Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 239 The Spaniards in Dongfang Port ([-])

Alvarez and Captain Leo soon rushed to the administrative building of the executive committee, and Gao Mo, the foreign minister of the East Coast people, invited them to come to formally start negotiations on the purchase of ships.

This time, there was also a Spanish naval officer with them, who seemed to be acting as a technical adviser, and the person in charge of the negotiations was still Lieutenant Leo.For Lieutenant Leo, people on the east coast are also very familiar.This gentleman was born in Spain, married and married in Lima, and currently lives in Buenos Aires, where he is the sheriff of the town of Colonia.

It seems that he has been appreciated by his superiors all these years, and he has even climbed to the rank of captain.This time, the purchase of ships with the East Coast Republic was directly ordered by the West Indian Council of Spain to the Governor of Peru and General La Plata. General La Plata then handed over the matter to people familiar with the East Coast Captain Leo was in charge, and the Rodriguez family was in charge of contacting and inquiring about news.

Now that both parties are old acquaintances, Gao Mo naturally stopped going around in circles.Just like with the Ottomans that time, he asked his secretary to directly send the information and prices of various types of export warships and weapons on the east coast written in Spanish for the Spaniards to see for themselves.

Each of the three Spaniards had a copy, discussing in low voices while watching carefully.Gao Mo ignored them, and instead chatted softly with Lieutenant Wang Tiechui, who was pulled over to serve as a temporary technical advisor.

"I heard that the military intends to readjust the two major fleets and move the second fleet's home port to South Africa's River Fort? Do you have any ideas?" Gao Mo lit a pipe and asked Wang Tiehammer while smoking.He and Wang Tiechui had a fairly good personal relationship. Although they belonged to the two camps of civil servants and the army, the two had always had a lot of contacts in private.

"How can you have no idea? But this matter is quite complicated, not that simple." Wang Tiehammer smiled lightly, and said: "Recently, Lao Guo (Guo Zili) has risen very quickly, especially when he successfully explored the African route. It is a big plus for him. It is said that he has led a fleet to the coast of Mumbai and has a certain understanding of the hydrology and climate conditions in the Indian Ocean. If he wants to explore the route to South Asia in the next step, he is still the best choice. This kid , luck is really good, many people now have a positive view of him. Some imperial elements in the government and army are even advocating that he command the Second Fleet and sail to the coast of Daming as soon as possible."

"Hehe." Gao Mo also smiled and said: "Old Wang, what's the matter? His foundation is no match for yours. He is only a lieutenant at the moment, and the exploration fleet he acts as the commander of has also been disbanded. What does Guo compare with you? You once commanded an escort squadron and fought naval battles with the British, this is your qualifications! At present, you are the only one who has command experience in fleet operations in China, except Lu Ming. Yes. So, you still have a great advantage, usually go to Minister Wang’s place for activities and make more contacts, the position of Commander of the Second Fleet is still yours, you can’t escape!”

Wang Tiehammer smiled and said nothing, after a long while he sighed again, and said: "Even if the Second Fleet is established, there are probably only two or three ships, and its strength is very limited. Compared with the First Fleet, it is far behind. Lao Guo and I are arguing here, while Lao Lu over there has already secured the position of commander of the First Fleet. Both Lao Guo and Lao Guo have fallen to the bottom."

"Lao Lu is indeed a great man." Gao Mo also agreed, "At the beginning, he did not show his mountains and deeds, and devoted himself to building a sailing school and building a shipyard, and then he came to where he is today step by step. Looking back now, his It’s really clever, I understand it in my heart. Look, at the end of last month, he celebrated his 36th birthday. Didn’t Lao Guo’s adjutant and your navigator all go to support him? How many officers and non-commissioned officers on the various naval ships went Going to the banquet, that scene is truly spectacular. Who let someone serve as the principal of the nautical school for so many years, and the world is full of peaches and plums? Now, there are some things that even Minister Wang has to discuss with him, tsk tsk, human life It’s wonderful when it comes to this. Old Wang, compared with others, you and Lao Guo are really not so interesting.”

After the two chatted for a while, the Spaniards over there finally finished chatting, and then began to formally put forward their requests and ideas to Gao Mo.

"What? 32-pound naval gun?" Gao Mo shook his head and said with regret: "Neither the 32-pound naval gun nor the 24-pound naval gun is in our sales list. Even if it is less powerful, the 18-pound Naval guns have to be sold in limited quantities, so don’t think about these things anymore, please follow the list we provide to choose and buy what you need.”

Several Spaniards were obviously disappointed when they heard the words, but they also knew that the 32-pound and 24-pound naval guns were difficult to buy, and they were just trying to mention them just now.Now, as expected, they were rejected by the people on the east coast, and they put forward their real goals: "We are going to order two frigates, two high-speed cruisers, 24 spare naval guns, [-] spare canvases, some rigging cables, and Some army equipment. The specific figures are written here, please have a look.”

高摩接过西班牙人递过来的清单，仔细一看，只见上面写着：“马岛”级护卫舰两艘；“扬武”级高速巡洋舰两艘；18磅舰炮六门、12磅舰炮八门、8磅舰炮六门；棉质帆布24张（横帆、三角帆各若干）；4磅陆军野战炮四门、6磅野战炮六门、8磅野战炮六门、12磅野战炮四门；燧发步枪四千枝、军刀四千把、盔甲五百领。此外，还有索具、缆绳、木桶、弹药包、铁锹、工兵铲、望远镜、布匹、焦油、粮食、油料、炉子、蜂窝煤等杂七杂八的东西。

"What a huge list! The Spaniard's battle line is too long, and there are too many places to fight. The poor local military production capacity can't keep up with the consumption of the war. It seems to be a tragedy." Wang Tiehammer glanced at the Spaniard and handed it over Shan Zi immediately smiled unkindly.

Gao Mo looked at it casually, and then handed the list to the secretary on his left, who immediately took out a thick price list and calculated it carefully.After the calculation, the unit price and total price of each item were listed clearly, and then handed over to Gao Mo.

"The unit price of each 'Madao' class frigate is 5.4 pesos, the unit price of each 'Yangwu' class high-speed cruiser is 10 pesos, and the total of the four warships is 30.8 pesos; 20 naval guns are 6000 pesos, and 20 army field guns are 1700 pesos. Pesos, sabers, rifles and armor total 5.75 pesos; together with other miscellaneous goods, the total price of the entire military purchase is about 39 pesos. Count your integers, a total of 39 pesos (about 32.5 yuan). Warship delivery time Because... well, is it acceptable for one year? Well, it doesn’t matter whether you accept it or not. Our slipway is very tight. In short, we try to make it faster for you. In addition, as the first transaction between the two parties, I will give you some discounts , each gun is equipped with fifty rounds of ammunition and five barrels of gunpowder. Then, if you have any objections, please raise them quickly." After looking at the list handed over by the secretary, Gao Mo thought for a while and said.

This is another big deal with a high profit margin. If it is successful, it will be no problem to make a net profit of 7 to [-] yuan.

"This price..." Captain Leo said with embarrassment.

"This price is already the lowest price, and it is not negotiable!" Gao Mo directly interrupted Captain Leo.

"What about the payment and delivery method?" Lieutenant Leo immediately asked the next question as if he had expected that the people on the east coast would not compromise on the price.

"Pay half of the payment first, and then we will start construction." Gao Mo said succinctly, "Pay another payment within one month after the construction is completed, and then we will start handing over the battleship. At that time, you will send sailors to Dongfang Port, and then send the ship Just drive away, it's that simple."

"One year lead time is a bit long. If we make the down payment immediately, can you start building for us right away?"

"Of course." Gao Mo laughed immediately, "Our business is not limited to the Kingdom of Spain. Of course, whoever pays the deposit first will take the lead. This is the principle."

Leo nodded, and then said to Alvarez who had been standing quietly: "Alvarez, about the deposit..."

"There is no problem with the deposit." Alvarez said with certainty, "The Governor's special envoy has allowed us to withhold the funds that will be paid in the next three years as the down payment for the purchase of the ship. As for the other half of the final payment, it will be paid by the new The Viceroyalty of Spain pays, everything is fine, you don’t have to worry.”

"Then..." Captain Leo turned to look at Gao Mo.

"No problem. We are old friends. The down payment can be delivered a few days later, and we will start construction for you today." Gao Mo continued with a smile on his face. There are some stocks, and then we will work overtime to ensure that we can provide you with enough army equipment within two months."

Gao Mo said so with certainty.At present, there are ten hydraulic boring machines and fifteen steam boring machines in the firearms manufacturing workshop of Dayuhe Armory. There are more than one hundred technicians, skilled craftsmen, and apprentices. The monthly output of nearly a thousand flintlock rifles, plus some of the previous inventory, will be supplied within two months. There is no pressure on the goods.In the same situation as them, there is also the cannon casting workshop, which is more powerful, with three to 400 technicians, and can produce more than [-] cannons per month.

The only trouble spots may be the two shipyards.There are only four slipways in total, but now they have received orders for ten warships, and it is imperative to expand the slipway and the scale of the shipyard.

(End of this chapter)