Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1277 Another Battlefield ([-])

"Unfortunately, Mr. Sekela, your two countries were officially at war five months ago. If you need, we can make up a letter of engagement as soon as possible and submit it to His Excellency the Governor of Macau, but the war will not happen before that. Interrupt." The commander of the No.11 Division of the New Army and Army Captain Bogdan said sternly, "Mr. Sekela, do you have anything else to do? For example, discuss matters concerning surrender."

"No, I don't need it!" Sekela's face turned cold all of a sudden, and then he stroked the rapier at his waist, and took a hard look at Bogdan who was holding a saber in both hands and Tian Xing who was sharpening his short spear. Did not go back.Although the Portuguese have always been tolerant in Macau, and they have tried their best to satisfy the rude blackmail of officials at all levels of the Ming Dynasty, but this does not mean that they are bloodless, poor people who can be manipulated by anyone at will!

You know, in Guilin in the Ming Dynasty, they only sent a mercenary army recruited on the spot in Macau to defend the city of Guilin, and defeated the invincible San Francisco in field battles many times. Cavalry, this makes them very confident in their own combat effectiveness in the Far East. After all, the military quality and combat effectiveness of the Chinese are too bad. I heard that their best Eight Banners warriors can't beat the weak Russian serfs with several times their strength—— Although the fighting power of the people on the east coast should not be weak, their military system, their weapons, their training, and their combat thinking are undoubtedly models of this era, but their Far East land can have How many troops?And I heard that they are still at war with the Qing Dynasty, which will also take up a lot of elite troops, so they can't threaten Macau City at all.

Now there are nearly [-] Portuguese citizens in Macau, and there are three times as many mixed descendants. These people are loyal to King Alfonso, full of honor, and trustworthy, and they can completely form With an army ten times the size of the aid to Guilin that year, how can the people from the east bank conquer our city of Macau?

These white people and their mixed descendants who are full of love for the king and believe in God are the biggest foundation for the self-protection of Macau City. The Ming, Qing, Dutch, and English do not have this strength in the Far East, and they cannot compete with this team. Armies to contend!Therefore, Mr. Sekela walked away indignantly. He planned to go back and sue the governor, and asked him to send effective troops to attack the servant army of the people on the east coast under the command of the nobles who are familiar with military affairs, and completely lift the control over Macau City. Siege - Although they still have a lot of food reserves, it is not a problem to be surrounded all the time, especially when the sea advantage has been controlled by the people on the east coast, there can be no more troubles on land.

And the facts have proved that Mr. Sekera's estimation is completely correct. On November 11, the Portuguese consisted of 3 white officers, non-commissioned officers, and veterans as the core, supplemented by a large number of mixed-race whites, Chinese, and a small number of black soldiers—many of whom had experience with natives, Dutch, and The combat experience of the English - formed an army of about 4000 people, among which firearms accounted for a relatively high proportion, including more than 400 flintlock guns, more than 1300 matchlock guns, 10 cannons, and three leather armors. More than a thousand pairs, countless spears and stabbing swords, under the command of Baron Banega, a nobleman who is familiar with warfare, killed the people on the east coast blocking the city in a mighty way.

It has to be said that when the people from the east coast attacked Macau this time, their pre-war intelligence was extremely poor. Liao Xiaoyao only vaguely knew that Macau had a population of "2" and about ten merchant ships, but no amount of information was available. Got it.They didn't even know how strong Macau's military was and how many white people there were. They didn't even bother to inquire about the fact that the Portuguese had organized mercenaries many times in recent decades to aid Ming Dynasty, and their combat effectiveness was quite impressive.If they knew all this in advance, they wouldn't be so big that they would only take a No. 11 division with 4000 people to the south—and it was a cold weapon force formed based on the defeat of Huang Binqing's army in Zhoushan—nor would it Naive enough for Li Chengdong to "take back" Macau with a single order, as if the Portuguese were powerless to resist, so it is not surprising that they are now defeated.

In the final analysis, it was the weak attitude of the Portuguese to the Ming and Qing courts in history that gave him the illusion that the strength of the Portuguese in Macau was really not worth mentioning.As everyone knows, this is one of the strongholds of the Portuguese in the Far East. In history, it was even planned to send 1500 musketeers to Liaodong to help the Ming Dynasty in the war. These musketeers were all Portuguese whites recruited locally in Macau. How could there be 1500 musketeers from the white population base? The historical impression of later generations killed people!

On November 11rd, in addition to the more than a dozen artillery pieces deployed on the demarcation line that caused considerable damage to the Portuguese, the three or four hundred shotguns of the No. 3 Division alone were not enough to withstand almost the same number of The Portuguese army, not to mention the obvious gap between the two sides in terms of combat effectiveness.As a result, they were defeated simply and neatly. The Eleventh Division was severely damaged by the Portuguese, with more than 11 casualties and more than 800 people captured. Seven artillery pieces and a large amount of supplies were captured by the Portuguese.If it weren't for the Portuguese's scruples about the perception of the Ming court (for fear that they would not have to do business), they would not have allowed the officers and soldiers of the retreating [-]th Division to escape, and they might even chase them to the vicinity of Xiangshan County.

The rout of the east bank army was taken in by Bogdan near the county seat. At that time, these rout soldiers were looting everywhere, so that Tian Xing, who was in charge of military discipline, had to ruthlessly arrest a group of beheads before he was a little shocked. these people.There are still 3000 or [-] people left in the [-]th Division that has been contained. After discussing with Tian Xing for a while, Bogdan and Tian Xing felt that it was impossible for them to complete the task of sealing off Macau. Now they can only rely on Li Chengdong to write to the counties around Macau to prohibit all kinds of food from flowing out. up.

However, after such a defeat - which may affect the image of the East Coast people in Guangdong - it is probably quite inappropriate if they do not find their way back.Therefore, after collecting all the remnants of the [-]th Division and boarding the ship, Bogdan asked the captain of the team, Lieutenant Ston, to approve the attack on Tanzai Island. That island is an anchorage for Portuguese ships, and there is only a small repair ship on it There are not many people in the so and several warehouses, which are suitable for attacking to boost the morale of the army.

Captain Sidun was skeptical about the morale of the defeated soldiers of the [-]th Division, but Bogdan insisted on attacking. Tian Xing also helped him share a few words for the sake of his colleagues in the army, so the skeptical Captain Sidun finally agreed. their battle plan.Anyway, the navy has completely controlled the waters around Macau, and they want to fight wherever they want, so—let’s try it out, shall we?

On November 11, when the Portuguese sent many small boats to smuggle in and trade food with some unscrupulous businessmen—of course they also sent envoys to speak to familiar Ming officials, demanding to put pressure on Li Chengdong to contact him. Food embargo on Macau—more than 9 officers and soldiers of the No.11 Division landed off the coast of Tanzai Island after rough rectification.In this battle, Bogdan issued strict orders, and Tian Xing also brought some military police to the front line to supervise the battle. He was determined not to let the failure on the 2000rd repeat itself, adding new daily jokes to the naval officers and soldiers.

Generally speaking, the attack on the island went smoothly. This is probably because there are very few Portuguese on the island. More than 2000 officers and soldiers of the [-]th Division were eager to avenge their shame, so they quickly conquered the few defensive troops. The wharf, ship repair yard, warehouse and a small fort killed and wounded more than [-] enemy soldiers, while their own casualties did not exceed [-], which is considered a good fight.It is worth mentioning that in this battle, Captain Tian Xingtian took the lead and was the first to board the enemy's fort at the cost of three wounds on his body. He threw the short spear in his hand and killed several enemy soldiers.

In addition, there are five or six hundred Portuguese and their descendants on the island, all of which are under the control of the east coast. The anchorage on Tanzai Island has been separated from the control of Macau City. The national flag of the East Coast Republic of China was raised. I don’t know how the Portuguese in the opposite city of Macau will feel after seeing it. Will they still be immersed in the previous victory?

While sending troops to capture Tanzai Island, Captain Sidun also sent back the armed transport ship "Yaksa" and ordered it to rush to Dinghai Port in Ningbo, asking Commander Liao Xiaoyao to send the more combat-ready squad under his command to the fourth place. , The fifth brigade was transferred to the south—the stand-up team is a mixed force of hot and cold weapons. It has been training the Spanish phalanx all year round. Two servants came over.As for the local defense after these troops are transferred, they can be filled by troops from Denglai. Anyway, now that they have negotiated peace with the Qing court, there is no need for Shandong to hoard a large number of elite troops.

After capturing Tamzai Island, the Portuguese did not respond much, and the people on the east coast were unable to attack Macau for a while, so things froze.Shao Shuguang and Tian Xing seemed to be idle, so they took their entourage and began to patrol around the Pearl River, recruiting Dan people who lived on the river.

Danmin, a group that was identified as "untouchables" during Zhu Yuanzhang's era, is quite a number now living in the Pearl River Delta. Shao Shuguang has not investigated it, and does not know the specific data, but it is based on some scattered news from Guangzhou subordinates. I'm afraid there are more than 8 people—not to mention anything else. Historically, in the third year of Kangxi's reign, the border was moved to the forbidden sea. Panyu County once moved more than [-] Dan people to live ashore in the western suburbs of Guangzhou. This shows the huge number of people.

Moreover, the living conditions of these Dan people are really not very good.It may be better in summer, and enough food can be caught from the water, but in winter, many people have no food and clothing, and life is very difficult.In addition to the difficult life, their biggest trouble probably comes from the exploitation of the government—especially the greedy Li Chengdong—and the oppression of the Han people on land. The price can only be lowered by others. In addition, some Danmin are still slaves of land fishermen. The fisherman enjoys the rights of Danmin's marriage, resale rights, inheritance after death, arranged marriages, etc. It is simply miserable.In addition, over the years, the river channels in the Pearl River Delta have been silted up, and more land has been formed, and the water living space of the Dan people has become increasingly narrow. However, their population is also increasing, which further exacerbates the poverty of the entire Dan population.

Shao Shuguang sometimes thinks that if these Dan people on the coast of Guangdong go to the east coast, they will definitely have a common language with the Russian non-citizens who immigrated here. They have a lot in common.Of course, this is just a joke. Even if they really go to the east coast, the Dan people will basically continue to engage in water occupations, such as boatmen, shipwrights, fishermen, navy, ocean sailors, etc., while the Russians develop forests, grasslands, and deserts. The main force, the intersection between the two sides is estimated to not be too much.

Now the Dan people in the Guangzhou area are in such an embarrassing situation. Li Chengdong's warlord regime beat them to the bone, and the Cantonese on the land also discriminated against and oppressed them in every possible way. Life is very sad.Coupled with the changes in the natural environment in the lower reaches of the Pearl River, it is estimated that some people will go with the people from the east bank. After all, these people have followed pirates and Japanese pirates in history, and they have even been water bandits themselves. There should be no psychological reason to defect to outsiders. pressure.

Of course, maybe Shao Shuguang and others’ views are too optimistic, maybe the Dan people don’t know enough about the people on the east bank, or maybe the information on the people on the east coast is wrong. The living conditions of the people in Guangdong are not bad. After coming down, the big boat of the people from the east bank went back and forth on the Pearl River for N times, and also sent a large number of sailors or military officers to lure them. The settlement fee was very high, and only a thousand or so people were brought in. ——and they are all extremely poor among the Dan people—far below the expectations of the people on the east coast.

However, Shao Shuguang and others quickly adjusted their mentality, and planned to take the gathering of Danmin as a long-term strategy.Temporarily resettled in Dinghai County, Ningbo Prefecture, went to Zhoushan Fishing Ground to fish during the flood season, and usually learned how to steer and drive Western-style soft sail boats, as a kind of sailor reserve; Nationality and work, become an East Coast national.I believe that such an arrangement is acceptable to the Dan people, and they can settle on the land, their income and living standards are far higher than before, and in a brand new continent, not many people discriminate against them. An unimaginable ideal life.

On December 1660, 12, just after Shao Shuguang and others gathered another group of four to five hundred people, several large motor sailboats heading south from Dinghai Port in Ningbo also docked in the Tanzai anchorage—a battle-tested Major Junior came to reinforce with two troops totaling 3 troops, and took over the command of the front line.And after this group of people landed, several motor sailboats will return to Dinghai Port and bring over 3000 people from the [-]th Division of the New Army and a large amount of luggage. For this reason, they even slightly affected the immigration transportation work this year. not big!And after paying such a big sacrifice, they naturally have to get enough rewards, such as the Portuguese who broke the incident in Macau City surrendered, otherwise, it would be a huge failure!

(End of this chapter)