Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1294 Promoting Peace by Fighting ([-])

On August 1661, 8, after more than a month of strong winds and waves, the East Coast Ship Group finally arrived at Dayuan Port in Hezhong County.

After learning that the naval ships would go north to attack again, the Dayuan Township government immediately notified the villages on horseback, and sent the vegetables stored in the cellar and a batch of fruits from Xinhua Island to the pier, and sold them to the escort fleet at a low price.In addition, various supplies such as flour, cattle and sheep, liquor, wine, etc. were also pulled over by horse-drawn carts, and then hoisted onto the deck one by one. There is a supply port with a large population and rich products. For sailors in the 17th century, Just so happy.

The escort fleet also sent more than 1000 Indians to the Riverside region of South Africa, most of whom were recruited by the newly occupied areas of Brazil to supplement the manpower that has recently been greatly lost in the Riverside region of South Africa. Bailang County (the 42nd in the country) has recently been established County-level administrative unit), under the jurisdiction of Bailang Township, Baibo Township, Beishankou Township, Litu Township, Acacia Township, and Shoal Township, six townships and towns, the population is all transferred from Hezhong County, totaling more than 5000 people; in addition, due to South Africa The main force of the garrison troops was transferred northward to fight in Angola. Recently, a fierce border guerrilla war broke out between the Kama Kingdom and the east bank, resulting in heavy casualties among the settlement residents on the east bank.

Of course, the above two aspects will not cause any significant loss of population in the river area. The most important thing is actually the spread of the epidemic.The epidemic, which began in Cape Town, the Netherlands, broke out extremely violently at the beginning, and caused huge losses after it spread to the relatively densely populated Hezhong County, causing all township governments to be in a hurry-it has been so many years since the founding of the country, The Hezhong area has not yet had any large-scale epidemics, which is lucky, but it is not the norm, so this time it finally planted!

War, disease, immigration, plus the central government’s repeated orders in the past two years that the colonies are not allowed to intercept immigrants—especially the emphasis in 1660 and 1661, almost all of which were stern—so the total population of Hezhong County, So far, there are only 5.2 people, and Baibo County has only 5000 people. The two add up to 5.7 people. Compared with two and a half years ago, there is not only no increase, but a slight decrease.Therefore, the executive committee sent the Guarani and Tupi people collected from the Brazilian occupied area to South Africa to supplement the population.

Fortunately, the most elite No. [-] Mixed Battalion is about to return to the mainland from the port of Benguela. With them, it is said that the Kama Kingdom, which is said to have greatly improved equipment and tactics, will no longer be a problem.As for the defense of Benguela after they withdrew, it could only be handed over to the Black Eight Banners heavy infantry of the two battalions stationed there. The local environment is too harsh, and malaria is especially common. The First Mixed Battalion really doesn't want to stay any longer.

On September 1661, 9, the convoy sailed north and docked at Port Jakob, New Courland.At this time, the news of the Kingdom of Portugal declaring war on it has also reached here. The governor of New Courland, Hewitt de Beveren, is entangled to death, but I heard that the mainland has already planned to formally submit a declaration of war to the Portuguese. It’s a book—anyway, it is estimated that the Portuguese will not be able to carry tens of thousands of troops to land in Courland, so Grand Duke Jacob has the courage to declare war—then the governor does not have much choice, he can only Go to the dark with the people from the east coast!

At present, the port of Luanda is under the control of the Courland army headed by the Krivitz knights. These people did not forget to carry out business when they were occupying troops. It is said that they have already fought fiercely with a black tribe in the interior of Luanda or the kingdom. They fought twice and captured more than [-] black slaves.These black slaves, together with the "inventory" obtained from the dungeon in Luanda, will be sent to the east bank to build roads, docks, railways and houses. In return, the Ministry of Construction of the East Bank Republic promised to provide two The largest city, Jakobshaven, and the Knights Fortress built urban water and sewage facilities to improve local sanitation and epidemic prevention capabilities, which is especially important in tropical areas where diseases are frequent.

On October 1661, 10, after crossing many waves, the east coast convoy arrived at the waters off the Cape Verde Islands under the control of the Portuguese.It was a sunny day with a southeast wind of force four. Lieutenant Colonel Wang Tiehammer, who led the team, ordered most of the ships to lower their topsails and topsails, hovering on the sea surface at a low speed, and then sent out small boats to go offshore to measure the water depth of the channel. , intending to prepare for the next landing operation.

Lieutenant Cai Anguo, the captain of the sail escort gunship "Big Red Squid", was assigned to this task. They were to measure the water depth off Ingle Harbor on the west side of Mayo Island. However, this does not seem to be a big problem, because here The water surface is open, boats usually come and go, and the water depth is good.Their so-called measurement this time is actually just a formality.

The "Big Red Squid" is already sailing relatively close. The sea here is calm, but the wind direction is changeable. Therefore, when approaching the coast, it will be a test of the navigator's ability, because it has to constantly revise its orders and let the ship follow the wind. Steer.

There are no forts on the island - this fact is well known - Ingler Port is only a trading port, and the vast salt fields outside the city are its biggest source of income.The salt produced here is of good quality and exported to Europe, South America, the Gulf of Guinea and even Angola. Even the East Coast Republic imports a lot of Cape Verdean salt every year to marinate salted fish, because the fishermen are unanimous In response, fish marinated with Cape Verde sea salt has a better taste than fish marinated with salt from Yancheng Lake, and the preservation time will be longer. People on the east coast have not figured out the truth so far, so they can only guess maybe The composition of these two salts is not the same.

This time Lieutenant Cai Anguo and the sailors personally drove a small boat to the shore. This is a relatively still water area. The sailors quickly measured the water depth while fishing with ease.Seeing their arrogance, the Portuguese defenders on the shore quickly sent a group of soldiers with live ammunition to the seashore and fired their rifles at the water. Desperately intercept.

The boats of Cai Anguo and others were still a certain distance from the shore, and the Portuguese muskets couldn’t shoot them at all, but they didn’t plan to move on. The sounding of the waterway was almost the same: the waterway here is still very wide and open. Yes, the water depth is enough, as long as the sea-going ship drives along the direction of the pier, there is basically no need to worry about running aground or hitting the rocks.Therefore, they quickly completed the task and rowed back, while Cai Anguo took the opportunity to observe the situation of the enemy's port with a telescope - of course, they did not catch any fish during this process, it is really barren sea ​​area!

When they returned to the big ship, the sailors on the deck had almost finished their work.They have just borrowed tools from the repair ship "Sea Engineer" to repair and tie up the mast that was damaged by the storm during the voyage.After Cai Anguo boarded the boat, he checked it carefully and found it was not bad. He raised the topsail again, and everything was normal. The mast was as thick as the pillars at the gate of the Town God’s Temple, and it was also very strong. Everyone was very happy!

The cook had already prepared lunch, including two flatbreads per person, a bowl of broth, a piece of salted squid and a canned orange. The officers also had some wine and tobacco to enjoy, but they had to go to the officer's dining room to get them.At this time, the sailors were sitting on the deck under the leadership of the non-commissioned officer, watching the Portuguese towns on the shore and the white salt fields boredly, while eating a lunch that was not too bad.A strong wind blew up at sea, and there was a dust rain on the deck of the "Big Red Squid" anchored not far from the shore. The dust adhered to the cables, masts, decks, artillery and sails, as if covered The layer of pale yellow bedding made the sailors who were having lunch curse, and at the same time gave them a preliminary understanding of the natural "charm" of this dry archipelago in Cape Verde - if you want to live here, please be prepared to eat sand every day Bar!

In the afternoon, two officers came over from the flagship "Executive Committee" three-deck battleship. They first inquired about the situation in the port of Ingles. He nodded with relief, and then informed the "Big Red Squid" that two escort gunboats will come over in a while, and the three ships will be under the command of Lieutenant Cai Anguo and prepare to attack Ingle Harbor and even Mayo Island. .In order to cooperate with their combat operations, the commander-in-chief Wang Tiechui also sent them more than 100 black eight-banner infantry (boarded in South Africa), and of course they were also under the unified command of Lieutenant Cai.

The "Big Red Squid" also learned from two officers that other ships have also completed hydrographic surveys on Fogo Island, San Vicente Island, and the main island (Santiago Island), and at the same time roughly figured out the enemy's coastal defenses. As well as the situation of the land defense facilities, a combat deduction is underway. After all, they did not bring army soldiers this time, and relying on those stupid big men from the Black Banners to land and attack the city, I am afraid that they are a little powerless.However, the Portuguese defenders on Mayo Island and Fogo Island do not seem to have a large number, and they can try to attack. Therefore, the first wave of attacks from the people on the east coast landed on Mayo Island and Fogo Island—— Fogu Island was also carried out by three escort gunboats carrying more than a hundred officers and soldiers of the Black Eight Banners to carry out sea and land flanking attacks.

Cai Anguo expressed that he would obey Commander-in-Chief Wang's order and resolutely take the port of Inglese, and the officer nodded in satisfaction and left.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the two escort gunships "Anchovy" and "Little Yellow Fish" slowly arrived at anchor near the "Big Red Squid", and then sent officers to contact them in small boats.Cai Anguo discussed the details of the coordinated attack with them, and then asked them to go back and prepare.It can be seen that most of the frigates on these two frigates are melon eggs. Except for the main officers such as the captain, first officer, gunner, navigator, and boatswain, who are experienced veterans drawn from other ships, the rest People are either newcomers who have just graduated from nautical school, or new sailors transferred from the South China Sea Fishery Company (the South China Sea Fishery Company still allocates twice the manpower on each fishing boat to train backup talents), even the fucking boats are Newly built last year, the whole boat is so new that it couldn't be newer!

At a quarter past two in the afternoon, everything was ready for the attack, and even the usual changeable near-shore winds were now changed to a navigable southwest wind, which refreshed everyone's spirits.At this time, Cai Anguo decisively ordered to attack!

As the red battle flag and the green follow-up flag were hoisted on the mast of the "Big Red Squid", the other two escort gunboats also began to slowly adjust their sails, followed the leading "Big Red Squid", and headed towards the port of Ingle go.The Portuguese defenders on the shore, who had been paying close attention to the movements of the people on the east bank, naturally knew the news of the attack at the first time, but what they could do was really limited, except for some heroic army soldiers who dragged out several army artillery pieces. Apart from trying their best to cause damage to the ships on the east coast, the others could only stand silently on the roofs of houses and hills, waiting for their unknown fate.

The Portuguese Army's artillery has a small caliber and insufficient barrel, so the weak shells cannot cause any damage to the warships on the east coast that broke into the dock.But their heroic behavior still won the respect of the "Big Red Squid", so it was decided to give them the highest honor of soldiers - nearly ten broadside artillery fired at them, and they were quickly submerged in the explosion Amidst the gunpowder smoke and flying dust, the two warships followed suit and sent the Portuguese army soldiers to meet their God.

After the fierce artillery fire plowed through a wharf, Lieutenant Cai Anguo gave an order, and more than 100 officers and soldiers of the Black Eight Banners were put down in several small boats from the frigates "Anchovy" and "Little Yellow Fish". Landing at the pier.Due to the indiscriminate bombardment of naval guns for a long time, there was no Portuguese blocking the dock area at this time. The Black Eight Banners officers and soldiers easily occupied most of the urban area and achieved the result of killing, wounding and capturing more than [-] enemy soldiers. ——From the number, it can be seen that the Portuguese seem to have completely abandoned the port of Ingles, because they can't hold it without him, and there are too few manpower.

Occupying the port city—or it would be more appropriate to become a village—the people on the east bank of Ingle did not stop. Under the strict order of Lieutenant Cai Anguo who landed, more than 100 officers and soldiers of the Black Eight Banners brought short spears and sabers And a few muskets rushed towards the salt field.Because according to the confession of a prisoner captured just now, their commander may go there to organize black slaves to fight against the people on the east coast-the Portuguese often do this. When there are foreign enemies or pirates invading in history, the manor owners organize It is also wonderful that Indian slave labor fought against them.

But this time they might be disappointed. When the black slaves who organized in a hurry saw more than [-] officers and soldiers of the Black Eight Banners approaching aggressively, they were taken aback for a moment, and then fled in all directions. Some black slaves even took the initiative to join Among the team of the Black Banners, he counterattacked and killed the Portuguese, and the scene was extremely chaotic for a while.

The fierce and short battle lasted for half an hour and then came to an end. The people on the east bank successfully occupied the port of Ingles and the Yantian, and killed, wounded and captured 94 Portuguese (there may be many Portuguese on Mayo Island, but There is a shortage of troops on the east coast, and they cannot control the whole island, so they can only let them go), and a few gold and silver coins and food were seized.Of course, their biggest victory in this battle is the capture of almost inexhaustible sea salt, which is currently piled up in the salt fields. Lieutenant Cai Anguo is even worried about how to cash in these spoils. You know, these can only be shipped to Europe. Only then can it be turned into cash, otherwise it is just a pile of dirt.

After the capture of Ingle Harbor, Lieutenant Cai Anguo immediately arranged for people to take a small boat to inform Commander Wang on the "Executive Committee".And at this time, they learned that the troops going to attack Fogo Island were not going well, and they organized a group of [-] sailors to reinforce them, and they managed to conquer San Philip City, killing, wounding and capturing the enemy. More than a hundred people, and dozens of officers and soldiers of the Black Eight Banners who mainly used cold weapons also died in battle, and the loss was not light.

During this period, the main fleet once organized a group of more than 400 people (mainly the Black Eight Banners, sailors, and gunners) to attack the Port of Playa on Santiago Island, but they were repulsed by the Portuguese who had been prepared. After all, sailors and gunners are not professional troops. It is really troublesome to meet the Portuguese garrison who has been prepared for a long time and has a large number of people. The current plan is to continue to bombard the port.Anyway, several cannons on one side of the turret were destroyed in the attack just now, and then the East Coast Fleet took the risk of being shot and fired at each other, barely destroying the other two cannons. Under the muzzle of the battleships on the east coast, it would be shameful not to go for a bombardment.At the same time, they also sent three escort gunboats and more than a hundred Black Eight Banners soldiers to the north of San Vicente Island, preparing to take a port city there, Port Mindelo, and continue to isolate Portugal on the main island. people.

The bombardment lasted almost all night. Under the back and forth bombardment of a total of 624 artillery pieces (among them, the proportion of large-caliber and long-barreled heavy artillery) of the east coast artillery fleet, less than [-] guns on the Fort of Playa Port The old bronze cannon is as fragile and small as a butterfly in a storm. So far, most of it has been lost by the sea and land attacks of the people on the east coast, and it cannot stop the east coast fleet from bombarding most of the city.And as the shelling time prolongs, the enemy's property losses and casualties will be greatly enlarged, and morale will also drop rapidly. By then, how long they can endure is a very real question. After all, they can only be beaten by the enemy but not beaten. The powerlessness of the enemy is not something everyone can bear.

In the early morning of the 12th, a ship also returned from San Antão Island in the north. They told the main fleet that after a night of continuous bombardment of the city, a small port in the northwest of the island had surrendered with a white flag on the condition that the East The people on the coast are not allowed to kill and rob at will. After thinking about it, Wang Tiehammer agreed to their request. After all, the east coast fleet lacks enough land forces, and it is impossible to divide troops to guard everywhere. Since the Portuguese are willing to surrender, they are allowed to surrender. It is indeed a good way to reduce your own loss.

During the day on October 10, the East Coast Fleet continued to bombard the Portuguese port city without interruption.Finally, at five or six o'clock in the afternoon, the Portuguese in the city sent envoys, expressing that if they were allowed to "surrender with dignity", then they would not mind the people on the east bank occupying the Port of Praia, and they would also be willing to send people to surrender the surrounding islands .Commander Wang Tiehammer was naturally very pleased with the enemy's sensible move, and agreed to the request for a decent surrender of the Cape Verde Islands as a whole.

(End of this chapter)