Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 706 Southern Cone ([-])

On August 1648, 8, outside the city of Puerto Barrios (later Puerto Montt), there was a lot of artillery fire.

Thousands of soldiers on the east bank lined up outside the city. The neat dark blue or khaki military uniforms, bright rifle bayonets, and more than a dozen cannons lined up all told people that this is a well-equipped army. , Well-trained troops.

However, the people on the east coast have also been fighting in the Pacific coast area for more than half a year, and naturally there are many servants on hand to lead the battle for them.For example, the Araucan Liberation Army led by Vicente Jr., the Krandi Volunteer Army transferred from La Plata by the East Coasters, and of course the famous Polish and Tatar mercenaries. With these people, the Pacific Special Forces Captain Xie Hansan, the commander-in-chief of the fleet, will naturally not easily consume the precious East Coast Army.

The East Coast Army only needs to send some almost fine artillery to suppress the firepower of the servants, and the rest of the East Coast people basically have nothing to do.After fighting for more than half a year, there are still more than 900 people in the Krandi Volunteer Army led by Bianchi, and [-] soldiers left in the mercenary army led by Malecki (of course the Tatars in the team may not listen to him). There are more than a hundred people. As for the Araucan Liberation Army under Vicente Jr., the number is increasing, because they have attracted many liberated Araucan slaves to join, and the total number has expanded to more than [-].

Puerto Barrios was an important military town for the Spaniards in southern Chile, and it was also a port frequently visited by the Spanish-Peruvian fleet.Since the rise of the Araucan guerrillas because of the behind-the-scenes support of the people on the east coast, a Spanish army has been stationed in Puerto Barrios all year round, dedicated to regularly crusade against the Araucan guerrillas that have penetrated into central Chile.However, there is no decent industrial infrastructure here—in other words, the entire Peruvian Viceroyalty cannot produce its own weapons. Whether it is weapons, supplies or soldiers, they all need to be transported across the sea from the Spanish mainland.

However, since the Peruvian fleet was defeated and the East Coast Navy took control of the sea, the communication between Chile and Peru has been effectively interrupted.Because no one can cross the natural dangers of the Andes without passes, and no one can cross the desert in the north of Chile, which is called the driest desert in the world. Chile is like an isolated island, separated from the vast South American continent, and became the East. A plate of delicious food on the lips of the shore people.

Since the blockade of the Port of Callao was completely ended in December last year, the three main warships of the East Coast Navy left the unprofitable Peruvian coast, and then began to go south and north to continue to harass the Spaniards.In the north, they even advanced as far as Acapulco, and shelled some small Spanish fishing villages on the shore a few times in a demonstration, which caused a panic in the Governor's District of New Spain-you know the current Governor of New Spain In the area, except for a few Manila galleons, there are only a handful of large ships, and they cannot compete with the heavy warships armed to the teeth by the people on the east coast. They can only hide silently under the protection of the coastal battery, waiting for the enemy to leave on their own.

In the south, they advanced to the south-central coast of Chile, constantly harassing these poor people who had lost contact with Peru.In April, the entire east coast fleet advanced to the vicinity of Chiloe Island, sent a large number of troops ashore, successively captured Castro Port, Chaiteng Port and other strongholds near this sea area, and wiped out hundreds of Spanish troops (Including militia, mostly Indian or mixed race).After thoroughly cleaning up the Spanish military forces in this area, the Araucan guerrillas quickly took over the place. They implemented a harsh policy of persecuting white settlers here, and even mixed-race people were hit by them.And a large number of Araucan slaves who "returned serfs will sing" have retaliated their grievances and revenge, just like what the Krandi turned slaves did in La Plata, the white people fell into annihilation During the disaster, the local social order was in chaos, and the Spanish colonial order had almost completely collapsed.

After clearing the waters near Chiloe Island, the people on the east bank continued to march north. Relying on superior forces and superior firepower, they made a large-scale landing in the area of ​​the fertile Maolin River, and then thousands of people from the entire army scattered like locusts. Spread out and raid every Spanish town you come across.Of course, except for a few mercenaries who hate white people with a bad attitude, the regular army on the east coast is relatively "civilized". They "purchased" various supplies from the Spaniards by printing rough military tickets-well, with bayonets As a guarantee - after the procured materials were accumulated to a certain extent, they were transported to the Free City of Araucan by ship.In this way, the fruits of the Spanish colonization in the central and southern regions of Chile for more than 100 years slowly flowed into the hands of the people on the east coast.

After clearing the agricultural areas along the lower reaches of the Maolin River (the Maolin River originates from Lake Yankihue and eventually flows into the Pacific Ocean), and "purchased" a large amount of grain and livestock, the army on the east bank began to travel upstream along the Maolin River , Swaggering towards Barrios Port and other places to kill.Anyway, now that the east coast navy holds the command of the sea on this side of the Pacific Ocean, it is no longer possible for Chile to have reinforcements or supplies from the outside world, so everyone is quite confident in conquering an important town like Puerto Barrios.

A few days ago, the local Joint Chiefs of Staff sent two staff officers to issue an order, asking the officers and soldiers of the Pacific Task Force to speed up their progress, carry forward the spirit of not being afraid of sacrifice, quickly capture Spanish towns in Chile, and disrupt their society order, making it impossible to play for the Spaniard in a short period of time.

The two staff officers confessed frankly to Lieutenant Colonel Lu Ming, who led the team, that the escort fleet returning from Europe brought back the latest negotiation news.According to the diplomatic letter sent back by Mo San, the current truce negotiations with the Spaniards are quite in-depth.The bottom line of the Spaniards is now roughly known, that is, La Plata is basically determined to be returned to the Spaniards, let alone Chile, and the people on the east coast should burn high if they can find a port here. It's so fragrant, there is basically nothing else possible.

Although the military department had expected this, it was still extremely disappointed.They believe that the economy on the east coast has gone through the most dangerous and difficult time, and domestic construction is still going on tenaciously, inflation has also eased, and precious metals for importing various materials are not in short supply. Then there should be no truce at all.Instead, the war should be continued in depth, and the Spaniards should be beaten and hurt so as to reap greater war dividends.

However, civil servants do not agree with this.They believe that the current operation of the national economy is very unhealthy, the domestic labor force is still extremely scarce, and the shortage of materials can be seen everywhere, and the debt level of the entire country is at an unprecedented high level. Therefore, it is time to end the conflict with the Spanish as soon as possible. After two years of war, we will find ways to restore some of the lost markets for East Coast commodities in Europe over the years, work hard to improve the level of economic development, and digest the land we have acquired. All of this will be discussed after the country's comprehensive strength has increased.

The differences between the two sides are obvious.Perhaps it was because of the increasing influence of the civilian faction in the decision-making of the Executive Committee, and the military leaders of the Joint Staff Headquarters were a little dissatisfied, so they began to order the navy and army to step up their offensive while the war was not over, and strive to fight for the war in the near future. Expand the results of the battle to gain more bargaining chips.Before, they gave Jiang Zhiqing's order to attack Córdoba, which was part of the process. Now, sending people to inform the navy and army that are still operating in the Pacific Ocean to take Chile completely is another part.

The commander of the Pacific Task Force, Lu Ming, sighed after hearing the official military order submitted by the staff officers.In all fairness, he himself does not support such crazy actions.Leaving aside the fact that war will cause damage, there will be consumption. Just say that even if you win the elite areas of La Plata such as Córdoba, Jujuy, and Turkmenistan, or completely conquer the current entrapment Chilean regions, but so what?

There are only a few small silver mines in Chile, and the output is not very large.Wood, leather, wool and grain have always been the main output products here, and it is not a rich place for the Spaniards.The same is true for the La Plata area. The population here is also sparse, and it does not produce any commodities that are in short supply in Europe. The negative impact on the Spaniards is limited.On the contrary, in order to maintain such a large-scale military operation, the people on the east coast must re-recruit several disbanded militia brigades in the country, and at the same time occupy some civilian productivity to ensure military supplies. The negative impact is not small.Moreover, everyone must also consider the changes in the international situation. Being caught in a seemingly endless war with the Spaniards for a long time is very dangerous for the weak east coast, because it will obviously attract the eyes of other predators.

However, since the order has been issued from above, it is not appropriate to ignore it at all.Therefore, Lu Ming came up with a compromise plan, that is, to send the main force of the army to land on the banks of the Maureen River, and then destroy the old Spanish towns such as Puerto Barrios and Osorno one by one. In Lika, Talca, Santiago and other places, only fools went to work on expeditions.I only have so few people on hand, if something goes wrong, the Spaniards can come back.

In addition, he will send people to focus on sorting out Chiloe Island and its surrounding areas.There are dense temperate and frigid coniferous forests everywhere, and the timber resources are extremely rich. At the same time, the output of horse mackerel here is also very scary, and there are many high-grade furs such as foxes, otters, and seals.As the key area for future management of the Southern Cone region, it is still necessary to investigate carefully here.

After finishing these tasks, the main force of the navy can almost gather to go north again.The Spaniards' new year's campaign is about to start. Last year, they were hit hard by the East Coasters, and the Peruvian fleet was completely wiped out. I don't know what the Spaniards are planning this year.

(End of this chapter)