Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 960 The Deepening Gap ([-])

March 1653, 3, Rocha County.

Li Qun and Zhu Heng are sitting in the yard playing Go comfortably. On the coffee table next to him is a pot of tea—this is Master Zhu’s favorite—and next to the tea is a cup of coffee. This is Li Qun, the bandit. Birth guy's drink.It's a pity that he has never drunk any good tea in his life, but after he got rich on the east coast, he fell in love with a new thing like coffee, which made Master Zhu despise him.

"I said, what's so good about your green tea?" Li Qun is not good at chess, and seeing a big dragon in danger, he began to complain about Master Zhu: "I, Lao Li, can't get used to these bitter teas. Even if you drink it, you have to put down a lot of sugar to get rid of the bitter taste, otherwise I won’t be able to drink it even if I’m killed.”

Master Zhu Heng Zhu, whoever he is, naturally won't be disturbed by Li Qun's tricks outside the market, I saw him calmly sipping a sip of tea, and said leisurely: "Drinking tea with sugar is a bad habit of the barbarians. You are a dignified man of the Han family. You have learned such a nonsense, which is really embarrassing to your ancestors. However, I heard that the price of cane sugar has risen recently, and the trade in Brazil has been cut off. It will not be easy to eat some sugar in the future. right?"

Liqun was stunned when he heard the words. Now more than 70% of the cane sugar in the Eastern Republic is imported from Brazil, and the rest is imported from Brazil and Peru. If the Brazilians really cut off the mutual trade, the source of this sugar is indeed a problem. .You must know that most of the Dutch’s sugar is shipped back to Europe to make money. It is not easy to distribute some of the sugar to the east coast. However, the sugar plantations in Peru have limited production and most of them are used for local consumption. Will be in a state of long-term sugar deficiency in the future.

In fact, not only sugar is gone, but also cotton, tobacco, high-quality ship materials, cocoa, dried fruits, candied fruits and other commodities from Brazil will be cut off.In particular, cotton and ship materials are the two most terrible. The vast amount of cotton required by the east coast textile industry can only be self-sufficient for one-third, and the rest needs to be imported from Brazil, the Caribbean, Florida and other places.At the moment when cotton planting in Xinhuaxia Island has just started, people on the east coast must adjust their import channels as soon as possible. If the conditions are right, they can try to import from Peru (there is small-scale cotton planting there) to fill the vacancy after the cessation of trade in Brazil.

As for ship materials, it is even more difficult. You must know that the degree of superstition of the East Coast Navy is absolutely outrageous. They only like to use old and dry Brazilian sumac to build capital ships, and these obviously have to be imported from Brazil. Now nature is gone.The Admiralty may still have some stock in hand, but once it is used, it will be empty, and a solution must be found for this.

So, if you don’t see it, you don’t know it. It’s shocking to see it. After so many years of economic and trade exchanges between the East Coast and Brazil, the degree of mutual dependence between them is already quite deep.It is true that both sides are not used to it in a short period of time if they cut off the trade rashly.

"I can't eat sugar, it's boring, I can't play anymore." Liqun pushed the chessboard like a fool, stood up and stretched himself, then picked up a cup of coffee and said, "Doesn't my small shop that sells cocoa powder also want to eat it?" Closed? Damn, no sugar, who wants to buy cocoa powder?"

"Close the game as soon as possible." Master Zhu slowly put away the chess pieces one by one, and then said: "I have already said that you must concentrate on everything you do! Isn't it good to run a plantation in New China? Your sisal plantation Not to mention the fact that the garden is more than one year, there is still a profit of three to five hundred yuan, and it is still increasing. Where can I find such a good thing? If I listened to my advice, the family who died of Zuo Jin died of illness The plantation is also sold, and now you can make money comfortably. It's a pity that you actually put your money into selling cocoa powder, how do you say hello?"

"Hey, don't I think that broken island in Xinhuaxia is too hot to live in?" Li Qun said gloomily, "Besides, I'm not like you, Mr. Zhu. My sons are several adults. Once the stalls on the side are too big, I have to move my house there if I can’t keep them all. It’s boring to keep an eye on them all year round. Lao Li, I don’t like the humid and hot weather there all year round. It’s good as it is now. There are brothers to help take care of the garden. I can rest for a year and a half after I go there for a year. It’s not bad. Our Luocha County is a good place. The mountains, the water, and the soil support people. I just can't be bothered to move."

Mr. Zhu’s family mentioned by Li Qun is indeed prosperous now. He has given birth to 6 children over the years, and 4 of them survived, which is considered to exceed the national average.Three of these four children have grown up now. The eldest son is regarded as his successor, and is currently training in his own plantation on Xinhua Island; , sign up to go to the new settlement in the Wujiang area to reclaim wasteland - he once learned the stonemasonry craft from his Italian father-in-law, and he can divide [-] acres of land when he arrives in Wujiang.

Master Zhu’s third son has just come of age, and Zhu Heng, who is unwilling to let this son also leave his hometown, has already inquired about the public land that Luoqia Town will be in the countryside recently. It is a public land) to allocate a batch for the new population of the town (mainly the new generation of adult youths), so he also signed up for his son, hoping to get [-] mu of land in the newly built village. .

I have to say that the Chinese people are very persistent in their desire for land. The so-called "urban household registration" like Mr. Zhu originally did not have land. The only way for them to obtain land is to sign up to reclaim wasteland in new settlements.Back when the income of industry and agriculture on the east coast was upside down (the income of farmers exceeded that of urban residents), many urban residents volunteered to sign up to open up wasteland on the border in order to get a share of their own land.Of course, the income of urban residents has increased rapidly in recent years, while the income of farmers has stagnated for a long time, which has suppressed this kind of behavior of competing for farmers-of course, this is more related to the policies of the Government Council. The number of old residents (beneficial for using the old to bring in the new and assimilate the newcomers) is not unlimited.

Although Master Zhu signed up for his son, he couldn't guarantee that his third son would stay in Luocha Town.Without him, there are many applicants, but the government has only allocated a small amount of land for distribution, and whoever gets the distribution depends on the luck of the lottery.But don’t be discouraged for those who can’t get the land, because they can also sign up to settle in the newly-built settlements. While getting their own land, they can also help assimilate the new foreign immigrants by the way.

"However, Master Zhu, do you think the imperial court will really go to war with the Frangji people?" After all, Liqun still couldn't forget his own small business, so he said, "I heard people say that the Frangji Kingdom is still in Taixi." Fighting endlessly with the Sparta Kingdom, and fighting with the Dutch red hair in the New World, do you think they dare to go to war with the imperial court? Do they have the guts? How bold is it to say that severing trade Cut off trade, so bold..."

At the end, Liqun became a little angry again: This Franji man is so ignorant, and the people who used to do cocoa powder wholesale business with him are also dishonest profiteers!I just took several orders for cocoa powder, and you dare to cut off the trade!Do you know that Lao Li has to pay a lot of liquidated damages?Not to mention the loss of credit!Alas, what a fleeting time!

"Your small business is nothing!" Master Zhu Heng Zhu packed up the chessboard, and then he stood up, cupped his hands facing the northeast, and said, "I think Chairman Liu of the imperial court is more anxious than you. Textile mills are waiting for the rice to cook. Brazilians don’t sell cotton anymore. Where can we buy it in a short time? Florida (Florida), how can we buy it in a hurry! Besides, Brazil and Florida go to Rocha The freight rates in Hong Kong are also very different, and the length and danger of the shipping routes are even more incomparable. It is better to let those textile factories in China spend a lot of money to go to Florida and the western barbarians to rob cotton. It is better to let them die! Humph, look Let's go, the good show is still to come, and the imperial court will definitely take action."

"That's too far away to quench my thirst. I, Lao Li, will pay hundreds of yuan for liquidated damages this time, and I have to make an old face. How will I mess around in the future. Oh, indeed, I wish I had listened to your advice back then. , In Xinhuaxia, one more sisal plantation was set up, and if it is not guaranteed, it will happen. It is a pity, it is a mistake, and it is here!" Li Qun sighed, "The gang of people in Ping'an County are even worse. Many of them have set up cotton plantations on both sides of the Cotton River. Isn’t it going to be a big deal this time? Last time I heard that the Sakarawa natives attacked the Cotton River port, I laughed at them for throwing money for nothing Well, in a blink of an eye, the natives were defeated, and the cotton in their plantations was sold, alas, what a blessing! Why is my old Li so miserable?"

"How about a fart?" Mr. Zhu took a sip of tea, pointed to Liqun and said, "I heard that there are also cacao breeds in Peru, maybe the Southern Railway may have imported some? I think You might as well take a boat to the south and see if you can get some cocoa back through the South Railway channel, if it works, wouldn’t everyone be happy, it’s much better than you crying and grabbing the land here.”

"In addition, my master recently read "Three Kingdoms", and I have quite a lot of experience." Zhu Heng stroked his beard and said a little complacently: "In this southern new continent, our east bank country is like that Cao Wei, with both strength and spirit. First: On that day, Sparta and Franchi were like the Shu Han and Sun Wu. They both had a gap with our east bank, and they also had trouble with each other. When the two joined forces to fight against my east bank, It may be possible for a long time, but now it seems that it is very unlikely. I just need to be patient and plan slowly, and I will be able to defeat each of them and unify this new southern continent."

"Well, what should this Dutch red hair do?" Li Qun asked.

Master Zhu was at a loss for words when he heard the words, and after a long time, he said angrily: "Let's count Shanyue in Sun Wu Kingdom!"

(End of this chapter)