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In the middle of summer 1625, the second phase of the Thirty Years' War in Europe also underwent major changes in many aspects.

The main force of the Holy Roman Emperor under the command of Duke Wallenstein**, after completely crushing the English mercenaries of the Earl of Mansfield, marched north from Bohemia, preparing to support Count Tilly, who was fighting hard against the Danish army in northern Germany.

Although France did not send troops directly, it sent troops and began to blockade the Alpine passes in northern Italy, so as to prevent the Spanish army from the Italian peninsula from moving north to reinforce the Holy Roman Empire.

Marquis Spinola, commander-in-chief of the Spanish Netherlands Army, finally couldn't help but send troops and launched a general attack on the "Fortress of Breda" in the Dutch-controlled province of Northern Brabant a month earlier than in history.

This attack was much more tragic than in history, with nearly 8,000 Spanish troops and much smaller Dutch troops engaged in a bloody attack and defense battle at the fortress of Breda.

Relying on long-term imported reserves of American-style equipment, the defenders of the fortress of Breda, carefully organized by the Dutch Governors' Association, exerted their fighting will, and as many as 32 12-pounder iron cannons broke the Spanish army under the command of the Marquis of Spinola. Not to be outdone, the Marquis of Spinola also pulled out 12 American cannons and launched crowd tactics from several directions.

After paying a heavy price, the fortress of Breda finally fell after holding out for months, and the Marquis of Spinola lived up to expectations to achieve the first victory for the Kingdom of Spain since the Dutch proclamation**, and the only foreign military victory in his life since the accession of King Philip IV of Spain.

In order to commemorate this hard-won achievement, Philip IV even asked the famous Spanish painter Velázquez to create the famous oil painting "The Surrender of Breda" against the backdrop of the Battle of Breda ten years later.

Interestingly, this time, instead of the infantry phalanx of the Spanish kingdom, which is proud of the Kingdom of Spain, it is replaced by rows of musketeers armed with 21b flintlock rifles. Even next to the Marquis of Spinola in the painting, there is an American 12-pounder cannon!.

In July, the rainy season in the Lesser Antilles has finally arrived. Guadeloupe was also covered in heavy rain for three days. Abundant rain washes over the land and jungles, injecting a year's worth of nourishment into the long-drought island of Guadeloupe.

Due to an unexpected deployment of maritime capacity in late May, a large number of military supplies to Guadeloupe were postponed by a full shift, and the final combat time of the rainy season was vividly delayed until mid-June.

The slopes, plains and forests of the northern part of the island have been cut off by the streams created by the rainy season. on the map. An eight-kilometre-long line of defense isolates the last part of the East Island as a Carib homeland. Countless Chinese Army officers and soldiers armed to the teeth armed with rifles and bayonets fought the last battle with the naked Caribs in the primitive land.

When it rained, the Chinese and American Army operations stopped, and then the naval guns began to vent shells non-stop. Explode in the muddy rainforest, mixing mud and foliage. But as soon as the rain stopped, the army, which had eight infantry companies on the front line, would strike in several directions, constantly squeezing the recalcitrant Caribbeans to the north.

At this point in the fighting, there is no room for the guerrilla tracking tactics of the special operations team to be used, and the Caribbeans are reduced to zero. Like a groundhog, under the cover of heavy rain, he continued to inflict casualties on the advancing Chinese army with more cunning stealth tactics in the jungle. The last remaining 1,000 Caribbeans on the East Island have no way back, and they have retreated to the northernmost forest slopes of less than 50 square kilometers, constantly taking advantage of the harsh natural environment of the rainy season to sweep and disintegrate the invading army again and again.

For more than a month, half of the days on the East Island have been rainy, and the rain-moistened jungle depths have accelerated the growth of slippery moss that stretches like a carpet, and countless puddles of water hide under the fallen leaves. And as soon as the rain stops, the heat will steam out an unbearable dampness in the jungle. Whether it's fighting or marching, every step through the jungle can be exhausting.

From time to time, the carcasses of various small animals that died innocently in the shelling washed out of the creeks that had been improvised by the rainy season, and the damp and fishy smell could not be washed away by the rain. In the glade of the woods, groups of tired Chinese Army officers and soldiers huddled in tents, cleaning up their rifles, which had been greatly unreliable in the muddy water.

The officers and men ate the damp and mildewy fried noodles and military rations. A small amount of canned food was finally swallowed without being picky. During the rainy season, the land supply lines were intermittent, and most of the combat material replenishment was transferred to the combat area by means of transportation for the nearby landing along the coast, and the logistical efficiency dropped to the lowest point since the landing.

The battle continues to the present. Although the casualty figure was acceptable, the speed of advance slowed down instantly. The attrition of non-combatant patients has also begun to climb dramatically, with more than a fifth of each company's soldiers now admitted to the newly built Twin Ports Hospital in the rear.

The offensive has been halted for five days, because there has been no response to the latest special operations sortie. This time, the special combat team attacked with Zhu Xiaoli personally leading the team, a total of nine special combat members, who will find the hidden settlement of the Caribs, and then guide the naval fleet to cover the artillery fire.

Almost every day after the rain stopped, Major Feng Bin, the commander-in-chief of operations, and Captain You Nanzhe, the staff officer, who were waiting at the forefront, would climb the guard wooden tower and look at the jungle in the distance again and again with binoculars on their faces.

Now, in the commander-in-chief's tent, a fierce meeting is being held, and speculation about the "disappearance" of the special combat team is openly displayed on the table at the meeting.

"The northern part of the East Island can basically be regarded as a circular area, with a radius of more than 6 kilometers, and a considerable part of the middle area is already outside the strike range of naval artillery." Captain You Nanzhe, a staff officer, pointed to a recalibrated map and introduced to all the officers present, "Since last month, we have only been able to clear the periphery, and we have not been able to penetrate deep into the hinterland, which is also to avoid major casualties. However, at present, the Caribbeans have gradually estimated the range of our firepower, so I insist on continuing to use special combat teams and go deep into the hinterland to determine targets, otherwise we will not be able to complete the final combat mission at all. ”

"I'm really worried that these natives are hiding in the very middle area, in that case, our naval guns won't be able to hit them at all, let alone mortars......" Lieutenant Liu Chenxu, a staff officer of the 2nd Combat Battalion, also said helplessly, "Maybe they will work in vain." ”

"Now we've advanced to this point. In order to ensure that the opponent can be hit, the four 120mm fortress guns removed from the Twin Ports fortress have been delivered yesterday, and it is estimated that they will all be placed in place tomorrow. At that time, with the naval guns, we will be able to fully cover all corners! You Nanzhe struck the southern part of a small lake on the map with a wooden stick.

"But the rainy season has a big impact on our weapons use. Perhaps Captain Zhu has lost the ability to signal and retreat. Lieutenant Scott suddenly muttered softly in the corner. The faces of the officers all around him changed drastically.

"Lieutenant Scott, how likely do you think that is?" You Nanzhe and Feng Bin glanced at each other, and both of them frowned in unison.

"The odds are high, sir." Scott stood up. Looking around at all the officers present, "Recently, half of the signal flares, bullets and grenades of the 5th Company have been damp and unable to fire, and this is still under the condition that we can continue to replenish them. Captain Zhu is only nine of them, and the number of flares and smoke bombs they can carry is limited. If you don't pay attention, the whole failure can easily happen. And the jungle environment is even harsher during the rainy season......"

Scott's analysis was not unreasonable, but everyone present seemed reluctant to accept such predictions, and the meeting fell into a dead silence.

The news from China that Zhou Kemin's death has caused a strong wave of pessimism internally, which is a heavy blow to the spirit of facing all kinds of setbacks since the crossing. Now that Zhu Xiaoli and others are missing, it makes people retreat even more.

"Adjourn for the time being, observe for two more days." Seeing that the atmosphere of the meeting was too pessimistic and depressing, You Nanzhe decisively chose to adjourn the meeting. As for what will happen in two days, he has no bottom in his heart for the time being.

According to You Nanzhe's inner thoughts, if Zhu Xiaoli's whereabouts could be found, he could even launch an attack with the highest intensity regardless of casualties, but reason made it difficult for him to issue such a too explicit military order at the meeting.

……

July 25th. Friday.

In the fifth year after the establishment of the town, the official settlement population of West Point finally exceeded 2,000, and there were several hundred migrants from other towns in the town every day, but the news of the change of the town turned out to be just an empty joy. In accordance with the meaning of the government cabinet. In addition to the towns with important strategic layout positions, West Point Town wants to change the city. The population must be more than 5,000 people.

According to the current law on local administration of the state, although cities and towns are not administratively subordinate to each other, there is a difference in financial allocation: in municipal towns, key construction projects can directly receive financial support from the state cabinet, while towns usually only have their own local fiscal revenue. From this, Mayor William is understandably disappointed,

However, the news did not distract the general public of West Point, as the largest transportation project to the nearby mountain mine is in the final stages of construction, and West Point will become the first town in the country to have official land transportation. To the west of West Point, a large zigzag road appears in the dense green shadow of the primeval mountain forest.

Taking into account the specific conditions of the mountainous area, the mining road adopts an asphalt gravel pavement scheme to facilitate the drainage of rainwater, and the wide road center is also built with a rail carriageway to achieve the highest efficiency of ore mining and transportation. As long as there are no major accidents, according to the current construction progress, the whole process will definitely be completed on the National Day, and a number of bridge projects have also greatly honed the construction level of the two major domestic construction companies.

In addition to the construction team of nearly 1,000 people and prisoners of war, the idle laborers of the whole town also worked on the project, and there were even temporary workers from the town of Silver Valley on the other side of the river to earn a good income, and all walks of life in West Point Town also greatly benefited during the large-scale infrastructure construction project.

On the outskirts of West Point, next to a 20-acre orchard, Scott's home in West Point. Next to a two-story Western-style manor-style house, a handful of Indian hired hands are carefully loading boxes of freshly harvested fruit onto wagons for shipment to the docks at West Point. From there, the fruit will arrive at the canneries in Jersey Town, where it will be processed into sweet and sour canned fruit or jam products, before becoming a delicacy on every family's table during the winter months.

This is the largest source of income for the Scott family, the old man Allen, who is good at business, and Brenda, who is good at taking care of the orchard and farming, can get a net family income of $1,500 from this small orchard every year, which is already the highest per capita household income in the country. After Scott himself was promoted to lieutenant, he earned a high salary of $720 a year, so the Scott family's standard of living rose rapidly in the past two years, not only building a beautiful manor cottage, but also owning a small stake in a small local private building materials company.

Brenda, with her big belly, was laboriously checking the fruit on the two mercenary wagons, and carefully scribbling the numbers on the booklet in her hand. The little niece, Jessica, is now in the summer vacation and has been able to "help" the family, and is now carrying a small basket and washing a few bunches of grapes by a small pool.

"God forbid, Mrs. Scott, you should take care of your rest, you must be careful!" A European woman came down the side of the alley, holding a stainless steel basin with a few washed clothes, and was smiling at Brenda who was about to give birth. The person who came was the family of the country's deliberately publicized heroic soldiers, and the widow of Sergeant Porter, who had died in the Northern Campaign.

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter, it's okay!" Brenda happily wiped the sweat from her forehead, one hand still gently touched her stomach, and her face was full of happy smiles, "Uncle Allen has gone to Potter City, and he won't be back until next week, and Mr. Eli is still in the city waiting for us to deliver the goods." ”

"Eli? I hate that businessman! He actually thought that the quality of this year's pastry fruit was not as good as last year's, and the price he offered would make every orchard in West Point Town suffer! Mrs. Potter glanced at Scott's fruit, a hint of concern.

"Fortunately, this year is a bumper year, and everyone's income will not be worse than in previous years." Brenda was content.

"Well, everybody's so optimistic...... But I have to remind you once again, Mrs. Scott, that you should write a letter to the Army Command, Lieutenant Scott has been on Butterfly Island for more than seven months, and it stands to reason that he should go home! Mrs. Potter helped Brenda check the carriage and whispered, "According to the doctor, you will have a baby in a week at most!" ”

"But even if Scott was able to go now, it would be too late. So, it would be rude to bother the Army Command, right? Brenda smiled and shook her head, but there was a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

"Maybe, but at least we should let them listen! Even if it's just a little bit ......"

After Mrs. Potter killed her husband in battle, she has been angry about the country's constant foreign wars, even a city named after her husband. In her eyes, many of the men in West Point, including her deceased husband, have been on the front lines of the country over the years, and the number of dead and disabled has been rising, and for a long time, West Point has the highest rate of widows in the country.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Potter......" Brenda involuntarily lowered her head when she heard this.

"God forgives me for my ignorance, I just talk about it. Next month, Mrs. Santos and I will move to Porter City, which will be closer to our husband. Mrs. Potter sighed deeply, picked up the basin, and walked away again.

I don't know when, the little niece Jessica also came to her side, looking at her with her eyes open. Brenda slowly put down the notebook in her hand, touched Jessica's shoulder, and looked south.

(To be continued)