Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 36 The East Coast (Continued)

Thursday, July 1632, 10, sunny.

Today is the two-year anniversary of time travel.Tatan Port started from scratch, and now it is getting busier day by day.

There are several large sailing ships moored in the port, and busy dock workers are using pulley cranes to lift one ton of cargo from the cabin to the dock yard.The goods on the yard are piled up like a mountain, and the workers skillfully sort them into categories, and then the transport team of the Port Authority pulls them away with a horse-drawn cart.

At the same time, on the other side of the pier, a large group of refugees from the Baltic region were waiting for medical examinations, and policemen in black uniforms maintained order around with sabers.

Busy yet orderly.After several months, when Blanco set foot on the pier of Tatan Port again, he saw such a scene.This time, his entourage was only the merchant Carlos.

Blanco brought three big ships this time.Two of these ships were loaded with a full 500 tons of coal, and the other was loaded with sugar, cotton, indigo, and leather.The voyage from San Vicente to the port of Tatan was not a smooth journey for the Portuguese. Dutch ships almost troubled the Spaniards and Portuguese all over the world.Therefore, Blanco took a lot of risks in coming here this time.

To be honest, Blanco didn't want to come here.This group of orientals left him with a very bad impression: insidious and cunning, greedy, and dangerous.

Yes, Blanco thought these orientals were very dangerous.He could sense their strong self-confidence, aggressiveness, and unabashed ambition to expand.To be neighbors with such a group of people is perhaps no easier than to be at war with the Dutch.He frankly confessed his views and opinions to General Sao Paulo and the governor temporarily stationed in Rio de Janeiro, but they did not pay enough attention to them.

As the war in the Bahia region became increasingly unfavorable, the governor and generals tried their best to reverse the defeat, and they also suffered a lot.Just last month, the Dutch West India Company organized troops to achieve a major victory in the north of El Salvador. The Portuguese army with 1000 soldiers and mercenaries was severely damaged.More than [-] people were killed, wounded, and captured, which dealt a heavy blow to the morale of their own side. The governor's plan to recapture El Salvador and Recife also suffered a huge setback.

Not only that, the retreating army also discarded more than 20 cannons, and many people's muskets were also discarded or damaged.General Maranon, who participated in this battle, asked the Governor of Bahia to quickly replenish his personnel and weapons, otherwise he would not be able to continue in the Bahia and Pernambuco areas.

This request leaves gentlemen at their wits' end.And the Spaniards, who are in power in the native Indian and Overseas Territories Office, are also helpless in this war that took place in the northeast of Brazil. At present, warships from the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom frequently attack Spain’s coastline in the Caribbean. Powerless.

To make matters worse, as a large number of colonial troops were drawn to the front to fight, the empty rear towns and estates were frequently attacked by the Palmares Black League hidden in the palm grove.These fugitive black slaves received assistance from the Indians. With crude weapons, they attacked around the countryside to catch up with the escaped black slaves in the plantations.These fugitive slaves killed all white people they saw, destroyed plantation tools, burned warehouses, and caused irreparable damage to the colonial economy.The governor and the kingdom still have no good solution to this.

Things still have to be resolved by yourself!

Blanco sighed, and now he can only find a solution from these orientals.However, when he thought of the greed and cunning of these people, Blanco felt a little headache, and hoped that they would not impose any excessive conditions.It seemed hopeless to Blanco to expect them to send mercenaries into Brazil to join the war, but at least they had to agree to sell some weapons to supplement General Maranon's huge losses in the previous fiasco.Before leaving, Blanco rushed to Rio de Janeiro to meet with the Governor, who authorized him to agree to the terms proposed by the Tatans last time if necessary.

Blanco had already been to Tatan Port once, so this time he entered the urban area along the Shugang Highway with ease.The urban area of ​​Port Tatan is busy, many old wooden buildings are being demolished and replaced by a large number of red brick houses.

The whole city seems to be expanding as well.The original urban area was small and confined to the city wall with a circumference of only 500 meters. After two years of development, it was no longer sufficient.Now along the periphery of the west and north walls, many new buildings have been built, including residential houses, shops, handicraft workshops, foreign business halls and so on.Blanco could see that the Tatans were planning to expand the city wall, and the direction of expansion should be west and north.Moreover, the scale of this expansion project may also be very large, and the area of ​​the new urban area may be several times that of the old urban area in the future.

What a majestic city!It's only been two years, which is incredible.Blanc shook his head and continued walking along the street towards the city center.

The flow of people on the street is not as exaggerated as it was last time, but it can be clearly seen that the business of the Tartans has prospered a lot in recent months. Cowhide, blankets, cured meat, cheese and Brazilian cane sugar, tobacco leaves, feathers, and dried fruits can be seen everywhere in the store.On the one hand, this shows the prosperity of the smuggling trade, and on the other hand, it also shows the gradually increasing purchasing power of the residents of Tatan Port.

Crossing the cross street, the two of Blanco came to the administration building again.His request for an interview was quickly responded, and an oriental man who claimed to be the foreign secretary ushered them into the foreign ministry office in the building.

The size of the office is not large, the walls are painted with white lime, there are a few poorly made tables and chairs inside, and there are only three or five staff members.Gao Mo, the foreign affairs commissioner he had dealt with last time, was waiting for him with a smile on his face.

Blanco and Carlos came forward to shake hands helplessly, they didn't know how to speak, and the atmosphere was silent for a while.

"Haha." Gao Mo smiled, broke the silence, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Blanco Almeida, for bringing the two shipments of coal, which are the supplies we need, and you have contributed to our cause. Tell me, friend, what do we need to do? Friends should help each other."

Blanco secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he still automatically filtered out the part about "friends" that Gao Mo said.He thought for a while, and then said: "Can your company consider sending a mercenary army into Bahia to fight against the Pernambuco region? All costs incurred will be paid by the governor of Bahia."

"No, it's impossible." Gao Mo refused without thinking.What a joke, how could we fill a quagmire as big as Brazil with so many human guns.What's more, it is still crossing the sea to fight in northeastern Brazil without command of the sea.To put it bluntly, once this person leaves, he will never come back. How can we be fools, just for such a small amount of money?

"What if we formally sign a contract to recognize your company's sovereignty claim to the area south of the Gerard Mountains, and at the same time immigrate from the Ming Dynasty to the port of Tatan?" Blanco continued to increase the weight without giving up.

Gao Mo was still shaking his head.

It seems that it is impossible to directly participate in the war, and Blanco has already expected this result.Then the next best thing is to buy arms. "Can you sell us some ordnance such as muskets, plate armor, sabers, and cannons?"

Gao Mo had also been authorized by the Executive Committee before.He is very clear about the policy of the executive committee, that is, covert support is acceptable, but direct participation in the war is not negotiable, and the Portuguese must pay enough benefits.

"Then let's have a frank talk." Gao Mo said to Blanco: "The steel cannon will be impossible in the short term. Our fort is currently being remodeled, and we don't have the energy to take care of the outside business for the time being. But the redesign The eliminated copper and cast iron cannons can be sold to you, ranging from 3 pounds to 24 pounds, and the number is close to 20. The price includes a certain amount of depreciation, so let’s take 300% off the market price. Matchlock guns can also be sold to you One batch, the quantity will not exceed 300 pieces; the current production plan of the saber has been scheduled for the next year, but I will ask the executive committee to allocate a part of other people's orders to you, and the quantity will not exceed [-] pieces. As for the plate armor , It’s not that it can’t be sold, but I want to know what you can pay, I mean something other than money, I think you understand what I mean.”

Blanco secretly calculated, 20 various types of artillery, 300 matchlock guns and sabers, and there may even be bulletproof plate armor that is difficult to buy.With the coastline being harassed by the Dutch and the transportation of supplies becoming increasingly difficult, the significance of this munition is not small, and it should greatly improve the plight of the frontline soldiers.

"Yes, I understand what you mean." Blanco made up his mind and said, "As you expected, the Governor of Bahia authorized me to decide whether to go eastward after this deal is concluded. The governor of Goa in India sent a letter requesting him to use his power in the east to recruit immigrants from the Ming Dynasty to the port of Tatan in the New World to open up wasteland."

"How many people can immigrate each year?" Gao Mo asked.

"I can't guarantee this." Blanco replied, "It depends on the effectiveness of the Governor of Goa's work in Macau and Ming Dynasty, as well as the wind and waves at sea and pirate nuisance, but there should be no less than two ships every year." Ships loaded with migrants came to the port of Tatan."

two boats.It's acceptable, better than nothing.Gao Mo thought for a while, and then asked: "Then what about the plains west of Patus Lake and south of the Gerard Mountains? Don't talk to me, it's useless, you don't have a single colony in this place, where There are only wastelands and Indians, and you have no reason to claim sovereignty over them. We just want to confirm the demarcation of the border with you now, so as not to cause disputes in the future."

"It depends on your sincerity." Blanco suddenly laughed, as long as the other party asks for something, it's fine if he wants nothing. "Actually, I'm curious. As you said, that place is indeed a barren land. It's also very far away from Tatan Port. Do you have the population and the strength to colonize it now? Maybe there is something very attractive to you. s things?"

"You don't need to worry about this." Gao Mo replied imperceptibly, "Please sign an agreement with us as soon as possible."

"How much of your plate armor can you sell to us?"

"You?! Why are you talking about this again? We still need to discuss this."

……

After a lot of talking and talking, the two sides finally reached an agreement.On behalf of the East Coast Company, Gao Mo signed the "Datan Port Secret Mutual Assistance Treaty" with Blanco, the representative of the Governor of Bahia, Portugal.The main contents of the treaty include: the East Coast Company secretly sold to the Portuguese 20 various types of artillery, 300 matchlock guns, 300 sabers and 50 pairs of plate armor per month; in return, the governor of Bahia confirmed that Patu The area west of Lake Si, east of the Great Kuchlia Mountains, and south of the Takwari River is the territory of the East Bank Company. In addition, it also guarantees that at least two sailing ships of no less than 300 tons are fully loaded with immigrants from the Ming Dynasty from the east to the port of Tatan every year. .Of course, the Portuguese still has the obligation to keep this secret transaction secret. "

(End of this chapter)