Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 800: Conquering the Azores
“Crack!”
“Boom~”
“Clatter, clatter~”
On February 5, 1649, the 31st year of the reign of Emperor Tianqi of the Ming Dynasty, at 2:30 a.m. local time, a huge fleet, illuminated by lightning, appeared in the storm that raged throughout the year in the North Atlantic.
"Ugh!" In the command tower, Yan Siqi laughed at himself: "I've been sitting in the Privy Council for too long. I'm not used to being on board a ship all of a sudden."
"Prime Minister, come to think of it, those of us who are at sea all year round are not much better off. The winds and waves in the North Atlantic are much stronger and more frequent than those in the Pacific and Indian Oceans."
"Yeah." Yan Siqi took the hot tea handed over by the staff officer and sipped it before saying, "With such frequent winds and waves, is there any problem with the fleet?"
"Fortunately, the ordinary navy soldiers are fine this time. The marines on the transport ship are also not a big problem. It's just that the engineers are vomiting bile. If they go ashore later, I'm afraid they will have trouble starting their work for a while."
"Well, there is nothing we can do about it. Oh, I have exceeded my authority. Inukai, you are still the leader in this battle. I came here to follow you, Marshal Hun."
"Prime Minister, you are too modest. We have been following you and Duke Kunisuke since we were young..."
"No need to say more. I haven't been on the battlefield for a long time. You have been in command of the recent large-scale naval battles. So... this time the emperor has handed over the entire navy to us, so we have to be cautious."
Yan Siqi was right. After joining forces with the American Squadron, the fleet that broke into the Atlantic Ocean at this time was almost all the strength of the Ming Navy.
The battleship force consisted of five Yu Tonghai-class ships (Yu Tonghai, Zheng He, Yu Dayou, Deng Zilong, and Cao Sanxi), four Pomuqijian-class ships, and three Qin Shi Huangdi-class ships (Qian Huangdi, Liu Bang, and Lu Zhi), a total of twelve battleships.
Under these twelve huge ships, there are forty heavy cruisers, ten light cruisers, ninety destroyers, and one hundred and eighty supply ships and transport ships. In addition to five Marine Corps divisions, these logistical ships also have a large number of engineering troops, as well as cement, sandstone, heavy coastal artillery and other supplies.
“How far are we from our goal now?”
"The fleet is now 20 nautical miles away from Terceira, the most populous island in the Azores. If we run at full speed, we can arrive in two and a half hours."
Inukai Touji looked at the chart for a while and said, "Maintain the speed at 8 knots. Cancel the radio silence. Send a message to Angra do Heroes on Terceira Island to inform the Portuguese volunteers there . Start!"
"yes!"
…
"The Chinese fleet is less than 20 nautical miles from Angra do Hero. They told us that we can start now."
"It's finally here, hahahaha, more than 20 years of being imprisoned on this small island is about to end, and we, Portugal, will soon be able to regain our independence!"
At this time, the permanent population on Terceira Island was about 6,000 to 7,000 people. Most of them were Portuguese, and some Spaniards who were exiled here by Philip and returned from Asian colonies. There were also about 500 garrisons and 20 to 30 officials: this place was an important transportation route in the Atlantic Ocean, and countless ships on the route from Europe to North America would come here for supplies. The small number of garrisons and officials not only maintained order here, but also collected considerable taxes for the royal government.
There are also artillery batteries on the island. After all, in the early years, this place was frequented by pirates, especially English pirates. But since Philip established the European Union, all kinds of pirates have basically disappeared. So after decades, the military here has long been in disrepair: the guns lying in the fort are all muzzle-loading guns.
Therefore, if we really want to say this port can pose any military threat to the fleet of the Ming Dynasty, it is almost negligible. The reason why these volunteers were launched in advance was, on the one hand, to enhance their sense of participation, or to let them submit their pledge of allegiance. On the other hand, Yan Siqi and Inukai Touji did not want to bombard the port, but wanted complete port facilities: countless ships have passed by here for many years, and in addition to a large number of berths, there are also simple repair factories. It is crucial to get these in full for subsequent operations.
"Hey, Lucas, still standing guard."
"Oh, Uncle Hugo, it's you. Well, there's nothing I can do. This is a military camp, so I have to pretend. The damn officers are all out drinking, and I, a small soldier...Oh, damn, Uncle Hugo, what are you doing?"
"Nothing. Today we Portuguese will fire the first shot against Spanish tyranny in Angra do Heroismo. Lucas, you are a good boy and innocent, so please don't resist and let us enter your armory."
"This... Hugo, do you know what you are doing? Even if you succeed here for a while, with a large number of cargo ships passing by tomorrow, the news will spread sooner or later. What if His Majesty Philip sends a fleet here?"
"Hahaha, you don't have to worry about those things. You will understand in a few hours at most."
When a person, especially one who used to be a superior person in the colony and has considerable knowledge and management experience, is forced to be imprisoned on a narrow island for more than 20 years, I am afraid that he spends a lot of time thinking about how to get revenge. Therefore, in the action that night, the nearly 2,000 islanders who participated in the riot were organized in an orderly manner: first, they invited officials and officers here to eat and drink in the tavern, and then sent young and strong men to take down the armory first. After completing self-armament, they swept through the harbor and the fort like a gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves. This action was completed so perfectly that the Spanish garrison here could not even send a telegram.
"My two great generals, the volunteers on Terceira Island have completely controlled Porto Angra, and we can move in at any time. At the same time, the volunteers on the island also telegraphed us that in the entire Azores, only Terceira Island has a radio station. The other islands are sparsely populated, with incomplete port facilities, no Spanish garrisons, and no radio stations."
"Very good. The fleet will be deployed as planned. Three Marine Divisions and engineering units will land at Angra do Heroismo. The remaining two Marine Divisions will occupy Flores Island, Pico Island, Sao Miguel Island, and Sao Jorge Island respectively."
"Yes, sir!"
The operation went very smoothly throughout the night. At five in the morning, a large number of Ming troops and engineers landed at Hero Port. After quickly taking over the dock, the engineers began to conduct intensive surveying to see where new artillery positions needed to be built and where reinforcements were needed.
The storm that night was so severe that many ships temporarily stopped outside the storm area and waited. It was not until nine o'clock in the morning of February 5th, as the storm subsided, that two cargo ships flying the flag of St. George's Cross of England slowly approached the port of Angra. The two ships carried two poor people who lived in poverty in Britain and wanted to take advantage of the opening of North America to seek opportunities in the New World.
Then… …
Then, another ship flying the Danish flag...
Finally, at noon of that day, two Spanish ships with radios on board approached the waters of Porto Angra. After discovering something was wrong, they issued a report that "Chinese warships were spotted in Porto Angra."
…
"Bang!" Garcia slammed the door of Philip's office open: "Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness, please hurry up in the waters near Angra do Heroes, there are Chinese people there!"
"What?"
In the past six months, Philip has been exhausted in domestic affairs: the pleasure of issuing excessive banknotes and robbing Jewish property has disappeared in Europe. On the contrary, Europe is caught in inflation, unemployment has soared, and the lives of many people are becoming increasingly difficult. At the same time, the lack of raw materials and the lack of markets have made big businessmen clearly express their dissatisfaction. Separatist forces in various countries have also begun to rise... After losing the support of the people and the bourgeoisie, it is really becoming increasingly difficult for Spain to maintain the European Union.
Fortunately, Spain's technology and heavy industry were far ahead of other European countries. If there were no bullets provided by Spanish factories, the equipment of the armies of various countries would be nothing but scrap metal. It can be said that at this time, Spain relied entirely on its military strength to barely maintain the alliance from falling apart.
But whether it is Zhu Youdong, a half-baked history lover, or Philip, a historian, they are very clear: the economy is the foundation. If the European economy does not improve, then Spain's control over Europe will eventually collapse.
To boost the economy, we still have to find ways to suck blood from outside. But now in Europe, there really is not much to suck from.
Africa has a large population at the moment, but the population density is very low compared to its vast area. As for North America? Except for a few large islands in Mexico and the Caribbean, other places are also extremely sparsely populated. What these two places need now is the continuous investment and development of colonists. Rich output? That is a very distant thing.
Therefore, at this moment, Africa and North America are more likely to accept the poor in Europe, allowing these people to leave Europe to make a living and reduce the risk of riots if they stay in the country.
But even so, we have to ensure the safety of the Atlantic route: let alone going to North America. Even if you go to Africa, if you don’t take the sea route, do you have to cross the Sahara Desert?
Whether you are going to North America or central and southern Africa, the Azores is a must-stop.
"Damn it! Can't the Chinese just be quiet for a bit? Garcia, I don't need to emphasize the importance of the Azores, right? The navy must be dispatched as soon as possible to take it back!"
"Before I came to report to you, I had already ordered the navy to begin assembling. With your permission, I would like to put the newly commissioned Augustus and Caesar into the battle line."
"agree!"
"I also suggest sending a telegram to the North American Squadron to have the three battleships there return, and then reunite with the Home Fleet and go to the Azores together."
"agree."
"Thank you for your support, Your Majesty. I believe that if the Chinese dare to seize Hero Port, their navy must be the main force. However, we also have eleven battleships in this battle, which should be comparable to the Chinese. In short, the navy will fight with all its strength and strive to win."
"No! Garcia, this is the Atlantic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean that we Spaniards have ruled for hundreds of years. I don't want to fight, I want to be sure! Please make sure you win. Otherwise, the European Union is doomed to disintegrate, and Spain is doomed to be dismembered!"
