Chapter 801: Trouble
Haihan has always had a very clear purpose in launching wars abroad. Either for land, for population, for special strategic points, or for important resource production areas. After identifying the target, he takes action decisively and never loses money. Buy and sell. An area like Taipei that contains gold mines happens to be within reach of Haihan. Naturally, it only makes sense that it should be put under his own name. As for what the Spaniards who currently occupy the local area will think, Haihan does not need to consider this issue, just like the Spaniards will never consider the feelings of the local indigenous people towards their foreign invaders.
Taking the situation in another time and space as a reference, the Jinguashi area, as an important gold-producing area in East Asia, has been mined for nearly a hundred years. It was not until the 1980s that the veins here were almost fully dug. It can be seen that its reserves are still Quite impressive. If measured by Haihan's past military expenditures on foreign wars, the attack on Taipei will definitely be a profit-making operation. Since large economic gains can be obtained, the objections such as militarism and excessive military expenditure are not so strong. As for questioning the combat effectiveness of the special operations battalion, no one will take it seriously. It is an amphibious force with the most outstanding record among the Haihan militia, the most elite personnel, and the must-win military order issued by Qian Tiandun. There is really nothing to say about it. Worried.
Of course, since the horse wants to run, it must be fed first. The supplies needed for the battle still need to be allocated as early as possible. In addition, although Qian Tiandun claimed in the report that the Penghu garrison was sufficient to complete the corresponding combat tasks and there was no need to send additional troops to coordinate, considering the possible defense void caused by the troops' departure, the Military Commission was still prepared to temporarily transfer half of the troops from the military base on Hong Kong Island. The fleet went over to help defend.
While Haihan began to quietly prepare for the war in full swing, the Spaniards in Taipei did not realize that the danger was approaching. In the city of San Salvador in Jilong Port, Alcarazo, the top local official, was venting his dissatisfaction to his subordinates with a livid face: "It's been six days! These lazy guys haven't repaired my armor yet. They really don't want to eat this anymore." Have you eaten yet?”
The subordinates responded tremblingly: "Sir, Jose from the blacksmith shop has been missing for eight days. His apprentices can only do odd jobs. They cannot do such delicate work as repairing armor."
"The castle is such a big place, why can't we find him in eight days?" Alcarazo scolded angrily: "They are all losers! It took me so long to find a drunkard!"
"Sir, we have searched everywhere inside and outside the city. We have also gone to the tavern to ask everyone who saw Jose that day. We are afraid... that we cannot find him." His subordinates carefully reported the report: "Someone saw Jose that day. He left the pub drunk and headed towards the pier. There was no lighting on the pier at night, so maybe he fell into the sea."
Alcalazo was silent for a while and then said: "It's not a big deal if this drunkard drowns. It's only troublesome if he delays the daily affairs of the local area. I also expected him to bring a few apprentices out and assign them to work in Santo Domingo City. As a result, he only took so long. Teach them how to make a stove! We need to apply for a blacksmith from Manila, which will take another month or two to complete... Send me an order to confiscate this bastard’s blacksmith shop!”
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Just as the unlucky Jose expected, Mr. Alcarazo would not mobilize manpower to retrieve his body from the sea, but would immediately confiscate all his personal property—in fact, put it into Alcarazor’s personal pocket. . What the upper class didn't care about was the life or death of this little blacksmith, but just the inconvenience caused by the absence of a blacksmith in El Salvador. Of course, no one would have thought that this drunk blacksmith was not actually drunk and fell into the sea to feed the fish, but was quietly kidnapped. After all, he was just a blacksmith, not a big shot. He wanted money but no money and no identity. Due to his identity, his only property was the blacksmith shop in the castle, and he couldn't move it or cash it out, so there was no point in attacking him.
After Alcarazo finished cursing, he still felt very uncomfortable. The conditions here in Taipei are not good, and people from Manila are not willing to settle here at all, especially those skilled craftsmen who are not willing to come so far to suffer in the wilderness. Therefore, after several years of establishment of the Jilong Port stronghold, there has always been only Jose, a professional blacksmith. He was assigned here when he first came. If not for this, he probably would not have taken the initiative to apply to settle here.
As soon as Jose disappeared, several of his apprentices were unable to cope, and the blacksmith shop immediately came to a standstill. This may not cause any trouble in a short period of time, but if it drags on for a long time, various things in the castle will definitely be affected. Even if they ask for help from Manila, they don’t know how long it will take to wait for the next blacksmith.
It rained continuously all night, and the ship was hit by a storm. The more Alcarazo was afraid of something, the more it would come. As soon as they determined the cause of Jose's disappearance, his officers came to report that there were two cannons and Seven rifles need to be repaired before they can be used, and more than ten pieces of armor need to be maintained. The young apprentices in the blacksmith shop obviously cannot shoulder this important task, so these damaged weapons and equipment can only be temporarily thrown into the warehouse. When the next blacksmith comes, they will be repaired.
Due to the hot and humid environment in Taiwan, metal weapons corrode and wear out very quickly, and must be maintained regularly to maintain normal functionality. However, the soldiers' professional skills were limited. At most, they could only do the simplest external rust removal by themselves. More professional repairs and maintenance could only be left to the blacksmith. The only person in the entire Taipei area who has mastered the technology of repairing weapons and equipment is Jose. His disappearance will affect the garrison in the entire region.
Alcarazo also tried to hire blacksmiths from the Ming Dynasty from Fujian to work for him. However, because the Shiba Zhi was so powerful in the Straits at the time, all the blacksmith shops along the coast of Fujian were closely monitored by the government, lest they be abducted by the Shiba Zhi. Or take the initiative. Although the Spaniards had no bad intentions, they were also blocked, and no one dared to take the initiative to accept their employment. Having said that, even if Alcarazor could hire a blacksmith from the Ming Dynasty, the role it could play would be extremely limited, because the guns used by the Spanish army were basically produced in Europe, and not everyone could repair them. What's more, there are also voices of opposition within the Spaniards, who believe that hiring Ming blacksmiths may cause the country's advanced military technology to leak out from this link, which will benefit this terrifyingly large Far Eastern Empire.
However, a very small number of people who are sensitive to changes in the outside world have noticed that another major arms dealer has recently emerged in the South China Sea. More than 70% of the arms purchased by the Fujian military in recent years have come from Haihan, and according to Daming maritime merchants According to the description, the Haihan people can not only make weapons, but also use these weapons well. Their private armed forces have very strong combat effectiveness and have been providing military support to the Fujian military to resist the offensive of the Shibazhi pirate gang. .
However, this kind of attention did not attract Alcalazo's attention. Fujian was only a part of the Spaniards' trade network in Northeast Asia, and more transactions came from Zhejiang, Ryukyu, North Korea, Japan and other places. Haihan had never taken the initiative to contact Spain, and Alcarazo did not think he had the need to actively condescend to make friends with these arms dealers. In his mind, Haihan is very similar to the Portuguese. They engage in all kinds of business ventures and will participate in any business that can make money. As for arms, didn’t the Portuguese do such dirty things as salvaging British sunken ships and then selling the cannons on board to the Ming Dynasty? Alcarazo does not believe that Haihan has the same weapons manufacturing technology as Europe. Most of the arms they sell to the Fujian military are resold from Portugal or other European countries. This kind of business makes a fortune by being a second-hand dealer. There are really not many groups in the Far East, and Alcarazo believes that Haihan should be just one of them.
The backward intelligence system and arrogant mentality made the Spaniards very slow to understand the changes in the situation in the Far East. They did not realize what the series of movements of Haihan, the so-called arms dealer, in the strait meant. While the Spaniards were still dawdling, their potential opponents had quietly entered the mouth of the Tamsui River, conducted close reconnaissance of their stronghold, and listed it as one of the next military strike targets. If this target were replaced by Taiyuan Port, I am afraid that the local chief Hans would have been so frightened that he could not sleep. In January 1633, the Penghu militia was stationed.
Although Sun Zhen is a rough-edged person, he can also feel some subtle changes in the atmosphere of the camp recently. The veterans have obviously been stimulated by something, and the daily training volume has increased a lot compared to when he was first assigned some time ago. . Moreover, amphibious landing training that requires cooperation with the navy has become more frequent recently. Although the officers never mentioned a word, Sun Zhen is no longer the ignorant commoner he was when he first arrived in Penghu. After several months of military training, he has also developed certain analytical skills. In his opinion, the special operations battalion is probably Some kind of targeted preparations are underway. In other words, maybe it won't be long before he gets his first combat mission after joining the army.
"Follow the team! Don't desert! You've already died once on the battlefield!" Sun Zhen suddenly got kicked in the butt. The person who kicked him was Platoon Leader Wang who supervised the training. He was a veteran who joined the army five years ago. He followed Qian Tiandun all the way from Annan to Fujian. He was obviously from Annan but spoke with a northern accent. When Sun Zhen first came in, he was very impressed by his accent. I felt close to him, and I once thought that he also escaped from the north of the Ming Dynasty.
Like other veterans, Platoon Leader Wang treats recruits like Sun Zhen very harshly. He will only stop to rest when they feel their bodies are hollowed out. The soldiers privately call him the "mean king". However, Sun Zhen admires the platoon leader very much. For example, in the field armed training that is currently going on, the platoon leader carries more than 20 kilograms of equipment like them. While marching, he has to go back and forth in the team to urge them. Use simple and crude methods to encourage the team to keep moving forward.
Of course, Sun Zhen also knew that one of the reasons why Platoon Leader Wang worked so hard was that he made a bet with the Steak Captain of the second platoon. If the team led by whoever led the team lost in today's field training, the loser would give the other party the meat dishes for dinner. . Of course, missing a meal of meat is not a big deal, but the problem is that Platoon Commander Wang has lost three times in a row in similar bets before. As the saying goes, things can only come in threes. If he loses again, Platoon Commander Wang will not be able to survive, so He was keeping a very close eye today, and whenever someone fell behind or was distracted, he would use a light whip to remind him.
"There are still five miles to go. Everyone, please work harder. I won Lao Niu today. I will pay for everyone's extra food from my own pocket!" Looking at the opponents who were chasing after his team, Platoon Leader Wang could only use The trump card: "Add a chicken to each class!"
This chicken blood attack was still quite effective. The soldiers who had already reached the upper limit of their physical strength immediately gained motivation and gritted their teeth and rushed towards the distant finish line. In the end, Platoon Leader Wang's reward was not in vain. His platoon completed the 30-mile armed training nearly half a mile ahead of its opponents, and also set a new record for its own training in this event. .
Sun Zhen sat on the ground, unscrewed the stopper of the cowhide water bag, and after taking a big gulp of water, he panted and asked Platoon Commander Wang: "Platoon Commander, today's results should be considered in the special operations camp." Not bad?”
"Not bad, but not even close!" Platoon Commander Wang was probably a little worried about his military pay afterwards, and his face was still as black as the bottom of a pot: "If you recruits hadn't held back, my performance would have been improved by at least half a stick of incense. . When General Qian personally led the troops in training, they marched much faster than you did!”
"Platoon leader, are you bragging?" Sun Zhen didn't quite believe this. In his eyes, military leaders like Qian Tiandun relied on their status and were unlikely to lead the training in person.
"Bragging? General Qian leads the armed training training once every six months. By then you will know how good you are, and you won't even be able to cry!" Platoon Commander Wang looked ferocious, as if he had thought of some extremely bad memories.
Sun Zhen didn't dwell on this issue anymore. Someone had argued with the Mean King about the outcome before and was punished by running twenty laps on the playground. He didn't want to be punished like this when he was exhausted. Sun Zhen wiped the sweat from his forehead, changed the subject and asked: "Platoon leader, the armed training has been arranged so frequently recently, and amphibious landing exercises are still being carried out. Is there going to be a war?"
"It's up to the commanders to decide whether to fight or not. All we have to do is train well and be ready for battle!" Platoon Leader Wang responded with a straight face: "All actions follow the command, and don't ask questions that shouldn't be asked!"
(End of chapter)