Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1897 Guangdong Mediation ([-])

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" On the surface of the Pearl River, the "Amur River"-class inland river shallow-water gunboat fired indiscriminately, hitting a small wooden boat with 4-pound and 8-pound shells, and then successfully forced it to stop.As the east coast sailors boarded the ship with rifles and detained the ship and its cargo as spoils of war, the owner's face was already in despair. The whole process was as vivid as the one in Guangdong in the past few months. The situation is the same.

Yes, the war that broke out on the ground in Guangdong caused by the battle for the position between Li and Li—well, it may be a little inaccurate to say the fight for the position, and it may be more accurate to say the annexation war—after a period of time, because The violent intervention of the people on the east coast has now become invisible.

Just in the first ten days of this month (March), Li Yuanhao, the Duke of Huiguo in Nanming, formally dispatched the prestigious old official, Xin Taihou Hao Shangjiu, to a Tianzun Taoist temple on Haizhu Island to negotiate with Major Tang Moyu on the east coast.The main content of the negotiations is actually very simple, that is, to ask the people on the east coast to withdraw their troops from the suburbs of Guangzhou, and then return the occupied Foshan Town, Shunde County, Xiangshan County and other places, other than that - nothing!

Yes, that's right!Nothing at all!They neither asked the people from the east bank to compensate for their losses, nor did they ask them to guarantee anything, but simply asked them to withdraw from the army, which is simply weak!

Of course, this is also related to the current situation facing both sides.More than 4500 soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Lan Fei have arrived in the suburbs of Guangzhou. They are well-equipped, well-trained, and have sufficient logistics. The ultra-high firepower projection density, coupled with more than a thousand cavalry with black water horses, in the case of thousands of people, no one can do anything to them, basically they can win the battle, and the casualties are controlled In a very small range, the strength gap between the two sides can be seen.

In other words, unless Li Yuanhao mobilized tens of thousands of troops to advance the encirclement and suppression layer by layer, it would be very difficult to win this army on the east bank.But the problem is also here, from where does Li Yuanhao mobilize tens of thousands of horses to encircle and suppress this east bank army on the waist of Guangzhou City?After much deliberation, there is no other way but to withdraw the troops from the Chaozhou area.

And Li Yuanhao did the same.Although the east bank army outside the city is still across the river from Guangzhou City, there is no guarantee that they will cross the river in large numbers and harass the core area of ​​Guangzhou.Maybe this group of people can't break into Guangzhou City, but plundering in the wild is also very troublesome, and it will affect Li Yuanhao's prestige, so it must be stopped as soon as possible.

But it is not that simple to make the people on the east coast retreat.Lieutenant Colonel Lan Fei is also an old fellow who has fought wars in China, South Africa, and Europe. He has his own set of views on the judgment of the situation. Coupled with the advantages in equipment and arms, he doesn't think that Li Yuanhao is at hand at all. What will those shrimp soldiers and crabs do to him.Maybe the Lianzhou new army equipped with all firearms is a problem, but haven't they had time to withdraw?So, this guy is now sitting in Foshan, while moving away all the machines and personnel in the iron smelting and cannon casting industries that have already been scaled here (of course, by force), while constantly sending cavalry to inquire about news, intimidating big households in the countryside to give money Send food over, life is very happy.

It's not that Li Yuanhao didn't send someone to Lan Fei's army to ask for a retreat, but it didn't work at all. He had no choice but to turn to Haizhu Island, intending to let Tang Moyu restrain Lan Fei and let him retreat as soon as possible.Not to mention how Tang Moyu, a major, controls the lieutenant colonel. As far as his own wishes are concerned, he will not withdraw his troops until he achieves his goal. approved) peace between Li Yuanyin, in addition to some commercial conditions.If he is not satisfied with these, he will not agree to withdraw his troops now, which is very clear.

Therefore, when Hao Shangjiu came over, he clearly stated several conditions: "First, withdraw troops from Chaozhou Prefecture immediately, make peace with Li Yuanyin, and the two sides will not attack each other again; second, disband the Portuguese and English advisers in the Lianzhou New Army The East Bank dispatched experienced military officers to carry out comprehensive reform and management; Third, the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Shipbuilding was handed over to the East Bank for management. In a special account, in order to purchase ordnance, war horses and other materials to equip the new army at any time; 50. Lease Xiangshan County to the East Bank for a period of [-] years."

With these few conditions, even though Hao Shangjiu was already old and had already practiced to hide his emotions and anger, he was a little surprised to hear: This Dongguo person is not here to mediate, he is clearly forcing the palace!From this point of view, this stationmaster Tang has a big appetite, much darker than the blue army.

"It's easy to talk about the retreat. Mr. Huiguo had already planned to stop the war with Chaozhou's general army. I believe Chaozhou Li's general will agree to this matter. The Fujian Zheng family has always been eyeing Chaozhou." Hao Shangjiu pondered for a long time. After a long time, he said: "I'm afraid I can't decide on the matter of disbanding the Lianzhou New Army Advisory Group. I have to report to Duke Hui for a decision. It's unlikely, Station Master Tang, don't make things too difficult for Duke Hui."

"As for the matter of Guangzhou Shipping Department..." Hao Shangjiu smiled wryly at this point, and then said: "The businessmen from Haizhu Island in your country are standing here, does it make a big difference whether you will hand over the shipping department to you? "

What Hao Shangjiu said was actually quite true.In fact, everyone knows very well that if the people on the east bank had not intervened in this civil war in Guangdong, maybe this war would still have to be fought. Not only Er Li's army was fighting endlessly, but Zheng Jing's men in Fujian would also be fighting in the name of aiding the tide. It is difficult to say whether Shunguo will send troops to Shaozhou, but this possibility cannot be ruled out.Therefore, to a certain extent, it was the timely intervention of the people on the east coast that almost eliminated a war that might have stretched across several provinces and involved millions of people—of course, at present, It is necessary to "persuade" the Fujian Zheng family, who is eager to try, to go back. At present, the Navy and the Bank of Taiwan are already taking action.

Hao Shangjiu later mentioned the matter of the Lianzhou New Army Advisory Group, pointing out that this army is Li Yuanhao's lifeblood, and it is also the basis for him to be able to secure the position of Duke Hui, so it is absolutely impossible to hand over this army to others.Those Portuguese and English advisers were all hired by him through foreign businessmen over the years. Most of them were experienced veterans or officers, and they played a great role in the process of establishing this new army.Moreover, the existence of these people is also a link with foreign businessmen, which can help Guangzhou maintain a foreign trade connection, which is also very important to Hui Guogong.After all, neither Li Chengdong nor Li Yuanhao wanted the lifeline of Guangdong's foreign trade to be in the hands of the East Bank family, especially the introduction of crucial foreign military technology and equipment.

Therefore, Hao Shangjiu euphemistically clarified just now that it is impossible for Li Yuanhao to agree to this, and it is impossible anyway. They can be said to be rootless, but try it with the East Coast Military Officer Advisory Group?

Compared with this matter involving principles, the matter of the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Shipping is not so important.To put it bluntly, after the people from the East Bank established the Haizhu Island Commercial Station and refurbished the Yaniang Shoes Fort, the area around the mouth of the Pearl River was basically decided by the East Bank family.Any foreign ship that wants to go to Guangzhou for trade basically needs to obtain the permission of the people on the east coast before they can go. Judging from the implementation situation in these years, it is basically the same, except for a few people who have entered Guangzhou with the permission of the people on the east coast Except for ships from England, Portugal, or the Dutch East India Company, most of the foreign trade in Guangzhou Port was controlled by the Bank of Taiwan. A large amount of tea, raw silk, brocade, porcelain and other specialty commodities were shipped from inland provinces. , were all forced to carry out delivery at the Haizhu Island Commercial Station, and a large amount of profits were taken away by the people on the east coast. It may be too much to describe the Guangzhou Shipbuilding Department as a crowd, but it must have been greatly affected.

Therefore, Hao Shangjiu only thought about it for a while when the people from the East Bank proposed to take over the Guangzhou Shipping Department. The absolute problem should not be too big. It would have an impact on Guangdong, but it was definitely not to an unacceptable level.It's a big deal, I will find a way to negotiate with foreign businessmen in the future, and set the trade location at some other port.With such a long coastline in Guangdong, there are only a few ships on the east coast, can they block all the coasts?brag!

There is one last thing that Hao Shangjiu didn't mention, that is, the matter of renting Xiangshan County, he thinks it is not easy to handle, not because of reluctance, but because of face.

Speaking of this Xiangshan County, it has long been under the control of the East Coast people.This county not only has a large training base rented by the Taiwan Marine Battalion from the East Coast, but also set up a material transfer warehouse, a military hospital and a small ship repair organization. It's under control.The local county magistrate has always been very knowledgeable. Knowing that he is just a rubber stamp, he is very cooperative. He never refuses the various requests of the people on the east coast and is very helpful.

This time, people from the East Bank proposed to lease Xiangshan County as a whole for 50 years. It is expected that there will be no big opposition in the local area.The only obstacle should be Li Yuanhao, the Duke of Hui. He has just taken over the position and has not been in power for a long time. He wants to "cede the land". this matter.

However, he didn't mention this matter, but Tang Moyu didn't intend to let it go, and reminded him again, to give a clear statement on the lease of Xiangshan County.Hao Shangjiu couldn't hold back, and in the end he could only helplessly express that the matter of renting still needs to be discussed in the long term. Maybe it's not possible on the surface, but Xiangshan County secretly "followed the laws of the Eastern Dynasty" for all matters big and small.

Tang Moyu was still a little dissatisfied with this, but he also knew that this was probably their limit.The four conditions he set were originally asking for a sky-high price, and they did not have an absolute advantage that would definitely make the other party succumb.Li Yuanhao is not an idiot either, and naturally he has capable people to advise him, knowing that what the people on the east bank want is peace in Guangdong and a balance between the various forces.If it was really going to be a deadlock, wouldn't Li Yuanhao join forces with Fujian Zheng Jing to make matters worse?

Zheng Jing's hungry wolf, as long as he promises a huge profit from the Chaozhou government, he will definitely betray the alliance and fight with Li Yuanyin. Is this what the people on the east bank want to see?You must know that Fujian is not as easy to interfere as Guangdong. The Zheng Group has been self-contained since the Ming Dynasty. After Zheng Chenggong's painstaking management, the current navy and army have a considerable scale, and the combat effectiveness of the originally criticized army has also improved. (This matter is still doubtful, because no one has confirmed it.) The people from the east bank have no foundation in the local area, let alone someone to lead the way, so the Zheng family is actually not very afraid of the people from the east bank.And once they decide to enter Chaozhou Prefecture and expand their territory, what will the people on the east bank do to stop them?

Therefore, it is what people on the east bank should do to calm down the situation as soon as possible, instead of raising some very harsh conditions to make Hui Guogong terminate the peace talks in a fit of anger and directly cooperate with Zheng Jing, which would complicate things.

Hao Shangjiu returned to Guangzhou City that afternoon and went to discuss with Li Yuanhao.After he left, Major Tang Moyu did not stop at Haizhu Island, but went to the south bank of the Pearl River by boat, and found Lieutenant Colonel Lan Fei in the military camp in Foshan Town, and had an urgent consultation with him, the content of which was also related The situation in Guangdong.

Lieutenant Colonel Lan Fei has also learned about the situation in Chaozhou at this time, knowing that the Zheng family in Fujian is coveting here.But because of the lack of strength, Li Yuanyin, the general soldier of Chaozhou, hooked up with Zheng Jing again, and even formed an alliance secretly.But Zheng's wolfish ambition, how can he want to be with him? Li Yuanyin's alliance with him is tantamount to seeking skin with a tiger!Now Tang Moyu was worried that Zheng Jing would not be able to hold back in the face of the temptation of huge interests, so he directly sent troops to Chaozhou Prefecture—this was justified, in the name of helping his allies—to completely muddy the water.

Lan Fei also felt that Zheng's reason for doing so was very good, so he quickly agreed with Tang Moyu's proposal to calm down the situation in Guangdong as soon as possible, so that Zheng would have no excuse to enter the army.Of course, this alone is not enough insurance, you still have to send someone to negotiate, otherwise how can people like Zheng Jing give up the fat on their lips?This is obviously impossible.And this matter, of course, depends on whether the fleet of the navy and the Bank of Taiwan are strong enough!These are the most effective ways to deal with a force like Zheng's who started from the sea, although the naval power of the people on the east coast in the Far East seems a little weak...

(End of this chapter)