Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 895 New China's New Crisis ([-])

On November 1651, 11, the savannah under the scorching sun was unbearable.In the field tent on the banks of the Mian River (Unilashi River), Xiao Baitu held a copy of the military order he had just received, looked at the officers in different costumes in front of him, and said expressionlessly: "Everyone, the island The First Division of the Eight Banners was defeated in the upper reaches last night. They were attacked while delivering supplies to the right wing of the garrison led by Zhai Xiaoshan, and lost more than 25 soldiers and a large amount of luggage..."

"Patta" didn't know whose chair was brought down!

Xiao Baitu sighed deeply: "Heartaro's left wing quickly approached him with supplies. I hope that the two departments will carry forward their spirits, work hard, and persevere. The supplies will be delivered soon."

It is said that since the expedition army on the east bank set off, the Manabo kingdom that once attacked the people on the east bank has disappeared without a trace, and even the Sakarava herdsmen who have been spying outside the control area on the east bank have been much less recently , it looked as if they were involved in another war at the same time, so they disappeared from the coastal area—but Xiao Baitu felt that things were not that simple.

Sure enough, on the fifth day of their expedition—that is, yesterday—the troops camped by the Mian River (easy to get water) were suddenly hit by a flood in the middle of the night. The campsite of the people on the shore became a water town called Zeguo.Fortunately, when Xiao Baitu and others were camping, the marching staff had already selected a higher place to set up camp, so the loss of personnel was not large, but many materials were soaked in water, which was considered in vain.

After the sun came out during the day, everyone found that the water below the camp was still up to their ankles.After being soaked overnight, the loess under their feet has turned into a yellow mud soup that can almost clog people's ears and noses. The main force carrying a large number of ox carts and pack animals wants to get out of this floodplain in a short time. too easy.

However, when Xiao Baitu and others were at a loss, Zhai Xiaoshan and Bingtaro's units (mainly Polish prisoners of war, about 300 people, divided into two to expand the search area) who were leading the vanguard encountered danger.Judging from the news brought by the messengers of the Heotaro Division in front just now, their second division, which is about three days away from the main force, is likely to be in danger at present, because one of them departed from the main force camp ahead of time to deliver supplies to them. The camel caravan was attacked halfway, and the main force of the Sakaravas is probably nearby!

The vicinity here is not a wasteland without any vegetation. On the contrary, because the ground is close to the Mian River with abundant water, and the Indian Ocean moisture mass that crosses the central highlands from time to time brings rainfall to the local area, the hills along the banks of the river (there are many hills here) ) with a large forest, it is very convenient to hide people.If the Sakarawa people are determined to gather five or six thousand soldiers to hide in the forest in the mountains, and then suddenly attack the east bank to conquer the army, there is still a good chance of success.And it was precisely because of this worry that Xiao Baitu immediately ordered the two divisions of Bingtaro and Zhai Xiaoshan, who were not very far apart, to quickly move closer together, so that supplies could be shared, and at the same time, they could fight the enemy together and persist until the main force arrived. Reinforcements arrive.

"When did the natives become so advanced in strategy and tactics?" Xiao Baitu couldn't help but have this thought in his mind after sending away the messengers from the Bingtaro Department.To be honest, after being hit by the flood in the middle of the night last night and hearing that the Eight Banners on the island of the supply team had been defeated in the morning, he already had a very bad feeling in his heart, and his mood suddenly became agitated.

Xiao Baitu had a violent temper back then, and he still hasn't changed after traveling through so many years.This time leading thousands of people to conquer the natives, the responsibility is extremely heavy. Although he himself showed full confidence in front of others, his family knows his own affairs and has never commanded a war alone. Although he was born as an otaku, he has limited talent in commanding and fighting. Even though he has learned a lot of military knowledge over the years, he is still a two-handed commander in the final analysis. He is almost the same as his immediate boss Ma Wanpeng. One virtue—that is, it is okay to let them lead the team to fight under the superior commander, but once they become the commander-in-chief of the area, problems will immediately appear.

At this moment, when he found that the situation of the battle was very different from what he had imagined—he was very optimistic about this expedition before the war, thinking that it would be easy to catch—Xiao Baitu suddenly felt a little unconfident.He was afraid that his main force would be dragged in this man-made floodplain (the staff agreed that last night's flood was caused by the Sakaravas damming upstream to store the floodwater), and he could only sit back and watch hundreds of people in the vanguard be killed. At the same time, he was also afraid that the cavalry sent out to meet the second batch of supply troops would be suddenly attacked by the enemy, resulting in heavy losses.

Chaotic thoughts kept pounding Xiao Baitu's brain, and the lining of his military uniform was soon soaked with sweat.I saw him drink two sips of green tea, barely suppressing his restless emotions, and after thinking for a while, he said to the generals around him: "Everyone, now is the time to test us! This battle is extremely critical, and no carelessness is allowed. If you win, you will have peace for a hundred years, and if you lose, you will die without a place to die. Moreover, conquering the king's tent and quelling the protracted war have always been the things that the New China Security Command and the Executive Committee are eagerly looking forward to..."

There is no need to say any more, everyone naturally understands that he didn't say the second half of the sentence, that is, Shangfeng is watching, if everyone can't quickly defeat the natives and quell the war, everyone's future may be in jeopardy There will be a shadow cast over it, there is no doubt about it.

Xiao Baitu's mobilization really had a certain effect. On the 25th, two to three thousand soldiers of the main force began to pack their luggage, destroying all the supplies that were soaked in water and could not be used. The remaining usable supplies were concentrated in camels and On the bullock cart, the whole army waded through ankle-deep yellow muddy water, braving the scorching sun, and continued to move forward firmly, preparing to join the vanguard.What's more, they organized the remaining dozens of cavalry, and set off to join the forward in advance. Anyway, the natives had no cavalry, and they couldn't stop them, the cavalry from South Africa.

On the 30th, the main force on the east bank that had just walked out of the floodplain (the supply troops were still fighting with the yellow mud soup, and the cattle pulling the carts died in large numbers) met the orderly returning from the front line on the side of the road. After pouring water from the kettle, he led the tired horse that was foaming at the mouth, walked over and saluted Xiao Baitu, and said: "Commander, Commander Leonid (Leonid) of the cavalry company has reported that they have communicated with Bing Taro and Zhai Xiaoshan joined together, and the two groups have been attacked by the natives continuously since two days ago, and they were quite damaged. But for some reason, the main force of the natives has not yet returned, and the most natives who besieged them were only one Of the more than a thousand soldiers, only about one-tenth of them were equipped with arquebuses. However, about one-third of the soldiers in the two divisions were still dead, wounded or sick, and they lacked the necessary supplies. The situation is not optimistic. "

Xiao Baitu had already imagined the predicament that Bingtaro and others faced from the few words of the messenger, but he still breathed a sigh of relief in his heart-although more than a hundred people were killed and injured, the entire army was not wiped out at last , besides, the dead are all Polish big noses, these cannon fodder can only be bought after they are used up, it is not worth feeling distressed.So, with a slight increase in interest, he immediately wrote a warrant to Bingtaro, Zhai Xiaoshan and others who were holding on to the front. The Sakarava Armed Forces.

After carefully putting the warrant into the cowhide bag, the messenger put his legs together and stood at attention and saluted Xiao Baitu. Xiao Baitu also stood at attention with his legs together and returned the salute. But neither of them was delayed. The orderly changed horses and continued to deliver orders; while Xiao Baitu asked people to take out a hand-drawn map and searched carefully on it.

The natives slowed down the pace of the main force on the east bank by breaking the embankment to irrigate-this is already obvious-is it to buy time for their main force to return?This is a bit convincing, but it still doesn't make sense. Gein, the so-called Manab Kingdom, has always been nomadic and nomadic (migratory farming). Is there anything they can't let go of in the Mian River Basin?Can't we just walk away?Do you have to stick to it and fight the people on the east coast?It's not necessary, is it?I can't figure it out!

But let’s not think about things that don’t make sense for now. Anyway, no one knew about those native countries before. They are very mysterious. God knows what they have there!No matter whether they are plotting or overtly plotting, in short, our army on the east bank is going to put up a majestic formation, and just press them over. If you have any tricks, just use them, and we will follow them with all our strength!

At this time, Xiao Baitu's heart has already settled down. After all, he has a lot of cards in his hand. The previous panic was more due to his lack of experience in suddenly being a high-level commander. Now he has adjusted his mentality. Slowed down a lot.Therefore, at this moment, I saw him looking around on the hand-painted map with the middle finger of his right hand. After a long time, he suddenly poked his finger on the map and said: "It should be here, the main force of the natives will definitely be here Decisive battle with our army. Well, go join the vanguard first, then wait for the second batch of supplies to arrive, and then the whole army will go out to find the bad luck of the Sakaravas. I can't believe it, we have so many well-trained soldiers , so many flintlock guns, so many cannons, they can't beat them!"

Xiao Baitu's strength is so great that when the marching staff, intelligence staff, and combat staff gathered around to look at it, there was only a hole poked by a huge finger on the map, as if foreshadowing something .

(End of this chapter)