Mexico City, Grand Palace.
Don Juan José had been standing in front of the huge map hanging in his office for several hours, from afternoon until dark. One of his secretaries was holding a candlestick and lighting it for him, so that the most outstanding military strategist in contemporary Spain could find ways to defeat the enemy from the picture in front of him.
It’s really painful to think about it! How powerful was Spain, favored by God, back then? Holding the crown of two continents, it is an empire on which the sun never sets, and it is the hegemon of both sea and land. There is an invincible fleet at sea, a Spanish phalanx on land, good generals and famous marshals, not to mention clouds and seas, they are also in groups.
It's good now, only one Don Juan Jose is struggling to support it... From the European continent to the New World, in such a large empire, he seems to be the only one who can fight.
And this Don Juan Jose who can fight actually doesn’t have any outstanding records...
Don Juan Jose didn't know that his secretary was doubting his military ability-his military ability was beyond doubt. In fact, he had already made the right decision regarding the possible invasion of Sonora Province. deployment.
Count Iturbide's three to four hundred knights would not be able to defeat the Japanese of the Kingdom of Jiaqing no matter what - those knights were all Indo-European mixed race, and had never seen bloody battles on the European battlefields. At most, they were in New Zealand. Spain fought against the Indians, and not against the Apaches in the north, but against the Indians who grew corn...
As for the militiamen recruited by the knights from the Indian serfs, they basically had no combat effectiveness. They only joined the army so that they could do less farm work and have enough to eat at the same time.
But Don Juan José, who had outstanding military talents, formulated a very simple response plan for the somewhat simple-minded Count Iturbide...burn down the towns where grain was stored, and then bring the whites and mixed-race whites with him. Just run away to Puerto Guaymas!
There is a strong fortress there, and the navy can be supported at any time... Even if the navy is unable to support it, there is no problem in holding the fortress in Puerto Guaymas for a month or two, and victory will definitely be achieved by then.
Because it is impossible for the Japanese who came from afar to carry heavy artillery and walk that far to Puerto Guaymas. It would not be fast to walk and run. It would take three or four months to walk from San Diego to Puerto Guaymas? What do they eat? Nibble on cacti in the Sonoran Desert?
The correct plan had already been given to Count Iturbide, but after learning that the Jiaqing Kingdom's army was invading, this idiot took all 300 knights he could muster and headed north to fight without thinking.
And what's worse is that the idiot earl was led into an ambush by the red lancers of the Qing Dynasty. Among the 300 knights and himself, a total of 301 people were killed, 295 of them, including himself... ...In the end, only 6 were left and ran back.
At this time, the entire Sonora Province was completely paralyzed. Not only did it no longer have the military power to confront the invading enemy forces, it also lost the administrative ability to organize retreats and burn towns and important supplies... In feudalism Under the system, the military and administration were basically integrated, and the knight who died inexplicably in battle controlled hundreds of manors. It was through them that Count Iturbide's administrative orders were conveyed to the various estates. As soon as these people died, the administration of the province of Sonora was completely paralyzed.
Many estates only knew that the damn war had come when the enemy arrived at their doorstep, and before that, the people living there were not mentally prepared at all - why Sonora? There are only deserts and cacti here, so why are so many Gyeongju troops coming here? This is what Don Juan Jose wants to understand at this moment!
They clearly have control of the sea, and they also have a large fleet in the Golden Gate Bay... But why not use the large fleet to transport the army directly to Colima, Guerrero or Acapulco?
Isn’t it much closer to march to the Valley of Mexico from there? Moreover, the logistical pressure of marching by water is not that great. There will be an entire fleet to help transport food, so there will be no problems at all.
But why didn't they take the sea route?
While Don Juan Jose was confused, there was a knock on the door of the office, and then he heard De Bescola's voice: "Your Highness the Regent, De Bescola wants to see you."
"Come in, come in quickly!"
De Bescola was now also a count, and was sealed in the Valley of Mexico. He was previously sent to Europe by Don Juan Jose to mobilize reinforcements, and reached an agreement with Louis XIV to jointly oppose the Ming Empire. After returning to New Spain, he was put into a position of great importance and became the Admiralty Minister of the Kingdom of New Spain.
But now on the Pacific side, the Kingdom of New Spain no longer has a navy...at most it can only send some privateers. However, since the Ming Dynasty's large fleet was still in Kinmen Bay, privateers did not dare to approach the coastline. In the vast Pacific, it is not easy to encounter a fleet suitable for robbery - privateers usually wait near enemy ports or important straits, rather than wandering around the ocean. These days, without satellites or radar, it is very difficult to search for targets in the ocean with just a monocular telescope.
Therefore, the privateers de Bescola sent out had no results. When he walked into the regent's office and was still thinking about how to explain it to Don Juan Jose, the regent of New Spain had already been thrown to him. An urgent military report was sent.
"You are a China expert, look what's going on here?"
Debescola took the military newspaper, read it, and took a breath: "How is this possible? How could they..."
Don Juan Jose looked at De Bescola, "My Lord of the Navy, I need a reasonable explanation!"
"This..." De Bescola groaned for a while, "If this news is accurate, then I think King Jiaqing is making a huge gamble!"
"A big gamble?"
"Yes! I bet on the fate of Jiaqing Kingdom!"
Don Juan Jose didn't understand, "Why would he do this?"
“Because he was originally a gambler!” De Bescola said, “It was because he lost all the Ming Emperor’s pension money by participating in stock speculation in Shanghai that he had to go to the New World to try his luck.
Later, he used himself as a bet and deceived the heiress of the Shimadzu family, and then became the winner of the Battle of Flood River Valley! "
"But this time he obviously doesn't have to gamble!" Don Juan Jose said, "Isn't there a safer route of advance?"
"Yes," De Bescola thought for a while and said, "But he...has always had a conflict of interest with the King of the United States!"
"Isn't he the uncle of the King of the United States?"
"That's right!" De Bescola said, "This is the source of the conflict... King Jiaqing is also qualified to ascend the throne of the United States!"
"What?" Don Juan Jose was stunned, "Does the King of the United States have no son?"
"Yes, many!" De Bescola said, "But the laws of succession of the Easterners are different from ours. In their eyes, it is legal for an uncle to seize the throne of his nephew by force!"
"Really?" Don Juan Jose thought to himself: Is it legal in the eyes of Easterners for an illegitimate brother to seize the throne of a fool brother?
“As far as I know, the relationship between the King of United States and King Kaqing has always been relatively cold,” De Bescola said. “There are also rumors that the King of United States and King Kaqing’s personal Shimazu Noyoshi are very close...
In addition, the Kingdom of Jiaqing was actually a colonial country established by the Japanese... although King Jiaqing was the prince of the Ming Dynasty. The United States is a colonial country established by the Ming Dynasty, so the relationship between Jiaqing and the United States is not as good as it seems on the surface. "
Don Juan Jose seemed to understand a little bit, "You mean, the King of United States was unwilling to use the navy to help King Jiaqing, so he had to risk marching by land?"
"It should be like this..." De Bescola, "Your Highness the Regent, I think we should concentrate our forces and first defeat the Jiaqing army in the direction of Sonora!"
