Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 868 What I Know (Part [-])

On July 1651, 7, a flute-shaped ship flying the flag of the East Coast Republic of China slowly sailed into the port of Smyrna, lowered the bow and stern anchors, and began to call the coolies on the shore to come and unload.At this time, Gao Wengang, who had just changed into a new set of clothes, was carrying a small suitcase, and surrounded by his entourage, he walked towards the East Coast Commercial Center in the city under the scorching sun of the midsummer in the northern hemisphere.

The Port of Smyrna has now been expanded (designed and provided by the East Bank with technical services, and important building materials and machinery are also sold by the East Bank), and the port conditions have been greatly improved compared to before.Coupled with the already prosperous business here, even though the Ottoman Empire is in a chaotic moment rarely seen in history, this port still shows a vibrant atmosphere everywhere: Greeks, Jews, Armenians and other non-government Ottoman merchants from the ethnic group are all over the port area, and ships and sailors from Western France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and some Italian states are also everywhere, making people almost forget that this old country is currently in internal and external troubles.

However, all businessmen from various countries who have been doing business in the Ottoman Empire for a long time know everything that is happening in the Japanese Empire now, because some things cannot be hidden from people.For example, in the first half of the year, the navy of the Republic of Venetia once again defeated an Ottoman fleet delivering supplies to Crete near the island of Naxos.The fleet was loaded with guns and ammunition—more than half of which were even purchased from the east coast—and supplies, trying to bypass the Dardanelles blocked by the Venetian fleet, but they were still patrolling quickly. The Venetian ships were discovered and then besieged by the Christian fleet that followed them, and the two sides immediately fought a war.

The result of the battle ended in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. The operation to deliver supplies to the Ottoman Empire army on Crete collapsed. When the news came back to Istanbul, many people were extremely angry. Pasha had to resign because of this, but what did this help the tens of thousands of Ottoman troops trapped on the island?

And just as the Ottoman transport fleet in the south was heading to Crete, near the Dardanelles in the north, an Ottoman partial fleet from the Black Sea also launched a diversionary attack.As a result, the last surviving fast cruise ship on the east coast of the Ottoman Empire was burned, and the battleship "Bayezid" was damaged again and returned to its home port for repairs. The remaining warships were also damaged to varying degrees, and the loss was not light.Although they also sank and damaged many Venetian galley warships at the same time, and won tactically, they were still in a state of siege and blockade strategically, and the passive situation could not be changed. A collective attack by the forces of the monopolized Aghas.

In fact, Crete today has almost become a difficult-to-heal ulcer on the Ottoman Empire.They couldn’t swallow it for a while—because of the incompetence of their navy, the supply of the Ottoman army who landed on the island was always intermittent, but the Venetians were able to continuously deliver supplies and mercenaries to the island.Add to that factional strife within the army, which has led to the inexplicable imprisonment or replacement of generals in charge of the front lines, which further reduces the morale of the soldiers. Therefore, it is not so surprising that the fighting has dragged on for several years.

But if you want to say that abandoning this island, which caused the Ottomans to continue to lose blood, is a decision that no one wants to make.The entire empire has paid the lives of tens of thousands of troops, countless supplies and money for this island that is so close at hand, how can they give up lightly?Besides, the "pirate ships" from the Christian world often use the port of this island as their starting base, and continue to attack the coast of the Ottoman Empire northward. If this thorn in the side is not removed, how can the residents of the northern Ottoman coast sleep peacefully?How can the safety of the fleet going to Egypt and Syria be guaranteed?

Therefore, this island must be taken, even if this war is fought forever.The Ottoman Empire is difficult, isn't it difficult for the Republic of Venice?Even though this country has blood transfusion support from the Pope, Spain, Austria, and some Italian city-states, she still only has a population of more than [-] million, which is not at the same level as the population of the Ottoman Empire, which is more than [-] million. The consumption can consume her. dead, what are you afraid of?

However, although it is the unanimous opinion of the upper echelons that the war should continue, it is a very sensitive issue as to who will take the lead, who will receive the credit, and who should control the direction of the empire.And if this problem is not resolved, then it will be difficult to make any substantial progress in the battle on the front line. Anyone who goes to lead the army to command the battle will be quite constrained, and will eventually end up in a disgraceful end—— Tens of thousands of Ottomans on the island of Crete In the past few years, the generals of the army have been changed one after another. Some have been imprisoned, some have been accused and beheaded, some have been dismissed and returned home, and the war has been deadlocked.In fact, according to the true strength of the Ottoman Empire, if the whole country were united, the Venetian mercenaries who were entrenched in the east of the island would have been driven into the sea ten times or eight times.It's a pity that when doing things, there are always people who hold back and play tricks, which eventually damages the interests of the country and makes heroes useless. It's really helpless.

"Sir, the business station is here." While he was thinking about it, a reminder from his entourage made Gao Wengang realize that his destination was in front of him.Several agents from the State Intelligence Bureau guarding the commercial station carefully checked the identity certificates and letters of introduction handed over by Gao Wengang and others, and after sending someone to contact the internal office, they were finally allowed to enter the commercial station.

Under the guidance of a receptionist, Gao Wengang came to an office on the second floor of the business building, where a middle-aged man in his forties was already waiting for him with a smile.

"Xiao Gao, I have received your father's handwritten letter before, I thought you would come here in two or three months, but I didn't expect you to come here soon." Mo San signaled Gao Wengang to enter the office with him, Said with a smile.

"It's okay to be idle at home, and I want to get acquainted with my future work earlier, so I came here." Gao Wengang put away his previous somewhat cold and arrogant face, smiled shyly at Mo San, and said.

"With this kind of drive, it is much better than some second-generation ancestors in China who only know how to ride horses and hunt." Mo San praised, then greeted Gao Wengang to sit on a wooden chair in his office, and said: "Since you are so motivated , Then let’s talk about what you have seen and heard along the way, so that I, who sits in the office all day working behind closed doors, can open my eyes.”

"Uncle Mo was joking." Gao Wen just smiled embarrassedly, and after all, he was a newborn calf, full of vigor. He cleared his throat and said bluntly: "I was in Bahia, Tobago, I stayed in Jamestown, Livorno and other places for a while. During this period, I got some useful information through exchanges with local people to varying degrees. The Dutch in Brazil have been relieved in recent years. Selling the goods on the east coast has made a lot of profit, which has delayed their decline under the attack of the Portuguese. When I stayed in the Bahia area, the local Dutch merchants were very friendly to us, and they praised the east coast Goods are cheap and good, because that allows them to sell them to Brazil, the Caribbean islands, Florida, Virginia, New Amsterdam, New Sweden, New England, etc., and profitably."

"Of course, the Dutch's gain is based on the loss of others, which has attracted a lot of hostility to them, and the most hostile to them is undoubtedly the English. When I docked in Jamestown, I already I strongly feel the dissatisfaction of the British colonies with the Dutch who monopolize their foreign trade. To put it bluntly, I think there may be a war between these two countries. This war has nothing to do with justice, faith, or It has nothing to do with the scramble for colonies, it's just a simple industrial and commercial dispute."

"The Dutch may not be strongly aware of how dangerous the current situation is, or even though they are aware of it, they are unwilling to take the initiative to give up the fat in their mouths. The British want to take back their long-lost trade sovereignty, fishery rights and industry. Sovereignty (British woolen cloth must be exported to the Netherlands for reprocessing before returning to the UK), is bound to regain all this through war. Because they are convinced that it is impossible to make the Dutch surrender through negotiation and diplomacy, only through a battle of iron and blood The war can break the heavy shackles imposed on England by the Dutch, and open up room for England to rise."

"That's very good." After digesting the other party's words for a while, Mo San, who was a little surprised, smiled and said to Gao Wengang in an encouraging tone: "Then, what do you think our country should do in this possible dispute?" How to deal with it?"

"It's very simple, strictly abide by neutrality, and at the same time prepare to take some benefits from the Dutch." Gao Wen just blurted out. Obviously, he has thought about this issue for a while, so he quickly expressed his conclusion: "Although the Dutch sea power is relatively Powerful, but the problem is that they are all businessmen, and their government is disorganized and has no prestige at all. In this way, if the war falls into a long-term stalemate, that is, the English will not talk about peace, and they will swear not to achieve their goals. If you let it go, the Dutch will feel very uncomfortable. They will carefully measure the gains and losses, and care about every gain and loss, which will seriously shake their determination to fight. On the contrary, the British are very simple. They are fighting for the sovereignty of their own country. Combat, coupled with their relatively strong central government, so we have reason to believe that the British can endure the pain of war better than the Dutch, and they are likely to be the final victors—because the Dutch Businessmen are likely to make compromises for the sake of business."

"You haven't said what we should do?" Mo San lit his pipe, then looked at Gao Wengang, and said with great interest.

"Well, what we can do is very limited." Speaking of this, Gao Wengang felt a little embarrassed, obviously he didn't think thoroughly about this aspect, so he said: "All we can do is to see if there are any problems." Opportunity to sign some commercial treaties with the Dutch, and let them act as agents of our products through some interest exchanges; in addition, the Dutch colonies in South Africa, New China and other places can also see if there is any possibility of negotiation. I personally think that the problem of New China is not Great, but South Africa is unlikely; Finally, the issue of allowing east coast ships to go to the Far East via the East Indies can also be discussed, but I think it is of little significance. Because the existing immigration routes in our country are very mature , and the route to New China via the Strait of Malacca is only available in winter and spring in the northern hemisphere, which is of limited value to us. However, sooner or later we will intervene in India and even Southeast Asia. At this time, we will seize the opportunity to exchange interests with the Dutch. There is no harm in it, but I am afraid that the Dutch will still look down on us..."

"Hehe..." After staring at Gao Wengang for a while, Mo San suddenly smiled, then got up and patted him on the shoulder, and said, "I'm relieved if you think so, there are successors in the country. Alright, a little while I will have someone take you to your room, and take a good rest these days. I will go to Istanbul with me in two days. Adrian has not given us the final payment of more than 9 yuan for the war preparation road project from Plovdiv. This time, I will be a debt collector with me. Alas, Ottoman’s current political situation is chaotic and financially difficult. It’s really hard to get some money. If you can get back a third of the 9 yuan for the project, it will be considered a face. For the rest, it’s still the old way to keep the balance—to pay the bill with slaves!”

(End of this chapter)