Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 135: What Happened at Shixing Fort (Continued)
"One two one, one two one..."

"Look forward! ..."

"To the left!……"

"Hold the gun!"

"aim!"

"shooting!"

"..."

In the drying yard of Shixing Fort, several militia teams are conducting their annual winter military training under the leadership of instructors.

The temperature in early December has dropped below zero. Although it has not snowed yet, the trees, houses, and haystacks are covered with frost. The cold air makes people feel a chill all over their bodies.

But in the drying yard, the trained militiamen held wooden sticks and, under the instructions of the instructors, constantly changed their formations, practiced various formations, and simulated musket shooting movements.

On the outskirts of Shixing Fort, bursts of shouting and explosions from musketry could be heard from time to time, and faint white smoke rose in the air.

"Captain, are the Chinese going to turn all the people here into soldiers?" Francisco Dinock Vares, the first mate of the Oriental Hope, wrapped in a thick fur coat, looked at the bustling "training ground" in the distance with a surprised expression on his face.

"Oh, the Spaniards are in Mexico not far to the south, which must make them feel very insecure. That's why they mobilized all residents to conduct military exercises during their free time in winter." Captain Nolonha rubbed his hands hard, which were frozen stiff, but he was still reluctant to look away.

It’s true that the Chinese military drills were quite professional. Not only did the troops march in an orderly manner, but the drills were full of vigor and the slogans were shouted very loudly, just like a real army.

Look, early in the morning, loud slogans one after another woke them up from their wonderful dreams.

At first, the Portuguese were a little confused and even a little frightened.

Could it be that some external force is attacking, so they are starting to mobilize and assemble armed forces to deal with it?

Or, are they preparing to send troops to attack the Indian tribes inland?
With a bit of curiosity, Captain Nolonya got out of the warm bed, wrapped himself in thick winter clothes, and walked in the direction of the sound.

Then he saw militia teams lined up on the dam field used for drying grain.

The militiamen first ran seven or eight laps around the dam to warm up their bodies. After stretching their muscles, they began to repeatedly march in formation, turn, and simulate firing with muskets.

It can be seen that the Chinese people are very serious in their training. The military instructors yell loudly, and the militiamen try their best to follow the requirements and perform each action meticulously.

Judging from the Portuguese perspective, the actions of these militias were not standardized and there was some gap between their performance and that of regular troops.

But when these many militiamen gathered together, they looked extremely powerful, and coupled with the deafening shouts, they gave people the feeling of a vast army.

"Captain, if the Spaniards attack, can they resist?" asked Vares.

"Whether they can hold out depends on the Spanish's resolve and the strength of the forces they mobilize," Captain Noronha thought for a moment and said, "If the Spanish only send two or three armed warships and a few hundred soldiers, it will be difficult to defeat these Chinese. They might even suffer heavy losses!"

"But if they mobilize a dozen warships and more than two thousand soldiers, they might be able to annihilate the island in one fell swoop. Although, I don't know the exact number of the Chinese people currently, but I guess they shouldn't be that many. Even if you include the Indians, there are no more than three thousand at most."

"So, as you just asked, in order to cope with a possible Spanish invasion, they had to train all the residents here into soldiers, thereby using their absolute numerical advantage to repel the incoming enemy."

"Given the same number of troops, these militias shouldn't be able to deal with the regular troops sent by the Spanish, right?"

"Dear Vares, do you think the Spanish soldiers in the Americas are more capable than their European counterparts?"

"Over the years, the Kingdom of Spain was involved in one war after another, and its European troops were certainly much more powerful than those stationed in its American colonies."

"Yes, since the combat effectiveness of the Spanish troops stationed in the American colonies is quite limited, how much military advantage can they gain against the equally ineffective Chinese?" "But, Captain, the Spanish have been operating in the Americas for nearly a hundred years. They have deep roots and are formidable. Even if their army is not very effective, I'm afraid the Chinese won't be able to resist them with just a little mobilization."

"Well, you're right," Captain Nolonha said. "But the question is, how much force will the Spanish mobilize to destroy these Chinese? I suspect, given their arrogance, they probably won't mobilize too many warships and soldiers."

"In other words, if the Spanish discovered their existence, they would most likely only send a limited force to destroy them?"

"War costs money," Captain Nolonha smiled. "I doubt the Spanish colonial authorities in America have the financial resources to launch a large-scale, long-distance expedition. This place is probably four or five hundred leagues from Mexico. It would certainly take a lot of effort for the Spanish to invade."

"But, to maintain their dignity and honor, the Spanish will definitely send troops to expel or exterminate the Chinese here, right, Captain?" Vares said gloatingly. "But if the Spanish are defeated by the Chinese, won't they embezzle a large amount of gold and silver that should have been shipped back to Europe and use it against the Chinese instead?"

"Haha..." Captain Nolonha laughed heartily. "What you're describing is very likely to happen. The arrogant Spanish will not tolerate failure, let alone allow a group of pagans to invade their sacred and inviolable American colonies."

"Well, if the Chinese can hold the Spanish back and attract their attention, they won't devote their extra energy to our Kingdom of Portugal. So, we might as well send more Ming immigrants to the Chinese to strengthen their resistance."

"Captain..." Vares hesitated, then said, "If the Spanish knew that we once helped these Chinese people transport immigrants, would it anger them?"

"When the King of Spain imposed high taxes on us Portuguese in response to the endless wars, did they ever consider that this would irritate us?" Captain Noronha said disdainfully. "When the Dutch besieged the Trench, Manila chose to stand by and watch us suffer huge losses. Did they ever consider that this would irritate us?"

"Hmph, although we are under the rule of the same king, the Spanish have never considered us Portuguese as their own people. In their eyes, Portugal is nothing more than a tax-paying territory, allowing them to exploit our wealth. If it weren't for Spain, why would the Dutch repeatedly attack our many colonial territories?"

Since the independence of the Netherlands began with the war against Spain, which coincided with the merger of Spain and Portugal, the Dutch's revenge against Spain was first directed at the weak target - Portugal.

In recent decades, after figuring out the Portuguese's overseas intelligence and shipping secrets, the Dutch began to attack their colonies in the Americas and Asia.

In fact, in the early days, the relationship between the Portuguese and the Dutch was quite close, and they had a sweet "underground love affair".

At that time, the Portuguese were angry about the Spanish plundering of their country's wealth, so they secretly traded with the Dutch to balance the Spanish power.

Before the two sides turned against each other and started fighting, Dutch merchants controlled two-thirds of the trade volume between Europe and Portuguese Brazil. Most Brazilian goods, such as mahogany, sugar, cotton, etc., had to pass through Lisbon and Porto and be transported to the Baltic region by Dutch merchant ships.

Brazil also exported large quantities of linen and textiles that were urgently needed in the Netherlands, which greatly promoted the development of Dutch industry and commerce.

With the assistance of a large number of Protestants exiled by the Portuguese, the Dutch easily understood the hydrology and geography of the Brazilian coastline and had a general understanding of the Portuguese's strength in Brazil.

In 1621, under pressure from the Spanish royal family and government, the Portuguese Brazilian colonial authorities began to ban Dutch trade in Brazil, thus triggering the first Brazilian colonial war.

Of course, it is not ruled out that the Dutch covet Brazil's wealth.

In 1624, the Dutch West India Company sent troops to capture Bahia, the capital of Portuguese Brazil, causing panic across the Iberian Peninsula.

Fearing that the Dutch would become more aggressive and continue to threaten silver-rich Peru and gold-rich Yucatán Peninsula, Spain organized a Spanish-Portuguese coalition force in April 1625 to launch a massive counterattack. They quickly drove out the Dutch and conquered Bahia.

However, in the East, the Portuguese were "run" by the Dutch to the point of collapse, losing one colonial territory after another, and also losing their most important money bag - the Spice Islands.

The Dutch even besieged Aegean several times and had their eyes on the colonial territories of Malacca, Ceylon and Portuguese India, as if they were determined to completely drive the Portuguese forces out of the East.

In this situation, the Portuguese not only hated the annoying Dutch, but were also very dissatisfied with the Spanish.

It's all you Spaniards who brought this disaster upon ourselves. We're in dire straits by following the Spaniards!
"So, I think, no, all of us Portuguese have reason to believe that only by getting rid of the Spanish shackles and regaining our former independence can our Kingdom of Portugal be reborn."

"Since the Spanish, due to their own stupidity and arrogance, have caused trouble one after another, let us add another trouble to them and keep them trapped in a situation from which they cannot extricate themselves."

"Perhaps, after all these troubles have completely worn them down, I think that when our Kingdom of Portugal is ready to secede from Spain in the future, they will no longer be able to stop or interfere."

(End of this chapter)