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Chapter 1360 Beyond Reach
"You've wasted your geography lessons. North of South Africa is an extremely arid plateau, inhabited by at least dozens of independent nomadic tribes. Even the Xhosa people dared not venture north, and Europeans were even less likely to fight their way through; by the time they reached Port-e-Nus, there wouldn't be many left."

Furthermore, this force must be sufficiently large, no less than a single guard. Consider this: where would you find at least 10 tons of fresh water daily on an arid plateau?

Gao Dusi, who had served in the Northern Commandery, said that during the dry season on the Mongolian Plateau, even water for 500 people was a problem. This doesn't even include daily food; you can't possibly carry supplies 1000 kilometers from one end to the other without resupplying along the way, can you?

The Italian also mentioned that the inland areas of St. James's Port are all desert, stretching as far as the eye can see. There is a river that isn't too narrow, but when he went it was the dry season, and after a day and a night upstream, all he found were muddy puddles teeming with crocodiles several meters long; he figured it was impassable.

Wu Bing wasn't as stupid as he claimed. In fact, no officer who could become a ship captain was stupid. He was just habitually reluctant to use his brain to calculate certain issues, but when it came to matters closely related to him, he could calculate quite comprehensively.

"...So launching an attack from land is impossible, but why would the Europeans send at least several thousand troops to this godforsaken place?" After listening to Wu Bing's analysis, Setter temporarily rejected the idea.

Because what they said makes sense. If I were to lead the troops, the lack of fresh water alone would make this route impossible. But there are clear accounts of European coalition forces transporting troops to the area, at least two convoys. Why is that?

"Sigh... Let's wait and see. If something happens on the mainland, the General Staff will definitely issue new orders. We can only pray that nothing goes wrong. We finally managed to take this place. If we withdraw our troops immediately, all our previous efforts will be in vain."

Wu Bing wasn't as curious, or perhaps he was more easygoing than Setter, knowing that no matter how anxious he was, it would be futile. However, it wasn't that he didn't want to give up. Enbird Port and the west coast of America were too far apart, one in the east and one in the west. If he could only protect one, Enbird Port would definitely be his first choice, which meant he would have to give up this place.

The natural environment is generally fair; no one living in the same area can expect God to show favoritism to them. The Ming army launched a major offensive against the Viceroyalty of Peru in the New World, capturing Guayaquil, Lima, and Panama City in just over half a month. It may sound slow, but in reality, it was as fast as lightning.

Transportation and communication were insurmountable problems for humanity in the 17th century. No matter how urgent the matter, the effective transmission distance per day would not exceed 500 kilometers, and usually, 200 kilometers was the limit.

When the Japanese new army raised its swords in Panama City, news of the fall of Guayaquil had just reached Acapulco. Moreover, the information was incomplete; the total strength of the Ming army, the number of ships, and their next moves were all unknown.

When the Spanish officers in Acapulco learned of this, they had to send someone on horseback to Mexico City to report to the new Spanish governor as quickly as possible.

The distance from Acapulco to Mexico City isn't too far, only about 300 kilometers. The road conditions aren't as bad as in the Andes Mountains, but it's still a rugged mountain road; getting there in two days would be considered expedited.

At this point, the governor of New Spain had to make a decision: send troops to help or increase vigilance and defense. But before giving the order, he had to do one thing: quickly send a trusted confidant on horseback to Veracruz, a port city on the Gulf Coast, another 300-kilometer mountain road.

What for? To deliver a message to the King of Spain on a ship bound for Lisbon, Seville, or Cádiz. This voyage was approximately 9000 kilometers long, and even assuming all unfavorable factors such as weather and fleet regulations, it would take at least six weeks with favorable winds and currents.

The King of Spain had a habit of traveling and conducting official business with his entire governing team, even carrying state archives on an oxcart. Suppose that Felipe IV happened to be in Seville at that moment, immediately convened a meeting of ministers to discuss countermeasures, and made an efficient decision that same day; the new orders would not have been issued until seven weeks later and returned to Mexico City.

In other words, starting from the attack on the port of Guayaquil, assuming everything goes smoothly, it would take a total of nine weeks to send the message back to mainland Spain. If new orders were to be sent, it would take twice that time, approximately 18 weeks, or about four months.

The Ming Dynasty navy's communication ships had superior construction techniques, hull design, and sail efficiency. Could this have significantly increased the speed of message transmission? A simple calculation will tell you.

Starting from the day Guayaquil fell, communications ships were immediately dispatched to Pearl Harbor at top speed to deliver the message. In fact, Settle did exactly that, sending out three communications ships at a time, departing one hour apart and taking different routes—a lesson learned by the navy over 30 years.

Communication ships are designed for speed, so their speed is much faster than any European sailing ship of the time, almost twice as fast.

The distance from Guayaquil to Pearl Harbor is about the same as that from Veracruz to Seville, around 9000 kilometers. Ignoring weather and sea conditions, at the ideal speed, the communications ship can travel at 13 knots, or 24 kilometers per hour, covering more than 570 kilometers per day.

In reality, it is simply impossible. According to the records of the Naval Staff, communication ships may have a higher speed in a short period of time, such as 1 or 2 hours, but over a whole day, the highest record is only more than 430 kilometers per hour, and no one has been able to break it for more than ten years.

After all, a person's physical strength and energy are limited, and even if the winds blow smoothly all year round, it is impossible to maintain a high-speed sailing state all the time. So let's take 430 kilometers as an example, it would take 21 days, or exactly 3 weeks, to get to Pearl Harbor.

Then Pearl Harbor immediately dispatched a communications ship, which rushed to the next stop, the Okinawa naval base. It should be noted that communications ships are special; they sacrifice cargo capacity and reduce the number of sailors, but their speed and range are unmatched by ordinary cargo ships and warships, allowing them to reach Okinawa in one go without resupply.

How far is this distance? 7700 kilometers, requiring 18 days. From Ryukyu to Dagukou is another 1700 kilometers, taking 4 days. From Dagukou to the Forbidden City, a horse-drawn carriage or fast horse could take the entire journey in one day, but the total trip would take 43 days.

Of course, in reality, neither the European navy nor the Ming navy could reach this speed; it would take at least a third longer, and delivery could not be guaranteed.

This is the main reason why the Ming Dynasty navy stipulated that all important information must be transmitted by three communication ships departing together, taking different routes. Even if two ships encountered bad sea conditions en route and could not arrive on time, or even sank, the information would still not be lost.

See that? That's the power of technology! It's twice as far as Spain, but it saves two-thirds of the time. Being able to receive frontline reports more than 70 days in advance provides a huge advantage, both tactically and strategically.

(End of this chapter)