Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 967 Crisis and Mediation ([-])

"The task was not fully completed." After stepping down from the deck of a naval liaison ship to the pier, Gao Mo said in a relaxed and cheerful tone to Liu Weimin, the chairman of the executive committee, who came to greet him: "We forced the Portuguese to resume trade. , but it is impossible to completely ban the war between them and the Dutch West India Company. But this does not seem to be a big problem, the navy has left two frigates and four shallow water gunboats there, and the Dutch have also received our aid With a large number of artillery, it seems that it is not a big problem to defend the front line of Recife, Olinda, and Fortaleza..."

"We have also read your negotiation briefing. The executive committee has already held a meeting to discuss it. In principle, it is agreed to send the first batch of 4.8 South African Eight Banners new troops to Recife. In addition, Jacob Port will also send [-] Latvians. The musketeers boarded a ship and went to Dutch Brazil. The employment contracts of these people totaled [-] yuan. We will lend it to the Dutch as the second interest-free loan provided by the New World Amity and Mutual Bank. Our sincerity is not insufficient. And through this In the event of the incident, the Dutch must also be more aware of the benefits that an ally of a regional power in the southern New World can bring to them. This is the real meaning of our busy work. Helping the West India Company is just incidental. "Liu Weimin explained the ultimate intention of the people on the east coast, which was also very touching to Gao Mo. It seems that the national policy of uniting the Netherlands to control the UK has become more and more popular, but I don't know if the Dutch see it or not. On the East Coast of China, would you like to befriend or even form an alliance with these heretics—but as far as the current situation looks, the situation seems to be okay.

"This action is the first time that our government has publicly intervened in an international armed conflict at our doorstep. It is of extraordinary significance. Especially for the improvement of our country's international status, the positive impact is immeasurable. The Dutch will value us even more. The cooperation between the two parties will become more and more in-depth. Maybe in a few years, the Dutch will be more willing to accept us to join their existing international trading system after they have a deeper understanding of the strength of our country; or at least, they We will also seek our opinions more on major international affairs.” Gao Mo has also thought a lot these days, and he clearly knows how much this incident will affect the East Coast, Portugal, and the Dutch West India Company. , especially the brazen dispatch of a large number of warships on the east coast to interfere in a war between two old colonial countries, which has far-reaching significance.

The two of them are located at the wharf of Dongfang County, the capital. In the commercial wharf area, several 650-ton flute-shaped transport ships of the South China Sea Transportation Company are loading goods. The goods are packed with flour, butter, cheese, ham and other foods in refined bags. Mainly; beside these ships, there are two refrigerated ships already loaded with cargo, one of which is full of cod, and the other is mixed with fresh meat products such as whale meat, seal meat, vicuña meat, and beef. The two ships came directly from Baleen Whale Port and Yancheng Port respectively. The goods did not disembark. After paying the export duties at Dongfang Port Customs, they parked at the dock on the spot, waiting for the rest of the merchant ships and the two sailors escorted by the navy gunboat.

Gao Mo couldn't remember how many fleets this was going to the Netherlands. Anyway, since the "Hotel Secret Agreement" was approved by the Executive Committee, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Communications and other units immediately started emergency operations. A large number of materials on the list squeezed out precious shipping capacity, dispatched capable escort ships, and went all out to give blood transfusions to the Netherlands—of course, blood transfusions are a bit too much, after all, the Dutch buy them at a price higher than the market price. These commodities, but considering that we are now in a sensitive war period, there are not many countries capable of doing so, so the Dutch should really thank the East Coast Republic of China.

Hydraulic machinery and metal smelting equipment ordered by Tripp Trading Company, industrial windmill parts and hydraulic saws ordered by Saldan Shipyard, muskets and cannons ordered by the East India Company (many of which were previously provided by Birmingham, England), and grain wholesalers in Amsterdam A series of goods such as food ordered, high-end textiles and leather goods ordered by ordinary merchants, and so on, cover almost all the current industrial production fields on the east coast.

To be honest, when the officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce saw the list of goods that the Dutch were looking for, it was the first time that they knew that there were so many kinds of goods in the world in this era, and it was also the first time they realized that the people from the East Coast How few commodities can be produced (and only a part of them are industrially produced).With this understanding, everyone has a little more desire to squeeze into the current national trade order dominated by the Dutch - it is almost a bright market paved with gold - and at the same time everyone is more determined to immigrate and immigrate again. The determination to immigrate, develop, develop, and develop again, insist on cultivating the market, popularizing education, and promoting the industrialization process of the East Coast for 100 years will not waver!

"Exports are booming, and industrial and agricultural practitioners are all happy, especially some private workshop owners engaged in food processing. It is the first time that they can earn money from foreigners. Everyone is very excited. The domestic currency stock may set a new record again, the inflation rate will continue to rise, and labor costs and production costs will increase, which is not necessarily a good thing for the economy.” Liu Weimin saw Gao Mo staring at the merchant ships that were about to leave Hong Kong, and smiled Said: "However, the Government Council will make overall plans. We don't need to worry about this. The progress of some large-scale infrastructure projects that will generate a large amount of currency in circulation in the society will slow down. Temporarily store them in the army's No. [-] prison, and put them on the market according to the situation, so as not to ruin the domestic economy."

"Development is a good thing after all! How can a fast-growing economy not have high inflation? As long as there is an export surplus, the stock of money in the domestic market will only increase. Even if we have vigorously imported, it is estimated that The currency stock of the whole society will exceed 1500 million in the not-too-distant future." Gao Mo explained casually, "Besides, the rapid development of manufacturing and the commodification of agriculture show that our economy is becoming more and more dynamic. It's hard to say point, even if some people want to go against the grain in the future, it may be difficult for our economy to return to the agricultural and feudal era. Of course, it would be difficult to say in Daming, the conservative and feudal forces are too strong, if any leader is brainwashed ——this is what they are best at——if they fail, society will turn history back.”

"Okay, let's stop talking about those useless things, how do you feel when you come back from San Vicente this time?" Liu Weimin asked.

"It feels like the Portuguese are only temporarily tolerant, but controlling the whole of Brazil is also their basic national policy. The war with the Dutch West India Company will be a long-term thing. It's hard to say whether the Dutch have the determination to persevere, because as far as today's From the perspective of the situation, the West India Company's stalls are too large, and they are resistant to spending huge sums of money to fall into the quagmire of war for a long time, so the future situation of Brazil is still hard to say, so we can only take one step at a time." Gao Mo replied truthfully, "In addition, I think the Portuguese should be touched by the incident of our navy blocking the door. Next, they may adjust their policies, vigorously develop the navy and enrich the strength of the Brazilian colony, in order to be able to compete with us in the future."

"What do you think the Portuguese will do?"

"I don't know, I can only make some inferences based on the information I have. I think that in their country, which is still very feudal, there are probably people who want to restore the 'ancient system' when Brazil was first discovered .That is to give some merchants or lords trade privileges, and then lease a certain area of ​​land to them. This system requires the lessee to build and maintain one or more fortresses on the Brazilian territory within the validity period of the contract." Gaumo responded , "The first Brazilian land lessee in history was Fernand de Loronia. He rented it for ten years at a rent of 2 ducats (about 6 East Bank silver dollars) per year. On that land , he raised his own funds, sent personnel and ships to carry out colonial activities in Brazil, and it is said that he exported more than 300 tons of expensive Brazilian sumac to Portugal every year. In addition, according to the contract, he was also obliged to send [-] ships to discover at least [-] miles a year. Unknown areas of the grid, on condition that the king forbids the extraction of wood similar to brazil wood from India or elsewhere."

"It sounds interesting, but the lessee may not be able to make a profit, right? Why didn't the Portuguese try to do this kind of colonization later?" Liu Weimin grasped the point keenly and asked.

"Profit is not guaranteed." Gao Mo nodded, and said: "Even if the lessee is given monopoly privileges, the risk of loss is still quite high. A disease or an attack by the natives may cause the lessee to lose everything. However, To be fair, this kind of condition is still very attractive to businessmen or nobles. If it is managed properly, the profit side still accounts for the majority given Brazil’s wealth. Later, the Portuguese royal family was mainly afraid of making the local white people bigger. Coupled with the pitifully low rents given by the lessees, they have to be given various benefits or privileges (most of the profits are privately owned, and the king’s income is limited, but the whole of Brazil is theoretically the king’s private property), making money is really not enough. The royal family gradually abandoned this colonial method. Then these developed lands were merged with the early colonial general districts, and the governors sent by the royal family were directly under the jurisdiction, replacing the previous fiefdom mode with a strong medieval color. "

"Hmm..." Liu Weimin thought for a long time, and then said: "I still have to work hard on you, put your opinions into words as soon as possible, and then submit them to the Executive Committee. We will hold a special meeting to discuss. In the next period of time, there should be relative Calm down, it will take months for the Portuguese home fleet to arrive? Hehe, we can finally take a breather for a while."

(End of this chapter)