Wednesday, October 28, 1637. The temperature is 16 degrees Celsius, the west wind is level 5, and the weather is sunny.

A team of more than 200 men opened the heavy iron-clad wooden gate of the river fort in the early morning and assembled on the dock. More than 60 shackled Khoisan slaves, driven by the local militia, acted as oarsmen in eight small boats, loaded with supplies for the battle: gunpowder barrels, drinking water barrels, spirit barrels, artillery, armor, dry rations, cured meats, canned fruits, hemostatic bandages, and other supplies. There were several armed militiamen on each dinghy as escorts, and due to the lack of adequate horses and poor road traffic facilities, most of the supplies needed for the expedition were transported by water.

And on the shore, there were heavily armed marching columns. At the head were five or six local scout cavalrymen, who rode a few precious Andalusian horses and roamed the main force from afar, scouting the surroundings and feeding back the information they had received.

The main force was a company of army soldiers, dressed in dark blue uniforms and high military boots, who carried rifles on their backs with ease, and marched in orderly steps at the command of the officer. In front of them were a cold-armed force of more than thirty English and Dutch captives, as well as some Khoisan slaves, each carrying a three-meter spear. That's all they have to wear, and as a cheap consumable, they don't qualify for armor.

The empty plains are full of lush woods and meadows. The southwest corner of South Africa has a typical Mediterranean climate with a lot of precipitation. Unlike other savanna regions that lack precipitation, vegetation is abundant. correspondingly. Animal resources are also abundant. Agricultural conditions are also very good. As a result, the excellent natural conditions here attract a large number of Khoisan and Bantu people to hunt, graze and farm.

Now, of course, it's now attracting people from the East Coast. The neighbouring Khoisan and Bantu people were unaware of what kind of people their new neighbors were, and by the time they did, it was already the darkest day in the memory of many of them.

At 5 p.m., the troops camped near the bank of the river. Army soldiers removed thick wooden stakes and loops of barbed wire from the docked boats, which they drove firmly into the ground with hammers and pulled up several barbed wire fences along the stakes. No longer tired of hanging many bells on the barbed wire. Several military dogs that were jumping around excitedly were also led by the sentries and arranged in various corners.

These things are strictly required to be observed in the infantry drill code. Troops on the march who do not set up complete night camping facilities in accordance with the requirements of the infantry discipline, or omit some steps in order to save trouble, may be reported by soldiers or military judges, and their unit commanders will be held accountable.

When everything was ready, the soldiers drove the slaves off the ship and tied them together in shackles. The slaves were promised beforehand that if they were not dead after the battle, then they would be freed. Therefore, the slaves under the supervision of a small number of militiamen looked relatively calm, silently eating the coarse noodles and dry food from their upper and lower hairs. Then he lay on the ground and closed his eyes.

The soldiers' dinner consisted of cured meats, wheat cakes, vegetable and soybean soup, and canned fruit. The dinner of the officers and senior non-commissioned officers was slightly richer, in addition to the above food items per person. You can also get two slices of cheese, a spoonful of precious sugar and half a beer.

Anda Fifteen gobbled up his own dinner, then got up and poured half a beer by the keg. He is a veteran non-commissioned officer and one of the platoon commanders, so he can also enjoy this privilege. In charge of the barrel was a young soldier who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, who smelled the aroma of beer and swallowed with some discouragement.

"How come such a young kid came out to fight?" Anda Fifteen frowned and said, "Where are you from?" Are you eighteen years old? ”

"Report sir!" The soldier in charge of the barrel snapped to the ground and replied loudly: "I am from Henan Fort, and I have just turned eighteen years old before the conscription. ”

"What did your village chief and militia chief do? Is there no one left, and such a young child is also sent out? Anda 15 drank beer while habitually criticizing the grassroots officials in Henan Fort. In fact, this is also a common phenomenon in the military today, both officers and soldiers have a strong sense of responsibility, and often point fingers at unaccustomed affairs, which also makes government officials extremely dissatisfied, which is one of the sources of conflict between the two sides.

"I ...... My family is poor, and there are only three people in the family: me, my sister and my mother. The young soldier saw that Anda Fifteen's face was not very good, and he stammered a little and said, "My sister just got married a few years ago, and she ...... Zhao's brother-in-law is...... Italian who comes to his home and helps with farming at home. The village chief saw that my family was really difficult, and he ...... when the army was recruiting So he put my name on it. ”

Anda Fifteen was slightly stunned, didn't say anything, stuffed the beer glass that was still a lot left in his hand into the young soldier's hand, and then said: "War is not to get rich!" A recruit like you, I can fight five at a time, and a daredevil like you can't even save your life, let alone get rich. Be smart when you fight tomorrow, which platoon are you? Follow your brethren, do not be afraid or agitated, and be careful yourself. Take the wine and drink it, and bring me the cup when you're done. ”

"Sir......" the young soldier shouted.

"Say something! I'm going to have a regular meeting with my soldiers. Anda Fifteen said with a frown and some displeasure.

"I ...... If tomorrow I ...... I'm dead. Can you please go back and see my mother? The young soldier was a little scared at first, but then he became more and more fluent: "My platoon commander is Sergeant Hans, but he is too fierce, I am afraid of him." You ......"

"Okay, I promise you!" Anda Fifteen said, "If you die, I will help you take care of your mother, don't worry." What is your name? ”

"My name is Liu Dayou, the second production team of Henan Fort."

"I remember, Liu Dayou. Stop thinking and get back to work. Anda Fifteen waved his hand and said as he turned.

After dinner, the whole camp fell silent after arranging the sentry staff.

Nothing was said all night. Early the next morning, after breakfast, the whole team set out on the journey in the morning light. According to prior information, the first black settlement in Bantu is less than three hours away. The soldiers walked briskly, rested for ten minutes, and soon arrived at their destination.

The scouts rode back on their horses, and threw down from their horses a few tightly tied Bantu blacks, all of whom were sentinels in the settlement.

"Prepare for battle!" Commander Xie Hansan drew his saber, pointed ahead, and said: "All of them, a horizontal battle formation, target: the village six hundred meters ahead." Flag bearer, flag out! Drummer, Bugler, Playing Music! Advance! ”

The "Forward, Forward, Forward, ......" drummer played the familiar "Victory Belongs to the Army March" to the soldiers, and then the riflemen of the nine platoons divided into three rows and marched forward in a neat formation to the beat of the drums. They were flanked by more than a dozen heavily armored grenadiers, with pistols, sabers and medicine bags at their waists, fire canisters in one hand and wooden boxes filled with small hand-thrown bombs in the other, as they roamed the riflemen's formation.

Acting first than the riflemen were the minions and spearmen. The militiamen temporarily removed the shackles from their feet and reaffirmed to them the promise of freedom when the fighting was over. The slave soldiers carried their spears numbly, and had neither the intention of resisting nor agitation, but walked forward in silence at the urging of the officer.

The Bantu have spotted the uninvited guests. According to the information of the previous investigation, there are about 600 people in this Bantu village, of whom less than 200 are able-bodied men. However, at this time, it seems that this information is obviously not very accurate, and the Bantu village covers a very large area, and a large number of Bantu people wearing animal skins have come out of their grass huts made of branches and wild grass, and they are still holding weapons such as pikes, spears, bows and arrows.

Amazingly, the fact that these Bantu blacks were holding iron weapons in their hands suggests that they had the ability to smelt iron and forge iron, or at least they were able to trade iron weapons or tools. This made the soldiers of the army put away their contempt for them a little, and the civilization level of these barbarians did not seem to be as bad as they imagined.

Driven by the artillery soldiers, the Khoisan slaves dragged several guns up, and there were no transportation facilities that could be called roads, and the guns were inconvenient to move. Fortunately, the surrounding terrain is relatively flat, so that the artillery will not be completely unable to pull the front line to play.

While the artillery was struggling with the heavy artillery, the infantry brethren at the front were already engaged with the enemy. When these Bantu blacks saw two hundred enemies with obvious ill intentions rushing up, they rushed forward with iron weapons without dodging.

Are these blacks crazy? The thought popped into the minds of many soldiers. Many of them had fought in small battles to suppress some Charrua or Guarani uprisings at home, and the indigenous South Americans had no courage to confront the soldiers in tight formations.

But these black people in front of them have!

It's weird. Is there anything different about blacks in South Africa? Or do they have a special innate courage to fight? The Army brethren didn't have time to think more, for the hundreds of slave spearmen in front of them were soon engaged in battle with the blacks. (To be continued......)