Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 602 Chapter 350 One Retreat ([-])

With the roar of several cannons, this wave of Spaniards' offensive failed again, and the corpses of more than a hundred Kelandi servant soldiers were scattered everywhere, telling people their tragic fate.

This is Santa Fe, the front line of the battle between the Spanish and the East Coast armies.More than 800 soldiers from the east coast and more than [-] officers and soldiers of the Spanish Legion of Lima fought desperately here in order to fight for control of this important port of Santa Fe.

The Spaniards said that there were more than 3000 people, but more than 2000 of them were Kelandi servants, all equipped with cold weapons such as spears, and their combat power was very limited.Of course, the people on the east coast also have a considerable number of servants, such as more than 300 Kelandi and [-] gauchos. , The festival between them seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

Except for the main forces of both sides fighting for a while at the beginning, both the Spaniards and the East Coasters have been a little quiet recently.The Spaniards had too many casualties. After all, no one could persist in attacking the heavily fortified positions of the people on the east coast for a long time in the face of the intensive firepower of many muskets and cannons.Therefore, after the Spanish Lima Army paid about 400 casualties (about a quarter of them were Spanish whites, and the rest were Peruvian Indians), they decisively died down, and then sent to Cordoba and other places The two thousand Kelandi recruited took turns to attack.

However, the Kelandi people are not fools. Their offense has been weak, which is no different from scratching the itch for the people on the east coast. The officer twisted his nose angrily.Today (July 7th), this wave of offensive launched by the Spaniards early in the morning was the largest in the past ten days, but it only killed or injured more than a hundred Krandi people, hiding in the tortoise shell The East Coast Army even had only 20 people killed in battle and 7 people were injured (mostly minor injuries), which made the Spanish despair even deeper.

Yes, the Spaniards now have no hope of conquering Santa Fe.The loss of artillery, the difficulty in supplying ammunition and supplies, and the long-term field camp full of diseases are undoubtedly eroding the Spanish will to fight bit by bit. Now they only need an opportunity to retreat to Cordo Watt rest.

Anda Fifteen had just returned from patrolling the front-line gun towers and trenches, and a lot of mud was splashed on the clean military trousers he had just put on this morning.It rained yesterday, which turned the entire battlefield into a soft muddy field, which made it more difficult for the Spaniards to launch an attack.At this time, the people on the east bank were exhausted and unable to launch a large-scale counterattack. The troops of more than 2000 people had suffered more than 400 casualties so far—most of them were militiamen.

On the 10th of this month, Luocha County added 100 people here, and then faced the request from the front line to continue to allocate additional soldiers.They even sent a deputy county magistrate to the executive committee to cry, saying that this year’s grain planting area has not expanded at all, and the grain production increase plan formulated by the county government is facing abort. 9000 grade students) still need to import wheat from neighboring counties—the county has less arable land per capita and mainly grows high-yield miscellaneous grains—the life is really difficult, and the executive committee is requested to transfer the Luocha County Militia Brigade back to the local area for rest. By the way, preparations for spring sowing.Of course, the executive committee rejected the request made by Luoqia County, but considering the actual situation, it also rejected the military department's request for Luoqia County to allocate additional troops.

Therefore, the Rocha County Militia Brigade on the Santa Fe side has suffered more than 80 casualties (including those caused by diseases) over the past few months. A plague in May even killed 6 people, and currently there are only 350. More than a hundred people still have fighting power.The 800th company, cavalry, and artillery units of the East Coast Army also suffered from injuries and attrition. As of today, there are still [-] people who can fight.If you add some miscellaneous troops such as the Kelandi Rebel Army, Gaucho Volunteer Army, and Tatar herdsmen, there are currently only about [-] soldiers on the east coast who can continue to fight inside and outside Santa Fe.

800 tired soldiers are not enough to launch a large-scale counterattack, because the Spanish Lima Army on the opposite side still has [-] well-organized cavalry, more than [-] musketeers, and more than [-] equipped soldiers. Krandi minions with spears and bows.The Spanish army, which lost all its artillery and other heavy weapons, was also unable to gnaw down the fortified fortifications of the people on the east coast, because the people on the east coast not only have cannons, but their firepower is obviously much denser than theirs. for the sake.

The two sides were at a stalemate like this, and occasionally sent people to fight a few battles during the day.The Spaniards don't know what they are waiting for. Thousands of people go to the front line and fight. The daily consumption is definitely not a small number. All kinds of materials such as munitions and ammunition were sent to the city of Santa Fe.Maybe they built a transfer station on the way, but Anda XV did not dare to send the only [-] Tatar herdsmen on hand to search, because it might cause heavy losses.

Regardless of what the Spaniards are doing, even if you continue to increase troops, it's none of my business, as long as you can maintain the transportation line!Anyway, I just need to keep Santa Fe. Keeping this transshipment port is a big achievement, and I don't bother to care about the rest.

"Commander, nineteen cash boxes were sent upstream today, totaling more than 61 yuan in various types of gold and silver coins. The police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are guarding there, waiting for the large steamship of the navy to load and leave.” The cadet cadres from the Bingtuanbao saluted Anda Shiwu, and then reported to him.Anda XV is the commander of the Santa Fe garrison and the local supreme plenipotentiary, so he has the right to know everything.

Anda fifteen returned a salute, and encouraged the young student cadres a few words.At this moment, a messenger handed him an order from Buenos Aires. After reading it, Anda XV could not help but close his eyes and fell into deep thought.It was a long time before he opened his eyes, smiled, and said: "The military headquarters has been ordered to retreat for several days, and Chief of Staff Liao has also issued an order to form the Santa Fe theater, with Captain Jiang Zhiqing from Corrientes City in charge. The commander in chief of the theater. The military strength of the new theater will be greatly expanded, and at the same time, all naval gunboats will also go here to support our army in combat..."

"Commander, what should we do with the 6th Company? Still stationed here?" an officer asked.

"Yes." Anda Shiwu nodded, "The 101st Company of the Army will also go here at the same time. In addition, the Meilin County Militia Brigade will also be stationed here for defense, and the Luocha County Militia Brigade will return to the local Baoan Township to rest. As for the last local The militia brigade - the newly formed Xihu County militia brigade will be sent to Buenos Aires by the navy to take over the defense of the 35th regiment of the Xuebing Corps there. Well, the Xuebing Corps of Commander Liao (350 people) is afraid to I went across the sea to fight elsewhere. In addition, all the cavalry units and a considerable part of the Krandi and Gaucho rebels will also stay here. According to my rough estimate, the total strength of my Santa Fe theater will reach 4000 this time More than one person, after the integration is completed, you will no longer be afraid of the more than 2000 Spaniards outside the city. It’s fine if they retreat, but if they are still obsessed, then we have to give them some color.”

The soldiers of the 6th company were not very happy when they heard the news. On the contrary, they were generally a little bit disappointed.Everyone knows how rich Chile and Peru are. Now that so many Spaniards have been attracted to Santa Fe, and they may even continue to increase their troops, then the rear must be very empty, right?If you seize the opportunity at this time, you will definitely be able to make a fortune in the enemy's rear!What a pity, Asunción doesn't let us go, and now even Peru and Chile don't give us the chance to go. Could it be that the 6th company of our army was raised by a stepmother?Do we have to go all the way through the mainland traffic line from San Fepin to the city of Cordoba?

Up to now, even ordinary grassroots officers and soldiers are discussing when the executive committee and the military department will organize an expedition to the Pacific Ocean.Because if the Spaniards pretended to be dead and didn't see it, the fall of La Plata would not be able to move them much.And if the Spaniards want to face up to the reality of the army on the east coast attacking the city, I am afraid that they still need to impress them with some extremely deep impressions-such as breaking down important towns on the Pacific coast, there is no other way.

The Army's 6th Company has been stationed in Santa Fe for several months, and the income is limited.Especially after the Chang Kaisheng detachment conquered Asunción in early June, ships came from the upper reaches almost every day for more than a month, sometimes carrying cash boxes full of gold and silver coins, sometimes full of grain, and sometimes It is expensive furs, sometimes a large number of captives, in short, the spoils are ship after ship. Everyone knows that the East Coast Army has made a fortune in Paraguay.

According to the rough statistics of the special commissioner of the Ministry of Finance here, the gold and silver coins of the property shipped back from Paraguay exceeded 80 yuan, not to mention a large amount of jewelry and artwork.In addition, there are more than 500 tons of grain (wheat, corn), more than 8 furs, about 170 Andalusian black cattle, more than [-] goats and sheep, [-] pigs, and eight horses. More than a hundred horses, some chickens, ducks and geese.All in all, the total value of property recovered from Paraguay by the people from the East Coast this time was no less than [-] million yuan.Not only have the military expenses and pensions been earned back, but it seems that there is still a large surplus. In short, it is much more lucrative than La Plata.

These livestock can be exchanged for a large amount of money orders and cash from farmers on the east coast, which is of great benefit to alleviating the government's current financial difficulties. With the payment of more than 80 million yuan from the previous year, the financial budget for the next year seems to be barely sufficient.If more bank acceptance bills are issued to buy food in the hands of ordinary people, it will not be so difficult to maintain fiscal expenditure next year.

Sure enough, it is still quick to make money by raising wars, but it seems to be addictive.

(End of this chapter)