Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2133 The Foundation of the King

On January 1691, 1, in Madrid, the capital of the Kingdom of Spain, Cai Zhenguo, the East Coast Plenipotentiary Envoy to Europe, was waiting in the palace for a reply from King Carlos of Spain.

He had been waiting in this room full of art collections for over an hour, but he was in no hurry.The fragrant Cuban coffee is drunk, and there are fruits and pastries that can be obtained from the servants.Moreover, some of the collections here are very interesting, and they are hard to see from the outside. After all, they are the collections of the Spanish royal family. Considering their strong national power and close relationship with the Pope decades ago, the richness of the collection even made King Louis XIV of France It's easy to understand why you're envious.

Cai Zhenguo even thought that he could consciously collect some European artworks and send them to the east bank in the future.On the one hand, it can increase the inventory on the east coast and broaden the horizons of the people. On the other hand, it can also disgust the Europeans and make them envious and jealous. In the future, there may be some European businessmen who can't think about it, so they can buy it back at a high price, so that the people on the east coast can buy it back. Also make a small profit.

However, Cai Zhenguo was stable, but Viscount Rafinia who accompanied him to rest here was a little unstable.He is the favorite of King Carlos II, and he is familiar with foreign affairs, but also helps to deal with some internal affairs, mainly related to the restoration of the industry of the Kingdom of Spain.Therefore, he is well aware of the current situation of the Kingdom of Spain, and knows that this country must receive a huge amount of funds or material injections, so that a large-scale crisis may not erupt.

Just a few months ago, news came from his hometown of Granada that the famine was becoming more and more serious in the local area. Many farmers were forced to eat acorn seeds to satisfy their hunger, or eat seaweed that was not useful at all. The social and economic order was severely damaged. destruction.Although people on the east coast usually ridicule the church in Spain for being very greedy and almost controlling more than one-sixth of the country's wealth, at this critical moment, only the church can stand up.

The churches all over Spain acted in unison, mobilizing food for those with surplus food, donating money for those with money, and doing everything possible to help the victims.However, considering that Western European countries are in a mess, France is short of food, Spain is short of food, and half of Germany is short of food. Even Ottoman in Eastern Europe is in a serious food shortage. Where does the Spanish church purchase food from?Yes, England has grain, Poland has grain, and Russia also has grain. These countries have made a lot of money by selling grain, but the problem is that they are not fools. Knowing the current grain seller’s market, of course they will raise prices. Forced to increase the purchase price of grain to purchase life-saving food from the market.

The fief of the Viscount Rafinia also suffered from severe famine. His steward has reported to him that they found a way to purchase a batch of wheat from Morocco in North Africa, and then sold it to the farmers in the territory at a low price so that they could survive the famine. These difficult times.But his fief is only a few thousand people, and there are more than 400 million people in Iberia. Even if only a part of them are affected by the disaster, it is quite a lot. How can this be saved?

At this time, the Viscount thought that importing from the east coast with abundant food seemed to be a very good deal.Food prices for people on the east coast are very fair. Wheat, corn, rice, potatoes, cassava, and sorghum are all available. If you have more money, you can buy more wheat, and if you have less money, you can buy some miscellaneous grains. In short, they can save lives.But in this matter, he can't make the decision, and King Carlos can't make up his mind.Especially after the envoys from Vienna arrived at the court, His Majesty the King was even more vacillating, and the hard work of the Viscount and the others was all in vain.

To be honest, Viscount Rafinia is really hostile to the so-called relatives of the king from Vienna now.King Leopold of Austria has always been just using Spain, expecting Spain to sacrifice its own interests to fulfill their Austrian glory.King Carlos had already been tricked by Leopold back then (Leopold and Louis XIV conspired to carve up Spain), and he shed tears because of the betrayal of his relatives, but now he forgot, and with Vienna How are your relatives?

Viscount Rafinia was very puzzled by this, but also very angry.His ancestors participated in the war to expel the Moors and made great achievements, and were the backbone of Castile's military nobles.In the dead of night, His Excellency the Viscount lamented that Spain was handed over to the Habsburg royal family, which was a complete disaster.The Habsburg royal family has never been considerate of Spain. On the contrary, they hooked up with their relatives and advanced and retreated together, consuming Spain's national strength and slowly falling into the abyss of death.

Now this Spanish parasite (the Habsburg royal family) is still continuing to plague the kingdom, and it has reached the point of madness.Are war and honor that important to you?For this reason, can they ignore the lives of millions of Spanish citizens?Viscount Rafinia was in great pain. This time he wanted to stand on the side of the people on the east coast, and hoped that the people on the east coast could exert enough pressure to wake up the king, purchase enough food from the east coast, and save more of people who are starving.For this reason, even if you lose the trust of the king, you will not hesitate!He has a fief in the countryside of Granada, and he came to Madrid to serve the king because of his enthusiasm for serving the country and getting ahead.But now what the king did made him chill. He no longer intends to continue to pretend to be himself and continue to please the disabled king, because it doesn't make any sense.

"Your Excellency, the Viscount, the king and the Prime Minister have discussed for a long time, and finally decided to accept the advice of the special envoy of the East Coast and purchase [-] tons of wheat from the East Coast." A well-dressed clerk suddenly walked into the room, first walking towards Viscount Rafinia After saluting, he asked Cai Zhenguo who was sitting there: "Special envoy Cai, the king wants to know whether the extra [-] tons of corn promised by your country is true or credible?"

"Of course! As long as your country agrees to purchase 20 tons of wheat, then we will give an additional [-] tons of corn as a gift. This can be included in the treaty. Don't worry, with our country's reputation, this is not worth worrying about. "Cai Zhenguo put down his coffee cup and said without looking up: "But the price of [-] yuan per ton is already the lowest price, there is no room for bargaining, and so many food insurance and transportation costs need to be shared by both of us. The costs involved will be deducted from the land purchase price, do you understand?"

The clerk was a little embarrassed when he heard the words. Obviously, he originally wanted to try harder to see if he could negotiate a price, but seeing that the East Coast envoy was so determined, let's let it go.Anyway, the quotation given by the people on the east coast is indeed quite low. It is said that the quality of wheat is also very good. If you save some money, plus the additional [-] tons of corn, it is enough to solve the problem of more than [-] people a year. starving.

In this way, the famine problem that has swept through many regions of Spain can basically be considered safe.The church has done its best, and the royal family has also done their best, and the people have benefited. It can be said that everyone is happy.Well, maybe the Austrians don't like it too much, but so what?Would it be possible for Vienna to give this part of the food?

"The problem of food damage and deterioration caused by sea transportation..." The clerk obviously hasn't given up yet, and is grappling with some details.

"Okay, Pedro, of course the insurance company will pay the compensation. There is a branch of the East Coast Insurance Company in the port of Cadiz. Their people will carefully make statistics and issue a compensation list. Then we will think of a way. Just import part of it from England to make up the gap." Viscount Rafinia waved his hand, interrupted the clerk's questioning, and said, "Special Envoy Cai, please ship the food as soon as possible, this is very important."

"Actually, according to the latest news I received, about two months ago, several ships shipped 660 tons of wheat and headed here. If you don't buy this batch of grain, we can sell it to you." French, of course, if you are sure you want to buy, you can give priority to shipping to the port of Cadiz for unloading, which is not a problem." Cai Zhenguo said: "Well, if the biggest obstacle is solved, can you and I sign a formal contract? Legally effective documents? I really don’t want to procrastinate on the three-part land purchase agreement with a total value of [-] million yuan (because the Spaniards accepted part of the form of payment in kind, so the total amount has increased). I suggest that after the next In the next few days, both of us will jointly send enough people to sort out the terms of the agreement and bind them into a book, which will be reviewed and signed by the two heads of state."

The purchase of land this time is very critical. The purchase is the foundation of the future king and hegemony on the east coast, which is the core land, so it is very important not to make trouble when going out. The 660 million yuan in kind and cash has almost been raised domestically. There is no way out for this matter.In short, quickly sign the agreement, so as not to have long nights and dreams!

"It seems that your country really values ​​La Plata. I feel that the Kingdom of Spain has lost a precious thing." Viscount Rafinha said with emotion: "Maybe we will regret it in the future."

"The loser has no right to regret, Rafinha." Cai Zhenguo picked up the coffee cup in a leisurely manner, sniffing it lightly while saying, "Food can save the lives of a large number of people, and arms and supplies can help you better defend against the enemy. The invasion, other materials and cash left over are also crucial to maintaining the normal order of the country's economy. Trading La Plata for these places is very worthwhile for you now."

"Okay, don't hesitate and sigh anymore. This matter should be finalized as soon as possible, and His Majesty Carlos II will sign it, and I will send someone back to the mainland to exchange the contract. The future of Spain is now in your own hands "Cai Zhenguo finally smiled and said: "La Plata is adjacent to our country. If we develop it, we can maximize its value. I think you will be very happy to see this."

(End of this chapter)