About 160 miles from the port of Acapulco, northeast of Chilpansinger, an important pass in the Sierra Madre do Sul, there is a newly established military camp.

This barracks in the wilderness was very different from the camps of mercenaries from other New Spanish colonies.

The camps of the mercenaries of New Spain had always been scattered, the trenches were narrow and shallow, and the fences were haphazard. Only the tents in which the officers and men rested were set up more carefully, and the tents where the officers lived were even taller and more comfortable, and there were always a large group of converted Catholic servants who went in and out to serve the old lords. Sometimes there are "mistresses with the army" coming in and out, and it is not like they are here to fight, but like they are here for sightseeing.

However, this careless attitude has not affected the mercenaries of the New Spanish authorities in the past one or two hundred years, winning victory after victory - this is how cool it is to abuse vegetables! But when Geng Jingzhong crossed the sea and the city-state of Acapulco arose, the New Spanish colonial army would not be able to be put in order! The opponent is no longer the extremely weak Indian peasantry, but the heavily armed, well-trained, and morale-boosting American Republican Army!

The colonial veteran soldiers fought the Republican Army of the New World, how could this possibly win?

However, this newly established camp is deep and high, and it is tightly and strong. The tents in the camps were well arranged, and it was difficult to tell at a glance which camp belonged to the unit commander. The soldiers on patrol, no matter how hot and humid the weather was, were neatly dressed, carrying very well-maintained flintlock muskets, and marching with commands, meticulously guarding the patrol. Naturally, it has the air of a war-hardened veteran, and it doesn't look like the army of the Spanish New World colonies.

And the appearance of these meticulous Spanish soldiers is also very different from that of colonial mercenaries, in the words of later generations, that is, "it is a little incorrect", the whole army is white, not "Spanish white", but German "very white", the whole army is stunned that there is no mixed race, let alone Indians.

Such a "white" army, of course, could not be the army of the colonies of the New World, the colonial mercenaries were a hodgepodge, the senior officers were generally "first-class Peninsula white" (the "white generation" from Spain), the middle and lower officers were "second-class American white", and the soldiers were generally "third-class mixed blood is not too white", and sometimes a little fourth-class Indians would be caught as cannon fodder.

It is relatively easy to make up the number of such troops, but the problem of looseness and unevenness of the people is innate.

Especially in the case of the listing of the Aztec Republic and the tragic punishment of the Spanish royal family by the Catholic Church, those "second-class white", "third-class white" and "Indians" all had a second heart, and many of them became the internal response of the Aztec Republic.

So in the previous three encirclements, the mercenaries of New Spain were particularly vulnerable to ambushes and raids. This is mostly due to the fact that the enemy should master every move of the new Spanish army through the interior!

And this "special white army", which has already camped near the Chilpanzinger fortress, just 160 miles away from the port of Acapulco, with more than 10,000 people, does not seem to have been discovered by the Aztec Republic's side of the fine work!

The fortress of Chilpanzinger is now under the control of this "special white army", and the mercenaries of New Spain who were originally stationed here have been transferred when the vanguard of this "special white army" arrives, so they do not know how many "special white troops" have come. And the commander of this sudden arrival of the "special white army" turned out to be the Duke of Villahermosa, the commander-in-chief of the Spanish army in the New World today!

In the end, this duke has crossed the line with masters such as Grand Condé, Dureny, Duke of Luxembourg, and Marquis de Vauban on the European battlefield, although they are all defeated, but failure is success, hell!

After being taught to be a man by a group of famous French generals, the Duke of Villahermosa finally found a way to win the battle - cherish life and stay away from France!

Now that he's so far away from France, victory should be within reach, right?

The elderly Duke of Villahermosa was standing on the walls of the fortress with a few retinues at this time, looking at the gradually sinking slopes under his feet and the open plains in the distance, feeling the sea breeze blowing in the Pacific Ocean, recalling the classic battles he had participated in in the past few decades (the classics of Grand Condé, Drourenne, Duke of Luxembourg, and Marquis Vauban were classics), and looking for a sense of victory from them!

Suddenly, he heard the sound of hooves, and immediately his eyes widened subconsciously. His mind also returned to reality from the roundabout charge of the cavalry in the battle of Rockvaru.

Then he looked at it, and found that there were dozens of priests wearing robes and riding horses, and the first one was wearing a conspicuous red robe. Tang Dynasty. Sandoval too.

Although Catholicism was simply an accomplice in the Spanish conquest of the New World! But the power of religion is so magical, and now the bad guys in the New World are the Spaniards, not the Roman Church. Even if he didn't believe in the Father's righteousness at all, he had to support a Catholic worship of God, and at the same time as the Spanish royal family was executed, he came up with a "corrective decree" and falsely passed on the order of Pope Innocent XI in Rome to crown a cardinal archbishop.

And the transcendent status of the Catholic Church in the Spanish colonies in the New World also allowed the priests of the Catholic Church to go back and forth between the camps of the two sides, to mediate the conflict, to exchange what was going on - silver for silk, porcelain, etc., for prisoners.

Of course, the clergy sent by both sides will also make cameo spies to spy on each other's intelligence.

Standing on the city wall looking at Cardinal Juan. Tang Dynasty. Sandoval Pegasus arrives, and Duke Biahermosa knows that something must have happened in Acapulco. It is quite possible that the damned Aztec Republic has received reinforcements from the East again!

And there are quite a few of them!

The suspicions of the Duke of Villahermosa, who had been "anticipating" since he had been far from France, were soon confirmed.

"Duke. Oh no, the Ming Empire sent reinforcements to the Aztec Republic! ”

In the headquarters of the Chilpanzingh Fortress, the cardinal, who had rushed back from the dust, sat down and took a few breaths, and then said in an anxious and fast tone to Duke Biahermosa: "I am afraid that there are 15,000 reinforcements for 60 ships!" Geng Juyi has already said that he will attack the Mexican Valley next spring! ”

"Damn the Armada!" After listening to the cardinal's words, Duke Villahermosa immediately scolded. Scolded the Spanish Armada . The performance of this invincible armada is really very stable, after losing Britain to the Netherlands, after losing the Netherlands to France, now even the small matter of preventing the Ming Navy from transporting a large number of people to the New World cannot be done!

"Duke, now there are probably 30,000 enemies in Acapulco City, and our more than 10,000 people can't defeat them at all, so let's retreat!" This cardinal does not understand military affairs, he only knows that 30,000 is greater than 10,000, so the advantage is in the enemy.

"Can't be withdrawn!" Duke Villahermosa shook his head, "Now is the last chance to eliminate the Aztec Republic!" ”

"But. . . Enemy reinforcements have arrived! ”

Duke Villahermosa shook his head, "What if you arrive?" They have been dangling in the Pacific Ocean for at least two months! Most ordinary people could not afford to sail across the ocean for up to two months, and they had to go through a period of recuperation and recuperation before they could return to war. Our army came from Europe and only drifted at sea for a month, they were raised for half a month, and they trained for another month before recovering. Now for the Chinese, they will have at least three months to fully recover! If we march immediately, these people will not be able to go to the battlefield at all, and even if they barely go into battle, they will not be able to defeat my German mercenaries! ”

Seems to make sense!

Cardinal Juan. Tang Dynasty. Sandoval asked, "Shall we march right away?" It takes almost three days to get from here to Ciudad Acapulco. ”

Duke Villahermosa nodded and said, "Yes, we must march immediately!" Geng Juyi had defeated the mercenaries of the Viceroyalty of New Spain many times before, and he did not want his land to be ravaged by us. So when he finds out that we only have 10,000 men, he will definitely take the initiative so that we can defeat them in the field!

After that, even if we can't defeat Acapulco, we'll be able to destroy eleven other cities! Those cities had no walls at all, but they provided Acapulco with a lot of food and soldiers, and if they were to lose them, the republic would be ruined! ”

This commander-in-chief is really good, among the twelve city-states of the Aztec Republic, only Acapulco has a really strong city defense, and the other cities have no walls, which is called a city, but it is actually a small town, surrounded by large rural areas - the territory occupied by the current Aztec Republic is a narrow plain between the Southern Madre Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, this area is rich in rain and sunshine, and the climate is warm, which is very suitable for farming, driven by the Aztec Republic's policy of dividing land equally and supporting agriculture, Many thriving agricultural city-states emerged.

The Indians and Indo-European people from these city-states were more willing to serve as soldiers, so the army of the Aztec Republic had a large number of soldiers from these city-states, and once these city-states were lost, Acapulco would be in great danger!

Japan, Miura Peninsula, Yokosuka Port.

This small fishing port prospered at a speed visible to the naked eye after Japan joined the Eleven-Nation Alliance! Military ports, barracks, shipyards, arsenals, and a thriving castle town all rose at breakneck speed.

By 1682, the second year of Emperor Reigen's reign, it had become the largest barracks in Japan, and the garrison was much larger than Edo!

However, the nature of the army stationed in Yokosuka is a bit peculiar, not a complete Japanese army, nor a foreign mercenary, but a combination of the two. Or it can also become an "inter-state mercenary", that is, one country hires the army of another country to help it fight a war.

This kind of "mercenary between countries" is also quite common in Europe, and some unscrupulous German monarchs often do this kind of thing, forcing their subjects to serve as soldiers, and then taking them to fight for the rich countries of the Netherlands, England, and Spain. Most of the money earned belongs to themselves, and the people at the bottom can only get a few military salaries, and now this "mercenary between countries" system has been successfully introduced into Japan - this is also the first place in line with international standards after Japan's reform and opening of the country!

There are a total of three mercenaries organized according to this advanced international experience, one is the "Japanese mercenaries of the Great Qing Dynasty and the Dwarf Banner", which are now undergoing the test of the severe cold in Kharkov! the second is the "Japanese mercenaries of the Ming Nanyang Trading Company", who are now fighting in Luzon and malaria and their compatriots, another Japanese mercenary; The third was the "Spanish-Dutch Japanese mercenaries", some of whom went to Luzon, and the others were still at the Yokosuka camp.

And part of it, the 10th battalion of about 10,000 people, at this time was standing at the bottom of a hillside, shouting high cheers at Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the Japanese general of the Japanese army.

"Hey, hey. Roar. Hey, hey, hey! ”

Seeing that these ronin, who were originally short of food and clothing because they had no establishment and were lazy and unwilling to work, now not only were they well fed and warmly dressed, but they also became "temporary samurai", so they could get a good military salary and never trouble the shogunate again. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi finally smiled with satisfaction. Either way, he at least didn't have to worry about any trouble suddenly coming out of Edo Castle, where the ronin was gathered!

But these people seem to be going to be the rich coastal land of the Ming Dynasty! This one. It won't cause more trouble for Japan, right?

The shogunate elder Tokugawa Mitsukuni, who was standing beside him, seemed to have guessed Tsunayoshi's thoughts, so he came up and said, "Lord Gongkata, you can rest assured. The Ming will not go to war against us because the Spaniards have hired our ronin to attack their coasts! ”

"Mixi." The general was finally relieved.

And Tokugawa Mitsukuni then said: "Actually, they are already at war with us!" ”

"Already at war? How did I not know? Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was taken aback - he was the famous "Dog Gongfang" in history, he was not a Ming monarch, and he was not fat, so he didn't think about fighting with the Ming Dynasty at all.

Even Toyotomi Hideyoshi didn't do it, and he still wanted to conquer the Ming Dynasty?

Tokugawa Mitsukokushin said: Do you want to know that you still dare to be a public party? If you don't want to be a public party, how can I be a big guy? Kami-kun can say that I, the head of the Mito family, can only choose generals, not generals

"Gongfang, you don't have to worry, this is a world war, and Japan will inevitably be involved in it, either on the side of the Ming Dynasty or on the side of the enemies of the Ming Dynasty." Tokugawa Mitsukuni patiently explained, "But since we can't fit into the clan system dominated by the Ming Dynasty, it is an inevitable choice to be the enemy of the Ming Dynasty. Now that we can advance and retreat together with the other ten powers, we still have a big chance of winning. And all we need to pay is the lives of some worthless ronin. ”

In Tokugawa Mitsukoku's view, the biggest danger in Japan is that there are too many ronin, and no one can become a general, and it is impossible for so many ronin to become samurai.

And the tragic fate of the Japanese peasants made these ronins who were obviously not able to be samurai refuse to give up hope, so these ronins became a huge social problem, and they exploded when they accumulated to a certain extent.

Now that there is an outlet for catharsis, at least we can prevent Japanese society from blowing itself up - falling back into the fratricidal Warring States period.

As for how many ronins will die on the battlefield, it doesn't matter at all, because those people are superfluous to Japan.

Thinking of this, Tokugawa Mitsukuni said to Tokugawa Tsunamichi: "Lord Gongfang, letting them die overseas is actually the best choice, even if the Ming Dynasty wins in the end, as long as the Ming knows the bravery and fearlessness of my Japanese samurai, they will not invade rashly."

Besides, even if we don't do anything, the Ming Dynasty will not let us go when the time comes, this is the fate of Japan!

Moreover, the shipyards and arsenals here were all given by the Dutch, and with these things, Japan could slowly strengthen itself and be able to resist the Ming Dynasty in the future. ”

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi nodded, and finally made up his mind: "Big guy, I know what to do, now, you can say a few words for me." ”

"I said? But you're a public party! ”

"You say, you're an elder, you're very good at talking, and my throat is uncomfortable, ahem."

Seeing the general's painful expression, Tokugawa Mitsukuni had no choice but to raise his right hand just now to silence the people below, and then roared violently: "Gentlemen. His Majesty the Emperor has declared war on the Ming Empire and its vassal Korea!

Today, you will join the Spanish and Dutch warriors on an expedition to the Ming Dynasty! There are the richest towns, the weakest people, and the most useless officials."

(End of chapter)