Cleimane

This is the capital of Zambezi Province, located on the central coast of Mozambique, in the core of the lower Zambezi River Delta, is a fortress city with earthen city defense, originally used as the seat of the court of the indigenous kingdom, after being conquered by the Portuguese, it became the commercial and military center of Zambezi Province.

The city has a population of 21,000 people, most of whom are of white Portuguese descent, and some black African servants, so the architecture of the city is typical of the Portuguese style, with a small number of early Arab mosques and house buildings, full of strong exotic atmosphere.

The two-storey European-style town hall is now the headquarters of the African Expeditionary Force.

The machine-gun sentry at the entrance and the constant flow of soldiers give this 18th-century Portuguese-style building an air of murder and add to the iron-blooded atmosphere out of thin air.

"Hahahaha...... I guess the Portuguese governor is depressed now, as long as the blockade is strengthened, it won't be long before the Portuguese can take Mozambique with both hands and obediently pack up and return to Europe. ”

Brigadier General Mo Rufeng, commander of the African Expeditionary Force, laughed heartily, he was in a very good mood, and it could be said that he was full of ambition.

Since the landing of the expeditionary force, the expeditionary force has advanced smoothly, and the farthest army detachment has reached the depths of the northwest province, according to which it is about 1,000 kilometers.

There was little resistance along the way, and the attacks of the small indigenous tribes were only food deliveries, and there was no resistance under the sharp bullets of the soldiers.

The tasks of the army detachment deep into the interior are mainly hydrological and geographical surveys, environmental resource surveys and data collection of local indigenous populations, so as to protect their own safety and fight second.

After taking Quelimane, an important stronghold of the Portuguese, the situation in Mozambique entered the official stage, and there was no suspense.

Nearly 400 years of Portuguese rule is quite bluffing, in fact, as a small population country in Europe, since the 15th century, the old colonizer Portugal, with a population of only one million, was in its heyday, joining forces with the Spanish to carve up the world, the focus is still on the vast and rich South America, and there are very few resources that can be invested in Mozambique.

The African Expeditionary Force's autumn wind sweeping away the leaves-like action has changed this hot land of Africa.

As the commander of the African Expeditionary Force, Mo Rufeng can't run with the rank of major general, how can he not be happy?

In the British military system

The brigadier general is not a general, but belongs to the highest rank of the colonel, and enjoys the treatment of a general, but the epaulette is missing the gold British crown insignia, which is almost equivalent to the meaning of the general's assistant.

"Commander, the Portuguese in Mozambique have been in business for nearly 400 years, I'm afraid they won't be willing to spit it out easily, right?" The deputy division commander, Colonel Kohler, adhered to the usual rigor of the Germans, and spoke out.

"Hehehe...... On us, of course, it can't be, but what if the naval fleet strikes? ”

"Commander, the General Staff of the Army has a lot of complaints about the navy stealing the limelight, I am afraid it will be difficult to accept your plan, and if possible, it is more desirable that we independently complete the recovery of Mozambique Island."

"Deputy Division Commander Huo, what do you think?" Mo Rufeng walked back and sat down with a smile, and named Colonel Huo Xiaohu, the deputy division commander who had not said anything, and intended to let him say something.

The army has never been monolithic, and Colonel Kohler belongs to the German officer line, loyal only to Lord Count, and has little contact with other factions, and appears to be a maverick.

Huo Xiaohu belonged to the backbone of the iron-blooded young Zhuang faction in the army, a fanatical worship leader, and was influenced by German instructors to pursue the doctrine of the Continental Army.

Huo Xiaohu also has his own thoughts on this issue, and he said in a cautious tone; "If it is said that taking the Mozambique region is a soft persimmon, dealing with the island of Sambique is to gnaw hard bones, the island is a fortress-type fortress, and it will inevitably pay a lot of casualties if it is gnawed hard, I myself tend to put this issue aside for the time being, and concentrate on consolidating the newly occupied area, after all, this is a vast colony of millions of square kilometers, for the African Expeditionary Force, a little here and there, there is not enough troops, basically do not have the conditions to capture Mozambique Island."

The two deputy division commanders agreed that they were reluctant for the Navy to intervene in Mozambique, preferring to leave it there for a while rather than have the credit taken away by others.

I don't want to share the meat in my bowl with others, even if I am full, I will put it there first, and then eat it when I am hungry, which is probably what it means.

Mo Rufeng knew this, although he did not agree with similar biased views, but as one of the senior commanders of the army, it was not easy to speak for the navy.

He nodded slightly and said; "The matter in Africa is still dominated by the opinions of our expeditionary force, and since it is difficult to reach a consensus on the idea of a joint blockade by land and sea, it will be put on hold for the time being.

And so it goes

Without the involvement of the Navy, there is little to do to solve the problems of Mozambique.

With only a few offshore gunboats and a few Mosquito-class patrol boats in our Marine Police District, our expeditionary force, such a weak naval force, is unable to pose a threat to the island of Mozambique and completely block its maritime supply lines.

Have you ever thought that the island of Mozambique is located on the coast of the Northern Province, and it is not pleasant to hold on to the logistical supply line that we have reached Somalia along the coastline of Africa to the north, like a thorn in the back? ”

Mo Rufeng is a leader among the students in Jiangnan, who has worked beside the Earl for many years, and has a much broader vision under the command of the ear, and is not limited to the view of the navy and the army, but also considers the problem more of an overall vision, and is the commander of the Red Fort.

The Portuguese are always a hidden danger on the island of Mozambique, and if they can ask the navy to send a fleet to blockade the area, then the island of Mozambique, with its 35,000 people, can only be a dead island, and the supplies from the outside world cannot be transported in, and the people inside cannot get out.

With just the material reserves on the island, it can last for three or four months.

The soldiers who do not fight are also those who are superior.

Colonel Kohler and Colonel Huo Xiaohu's eyes met, and they both saw the persistence in each other's eyes, so Colonel Kohler said; "Your Excellency, the small fleet force present on the island of Mozambique cannot cause us much trouble for the time being, and my opinion is that it is appropriate for the time being to consolidate the newly occupied territory, and that the movements of the Portuguese need to be further observed.

With the start of the resettlement plan, the construction of towns and roads has become the overriding main task, road construction needs more black slaves to open roads in the mountains, build bridges in the water, and organize multiple slave capture teams to carry out dragnet sweeps to provide sufficient labor for the construction of the project.

The construction task takes up a lot of troops, and in this case, I think it is wise to put the problem of Mozambique Island aside and leave it for later, which I share with Deputy Division Commander Huo. ”

"Seconded" Huo Xiaohu stingily spit out two words.

"Okay, then it's decided." Mo Rufeng was as good as a stream, and he was unwilling to have a disagreement with the two veteran deputy division commanders over this issue, so he made a decisive decision;

"This time we captured 12,000 ounces of gold and sands, plus some other seizures worth nearly £170,000, as well as a large amount of cattle and sheep, food and other supplies, enough to sustain the troops for a long time.

At present, the main construction project is a road project along the lower reaches of the Zambezi River basin to the middle reaches of the river, with a total design length of more than 770 kilometers, and the whole sand and gravel rammed earth pavement reaches the plateau area of Northwest Province.

Therefore, the division headquarters decided;

The Road Construction Corps, headed by Colonel Kohler, was formed, with the Second Regiment and the Engineer Battalion under its jurisdiction, which was responsible for the local recruitment of labor and the safety protection of the construction of the entire road line, and performed its supervisory duties, and made every effort to complete the entire line by the end of the year. ”

"Yes, sir." Colonel Kohler gladly accepted the order and raised his hand in a standard military salute.

As long as the road project to connect the interior of Mozambique is completed, it is a great achievement, but there is no danger in the pain, so why not?

The Second Regiment plus the engineer battalion is more than 2,600 people, and it is tantamount to a fantasy to rely on this manpower to build more than 770 kilometers of roads.

The task of the construction corps is to recruit labor on the spot and be responsible for supervising the construction of black slaves, 30,000 is not too little, 50,000 is not too much, anyway, the more the merrier, and the construction will start at the same time as it is rolled out along the line.

The military is no stranger to similar work, and military personnel are indispensable in overseas colonization, and in Mozambique, an African region far from its homeland, it is even more military-led construction, although the methods are simple and crude, but the victory is very efficient.

After Mo Rufeng gave the order, he turned to Huo Xiaohu and said; "Deputy Division Commander Huo, please submit to the commander of the Urban Construction Corps, lead the Third Regiment and most of the Baggage Regiment to be responsible for matters related to urban construction, and also recruit labor on the spot, I hope to see significant results before the end of the year."

"Yes, sir, the humble duty must not fail in the mission." Huo Xiaohu saluted with a solemn expression.

"Then it is decided, I myself will lead a regiment, cavalry battalion, artillery regiment, division battalion and other units to form a mobile corps, sit in Quelimane, stabilize the rear while supervising the movement of Mozambique Island, and prevent it from taking advantage of the gap to attack..." It would have been a great pleasure to be able to mobilize the Portuguese to strike at them, and it would have been much better than having the soldiers attack the fortified fortifications. ”

"What Your Excellency Commander said is very true, as long as you are not willing to lose, there is a high probability that the Portuguese will make a comeback."

"We haven't been afraid of anyone in the field, so we'll have fun, hahaha......"

The three high-ranking officers of the expeditionary force looked at each other and laughed, and the hearty laughter echoed in the room, showing full confidence.