Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2504 Yamen ([-])

"Here, chocolate candy, everyone has it." In a small village, artillery battalion commander Lai Dashi grabbed a handful of candies from his bag and distributed them to Spanish children in the village one by one.

This is part of the Army’s Goodwill Plan for the Occupied Area, which is implemented by the Army’s front-line troops and supervised by the military police.

To be honest, this plan is still necessary.The ignorant and conservative Spaniards are very hostile to the pagans on the east coast, and are even more dissatisfied with their aggressive occupation of their hometown.Although the quality of the soldiers on the east coast is already very good - thanks to the sufficient logistical support - they are not as disturbing to the people as the soldiers of other countries in this era, but the invaders are the invaders, and the people of all countries in the era of globalization are still very dissatisfied with immigrants Well, not to mention the aggressors armed with weapons.

According to the latest information sent by the National Intelligence Agency, the English army currently fighting in the Catalonia region has extremely bad military discipline. Forced food and young men are daily, and rape and robbery also occur from time to time. After all, they are a lone army. The strategy of raising war by war is also implemented-it cannot be said that the British did not spend money to purchase supplies. In fact, they also purchased a large amount of food, draft animals, wine, etc. from Italy, but the quantity was seriously insufficient-if this was not scraped in the occupied area It's strange to be three feet on the ground!

Moreover, the standards for selecting soldiers in continental Europe in this era are also very problematic.Well, in fact, they have no standards. As long as ordinary soldiers can come and are not disabled, I don’t care if you are a gangster or a beggar and a tramp.In the past, the Netherlands lured poor Scottish farmers to harvest crops, and then refused to pay wages. Instead, they were kidnapped and forced to board ships as sailors. Later, English people searched for beggars on the streets and pardoned criminals, and then forced these people into the army.Such a source of soldiers is really too bad to be worse!The soldiers were poor, ignorant and ignorant. Not only were they precarious when they went to the battlefield, but they were often owed military pay, so they continued to burn, kill and loot to satisfy their various desires.

On the other hand, the people on the east bank basically recruited soldiers with a certain level of education (primary school) and a certain economic foundation.They are not so ignorant, understand certain truths, and can try to restrain their desires as much as possible.The most important thing is that grassroots officers and non-commissioned officers have a high level of education (non-commissioned officers with insufficient education will go to the camp school for further education), they have knowledge and a sense of honor, although they will distort their values ​​to a certain extent after going to the battlefield, But it was much better than the scum-like low-level military officers in the continental European countries-only mid-to-high-level military officers who were generally nobles were decent.

Furthermore, a very important point is that the logistics supplies of the army on the east bank are relatively sufficient. They have enough grain staple food, canned meat products, dairy products, and cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, tea and chocolate from time to time. Chief Secretary There are also sufficient military funds on hand to purchase vegetables, fruits and fresh meat locally.There is no shortage of other things such as quilts, rain gear, and cold-proof materials. Even toilet paper for wiping buttocks is regularly distributed.Such a good logistical support is enough to prevent many vicious incidents caused by material shortages, so many people say that the East Coast Army has better military discipline, but in fact it is all piled up with money.But no matter what, good military discipline is good military discipline, this is a fact.

Of course, we must not forget the role of the military police.They were in charge of both intelligence work—in the field of military intelligence, obviously, in theory, the State Intelligence Directorate could not intervene, although they often crossed the line—and they were responsible for supervising military discipline and tracking down spies and traitors.And it is precisely because dozens of soldiers are thrown into prison every year, and more soldiers are warned and punished, that the military police have a very bad reputation in the army, and they have almost become synonymous with demons, so that some people even shoot their black guns on the battlefield.But in any case, the hard work of the gendarmes basically maintained the moral lower limit of the army, and did not allow them to develop into a soulless beast army.

To sum up, the overall quality of the soldiers on the east coast is still very high, far from harming the common people, and even because the procurement of military supplies can bring some benefits to the local economy-Eagle’s Nest base to the small town of Campo Morone The dramatic changes brought about bear this out.But when they entered Spain on a large scale, they still inevitably encountered great hostility, not only from the bottom society, but also from the upper-class nobles, and even from the religious circles.Especially the latter, as God's shepherds, they often enjoy great influence among the flock, and they can say that black is white, and white is black, without any problem at all.Obviously, they must be full of slander and slander towards the people on the east coast.

Lai Dashi and others realized this when they camped in this village last night.Some people panicked and hid in the small church at the entrance of the village, begging for comfort from the priest; some closed the door tightly to prevent anyone from approaching; In the cellar, for fear of being harmed.The people on the east coast looked like they wanted to laugh, but they didn't bother to pay attention to them. After sending infantry to set up guard posts outside, their army, which was left behind by the main force, dispersed to the farmers' homes and planned to deal with them overnight——It was windy outside Rain, you can't camp with a tent.

Nothing happened overnight.Early the next morning, Lai Dashi greeted the artillery brothers to go on their way, and at the same time took time to distribute candy to the children in the village.It's a pity that those children seemed to be frightened, and their parents held their hands tightly, so although their mouths were drooling, they didn't dare to approach them after all.Lai Dashi regretfully put away the candy and followed the team without further delay.

They are now about a day behind the main force.According to the news brought by the messenger last night, the main force advancing lightly moved quickly, and it is currently less than two days away from Seville.That's it, it's still the speed after fighting a group of Spanish cavalry on the road, otherwise it would be even faster.

Speaking of this Spanish cavalry, I have to say that their behavior was very heroic, but to no avail.They numbered more than 500, but less than a third were professional soldiers—professionals?Perhaps it is more accurate to call them part-time soldiers, because they obviously cannot support themselves only on unsecured military pay - the rest are militiamen who came spontaneously, which is actually normal in Spain, which is rich in horses, cattle and sheep, because many Everyone owns horses and related equipment, which is very convenient to organize.

The commander of this army was full of confidence because they were cavalry and there were as many as 1500 people.As for the people on the east coast, there are only a little over 3000 people, and most of them are infantry (only 550 cavalry). Even if they have the advantage in weapons, they are not without chance of winning.

But the facts hit him hard.First of all, the continuous rainy weather greatly restricted the cavalry's charge, making them unable to effectively exert their speed and impact. Secondly, the range of the East Coast rifle far exceeded their imagination limit.Of course, the most important thing is that the soldiers on the east bank did not panic at all. They were busy and calm, and shot accurately. Without the help of powerful artillery, they inflicted huge damage on the Spanish cavalry and finally caused it to collapse. .

In the wild, without shelter, facing the roaring cavalry, all the people on the east bank can take advantage of are some sloping terrain, and the soldiers are not chaotic at all. What kind of elite is this?Have they faced countless cavalry attacks?

Congratulations to the Spanish commander, you got it right!In fact, an important training subject of the East Coast Army is to conduct encounters with enemy cavalry in the field.For this reason, the cavalry battalions of each regiment and several independent field cavalry battalions will often gather together to conduct shock drills against the infantry-based defensive forces.The rehearsal is very realistic, except for the unreal charging and shooting, the rest is the same as on the battlefield.The infantrymen were also pale and sweaty at the beginning, and some even fought twice—don’t believe it, if you have the kindness, try to stop a high-speed motorcycle or tricycle on the street—but after a lot of experience , This sense of fear will be reduced to a considerable extent, and my heart will not be so nervous, which ensures that various tactical actions will not be seriously deformed, and formation changes can also be quickly changed.

Officers will also be assessed together. The superiors will simulate various situations, such as the enemy cavalry coming from the front, the enemy cavalry coming from the rear, the enemy cavalry coming from the flank, etc. The officers who are asked must answer loudly within the maximum time. The response plan, and then the higher-ups will simulate some changes based on the plan, create some accidents, and assess their adaptability for the second time-on the battlefield, it is very important to adapt to the battle, because the enemy will not perform according to your script, and even There are many unexpected situations that neither party can imagine.

There is no doubt that the cost of such rigorous training is very high.But people on the east coast have always liked to build an elite army and navy, so they spent a lot of money regardless of the cost, and now it has finally worked: the Spanish cavalry of uneven quality completely collapsed under the fierce and precise rifle fire, and the small nobles in the countryside The commanders who were born even fell off their horses in the first round of shooting, which directly accelerated their failure-making you uneducated and not knowing much about the military development of various countries. Now you pay the tuition with your life, which is pitiful.

After defeating this cavalry, the East Coast Army defeated two small armies in succession under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Xiao Guang, without paying much price.The troops of Andalusia and Granada were basically taken away by Carol, and the interior was surprisingly empty.Therefore, after a short rest, the people on the east bank did not delay too much, and quickly marched to the outside of Seville, an important town in southern Spain.

It is a very prosperous commercial city with a large population and a developed economy.Most importantly, there are no walls!

(End of this chapter)