Chapter 1530: The Silver Empire Six Hundred Li Away

Sinaloa Province, Mazatlán, the thirtieth day of the third month of the year 1674 by the Western calendar, early morning.

This little fishing harbor had now been turned into an enormous construction site! The army of the United Provinces of New Continent, which had arrived here two days earlier, was working as if possessed — either expanding the harbor, or felling trees and building fortifications on the small hilltops around Mazatlán harbor, or raising a castle on the flat ground beside the harbor, ringed by a circle of low hills.

Contrary to Don Juan José's expectations, Zhu Hehao had no intention whatsoever of fighting a decisive battle with him. After Don Juan José's great army was simply too exhausted to run any farther, his army had continued south, only at a slower pace, and on the twenty-eighth day of the third month had seized the fishing harbor of Mazatlán, in the southern part of Sinaloa Province, which had no regular troops defending it at all, and then had stayed there and begun construction work.

The Tycoon King's army was a "mobile civil-engineering corps"! Not only could it move, it was also very good at construction — after all, labor was relatively scarce here in the United Provinces of New Continent, and the army had a hard time hiring laborers to build houses and fortifications for them, so they had no choice but to do the construction themselves. Over time, they had honed their construction skills.

But the Tycoon King would not have sailed several thousand li for nothing, then marched another fifteen or sixteen hundred li overland, just to come to this unremarkable little fishing harbor to do construction work. He did not have that much spare time!

The reason he had gone to such pains to come to Mazatlán to build was that this little fishing harbor was only a little over six hundred li from the Zacatecas Province of the Kingdom of New Spain. And Zacatecas was the site of the second-largest silver mine in the world today — one of the true cores of New Spain, that silver empire!

If Don Juan José lost the silver mines of Zacatecas Province, whether his Kingdom of New Spain could even continue to exist would be in question!

So he had no need at all to go seek a decisive battle with Don Juan José. He only needed to take Mazatlán harbor, and then wait for Don Juan José to come and throw his life away.

When the time came, there would be no need to fight in line-battle volleys. To be honest, Zhu Hehao did not like line-battle volleys, because that style of fighting cost too much. Even in victory, you killed a thousand of the enemy but lost at least five hundred of your own. The United Provinces of New Continent was not the Great Ming, with two hundred million people who could never all be killed off. The United Provinces of New Continent had only one million people altogether, and moreover most of its gun-toting rabble did not much support Zhu Hehao.

But the officers and men of his First Army Division were loyal Royalists. Most of its officers and non-commissioned officers came from the Guards, men Zhu Hehao had brought from the Great Ming as his trusted confidants, while most of the soldiers came from military colony households — the sons of the former Shun garrison-farm households who had crossed the sea with the Tycoon King.

If large numbers of these men died in battle, the Tycoon King's foundation of power would be damaged!

So the wisest way to fight was to avoid field battles with enormous losses, and instead use movement, raids, and fortress defense — tactics with smaller losses — to strike at the enemy.

Of course, even if Don Juan José did not come to attack Mazatlán harbor, the Tycoon King did not care. Because taking a harbor only a little over six hundred li from the great silver mine of Zacatecas Province was itself an enormous victory — this strongpoint was a springboard for attacking the great Zacatecas silver mine!

Once the harbor expansion was complete, an army of tens of thousands could be shipped by sea to Mazatlán harbor, and could also be supplied by sea.

And the scent of silver was sweet enough that it would surely attract large amounts of capital and mercenaries. As long as he held this strongpoint, the Tycoon King would be clutching an enormous bargaining chip!

The Tycoon King, who had not closed his eyes for days and nights, was red-eyed from exhaustion, his beard grown deep, his skin tanned dark. He looked not the least bit like a tycoon, but rather somewhat like a pirate or mountain bandit.

He was now sitting with Feng Xin in the great hall of a knight's estate — one with a roof — listening to several staff officers report on the progress of construction and on what the Black Lance Cavalry had discovered in their scouting of the surrounding area.

"Great King, in five days at most, the harbor expansion at Silver Harbor will be fully complete, the harbor fortress will also be finished, and the twelve supporting forts on the surrounding hilltops can all be built as well. Although they are all made of earth, timber, and sandbags, their defensive capability can still be guaranteed!"

"The night-rangers have been spread out two hundred li along the coastline, and several warships have been stationed along the coast of Xi Province. No sign of the New Spanish army has been found."

"The dispatch boat sent out from Guacheng harbor arrived at dawn, reporting the battle situation on the northern front. The Qing army has occupied the castle of Guasave and renamed it Xi Province City. In addition, the Qing army has also found no trace of where the Spanish have gone."

Zhu Hehao nodded with satisfaction. This campaign, up to now, was seventy or eighty percent already won! Although he had not fought a hard battle with Don Juan José, no one had ever decreed that war must be a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!

Moreover, here on the New Continent, with few people and vast land, contests of marching strength and mobile warfare were sure to be the norm. An army that could not run simply had no way to seize the initiative. And an army without the initiative — whether it fought or not was decided by others, not by itself!

Conversely, an army that could run could always choose a battlefield that satisfied it.

For example, Mazatlán harbor, already renamed Silver Harbor, was a battlefield that greatly satisfied Zhu Hehao! The surrounding terrain was a ring of low hills enclosing a stretch of flat ground, and the flat ground had a piece missing, forming the harbor.

The harbor was not very large, but it was adequate. The flat ground was not very wide, but it could still accommodate a castle. The surrounding hilltops were not steep, but they were convenient for building supporting forts and stockades.

Once the supporting forts, the fortress, and the harbor were all complete, the Tycoon King would have a firm foothold at Silver Harbor. As for when Don Juan José came to attack, he was confident of victory.

If Don Juan José did not come, that was also fine. In a few years, the Tycoon King would join with the Qing King to seize the silver mines of Zacatecas Province — though of course, it would have to wait a few years!

They had to wait until the Qing King had a firm foothold in Suo Province, Xi Province, and Na Province, and also until Silver Harbor had developed a bit. To truly take the silver mines of Zacatecas Province, without an army of tens of thousands fighting continuously for a year or half a year, it would be absolutely impossible to succeed.

So this matter could not be rushed!

Zhu Hehao turned his head and said to Feng Xin: "It seems Don Juan José will not be coming for the time being. He has lost another round! But this time he has improved compared to the Floodwater River Valley — he did not come to storm Silver Harbor, nor did he go to Xi Province City to make trouble for the Qing King."

"Great King," Feng Xin said thoughtfully, "this subject estimates that he has already withdrawn to Zacatecas Province to set up defenses — first adopting a defensive posture to guarantee against defeat, then seeking to advance. That is a prudent and steady method."

Zhu Hehao smiled and said: "He is that old, so of course he must be prudent. But We are still young, and have all the time in the world to slowly wear him down. We will eventually get the silver."

Feng Xin thought for a moment, then asked: "Great King, this Silver Harbor — are you not handing it over to the Qing King?"

Zhu Hehao snorted: "Hand over what? Are the four provinces of Qing, Suo, Xi, and Na not enough? We put in so much effort in this campaign — is it wrong to take one harbor from him?"

Feng Xin laughed: "Of course it should be taken! In fact, you have taken too little. In this subject's opinion, Colima and Acapulco to the south should also be taken at the same time. Then Your Highness could establish a fiefdom in the south."

Zhu Hehao waved his hand. "Whether to take Colima and Acapulco must be discussed with the Qing King. But there is no need to establish a fiefdom. Silver Harbor, Colima harbor, and Acapulco harbor can all be made into free cities. We will be satisfied as long as there is money to be made; We do not want to establish any fiefdom. One United Provinces is headache enough — if We made a few more, would it not annoy Us to death?"

These words of his were sincere. The gun-toting rabble were too hard to serve!

One United Provinces already made his scalp go numb. To create two more that were beyond his reach would be asking for trouble.

Moreover, the strength in his hands was too limited and could not be dispersed! If concentrated in the United Provinces, it could still hold the situation down. Otherwise, if the United Provinces ever turned, the whole enterprise would be lost.

He thought for a moment, then said to Feng Xin: "We cannot remain long at Silver Harbor. There is still a game to be played in the north! You will serve a term as Governor-General of Silver Harbor. We will leave you three thousand men to hold the city. Are you confident?"

(End of Chapter)