Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 210 The British in the South ([-])

August 1638, 8, Fort in the River.The weather is fine, the temperature is three degrees Celsius, and the southwest wind is five.

About 200 indigenous soldiers stood under eight flags waving in the wind, waiting for orders from above.It has been almost a year since these eight tribes took refuge in the East Coast people. During this year, they have been protected by the East Coast people in all aspects. Of course, you can also say that it is all-round control.The tribes that were not protected or controlled by the people on the east coast have disappeared, and instead of dying out, these tribes have expanded their population, all thanks to their repeated expeditions with the people on the east coast.

According to the regulations drawn up by the East Coast people, each tribe in the Upper Six Banners has one chief and two deputy chiefs, which can be hereditary.Each tribe in the Upper Six Banners has limited autonomy. As the chiefs, they control all the power in the tribe and are only responsible to the superior east bank chief.There are no chiefs under the two banners, and they are under the direct control of the East Bank Officer Advisory Group, but they are usually managed by a "foreman" appointed by an East Bank native.

Of course, the greater the power of these people, the greater the corresponding obligations.Once they fail to pay the taxes that should be paid for the current year, send fewer servants to the project site of the people on the east bank, or fail to fight, they may be punished, usually slaves, cattle, sheep, and food. In severe cases, they may be dismissed or even sentencing.

With the strict discipline enacted by the people on the east coast, these "children of the Eight Banners" have almost become the existence of defying the sky among the nearby natives.Those Khoisan people who were still at the end of primitive society were no match for these relatively well-disciplined and relatively well-equipped Eight Banners tribes. They can win a battle by relying on them.

This time, Liu Ang, Xie Hansan and others in Hezhong Fort unanimously decided to attack and harass the British. For this reason, the conscript order was issued to various tribes last night.Early this morning, the leaders of the eight tribes hurried to the Fort in the River. After listening to the teachings of the masters on the east bank, they returned to the tribes one after another, and began to mobilize and select personnel.

At eight o'clock in the morning, about 250 indigenous soldiers were selected and gathered in the martial arts field on the south bank of the Beg River.Surrounded by soldiers from the east bank, Xie Hansan, the commander of the fourth company and lieutenant of the army, hastily inspected the so-so native army, and then announced his departure!

At exactly nine o'clock, this army with more than a dozen carts set off in the westerly wind.Nearly a hundred people carrying the black and white flags carried spears on their shoulders and walked in the front with short spears pinned to their waists for throwing.They have a large number of people in the two banners, so naturally they sent a large number of troops. Coupled with their low status, they naturally became the vanguard of the entire army.Immediately behind the black and white flag troops are the people of the Six Banners. They are either carrying spears, or holding short knives and round shields, or carrying long bows and arrows.Everyone was wearing leather armor, and some wealthy or elegant people had some iron pieces bought from the people on the east coast embedded in their leather armor to enhance their protection.

Sun Shengjun led 20 cavalry from the east coast to walk around the entire army, urging them to march while monitoring whether anyone wanted to escape.This is not unfounded worry. With the low morale of the natives, soldiers often left their families in the tribe and fled when they fought against the natives in the past, let alone fighting the British this time.

More than a dozen carts were loaded with supplies such as spare weapons, marching tents, barbed wire, drinking water, food, medicine, bandages, etc. The drivers were some slaves under the two flags, and two East Coast militiamen with muskets were squatting on each cart .They don't fight, or even get close to the battlefield, they only manage the logistics of the troops.Once the situation is not right, they will decisively drive away.

After marching like this for four days, at noon on August 8, the whole team arrived at the back of a hill about ten kilometers east of Cape Town.The supply troops will camp here and wait, and the combat troops will continue to move forward.In the evening of that day, taking advantage of the drizzle, the combat troops sneaked into a pre-made bivouac camp in Table Mountain. The soldiers took out their tents and picked some dry places to camp.

Maybe the British are short of manpower, maybe their morale is not high, in short, most of these British are huddled inside the camp. Chatting in a low voice, while observing the surrounding situation.It's a pity that the rain and fog outside were so thick that they couldn't see anything clearly.

Nothing to say all night. In the early morning of August 8, the troops who had rested overnight in the mountains began to assemble. Sun Shengjun was very depressed to find that there were only 21 troops left at this time, and more than 210 people escaped last night.But the battle is imminent, and he can't take care of that much anymore. Those punishments can be dealt with after going back.He immediately called the officers in charge of each banner, and began to explain their respective combat missions to them based on past experience and some knowledge he had learned recently.

To be honest, the organization and discipline of these Eight Banners natives are a bit stronger than those of the refugees in Ming Dynasty. It is estimated that the combat effectiveness of those peasant troops who have not experienced a few battles is similar. The individual combat effectiveness may be stronger, but morale, Discipline is slightly worse.Generally speaking, this is a very poor army, but at this moment they can only be let to charge, anyway, it is cannon fodder, and it is good to test the British's reality.

The Chinese of the native officers is poor, and Sun Shengjun's accent is not very correct, so the communication between the two sides is very difficult.In the end, Sun Shengjun was also annoyed, and simply assigned the direction directly.The black and white flags were assigned to attack several logging sites of the British on Table Mountain. Sun Shengjun asked them to make the movement loud enough to attract the attention of the British inside the wall at the foot of the mountain; the red and yellow flags It is an elite black flag with strong combat effectiveness, which was kept by Sun Shengjun as a reserve team; as for the other four flags, they were ambushed in the lush forest halfway up the mountain to intercept the British who might come out of the city to rescue them.

After the order was issued, Sun Shengjun did not hesitate, and directly ordered to start action.It's raining heavily in winter outside, and it's freezing cold. It's unbearable to stay in this environment for one more day, so let's make a quick decision!

The battle soon began.The British set up a lot of logging sites on Table Mountain. On the one hand, the firewood was used as fuel, and on the other hand, it could also be used for urban construction at the foot of the mountain.There are more than a dozen people in these logging sites, and only a few people are few. At this moment, facing the Khoisan people swarming in with weapons, they panicked for a while.

"Bang! Bang!" Some British people who were more vigilant fired their matchlock guns in the logging shed, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the surging crowd.Few of them fought helplessly with their felling axes, but were soon knocked to the ground by sharp iron spears.Some Khoisan people, holding short knives with bright eyes, began to harvest the heads of these fallen Englishmen. An Englishman's head was worth a bottle of river daiqu—this is the price given by the people on the east coast.Some people even fought over the ownership of the head of a wounded British soldier, causing Sun Shengjun, who was watching with a telescope from a distance, to frown.

The pissing nature of this group of natives is almost like being carved out of the same mold as that of Daming's black-eyed and ignorant refugee army!

The turbulent crowd flooded one logging site after another. Few of these logging camps that lacked the necessary protective facilities could persist for more than a quarter of an hour under the impact of the large and powerful Khoisan people.After the camp is breached, their fate is generally very tragic. After all, in the eyes of the Khoisan, they are priceless prey.

After breaking through three logging points in a row, the British in the distance began to quickly retreat down the mountain.And in the unfinished wall of the British at the foot of the mountain, the whistle sounded one after another, and a large number of British people were gathered. The officers opened the arsenal and distributed the matchlock guns or flintlock guns one by one.The British who got the weapons went under the awning one after another, watching Table Mountain not far away through the misty rain and fog.The recent weather has been very humid, and the fire rate of the muskets is not expected to be very high. If these natives concentrate on storming the camp, their casualties will be heavy.

"Sir, four of the nine logging sites were captured, and a total of 35 people were killed. These natives are very poorly disciplined. They are looting the muskets, tools and even food we left behind on the mountain. Should we gather our people to rush up and disperse them?" Hell, they are just a bunch of barbarians, let me lead someone to kill them! I guarantee that no one will be killed or injured! God, they are even desecrating the corpses of the Lord's people!" Aya, who was wearing a thick raincloth, Len Potter said eagerly, and behind him were several veterans who had participated in the war.

Nick looked up at the gloomy sky, then at the muddy ground, and then turned to look at the Heywood knight beside him.

Knight Heywood didn't hesitate for too long, and he said decisively: "Aaron, take 50 good men out of the city to pick up those people who have withdrawn from the mountain. Listen clearly, I just ask you to pick up those people, you are not allowed to Change direction and launch an active attack on the natives on the mountain!"

"Yes, sir." Aaron Potter saluted reluctantly, then turned around and summoned his men.

Nick Warnum silently glanced at the Supreme Commander who had already walked in front of him. The wig of Heywood Knight was ridiculously stuck to his forehead under the washing of the rain, and the makeup powder on his face was even washed out by the rain. However, his words are unquestionable: "Nick, organize the defense of the entire castle. These natives are smart and know that they will attack us in rainy and snowy days. We must be vigilant enough. Now, your job is to Keep this unfinished castle safe!"

"Yes, sir." Nick also saluted, and then rushed into the rain and fog.

(End of this chapter)