Iquique Port is one of the most important ports on the west coast of South America. It is located in the center of the west coast and is known as the waist eye of South America.

Controlling Iquik not only allows you to obtain an excellent Pacific port, but also control the output of 80% of saltpeter and struvite in the Atacama Desert. The focus of this war is here.

The moonlight scattered on the earth like a wash, and the sound of waves in the distance was heard from the Pacific Ocean. The late night in Iquik had gradually quieted down, and only the fortresses surrounding the city still came from the voices of people.

"This city has no walls? Instead, seven large fortresses were built around the city? What a routine, I have never seen it before..."

Tie Toutuo, who was lying on the sand dune, was wearing a dark yellow camouflage coat. He was observing Iquik's defense at close range through the moonlight. Chen Yonglu and several Taiping troops were guarding him.

"This is not unusual. This is South America, not China. They do not have that many people to build large city walls. Moreover, there is a lot of yellow sand and stone around Iquik, and there is a lack of wood and sticky soil, so they cannot build a civil and wooden city wall, and they do not have that much manpower in stone city walls..."

"Don't underestimate these seven brick and stone fortresses. The cannons inside are very powerful. They cross firepower to support each other. In addition, the soldiers shoot with muskets from a high place, and the firepower is fierce..."

"To the west of Iquik is the sea. The shore defense artillery above controls the dock, and seven fortresses guard the three directions of north and south. The Chileans had tentatively attacked once before, but they could not rush through at all. The city was right in front of them, but they could not rush through the enemy's firepower network..."

"Cross firepower? If we attack from three directions on land together, what are we afraid of?" Tietoutuo asked back.

"Hey... Brother Tie! You still don't understand here. South America is different from China. It has a vast land and a sparse population but not so many people to sacrifice. Moreover, the army here is not resistant to hard fighting. To be honest, those indigenous people do not have any concept of a country in their hearts..."

"After all, the big white figures want to fight this war. The soldiers under them are ordinary people. They don't care who belongs to the desert. Anyway, the language is the same. If that country controls this mining area, workers from other countries can still work and make money..."

"It is obviously a regular army, but in fact it is a group of mercenaries! If you have milk, you are a mother. If you give money, you can carry a gun! If you attack from three sides as you said, you need to use at least an army of 60,000 people, and a fleet must support the sea, attract the firepower of the turret, and block the enemy's warships..."

"Is it possible? It's impossible. If Chile can invest 60,000 yuan in one go, what else do we do? In this battle against Iquik, our Taiping Army sent 15,000 troops and Chile sent 30,000 troops. This is already a huge army..."

Forty-five thousand people, even if they were full of soldiers, Tietou Tuo could not calculate this battle. The veterans who had just arrived from Southeast Asia were stunned. Thinking back to the Qing Dynasty, a bloody battle between 100,800 people strangled together. If the spectacular scene was moved here... no one dared to think about it.

Chen Yonglu sighed, "Do you think you can invest forty-five thousand people? Chile invests two-thirds of the total, that is, twenty-thousands of people. We have to leave five thousand seeds to save our lives, and only ten thousand people will go to the battlefield... only 30,000 people, and I think there are no more!"

"How many enemies are there?" Tietoutuo asked.

"The seven bunkers have an average of 2,000 soldiers, a total of 14,000 combat soldiers, and there are 2,000 emergency troops at the docks and forts. The Peruvian guards in Iquik have a total of 16,000... Ten thousand defenders occupying the geographical advantage, it is hard to eat with our 30,000!"

"Not only that, according to intelligence, Bolivia has a reinforcement of more than 25,000 people coming from the west, and the total Iquik army will reach 40,000... This battle is difficult to fight!"

After observing the terrain of Iquik, Tietoo looked at the pocket watch and found that it was already past four o'clock in the morning. He ordered everyone to retreat and soon returned to the camp in the south.

In one day, the Taiping Army camp was full of tense atmosphere of preparation for war. The Brown-clothed Army was telling the reinforcements about the climate, products, language, and eating habits of the land. Veterans who traveled long distances jogged in the camp to restore their physical functions, and the blacksmiths who followed the army were creating more Taiping swords. The Chilean Army's logistics troops sent a large number of muskets, crossbows, ammunition, bows and arrows, food, and medical products continuously.

On that day, Tiedoutuo did not walk out of the tent, and the other generals were locked in it by him, and they were having a meeting all day. When Silapizo walked into the camp in the evening and lifted the tent of the command center, a strong smoke pushed him out like a wall.

"Cough cough...my God! Don't choke yourself to death before you even fight. Although Cuban cigars are good, they are not the same as you are!"

Walking into the smoky tent, Silapizzo was immediately attracted by a huge object in front of him. He put down the handkerchief that blocked his mouth and nose and rushed over, "My God! What is this? What are you doing? Have you ever received the most advanced military academy education?"

In front of Silapizo is a huge sand table of about four square meters. In the center is the Port of Iquique. The block carved with cork is placed on it, and all the streets are clearly presented.

Seven fortresses firmly protect the city. The blue velvet represents the sea water of the Pacific Ocean. There are also black painted wooden artillery on the shore defense forts.

Further away is a piece of yellow sand, hills, and mountains... In the golden eyes, there are oasis and desert towns, and there is also a small Bolivian flag.

"General, these small Bolivian flags represent Bolivian reinforcements, and the Peruvian guards here in Iquique have also been marked clearly... Now I need you to mark the naval intelligence as well!"

Tietoutu grabbed a handful of wooden warships and stuffed them into Silapizo's hands.

Silapizzo was very shocked. He once again raised his expectations for these Chinese people, especially when he saw a military map spread out on the desk in the corner of the room, and the contour lines on it were drawn very finely.

"Can I look at your map?" said Silapizo.

"Yes... this is what we supplemented from the new survey and mapping according to the original map. We probably found twelve errors. The previous map even missed three small towns in the desert, and we have marked them!"

"You... are you proficient in mathematics and geometry? Oh my God, is China's education level so high?" Silapizo was struck by lightning. Only first-class officers in the Chilean army can master mathematics, and only high-level subjects such as geometry can be mastered by battalion officers or above.

Now these Chinese people can actually draw military maps by themselves, which has completely overturned his previous concepts.

"Your Excellency General, it should not be the time to talk about these topics. We need you to show us the power comparison between the enemy and our navy. Our wargame deduction has reached the most critical moment..."
Chapter completed!