Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 247 The Battle Between the Mountains ([-])

On February 1640, 2, after several days of rest for the main force of the Second Fleet of the Navy, three warships escorted two merchant ships of the South Sea Transportation Company, carrying a large amount of supplies, and left the wharf of Fort in the River in turn, heading for Mozambique Island and the port of Suez.

When the Second Fleet left, Mo Ming, the captain of the South African Pioneering Team, decided to carry out this year's mopping operation ahead of schedule after careful consideration.Originally, he planned to mobilize the militia to carry out this year's mopping up operation after the autumn harvest in mid-May. However, considering that the executive committee might start the development plan of the Falkland Islands at some point, he decided not to procrastinate any longer. Taking advantage of the short period of two months before the autumn harvest, an assault was carried out to destroy some Xhosa black tribal alliance forces that are still entrenched in the area near Dongshan (Sedbergh Mountain).

During last year's sweep, many Xhosa people in the Dongshan mountain area were well-informed and fled to the mountains one step ahead of time to hide, and some even fled across the mountains to the Great Karoo Plateau area in the east.Therefore, these Xhosa people better preserved their own strength during the raids by the people on the east coast.After the people on the east coast left, they began to migrate westward from the mountainous areas, and gradually devoured the territory of the Khoisan people (mainly the San people).The Sang people, who were greatly weakened in the raid by the East Coast people, were powerless to resist and retreated step by step. At present, it is difficult to see the Sang people in the south of Great Yanchi.

Moreover, it is said that the Xhosa blacks in the area west of the Dongshan Mountains are basically surrendered to the chief of a certain large Xhosa tribe on the east side of the mountain.That large Xhosa tribe has a large population, is extremely powerful, and is also very warlike. It is believed that many small Xhosa tribes in the western part of the Great Karoo Plateau have been merged and integrated through means of bribery and war.According to the sporadic information received by the people on the east coast, the tribe's population may have reached more than 5, of which more than 1 are ready to fight at any time, which can be regarded as a rare and powerful force nearby.

It is particularly noteworthy that this tribe is said to have made several transactions with the British in the Cape Town area.The British exchanged some muskets and ammunition for these Xhosa people for cattle and sheep for food. This is confirmed by some British refugees who have recently fled.According to their recollection, the chief of this tribe was extremely far-sighted. He exchanged hundreds of cattle and sheep for about [-] muskets and some ammunition from the British as his trump card to fight against other tribes.

However, these rumors are too far away for the people on the east bank of the Fort in the River.Especially if there are some rumors about barbarians, it is even more difficult to arouse the interest of people on the east coast.They have no worries about eating and drinking now, and the only thing they are interested in may be the various commodities from the local area.However, the prices of those commodities are not very cheap. If you want to afford those things, you still have to find a way to make more money.But now, an opportunity to make money has been placed in front of them.

"Get up, don't fucking sit still! The company commander is here!" A middle-aged man in a yellow khaki military uniform came over.Under his urging, a group of farmers from the original Hezhong Castle who were sitting on the ground and chatting stood up in a panic.

Zhang Daniu dusted off the grass clippings on the brand new khaki military uniform, then stood up leaning on his rifle.Standing beside him is his neighbor, Mr. Zhang Defa, both of whom are now soldiers of the newly mobilized 104th Company of the Army Reserve.

Speaking of the 104th company, it is one of the four army reserve units newly formed by the military department last year. The company has 180 people like the regular army.Perhaps the difference from the regular army is their khaki uniforms (the regular army is dark blue), and only a quarter of the regular training.

"Erdan Sun is just a platoon leader, what is the air!" Zhang Daniu chattered, but his movements were not slow at all. The officers had already used the whip to let them understand the importance of obeying orders.

Zhang Defa glanced at Zhang Daniu, smiled coldly, and said in a low voice, "It's useless for you to say these things now. If you had put more thought into training and didn't work hard on your Persian woman all day long, you wouldn't have As for being inferior to his grandson, after all, this platoon leader did not fall from the sky. If you have the ability, go and fight for one."

Zhang Daniu's face was flushed by the words, and he said: "Hey, just talk about me, you are not a bullshit upper class soldier like me, you can be a corporal or sergeant if you have the ability."

"I'm different from you." Zhang Defa cast a sideways glance at Zhang Daniu, and said, "I'm over 30 this year. According to my seniority in the village, I'm still your uncle. You're a strong young man with no skills. I am such an old man?"

The two are neighbors in the village, and most of the time they work and train together. They have a good friendship, but they love to hurt each other when they are free.

At this time, Xiao Baitu, the acting company commander of the 104th company, and Sun Shengjun, the deputy company commander, had already arrived in front of the team one after the other, and the soldiers quickly lined up and stood at attention under the command of the officer.Xiao Baitu, who was born as a cavalry officer, inspected the front of the queue for a while, and then waved his hand. The deputy company commander Sun Shengjun immediately stepped forward knowingly and shouted: "All of the 104th Company of the Army have them. Turn around and walk together! One two one... one two one..."

On the other side of the playground, which is only tens of meters away from them, Mo Ming, the highest official in South Africa, is seeing off Xie Hansan and the others.For this mopping operation, the entire fourth company of the South African Garrison, the entire 104th Company of the Army Reserve, the South African Cavalry Company (local troops, a total of 90 cavalry), and the South African Field Artillery Company (local troops, 4 artillery pieces) were mobilized. 485 people; plus 400 native Eight Banners spearmen and 100 British fugitives; plus some Eight Banners slaves who served as husbands, the total force was about 1300.

It can be said that the elite of the army in the Hezhongbao area is all here.As for the local defense after they left, the militia and the remaining Eight Banners soldiers were in charge as usual.

After the 104th company set off, it was followed by the army's supply unit and the spearmen, and the elite fourth company of the army was the last to hold the line.As for the cavalry unit, it set off half a day earlier than the main force, and I am afraid that it has already gone dozens of miles away.

On March 3, after nearly half a month of hard marching, the entire army first turned north, then turned east, and entered the Xianghe River Basin along some small river valleys among the Dongshan Mountains.In fact, they didn't need to spend so much time on the road, but some trainee officers of the South African Garrison Command needed to draw maps along the road and inspect the local vegetation, rivers, geology and other environments, so some time was delayed.

However, since the first cavalry unit sent back the news of the discovery of the enemy a day ago, the entire unit has suddenly accelerated its marching speed. At present, they are only a few kilometers away from the famous Cranwilliam Dam area in later generations.According to the news sent back by the cavalry, three small Xhosa tribes were grazing and farming nearby.

The mountain road became more and more difficult to walk, and there was a desolate scenery everywhere.The vegetation coverage on the continuous hills and low mountains is not bad, but there are still mostly low bushes and few big trees. It can be seen that the precipitation here is not very sufficient.But as long as you climb over this mountain and enter the Xianghe Valley, the greenery along the way should be somewhat more abundant.

Xie Hansan stood on a rugged hillside, raised his binoculars and looked ahead.The 104th Company, which was at the forefront, had already entered a rugged and difficult canyon area, while the artillery and logistics units that originally followed them had fallen to the rear due to the rough and difficult roads. As a last resort, Xie Hansan could only order those The strong British fugitives stayed behind to guard their advance.

Xie Hansan picked up a cowhide water bag from his waist, and lightly poured a few mouthfuls of cold boiled water, which slightly relieved the thirst in his throat.After walking for several days, the soldiers were already very tired.The 104th company, which usually has strict training, is okay, but the [-]th company, which is undertrained, is a bit out of shape. After a few days of departure, some soldiers yelled that their feet were worn out, which made the officers angry; In two days, most of the soldiers found that their water bladders had been emptied by themselves. In desperation, Xie Hansan had to suspend his advance and asked people to fetch and boil water from the nearby river.

"These farmers who just put down their hoes are still not good, they need to practice more." Xie Hansan looked at the crooked formation of the 104th company ahead, and sighed secretly.As a hidden imperial-Han element, he still placed some hope in the 104th Company, a force mainly composed of Han Chinese, but now it seems that this force is far from being formed.Every year, they only have time to concentrate on training during the slack time of farming. No matter in terms of discipline, physical fitness or military skills, they are not as good as the fourth company of the army who is close at hand. They still have a lot to learn.

Before this sweep, the officers of the 104th company had just been in place, and before that, they hadn't even conducted a long-distance training.To Xie Hansan, sending soldiers to the battlefield without sufficient training is simply a crime.The East Coast is no different than other countries. Due to its sparse population, every soldier is precious.They are not war animals, but professional soldiers carefully cultivated by the country, and they cannot be squandered at will.

The only interesting thing in South Africa is probably the cavalry unit that is now led by Leonid.Many officers and non-commissioned officers in this unit are Shaanxi natives who came from bandits. Under their leadership, the cavalry unit is also the most diligent and strictest unit in daily training. The soldiers are generally of high military quality, and their combat effectiveness is naturally It's much stronger.

While I was thinking about it, I saw that the formation of the 104th company in front suddenly became a little chaotic, and a large number of soldiers fell to the ground.Xie Hansan was startled, and hurriedly looked through the binoculars, and saw that the 104th company that was advancing seemed to have been attacked suddenly, and many soldiers lay down on the ground.While the officers nervously determined the direction of the enemy's attack, they walked over and kicked the buttocks of the soldiers lying on the ground, telling them to get up and reload quickly.

(End of this chapter)