Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 750 Political Mission

"Mo, I've found 21 ships, and they've all come to Thessaloniki. However, there is still a small problem that you need to solve. Well, they need you to pay a small deposit up front in order to let them Get rid of some unnecessary troubles..." Didier Flores stood on the pier of Thessaloniki Port, talking with a sad face.

It is not a day or two since the Ottoman Empire owed the French a huge amount of sea freight (of course it is not the first time, let alone the last time). The captains of these French transport ships from Marseilles, Toulon and other places are all worried now. .The Ottomans owed their transportation fees, they owed the shipyard maintenance fees, they owed the Jewish merchants’ supplies, and they owed the crew’s wages. The French captains who fell into the vortex of the triangular debt were forced to almost jump into the sea.

They really can't imagine that if they can't recover the long-awaited shipping fees, they may be surrounded by angry crew members, and then the ship will be seized by the owner of the shipyard and the Jewish businessmen who owed a large amount of money. There will undoubtedly be serious consequences.

In fact things are serious now.Some Jewish-run shipyards have publicly announced that if the French fail to pay at least one-third of their arrears within the prescribed time limit, their ships will be permanently detained and auctioned off at a low price to repay the debt.This caused the French who took over the transportation task of the White Sea (the Ottoman geographical name, that is, the Aegean Sea, but in a broad sense, sometimes refers to the Eastern Mediterranean) to panic, and they had to gather together to discuss a solution.

And it was at this time that people on the east coast were all over the world looking for ships to transport women to the New World. The French heard about it, and they, who had already fallen into a debt crisis, immediately surrounded them like sharks smelling blood. Come up, hope the East Coasters will hire their ships.

Mo San, who was in charge of the Ottoman plenipotentiary affairs on the east coast, almost hit it off with the French, reached a transportation agreement within a short period of time, and then started to arrange transportation.Mo San bought so many Polish women in one go this time—many of them were even educated aristocratic women—it was too eye-catching. After all, in the history of slave trading in Europe, there were very few organizations or individuals eating Enter so many women.

In addition, the government of the Kingdom of Poland is currently putting pressure on the east bank in desperation. They demand that Mo San release these Polish women immediately and unconditionally, otherwise the relationship between the two countries will be seriously damaged.But how could Mo San give in?Considering that there are still [-] bachelors in China, these [-] Polish women who are basically of childbearing age can solve a large part of the difficulties.In order to solve this difficulty, the government of the East Bank Republic is determined to do whatever it takes. If you Poles continue to make trouble, then the East Bank will have to support the Russians and Tatars. Let's see who will finally succumb!

However, Mo San did not dare to let these women stay in the Ottoman Empire for a long time. This is not only because of the management difficulties and being coveted by outsiders, but also because of the fear that the Polish Kingdom government will make trouble for these women, and even hug their thighs, hoping that the Mediterranean coast Countries such as Venice, Genoa, France, and Spain took the initiative to intervene in this matter, disrupting the good things of the people on the east coast.Therefore, Mo San decided to contact a group of captains who were willing to leave the bathtub of the Mediterranean Sea for ocean voyages as soon as possible, and then line up these Polish women in order and board them one by one to transport them away.

To be honest, the number of merchant ships from various countries in the Eastern Mediterranean is still quite large, such as Dutch ships, British ships, Portuguese ships, Italian ships, and the largest number of French ships.But except for those French merchant ships who were owed huge fees and owed money crazy, the ships of other countries kept silent about such a lucrative business, because it seemed that they did not want these Polish women to be sent to the New World Overrun by heretics.

However, the east bank had demonstrated its military strength well in the previous war with the Spaniards, so these foreign ships wisely shut their mouths after weighing their own strength, but at the same time they also chose not to cooperate.Therefore, in the eyes of those familiar with the situation, the cooperation between the East Coasters and the French merchant ship almost hit it off. There were no sloppy negotiations between the two parties, and the transportation agreement was reached almost instantly.

After negotiating the transport of the stall by French merchant ships, Mo San immediately organized manpower and convoys (by the Azov Sea Chamber of Commerce and the Hornician family) to transport these crying Polish women to the port of Salonika, and then waited shipment.At the same time, several east coast ships staying here will also provide escort for this large transport ship.

Flores is now in charge of the liaison between these French ships and the east coast, so his words actually represent the aspirations of the French captains.After hearing what Flores said, Mo San just paused to think for a few seconds, and then said in a slightly tough tone: "Didier, you should know the virtues of those captains, their words It has always been exaggerated, so please don't pay too much attention to it. However, since it is the first time for us to cooperate, I decided to allocate [-] ducats in advance, and let them pay for their maintenance costs at the shipyard, supply costs at the dock, and even a small amount. The charges for the prostitutes in the alley are settled first, and then I will immediately ship the personnel as quickly as possible, and set off for Dongfang Port under the leadership of the navy."

After hearing how many emergency three thousand ducats were brought back, Flores also heaved a sigh of relief.So he immediately nodded slightly, and then changed the topic to other topics: "Mo, the Aghas of Ganishali have fully controlled the country, and the Sipahi Legion is quite squeezed out. The local governor, Pa The Xias are also very disapproving of Carla Murad and others, and the war between the two sides is imminent. It is very difficult to do business in Ottomans now. The Dutch and the British have closed down many shops in small cities. Do you have any plans? "

Mo San has been traveling around Istanbul, Smyrna and Kaffa recently, and of course knows the situation of the Ottoman Empire on the verge of civil war.But what does it matter? The sales of goods on the east coast in the Ottoman Empire are mainly through three channels. One is through the Azov Sea Chamber of Commerce with Nasukh Pasha as the agent; Mu Sultan (now the interests have been transferred to the hands of Hardik Sultan and court eunuch Lala Suleiman Aga); finally, they have a good relationship with Kara Murad Aga of the Ghanishari Army, Some in-demand commodities are handed over to them for sale.All in all, except for several port cities such as Istanbul, Smyrna, and Burgas on the east coast, there were shops (for wholesale functions and a small amount of retail sales), basically no huge sales network was laid in the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

However, merchants from the Netherlands, Britain, and France are not all in this way, especially the French who are deeply rooted in the Ottoman Empire. They have cooperated with the local Jews and Armenians for many years. Very close, many terminal retail stores even have shares in both parties (on the surface, Ottoman Jews or Armenians operate alone), so they are the most sensitive to changes in the current situation.You must know that these Jews or Armenians who cooperate with them are backed by political figures. If these people are involved in power disputes or even wars within the Ottoman Empire at this time, then the end may be very bad.

Considering the turmoil in the current situation, merchants in the Netherlands, Britain, and France closed their business stations in many small cities (often in war-torn areas), which is also an act of reducing losses, which is understandable.However, people from the east coast in the Ottoman Empire adopted the method of looking for powerful figures to act as agents, and they did not have much sales network - after all, it cannot be compared with other countries that have operated in Ottoman for hundreds of years - so as long as the agents No objection was raised, and they were still purchasing as usual, and they just shipped it.Anyway, paying with one hand and delivering the goods with the other, given the close relationship between the East Bank and the Ottoman Empire, the commercial trade between the two parties should not change much.

Therefore, after hearing what Flores said, Mo San laughed and did not hide it from him: "We have no plans. Well, well, maybe we also want to try to expand the market for cotton cloth. You must know that Osman Judging from the huge population of the empire, this market is promising. Of course, we will not be involved in the sale of wool textiles, and there is no major conflict of interest with you, the Dutch and the British, so rest assured."

Flores undertook shipping tasks in the White Sea and also sold goods in the Ottoman Empire. He was a powerful businessman.However, he also suffered heavy losses in the incident of the Ottoman Empire defaulting on shipping fees this time. At this moment, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard that the people on the east coast had not invaded their traditional commercial sphere of influence.

However, Mo San still didn't tell him the truth, because in his opinion now, the biggest benefit of the East Bank in Ottoman is obviously to transport the fifteen thousand Polish women back first, and the rest can be put aside for the time being.This is a major political task, and commercial interests are a fart in front of political interests!Therefore, even if the east bank's business houses in Ottoman are all unable to make ends meet, as long as he successfully transports these women back to the east bank, then he will have nothing to do.

"Didier, you will send someone with me to the shop in Thessaloniki to collect the money, and then you have to urge these people to settle the accounts as soon as possible and prepare for sailing. Before March 3, I will see Until these women board the merchant ship and go to the New World." Mo San turned his head again at this time, and said solemnly to Flores.

(End of this chapter)