Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1660 Influence and Change ([-])

On December 1673, 12, when Christians on the east coast were carefully and low-key carrying out religious ceremonies, more than a dozen small 24-ton ships The steamer was going downstream from the upper reaches, sending a large number of soldiers to the vicinity of the Xuanwu Port wharf, and then turned back, preparing to go to the upper reaches of Dingnan Town, and bring the remaining troops and equipment over.

Xuanwu Port is an inland river port.When the Ludang River travels here, both the width of the river and the depth of the river are already considerable. Not only the 72-ton inland river steamer is unimpeded, but even large merchant ships can cross the water near the estuary when the tide is high at night. Go down the shallows and into the river.I believe that in the future, after the people on the east bank find a way to dredge the shoal near the mouth of the river, large ships can easily enter the Ludang River during the day and stop at the two ports of Xuanwu and Daliang.In this way, the efficiency of external material exchanges between Xuanwu and Daliang, two important agricultural counties, will also be greatly increased.

"Xuanwu and Daliang counties, after many years of solid foundation, now have a great increase in food production." Lieutenant Colonel Guo Handong, riding on the back of a horse, pointed to the endless wheat fields in the distance, and said with emotion: "Although only Crops such as wheat, soybeans, corn, and sorghum cannot grow rice, but the production capacity is still huge. The Duck Lake Basin, which has always been an important grain production area in the country, has seen its growth rate become slower and slower over the years. surpassed."

Xuanwu County, that is, the area around Viedma City, the "capital" of Argentina in later generations, has always been an important grain-producing area.There are even railways and roads built here, and the huge amount of wheat produced is transported to the Gulf of Blanca and exported to other countries.The reason is probably because the soil here is relatively fertile and the rainfall is moderate, which is suitable for the growth of wheat.Of course, if we think about it from other angles, we will also see that the soil texture in this area is relatively hard, which is suitable for large-scale agricultural machinery to enter and exit. Therefore, success has only been achieved in parts of central North America where the soil is relatively hard—the planting industry of the large farm model can become popular, and the per capita grain output will naturally be high, and there will be a certain amount of surplus grain for export.

Over the years, people on the east coast have also been continuously improving their agricultural machinery, among which changing the power from horses to steam engines has always been the top priority.It is a pity that due to the influence of materials, machining accuracy, design, etc., the weight of the steam engine cannot be reduced to an acceptable level, that is, the volume and weight of the steam engine cannot be significantly reduced under the condition of constant power. A series of problems have been brought about, such as the delay in the advent of the steam harvester and so on.

The year before last, Dafeng Agricultural Machinery Factory had built a steam tractor and tested it on the farmlands of Xuanwu, Daliang, and Yancheng counties, but ended in failure.The main reason is that its weight is too heavy, which is more destructive to the cultivated land, and the damage to the road surface is also greater when walking on the dirt road. Although the degree of damage is not as good as other local areas with softer soil, it is still unacceptable. Therefore, In the end, I went back to redesign and process in despair.

"Now the area around Yazi Lake is densely populated and economically developed. There are many residents planting fruit trees, alfalfa, carrots, rice, soybeans, vegetables and other crops. There are really not many people who are serious about planting wheat. Therefore, now our country The wheat producing areas have basically been concentrated in the eastern coast prairie and northern Patagonia, and the proportion of wheat produced in northern Patagonia is getting higher and higher. This land has basically been defined It is an agricultural area, and the country’s strategic deployment is also in this way. I think this is quite correct, because the conditions here are really good.” Captain Li Zhixin, the commander of the No.11 Mixed Battalion of the Army, said with a smile: “You see We are going to the Hezhong area this time, and a lot of supplies have to be collected in these three counties."

It is said that this time the Ministry of the Army was instructed by the executive committee to gather the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh mixed battalions of the army to the mouth of the Ludang River, and planned to ship them to the middle of the river in South Africa. The goals and tasks were basically clear. Obviously, it was for the Dutch.

It has been a while since the incident at the Gwanpot Prison Square spread to the mainland. The attitudes of the members of the executive committee have gone from shock and anger at the beginning to helplessness and resignation to fate. They have basically reached a consensus on this matter, that is, since The event has already happened, so you have to think about what the consequences will be.

The members of the Executive Committee held several enlarged meetings for this purpose, and invited middle-level cadres from the intelligence, business, and diplomatic systems in Beijing to participate in the meeting, and finally came to the conclusion that the possibility of the Dutch retaliation is quite high.And what is the method for the Dutch to retaliate against the East Coast?Everyone agrees that it is unlikely to be a war, so it can only be economic sanctions, such as raising import and export tariffs on goods from the east coast, restricting the import of some goods, and even tearing up all or part of the commercial contracts that have been signed. things that could happen.

And the Dutch imposed economic sanctions on the East Coast. Naturally, the East Coast Republic of China, which has been "getting more tempered" over the years, can't obey obediently. So they resorted to some means to safeguard their normal interests and recover some economic losses. , it is very natural.Therefore, the Ministry of War's proposal to control the Dutch South African colony in its hands and "temporarily freeze" it to wait for future discussions with the Dutch government on its status was approved by the Executive Committee.

According to the plan formulated by the Ministry of War, this time, four mixed battalions will be mobilized to go to the river area. With the cooperation of local guides, they will march into the towns and cities in the Dutch South African colony, and control them in their own hands with lightning speed.For this reason, the navy may also send some ships to the waters off Cape Town to carry out a naval blockade of the colony of the Dutch East India Company to cooperate with land military operations.

To be honest, the relationship between the Dutch East India Company and the East Coast is actually quite good. The trade between the two parties is relatively complementary, and there is a comparison in the Far East. However, as the new executive committee member Liang Xiangjian said, the Dutch East India Company usually Enjoying the privileges and a lot of benefits given to them by the government, they basically wear the same pants as the Dutch government. Now that the Dutch government may mess with the people on the east coast, the people on the east coast naturally have the right to enter their colonies and recover their losses.

All the logic seemed to make sense, and there was no moral dilemma, so the four mixed army battalions that were suppressing the bandits in the southern cone were quickly gathered from their respective bases, and then gathered in Dingnan Town, where they were divided. Batch went down the river by boat and arrived at the mouth of the Ludang River, waiting for the arrival of supplies and military resources.

In this operation, the Eighth Mixed Battalion of the Army is the well-deserved main force.This mixed battalion formed from the original scattered companies in the Far East is also one of the eight veteran battalions, and it is one of the four fully staffed battalions, so there is no doubt about it being the main force.In contrast, the [-]th, [-]th, and [-]th mixed battalions were all newly added troops to take advantage of the east wind of the Franco-Dutch war. The number of officers and non-commissioned officers was not very sufficient, and the ordinary soldiers were recruits with little experience. Therefore, it is foreseeable that the combat effectiveness is weak, and it can only be used as a subordinate of the Eighth Mixed Battalion.

The battalion commander of the Eighth Mixed Battalion of the Army is Lieutenant Colonel Guo Handong. This gentleman was originally the head of the temporary first regiment. He has been suppressing bandits in the southern cone area. The Kan people and some Quechua and Kelandi people are as frightened when they hear Guo's name, which shows that he has a very bad reputation in the southern cone.

Because the situation of suppressing bandits has undergone a major change in favor of the people on the east bank, the temporary first regiment was originally disbanded on the spot in February this year, and the various ministries began to disperse and suppress the remaining bandits. Lieutenant Colonel Guo Handong had always used Yancheng County as his base camp before. He led his troops to sneak northward into the Pampa Plain to wipe out the local Quechuas, and some results have been achieved.

The Franco-Dutch war broke out, and after the First Mixed Battalion "came into trouble" in The Hague, Lieutenant Colonel Guo Handong expressed sympathy for his competitor, Major Lan Fei, and at the same time realized that the temporary first regiment he originally commanded might be a mobile unit. There's more work to do!In fact, it was similar. After asking someone to inquire about the news, he found out that the military department was formulating a combat plan to annex Dutch South Africa. Guo Handong, who was very interested in this command position, started to act almost immediately. In the end, he got his wish and became the new temporary head of the first regiment.

The four mixed battalions under the new provisional first regiment are all fully staffed, plus two independent field artillery companies, an independent engineering company, scout platoon, medical team and commander temporarily reinforced by the Ministry of War The Ministry of Staff and Miscellaneous personnel, with a total strength of nearly 6400 people, is really a relatively tyrannical force, and it was more than enough to wipe out the ghosts and monsters in Dutch South Africa.Although most of the people in this army are recruits, after all, the number and equipment are there. Can't they take down the German mercenaries and Dutch militia in Cape Town?

To transport 6400 people to South Africa across the sea, to be honest, it is indeed a big job without using immigration transport ships. What about coordination?If the massive amount of supplies needed for the 6400 long-term combat and garrison is included, it is conservatively estimated that more than [-] tons of transportation capacity will be invested in one-time transportation, and [-] to [-] tons of transportation capacity will still need to be maintained for the long-term operation of this route. The burden is still quite heavy.And this is when there is a food and livestock supply base in the Hezhong area, otherwise there will be more supplies to be transported. From this we can also see how terrible the labor expedition is in this era, especially Expedition across the ocean!The Atlantic Ocean has served as a natural barrier and protective layer for the East China Republic for many years, but now it has increasingly become one of the most important factors restricting the country's outward expansion, and it is also helpless.

At present, the number of officers and soldiers of the provisional first regiment that has been gathered in Xuanwu County has exceeded 500 people. Among them, the No. 11 and No. 1674 mixed battalions have all arrived, and there are still some companies in the ninth and tenth mixed battalions. They were stuck in the Dingnan Town area before returning to the building, but after these small steamers returned to the upper reaches of the Ludang River, they should be able to arrive within a week.In addition, some regiments temporarily strengthened by the Ministry of the Army are directly under the technical troops. It is said that they will not arrive until the middle of January next year ([-]). Therefore, the departure date of Guo Handong's troops should be around the end of January or early February look like.And by that time, there will probably be further news from Europe, and their provisional first regiment will also receive clearer orders.

"Counties like Xuanwu and Daliang, speaking of them, I have feelings. How many times have we fought in this area over the years? Maybe we have measured every inch of land with our feet?" Guo Handong looked at Huang at his feet. The brown alluvial soil of the Ludang River said with emotion: "Now we are finally going to fight in South Africa, and I am quite reluctant to say it. Although the industry in the river is not very developed, it has a large population, and the animal husbandry and grain planting industries They are all so-so, and they produce high-quality wine, Yang Liang has been operating there for many years, I want to go and see what it looks like there now!"

"Commander Yang (Yang Liang previously served as the commander of the South African Garrison) had previously formulated a plan for the 'South African Penetration Operation', but I heard that the implementation of this plan was not satisfactory after the withdrawal of the [-]rd Mixed Battalion. There are quite a few, and there are quite a few criticisms in the upper and lower parts of the river. But this is none of our business. We are going to fight the Dutch South African colony. I heard that there are thousands of people in the white colony there. It is really scary, but It shouldn’t be able to stop me from forming the [-]-strong army of the first regiment!” Guo Handong’s loyal Major Li Zhixin immediately responded after hearing this: “They are just German mercenaries, and they should be defeated in one battle!”

"You dog head, what's in it!" Guo Handong patted Li Zhixin on the head angrily, and said, "You think the country paid a huge price to send us 6000 people ashore in South Africa, just to let You just call the Netherlands South Africa and it’s over? Use your brains, the executive committee members are extremely stingy, they will definitely squeeze us to death and make full use of them to the extreme. Let’s just say this, this time I went to South Africa. I don’t think I can go back for a year or two. You have to be prepared for this. If anyone has any unfinished business or an old lover that you haven’t seen, you should take care of the beginning and end for me and go for a short time. I won’t be able to come back, An Anxin will follow me to make contributions there! The Dutch, Xhosa, and Zulu people have been famous for a long time, and this time they will meet for a while!”

(End of this chapter)