Empire Rising: Spain

Manuel still has a long time ahead to accumulate qualifications and establish achievements. As long as he doesn’t make any major mistakes in his military career and continues smoothly, becoming a general in the future won’t be difficult.

The rank of general is considered a high-ranking officer in any country, and this is also true in Spain.

Manuel was born into a common officer family, and his achievements are already quite remarkable, making him one of the outstanding individuals among Spain’s more than ten million civilians.

After stepping onto African soil, Manuel understood the arduous nature of his mission.

The Defense Corps he leads must secretly enter the upper reaches of the Congo River Basin to protect the Spanish colonial outpost located there and assist the incoming troops in building railroads, maintaining order, and more.

At the very least, the Spanish colonial outpost must be well established in this area before the Spanish army can be revealed to other countries.

Their enemies include not only the local African indigenous tribes but also the military of surrounding colonies of other countries. Even the local African viruses and poisonous insects are their enemies, with the ever-present risk of sudden death in Africa.

Before arriving in the Guinea Colony, Manuel had already ensured that enough medicines were brought, including quinine for treating malaria.

Malaria is rampant in Africa’s primeval forests, and it was not until quinine was discovered in 1820 that Europeans were relieved from the distress of African malaria.

Of course, compared to the relatively mature medical system of later generations, the medicine for treating malaria at this time was still quite simple and ineffective.

Although quinine was indeed discovered in 1820, this substance extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree could effectively treat African malaria, but it also had significant side effects.

There is even a possibility that a malaria patient might not die from malaria but from the side effects of quinine.

Nevertheless, quinine remains the only and most effective means of treating African malaria at present and is one of the essential medicines for the expedition and other colonizers entering Africa.

The good news is that although the quantity of quinine Manuel carries is limited, they can resupply through the Guinea Colony.

As a colony in Africa, it’s normal for the Guinea Colony to have quinine in circulation. It is also normal for Spain to transport quinine to Guinea, providing a certain guarantee for this army’s advance into the upper reaches of the Congo River in terms of medicine.

After disembarking in Guinea, Manuel led his troops eastward and reached the territory of the Baka people within a few days.

This area is already far from the colonies of Portugal and the United Kingdom, so there is no need to worry about being discovered by other colonizers. However, the downside is that it is deep within the African continent, presenting Manuel and his soldiers with a mysterious environment and unknown enemies.

According to the topographic maps provided by the expedition, south of the Baka people’s territory is the Bantu people’s settlement.

The vast plain discovered by the expedition is located within the Bantu people’s territory.

Of course, the entire 2000-strong army cannot head to the upper reaches of the Congo River Basin. Managing logistics alone would be enough to give Manuel headaches.

After careful consideration, Manuel decided to establish the army’s main camp at the border between the Guinea Colony and the Baka people, to facilitate resupply from Guinea.

Smaller units would advance deep into the heart of Baka territory, stationed on the connection between the Baka and Bantu people. South from there is the upper reaches of the Congo River Basin, not far from the plain.

Only when effective colonization efforts have been established in that area will the army consider stationing in the plains.

After all, if logistics support for the army cannot be ensured, stationing the troops there would become a liability instead.

The expedition sustained itself over four years through plundering the local indigenous people. Given their smaller numbers, this managed to ensure the expedition’s logistical support.

The army numbers several times that of the expedition, making such methods impractical. Even if food for the troops could be obtained via looting, resupplying weapons and ammunition would still be an issue.

Until a complete supply system and line are established, the main force is best positioned around the Guinea Colony to ensure supply safety.

Although the main camp of the Defense Corps was placed near Guinea, Manuel himself did not plan to remain around the Guinea Colony.

While advancing east into the Baka people’s territory is more dangerous, it is also his responsibility as the army’s commander.

Moreover, greater danger comes with greater opportunity. Manuel’s mission is to protect the newly established colonial outposts in the upper reaches of the Congo River Basin, assist the expedition in maintaining order, and establish extensive contact with more local indigenous tribes.

While the later colonial development would certainly exploit these indigenous people, it is unnecessary to eliminate them all during the initial establishment of colonial outposts.

The most important thing now is to establish broad colonial outposts and announce the establishment of the entire Congo River Basin colony based on these outposts.

Until this step is completed, Spain will not consider a massacre of the local indigenous people. These newly established colonial outposts still require some trade with the local indigenous tribes to resolve supply issues.

Although the local tribes have relatively backward technology and culture, their hunting methods are quite powerful. Trading posts can purchase the prey hunted by these tribes, which is one of the sources of food.

If purchase proves impossible, then forcibly taking from nearby indigenous tribes would be considered. After all, the safety of the Spanish in these colonial outposts is certainly more important than that of the indigenous people, not to mention there are too many indigenous people on this land to be entirely eradicated.

The government’s action was swift. Just a few days after Manuel led his troops to land at the Guinea Colony, the first team sent by the government had already arrived at the Guinea Colony.

This team’s task is to expand the population of the coastal and river basin outposts, while also attempting to construct a simple railway connecting Guinea and the Congo River Basin regions.

Only by connecting these two regions can the logistics supply issue of the Congo River Basin outposts be completely resolved. And only by resolving this logistics supply issue can the armies be safely stationed on this land to protect the Spaniards during the next phase of colonial development.

The saying that to get rich, one must first build roads, is an eternal truth in any region, even in colonization.

No one cares whether the railway passing through Baka people’s territory would encounter their opposition.

If the Baka people oppose it, this land can become a no-man’s-land. As for the Baka people living on this land, the underground might better suit their eternal rest.