Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 689 Difficult Negotiations (V)

On April 1648, 4, in Valladolid, the third round of armistice negotiations between the East Coast Republic of China and the Kingdom of Spain started as scheduled.The difference from last time is that there are a few more people in the negotiating venue this time. They are from Genoa. As the mediators of this negotiation, they first said some scene words, probably hoping that both parties will show great sincerity and share Talking nonsense like making peace, he left after speaking, leaving Mo San, Balboa and others looking at each other in blank dismay.

"The weather in Valladolid is not good recently. Your Majesty has returned to Madrid. Are you still used to living there, Mr. Mo?" Balboa first broke the silence, and he invited Mo San and the others to sit down and said. .

"Everything is fine, Valladolid is a beautiful city, I like it very much. Especially the goat meat with delicate meat can be eaten here, you know, this is my favorite food. If you have the opportunity to go to If you travel to the east coast, then I will be happy to point you to a restaurant that also cooks mutton very authentically. The raw materials are bighorn goats from our east coast. It is really a rare enjoyment in life." Mo San first thanked Balboa, then sat down on the chair opened by the secretary, and then responded with a smile: "Of course Spain is also a beautiful place, especially Catalonia I've been there before, but it's not God's will that it's occupied by a mob, and the old order must be restored, isn't it, Mr. Balboa?"

"There is no doubt that I agree with your opinion." Speaking of this, Balboa's face is also a little ugly: "The Catalans have betrayed their king, and this must be corrected. The despicable and shameless French It is simply wishful thinking and absolutely impossible to occupy the southern Netherlands and Catalonia. The Kingdom of Spain will fight to the last moment for this..."

Mo San's ears automatically filtered the words of Secretary Balboa, and he lit a pipe for himself without changing his expression, and then said slowly: "I haven't been here for a long time, Eric, I I remember that we also conducted the last two negotiations here."

"I haven't been here for a long time because there have been some unfriendly thoughts against you in China recently." Balboa stared at Mo San, and said with a half-smile: "The fleet returning from the Caribbean reported that you six months ago They attacked Callao and captured a considerable number of our country's transport ships. The merchants, nobles and priests suffered heavy losses. Angry, they found the king and demanded that you compensate for the loss and punish the murderer, otherwise the negotiation will be postponed indefinitely. The king wanted to It took a lot of time to appease them. In addition, your fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet broke out in a fierce naval battle off Cartagena at this juncture. Considering peace talks with you."

"It's normal for anything to happen during the war." Mo San shrugged and said, "I personally feel sorry for those merchants, nobles and priests who were unfortunately lost, but this is war, and no one can stay out of it. All we can do as diplomatic negotiators is to end this senseless war as soon as possible so that the tragedy will never happen again, can't we? Do you want to repeat the tragedy of Callao next year?"

Balboa also didn't take Mo San's vague threats to heart at all. At this time, the two had a small verbal argument, and it was time to end the nonsense and get to the point as soon as possible.

"About the matter of war reparations, Mr. Mo, how are you thinking about it? I have to tell you clearly that the Kingdom of Spain must get reparations from this war. This is the bottom line, otherwise the basis for negotiation will no longer exist. You Do you understand?" Clerk Balboa looked at Mo San's face hidden behind the smoke and asked expressionlessly.

"I think it's better for us to avoid this topic first, or we may have to wait until next year to make a real decision. I have already brought my opinions back to the mainland through the navy fleet, but regarding whether and how much the Chinese government approves , Under what name it will be approved, I can't predict. Of course, once our government makes a decision, maybe they will ask the Navy to send a fast liaison ship to Spain, then we may not have to wait until next year to know the final result. But before that, I think we can talk about other issues, which is also very important, because if your country is completely unable to meet the conditions we put forward, then the negotiation will still fail." After Mo San thought for a while, he decided Avoid the sensitive topic of "reparations" first.

In fact, the letter he entrusted the Navy to bring back to the mainland has already elaborated on the process of the first two negotiations, as well as some pitifully small results.In this important diplomatic letter, Mo San proposed to continue to stick to the original 50 yuan indemnity ceiling, but to make some additional compensation to the Spaniards by way of offsetting goods.For example, a considerable amount of war supplies such as weapons, medicines, food, steel, and leather goods can be compensated to the Spaniards to appease the anger of the Spaniards.

After all, Spain's finances are really difficult now, and blood transfusions are urgently needed.As for the name, it is easy to find, for example, in the name of "returning the Spanish property looted in the war", the Spaniards can be compensated in disguise.In that way, people on the east coast will look good, and the Spaniards will also get benefits, and both parties should be satisfied with this.

Judging from the current situation, Spain may prefer war supplies rather than cash.The French are gathering their forces in the northeast, and a large-scale battle is inevitable. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Spanish legion stationed in the southern Netherlands, which is mostly recruits, is in danger, and a disastrous defeat in the battle is a high probability event.In that case, the Southern Netherlands, which accounts for a large proportion of the Spanish Kingdom's tax revenue, may be lost.

After the loss of the Southern Netherlands, it will be followed by the territories north of the Pyrenees, then Catalonia, Naples, Sicily, and finally the Basque Country. In short, Spain has reached the most critical moment. At this time They urgently need a large amount of material and personnel support to fight against the growing ambitions of the French.

Balboa also seemed to know that it is impossible to reach an agreement on the issue of compensation now, because their asking price obviously exceeded the scope of authorization of Mo San, so he stopped entangled in this topic and began to focus on other aspects: "Expensive China's proposal to set up a military buffer zone east of the Paraná River and west of the Uruguay River is inappropriate. The Parana River is an important shipping route for our country, and Santa Fe and Buenos Aires are Its important node, we must ensure the safety of this transportation line. If the area east of the Paraná River is set as a military buffer zone, then its security will be difficult to guarantee. Therefore, our government believes that we should have local Foreigners are not allowed to interfere unreasonably with the right to build forts and station troops. As for the demilitarization of Buenos Aires, there is nothing possible.”

The premise of Balboa’s remark is that he has acquiesced in the actual occupation of the East Coast Republic of China to the area east of the Uruguay River. This is the same as the Spaniard’s demand for indemnity. It is the basis for negotiations and cannot be discussed, otherwise the war will be keep going.

Mo San was silent for a long time after hearing the words, and then responded very bluntly after a long time: "But your country's garrison in this area will affect the safety of our Uruguay River shipping, which will make our government and people feel uneasy, and we cannot tolerate it." Yes. Let me tell you the truth, the Chinese government has long wanted to vigorously develop the Uruguayan River Basin. The conditions here are very good: the river has plenty of water, the water depth is enough to navigate large ships, and the land on both sides is also very fertile. If we can’t guarantee this If the waterway is not safe, then it will never be possible to develop it on a large scale.”

The meaning of Mo San's words is already very straightforward, that is, if you station troops in the area east of the Parana River, then we will not be at ease.We are afraid of being raided by you, so you must get out of this area.

Of course Balboa understood this, but it was impossible for him to compromise on every issue unprincipled.Therefore, he and Mo San had a lengthy argument on this point, and it was finally determined after countless tongues and tongues: the Spaniards can build at most one fortress in the east of the Paraná River and west of the Uruguay River, and the number of garrisons cannot be limited. More than 500 people, while they will receive the right of navigation of the Uruguay River.In return, Spain promised to keep the law and order situation there from deteriorating, while Buenos Aires only sent a small number of police forces to maintain law and order.

Of course, this concession made by Spain is obviously not enough, but at the same time they also agreed to Mo San’s request that any territory in the La Plata region should not be sold to any third country government or citizen without the East Coast government’s knowledge .And if the Spaniards really have to sell the land or minerals due to various reasons, then the government or businessmen of the Eastern China Republic have the right of first purchase.

This is actually a combination of the two terms proposed by the people on the east coast, and the result is that both parties took a step back and compromised with each other.The Spaniards kept their military presence in that area—although it was not of great significance, and the people on the east coast also ensured that no other colonial country would suddenly appear around their homeland, reducing their national defense risks .

After these two articles were discussed, the topic gradually entered the most critical part, that is, whether the Kingdom of Spain would open its Pacific coast to the Eastern China Republic.

(End of this chapter)