Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2201 Homecoming

Port Holon, April 1693, 4.

Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun, head of the Third Mixed Regiment of the Army, commander of the Portuguese Garrison, and commander-in-chief of the Black Sea Detachment, just finished a banquet.The objects of the banquet were the officers of the navy, as well as the leaders of the Southern Netherlands and Swiss mercenaries who had fought with Mr. Mao for a long time and had a close relationship.

The Navy has received an official order from the local Navy Department, and will return home in three batches.The navy has been abroad for several years, and both the officers and soldiers are very homesick, and it is not an exaggeration to say that returning home is like an arrow.The ship itself, too, needs a complete overhaul.Although the Dutch's ship repairing skills are superb, the ships of the people on the east coast are very different from theirs after all. There are many things that the Dutch can't repair at all, so they still have to go back to the local shipyard to deal with them.

The naval officers are very happy to be able to return home.They have had enough of the cold and humid weather along the North Sea coast, enough of the extremely unpalatable food in the United Provinces, and enough of the dirty and backward life in the port.They missed the warm sunshine and sandy beaches off the coast of Brazil, the delicious local cod balls and grilled steaks, and the comfortable and modern life on the east coast—God, why are we still in such a bad place in the United Provinces? Life?Fortunately, this is finally coming to an end!

The Dutch side is also pleased with the group withdrawal of the East Coast Navy.They have helped the East Bank to raise this large fleet for several years, and they really can't bear such a huge expense.They now have to support a large number of mercenaries they have recruited, pay military expenses to allies such as Austria, and maintain the operation of the fleet they have just formed, so there is really not much military expenses for the people on the east coast to "spend".Therefore, there is no doubt that the withdrawal of the navy on the east coast is something that both sides have been looking forward to for a long time.

And when it comes to the fleet just formed by the Dutch, we have to talk about the several naval battles that started in the second half of last year.The Dutch and the English put aside their previous feuds and dispatched their main naval forces to find the French fleet on the sea for a decisive battle. Perhaps their shipbuilding campaign has achieved results, or their naval background is relatively deep. The four naval battles that broke out all achieved good results: the French lost a total of 27 warships, and the Anglo-Dutch coalition lost 12 warships.

The disadvantages of naval warfare also affected James II's actions in England.He had already been at a disadvantage before, retreating and suffering near the southern coast of Ireland.In order to open up the situation, Louis XIV once again sent [-] French troops and [-] German mercenaries to land off the coast of southern Ireland last year and join the remnants of James II.

But what's the use?At the beginning, James led more than 2 Franco-Irish allied forces, and they lost consecutive battles. The local Irish nobles and businessmen also quickly changed their attitudes towards them.Not to mention, after this group of people landed, the absolute command of the sea that the French navy had firmly held began to collapse, and warships of the British and Dutch navy frequently appeared in the English Channel, which affected the French's cross-sea transportation capabilities to a certain extent.Correspondingly, James II's army trapped in the southern coastal area of ​​Ireland became more and more difficult. They soaked in the muddy swamp all day long, endured the enemy's offensive day after day, suffered huge casualties, and lacked supplies. Basically, they had arrived On the verge of collapse.William III was only one step away from winning a glorious victory, and he would definitely not let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to beat Louis XIV!

On the European battlefield across the sea, the situation is actually similar.France and its few servants have the upper hand, but the advantage is not great, and because of the resoluteness of the United Provinces Van Beuningen government, all countries that are at war with France are also persisting, doing their best to deal with the French Army.Therefore, the war on land is now somewhat limited to a stalemate, that is, the French have the advantage, but they have not been able to completely defeat their opponents. This is a very painful stage for both sides.

But now is clearly not a good time to negotiate an end to the war.On the French side, Louis XIV still had illusions, and wanted to rely on his huge army to make a breakthrough on a certain front, establish a great advantage, and then negotiate with the anti-French alliance.And what about the anti-French alliance?They have already suffered a lot, and killed and injured many people. At this time, they have just recovered a little bit, and feel that it is not so difficult to resist the vicious French. How can it be possible to carry out peace negotiations immediately under such circumstances? ?Definitely need a shot.

The melee between the two sides has lasted for many years, giving the neutral country countless opportunities.The biggest beneficiary is undoubtedly the North German region. Since ancient times, the handicraft industry has been extremely developed in this place, and the business style is strong (the Hanseatic League was very famous in those days), so it seized the opportunity to export a large amount of weapons, ammunition and daily necessities. All kinds of commodities have made a lot of profits.And these profits, in turn, promoted the development of industry and commerce in the region, and the entire North German region showed a thriving trend.The only pity is that they are not unified politically, and they are easily coveted by the enemy. This is a fatal shortcoming, and it may not be able to make up for it in the short term.

The second largest beneficiary is naturally the East Coast Republic.This country has a large-scale ocean-going shipping fleet and an equally large-scale industrial production capacity, so they can easily transport all kinds of goods produced domestically to Europe, and there is a certain degree of advantage in price, which is terrible .At present, the Kingdom of France, the United Provinces, England, the northern Italian states, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and other countries of the warring parties have all purchased more or less goods from the people on the east coast, and some of the big customers ( Such as the United Provinces) even signed a long-term supply agreement with a large amount of money with the people on the east coast, which also has a huge role in promoting the industry and commerce on the east coast.

In addition to the east coast and North Germany, several major grain exporting countries in continental Europe—such as Poland and Russia—have also had an excellent opportunity to realize their accumulated grain at a higher price. Their finances are youthful, allowing for many other projects.

The profits earned by people on the east coast from exporting are divided among the business owners and workers on the east coast, and then become food on their tables, decorations at home, clothes on their bodies, etc., and become a way for them to live a better life. booster.Therefore, the people on the east coast are actually wishing that the Europeans would fight for a few more years. It doesn't matter if they fight for ten or twenty years.

It's a pity that Europeans are not stupid.Seeing that the result of this war is no longer visible, the enthusiasm of the two sides to continue fighting has weakened a lot.Although they are still playing now, the scale is not the same as it was a few years ago, and it feels a little weak.Mr. Mao learned from his own observations and circle of friends that this battle may continue, but the impact on life and business will gradually decrease, and eventually a peace negotiation will be formed.

This is a relatively normal routine, at least the Dutch think so.Therefore, the East Coast Navy, which had a relatively leisurely mission, was "invited" away, and the Dutch had to invest limited military spending on their own navy.They thanked the East Coast Navy for their help at their most dangerous moment, and allocated a considerable amount of severance pay, so that the East Coast Navy could happily evacuate.As for the East Coast Army, it seems that they are still staying for a while, because the United Provinces still need their help to stabilize the situation and collect taxes from the two northern provinces.

"It's too much! The navy gang took the money and went home. We, the stepmother-raised army, have to continue to help the Dutch with dirty and wet work. The difference is too big." After returning to the temporary station of the regiment headquarters , Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun asked the adjutant to pour himself a cup of strong tea to sober up, and said angrily.

In fact, many members of his third mixed group have already returned.Many of those who are still on the Dutch side are supplementary soldiers sent from the mainland. On the one hand, they are to replenish the war damage, and on the other hand, they are to rotate officers and soldiers who have not returned all year round.As for mid-level and high-ranking military officers like Mr. Mao, I'm sorry, but there is no such treatment for the time being, and they have to stay here honestly.

And speaking of taxation operations, the gang of the third mixed group really did a lot of damage to the provinces of Groningen and Friesland.Under the guidance of the tax collectors sent by The Hague, they divided their troops and attacked everywhere. They made the "decent people" in the two provinces fly wild for a while, and at the same time defeated a group of hundreds of people armed by land nobles. The rebellion of human mercenaries became well-known in the two provinces for a while, allowing The Hague to complete the task of tax collection, and at the same time clean it up, further reducing the influence of the Orange family.

"Sir, the situation at sea is basically stable, and the Dutch are also very confident. But it's hard to say about the war on land. At least the gentleman in the Southern Netherlands (Duke of Luxembourg, Buttville) is still very strong. Yes, if the situation changes, we may have to go up to top the tank." The adjutant said softly.

"It's a pity that my third mixed regiment has insufficient personnel and equipment, and I'm not very familiar with the company platoon leaders below. Otherwise, what if I go up to top the tank? As long as 5000 people are all around, I dare to collapse Bout Weir has a big tooth." Mao Jun said with a smile: "Forget it, it's meaningless not to talk about it. Anyway, the Dutch government is now following us wholeheartedly. As long as William III is still the king of England, they will not dare If you are slack, you can only deepen contact with us and ask for help. The best distributor in the Netherlands is finally in our hands more firmly. This achievement should be our biggest victory in this war, right? The good times in business seem to last a long time."

"Sir, in fact, promoting our country's prestige and letting more ignorant people from the old continent realize our country's civilization and strength is also one of the important achievements." The adjutant reminded: "We helped the Italians lift the threat of the French navy's door closure. , This has expanded our influence. Otherwise, there may be many obstacles in the formation of the Northern Italian coalition. And if the military coalition fails to form, it will be even more impossible to achieve political unity in the future. Group seat, this The results are also very significant.”

"Well, I almost forgot if you didn't tell me." Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun slapped his thigh suddenly, and said with a laugh: "Yes, those northern Italians are not too stupid after all. Knowing that under the current situation of a strong enemy, there is a How important it is to have an armed force with a certain combat effectiveness that can be controlled by yourself. Now the size of the Northern Italian coalition has expanded to 8000 people, and the number will increase further in the future.

"Yes, group seat. Once they are unified politically in the future, we can find a way to get a piece of land and build a military base, so that the influence will be even greater." The adjutant said: "United Provinces, Portugal, Northern Italy Once we have a stronghold, then no one can easily shake our position in Western Europe."

(End of this chapter)