The city of Buenos Aires is a young city.

In 1580, Juan de Garai defeated the Indians. Following the founding of Santa Fe in 1573, he founded the city of Buenos Aires near the mouth of the Río de la Plata.

In the first half of the 16th century, the failed Spanish colonizers left cattle in the La Plata region to breed freely, and by the 17th century, the number of bison had reached hundreds of thousands. The movement of gold attracted many Spaniards from mainland China and Paraguay, many of the people who found cattle became rich overnight, and the production of leather and tallow in Buenos Aires increased dramatically. Unfortunately, these products were of little value to the native Spanish government, with the kings and nobles seeing only silver and tobacco leaves, and the vast region of La Plata, whose interests had been disregarded, still had to be ruled by the distant Peruvian governor.

The city of Buenos Aires has only been around for more than 50 years and has a population of only a few thousand. This important city at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata was unremarkable on the map of Spain's American colonies, and even before 1617 the young city was administratively under the administration of Asunción in the upper reaches of the Rio de la Plata. In early May 1633, however, the humble city suddenly became the focus of attention in the Viceroyalty of Peru.

A warrant from His Excellency the Inspector General, who had gone to Mexico, mobilized the entire Viceroyalty of Peru. Muskets, armour, spears, cannons, and gunpowder were transported to Buenos Aires by land and sea, and even the musketeers of the fleet stationed in Lima, Santiago, were drawn to the city.

The task force from Lima is currently anchored in the harbor at the mouth of the Río de la Plata. Diego García, an experienced Spanish naval officer, was the commander of the fleet, and he also enjoyed the right to command all the land and sea forces in the La Plata area until the arrival of Viscount Fernández, the commander-in-chief of the operation.

Captain Torres of the City of Buenos Aires is currently giving him a summary report on the recent situation.

"Yes, Your Excellency. The Galician Exocet was supposed to arrive in Buenos Aires two months ago, but we didn't wait for her arrival, and I'm not sure if she was caught in a storm or attacked by pirates. To make matters worse, the Brave Enrique and the Toledo Fanatic, carrying the Viceroy's envoy, Viscount Fernández, and 150 Santiago musketeers, were also a week overdue, and I could not even imagine what had happened to them at sea. Captain Torres reported with a gloomy face, and sitting in front of him was Diego García from the Peruvian fleet, captain of the 1,200-ton "Cadiz Rocks" and commander of the task force.

"Viscount Fernández did not set off with the Grand Fleet in order to draw musketeers in San Diego. He is the supreme commander of this operation, and if something happens to him and he can't get to the front line, then according to the rules, this place will be under my command. Diego Garcia said in a deep voice, this short man in his 40s has a pair of unruly eyes. He had served in the colonies for many years, had dealt with the British and the Dutch for half his life, and had completely come from two worlds with court-born officials like Viscount Fernandez. He had always believed that Viscount Fernández would never have been able to compete with him for the dazzling post of Commander-in-Chief had it not been for the influence of his uncle, who was a senator in the House of West Indies. Now that the hapless nobleman seems to have been captured or died at sea by the Tatars, he can exercise all his power in peace.

"So, Captain, tell me now, how many troops do we have that we have in the city of Buenos Aires that we can mobilize?" Diego Garcia asked slowly, looking at Torres.

"There were 600 troops stationed in the city of Buenos Aires and its surroundings, of which 500 have now been concentrated in the city; Some of the estimated 750 soldiers from Asunción and Santa Fe have arrived in the past two months, and are currently stationed outside the city, while the rest are also arriving as soon as possible. In addition, we have recruited more than 250 riders among the gauchos who are herding horses and cattle and the number of these riders is growing. They brought their own horses and weapons, and only had to promise a share of the booty after the war, which was very cost-effective. Captain Torres had been coordinating with the Army, so he was very aware of these things, and the data came out of his mouth: "The only thing to worry about is that the arsenal is not very well stocked. Since the Galician Exocet has not yet appeared, there is a large shortage of arquebuses, gunpowder and armor that should have been replenished in large quantities, and it cannot support the long-term operation of the large army. ”

"The Galician Exocet will not be seen again!" Diego Garcia stood up, put his hands on the windowsill, looked at the harbor scenery outside the window, and said: "Maybe they were attacked by the British, the Dutch, maybe they were attacked by these damned Tatars or Orientals, in short, she will not appear in Buenos Aires again." Captain, how much do you know about our enemies? I mean do they have warships? How many battleships are there? ”

Torres looked down and thought for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry, Your Excellency, I haven't been to the port of the Tatars, and everything I know about the Tartan is only hearsay. According to the rumors that circulated among merchants and sailors of various countries, the Tatars possessed a large ship that was comparable in size to the largest warships of the kingdom. But strangely, the ship's amidships were built with a lot of tall, unreasonable construction, which made it impossible to install more guns; And the ship didn't have any masts, sails, or slurry outlets, so I thought maybe it was a ship that wasn't finished yet. In addition, the Tatars built a new gunboat a few months ago, the tonnage is not large, and the performance can only be said to be very average. Other than that, I didn't get any more news about the Tatar ships. ”

"But at the moment there are no ships moored in the military port of the Tatars. Their harbor was unobstructed and could be seen from the sea, and my sailors told me that they had not noticed a single weak junk moored in the harbor. Diego Garcia frowned, "Where did their ship go?" This is a critical and fatal problem, as 2,000-ton ships roam in our uncharted waters, waiting for an opportunity to attack our supply ships or warships, and we are powerless to do anything about it, and it is a luxury to even find them. ”

"We should probably look around the Strait of Magellan. They must have wandered over there somewhere, and only there could catch the kingdom's passing ships in time. Torres analyzed: "They must also have an overseas supply port." Because of the artillery shells and gunpowder needed for long-term operations at sea; timber for the repair of ships; The food needed for the survival of the crew, fresh water, and a place for the sick and wounded to recuperate, all of which required an onshore port or supply point. The port is preferably not too far from the hunting grounds, so ......"

"So we'd better do a good job of searching the southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego coastal areas to find their shore supply points, but it may not be easy." Diego Garcia sighed and said, "If only the enemy's ships were still in the harbor." As long as they dare to go to sea, then with a few of our capital warships can sink or capture them, we will no longer have to worry about problems at sea. ”

"These cunning Tatars!" Captain Torres also sighed, "Last time, the French's St. Christopher's company suffered a big loss at their hands. ”

"Captain, you continue to gather and assemble the army here." Diego García suddenly ordered, "Starting tomorrow, the ships of the fleet de la Plata will continue to stay outside the port of Tartan to monitor the blockade, and I will lead the main force of the task force south to search for the Tartans, and if we do not find them, our sea lines will always be threatened." Moreover, if Viscount Fernández is blessed by God to return to Buenos Aires, then all operations are under his command; If... If not, then until I return, you will be in charge of the land operation, and you can decide whether to cross the sea and attack the Tatar cities according to the situation. But remember, don't try to storm the ports of the Tatars, the losses will be unbearable. ”

"I see, Your Excellency." Torres nodded, "It will take some time for the troops to assemble, and I will handle anything carefully." God bless you as soon as possible and return victorious. ”

"God forbid!" Both of them drew crosses on their chests at the same time.

On 3 May, the Task Force La Plata, under the command of Commander-in-Chief Diego García, left Buenos Aires and set sail south towards the Strait of Magellan. The scale of this fleet is not small, with a total of more than 10 large and small ships. The flagship was the four-masted galleon "Cadiz Rock" with a displacement of 1,200 tons, with 50 large and small guns; The other capital ships include the 850-ton "Countess Alfonso", the 700-ton "Glory", the 600-ton "Inquisition", the 600-ton "Araucan Conqueror", the 550-ton "Bison" and the 500-ton "Bishop of Lima". Together, these seven capital ships have more than 220 guns of all types, which are sure to make any enemy ship on the surface of the sea shudder.

In addition to the seven capital warships, there were two supply ships and four small-tonnage warships temporarily converted from armed sailing ships. The entire task force, consisting of thirteen large and small ships, led by Diego García, loaded them with supplies and ammunition and sailed south along the coastline of La Plata, where they began their long pursuit.