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Sunday, February 10, 1636.

Fernando. Denoronia Island is now a gorgeous island and has been renamed "Taoyuan Island". Even if there is not a single peach tree on it, its impeccable and beautiful scenery still makes Colonel Wen Tuo, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Fleet who landed on the island, think of this name for the first time.

The port was still under construction, and the former Portuguese defenders became free laborers, although the former Fernando was headed by Lieutenant Colonel Leo. The defenders of Denoronia were puzzled that the island they had been holding on to for months had suddenly turned into a gorgeous territory, but the generous logistical supplies and the safe and worry-free life of Huamei quickly put them into the role of "guests".

Two months later, the military fortification on Taoyuan Island was impregnable, with a battalion of Chinese Army troops and nine 90 or 120 mm fortified guns in place, while the main force of the Southern Fleet intercepted and deterred the Dutch West India Company fleet attempting to pass through the area several times, and several attempts by the opponent were in vain.

The hastily formed Southern Fleet with the USS Constitution as its flagship included USS Alfalfa, USS Tequila, USS Lapis Lazuli, USS Tulip, and USS Cornflower, a total of 4 light cruisers and 2 frigates. Now the six warships have completed their replenishment and officially set sail on the third day of the lunar calendar, heading to the port of Recife, a few hundred nautical miles to the south, to carry out armed deterrence missions.

Recently, the windless climate just happened to be near the equator, and most sailboats had to rely on coastal currents to drift, and for the Southern Fleet, which was heading south, the steam-powered eight-knot "low-speed" cruise was unusually strange.

On the flagship Constitution, the commander-in-chief, Colonel Wen Tuo, stood on the bridge in a daze, and behind him was a group of captains who had arrived from various ships for a meeting. Compared with the 40-year-old commander-in-chief, most of the other naval officers of the temporarily formed Southern Fleet are under the age of 30, which can be called the most dense combat unit of young officers in the Chinese and US Navy.

"Colonel, we should teach them a hard lesson!" Ruyter, the acting captain of the frigate Tulip, was still the most courageous spokesman, having experienced years of fighting at sea at a young age, and the Dutch-born young man exuded a frenzied fighting enthusiasm throughout his body.

"The opponent has at least 60 ships to fight. And we have only 6 ships, and more importantly, many of our sailors are new recruits. Captain Elson, the acting captain of the light cruiser Alfalfa, said cautiously, "We rushed here, many of the ship's steam units have some minor problems, the Taoyuan Island Naval Base is still under construction, and it is not yet possible to provide on-site maintenance, and if there is a large-scale battle, I am afraid that many unexpected things will happen." ”

After speaking, the young captains all turned their eyes to the commander-in-chief, Colonel Wen Tuo, who had not spoken.

The war in Ireland, far away in Europe, has entered the negotiation phase. The European Expeditionary Fleet has achieved very brilliant results, and now the eyes of the country are focused on the Southern Fleet, but Wen Tuo is not able to raise his strength at all.

Because Elson was right, although the current Southern Fleet did not look much worse than its colleagues in Europe, the proportion of recruits was extremely high, and the warships were not in ideal condition, and in the event of a troublesome mechanical failure, they would have to return to the Butterfly Island Naval Base more than 2,000 nautical miles away for repairs, in the event of an accident in battle. It's hard to imagine.

Congress is about to declare war on the Dutch West India Company, but that doesn't mean it has to fight to the death. The Dutch invaded Brazil with nearly 10,000 land and sea forces, and had already taken control of the northeastern part of Brazil, although they faced resistance from the Portuguese to the south. But sooner or later, the superiority in force would crush the Portuguese, and the logistical pressure would certainly be stronger than that of the half-baked Southern Fleet, which had traveled thousands of miles.

"What do you think, Major Adel?" Wen Tuo turned his head to his old subordinate, the captain of the USS Constitution, "Although it is a state of war. But Congress does not want to tear up with the Netherlands, and how determined do we need to let the Dutch West India Company know that they have no choice? ”

"The fact that the Dutch fleet is still here shows that they are confident in the situation on land. In terms of total strength. The Dutch had far more troops on land than the Portuguese, and even if we arrived, it would only be a matter of time before they broke through the Portuguese lines. Because our naval artillery may not be able to support the entire front, and it is not in our interest to destroy the whole of Recife. Adel thought for a moment, and expressed his opinion, "So I think that the best way for the Dutch fleet to abandon the siege of Recife is to stop the advance of the Dutch land forces in the first place. ”

"The confrontation continues at sea, recovering Olinda from land, and then flanking the Dutch from behind? But our only army infantry battalion was defending on Taoyuan Island, and only half a battalion of the Foreign Legion was left on Butterfly Island. Wen Tuo frowned, a little helpless about the deployment of troops from the Ministry of Defense and the Navy Command.

"Isn't Nanshan Port still a force? Having heard that the indigenous rebellion there had been suppressed, Lieutenant Colonel Scott's African Brigade was well armed and could have landed from Olinda. Adel duly reminded his chief.

Amphibious operations? A picture appeared in Wentuo's mind, as a group of Chinese Army officers and soldiers rushed from the beach to the burned city of Olinda, and then detoured back behind the Dutch mercenaries from the land.

"Sir, there's a situation in the south!" While he was thinking about it, suddenly a shout came from the lookout post, "5 nautical miles away, 8 sailboats, sail to the northeast!" ”

"It should be the detachment of the Dutch West India Company." The acting captain of the Lapis Lazuli, Evan, added on the side, "The fleet that can be brought in from the south now can't be Portuguese. ”

"Everyone, return to your posts and prepare for battle." Wen Tuo gave the order without hesitation, and the young captains on the bridge saluted.

……

Wednesday, February 13th.

At the end of the summer, the Nanshan Governor had already ushered in the agricultural harvest, and although he had suffered heavy losses from the black rebellion for most of the past six months, at least many inland farms within a 10-kilometer radius of Nanshan Port were still unharmed.

More than 10,000 tonnes of wheat are being harvested and put into storage, with at least two-thirds of the output coming from private farms. Compared with the local purchase price of US$20 per ton of wheat before tax, the purchase price of wheat under the Governor of Nanshan is only US$12 per ton before tax, and if taxes and various contract management fees are deducted, the local contracted farmers only have a gross profit of about US$1 per mu of wheat field.

A standard 500-acre privately contracted farm, with two crops a year, makes a family's annual net income less than $400, which is almost twice as much as that of a private farm in a Chinese town. Fortunately, large-scale intensive operations plus the use of foreign labor. The unit cost of agricultural products is low, so these incomes are still a fantastic life for Chinese farmers who have traveled thousands of miles from Daming.

Wheat waves roll along the coastal plains of South Africa, and combine harvesters pulled by steam tractors are crawling across the land, harvesting the wheat at breakneck speeds. At the same time, the harvest of olive, grapes, wool and other agricultural products is also underway, and several merchant ships from the mainland are already docked at the port where they are resuming normal operations, unloading various commodities and supplies, and will soon transport and sell local livestock, flour, olive oil, wine and wool to the Caribbean or the mainland.

In the barracks on the outskirts of the city, the officers and men of the African Brigade who spent the New Year were lazily basking in the sun. According to the above, once the units of the Foreign Legion Brown Bear Brigade return to change their guards, they will return home from combat duty and then enjoy a vacation of at least one month. But looking at it now, it is obvious that the officers and men have done nothing in advance.

"Qiao Yan, here and the local are completely reversed, your land is still covered with snow slag, and everyone here has begun to dry wheat and grind flour." Yu Shan was lying on the grass, chewing a straw in his mouth. "It's really unlucky, I can't go home for the New Year this time, it's been a few months, and I don't know what happened at home."

Qiao Yan, who was sitting not far away, was bowing his head and writing a report. He didn't take the mountain's complaints seriously, but just looked up into the distance from time to time.

"Sergeant Major, this is a newspaper from the port, I heard that the English are going to surrender? The Dutch invaded Brazil. ”

At this time. A soldier came from the side with a newspaper in his hand and sat down carefully beside Yu Shan. Yu Shan didn't even look back, he knew that it was Ren Xingzhong.

"What does that have to do with us?" Yu Shan spat out a piece of straw. Pulled down the steel helmet, covered his entire face, and said the words in an urn of anger, "That war was killed and lived, and we couldn't get a penny of allowance......"

"At least your West Point Tobacco Company stock can stop falling, and I heard that the English can smoke 20% of the West Point Tobacco Company's cigarettes in a year." Qiao Yan walked up to Yu Shan, picked up the steel helmet that covered Yu Shan's face with his toes, and raised the report in his hand with a smile, "Yu Shan, has your summary report come out, it will be submitted to the brigade headquarters before tomorrow." ”

"Is it a bullet that scares away a hundred blacks, or a grenade that takes back a farm? This kind of report is all there is to it over and over again......" Yu Shan lazily propped up his body, took out a folded piece of letter paper from his pocket, and scratched the back of his head with a tangled expression, "To be honest, I don't want to blow something bright about it." ”

As he spoke, he turned his head to Ren Xingzhong, who seemed to understand something, and lowered his head with a red face.

"God willing, an encouraging good news!"

At this time, I saw the brigade sergeant major Makarov walking from a distance with a majestic stride, his face shaking with excitement, and he seemed to be in high spirits.

"Damn! Can't we have a peaceful Shangyuan Festival? Yu Shan sat up straight suddenly, stunned for a few seconds, and finally roared like an unpredictable prophet, and Qiao Yan and Ren Xingzhong on the side were a little inexplicable.

"Captain, we're going to Brazil!" Makarov didn't hear Yu Shan's complaints, but stood triumphantly in front of Qiao Yan, "Our fleet has already started a war with the Dutch West India Company!" The order of the army command is to select three battalions here to go to Brazil and kill the Dutch there! The Ministry of Defence is mobilizing ships, and the vanguard will depart next week. ”

"I knew it was so!" Yu Shan let out a groan, rolled over, and lay face down on the grass, covering his ears, as if he hated the content that had penetrated into his ears at this time.

"Lieutenant Colonel Scott chose our battalion?" Qiao Yan understood the order, and looked back at Yu Shan, who was looking like a rotten figure at his feet, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Going to Brazil? Dutch?!

Ren Xingzhong was not qualified to intervene at this time, but the moment he heard the news, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"What's wrong with this idiot, upset stomach?" Makarov glanced at Yu Shan, who was "struggling uncomfortably" on the ground, revealing deep doubts.

"I hate Brazil, why are we ...... again" Yu Shan turned over weakly, his expression extremely tangled. (To be continued)