [-], and also conducted the sea trial of the first warship "Eagle on the East Coast". He followed the same path, namely creating a fait accompli and forcing the executive committee to expand the navy.After the gun position is installed, the cannon can't be left there to watch, right?After the warship is built, it can't be left there for a long time, can it?In Peng Zhicheng's opinion, the method is a bit "patterned, but Tucson breaks it", but it always succeeds in the executive committee, which is really infuriating.Since this is the case, I will also give a strong dose of medicine this time, let's see what the executive committee says.After all, it is still the army that defends the country; the real solution to the battle depends on the army.

As soon as Peng Zhicheng's slightly exaggerated plan was handed over, it really aroused great criticism in the Executive Committee. Wang Qinian, a member of the Navy, was even more angry and scolded "Heitantou is shameless".At this stage, there are about 2000 young and middle-aged men on the Executive Committee (excluding captives). It looks like a lot, but in fact at least 400 of them are various craftsmen or apprentices, and they are not cannon fodder that can be consumed at will; The number of local management personnel (mainly crossing people) who can be incorporated into the army will not exceed 1300.

And these 1300 people are the number after all mobilization. At present, there are no Spaniards, so of course the general mobilization cannot be carried out.Only a part of personnel from some large units (such as the construction team) can be recruited into the army first. These people work together for a long time, have a sense of organization and discipline, and receive various military training regularly. They can be regarded as a relatively high-quality source of soldiers.

On February 2, the first batch of units began to mobilize. The first mobilization consisted of 20 people, all of whom received regular artillery training. Among them, 120 people were assigned to coastal artillery batteries, and the remaining 75 people were incorporated into the newly established Second Post of the Army's Independent Field Artillery Corps.

At the same time, 15 production teams in the Dingyuanbao reclamation area recruited 600 people for intensive military training, and a large number of 32-B flintlock rifles and sabers in stock were moved out.At present, the arsenal is working overtime and all exports have been suspended, and it is fully producing all kinds of materials needed for combat.

In addition, the most eye-catching of the navy and army is the "Eagle of the East Coast", which has just returned from sea trials.This 250-ton Galen ship was born at an untimely time. As the first warship to join the active service of the navy, it was an extremely glorious thing, but now most people think it can only be nested in the port with Yunsheng No. [-] Inside acts as the presence of the fleet.

However, Wang Qinian has a different opinion on this. He believes that this war is about the survival of the people across the border, and being blocked in the port is tantamount to half the defeat.So he decided to ask the Executive Committee to arm the Yunsheng No. [-] passenger and cargo ship, use precious diesel, and form a destroying fleet with several tugboats and barges to attack the Spanish ships outside to weaken their forces in the area. war potential.This proposal caused great controversy when it was discussed within the Admiralty, and many people across the world instinctively opposed wasting precious diesel oil on the war with the Spaniards.

"But when are you going to use these diesel oils? Now the equipment of Yunsheng No. [-] is well maintained, and the ship can still start, but what about in the future? In a few years, when the equipment on board breaks down and the ship cannot operate normally, You can only use those diesel oil to burn fire. It’s better to do something big this time, hurting the Spaniards so that they don’t dare to trouble us in the future. At that time, even if we don’t have Yunsheng No. How about it, no enemy will dare to provoke us again." Those who agreed with Wang Qinian also spoke generously.

"No, Yunsheng No. [-] can carry us to escape. In case the war goes bad..."

"What if the war is unfavorable? Then we find a place to farm again? I'm sorry, I'm enough to farm once, and I don't have the passion to do it again. Besides, we are blocked in the port by a large number of warships. Not being able to rush out is still a problem. They are not fools, and there are many ways to restrict us."

After discussions and discussions, there was no unified opinion within the Ministry of the Navy. Wang Qinian felt chilled when he saw it, and simply ignored the staff of the Ministry of the Navy and directly submitted the proposal to the executive committee.

The executive committee did not dare to make mistakes, so it called Wang Qinian, who was hiding in the Navy Department, to the executive committee that night.When Wang Qinian entered the room and saw that everyone was staring directly at him, he immediately smiled: "I'll just get to the point, don't interrupt, if you want to spray, wait until I finish talking."

"Tugboats and barges are not suitable for ocean voyages. Let's forget it this time. I have chosen the secret port of the broken fleet - the Falkland Islands, that is, the Malvinas Islands. At this time, the Falkland Islands are still an infinite The place where people live is just suitable for us as a supply port. In principle, Yunsheng No. [-] can install as many artillery pieces as it can. In addition, it must be equipped with a certain size of army soldiers. I plan to go to the Cruising near the Strait of Magellan, which is an important sea route in South America, many ships from Peru only need to pass through here to go to La Plata. If you are brave enough, you can also go ashore near the coast of Chile with a full load of army soldiers to grab its vote." Wang Qinian Explained his plan to the members of the Executive Committee.

But most of the executive committee members have deep doubts about his crazy plan.

"Right now, the combined diesel fuel of Yunsheng No. 500 and the tugboat is only about [-] tons, which cannot be consumed by you wandering around at sea. If you want to lay an ambush in the Strait of Magellan, you must first hoard supplies. There is nothing in the Falkland Islands. No, you have to prepare all materials in advance, how much fuel will be consumed to transport the goods back and forth?" Shao Shude actually has nothing to do with Wang Qinian's plan, but out of his always cautious character, he still asked questions.

"This is easy to solve. First let the 'East Coast Eagle' load a group of people and building materials to land in the Falkland Islands, and then build some simple warehouses to store materials. Most of the remaining materials can be transported When the Sheng-20 set off, the "Eagle of the East Coast" sailed to the Falkland Islands for a round trip and it took only a dozen or [-] days, which was completely in time." Wang Qinian said.

"No. If the 'Eagle of the East Coast' is used alone to fight guerrillas, I still agree. If it is used on the Yunsheng No. [-], I reserve my opinion." Xiao Mingli said.He didn't know much about these naval things, but he instinctively opposed anyone who intended to use the Yunsheng No. [-] freighter.

"Just use the 'Eagle of the East Coast' to go out and do nothing." Wang Qinian was a little anxious, "I'm only so big, the speed is not much faster than others, and there may not be many guns. Why go out and fight? Do you deliver food?"

There was a moment of silence in the conference room.

"Then, let's decide by voting." Ma Ganzu looked at the crowd, and then said: "If you agree, raise your hand." After speaking, Ma Ganzu raised his hand.

Xiao Bailang immediately raised his hand.His old subordinate, Wang Tiechui, who was getting moldy all over the Ministry of the Navy, was recently entrusted by Wang Qinian to work here.Xiao Bailang was not prepared to object at first, but now that he can help his old subordinate by the way, he naturally raised his hand in favor.

Then there was Vest, the industry committee member, who simply expressed his support for Wang Qinian; Shao Shude, the material committee member, also raised his hand in favor after hesitating for a while.Wang Qinian himself raised his hand, and then looked at the few remaining people dryly.Army Commissioner Peng Zhicheng didn't expect him to agree at all; Civil Affairs Commissioner Xiao Mingli had clearly expressed his opposition just now, so of course he couldn't do it; Judicial Commissioner Bai Siwen was said to be difficult to deal with Ma Ganzu and Xiao Bailang, and most of them were unreliable; It is on the remaining education committee members Du Wen, finance committee member Tang Yuan and foreign affairs committee member Gao Mo.

Du Wen shook her head lightly, expressing her disapproval, and Wang Qinian's heart sank again.

Foreign Affairs Commissioner Gao Mo frowned and thought for a long time before he sighed and slowly raised his hand.Finally, halfway through, Wang Qinian heaved a sigh of relief.

Seeing that Gao Mo agreed, Tang Yuan said with a wry smile: "It's useless even if I object?"

6:5, the proposal was passed.

(End of this chapter)