1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 720 The Great Voyage ([-])
October 1655, 10, off the west coast of the Fuego Islands.

Lu Zusheng, commander of the Exploration Fleet, saw the natives on the canoes ahead, naked, shivering under the cold wind, looking at them pitifully.

Damn it, this is for begging!

But looking at these poor natives, I still can't bear it.After discussing with several officers, some tweed and old canvas from the ship were sent to the natives so that they could cover their bodies.At the same time, salt, spices, and a few knives were also presented as gifts.

Lu Zusheng believed that the aborigines here had the most tragic fate among all the aborigines he had ever seen. They lived in such a harsh environment and climate, but they did not have enough ingenuity to create a more convenient and comfortable living environment for themselves.

Be aware that the wild birds here include geese, ducks, egrets, and a kind of wild duck called a racehorse by the locals because it moves fairly quickly in the water, but its wings are too short to support its body Fly in the air.And the wild geese here, although much smaller than the domestic geese raised in Hanzhou's native villages, the meat is much more delicious.

It is really sad that these local aborigines are still starving and freezing in such a rich environment of wild birds.Even if you don't know how to farm or raise poultry, you will still catch ducks and wild geese.Are the simple bows and arrows and spears in your hands just for show?

On October 10, the exploration fleet lifted anchor and set sail, sailing all the way north.

"Going north for a thousand kilometers, about seven or eight days' voyage, you will pass through a larger island - Chiloe Island. The island is under the jurisdiction of... the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. There are two strongholds on the island, respectively. North and Central."

On the evening of October 10, the fleet sailed away from the Fuego Islands and stopped in a calm harbor.The former Spanish officer Erwende Bruno (captured in 13 when Spain invaded Hanzhou), the current intelligence staff officer of the Exploration Fleet, Captain Xuanjie (Major) Bruno pointed to the map and introduced the west coast of America to the fleet commander Lu Zusheng Happening.

"How many people are there in the two Spanish strongholds on this island? Are there any powerful armed forces, such as coastal defense heavy artillery, garrisons and the like?" Lu Zusheng asked.

"Your Excellency, Commander, it has been 20 years since I left the American continent, and many things may have changed beyond recognition." Lu Nuo smiled wryly, and said, "Twenty years ago, the two Spanish strongholds on this island combined But there are more than 20 people, there are no coastal defense batteries, and there are no garrisons, only dozens of militiamen. As for now, I don’t know.... Your Excellency Commander, are you going to attack this small island?"

"Before we leave, the cabinet ordered us to explore the fleet. If we arrive in the American continent, we must try to obtain cinchona saplings and rubber saplings, and think that we can use them." Lu Zusheng tapped the map lightly with his fingers, "Because I don't know how Where are the two plants produced? Then we can only choose the opportunity to raid the remote coastal strongholds in Spain to see if we can get lucky and get these two saplings. Since this Chiloe Island is not far in front, let's make a dozen , to see if we can get useful news."

"Do we need to identify ourselves?"

"No need to reveal your identity." Lu Zusheng shook his head, "An order has been sent to the other two ships to remove all the flags on their bows starting tomorrow. Hehe, when we arrive in the American continent, we will also be pirates."
-
On October 10, Chiloe Island, the small town of Castro.

After the Spaniards captured Chiloe Island from the Indians in 1567, they built a colony in the coastal area on the east side of the central part of the island—Castro. After 90 years of development, the stronghold of dozens of people gradually It has developed into a small town with more than [-] people.

The east of the island is less than [-] kilometers away from the mainland across Corcovado Bay, covering an area of ​​more than [-] square kilometers.The whole island is hilly terrain, the west is higher, the climate is cold and humid, and there are evergreen coniferous forests.The economy is dominated by timber harvesting and fishing. There are thousands of acres of arable land near Castro Town, where wheat and potatoes are mainly grown, and a small amount of cattle, sheep and other livestock are also raised.

In addition to more than 200 Creoles (descendants of Spaniards born in America, also collectively referred to as indigenous whites) and Mestizos (descendants of mixed indigenous and whites), there are more than [-] Araucans on the island. As slaves raised by the first two local residents, they cut down trees and grazed livestock.

The residents of Chiloe Island maintain close contact with Puerto Montt, which is located in the northwest of the mainland. Several ships travel between the two places every month for the exchange of goods and personnel.The life of the local residents on the entire island is not very rich, but they are quiet and peaceful.

However, at [-]:[-] a.m. on this day, two ships of unknown origin broke into Castro Harbor suddenly. Under the astonished eyes of more than ten residents on the pier, they put down several small boats, and then quickly headed towards The shore rowed over.

"Pirates!" A shrill cry came from a tall watchtower on the coast of Castro Town, and warning bells rang throughout the town.Several residents on the pier saw the opportunity quickly and ran towards the town. Seven or eight Araucans were stunned for a moment, then hurriedly dropped the goods they were carrying, and followed the few native whites towards the town. The town fled.

"Hurry up, hurry up..., hurry up! Rush up!"

When the boat just approached the wooden trestle of the wharf, Yang Guangzheng, the gunner of "Fengxing No. 5" and Lieutenant Renyong (Lieutenant) kept urging the armed sailors to land quickly, and then he also held a musket and jumped to the shore in one step. Run towards a small fort on the north side.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

In order to cover the side attack of the landing sailors, the two armed exploration ships directly approached the dock more than 200 meters away and began to violently bombard the dock fort at the risk of being attacked by the fort on the shore.

Maybe it's been too long, maybe it's completely suppressed the resistance of the Araucans, maybe it's because the Spaniards think they have absolute control over the east coast of the Pacific Ocean. As a remote island settlement, Castro Town's counterattack is not only abnormal Slow and weak.Under the impact of more than 20 armed sailors of the Qi State Navy, the small fort with three 8-pound cannons at the dock directly raised the white flag to surrender after less than 10 minutes of fighting.

"Go and tell the residents of the town that they must surrender unconditionally within 10 minutes. At that time, we will guarantee the safety of all personnel." The Spanish trainee officer Lenny said loudly to a captured local militiaman: "If you refuse to surrender, Then we will destroy the entire town in the later battle, and at that time, I am afraid that we will not be able to guarantee the safety of all residents."

The militiaman in Castro town was a little surprised when he heard Lenny's slightly strange Spanish and European face, but he didn't dare to neglect the threat he said, and ran towards the town after getting permission.

However, 10 minutes later, the residents of Castro Town did not surrender as promised. Instead, they sent a priest to negotiate, demanding to pay a price of [-] silver pesos, as well as some food, cloth, livestock, poultry and other materials. , in exchange for the withdrawal of the "gentlemen".

The commander of the fleet, Lu Zusheng, directly rejected it. Such a small thing, it's too much to send a beggar!Although we crossed tens of thousands of sea miles and came to the American continent with untold hardships, the direct purpose was not to rob us Spaniards, but you are too stingy, how can you give hundreds of thousands of dollars for these three melons and two dates? Brothers, do you want some benefits?

Later, more than 50 armed sailors were mobilized on the two exploration ships to go ashore, and took away the cattle discarded by the residents of the town in the wild, and directly removed the cannons from the fort on the pier, and dragged them to the town bit by bit. move.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, after a cannon was in place, it didn't pay attention to precise shooting, and started bombarding the town at will.

Before the shelling lasted five rounds, the Spaniards in the town unfurled a white flag to signify their surrender.
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"Sir, this is not fair." Broll Crook, the mayor of Castro Town, shouted loudly: "Those Araucans are slaves and should not pay the same ransom as us!  … We really don't have the Kinney saplings you asked for here."

"As for whether those Indians are slaves, we are not interested in identifying them, and we have no intention of changing the total amount of ransom for the residents of the town." After listening to the translator, Lu Zusheng said impatiently: "I don't care what method your town uses, every day The ransom of five silver pesos paid by the individual cannot be less. As for the Kinney sapling, if you think about it, maybe it is not called this name in your place. Just to remind you, the bark of this tree is ground After being powdered, it can treat severe cold and fever diseases. If you can donate this sapling, your ransom will be halved as appropriate."

"Hurry up to replenish fresh water, vegetables, meat and poultry, we can't stay here for long." Poor Mayor Broll Crook returned to the town with great disappointment, and continued to raise ransom.Lu Zusheng told Yao Guanghui, the captain of "Fengxing No. 3" and Lieutenant Renyong (Lieutenant): "This place is very close to the mainland, and there will be Spanish ships coming over at any time. If you are unlucky, a fleet will come over. It would be ugly to block us here."

"Before dark, we can definitely get it done." Yao Guanghui nodded and said, "If we don't get cinchona saplings here, and the town residents can't get the ransom money together, do we need...to kill people?"

"...Kill the mayor, the magistrate, and the tax collector." Lu Zusheng thought for a while, and said ruthlessly: "If the brothers don't want to do it, you can force those Araukan people to do these dirty things."

"When we evacuate, shall we leave all the weapons collected in the town to the Araucans?"

Lu Zusheng glanced at Yao Guanghui, did not reply, turned and walked towards the pier.
-
At 4:[-] in the evening, two armed exploration ships slowly sailed away from the Castro town dock, and half an hour later, they joined the "Fengxing [-]" waiting outside the bay.Then, in the darkness, the three ships quietly sailed into a remote headland harbor, anchored, and prepared to rest here for the night.

Not long after the Qi State Expeditionary Fleet left, Castro Town ignited a fire that soared into the sky. It looked very abrupt in the silent night sky. Roar.

On October 10, three armed ships of the Qi State Exploration Fleet encountered a Spanish transport ship of about 20 tons in the waters near Valdivia, the Viceroyalty of Peru, and captured it after a fierce siege. .After some inspection, a large amount of fur, cloth, saltpeter and a small amount of wood were recovered from the ship.

After the robbery was over, the Exploration Fleet immediately withdrew from the "scene of the crime" and continued northward.

On October 10, the fleet temporarily stopped at a small island called Mocha and took a rest here for a day.

On October 10, the exploration fleet discarded all the more than 24 Spanish sailors captured a few days ago on Mocha Island, then headed eastward and landed in a coastal village called Tirua.

Quickly took control of this coastal village with less than [-] residents. After getting a little supply, they asked the residents for cinchona saplings and rubber saplings, but failed.

On October 10, when the exploration fleet approached Concepcion, the most important colonial stronghold along the Chilean coast, it encountered two Spanish armed galleons with a displacement of more than 27 tons.The other party may be fully loaded with cargo. After seeing the three armed ships of unknown origin, he took the initiative to retreat and turned back to Concepcion Port.

Seeing this, the Exploration Fleet decided to be unforgiving, and boldly sailed towards the port to spy on the real situation of the port.After lingering for nearly half an hour, the fleet left and continued heading north.

"Your Excellency, the voyage is about a few days ahead, and it is estimated that we will be close to the core of the Peruvian Viceroyalty. We can no longer continue to take risks along the coastline."

On November 11, Fleet Intelligence Staff Officer Luno said worriedly: "We should stay away from the coastline now, bypass this area, and choose to land in a remote area along the coast of Peru."

"Didn't you say before that the Spaniards' sea power is very strong in the Pacific coast?"

"Your Excellency, although the Spaniards' sea power in this region is weaker than that of the Caribbean Sea, they still have overwhelming strength compared to our fleet. If you meet their The cruise fleet, I'm afraid..."

"Will the Spaniards organize a fleet to cruise along the Pacific coast? What are they... doing? Are there other countries that covet their American territory?"

"The Spaniards have absolute control on the Pacific coast, and no country or force can challenge their ruling foundation here." Luno explained: "However, in order to ensure the financial revenue of the Kingdom of Spain, several governorships will follow the business According to the order of the court, warships from various places will be dispatched every year to form a cruise fleet to combat smuggling in the Pacific and Atlantic coast areas."

"Oh." Lu Zusheng was stunned, "Isn't most of the territories in the Americas the territory of Spain? Why do you want to send a fleet to fight against various smuggling activities on your own territory? Can't the local production in Spain meet the needs of the American territories?"

"As early as decades ago, the mainland of Spain... could not meet the daily material needs of the residents of the American territories." Luno smiled bitterly: "Whether it is the Governor's District of New Spain or the Governor's District of Peru, all the ports are full of European resources. The various smuggled goods trafficked by the country emptied the wealth that belonged to the Kingdom of Spain bit by bit, and evaded various tariffs and commercial taxes. In addition to obtaining a large amount of excavated and refined gold from the American territories every year in Spain, And silver, almost cannot receive any tax. Therefore, the office in Madrid, adhering to the will of the king, will often urge the American territories to combat smuggling in various places and safeguard the interests of the Kingdom of Spain."

"I'm afraid that the smuggling in the Spanish American territory is not only controlled by illegal businessmen, but officials from all over the country are probably involved. Maybe the governor and generals in this region are also involved." Lu Zusheng sneered: "Spain is so far away from the Americas." Far away, but require the region to form a cruise fleet to combat smuggling, isn’t this asking thieves to catch thieves? At least some ships and personnel must be transferred from the mainland to do these things! Their king, is his brain broken?”

"Hehe..., Your Excellency, Commander, is right..., there is some truth to what you said." Lu Nuo smiled awkwardly. Although he has been naturalized in Qi State for 20 years and has been serving in the navy, After all, I was a Spaniard before, and I still have some affection for my mother country in my heart, and I have a lot of respect for the king.

However, the Spanish mainland has been involved in too many wars and has cost countless money. More than 20 years ago, it went bankrupt several times.Thinking about it, I want to send ships and officers and soldiers from the mainland to the American territory to fight against smuggling and maintain the wealth and safety of the kingdom, but I have no money in my pocket, and I have more than enough energy!

"Commander, a fleet is found more than ten miles ahead, and it is heading towards us!" An officer on duty broke into the captain's room and reported loudly.

(End of this chapter)