"Leon is under siege! The city of Guadalajara has been relieved, the Mexica Valley is still at a stalemate, the Zacatecas Silver Mine... the Duke of Lorraine's people have finally arrived there!"
By the dim light of a whale oil lamp produced by the Crystal Palace, Emperor Leopold, with red eyes and frowning, looked at the map that had just been hung up in an office in Chapultepec Castle.
While watching, he was muttering in a low voice.
The commander of Mexico City's defense, Count Stallenberg, was dressed in a military uniform and a wig. He stood upright behind His Majesty the Emperor. The expression on his face was highly consistent with the Emperor's - they all looked anxious!
Now, the hotspot areas on the map have changed from the previous three to four, namely the Mexica Valley, around the city of Leon, around the city of Guadalajara, and around the Zacatecas Silver Mine.
Among them, the situation in the Mexica Valley is still the same, with a stalemate in the city and outside. Emperor Leopold and the Spanish Imperial Army who were guarding Mexico City refused to leave the city for a decisive battle, and King Montezuma's tiger soldiers were unable to attack the city. They only smashed churches outside the city, destroyed the estates of Spanish nobles, and divided the fields. They used local methods to mobilize the poor and lower-middle peasants of the Indians who were oppressed by the Spaniards.
However, the Mexica Valley is the center of Spanish rule in New Spain after all. The "white content" of this place is high after all. There are not many pure-blooded Indians left. The power of the Catholic Church is also very powerful. Even the white priests have shrunk. Entering Mexico City, there are still a large number of mixed-race Indian believers outside!
In addition, Emperor Leopold was not the kind of rebellious tyrant. His group of German foreign bureaucrats did not have much interest in Mexico, and they were more rigorous in their work. Under their governance, the government, people's livelihood, and social order in the Mexica Valley have been greatly improved in recent years. The local Spanish dignitaries have also restrained themselves a lot under the supervision of these Germans, so the mixed-race Indians in the Mexica Valley still have some expectations for Emperor Leopold's rule.
For the Aztecs, the mixed-race Indians in the Mexica Valley of this era can only remember barbarism and backwardness...all kinds of bloody human sacrifices, and extremely backward handicrafts. Production.
These mixed-bloods with a high "white content", regardless of whether they have a white father who loves them or not, are reluctant to regard the Aztecs as their motherland. The powerful and progressive Spanish Empire is their motherland!
Therefore, King Montezuma’s anti-God method of dividing fields and land did not work satisfactorily in the Mexica Valley!
The battle situation around the city of Leon became favorable to King Mengchuang, because the Duke of Lorraine personally led 20,000 Spanish royal troops to leave Leon and march north to Encarnacion de Diaz. Then he took the 50,000 troops there and nearly 100,000 whites and mixed-race whites north to the Zacatecas silver mine, eighty miles away. This allowed the Aztec army commanded by Huang Feiyu to easily capture Encarnacion de Diaz and completely surround the city of Leon. However, the city defense of Leon was quite strong. Huang Feiyu's army, like Montezuma's army, lacked the ability to attack fortresses and could only use the method of siege and starvation to deal with the Spaniards in Leon.
The situation around the city of Guadalajara is relatively optimistic for the Spanish Empire. After several months of hard fighting, Eugen von Savoy's army has broken the siege of the city by the Aztec Eagle Legion. . Admiral Eugen himself has now entered the city of Guadalajara. He is currently directing military operations to clear out the Aztec strongholds near the city of Guadalajara, while at the same time he is busy expanding his army - Da There are also many residents with relatively high "white content" in Guadalajara. They have experienced the baptism of long-term sieges, and they are all ideal sources of soldiers. Eugen von Savoy planned to recruit 60,000 new soldiers from among them in order to expand the army under his command to 100,000!
The situation is great!
And the last one, which is also the latest hot spot to pop up, is of course the Zacatecas Silver Mine!
This is also the place that worried Leopold I and Count Stallenberg the most... because the merchant country of the devil in the north is here again!
When the news that the Merchant State unilaterally ended the temporary truce and launched an attack on Spanish territory reached Mexico City, King Leopold I immediately fell into panic - his Spanish imperial army and the Merchant army had fought twice. Battles, the result is "lost by a big margin". The first time I was completely wiped out in California! Even a deputy king of New Spain was folded in... He couldn't stand the torture and committed suicide! When a person dies, his soul is not spared! So cruel!
The Spanish Imperial Army, which challenged the Shang Fang Kingdom for the second time, was defeated miserably in the Colorado River Bend. Almost the entire army was wiped out. Only the Duke of Lorraine, who was experienced in the battlefield and escaped by diving in time, was able to avoid the same fate as the Count of St. Chris!
And this time the invasion of the Shang army is the third battle between the Spanish Royal Army and the Shang army! Moreover, according to the military report sent by the Duke of Lorraine in Lyon, the merchant army that invaded this time was very strong, and their number was likely to exceed 50,000!
When the news first came, King Leopold I was planning to evacuate Mexico City. He even left the inner city of Mexico City under the protection of the guards arranged by Count Stallenberg. But when the Spanish emperor passed by Chapultepec Castle, he saw countless citizens of Mexico City weeping silently on both sides of the road, which reminded him of the scene when he fled Vienna... So I couldn't bear it anymore, and burst into tears on the spot. After crying, I announced that I wouldn't leave.
Not only did the emperor not leave, but he went directly to the castle on the top of Chapultepec. He also declared that "the emperor guards the city gates" - he would personally guard the castle on the top of Chapultepec Mountain and look at the north gate of the outer city of Mexico City.
Of course, "the emperor guards the city gates" is only for outsiders to hear, and Leopold is not that "stupid". He just thinks that the people of Mexico City can use it, and he can also take a look, wait... and see how powerful the merchant devil army is when they invade New Spain? Wait for the outcome of the Battle of Zacatecas.
If the Duke of Lorraine's defeat at the Battle of Zacatecas was not too ugly... then Leopold I would continue to endure in Mexico City. When European reinforcements arrive, he can become a hero who surrounds the Spanish Empire and defends Western civilization.
If the Duke of Lorraine loses miserably in the Battle of Zacatecas, he will immediately abandon Mexico City and lead his entire army to withdraw to the port of Veracruz, and then retreat to Cuba by sea. At the same time, defenses were deployed in coastal cities in the tropical rainforest areas south of the Sierra Madre del Sur - those tropical rainforest areas are areas with high prevalence of malaria, and there are few roads in the rainforest for large armies to pass. The climate is humid and hot, and merchants from the north Most people will not be able to bear it... By then, the Spanish Empire will be able to rely on the protection of the tropical rainforest terrain south of the Mexican plateau to embrace a small half of New Spain and the entire Viceroyalty of Peru.
Although the loss is not small, the remaining territory can still allow the Spanish Empire to maintain its status as the second most powerful country in Christian civilization!
Thinking of this, Emperor Leopold breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to ask Count Stallenberg: "Count... is there any new news from Zacatecas today?"
The main road from Zacatecas to Mexico City had long been cut off by the Aztecs, but there were countless small roads on the Mexican plateau, and it was impossible for the Aztecs to completely block it.
Therefore, the Duke of Lorraine can also regularly report to Mexico City the latest trends of the invading "merchant devils", usually once a day. If there is an emergency, it can be increased to two or three reports.
"No," Earl Stallenberg shook his head and said, "The merchant army has been staying in Torreon for eight days... From their Tongnan Fortress to Torreon, there are a hundred It took them twelve days to complete the forty spans, and they also captured several of our fortresses along the way. The troops must be quite tired, and it is normal to rest for ten and eight days. And they still have to arrive at Dotreon. The road between Zacatecas was to be reconnoitred before a plan of march could be drawn up.”
Needless to say, the road between Torreon and Zacatecas must have been destroyed by the Spanish Royal Army. There may be a large number of Spanish troops deployed along the dangerous road... so the group of devil believers from Shangfang Kingdom We need to do some reconnaissance, and then figure out how to move and how to fight?
Leopold nodded and said with a smile: "That's good. The longer they stay in Torreon, the more prepared Duke Lorraine will be in Zacatecas..."
Before Leopold finished speaking, there was a heavy knock on the door of his study, and then the voice of a military attache came: "Your Majesty the Emperor, the emergency troops of Santiago de Querétaro. Pay it forward!"
"What? Santiago de Querétaro?" Leopold was stunned, and then immediately ordered, "Come in quickly!"
This city is located between Leon and Mexico City, about thirty Spanish miles away from Mexico City. The normal marching speed is six days and seven days. But what emergency military reports can be sent in this city?
"yes!"
Then I saw a middle-aged man wearing a wig and military uniform pushing the door in. He saluted the emperor first, and then handed an envelope with both hands.
Leopold did not take the envelope. He just glanced at the intact wax seal and waved to the man: "Go and bring me the letter."
"yes."
The attaché walked to the desk, took the paper knife and peeled off the wax seal, then opened the envelope, took out the letter inside and handed it to the emperor.
The Spanish Emperor took the letter, and Count Stallenberg kindly took the crystal oil lamp and held it up to illuminate it for him.
The emperor unfolded the letter and read it for a while, then his face became clouded.
"Your Majesty, what happened?" Count Stallenberg asked.
"The main force of the Aztec army that originally besieged Leon suddenly appeared outside Santiago de Querétaro..."
"What?" Count Stallenberg was stunned, "The Aztecs want..."
"They want to besiege Mexico City! The letter says that the Aztecs have no signs of attacking the city, and they seem to want to go around the city!" The Spanish emperor still looked unbelievable, "They actually left the city alone. , they didn’t even bother to deal with Zacatecas, so they came directly to Mexico City! They don’t think they can conquer our Mexico City just by relying on the large number of people, do they?”
Saying this, the Spanish Emperor turned to look at Count Stallenberg.
Count Starenberg knew what the emperor wanted to ask, so he shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, it is impossible for them to capture Mexico City... Even if Montezuma could gather 300,000 Aztec troops, it would be impossible. Attack Mexico City!”
Leopold laughed: "So as long as we hold on to Mexico City, we can defeat Montezuma's army?"
"Theoretically, this is the case," Count Stallenberg nodded. "If Montezuma really gathered hundreds of thousands of troops to besiege Mexico City, he would not be able to raise enough food in the Mexica Valley to support his army. The army is fighting a protracted war. If he wants to attack by force, he will definitely be beaten to death in front of Mexico City's solid defense."
"Okay!" Leopold nodded, "This is how we defeat Montezuma...and I still have Eugen. He will soon break through Montezuma's Lake Chapala camp and then attack from the west." Come over and relieve Mexico City!"
...
"Long live King Montezuma...!"
"Long live the Aztecs...!"
"King Montezuma is coming... to divide the fields!"
"King Montezuma is here...and he won't pay for food!"
"King Montezuma is coming..."
Outside Mexico City, cheers resounded through the sky. After several days of rapid march, the Aztec army that had besieged Leon finally came in force on August 25, 1695!
Countless troops are moving continuously into the Mexica Valley from the northwest, and then converge near the Turtitlan Camp just north of Mexico City. Then while cheering, they set up camp at the designated location.
Near the Turtitlan camp, there was a scene of soldiers and horses. Montezuma, the king of the Aztecs, wore his iconic white felt hat, blue cloth robe and red cloak. He immediately stood under a fiercely fluttering Quetzalcoatl flag and watched his army continue to move in. The whole thing was extremely excited, and he even roared several times from time to time.
"Fight well! If we capture Mexico City, we will be prosperous! At least half of the treasures that the Spaniards have plundered for more than a hundred years are in Mexico City!"
"Shang Fang's soldiers will arrive soon. As long as we surround Mexico City, we can win a big victory! Hahaha..."
"I have some good news for you. That fool Leopold is still in Mexico City. This is because the Holy Saint is blessing us! We can catch him!"
And every word King Montezuma said could bring bursts of cheers from the Aztec officers and soldiers passing by him!
