Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 508

On February 1646, 2, Meihe Township.The sky was cloudless, and the temperature was only 10 degrees, which was cool and pleasant.Along the banks of the Coal River (Kay River), there are patches of green rice fields, and on some sandbars in the center of the river, there are extensive vineyards.At the gate of the courtyard in the country, there are usually a few goats tethered, gnawing on the green grass boredly.Between the two pear trees in the yard, a hammock is being pulled up, and a tired child is lying on it to sleep soundly, holding a half-eaten meat pie in his hand.A little hound hovered under the hammock, staring at the meatloaf, unwilling to leave for a long time.

A gentle noise outside broke the tranquility of the countryside at noon.A few children passed by the door yelling, still shouting, "I went to the Chenghuang Temple to see the soldiers."After being woken up, the bear boy who was taking a nap rubbed his sleepy eyes, then slid down from the hammock skillfully.After holding the hound in his arms and kneading it, he stuffed the meatloaf into its mouth, and then ran out of the house in a hurry, walking along a gravel road towards the main road by the side of the village.

There, across the wide coal river, you can see a large group of soldiers in khaki and dark blue military uniforms on the pier on the other side of the river, busy moving war supplies to small steamboats in the inland river.In order to support this westward military operation against the "extremist forces" in Guarani, the inland river transport company was ordered to allocate more than a dozen 72-ton inland river steamboats to accompany the army to transport supplies.To the west of this trip, there is no smooth road except for the winding river.Therefore, the Yakui River, which has been flowing from a long distance from the west, has become the only way for people on the east bank to transport their luggage.

On the other side of the river is the seat of the township government of Meihe Township, which is also the most prosperous area here.A very impressive Town God's Temple stands diagonally opposite the township government. Outside the wall in front of the temple is a square. There are often hawkers or farmers who come to sell various commodities in the square. Over time, a market is formed.

Today's market is still crowded with people, and the small square is packed to the brim, as if dozens of people from the production teams around have rushed over.Some conscripted local militiamen are bidding farewell to their wives and children; the propaganda team is vigorously propagating the "criminal acts" of the Guarani people in the west in the square-although many of them are fabricated; Boxes of silver coins swept away the vegetables, cured meat, livestock and other agricultural and sideline foods that appeared on the market, and all of them were shipped onto the boat; the Miaozhu of the Town God's Temple and several Taoist priests were holding a grand and solemn ceremony in front of the temple gate. During religious ceremonies, many Ming people and even Tatars worshiped devoutly in front of the statue of the Supreme Lord, praying respectfully for their relatives to return home safely.

Major Zhu Liang, one of the veterans of the army, was wearing white gauze gloves, leaning on a saber and standing proudly on a rock by the river bank, looking at the soldiers who were entering the cabin in platoons, carrying supplies.This time the army mobilized the 1st, 101st, 103rd infantry company, and the 4th company that was originally stationed in Meihe Township. The cavalry also dispatched two companies with more than 2 people, and the artillery dispatched two companies with nearly 150 people. , The total number of regular troops is more than 1400.In addition, they also mobilized a large number of militiamen who had just finished farm work and trained for less than a month in the two counties of Ping'an and Zhenhai to serve as baggage personnel. The number of them was about 1500. It can be regarded as the largest number of troops mobilized in a single time in the history of the East Coast.

Naturally, such a large amount of manpower and supplies cannot be transported by twenty or so small inland steamboats.Therefore, these ships can only be used to carry some supplies, heavy artillery, and logistics personnel with little combat effectiveness. As for the vast number of infantry and cavalry brothers, they can still only walk on their own two legs.They will follow the route detected by the intelligence personnel of the gendarmerie, generally westward along the Yakui River, and will first arrive at the later Triford area at the junction of the Taquari River and the Yakui River. Here is a military depot that the military department has set up for more than half a year.A large amount of military supplies and some food are stored in the military depot. There are usually [-] or [-] militiamen on duty and two artillery pieces. After arriving here, the large troops can take a rest and continue westward.

From Triford to the west, there will be some small Guaraní tribes here and there.Some of them had good relations with the people from the East Coast, but most of them didn’t have a good relationship, and they even held great hostility towards the people from the East Coast under the instigation of the missionaries.This time, a large number of Guarani people living in the Parana River Basin entered the hilly area west of the lake due to religious fanaticism. Many people have been found in the southern Neukönigsberg and even near Hekou Township, but it is not known whether there are many in the north.But no matter what, the east bank mobilized more than 1400 well-trained elite cavalry artillery this time, in order to wipe out all these Guarani tribes, so as to avoid future troubles.

"Excuse me, Commander Zhu, the scale of our Great East Coast Army's expedition is the largest in the local history, and we are entrusted with the trust of [-] people. How is the morale of the soldiers?" "Pravda" special reporter interviewed Zhu Liang.

"How's the morale? Please listen to the cheers outside!" Lu Ming pointed to a line of soldiers marching neatly on the river bank, which belonged to the 4th Company of the Army.Most of these soldiers were locals, and they passed the Town God's Temple with their heads held high and their chests held high under the cheers of the common people.The host of the local Taoist temple stood on the side of the road with a group of believers, praying for the marching army.

The military band not far away also played the song "Victory Belongs to the Army", which brought the atmosphere to a climax.Many teenagers wearing the old military uniforms left by their parents struggled to squeeze out of the crowd, rushed to the side of the road, and waved their arms vigorously at the marching troops.Their faces were full of excitement. If the reality didn't allow it, maybe they would go out with the army.After the military band finished playing for the first time, thousands of people at the scene shouted "Long live".

"Guarani is a clown, and the army will be wiped out wherever the army goes. This battle cost a lot of money, and the people of Ping'an County have generously donated money and actively donated money to reimburse military supplies. The heart of the fist is deeply felt. Please, gentlemen Don’t worry, my army on the east coast will definitely eliminate all evil. Whether it is Guaraní or Spaniards, whoever kills my people and takes my livestock will be judged! Those who are stubborn and stubborn will not be left behind!” Zhu Liang murderous Teng Teng said to the reporter who interviewed him.

"The Spaniards have repeatedly supported the barbarians to harass our border and kill our border people. It is very abominable. This action of counterfeiting and punishing the violent west will surely make them remember long. Then I wish my master from the east bank a triumphant return. East Long live Shore!" The young trainee reporter who graduated from Bingtuanbao stuffed the completed notebook into his pocket, then raised his fist with his right hand and cheered.

Zhu Liang laughed loudly, picked up his saber, got on his horse, and walked forward proudly.Although he is one of the veterans of the army, he commanded 3000 combat operations at a time, but it was the first time for him.The goal of the first phase of this operation is to clear the indigenous tribes on both sides of the Yakui River. In fact, there are not many Guarani people here, and a considerable number of them have connections with the people on the east bank and are more obedient.There are not many rebel tribes who are hostile to the people on the east coast. According to the information of the gendarmerie, the total number is between [-] and [-]. It is easy to eliminate or expel them.

Of course, knowing these nearby Guarani tribes does not make the Spaniards feel the slightest pain.Only by continuing to the west, hitting the area west of the later Nankashuai, and then eradicating all the Guarani tribes who settled there, can the Jesuit priests feel heartbroken.If we can continue westward on this basis, to the west of the later Santa Maria and approach the Uruguay River and its tributaries, it will be able to make the Spanish missionaries heartbroken.

This task is not a difficult task for the people on the east bank who are advancing along the river.The only factor restricting the movement of the army on the east coast was neither the resistance of the Guaraní people nor the possible intervention of the Kingdom of Spain, but the autumn grain harvest in mid-to-late May.The more than 1500 officers and soldiers of the supply unit accompanying the team are all reserve militiamen recruited in the rural areas of Ping'an and Zhenhai counties. If they spend too long fighting outside, it will inevitably affect their family's grain harvesting work.Therefore, the goal of the first phase of the operation is limited to three months. The fighting will be temporarily ended in early May, and all personnel will return to Meihe Township, Ping'an County to rest and reorganize. At the same time, the militia will be disbanded and let go home.If there is still a second phase of fighting, the militia will be recruited from Dongfang County, the capital, to cooperate with the operation.

Anyway, the people on the east coast of these places can't actually control them for the time being, so they can only retreat after fighting, focusing on killing the enemy's vital forces and war potential.Many of the Guarani tribesmen in these places went to the south, and most of the people who stayed behind were young and old, so they fought effortlessly.When the time comes, people will kill or drive away, livestock will be robbed of food, farmland will be destroyed, and houses will be burned down. Let's see how these Guarani people resist!How will the Spanish missionaries face the waves of refugees pouring into the Uruguay River Basin!

After all the supplies were transported on board, the army on the east bank left the town under the eyes of the people of Meihe Township, and crossed the Taquari River by boat in batches. After a little formation, they lined up in four The column went all the way west.Accompanying them were more than a dozen small 72-ton inland steamboats, on which all artillery, ammunition, drinking water and other supplies were placed, so that the soldiers could march lightly.After all, the Guarani, a barbarian with a very low level of civilization, has no weapons that can deal with ships sailing in the river.With these ships, it is not only convenient to transport supplies and wounded back and forth, but sometimes some ships can be selected to carry soldiers to attack quickly, which is very useful.

On February 2, the East Coast Army arrived at Trifford Depot.After a night's rest, they continued westward, while sending people to recruit young men from the Guarani tribes that had already surrendered, and at the same time preparing to wipe out the first Guarani village that refused to obey, more than ten kilometers to the west. The battle to clear the countryside in the period was finally in full swing.

(End of this chapter)