February 19, Pu'an Harbor (present-day Ensenada, Baja California Peninsula).

As the battleship "Kawa" slowly sailed into the harbor, a clever dock worker firmly caught the rope thrown by the sailor and immediately tethered it firmly to the stake.

"What's on board?"

"In addition to some wheat and wood, there are tea, spices, cane sugar, cotton cloth, and hardware tools and farm tools." Looking at the eager-eyed dock manager in front of him, Zhao Huiqing, the order officer of the Feather and Captain Renyong (lieutenant), responded with a smile: "Lao Liu, look at your appearance, do you want something special?" ”

"Is there alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, cocoa? And what about all kinds of canned fruits and meats? ”

Upon arrival at Huining Island (present-day Vancouver Island), a large quantity of coal and timber was shipped to Xuanzhou. He then brought some wheat and rice from Huaiyuan City to the Xuanzhou Peninsula (present-day Baja California Peninsula) to deliver food to several coastal settlements.

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It is also sad and inexplicable, since the arrival of the Han people more than ten years ago, with their sharp firearms and highly mobile horses, they quickly established their power in the region, and encircled the most fertile coastal plains, driving all their Indian tribes to the inland desert areas.

The Spaniards were jealous and annoyed by this.

If there were no high allowances for going to sea, or war allowances and captures at sea, the salaries of officers and men would not even be as good as those of those who had just joined the work for two or three years in the country.

In that year, after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the two countries signed the Treaty of Madrid alone, and originally Qi wanted to cede the Isthmus of Panama in order to control this strategic place connecting the northern and southern continents and the two oceans.

As for the west coast of the Americas, since the two Qixi wars, some of the larger towns and ports have been equipped with a number of artillery batteries to prevent them from being easily landed and captured by the enemy again. Although it may not be able to withstand a large-scale army attack, it is still quite powerful to deal with one hundred and eighty pirates.

Ten days ago, an expedition of five people was attacked by the local Peta tribe in the mountains more than forty kilometers southwest of Yongtai Fort, and two of them were unfortunately captured.

Decades ago, the whole of California was the territory of our Kingdom of Spain, but apart from the establishment of a few dozen missions, there was little action, neither immigration, nor any attempt to explore and exploit, and let it sleep there.

The warriors of the tribe hung their heads and mourned in silence for their fallen comrades.

If Qi occupies the Isthmus of Panama, how will our Kingdom of Spain transfer gold and silver!

Originally, with the intention of the old chief, he would not get involved in the conflict between the Peta tribe and the Han people, so as not to cause a big vendetta between the two tribes. Therefore, in the face of the request of the Hanzhou people, they were politely refused.

Since the end of the Second Qixi War, the Weiyi Squadron has basically not carried out any decent military operations except for routine patrols of the Weiyi Islands and the west coast of Yinzhou, and even small-scale operations such as fighting pirates have been pitiful.

But they never thought that after the Qi people occupied it, they either found a huge amount of gold, or discovered a rich salt mine, and picked up this wealth in vain.

So, Fort Yongtai decided to spend a small amount of money to buy off the neighboring Guaykula and let them send out tribal warriors to rescue them.

The "Free Trade Agreement of the Americas" signed by the two countries has an "agreed" import and export tariff of only a pitiful 3%-5%, which is almost negligible for the lucrative maritime trade. In this situation, whether it was the merchant ships of the Qi State or the Luzon and Weiguo merchant ships bearing the name of the Qi State, they were not uncommon to engage in smuggling, and all of them sailed directly and openly into the ports of the Pacific coast of the Spanish Americas, or through the territory of Yinzhou under the Qi State and then re-exported to Spanish territory.

It can be said that as long as the people of Qi are willing to gather tens of thousands of elite troops at a huge cost, they can sweep through the whole of Mexico and turn this territory named New Spain into their New Han Continent!

In that case, don't fight the Qi people and throw the entire Baja California Peninsula and the territory west of the Colorado River to them, hoping to satisfy their greedy appetite a little.

Not to mention, Qi and Spain also built a small joint fleet, with six or seven professional warships, cruising the coast of the Americas from time to time, which made those pirates even more discouraged.

Then, this rash attack was met with complete failure. On the way, they met the shepherds of the Peta tribe and quickly ran back to the camp to inform them of the impending attack of the enemy.

When the warships set out from Weiyi Island, they would help the sugar factory on the island to transport some cane sugar, or carry some fruits and canned fish for the cannery, and then transport it to the mainland of Yinzhou.

One is the whale resources that swim here.

"Ahh Zhao Huiqing took a sip with a smile, and saw that the two commanders on the ship were about to walk down the gangway, approached him, and whispered: "At night, take people to the ship to see the goods according to the old rules." …… Don't forget to bring enough money! Gold Yuan coupons and Yinzhou silver coins are acceptable. ”

But who would have thought that Kwana, the son of the chieftain in the name of bravery and good at war, coveted the gifts of the Han people, and was even more indignant at his father's cowering and refusal to fight, so one night, he encouraged more than fifty warriors in the tribe to quietly leave the tribal camp and go to the depths of the desert to launch a surprise attack on the Peta tribe.

But there are always unlucky people who fall into their hands by plotting or raiding by the natives who are getting smarter and smarter.

But it now seems that the act of eliminating the antagonism is no longer an act. With so many tribal warriors dead, the hatred between the two tribes has deepened even further.

None of this would have happened without the instigation of the Han people. This is despite the fact that many years ago, the two sides fought for land and water, and there were many armed conflicts, and there were constant disputes and bitter grievances. However, for the long-term development of the tribe, the "coyote head", as the chief, still eased the relationship with the Peta tribe to a certain extent in the face of the pressure of the Hanzhou people.

Every spring and summer, a large number of gray whales, seals and sea lions gather in the waters of the lagoon in the middle of the peninsula, so that many Qi whaling ships come to hunt whales and seals and other large marine animals that migrate there, and then boil whale oil, peel seal skin, process whale meat, make whale baleen products, and then sell them to the territory of the Americas and Mexico.

The tribes of the southern plains obtained horses not only from wild herds, but also by raiding the Spanish territory of Mexico. By the beginning of the century, horses were owned by tribes in the arid southwestern and southern plains, and soon later in the plains further north.

But how could Spain give up this crucial territory?!

For example, the Ryukyu Fleet and the Luzon Fleet, although they have rarely experienced major naval battles, their stations and cruising waters are in the Nanyang region and the coast of the mainland, where the routes are extremely busy, and whether it is providing escort services for merchant ships, inspecting smuggling, or even helping the navies of vassal countries to guide and train, they can get enough oil and water, and seek many benefits for the many naval officers and men under their jurisdiction.

As for the investigation of smuggling at sea, forget it, there is still no need to do it.

Unwilling to lose their land and water, the indigenous tribes immediately launched counterattacks, frequently using complex geographical environments to attack the Qi people who explored or established settlements deep inland.

Wouldn't it be better to waste the Navy's precious military strength in such "nothing" sea areas, and let a group of Navy officers and sailors lie on the beach of Weiyi Island with nothing to do and bask in the sun, right?

Not only has the number of ships and officers and men been repeatedly reduced, but even the daily maintenance costs of the fleet have been reduced to a minimum, with the result that the officers and men of the fleet have hardly any "welfare."

In this situation, the contradictions between tribes and tribes should actually be put aside, and it is necessary to unite all the Indians and unite with the outside world, and drive the Hanzhou people out of their homeland first.

In fact, as early as more than 200 years ago, before Europeans came to the American continent, most of the Indians living in this vast land were warrior societies and pursued the law of the jungle. In order to compete for land and resources, they will often go to war with neighboring tribes, destroy each other as much as possible, and obtain everything from each other.

But what business can the Weiyi Squadron do?

As a result, the Spaniards ceded the larger, but almost non-productive Baja California Peninsula to the Qi in exchange for returning Panama City, which they had occupied for two years.

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However, even if the Qi people did not occupy the Baja California Peninsula, could they not threaten Mexico?

With the weak naval strength of our Spain, where can we compete with the Qi people on the Pacific side!

During the two Qi-Western Wars, dozens of warships of the Qi people were still in a no-man's land, wantonly attacking ports and towns on the Pacific coast of Spanish America, and even frequently choosing places with weak defenses to launch landing operations.

I thought it was remote and barren, and it didn't have much value, but the Spaniards didn't have much in their hearts.

But hundreds of thousands of years of tribal vendetta can not be said to be put down.

In a valley more than 30 kilometers southeast of Fort Yongtai on the Xuanzhou Peninsula (the capital of present-day Baja California Sur, Mexico), the chief of the Guaykula tribe, the "Coyote Head," held his son's blood-stained leather robe and howled in the sky.

Of course, some people fear that the Qi people may rely on this barren peninsula to threaten the security of all of Mexico.

However, considering that the Peta tribe is far inland and its own strength is limited, there are only more than 120 young immigrants, and if they attack rashly, if they do not save them, but their homes are stolen, it will be more than worth the loss.

However, relying on the mountains and the water, the Weiyi Detachment can still engage in some "side jobs" and seek some benefits for the officers and men under its jurisdiction by relying on its only few warships.

"See who can afford a higher price, sell it to whomever you want! Alas, in such a remote place, there is hardly any valuable material output, and if you don't think about finding some income, I'm afraid you won't even be able to support your family. ”

A few days ago, the Hanzhou people living by the sea sent several buckets of dried fish, two bags of salt, and three or five steel knives to the tribe, asking them to carry out a surprise attack on the Peta tribe deep in the desert and rescue the two kidnapped Han hostages.

In order to obtain the iron weapons of the Han people, or to have a musket, or because of the wine and salt provided by the Han people, the various tribes would be agitated into a fierce battle.

After escaping back to Yongtai Fort, the explorers reported the news to local officials, hoping to save their compatriots.

Could it be that the people of Qi are God's favorites?

——

"No, they are not messengers sent from heaven, they are all demons, evil invaders."

Not to mention whether it can successfully pass through the Strait of Magellan, which is controlled by Qingguo, even if it can enter the Pacific Ocean, it may not have a chance to capture a merchant ship in such a vast area. Even if you are lucky enough to catch a merchant ship, there are still temporary supply and docking islands in the Pacific Ocean where you can rest.

"Why, do you want to go back to the indigenous tribes of the interior, or do you want to cross the Jinsha River and get it to the Spaniards in Mexico?"

Salt and whale oil.

Unexpectedly, this thing was not done, but caused the Guaykula people to lose a lot of valuable tribal warriors, which made the Qi people of Yongtai Fort feel a little unhappy.

The Qi people are not only strong at sea, but their army is also very capable of fighting, often hundreds or thousands of troops, can defeat the colonial army of Spanish America several times their own.

In the whole region, the conflicts between many tribes became more and more intense and frequent after the Han people came, and the battle process became more and more bloody and tragic.

Although the salary of Qi soldiers is a first-class treatment among the navies of various countries, compared with the growing salary level in China, it has long lost its competitiveness and superiority.

Stimulated by the Xuanzhou and Huining gold mines, many adventurers who wanted to win the fortunes of the heavens and the riches braved the danger, either in groups or alone, to explore the interior of this newly occupied territory, hoping to discover gold mines and realize their dream of becoming rich overnight.

In the vast Pacific Ocean, almost all of the key islands that can be used as sea supplies are occupied by the Qi State, and the remaining scattered islands are also divided between Luzon and Wei Guo, so those pirates who want to do something are reluctant to come and run business.

Spanish explorers in the 16th century brought horses to North America, and the Spanish who settled in northern Mexico brought with them large quantities of horses, some of which ran away and roamed the southwest.

When these people encounter the Indians of the interior, with the exception of a few lucky people who are very lucky enough to be received by the natives, most of them usually engage in fierce armed conflict because of their language barrier and their own armed forces.

Who knows, the people of Qi seem to have been born with the ability to turn decay into magic, and soon excavated two "gold mines" from this barren peninsula.

The second is the salt resources in the central part of the peninsula.

The Qi people discovered an open-pit salt mine with rich reserves there, so they immigrated to build a salt castle (now the town of Guerrero Negro), and opened up a huge salt factory, which could boil and refine hundreds of tons of high-quality salt every day, in addition to supplying hundreds of thousands of people in the entire Qi territory and the Weiyi Islands, and also sold to the Spaniards in Mexico and Central and North America.

You must know that the silver mines of Peru were first transported to Panama City on the Pacific coast by armed merchant ships, and then crossed the isthmus by pack horses and carts to Colón on the Caribbean coast, and then loaded on ships, stopped in Cuba, and finally joined up with a large fleet of merchant ships, crossed the Atlantic, and returned to Spain.

This is also the main reason why the Weiyi detachment has been weakened again and again.

The whole peninsula is full of mountains, twisting coasts, few rivers, and a hot and arid climate, and apart from the Indians who have fled to this place, there are few of God's people, and it is not a pity to lose them to the Qi people.

The Baja California Peninsula is located between the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean, bordering the territory of Xuanzhou, extending more than 1,200 kilometers from northwest to southeast, 50 kilometers to 250 kilometers wide, and covering an area of more than 100,000 square kilometers.

The Peta tribe gathered more than 200 warriors and launched a continuous counterattack and pursuit against the warriors of the Guaykula tribe who came to raid them, and after a day and night of fleeing, only eleven of them finally returned to the tribe. The chief's most beloved son was also stoned to death on the way, and only a leather robe was hastily taken off by his companions and brought back.

The old chief's cry, in addition to expressing his deepest hatred for the Peta tribe, was more about expressing endless resentment towards the Han people who tempted the tribe's warriors to rashly attack.

When the tribes of the Great Plains acquired horses, their way of life changed dramatically.

In general, the explorers were able to escape the hunt-and-gather primitive tribes of the hunter-gatherer stage with the swiftness of the horses.

When the Qi people expanded south from Huaiyuan Bay (present-day San Francisco Bay), horses, cattle and sheep carried by immigrants also flowed sporadically into the Xuanzhou Peninsula. After the Qi State officially occupied the peninsula, in order to provide a safe and stable public security environment for the immigrants, the Xuanzhou Governorate successively mobilized several rounds of township soldiers to clear and drive out the Indian tribes who did not submit to the king.

So what is there to carry on the barren Xuanzhou Peninsula?

Immediately, they sent twenty sharp steel knives and three muskets to the tribe.

Well, there is revenge, there is revenge, there is revenge, I have sent you guys, go and destroy the murderous Peta tribe.

(End of chapter)