Province of Sinaloa, Mazatlan, early morning on March 30, 1674 AD.
This small fishing port has now turned into a huge construction site! The New Zealand Army, which arrived here two days ago, seems to be working like crazy. They are either expanding the port, cutting down trees and building fortresses on the hills around Mazatlan Port, or building forts on the edge of the port. A castle was built on the flat land surrounded by a circle of hills.
Contrary to Don Juan Jose's expectation, Zhu Hehao had no intention of fighting a decisive battle with him. After Don Juan Jose's army could no longer move, his army continued to move south, only slowing down. They gained speed, and on March 28, they captured the fishing port of Mazatlan in the southern part of Sinaloa Province, which was not defended by regular troops at all, and then stayed there to start infrastructure construction.
The army of the local tyrant king is a "sporty civil engineering type"! Not only can they exercise, but they are also good at infrastructure construction - after all, the labor force here in the United States of New Zealand is relatively scarce, and it is difficult for the army to recruit workers to help them build houses and build fortresses, so they have to do the construction themselves. Over time, I developed my skills in infrastructure construction.
However, the rich king would not sit on a boat for thousands of miles for no reason, and then walk another fifteen or six hundred miles to come to this inconspicuous little fishing port to start construction. He doesn't have that much free time!
The reason why he went to Mazatlan to carry out construction work is that this small fishing port is only more than 600 miles away from the Zacatecas Province in the Kingdom of New Spain. Zacatecas is currently home to the largest silver mine in the world... and is the true core of the silver empire of New Spain!
If Don Juan Jose lost the silver mines in the province of Zacatecas, it would be questionable whether his New Kingdom of Spain could still exist!
So he didn't need to go to Don Juan Jose for a decisive battle. He only needed to capture Mazatlan Port and wait for Don Juan Jose to die on his own.
Then there will be no need to queue up and shoot... To be honest, Zhu Hehao doesn't like to queue up and shoot, because this method of playing will cause too much damage. If you win, you will kill 1,000 enemies and at least 500 self-loss. The United States of Xinzhou is not the Ming Dynasty. It has a population of 200 million and there are endless deaths no matter what. The United States of New Zealand has a total population of only 1 million, and most of the gun-toting mobs do not support Zhu Hehao.
The officers and soldiers of his First Army Division were all loyal royalists. Most of the officers and non-commissioned officers were from the Guards, Zhu Hehao's confidants brought from the Ming Dynasty. Most of the soldiers were from military households in the field, the children of the former military households in Dashun Prefecture who followed the local tyrant king across the sea.
If a large number of these people die in battle, the power foundation of the local tyrant king will be damaged!
Therefore, the wisest way to fight is to avoid decisive battles in the wild with great losses, and use tactics such as movement, raids, and fortress defenses to attack the enemy with less losses.
Of course, even if Don Juan Jose doesn't come to attack Mazatlan Port, it doesn't matter to the local tycoon. Because he captured a port that was only more than 600 miles away from the large silver mine in Zacatecas Province, which was a huge victory in itself - this stronghold was a springboard for attacking the large silver mine in Zacatecas!
Once the port expansion is completed, tens of thousands of troops can be transported to the port of Mazatlan by sea, and they can also be supplied by sea.
Moreover, the smell of silver is sweet enough, and it will definitely attract a large amount of capital and mercenaries. As long as you guard this stronghold, the local tyrant king will have a huge bargaining chip!
The wealthy king, who had not slept for several days and nights, had red eyes, a deep beard, and tanned skin. He looked not wealthy at all, but a bit like a pirate and bandit.
He is currently sitting with Feng Xin in a large house (the kind with a roof) in a knight's manor, listening to several staff reports on the progress of the construction and the situation detected by the Black Lancers in the surrounding area.
"Your Majesty, in five days at most, the port expansion of Baiyin Port can be completed, the port fortress can also be completed, and all 12 forts on the surrounding hills can be built. Although they are all made of earth, wood and sandbags, their defensive capabilities are still It’s guaranteed!”
"Ye Bu Shu spread out for 200 miles along the coastline. Several warships were stationed along the coast of Xizhou, but no New Spanish army was found."
"The communication ship from Guacheng Port arrived in the early morning and reported the battle situation on the northern front. The Qing army had occupied Guasavi Castle and renamed it Xizhou City. In addition, the Qing army did not find the Spanish Where to go..."
Zhu Hehao nodded with satisfaction. So far, this battle is 70% to 80% won! Although there was no serious fight with Don Juan Jose, no one stipulated that the war must end with mountains of corpses and seas of blood!
Moreover, here in Xinzhou Continent, there are few people and vast land. Fighting with strength and fighting mobile warfare must be the norm. An army that cannot run will have no way to seize the initiative. And for an army without initiative, whether to fight or not to fight is up to people!
On the contrary, an army that can run can definitely choose a battlefield that satisfies itself.
For example, Mazatlan Port, which has been renamed Silver Port, is a battlefield that makes Zhu Hehao very satisfied! The surrounding terrain is a circle of hills surrounding a piece of flat land, with a piece of flat land missing to form a harbor.
The port is not very big, but it is adequate. The flat land is not very wide, but it is possible to build a castle. The surrounding mountains are not steep, but they are convenient for building forts and strongholds.
When the forts, fortresses, and ports are all completed, the local tyrant king will have a firm foothold in Baiyin Port. As for when Don Juan Jose comes to fight, he is sure of winning.
If Don Juan Jose doesn't come, it doesn't matter... In a few years, the local tycoon king will join forces with King Qing to go to Zacatecas Province to grab the silver mines - of course, it must take a few years !
We have to wait for King Qing to establish a firm foothold in Suozhou, Xizhou, and Nazhou, and at the same time, we have to wait for Silver Harbor to develop well... If we really want to capture the silver mines in Zacatecas Province, we don't have tens of thousands of soldiers. The army has been fighting continuously for a year and a half, and it is impossible to win under any circumstances.
So you can’t rush this matter!
Zhu Hehao turned to Feng Xin and said: "It seems that Don Juan Jose will not come for the time being... He lost another round! But this time he is better than the one in the Flood Valley. Come to attack Baiyin Port, and there is no need to go to Xizhou City to trouble King Qing."
"Your Majesty," Feng Xin said thoughtfully, "I estimate that he has already returned to Zacatecas Province to set up defenses... It is a wise and prudent approach to establish a defensive position first to ensure that we are undefeated, and then to make progress."
Zhu Hehao smiled and said: "He is so old, so of course he has to be more cautious... But I am still young, and I have plenty of time to wait, so I can always get the money."
Feng Xin thought for a while and asked again: "Your Majesty, this Baiyin Port...will not be handed over to Prince Qing?"
Zhu Hehao snorted: "What kind of friendship is there? Isn't the land of Qing, Suo, Xi, and Na states enough? We have contributed so much to this battle, is it wrong to use him for a port?"
Feng Xin smiled and said: "Of course we should take it! There is still not enough to take. According to my wishes, Colima and Acapulco in the south should also be taken. In this way, your Majesty, you can set up a fiefdom in the south. The country is over..."
Zhu Hehao waved his hand, "Whether you want to take Colima and Acapulco or not, you have to discuss it with King Qing. But there is no need to establish a feudal state... Silver Port, Colima Port, Acapulco It would be enough to make both Kota Kinabalu and Hong Kong a free city. The lonely king is satisfied if he can make money, and he doesn’t want to build any feudal state. It’s a headache for the entire United States, so how about a few more?”
He really meant what he said. Mobs with guns are too difficult to serve!
The United States alone made his scalp numb. If he did something beyond his reach, he would be asking for trouble.
And the power he has at hand is too limited and cannot be dispersed! If they are concentrated in the United States, the situation can be suppressed. Otherwise, once the United States changes, everything will be lost.
He thought for a while and then said to Feng Xin: "It is impossible for a lonely king to stay in Baiyin Port for a long time. There is another sentence in the north! You will serve as the governor of Baiyin Port for one term and leave you with 3,000 people to defend the city. Are you sure?"
