Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 172

On the night of May 5, the six ships gathered together quietly sailed out of the Zhenhaibao Naval Base in the dark.After they set off, the Zhenhaibao Naval Base blocked the port and implemented a strict closed policy.

After leaving the port, the naval fleet named the Guinea Task Force headed east all the way towards the west coast of South Africa, in order to avoid the popular route along the coast of Brazil and reduce the chance of being discovered.

On June 6th, the Guinea task force crossed the entire Atlantic Ocean and found the mouth of the Beg River on the sea chart in the wind and rain. stronghold.Even, the name of this stronghold has already been named: Fort in the River—meaning a fort surrounded by rivers in the middle.

Second Lieutenant San Kai of the Navy and Lieutenant Jiang Zhiqing of the Army led a platoon of army soldiers wearing thick oilskin raincoats, rowed a small boat under the torrential rain, and tried their best to march towards the Berg River. They were going to find this stronghold.After paddling for more than half an hour, the group had to abandon the boat and walk ashore in order to avoid accidents because the Berg River was abundant and turbulent during the winter rainy season.

It really seldom gets this much rain near Cape Town, South Africa.Jiang Zhiqing wiped the rainwater off his face, and there was a gray rain curtain between the sky and the earth, and everything beyond 30 meters was not very clear.

"Sang Kai, do you think something will happen to Mo Ming and the others?" Jiang Zhiqing said a little uneasy, "We haven't seen him since he set off with 200 people. More than 100 people came to such a barren place. It's really not easy to develop a place. The last time I got news from them was when Li Yi and Huang Yang came back to transport supplies more than half a year ago. Alas, Li Yi and the others don't know what's going on at Baleen Whale Harbor. I hope they all It's okay."

"Don't talk nonsense." Sang Kai pursed his lips, and continued to walk on the muddy grass by the river bank with one foot high and one foot low.Behind them were sixteen soldiers.In such weather, their flintlock guns have become fire sticks, so each of them carried a 3-meter spear on their backs as a self-defense weapon.

"The indigenous Khoisan people in South Africa are red race people, they are short in stature and peaceful in nature. Unlike the Bantu blacks in East Africa, they are not very aggressive, and basically they can get along with each other in a friendly way." Sankai walked He said, "Mo Ming and the others have more than 100 people, and they have plenty of weapons. After building basic defense facilities, I don't believe these celebrities can defeat them."

"Okay then, let's continue going upstream." Jiang Zhiqing wrapped the raincloth around his body and said, "Maybe their city was built far upstream in order to hide. Moreover, I think the river here is relatively fast. , is not suitable for building a port. Well, let's move on."

The group continued to walk for about three kilometers, and finally saw a gray city hidden in the rain near an open river bend.

"It's the Fort in the River!" Jiang Zhiqing said a little excitedly. In the cold winter rain, the white steam from his mouth floated in the air.

"That's right! It must be the fort in the river! Let's go up and have a look." San Kai also limped over, his cowhide military boots were filled with muddy water, and mud spots were everywhere on his body, looking extremely embarrassed .

The soldiers, whose morale was somewhat low by the heavy rain, also cheered up a little bit. They summoned up their courage, and walked forward behind the two officers step by step.Of course, in order to guard against possible unexpected situations, they also took off the spears on their backs.

There seemed to be shouts on the banks of the clattering Berg River. Jiang Zhiqing wiped the rain from his face and took a closer look: a short man in a black uniform and a big cap was waving his arms under a tree on the river bank. .

"It's Sergeant Aivani!" A soldier from Dongfang Port recognized the man waving his arms. "He is Sheriff Aivani from the Dongfang County Police Department! Thank God, our people are still there!"

……

The news quickly spread to the Guinea task force that was cruising in the open sea. After hearing that Mo Ming and others were safe and sound, everyone smiled.Soon, the Fort in the River sent several pilots. Under their guidance, the entire fleet, under the strong sea wind, avoided some easy-to-ground shoals in the Berg River, went up the river, and successfully arrived at the Fort in the River. on the simple pier.

Six galleons crammed the tiny pier to its brim.This is a wide river bend, the water depth is generally more than five or six meters, and the river width ranges from 600 to 800 meters. It is not unreasonable for the South African pioneering team to choose the pier here.

The navy sailors threw the cables to a few unshaven Charuya dockworkers in worn raincoats who walked up on the wooden pier. These workers feebly tied each cable one by one, and then watched helplessly from the ship. The sailors and soldiers who came down.

"Brother, what did you bring from China?", "Brother, I look forward to seeing people from China...", "Dear ones, I haven't seen you since two ships of building materials were brought from Baleen Whale Harbor a few months ago." People who have lived in the civilized world."

As more and more sea and army soldiers disembarked, dozens of residents of River Fort suddenly flooded onto the pier. On the pier, he watched the task force eagerly.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!" There was a scolding sound from the pier. Liu Ang from the State Intelligence Bureau led a group of people kicking and beating them with sticks, and finally squeezed through a gap and rushed to the boat that had just disembarked. In front of Lu Ming.

"Dear ones..." Liu Ang held Lu Ming's hand tightly with a mournful face, shaking it constantly, "I'm looking forward to your coming."

Lu Ming looked at the former senior researcher of the General Intelligence Bureau who was wearing a tattered tarpaulin umbrella, his clothes were torn and faded in many places, his beard was unshaven, and his hair was like a chicken coop. Goose bumps all over his body.

"How did you make it look like this?" Lu Ming couldn't help asking, and while he was asking, he looked ahead, and there were more people coming from the castle in the rain.

"What else could be the reason?" Liu Ang yelled, "It's still that shit, Li Yi and Huang Yang, it's been almost half a year, and they haven't delivered supplies to us yet, damn it, I don't know if they are dead or not. We need gunpowder , We need cannons, we need manpower, we need medicine, we need clothing, we need sugar, wine, tobacco leaves, cocoa and even toilet paper and all the commodities we need, wipe, I don’t want to be a savage either.”

Lu Ming was a little speechless, and then he turned his head and ordered his adjutants to lead people to unload some supplies from the two transport ships and leave them for the Fort in the River.

"At first, I wanted to supply some supplies with you, but now it's good, we've posted a lot first." Lu Ming shook his head and said with a wry smile.

After seeing Lu Ming ordering to give them some supplies, Liu Ang jumped up happily, then shook Lu Ming's hands vigorously and said, "Commander Lu is such a good man! Want to supply supplies? It's easy! Although we at Hezhong Fort It looks very shabby, but at any rate, we have opened up [-] acres of wheat fields and [-] acres of vegetable fields. It is not a problem to solve some of your fresh vegetable supplies. The brothers also raised some pigs and sheep, but the number is still small, and they are used for daily use. They came for the tooth sacrifice. There are a lot of cattle. Recently, a tribe of Khoisan people came to attack us, but we repelled them. Then the brothers pushed back, took their old nest in one fell swoop, and captured a lot of this tribe. What about the grazing cattle?"

"Where's Mo Ming? Why didn't I see him?" Lu Ming asked suddenly.As the captain of the South African pioneering team, Mo Ming didn't come out to meet the task force, which made him feel very strange.

"Captain Mo was injured during the crusade against the Khoisan tribe a while ago. The injury was not serious, but the wound was accidentally infected. Then it took two days until he recovered. It was regarded as saving his life, and he is still lying on the bed. "Liu Ang said with a sigh.

"What?" Lu Ming was also afraid for a while. Once Mo Ming, the captain of the South African pioneering team, died, although the base of Hezhong Fort would not collapse immediately, it would definitely suffer a heavy blow.

The two talked as they walked into the city, where the navy sailors had begun to unload cargo on the dock with pulley booms.When boxes of canned food, sugar, cocoa, coffee, soybean oil, candles, paper, gunpowder, building materials and other various materials were unloaded, the residents of Fort in the River on the pier suddenly cheered enthusiastically.As they stand alone at the southern tip of the African continent, the assistance from the motherland gives them hope to persevere.

The construction of the fort in the river is progressing relatively smoothly.Even though they were short of manpower and supplies, and a nearby Khoisan tribe was constantly harassing them, Mo Ming's South African pioneer team established the basic facilities in more than a year: a week The 400-meter-long masonry fence, the hundreds of acres of farmland and livestock pens surrounded by barbed wire between the fence and the river bank, as well as civilian facilities such as residences in the city, make this small river castle initially self-sufficient. .

Mo Ming, with a sallow complexion, was wrapped in a cotton padded coat and sat on a chair to welcome Lu Ming and his party. This time, he wandered around the gate of hell before returning, looking a little depressed.His orderly brought the newly unloaded coal stove from the pier, put in briquettes, and started a pot of coffee.

"Thanks to the supplies you sent." Mo Ming sat on a chair covered with lion skin, looked at Lu Ming with a smile and said.

"Fuck, ivory, antelope skin, dog's head gold..." Several naval officers who followed Lu Ming came in and were amazed when they saw the decorations in Mo Ming's room.

"Hehe, they are all small gadgets." Mo Ming said nonchalantly, "Brothers, if you like, you can take a few pieces each. Anyway, South Africa lacks everything, so there is no shortage of these gadgets. Commander Lu, you are just passing by this time." What's the matter?"

"Passing by." Lu Ming nodded, "We are going to replenish some fresh vegetables, meat and fresh water here, and then go northward along the cold current of Benguela, and quickly rush to Gambia, destroying the British commercial stations and military installations in one fell swoop. Then move on to the camera."

"It's a very risky military operation, but there is no better way." Mo Ming sighed understandingly, "It's not difficult for you to supply some food and water, and we have planted hundreds of acres of land over the past year. It is more than enough to supply you with a fleet. If the country gives me some more manpower and supplies, and let me fully build this place, then our room for activities will be much larger in the future, and the next step of exploring the Indian Ocean route can also be put on the agenda Schedule."

"Those are too far away." Lu Ming smiled wryly, "Let's go through this hurdle first. Well, you are in good health and need more rest, so I won't bother you. Liu Ang and I will discuss supplies Supplies."

(End of this chapter)