Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 489 Disagreement

  Klimane

This is the capital of Zambezi Province, located on the central coast of Mozambique, in the core area of ​​the lower reaches of the Zambezi River Delta. It is a fortified city with a fortified city. It used to be the seat of an indigenous kingdom and became Zambe after being hacked by the Portuguese. Western Province Commercial and Military Center.

The most famous here is the production of gold and ivory, as well as the surrounding cattle, sheep, melons and other agricultural products. The urban population is 21,000. Most of them are descendants of Portuguese whites. There are also some black African servants. Therefore, the buildings in the city are The typical Portuguese style, mixed with a small number of early Arab mosques and houses, is full of strong exotic flavor.

  The two-story European-style city hall is now the headquarters of the African Expeditionary Force.

  The machine gun guard at the door and the constant exchanges of soldiers make this 18th-century Portuguese-style building full of murderous air, adding an iron-blooded atmosphere out of thin air.

  "Hahahaha...I guess the Portuguese governor is depressed right now. As long as the blockade is strengthened, it won’t take long to ensure that the Portuguese will bring them to the island of Mozambique with both hands and return to Europe obediently."

Brigadier General Mo Rufeng, commander of the African Expeditionary Force, laughed heartily. He was in a very good mood and could be said to be smug.

  The expeditionary force has been advancing smoothly since its landing, and the farthest army unit has reached the depths of Northwestern Province, which is about a thousand kilometers away.

  There was almost no decent resistance along the way. The small groups of indigenous tribes attacked just to give food, and there was no resistance under the sharp bullets of the soldiers.

  The missions of the army squad that went deep inland are mainly hydrological surveys, environmental resource surveys and data collection of local indigenous populations. The main task is to protect their own safety, while fighting is the second priority.

  After taking the important Portuguese stronghold Quelimane, the situation in Mozambique entered the official stage, and there is no suspense.

Speaking of nearly 400 years of Portuguese rule, it is quite bluffing. In fact, as a small populated country in Europe, since the 15th century, Portugal, a veteran colonizer with a population of only one million, is in its heyday. Joining forces with the Spanish to carve up the world, the focus remains In the vast and fertile South America, there are very few resources that can be invested in Mozambique.

  The action of the African Expeditionary Force in the autumn wind sweeping the fallen leaves has changed this hot land of Africa.

  Kaijiang and Tutuo have always made great achievements. As the commander of the African Expeditionary Force, Mo Rufeng can't get away with the rank of major general. How could he be unhappy?

  In the British military system

  The brigadier general is not a general, but belongs to the highest level of the colonel to enjoy the treatment of a general, but the gold British crown badge is missing on the epaulettes, which is almost equivalent to the meaning of assistant generals.

  "Commander, the Portuguese of Mozambique has been in business for nearly 400 years. I'm afraid they won't be willing to spit it out easily, right?" The deputy commander, Colonel Kohler, adhering to the usual rigor of the Germans, said.

   "Ha ha ha...Of course it is impossible to rely on us, but what if the navy fleet takes action?"

  "Commander, the General Staff of the Army is quite criticized for stealing the limelight from the navy. I am afraid it will be difficult to accept your plan. If possible, I hope that we can complete the recovery of Mozambique independently."

   "Deputy Commander Huo, what do you think?" Mo Rufeng walked back and sat down with a smile, and named the deputy commander, Colonel Huo Xiaohu, who had been silent, and asked him to talk about it.

  The army has never been monolithic. Colonel Kohler belongs to the German-born officer department and is only loyal to Lord Earl. He does not have much contact with other factions and appears to be a maverick.

Huo Xiaohu belongs to the backbone of the iron-blooded young and strong faction in the army. He is a fanatical worship leader. He is influenced by German instructors and pursues Continental Army doctrine. A regiment commander, Li Shuanzhu, also belongs to this faction, and has a particularly strong influence among grassroots officers.

Huo Xiaohu also has his own thoughts on this issue. He said in a cautious tone; "If you say that taking the Mozambique region is a soft persimmon, dealing with Zambique Island is just gnawing hard bones. The island belongs to a fortress-type fortress. There are heavy casualties. I personally tend to put this issue aside for the time being and concentrate on consolidating the newly occupied area. After all, this is a vast colony of millions of square kilometers. For the African Expeditionary Force, sprinkle a little here and a little force there. Insufficient, basically do not have the conditions to capture the island of Mozambique."

  The two deputy commanders agreed. They were both reluctant to let the navy intervene on the island of Mozambique.

  I don’t want to share the meat in my bowl with others, even if I’m full, I put it there first, and then eat it when I’m hungry. That's probably what it means.

  Mo Rufeng knew this very well. Although he did not approve of similar insular views, as one of the senior army commanders, he was not good at speaking for the navy.

  He nodded slightly and said; “African matters are still based on the opinions of our expeditionary forces. Since it is difficult to reach a consensus on the idea of ​​a joint naval and land blockade, we put it aside for the time being.

  This way

  Without the participation of the navy, it is not enough to solve the problem of Mozambique.

  There are only a few offshore gunboats and some mosquito-class patrol boats in the marine police area under our expeditionary force. Such a weak naval force cannot pose a threat to the island of Mozambique, nor can it completely block off its maritime supply lines.

  Have you ever thought that the island of Mozambique is located on the coast of the Northern Province, guarding our logistics supply line along the African coastline northward to Somalia, like a thorn on the back, this feeling is not uncomfortable! "

Mo Rufeng is one of the outstanding students from Jiangnan. He has worked alongside Lord Piaget for many years. He has a broad vision under his command. He is not limited to the view of the navy and army. The consideration of issues is more from a global perspective, which is cultivated by the Red Fort. The commander-in-chief.

The Portuguese tortoises on the island of Mozambique are always a hidden danger. If the navy can be asked to send a fleet to block the waters, then the island of Mozambique, which has gathered 35,000 people, can only be a dead island. No one can get out.

  Only relying on the material reserves on the island, it can last three or four months and it will be the sky.

  If you don’t fight the warrior, you will be the one who is superior.

Colonel Kohler and Colonel Huo Xiaohu's eyes met, and they could see the persistence in each other's eyes, so Colonel Kohler said: "Your Excellency, with the current small-scale fleet strength of Mozambique Island, it is temporarily unable to cause major trouble to us. In my opinion, it is advisable to consolidate the newly-occupied area at present, and the movement of the Portuguese needs further observation.

With the launch of the resettlement plan, the construction of towns and roads has become the overriding main task. Road construction needs more black slaves to open roads in the mountains and build bridges when encountering water. It is necessary to organize multiple slave hunting teams to carry out dragnet sweeps for the project. The construction provides sufficient labor.

  Related construction tasks occupy a large amount of troops. In this case, it is a wise choice. I think that the issue of Mozambique should be put aside and will be discussed later. This point is the same as that of Deputy Commander Huo. "

   "Secondary" Huo Xiaohu spit out two words stingly.

   "Okay, that's the decision." Mo Rufeng followed kindness, unwilling to disagree with the two veteran deputy teachers over this issue, and decided decisively;

  "This time we captured 12,000 ounces of sand in Colima, plus some other seizures worth nearly 170,000 pounds. There were also a large amount of cattle, sheep, grain and other materials, enough to maintain the troops for a long time.

The main construction project now is a road project that runs along the lower reaches of the Zambezi River basin and reaches the middle reaches of the river. The designed total length is more than 770 kilometers. The whole sand-stone rammed earth pavement reaches the plateau area of ​​Northwestern Province. There are many rivers and hills through which it needs to be used. More manpower is involved in road construction.

   Therefore, the division decided;

  Led by Colonel Kohler, the road construction corps was formed, with the second regiment and the engineer battalion under its jurisdiction, responsible for the on-site recruitment of labor and the safety and security of the entire road construction, performing supervision duties, and making every effort to get through the entire line before the end of the year. "

   "Yes, sir." Colonel Kohler took the order happily, raising his hand into a standard military salute.

  As long as the road project to communicate with the inland areas of Mozambique is completed, it is a great accomplishment. If you are a little tired, there is no danger. Why not do it?

  The second regiment plus the engineering battalion is more than 2,600 people. It is no different from a fantasy to want to repair more than 770 kilometers of roads with this little manpower.

The task of the   Construction Corps is to recruit labor on the spot and supervise the construction of slaves. 30,000 is not too small, and 50,000 is not too much. Anyway, the more is better, and the construction along the line is spread at the same time.

  The military is no stranger to similar jobs. Soldiers are indispensable in overseas colonization. In Mozambique, an African region far from the mainland, the military is the leading construction. Although the methods are simple and rude, the victory lies in high efficiency.

After Mo Rufeng gave the order, he turned to Huo Xiaohu and said, "Deputy Commander Huo, please submit to the commander of the Town Construction Corps, lead the third regiment and most of the heavy regiment in charge of urban construction related matters, and also recruit labor on the spot. I hope that before the end of the year Can see significant results."

  "Yes, sir, a humble job must not humiliate the mission." Huo Xiaohu saluted with a solemn expression.

"Then it is so decided. I personally led a regiment, cavalry battalion, artillery regiment, division battalion and other units to form a mobile corps, located in Klima, stabilized the rear and supervised the abnormal movement of Mozambique Island to prevent it from sneaking attacks..." said At this point, Mo Rufeng showed a smile on his face; "If the Portuguese can really be mobilized to beat them, it must be a great event, and it is better than letting the soldiers attack a strong defensive fortress."

   "Your Excellency Commander said that as long as you are not reconciled to failure, there is a high probability that the Portuguese will make a comeback."

   "We haven't been afraid of anyone in the field, so we can have fun, hahaha..."

  The three senior officials of the expeditionary army looked at each other and laughed, and the hearty laughter echoed in the room, showing sufficient confidence.

  (End of this chapter)