Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 233 The Ottomans in Dongfang Port ([-])

On November 1639, 11, when the spring blossoms in the southern hemisphere, two ships of the East Coast Exploration Fleet, which had been drifting outside for more than half a year, hurried into the wharf of Fort in the River.

A ship repair shop has now been set up on the wharf of the Fort in the River, and some craftsmen and apprentices have been dispatched from the mainland to repair the passing ships. The battleship "Free Trade" and the armed transport ship "Galicia Flying Fish" have been traveling at sea for several months. Now the sails, masts, and rigging are damaged in many places, and there are many leaks on the board. Urgent repairs.

After repairing the ship, on November 11th, the exploration fleet set sail again, spent a month across the Atlantic Ocean, and docked in the No. 5 berth of the Dongfang Port Military Wharf.

The officers and sailors of the Expeditionary Fleet have been away for nearly a year since they set sail in January at the beginning of the year. It goes without saying that everyone is excited to return to their homeland at this moment.The sailors stood on the deck and waved their arms to the dock workers on the shore to cheer heartily, and the dock workers on the shore also gave them warm applause to commemorate this great voyage.

"The pier is clean and tidy. The water is still clean and the air is fresh. The efficiency of the pier is also very high. Are there slave workers on the pier? They look strong and orderly." Hassan stood on the deck Looking at everything in the pier with novelty, he asked Guo Zili through an interpreter.

"No, they are all free citizens, formal contract workers recruited by the Port Authority." Guo Zili responded casually, and then seriously said to Hassan and his translator: "Mr. Hassan, please and your companions Be sure to abide by our agreement, do not go out of the designated area on the pier, we will send someone over to arrange your accommodation. You know, your identities are very sensitive, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, before our government makes a formal decision Please keep a low profile."

Hassan and a group of Ottoman naval officers looked at each other and nodded in agreement.The Ottoman Empire, as a great empire spanning three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe, with a population of more than [-] million, is also the mortal enemy of the Christian world in Europe. Their officers appear on the east coast. If the Europeans know about it, the impact will be huge Yes, it's really hard to say what the consequences will be.

For now, therefore, their identities and existence are best kept secret.After all, the cooperation between the two countries they are going to talk about is not a trivial matter such as buying a few tons of wheat or a few bolts of cotton cloth, but a major event that is likely to have a certain impact on the military balance in a certain region, and everyone must treat it with caution.

Speaking of this, I actually have to mention the somewhat embarrassing positioning of the East China Republic today, that is, whether this country is a Western country or an Eastern country.If it is an Eastern country, then it is not a big problem to deepen the relationship with the Ottoman Empire; but if you are an out-and-out Western country, and now you spare no effort to help the Ottomans, then it is likely to arouse the resentment and anger of the Western Christian world. Hostility will inevitably be rejected by them in the end.Especially for Venice and Spain whose interests are directly threatened, their relationship with the east coast will inevitably deteriorate sharply.

Of course, this question is not absolute. In many cases, it depends on the strength.Didn’t you see that when France and Ottoman were engaged in foundation together, Ottoman’s warships were moored in the naval port of Toulon, France for a long time. Didn’t France not shed a single hair?

For today's China East Coast Republic, culturally speaking, this country is undoubtedly more similar to the Eastern countries.However, in terms of trade and communication, this country is closer to the Western world, and its communication is closer.It can be seen that the interest entanglement between the east coast and the western world is very deep. Since you want to mix in other people's circles, you must pay attention to the influence, because you are not strong enough to ignore other people's opinions and make rules on your own.

Today's Western world is a world where one superpower and many powers coexist. The first superpower is obviously Spain, which is strong outside but capable in the middle. Below Spain are Austria, the Netherlands, France, England, Sweden and other countries. As for Portugal, Denmark, Venice, Russia, etc. , Poland and other countries are slightly inferior.No matter how these countries fight among themselves, they still compete for internal leadership, but as a system, the collision and competition between them and another system such as the Ottoman Empire are inherent instincts, and there is no room for reconciliation Yes, it always ends with the collapse of the other side.

To be honest, after so many years of development and two moderate wars, the East Coast Republic of China has initially gained the recognition of the first world system.It can be said that if people on the east coast maintain the current momentum of development and adjust some policies appropriately, it is not difficult to rely on the golden finger of foresight to gradually integrate into the western world and gain a good position in it.But if you really do this, the future of this country is really not optimistic.There are not many clear-headed people among the crossing crowd. They deeply understand that the current weak national strength and not a very strong culture on the east coast, if they are fully integrated into the Western world system, they will probably be assimilated by this system in the end. In the end, it became a country in the style of Australia, South Africa, and Canada in later generations.

And this is not the result that the time travelers want to see.What the people want is to build a system by themselves and take on the responsibility of being a world leader.Of course, this requires a prosperous economy, strong military force, and a strong culture. The difficulty is huge and the process is difficult. Maybe many people who have traveled through their lives will not see this day, but no matter how difficult it is, they have to do it, right?

It is a good wish to be a world leader, but the reality is that the East Coast Republic still has to maintain a relatively harmonious relationship with the Western world.Because the immigration, market, raw materials, talents and many other things needed on the east coast can only rely on the western world before the opening of the eastern route-of course, now there is another option for the Ottoman Empire.

Hassan and others were respectfully invited to take a rest in the pier hotel, and the waiter brought everyone a few cups of drinks made of cocoa powder.The decoration in the hotel room is very simple, even shabby: walls painted with lime water, furniture made of ordinary pine wood, chairs made of tree stumps, and only three or four candles on the candlesticks, but fortunately, the room is still tidy It's clean.

What's more, the rooms are bright - East Coasters put glass in the windows.The glass is embedded in the window frame made of wrought iron window bars. It can be seen that the technology of firing glass by the people on the east coast needs to be improved. There are many bubbles and impurities in the window glass, but generally speaking it is still clear and transparent.

It was noon, and the waiter quickly brought them another simple lunch.Hassan glanced casually, and saw that the staple food for lunch was a kind of bread, and several sheets were stacked on a wooden dinner plate.The side dishes are a little richer: prawns, squid, eggs, vegetables, and shell soup. It seems that the owner has considered their religious beliefs, and only one kind of steak is served for meat.

As middle-ranking officers of the Egyptian fleet of the Ottoman Empire, Hassan and others could not often eat such dishes, so they all ate and drank unceremoniously.Hassan thought to himself while eating, seeing those waiters turning a blind eye to these dishes just now, they should be able to enjoy these meals often.In other words, even a lowly "slave" who serves others can enjoy the rich food that the officers of the Ottoman Empire can enjoy, so how rich should this so-called East China Republic be?

Hassan's trip not only had to discuss with the people on the east coast about commissioning shipbuilding, but also had the important task of investigating the customs and social conditions of the east coast.Because the adults in the country are eager to know the strength of their potential partners.Ottoman is a big and powerful country, and a country that is too weak is not qualified to be a partner of the Ottoman Empire.

After lunch, the service staff came and took away their cutlery.At this time, there was a sudden burst of shouting on the flat ground opposite this place separated by a low wall.Hassan walked to the door and looked intently, and saw a large group of several hundred thin and thin men who were training in formation, and a dozen guys in uniform who looked like officers were walking around in the crowd with short sticks in their hands. , From time to time, I hit someone with a stick, which is to punish those who do not obey the password.

"Who are these people? They seem to be training. Are they conscripted slave soldiers?" Hassan quickly asked the waiter through an interpreter.

Thankfully, the waiter could understand Spanish. He thought about it for a while, as if he thought the question could be answered, and then said: "They are not slaves. In fact, our country basically does not use any slaves except in some mining areas. Slaves. They are all freedmen who signed contracts. They just arrived last month. They come from the East. There are more than 1200 people in total. Damn, those greedy Portuguese, the Ministry of Finance paid a huge fee of more than 40 yuan for them , and almost dragged down the finances. For this reason, several water conservancy projects have been canceled this year, and the canal project from Dongfang Port to Chui River has also been cancelled. It is said that it is to save money..."

Hassan nodded. It seems that this eastern republic is extremely hungry for population, especially those from the Far East.For them, the people on the east coast can even charge unimaginably high prices. This point can be reported to you in detail. As a big country with tens of millions of mouths, the Ottoman Empire may not lack all kinds of slaves.From this point of view, the two sides have a solid basis for cooperation.

In the afternoon, several officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the East Coast Republic came to the hotel. They came to invite the Ottoman guests to the meeting room of the Executive Committee's administrative building. At present, many people want to meet them.

(End of this chapter)