Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2286 Europa Universalis ([-])

On September 1695, 9, there was already a slight chill on the Baltic Sea.The busy sailors on the deck put on robes to resist the cold wind blowing from the Arctic.But even so, when your clothes are wet by the big waves, no matter how much you move your body, you will still feel the biting chill.

Sailor, a hard job indeed!

Because of the high cost and serious shortage of manpower—in fact, not enough people were recruited—over the years, the proportion of sailors on the ships of the East Coast Republic sailing on various oceans, from the east coast has been decreasing year by year. Positive.The reason is also very simple, that is, the risk of sailing is too high, and it is also very hard work, and the time to reunite with family members is pitiful. If a person can find a job with a medium income, basically he will not think about becoming a sailor.In desperation, large and small shipping companies headed by Nanhai Transportation Company can only let go of the restrictions on foreign sailors, and send those bitter foreigners who are attracted by high salaries to serve as junior sailors to maintain the normal course operate.

The sources of these foreign sailors are very mixed, and some of them are not attracted by salary, but by Latin America, such as some Arab fishermen on Bahrain Island that have been bought by people on the east coast, such as Xinhua Island The few Merinas captured on the sea, etc.Of course, the largest number of people comes from areas with either overpopulation or frequent wars, such as Japan and North Korea, European countries, and so on.The East African Shipping Company recruited hundreds of sailors from Japan and North Korea, and the South China Sea Shipping Company recruited thousands of sailors from France, Germany, and Italy. Domestic private shipping companies recruited people in various ways, and some of them even used mace without telling the government. Tissot's, underscoring the plight of the undersupply of sailors.

There are more than 30 sailors on this sailing ship belonging to the Amsterdam Mercantile Station, most of whom are recruited French Huguenots. There are only a dozen or so people from the east coast, including several agents from the General Intelligence Bureau. (disguised as a sailor).This ship travels between Amsterdam and Riga all the year round, sometimes transporting some local goods from the east coast, and sometimes acting as an agent for a large Dutch wholesaler. The business is not very profitable, but besides paying various expenses, it can also give merchants The station subsidizes an activity fund.You know, all the business stations on the east coast are part-time intelligence stations, and there are a lot of intelligence elements under the cover of business personnel, and they can spend a lot of money.

The ship had sailed from the port of Riga a few days before, with a full load of rye on board, to be shipped to Amsterdam for sale.At the same time, three or four staff members from the Riga Commercial Station also set off with the ship. They will carry confidential documents, pass through Amsterdam to London, and report to Zheng Dexiang, the Deputy Plenipotentiary Envoy of the East Coast Republic of China to Europe, on what happened in Livonia. Important affairs, and after obtaining their instructions, bring them back to Riga for execution.

Shipping in the Baltic Sea is actually very busy!Especially now in mid-to-late September, many businessmen are trying to get ahead of the sea freezing in winter—the Baltic Sea is called a "fresh water sea" because of its low salinity. The freezing period is very early every year, even on the relatively warm southern coast. So--moving in and out of great quantities of goods, employing many, many ships to cross the sea.Among such ships, Dutch merchant ships have the absolute upper hand, followed by British merchant ships. There are also ships from Sweden, Denmark, and German coastal countries, but not many, and ships from countries such as France, Portugal, and the east coast are even more numerous. not enough.

At this time, on the side of the three-masted sailing ship on the east coast named "The Spruce", there was an English merchant ship sailing in the same direction.People on the east coast have seen this ship in the Riga commercial port before. It is a ship that sells woolens locally, and it will return fully loaded with locally produced masts, wood tar and Russian whale products for resale.The draft of the ship is very deep, and there may be a lot of copper and lead blocks in the ballast at the bottom of the ship. This is the usual practice of foreign merchant ships going to trade in the Gulf of Riga.

Standing on the front deck of the "Spruce", the senior analyst of the State Intelligence Agency - in fact, he is the person behind the ship - glanced at the English ship one nautical mile away, nothing interest.But what he didn't know was that on the sailing ship with a displacement of more than 300 tons, there was a big figure traveling in makeup at this time, that is, Tsar Peter of the Russian Empire.He and his entourage were carefully protected by the British in the cabin, and planned to visit London all the way, during which the two sides may reach some secret cooperation agreements.

In fact, Peter had been in Riga for a while before, and only the governor Dahlberg, who was stationed there by the Swedes, knew about it.When Peter was in Riga, he visited the whole city and inspected the local customs.At the same time, his subordinates also secretly drew a sketch of Riga's city walls and fortresses, with great ambitions.Later, he took a ship arranged by Frederick, Grand Duke of Courland, secretly went to Königsberg, and stayed at the house of the Elector for a month.

In August, Peter left Königsberg, and once planned to visit Berlin, Potsdam, Hanover, Lübeck and other cities by land, but then he gave up for some reason, and went back to Riga by boat, and finally boarded this British merchant ship Headed to London for a meeting with King William III.

It should be said that Peter's move was bold and full of courage.In this era, although it is not uncommon for the monarchs of European countries to travel abroad, it is still somewhat inappropriate after all.What's more, the political struggle in Russia is extremely cruel. The monarch is not in the country for a long time, and it is easy for political opponents to take advantage of it. century.

But Peter Tsar is so capricious.Perhaps it was because of his uncle, Duke Naryshkin, and his loyal old commander, Duke Romodanovsky, who helped him manage both the political and military aspects. Peter was able to travel to the West with peace of mind, broaden his horizons, and at the same time attract foreign troops for Russia. With more talents, the national strength of this huge empire has been rapidly improved.

Of course, Peter's purpose is not limited to these. In fact, diplomatic contact is also an important task of his travels.For example, Peter planned to go to Saxony when he returned from London to negotiate with the Elector August.Now the whole of Europe knew that it was the Elector August of Saxony who was most likely to succeed the Polish throne after the death of the terminally ill Sobieski.Therefore, if you want to plot against Sweden, you must look for him.

Yes, you heard that right, Tsar Peter really wanted to deal with the Kingdom of Sweden.After two disastrous expeditions to the south during the regency of his sister Princess Sophia, Tsar Peter is now also cautious about going south to the Black Sea.In particular, the powerful people on the east coast have repeatedly warned them not to go south, so Peter plans to try going west to see how it works.

Peter's plan is to join forces with Poland, Saxony, and Brandenburg-Prussia to attack the Kingdom of Sweden and completely drive their power from the southern coast of the Baltic Sea.For this reason, the Poles can obtain a stable access to the sea, Saxony and Brandenburg can carve up Sweden's land in Germany, and Russia can occupy the Livonia region and gain a foothold in the eastern Baltic Sea. It can be said that everyone benefits , the feasibility is still good.

But fighting Sweden is not only a military issue, but also a political issue.Who is Sweden's biggest backer now?United Provinces!Without the financial support behind the United Provinces, Sweden's finances would soon be in trouble, which would affect its armaments.With the large sums of money from the Dutch, the Swedes can recruit troops in the relatively densely populated northern Germany, and at the same time hoard sufficient war supplies to compete with the Prussians and Russians.Therefore, if you want to reduce the difficulty, it seems to be a very important task to persuade the Dutch to reduce their financial aid to Sweden.

Unfortunately, this seems unlikely in the short term.The Dutch have invested a lot in Sweden. The biggest creditor of the Swedish royal family is the De Haer family of the Netherlands. The Swedish Army often acts as a thug for the Dutch to fight against other countries. At the same time, Sweden is the largest share of the Dutch trade in the Baltic Sea. Important pillars, they will not let Sweden fall easily.

Tsar Peter may not have understood this truth, but he still wanted to make one last effort to see if he could relieve the Kingdom of Sweden from foreign financial support.If not, he will decide whether to send troops depending on the situation. After all, there is still a threat from the Turks in the south.However, Peter learned from his conversations with others that the Swedes had a very bad reputation in the German region, and the Livonian nobles were also very dissatisfied with it. It can be said that the Swedes are sitting on the powder keg at this time.Even if the Russians do not send troops, the Germans themselves have a strong urge to send troops to challenge Sweden, the northern empire, and a war may break out.

People on the east coast also smelled a hint of wind before, but they didn't think that war would break out at any time.Brandenburg - Prussia is not strong enough to challenge Sweden. If Poland is added, there may be some hope, but Sobieski is not dead yet, and neither is the most likely successor, Elector August of Saxony. It can be seen.They did know that the nobles of Livonia were very dissatisfied with the governor Dahlberg, and had been plotting to overthrow his rule, but they were too weak to succeed.These nobles had approached the Grand Duke of Courland, but at the suggestion of the East Coast people, the former Grand Duke rejected these unrealistic plots, because the East Coast people worried that this might involve the Principality of Courland in the war.

But now the Archduke Frederick is a little confused.This guy has always been very successful, very vain, and he cares a lot about the flattery and praise of outsiders.Especially now that the economic strength of the Principality of Courland has greatly increased, and it has faintly become the leader of the Livonia region.Therefore, it is still possible for him to get confused at critical moments and get involved in conflicts that he shouldn't be involved in. People on the east coast must beware of him as a pig teammate.

Generally speaking, people on the east coast feel that the current situation in the eastern half of the Baltic Sea is temporarily controllable, and the only variables are the troubled Russia and the change of the Polish throne.Fortunately, they didn't have much interest here. The only thing they need to worry about is probably to keep their small commercial interests and maintain the independence of the fulcrum of the Principality of Courland.They have good relations with Berlin and The Hague. With these two relations, even if Grand Duke Frederick is unwise, he can save it after a lot of trouble-of course they don't want to do this, because it requires consumption. political resources.

On October 1695, 10, after stopping and going, the three-masted sailing ship "The Spruce" anchored at Tethel, the outer port of Amsterdam.After processing the rye on board—during the war, food was never worrying about selling, and the price was good, although you could only sell it to designated Dutch wholesalers—the ship was again in the largest European market. The Commodity Distribution Center purchased a batch of goods and set off for London across the sea.At this time, the English merchant ship carrying Russians that had sailed side by side with them on the Baltic Sea had long since disappeared.

(End of this chapter)