Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1096 Camp ([-])

"The medicine on the East Coast is really advanced! It's much better than the United Provinces!" After taking some aspirin, Van Boyningen felt much better, and he was no longer dizzy like yesterday, which made him interested in talking : "Let's go for a walk, Mr. Couette, I heard that the outskirts of Qingdao Port are very beautiful, especially the area around Green Mountain. You have chosen a good place."

"Yes, this is an investment that I am very satisfied with." Mr. Couette smiled smugly, and said, "I think back then, the land outside Qingdao Port was quite cheap, and there were forests, rivers and grasslands everywhere. It only took [-] dong to complete all the procedures, and then this large homestead was included in the bag. Haha, you have also seen that now there are neat farmlands, well-maintained vegetable gardens, The orchards are dotted around, and even the small river is full of wild flowers, which is really beautiful. I like this place very much, it is comfortable, quiet but full of life, just like this country on the east coast..."

"That's right." Van Beuningen looked up at the windmills, vineyards and farmhouses shrouded in mist in the distance, and sniffed the faint scent of flowers in the wind—it seemed to be the east wind. The sweet-scented osmanthus tree introduced by the people from the Far East——then wrapped the leather coat around him and said: "Mr. It is very admirable to stick to your own beliefs and principles. In your opinion, is the country on the east coast a threat to the United Provinces? If the three-level parliament intends to cooperate more deeply with this country, in the long run In terms of profit, is there any benefit?"

"As the first plenipotentiary envoy of the United Provinces to the East Coast, Mr. Van Beuningen, I can tell you responsibly that cooperation with the East Coast will only bring more benefits to the United Provinces in the short and long term. benefits.” Couette resolutely said: “Please do not doubt, this is my advice as a lowlander, a Christian, and an old man with deep feelings for the United Provinces. The East Coast and the United Provinces are very complementary. Strong, they need the channels and markets of the United Provinces, and the United Provinces need their products to compete with the British. In fact, the three-level parliament in The Hague has already had a bill in this regard? Those big shots must have carefully weighed the pros and cons , Speaker De Witt should not object, maybe the Orange faction will be a little dissatisfied, but it's not a big problem. Well, as a person who has left the United Provinces, I shouldn't say so much, Mr. van Boyningen , just follow the instructions given to you by the three-level council, there will be no mistakes."

"Perhaps what you said is right." Van Boyningen smiled and said, "Now the East India Company has also changed its attitude towards the east coast. The four ports of Dongfang, Luocha, Qingdao, and Yancheng are docked. Anyway, the ships to the Far East are generally empty. It is indeed a good choice to purchase some cheap and high-quality goods on the east coast here. Our ports in the East Indies, India and other places Heshang Station needs these things very much.”

Van Beuningen first rested at home for a period of time after returning from his mission to Sweden without success. Later, due to his close relationship with people on the east coast, he was recommended by Speaker De Witt as the first ambassador of the United Provinces to the east coast, and received a third-level award. Parliamentary approval.The exchange of ambassadors with the east coast of the pagan country is probably the boldest move the United Provinces have made over the years. It is especially important, because now the captains of the Dutch East India Company like to purchase a lot of commodities that seem to be able to sell at a high price on the east coast from Amsterdam, and then ship them to these ports for sale; They will also purchase a large amount of weapons and ammunition, metal agricultural tools, food, wine, dyed cloth, high-grade textiles, medicines and other goods on the east coast, which are all urgently needed by the Far East colonies.

Obviously, this trade method has great benefits for both the East Bank and the East India Company: the East Bank gets the goods delivered to the door by others, eliminating the need for transportation, and the Dutch captains can arrange goods before departure. Utilize the slightly empty cabin, and transport goods from the old continent to the east coast for sale (even people can be transported if necessary). As for the materials urgently needed by the Far East colonies, they can be purchased locally on the east coast, which is not only cheap but also close —To hell with those Brits, think that without Birmingham muskets we can only buy high-priced goods from Lübeck?No, we can also buy East Coast muskets, which are cheaper and last longer!

In addition, the Netherlands has officially opened its ports in Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula and the East Indies to the east coast, and ships on the east coast can call freely (if they want to trade, they must be approved), which even includes The famous Batavia and Malacca.At present, the Second Fleet of the East Coast Navy has planned to organize several ships to conduct an exploratory voyage. The specific route is New China-Persia-Malacca-China. Let's see how it works.

"I heard that the British are very popular recently, and the Spaniards' Windward Fleet was mobilized urgently. Unfortunately, in the battle of Santo Domingo, the Spaniards sank three warships and damaged one, and lost the battle since then. The courage. The captains from the Caribbean are all crazy, saying how incompetent and vulnerable the Spaniards are. Everyone is arguing whether to go to New Spain to grab one. I hope Tobago Island under the United Provinces will strengthen its vigilance. Now, merchant ships from the east coast and the United Provinces are going to pass through here, so don’t let those sea bastards take it.” Couette seemed to have thought of something, and immediately said: “The British are so arrogant now, they can’t be contained. Are they?"

"The United Provinces have just signed a peace agreement with them, and the war will not resume in a short time, and if it is only for the Spanish colonies, the United Provinces will not go to war with Britain. Now we should worry more about France and the United Kingdom. Portugal, especially the Portuguese, organized a large number of troops to attack Recife since last year, and the West India Company had to spend a lot of money to hire soldiers from the Old Continent to help in the battle, which was too expensive." Van Boyningen sighed , Then said: "Fortunately, a group of fleets were organized to go to the mouth of the Tejo River. The Portuguese were a little afraid. Although they were still reluctant to bear Recife, they agreed to a temporary ceasefire and discussed the ownership of Recife in a peaceful way. It sounds like something It has been resolved, but this is only temporary, once the international situation changes, the Portuguese may turn their backs at any time, can people from the east coast help in this matter?"

"That's the only way to go. The directors of the West India Company are afraid of spending money, but the ambition of the Portuguese cannot be extinguished by preaching alone. It is very difficult. Besides, the land was originally occupied by them. Except for 'Boole' from the lowlands, almost all Portuguese-speaking guys. There are more than [-] Portuguese Catholics in Brazil, and hundreds of thousands of bastards. This is a huge force and must be handled with caution. Speaking of this, Captain Couette hesitated for a while, and finally said: "The people on the east coast have just acquired the vast Patagonia area, which is enough for them to digest for a long time. Moreover, they have already obtained benefits from the Portuguese." , They have neither motivation nor willingness to participate in this matter in a short period of time."

Captain Couette said so, and Van Boyningen was also a little silent.After all, this person has emigrated to the East Coast, and it is impossible to waste his favor for the affairs of the United Provinces. Van Boyningen naturally knows that this person has friendship with many high-level (or former) high-level people on the East Coast. At that time, he made it clear that he would not interfere with these matters anymore, and he had nothing to say, after all, he was already a native of the East Coast, and he had to rely on himself for everything.

Fortunately, the Portuguese are currently in trouble, and they should not tear up the armistice agreement in the short term (of course, this armistice agreement is limited to Europe and Brazil. As for India and Ceylon, the war is still going on, and the Dutch East India Company has the upper hand) Well, the only thing the United Provinces should worry about is the Portuguese and the British who are getting closer at this stage, right?Although there are still many differences between the two countries, such as the issue of the Portuguese asylum to the royalists, it is not a problem at all under the general situation-don’t think that there are no royalists in the country under the rule of Cromwell , they would help mediate tensions between the republicans in power and the Portuguese, and explore the possibility of a coalition.

"Perhaps the British are really the destined enemies of the United Provinces." Thinking of this, Van Boyningen made a decision. He planned to immediately ask the foreign minister of the East Coast to tell him the news he had just received. For the east coast, it is not good news-that is, the British have landed in South Africa.

The news came from the Colonial Governor of the East India Company in Cape Town. The news is very simple, that is, an exploration team from Cape Town found hundreds of English soldiers near the mouth of the Brie River they named it. Men were building forts and forts.The British spotted the expedition and strangely did not attack, they merely warned the Dutch not to invade their territory.The Dutch exploration team, numbering only a few dozen, retreated sensibly, but quickly reported the news to the governor, and the governor also wrote a letter to Van Boiningen in Dongfang Port, and handed it over to the nearest A merchant ship departed and sent it over.

"People on the east coast may be very interested in this news. In this way, perhaps there will be more common languages ​​between our two countries. In addition, the Spaniards are also suffering from countries such as Britain, France and Portugal. If possible , will it be possible to pull them into this camp in the future?" Van Beuningen thought, and then immediately wrote a letter, preparing to have his servants deliver it to the East Coast Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(End of this chapter)