Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 688 Difficult Negotiations ([-])

Mo San is very busy recently.

Originally in February, he had already conducted two rounds of negotiations with Mr. Balboa, the clerk of the Spanish West India Affairs Council who upheld the will of the king.Although it was just a general talk, the two sides have shown each other their bottom line, which made the negotiation a lot more frank, because no one will test the other party with some unrealistic terms.

The originally scheduled negotiations started at the end of February, but Captain Guo Zili, who led the convoy to leave Europe, specially sent a letter to Mo Sansai through the Doria family.In his letter, he asked Mo San to delay the negotiation time so that the East Bank could achieve greater war results.Guo Zili insisted that it is not the right time for the east coast to negotiate peace with Spain. He mentioned that the whole country on the east coast is boiling, and everyone's morale has been improved a lot because of the continuous victory in the war. The army completely captured Chile, and the navy entered the Caribbean Sea before negotiating a peace. Only in this way can the greatest interests be guaranteed.

Regarding the opinions of Guo Zili, one of the few radicals in the navy, Mo San only took a quick glance and put away the letter paper. It's pure nonsense!What is this man thinking about all day long, what jokes are he making?Now even Mo San has heard about the serious inflation in the country, and it happened last year, so it must be even worse this year!At this time, he has to be determined to fight, Mo San can only say that he has lost his mind and gone crazy!What's the use of fighting?Do you want to grab more money back to create inflation?What a fool with no economic sense.

This Guo Zili is indeed a restless guy. Currently, he is vaguely competing with Wang Tiehammer and Li Yi for the position of the second man in the navy. However, based on his political inclinations, Mo San would never agree to let such a person take control. The navy is simply a disaster!Maybe this person is more capable of fighting. A while ago, he sank a main battleship and two galleys of the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet in the waters near Cartagena, and damaged many ships. Of course, he also had a frigate on his side because of the mast. Being interrupted and sinking helplessly, but in general the exchange ratio is acceptable, which makes Spain's already few remaining fleet even worse. Maybe next year when the east coast escort fleet crosses the Strait of Gibraltar, the Spaniards will not Have the courage to fight.

However, being able to fight wars is not the main consideration for officials at the level of the Secretary of the Navy. To be the Secretary of the Navy, one must first be "politically strong", which means that you cannot walk with the army who talk about themselves.On this point, Guo Zili is obviously unqualified, and Mo San still prefers Captain Li Yi, and he will also write letters to encourage some of his political allies to operate.

Mo San has also stayed in Europe for a long time, and has a clear understanding of the current trend of the 30-year war.At present, Austria obviously does not want to continue the war, but France and Sweden have more than once rejected the truce request made by the Holy Roman Emperor, and they are still preparing to continue to expand the war with excitement.Although the military casualties were heavy, although many territories of Sweden and France were also ravaged (Sweden’s territory on the south coast of the Baltic Sea, northeast of France), the social order was severely damaged, and although the military expenditure of the war had reached more than one billion Levre, they It is still decided to continue the war until the maximum benefit is obtained.

France, in particular, has captured dozens of towns in the Catholic-inhabited area of ​​the Southern Netherlands, and the border in the northeast has greatly expanded; at the same time, they have repeatedly defeated the Holy Roman Empire in the east, occupying Metz, Tu In the southeast, they also invaded and occupied many towns that were originally Spanish territories, and the territory of the entire country was greatly expanded.At the same time, King Louis XIV of France also served as the Earl of Barcelona, ​​and the entire Catalonia region completely fell to him. Many Spanish territories north of the Pyrenees were also captured one by one, and some lords who were originally attached to Spain also Controlled by France.

In addition, Naples and Sicily in Italy are also in jeopardy. There was even an uprising in Naples last year (1647). Although the Spaniards quickly restored order there, there is no guarantee that there will be no moths in the future. .In short, in Mo San's view, in recent years—especially in the years after the Rocroix Battle, Spain's decline is very obvious, and France's rise is also quite obvious.At present, France is fighting on two fronts, fighting against Austria and Spain at the same time, and has won many times. Austria has also repeatedly sought peace and was rejected because France has not gained enough benefits, and the Kingdom of Spain is in danger of falling apart.

Mo San knows that Spain has not been subjugated in history, but he does not know whether Spain will be subjugated in this time and space.Although the people on the east bank caused some losses to Spain, most of the Peruvian gold and silver that was most important to Spain were shipped back (the intercepted by the east bank were basically private remittances from local officials and businessmen, including Genoese money...), so its strength is weakened to a very limited extent.

Of course he said so, but Mo San didn't dare to guarantee that Spain would be able to hold on, because the French couldn't stop at this time.Austria's summation was rejected, and Spain would naturally not seek humiliation. They could only squeeze out every ounce of their energy to fight against the French, otherwise they would end up subjugated.At this time, considering the long-term interests of the East Bank, it is time to end the war with Spain.While stably digesting the newly acquired territory, they continue to sell cheap industrial products and war materials to Spain to provide blood transfusions to Spain, so that they can consume more energy from the French.

For the rise of France, other countries on the European continent are seeing it, and they have even started a partial series.For example, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are very anxious, especially the Netherlands. After several years of de facto truce with Spain, they are now very concerned about France's gradual encroachment on the territory of the Spanish Southern Netherlands, and regard this as a threat to their own national defense.

At this time, Spain also acquiesced in the independence of the Netherlands long ago. At the same time, it was also preparing to cede part of the territory of Flanders, Limburg, and Brabant in the southern Netherlands occupied by the Netherlands to the Dutch. Foreign trade on the Scheldt - which was bound to hit Antwerp's economy hard and be of great benefit to Amsterdam.The Spaniards made so many concessions only in exchange for the economic support of the Netherlands, and the Netherlands is of course happy to do so, because now their biggest enemy is no longer Spain, but the rising France.

Even at the end of February, after Mo San postponed the negotiations with the Spaniards for some reason, several representatives of the Dutch West India Company came to Valladolid via the Basque Country and had a secret discussion with Mo San. The core content of the negotiations is to persuade the people on the east bank to reach a peace agreement with Spain as soon as possible.

They worried that the continued combat operations of the East Coasters in the Peru region would cause the Spanish silver mines to fall, which would undoubtedly cause a complete financial collapse of Spain.The consequences of financial collapse would be catastrophic for Spain, which was on the verge of life and death. The Dutch warned that once the government of the Kingdom of Spain collapsed, the people on the east coast would probably not be able to find a partner to negotiate with, and many subsequent Interests may not be negotiable.

After the Spaniards, the Genoese also came to Valladolid unsurprisingly. Alessandro of the Doria family solemnly proposed to Mo San that the government of the Republic of Genoa should mediate the dispute between the Kingdom of Spain and the East China Republic. war to end this tragic war as soon as possible.Because the war has now evolved into a long-term war of attrition, which is undoubtedly very detrimental to both parties, and it can only be the French who laugh at this.Therefore, he suggested that Mo San and Secretary Balboa resume negotiations as soon as possible, and the two sides sit down more frankly and discuss a solution together.

Alessandro's words touched Mo San a little. Yes, it would be of no benefit to continue the war. Could it be that the people on the east coast can really control the whole of South America?Considering the current population of only 15 on the east coast, controlling the entire Uruguay plus the Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil is already very good. As for the vast La Plata region, it is better not to have that daydream for the time being. It can't be developed even if it is beaten down, so it's better to be realistic.

And it was only at this time that Mo San vaguely realized how unreliable it was for him to go to Paris rashly and try to have secret talks with the French to attack Spain together.Leaving aside that he did not find the right person at the time, even if he found the right person, France would only use the East Bank as a weapon, and would not sign any alliance with the East Bank at all.The French are proud, and they can't afford to lose that man. After all, the image of the East Coast was not as high as it is now. It was just a small and weak country. What qualifications did it have to be on an equal footing with the great French Kingdom?

March passed with envoys from Genoa and the Netherlands, and at the beginning of April, even the British bourgeois government, which had just controlled the domestic situation, sent a representative to visit Mo San.His purpose of coming here is similar to that of the Dutch and the Genoese, that is, to persuade the Spaniards and the people on the east coast.

Spain was indeed a lot more pragmatic at this time. Not long after the British Civil War ended, they preemptively recognized the "Republic of Kingslayers"-Britain, and then tried their best to win over the British to fight against the French.The British, who had always been very concerned about the situation in Europe, took this very seriously, and began to gradually move closer to Spain, engaging in various anti-French activities.

And mediating the war between the East Coast and Spain is naturally an important part of anti-French activities.Mo San saw that in just one or two months, three countries had clearly expressed their willingness to mediate the war, which had to arouse his attention.Therefore, on April 4, he finally made it clear that he was willing to reopen armistice negotiations with the Spaniards.

(End of this chapter)