Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 976 A mess ([-])

On April 1653, 4, in the port of Riga, Zheng Yong, who hurried back from Archangel before the winter of last year, greeted a group of special guests in the east coast trading station—De Haier from the Tripp Trading Company in Sweden one line.

Perhaps it is not very accurate to say that they came from Sweden, because as early as the second Polish-Swedish war, the entire northern Livonia had been ceded to Sweden. Therefore, to be precise, Mr. Matthias De Heier from Gothenburg came to Riga, just marching from one Swedish city to another.

And a few days before the people from the Tripp Firm arrived in Riga, Zheng Yong had just finished his talks with Cornelis Caron, the special envoy of the Principality of Courland.This gentleman is a navigator, but also a scholar and a businessman. In history, he served as the governor of Tobago, a colony of the Principality of Courland.This time he brought a 12-member mission to the port of Riga, mainly to discuss the possibility of further cooperation with people from the east coast.

Undoubtedly, as the Latvians successfully gained a foothold in the Congo River Basin, due to the dual factors of geography and economics, their relationship with the East China Republic entered a stage of rapid development almost from the very beginning.Not to mention the large number of Livonian immigrants on the east coast, many of them are often inextricably linked with the residents of the Principality of Courland, which further facilitates the in-depth development of bilateral relations.

Therefore, Jacob Lecter, the Grand Duke of the Principality of Courland, attaches great importance to the big money owner on the east bank—most of the tobacco, tropical giant trees and black slaves in the New Courland Colony are sold to the east bank—this time So he sent his favorite minister to the port of Riga. While deepening the cooperation between the two sides, he also invited the other party to set up a business station in Mitao (the capital of the country) or Windau (Windau (now Wentspils)) to deepen the relationship between the two countries. economic and trade ties.

Zheng Yong was a little surprised by the enthusiasm of the Latvians (in fact, most of the upper class in the country are Germans or Germanized Latvians, and the residents are mainly Latvians), but this does not affect his good impression of them. Zheng Yong, who had contacted Grand Duke Jacob, was very friendly to them and expressed his appreciation for the Principality of Courland's abandoning its colonization in Tobago and following his suggestion to enter the Congo River Basin on a large scale.Of course, perhaps what Zheng Yong is most satisfied with the Courlandians is their great "record" in selling goods from the east coast. Together with the Principality of Prussia, they sold a large number of goods from the east coast wholesaled by the Riga trading station to Poland, providing Riga The development of the business station has made a huge contribution.For such an excellent second-level agent, how could Zheng Yong be so stingy with a smile?

Zheng Yong also agreed in principle to the other party's proposal to open a shop in Wendao.Of course, this needs Mo San’s approval first, but Zheng Yong doesn’t think Mo San will refuse. Strengthen strong competitors.Otherwise, why do you think the Swedes invaded the Principality of Courland during the First Great Northern War?Isn't it because of the fierce commercial competition between Wendau and Riga (at that time Riga was the second largest city under the rule of the Kingdom of Sweden and the largest commercial city, which had a huge impact on Sweden's poor financial revenue)? !

Therefore, Zheng Yong was very happy for the warm invitation from the Latvians, and he agreed.And in order to show goodwill, he also ordered two three-masted sailing ships from the shipyard in Windau to enhance the efficiency of material transfer between merchant stations on the east coast of Europe.Don't doubt whether Wendao has the strength to build ships. In fact, as early as 1645, Wendao, an inland river port (located on the banks of the Venta River, has good conditions, is not frozen all year round, and has a large area of ​​high-quality forest in the hinterland). The shipyard has manufactured a large number of ocean-going merchant ships for the Principality of Courland, conservatively estimated to be more than a dozen, and this is obviously a prerequisite for this small country to sail to the Caribbean Sea for colonization - a strong shipbuilding industry.

Grand Duke Jacob, grandson of the last Grand Master of the Livonian Order, and ruler of the Duchy of Courland was too shrewd and commercially gifted to take advantage of the country's freedom from war throughout the first half of the 17th century. The opportunistic time for the invasion was to constantly recruit shipbuilding talents from Western European countries and vigorously develop the shipbuilding industry. Therefore, by the end of the Thirty Years War, the country already had a strong shipbuilding capability, capable of manufacturing large merchant ships and warships at the same time, and its technology was stronger than that of the huge Moscow The Principality and the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania are even stronger.

Moreover, under the escort of the naval fleet, the country's merchant fleet exported large pine masts, ship boards, wood tar and other ships to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and even Venice. Got rich.Later, Grand Duke Jacob also vigorously supported the development of the glass manufacturing industry and the iron casting industry, and achieved considerable results-of course, the latter seems to have Dutch capital, and the main investor is the De Haier family.

Such an "interesting country" has a friendly attitude towards the east coast, and most of its citizens have no religious beliefs (the upper class believes in Protestantism). Naturally, people from the east coast can and must make great efforts to make friends.Because of this, Zheng Yong treated them very kindly, not only ordered two ships, but also promised to go to Wendao to open a merchant station, so as to reduce their cost of reselling goods on the east coast - after all, if you buy goods from Riga, you have to Pay the Swedes an extra tariff.

The De Haier family who came to Riga on behalf of the Tripp firm did not meet the Latvians, but they were involved in a certain topic they discussed with Zheng Yong.

"The Swedes are expanding their armies, preparing for war, and hoarding military supplies. Although our business has invested a lot in Sweden, we must still focus on the interests of the Netherlands at this time, because this is one. Your country has quite a lot in Courland, Prussia, and the Duchy of Moscow. Influential, do you intend to intervene in some possible changes in the current situation in the Baltic Sea at any time?" De Haier raised such a question as soon as they met, which surprised Zheng Yong, are you here for business or diplomacy? ?

"Where is the goal of the Swedes? Poland?" Zheng Yong wondered.In fact, it can only be Poland. The grievances between the Polish king and the Swedish king, coupled with Sweden's determination to control the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, all seem to indicate that a war will break out between these two countries.

"The Federal Republic doesn't want a more powerful country in the Baltic Sea." De Haier's words have been very straightforward, and they almost said that they will not allow Sweden to control more territory, because it will boost their ambitions. would push them out of Dutch economic slavery more quickly.

"But what does this have to do with our country?" Zheng Yong asked a little puzzled, "Our government has no interests in Poland, and it doesn't care about the fate of the Kingdom of Poland. It's a bit absurd to ask our country to maintain the same position as the Federal Republic. It is not in the national interest of our country to make things difficult for others.”

"The Swedes also have territorial ambitions for Courland and Prussia, which will cause your country to lose a considerable part of its commercial interests." In desperation, De Haer could only tell the secret information he had found out, which is actually not much of a secret. Yes, because anyone with a discerning eye knows that Sweden has long regarded the port of Wendau as a thorn in its side, and they want to get rid of it quickly-it is not surprising that they invaded the Principality of Courland.

"But this is not enough to make our government and the Kingdom of Sweden turn against each other. You must know that this is a very powerful country that can determine the fate of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea provides half of your country's trade profits, but it only accounts for one tenth of our country. There is absolutely no need for our country to do this, because the Swedes may not change the current business order." Zheng Yong looked at De Haier's face and said.

De Haier was a little silent when he heard the words, and said after a long while: "You have your reasons, I can understand. However, I just want to get a promise from you, that is, not to sell any military funds to the Kingdom of Sweden. This promise is valid for How about five years?"

"This is not an ordinary promise." Zheng Yong laughed. "In fact, based on the close relationship between your country and ours, we are happy to help your country, but what can we get? You know, the Swedes can easily dispatch 3 -4 troops, that's a lot of business."

"As long as you keep your promise, after five years, no matter what the situation is, our country will open the market of the Principality of Brandenburg-Prussia, and merchants from your country will enjoy the same rights as Dutch merchants here." De Haier seems to have long thought Well, what should I say, so I spoke.

The Principality of Brandenburg-Prussia was still an economic colony of the Netherlands at this time, and the Dutch have always been very strict. They are willing to open up to the east coast, which indeed shows some sincerity.However, it is debatable whether it is worthwhile for people on the east coast to refuse to export military resources to Sweden-although the arms market in Sweden has never reached people on the east coast.

Furthermore, when the Dutch said that they would let go of the Brandenburg-Prussian market, they were actually playing tricks.Although the Gein-Hohenzollern family inherited the throne of the Principality of Prussia, this principality is currently a subsidiary state of Poland and has never been independent. The Hohenzollern family is only the owner of this place in name.What's more, this principality is now a market for people on the east coast. The promise of the Dutch is too watery.

"What you said is a bit interesting, but I still need to discuss it with Special Envoy Mo San." Zheng Yong decided to use the procrastination tactic, and finally he couldn't help asking: "Is the situation really serious? The Swedes are like this Can't wait to go to war?"

"The workshop of Tripp Firm has received a lot of orders, mostly for gun manufacturing, armor forging, gunpowder configuration and other businesses, so what do you think?" De Haier asked without answering.

Zheng Yong pondered quietly, then smiled wryly: "Maybe I should make some preparations in advance."

At this moment, he thought of Grand Duke Jacob of the Principality of Courland.

(End of this chapter)