Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1550 Terrace (Nineteen)

This year's Patagonian plateau is rarely without snow in the middle of winter, but this does not seem to be a good thing, because it may be detrimental to agricultural production next year, especially for an important wheat-producing area like Yancheng County. That's it.

Major Guo Handong has led the Eighth Mixed Battalion to arrive here for several days. Soldiers and officers have also been allowed to go out of the camp in batches. This has greatly boosted everyone's morale. The mixed battalion (mostly infantry and artillery at that time, cavalry and supply troops were selected and recruited in the volunteer team system in Denglai and Ningbo, and the engineers and some staff staff were fully equipped after arriving in the mainland. The recruiting place of the battalion was Designated as West Lake County), a while ago, they have been conquering the Guarani and Tupi people in the interior of Brazil who did not obey the government on the east coast, and they have defeated many tribes, so everyone has a lot of money on hand. , waiting for the approval from the superiors to let them go to the city to have fun.

Guo Handong, Pei Dade, Li Zhixin and other new officers from the Guo family led their horses to hunt in the countryside. Guo Handong was lucky and he caught a puma. Town office.In the place where many rivers meet, the regional administrative office of Northern Patagonia has invested a lot of money and manpower—the annual central allocation to the southern cone area is 6000 people, and the regional administrative office immediately dispatched Half of them went to settle in that area - and in order to ensure the safety of the pioneers and supplies, Major Guo Handong will stay there for a long time in the future, escorting the newly established settlements in Dingnan Town and its surrounding areas.

In order to allow Mr. Guo to make contributions in the area of ​​Dingnan Town in a more justifiable way, after a series of slowdowns and compromises, the Joint Staff Headquarters temporarily formed a new unit for the main forces currently stationed in the middle and upper reaches of the Ludang River: Temporary Formed the first regiment, headed by Zhu Liang, the veteran battalion commander of the Sixth Mixed Battalion, and Major Guo Handong, who also served as the battalion commander of the Eighth Mixed Battalion, served as the deputy commander of the regiment.

Considering that Zhu Liang, the head of the temporary first regiment, is already old, the head of the lieutenant colonel is basically a transitional position. After working for a few years, it is basically foreseeable that he will be promoted to colonel and retire directly.It is also because of this that Commander Zhu is not in charge of things at the moment. The general affairs of the temporary first regiment are almost all handled by the deputy commander Guo Handong, and Zhu Liang will only come forward to participate in the discussion during combat missions and finally decide on the battle plan.

By the way, the establishment of the first temporary regiment is not small, including the entire eighth mixed battalion (full), the second mixed battalion (compendium), and the fourth mixed battalion (compendium). In addition, independent field artillery has been strengthened The first company has a total strength of about 3300 people.

However, although a regiment has been formed temporarily, it does not mean that the more than 3000 officers and soldiers of the whole regiment have gathered to fight together.In fact, in Patagonia, where the land is sparsely populated, the units of the Temporary First Regiment have even begun to fight in units of infantry companies to deal with the scattered natives and protect as many troops as possible. migrant.As for the technical arms such as artillery, cavalry, engineers, and supply troops, they are under the direct control of the battalion and regiment headquarters, and they often move with the regiment or battalion headquarters on weekdays, generally only when the scale of military operations reaches a certain level. It will be distributed and strengthened to each department.

According to the plan, Guo Handong and his two friends will go to Dingnan Town to take office on May 1669, 5. Guo Handong will serve as the deputy head of the regiment, Pei Dade will serve as the lieutenant commander of the artillery company directly under the regiment, and lieutenant Li Zhixin Serving as the company commander of the first company of the Eighth Mixed Battalion, together with Li Ziqian, the regimental combat staff officer (first-class staff officer) who was standing in front of the battle in Dingnan Town at this time, the structure of a "relative and friend group" basically surfaced.

Well, it is a bit of a joke to say that the group of relatives and friends exists, but in the provisional first regiment, the existence of a group of young and middle-aged officers headed by Major Guo Handong is indeed an irrefutable fact.Their group has a great say in the provisional formation of the first regiment, and they have a tacit understanding in fighting on weekdays, so they are not taboo by their superiors.After all, mountain-topism is always unavoidable, and people always stick together subconsciously. As long as it does not affect the business, everything is still within the scope of the rules.

"Seeing the peaceful and peaceful life here in Yancheng County, our arduous battles in the areas of Ludang River and Shuoshui River (Limai River) became meaningful." Wearing brand-new school officers and lieutenant uniforms, The young man with a saber on his waist was wandering on a quiet country road, watching the sunset in the west, and said with emotion.

It was already very close to the county seat, and there happened to be a market, so there were not many people here. Although it was still a little distance away from the rubbing shoulders, it could not be regarded as unpopular.Along the way, people of all colors in the market had very different attitudes towards these three "Masters". The fierce appearance and domineering style of the Ming army and the Qing army; some people respect these soldiers who guard their peaceful lives. Most of them are old citizens who have lived for many years, or they have been smoked to the inland The teachers on the front line, because they have been in contact with each other a lot, are naturally not afraid, but rather kind; other than these two types of people, the best impressions of soldiers are the dozens of children chasing after them, because they can be They've got their hands on delicious candy -- and, if they're lucky, even a sweet treat called "chocolate."

There are more mules and horses in the market than people!This was the first impression of the three new military officers when they passed by, and the second impression was naturally the stench brought by these livestock and the "bombs" (mule and horse dung) that could be seen everywhere on the road.The stench is so impressive that it may be stronger than the faint stench of the excrement piled on the ground next to it.Fortunately, these mules and horses' excrement are also in high demand, and there is no need to greet the person in charge of the market. Within half an hour, someone will come to shovel the excrement away, and sometimes two people may even fight to grab a large pile of excrement. , is also drunk.

Because it is located in the Patagonian platform, all kinds of cheap and high-quality wool textiles produced by the United Textile Factory in Huangyang County in the south are widely loved by people, and they occupy a large number of markets, which has greatly affected the sales of cotton textiles. of compression.Since it will be winter, Guo Handong and others looked around and saw that many people in the market were wearing very long wool socks on their legs, and the outside was covered by knee-length leather boots.

This kind of leather boots is generally cowhide. Thanks to the increasing hunting of La Plata bison, the production of cowhide on the east coast has almost increased several times in recent years, and the price has dropped sharply. Bags, armed belts, belts, military boots, water bags, and scabbards, which accounted for a large amount of output (once listed as strategic military supplies), began to enter more and more households of ordinary people. This market sales The amount has naturally expanded many times, and the handicraftsmen or businessmen who are engaged in this industry naturally smile crookedly—this is ushering in a long-term bull market, can you not be happy?

Similar to cowhide, sheepskin is also quite cheap in the Patagonia region, and has almost become one of the slightly higher-end mass consumer goods. This may be because the precipitation in the region is scarce, and the vegetation is characterized by inferior weeds that cattle do not like to eat. or low shrubs - based on this natural condition, a large number of sheep are raised in Taiwan. On the one hand, they can harvest wool regularly, and on the other hand, they can also produce a large amount of goat milk, tallow, frozen meat and leather. It is undoubtedly extremely important for the people in this region with relatively difficult conditions, and it is also the main way for them to obtain cash to exchange goods with the outside world.

Guo Handong and others have been fighting in Taiwan for several years, and they have long turned a blind eye to the local residents' preference for wearing lambskin lined clothes, because they are based on local materials.They often wear hats made of vicuna leather, lambskin jackets, spirits in their pockets, and rifles on their shoulders. Braving the cold wind and heavy snow, they travel deep into the inland with the regular army, and wipe out the land that is destined to be separated from the east coast. The barbarians of Thuelche who have been enemies for generations.

There are also some women in the market, most of them are housewives who go out to buy daily necessities.These people usually wear pleated skirts and looser tops, and their long hair is curled gracefully on the top of their heads and fastened with hairpins.Women in some families (for example, when their husbands return from military service in overseas colonies) will decorate their surroundings with gems, usually cheap gems from Xinhua Island, which are very popular on the east coast, and their clothing buttons are also made from large-scale gemstones. The black pearls of Xiti, this kind of gadget is the largest commodity sold in Tahiti to the mainland. The price is not too expensive, but it can never be said to be cheap.

Of course, there are some people who wear gold jewelry on the top of the head, ears and neck, but there are very few silver jewelry. This is probably because the east coast is not as short of silver as the Ming Dynasty in the Far East. Even women from ordinary families are willing to save money. Make gold jewelry with money, instead of wearing silver jewelry with a faint sense of bad street—perhaps, only the wives and daughters of non-national laborers who have just arrived on the East Coast will wear some silver or similar jewelry. .

However, as people living in the Patagonia region, the women here prefer to drink alcohol, and some even ride horses. For the so-called big city women who are fans, they have a very different style. At first glance, they seem to be the kind with stronger "combat power".

"I think the three counties of Yancheng, Daliang, and Xuanwu were still barren land back then. Except for Yancheng Port, which was a little better, the others were in a mess, and there were natives in and out of the surrounding markets. There was even a whole group of Spanish colonists decades ago. The matter of being killed by the Tehuelche people on the day of the festival. But how is it now? Has it developed? This only proves that the Spaniards’ knives are not sharp enough. To deal with those uncivilized barbaric natives, they still need Take coercive measures." Lieutenant Pei Dade, who has always been more eccentric, shook the saber in his hand and said in a tone full of pride.

A carriage came up ahead, and the open carriage was full of goods. From the pungent smell, it could be smelled that the sacks in the carriage must be full of spices.There are many kinds of spices, among which pepper is imported from Xinhua Island, and some are imported from the Dutch East India Company or the British East India Company; Homegrown, all imported from East Indies, Indian subcontinent and Persia.

The demand for spices has always been huge in regions with high meat production, such as Patagonia.Whether it is bison, mutton or seafood, the production here is very rich, not to mention there are three ostriches and vicuna that are bred in large quantities. The residents also love meat very much, so they have developed a unique food culture - roasted Mutton kebabs, grilled beef tongue, lamb stick bones, etc. came out of this land and eventually swept the entire east coast.

Sales of spices have always been relatively good.Ships coming from elsewhere always like to be loaded with spices, daily necessities, metal tools, machinery and equipment, medicines, high-grade textiles, tobacco, sugar tea, wood and other commodities, and then pull the whole ship's salt, wheat, leather, bacon, Salted fish, cheese, animal fat, dried fruit and wool, among which the trade of special commodities such as spices has ranked among the top few imported commodities. This is probably due to the vigorous development of the food processing industry in Yancheng Port and the increasing demand of local residents. for the sake of it.

"Actually, there are not many people in Thuelche. The surrounding areas of Dingnan Town have been raided several times. The large tribes go to seven or eight, and the small and medium tribes hide and hide. Normal grazing, nomadic farming, and even hunting and gathering cannot continue. The population has been reduced to a great extent. Powerful. If the high pressure continues, those Thuelche savages who have refused to surrender will either perish, or fight back to the death, and they will be wiped out by us in the end. There is no other way to go." Li Zhixin also accepted the words After the conversation, he continued: "The Spaniards are actually not very comparable to us. They have limited manpower and lack of supplies, so the colonization of the Patagonian coast was fiercely counterattacked by the natives. Afterwards, they were forced to stop at nothing. But for the Great East Bank, which can coordinate and deploy resources and manpower, the Tehuelche people are not a threat. The first regiment has more than 3000 officers and soldiers, and several counties have also trained a considerable number The militia, this can no longer wipe out the barbarians quickly, so let's stop messing around, shame on us!"

A few people walked through the market while chatting and laughing, and then walked towards the military camp not far away.All of the newly arrived Eighth Mixed Battalion is stationed there. A few days later, under the leadership of the new Battalion Commander, Major Guo Handong, they will take a small steamer on the inland river and travel all the way west to Dingnan Town to report, and join the provisional No. [-] regiment's order of battle.And the second phase of action to wipe out the natives and continue to open up wasteland is about to start.

(End of this chapter)