Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 652 Two People's Report
On January 25, 1637, Zhang Xianzhong defeated Cromwell in the rain forest at the foot of the eastern Andes Mountains, almost annihilating his rear guard. Cromwell had no choice but to lead the remnants to retreat. On the 27th, Sun Chuanting received the news. After confirming the victory, Sun Chuanting immediately led the First Division of the American Volunteer Army back to Lima from the Andes Mountains and arrived near Lima on the 30th.
Afterwards, Sun Chuanting ordered Li Zicheng's troops to continue resisting in stages, while he led the First Division into the Andes again after replenishing ammunition and supplies: this time, instead march northward in an attempt to get behind Raimondo, and then attack him from the front and back, striving to annihilate him.
On February 7, Sun Chuanting's troops circled along the Andes Mountains to a point at least 20 kilometers behind Raimondo, and then the First Division of the Volunteer Army surged down from the Andes Mountains...
"What? They actually withdrew? When did this happen?"
"Master, please allow me to report. On February 1, I felt that the enemy's attack power had weakened. On the 2nd, this weakening became more obvious. Then I led my army to try to attack. Who knew that the enemy's defense was very strong, and I couldn't break through the enemy's defense line, nor could I find out the enemy's strength. On February 3, the enemy didn't attack at all. I tried to lead my army to attack again, but who knew that the enemy had already set an ambush waiting for me to attack. Caught off guard, our army suffered heavy losses. So I reorganized for a day on the 4th. On the 5th, when I led my troops to chase, the enemy had completely withdrawn... I quickly sent people into the mountains to find the commander's troops to report, but who knew that the commander had already led his troops down... I am incompetent, please punish me!"
After listening to Li Zicheng's report, Sun Chuanting's face was uncertain for a while. Finally, he sighed: The power of the enemy chief leading the troops should not be underestimated.
"I, Sun Chuanting, humbly report to the Emperor. Since I was ordered to lead the army in America in the 17th year of the Tianqi reign, the Emperor has been eagerly looking forward to it, and I dare not forget it for a day. I have established a political commissar system, reorganized the American rebel army, re-established the Inca Kingdom, developed production, and educated the natives... Although I am not very talented and learned, fortunately, the Emperor has already decided on the strategy. I followed the map and within two or three years, the area of Lima, which is more than 100 miles north and south and 200 miles east and west, has been roughly settled.
In the 18th year, the Western bandits gathered their troops and invaded. I divided my troops to fight them. Thanks to the bravery of the generals and the enthusiasm of the people, Zhang Xianzhong and Xia Yunyi defeated the enemy chief Cromwell in the east of the Andes. Li Zicheng and Yan Yingyuan fought against the enemy chief Raimondo and made him advance only a little bit... However, the enemy chiefs were cunning, such as Cromwell, who was defeated but still led the main force to retreat safely. For example, Ku set an ambush and counterattacked us during the retreat, causing us to suffer heavy losses. The enemy chiefs were better at leading troops than Li and Zhang.
Although the enemy chief is good at leading troops, we, the ministers, have followed the emperor's will to build a nation for the Indians and educate them. Today, the trend of people's hearts turning to us in America has begun. When the emperor's grace lasts for a long time and the stars change, the trend of America belonging to us will surely be established!
There are only two things to worry about today. First, most of the American rebels are good at guerrilla warfare, not good at attacking or defending. If we fight them in a full-scale battle tomorrow, we will not be able to defeat them. Second, after interrogating the prisoners, we learned that the Western bandits are building a brand new 10,000-ton ironclad ship in their homeland. If this news is true, it will be extremely difficult for us to maintain our control of the sea.
Now that the invaders have either died or retreated, I think that it is not appropriate for the newly established Inca Kingdom to expand during this respite. The most urgent tasks are to reorganize the army, govern the people, build factories, and move the capital. In terms of reorganizing the army, the officers of the 27th Division of the Ming Army led by me will be used as the backbone to comprehensively train the soldiers of the American Volunteer Army so that they can attack and defend well, rather than just specialize in guerrilla warfare. In terms of governing the people, elementary schools will be established, Chinese surnames will be promoted, and military orders will be unified in Chinese and Chinese characters. Factories will be built, one for gun repairs and the manufacture of explosives and mines. The second is for bedding and medical supplies. The third is for production equipment... Moving the capital is actually a move to prepare for a rainy day. If I have control of the sea, Lima will still be the capital of the Inca Kingdom. If I don't have control of the sea, I have a backup capital...
In addition, His Royal Highness the eldest prince has been here for more than two years. He has a calm personality and is kind to others. He usually teaches the soldiers to learn our Han culture. In times of war, he can also march with the army without avoiding axes and swords. He is deeply respected by the local people and soldiers...
I beg Your Majesty to provide all kinds of supplies to our American Volunteer Army in advance, at a time when we have a firm grip on the sea. The required supplies are listed in a separate table for your approval.
... Lima and the capital are tens of thousands of miles apart, and I have not seen the emperor for several years. However, as a minister, I have to do my best to serve the emperor and repay the emperor's kindness.
Your servant Sun Chuanting, hereby presents this petition with a hundred bows, on February 13, the 19th year of the Tianqi reign, in Lima, America.
Just as Sun Chuanting was writing furiously , Raimondo, who had just led the army safely back to Quito, was also writing a report to Philip.
Raimondo Montecuccoli. In this historical plane, he is the greatest military commander in Austrian history. Although in this plane, because he is still young (born in 1608), his experience and command skills are still lacking. However, as the saying goes, a person's efforts can only determine the lower limit, and the upper limit can only be determined by talent. As a military genius, his battlefield sense is sharp enough.
Therefore, although he did not see anyone sent by Cromwell to deliver the message on February 1 - in fact, Cromwell retreated too quickly that day and did not send any messenger at all - it is estimated that even if a messenger was sent, it would be difficult for him to cross the various passes guarded by Sun Chuanting's garrison at the time.
However, he discovered something unusual in Li Zicheng's army's defensive attitude: I have already reached a place less than ten kilometers away from Lima. Logically, your resistance should be getting more and more intense - in fact, your resistance has indeed become more and more intense in the past half month. But why has the resistance become a little weak in the past one or two days?
Then he immediately thought: Could it be that the enemy has already repelled Cromwell and is preparing to lure me further in so as to outflank me?
After having this idea, he immediately ordered the army to suspend the attack. Sure enough, Li Zicheng, who could not wait any longer, quickly organized a counterattack: this counterattack immediately confirmed Raimondo's idea.
So he made a prompt decision: retreat!
During the retreat, he anticipated that Li Zicheng would come to pursue him, so he set up a pocket formation in advance, causing heavy losses to Li Zicheng's pursuers. Afterwards, he led the entire army back to Quito safely.
"Your Majesty Philip, I have to tell you with great regret that since the Peruvian rebels openly used the name of the Inca Kingdom, Mr. Cromwell and I have assembled all the military forces of the Kingdom in the Americas to suppress them, but this has completely failed.
For this operation, Mr. Cromwell and I have reported our battle plan to you in advance, so I will not repeat it here. In the specific course of the battle... Since I have not contacted Cromwell at this time, it is not clear how he was defeated. But there is no doubt that when we had no control of the sea and were forced to march along the narrow strip of land along the Pacific coast and the Amazon rainforest, the enemy had too many opportunities to attack us.
The current situation in America is very bad. Since the Inca Kingdom raised its flag, I have deeply felt that the eyes of the Indians who are still under the control of the kingdom have changed. In addition to the loss of silver and copper mines in Peru, the Spanish estate owners throughout America have also shown signs of transferring assets - in this way, the royal government's expenditure in America will soon exceed its income.
But I am still confident that peace and order can be restored in America. The basis for this confidence is your wise leadership, your generosity in sending two army divisions to America, and the rumored battleship Prince of Asturias that will soon be put into service.
Yes, my Lord. The key to suppressing the Peruvian rebels is sea control, sea control in the Pacific Ocean of South America! As long as we can control the sea, the rebels will not be able to get the various supplies sent by the Chinese. But our army can quickly assemble and land in Lima smoothly. Instead of painfully crossing the rainforest and crossing the Andes...
Therefore, my plan for the next stage of operations in America is that before the navy fails to gain control of the sea, I will be in Quito, and Cromwell will be in Buenos Aires to organize the army and strengthen the local ruling order. After the navy wins control of the sea, Cromwell and I will once again form an army of more than 100,000 people, land near Lima, and completely eliminate the rebels - yes, although the rebels have raised the banner of the Inca Kingdom, which has caused a very bad impact on the Indians under our rule. But the rebels' move has also fixed themselves to a point. This is much easier than before when we had to chase them everywhere on the plateaus of Mexico and the grasslands of the Pampas.
I strongly hope that the battleship Prince of Asturias will be put into service as soon as possible. With it, I will surely give you a peaceful, harmonious and orderly America.
Your faithful attendant, admirer of your glorious deeds, follower of your future endeavors, Raimondo Montecuccoli. Quito, America, February 13, 1637.
