Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 170 The Decentness of the Executive Committee

At the end of April 1637, since the outbreak of war with the Spaniards, the East Coast was once again subjected to a de facto trade blockade.

The raging British pirates, based on the Brazilian port under the Dutch rule, patrolled the long coastline from Zhenhaibao in the north to Baleen Whale Harbor in the south, and robbed passing merchant ships.Not only were merchant ships bound for the East Coast Republic repeatedly harassed, even Spanish transport ships were often rumored to be "disappearing".

This may be called the largest pirate raid since the Victorian era is gradually reaching its climax.According to historical records, in the past, there were only 100 acts of piracy in Britain every year, and it may reach 200 times in many years.But in just the first four months of this year, there have been more than [-] pirate attacks along the coasts of Brazil, the East Coast, La Plata, the Strait of Magellan, Chile, and Peru, not to mention the Caribbean region where pirate attacks are frequent. Most of these attacks are believed to have been carried out by British pirates.

A plethora of British joint-stock companies poured into the South Atlantic, messing up the shipping security situation here.Coupled with the inclusion of some British colonial and trading company warships and armed merchant ships, it made it difficult for weaker merchants to move forward.

As a result, trade in the east coast gradually withered.The shrinkage of trade has also greatly damaged the operation of the national economy of the East Coast Republic of China, and the greatest impact may be the cut-off of pig iron and cotton.

Arms, tools, hardware and cotton cloth are the few products that the east coast can export to Europe at present.In view of the serious shortage of domestic iron ore production, a large amount of pig iron or iron ore must be imported from Brazil for steel production every month. After the trade was cut off, the blast furnace of Pingan Iron and Steel Plant suddenly fell into a shutdown state.

What is more worrying than the steel industry is the pillar of the national economy - the textile industry, especially the cotton textile industry.The woolen industry is limited by the domestic sheep population, which is not large enough, and the wool production is limited, and the current scale is not very large; but for the cotton cloth industry with an annual output of 1636 horses in 22, the cut off of cotton raw materials is heart-wrenching.

Some sea island cotton fields developed in China can only supply 10% of the annual demand at this stage, and all the rest need to be imported from Brazil or the Caribbean.Now that the trade has been cut off, the Ping An Machine Weaving Factory has suddenly stopped production, and nearly a thousand workers have lost their jobs at home.But the state can't just leave them alone, and has to feed them three meals a day, and pay a proper part of their basic wages.

This is also a considerable burden for the executive committee whose main source of financial income has been cut off.In desperation, the General Administration of Textile Industry left a small number of workers to persist in production, and most of the workers were organized to reclaim fields and grow flax, cotton and other cash crops that were urgently needed in the country.

Of course, these distant waters cannot save near fires.At present, the first priority of the East Coast Republic is to end the hostility with the British colonial company as soon as possible and restore the normal order of the national economy.For this reason, a working group composed of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, and the Ministry of Justice sent a signal of peace talks to the British colonial company headed by the East India Company through the Portuguese governor temporarily stationed in Rio de Janeiro.

Until yesterday, the British reply finally came.

"What? Compensation for the loss of 20 pounds, the withdrawal of east coast textiles from the European market, the price of woolen fabrics at no less than 12 pounds per piece, and the sharing of textile technology with the UK..." Bai Siwen couldn't help but look at the conditions of the British copied by Gao Mo Feel dizzy for a while.

How is this talking about conditions?This is a letter of surrender!Even Bai Siwen, a self-proclaimed dovish and moderate government official, felt that the British had no sincerity for peace talks after reading this condition, let alone the many radical "violent elements" in the government.

"What a headache." Bai Siwen put his hand on his forehead, his face was ashamed, "Don't say that there is not much money in the treasury now, even if there is, I can't give it to you. If you really want to give it to the army, you won't spit on it." Xingzi sprayed on my face, let alone sharing textile technology, this...how is this possible."

"If we really want to sign it, then this is definitely a traitorous treaty, and you and I will be stripped of our skins." Foreign Minister Gao Mo was also very depressed, "According to the Portuguese, the attitude of the British is very tough. If they are willing to step back, they seem to have nothing to fear. Alas, now that we are being beaten passively, it is really difficult for them to step back."

"The war must stop." Bai Siwen sat across from Gao Mo and said, waving his hand gestures exaggeratedly as he said: "Look at the current situation of the national economy. Is the economy about to collapse? Thanks to our previous In the past few years, complete farmland and water conservancy facilities have been established, and now there is no need to worry about food for the time being. However, the fiscal revenue is extremely low. Currently, it is only supported by trade in Colonia. It is still a question of whether the government can continue to operate. Well. If it doesn’t work, you can only increase taxes in the country! Moreover, it’s time to cut some benefits. In recent years, the state has provided for most of the people’s three meals a day. This burden is too heavy and must be cut off. It should be paid Taxes must also be strictly enforced, business tax, income tax, tariffs and so on were completely confused before, and now it is time to clarify."

"Old Bai, are you crazy?" Gao Mo looked at him in surprise, and said, "Currently domestic prices are rising three times a day, and you add more taxes, how do you make the common people think of us? This will weaken their confidence in us , It will shake the foundation of our governance. Besides, if you do this, don’t you give those radicals an excuse? You probably don’t know it yet, I just came back from Dingyuan Township, and something big happened there today.”

"What's the big deal? Can you still rebel?" Bai Siwen said disapprovingly, "Don't change the subject, I just asked you to come together today..."

"Listen to me, okay?" Gao Mo interrupted Bai Siwen, and said seriously: "It's not that simple behind this matter. You know the Guangming Candle Factory in Dingyuan Township. Seized."

"What? Who would dare..." Bai Siwen stood up abruptly, with veins twitching on his face, "Who is so presumptuous?! What about the officials of the Dingyuan Township government? Where is Lin Youde, the head of the township? I'll know if I rub it This kid can't do it, I didn't like him at the beginning, but it's a pity that Xiao Bailang followed Ma Ganzu's path to support him. Looking at it now, he really can't do it, what a mess!"

"Old Bai, can you use your brain?!" Gao Mo also stood up, "The ones who seized Guangming Candle Factory are a group of students from the Dingyuan Military Academy. Who is standing behind these people? Everyone knows, is it that simple? The director of the Guangming Candle Factory is your brother-in-law, right? That Portuguese man is smarter than anyone else, but he is also stupider than anyone else! He actually raised the ex-factory price of candles by [-]% without authorization. Times, annoyed a group of military cadets who came to buy candles, the two sides even had quarrels and shoves. Then, things developed to this point with the help of people with good intentions."

Hearing Gao Mo explain the whole story, Bai Siwen suddenly came to his senses: "I'll send someone to ask about the situation over there."

"You don't need to ask." Gao Mo waved his hand and said, "A group of students from the Dingyuan Military Academy seized the place with live ammunition, including the production workshop, warehouse and ledger. Lao Bai, I didn't blame you, the raw materials for this batch of candles It was imported at a low price before the war, and it stands to reason that the cost has not increased, so why should the price increase along with the candles smuggled from Brazil? Now the army is taking advantage of it, saying that it is to crack down on illegal profiteers who make a lot of money for the country, and ...and the umbrella behind them!"

Bai Siwen's face suddenly turned pale.Although he has no shares in the Guangming Candle Factory, everyone knows what's going on here, not to mention that the director of the factory is still his brother-in-law, and he can't get away with it no matter what.

Careless, careless!Bai Siwen suddenly felt a little regretful. The past few years have gone smoothly, and he has become somewhat complacent.He felt that he was one of the eleven Central Executive Committee members, so powerful that he could walk sideways in this country, but he didn't expect to be hit head-on with a sap at the moment when he was most proud. This feeling is not to mention how uncomfortable.

"I don't believe that people from the army and navy are clean from the bottom of their buttocks!" Bai Siwen was a little lost at this time.This matter can be big or small, if the military department (Joint Staff Headquarters) insists on making it big, his brother-in-law will even be executed by military law.Even Bai Siwen himself, the position of the Central Executive Committee may also be in jeopardy, at least the prestige will plummet, and whether he can be elected by the end of next year will be a big question mark.

"At this time, it's meaningless to compare yourself to bad." Gao Mo said with a bit of hatred, "Let's be realistic, you know exactly what the military wants..."

"Old Gao, are you here to be a lobbyist today?" Bai Siwen looked at Gao Mo suspiciously and said.

"I'm not here to be a lobbyist." Gao Mo waved his hand with a wry smile, and said, "Let me tell you clearly, the people in the military department are determined this time, and it doesn't matter if the executive committee approves it or not. They have to take the main force of the navy and part of the army to go to sea to fight against the British. I think you should also be aware that I am doing this for the good of everyone."

The implication is that the military department is determined to go it alone, and with the support of Chairman Ma, Xiao Bailang, Shao Shude and others in the executive committee, their actions have become inevitable.Since this is the case, then the executive committee should hold its nose and admit this time. It can be regarded as preserving a little authority and a little dignity, so as not to make everyone's split public.

Bai Siwen sat silently on the chair without speaking.Gao Mo stood up and patted him on the shoulder, then walked out of the room.

(End of this chapter)