Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 712 The Troubled Situation in Europe ([-])

Mo San has lived in Spain for a long time, but compared with the previous situation where he was either running around or struggling with people, his life now is much more comfortable.He often makes short trips between Valladolid and Zaragoza, and sometimes visits the Basque Country to examine the economic and social environments of various parts of Spain.

The Spaniards did not prohibit his activities in the territory, and the only requirement was that if the king needed to negotiate with him, Mo San must appear at the venue as soon as possible.The Spaniards were now increasingly pressing for a peace agreement, after their armies had just suffered a ignominious defeat on the battlefields of the Southern Netherlands.In the Battle of Lens, the French army easily defeated the Southern Netherland Legion that the Spaniards had finally rebuilt, and then rushed all the way, captured many rich towns, and greatly extended the border of northeastern France a lot .

Mo San, who has been paying attention to the situation in Europe, immediately realized keenly after hearing the news that the last fig leaf of the Spaniards had also been torn off, and now this declining old empire, with red eyes, is doing its final final act like a trapped beast. struggle.Encouraged by this news, the independence movements in Catalonia, Naples, Sicily and other places further increased, and the Spanish ruling order in the local area fell into an unprecedented crisis.

You know, the Southern Netherlands, Naples, Sicily, and parts of the Rhine region have a population of nearly 300 million, and they are all very rich.If these areas become independent, what will Spain do?Not to mention the Catalonia region with a population of several 10. If she is also independent, then the Spaniards can only guard the narrow land such as Castile and the more than 300 million poor sheep herders People live.

It was at this time that the proud Spaniards would lower their noble heads and view the ongoing peace negotiations between the East Coast Republic of China and the Kingdom of Spain with a relatively pragmatic attitude.It was also at this time that they suddenly discovered that they had not suffered a series of shameful defeats in the war with the people on the east coast?They used to think that these were small and insignificant setbacks, but now that the Kingdom of Spain is extremely weak, these wounds are already festering, expanding, and life-threatening.

The war must end as soon as possible!This is the unanimous view of the ruling and opposition parties in Spain.After winning a decisive victory, the Frenchmen have already penetrated into the southern Netherlands. Antwerp, Dunkirk, Bruges, Luxembourg and other places may all leave the great Catholic king; Turning their attention to the south, they began to mobilize the army of South France. Louis XIV, who also served as the count of Barcelona, ​​under the guidance of Prime Minister Mazarin, who had reached the peak of his prestige, began to show his nakedness to Catalonia, Naples, Sicily and other places. territorial ambitions.

The Kingdom of Spain has never been so close to the catastrophe of subjugation. This iron-blooded country that rose in the war to expel the Communists has enjoyed wealth for too long. They have lost the blood and aggressiveness of their ancestors, which has led to a series of humiliation.Losing to the French and the Spaniards is barely acceptable. Who will let the opponent have a large land and resources and great potential for war?But the problem is that the Spaniards are now in a predicament that even the small "poor countries" of the New World cannot deal with.Every time I think of this, Balboa and Fernando, who are in charge of negotiating with the people on the east coast, have the urge to stop the peace negotiations and fight to the end with the people on the east coast.But this is just a conjecture in their minds. Now that the Kingdom of Spain has lost its elite, the core territory of Europe is still facing the risk of being dismembered and subjugated.They can still weigh clearly which is more important.

Therefore, in August, Mo San, who was negotiating trade matters with the Doria family in Zaragoza, was urgently recalled. Balboa and Fernando, who were in charge of negotiating affairs in Spain, were waiting for him with solemn faces.

"Is your country willing to send elite navy to join the Catholic king's camp and fight against the evil French Kingdom?" Mo San was startled by the first sentence the Spaniard spoke.In the Catholic world, France was never heard of in league with heretics, and even made open alliances, but never in Spain.You know, the Spanish king used to give the impression of being extremely pious and extremely cruel to heretics and heretics. Whether it was the Moors in North Africa or the Ottomans in the Balkans, they never expected to form some kind of alliance with the Spaniards. relation.There are even few commercial exchanges between the two parties. Although this is related to the fact that the Spaniards are not good at farming and doing business, it also explains many problems from the side.

But now here comes the problem: the Spaniards actually asked the east coast to send a navy to help in the war in order to fight against France. I went to the doctor in a hurry.They may have also approached the British and the Dutch. The Dutch should have rejected them because they are connected to the land of France and dare not offend the land powers, but there may be some economic assistance secretly.

The British are hard to say. Mo San believes that the British have good reasons to intervene in this war. Although they only have more than 20 professional warships and the tonnage is not very large, it is still a big trouble. It depends on how the French operate. up.If some interests are transferred, it may not be impossible to persuade the British to remain neutral or even stand on the side of the French. The current tit-for-tat attitude shown by the British is not so much hostility to the French as a natural island country. The shit-stirring instinct is at work.All in all, the position of the British is not unchangeable, everything depends on the operation.

In comparison, the people from the east coast who are not deeply involved in the old continent are a good help.Now the whole of Western Europe knows how powerful their warships are, how unparalleled their maneuverability is, and how well-trained their officers and soldiers are. Such a small and elite navy cannot be found in the whole of Europe.If they plan well, they may be able to take advantage of the negligence of the French and deal a serious blow to their small navy—at least they will also seize the command of the sea in the Bay of Biscay for a period of time, so that the Spaniards will take the initiative. up.

Mo San quickly figured out this section, but this matter is too big for him to decide. He can only express their opinions in letters and send them back to China—of course, this first requires Spain to send a fast ship to the east of the New World Kishimoto, but it will be at least seven or eight months before I get a reply.

After hearing Mo San's reply, Balboa and Fernando looked at each other in a tacit understanding, and then put forward a new condition to Mo San: whether the people from the east coast can offer a favorable price within a short period of time. Supply a batch of weapons (including muskets, spears, Spanish-style rapiers, leather armor, steel armor, artillery, military kettles, leather boots, hemostatic bandages, field cans and other odds and ends.

The Spaniards not only lost a large number of soldiers in the previous consecutive defeats, but also lost a larger number of weapons and war supplies. Now they are stepping up their purchases from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, while asking for purchases from the people on the east coast.As we all know, the people on the East Coast are quite capable of organizing supplies—because their production capacity is quite strong, and the weapon parts are very common and most of them are interchangeable, which greatly reduces the cost and speed of maintenance. In addition, the quality is also quite good, absolutely It is the first choice for bulk purchases.Therefore, it is not surprising that the Spaniard put his mind on this.

However, there is a "little" problem now, that is, Spain has no money to pay the bill.Of course, as a veteran diplomat and senior commercial salesman, Mo San has already helped the Spaniards to make up no less than five "payment methods" at this time.After a little thought, he resolutely rejected the first ones and proposed the last one.

"Your envoy doesn't say anything, I also know that your country's current financial situation is not good, so if you want to get this batch of military funds, your country still needs to choose a more appropriate payment method. This method can be cash, of course it can also be For other things, such as land, minerals, etc., our government will give a fair valuation.” Mo San rubbed his chin with his right hand, with a kind of arrogance in Balboa’s eyes—maybe he It’s too sensitive—— said with a look on his face: “Your envoy, don’t expect to get the war indemnity right now—well, it’s the land purchase fee that pays this account, let’s not say that every rial in that account is used. It has already been arranged in advance. It is still a matter of whether our government approves it or not. I think this military purchase—well, it may reach 50 yuan—is better to list it separately. As for the payment method, I suggest that your country open some mines, ports, or forest and lake rights to the east coast, because in my opinion, this is the easiest way to get the approval of our government."

"Mines, ports or forest lakes?" Balboa asked Mo San with puzzled eyes, and Mo San seemed to hear a tremor in his voice.

"Exactly." Mo San nodded, then opened his hands and gestured: "For example, the opening of forest logging rights on Tierra del Fuego, grazing and road building rights in the southern part of the Patagonian wasteland, and... A limited-time right to use the Lapagos Islands."

"Galapagos Islands?" Balboa's face turned pale, and Fernando, who was standing beside him, also became quite ugly after hearing the words.This matter is also too big for them, because this place is too sensitive, and they have no right to make a decision!

(End of this chapter)