Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 650 Winter in Spain ([-])

On the last day of December 1647, in the outskirts of Valladolid, Mo San and Alessandro welcomed Mr. Balboa, secretary of the West Indian Affairs Council of the Kingdom of Spain.

Mr. Balboa is a scholar and currently serves as one of the two clerks of the West Indian Affairs Council of the Kingdom of Spain, directly responsible to the chairman of the Council (the main establishment of the West Indian Affairs Council is: 1 chairman, 1 justice, chief 1 public prosecutor, 8 senators, 2 clerks, 1 cosmologist, 1 mathematician, 1 historian, and a large number of low-level officials such as secretaries and administrators), so his opinion is It is very important, especially when His Majesty King Philip IV also favored him, his influence has gradually surpassed that of ordinary West India Affairs officials.

Although Mr. Balboa is a scholar, he comes from a noble family and is still strong and powerful—this is why he often participates in hunting activities.For example, he was wearing a red hunting suit today, and his forehead was still slightly sweaty after returning from hunting.

It is actually a very rude thing to wear informal clothing such as hunting suits to meet diplomatic envoys from other countries.However, after seeing Alessandro's expression of being surprised, Mo San suddenly understood in his heart that the nobles in Spain are a bunch of rough people.

It is not unreasonable for him to say this. Among these countries in Western Europe, Spain's political, economic and social systems are undoubtedly the most backward and primitive.This country still upholds the traditional feudal system, the power of the king is supreme, and the degree of autocracy far exceeds that of other Western European countries.Almost every noble has its own fief, they are the most primitive, the most stubborn, the most hostile to the emerging bourgeoisie, and they are also very brave and aggressive.

The aristocrats, big and small, hunted, played, and exchanged sword skills all day long, and after driving away the Jewish capitalists and Moorish craftsmen, their source of income was also very primitive - relying on land tax and colonial plantation income.Such an economic foundation determines what kind of guys the superstructure of this country is: religious fanatics, serf owners, militants, old-fashioned nobles who know nothing about economics, and so on.And this is actually the main reason why this country has fallen into continuous wars and long-term decline, nothing else, because the level of the ruling class in this country is so poor-except for a little talent in war.

"What a bunch of scumbags." Mo San muttered a few words in Northeast dialect, then stood aside reservedly, waiting for Alessandro's introduction.

Alessandro didn't keep Mo San waiting too long, he saw Balboa chatting with him, and then approached him together.

"You guys did a good job this time. Four hundred lasts (about 800 tons) of grain from two grain ships sank to the bottom of the sea. Now do you know how many people in and around Valladolid want to kill you?" Balboa said to Mo San with a smile that was not a smile. He spoke Spanish, and the speed of speech was not very fast. It seemed that he was taking care of Mo San's hearing.

"I also deeply regret the loss suffered by your country and the accidental casualties of civilians in Naples." Mo San thought for a while before saying, "But this is war, and your country has also attacked our merchant ships. , so this does not mean that our navy has done anything wrong, they are also performing their war duties, nothing more."

"Okay, I'm not here today to argue with you." Balboa waved his hand, and said indifferently: "It's some damn Portuguese Jewish businessmen who lost food, as for the life and death of more than 1000 humble Italian immigrants , I don’t think anyone will really care about it. I’m here today mainly to ask you, does your country just want to drag it on like this? Don’t you want to end this war?”

"The people of our East Coast Republic of China are all peace-loving, and they oppose all unjust and unnecessary wars. I don't want to mention the cause of the war between your country and our country that has lasted for 15 months, but now It is indeed time to end it, and if your country does not object, I think both of us can start to set a time to start negotiations." After hearing Balboa's words, Mo San was ecstatic for a while, and he couldn't believe it own ears.However, the temperament he had developed over the years prevented him from losing his composure on the spot. He concealed his excitement well, and then tried to express his opinions in a calm tone.

"Negotiation is certainly not impossible." Balboa rested his right hand on a rapier and left a horsewhip. After walking around the spot twice, he suddenly turned to Mo San and said, "Your Majesty the King has repeatedly spoken to you. He was very angry at challenging his authority three times. He asked you to first compensate our country for a certain degree of loss, and at the same time return the property that seized us and release the captives. Only then can the door of negotiation be opened. Otherwise, what is waiting for you will be The cross-sea expedition of tens of thousands of Spanish army soldiers."

After hearing Balboa talk about war reparations, Mo San felt that there would be basically no results today.What are you kidding?How can you have the habit of spitting out what you eat in your stomach!People on the east coast have never had the habit of paying reparations for war, and most of them can't afford it. If the Spaniards insist on asking for reparations, then the peace talks will probably be ruined.

"Mr. Balboa, I wonder if your country has figured out one thing, a very important thing." After carefully considering the words, Mo San said slowly: "After so many years of cruel After the war, does the Kingdom of Spain have the ambition, perseverance, and financial resources to organize another national expedition involving hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of soldiers from the navy and army? As far as I know, your country has already owed money to the Lisbon and Amsterdam markets. The debt of tens of millions of pesos has been incurred. These heavy debt burdens have made your country breathless. I am afraid that most of the gold and silver shipped back from the Americas every year are used to pay the interest here. Then the problem comes, Is your country still able to raise more than 2000 million pesos in military spending within a certain period of time to pay for the initial expenses of a cross-sea expeditionary force with a scale of tens of thousands of people?"

Balboa didn't answer Mo San's words, his right hand subconsciously grasped and loosened, loosened and grasped on the hilt of the sword, making one doubt whether the middle-aged nobleman would draw his sword to face each other in the next moment - this is not surprising, Judging by the standards of Europe at this time, the Spanish nobles were 'rude', and they often drew swords to duel because of some trivial matters.

After a long time, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then said with some despondency: "Heretic, although some of your words make me very angry, I have to admit that many things you said are true. The Armada in 1588 It cost the kingdom a huge amount of more than 850 million pesos to arm, and the current treasury of the kingdom really cannot afford so much money. And even if the funds can be raised, the king will not allow all of them to be spent in a war .You are indeed... confident!"

"No one likes war." Hearing what Balboa said, Mo San immediately followed his words and said: "Since the modern age, wars have become larger and more costly. Your country should also Understand that even some of the wars that your country has won over the years have been economically disastrous. The newly occupied land is full of natives who hate you, and in addition to the counterattack of the enemy country at any time, you have to pay a huge amount of occupation The salaries of the army, these are undoubtedly dragging down your country's finances bit by bit. So why do we continue to wage such costly but meaningless wars? You know, ending these wars early will allow your country to Saving a large amount of military expenses is equivalent to receiving a sum of war indemnity from the Dutch and the Jews, right? There are only two kinds of beneficiaries from the war between your country and our country, one is your old enemy, the French, and the other is Those vampire bankers."

"Perhaps you are right, I hate those Jews too, but this is not the reason why you can still get peace safely after attacking the great Spanish Kingdom. His Majesty the Great King has given you a chance, East Coasters , you need to pay enough for your crimes, otherwise I will not be able to convince the displeased Majesty and the gentlemen of the West India Council.” When Balboa said this, he even raised his entire chin, only Listen to him continue: "The glory of the Kingdom of Spain cannot be tarnished. The dust on His Majesty's crown must be wiped with blood. I will give you three days. If you still do not agree to pay the compensation after three days, then you will lose a precious chance for peace. "

"It's really a pity that even if you are as wise as you, Mr. Balboa, can't you see who the real enemy of your country is? Who is constantly occupying the cities of the Southern Netherlands? Who is occupying Italy? Who is it? Are you ravaging Roussillon? Who is attacking Franche-Comté? All your country's current difficulties come from your strong neighbor France in the north. If your country still does not take effective measures, I dare say that the French They will definitely plant their royal flag over Madrid, and we won’t wait too long for this day. How will the king and gentlemen of your country treat themselves like this?” Mo San shook his head, and said in a regretful tone: “ If that day does come, it will be the end of the Catholic world and the beginning of Spain's true despair and endless winter."

Balboa removed his right hand from the hilt of his sword, and after lowering his head to think for a while, he finally raised his head and said with a complicated expression: "I understand what you mean. It's a pity, Mr. Mo, you insist on not paying the compensation This behavior is likely to cause the war to be delayed indefinitely!"

(End of this chapter)