Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1259 Concentrated Escort and Traffic

"Centralized escort will soon be inevitable." On September 1660, 9, in the port of San Vicente, Li Yi, Minister of the Navy, held a letter of order issued by the local government and said: "This time the South China Sea Transportation Company, Air Canada Company There are as many as 3 transport ships that need to be escorted. They have all been waiting in the country for a long time, and they can’t wait any longer. Even if they don’t have escorts, they will risk going to Europe for trade. After all, this is related to the overall situation of the domestic economy. Our navy has worked in vain off the coast of Brazil for nearly three months, and many people complained that this time we must send out a part of the fleet to escort."

Li Yi's voice fell, and there was a sudden silence in the office. A group of naval staff members lowered their heads, as if they had done something wrong, they were silent, and the atmosphere was so silent.

"Domestic transport ships, including several hitchhikers and Dutch merchant ships, have a total transport tonnage of more than 3 tons, and there is still a large amount of cargo on board, so there is no room for loss." Li Yi himself Gu Zi said, "So, I decided to deploy 10 battleships, 1 escort gunboats, 1 water supply ship, 1 ammunition supply ship, and [-] coal carrier to form an escort fleet to escort these merchant ships to Europe. trade."

After hearing the words, the staff did some calculations silently. This time, the total tonnage of the entire escort formation has exceeded 30 tons, which is extremely huge.As for the goods, it is a concentrated expression of the industrial and agricultural level of the Eastern China Republic - weapons, steel bars, hardware products, whale products, sea animal skins, dyed leather goods, textiles, medicines, chemicals (including soda ash, etc.), refined flour, Dozens of commodities such as soybean oil, sucrose, coffee, sisal, spirits, machinery and equipment are also very important to the overall situation of the country's future economic development.Therefore, this escort mission has to be done, must be done!Unless the people on the east coast are willing to voluntarily give up the market that has been developed through [-] years of hard work, allow domestic industry and agriculture to shrink sharply, and sit back and watch industrialization go backwards, otherwise this European market cannot be given up!

After dispatching so many warships to escort, only 4 battleships, 8 escort gunboats, 1 water supply ship, 1 ammunition supply ship, 1 repair ship, 1 The strength of the medical ship and a fast liaison ship has been greatly weakened, and the blockade of the Brazilian coast will also be forced to be reduced. This may give some foreign businessmen who want to make war money a chance, but it is not a big problem.

However, the matter is clearly far from over!Just listen to Minister Li Yi continuing: "According to the news I just received, a Portuguese squadron went to Mozambique and intercepted and killed our ships wantonly, causing huge losses to our Indian Ocean trade. In view of this , I decided to send 3 battleships, 4 escort gunboats and some auxiliary ships to Xinhua Island, and together with the Second Fleet, severely damage or even destroy the Portuguese Navy Squadron, adding important weight to the victory of the war. In addition, consider The coastline to the mainland is long, and we cannot have the sea without defense, so the remaining 3 escort gunboats and 1 armed transport ship of the Third Fleet have crossed the Strait of Magellan since receiving the order, and entered the capital Dongfang Port. Well, as for which ships escort , Which ships will follow me to the Indian Ocean, will have a conclusion in the afternoon."

The order of Li Yi, Minister of the Navy, was so decisive that everyone lost their voices for a while.After the two squadrons were withdrawn, only one battleship, seven escort gunboats, one armed transport ship, and a few auxiliary ships with little combat effectiveness remained in the South Atlantic. They are very reluctant, and the blockade of Brazil is even more powerless.Fortunately, there are no enemies to threaten the mainland this time, and the pirates have been extinct for many years. The main task of the total of 1 warships is probably to escort various transport ships between the mainland and Brazil to maintain the east coast. The material consumption in Vicente, Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo and other places is nothing more than it should be competent.

It seems that Minister Li has been under a lot of pressure recently, and all the naval officers can't help but have this idea in their hearts.Isn't that right, even when they go out, they feel that others look at them wrongly, especially those businessmen or sailors' families, they don't have a good face, and it is already a show of restraint not to complain publicly in front of them up.Not to mention, now that the army of Triumph is going all over Brazil, this group of hateful horse dung is almost open to ridicule and ridicule their navy. There is a sense of superiority in what they say, which makes people angry.Let me ask, in such an unfavorable social and public opinion environment, how can their navy sit still? They must come up with some solid results as soon as possible, otherwise they will be ashamed to compete with the army for military expenses in the future!

The Navy acted when it said it would. In the afternoon, Li Yi personally arrived at the Zhenhai Port Naval Base on a fast liaison ship, and reported the detailed escort and combat plan to Mo Ming, Chief of the General Staff of the Military Department.In fact, Mo and Li, the No. [-] and No. [-] figures of the military department, had already communicated before, and Mo Ming basically agreed with this idea. However, when Li Yi mentioned this matter again, Mo Ming was still a little confused. Hesitation, this is pouring out of the country!Once these two fleets are released, the blockade of the Brazilian coast will definitely be greatly weakened, and the loopholes in the local coastal defense will also be infinitely enlarged. Once something goes wrong, Mo and Li will definitely be blamed by the Executive Committee and even the people of the whole country. Can you afford it?

However, escorting is a hard task and must be carried out; and sending a squadron to the Indian Ocean to severely damage the Portuguese squadron is also an irresistible temptation. Therefore, Mo Ming finally agreed to the plan of Li Yi and others. The treasure is on the other side of the Indian Ocean.

The Navy started material preparations and personnel transfers the next day. As the head of the Joint Staff Headquarters, Chief of Staff Mo finally moved away from the telegraph room in Zhenhai County. Under the escort of his entourage, he arrived at North Industries by boat An important town in Ping'an County.

On September 9, Mo Ming boarded a "La Plata Star" train with dozens of entourages. After several hours of flat and fast travel, he easily arrived at the Shahu Township train more than 5 kilometers away. Station—here, for the time being, is the terminus of the Northern Railway.But don't worry too much. From the second half of 150 when the war broke out, under the order of Lan Fei, the military management committee member, Nanjiro, the director of the Shengxing Township Military Management Office at that time, ordered the disbandment of the construction of the Baoguo Farm, and then put the "hardworking service team" The main work turned to supervising the leveling of the foundation of some sections of the Shasheng section of the Northern Railway (Shahu Township-Shengxing Township, about 1659 kilometers).In the first half of this year, after the Liuding Line opened to traffic and a large number of railway construction workers moved to the following sections, the construction site of the Shasei section was fully manned, and the construction progress began to accelerate greatly. The railway is still possible to open to traffic.At the very least, at the beginning of 58, it will definitely be completed in its entirety.

Boss Mo brought people to the Shahu Fort area at this time, naturally to check the construction of the most important northern railway.At present, the land war has been going on for nearly three months, and all kinds of materials stored in the military depot in advance have been consumed. In addition, the various ministries are advancing very fast, and the supply line has been greatly extended. The country's burden is not generally large.Therefore, if a section of the railway is completed, a large part of the consumption can be reduced (not only the consumption of rations and allowances for civilian husbands, but the fodder for mules and horses is also a large expenditure), and if it is completed to the south bank of the Wujiang River, it can be used in Santa Cata, Brazil in later generations. A large number of troops have been stationed in Linna State for a long time!

Although the people on the east coast are hurrying to squeeze slaves from all walks of life—such as Congolese, Swahili, Indians, Malays, Italians, Slavs, etc.—the railway still only reaches the Shahu Township Railway Station is still some distance away from the next inhabited township, Shengxing Township, not to mention Shenglong Township, Shengyun Township, Xing'an Township (later Elexin City, established after the outbreak of the war) and even future towns. A number of other settlements were established too.Therefore, the construction of railways still needs to continue to be accelerated. This is the unanimous conclusion of the military department. As one of the biggest factors restricting railway construction, labor force (another major factor is transportation), there are already solutions: in the Army There are a large number of Indians in the area captured by the soldiers, and a considerable part of them have been forcibly brought here. The State Railway Administration has signed a contract with them, promising to send them to South Africa or New China for resettlement after the completion of the line; The Ministry also increased its orders for Congolese slaves, and asked New Courland to increase the supply of slaves. The Navy also expressed that there are a large number of slaves in Angola, which can be transported back to the country for emergency treatment. All parties are really worried about the construction of this railway, which can be called a strategic level.

"I don't want to look at the number of labor deaths. I just want the northern railway to open to traffic as soon as possible." In the station master's room of Shahu Township Railway Station, Chief of General Staff Mo said to the officials from all walks of life who were crowded: "The road leading from the coast of Brazil to the inland It is too difficult to effectively undertake the important task of the foreign exchange window. I think many of you have never been to the port of San Vicente, which has been captured by our army. To be honest, the conditions of that port are very good. The wind is calm, the water depth is sufficient, and the climate is suitable. If it is not too difficult to communicate with the inland, it will be an excellent commercial port. Unfortunately, from the port of San Vicente to the inland, even mules and horses have to be careful. In many cases, the local Portuguese merchants rely on the Indians to transport supplies, and they are completely unable to fulfill the important task of serving as an export port for the vast hinterland such as the Sao Paulo Diocese. And such bad port conditions are large on the coast of Brazil. This has led to the isolation of the vast and fertile inland areas from the coastal ports. Therefore, we now need to find another way to build such a strategic railway as soon as possible, which will be of great benefit to the development of a rich area like Sao Paulo."

In fact, Mo Ming had another meaning that he didn't tell everyone present, that is, no one can guarantee that the war with the Portuguese will not last for a long time.And once the war becomes protracted, if the navy is unable to effectively maintain the sea transportation line like this time, exposing it to the enemy's possible attack at any time, then this land transportation line is very critical, because it can transport a large amount of materials in a relatively short distance. Low cost and fast delivery to the newly occupied area, maintaining the local rule of the East Coast people.What's more, it is really difficult to communicate with the inland areas in many coastal areas of Brazil. Let's take Sao Paulo as an example. There are red humus soils, high fertility and suitable climate. It is a good agricultural area, and it will definitely be a densely populated core in the future. province.But it is too difficult to communicate with the coast here. There are not many roads that mules and horses can walk. This shows that the mountain roads are difficult and dangerous. A traffic artery that can penetrate to the rich Duck Lake Basin is still necessary. Otherwise, it may be very difficult in a short time. difficult to develop.

After finishing the inspection in Shahu Township and other places, Mo Ming led a large group of entourages and rode to the later Santa Catarina State, which was temporarily named Jiangbei area, intending to listen to the first-hand reports from the frontline commanders. Take a look at the implementation of the East Coast laws in these areas, which is crucial for the future Executive Committee to formulate further policies.

On September 9, the travel-stained group arrived at the south bank of Wujiang River.A county security team that was originally stationed here had already gone north, and the camp left behind was filled with piles of goods. Thousands of civilian men conscripted from the Beiyazi Lake Basin continued to load and unload goods here, and there were already several ships on the river. The 11-ton inland river small steamer transported by land is working, which is extremely critical to improving the efficiency of material transfer.

Mo Ming and others crossed the river that afternoon, and then, with the support of a small army who heard the news, they successfully settled in the renovated Fort Batista—now renamed Anyuan Township , and relocated the first batch of more than 300 immigrants from Huai'an Prefecture to settle down.They were accommodating, and they were able to work the cultivated land left by the Portuguese and the Indians, so that everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

"Your Excellency Chief of the General Staff, the resettlement, land clearing and bidding and listing tasks assigned by the military department last time have been arranged and implemented carefully. At present, a total of 375 immigrants from Huai'an Prefecture have been resettled in Anyuan Township. The family is the unit, and the spring sowing work is about to start. Although there are some shortages in seeds, farm tools, and livestock, our military management office will definitely find a way to overcome it..." The new director of the military management office of Anyuan Township is a young man who has graduated from Bingtuanbao for a few years People, it seems that he is still a little nervous, and he has to repeat every sentence when reporting to Mo Ming.

"Hehe, don't be nervous, young man. Let the gendarmerie officer behind you talk to me first. What I want to know now is where is our loyal and invincible army? Commander Zhu told me about the vanguard cavalry a while ago. Has rushed to the Iguazu River, has he arrived there now? If so, then I am very pleased!" Mo Ming waved his hand and said with a pleasant face.

(End of this chapter)