Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1227 He Jian (VIII)

"It's finally here!" said Zhu Liang, commander of the newly formed Sixth Mixed Battalion of the Army.

They set off from Juan Township, a newly established settlement on the west bank of the Wujiang River. This settlement is located near the later Juan Pujol town (Juan Pujol). Residents look, life is not bad.

The Sixth Mixed Battalion mostly recruited recruits, and Qingdao County was used as the recruiting site, just like the Fourth Mixed Battalion in Anda [-]th (which recruited recruits in Meilin County), staying in the Hejian area was purely for fighting and training. Practice hands with the natives who can't open their eyes. On the one hand, they support the people on the east coast who cross the border to cultivate.

No, after the Sixth Battalion received information about frictions with the Spaniards in Huoju Township, Major Zhu Liang, who had recently been transferred from the position of commander of the Fifth Battalion to the Sixth Battalion, immediately decided to leave the camp with 1450 troops and head north in October. On the 10th, they arrived at the south bank of the Shoal River (RioTimboy), and then the supply company began to assist the engineering platoon to build a temporary pontoon bridge, while the cavalry company detoured to the upper reaches of the shallow water and waded across the river.

At dusk that day, all four infantry companies and one artillery company successfully crossed the river, and more than 1000 officers and soldiers of the whole battalion had gathered in the dry area on the north bank of the Xiaofeng River. At this time, they were only half a day away from Huoju Township. Yes, the speed of the Sixth Mixed Battalion's march is indeed commendable.

After resting at the riverside for a night, the cavalry company as the frontline troops had already set off early, and the main force was also packed up under the urging of Major Zhu Liang, and embarked on the journey again.Since the Spanish cavalry had appeared nearby, the main force advanced in combat formation and arrived in the Torch Township, which had received the news a long time ago, in the afternoon.

"White clouds, blue sky and gentle wind, evening sun on the mountain, tired birds returning to their nests, what a picture of a spring scene in the river!" After throwing the reins of the horse to the orderly, Major Zhu Liang looked at the beautiful scenery in the suburbs of Huoju Township, and couldn't help but be born. sigh.Outside the stockade, there are several prominent figures in the village, with different expressions and very different attires. Some walk back and forth, as if anxiously waiting for their late relatives; Looking at the team in bright armor coming forward; at the end there is a young man dressed as a businessman, with complex expressions of envy and awe mixed on his face-this is the ecology of the people in Torch Township.

"Commander Zhu, Commander Qin of the cavalry company has already told us everything about the situation. It's really great that the national army has arrived so quickly." A regular battalion was training, and the Spaniards didn't seem to know about it.

"Is there room in the village? Can it hold a large army?" Zhu Liang looked Sergey up and down, and then said, "Sergeant Sergey, right? He served in Lao Xu's cavalry before?"

"Of course there are. Officers can live in the compound of the township government, and some soldiers can live in auditoriums and warehouses. If there is a shortage, I will arrange to sleep in some private houses. I will definitely not let you sleep outside and suffer." Sergey is proficient. He replied, obviously, that he had already planned for this: "It's just that the cavalry company, the supply company, the artillery company, the engineering platoon, and some horses and draft horses in the battalion are not easy to arrange. We have a small livestock pen outside the stockade. Put them there for the time being. Don’t worry, Battalion Commander Zhu, I will arrange for the boys from the village to stay on duty at night, and nothing will happen.”

"It's so good." Zhu Liang raised the brim of his hat with a whip, turned around and said, "Liu Lianchang!"

"Yes!" An officer wearing a dark blue lieutenant's uniform ran over from behind and stood at attention loudly.

"The whole company of the fourth company moved to the livestock pen outside the village, and guarded the draft animals, artillery and supplies of the whole army without any mistakes." Zhu Liang ordered concisely.

"Decree!" Lieutenant Liu shouted loudly, "Everyone in the Fourth Company has them, put their guns on their shoulders, turn halfway to the left, and walk away, one-two-one! One-two-one!"

"Have any Spaniards come here recently to find trouble?" After arranging the troops properly, Zhu Liang walked towards the township government surrounded by everyone (of course, the officials of the township government were all elected by himself). It will be the headquarters of the Sixth Battalion for a while.

"The Spaniards stationed a cavalry unit of unknown size in Fort Pedro (the later city of Kurusuquatia). This is the information that we have worked hard to find out." Sergey took out a copy from his pocket. Crude hand drawn map road.It can be seen that the map was drawn by the scouts of Huoju Township. The technique is very amateurish, and one can tell that they have not received professional training. However, the rivers, hills, forests, grasslands, and towns that should be there are all drawn, and the proportions should not be too large. Too much distortion, so there is still some reference value.

"They didn't dare to push us too much, they just attacked our grazing team in the wild a few times and took away more than 100 cattle and sheep, damn it!" Sergey said with clenched fists, "The melon fields and grapes we set up in the west The orchard was destroyed by them, and a wheat field was trampled badly by their war horses, and the loss was great. Moreover, two residents who guarded the melon field were kidnapped by their cavalry for a whole day before they were released. Beaten and looted, but fortunately not life-threatening."

Sergey didn't feel guilty about killing or wounding many Mestizo cavalry on the other side. Instead, he was extremely angry at the Spanish for destroying their property and injuring their personnel. He didn't realize at all that from the intensity of the recent conflict It seems that the Spaniards seem to be relatively restrained and bear the burden of humiliation-of course, he doesn't need to think about it this way. When did the people on the east coast really care about the Spaniard's ideas?

"I have wronged you." Major Zhu Liang sighed. "Tomorrow I will send the cavalry company to search west and drive out any Spanish soldiers within sight. If they don't comply, I will authorize them to open fire. As for the damaged vineyards and melon fields , and recover as soon as possible. Now that my army is here, I don’t have to be afraid of those Spanish bird soldiers. Also, I heard that the military quartermaster in Daxing County rejected your request for weapons? Don’t worry, I will send someone to negotiate. I dare not say that it is not difficult to have three hundred rifles, four small-caliber light artillery pieces and a certain amount of ammunition. In this way, with some of your own weapons, you can be regarded as having a preliminary self-protection ability. The Upper Spaniards are not completely passive."

Since October 10th, the Sixth Mixed Battalion of the Army has taken root in Huoju Township, and then continuously dispatched cavalry companies (with 12 cavalry) to search westward, and several times in the southeast of Fort Pedro more than 110 kilometers Fight against the Spaniards.At the beginning, the Spaniards seemed to be scruples and did not dare to do anything, but after seeing the cavalry on the east coast blatantly attacking and losing more than 30 cavalry, they also fought real fire and began to fight against the people on the east coast in the vast grassland forest. A fight started, and the two sides hurt each other for a while, and the conflict seemed to have a tendency to escalate.

On October 10, Zhu Liang ordered the detention of four 16-ton small steamships belonging to the state-run inland water transport company, and left 72 new immigrants and a few supplies on board in Huoju Township.On the second day, four infantry companies of the Sixth Battalion came out, escorted the 200 people and more than 20 carts to the northwest, and then stopped at a place later named Col.Libertad Down, set up a military post, and named it Anxi Township (the implication is already obvious).

This tit-for-tat military settlement naturally aroused the anger of the Spaniards, but the Spaniards in Fort Pedro seemed to have little spare power, unable to fight against the regular army on the east coast with a number of more than 1000, so they could only sit back and watch this advancing stronghold Build it up step by step.Of course, they will not forget to report to their superiors. At the same time, they are also actively recruiting men in Fort Pedro, setting up a defensive line, and ensuring their own safety—but in this way, their offensive and defensive momentum from the people on the east coast is completely adjusted. One, the brothers of the Sixth Mixed Battalion of the Army were firmly confined to the area of ​​​​Fort Pedro, and they couldn't do anything timidly.

On October 10, Chen Ke, who received the news from Xiaolou Township in the north, sent Lieutenant Fu Lei to Huoju Township.Lieutenant Fu Lei did not come alone, but he did not bring the main force of the Independent First Defense Brigade (based in the Shanchabao area). Only a dozen or so experienced non-commissioned officers rushed to Huoju Township with him.According to Chen Ke's intention, Lieutenant Fu Lei will stay in Torch Township for a period of time, and together with the dozen or so non-commissioned officers under his command, they will set up an independent second garrison brigade in Torch Township. Part of it was collected on the spot, and part of it was Chen Ke who found a way to find support from the central government.After all, the Army’s Sixth Mixed Battalion can’t stay stuck there forever. After all, Huoju Township still has to rely on its own strength to drive out the Spaniards. The best thing is to reach a consensus with other surrounding settlements, just like Shancha Fort. The five villages and towns jointly guarantee each other, and when one party is in trouble, multiple parties support. Only in this way can we effectively protect our own safety and at the same time have enough time for farming and management.

Lieutenant Fu Lei’s recruitment of garrison soldiers in Huoju Township went very smoothly, because the local Russian immigrants lived in hardship in the early years, and developed a brave, aggressive character and not very afraid of death—or else the later Tsarist Russia brought so many gray What about livestock—many people were willing to join the garrison, so that Lieutenant Fu Lei had to raise the standards in terms of height, bust, weight, endurance, etc., and recruited on merit.

However, compared with the enthusiasm of the villagers to join the army, the economic situation of Torch Township is not very optimistic.After all, there are less than a thousand settlers here, and a garrison team of 200 people (all off-duty personnel) was pulled up at once. Whether it is food, meat, wine, clothing or military pay, the pressure is very high. affordable.After much deliberation, we can only ask Xiaolou Township and Liziyuan Township, which are further upstream, to think of a way (Anxi Township has just been established, is poor and white, and has no spare capacity for support). The independent second garrison brigade of 200 people each can still be maintained, and this is undoubtedly crucial to improving the surrounding security environment.

(End of this chapter)