Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 129 Bordeaux Situation ([-])

Sure enough, as Mo Ming expected, the privateer fleet of the China East Coast Republic Navy quietly approached the sea off Bordeaux on July 7th.

Outside the mouth of the Gironde River, the sky is high and the clouds are light.

White seagulls are flying against the wind in the blue sky, and there is a cry from time to time; the endless waves are struggling to slap the reefs on the coast, making bursts of roar.

Bordeaux in midsummer doesn't feel so hot under the sea breeze.From the wide estuary of the Gironde River inward, the masts of densely packed ships line up along the coast, which looks spectacular.Among them were fishing vessels from La Rochelle, timber traders from Lisbon, spice traders from Holland, and fur traders from the New World.

There are row upon row of houses, shops and warehouses along the shore, where Bordeaux shows its prosperous side.From time to time, there are small boats shuttling back and forth in the river port, selling some fruits and vegetables to the big ships that sail here.Of course, some of the small boats were full of prostitutes who were posing, their faces were smeared with white powder, and they stood at the bow and giggled at the sailors.Sailors who have experienced dangerous and boring voyages are always willing to spend their last copper coins at this time in exchange for a one-night pleasure with these prostitutes.

It seems that this is a bustling and peaceful afternoon in Bordeaux as usual.However, all this was broken in an instant.

The many forts built on both sides of the Gironde Estuary were full of people, and the officers shouted nervously. They hadn't heard of war for many years, and they were extremely nervous at this moment.The dusty gun cover was removed, and the gunners were sweating profusely as they carried the gunpowder and shells. An anxious and dignified atmosphere permeated the entire fort, and everyone looked forward.

On the sea not far ahead, five warships with unknown flags were undulating with the waves.Four of them are ordinary escort gunships of moderate tonnage. Although it seems that the number of artillery is slightly more, it is acceptable after all.It's just that one of the large battleships that looks like the flagship is a bit scary. This battleship has a tonnage of about [-] tons. Looking from the shore, the densely packed gun ports on one side of the ship make one's scalp numb.

This is a large battleship comparable to what the British and the Dutch call a battle line gunship!

Those in the port are all old sailors, and everyone can roughly estimate that this large battleship obviously has more than 60 artillery pieces.God, a battleship with more than [-] artillery pieces, this can be regarded as the main battleship with a head and a face in the French and English navies!

A French single-masted offshore cruiser hung the fleur-de-lis flag and sailed towards the fleet moored on the sea. Their goal was obviously the leading large battleship.

It seemed they were lucky that the fleet was not hostile to them.The Frenchman's small cruise ship approached smoothly, and after some exchanges between the two sides, it seemed that the misunderstanding had been cleared up.Then the five ships headed by this large warship, under the guidance of the French single-masted cruiser, slowly moved towards the Gironde River, and they were allowed to berth in the commercial port of Bordeaux for supplies.

……

After receiving the news, Xu Xin, Mo Ming and others rushed to the pier outside Bordeaux.

The tall hull, huge sail surface and large number of large-caliber naval guns of the battleship "August [-]" left a deep impression on the merchants, sailors and French customs officials on the pier.Sailors in white round-neck cotton shirts are constantly busy on the deck: some are lowering the sails, some are cleaning the deck, and some are carrying cargo...

Looking at the huge double-headed eagle figure on the bow and the double-sword goshawk flag flying in the sea breeze on the mast, Xu Xin felt a strange sense of pride in his heart: Look!This is our battleship!This is the embodiment of our strength and will!

The guys from the navy finally came after wandering outside for so long. None of the five ships were lost, so they should have gained a lot. The British are probably exhausted.

Lieutenant Commander Lu Ming, wearing a light blue short-sleeved navy summer uniform, went down the rope ladder to the pier surrounded by a group of officers.Xu Xin stepped forward quickly, shook hands with Lu Ming vigorously, and said with a smile: "I came back smoothly, it seems that you have made a fortune this time. Hey, there seems to be some damage on the boat. Those British guys are so fierce? I can still hit you, can't I?"

"Why not?" Lu Ming said dejectedly, "Those British people are diehards, and they all fought until the last moment before surrendering. Grandma, she scuttled the ship before surrendering, so we couldn't capture them." Any enemy ship only had time to grab part of the belongings. This time we lost a total of 50 casualties, which is really unlucky. I threw those British officers into the sea in a fit of anger."

"Uh..." Xu Xin was at a loss for words for a while, and then asked, "What have you gained this time?"

"What else is there? Nearly half of it is tobacco, which fills two entire boats. The rest is some cotton, indigo and fur, which is not a lot." Lu Ming said, "To be honest, the British's The colonies are really poor, much poorer than the Spaniards’ territories, and they are simply not at the same level. I don’t know if these tobaccos can be sold at a high price, so we can exchange some money and go back to the emergency.”

After entering the 17th century, the tobacco trade between the British colonies and the mainland became more and more prosperous.

Imports from the Chesapeake region alone are recorded to have grown from 17 pounds a year in the early 6s to 46 pounds last year.The adjacent colony of Virginia is also a large tobacco grower. In the previous year and last year, the big businessman Maurice Thomson imported more than 40 pounds of tobacco from Virginia, with an average price of about 12 pence per pound.According to the estimates of the National Intelligence Agency, the annual tobacco production in the British North American colonies has reached nearly ten million pounds at this time. Except for a part of the tobacco produced by the UK itself, most of the rest is used for re-export. The British use it every year. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of proceeds were shared.

"Tobacco..." Xu Xin was a little embarrassed, "I haven't researched this product, but I feel that there is still a market in France."

"Currently the price of tobacco in Bordeaux is not low." Mo Ming, who had been standing by the side without speaking, spoke up. The tall and thin man pulled out a pack of tobacco leaves from his deputy, Sun Heiqi, and said, " Here, authentic Virginia tobacco, Inspector Sun, how much did you pay for it?"

"3 sous a pack." Sun Heiqi said flatteringly, "It's just a little less, these profiteers."

Mo Ming weighed it in his hand and said: "The weight is almost 1 French pound, which is 1.1 British pounds. Virginia tobacco is quite famous in France, and France currently lacks this luxury product. The market The prospect is still good. A while ago, the Pasquale family was planning to replant tobacco in the plantation in Cape-de-France, because the demand for this stuff in France is rising steadily. I guess we should look for a relationship If you don’t, the tobacco you have on hand can be sold at a price of 1 pound and 1 sou. How much of this kind of tobacco have you got, if there is less, there is no need to find someone.”

"It's probably more than 40 pounds..." Lu Ming lowered his head and said softly, "Station Master Mo, tell me, can you sell it? As long as I get back [-] francs, I will be satisfied. It belongs to your General Intelligence Bureau, I don't care. How about it, do you want to do it?"

"Done!" Mo Ming agreed without blinking an eye. In this short period of time, he also met some powerful businessmen who had business dealings with nobles such as the Pasquale family and Baron Loris. Coincidentally Surprisingly, two of them were in the tobacco business.Even more coincidentally, these two tobacco dealers also acted as agents for the sales of Dong'an cloth, and they came to the door by themselves. These people will definitely save face, and the whereabouts of this batch of tobacco will be known.

"Cheerful!" Lu Ming praised, "I still have some furs here, about four or five thousand. As usual, I only need to take away five thousand francs, and the rest will belong to you. How about it, find a way to help me together Dealt with it?"

"No problem." Mo Ming said without changing expression, "The cycle of fur sales may be longer, and I can't find such a big buyer in a short time. How about this, you give me the goods first, and after a week, I will I'll give you another five thousand francs on time."

"One week is fine!" Lu Ming agreed after thinking for a while, then looked at Xu Xin who was a little embarrassed by the side with a half-smile, and teased: "Oh, old Xu, why don't you trade ministers?" Done. You see, the people in the Intelligence Bureau are much better at doing it than you. They are clear about all kinds of business and have sales. Unlike you, who are all focused on the cotton business and keep their ears to the outside world, that’s not okay. ah."

Xu Xin smiled wryly, did not speak, and turned to Lu Ming and said, "You may have to stay here for a while. After I gather up some more bankrupt workers and their families, I will go back to China with you. Don't worry, Mr. The expenses during the stay will be borne by our trade department, and I will write a report to the executive committee to make this clear.”

Lu Ming laughed and patted him on the shoulder, then strode forward with a cheerful voice: "I got a lot of money this time. Although the British colonies are poor, those British businessmen are still pretty Wealthy ones, you don’t need your Ministry of Trade to pay this small amount of money, I’m not short of money! Instead, you hurriedly prepare hot water for me, grandma, I haven’t bathed in months, and my body is full of lice, which is extremely itchy.”

Behind him was a group of excited sailors and junior naval officers.They were allowed by their superiors to return to the team before nightfall, and this group of good guys who had been wandering at sea for several months suddenly cheered, and then went out in groups of three or four to have fun, arm in arm.

(End of this chapter)