Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1293 Escort and dowry

While the naval sweeping fleet was still fighting in the area of ​​General Pernambuco, on July 1661, 7, the east coast escort fleet returning from European trade arrived at the capital Oriental Port, and all ships immediately entered the dock for renovation and maintenance. After hearing the news, Qiang Quansheng, chairman of the executive committee, went to the pier to express condolences to the returning soldiers, and promised on the spot that he would award medals and bonuses to the officers and soldiers for their meritorious service, which greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers.

At the same time, the three counties directly under the central government (namely, Dongfang County, Luocha County, and Qingdao County) also organized primary and middle school students to go to the wharf to conduct patriotic education.After the students saw the tall and mighty "Executive Committee" battleship and the shocking bullet marks on its deck, the students couldn't help being in awe, and the image of the Navy in their eyes became even taller.

The Patriotic Student Union, the Military Soul Promotion Association and other non-governmental organizations also took to the streets, calling on citizens to donate to the country so that the navy can build more warships. As a result, they raised more than 10 yuan in one day.After seeing the enthusiasm of the people, the Joint Chiefs of Staff controlled by the army was forced to express its support for the navy to build new ships!

On July 7, the technicians of the Zhenhai Shipyard who got the news took out the drawings that had been locked in the drawer for a long time-the construction drawings of the three-deck battleship "East Coaster"-and took out a blueprint imported from the Congo. His collection of giant logs, intended to be the keel of a ship.

The keel is made of a large tree called "Damei pigeonpea", which is generally less than 50 meters high, but this tree is more than 60 meters high, with a round and straight trunk. After processing, it is still about 48 meters long and 1.3 meters in diameter. Between -2 meters, it is indeed a high-quality keel wood that is difficult to find even with a lantern, especially for the "Executive Committee" class with a displacement of about 1730 tons.

The heartwood of Damei pigeonpea is yellow-brown, and turns dark brown after exposure. The material is harder (both in hardness and strength than teak, but not as flexible as teak).

This kind of wood dries very slowly, but hardly degrades except for slight warping. After use, the wood has little expansion and shrinkage and is extremely stable in shape (slightly lower than teak); Marine moth drills; good hand or machine processing performance, not as good as teak and more abrasive cutting tools.To sum up, this is an extremely good teak substitute, and there are very few such large ones in the forest. People on the east bank can really thank Tianzun for his blessing. If it wasn’t for Ku If the Irish people have a large amount of medicines, weapons and building materials, it is estimated that they will not be so happy to hand them over.

With this keel wood, it is not difficult to find other wood for ship boards: in recent years, the east coast has imported a large number of onion leaf-shaped iron beans and mulberry (which is also a good teak wood) from New Courland. Alternatives), yellow gall wood, African monkey fruit, Burmese nightshade (this tree is imported as a whole, because its root soaking liquid has a certain curative effect on schistosomiasis), Gabon roulette wood and other excellent ship materials, There are quite a lot of them in stock, which just happened to be used to build the "East Coast Man".

"The 'East Coast Man' was built with donations from the people (currently the scope of donations has been extended to outside the capital), and it embodies the spiritual sustenance of the people, so it was named 'East Coast Man'. I hope you will not let everyone down." After learning that the amount of donations far exceeded expectations, Qiang Quansheng, chairman of the executive committee, said to Mo Ming and Li Yi, "This ship must be built well, and the sailors must also choose elite equipment. She, can't Shen!"

Chairman Qiang's words were on this point, and Mo and Li could only keep saying yes, and they began to think about where to find the maintenance cost of 30 yuan and [-] yuan a year in the future. Forget it for fun, reduce the cost, and also reduce the probability of the ship being in distress, otherwise, if it sinks in a storm when going out to sea, it would be so unjust!Thinking of this, Mo and Li looked at each other, knowing each other.

After talking about this matter, Qiang Quansheng brought up another matter that caused more headaches for people on the east coast, that is, the centralized escort operation in 1661 was about to start again.At present, a large number of merchant ships have gathered in Qingdao Port, waiting for the notice from the Ministry of the Navy to go to sea at any time. As long as the Navy is ready, the east coast convoy with a transport tonnage of more than [-] tons can set sail and go to the old continent for trade.

"At present, the battle in Mozambique is basically over. Considering the special characteristics of monsoon and ocean currents in the western Indian Ocean, I have reserved three battleships there, under the unified command of Lieutenant Colonel Guo Zili, the commander of the second fleet. The Xinhua Port base blocks the route back to Europe from the coast of East Africa, and intercepts Portuguese merchant ships. Well, the Portuguese merchant ships in the Indian Ocean are not too many, and three ships with strong mobility are enough to deal with it. "The Minister of the Navy, Li Yi, who has returned from meritorious service, talked to Chairman Qiang, "As for the escort fleet going to Europe for trade, I recommend Lieutenant Colonel Wang Tiehammer, the commander of the Third Fleet, as the commander-in-chief. Anyway, the Third Fleet will not have any combat missions. It doesn't matter if Commander Wang is on an escort mission."

"Then what about the specific composition of the escort warships? You have to be clear, this time it is not only for escort, but also for the purpose of heavily bombarding Portugal's weakly defended coastal villages and towns, creating panic, and finally forcing them to sit at the negotiating table. Therefore, the strength of the battleships also Enough." Qiang Quansheng greeted the secretary and brought Tacheng coffee to the three, and said with some concern: "The Portuguese fleet is not completely wiped out, right? And you have to consider the reactions of other countries. Think about it."

"I understand, Chairman Qiang." Li Yi nodded his thanks to the secretary, then looked into Qiang Quansheng's eyes, and said, "I have already discussed this matter with Chief of Staff Mo, and a preliminary consensus has been reached. This time We will transfer the three-deck battleship "Executive Committee", four "August 22th" class battleships, twelve "Madao" class sail escort gunships, one water supply ship, two ammunition supply ships, one A coal ship, a repair ship, a total of [-] ships to perform escort missions. With such a scale, the Portuguese navy fleet, which has been severely damaged by us, may hardly have the courage to fight head-on, of course, even if they have the courage to fight , We are not afraid, we will resolutely beat them to the bottom of the sea, let them know how harmful it is to continue to hold some unrealistic ideas, and the best policy is to negotiate with us in time."

In other words, excluding the ships performing missions in the Indian Ocean and northeast Brazil, there are still quite a few naval ships remaining in the country, so there is enough leeway to spare capital ships to escort them to Europe.After the escort formation was dispatched, only a few sail escort gunboats remained in the country, but as far as the current situation is concerned, they are basically enough. After all, the biggest enemy has been eliminated, and what they should be vigilant about is nothing more than It's just a few scattered ships (even including some pirate ships), it's very easy.

"Okay, I don't understand the specific formation, you can decide for yourself." Qiang Quansheng also took a sip of coffee, and said slowly: "I'm getting old, I should have retired long ago, If it weren't for this war, I wouldn't still be sitting in the **** position. Now my biggest wish is to end this war safely and securely, and get the fruits of victory in my pocket. The obligations of this country and the people on the east coast are almost completed. At that time, I am going to go to the island opposite Jinshan Port to retire. Hehe, I really let go of everything to provide for the elderly. Life, in fact, is just that once. and I have experienced too much in the past 30 years. Before that, I have to stand for the last port of call for this country and our cause, and the two of you will also help me."

After confirming the centralized escort in 1661, Li Yi went to work on behalf of the Ministry of the Navy. At this time, there were still many ships undergoing maintenance work, which must be completed as soon as possible.In this way until July 7, the Ministry of the Navy notified the merchant ships stranded in Qingdao Port to go south to the second naval base in the country, Hailing Port in Yancheng County, and the naval fleet will go south to meet it in the next few days. At that time, the entire escort formation will Complete the replenishment in Yancheng County, then catch the westerly wind nearby, cross the Atlantic Ocean along the northeast current, and arrive in the mid-river area of ​​South Africa—from which we can see that this time the Navy has chosen a route that is completely different from last year's escort, that is, from Africa. The west coast goes northward along the strong Benguela cold current to the Gulf of Guinea, and then crosses the Cape Verde Islands and the Canary Islands along the northwest wind and near-surface ocean currents, and arrives at the port of Cadiz, Spain.

On July 1661, 7, the naval escort warships on the east coast arrived at Hailing Port, and then drove into the naval base under construction in batches to replenish supplies. At this time, merchant ships were concentrated in Yancheng Port to rest and replenish.In the past two years, the development of Yancheng County has been getting better and better. It has become a pearl city at the southern end of the Pampas grassland. Progress Township was set up on the original site of the small town of Caveldo in later generations, Militia Township was set up near the small village of LaViticola, and Yanxi Township was set up near the small village of Alfred San Martin (this is a rare oasis). With the development of townships, the population of Yancheng County has exceeded 21 people (the population of Hai'an County next door is only 2.3 people). Even in the mainland, it is not a small county, so it can easily provide supplies for ships traveling from south to north. , At the same time, it can also make some fishery enterprises and industrial enterprises develop smoothly.

Some people may say that this blatant cross-border reclamation will violate the taboo of the Spaniards?Hehe, officials in Yancheng County will tell you dismissively: Be afraid of a bird!The Spaniards don’t even have a single hair here, and their two nearest colonies are still in Necochea and Mar del Plata, and the economies of the two places, which are dominated by agriculture and animal husbandry, are also very depressed and can only be maintained with difficulty.If it weren't for the Buenos Aires Prosecutor's Court District, which was newly established a few years ago, trying to show the presence of the Catholic world on the Pampas, it is estimated that there are less than [-] white residents in these two places. Like the group of people who colonized the Strait of Magellan in the last century, they either starved to death or dispersed.

Therefore, their colonial actions in the Pampas grassland are so bad, how can they have the energy to meddle in other business?What's more, even if they knew it, they pretended not to know it. After all, no one wants to cause trouble for themselves, right?If the people on the east coast are willing to farm and grow wheat there, then they can do it. We should live in peace under God's will, and neither side should mind the other's business.

Of course, the cross-border "encroachment" of Yancheng Port and even the Hejian area is nothing compared to the "whale swallowing" that the people on the east coast are planning.In fact, this matter is not complicated. Do you still remember Baron Bravo, the special envoy of the Kingdom of Spain who came to the east coast last year for alms?Yes, it was this poor man who came to the East Bank to borrow money in order to raise Princess Teresa's dowry?But the problem was that the treasury on the east bank was so empty at that time, and they were still carrying a huge debt of 500 million yuan. How could it be possible to give them money?

It's just that the Spaniards were really forced to do nothing by the dowry of 50 gold écu, and repeatedly asked Baron Bravo to come to the east bank to borrow money, "Even a peso is good!" Pingyin (but it was quickly filled into the huge pit of the Southwest Railway’s repurchase), the Ministry of the Army and the Ministry of Finance jointly collected more than 150 million yuan in tax arrears from the country (this money happened to have not yet been paid) After hearing the news, Baron Bravo immediately begged to see the diplomats on the East Coast frequently and asked to seriously discuss the loan.

At that time, Foreign Minister Mo San couldn't bear to be entangled, so he asked for 200 million yuan to buy the Hejian area.Baron Bravo was surprised and delighted when he heard this. He was surprised that the people on the east coast had their eye on the "Mesopotamia" in La Plata, and he was delighted that he could get 200 million yuan from them. A huge sum of money, which was a great help to King Philip.

Naturally, Baron Bravo could not make his own opinion on the matter of buying land, so he immediately asked Lima and Madrid for instructions, which took a lot of time.A while ago, the final instruction from Madrid was conveyed. King Philip believed that paying off Princess Teresa's dowry was not only his father's responsibility, but also a major matter related to the succession of the Spanish throne. The Patagonian plateau north of the 42nd parallel is sold to the East Coast in exchange for much-needed $200 million in cash.

As the saying goes, ask for prices all over the sky, and pay back the money when you land. People on the east bank want the Hejian area, but Spain is not willing to give it up. It plans to cede a plateau of about 42 square kilometers to the east bank. The huge difference between the two parties is naturally slow Let's talk slowly.For this reason, Foreign Minister Mo San did not hesitate to resort to "rogue methods" to increase the psychological pressure on the Spaniards-he said that the land mortgage loan at 1000 degrees south latitude will expire in a few years, and the east bank may not be able to Instead of choosing land, they insisted that the Kingdom of Spain repay a loan of more than [-] million yuan in principal and interest. This stunned the Spanish negotiators, including Baron Bravo, and wondered if they had heard something wrong.

However, after Mo San repeated the words, they all fell silent.They are not stupid, and it can be seen that Dong'an is using various means to put pressure on them, but what can be done about it?Minister Mo San has already said that the value of the land south of 42 degrees south latitude that was originally pledged to the East Coast Republic of China is far from enough to compare with the loan with a total principal and interest of more than 1000 million yuan. The East Bank signed a supplementary agreement, that is, additional collateral—Minister Mo pointed out that the Patagonia Terrace area south of the Negro River and north of 42 degrees south latitude is very suitable—at the same time, the East Bank announced that the loan will be completely completed after the loan expires. Give up the debt to the Kingdom of Spain, both parties are happy; or, the Spaniards will honestly pay back the money after the due date, if not, then I'm sorry, the East Coast Republic of China retains all the rights of free action, so don't say it is unpredictable .

The Spaniards didn't expect that the land that was originally intended to be sold for money was dragged away by the people on the east coast in a few words. How could this matter turn into such a situation?Baron Bravo and the others were completely messed up.At the end of the matter, the self-proclaimed "very kind" Minister Mo San told the Spaniards that if they were willing to sign a supplementary agreement (that is, additional collateral) on the previous land pledge loan south of 42 degrees south latitude, then the people on the east coast would not Would you mind spending another 200 million yuan in cash—it just so happened that only a small half of the arrears of tax collection was used up, and the materials that the army and navy snatched back from Brazil also had plenty of room—to move south of the Colorado River, Negro The land north of the river was bought together to supplement the precarious finances of the Kingdom of Spain.

Of course, Minister Mo San has repeatedly emphasized that the Supplementary Agreement and the purchase of land south of the Colorado River are inseparable and inseparable. The land in the south was bought—according to Minister Mo San’s words, “It can only be worth 200 to 60 yuan, no more”—so the Spaniards understood that the people on the east coast actually wanted to spend 200 million yuan Yuan bought the 42 million square kilometers of land south of the Colorado River and north of 30 degrees south latitude. The premise is that the Spaniards refuse to sell the "Mesopotamia" area. The primary goal of the people on the east coast is always There.

Such an important matter is naturally not something that Baron Bravo and others can make a decision on. They have to contact Madrid, which has been delayed for a long time.Fortunately, the people on the east coast are not in a hurry, and the matter has been settled slowly. Anyway, there are still a few years before the loan expires, and everyone still has time to continue negotiating and operating.But before that, the people on the east bank did not shy away from the development of this land, so you can see that Yancheng County has expanded a lot by relying on its own self-reliance without much central assistance. The land is still very much appreciated.

On July 1661, 7, the replenished east coast convoy assembled in the sea off Yancheng Port, and then 24 naval ships escorted 22 merchant ships (including foreign merchant ships traveling along the way). After catching the southwest wind, they followed the Weak ocean currents sailed across the Atlantic towards Great Circle Harbor in South Africa.

(End of this chapter)