Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 169

In mid-April, the Second Escort Squadron broke through many obstacles and finally returned to Zhenhaibao Naval Base on a rainy night.

Maybe it was the naval battle off the coast of Portugal that taught the Britons a lesson, or maybe it was because the entire fleet left Bordeaux harbor secretly in the middle of the night, and they encountered no obstacles on their way home. The encounter with the three British ships was also safe and sound. The two sides fired a few shots at each other as greetings and then left. The whole voyage was relatively smooth.

The two traumatized warships were urgently sent to the dock of Zhenhai Shipyard for repairs, and the two transport ships "Penglai" and "Yingzhou" were also sent to the dock for maintenance.The South China Sea Transportation Company only has these two ships, and they are still counting on them to continue to contribute.

Wang Tiechui, who was bearded and tired, was called back to Dongfang Port overnight to discuss major issues.As the coastal waters are not very safe at present, Wang Tiechui changed to a small inland river boat at the Zhenhaibao Wharf. Changed horses in a post, and arrived at the Admiralty of Dongfang Port after galloping for two days.

Today's Admiralty has moved to the edge of Nancheng Nautical School in Dongfang County.Wang Qinian used the small treasury of the Ministry of the Navy to build a three-story building here as the office space for the Ministry of the Navy, the navigation school, and the newly established customs, health and quarantine units.

It was already ten o'clock in the evening when Wang Qinian arrived here, but the building of the Ministry of the Navy was still brightly lit, and it seemed that it was another sleepless night for the navy.

After routinely checking his documents, Wang Tiechui walked into the large meeting room on the first floor under the admiring eyes of the sentries.In the conference room, Wang Qinian and Lu Ming, two of the top figures in the Ministry of the Navy, were on the list. Apart from them, almost all middle and high-level naval cadres above the first mate came, even Julien, Demel, John More senior and reliable immigration officers such as John Stone also sat behind the conference table.

"Old Wang narrowly escaped death and returned victoriously. He gave our navy a great deal of prestige and ambition. Brothers, please applaud enthusiastically. Fuck, are all our navy good guys and men!" Seeing Wang Tiehammer walk into the conference room, Wang Qinian took the lead Stand up and applaud.

Lu Ming, the commander of the First Fleet, stepped forward and gave Wang Tiehammer a bear hug.Only brothers who have fought at sea can understand how difficult it is to escort Wang Tiehammer.The huge psychological pressure of walking alone on the sea, surrounded by enemies, and with a uncertain future can even overwhelm a person.

"Old Wang, it's not easy!" Lu Ming said with emotion, "We fought well this time. If I were to go, I might have explained it. I've heard it all. My brother Mao Shishi was injured by the front line, and he narrowly escaped death. Brothers There is no coward, our men on the sea have such vigor and arrogance. Come on, sit down, brothers, discuss how to break the enemy's blockade next."

Wang Tiehammer nodded, and there was an empty seat at the bottom of Lu Ming, so he sat on it without hesitation.Who has a high status and who has a low status in the navy can now be seen at a glance just by looking at their seating arrangements.When Wang Tiechui didn't come, the seat next to Lu Ming was always empty, and no one came up to sit there.Everyone has a steelyard in their hearts. Wang Tiechui's status was achieved in the first battle. He sits in the third place. No one dares to talk nonsense.

The orderly brought a cup of coffee, and Wang Tiechui frowned. He liked light green tea and rarely drank coffee.

"Old Wang, let's order." Wang Qinian said with a wry smile, "Now that the trade is cut off, the Portuguese and Dutch merchant ships can't get through, and our green tea from Ming Dynasty has long been cut off. There is still some stock in the committee, so you can just order it. Shall I replace it with chocolate made of cocoa powder? Don’t be dissatisfied, even coffee and cocoa are still hot in Brazil’s Mameluco It was sold at a high price from the Laer Mountains. In fact, the taste of this product is not bad, and you won’t hate it after you get used to drinking it.”

"Speaking of the blockade, domestic prices have risen dramatically." Lu Ming also sighed and started gossiping, "The prices of Bordeaux wine and brandy have tripled and are still rising. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce a while ago I had to let go of the approval restrictions for brewing companies, issued dozens of licenses in one go, and encouraged the common people to make their own liquor. What a fuck, I asked Shao Shude for a batch of spirits a few days ago, and he only gave me two-thirds The cost. Damn, how are you guys going to sail without spirits?!"

"Not only is the price of spirits rising, but now the price of wood is rising even more. Especially the Brazilian mahogany for shipbuilding. The ship materials smuggled from Brazil and New Spain have increased by as much as five times. A boat can empty our family.” Chen Tumuzhi took a sip of hot chocolate and complained: “Yesterday, Alvarez from the Rodriguez Chamber of Commerce came to tell us that the saltpetre and sulfur smuggled from Chile He wants to double the original price. Not only that, he also asked us to give him greater discounts on the prices of woolen cloth, cotton cloth, hardware products and other commodities. This white-eyed wolf thinks that we are going to collapse! Damn it Ahhhh!" At the end, Chen Tumu gritted his teeth.

"They're all scumbags that fall with the wind. Seeing that the British are powerful, they think we're going to fail. How loyal do you expect them to be to us?" Ding Wei sneered, and then said: "Don't tell us. These outsiders are gone, and we still have capitulators within ourselves. Huh, the industrial party from the Government Administration Council and Bai Siwen from the Judiciary Department are mixed together, and they have been reluctant to agree to our plan to attack Gambia. These people are simply Country thief!"

"The Gambia?" Wang Tiehammer touched his chin and said, "It's a good target. I heard from the Portuguese in Cape Verde that the British set up a trading post beside the Gambia River and were still mining For alchemy, there should be plenty of oil and water. Moreover, destroying this trading station should shock the British greatly."

"Isn't this not approved!" Second lieutenant San Kai thumped his palms angrily, "A group of national thieves desperately disagreed with our expedition plan, and said that this is a military adventure and we are gambling with all the navy's wealth. The consequences of failure are unimaginable. Shit, I admit that there is an element of gambling on national luck, but there is no way, and our success rate is not as bad as they say."

"Then what's the opinion of those...uh, the national thieves? They don't agree with that, so let us hide at home and be beaten passively?" Wang Tiehammer was a little puzzled, "What do they want to do?"

"They want to make peace with the Portuguese who have a good relationship with the British." Someone said eccentrically. , Even if we compensate some British people for their losses, we just need to get through this difficulty. Looking at the current situation, the British Civil War broke out in the past few years. At that time, our strategic opportunity period will come. Wow, what are you talking about? It makes sense, but I just can't swallow this breath."

"Absurd! Did the period of strategic opportunity come from sitting at home and waiting?" Wang Tiehammer echoed, "If we can't do it this time, we can only call it an ordinary British colonial company with such strength, then the fucking British have no time to reason." If we die, the Dutch and Spaniards will also see our emptiness and weakness, and then they will pounce on us and bite us hard. No matter how the country develops, our efforts over the years will be in vain.”

"Hmm..." After Wang Qinian allowed the underground people to complain, he cleared his throat and signaled that he was ready for a meeting.

Everyone fell silent.Several orderlies closed the door of the meeting room, and then stood outside the door in full armor, preventing anyone from approaching.

Wang Qinian glanced at the crowd, and then spoke slowly.And when he opened his mouth, what he said was earth-shattering words: "Heitantou (Peng Zhicheng) of the Ministry of the Army has been in contact with me a few days ago, and he also feels that Bai Siwen and his gang can't continue to make trouble. Premier Ma He was also confused, and single-mindedly supported Bai Siwen and opposed Chairman Ma. Damn, Heitantou said, it seems that the executive committee of the plan to attack Gambia will not be able to pass for a while, and there is too much resistance. He I feel that we, the sea and the land, should unite to bypass the bureaucratic national thieves of the executive committee and directly formulate an attack plan. The old Shao of the material department did not tell me clearly, but I think he has some sympathy for us. I will ask for it in the past two days He approved all the materials without any hesitation, and didn't ask me what they were used for. Brothers, this time we are also doing it for the good of the country, and we are going to defeat a big country with a small country. If we don't have the courage to sink the boat, we are assholes!"

"Damn it, it's done!" After a long silence in the meeting room, someone finally stood up, "Go to the executive committee, I joined forces with the army to do it together! This is for the good of the country, just Everyone can understand the trouble at the Founders Conference. I have long been displeased with Bai Siwen, a bird man, who is eccentric all day long, like a woman. If there were no brothers who went through life and death, this white and fat dog would have died a long time ago. They were sold to Brazil to be raped."

"I agree! Soldiers must have a sense of responsibility to this country, and we have an obligation to correct what is wrong!"

"I've been annoyed by those guys from the judicial department and the transportation department for a long time. They're all useless, but they're still really badass. When the Spaniards and the British come to kill them, these guys will definitely be the first to surrender. Damn, the country still depends on our glorious soldiers! Minister Wang, let's do it! If anyone dares to twist their mouths, we... just... hum!"

The meeting room was full of chaos. Wang Tiehammer glanced at it. Almost everyone in the meeting room was excited, except for the commander of the First Fleet, Lu Ming, who was sitting there like an old monk.

(End of this chapter)