March 2, 1633. The wind blows from the west, and the temperature is only 2 degrees Celsius.

The fine raindrops hit the tarpaulin raincoat, making people shiver a little cold.

On land in the sheltered bay of Sullivan in the southeast of Soledad Island, 16 Spanish sailor captives were leveling the land, while the Charua were repairing the deck and stern of the captured Spanish Munition ship "Exocet Galicia" under the command of the company. The ship was hit by more than a dozen bullets in an exchange of fire with the "East Coast Eagle", and in some places it was badly damaged. Fortunately, there were some spare plates in the cabin, so Yu Lian took them out and repaired them directly.

The captain of the Galician Exocet was unfortunate enough to be hit in half of his body by a 24-pound shell in the previous battle, and the boatswain was also seriously wounded and thrown into the sea "humanely" by the crossing crowd. Now the remaining 16 sailors have no more officers, and they are driven by the crowd to work, and they can only get a little food and a mouthful of hot water every day.

On the shore were simple wooden huts, the roofs were covered with thick thatch and tarpaulin to ensure that there would be no rain leakage, and some materials such as food and gunpowder were stored in the houses.

The East Coast Eagle had returned yesterday, leaving only 47 soldiers in the provisional first platoon, 10 gunners and 50 Charuas (if not counting Spanish prisoners), left on the island, in addition to Julien de Eblol, the new captain of the Galician Exocet, and 30 students from the seafaring school.

At present, all the remaining personnel are under the command of Xie Hansan, the acting platoon commander of the first platoon of the provisional formation, and a second lieutenant in the army. Mr. Hsieh, 28, is of medium height and has been working as a manager in a brick kiln. He participated in the last battle with the French pirates, but after the battle, he was unwilling to stay in the army to develop, so he was demobilized and returned to the brick kiln as a foreman. After the Spaniards officially declared war this time, the crossing began to recruit demobilized veterans, and Xie Hansan, who is also considered a veteran, re-enlisted in the first wave on February 20 as the acting platoon commander of the first platoon of the provisional army formation, and followed the navy to the Malvinas Islands deep in the South Atlantic.

His task was to build improvised housing, prisons, and supply warehouses in shelters on the shore during the next arrival of the Yunsheng 1 and the East Coast Eagle. A batch of simple houses was built on the first day, but it continued to rain and snow in the following days, which seriously affected the construction progress. Xie Hansan had no choice but to order most of them to rest, and only the Spanish prisoners were still "insisting" on their work.

The port of choice is located in a sheltered bay in the southeast of the East Island, and is so well located and secluded that even the occasional boat to the Malvinas Islands will not choose this place to take refuge from the storms and waves.

"Damn the weather! It's been a few days, except for the first day when it didn't rain, it's been a few days. Under the canopy, Fabian Klingermann complained with a saber and a 32-B rifle on his back, his eyes fixed on the Spaniards who were toiling in the rain. He didn't have to be so nervous, these Spaniards wouldn't try to run away as long as you didn't kill them. Because in addition to the rain and snow on the whole island, there are only penguins and seals, which will freeze and starve to death within two days of running out, becoming the food of the Antarctic wolf.

In the canopy, his neighbor Hans was leaning against the fire. The fire uses peat as fuel, which is actually a form of plant residue that has not completely decomposed, or biological sludge. Due to the special climate, the island is full of them, and it is good to use them as fuel.

"Hey, Fabian! Don't be so nervous! If I were one of these Spaniards, I wouldn't try to resist or run away unless I was crazy. It's damn weather, and now I really miss the warm cottages in the village. Hans said as he roasted the fire.

"Yes, Dingyuan Fort doesn't have such bad weather. It's so cold here, and I think I'll need a bowl of delicious cabbage and tofu soup, preferably with some meat. Fabian licked his tongue and said.

The two were chatting with each other, when they saw a group of people coming up in the distance, Fabian and Hans picked up their rifles a little nervously, and put them down after a while, and it was the patrol led by Xie Hansan. Since landing here, Xie Hansan, who has a cautious personality, insists on leading patrols every day, regardless of the weather. The patrol area is usually within a kilometer of the landing site, and on this deserted island, if you ignore the bad weather and muddy ground, this patrol is more like a sightseeing parade.

The shores are littered with flocks of penguins, lazy seals and large flocks of seabirds, an eye-opener for a bun of people who have never seen this scene before. The only animal on the island that poses a threat to everyone is probably the Antarctic wolf, but in fact this animal is very timid, never actively attacks humans, and has a habits more similar to that of foxes, feeding on the island's birds, penguins, and fish. The island is rich in peat resources, which are suitable for use as fertilizer or fuel. Grasslands are also everywhere, which is a good way to develop animal husbandry, and in fact in the 21st century, the island's inhabitants have made a living from sheep farming, fishing, and tourism.

Xie Hansan walked into the canopy, and after exchanging military salutes with Fabian, he sat down by the fire, grabbed the military kettle, drank two sips of spirits, and then handed it to others.

"I don't know when the road will be a head this day. Alas, it was still comfortable to work in the brick kiln, at least not in this rain and wind. Xie Hansan let out a long sigh and said.

The others laughed, not daring to answer his words, but just drinking the liquor to ward off the cold. The "East Coast Eagle" returned home with almost all of its provisions, including fish, jerky, ham and some dried fruits, and everyone remained on the island to provide for them, but they were a little upset by the strong westerly wind, rain and snow every day.

Xie Hansan is more easy-going, and everyone is willing to chat with him. Bore, Fabian asked: "Platoon commander, I heard that the navy will attack the Spanish ships near the Strait of Magellan to the west, I heard that the sea conditions there are very bad, and we only have a few ships, how can we fight the powerful Spaniards?" ”

"Ha, don't worry about this." Xie Hansan burped and said, "These guys in the navy are very thieves, and they will definitely not fight when they encounter a brigade with strong firepower." They also bully transport fleets with weak firepower or lone small and medium-sized warships. ”

"What is our mission? Guarding supplies and captives here? Do you want to go ashore and beat up the Spaniards? ”

"It's hard to say." Xie Hansan was also not very sure, "Theoretically, this is the case, but it may also allow us to go ashore in a place where the enemy's strength is weak." I heard that Chile is very rich on the other side, and in order to put more pressure on the Spaniards, it is really possible to let us go ashore. But don't worry, even if you go ashore to attack it, it's a carefully selected place, and you won't go to the big towns of the Spaniards. ”

"Will the Spaniards, after being attacked, suspect that we have a port here?"

"The Patagonian region south of La Plata stretches for thousands of kilometers to Tierra del Fuego, and there are ports everywhere, and the Spaniards are suspicious of it first, and when they finish combing it through, a few months will pass." "And the ports we chose here are relatively secluded, far from any shipping routes, and the houses are built in places that cannot be seen from the sea." As long as there are no ships moored on the shore, it will be difficult to find us unless the Spaniards come ashore to search, rest assured. ”

"When will the war end?"

"It's up to the Spaniards." Xie Hansan set up a pot on the fire, and he said as he added water to the pot: "We wish there had never been a war. But the greedy Spaniards, who covet our wealth, who have fought in Europe to the point of bankruptcy, will not hesitate to squeeze our last copper plate out of the last of our riches, and who have fought in Europe to the point of bankruptcy, just as they have squeezed the poor Araucans in Chile. So we have to rise up and protect our wealth, protect our land. Let the Spaniards die! ”

"Damn the Spaniards!" And they cursed together. The Spanish captives, toiling in the drizzle, suddenly engaged in a cold war, as if they were being stared at by many vicious eyes.

"Come, come, the water is boiling, come and help me!" Xie Hansan beckoned everyone to add air-dried beef, smoked pork, ham, cabbage, radish, potatoes and salted fish to the pot, and then took out many white bird eggs from the package behind him, and said with a smile: "Look, I still have a lot of bird eggs that I 'picked up' on the beach, take them out and wash them, and put them in water to boil them together in a while." ”

Someone picked up the eggs and went outside to wash them.

Xie Hansan sniffed the meaty cauldron and reveled, "In this bad ghost weather, it's a pleasure to be able to eat such a fragrant meal." Let those Navy guys cry and gnaw salted fish on the boat, haluha, let's ignore them! ”

After a while, the eggs were washed and put into the pot. The people who couldn't wait took out wooden bowls and chopsticks one after another, and while drinking the broth, they picked up a piece of meat in the pot and chewed it.

It's okay to live a life of joy in such suffering. Xie Hansan took a large sip of the liquor and thought a little dazed.

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