Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1769 Pirates and Texas

The "Tiger Shark" slowly sailed into Sioux City Harbor, and a dilapidated two-masted sailboat entered the port together with it.In terms of shape, this sailing ship is undoubtedly a very popular round-tailed galleon in the Iberian Peninsula. Its tonnage is not large, it looks like more than 200 tons, and it can sail in the ocean, but it is more common in the offshore, serving as two towns between trade ships.

There are many such ships in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, active in various coastal towns, effectively supplementing the shortage of official ships.According to some statistics, the transportation volume of these private ships may be more than five times that of the official ones, and the sailing routes are also varied, not sticking to one place, and are widely welcomed by residents of colonial cities and towns.

Of course, I have to revisit the brain-dead and rigid colonial trade policy of the Kingdom of Spain.That is, the gentlemen of the West Indian Affairs Office, the colonial management agency in Madrid (they may have never been to the New World even once in their lives), have drawn up several very ridiculous trade routes on the map, and strictly demanded that the colonial courts The district is strictly enforced.For example, they originally stipulated that Buenos Aires can only trade with Lima, Cordoba can only trade with Santiago, etc. Unauthorized trade with other cities may be punished, which makes people very speechless.

There is no doubt that this ridiculous trade restriction has greatly aroused the dissatisfaction of the colonial residents, so in the end it encountered a big problem when it was implemented, that is, even if the colonial officials (usually people from the peninsula) ordered many times Urge to abide by the trade rules set by the native land, but the colonial towns always trade in private, ignoring the native prohibition.At this time, even the governor cannot ignore the interests of the colonists and enforce a blanket ban. Most of them will choose to turn a blind eye and close their eyes until the "illegal trade" goes too far. .

The vessel captured by the "Tiger Shark" this time is obviously this type of sailing vessel that specializes in offshore trade. This can be seen from its ship shape design. It has a large capacity, shallow draft, high center of gravity, and slow speed, which is obviously not suitable for it. Ocean voyages are mostly carried out in coastal waters with less wind and waves, and are generally used to transport bulk materials.

"I caught it off the coast of Tampico and transported a shipment of corn. I heard that the destination is San Juan Port in Puerto Rico. There is a Spanish army there. It should be prepared to attack the French." Wearing a short jacket Somo lightly jumped onto the creaking wooden pier, and said to the confidant pirates who came to greet him.

"Boss, this time the Spanish grain ship was robbed, and those gun-carrying soldiers in San Juan will be in trouble. I don't like them a long time ago, but I don't know how much they can make them hungry this time." Refreshing." The one who spoke was a "little boy" named Wang Zhaoli, who was born as an immigrant from the Ming Dynasty and is now one of Sumo's main confidantes.

This gentleman also has an older brother named Wang Zhaowen, who was a commoner in the Wentai area of ​​the Ming Dynasty, and moved to the east bank to escape the war.The boss, Wang Zhaowen, has a good personality because he can read and write. He is currently working as a small civil servant in the county government of Yin County, Ningbo. He follows his boss to help with some trade affairs with the Zheng family in Fujian. This is mainly because their parents immigrated from Fujian to Wentai. In the region, I can speak some local dialects.

Because of Wang Zhaoli’s personality and his interest in the east coast, he traveled all the way across the ocean and came to the east coast. Then he was recruited by the people from the State Intelligence Bureau. After a few years of training, he was thrown to Somo Under his command, he serves as his subordinate and is also the main liaison with the local intelligence services.

Of course, this does not mean that Su Mo is also a member of the State Intelligence Bureau. This guy of extraordinary background is obviously a man who likes to be free and unrestrained. It is clear evidence that the people who came to him were driven away.

It's just that, when you come out to hang out, you're still a pirate in the Caribbean, a place where white pirates occupy the mainstream. If you don't have any support behind you, you're afraid that someone will take over.This is not a joke. Don't look at the people who go out with Sumo and many of them are from high-ranking and noble families, and have little wealth, but in the Caribbean, economic strength is not so important.The strength of one's own strength, the level of charisma, the number of channels for selling stolen goods, and the quality of luck are the most important factors that determine the strength of a pirate leader's appeal.

In these respects, Su Mo and his first group of friends have natural disadvantages.At this time, people from the State Intelligence Bureau came to the door again. This agent named Wang Zhaoli knew how to sail in the Ming Dynasty. After coming to the east coast, he systematically studied navigation knowledge for several years. It can also be regarded as a senior talent.At that time, he adhered to the will of the high-level, and after a night of secret talks with Somo, he finally became a member of the Somo pirate group and participated in many maritime robberies against the Spaniards, Dutch, English and French in the following years action.

Wang Zhaoli has learned a lot of knowledge systematically. He can read astrology, measure latitude, and calculate ballistics. He stands out among the pirates. Therefore, he has made a lot of contributions in the past few years. Now he is the Thirteen Taibao under Su Mo. One was the chief mate of a captured merchant ship, the Humpback Whale.

This time when Sumo went out for activities, he and several other old brothers led the troops to stay in the old nest, because recently Sucheng Port received a batch of supplies from the local area, mainly livestock, grain seeds, metal farm tools and so on. precious.Undoubtedly, these were dispatched by the State Intelligence Agency, and then secretly transported to Xinjing Port in the Free State, passed around from the Xhosa people, "washed" and then sold to Somo, which is considered a deception.

These supplies are prepared for some people who have settled in Sioux City Port nearby. Most of them are old or injured pirates. An industry with a low elimination rate - there is no other place to go, but to settle down and make a living by farming.

This kind of situation is actually not uncommon among various pirate groups. The famous "pirate island" (Tortuga Island) that was jointly cut off by the East Coasters and the Spaniards a few years ago has many such old people. Pirates live.They grow food and vegetables, raise poultry and livestock, and occasionally brew some wine and sell it to the returned pirates. The income is not bad, because most pirates follow the practice of being drunk today and spending money lavishly. Really made a lot of money.

There are more than 300 former pirates who have settled down in Sioux City Port. There are not only old or injured pirates, but also some pirates who are tired of wandering life or feel that they have made enough money. You know, Not every pirate is voluntary. When many merchant ships are robbed, the sailors are often forced to join the gang in order to survive. Under the protection of Somo, these people built farms, Orchards and pastures lead a self-sufficient settled life.

Later, some qualified people among them tried every means to migrate relatives from the Old World to live in this land that was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Spanish General Texas.Gein and the others found that instead of living under the cruel oppression of the brutal and domineering old continent monarchs, it is better to settle in this free new continent. At least the land here is fertile, the bison are herds, and the climate is relatively mild. It is a good place to live. livable place.

And more importantly, there are no nobles and priests here to collect taxes. The pirate leader Somo and his thirteen Knights of the Round Table (that is, his thirteen Taibao) only ask them to work hard on farming and grazing to provide a lot of fresh food for the pirates. Food is available (for a fee, of course).In addition, as the price of being sheltered by the pirate leader Somo, every pirate household in Sioux City Port needs to donate a bison, four sheep, two bags of dried fruits and some grains for free every year. The "tax" could not be any lighter, and the settled pirates were very satisfied.

Of course, the National Intelligence Agency has also noticed that Sioux City Port, a place that is developing towards a city-state, has never given up on infiltrating and managing this crude town.At present, the manager of this town is a member of the National Intelligence Agency, named Han Zhong, his father Han Kechang, a Mingren who immigrated to the east coast, and Han Jin and Han Yin who are currently serving the Bank of Taiwan are cousins.

Han Zhong was also one of the Thirteen Taibao under Sumo's command. He had been on the ship a few years ago, and even participated in the attack on the port of Campeche, a colonial city in New Spain. He shot and killed the Spanish commander himself. Since then, he has become famous in one battle.Later, under the secret operation of the National Intelligence Agency, Su Mo half-pushed and half-assed this gentleman as the mayor of Sucheng Port, and managed dozens of old, injured and retired pirates at first.

Obviously, Han Zhong has a certain management talent, almost all the planning of the town is done by him, and all kinds of production and living arrangements are also arranged by him.To put it mildly, in the minds of the more than [-] resident pirates, the prestige of Somo, the great leader who roams the world, may not be much higher than that of "Knights of the Round Table" Han Zhong.

When Sumo's "Tiger Shark" returned to Hong Kong today, Han Zhong was also among the people who came to greet him at the pier, but he was always taciturn and didn't talk much. He didn't come forward to say anything. Indicates that everything is normal.

The seized shipment of corn was not a rare commodity for the residents of the town, because they were already self-sufficient in food, so this shipment of corn was destined to be put into the warehouse and used as a reserve for the pirates.The person who manages the warehouse is Zhou Zuoren, the illegitimate son of Zhou Shenwo, who is accused by historical celebrities. He is a friend brought out by Su Mo from his hometown. He has a very close relationship with him. Nor will he be the person in charge of the warehouse.

"Has there been any movement from the Spaniards recently? Has anyone discovered our lair?" Su Mo asked casually after throwing the cloth bag full of gems and gold ornaments around his waist to Wang Zhaoli.

It is said that in Sioux City Port and its nearby land, the biggest enemy of the pirates is undoubtedly the Indians. This is a group that has some direct land conflicts with them. There have been several conflicts before. Fortunately, the scale is not large, and The pirates would also bribe the chiefs of the Indian tribes with some of the captured booty, asking them to restrain their troops and try not to hang around Sioux City Harbor, lest the two sides fight.

In addition to the Indians, their biggest enemy is undoubtedly the Spaniards, more precisely, the Texas General under the Governor of New Spain.But what makes people laugh is that the office of this peninsula nobleman named Joaquin is not in the deserted Texas, but in Mexico City, which makes people unable to complain.The main job of this master is probably to give orders in Mexico City, and then send expeditions and missionaries deep into the wilderness of Texas to try to conquer and civilize the local Indians—of course this The work so far appears to have been largely unsuccessful.

Su Mo was stunned for a long time when he first learned about the Texas general, and then he gradually became overjoyed when he learned that there was no decent Spanish colonial town in Texas. Crazy, because it means that they can be free from Spanish colonial forces and develop locally.

The officials of the National Intelligence Agency on the East Coast were naturally happy to see this scene, but their excitement was not as high as Somo's.Because in the eyes of these busy bureaucrats, Texas, which is far away from the mainland, lacks sufficient value and attraction. There are neither useful minerals nor famous native products. It has nothing to do with grazing.Therefore, they now just regard the expansion of the pirate group of Somo in Texas as an insignificant leisure move. It doesn't matter if there is any progress.

This time they approved the report secretly sent back by Han Zhong, and gave some materials including seeds and agricultural tools, and also allocated fifty rifles and supporting ammunition. This is basically the limit of their assistance, and it is impossible to add more. Because they are obviously not optimistic about what these pirates can do in Texas.

Of course, the State Intelligence Agency despises Texas, but in the eyes of Somo and other pirates, it is the best homeland for those who like freedom.I think Tortuga Island was such a place in the past, but it is a pity that it has been taken over now, and the people are scattered everywhere; Jamaica Island was also a place where British pirates gathered in the early years, and now the ancestors of most of the residents on the island are old or injured. It is a pity that it was taken over by the British government during the Anglo-Dutch War.Now that Sioux City Port has not been taken over by the East Coast government, at least on the bright side, the pirates are actually very satisfied.

Of course, I heard that the taxes of the East Coast government are not high, and the pirates feel that being managed by them is not a bad thing, especially when the Spanish colonists will find their existence at any time——

"The Spaniards probably don't know the existence of our lair yet, but I doubt they may have gotten the news from the Indians. In fact, it won't be long since the Spaniards have not sent anyone to encircle us by this time, and they have already counted them. I'm slow to respond." After hearing Su Mo's question about the Spaniard, Wang Zhaoli replied immediately.

(End of this chapter)