Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2356 The Eagle's Nest

October 1698, 10, Italy.

The Eagle's Nest is a fortress, formerly known as the Campo Morone Fortress, built by the Genoese government with an investment of 100 million bank lire. It is used by the Genoese Army in name, but in fact it is the second of the East Coast Army in Europe. Military base (the other is Viana do Castelo in northern Portugal).

Currently stationed in the Eagle's Nest Fortress is the Sixth Mixed Regiment of the East Coast Army.This is a unit formed last year. The head of the regiment is Bai Chuanping, the former battalion commander of the Ninth Infantry Battalion. The supply battalion, as well as the engineering company, the guard company, the reconnaissance platoon, the communication platoon, the military band, the field hospital, the repair shop, the camp school, and hundreds of staff officers and miscellaneous personnel, with a total strength of about 16, are equipped with more than 3900 long and short guns , 48 artillery pieces of various types, and nearly 700 horses, it is a full-staffed force.

The Sixth Mixed Regiment was formed by drawing a large number of officers and veterans from the four veteran mixed regiments, and then selecting the best from the security regiments of eleven counties in the Jiangbei and Ningchang areas of the Brazilian plateau.As soon as the department was formed, it gathered at Changshun Port, and then boarded the ship in batches. It took almost a year and a half to arrive in Genoa * one after another.

The Genoese also attached great importance to the arrival of the Sixth Mixed Regiment.They withdrew their troops from the fortress of Campo Morone, surrendering it to the East Coasters.Lieutenant Colonel Bai Chuanping, who came to receive him, was also polite, and lived in with peace of mind. At the same time, he renamed the place "Eagle's Nest" fortress. Who would have an eagle on the army's flag?

People from the east bank stationed in such a large scale, naturally they couldn't hide it from those who cared.But they didn't plan to hide it. After all, it was already the second half of 1698. King Carlos II of Spain was sick and skinny and was dying. Anyone could smell the smoke of gunpowder hanging over the European continent.The arrival of the East Coast Army is to express an attitude, whether to listen to you or not, as long as you think you can bear the consequences.

And now that they no longer conceal their actions, the people on the east coast will naturally make full use of this fortress.The current eagle's nest is really big enough to accommodate more than 1 people—the Italians invested 100 million lire, and the people from the east coast later subsidized more than [-] yuan for renovation, so this is a famous fortress comparable to Breda Fortress ——And the Sixth Mixed Regiment is a field army, not a garrison force. Once they attack in the future, someone will have to stay to see the fortress, so this person still has to continue to recruit.

Bai Chuanping, the head of the regiment and the garrison commander of the Eagle's Nest Fortress, thought it over and felt that some mercenaries still needed to be recruited, but this undoubtedly required funding, which was actually not an easy task.But Commander Bai felt that the plan could be done first, and the matter of funding could be discussed later.In his mind, mercenaries can be left behind in terms of combat power, but their loyalty is higher, which greatly limits the range of options.At present, he has sent a letter to the Ottoman Empire. They have just disbanded several troops who had mutinied because of wages. Most of them came from Greece and Serbia, and there were about 2000 people.These people still have a strong sense of awe towards the east coast. After all, the weapons in their hands come from the east coast. hostility), and the religion is the Orthodox Church. There is really no other way except to attach to the people on the east coast.

In addition, he also intends to recruit 2000 people in areas that are relatively friendly to the east coast, such as Portugal and Italy, as another force to check and balance those Orthodox "barbarians". Putting eggs in one basket is not a good operation.Of course, the above 4000 people are infantry, and the cavalry must not be forgotten.No, Port Haji also received a request to help find 1699 Crimean cavalry to be incorporated into the garrison of the Eagle's Nest Fortress.As for the artillery, because it is the artillery of the fortresses defending the city, it can be drawn from the artillerymen of the fortresses in many domestic ports on the east coast. There are about three hundred people, and they can arrive by boat with the fortress artillery (Eagle The artillery on the wall of the Nest Fortress has not yet been installed, and it is purchased from the east coast), so there is no need to rush the time, and it will arrive next year ([-]).

In fact, it can also be seen from here that these more than 4000 people are not actually pure city defense troops.Because it doesn't take so much to defend the city, they will inevitably undertake other auxiliary tasks, such as escorting food and grass, guarding prisoners, collecting spoils, and so on.The battle was fierce and domestic supplementary soldiers were too late, and those who performed better among them were likely to be incorporated into the Sixth Mixed Regiment to supplement the battle losses.

It can be said that this plan is still good. The army of more than 4000 people was divided into several groups, with different languages ​​and different religious beliefs, effectively checking and balancing each other.If this kind of combination is on the field battlefield, it is certainly a disaster, but in terms of defending the city, there are people from the east bank in the middle to coordinate. If the military salary and supplies are in place, the problem is not big. After all, they don't have to endure intense battles .By the way, regarding the maintenance costs of the mercenaries, Bai Chuanping has also negotiated with the Italians, and the Northern Italian Federation will provide [-] bank lire cash (for payment) and corresponding food to pay for it every month. Just give them supplementary equipment and other military resources at one time.

In exchange, the Eagle's Nest Fortress has received at least two regiments (about 1698 people) of the Northern Italian Allied Forces every month since November 11.They will train with the East Coast Army, learn the advanced military thinking and tactics of the East Coast people, with a view to improving their combat effectiveness as soon as possible - once a war breaks out in the future, the threat from the northern land will undoubtedly be the greatest, and this matter cannot be ignored .

Coincidentally, people on the east coast have doubts about the combat effectiveness of the Northern Italian Allied Army, which is currently slowly expanding to ten divisions with 7.5 troops.Since they are willing to send two regiments to receive training every month, although they will inevitably be rotated and belong to short-term training, it is enough to improve their level. Now, the only thing left to do is to approve his plan from the mainland.

In addition to these things, the Sixth Mixed Regiment also has some other things to do, and it was planned before departure, that is, to use combat as a substitute for training, and combat and training, as soon as possible, this [-]% of the troops will be recruited. Hammered into shape.As for where to temper, where to find the touchstone, it is very simple to put it bluntly, that is, to land on the coast of North Africa, "help" the Ottoman Empire to clean up some disobedient warlords, fight against local pirates, and harvest a wave of spoils by the way—the pirates Having robbed for centuries, if the family has no property, is it decent?It is said that Cai Zhenguo, the plenipotentiary special envoy of the East Coast Republic of China to Europe, is very opposed to this plan, because it will obviously affect the diplomatic relations between the East Coast and Ottoman, and add countless difficulties to his diplomatic work. Although the pirates in Algiers, Tunisia and other places It is very questionable whether the warlords still listen to Istanbul.

Last month, Cai Zhenguo made a special trip in the name of Lao Jun to try his best to prevent this group of army lunatics who in his opinion were not clear-headed from landing in Algiers.He even said earnestly that it would be no problem to let the Italians land and fight—in fact, they had already done so, but their record was very mediocre. They even failed to break into larger towns, and were attacked by cavalry at night in field battles. , took a hard bite—but once the troops on the east coast landed, the nature would be completely different, and his diplomatic achievements might be set back for many years.

Cai Zhenguo suggested that if the Army is looking for an opponent to sharpen its sword, it might as well land in Ceuta and fight the Moroccans.This coastal country in Northwest Africa has been very aggressive recently. Several east coast missionaries have disappeared in its territory this year, and they are suspected to have been killed.Cai Zhenguo further explained that these Taoist priests all came from the Zixiao Temple in Ceuta. In order to spread the majesty and love of Tianzun, they did not hesitate to risk their lives and entered Morocco to develop believers, and they have disappeared since then.There is no doubt that this is a good excuse to start a war.

Bai Chuanping was speechless upon hearing this.He used to think that their army men despised life and death, and emphasized martial arts, and their arrogance was so high.It's just that now it seems that there are more vigorous existences than them.Nima, why don't you go to Mecca to preach?These Taoist priests are fanatics who have received theological education since childhood, alas, how reckless they are.

But the matter has come to this point, Bai Chuanping has nothing to say.For military training, fighting is not fighting. Algiers can fight, and Morocco can naturally fight!Although being educated by such a white shirt as Cai Zhenguo made people uncomfortable, what he said was not unreasonable.No way, hold your nose and admit it this time, and do Algiers again when you have a chance.What's more, the Moroccans are not good birds. Their pirates are also notorious in history, and they have robbed countless goods. They should be able to gain something by fighting a dozen.

The only trouble is that this country may have some strength, unlike places like Algiers and Tunisia, which are isolated and helpless in a fight.Morocco has a population of several million and is a unified country.At this time, the founding of the country was only 30 years old, and the country's power was on the rise. In recent years, its sultans had also been conquests from east to west.If you really want to fight, it will definitely not be as easy as fighting Algiers and Tunisia.

But who is Bai Chuanping?Lieutenant Colonel!How can a dignified army man say that he is afraid?What a joke!Moroccan, right?You obstructed trade before, and killed Taoist priests later, you must be punished!Bai has already decided to immediately collect information and formulate a plan.At the latest at the beginning of next year, the whole regiment will drive to Ceuta to start the war against Morocco.If the war is one-sided, maybe the scope of Ceuta can be expanded a little bit.

Isn't your Alawi Dynasty awesome?Over the past few decades, it has regained a lot of land occupied by European colonies along the coast. The prestige must be very high, right?Now let you take a look at the bayonet jungle from the Great East Bank and have a taste of modern warfare.Although the Sixth Mixed Regiment had a lot of new recruits, the officers and non-commissioned officers were all veterans, and Bai was very confident.

The first appearance in Europe, absolutely not to be missed!

(End of this chapter)