Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 964 Crisis and Mediation ([-])

"Apart from supplies and arms, can we provide other help to the Dutch? I mean personnel. I feel that weapons alone are not enough. The Dutch suffer because they are too small and may not be able to withstand it." San Vicente Inside the East Bank Commercial Station, Gao Mo, a veteran of the diplomatic circles, asked an army officer softly.

"The Joint Staff Headquarters has already made a plan to squeeze out as many combat-experienced personnel as possible to support Recife. There are 1000 new troops from the Eight Banners of South Africa, 500 people from the Eight Banners of the New China Island, and German mercenaries from the Tulare Commercial Station. More than 2000 people. In addition, the Latvians in Jacobshavn reluctantly agreed to mobilize [-] musketeers on standby after our repeated pressure, a total of [-]. Of course, these troops have not yet had time to assemble, and whether they will be sent to Rexi Philip's support for the Dutch will also depend on the situation." Sun Wu, a young army staff officer, replied.He has graduated from the Infantry Department of the Dingyuan Military Academy for two years. He is a second-generation wearer and is currently serving as a second-class staff officer in the Joint Staff Headquarters.

"Very good." Gao Mo, who returned to San Vicente after many years, nodded slightly.Looking at the familiar furnishings and decorations in the room, he felt a lot of emotion.I still remember that 15 years ago, he and Bai Siwen, who were still in high spirits, stayed in San Vicente for a long time in order to negotiate with the British and end a war that neither side wanted to continue.

"I'm getting old." Gao Mo sat back on his seat and looked at everything in the room with some sadness.As leaders in the civil service department back then, he, Bai Siwen, Wang De and others had their brains exhausted trying to end the war with the British. He was ridiculed for having "schizophrenia" and was sadly transferred from his post. After sitting on the bench for many years in the Shi Zhi Office, he was able to find an opportunity to recover.

He Gaomo was not affected much because of his special talents (multilingualism, better understanding of history), but there is no doubt that the scenes experienced in San Vicente 15 years ago still left a deep impression on him ——The combination of the aggressive face of the British and the huge domestic pressure made him unable to sleep well during that difficult time.

"But this time it looks a little different. The mood and the situation have been adjusted. Although we couldn't say that people were swordsmen and we were fish and meat, at least we were the one eager to end the war, and we were more anxious and impatient." Gao Mo silently Thinking, "I didn't expect that 15 years later, the strength of all parties will change, and the East Coast Republic of China has become the leading power in the region, especially the dozens of well-equipped naval warships, which have greatly increased our strength. The right to speak. Under the deterrence of the giant ship's cannon, the Portuguese are like frightened quails. This feeling is really intoxicating..."

"Forget it, when we go to San Vicente this time, we'll just pretend to be rascals and villains, and bully others. Who told you that Portugal is ignorant and insists on taking back the land occupied by the Dutch?" Gao Mo subconsciously He tidied up his clothes carefully, and then motioned to his secretary to invite the "guest" in.

Guests have been waiting for a long time!They are Blanco de Sousa Almeida, an old friend of the people on the east coast, and Joao Fernandez Vieira, a Brazilian sugar tycoon (this king briefly defected to the Dutch in history, and now the Portuguese army the big benefactor of the Portuguese), the Indian leader Felipe Kamarao who followed the Portuguese desperately, and their entourage-as for the governor of the Portuguese Brazilian colonial authorities, Antonio Teles da Silva, it was out of face Didn't show up, or he was raising troops as the rumors said.

After the dozen or so people came in, they immediately filled up the small room tightly. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do next.

"Sit." Gao Mo casually pointed to the rows of benches on both sides of the room, and said, "Since everyone is in a hurry, I will make a long story short. First of all, I came here in peace. One point, you don’t have to be suspicious, the East Coast Republic of China is also unwilling to see the rich and beautiful Brazil fall into perennial war. Therefore, we want to eliminate the war for the Netherlands and Portugal, and return this land to peace.”

Gao Mo said this passage in Chinese.Although he can speak English, French, and Spanish, and has taught himself Portuguese, Dutch, and Italian after traveling, as the diplomatic envoy of the East Coast Republic of China, he can use his own language as much as possible, and let his secretary act as an interpreter.

After Gao Mo finished speaking, everyone on the Portuguese side immediately looked at each other in blank dismay. This damn is obviously pulling the rhythm of the frame!This time the people on the east coast proposed to hold a "peace conference" in San Vicente, but the Portuguese didn't intend to pay any attention to it—you have repeatedly supported the Dutch, and we would be dead if we didn't say anything—but at the Haiphong Fortress After the officers panicked and reported that the East Coaster's fleet was cruising off the coast of Brazil, the Portuguese couldn't sit still.

Governor Silva sent the ships of the colonial fleet to the sea to negotiate with the people on the east coast, but the attitude of these hooligans was extremely arrogant, saying that they were hunting for a pirate ship. Under the brutal inspection and interception, everyone returned to each port, and the traffic was cut off for a while.Even, a ship loaded with munitions from Lisbon sailed to Zhenhai Port under the auspices of the East Coast Navy. What do you think is this nonsense?When you co-authored, you allowed the ships on the east coast to sail to the territory of the Dutch with full loads of arms, and did not allow Portugal to transport arms to Brazil. You also said that it was for peace. Does anyone believe this?Double standards no doubt!

But, what can the Portuguese do?The weak power of the colonial fleet is not even enough to block the Dutch West India Company's ships entering and leaving Recife, let alone confront the powerful East Coast Fleet head-on.Perhaps, now we have to wait for the main fleet of the mainland to come over?I heard that His Majesty King Joao has vigorously rectified military affairs in the past few years, built forts on the Spanish border, built forts in ports facing the ocean, and taxed all subjects to rebuild the navy, so this time the mainland will probably be able to send a considerable number of warships to Brazil. .

The strength of these warships is undoubtedly extremely powerful. If there is no intervention from the damned east coast people, maybe we can block the external traffic of General Pernambuco with these warships alone, and then strengthen the offensive on land. It is determined to force the Dutch to surrender-those are businessmen who have come to the colony to make a fortune, and they have no guts to fight with their lives.

But now that people from the east coast are getting in on the sidelines, things get complicated.They say they want to "bring peace" to Brazil?God, is there anyone more shameless than them?Why didn't the Dutch West India Company demand peace when they took about half of Brazil?Now that the Dutch say they want to bring peace when they are at a disadvantage, what is it if it is not a bias?

"Yes, we just want to bring peace to Brazil. A war-torn Brazil is not in the interests of the East Coast Republic!" Seeing that the Portuguese did not speak, Gao Mo immediately emphasized his tone: "You have also seen that it has been going on for a long time. A decade-long war has thrown this rich land rich in dyes, timber, and sugar into chaos. The sugar production in Brazil as a whole is now even less than 120 million aroa (less than 1.8 tons), which is less than 1676 tons. Is it comparable to the island of Barbados? Is it comparable to the island of Jamaica (in 7.2, Jamaica exported [-] tons of sugar, which is an astonishing output)? You know, the conditions in Brazil are much better than these areas, but they are overwhelmed by stupid wars. destroyed!"

"Mr. Vieira, you are an expert in the cane sugar industry. The cane sugar you export to the UK is 6 pence per pound (the price in the UK market is generally 12-14 pence. It can be seen that sugar is still in Europe at this time. The taste of some luxury goods), the loss of 1 ton of production a year is 55 pounds, and the loss of 55 tons of production is 170 pounds (about [-] million East Coast silver dollars). You should be very clear about this account. We all know , Brazil's most elite sugar production area is in General Pernambuco, but the years of repeated seesaw wars between you and the Dutch have completely destroyed this rich land. It is time to end this stupid war .” Gao Mo said in a persuasive way from an economic point of view.

In essence, the Portuguese and the Dutch are businessmen.It is also the Portuguese who have slightly stronger feudal attributes and a stronger desire for land than the Dutch, but there is no difference in essence, only a difference in degree.Don't look at the current Joao Vieira, who clearly supports the Brazilian colonial authorities. He not only pays money and supplies, but even arms a large number of blacks and Indians in his manor to fight against the Dutch, but you must know that in Before 1645, this guy was a guest of the Dutch rulers.

If it hadn't been for the fact that the Dutch transferred away the capable Governor Maurice (the West India Company thought he could spend too much money), and replaced some stupid officials (Maurice's successor was called "a good businessman") , political imbecility"), and enforced Dutch law and education in Dutch in the Dutch-occupied area, and divided some of the land of the big manor owners to the new Dutch "Boer", Vieira may still be there Kneeling and licking the Dutchman.

But the Dutchman moved his cheese, and he immediately turned his face, and the true face of a capitalist or landowner is like this!Doesn’t it have a great sense of sight?If it weren't for "My Qing Dynasty" actually collecting taxes from the gentry, would there still be so many anti-Qing riots or uprisings in the south of the Yangtze River?To put it bluntly, among these uprisings, only a minority were motivated by national sentiments, and most of them were actually armed anti-tax riots!The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River who originally chanted "I am the master of the Qing Dynasty", after seeing that they are actually required to pay taxes, are they still rebellious?

Human nature is like this!Therefore, Gao Mo expressed his righteousness from an economic point of view this time, and hoped that the Portuguese would listen to it more or less.

(End of this chapter)