Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 559 A Strategic Maritime Pass (Part 3)

September 11, dusk.

In stark contrast to the sunny, sweet-smelling harvest of the Hawaiian Islands thousands of kilometers away, the Mariana Islands were shrouded in a somber post-war atmosphere.

Fort San Fernando (now Agana, Guam), which once flew the Burgundian cross of the Spanish Kingdom, now has no flag left, only the setting sun casting a long, lonely silhouette of the fortress.

Outside the fortress walls, wisps of lingering gunpowder smoke mingled with the light smoke from evening cooking, rising slowly, filling the air with a complex aroma that blended the smell of gunpowder with the salty, fishy scent unique to the seaside.

Teams of Xinhua armed militiamen, clad in plate armor and carrying muskets, are methodically taking over important facilities and entrances/exits of the fortress.

Their expressions were serious, but they couldn't hide the excitement of their initial victory. Their wary eyes would occasionally sweep towards the center of the fortress square, where fewer than a hundred Spanish prisoners were huddled together, including men and women, as well as a few mixed-race descendants.

These people were disheveled, pale-faced, and their eyes were filled with terror and uncertainty about the future.

Just two days ago, they relied on this simple fortress and thought they controlled the fate of this sea area, but now they have become a group of pitiful prisoners.

Zhao Shuanzhu, the militia commander of the Anlan Island (now Saipan) colony, stood on the highest earthen platform of the fortress, overlooking this newly brought land under his control.

The sea breeze ruffled the few strands of sweat-dampened hair on his forehead, and also carried the faint cheers of the indigenous people in the distant jungle.

The cheers were less a celebration of the victory of the new Chinese and more an expression of joy at the end of Spanish rule.

Yes, these natives have suffered under the Spanish for too long!
"Chief Zhao, the inventory is complete." Ding Xiaoman, with his waist knife at his side, strode up the earthen platform, his tone carrying a hint of contempt. "In the entire fortress, the only things left that can be called food are five or six bags of corn and dried sweet potatoes. There's only one barrel of gunpowder, and it looks damp; whether it's even usable is another question."

"Tsk tsk, if they hadn't been so sensible as to surrender, we could have starved them to death inside if we had just surrounded them for ten or fifteen days. They got off easy!"

Zhao Shuanzhu withdrew his gaze from the distance, nodded slightly, and a smile flickered across his lips: "Hmm, this was within our expectations. The Spanish here are just slaughtering and plundering the island's natives, not doing any management or development. Without supplies from Luzon and the Americas, they're like rootless duckweed. Our attack is just kicking a dog when it's down. By the way, what are those natives doing?"

Ding Xiaoman curled his lips, revealing a gloating expression: "Those natives, seeing that the Westerners have been subdued by us, are getting restless. They are shouting for revenge, but our people have stopped them."

Zhao Shuanzhu frowned slightly: "Pass down the order to strictly control those natives. We, the new Chinese, have come here not only to occupy land, but also to establish our authority and credibility. Since we promised those Spaniards to spare their lives, we must keep our word. Tell those tribal chiefs that the sins of the Spaniards will be judged by the laws of our new China, and they are not allowed to retaliate in private."

"Oh, I'll go and pass on the message to them later," Ding Xiaoman replied, but a hint of reluctance appeared on her face. "Chief Zhao, those Spaniards are guilty of heinous crimes, and they've harmed countless natives on the island. Two years ago, they even massacred many of our Han Chinese in Luzon. Are we really going to let them off so easily?"

“Killing them with one blow would be a quick death for them,” Zhao Shuanzhu sneered. “Rather than that, let them atone for their sins for the rest of their lives! Anlan Island, Yunting Island (today’s Ning Island), and this newly occupied island we’re standing on, there are plenty of hard and difficult jobs waiting for them to do.”

"Logging, land reclamation, building ponds, constructing houses, cutting sugarcane, building docks, repairing roads... people are needed everywhere, it's all about saving lives! And yet, you still worry they'll have a good life?"

"Hehe..." Ding Xiaoman laughed happily upon hearing this, "That's right, from now on we'll treat these Western barbarians like livestock, as long as they don't die, we'll work them to death!"

Zhao Shuanzhu laughed heartily, turned around, stepped down from the earthen platform, and walked towards the fortified village.

In fact, the idea of ​​seizing San Fernando Island had been on the minds of the new settlers on Anlan Island for a long time.

After all, the presence of a potential ailment beside one's bed is always a cause for concern.

However, due to the close smuggling trade between Xinhua and the Spanish, they were hesitant to take action for the time being.

In May, a liaison ship from the mainland brought news of a formal declaration of war against Spain. Immediately, the colonization management led by Zhao Shuanzhu was eager to take action against the Spanish stronghold in the south.

However, a sudden outbreak of smallpox disrupted their plans.

No one knows how this plague was brought to the island, and after its initial spread, it quickly spread widely among the indigenous people (Chamorro) who lacked immunity.

This terrible epidemic has severely disrupted the population structure of the Anlan Islands, causing the deaths of a large number of indigenous people.

Thanks to the mandatory smallpox vaccination policy implemented by Xinhua, none of the more than 700 immigrants on Anlan Island and the neighboring Yunting Island (today Ning Island) were infected and were all saved.

However, the island's indigenous tribes suffered heavy losses, with widespread devastation.

By early October, when the epidemic had largely subsided, preliminary investigations revealed that the population of the island's indigenous tribes had decreased by about 30% to 40%, with the death toll between 5,000 and 6,000.

The once vibrant jungle tribes have become desolate, with many small tribes even disappearing entirely, making the entire island seem much emptier.

Faced with this disaster, the Xinhua Colonial authorities demonstrated a pragmatic and long-term strategy.

They provided limited aid to the island's natives: distributing small amounts of food and offering some alcohol as comfort to the surviving tribes, and instructing them on how to dispose of corpses and disinfect the environment according to Xinhua's methods to prevent the further spread of the disease. These measures were inexpensive yet highly effective.

The resentment that the indigenous people had accumulated due to the occupation of their land and their disadvantage in transactions quickly dissipated in the face of life-or-death trials and this small "favor".

They even felt that these new Chinese immigrants from the East, though equally powerful, seemed much more "friendly and generous" than the greedy and brutal Spanish.

Xinhua's colonization management personnel quickly seized this opportunity to promote the benefits of "merging villages and households and unifying the population" to some dilapidated tribes in the surrounding area, attempting to gradually incorporate the loose indigenous communities into Xinhua's administrative jurisdiction.

For example, living in concentrated communities could provide armed protection from the new Chinese.

For example, in the event of a natural disaster, it can provide food and other material assistance to help people overcome difficulties.

For example, the new Chinese could send people to guide and organize their agricultural production, thus obtaining more sufficient food.

For example, they jointly resisted foreign invaders (the Spanish).

Although this process was not without its setbacks, it progressed relatively smoothly compared to before, under the shadow of the plague and against the backdrop of the common enemy, the Spanish.

In early November, a liaison ship from the Luzon colony arrived, bringing not only a large amount of supplies and dozens of immigrants to Anlan Island, but also an order from the Luzon colony commissioner: to immediately begin the attack on San Fernando Island (Guam).

At this time, after more than five years of development, the total number of new Chinese immigrants on Anlan Island and Yunting Island had exceeded 700, of which more than 70% were young and middle-aged men. Equipped with muskets and a small number of cannons, they were undoubtedly the most powerful force in this vast sea area.

In contrast, the situation of the Spanish on San Fernando Island is becoming increasingly dire, like a year's New Year that is getting worse each year.

Since its colonial occupation by Spain in 1565, the island has never been truly developed or managed.

It is understood that there are fewer than 100 pure Hispanic residents on the island, and even with the addition of a small number of mixed-race descendants, the core population is no more than 300.

Moreover, the Spanish colonists had long relied on violence to exploit the indigenous Chamorro people, which had led to extremely tense relations between the two sides and made their rule quite fragile.

It is foreseeable that any external attack will likely elicit a positive response from the oppressed indigenous population.

In addition, with the decline of the galleon trade, the Spanish on the island faced increasing hardship in their livelihoods and were in dire need of daily supplies.

They even sent ships to Anlan Island to purchase goods from the "civilized world" from the new Chinese.

After the outbreak of war, the Xinhua Navy blockaded the Pacific coast of Spanish America, leaving San Fernando Island even more isolated and helpless.

It's important to understand that the Spanish on the island did almost no agricultural production, relying mainly on external inputs and plundering of the indigenous people to survive.

Xinhua judged that it might not be necessary to launch a strong attack; an effective siege would be enough to put the Spanish in a desperate situation.

By mid-November, everything was ready.

Zhao Shuanzhu personally led nearly two hundred militiamen and more than three hundred native servants, boarding more than ten small boats, and successfully landed on a remote beach in the southwest of the island, avoiding the port of San Fernando, which was heavily defended by the Spanish.

Led by native guides familiar with the terrain, the troops quickly advanced inland.

As expected, most of the indigenous tribes encountered along the way welcomed the arrival of the Xinhua army or at least remained neutral, and many even offered intelligence and assistance.

When the Xinhua army reached the foot of the simple San Fernando Fortress, the Spanish resistance lasted only two days.

The shortage of supplies inside the fortress was worse than expected. The only gunpowder was severely damp, and to make matters worse, the smallpox epidemic that started at the beginning of the year also spread to the island, resulting in the deaths of nearly thirty Spanish soldiers and greatly weakening the defenses.

Faced with the superior numbers, superior equipment, and high morale of the Xinhua militia, as well as the two small but powerful cannons that could blast through the earthen walls, the Spanish defenders quickly realized that resistance would be tantamount to suicide.

After receiving a promise from the new Chinese that they would not carry out a massacre, the Spaniards in the fortress chose to surrender.

Thus, this strategically important maritime location, more than 2,000 kilometers east of Luzon, officially changed hands.

From Hawaii to White Sands Island (now Wake Island), then to the Anlan Islands, and finally connecting to Luzon, the Chinese people of New Zealand, through more than ten years of unremitting efforts and strategic planning, have finally established a maritime supply chain that spans the central and western Pacific Ocean, with stable nodes and mutual support capabilities.

This maritime chain not only safeguarded Xinhua's connection with East Asia, but also greatly enhanced its strategic presence and influence in the Pacific region, laying a solid foundation for further expansion.
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(End of this chapter)