Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 55 Target: Pacific Ocean!

The weather in the Malvinas Islands is as bad as ever. The temperature in late May is already below zero, and the strong westerly wind of level 5-6 mixed with rain and snow hits the ground. Even if you stay indoors, you will feel the biting chill that seems to be everywhere.

Several peat braziers were burning, keeping the room warm and dry.Lu Ming sat on his wooden bed and put on his clothes.This time Yunsheng No. [-] not only brought a large amount of supplies, building materials and ammunition, but also brought commendation orders and promotion orders from the Executive Committee to the meritorious soldiers who have worked hard on the front line for several months.

Lu Ming caressed this new military uniform with mediocre workmanship. This is the latest three-three-style woolen navy lieutenant uniform, produced by the new hydraulic weaving factory by the Dayu River.The color of the new military uniform is light blue, which is different from that of the army. The design imitates the naval uniforms of several countries in later generations. Its style can be said to be very different from the navies of European countries at this time.Of course, the navies of European countries at this stage do not have any formal uniforms at all. Only officers may have a decent outfit.

The size of the military uniform jacket is quite suitable, the epaulettes on both shoulders are embroidered with the captain's logo of three short swords, and the military trousers are the same machine-made woolen trousers.Lu Ming moved after putting on his underwear, and he seemed to feel pretty good wearing it.Then there were cowhide military boots, barrel-shaped military caps, armed belts, and officers' swords. Lu Ming dressed them all neatly.

"It's still pretty decent." Xie Hansan leaned on the opposite bed, looking at Lu Ming with a smile.This time he was also promoted by the executive committee, and he was already wearing a set of field gray army lieutenant uniform, which is also the rank of captain, and is responsible for unified command of the four army temporary arrangements currently accompanying the naval operations.

Lu Ming smiled lightly, but did not speak.He returned to the Falklands with the "Eagle of the East Coast" more than a week ago.In the naval battle that took place on the afternoon of May 5, the "Eagle of the East Coast" left the battlefield immediately under the cover of Yunsheng No. 10. It first fled to the southwest sea area, and then turned to the southeast after nightfall. And crossed the Lemaire Strait on the west side of Estados Island, and then turned to the northeast along the westerly wind and secretly sailed back to the Falkland Island.Fortunately, the attention of the Spaniards was attracted by Yunsheng No. [-] at that time, and the seven main battleships all ignored the insignificant ship "Eagle of the East Coast", which allowed Lu Ming and others to escape and return Arrived on the island of Ma.

The secret supply station on Falkland Island has been built to a considerable scale, housing, warehouses, canteens, prisons and other facilities are all available. Dozens of Spanish and English captives who have been tortured beyond human shape have finally escaped the heavy labor. Lived in a relatively warm and dry prison. Two days ago, the "Galicia Flying Fish" had set sail under the leadership of Julien and headed for Tierra del Fuego. His task was to collect more than 20 army brothers scattered on the island.After all, the Spaniards' main fleet already knew that this area was a hunting ground for the crossers, so they might patrol here frequently in the future, and there was no need to set up observation points on the island.

Moreover, under the strong encouragement of Xiao Bailang, Wang Tiehammer and others, the Ministry of the Navy has just approved a bold long-distance raid plan across the Strait of Magellan. In the next period of time, I am afraid that there will be no time to play with the Spaniards near the Strait of Magellan. A game of hide and seek.The island has been preparing for this operation for the past two days. Food, fresh water, ship boards, gunpowder and shells are all ready, and the personnel are almost arranged. The departure time is set for today.

"Don't lie on the bed. Let's go and have breakfast, we'll be leaving in a while." Lu Ming looked at his watch, it was 7 minutes before 10 o'clock.Xie Hansan lazily sat up from the bed, took his cowhide ammunition bag, flintlock pistol, saber and binoculars, and walked out of the gate with Lu Ming.

The fresh, cold air outside the door is refreshing, and the rest of the drowsiness in my mind is gone.Lu Ming wrapped himself in the woolen overcoat that was wrapped around his military uniform, and walked towards the cafeteria with deep feet and shallow feet.The snow on the ground has long been trampled to pieces, mixed with yellow mud, splashing spots on the cowhide military boots.

The canteen was steaming with mist at this time, the non-commissioned officers and veterans sat around some round tables to eat, and the officers sat next to a few tables of the Eight Immortals.As for ordinary soldiers, everyone had to sit on the ground covered with hay or on wooden boards to eat.The breakfast is quite nutritious, including beef soup, steamed potatoes and salted fish.Lu Ming sat down opposite Wang Tiechui and Xiao Bailang, picked up a bowl of beef soup and took a few sips, then sighed contentedly: "It tastes really good, it would be even better if we add some chili."

Wang Tiechui bared his teeth and said happily, "The requirements are quite high. That's easy. This time we'll go for a drive in Chile, and we can just go ashore and take whatever we like. Maybe there will be pepper seeds or something."

While eating the salted fish, Xie Hansan did not forget to interrupt: "What is the situation in Chile now? I remember that it should be regarded as the core area ruled by the Spaniards, right? It won't be dangerous for us to wander there, right?"

"There must be dangers. In the eyes of the Spanish government, Chile is much more important than the La Plata area." Wang Tiehammer said, "There are a lot of mineral resources there, the degree of development is not bad, and the population is also large. Moreover, the indigenous Araucans over there are always rioting every now and then, so the Governor of Peru also sent a lot of troops to station there. But don’t worry, we are fighting by surprise this time. Naturally, big towns with heavy troops I will touch it, that is, go to some small villages and towns, let the Spaniards know that we are coming, weaken their war potential, and create a little shock."

"That's okay, but do you know the situation there?" Xie Hansan asked, "Where is the Pacific coast suitable for landing, which targets are valuable, where are the key defense areas for the Spaniards, and what is the enemy's naval strength?" You have to figure out all these, otherwise we will definitely die without knowing how to die if we bump into it."

"Well, didn't you hit a British ship a while ago? Those captive British guys have been to Chile a few times. Of course, they didn't do business, but went to robbery as pirates." Wang Tiehammer explained "In fact, their behavior is encouraged by the British government either explicitly or implicitly. Don't worry, they are all professional veterans. Letting them lead the way can save us a lot of trouble and is safer."

"Well. Now that the central government has made a decision, let's implement it. With 4 platoons and some navies, we can gather more than 200 musketeers. If we poke somewhere in Chile, it should be considered a considerable military force. It's gone." Xie Hansan said after eating the salted fish, wiped his hands with a cloth.

"Don't talk too much, eat quickly, and leave after eating." Xiao Bailang finally urged.

……

After breakfast, it was already past 7 o'clock. After packing up their personal equipment, the soldiers began to put on rain cloths and line up. Then the officers of each platoon would roll their names, and board the ship after the roll call.All the soldiers of the army are arranged on Yunsheng No. [-]. Three ships will participate in this operation. The West Asia Flying Fish exists as a supply ship.

The defense of the island is completely entrusted to more than 50 Charuyas. These Charuyas who have been sent out are all people who have worked with the cross-travelers for a long time before, and they still have a certain degree of loyalty.The crossing people confidently handed over some of the remaining supplies and captives on the island to their care, and then took all the ships and set sail to sea.

At 5 a.m. on May 21, Yunsheng No. 8 and "Eagle of the East Coast" sailed slowly out of Sullivan Sheltered Bay, Soledad Island in the wind and snow.Due to the shelter of the terrain in Sullivan Sheltered Bay, the surge was fortunately not very large.At this time, the wind in the bay has reached level 7, the rain and snow are gradually increasing, and the visibility is very low.

However, the crossing people were familiar with this passage, and the two ships sailed out of the bay safely and entered the vast South Atlantic Ocean. On May 5, after a difficult voyage, the two ships successfully merged with the "Galicia Flying Fish" moored in a sheltered bay on the south side of Estados Island.

During this time, Julien d'Eblol has brought back all 28 soldiers scattered on Tierra del Fuego. The "Galicia Flying Fish" had already undergone a preliminary refit when it was in the Falklands. Xiao Bailang installed some cannons specially brought from the arsenal on the Yunsheng No. 300 to replace the original ones with backward performance. Small caliber bronze cannon.After refitting, the "Galicia Flying Fish" with a load of more than 16 tons has a good firepower of [-] artillery pieces, which can be regarded as initially having a certain self-protection ability.

5月31日夜间。三艘船只搭载着总数近500人编成船队，借着东北风以3－4节的航速秘密进入了麦哲伦海峡。

The goal this time: the Pacific Ocean!

(End of this chapter)