Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 46

March 1633, 3.West wind, the temperature is only 2 degrees Celsius.

The fine raindrops hit the oilcloth raincoat, making people shiver from the cold.

On the land in Sullivan Shelter, southeast of Soledad Island, 16 captive Spanish sailors are leveling the land, while the Charuyas, under the command of Julien, are repairing the deck and stern of the captured Spanish "Galicia Flying Fish" munitions ship building.This ship was hit by more than a dozen bullets in the exchange of fire with the "Eagle of the East Coast", and some places were severely damaged.Fortunately, there were some spare plates in the cabin, so Julien took them out and repaired them directly.

Unfortunately, the captain of the "Galicia Flying Fish" was hit by a 24-pound shell on half of his body in the previous battle. The bosun was also seriously injured and was "humanely" thrown into the sea by the crossing crowd.Now there are no officers among the remaining 16 sailors. They are driven by the crossing people to work, and they can only get barely enough food and a mouthful of hot water every day.

Some simple wooden houses were built on the shore. The roofs were covered with thick thatch and oilcloth to ensure that there would be no leakage. Some supplies such as food and gunpowder were stored in the houses.

The "Eagle of the East Coast" has returned to its voyage yesterday, and the only ones left on the island are Julien d'Eblol, the new captain of the "Galicia Flying Fish", and 30 students from the sailing school. Forty-seven army soldiers from the provisional first platoon, 47 gunners left by the navy, and 10 Charuyas (if you don't count the Spanish prisoners).

At present, all left-behind personnel are under the command of the acting platoon leader of the temporary first platoon and second lieutenant Xie Hansan.Xie Hansan is 28 years old, of medium build, and has been working as a manager in a brick kiln before.He participated in the last battle with the French pirates. After the battle, because he didn't want to stay in the army to develop, he was demobilized and returned to the brick kiln as a foreman.After the Spaniards officially declared war this time, the cross-travelers began to recruit demobilized veterans. Xie Hansan, who is also considered a veteran, enlisted again in the first wave of mobilization on February 2. He served as the acting platoon leader of the first platoon of the army and followed the navy. The Malvinas Islands deep in the South Atlantic Ocean.

His task is to build simple housing, prisons and material warehouses in hidden places on the shore during the next arrival of Yunsheng [-] and the "Eagle of the East Coast".A batch of simple housing was built on the first day, but the rain and snow continued in the next few days, which seriously affected the construction progress.In desperation, Xie Hansan had no choice but to order most of the people to rest. At present, only the Spanish captives are still working outdoors.

The port chosen by the crossing people is located in a sheltered bay in the southeast of the East Island. It has an excellent location and good concealment. Even if there are occasional ships that go to the Malvinas Islands to avoid the wind and waves, they will not choose this place. It can be regarded as painstaking.

"Damn the weather! It's been here for a few days. Except for the first day when it didn't rain, it's been raining every day." Under the awning, Fabian Klingemann was carrying a saber and a 32-B rifle Complaining, his eyes were still fixed on the Spaniard who was working in the rain.In fact, he doesn't have to be so nervous. These Spaniards will never try to escape as long as you don't kill them now.Because apart from the rain and snow all over the island, there are only penguins and seals. They will freeze and starve to death within two days after running out, and become the prey of Antarctic wolves.

Inside the awning, his neighbor Hans was warming himself by the fire.The fire uses peat as fuel, which is actually an incompletely decomposed plant residue, or biological sludge.Due to the special climate, it is everywhere on the island, and it is good to use it as fuel.

"Hey, Fabian! Don't be so nervous! If I were one of these Spaniards, I wouldn't try to fight or run unless I was crazy. Damn the weather, now I really miss the warmth of the village It's a hut." Hans said while warming himself by the fire.

"Yeah, Dingyuan Fort doesn't have such bad weather. It's too cold here. At this time, I think I need a bowl of delicious cabbage tofu soup. It's best to add some meat to the soup." Fabian licked his tongue road.

The two were chatting one after another, when they saw a group of people coming up from a distance, Fabian and Hans picked up their rifles a little nervously, and put them down after a while, it was the patrol led by Xie Hansan .Since landing here, Xie Hansan, who has a cautious personality, has insisted on leading patrols every day regardless of the weather.The patrol area is generally within one kilometer around the landing point. On this uninhabited island, if the bad weather and muddy land are ignored, this kind of patrol is actually more like a sightseeing parade in a sense.

There are groups of penguins, lazy seals and large groups of seabirds all over the coast, which is an eye-opener for a bunch of bumpkins who have never seen this scene.The only animal on this island that poses a threat to everyone is probably the Antarctic wolf, but in fact this animal is very timid and never actively attacks humans, and its habits are more similar to foxes. The birds, penguins, and fish on the island are the main animals. Food.The island is rich in peat resources, suitable for use as fertilizer or fuel.Grasslands are also everywhere. It would be a good way to develop animal husbandry. In fact, in the 21st century, the residents of the island made a living by raising sheep, fishing and sightseeing.

Xie Hansan walked into the awning, and after exchanging military salutes with Fabian, he sat down beside the fire, grabbed the military jug and drank a couple of sips of strong wine, and then passed it to someone else.

"I don't know when this day will end. Sigh, it's still comfortable to work in the brick kiln, at least it doesn't need to be blown by rain and wind here." Xie Hansan said with a long sigh.

The others smiled sarcastically, not daring to answer his words, and just drank strong wine to drive away the cold. When the "Eagle of the East Coast" returned to the voyage, it left almost most of its supplies, including fish, dried meat, ham and some dried fruits. Everyone stayed on the island without any shortage of supplies, but they were destroyed by the strong westerly wind and rain and snow every day. Got to be a little upset.

Xie Hansan is more easy-going, and everyone is willing to chat with him.Bored, Fabian asked: "Platoon leader, I heard that the navy will attack the Spanish ships near the Strait of Magellan in the west. I heard that the sea conditions there are very bad, and we only have a few ships. How can we match our strength?" The mighty Spaniards?"

"Ha, don't worry about that." Xie Hansan hiccupped and said, "The guys in the Navy are very thieves, and they will definitely not fight against a large group with strong firepower. They will also bully the weak transport fleet or A single small or medium warship.”

"What is our mission? To guard supplies and prisoners here? Do you want to go ashore and beat the Spaniard?"

"It's hard to say." Xie Hansan said unsurely, "Theoretically, it is, but maybe it will allow us to go ashore in a place where the enemy is weak. I heard that Chile is very rich, in order to impose more pressure on the Spaniards. There is a lot of pressure, and it is really possible for us to go ashore. But don’t worry, even if we go ashore to attack, it will be a carefully selected place, and we will not go head-on to the big towns of the Spaniards.”

"Would the Spaniards doubt that we have a port here after being attacked?"

"The Patagonia area in the south of La Plata goes all the way to Tierra del Fuego. The coastline stretches for thousands of kilometers, and there are ports everywhere. If the Spaniards have doubts, they must first doubt there. After they sort out everything, it will take a few months. It’s over.” Xie Hansan said, “The port we chose here is relatively hidden, away from any shipping routes, and the houses are built in places that cannot be seen from the sea. As long as there are no ships moored on the shore, unless the Spaniards go ashore to search, otherwise It's hard to find us, don't worry."

"When will the war end?"

"It depends on the Spaniards." Xie Hansan put a pot on the fire, and said while adding water to the pot, "We wish there had never been a war. But the greedy Spaniards coveted our wealth, and they fought wars in Europe." The country is going bankrupt, and if we submit to them, they won't hesitate to squeeze our last pennies like they squeezed those poor Araucans in Chile. So let's rise up and protect us Wealth, protect our land. Let the Spaniards die!"

"Damn the Spaniard!" The crowd cursed together.The Spanish captives who were working in the drizzle suddenly shivered, as if they were being stared at by many vicious eyes.

"Come on, come on, the water is boiling, come and help me!" Xie Hansan beckoned everyone to add dried beef, bacon, ham, cabbage, radish, potatoes and salted fish to the pot, and then from the package behind him He took out a lot of white bird eggs and said with a smile: "Look, I still have a lot of bird eggs 'picked up' by the sea here. Take them out and wash them, and put them into the water to boil together later."

In response, someone picked up the eggs and went outside to wash them.

Xie Hansan smelled the meat-scented cauldron, and said intoxicatedly, "In this terrible weather, it is a pleasure to have such a delicious meal full of fragrance. Let the navy guys be on board Cry and eat salted fish, haha, let's ignore them!"

After a while, the eggs were washed and put into the pot.The people who couldn't wait took out wooden bowls and chopsticks one after another, while drinking the broth, they forked a piece of meat in the pot and chewed it.

It's okay to live a happy life like this.Xie Hansan drank a big gulp of spirits, thinking in a daze.

(End of this chapter)