Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2162 Pride ([-])

"Diego, it seems that I haven't rested so easily for a long time." Luis Almeida said to his friend Diego Oliveira on the outskirts of Dongfang County.

Oliveira is from Porto, an important town in the northern part of the Kingdom of Portugal. His family has lived there for more than 200 years and has been running a wine business. He is well-known locally.He met Luis Almeida in London and gradually became close friends.This time Louis was appointed by King Pedro II as the kingdom's ambassador to the east coast. Diego accepted his invitation and took up a position in the embassy. The two went to work together on the east coast again. As a descendant of the nobles of Oliveira, getting a idle position in the embassy will not cause any criticism, and Mr. Ambassador has the right to decide the candidate.

Louis and Diego went to Luoyang, the new capital on the east coast, which has been frequently featured in newspapers a while ago.They first strolled around the old city of Cordoba. Louis was entrusted by his family to invest in real estate in this city.He looked left and right, combined with the information he had received, and finally reserved a piece of land on the south bank of the Luohe River, planning to start building a shop.

According to the requirements of the New Capital Development Leading Group on the East Coast, approved foreign businessmen like the Almeida family can purchase land in the new capital, but they must report their own development plans in detail at the same time they purchase the land. What to do?What facilities will be built?What are the specifications?Will the funds be available?Everything must be done according to the requirements of the East Coast people, otherwise the land purchase application may be rejected.

Almeida declared the use of this land as a store that mainly sells specialty products from the Iberian Peninsula and Brazil. For this purpose, he planned to build a three-storey Portuguese-style building, with the first floor as an office, the first floor as a business hall, and the first floor As a warehouse, the funds were guaranteed by the Almeida family's deposit in the Qingdao Commercial Clearing Bank account, so they passed the review quickly and officially purchased the piece of land in Nancheng District that they were looking for.

Afterwards, the two crossed the river to Beicheng District and found a piece of land for the Kingdom of Portugal to build an embassy.The land was provided by the East Bank government at a very low price. In view of the excellent relationship between the East and Portugal, the people on the East Bank gave priority to the most beautiful land to the Kingdom of Portugal. This made Louis very happy and grateful.

After inspecting the nearby Luoyi District, Yuquan District, Shendu District and Mingjing District for a while, the two returned to Mingfu Port on horseback without further delay, and then took a boat to Dongfang Port, the current capital.After returning, they have been handling official business in the embassy, ​​mainly related to the conquest of the natives of Angola and Mozambique.This matter had nothing to do with them, but the people on the east bank promised to sell them a batch of military supplies and medicines at a low price, and at the same time sell them two old sailing warships eliminated by the navy (the Portuguese fleet has just recovered the Santos that was captured by the French before. Meijima), they have to hurry up and implement this matter, lest the domestic business and military leaders be disappointed.

There is no difficulty in advancing these tasks, but it takes time to prepare materials and go through the process, so they have been busy until the beginning of this month.Louis and Diego were both noble young masters. After working for a while, they didn't plan to work anymore, so taking advantage of the good weather today, they went to a large market on the outskirts of the capital.

The market was not very lively today, which made Louis and Diego a little disappointed.It has been more than half a year since they came to the east bank, and they have spent several lively festivals, which they still miss very much now.It’s a pity that this month’s East Coast calendar—the lunar calendar compiled by people on the East Coast based on the local climate and precipitation, which is roughly the opposite of China’s—doesn’t have any festivals, so it may take a while for the market to usher in its grand occasion again. up.

It is said that since the development of the East Coast Republic of China, as the people have become richer and richer, this festival has become more and more abundant.The Ministry of Civil Affairs has often announced the addition of statutory festivals in the past few decades. From the initial National Day, Harvest Festival, New Year's Day, Qingming Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, New Year's Eve, etc., it has successively added the Lantern Festival and Sheri Festival (Fenchunshe and Autumn Society), Cold Food Festival, Shangsi Festival, Qixi Festival, Ghost Festival, Double Ninth Festival and other festivals.Some of these festivals have actually been celebrated spontaneously by the people long ago, but the government has not added them to the legally binding documents. Later, they added them one after another, which is also the result of the people's pressure. After all, these statutory festivals have to be holidays. Always very slow on this point.

Louis and Diego personally experienced the East Coast Spring Festival, which was a lively event, which is still fresh in their memory.At that time, they were invited to a village near the capital. After the village chief (who was their business partner) arranged for them, he went to host this important festival.At that time, everyone in the village prepared a certain amount of sacrifices such as beef, mutton, fish, rice, flour, grain, oil, preserved fruit and wine according to the results of the prior notification, and then performed the sacrifice ceremony under the leadership of the village chief.

After the ceremony, the band began to play, and the villagers sat together, tasting delicious food and drinking wine, and some young people even danced to the rhythm of the music and drums.The dance styles should be said to be diverse, with a lot of European and grassland elements mixed in. Compared with traditional Chinese dances, the rhythm is more distinct, the enthusiasm is more unrestrained, and the atmosphere is quite active.And in some villages, members of the township military association will gather together to perform hand-to-hand combat skills in the army, and even put on armor and fight with bayonets (of course, special wooden spears), so as to cultivate the people's martial arts skills. Spirit.

This kind of festival is very able to unite the hearts of the people and cultivate their sense of pride and belonging. Therefore, the government supports it and has been working hard to promote it for many years.The common people who participate in the festival also regard it as a pastime before or after a year's hard work, so they also have a lot of fun.Just as Wang Jia's poem "Sheri" in ancient China said: "The rice and sorghum at the foot of the Ehu Lake are fertile, and the pigs and chickens inhabit each other to cover their doors; the shadows of mulberry and zhe are scattered in the spring, and every family returns home intoxicated." grand occasion.

Luis and Diego also enjoy this festival very much.Of course, in Portugal, they also have some national festivals, but compared with those on the east coast, they always feel a little worse. After thinking about it carefully, it may be the reason why they are not as rich as others. At the same time, the history and background of the festivals and so on It's also a lot worse-there are reasons why people on the east coast enjoy these festivals and are proud of them!

Here is an extra word.Due to changes in geography, society, economy, and even political systems, there are some differences between these traditional festivals on the east coast and the same festivals in mainland China, mainly in content.That is to say, festivals on the east coast place more emphasis on entertainment, entertainment, and enjoyment, while traditional Chinese festivals may be more solemn, and there are more taboos during the festival.

Taking the important Qingming Festival as an example, the Qingming Festival on the East Bank is not only about visiting graves and mourning the ancestors, but also has elements such as having fun, drinking banquets, outings and outings, and the proportion of the latter may be even greater. Came here as a holiday with family and friends.Although Qingming in mainland China also has this kind of color, but they who have experienced the traditional Confucianism education are not as open-minded in this aspect as the people on the east coast. They are generally a little cautious and serious. According to the words of some Confucian scholars who immigrated here: "Drinking together at the funeral, playing cards all night, and returning after the dawn, corrupting the atmosphere too much"-this is a subtle difference between the two.

But the people on the East Coast clearly have no intention of changing their ways.Their government did not prohibit it below, and the folk customs added some unrestrained and enthusiastic elements of foreign races, so they were somewhat different from the Central Plains after all.Considering that the country is booming now, the fleet reaches all over the world, the soldiers kill all directions, and the people live in prosperity, the whole society has a very strong sense of pride and the resulting sense of discrimination against other countries and people. .Even in mainland China, where the culture and ethnicity are largely homogeneous, the people on the east coast look down on them, let alone others.

With the increase of the country's influence, the East Coast people's festivals have gradually shown signs of exporting in recent years.For example, last year in San Salvador, Portuguese Brazil, some local Portuguese held a Lantern Festival with expatriates from the east coast.And the year before last, in Jakobshaven, New Courland, the locals also lit torches and lanterns on the night of the full moon, and held a lively dance party.It is said that this custom was brought back by the officials who studied in the east coast, and they also promoted it with all their strength. Although the local church was a little dissatisfied, because it was not a fundamental conflict, they finally let it go.

Luis and Diego thought this was actually quite interesting.The Dong'an people have advanced technology, strong military force, and perfect system, so there is naturally something worth learning from others.The Portuguese should not only learn from their earnestness, but also learn from their interesting side of life, which may allow them to better understand the thinking mode of the people on the east coast, and then peep into their powerful mysteries.

The East Coast government also encourages it.Because they feel that instead of using warships and cannons to force others to obey themselves, it is better to use this silent method to carry out peaceful evolution.As long as those foreigners agree with the culture and values ​​of the East Coast, then perhaps many things will be much simpler.Just like those New Courland colonial officials who had studied in the east coast, they lived and studied in the east coast for many years, and they very much recognized the lifestyle and culture of the east coast.Therefore, when they gradually become the backbone of the local area, they will definitely gradually affect the ordinary lower-class residents, and gradually make the local people yearn for and love the East Bank more. Isn't this more powerful than the conquest of muskets and cannons?

People from the East Coast have always spared no effort in establishing a cultural and spiritual voice!

(End of this chapter)