Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 766 Jinan ([-])

March 1649, 3, Gaojiagang Salt Field, Le'an County, Qingzhou Prefecture.Yantai Garrison Commander and Army Captain Li Wenchang is leading a group of people to clean up the goods piled up all over the ground.Fortunately, it is not a rainy season, otherwise the powder barrels, lead bullets, hollow iron eggs, arrows, iron spearheads, leather armor, and gun parts all over the floor would be damaged, said Li Wenchang, who is the chief of the Gaojiagang Military Station. Maybe I have to suffer from the bad-tempered Commander Mao Desheng Mao.At this juncture of the war with the Manchu Qing, even Captain Shao Shude, the highest official in the Heishui area, seemed to be interested in conquering himself. Li Wenchang did not dare to let the whole battle fall short because of his own reasons, because that would be a big trouble.

This year is already his fifth year in Shandong. Xiao Xi, commander of the 102nd Company of the Army, who came at about the same time as him, and nearly [-] officers and soldiers of his troops have been transferred back to the mainland.These Qiuba who have made enough money in the Far East are eager to return home, eager to take the spoils back to share with their families, then buy ten or eight cows, dozens of sheep, dig a well, and decorate the family house. Since then, I have lived a happy life that I could not imagine before.

The 102nd company is replaced by the 103rd company Longxu Department of the Army (Chapter 411 of the previous volume, coming with Shao Shude), which is another reserve company. The 240 officers and soldiers of the whole company are almost a group of green-eyed hungry wolves. Fighting under Commander Mao, ready to make a fortune at any time.

Xiao Xi left, and Li Wenchang felt that in another seven or eight months, the deadline for him to return to his homeland would almost come.Considering that I have been in Yantai for so many years and have not made a name for myself, as a garrison commander and artillery captain, the speed of collecting money is far slower than those of the infantry commanders, so I invited Shao Shude to Jinan with a shy face. Given the opportunity of the government, I made every effort to make the Qing army's boundary in Jinan Prefecture three feet high, and by the way, I also took credit for it, so that I could be promoted and awarded an honor when I went back. Every place can have a better foundation.

This time Shao Shude entrusted Li Wenchang with the task of setting up a material transfer station at the Gaojiagang Salt Field to fully guarantee the main force of the infantry artillery led by Mao Desheng to attack Jinan Prefecture.A few days ago, a fleet of more than ten medium-sized fishing boats (150 tons) just arrived from Jeju Island, and sent a batch of military supplies and food to the Gaojiagang Salt Field.At this time, most of the salt in the salt field had collapsed in Qingzhou Prefecture, and the remaining few old, weak, sick and disabled immediately knelt down in front of a battalion (more than 700 people) of the South African Eight Banners new army brought by Li Wenchang. After surrendering, Li Wenchang acted as the master in the military depot, and was responsible for unloading all kinds of materials brought back from the barge.

Now the Gaojiagang salt field has been crowded by [-] heavy armored infantrymen and about [-] military men from the east bank. The gentry cleaned up and collected a large number of rice noodles, pigs and sheep back. Of course, at the same time, they "successfully" made everyone in the nearby counties feel at risk, and then began to form villages to protect themselves. At the same time, they secretly communicated with the Qing army song.If the bandits in yellow are victorious, that’s fine, but if they show signs of defeat, they might respond to the call of "I am the Qing Dynasty", lead the villagers to jump out, jump on the bandits in yellow, and bite them fiercely. Who told you to take my property like those thieves?I can snatch mud legs, that's natural justice, but you just can't snatch mine, that's madness!

Of course, Li Wenchang didn't care about the ideas of these Ming Dynasty gentry. He only cared about how much material and food he could raise, and how much of these materials and food and wages he could share according to the distribution ratio of the spoils.Although there are still some doubts about whether these gentry are enemies and whether their properties are considered as spoils of war, Li Wenchang is too lazy to care about these, and I believe the superiors will not be serious with him on this.In Qingzhou and Jinan, what can I do if I force more gentry to rebel? I can change the name and justifiably seize people's property to use as military funds.

What's more, the 700 newly recruited military men who are making a living under him at the moment are nothing more than [-] black infantrymen from the Fourth Battalion of the South African Eight Banners New Army welcome this with both hands.They traveled across the ocean from South Africa to Shandong. Could it be that they came for tourism?Although there are reasons for being called by the suzerain country to serve in the military, it may be that there is no reason to come to the Far East to make a fortune and go back to improve my extremely poor living situation.

You must know that the Black Eight Banners tribesmen living in the southwestern part of South Africa today are all people who have seen the "miracle" of the civilization of the suzerain country on the east coast, and they are not like ordinary ignorant barbarians.Coupled with the economic colonial policy of the people on the east coast, their agricultural products have a high degree of commercialization, and the commodity economy of the whole society is also relatively developed, so the desire for high-quality goods from the east coast is also very high, but all of this requires money .Therefore, for the people from the east coast to fight in the Far East, while fulfilling their military service obligations, they can also accumulate some spoils for themselves, and then take them home to improve their lives. That would be a great thing.

Judging from the attitude of many Indian residents in the New World who would rather spend the money they earned than caring about the life and death of family members, this part of the Xhosa blacks from the Western Cape Province of South Africa can be said to be too progressive and civilized.In fact, it is similar. The Indians in South America are still in the Stone Age, while the Xhosa people in South Africa already know how to make iron, bronze, pottery, and farm land (the main crops are sorghum, peanuts, sesame, and watermelon). They also raise livestock in captivity and tan leather, and the folk customs are relatively simple and warlike.If the arrival of the Dutch hadn't interrupted the progress of the Xhosa civilization in history, their atmosphere would not have gradually degenerated to that of the Mandela era.

Therefore, with such a mind of making money for themselves, it is not surprising that the Gaojiagang Salt Field Military Station is very keen on plundering the money and food of the nearby gentry.Especially the more than 700 Black Eight Banners heavy infantry, wearing a full set of armor, they often easily break through the obstacles of the village brave mud legs who don't even have a few pieces of leather armor, break the gentry's stockade, take money and food as their own, and then take the leftovers. As soon as the people under him were wrapped up, they waited for the return ship to be transported back to the Heishui area to farm fields, which was relaxed and happy.

Of course, going out to "hunt wild food" can only be regarded as their sideline business, and their main business is to protect the safety of the military depot.After all, Luke Dehun and others stationed in Jinan are not fools. Maybe they haven't figured out where the logistics base of the people on the east bank is located, but they will see some clues over time. It is no longer absolutely safe.Once the Qing army sent tens of thousands of elites to attack quietly, how long the more than 700 soldiers and [-] soldiers in the military station could hold out under the protection of a few artillery is also a question.Of course, the probability of the Qing army dispatching tens of thousands of elites to sneak into Gaojiagang without being noticed is not high, especially on the east bank where the supply troops keep coming and going to and from the Xiaoqing River (flowing from Jinan and entering the sea through the north side of Gaojiagang Salt Field). At that time, whether they had the courage to go deep into the enemy's rear alone is also questionable, but this is a hidden danger after all, and Li Wenchang can't help but ignore it.

The main force and auxiliary troops led by Mao Desheng totaled 5 to [-] people, and the daily consumption of materials is not a small amount.The food and grass needed by officers, soldiers or horses and mules can be said to be good, and some of them can be raised on the spot at critical moments. The Qing army shrunk in such a hurry that it was too late to fortify the walls and clear the fields. Consumables such as tubes, equipment, and medicines cannot be collected on the spot, and must be transported behind.

Especially the gunpowder. The daily consumption of gunpowder by the troops on the east bank who rely heavily on artillery to fight is simply astronomical.The Battle of Qingzhou City a while ago wiped out the gunpowder accumulated in Yantai Yangmadao Workshop last summer and autumn, and now the troops use it, all of which have been transported from Jeju Island.If the subsequent war is delayed for more than half a year, it is still a question whether the supply of gunpowder on the east bank can keep up with the needs of the battle.After all, the scale of operations of the army on the east coast is getting bigger and bigger, and it is no longer comparable to the small fights in the past.

Now the troops commanded by General Mao have reached the outskirts of Jinan, and there has been a small-scale confrontation with the Qing army, but the main battle has not yet begun.The Qing army's troop build-up has not yet been completed, and some of the main force of the green battalion are still trapped in Yanzhou and Dongchang. At the beginning, in order to chase and suppress the Yuyuan army, the troops were scattered. Who would have thought that the situation is changing so fast now, and the yellow-clothed thieves are coming like this The fierceness-Qingzhou City only blocked them for eleven days-now it is quite difficult to completely recover the main force in a short period of time.At this time, Luck Dehun in Jinan was not so particular about it. The Green Battalion of the Fourth General Army under the Qing Army's establishment was still complete. When they withdrew a battalion of troops, they sent another battalion to Jinan to prevent the yellow-clothed thieves from attacking the city. Concentrate as many troops as possible, so that the initiative will also be greatly increased.

On the east coast, the deployment of troops has not yet been completed.The [-] to [-] troops divide the defense area according to their respective combat strength, organize their respective troops, and coordinate communication and contact at the same time. Under such circumstances, settling them down is not something that can be done in a short while.

Furthermore, the existing supplies (mainly artillery propellants) on hand by the people on the east coast can no longer support them to launch a long-term campaign. They must wait for new supplies from the rear to be delivered before they can resume their previous victorious battles. Otherwise, the materials on hand are only enough to protect themselves, but it is slightly insufficient to fight Jinan, a battle-level battle.At present, while they are searching for ships and boatmen nearby (following the Xiaoqing River to Gaojia Port to transport supplies), they are building fortifications on the spot to make preparations for the upcoming war.

(End of this chapter)