Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 626 Burning Valdivia

"Damn it, shame on your face!" A small captain of the Dongfang County Militia Brigade kicked over a Spanish man, then put the bayonet-mounted rifle horizontally in front of him, and surrounded several other men who were also carrying rifles. The militiamen on the east coast looked at the Spanish middle-aged man with a sneer.

Isn't it just taking your cattle away, killing them and eating them?Damn it, I'm already being polite. Who would dare to stop me when I followed King Chuang back then?That is to say, now that you have arrived in the East Coast Country, the top is strictly grasping, otherwise you will be stabbed to death!The squad leader spat in the Spaniard's face, picked up his rifle and walked away.

Military discipline is worrying!Not far away, Lu Ming, who had just entered the city from the boat, couldn't help shaking his head when he saw this scene.The captain of the gendarmerie who accompanied him awkwardly wanted to go forward to write down the names of the militiamen and the numbers of the troops they belonged to, but Lu Ming waved his hand and refused.The militia doesn't get paid, it's not easy for everyone, so let's forget it!

In 1633, when the east coast army entered the Pacific Ocean, it survived due to the heavy rain, and this city was also the only city that was not captured in the Araucan uprising in 1633-1634. The armed forces of the city have basically been preserved.

At that time, the rioting Araucans organized a team of more than 500 people and besieged the city for two months. As a result, they were firmly blocked by about 50 white soldiers and more than 150 Peruvian Indian soldiers in the city. Even the entire army collapsed under the flank attack of hundreds of Spanish colonial soldiers who landed to support them, achieving the biggest victory in the Spaniards' military operation to suppress the Araucans on this island.

However, after escaping the catastrophe more than ten years ago, Chakao City finally failed to escape this time.The total number of landing troops on the east coast of 6000 is more than ten times the number of Spanish defenders here, not to mention the disparity in firepower configuration between the two sides (the number of army field artillery is 2:16), so the Spaniards only supported it for less than a day. It's completely normal to fail.

At this time, the city of Chachao was gloomy. This was not only because too many men were lost in the previous battles, but also because of the ransom collected by the army on the east coast (2 pesos for adults and 1 pesos for children) and the forced purchases with military tickets. A large number of livestock, food, valuable furs, ship materials, etc. - these caused them to lose a lot of money and property at the same time.

But they dare not resist.The result of resistance is death. This has been confirmed. Seven immigrants from Aragon and South Germany refused to accept the military tickets of the East Coasters. They were quickly dragged aside by the wolf-like soldiers of the East Coast. Hearing a few gunshots of "bang bang", no one dared to go against the will of the people on the east coast ever since.

The house of the Spanish mayor was requisitioned by the army on the east bank. This brave mayor died in the previous battle with the people on the east coast. Now his wife and children can only be driven to the neighbor's next door tremblingly. As for himself Now it is Lu Ming and Xie Hansan's temporary residence and meeting room.

"What is your plan for the next move? Do you want to continue to sweep the remaining Spanish strongholds on Chiloe Island, or go north to attack the big port of Puerto Barrios? Or we simply don't go around in these newly developed areas. , directly go north to attack Valdivia?" Xie Hansan and Lu Ming have known each other for many years, so they are more casual when they are together, and there is no distinction between superiors and subordinates.At this moment, he asked about Lu Ming's next move, obviously worried that they would not be able to attract enough attention from the Spaniards in the non-Spanish core area of ​​Chiloe Island, and this would be incompatible with the Pacific attack carried out by the people on the east coast. Contrary to the original intention of the plan.

"My original intention was to toss around here for a while longer, and then attract the ships of the Spanish Navy's Peruvian fleet to go south to fight us. As long as the warships of the Spanish and Peruvian fleet are eliminated, the waters on this side of the Pacific Ocean will be temporarily left for us to gallop. The strength of the Spanish Peruvian fleet is average. A few years ago, several main warships were even assigned to Buenos Aires to form the La Plata fleet, so now the Peruvian fleet can make up five or six professional warships. Look at them." Lu Ming leaned back on the chair, drank a glass of red wine from the owner's collection, and said, "The only thing that needs our attention in the Peruvian fleet is the battleship 'San Lorenzo'. There are three or four ships on this ship. Ten cannons are not easy to deal with, and they are the flagship of the Peruvian fleet, but the other ships are not in my eyes, and they are not the opponents of our three main battleships at all."

"However, it seems that the situation has changed." Lu Ming finished evaluating his opponent, then changed the topic, and said, "According to the information we have and the interrogation of the prisoners, the whole of Chile is almost shrouded in the wind of the south wind at this time of year. In the sphere of influence, especially in the south-central region, the wind is either from the southeast or from the southwest. The Peruvian fleet cannot go south at all, because going south is both against the wind and against the current (Peru cold current), so it is very difficult to sail. Maybe they can take advantage of some crosswinds or changeable It is a little embarrassing for us to sail to northern Chile with the wind direction, but there is no way to come to the center or south."

Hearing what Lu Ming said, Xie Hansan was also a little speechless, yes, everyone can't feel at ease until the Spaniard's fleet is cleared.Now knowing that the Spanish warships can't sail here at all, Xie Hansan was stunned: "Then what should we do? Should we continue to search for property locally or go north quickly?"

"Let's go north as soon as possible." Lu Ming said, "There should be no Spaniards to spread the news of our arrival to Peru, so we still have some time. But I am not going to waste time on Chiloe Island and its There is not much oil and water here. Let’s go to Valdivia, which is the transit port for silver mines in Villarrica and other regions in central and southern Chile. It may take a long time for Spanish ships to leave Lima at this time of year. One round trip to Valdivia, so there should be a considerable amount of silver bullion accumulated in this port. We will go there to fish for a bit. After taking down Valdivia, no matter what the harvest is, we will immediately go north to look for the Spanish fleet. Decisive battle, strive to destroy their navy in one battle."

"You decide, I'll listen to you." Xie Hansan nodded slightly, agreeing with Lu Ming's plan.

On October 10th, the troops on the east coast that collected supplies boarded the ship, then pulled anchor and left the ravaged city of Chacao, and arrived at the outer port of Valdivia on the evening of October 4th, located in Valdivia. Corral at the mouth of the Divia River. 10 years ago, Corral was conquered by the East Coasters. At that time, the silver bars worth tens of thousands of pesos stored in the city were looted.Revisiting the old place this time, although the Spaniards strengthened the city defense of Corral, and also strengthened several sea artillery pieces on the fort outside the city, the small number of defenders has always been its main defect.

Coral only has less than a hundred regular troops in total, and even if the men recruited temporarily are included, the number is pitifully small—maybe it can only defend against pirates, and at this moment, facing thousands of soldiers with a large number Covered by naval guns and supported by 16 army field artillery, the East Coast Army had no chance of winning.

On the evening of October 10th, it was still the same as before. After hundreds of people were killed and injured, the Kelandi successfully captured the fort, and then destroyed the artillery and collected gunpowder. As for the Spanish captives (including Indians) captured by them , Naturally, no one was spared.At this time, the Polish mercenaries led by Malecki also broke through the city of Kolar with the support of as many as 6 artillery pieces, and the battle ended.

The east bank army started a tense inventory of supplies in the city that night - they had no time to waste, because when the people from the east bank arrived in the outer port last night, someone must have passed the news to Valdivia upstream, Then Valdivia will inevitably continue to send people to the surrounding Spanish settlements, and then spread to Peru in the north step by step.

After collecting materials in the city (the only thing worth mentioning is the silver bars worth more than [-] yuan stored in the warehouse), the east bank army collected many small boats nearby to transport supplies, and then conscripted a large number of Spaniards from the city to serve as Coolie rowing.At the same time, all the vehicles and beasts of burden in Coral City were collected. These vehicles, together with a few vehicles brought by the people from the east bank, were loaded with ammunition, food, water and medicine, and were escorted by thousands of soldiers from the east coast. Go upstream along the road opened up by the Spaniards.

As for the nine ships of the Pacific Task Force, they stayed in Corral Port and waited. Because everyone didn't know the hydrological conditions of the Valdivia River, they didn't dare to take the risk of traveling upstream to avoid being accidentally stranded. That would be a big trouble. up.

On October 10, 10 soldiers from the east coast arrived in Valdivia, and immediately launched an offensive, clearing some small Spanish strongholds outside the city. On the 11th, after the reinforcements of the main force arrived, they immediately launched a general attack on the city of Valdivia from three directions, and broke through the city in the morning of the 12th.Due to the fierce resistance of the Spaniards, both the Kelandi and the Polish mercenaries suffered heavy casualties in this battle. Therefore, after they entered the city, they massacred the Spanish residents in some blocks.Although the massacre was quickly stopped by the East Coast Gendarmerie, the fires they ignited in some Spanish residential areas spread quickly, and were barely extinguished after burning an entire half of the city.

After the fire is extinguished, it is natural to count the materials.According to previous intelligence, the Spaniards set up silver mines in Villarrica and other small towns in the inland area. The mined silver mines were refined in Valdivia, and then transported to Corral through the river, waiting Ships coming from Peru were transported away.At this time, I don't know whether it was because of the small output of the silver mine or some other reason. The people on the east bank only found silver bars worth about 10 yuan in the city, and the rest were all gone, which was very disappointing.

But at this moment, there is no time left for the people on the east coast to search carefully. They have to return to Corral as soon as possible and then board the ship to go north, looking for the decisive battle of the Peruvian fleet.Therefore, early in the morning on the 13th, the east bank army collected some small boats in the city to load the spoils, and then began to retreat downstream.And before they left, they burned the redundant ships on the pier together with the entire wooden pier, and the fire spread to the adjacent city of Valdivia, causing the Spaniards to throw themselves into it quickly. Firefighting work.

On the evening of the 16th, the east coast flotilla, which was fully boarded, set sail and left the port of Corral, heading north along the southeast wind and the cold Peruvian current.

(End of this chapter)