Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2469 Gibraltar Crisis ([-])

On February 1703, 2, it rained continuously.Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yafu stood on a high tower, observing the surrounding fields with binoculars.

"I don't know if this spring rain will bring about a turnaround for Spain's agriculture?" After saying this, Zhou Yafu smiled self-consciously. The Spaniards don't grow overwintering wheat, so what does it matter if there is too much rain in winter?Their farmland water conservancy facilities are so poor that they can't store rainwater at all. Once there is less rainfall in summer, drought is almost doomed.And this seems to be the reason why Spain is so sunny and has so little food production. It is far from the agricultural developed country that supplies a large amount of fruits and vegetables to the EU in later generations.

Moreover, not only is Spain's agriculture failing now, but the once thriving fishery has also shrunk badly.The reason is that the government is not good enough to be involved in wars from time to time, but the navy is not strong enough to effectively protect the domestic fishermen to go fishing, so that the fishing boats are captured by the enemy in large numbers, and the fishermen go bankrupt.

Combining several factors, this day is sad.There is not enough grain and needs to be imported; fruits and vegetables are barely self-sufficient, and they are not slowing down; the cod eaten during the festival is seriously insufficient and needs to be imported in large quantities; even the oil crops and wine that Spain is good at are a bit insufficient, and France needs to help them. Know how this country is governed, and make it look like a bird.

"Commander, we don't care about Spanish agriculture. Why don't you take a closer look at the Spanish troops? They seem to be attacking." The deputy battalion commander stood behind Zhou Yafu and said anxiously.

This gentleman is an old man who has followed Zhou for many years. He dared to fight and fight hard when he attacked the Fortress of the Conception of the Virgin. He was also a good player and won Zhou Yafu's appreciation.Later, they "betrayed" from the army together and joined the marine warfare system. They were Zhou Yafu's absolute confidants.

"You mean those erected artillery?" Zhou Yafu pointed to the front and said, "It's nothing to worry about, our artillery, but the naval artillery dismantled from the ship, both in power and range, are far superior to their old artillery. .Actually, I am also quite puzzled. The Spaniard also bought a lot of our cannons. Where are all these cannons now?"

"I'm afraid I have become the captain of the transportation team." The deputy battalion commander replied with a smile.

It is said that the Spaniards have indeed bought a lot of Eastern-made artillery over the years, with a total of more than [-] pieces.For this reason, they also set up a small factory in China for the production of artillery shells. Because of the high precision of machining on the East Coast, the caliber of artillery has a fixed number, even for solid iron bullets.The Spaniards bought so many cannons, and there are production lines for preparing cannonballs in the country, but after observing them now, they still use those old and rotten bronze cannons. I don't know if they couldn't be mobilized for a while, or it was really like what the deputy battalion commander said, he became the captain of the transportation brigade and left it to others.

"Old Wei, how many Spaniards have come in total?" Zhou Yafu asked as he went downstairs after putting down the binoculars on his chest.

"There must be more than 2 people. This is their limit. The troops in Granada, Andalusia and other places in the south should be exhausted." Deputy Battalion Commander Wei said: "Of course, this is also the reason why I came from the inside. It is deduced by intelligence, as for whether it is accurate or not, God knows."

"I think it's about the same number. Tens of thousands of people have been invested in the Rhine River. It is said that there are also Spanish troops in the Southern Netherland. Although the majority of them are from the Iberian Peninsula, there are always 2 to 10 people. France The Spanish army in the south has entered the Principality of Savoy. The speed is really slow, and there should be tens of thousands of people. These are field troops that will face high-intensity battles, and all kinds of expenses are very high. With the financial resources of the Kingdom of Spain, they can't support them. A front-line field force of more than [-] people. Considering that the capital Madrid needs a combat-capable garrison, other big cities also need it, and the Catalonia region, which may rebel at any time, also needs troops that can fight. Haha, I don’t think Spain People have the ability to launch a large-scale attack on us." Zhou Yafu said: "Let the warships at sea be ready to start shelling as soon as they receive orders."

"Yes!" The deputy battalion commander stood at attention and replied.

*******************

It was raining harder and harder outside.The court count of Jimenez stood in the bedroom, lingering.

He was busy last night, trying his best to coordinate the conflict between the local officials and Kailai's troops.The military records of these Andalusians were so bad that when they arrived at the station, they almost had to fight with the local militia and private security guards of the nobles. The reason was that they robbed several villages near the station. The flour, ham, wine, and dried fruits in the manor were eaten up, and they were as alive as locusts.

Count Jimenez was ordered to go urgently to put out the fire.When he asked these soldiers angrily why they harmed the people of their own country, a lieutenant who led a robbery team only gave him a contemptuous look and said, "I haven't received my military salary for ten months. The king paid me back before I left." Three months' pay, but still not enough, soldiers need to live. And—”

Speaking of this, he became a little angry, and he picked up a chubby official, kicked him to the ground, and said, "We walked all night last night, we were tired and hungry, and we agreed to pick up food at the local warehouse. But we came and looked, and there was nothing! God behold, there is not even a single loaf of bread in the warehouse!"

Count Jimenez is extremely big-headed, but also aware of the complexity of the matter.He immediately contacted the local town officials, and at the same time contacted the nearest large warehouse, asking them to send some supplies temporarily.In any case, get this battle done first, and everything else will come later.

Jimenez also asked the church to send a batch of supplies.But the people in the church told him that it is okay to purchase, and they will sell according to the market price, and will not intentionally raise the price, but it is not acceptable to give it away, because the amount is too large.This attitude of the church almost made Jimenez faint, and once shook his faith in the Lord.As the group with the strongest financial resources in Spain, the church is so stingy, which makes him very disappointed.

Fortunately, not all clergy are like this. Several churches have jointly raised a batch of funds, paid all officers and soldiers another month's military pay, and then donated some food for free to alleviate their pain of logistical shortages.

In this way, the noisy soldiers gathered together, the local government made a hasty preparation, and the logistics department went around asking for alms. Finally, after a full month of delay, it seemed—and only "seemed"—that it was done. Preparations for attacking the East Coasters.

Count Jimenez vowed that if there was a next time, he would never come to be a negotiating representative, nor would he be a coordinating representative. These things are simply not done by humans, and will greatly shorten his lifespan.No, when he returned to the temporary residence, he took a good night's sleep, and didn't get up until noon, and smoked a cigarette in his pajamas to calm down.

"Perhaps, we won't be able to enjoy tobacco in the future." Count Jimenez smiled wryly.Spanish tobacco, mainly from the New World colonies.With the war together, if the East Coast Navy cuts off the traffic in the Caribbean Sea, it may run out of stock.Moreover, they are also at war with the United Kingdom, and it is difficult to sell Virginia tobacco, and the price must be high. After all, they have to be transferred through neutral country merchants.

"Damn! What's that sound? Is it thundering?" Just as the servant was about to prepare lunch for him, there was a rumbling sound from the sky. Count Jimenez rushed to the window and opened the curtains, feeling faintly dissatisfied. good guess.

"Crash!" The window of the next house was shattered, and Earl Jimenez turned his head to look, only to see a young gentleman lying on the window sill, his face covered with blood, crying.So he didn't hesitate anymore, and retreated directly into the room, calling the servant to come over and dress him, while thinking about what to do.

Obviously, they were shelled!I just don't know whether the shelling came from sea or land. Jimenez is not a military expert and can't distinguish these details, but he knows that now he must rush to the headquarters to meet with the commander-in-chief of the Spanish army.He has the responsibility of supervising and guiding many things in the next step.

"Boom!" Just as Earl Jimenez was about to drive to the barracks, there was another loud noise, and a small shop facing the street collapsed.The oil stored in the store was spilled all over the place, and then burned quickly. The entire store and adjacent houses were caught in a raging fire.

"How could the shelling cause a fire?" Count Jimenez was a little shocked.Even if the solid shell hit these houses, it would only cause some damage to the building. How could it cause a fire?If it is an explosive bomb, it is possible. This is not an advanced technology. Europe has it more than 100 years ago, but how can we control when the shell explodes?Could it be that the people on the east coast were just lucky this time, and an explosive bomb exploded just after it landed, causing a fire?

As a result, before Count Jimenez could figure it out, a sharp whistling sound came from far and near.The count didn't know what happened, and stood there blankly.He had only experienced a few shelling exercises and was not very sensitive to these sounds.

"Boom!" The count was lucky. A shell flew over his head and landed in an ordinary villa behind him, causing a violent explosion!The shock wave generated by the explosion shattered all the windows on the ground floor of the villa. After the flying fragments killed a gardener in the yard, they knocked down a horse tethered there to the ground.The horse didn't die for a while, and the blood flowed out. After trying several times, he couldn't stand up, so he could only lie on the ground and whine endlessly.

"It explodes after it hits the ground..." This time the earl saw it clearly. This is definitely not an ancient explosive bomb, but a newly developed shell that explodes only when it hits the ground.And in terms of power, it seems to be much stronger than traditional shells. The powerful shock wave after the explosion on the ground really impressed the Earl.

"Your Excellency, it seems to be a shell flying from the sea! Let's find a place to hide!" The attendant was quite calm, but he was very worried about his employer's accident, so he suggested that he find a place to hide.Now that the people on the east coast have already made their move, it is absolutely not just the warships at sea who are bombarding them. Maybe after a while, their artillery on land will start to bombard them on a large scale. This is not a joke. I lost my life.

"Hiding? No need! Jose, drive the carriage, let's go to the barracks." Count Jimenez straightened his clothes and said calmly.While speaking, two shells landed on the street 200 meters away, directly blowing up a carriage to the ground. The wheat on the cart was scattered everywhere, which made Jimenez's face even paler. .

"Let's go, Jose, don't be afraid!" Count Jimenez climbed into the carriage and said firmly.

(End of this chapter)