Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 296 The Situation in Brazil ([-])

After capturing the barbarian logistics force of more than two hundred people, it was already getting late.In this unfamiliar land, Mo Ming didn't dare to entrust a large organization to pursue him overnight.Therefore, he ordered the soldiers to pull up barbed wire and set up camp along the river. At the same time, he also surrounded the captured nearly two hundred Xhosa prisoners with barbed wire and guarded them tightly.

Abandoning the overnight pursuit basically means that the battle against the Kama tribe has come to an end for the time being.The people of the Kama tribe are very familiar with every plant and tree here, and the further south you go from here, the more difficult it is to walk. At that time, the mountains will be continuous and the terrain will be rugged. Even if you have a company of cavalry, it will be difficult to catch up with them. Xhosa who are good at mountain walking.

Well, let's stop here.Mo Ming breathed a sigh of relief, counting the Xhosa people as lucky, I hope you will be honest in the future and stop competing with us on the east coast, so maybe your kingdom can survive for a few more decades.But tomorrow morning, we still have to continue to chase south for a while, to put some pressure on these barbarians, so that they can't stay here and integrate the forces here.

On May 5, the army set off again and pursued to the south for more than 29 kilometers. It finally stopped after defeating a Xhosa army of 20 to 300 people.After two consecutive days of long-distance marches, even the well-trained soldiers of the 1st and 2nd companies were a little tired.Therefore, after confirming that the people of the Kama tribe did not dare to stay but ran directly into the southern mountainous area, Mo Ming decisively ended the pursuit.At the same time, the conquest and integration of many remaining Xhosa tribes in this valley began to proceed simultaneously.

The army of the Kama tribe has retreated, and this group of people also robbed a considerable part of the food, cattle and sheep of these tribes. The natives of these tribes have great opinions on the Kama tribe.Coupled with the fact that the people from the east coast came with shining bayonets, even the most stupid Xhosa people knew that they should surrender to their new masters.

On May 5, the 31rd and 103th companies of the army who heard the news, together with the troops originally led by Mo Ming, set off a wave of migration in the river valley.These newly defected Xhosa tribes are nothing but fools. How can they know that these people are not selling well between the East Coast people and the Kama tribe?Therefore, it is better to force them to move to the vicinity of Hezhongbao, and then replace some reliable Eight Banners tribesmen from there, so as to truly cut off the foundation of the Kama tribe here.The Xhosa people are of course very reluctant to leave the land where their ancestors lived for generations, but under the real threat of hundreds of muskets from the people on the east coast, these Xhosa people still obeyed the order, took their food, cattle and sheep, and left here .

This relocation involved more than ten Xhosa tribes, with a total of about 4000 people.These people were all organized into the Eight Banners to supplement their lost manpower. In addition to the capture of about 2 captives from the Kama tribe, this battle harvested a total of nearly [-] people, mainly Xhosa blacks. There are more than a thousand cattle and sheep, more than [-] catties of grain, and some gold, ivory, and fur. Generally speaking, the income is quite rich.More importantly, this battle established the situation in the area around Gundam Fort.The people of the Kama tribe should not dare to peek at this land in the short term, while the people on the east bank can rely on Gundam Fort to gradually gain a foothold, and then slowly move eastward and southward to expand new land.

When the Xhosa black people near Gudabao were busy migrating, a letter from the executive committee was handed over to Mo Ming by the special envoy who had come over.Mo Ming heaved a sigh of relief after reading it, and then handed it over to the company commanders and deputy companies of the army beside him, and asked them to pass it on to each other.

"What? The situation in Brazil has changed?" Chang Kaisheng, the company commander of the 1st company, was the first to shout out, causing others to stare at him.But Chang Kaisheng was still not aware of it, and still shouted loudly: "The Brazilians expressed strong indignation at the new king of Portugal, Joao IV, for acknowledging the Dutch occupation of northeastern Brazil. What about the new king of Portugal? They Isn't it the same king as Spain?"

"At the end of last year, an uprising broke out in Portugal for independence, and the Duke of Braganza became the new king of Portugal. Don't you care about the international situation at all, Chang Chang? Even I knew about it all the time in South Africa, but you didn't know anything about it? I heard that You have taken care of two down-and-out German aristocratic sisters in the mainland, and you have given birth to a child. My sister-in-law has been making a fuss recently, no wonder you don’t have time to read the newspaper.” Zhu Liang, the commander of the second company, sneered, he had long been coaxed by Niubi The coaxed 2st company is very annoying, and the opportunity to find a taunting Chang Kaisheng at this moment will naturally not be missed.

Hearing what Zhu Liang said, Chang Kaisheng, who was originally a little irritable, did not retort, but turned his head away and ignored him: "Director Qi, in order to oppose the peace treaty signed by the King of Portugal and the Dutch, the Brazilians We are preparing to organize a large-scale offensive against the Dutch New India Company, and we have nothing to do with it, so why is the mainland so tense, and even demanded that South Africa end the war against the natives as soon as possible and send its troops back to the country?"

The person who came to deliver the letter was Qi Wangping, director of the Central Personnel Department, a subsidiary of the Executive Committee.This gentleman was a civil servant before time travel, and after so many years of hard work, he gradually climbed to the high position of the director of the Central Personnel Department. In addition, he is in his prime (36 years old), and now he can be regarded as a rising star in the civil service system .However, he is facing a group of Qiu Ba at the moment, so it is inconvenient for him to show off his prestige as a chief, but patiently explained: "Recently, the Brazilians have made a lot of moves. They are organizing militias on a large scale while looking for allies everywhere. They also placed a large order of arms to us. Moreover, as the Brazilians transferred a large number of people to the north, the Guarani people who were suppressed by them also became active. These people, under the instigation of Spanish missionaries, frequently entered Brazil Within the sphere of influence of the people, they attacked all outsiders they encountered. Even some Guarani people who fished in troubled waters also invaded Ping'an County under the leadership of those magic sticks. The troops of the 3rd Company of the Army stationed in Meihe Township Weak and hard to defend. Therefore, the mainland urgently needs to send troops from South Africa back home to suppress those daring Guarani people.”

"Hehe, just those Guarani people?" Xiao Baitu pouted while standing aside, and said, "Who are you bluffing? What kind of trouble can those natives who don't have a few pieces of cloth all over their bodies cause us? I think this There are other reasons, Director Qi, tell us what's going on?"

Qi Wangping chuckled, who said that this group of Qiu Ba is stupid?People can understand it in their hearts. "Actually, the main concern is that the resumption of war between Brazil and the Dutch will cause the Dutch to have a bad opinion of us. After all, our pro-Portugal and Brazil stance is too obvious. I can't guarantee the Dutch. God will go to war against us if he loses his nerve. Moreover, this time the Brazilians invited us to send troops to join them in attacking the Dutch, and they even raised a large amount of military expenses for us to spend. Of course, the Executive Committee can I don’t plan to go to Brazil to fight the Dutch for the money, but isn’t this also a bargaining chip? If the Dutch can’t hold back in Brazil and finally need us to cut off aid to the Brazilians, then they need to give direction elsewhere. We make concessions, such as the Far East."

"So that's what happened." Chang Kaisheng muttered.Speaking of this, if everyone doesn't understand it, it means that his strategic vision is too poor.Due to economic, religious and political reasons, the bilateral relations between the Dutch and the people on the east coast have always been cold—it can even be said to be a bit bad, and the people on the east coast don’t expect to repair their relationship with them. After all, this is a fundamental contradiction and irreconcilable.Since the relationship cannot be repaired, it is more important to have some bargaining chips that can threaten their interests, such as intervening in the situation in Brazil, such as threatening the Cape Town colony, such as preventing the Dutch from capturing slaves on the southwestern coast of Madagascar, such as banning Dutch ships Berthing at Baleen Whale Harbor on Falklands and more.

Among them, the first two are the biggest threat to the interests of the Dutch.Brazil has benefited from the aid of a large number of high-quality and cheap weapons on the east coast over the years. The Dutch West India Company has shed more blood than in history. They must have a deep memory of the Brazilian army equipped with plate armor and cannons on the east coast.If given the chance, they would definitely ask the people on the east bank to immediately cut off all aid to Brazil. In fact, they have put pressure on the east bank several times over the years, but it has been ineffective, and this is why they are hostile to the people on the east bank. a major reason.As for the Cape Town colony in South Africa, don’t look at how well the Dutch are currently building there, but according to what Mo Ming said, as long as they make up their minds to pull it out, all the forts in Guanghe can almost defeat the Dutch defenders there. After all, their main force is just the three hundred German mercenaries.

Both sides have their own lifeblood in the other's hands, so the cost of starting a war will be much higher.Both parties must carefully calculate their own gains and losses, and calculate the bargaining chips in their hands. At this time, what the people on the east coast have to do is of course to increase the weight in their hands.The Netherlands and the East Coast, the two most wonderful countries so far in the 17th century, have been fully connected from the New World to Africa to the possible Far East in the future.As the people on the east coast tirelessly explore the eastern route, the conflict between the two sides may intensify in an instant. At this time, it is also time to transfer the precious main force of the army back to the country.

Several army leaders who hadn't played enough in South Africa looked at each other in blank dismay, and finally could only accept the fact that they were transferred back to China.After all, in the letter that Director Qi took out, in addition to the seal of the executive committee, it was also stamped with the red stamp of the military department.These Qiu Ba can bargain with the orders of the executive committee, and even some strong military leaders such as Kaisheng and Xiao Baitu can treat the instructions of the executive committee as fart, but the orders of the military department are different. But dare not disobey.

(End of this chapter)