Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 183 Capture
Deng Kun kept reaching out to soothe the horse beside him so that it could calm down.

Damn it, this horse is really no good!

It hadn't even gone to the battlefield yet, but just hearing the rumbling sound of artillery coming from the port made it so anxious.

If you ride it to attack the enemy, it will kick you as soon as it hears or sees a slightly loud noise, knocking the cavalry riding it to the ground and forcing them to flee.

That would cost the cavalrymen’s lives!

Alas, I don’t know when we in Xinzhou China will be able to have a group of real war horses.

After receiving the port warning, more than 230 Marines assembled and stood by at the first opportunity, entering a state of combat readiness.

The line infantry were issued the gunpowder and projectiles they needed for battle, the artillery squad dragged out two land guns, and their cavalry replaced themselves with breastplates, helmets, and new sabers.

In addition, the decision-making committee also carried out a limited mobilization in Shixing Fort and urgently recruited 300 armed militiamen to support the Marines.

At first, everyone thought that the emergency assembly of the troops might be another training mission to test the Marine Corps' stage training results.

However, when they saw that several leading officers all had solemn expressions on their faces, and were extremely serious when receiving and distributing weapons and equipment, and repeatedly instructed the soldiers to check carefully and not to miss anything, everyone immediately realized that the enemy might really have arrived.

Deng Kun was both excited and thrilled about this, and even a little eager to try it out.

Raise an army for a thousand days, use it for a while.

If you take the money and food from Xinzhou Huaxia, you naturally have to fight for them and risk your life to kill the enemy.

Moreover, the benefits they provide to Marine Corps officers and soldiers are extremely generous.

Three meals a day, all dry.

Although they only ate corn buns and potato cubes, there was a lot of meat in the bowl, either fish, venison, or that chewy whale meat.

In addition, the wages paid to them were real and all of them were distributed to the officers and soldiers without any arrears, loss or discount.

Their equipment was also extremely sophisticated. Not only did their cavalry squads wear helmets and armor, but even the line infantry armed with muskets wore a breastplate in front of their bodies.

As for arms, armor, swords, guns, fire pots, nails, and shields, they also have everything they need. They want to arm every soldier to the teeth in an attempt to minimize the casualties among officers and soldiers.

In the Ming army, those who trained once every five days and drilled once every ten days were considered elite.

However, these Marines train every day, constantly strengthening their muscles and bones, practicing formations, and only resting once every ten days.

Daily training was also very harsh and boring, and the content was completely different from that of the previous Ming army.

For example, they learn how to run, march in step, goose-step, squat, stand, stand at attention, salute, take off their hats (helmets) and other basic military behavioral norms.

According to those superiors, it is necessary to correct and develop the physical shape of a soldier and maintain the majestic image and appearance that a soldier should have.

Then there are a lot of physical training, including parallel bars, three-kilometer and five-kilometer cross-country running, push-ups, sword chopping and stabbing training, and live-fire shooting training with muskets and artillery.

What’s even more novel is that at the end of the training every evening, there are political and cultural studies. Not only do they teach every soldier some simple and commonly used words, but they are also constantly instilled with various thoughts and political concepts, encouraging them to be loyal to Xinzhou Huaxia and maintain the leadership of the decision-making committee.

In addition, they also conduct actual combat exercises from time to time, with high-intensity confrontations and fights, striving to simulate the real battlefield environment.

Although the Marine Corps has been established for less than a year, Deng Kun feels that with their high-intensity and professional training, the combat effectiveness of the troops is definitely higher than that of more than 90% of the border troops of the Ming Dynasty.

Not to mention, adequate pay, good food and many generous treatments made the morale of the army far higher than those of the impoverished officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

If the number of people was not so small, Deng Kun even thought that he could pull them to the Liaodong battlefield to fight the Jiannu head-on.

Now, the Spanish barbarians that Xinzhou Huaxia has always been "thinking about" are coming to kill them, which makes all the officers and soldiers feel a little nervous, but also extremely excited.

Damn it, I can finally see the real deal on the battlefield!
Listening to the continuous barrage from the port batteries, the morale of the officers and soldiers was even higher. With such a dense barrage, the invading barbarians would surely be beaten to the bottom of the sea and fed to turtles!

"Deng Kun!"

"To!"

Just when he was getting anxious and dazed, he suddenly heard Shangguan calling his name. He subconsciously raised his head and chest and answered loudly.

"According to the commander-in-chief's order, my cavalry squad will immediately split into twos and patrol along the coast to prevent the Western barbarians from landing and attacking!" Zheng Lihui shouted while leading a horse: "Immediately prepare all members and prepare to set off!"

"Yes!" Deng Kun saluted, took off the helmet hanging on the side of the saddle, put it on his head, and then jumped on the horse.

"Commander, how many ships of the Western barbarians have we sunk?" Deng Kun rode on his horse, following Zheng Lihui at a leisurely pace.

"One ship," Zheng Lihui said with a smile. "We didn't sink it. We just used chain bullets and scorching shells to break the Spanish ship's mast, destroying its sails and causing it to lose power."

"Ah?" Deng Kun was extremely surprised when he heard this. "The battle at the harbor fort was so intense, how come they only managed to take down a single barbarian ship?"

"The Spanish aren't fools. Knowing we have powerful coastal artillery batteries, why would they charge in like that?" Zheng Lihui said, "They only have two ships. How could they dare charge into the harbor without understanding our defenses? After being counterattacked by our artillery and knocking out one of their ships, their other ship has already evacuated the bay. Hmm, maybe they'll explore other possible landing areas."

"Will the Western Barbarians land?"

"Probably not."

"Then let's..."

"On the battlefield, we must pay close attention to any possible situation." Zheng Lihui glanced at him. "Isn't there a saying on the battlefield: 'Be lenient in anticipation of the enemy, be strict in anticipation of yourself?' Sometimes, the failure of a war is often caused by a single careless oversight."

"..." Deng Kun's expression froze when he heard this, and then he nodded solemnly, "I'll make a note of this!"
-
Three small boats carrying dozens of Marines slowly approached the Spanish ship floating on the sea, and then climbed up one by one with the help of ropes thrown by the other side.

The entire ship was riddled with bullet holes and broken wood chips. Two masts lay askew on the deck, and several sails were torn into pieces and hung everywhere.

The deck, the slipway, and the bulkheads were also in a mess.

There was a large pool of blood on the smooth wooden board. Against one side of the ship's side, there were several corpses lying, covered in blood, and their appearance was horrific.

Forty or fifty Spanish sailors gathered on the deck, looking exhausted and with fear on their faces, they watched one "pirate" after another climb up the rope ladder onto the ship, then raised their muskets and aimed straight at them.

Are these people pirates?
These "pirates" were dressed in navy blue military uniforms, peaked caps, belts around their waists, and black leather boots. They looked very majestic and well-organized.

Moreover, each of them moved extremely quickly and behaved in an orderly manner. After quickly disarming the sailors on the deck, they immediately divided into several small teams, taking turns to cover and cooperate with each other, and took control of important facilities such as the bridge, captain's room, sailors' lounge, and gun deck cabin one by one.

"Who is the captain of this ship?" A "pirate" with a European face stepped forward, glanced at the Spanish sailor who was in a panic, and asked coldly.

"..." When Captain Santis heard the other party's question, he looked at the European-looking "pirate" in surprise and said in a deep voice, "Sir, I am the captain of this ship."

Herrera turned to look at the officer leading the team behind him. After receiving a signal from his eyes, he cleared his throat lightly and addressed Santis in a stern voice, "Since you have unprovokedly invaded Xinhua territory and threatened our safety, we are forced to retaliate in self-defense. Now, all personnel and supplies, including this ship, have been captured by us. You will also become prisoners of war."

"...Xinhua?" Captain Santis muttered softly, his face filled with even greater astonishment. "Excuse me, sir, but according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, our Kingdom of Spain has unquestionable sovereignty and jurisdiction over this land."

The entire American continent is the territory of our Kingdom of Spain. How can you, the so-called Xinhua, claim territory?
On the contrary, it was you pirates - uh, well, Xinhua - who invaded the legitimate territory of our Kingdom of Spain!
"The Treaty of Tordesillas?" Mo Tianhai laughed. "Is this guy talking about the Papal Meridian from over a hundred years ago? Ask him, how many countries have recognized this broken treaty so far? And how many countries have strictly abided by it?"

"Oh, if this treaty is followed, wouldn't England's colonies on the east coast of North America, the Netherlands's seizure of the Andean Islands, and France's occupation of the St. Lawrence River basin all be illegal? Given this situation, why hasn't Spain advocated for the Treaty of Tordesillas?"

"Besides, before signing this rotten treaty, did they ask for our Eastern world's opinion? Did they get the consent of the Chinese people? How can a bunch of bandits just draw a line on the Earth and carve up the world's territory?!"

"Tell them solemnly that this land is the legal territory of our Xinzhou Huaxia, sacred and inviolable!"

(End of this chapter)