Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 621 An Old Friend in Southern Chile

After sending the last batch of supplies ashore, the ships of the East Coast Navy Fleet slowly increased the pressure of the steam boilers under the watchful eyes of the Patagoni employees on the wharf of the Magellan Intelligence Station, unanchored their anchors and left the port one by one, and headed out to sea. go.

The first was the flagship of the Pacific Temporary Task Force "August [-]th", followed by the newly commissioned battleship "East Coastism" and the steam-reformed former Spanish Lapla The Tower Fleet landed the "Rock of Cadiz".These three are the main warships, and they are also the only three warships in this western Pacific operation. Although they are small in number, they are large in tonnage, strong in firepower, and fast in speed. The small ships of the Spanish and Peruvian fleet are really not enough for them .

In addition to these three combat ships, the entire Pacific Temporary Task Force has six large ships, namely 2 ammunition supply ships, 1 water supply ship, 1 troop carrier, 1 coal carrier, and 1 repair ship. ship.These ships are fully loaded with all kinds of materials and personnel-all are prepared for landing operations. It is worth mentioning that all nine ships of the Pacific Temporary Task Force are powered by hybrid sails, but in terms of mobility, they are far surpassed those of the Spanish ships.

Especially in the Strait of Magellan, where the wind direction and ocean currents are changeable, the probability of accidents for traditional sailing ships is not low, especially when going against the wind from east to west, it is even more difficult. If you are not careful, you will be stranded or sink for various reasons.But ships with steam power assistance are different. During dangerous voyages, they can lower their sails and sail at low speed purely by steam power. It is also very convenient to turn to evade, and the chance of shipwreck is greatly reduced.

Therefore, the Pacific Temporary Task Force took great pains when selecting ships. Not only were most of them new ships, but all of them were hybrid sails. +3 frigates +10 flute-shaped ships, commanded by Lieutenant Guo Zili) are much more luxurious.With fierce firepower, fast speed, and strong maneuverability, it is estimated that those small and old ships in the Spanish Peruvian fleet will cry without tears.

此番跟随九艘海军船只作战的陆军部队也是不少，计有步兵连5个、炮兵连2个、县民兵大队2个、学兵团35团全部（500人）、克兰迪义勇军近1000人（含部分高乔人）及1000多名东欧雇佣军，总计约6000人。其中所有部队在出发前都进行了人员、器械的补充，因此这些部队此刻都是齐装满员，战斗力不可小视。

After these troops went out, there were 2 infantry companies, 2 artillery companies, 4 cavalry companies, the 36th regiment of the Academy Corps and the 37th regiment that were about to graduate, and 4 county militia brigades that remained in the mainland and the neighboring La Plata area. And the Krandi Volunteer Army with a number of nearly 2000 people is considerable in both quantity and quality. In addition to dealing with the Spaniards, they can also withdraw a large number of troops to the mainland for a rest, which is basically easy to do.

On September 9, the Pacific Task Force of the First Fleet of the East Coast Republic Navy successfully entered the relatively calm Pacific Ocean after passing through the western section of the Strait of Magellan, and then found the island group in the waters north of Contreras Island. A sheltered ground anchored sufficiently spacious to moor.At the same time, they dispatched the "Grocery Store No. 15" water supply ship to the city of Araucan (Puerto Natales) along a hidden route measured by the Magellan intelligence station for a year, while the rest of the ships were in the sheltered bay. Standby, awaiting the return of "Grocery Store 2".

It is said that the city of Araucan has been established for several years, and now it has become the base camp of Araucan rebels in Chile. Thousands of Araucans live here and in the vast area of ​​the suburbs all year round. They are guided by the people on the east coast. Planting rye, oats, and potatoes, and grazing goats, provided a solid material foundation for the guerrillas to go north to fight the Spaniards.As for the equipment, ammunition, medicine, and clothing needed by the guerrillas for perennial fighting, most of them were provided free of charge by the Magellan Intelligence Station on the East Bank, and a small part was exchanged by the Araucan people for food, wool, and leather—they only had Such poor money.

The Araucan guerrilla has about 600 people, and the official name is "Araucan Liberation Army", which was helped by people from the east coast.To be honest, this organization is a bit advanced. Its leader, Vicente Jr., is the son of Vicente Sr., the founder of the first Araucan guerrilla. He can speak Spanish, Chinese and Araucan dialect. He proposed a program of action for the guerrillas, which is to defeat the Spaniards and establish the Araucan people's own country. Tartars, Restoring China" has the same meaning.

It's just that in this era, nationalism has not yet sprouted, and people don't care much about whether the ruler is a foreigner or not.You only need to look at Austria, Ottoman, Moscow, Sweden, Poland, Persia and other countries. Some of them live in multi-ethnic groups, and some ruling ethnic groups do not account for the majority (Ottoman, Sweden, Persia, etc.), but as long as the upper-class nobles are not particularly oppressive Ku Lie, basically everyone can live in peace and harmony, and can accept the reality of being an obedient citizen of a foreign race.

Of course, the Spaniards in Chile in this era were obviously not good rulers, and the existence of the guardianship system made this place a de facto serfdom.The Spanish whites are nominally the guardians of the Araucans and the guides leading them to civilization, but in fact they are all out-and-out slave owners.They trafficked people, cruelly exploited and squeezed the natives, especially in those mines, where the environment was harsh, the food was rough, and the work was heavy. A large number of Araucan miners were tortured to death, and the rest also resisted, but they were often met by brutal suppression by the Spaniards .

The Spaniards stationed a large number of Indian soldiers from Peru in various settlements and traffic arteries in north-central Chile. These people were the accomplices of the Spanish rule in South America. What the Araucans in Chile and the Platacrandes did was no different from the Spanish white army, and the cruelty was equally heinous.

Like the Guarani people in Paraguay, they are the lambs of missionary groups such as the Jesuits and the Franciscans. They are the pioneers and good dogs of the Spaniards in exploring the American continent. However, although the aboriginal uprisings in the entire north-central region of Chile came and went, they were all quickly suppressed and have not been successful.Later, as the population of the Araucans became increasingly scarce, their resistance became weaker and weaker. Over time, there was no longer any force capable of overthrowing the Spanish rule.

However, in the middle of the 17th century, both the Araucans in Chile and the Clandis in La Plata (who have not yet experienced the brutal suppression after the failed uprising in the 50s) still have a large population .Especially in Chile, there are still hundreds of thousands of Araucans. Therefore, what Vicente Jr.'s "Araucan Liberation Army" longs for is to unite most of the Araucans who were cruelly enslaved and rise together to overthrow the The Spaniards ruled, and then imitated the system of the countries on the east coast, and established the Araucan people's own country, allowing the Araucan nation to stand among the nations of the world.

The Magellan intelligence station set up by the people on the east coast has been insisting on providing assistance to Vicente Jr.'s team for a long time, and this is the biggest reason why they have been able to persist until now despite the unfavorable situation.But the people on the east coast are not money-spreading boys, you have to be obedient if you are given assistance, otherwise there will be no way to ask for any assistance in the future.

The Araucans have no bargaining power over the demands of the people on the east coast.For example, in April, they were ordered by Bilas, the head of the Magellan Intelligence Station, to support the offensive of the East Coast Army in La Plata in the central region of Chile, and attacked 4 Spanish military posts in a short period of time, making the Spaniards set up The Chilean general Juan de Sousa was furious, and the 11 servants originally scheduled to be transferred to Cordoba were also temporarily canceled and turned south to suppress the Araucan riots.

This time, the people on the east bank made another request, that is, to send a large number of capable guerrillas who are familiar with the inside information of Chile to serve as the leading party for the east coast army, so as to attack the Spanish settlements, material storage places and important mine ports more efficiently. .In addition to leading the way, the Araucan Liberation Army will of course also send a certain number of capable combatants to accompany them northward to participate in the attack on the Spanish settlements and rescue the enslaved Araucan people.

Right now, the water supply ship "Grocery Store No. 2" is going to pick up people, and at the same time donate a batch of supplies to the local Araucan people.Vicente Jr. is a sensible person. He knows that the Araucans alone cannot overthrow the Spanish rule. He has to hug the thighs of the people on the east coast to make it possible.Therefore, he readily dispatched a total of about 9 soldiers, led by himself, boarded the East Coaster's ship, and returned to the anchorage of the Pacific Temporary Task Force on September 23.

The commander-in-chief of this operation, Lieutenant Colonel Lu Ming, commander of the East Coast Task Force, took the time to meet with young Vicente, and chatted with him about the past when he met his father on Chiloe Island. Sente expressed regret for his sacrifice in Puerto Barrios (Puerto Montt), and at the same time encouraged him to work hard and work with the people on the east coast to overthrow the Spanish rule.

After rendezvous with the Araucan Leading Party, the Pacific Temporary Task Force of the East Coast Republic stopped delaying, and the nine ships set sail again, and then turned to the north, heading for the first target, the core of the Jesuits in south-central Chile. Mission area - Chiloe Island.

(End of this chapter)