"Lieutenant Colonel Mao, please come here." On November 10, 1684, at an army training ground outside the Zhenhai Harbor Naval Base, Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun, who had been returning to the mainland from the Yicheng area for a while, finally relieved himself of his transitional post as a senior staff member of the Ministry of the Army, came to Zhenhai County, and immediately became the head of an army task force.

The size of this task force is not large, but it is larger than the average mixed battalion, with a total strength of about 1,770 troops. In fact, the department is indeed built with a mixed battalion (the seventh mixed battalion, the current battalion commander is Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun) as the main body, plus two cavalry companies and a field artillery company as technical arms directly under the detachment headquarters.

"Lieutenant Colonel Mao, this is the latest appointment letter from the military department, please keep it." The first-class staff officer from the War Department politely said to Mao Jun: "In addition, the ministry means, you can also recruit mercenaries with no more than four integrated infantry companies in the name of the garrison army in Portugal to enrich the strength of the troops. ”

Mao Jun nodded with a smile to show understanding. He already knew that the Ministry of Military Affairs, with the approval of the Executive Committee, had established a new Portuguese garrison a few months earlier, and appointed Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun as the first commander of the garrison. According to the agreement with the Portuguese, the size of this force should not exceed 3,000 men, so after repeated studies, the principle of forming a task force with the 7th Mixed Battalion of the Army as the main theme, supplemented by a certain number of technical arms, was established.

The detachment numbered about 1,770 men, and upon arrival in Portugal, the commander of the garrison was also authorized to recruit four companies of infantry (960 men) as another component of the Portuguese garrison (the expenses were covered by the special envoy plenipotentiary of the Republic of China to Europe).

The garrison will initially have an initial fee of about 100,000 yuan, which will be allocated by the Ministry of Finance. However, only half of the cash was in cash, and the remaining half was offset by the goods, which needed to be realized by the Portuguese garrison. This part of the money is mainly used to buy land in the local area, build military camps and training grounds, and in addition, pay for the settling-in expenses of the recruited mercenaries, after all, the plenipotentiary envoy to Europe is only responsible for maintenance expenses, and recruitment fees are not given.

Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun has been working hard in the Yicheng area before, and his foundation is basically there, and he has never served as the commander of the 7th Mixed Battalion before, and he has no relationship with it, so it is not an exaggeration to say that he is alone, although he did bring so many three or five cronies to serve in the garrison.

However, Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun has never regretted coming to serve here, which is not only the reason why the military rank can be promoted to the next level, but also related to the relatively bright future in the future. You must know that in the current military system on the east coast, the first thing to pay attention to is combat exploits and actual combat experience, and the second is the resume of overseas troops. Mao Jun has served in South Africa for many years, and there is no shortage of actual combat experience, and it cannot be said that there is no lack of combat achievements, and now what is missing is some dazzling resume, and the experience of the Portuguese garrison can make up for this to a large extent, and this is the reason why he tried every means to win this position.

"Staff Officer Xie, I already know what the military department means. However, I still have a question, that is, how much autonomy our ministry has, which does not seem to be made clear in the instructions. Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun asked suddenly. At this time, they had already walked to the center of the training ground, the officers and men of the 7th Mixed Battalion were receiving equipment and supplies, and the technical units of several reinforced companies were also packing their bags, and they were about to board the ship and set off, and the destination was Huaiyuan Island in the Caribbean Sea.

"Lieutenant Colonel Mao, you can ask me about this, and in fact I can't give you a positive answer, because my superiors have not discussed this matter with me. My personal opinion is still in accordance with the instructions, and I will discuss everything with Mr. Gao Wengang, China's Plenipotentiary Envoy to Europe. His current office is located in Puerto Cádiz, Spain, not too far from Viana Castelo, so you can easily get in touch. If the High Envoy insists that he disagrees with your military action, it is best for you to exercise restraint and refrain from acting on your own. Speaking of this, Staff Officer Xie lowered his voice and said, "This is the best condition that the War Department has tried to achieve." You know, some people originally intended to allow the High Envoy to directly command your troops, but the Ministry firmly opposed it, which dispelled some of the white shirt delusions, but also made some compromises, that is, we do not have full autonomy and self-determination, and we must consult with them. Lieutenant Colonel Mao, this is all the news I found in the ministry, and it may not be accurate, I can only say that I will give you a reference. ”

Staff Officer Xie actually said this more thoroughly, Mao Jun is not a fool, so he naturally understands it. Therefore, he thanked the captain's staff officer with a fist, and then discussed some other business with his officers. In fact, although the military department's instructions are written more vaguely, the meaning is almost there, and Mao Jun just wanted to confirm it again. Their troops, which are two or three thousand people, may be able to play an unexpected role in small-scale local battles, but in large-scale field battles of tens of thousands, it is not enough, so Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun originally did not plan to throw their troops into a meat grinder-like battlefield. The establishment of the Portuguese garrison was actually far more symbolic than practical, and it was more to declare its power and existence to the Europeans, so as to increase the influence of the East Coast Republic of China.

Of course, under special circumstances, their troops can also be dispatched. For example, if the Crimean Khanate, which was vital to the overall situation of the Black Sea trade, was attacked by an enemy who was difficult to resist, then the Portuguese garrison might be dispatched with all the 3,000 volunteer soldiers promised by the Kingdom of Portugal to be thrown into the Black Sea battlefield. In addition, if the sea trade routes on the east coast are attacked by some unsightly pirates or privateers of small countries, then this army may also decide not to attack depending on the situation.

All in all, the presence of the Portuguese garrison was a good start, increasing the level of intervention in Europe by the East Coast Republic. Although this kind of strength seems to be relatively small at present, it is difficult to say that if the situation develops further in the future, the number of troops stationed in the country will increase significantly.

"The Navy will send three troop carriers to carry our men, in addition to three fresh water supply ships, two ammunition supply ships and a hospital ship to fully ensure the safety of our department." The logistics staff officer in his thirties reported to Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun: "These ships are almost enough to transport our two thousand men and all the baggage, but the problem of cavalry horses is more troublesome, not suitable for transportation, and the tonnage is not enough. Therefore, I am afraid that I will have to wait until I get to Portugal and spend money to purchase it locally. ”

In fact, as far as long-distance sea transportation is concerned, transporting horses is much more troublesome than transporting people. First of all, this horse is more delicate, does not tolerate storms, and often falls ill and dies; Secondly, horses need more space, and the same space can transport several people; Finally, this horse is not as disciplined as a human, and some military horses are even more short-tempered, which is very troublesome to manage. Therefore, it was always a very cumbersome thing for the cavalry to transport horses across the ocean, so the War Office decided to procure all the horses required by a total of three cavalry companies (one cavalry company of the 7th Mixed Battalion plus two separate cavalry companies directly under the detachment headquarters). Anyway, the local Lusitanoma is also very famous, it is an excellent cavalry horse, and I believe that the Portuguese will not be stupid enough to refuse to sell the war horse to the army on the east coast.

"The cavalry will be procured from the Portuguese. If the quantity is insufficient, then go to the market in Cadiz or Seville, where the Spaniards should have plenty of supplies. Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun responded: "Guns, artillery and ancillary equipment must be counted clearly, and the number can only be more than less." When you arrive in Europe, it will be much more expensive to replenish it, so you have to bring it all at once. Of course, each firearm must also be strictly managed, it must be numbered, and if it is lost, someone must be held responsible, which cannot be sloppy. ”

"Repairmen, translators, and other special personnel accompanying the army will be uniformly arranged to live in the officers' quarters. Make an extra backup of all maps, and the medicine should be more than 30% more than the base, if it is not enough, ask the local government to borrow it, I believe they will still give this face. That's it, everyone canceled their vacations and gave me the honesty to stay in the training base, waiting for the arrival of the Navy escort ships. Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun finally ordered.

This time they will go out, the voyage will be long, and there will be many unpredictable situations on the way. Therefore, in addition to the above-mentioned ships responsible for transporting them, the Navy also arranged a number of additional warships to escort them. Among them, the well-known "Executive Committee" three-deck battleship was also among them, in addition to two "Tsurotto" class frigate gunboats and four "Star" class light cruisers, a total of seven combat ships.

These seven warships cannot be regarded as an insignificant force in the Old Continent. In particular, the mighty and majestic "Executive Committee" class warship, even in Europe, which is now at the peak of shipbuilding, is a very powerful warship, and if it is taken out, one can shock those weak naval countries.

Seven warships escorting nine auxiliary ships arrived in Portugal and then they would make a "goodwill visit" to the Mediterranean, after which they would all return home. However, not all of the returning ships will have their destinations on the mainland, only a few troop carriers, fresh water supply ships, and ammunition supply ships will return to the Zhenhai Harbor Naval Base, and the hospital ships and all seven battle fleets will go to the eastern Cape Verde Islands to join the Cape Verde sub-fleet in the battle sequence.

There is no doubt that this move will greatly strengthen the Cape Verdean sub-fleet of the First Fleet. If one considers the critical geographical location of this detachment – whether it is ships returning to Europe from the Caribbean Sea or merchant ships traveling between Europe and Asia, which are within the deterrent range of this detachment – the implications for the future will be extremely far-reaching. Maybe it doesn't look like anything yet, but if a war breaks out with the east coast in the future, then the Cape Verde detachment will make them taste unforgettable pain.

In addition to the Cape Verde squadron, the Caribbean detachment of the First Fleet, whose home port is located on Huaiyuan Island, will also be partially strengthened. Almost at the end of this year or the beginning of next year, the Admiralty will also send one three-deck battleship (the "Liberator"), two "Tsurotto" class frigates, and several "Star" class light cruisers north to join the squadron in the battle sequence. In this way, the strength of the people on the east coast in the rich Caribbean Sea will be greatly enhanced, and if supplemented by the windward fleet of the Spaniards, the influence and deterrence of the surrounding forces will also be greatly enhanced.

In fact, we can see from the deployment of these naval and army forces that the foreign policy of the East Coast Republic of China has indeed undergone fundamental changes. Different from the previous focus on the so-called Taoguang and obscurity, now because of the increase in national strength, they have begun to have more willingness to intervene in the outside world in order to fully protect their own interests.

In these external worlds, their primary concern undoubtedly remains the Mediterranean, especially the Eastern Mediterranean. In this sea, the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate are the two major fulcrums, and Venice is half the fulcrum, supporting the network of interests of the people on the eastern coast that has lasted here for decades. In addition to this, the people of the East Coast are now very concerned about the situation in Western Europe, and are very concerned about the affairs between Spain, France, the United Provinces, England, Italy, and Austria.

They did not want Spain to be annexed by the French, nor did they want the commercial capital of the United Provinces to merge with the industrial capital of England, nor did they want the balance on the Italian peninsula to be upset. And all of this needs to be backed by strength! Otherwise, it is estimated that few people will listen to the envoys of the East Coast in the middle of it, let alone use their superior influence to change the situation, which is simply impossible.

So, now you see, the army is quietly moving into northern Portugal, and the navy is starting to join two key nodes. In the future, if conditions permit, the strength of these places may be further enhanced, and the influence of these places will naturally be further enhanced.

On November 13, 1684, after two or three days of waiting, the naval escort ships finally arrived at the Zhenhai Harbor military base. The officers and men of the Portuguese Task Force of the Army began to board the ships one after another, and the Navy began to load a large number of supplies, and set off as soon as everything was ready. The East Coast Republic of China, a beast that has been stuffy for more than 50 years, gradually began to show its bright fangs.