Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 20 "The Interest of the Smuggler"

"What? Are there pirates coming to attack us?" Xiao Mingli shouted a little out of composure.

"Yes." Gao Mo nodded heavily, "Captain Couette heard the news when he was mooring and repairing the ship in Guyana. In fact, they are not pirates. To be precise, they are some smugglers who are interested in our porcelain. French smugglers who are interested but unwilling to pay."

"Why did you come to beat us?" Xiao Mingli still didn't digest the news.

"Not everyone wants to do business properly." Wang Qinian said coldly, "We have porcelain, and it seems that there is a lot of it. Not many people can resist such a high profit. It is this Kuai Special, if he doesn’t know that we are somewhat powerful, and he wants to monopolize the profits of the porcelain trade, I think he will have the same idea as those French businessmen.”

"Old Gao, is this news reliable?" Ma Ganzu asked seriously, "This matter is very important, because it means the adjustment of our work focus in the next period of time."

"Captain Couette told me that the news is not a secret in Guyana and Pernambuco. The French merchant (or pirate) fleet has assembled two large ships and they are currently waiting to see if there are any more. Many people are willing to join. But in any case, when the trade winds rise in January at the latest, they will go south. We must be prepared, and there is good news in the bad news, that is, these bandits will not be as powerful as we are. I don't know." Gao Mo replied with the same serious face.

"I think we must take this matter seriously." Ma Ganzu pondered for a while, and said: "It's better to believe it or not. We can't afford to gamble. The army and navy must start preparing for war in advance. Existing projects must Conduct a comprehensive review, temporarily suspend work if it is not necessary, and concentrate resources to serve possible wars. In addition, I propose to hold a general congress in advance." After finishing speaking, Ma Ganzu raised his right hand.The General Assembly is held once a year, fixed in December each year.

Soon, eleven executive committee members also raised their hands in agreement one after another.

After the executive committee determined the policy, it immediately began to pass the news to every corner, and notified every representative of the general assembly (that is, all the crossing people...).By the pier, on the fishing boat, in the farmland, in the stables, in the brick cave, in the workshop, on the sentry tower, in front of the fort, everyone who was notified hastily rushed back. Of course, each unit also left the necessary guards. Personnel; the crossing crowd of Dingyuan Fort organized a team of dozens of people to rush back by boat. Of course, this team was authorized by the representatives of the owner of Dingyuan Fort.

This is the second temporary or early general congress held by the crossing crowd. The last time was when the Orange River broke into the Dayu River in the first half of the year.

The conference hall is adjacent to the residential area, so the lighting is not very good.More than 400 people squeezed into the small conference room, which suddenly seemed a bit crowded.Liu Weimin, the director of the General Assembly, who hadn't appeared in front of everyone for a long time, presided over the meeting himself. Liu Weimin first briefly introduced the topics of today's meeting, and then the heads of various departments expanded it in detail.

The previous few topics were nothing more than this year's work summary, next year's work plan, etc., and everyone passed them by. Soon, today's drama came. Ma Ganzu, chairman of the executive committee, proposed the possibility of preparing for war. Proposal to attack.

This proposal immediately detonated the venue, and it was the first time that the time-travelers had truly faced external threats.Intense discussions continued for a full half an hour before voting began.

This time, the cross-travelers were obviously fighting against each other. Almost all the more than 400 people present voted in favor, and the proposal was passed.

On November 11th, after paying an additional cash worth 17 Ducats, Captain Couette returned to Amsterdam with 10 sets of porcelain, and the crossing crowd began crazy pre-war preparations.

首先是清点自己的战争物资。算上这次库艾特船长带来的物资，穿越众目前共有24磅炮10门、18磅炮12门、12磅炮10门、8磅炮8门、6磅炮2门、4磅炮4门、3磅炮4门，合计各型火炮达50门。

The number of artillery pieces is sufficient, but skilled gunners are in short supply.No way, the crossing crowd continued to install large-caliber naval guns over 12 pounds to the three forts in the port, and at the same time began to train more gunners.In addition, the former gunners among the immigrants are also the focus of attention.The executive committee promised that as long as they participated in this possible war, they would be granted the status of free citizens immediately after the war, and there would be a generous reward.Even if war does not break out, they will also receive a substantial bonus.

As a result, when the port fortress garrison was established on November 11, there were only more than 18 experienced gunners, and there were no more than 100 or 70 people crossing.Fortunately, there is still some time, and the traversing crowd has recruited a large number of new gunners from among the immigrants to start training.

In addition to the artillery, the fortress garrison also has an infantry expanded on the basis of the garrison, and the establishment is tentatively set at 250 people.This unit has 200 Suer matchlock guns, 50 new dog-lock brake muskets (early flintlock guns), and several high-precision hunting crossbows.

This force was set up to guard the city and the fort, and its main members were the first group of Swiss immigrants who traveled through the city.This batch of immigrants has been here for more than half a year, and their loyalty is much higher than that of the later batches.Of course, pirates have always had a bad reputation, and killing them all is their favorite thing to do. I believe that no reasonable person would go to pirates.

At present, "Datan Port" and Dingyuan Fort have a total population of 1985, including 568 people from the crossing.Among the previous immigrants, the first batch of 182 Swiss immigrants (1 person died) is more reliable; the second batch of Finnish and Livonian immigrants of 227 is basically reliable; the third, fourth and fifth batches of immigrants are large in number , coupled with the fact that the time is still short, the influence of the time-traveling crowd is still very weak.

Of course, weak influence does not mean that they will have any problems. After all, they are all poor people who can't get along in the old continent, and they come to the new continent just to eat.And the crossing people didn't treat them badly in this regard, and this time the enemy was a notorious pirate, so there was no need to worry about someone defecting or turning against them.

The wall surrounding the main city had been built two months ago. The 1.5-meter-thick brick wall can withstand the bombardment of most army light artillery.The south, north, and west gates are solid oak gates, covered with iron sheets, which also have a certain degree of protection.

炮台上的火炮安装在继续。穿越众马拉人扛，硬是把一门门火炮安上了炮位。经过一番努力，到11月月底的时候，三个炮台的火力均得到了加强。其中，一号主炮台拥有10门24磅炮、4门18磅炮和2门12磅炮的超强对海火力；二号炮台有4门18磅炮、4门12磅炮；三号炮台同样拥有4门18磅炮和4门12磅炮。

These artillery are installed in a semi-enclosed bunker, and each door corresponds to an area. As long as a large number of test firings are carried out in advance, and the performance and design parameters of each artillery are well known, then the enemy fleet will be very sad. .

In addition to sea artillery, the three forts also installed a number of land defense artillery positions.These artillery positions are mainly installed with light artillery used by the army, but there are not many of them.Some of the remaining army artillery were installed on the heads of the city gates to deter the enemy's infantry.

From that day on, the pier of "Da Tan Port" has been rumbling with gunfire all day long.That is the gunners are conducting live ammunition training, taking into account the measurement of various shooting parameters.At this time, if the executive committee feels sorry for money, it is a bad idea. Gunners, like gunners, are fed by shells. The more training they have in normal times, the more accurate they can be in wartime.

The three-year-style full-body armor has started to be fully manufactured. At present, the weapon workshop can manufacture almost 150 pieces of armor a month, plus some stocks. By January, it is conservatively estimated that the number of armors will be more than [-] pieces.This kind of armor that can prevent matchlock bullets from a long distance is deeply loved by the time travelers and immigrants. Having an extra piece of this life-saving equipment will greatly improve the morale of the troops.

On November 11, 20 acres of potatoes outside the city were harvested, and a total of nearly 150 jin of potatoes were harvested.

Although it was on the eve of the war, the executive committee did not delay agricultural production at all, and the new 400 mu of potato fields were sown one after another in the following week.

In addition, daily training has been going on overtime.All unnecessary entertainment activities will be cancelled, and a tense atmosphere hangs over the "Tatan Port".

(End of this chapter)