Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 525 The only way to defend

On November 1646, 8, Xiaoxue.

A cavalry unit was driving on the grass near Ningjin Fort like lightning. These were soldiers undergoing training.The cavalry battalion has been expanded several times over the years. At present, its establishment has reached 6 companies, and the total number of troops directly under the battalion headquarters has reached nearly 700.This number has exceeded the total strength of the newly established La Plata Infantry Regiment by the Spaniards, and there is no pressure to defeat the opponent head-on.

At present, about two companies of the cavalry battalion have been sent to the north to fight against the Guarani people; another company is stationed in the agricultural areas west of the lake such as Xihu Township and Dafengbao; Pepper noodles were sprinkled over the vast area from Xiayihe Township to Merlot Fort, and only one company and a battalion of 400 troops remained here in Ningjin Fort.

Also training with the cavalry is the newly formed 6th Company of the Army, whose commander is Xiao Baitu, the commander of the 5th Company of the Army transferred from South Africa.As for the position of the company commander of the 5th company after Xiao Baitu resigned, his original deputy Sun Shengjun took the position, and Sun Shengjun is also the second officer of the main frontline army in China so far who is not from the cross-travelers (the second is from South Africa. Leonid, who became the deputy commander of the cavalry company), was completely overwhelmed.

The 6th Company of the Army and the 106th Company, which is currently being transferred to the vicinity of Neukönigsberg for training, are both newly formed units that have only been formed for a few months.Soldiers were recruited from the militias in Dongfang County, Xiayihe Township, Canyon Fort and other places. Some officers were drawn from other troops, and some were filled by new graduates from the Dingyuan Army Officer Academy. Both of them have been completed. Personnel were recruited and intensive military training began.After all, the militia training they have been in contact with in the past is quite inferior to that of the regular army, and they still need a certain amount of time to form combat effectiveness.

Looking at the snowstorm that had gradually increased outside, Xu Yu, the cavalry battalion commander and army major, closed the window, which made Xiao Baitu, who was sitting by the coffee table with his legs crossed, a little dissatisfied.He only heard him say: "Old Xu, what are you doing? The room is full of the smell of your cigarettes. Why don't you hurry up and open the window to get some air? It's suffocating!"

Xu Yu ignored him, but added some peat to the fireplace, then sat calmly on the chair opposite Xiao Baitu, slowly filled the pipe with shredded tobacco imported from Virginia, lit it and smoked happily After taking a sip, he said with a smile: "The weather is getting worse and worse, what is the military department thinking? Why don't you make a quick decision after such a big incident? When will this dilatory wait?"

The so-called "big thing happened" in Xu Yu's mouth refers to the incident that the Spaniards escaped with gold ore in the Corrales mining area in the middle and late last month (July).Wang Dali, the captain of the expedition team of the Ministry of Geological Resources who was present at the time, immediately ordered all his subordinates to go out to search, but there was no result. He also quickly reported the details of the incident to the executive committee.The executive committee was shocked when they got the news, because almost everyone understood how dangerous it was to let the Spaniards know that there was a gold mine near Corrales, because it undoubtedly touched the sensitive nerves of the Spaniards.

If the Spaniards could barely tolerate the persecution of Christians, the killing of aborigines, cross-border reclamation, smuggling and trade, etc. before the east coast, then there is news of a big gold mine in the Corrales mining area. It will definitely make the Spaniards restless and calm, and they will never give up this great source of money that is at their fingertips.

The present government of the Kingdom of Spain is poor, and they have spent so much money to continue the war and to aid their relatives, Austria, that their financial system has almost collapsed.It is conceivable how excited and crazy they will be when they learn that there is an undiscovered gold mine in the east coast area that still nominally belongs to them.

You know, even with the revolutionary changes in mining technology and equipment today, the Spaniards can only produce about five tons of gold and more than two hundred tons of silver in Latin America every year on average, of which about three-quarters of the gold and silver will be shipped back to mainland Spain.As for the gold mine of Corrales, in all fairness, in the 60th century, which has not experienced 17 years of crazy mining in later generations, if the Spaniards invested a lot of manpower and equipment, it is still very possible to produce 1-2 tons of gold every year. It is now that the Spaniards get back nearly 10% of the output of precious metals from their Latin American colonies every year, which is an extremely enviable wealth.

The news got out, and anyone with a brain would realize what that meant.Of course, the officers of the military department are not brainless red deer, so they reacted before the executive committee, and the young and strong officers frequently connected with each other to discuss countermeasures.The home of Peng Zhicheng, an army veteran who has been "retired", is even more crowded. Many soldiers in military uniform will sneak into his mansion at night, and then leave quietly in the dark.

Xiao Baitu, as a member of the radical military association organization - the National Power Alliance, has long been dissatisfied with the appeasement policy adopted by the country before. He always believes that the country should take advantage of the 30-year war in Europe South America occupies more land, the more the better, and it does not hesitate to offend Spain and Portugal.When the Thirty Years War is over, they will defend with peace of mind while digesting the fruits they have gained.

But the policy adopted by the government disappointed him very much. He squatted in South Africa for several years, but the expected large-scale war with La Plata never broke out.Even if it wasn't for the insistence of the military department, the government guys are planning to include the Guarani and Charuya people into the scope of official citizens of the country, giving them formal powers and assimilating them.

Are the government guys all muddled?Even the aborigines dare to accept and assimilate!The military department quickly acted privately. They frequently entered the Guarani-inhabited areas in the name of exercises to carry out conquest operations, which caused the government a great headache and had to pinch their noses to recognize it.After all, among the 11 members of the Executive Committee, the military forces have already directly or indirectly occupied three seats. In addition to the traditional military allies, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Materials, and the Intelligence Department, it is still important for the military to influence the Executive Committee. very easy.Of course, it doesn’t matter if your executive committee disagrees, I’ll do it myself, you just need to develop the country well, some dirty work you white shirts can’t do, let our glorious soldiers do it.

It can be said that in recent years, the deterioration of the relationship with the Kingdom of Spain, in addition to the Spaniards' own factors, the role of the young army and radical forces in the army cannot be ignored.It was they who vigorously encouraged cross-border settlements, massacres and exiles in the Guarani settlements, which angered the Spaniards, and the bilateral relationship was gradually destroyed.

In fact, the Navy is also quite critical of the Army's approach.Because expanding to inland areas is undoubtedly increasing the strength of the army.There is no doubt that as the strength of the army increases, the strength of the navy naturally decreases.Moreover, the strategy of advancing westward is completely different from the strategy of advancing eastward that the navy has always insisted on. The navy insists on advancing eastward to South Africa, New China, and Australia, and vigorously expands military ports, shipyards, ship repair yards, coastal defense fortresses and other facilities in these places. At the same time, it vigorously trains new Sailors, build new ships to keep these nodes safe at sea.It's just that the navy's power in the military department is obviously not big enough, so it has been firmly suppressed by the army all these years, and can only passively follow the opponent's rhythm.

It's just that after the incident in front of us, the navy can only pinch its nose and advance and retreat with the army no matter what it thinks.Originally, the relationship between the Spaniards and the East Coast was already in a tense situation—or the Spaniards themselves didn’t think so, they might still think that the relationship between the two parties had not come to an end—now if the Spaniards knew that Corrales After there is a gold mine in the area, they will definitely send more people to explore, and at the same time sternly warn the people on the east coast to take back their claws. This is almost a certainty.

Let the people on the east coast abandon the walled city that crossed the border for reclamation, the Northwest Railway that has been built for a considerable distance, the planned special steel base, and the gold ore, iron ore, manganese ore, and coal mines, even if it is considered by the soldiers to be a government affairs of the epidemic. No one in the courtyard dared to make such an absurd suggestion.So, war is inevitable? !

"Isn't the idea of ​​the military department very clear? That is to go to war with the Spaniards!" Xiao Baitu said with a half-smile, "This is a battle that will overwhelm the country! The decision is just that the people in the navy are still arguing, and the distribution of benefits has not yet been finalized. We must take advantage of the fact that the Spaniards have not reacted, defeat the main force of their navy and army in La Plata in World War I, and then coerce This power tried to negotiate peace with it."

"The premise of this plan is that the Spaniards act according to our wishful thinking!" Xu Yu took a deep breath and said worriedly: "But is this possible? The Spaniards will escalate the war and win over allies, and other countries will also Like the Dutch, how should we deal with this complicated situation? It is easy to start a war, but it is difficult to end it! Moreover, 12 of the 5 infantry companies in our army are currently deployed overseas. When the war starts, we Are there enough troops?"

"It's not enough to find another way. Anyway, before the war, there is still a process of diplomatic negotiations and war preparations. It won't take a year or a half. Didn't the ship that set off for the Far East in May carry a letter from the military department?" Believe it or not, I think Boss Mo should transfer some volunteer soldiers back to the mainland for this face, so that our troops will be more abundant." Xiao Baitu frowned and said, "Also, you thought you would wait for Spain to return to the mainland? After the Kingdom spent two or three years mobilizing enough troops to come to La Plata and counterattack the east coast, how should we defend such scattered settlements?"

"Before the enemy reacts, defeat the La Plata infantry regiment in one battle, occupy Buenos Aires, block the Uruguay River, La Plata River, and the Strait of Magellan. This is our only way of defense! "Xiao Baitu stood up, looked at the snowflakes flying all over the sky outside the window, and said with some enthusiasm: "Smoke a little longer, there will be no more smoking when the war starts, haha!"

(End of this chapter)