Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2420 Unity River (Twenty)

"...we have seen how imperialists such as Lieutenant Colonel Xiao Guang regard the glorious Kingdom of Portugal. There is no doubt that their politicians in power are very willing to win over our country so that it will not be alone on the Continent. Last year At that time, in order to draw our country into their camp, the efforts of diplomatic envoys in one month exceeded the sum of the past 20 years. Of course they also brought in Italians or other people, some of which are top secret, not yet Disclose a few words to the press. But in any case, because of the powerful spiritual and material strength of the Kingdom of Portugal and His Majesty, the success or failure of the East Coast Army in the European continent depends on our support."

"...It is true that our army units are not doing well in Morocco. The military supplies, artillery units, and engineering units compete for theft. Many officers are deeply distressed by the war and do their best to excuse their illness. But if we reform these disadvantages, our combat power will be more than doubled, enough to defeat any enemy, and our soldiers have the potential to become an elite and powerful army. After understanding these situations, the people on the east coast should not treat us completely However, the reality made us feel frustrated, and the soldiers represented by Lieutenant Colonel Xiao Guang rudely taunted us and regarded us as weak and bully targets, and they may have considerable territorial ambitions.”

". . . I intend to go south after a while and see the civil servants of their government. These are well-bred gentlemen who must have condemned the unbelievable rudeness of the military. They have always maintained a gentle attitude towards our country, and they have always been Treat the Kingdom of Portugal with magnanimity, justice, and true courtesy, knowing our interests, and willing to listen to our demands. If possible, I will ask for an agreement to restrain the actions of the East Coast Army, so as to prevent those The greedy and warlike take all the gold mines."

"About the order from Lisbon, I think it is appropriate. The war needs to prepare a lot of funds, especially the legal currency on the east coast. Many supplies can only be bought with legal currency. As far as the current situation is concerned, the Qingdao market is very loose, but It may become tighter in the near future, because many countries intend to lend gold exchange certificates. My friend who works in the banking industry on the east coast suggested to me to hurry up. He thinks that the east coast government has a high chance of issuing less than 600 million French currency to our government because it’s not just a commercial act, but also a political one. But he also warned against courting bankers from other countries because it would hurt their self-esteem.”

"Finally, about this war that is about to break out. I have to say, it looks like the Spanish bubble is about to burst. I'm already expecting the East Coasters to beat them easily, it won't be an engagement, it's a Our country should seize the opportunity to resolve the historical territorial dispute with the Kingdom of Spain. If there is the support of the people on the east coast—you can imagine the lofty prestige and prestige enjoyed by the people on the east coast after the war, they Everything that we do will be 'sincerely appreciated' by the weary belligerents - we can make the Spaniards give up an interest that is so important to them, I am absolutely sure of that."

On February 1701, 2, Serginho, the special envoy of the Governor of Bahia, was writing a work report in a well-decorated bedroom of the Fangshan Hotel.This report will be sent to Lisbon first, and then sent to Lisbon after being endorsed by the Governor of Bahia, where it will be reviewed by the king's important ministers.

A work report is written every week.Because I was on the road before, I wrote very briefly and without much content.However, after the meeting with Lieutenant Colonel Xiao Guang, director of the Tuanjiehe Military Management Office in Fangshan County, the content suddenly became richer.

To be precise, Serginho did not achieve any results in his negotiations with Lieutenant Colonel Xiao Guang.The warrior leader was very cunning. He pretended to be a rude and uneducated military leader and sneered at Serginho, messing around, and then cunningly avoided talking about the core issues. The special envoy of the governor, Gerginho, hated his teeth, and did not hesitate to criticize Xiao in his work report.

However, he also understands that the interests of the Tuanjie River Basin are huge, and it is impossible to expect the people on the east bank to stop here.Unless they do not find resources such as gold mines and gemstone mines in the lower reaches of this river-but Serginho also highly doubts that even without these mines, the people on the east coast will probably continue to occupy the land-their country is currently With a hunger for gold and a soldier's reputation for being brutal and warlike, the situation was far from optimistic.

Therefore, Serginho no longer has any expectations of persuading the Wufu on the East Bank of the Unity River Basin with words.He planned to go to Dongfang County, the capital of the people on the east coast of the south. He heard that their Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not yet moved out, so it would be the right way to meet with some big shots and see if they could solve the problem through diplomatic channels.

The diplomats on the east coast still have a good impression on the Portuguese.They are gentle, knowledgeable, soft-spoken, and always take good care of their allies.Serginho intends to focus on the importance of the Kingdom of Portugal in the European strategy of the East Coast Republic, and then hopes to persuade the diplomats on the East Coast to let them restrain the army in turn and put a harness on this crazy horse. bridle.

But how to say this kind of thing, the possibility of success and failure is not small.Don't look at what Serginho wrote in the report, but to be honest, no one dares to guarantee it.He hasn't been to the East Bank for a long time, what if the style of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs changes?

But that's not a big deal.Even if diplomatic efforts fail, Serginho has already figured out a way out, which is to push everything on the East Coast Army.Anyway, rumors of domineering warriors in this country have been heard by all countries, and the reasons are quite sufficient.

Of course, Serginho's trip to the south this time is not just for the sake of uniting the river basin.To put it bluntly, perhaps the Governor of Bahia valued the gold mine very much, because his interests were involved in it, but from the perspective of the Lisbon court, it might not be so important.What they are more worried about may be that they are afraid that the people on the east coast will advance an inch and eventually infringe on the interests of Portuguese Brazil.Of course, if the people on the east coast are willing to make appropriate compensation elsewhere, Lisbon may not be willing to make a little concession here. One of Serginho's missions during this trip is to work hard in this regard.

Spain and Portugal actually have territorial disputes, and there are quite a few of them.The reasons are complex, but the main contradiction still arose during the merger of Spain and Portugal.In that dark age for the Portuguese, they lost many cities on the border between Spain and Portugal, which were annexed by Spain.Even now, most of the locals still speak Portuguese. Many nobles swore allegiance to the Portuguese royal family, and Lisbon never wants to take it back.Originally relying on Portugal's national strength, there was no chance at all.But with the support of people from the east coast, the situation will be different!Especially now that King Carlos II of Madrid is terminally ill, and at any time—no, he will definitely—drag the country into the abyss of war. If the Portuguese seize the opportunity, they may not be able to regain the lost ground and regain the glory of the day.

From here we can also see that several of Serginho's missions seem to be somewhat contradictory, that is, he does not want the people on the east coast to take advantage of them, but also wants their support.To put it bluntly, they still demand too much and are not greedy enough.In fact, the Portuguese did not think carefully about whether they have enough value to be considered by the East Coast people from their point of view.The Lisbon court also had unrealistic optimism in this matter, as if the defeat of its army in Morocco had not woken them from their dreams.

When you really think about it, what could Portugal offer the East Coast during the war?A Viana do Castelo military base, a place to buy cheap agricultural products and draft animals, a source of mercenaries, but is this really irreplaceable?I'm afraid not necessarily.The people on the east coast are willing to help them regain some lost ground from the Spaniards, give them millions of yuan in loans, and transfer some of their commercial interests. In fact, they are generous enough. Asking too much will only make both sides look bad.

Unfortunately, many people do not understand this truth.The failure of the Portuguese army in Morocco has disappointed the people of the East Coast, who feel that they are not as good as the Italians. The value of their overseas colonies is also greatly reduced when the layout of the overseas strongholds of the East Coast people is close to completion. At the beginning, they relied on you in Diu It’s true that you have entered India with your relationship, but it’s also a matter of time and time—in that case, do you still expect others to give you good looks?

Serginho was in a daze, or his mind was dominated by greed, and he still had unrealistic fantasies.With such a mentality, even if he meets a civil official on the east coast who he thinks is "easy to talk to", he probably won't get much benefit.For the present, the Portuguese should abandon their illusions, reorganize the army that has proven to be unqualified, and strengthen themselves, so that it is possible to get a share of the upcoming great changes-obviously, this share will not Too much, but enough to fill up the size of Portugal.

As for the future of Portuguese Brazil, it is too early to talk.You can't expect a country with a population of more than 180 million to occupy such a large and fertile land forever.Even if people from the east coast don't come to nibble, won't others?The colonists of French Guiana have been carrying out cross-border colonization activities for many years. It is better for the governor of Bahia to pay more attention to this direction. Louis XIV's appetite is quite large.

People must be self-aware, and so is the country.

(End of this chapter)