Chapter 76 of 100

Chapter 76

16 min read3,891 words

On August 1st, after drifting at sea for more than half a month, Xiao Bailang's fleet once again crossed the Strait of Magellan and arrived on the eastern side of Tierra del Fuego, anchoring in a sheltered bay. The "Galicia Flying Fish" and the "Yunsheng No. 1," both laden with valuable goods, were moored on the inside, while the gunships "East Coast Eagle" and "Red Trout" were moored on the outside. The sailors, with the permission of the officers, took turns going ashore to rest and resupply the fleet with fresh water.

After plundering Chacao City at the beginning of last month, the entire fleet turned south and smoothly crossed the Strait of Magellan, following the strong westerly winds and currents, preparing to return to the Falkland Islands. The Spanish fleet in Peru, based in Callao, had dispatched half of its main warships, led by the powerful four-masted ship "San Lorenzo," to search for Xiao Bailang's small fleet worldwide. Realizing that lingering off the coast of Chile might lead to trouble, Xiao Bailang decisively ordered the end of the Pacific coastal raids. The entire fleet returned to the Atlantic within a month, leaving the Spanish, who were still searching for them, far behind in Chile.

Overall, Xiao Bailang's fleet had achieved significant results. On one hand, they effectively disrupted the Spanish maritime supply lines, causing the Spanish to be inadequately prepared for war and delaying the outbreak of large-scale conflict, thus buying time for the Executive Committee. On the other hand, they crossed the Strait of Magellan, captured three Spanish towns, eliminated over a hundred Spanish colonial troops, and plundered a large amount of supplies and money. More importantly, they made the Spanish colonial authorities take the穿越者 (穿越者 translates to "穿越者" in English, but it's a term that doesn't have a direct equivalent. It refers to people from a different time or dimension who have traveled to this era) seriously. The previously secure rear areas were now under attack, which shook their will to fight.

Additionally, the Araucanian resistance, encouraged by the穿越者, began to rise. The Spanish officials in Chile were at a loss, and the economic order of the colony was severely disrupted, with incalculable losses. To salvage the situation, the Viceroy of Peru even sent a significant number of troops from Lima to help General Santiago stabilize the situation. Without support from Peru and Chile, the Charcas Audiencia alone could not sustain the war effort in the La Plata region for long. This was a decisive move, but ironically, the Spanish army in the La Plata region was defeated too quickly and too thoroughly, so they never even felt the pressure of the supply shortage. Now, the officials in Buenos Aires no longer had to worry about the mountainous piles of war supplies they needed to gather.

During the fleet's anchorage, Lu Ming led a group of people ashore and returned to Tierra del Fuego. After several months, Lu Ming was quite moved to revisit the place. Behind him were a platoon of army soldiers carrying large and small packages, filled with iron pots, knives, short swords, flint tools, salt, alcohol, dried fruits, and other items looted from Spanish towns. Clearly, Lu Ming intended to trade with the local indigenous people, the Ona.

After a half-day's journey inland along the coast, Lu Ming and his group were unsurprisingly discovered by the Ona. The natives excitedly rushed up, pulling them to their village. Fabian, Matias, and others who followed Lu Ming grinned, knowing from previous experience that these simple Ona had no ill intentions; they were just eager to trade. Of course, the items they offered in exchange were also very satisfying.

The Ona provided everything they could: cured meat, animal skins, fat, and llamas. The llamas were the most popular. Lu Ming had always wanted to introduce these small, horse-like animals to the East Coast for breeding. These creatures could run swiftly in the thin air of high mountains and carry heavy loads, making them ideal for future mountain infantry.

An old friend of Lu Ming's, an Ona named Savo who had previously come to freeload, also arrived. This tall Indian offered some impure gold to trade for supplies. Lu Ming was greatly surprised and, after a series of gestures and exchanges, confirmed that there must be a gold mine near this Ona tribe. At the very least, there was a gold mine on the island. Lu Ming carefully recalled but could not remember any useful information from his previous life. Tierra del Fuego was a very obscure place with limited information available. However, this important information must be reported to the Executive Committee. In the future, they could trade items the natives desperately needed for their gold, a highly profitable business. As for direct mining, it was not feasible due to the long distance from Uruguay and safety concerns.

After the trade, Lu Ming and his group returned to the warship with seven or eight llamas and a large amount of supplies. On August 3rd, the entire fleet set sail again, heading east and navigating through rough waves to anchor in Sullivan Bay on the eastern island of the Falkland Islands. Upon arrival, the fleet did not plan to undertake any further long voyages.

The Charrúa people on the island had been eagerly awaiting the return of Xiao Bailang's fleet. They had been idle on this mostly wind-swept and snowy island, with no one but a few dozen Spanish and English prisoners for company. Their only companions were seabirds, sea lions, and seals. Seeing the Charrúa still safely guarding the small camp, Xiao Bailang and his group were very pleased, as it meant the Spanish had not discovered their location.

The Spanish and English prisoners in the island's prison welcomed new companions. Forty-two sailors from the Spanish warship "Red Trout" joined them, bringing the total number of prisoners to 83. During the months Xiao Bailang's fleet was away, the Charrúa had led the prisoners to build many new houses using the mountain of building materials in the warehouse, giving the once desolate place its first signs of life.

The sailors sorted and moved various supplies from the ships into the island's warehouse: over 1,000 otter, seal, sea lion, fox, and llama skins; 300 wool blankets; 15 tons of copper, 10 tons of lead; 500 barrels of gunpowder, and various lead and cannonballs. In addition to these, a significant harvest from the Chilean trip was the collection of a large number of plant seeds. The agricultural conditions in Chile were relatively good, and the Spanish had developed the area extensively. The穿越者 collected almost all visible plant seeds or roots from local Spanish farmers, including pepper, tomatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts, pumpkins, cotton, and flax.

Of course, the most significant for the穿越者 was the acquisition of a few cinchona tree seedlings from the Andean Indians. Perhaps no one in this era understood the importance of this magical tree better than the穿越者. The local indigenous people only knew that the powdered bark of this tree could "reduce fever," but to the穿越者, it was different. At the time, there was no effective treatment for malaria in the world except for quinine, which was made from the powdered bark of the cinchona tree. The next expansion area for the穿越者 was south of the Sierra de la Ventana, in what would become the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Not carrying quinine on such a trip would be like courting death.

Therefore, Xiao Bailang instructed the sailors to carefully protect these seedlings, keeping them separate. If it weren't for the unsuitable climate of the Falkland Islands for the growth of these trees, Xiao Bailang would have planted them immediately. Of course, the other plant seeds were also important, and the sailors carefully preserved them, planning to bring them back to Uruguay for planting.

In addition to these precious seeds, the穿越者 also had 2 pigs, 6 cows, 8 horses, 9 llamas, and over 40 sheep. To free up space on the ships, Xiao Bailang had the animals released on the island. The island was covered with dense grasslands, so the animals would not lack food.

After everything was arranged, Xiao Bailang, Wang Tielian, Lu Ming, Xie Hansan, and Yu Lian sat together to discuss the next steps. They were unsure of the situation back home and did not dare to return rashly, as encountering the Spanish main fleet en route could lead to significant losses.

They were not worried about defending against a Spanish land attack. They believed that with the Spanish crossing the sea and lacking both equipment and supplies, the穿越者 could hold out in the city and wear down the Spanish army. After much discussion, they decided that Wang Tielian would return to observe the situation with the Yunsheng No. 1. The Yunsheng No. 1 was fast and well-armed, and even if it encountered the Spanish main fleet, it would not be a problem. The Yunsheng No. 1 still had over 100 tons of fuel, enough for several round trips to Uruguay.

On August 8th, the Yunsheng No. 1, carrying a platoon of army soldiers, sailed out of Sullivan Bay in the early morning mist, turned north, and disappeared into the vast South Atlantic.

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