Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 959 The Deepening Gap ([-])

He was disappointed that the conversation between Lieutenant Frey and Captain Consicao failed to make any progress.However, despite being disappointed, he did seriously consider what the mayor of Jiaohebao said, that is, be careful of the Portuguese causing troubles on the border.

On March 3, Lieutenant Fu Lei returned to Ping'an County to report on his duties and was quickly dispatched to Baoan Township in the northernmost part of the county. Together with the secret agents of the Mei Agency, they investigated some Portuguese businessmen stranded there.These businessmen are all lunatics who don’t care about anything for money, and many of them even have a criminal record in Brazil. After the Brazilian colonial authorities ordered the closure of the border trade in the Gerard Mountains, these people are still using some of the mountains. Xiaolu smuggled all kinds of daily necessities to the east bank, which can be described as extremely daring.

From an economic point of view, people on the east coast actually welcome the continuation of this kind of border trade. After all, the Portuguese in the Gerard Mountains have formed a complete set of commodity industry chains for the east coast market over the years.The upstream and downstream of this industrial chain has a large population, and the technology is not bad. The quality of the products produced can be regarded as the upper-middle class, and most of them are small daily-use commodities that are relatively in short supply on the east coast and cannot be produced by large-scale machinery industries. In addition, there are some Brazilian specialties. The processing and export of processed goods (such as candied fruit, etc.) has a very good market on the east coast—and the people on the east coast are also more dependent on this kind of trade. The total amount has reached more than 1652 yuan, which is quite a large scale.

But who would have imagined that the situation is changing suddenly, because the foreign policy on the east coast is becoming more and more clear, and it is more and more inclined to the Dutch. Disappointed by the Brazilian colonial authorities of the Kingdom of Portugal, it is a rare occurrence and ordered to interrupt the relationship between the two sides. border trade between them, and reported a series of measures taken by the people on the east coast to Lisbon, requesting the local government to make a final decision on whether to take the next step; and before Lisbon has the latest instructions, the Brazilian colonial authorities will make other decisions based on their own judgment. considered reasonable decisions.

Of course, in this new continent full of adventurers and outlaws, there are many Portuguese businessmen who are dissatisfied with the orders of the Brazilian colonial authorities because of the loss of economic interests. The residents of the town were also very dissatisfied, so some of the two parties naturally hooked up and continued the smuggling trade into the country-a unilateral smuggling trade, that is, they did not register and pay taxes at the Portuguese customs (after all, it was smuggling Well), but after entering the East Coast territory, they honestly went to the Baoan Township Customs Office to register and pay taxes.

Second Lieutenant Fu Lei came to Baoan Township this time to assist in the investigation of some suspicious Portuguese businessmen. The relationship between the East Bank and the Brazilian colonial authorities is not harmonious. Although most of these businessmen came for money, it is hard to guarantee There may be some spies in it, so careful monitoring and investigation must be carried out—Ping'an County is the largest industrial base of the Eastern China Republic, and there must be no mistakes.

The detailed investigation came to an end when Army Major Zhu Liang arrived in Baoan Township. The Portuguese businessmen who came here seemed normal. It all looks normal, just a pure businessman.

"After the Sao Paulo flag team returned to Brazil, there was a vacuum in our armed forces in the Jiaohe Basin, but this is not a big problem. According to the information I have received, since the second half of last year, there has been a conflict between the aborigines in the northern territories of our country. A variety of diseases have been prevalent and many people have died. This is much better than our efforts to go to the old woods to play hide-and-seek with them. In this regard, it goes without saying that Consicao has made great contributions, but this kind of You must never admit this matter to the outside world, nor can it appear in any written summaries or records, and this must be kept in mind." In the conference room of the army barracks in Baoan Township, Major Zhu Liang said at the military meeting.

"In addition, although the situation is better, we can't take it lightly. With the withdrawal of the St. Paul's flag team, the existing westward march along the Jiaohe River Basin must be suspended. In principle, no new settlements will be established west of Jiaohe Fort. At this point, the existing immigrants assigned to the North Yazihu ​​area are mainly to enrich the old settlements, and everything will be discussed after the upper echelons of the military department and the executive committee have a clear statement." Zhu Liang continued, "And here Previously, all we had to do was to strengthen our vigilance and vigilance, and be prepared for the enemy's surprise attack at any time."

"Commander Zhu, what kind of enemy do we need to be on guard against?" A staff officer from the North Yazihu ​​District Police Command raised his hand and asked.

"It is necessary to guard against the internal enemy, the Indian, and the external enemy, the Portuguese, but in general, it is to guard against the external enemy, that is, to guard against the Portuguese jumping over the wall, and those St. Paul's slave traps suddenly crossed the border and turned against us. It would be a lot of fun. Of course, this possibility does not seem to be very great at present. The details of those flag teams must be well known to all of you present. The equipment is still 50 years ago, and they may not have the guts to stroke our beards. But it is better to be on guard, these people still have the ability to smuggle and sneak to cause us small troubles." Zhu Liang held in his right hand Holding a horsewhip, he frothed while waving it.

"Commander, do you need to convene a meeting with the armed ministers and village militia directors of each township? Do you need to mobilize them first, so that they will not be in a hurry when there is a partial military mobilization in the future?" A staff officer asked again The militia is now the most reliable military force for the people on the east coast. Once they are mobilized, it means that the situation has deteriorated to a certain extent.

"Yes!" Zhu Liang nodded in agreement, "Actually, the military will have an order in these two days to order the militiamen in Liming Town, Jushu Township, and Liushuying Township in Ping'an County to strengthen their training and reduce the frequency of group exercises. Increased to twice a month; Ping'an Township, Meihe Township, and Baoan Township will not be moved for the time being, but the armed forces ministers and militia directors of these townships should check the weapon depots and material depots to see if there are enough combat supplies. When it’s used, it’s blind. It’s really up to that point, but it requires military law, this is not a joke!”

"Understood!" Whether it was the officers of the garrison headquarters or the secret agents of the intelligence system, they all replied in unison at this moment.They knew in their hearts that the degree of mobilization this time was extremely slight, and it seemed that it had nothing to do with the current situation.This made everyone feel relieved and at the same time a little bit disappointed. Soldiers, don't you look forward to fighting?Because only war can make everyone get promoted and get rich, and pockets can be bulged. It's a pity that the Portuguese don't give it a chance!

The main force of their army should be fighting with the Dutch West India Company in northeastern Brazil at this moment, right?I heard that the Portuguese won a major victory in a certain battle in 49, which seriously weakened the armed forces of the Dutch West India Company in Brazil. Shouldn't you have time to deal with people from the east coast?After all, brain damage is not how to play, and the Brazilians can't afford to fight on both sides!

"Also!" Zhu Liang suddenly knocked on the table with his horsewhip at this time, and raised his voice and said, "You can also look for some young militiamen with better military skills at this time. The more numbers the better. The military department is currently working with The Executive Committee is wrangling, the situation in Brazil is tense, and Ping'an County, as an important industrial town, has insufficient defense force. Therefore, the military intends to expand the garrison force in Ping'an County, and reorganize the 2nd Company of the Army currently stationed here into the 2nd Battalion of the Army. The shortage of troops was recruited locally in Ping'an County, and in the future, Ping'an County will be designated as the replenishment location for the 2nd Battalion of the Army..."

If the military mobilization that Zhu Liang said earlier caused only a little disturbance in everyone's minds, then what he said later caused huge waves in everyone's minds.What?The army, which has been in a slump since its disarmament four or five years ago, is about to rise?There is such a good thing that they are going to change camps in succession?Will those white shirts in the Government Council agree?Will the navy, which has been colluding with civilian officials, agree?It's as unreal as living in a dream!

A group of young staff members of the Beiyazihu ​​District Police Command immediately became excited. They asked Zhu Liang about the conversion of the company to the battalion. After Zhu Liang's detailed explanation, they finally figured out the key points.

It is said that the Army has been really sad these years. After the Second East-West War, the executive committee that cut military expenditures abolished many troops. 12 infantry companies were abolished, 5 were abolished, and 6 cavalry companies were left. 3 and 3 artillery companies were also retained. In addition, the number of soldiers of the heavy corps company was also reduced, and only one reinforced platoon was retained for the engineering company. These troops were added to the guards and staff personnel directly under the Ministry of Army and some headquarters. , the total force was compressed to a pitiful 2980 people.

Such a "pocket" army is naturally not acceptable to those gangsters, so they have been arguing with the executive committee and the navy all these years in order to expand the existing size of the army.It's a pity that the executive committee has determined that the land military pressure on the east bank is not strong, and there are still elite guards and a large number of cannon fodder militias that can be used. Therefore, it has not agreed to expand the size of the army, which makes the Ministry of the Army more and more resentful. Heavy.

The sudden tension with the Portuguese this time undoubtedly gave hope to many people in the War Department.So they began to connect with each other to put pressure on the Executive Committee. At the same time, they fought with the Navy in the Joint Staff Headquarters, jumping up and down in the hope of expanding the size of the army. The two infantry companies in the capital and Ping'an County were reorganized into an infantry battalion. The battalion will have 4 infantry companies, 1 artillery company, 1 cavalry company, 1 supply company and 1 engineering platoon, plus guards and miscellaneous personnel. In other words, the total force is about 1450 people, with a strong independent combat capability.

The proposal of this plan naturally created a problem for the members of the current executive committee. Many of them came from civil servants and naturally opposed the expansion of the military. In a few years, his emotions must be taken care of, otherwise, if they do something in private, the executive committee may not end well.

Therefore, Major Zhu Liang estimated that the company-to-battalion incident led by the Ministry of the Army will eventually be dealt with with mud.That is to say, the executive committee will probably make a discount and only agree to form a new infantry battalion. At the same time, most of the technical arms attached to this infantry battalion, such as artillery, cavalry, supply troops, and engineering troops, will have to reorganize the existing troops. Come over to complete the formation, so this time the company was changed to a battalion, the real profit of the Ministry of the Army is actually only three new infantry companies and some miscellaneous personnel, which increased the total army strength by about 750 people. The original expected goal may still be a little bit far away.

If the Army really wants to restore its former glory, it still has a long way to go!

(End of this chapter)