The sound of horses' hooves shattered.

The cavalry of the gauchos rushed towards Buenos Aires with a strange shout.

Artillery thundered.

Twelve-pound shells hit the pampas, ricocheting and taking away the limbs of some people or animals.

After three rounds of fire, the gauchos turned in unison and retreated from both sides, away from the muzzles of the bronze cannons.

Chen Shouxu nodded to the combat staff officers beside him.

The herald hurried down the wall and found the Marine Corps commander.

Walter, who received the order, drew his saber.

"Infantry, forward!"

The gates opened, and the flute played.

The Marines marched out of the city to the accompaniment of the Grenadier March.

75 steps per minute, 75 cm per step. The soldiers of the Marine Corps slowly passed through the city gate to the beat of the drum and walked out onto the grassland where wild flowers bloomed.

Walter walked in front of all the soldiers along with the standard-bearers.

"Stop!" Walter swung his sword, and the soldiers quickly changed from a column to a four-row horizontal line.

"Infantry battalion, stand!"

The soldiers in the front column crouched, holding the middle of the spear with their left hand, and with their right foot on the tail end of the spear, the tip of the spear raised diagonally. The soldiers' right hands hold the hilt of the Spanish stabbing sword.

"Raise your gun!"

The arquebusier poked his arquebus out of the gap in the ranks of spearmen, and the arquebus flickered on the sides of the barrel with sparks.

"Aim!"

In an era when there were no full-fledged bayonets, spearmen were indispensable for protecting infantry from cavalry onslaughts.

In fact, with the protection of the castle, there was no need for Chen Shouxu to send infantry forward. But Walter suggested that this was a good opportunity to train the soldiers to face the cavalry brigade. Chen Shouxu considered it and agreed, and the neat infantry line also announced the pirate momentum to the gauchos opposite.

The breeze gently blows the military flag, the high-pitched flute sounds melodiously and gracefully, and the snare drum meets the flute. The tip of the spear reflected the cold light, and behind the spear and musket was the resolute face of the Marine soldier.

The strict infantry formation shocked the Spanish captives, and the officer looked at Chen Shouxu in surprise, "Your Excellency, Commander, your soldiers are even more orderly than the European formation. ”

Chen Shouxu was also a little relieved that these marines had been trained by German mercenaries and were on par with the European continent in terms of tactical literacy. With the same 100 men, Chen Shouxu was confident that he would not be able to find the north of these Spanish colonial troops.

"Come on, gauchos. There are a lot of Europeans in your ranks, and you should know what it will cost to storm such a platoon of infantry under artillery cover. ”

The gaucho cavalry remained eerily silent, and after a while a messenger with a white flag was among them. The messenger ran to the city of the Holy Trinity. The knight stopped abruptly in front of the city gate, and the horse stood up with its front hooves up, snorting, and spun around in place a few times.

The pirates secretly applauded the knight's horsemanship, and the man shouted to the city, "Our Incas want to talk to the conquerors of Buenos Aires." ”

"Go back and tell your Incas that I'll meet him in the middle of the array." Chen Shouxu did not hesitate.

The herald ran to Walter, and the Marines, who had received the order, removed the arquebus, their guns diagonally upward, and sat down on the ground under the orders of the officers.

Chen Shouxu walked to the negotiation site with curiosity. When I got closer, I could already see the costumes of the gauchos and the Indians. They all wore shabby wide-brimmed hats, and a coat made of animal skins protected the shirts they wore underneath. Some also wore worn cuirasses.

The quivers were carried by Indians, and they carried longbows.

The gauchos carried the heavy arquebuses of the Spanish army, 12 bottles of ammunition for the muskets hung from the belt of their sabers, and large powder bottles and spare arquebuses hung from their waists. This is not very different from the equipment of the pirates, in general, 12 ammunition bottles on the belt are enough for a day's battle.

The warhorses of the gauchos and Indians were hung with their characteristic weapon, the Meteor Hammer. The meteor hammer is made of three cobblestones wrapped in animal skins connected to a leather rope. Chen had no doubt that they could easily knock down a bison with a meteor hammer.

The gauchos set up a tent on all sides in the middle line of the two armies, with flags fluttering around them. Chen Shouxu walked into the tent and sat down next to the long table, with his opponent sitting across from him.

Sitting at the top was a white man, wearing a crown adorned with feathers, with an indescribable sense of disobedience.

He introduced himself, "I'm Pedro. Morality. Boaux, the Inca of the 92 Casic of the Pampas! ”

Chen Shouxu turned his head slightly, and the captive of the Spanish officer in Buenos Aires, who was standing beside him, leaned down and explained in his ear, "Kasik means tribal chief, and he means that he has 92 Indian tribes under him. ”

Chen Shouxu was a little moved, 92 Indian tribes, no wonder he was able to organize 6,700 cavalry.

"On behalf of the warriors who conquered the seas, I pay my respects to the eagle of the Pampas," he said to the Incas, "and how can I help you?" ”

Maiden covered his face slightly, helping was already Chen Shouxu's usual word.

The Spanish "Incas" said, "My subjects and I have spent a long time plotting an attack on Puerto Buenos, your men have stolen the fruits of our victory, and we demand that you must give up half of the spoils. ”

Chen Shouxu laughed, "Your Highness the Incas, you do have hundreds of cavalry. But if you had the ability, you would have attacked the rich Buenos Aires long ago. Now I have conquered it, and you tell me that it was already in your plan. His laughter stopped abruptly, "Your Highness the Incas, this joke is not funny at all. ”

The soldiers of the Marine Corps lined up in a horizontal line and stood not far behind Chen Shouxu. Farther away above the castle was the muzzle of a 12-pounder cannon.

Pedro seemed a little unwilling, "Stranger, the wealth of the Pampas belongs to us, and you have no right to take it." ”

Chen Shouxu's right hand pointed to the artilleryman behind him, with a joke on his face, "Your Highness the Incas, I don't care if the gold and silver in Buenos Aires were originally yours or Spanish, but they are now mine." Because they're now within range of my cannons. ”

Pedro's face was red and white.

Chen Shouxu leaned back in his chair, "Your Highness Incas, if you also have a 12-pounder cannon, then we can indeed talk about the ownership of the wealth in the city, but now you don't have it, but I do." ”

Pedro's eyes seemed to be about to choose someone, "I don't have a cannon, but I have hundreds of brave knights." ”

Chen Shouxu shrugged and stood up, he turned and pointed in the direction of the cannon, "Your Highness Inca, Bu Gang is just east of us, you can charge towards Bu Harbour, no one will stop you from doing so." But allow me to take my leave, I have nothing to say in this case. ”

Chen Shouxu turned around and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute, Mr. Captain, the sea is your belonging," Pedro seemed to have a lot of courage, "and I am the eagle of the Andes, we should not have any contradictions, maybe we can find another way." ”

Chen Shouxu played with the words of the gaucho leader, "Your Highness the Incas, what do you mean by ......"

"Go out, and don't come near without my orders." Pedro waved away his kasiks.

Chen Shouxu nodded, and his subordinates all withdrew from the tent.

When only the two of them were left, there was silence all around, and only the cries of the gauchos' flags being torn by the wind could be heard.

"Mr. Captain," the Spanish Inca sighed deeply, "I am sure you can understand that life on the steppe is no easier than on the sea. ”

Chen Shouxu bowed slightly, he did not object to what Inca said now.

"Mr. Captain, it's the beginning of March, and the harsh winter is coming. You can see hundreds of knights here, but there are ten times as many old and weak women and children in the tribe behind them. Winter is coming, and I have to find enough food for the children in my tribe. And this is only available in the port of Buenos Aires. ”

Chen Shouxu said, "Your Highness Inca, I can understand your plight, and I also have deep sympathy for it. But I can hardly help you, the food in Pornaya Buenos is the spoils of war that my soldiers have taken at the risk of their lives. I can't give you food, then I won't be able to give an account to the soldiers. ”

Pedro said, "What if we swap? ”

Chen Shouxu was a little careless, "Do you have anything I need?" ”

"Cowhide."

"How many?" Chen Shouxu looked ahead, and some of the Indian soldiers did put cowhides on their war horses.

"10,000 complete cowhides, all nitrated finished products."

Chen Shouxu slapped the table and stood up, his eyes widened, "How much?" You repeat? ”

"Ten thousand," Pedro was a little confused, "we hunt tens of thousands of cattle every year, and just last month, we did a three-week hunt and killed 7,000 bison. It's just that some novices will cut the skin, so not every cow's skin can be cut completely. ”

Chen Shouxu realized his gaffe, he put his right hand into a fist to his mouth, and coughed lightly twice, "Your Highness Incas, with so many cattle, you can already feed many troops in Europe. ”

Pedro shook his head, "Mr. Captain, we're only going to take the tongue and tallow from those bison, beef can't be preserved for a long time. We even rely on smuggling of salt for cured meat. In fact, we are all worried about whether the carcasses of those cattle placed on the grassland will cause epidemics. ”

Tens of thousands of heads of fresh beef, Chen Shouxu said with some sadness, "I understand, Your Highness Inca." Don't worry, I will exchange grain for cowhides with you. Do you still have those broken cowhides, I want it too. ”

"The three bad ones count as one, and they're all for you."

"Deal!"

Chen Shouxu stretched out his right hand and shook the Spanish Inca vigorously, "Your Royal Highness, I still have a reluctant request." I see that your soldiers are very good at riding, and I wonder if I will have the honor of recruiting some young lads in your Kasik? Don't worry, I'll exchange arms with you, how about heavy arquebuses? All new goods that have just arrived in Hong Kong from the Dutch. ”

Pedro's face was a little unpleasant, "I'm not a slave trader. ”

Chen Shouxu took Pedro's hand, "Oh, don't get me wrong, Your Highness, as long as you allow my people to do some propaganda in your tribe, whether you participate or not is voluntary." Of course, if anyone is willing to come, I will give you 5 arquebuses with all the ammunition per person, and talk about it. ”

Pedro's expression was struggling, and Chen Shouxu increased his weight at the right time, "And salt." Your Highness, as long as you can take it, the salt depot in Buharb is open to you, and there is no problem in taking it all. ”

"Okay...... Pedro finally agreed, "but no more than 40 people at most." ”

Chen Shouxu's hand was held with Pedro, and his left hand patted him on the shoulder, "No problem, haha, Your Highness, then we'll talk about it." 40 people. ”

Chen Shouxu turned around and gave orders for a while, and the soldiers of the Marine Corps brought barrels of liquor in horse-drawn carts.

"Your Highness, this is the Andean brandy that the port people call 'fire water', it is very enjoyable, come and come, taste it."

The bitter white brandy underbelly, the two largest plundering gangs in South America, enjoyed the guests.

The pirates and bandits had completed their trade just outside the port of Buenos, intact and incomplete, and tens of thousands of cowhides were loaded onto ships by sailors. The good port infrastructure provided maintenance conditions that could not be compared to the humble docks of the pirate base, and with the assistance of the workers of the ship repair yard, the pirate warships were given a new look, and all the parts that could be replaced were replaced. The three previously seriously injured warships, the Changbo, the Changshan, and the Rafael, all regained their full combat effectiveness.

The pirates emptied the shipyard's warehouses and packed up all the spare ship materials.

Arms, food, and wine were all replenished. The mayor brought 5,000 sets of winter clothes along the Río de la Plata, matching leather gloves and woolen socks. Chen Shouxuan complied with the agreement and paid the mayor silver at the actual market price.

The pirates have completed all the supplies, and the fleet has an additional whaling ship, the Melville. Chen Shouxu raised the sailing flag, "Let's go, let's go south." ”