Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 520 The Flames of War (Part 8)

On May 16, at nine o'clock in the morning, in the wilderness outside Guadalajara, Mo Tianhai, deputy commander of the Xinhua Expeditionary Force who had just arrived from the Banderas Valley the day before, inspected and reviewed a special unit accompanied by a group of officers.

Before him stood six crooked squares of over eight hundred Native Americans, dressed in a variety of clothing, including traditional Native American attire, smuggled Spanish coats, and over a hundred blue militia training uniforms provided by the new Chinese immigrants. Their weapons were equally diverse, including spears, rapiers, daggers, pitchforks, pickaxes, and old-fashioned matchlock guns.

What's even more worrying is that these Native Americans are generally in poor health, looking thin and weak, with each of them showing signs of long-term malnutrition.

Many of them had numerous scars on their bodies, presumably from being cruelly abused by their guardians.

However, their eyes were bright, and they seemed unusually energetic.

Because after the Chinese rescued them from Spanish estates, ranches, and mines, they immediately declared everyone to be free and gave them valuable food and clothing.

A few days later, the new Chinese gathered them together and distributed the weapons they had captured from the Spanish to them, so that all the Native Americans would have a certain ability to protect themselves in the face of Spanish enslavement and oppression.

These armies from the north were practically their "gods," not only driving away the Spanish who had long oppressed them, but also granting them invaluable freedom.

More importantly, the new Chinese also announced that all the lands seized by the Spanish would be returned to all the Native Americans, and verbally promised to help them fight against the brutal Spanish colonists and restore their beautiful homeland.

All of this felt like a dream. After being oppressed and enslaved by the Spanish for over a century, we finally welcomed a savior!

Previously, Native Americans had launched numerous resistance efforts to expel the Spanish colonists who had invaded their homes and to defend their property and personal freedom.

Without exception, they were ruthlessly suppressed by the Spanish colonists.

Outdated weaponry, loose organization, the drawbacks of fighting alone, and betrayal by other tribes all contributed to the repeated defeats of the Native American resistance fighters. Brave warriors were slaughtered, and women, children, and other vulnerable individuals were enslaved.

For a hundred years, the plight of Native Americans has remained unchanged, and freedom has become so unattainable.

Until the day the new Chinese arrived, they were finally reborn.

The new Chinese not only liberated their bodies, but also provided them with a large number of weapons to defend their inner freedom.

Xinhua Chinese declared that they would stand firmly behind Spanish colonial tyranny and provide all kinds of "selfless" support and assistance.

A few days ago, the Chinese community selected these 800 or so relatively "strong" men from among the more than 10,000 rescued Native American slave laborers. They then organized them into groups, distributed weapons, and sent dozens of military officers to provide them with rudimentary military training.

The Chinese immigrants' "enthusiasm" was certainly not out of selfless "internationalism," but rather to use these armed Native American "free soldiers" to disrupt the surrounding situation and completely destroy the foundation of Spanish rule.

Because the Chinese in New Zealand were severely understaffed, the initial mobilization of regular troops amounted to only about three thousand men. With such limited forces, a small number of troops had to be stationed in the core area of ​​New Zealand, as well as the Ziwu River colonization area and the Yongning Bay colonization area, in case of unforeseen circumstances.

In order to ensure sufficient troop strength at the front, the Xinhua government not only mobilized 1,300 armed militiamen in Yongning Bay, but also selected the strongest and most capable among the newly arrived immigrants, gave them some military training, and sent them all to Mexico.

Although Xinhua easily captured Guadalajara with 3,000 troops, many Spanish villages and estates still exist in the vast countryside.

By the way, the Spanish colonists of this period did not like living in cities, but preferred to stay in their own estates or ranches.

The vast Viceroyalty of New Spain, apart from Mexico City with its nearly 100,000 inhabitants, has many other towns, including some important provincial capitals, with populations ranging from a little over 10,000 to just a few thousand.

This is because cities in Spanish America simply could not create many jobs. Apart from colonial officials, clerks, merchants, and artisans who needed to depend on cities for their livelihood, most plantation owners, farmers, fishermen, and ordinary people were dependent on plantations and towns of all sizes.

Therefore, Xinhua's capture of Guadalajara only destroyed the central government of New Galicia province, but did not cause a severe blow to the economy of the entire region.

For the past two weeks, the Xinhua Army has been looting the area surrounding Guachang, seizing several times more wealth and other supplies than those within the city itself, which speaks volumes. These Spanish forces scattered in the rural outskirts have always been a threat to the Xinhua Army. If the Spanish were to mobilize troops from other parts of Mexico to attack, these Spanish villages and estates outside the city would be their natural supply points.

Today, the new Chinese want to arm a large number of Native American slave laborers so that these "free soldiers," filled with hatred and a desire for revenge, can destroy or damage more Spanish villages and estates.

When Spanish reinforcements converge on Guadalajara, they will face supply shortages or be unable to obtain supplies from nearby locations.

If the Spanish were to supply troops from a more distant rear area, it would not only increase their losses along the way, but also indirectly lengthen their supply lines, causing them to lose their advantage in fighting from within the lines.

In short, these armed Native American resistance fighters may not be of much help to the Chinese New China's direct military operations, but they might cause trouble and sabotage for the Spanish, opening up a vast battlefield behind enemy lines and creating quite a stir.

Mexico is a vast country, and the New China Army could not disperse its forces too much, much less venture deep into the remote inland areas. Therefore, mobilizing and encouraging these oppressed and enslaved indigenous people to take up arms and bravely resist Spanish colonial rule, thereby disrupting the local economic base and even indirectly tying down the Spanish forces, would have a positive effect on the New China Army.

Mo Haitao rode his horse around the Indian "Free Army" formation, his brow furrowing: "These people's combat strength must not be very high, right?"

“Uh…” Lu Pingqiu paused for a moment, then replied, “Minister Mo, these Indians have only been trained for five days and haven’t even mastered basic combat commands and formation changes, so they can’t be considered combat-ready. In their current state, they can only be considered a rabble.”

After listening, Mo Tianhai pondered for a moment, then revealed a strange expression: "Basic combat commands and formation changes? Are you planning to train them into a regular army?"

"Minister Mo..." Lu Pingqiu looked at him in confusion, "Don't our Xinhua Army soldiers all start their training with basic drills? Even militia training requires them to maintain strict discipline, obey military orders, and follow the commands of their superiors in everything."

“You…” Mo Tianhai shook his head upon hearing this, “You’re so rigid in your adherence to rules and your inability to adapt. That’s not the kind of military quality a qualified commander should have!”

"Minister Mo, please give me your instructions..." Lu Pingqiu blushed instantly.

"I'm asking you, what are these Native Americans used for?"

"To raid Spanish villages and manors, disrupt local order, and instigate rebellions within Spain, thereby undermining the foundations of Spanish rule."

"So, do they need to line up and fight the Spanish?" Mo Tianhai continued, "Or rather, do they need to confront the Spanish head-on?"

“…No need.” Lu Pingqiu vaguely grasped the crux of the problem, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Exactly!” Mo Tianhai’s eyes shone brightly. “Since these Indian rebels don’t need to fight the Spanish in formation, is it necessary for you to have people teach them how to change formations, how to fire volleys, how to march and deploy, and how to distinguish and listen to various complex military commands?” Mo Tianhai asked with a smile.

"Hiss..." Lu Pingqiu suddenly realized, "Minister Mo, I understand."

"Hmm, you're quick-witted!" Mo Tianhai nodded with satisfaction. "These Native Americans are undisciplined and poorly trained. Forcing them to learn regular military tactics would be futile. It's better to leverage their strengths. So what are their strengths?"

"Familiar with the terrain, skilled in mountain and jungle warfare, especially guerrilla warfare from the flanks and rear," Lu Pingqiu blurted out.

“That’s right!” Mo Tianhai nodded. “Therefore, we should focus on training them in the operation of muskets and bayonet fighting, as well as how to use their own advantages to carry out guerrilla warfare in areas not covered by the main Spanish army.”

"You need to teach them how to raid and capture Spanish estates, how to set ambushes, and how to hit and run. Ultimately, we want to train them to be swift and elusive 'bandits,' not line infantry!"

“Understood, sir!” Lu Pingqiu replied solemnly. “Next, we will rearrange the training subjects, focusing on teaching them how to conduct guerrilla warfare and how to seize Spanish manors and military strongholds.”

“If we make good use of these Indians, we can make the Spanish and Mexican territories ablaze with war and smoke.” Mo Tianhai nodded. “As long as the Indians can wear down the Spanish, our Xinhua Army can save three-tenths of its strength.”

"Then, let the Spanish taste the bitterness of 'people's war'!"
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(End of this chapter)