Chapter 232: Large-Scale Military Expansion in the Congo Territory

The news and photos of Gao Da personally receiving Sebastian Xia Pu, the winner of the bullfighting competition, were reprinted by major newspapers, becoming the hottest news in Spain in November 1877.

Sebastian Xia Pu himself possessed supreme honor, was hailed as the most powerful bullfighter in Spain, was an idol in the hearts of many Spanish teenagers, and also stirred admiration in the hearts of many young Spanish ladies.

This also made many bullfighters extremely envious; they secretly made up their minds to achieve better results in the new year's bullfighting competition, replace Sebastian Xia Pu, and become that sought-after national hero.

However, Gao Da had no time to pay attention to this by now, because in mid-to-late November 1877, bad news came from the Congo Territory: some of the plantations established by Spain in the Congo Territory had been looted by local indigenous forces.

The area of the Congo Territory created by Spain was very large, at least several hundred thousand square kilometers. Because no major powers had deeply colonized the African interior, this land could be occupied by Spain without restraint.

Of course, unbridled occupation was not without a price. Currently, Spain's level of control over the Congo Territory was not high; what was truly under control were only the Guinea-Congo passage involved in the railway and dozens of colonial outposts upstream.

The combined area of these colonial outposts was only tens of thousands of square kilometers, and currently, fewer than ten thousand people lived there.

Outside these colonial outposts lived at least several million local indigenous people. When the colonial outposts were first established, the relationship between the outposts and the local indigenous people was relatively friendly.

The outposts could even exchange for some food from local indigenous tribes through material trade, which was also the reason why the colony could be established on a large scale when supplies were insufficient in the early stages.

After the railway was connected, Spain's colonial outposts naturally did not need to trade with the indigenous people for food. On the contrary, whether it was building railways, developing colonies, or constructing plantations, a large number of indigenous people were needed as labor.

This also rapidly destroyed the relationship between Spain and the local indigenous people; the relationship between the two quickly changed from friendly trade at the beginning to hostility, and even conflicts of various sizes broke out.

Fortunately, Spain had long ago dispatched a colonial garrison regiment to be stationed in the Congo Territory, which ensured that the Congo Territory had not yet faced a major crisis.

But a Spanish colonial garrison regiment only had a scale of 2, 00 men, and more than half of the troops were drawn from the indigenous people of various colonies.

This also led to the colonial garrison regiment's lack of combat effectiveness, which could only barely maintain the stability of the colony.

If the Congo Territory had maintained its existing scale, this colonial garrison regiment could barely protect it. But the Congo Territory was constantly expanding, which was also to compete with Portugal for the scale of the Congo colony.

Portugal's colonization of the Congo had already begun hundreds of years ago, and they had also achieved significant results.

The purpose of Spain's massive development of the Congo colony was precisely to control the lower reaches of the Congo River basin completely before Portugal, allowing the Congo Territory to have its own outlet to the sea.

There is no need to elaborate on how important an outlet to the sea is for a colony; currently, the trade methods of countries around the world are basically maritime trade, and the transport capacity of land trains is truly limited.

If the lower reaches of the Congo River could be controlled and an outlet to the sea opened for the Congo Territory, the development of the Congo Territory would enter a golden period of growth.

Moreover, there was only one enemy in the Congo region, Portugal, which made the Spanish government quite unbridled in the expansion of the Congo Territory, having already expanded by at least 300, 00 square kilometers of land.

The rapid expansion of the Congo Territory was certainly good news, but it was also accompanied by a large number of problems.

The most pressing issue was the security of the Congo Territory. Currently, the entire population of the Congo Territory was only over ten thousand, most of whom were immigrants transported from Russia.

The number of indigenous people in the Congo Territory was at least several million, which posed a significant threat to the security of the Congo Territory.

More importantly, various indigenous ethnic groups lived on this land, and there were competitive relationships among these indigenous ethnic groups, making them quite troublesome to manage.

To the east of Spain's Guinea colony was the territory of the Baka people, and to the east of the Baka people were the Zande people. To the south of the Baka and Zande people was Spain's Congo Territory, to the south of the Congo Territory was the territory of the Bantu people, and to the east were some indigenous kingdoms that had existed for hundreds of years.

In the lower reaches of the Congo River, there were also many indigenous states including Anziku, Loango, Ngoyo, Olongo, and Congo.

The large number of indigenous states and tribes made the order near the Congo Territory abnormally chaotic, so it was not surprising that some indigenous people who hated the colonists took advantage of the chaos to loot the plantations.

The moment he learned that some plantations in the Congo Territory had been looted, Gao Da directly issued an order requiring the Congo Territory to form a larger-scale army to protect the security of the territory, and appointed Manuel Macias y Casado, the commander of the garrison regiment stationed in the Congo Territory, as the commander-in-chief of the Congo Territory garrison, promoting his rank from the original Colonel to Major General.

Gao Da had been vigorously cultivating Spanish native officers, and Manuel Macias y Casado was a very prominent representative among them.

As the commander of the colonial garrison regiment stationed in the Congo Territory, Manuel Macias y Casado bore a huge responsibility.

He had also made great contributions to the development of the Congo Territory and was only promoted to the rank of Colonel by Gao Da last year.

Since the Congo Territory needed a larger-scale army, Manuel Macias y Casado was naturally the undisputed candidate for the commander of this large-scale army.

A 32-year-old Major General, his future military career would naturally be quite brilliant and dazzling. Even without any outstanding achievements or contributions, just by accumulating seniority, it would be enough for Manuel Macias y Casado to step into the ranks of Lieutenant General and General.

As for the higher rank of Marshal, besides seniority, it would depend on his ability and loyalty. Of course, in terms of loyalty, Manuel Macias y Casado was certainly trustworthy.

Although Gao Da intended to cultivate Spanish native officers, he would also consider the loyalty of these native officers. If he was not sure of a person's loyalty to him, Gao Da would not cultivate them so vigorously.

Being able to receive Gao Da's vigorous cultivation also proved one thing: after the investigation by the Royal Security Intelligence Agency, it was confirmed that Manuel Macias y Casado himself and his family had sufficient loyalty to Gao Da and the royal family.

Of course, after the expansion of the garrison in the Congo Territory, it was unrealistic for Manuel Macias y Casado alone to control the garrison in the Congo Territory.

After all, the Congo Territory was a vast region with an area already approaching one million square kilometers, and its future area would continue to grow.

The garrison of the territory also needed to be dispersed to various parts of the Congo Territory so that the colonial outposts distributed in various places could be well protected.

In Gao Da's plan, the garrison of the Congo Territory would be increased to the scale of an entire colonial garrison division, with about 20, 00 people.

Because the number of artillery pieces equipped by the colonial garrison troops was too small, the firepower of the garrison troops could only be increased by increasing the number of people.

Considering the millions of people in the Congo Territory and the troops that could be drawn from the nearby Guinea colony, it was quite easy to form a garrison force of about 20, 00 people.

If that didn't work, manpower could also be drawn from the South Morocco colony or the Philippines colony; anyway, there were many Moroccans scrambling to join Spanish nationality, and they could just be allowed to enter the colonial army to show their loyalty to Spain.

The garrison in the Congo Territory reaching 20, 00 people also meant that, in addition to the commander-in-chief, that is, the division commander, a deputy division commander was needed to assist in managing an army of over 20, 00 people.

Regarding the candidate for this deputy division commander, after consideration, Gao Da finally decided to promote Andrew.

Andrew was one of the first confidants to follow Gao Da to Spain and graduated from the Turin Military Academy in Italy. Andrew was originally the commander of the 25th Infantry Regiment of the 6th Infantry Division of the Spanish Royal Army, and was later promoted by Gao Da to be the commander of the Military Advisory Group stationed in Lanfang.

Currently, Andrew had been in Lanfang for more than two years, and the results achieved were quite good. With the help of the Military Advisory Group, Lanfang had successfully established a new army of 20, 00 people and was equipped with rifles and a small amount of artillery from Spain.

The current Republic of Lanfang could be said to be the third largest military force on the island of Kalimantan after Spain and the Netherlands, and the 20, 00-strong new army could easily crush the indigenous people of Kalimantan.

It was precisely because the Republic of Lanfang trained a new army that the Dutch expansion in Kalimantan became difficult.

The Republic of Lanfang not only maintained its existing land scale but even established closer cooperation with some indigenous people in Kalimantan.

Currently, the Chinese population of the Republic of Lanfang was also constantly increasing, and there was hope that the Chinese population would be increased to over 600, 00 before 1880 arrived.

The Republic of Lanfang had officially signed a treaty with Spain, becoming a protectorate of Spain. The Republic of Lanfang needed to be guided by Spain in military and diplomatic rights, but the benefit was that Spain would protect the independence of the Republic of Lanfang and promised never to annex the Republic of Lanfang.

Anyway, the Republic of Lanfang was nominally submissive to Dutch rule before, so regarding the protectorate and related treaties, the Lanfang government did not hesitate at all.

Because the current situation was already very clear, the Qing Dynasty, whose banner they were flying, could not help them at all, nor would it help them at all.

The Republic of Lanfang could only choose to rely on the Netherlands or Spain, otherwise, it could not maintain its independence at all. Compared with the Netherlands, which had the ambition to annex the Republic of Lanfang, Spain's conditions were not so harsh.

Except for needing to listen to Spain's guidance in diplomacy, military affairs, and goods trade, the Republic of Lanfang could have complete domestic political power, and Spain would not interfere in the domestic governance of the Republic of Lanfang.

For Spain, the 20, 00 new troops trained by the Republic of Lanfang would also be a great help.

Whether it was used to deal with the rebellions of various indigenous people in the Philippines or to guard against the Dutch and the British, these 20, 00 new troops could play a very important role.

At the same time, an army of 20, 00 people was not enough to defeat the Dutch. This could ensure that the Republic of Lanfang could be controlled by Spain while possessing a certain amount of strength, and would not let the Republic of Lanfang break away from Spain's control.

Currently, the situation on the island of Kalimantan had stabilized, and under Spain's protection, the Dutch had no plans to invade the Republic of Lanfang for the time being.

This also gave Gao Da the opportunity to replace the members of the Military Advisory Group stationed in the Republic of Lanfang, allowing these military experts who had been stationed in the south for more than two years to return to Spain to rest and reunite with their families.

As the commander of the Military Advisory Group stationed in Lanfang, Andrew was the one who led the training of Lanfang's new army.

Also because of such merit, Gao Da decided to promote him to Colonel of the Spanish Royal Army and appointed him as the deputy division commander of the Congo Territory Garrison Division, assisting Manuel Macias y Casado in managing the army in the Congo Territory.

Gao Da's order was issued very quickly, but by the time Manuel Macias y Casado received the news, it was already the next day.

There was no way; information dissemination in this era was just that slow. Manuel Macias y Casado could still receive the news the next day, but Andrew, who was far away on the island of Kalimantan, would take at least several days to receive the news.

The moment he received the news, Manuel convened a military meeting and announced Gao Da's order regarding the expansion of the army in the Congo Territory.

Even if more than half of the 20, 00-strong colonial garrison division were indigenous soldiers, it was relatively difficult to form this 20, 00-strong army.

Fortunately, Spain could send a batch of officers, which solved the problem of officers for this large garrison division.

Troops could be temporarily recruited from the local indigenous people in the Congo Territory, and some indigenous soldiers could also be transported from the nearby Guinea colony and South Morocco colony.

Manuel naturally understood the reason for Gao Da's order to expand the army; the looting of the plantations was something Spain did not want to see, and whoever looted Spain's plantations would inevitably be subject to Spain's retaliation.

"Recent events have already attracted the attention of His Majesty the King. We must find out who looted the plantations in a short period of time and make them pay the price they deserve." At the military meeting, Manuel Macias y Casado took the lead in putting forward his requirements.

Because of the lack of military strength, Manuel Macias y Casado did not bear too much responsibility after the plantations were looted.

But as the commander of the only garrison in the Congo Territory, it was impossible to say that he had no responsibility at all.

Especially after learning that Gao Da had already paid attention to this matter, Manuel Macias y Casado wanted to find out the real culprit behind the looting of the plantations as soon as possible and bring them to justice to prove his ability to Gao Da.

In addition to the commanders of the garrison regiment, some major officials of the colonial outposts also attended this military meeting.

After all, Manuel was going to announce Gao Da's orders, and these orders also required the cooperation of the officials in the Congo Territory.

At the same time, these officials could also provide some ideas that the officers could not think of. As long as the real culprit could be found early, Manuel did not mind letting these officials share some of the credit.

"Your Excellency General, those who have the power to loot our plantations are most likely some local indigenous tribes, such as the Zande people, the Baka people, and so on.

Since we cannot find out who looted the plantations, why not treat them equally and attack these indigenous tribes at the same time?

These indigenous people must know who the real culprit is. Unless they are willing to sacrifice themselves for the real culprit, I believe someone will tell the truth after our few rounds of attacks." An official put forward his suggestion.

Although the local indigenous people in the Congo Territory were divided into different tribes and ethnic groups, their appearances were all similarly black.

For the Spaniards, it was really difficult to distinguish which tribe or ethnic group they belonged to.

But being difficult to distinguish was the best way to distinguish; since there was no way to distinguish which tribe they belonged to, then treat everyone as the murderer who looted the plantations.

As the saying goes, it is better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let one go. As long as it is ensured that all large indigenous tribes in the vicinity are within the attack range of the Spanish army, it can be determined that the murderer who looted the plantations is among them.

As for those indigenous tribes that were wrongly injured, they could only blame their own bad luck.

If any indigenous tribe wanted to avoid being wrongly injured, they could only say who the real culprit was. Once the real culprit was known, the next things would be easy to handle.

Of course, if these indigenous people refused to say it to the death, there were also good ways to deal with it. Anyway, the construction of Spanish colonies required a large amount of labor, and there was no need to worry about the life or death of these black laborers.

Transporting them to Spain's major colonies for construction, and then burning bridges after the construction was completed to carry out massacres, could also solve the problem once and for all.

Hearing the suggestion of this official, Manuel's eyes lit up, and he said without hesitation: "This is a good method, let's try it this way first.

However, the problem is that our military strength is too small. It seems that we have to borrow some troops from South Morocco and Guinea first."

To attack several large indigenous tribes at the same time, at least several thousand troops were needed. And the current Congo Territory, all in all, only had this one colonial garrison regiment, with 2, 00 troops, which was obviously unable to attack several indigenous tribes at the same time.

Fortunately, the Guinea colony and the South Morocco colony were not too far from the Congo Territory. If the action was fast, the troops from the Guinea colony could even be transported to the Congo Territory in a few days, after all, the railway between Guinea and the Congo Territory had already been completed.

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(End of this chapter)