Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 94: Expedition (I)

May 1628, 5, morning, nine o'clock.

Under the gaze of many residents, a fairly neatly arranged team poured out of the gate of Shixing Fort and headed north.

There were three draft horses in the middle of the team, carrying some of the team's baggage and ammunition supplies.

Li Xianqing, director of the decision-making committee, looked at the team commander, former navigation instructor Kuang Xu, with a look of concern and worry in his eyes.

"Director, rest assured. This operation will be foolproof, and we won't lose a single person." Kuang Xu understood Li Xianqing's concerns and said solemnly, "We've already scouted that Indian tribe several days ago. It's only thirteen kilometers from Shixing Fort, and we can return in four days at most. Furthermore, the tribe only has sixty or seventy men, and their only weapons are wooden spears and stones. They pose no threat to us."

"Even so, you still need to be extra careful and don't underestimate the enemy." Li Xianqing patted his shoulder and patiently instructed, "You must know that every one of us here is extremely valuable and must not be lost. In the moment of need, the safety of our personnel must be the top priority."

"Yes, Chief!" Kuang Xu saluted, then grabbed his saber, turned around and hurried towards the team.

The entire team consists of 95 people, organized into three platoons and a baggage squad.

After leaving Xingbao, they marched slowly towards the north.

Kuang Xu led the first row in front, followed by the baggage train, and the second and third rows were at the end.

Although, during the winter, the time travelers also conducted military training for more than two months for all residents (mainly young and strong men), so they had some military experience.

But this long-distance march and "expedition" to an Indian tribe with less than a hundred people was the first time.

More than two years ago, in the battle between the time travelers and the Spanish galleon "St. Louis" that unexpectedly broke into Qiming Island, they defended by relying on fortifications and used four modern assault rifles. In addition, the Spanish underestimated the enemy and were careless, so they wiped out the enemy in one fell swoop.

However, this expedition against the Indian tribes required crossing dense jungles, walking through rugged valleys, and marching more than ten kilometers. They also had to capture as many Indians as possible to enrich the human resources of Shixing Fort.

The troops were equipped with thirty-five flintlock muskets, forty spears, and twenty long swords.

At the same time, in order to enhance protection, all soldiers wore a thick layer of deerskin on important body parts such as the chest, back and thighs.

Of course, deerskin is not as hard and durable as rhino skin, crocodile skin and wild boar skin, but it does provide a certain degree of defense against the Indians' wooden spears.

You should know that during the Warring States Period in Japan, most of the samurai of the various feudal states wore deerskin armor, except for a small number of them equipped with iron armor.

It can be said that Shixing Fort had made sufficient preparations for this military operation. If it were not for the simplicity and scarcity of military equipment, the time travelers would have wanted to provide every "soldier" going into battle with a set of full-body plate armor.

Kuang Xu looked at the dense forest around him, then looked at the compass in his hand, and couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

If the Indians heard that there was an invasion by foreign enemies, they would set up an ambush in the dense forest in advance and launch a surprise attack on them, which would probably cause a lot of casualties!

"Han Jian!"

"To!"

"Take a few men and march three hundred meters ahead of the formation to provide alert for the entire army," Kuang Xu ordered. "If you encounter any situation, fire warning shots immediately."

"Yes!" Han Jian saluted, holding his musket, called out to two squads of soldiers, and quickly crossed the jungle and ran deep into the front.

"Order the troops to spread out and advance at a constant speed!"

"Yes!"

"In the future, we should form an engineering corps to continuously open up roads for the army to advance." Kuang Xu frowned, looking at the sturdy American firs in front of him, and muttered to himself.

By noon, the troops had only marched five or six kilometers and stopped by a stream to eat and rest.

The soldiers were carrying heavy backpacks and felt a little tired after walking for a whole morning.

However, everyone is an "old hand" who has done farm work for a year, so a journey of a few miles is not enough to make people collapse.

Several soldiers walked into the stream to test the depth of the water and found that the water surface was not deep, only up to the knees, but the silt at the bottom of the river was extremely thick. When they stepped in, they sank half of their calf.

Fortunately, the troops did not carry heavy weapons such as artillery, nor were they equipped with vehicles, so they did not worry about the stream blocking their way.

After a short rest, the team continued on their journey.

The jungle seemed unusually active in the afternoon, with birds chirping non-stop and squirrels and elk running around among the trees.

After seeing a group of fully armed humans, several wild wolves wisely chose to retreat.

Even a grizzly bear roared twice at the team, then quickly turned around and hid deep in the jungle.

Lin Quanwu carried a spear and walked slowly in the middle of the team, breathing slightly heavily.

For him, the journey was not very tiring, but he and his companions had to constantly clear away weeds and bushes, and always pay attention to the dead branches and leaves under their feet to avoid stepping on empty space and falling, which consumed too much of his energy. He never thought that one day he would carry a spear and participate in a real battle.

It was originally believed that the military training during the winter months was just a way for the "managers" of Shixing Fort to kill time or satisfy their military interests, so they dragged these immigrants out to do exercises, march in formations, and even gave each person a spear or a long sword to practice fighting.

Soon after, they taught everyone how to use a musket, and each person experienced the feeling of shooting twice.

No one thought that a war (battle) would really come upon them.

Because, after several months of living and working, they all knew that they were in a wild continent and there were very few people here.

If there is any real danger, it is probably the wild wolves and grizzly bears that appear from time to time around Shixing Fort. If you are not careful, you will be taken away and eaten by them.

As for external enemies, they do not exist.

The "masters in charge" also said that Shixing Fort is located on an island, surrounded by the sea, and is about a hundred kilometers away from the nearest mainland.

Even on the mainland, there are no powerful countries or local forces, only ignorant indigenous tribes.

The only enemy is the Spaniards thousands of kilometers away in the south, oh, they are what we call the Portuguese in Guangdong.

They definitely won’t call from such a long distance.

Therefore, in the minds of immigrants, there is no concept of war at all.

However, the "masters in charge" said that everyone should be prepared for danger in times of peace, strengthen military training, and be on the alert at all times to deal with possible external threats.

Few people really take this seriously.

However, no one expected that half a month ago, several Yin people reported to the "master in charge" that while hunting, they accidentally discovered an indigenous tribal camp with about sixty or seventy people more than ten kilometers to the north.

After several discussions, the "masters in charge" immediately decided to send people to "recruit" the natives to enrich the population of Shixing Fort.

After the field management was completed, Shixing Fort selected the immigrants who performed relatively well during the winter training and conducted intensive training to prepare for the expedition.

The entire team consists of more than 90 people, and there are more than 30 Yin natives. They will serve as the vanguard of the troops and be the first to engage the enemy, while these young and strong immigrants from the Ming Dynasty will be behind them. After breaking through the enemy's defense, they will quickly catch up and expand the victory.

The "masters in charge" and a dozen Spaniards were holding muskets at the back to support the attack.

Of course, if the enemy resists stubbornly, they will rush to the front of the battle, fire muskets, and break the enemy's counterattack.

Although the "masters in charge" said that the natives did not have strong military force and did not even have a piece of iron, they posed no threat to the soldiers who were armed to the teeth.

But Lin Quanwu was still worried and scared to death.

This is a fight!

No matter how weak the indigenous people are, they will inevitably put up a fierce resistance when facing the siege of Shixing Fort.

Although wooden spears, sticks, and stones are extremely simple, they can still be fatal if you are not careful.

It's been less than half a year since we had enough food to eat, and life finally has some hope. If I accidentally lose my life, it would be too much of a loss!
However, since I have eaten their food, I can only let them control me. Even if they want me to die, I have no choice but to bite the bullet and take the blow.

Come to think of it, this time last year, I was still begging on the streets of Guangzhou. I also thought that as long as someone gave me something to eat, I would even die for him.

Why did I become timid when I got so close?
At six o'clock in the afternoon, the team arrived at a slope, stopped marching, and began to rest and eat.

According to the narration of several Yin guides, this place should be less than three kilometers away from the indigenous tribe camp, and it can be reached in about one or two hours.

Today's fully armed "long-distance march" should have made the soldiers tired.

Kuang Xu immediately ordered his troops to set up camp there and wait until dawn the next day to attack the native camp. As long as they calculated the time well, they could launch a sudden attack at dawn when the natives had just woken up from their sleep and catch them off guard.

Furthermore, the purpose of this "conquest" of the indigenous tribes was not to kill or injure a certain number of the enemy, but to disarm them as much as possible and bring them all back to Shixing Fort to become "people" under the jurisdiction.

In this case, there is no need to rush and launch a night attack when it gets dark.

In the dark, it is easy to get into a melee, which will lead to unnecessary losses.

After the plan was decided, Kuang Xu arranged for several platoon leaders and squad leaders to make preparations for night defense and set up necessary mobile sentries and secret sentries to guard the camp.

The soldiers opened their backpacks, took out their simple sleeping bags, and began to set up camp and rest.

(End of this chapter)