Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2473 Closing

On March 1703, 3, Sheng Dehong, the plenipotentiary envoy of the East China Republic to Europe, appeared in Gibraltar.Arriving almost at the same time with him, there was Count Jimenez, the negotiator of the Kingdom of Spain.The East and the West will conduct a "candid dialogue" on the Gibraltar crisis in order to end this deadlocked war as soon as possible.

"According to the information disclosed by Mr. Ramstein, the Hamburg banker, the financial and business circles, like the vast majority of people in the country, hope to end the war as soon as possible. Only some court figures, military generals and religious leaders insist on continuing the war. Philip V. He is hesitant, he is eager for honor, but he doesn't quite believe that the war will end in Spain's victory." In Sheng Dehong's temporary office, the secretary and intelligence adjutant is reporting to him: "Madrid is currently in a general situation. In a state of dysfunction, the voices of the peace talks have begun to increase in general. Especially some members of the ex-noble regency group with ulterior motives. They fear that the brilliant victory of the Spanish army will increase the prestige of Philip V and weaken their power, so They have been working in private, demanding an end to the war as soon as possible.”

"I heard that some people in Spain suggested mobilizing heavy fortress artillery to make Gibraltar the burial place of our army and navy. Who are they? Can they affect the final decision? I need a definite message." Sheng Dehong picked up Asked while drinking a cup of fragrant milk tea.

"Mainly hardline military generals and religious people. They think that the failure of the early offensive is very unfortunate, but if the war does not end in victory, the domestic situation in Spain may have a tendency to deteriorate, which is more important to them. Unfortunately. Therefore, these people believe that it is not appropriate to talk about peace at present, and they should continue to fight, even for a year or two, until we can't stand it, and finally end with a decent peace agreement, and they can use this to claim victory internally. "Secretary Answered: "But I can confirm that they will not have a decisive influence. The Baltic International Bank has already said hello, and the Deutsche Banking industry has cut the loan line to the Kingdom of Spain, and they will eventually be unsustainable."

"The establishment of the Baltic International Bank now seems to be a wonderful move. The place with the most abundant capital in continental Europe is the Netherlands first, but they are deeply involved in war and their funds are tight; the second is England. The capital is extremely thirsty, and they are absorbing Dutch capital on a large scale; the third is German and Italian capital, which we can deeply influence. If the Spaniards are cut off from their money, they will still fight!" Sheng Dehong said confidently.

In fact, it is not impossible to fight without money.You can see that the French do not have a lot of funds, but they have a certain industrial production capacity, and their agriculture is also good. At critical moments, they can use administrative means to allocate domestic resources in a unified manner, make overall use of them, and reduce the import of foreign goods as much as possible. This will save money. Lots of money.But the Spaniards are not suitable for this trick of the French, because their industrial and agricultural foundations are too poor!Dominating the gold and silver mines in America is really not a good thing now!One is that a large amount of gold and silver flowed into the country, causing appalling inflation, handicraftsmen went bankrupt, and a complete deindustrialization came.The second thing is that with gold and silver, they can be imported casually and bought everywhere. The Spaniards are used to this life of spending money like water, and they no longer have the ambition to engage in arduous industrial and agricultural production.Perhaps the hard times of the last 30 to [-] years have allowed them to restore some of their industrial and agricultural foundations, but it is still far from enough. More than [-]% of the country's daily necessities and industrial products need to be imported. Without money, they really can't survive!

"Continue to strengthen the relationship with the Baltic International Bank, and minimize the flow of German funds beyond Spain. In addition, it is time for the Portuguese to say hello. Don't they have a historical territorial dispute with Spain? At this time, you can make a fuss and let Madrid That king, who is already out of breath, should be more nervous." After putting down the milk tea in his hand, Sheng Dehong stood up and said, "The Spaniards are ridiculous. Military means are not even necessary to deal with them. Whatever way they want to die, we can provide it. Trade blockade, financial sanctions, military strikes, separatist forces, haha, we have prepared a lot of gifts, you can enjoy them.”

"By the way, we have spent more than a month here in Gibraltar. The Northern Italian Federation has fully benefited, so how can we not express it?" Sheng Dehong finally said: "There is no free lunch in the world! Let them quickly prepare the check, we I spent so much money, I have to make up for it.”

In a quiet country house ten kilometers away, Earl Jimenez, the chief negotiator of Spain, was also talking with someone at this time.

"Sending a fleet to the Bay of Gibraltar can only be death." Count Jimenez said bluntly: "I don't think they have a clear understanding of how powerful the ironclad warships of the people on the east coast are. Seeing that warship Are the shells fired? Our warships can't even get close, and they will be sent into the sea by them. Isn't this sending you to death?"

Earl Enrique was a little silent.In fact, I was a little confident before I came, because I heard that the army on the east bank has only a thousand people, and they have more than 2 troops, and a pile of people can kill the opponent.But the problem lies precisely in this "stack of people". They can't effectively use the advantage of numbers at all, and they are helpless in the current situation.

After the death of his friend Morales, soldiers like Earl Enrique became more sober.After losing 6000 people, no matter how fanatical soldiers are, they will become more rational.If soldiers have no fighting spirit, they will be lazy. This battle——we really have to try to end it.

"But the French asked us to continue to persist and attract the energy of the east coast and northern Italy. At present, their troops have entered the hinterland of Germany. Although they were strongly blocked by the German princes, more than [-] elite troops still broke through the line of defense. Trying to enter Austria. At this time, they don't want any accidents. We are at war with Spain and Northern Italy, which is not a bad thing for them." Earl Enrique said.

Jimenez glanced at him upon hearing this.As a court aristocrat, he often went to the center and knew that although Earl Enrique believed that the Bourbon family was better than the Habsburg family in inheriting the Spanish throne, he himself did not have a good impression of France.In particular, Spain was passively involved in the European Continental War, which greatly consumed the wealth of the country and the lives of the people, which made him very unhappy.

Of course, Earl Enrique was even less fond of the Austrian Habsburgs, because this would inevitably turn Spain into a colony where Austria extracted wealth and soldiers, and would provide assistance for Leopold's expansion.In short, Spain has been in great trouble since the "vampire" of the Habsburg dynasty was spread, and the national fortune has sunk to the bottom.

The most ideal for the Kingdom of Spain is for a local nobleman to serve as the king, just like the Braganza Dynasty in Portugal.He was born in the native land, and his interests are in the native land. He always values ​​the interests of Spain more than the Habsburg or Bourbon families who do not know where they came from.But this matter can only be thought about in the bottom of my heart, and I can’t even say it to the outside world. Blood inheritance is an iron law, the blood of the royal family is noble, and the monarchy is bestowed by God. It is either Habsburg or Bourbon. Three options.

"But now Spain has too many fronts. The Rhine, the Southern Netherland, Northern Italy, and Gibraltar, the national power will be overwhelmed in the long run. The easiest thing to end here is the war with the people on the east coast. Your Excellency the Earl , the war on the Iberian Peninsula will last for a long time, and it will affect everyone's interests. The warships of the East Coast Navy are currently limited to the Strait of Gibraltar, but no one can guarantee that they will not go to other places. I think, The nobles with a sense of responsibility and honor should unite and reach a consensus to end this war as soon as possible." Count Jimenez said.

To be honest, Count Jimenez hated the people on the east coast very much, and felt that this was a dangerous imperialist country, greedy and extremely controlling.Recently, some shameless people in Madrid - who knows whether they have private connections with the East Coasters - even in the published newspapers, argued that the parts of Gibraltar occupied by the East Coasters are poor, barren, dry and without any minerals. However, the fishery resources are not rich and their value is very low, which further deepens his dislike for the people on the east coast.What are these shameless people doing?The implication is that these lands are lost to the people on the east coast, don't they feel bad?Absurd!

However, no matter how disgusted he was, from a realistic and rational point of view, Count Jimenez had to admit that the right way was to quickly end the endless war of attrition with the people on the east coast and spare energy to deal with other crises.He has learned through some channels that foreign bankers who originally planned to provide loans to the Kingdom of Spain have reduced their quotas or stopped providing loans at all.He didn't know what role the East Coast people played in it, but it definitely had an influence!

So, let this nightmare end soon!

"Does the king have any instructions?" He didn't dare to answer some topics, so after a long silence, Count Enrique asked about other things.As the commander-in-chief of this war, he had to admit that he didn't play well enough, or even badly.This may affect his future, so there is some concern.

"His Majesty's instruction is: 'All follow God's guidance.'" Earl Jimenez said in a calm tone as much as possible.

Count Enrique had nothing to say.What God's guidance is, no one knows!The king's words are completely shirking responsibility.Baron Enrique has friends in Madrid, and he has received some news. It is said that His Majesty Philip V has been "sleeping and having nightmares" and "very tired" these days. He often goes to church to "pray" and even "weeps" in front of his mistress ".

Earl Enrique sneered at this. Who is His Majesty the King acting for?He did not give clear instructions to the chief negotiator, did not express his attitude at state affairs meetings, and often "had nightmares", was in poor health, and missed many key meetings. Responsibility, admitting one's faults and crimes.He needs someone who is responsible for helping him sign an armistice agreement with the people on the east coast. After all, he has not been king for long, and he is still an outsider.

Earl Enrique has made up his mind that he will never sign the armistice agreement.Because Spain was not the winning party in this agreement, he did not want to leave his mark on a document that was detrimental to Spain's decency.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Count Jimenez, who was sitting opposite him, and thought that this person might be in trouble.In the past, when Spain signed a peace treaty with the East Coast, most of the ceded land in the New World was insignificant, but this also caused many people to bear a huge infamy, and even ruined their political careers.What is to be ceded now is the land of the Iberian Peninsula, and it is still forced to be handed over to the pagans. If anyone signs this, they can immediately pack up and go home.

"A peace negotiation is necessary, otherwise we will suffer even greater suffering." Before Earl Enrique could speak, Jimenez started talking again: "Don't worry, Mr. Commander-in-Chief, I will take all the responsibilities. Of course I I know what this means, but my belief and responsibility guide me to do so, because it is good for Spain. In fact, my heart is also suffering. On the one hand, my reason and conscience tell me that if I sign an agreement with the people on the east coast tomorrow, then It will be a day of great happiness; on the other hand, an inner voice reminds me that I will be happier if fate will not allow me to sign the agreement, otherwise others will push it all on me, but there is no way ..."

Looking at the dejected Jimenez, Earl Enrique respected him: "Any conscientious and educated gentleman will understand your painstaking efforts and remember your sacrifice. The current situation is so difficult that anyone It shouldn't be worse."

Count Jimenez shook his head with a wry smile, and was about to say something more when a young secretary walked in and whispered in his ear: "The latest news is that the troops led by General Cartillo suffered a disastrous defeat in the Duchy of Milan. More than 7000 people were captured, and more than [-] were captured. The rest were ambushed by the Sixth Mixed Regiment of the East Coast Army on the way to withdraw, and most of them were killed or injured. General Castillo was also injured, and he only brought more than [-] troops The people fled back to Turin. Also, the two ironclad ships of the East Coasters have just pulled anchor and set sail in the direction of Cadiz, the purpose is unknown."

Hearing the news, the bitterness on Count Jimenez's face became more intense, and at the same time his determination became stronger.At this point, the Kingdom of Spain has no room for bargaining.The armistice agreement must be signed as soon as possible, otherwise things will be unimaginable!

(End of this chapter)