Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1261 Situation and immigration ([-])

September 1660, 9, Port San Vicente, sunny.

Seven or eight three-masted galleons were moored in the quiet harbor, and the customs chief Xi Weio, who had just taken office for a few days, was checking the documents of the captains with a pipe in his mouth.This guy had previously served as the deputy head of Qingdao Customs for three years, and was transferred to the newly occupied San Vicente Customs as the head of the customs because of his proficiency in business and political reliability.However, this guy is actually more concerned about the throne of the head of customs in Rio de Janeiro next door, but considering that there is still a Portuguese fortress in that port city—the famous Fortress of the Conception of the Virgin—that has not yet been conquered, so he can only Forget it, let's do a good job on the island of San Vicente first, and it may not be impossible to rise one step further and become a senior customs official in the East Coast Republic.

At this time, none of the ships moored in the harbor were from the east coast. There were a total of eight ships, four from the Netherlands, two from Japan, one from Tuscany, and one from New Chur Lan, who was invited by people from the East Bank to sweep the goods—in fact, they were buying cheap spoils from the East Bank.

The trophies were seized in the port of San Vicente, or poured over from the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro next door (many manors in the outskirts of this place have been occupied by the East Bank), and of course more were transported from the inland Sao Paulo Parish through mules and horses. All agricultural products are now gathered in the port of San Vicente for public sale to raise war expenses for the army and navy.

The four Dutch ships all came from the West India Company. This colonial enterprise with extremely bad financial conditions is now not letting go of every opportunity to make money, and the people on the east coast also take care of them in the face of old friends. Part of the domestic sales are closely followed by them to choose first.For example, they picked more than 60 tons of high-quality Brazilian wheat, with an average of only [-] guilders per ton, which is very cheap, and they will definitely make a lot of money if they are shipped back to Amsterdam; Tobacco leaves, the Netherlands is also very short of this commodity, especially today after the implementation of the "Navigation Regulations", they have even begun to increase imports from New Courland, which can be bought at a low price from the Port of San Vicente. All in all, they are very satisfied with the good goods given to them by the people from the east coast.

All in all, these four merchant ships of the Dutch West India Company purchased wheat, wine, dried fruits, tobacco leaves, leather, tallow and high-quality wood in San Vicente Port, and paid a total of more than [-] yuan for the goods. While paying a considerable amount of war expenses, he also made a small profit for himself. Both parties are happy.

In addition, the cabins of two Japanese merchant ships were filled with slave food such as cassava, as well as a large amount of seized Indian roving, linen, processed tobacco, and agricultural tools from the Portuguese manor. More than [-] yuan, it is planned to transport all of them to the Nishui River and Mahawawi River Delta in the northwest of Xinhua Island for sale.They have invested in a large number of plantations in Pompeii Township, Sweet Township and other places, and hired countless Italian workers to work. These cheaply bought goods can just supplement the daily consumption of the plantation and save a lot of money.

As for the merchant ship from Tuscany, it was originally with the Japanese to investigate the investment environment, and by the way, it transported a ship of lead, tin and copper ore from the Old World for sale.When the meeting was about to return, it also brought a lot of leather, tropical dried fruits, tobacco, a little cane sugar and various artworks seized from Portuguese colonial officials, and spent more than 2 yuan in miscellaneous things; and the last new ship The Courland Merchant Ship was even more pragmatic. It directly pulled most of the wheat and a lot of livestock such as cattle and sheep, which were urgently needed by their colony, and they spent less than 1 yuan before and after.

All of the above was completed in the last week. Immediately, the eight foreign merchant ships will go through the formalities and then go back to their respective homes.This money is added to the cash brought back in San Vicente, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espiritu Santo and other places-including poll taxes, gold and silver, private property of hostile officials, redemption fees and other miscellaneous expenses- —The sum is close to 3 yuan, which can be described as a lot of harvest.It's a pity that the South Route Army led by Commander-in-Chief Zhu Liang Zhu didn't gain much along the way. The money they got so far is only 80 to 6 yuan. will increase substantially.

However, if you think that this number has already reached the peak, then you obviously underestimated the means of the people on the east coast.People from the East Coast also transported a large amount of cotton, dried fruit, tobacco, sugar, and high-grade wood back to the country for sale and realized cash. This also returned a lot of funds, which is conservatively estimated to be close to 20 yuan.If this money is counted, it will be 100 million yuan in cash, which is already nearly half of the current one-year wartime military pay on the east coast, and everyone, including the executive committee and the military department, breathed a sigh of relief.

The above-mentioned money was basically concentrated in the Port of San Vicente, and then jointly counted and checked by officials from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Customs, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Trade, and then put into the bank account of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a receipt. For a period of time, the war expenses of the army and navy.As the head of customs at the port of San Vicente, Xi Weiao naturally participated in these matters throughout the whole process. He admired the army's style of scraping three feet in Brazil, and felt that several poorer missionary areas in Brazil could search for such things. So much wealth, if it is those rich generals in the north - such as Bahia, Pernambuco and other places - how much money should they be able to grab?It's a pity that there was a serious shortage of troops a while ago, and the military did not dare to make up their minds to land in the San Salvador area, otherwise they would definitely make a fortune. What a pity, what a pity!

"This 100 million cash is actually just the first income. The people from the Ministry of War are distributing military votes in these occupied areas and compulsorily purchasing a large amount of land and manors. These have already started to be auctioned and listed one after another. Surely A large amount of cash can be withdrawn, maybe we can collect millions of yuan this year, then this will almost earn back [-]% of the war expenses for the whole year, which is quite powerful." After smoking a bag of high-quality Congo shredded tobacco , Xi Weiao returned the documents to the foreign captains, then walked back to his office, made a cup of yerba mate tea, and said to himself.

"I heard that the South Route Army has begun to immigrate to Shibian. More than 4 acres of cultivated land have been sold, and nearly 30 yuan of funds have been recovered. In addition, the 30-year lease rights of some manors have also been auctioned out one after another. Not much, and the Ministry of the Army has returned more than [-] yuan in cash. Alas, there are so many rich people in this country. I didn’t think before that the launch of the land purchase policy would all come out in a swarm. It’s really exciting. Vision." Xi Weiao was wandering in the sky, and Gao Shan, the head of the security team of Jingjiang County, walked in while speaking: "It is said that my second, third, and fourth children are all old, and they spend all day fishing and grazing in the countryside. , Building embankments, no one is doing business, it’s really not a problem. Recently, General San Vicente’s land has also started to be auctioned and listed. I’m thinking about buying some land for them too. Well, Portuguese manors cannot be rented. , it is more reliable to buy twenty or thirty acres of land for one person."

As the head of the Jingjiang County Security Corps, Gao Shan is also known as an old "Red Deer". He followed Marshal Mo to fight against the Qing army led by Hauge in Yantai, and moved to Jingjiang County to settle down after retiring.This guy married two wives (the first wife died in an epidemic) and had eight children.The four older children were born to his ex-wife. They didn’t know what to do. They weren’t very smart, and they didn’t even graduate from a fucking elementary school—the second semester of the fifth grade will be assessed on arithmetic, composition, nature, etc. , You can only graduate after you pass the exam——you have no choice but to stay in the countryside and work in agriculture. Units such as the county building materials company, Jingjiang paper mill, and government agencies cannot enter. Gao Shan really broke his heart to find a way for them.

This time, he led two thousand sons from the Jingjiang County Security Corps to capture San Vicente Port, and he immediately took a fancy to this coastal city with a pleasant climate.Although it is backed by the Mar Mountains, the coastal plain is relatively narrow, and its area is only equivalent to the size of a county in China in later generations, but after all, it can open up a lot of cultivated land, right?Besides, the transportation here is convenient, the port is wide and the water is deep, and large ships come and go, it is very convenient, much better than going over the mountains to Sao Paulo.Therefore, after the land bidding, auction and listing work started in General San Vicente, Gao Shan immediately planned to spend money to buy land for his three sons (the eldest can inherit the family business), so that they have the capital to start a family .

For Gao Shan, who had served in the Far East for many years, the land purchase price of a few hundred yuan was really not a big expense.Thinking that his old subordinate Zamparini was able to invest thousands of dollars in the marine industry in Port Rocha, and he spent more than 700 yuan to buy some land, which is really trivial.Moreover, these are all cultivated lands that have been developed, and they are only ten yuan per mu (the land in General San Vicente is set at ten yuan per mu because of its high quality and fertile soil), which is surprisingly cheap. I really feel sorry for myself for buying some.

Xi Weiao is different from Gao Shan. His family is located in Qingdao County. Some of his children are in the army, some are in business, and some are in politics. They are basically citizens, and they do not own any land.However, this does not prevent him from finding a way out for himself. For example, he plans to buy a [-]-acre land and put it in the name of his youngest son. It's just that the situation is not stable at this time, and the local area has not yet launched land auctions, auctions and listings on a large scale, so he is still waiting slowly.

"How is the situation in the diocese of St. Paul? Has it stabilized?" Xivio couldn't help asking because he was thinking about the land purchase.

"Two new county security regiments have been added, plus the original garrison troops. The total strength has exceeded [-], so the local situation has greatly eased, and many forces that are about to move have been suppressed. However, the resistance of white manor owners in various places is still one after another. , they accused us of tearing up the peace agreement reached with them and wantonly embezzling their wealth, so the anti-East Bank sentiment is very serious, and the funding for the Sao Paulo flag team is also increasing day by day. At present, I guess there are not many safe places. The town is an area in the center of the circle. The manors in this area have been cleaned up, and most of the colonists have indicated that they want to return to Brazil, just to free up the land for our new immigrants." Gao Shan sat across from Xiweiao , picked up a book and flipped through it—it seems to be a book about capitalism and colonization written by Xu Xin—and said: "I think what I mean now is to clean up a place, enrich the immigration, and digest it into Our own land, land or manor bidding and listing work is the first step. Of course, the sweeping team composed of seven thousand troops will naturally take turns to attack non-stop. In this environment where there are enemies everywhere, If you don’t thoroughly wipe out the hostile forces nearby, you won’t be able to sleep well.”

"Where did the army go?" Xi Weiao asked again after listening for a long time.

"I'm not very clear either." Gao Shan carefully sorted out the scattered news he heard recently, and then said in an uncertain tone: "Major Xiao Xi and the main force of a mixed battalion have entered St. I haven’t moved for a long time. At most, I send troops to the outskirts to collect food—you know, it’s very unreliable to transport military food from San Vicente Port to the inland. Even the food we sell to the Dutch is mostly produced in the coastal areas and What about Rio de Janeiro—the journey is limited to one or two days. As for the 4000 security corps in Zhongshan and Tieling counties, it seems that they marched inland along the Tiet River and occupied three Portuguese colonial towns. The long-distance advance is only more than 100 kilometers. They dare not go too far, so logistics will be very problematic. Weapons, ammunition and military supplies cannot be delivered to the front line in time, and the risk of being cut off by the Sao Paulo flag team is also high. Increase. Last month, a team of former supporters from Xihu County was attacked more than 50 kilometers west of the town of Sao Paulo, killing 24 people. Chief Xiao was furious and ordered troops to attack several local Portuguese manors because They are suspected of providing supplies and intelligence support for the St. Paul flag team. Do you know the local situation now? Hehe, the absolutely safe place is only close to the line from the Mar Mountains to the town of St. Paul."

"Every place we occupy, we have to divide our troops. We put [-] in this town, [-] in that traffic node, and now we need to allocate some manpower to patrol the transportation line, and St. Paul's diocese is so vast, won't our troops be divided in the end? What a mess? On the contrary, the St. Paul's flag team always concentrates its superior forces and attacks our logistics transportation line by stealth. In fact, it’s really not enough. If things go on like this for a long time, not only will the military expenditure be huge, but the immigration operation may not have a stable environment to advance.” After hearing this, Xi Weiao said with some surprise: “What are you doing like this? !"

(End of this chapter)