Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1363 Preparation in advance

May 1664, 5, sunny, Oriental Port.

Just as the naval formation of the China East Coast Republic headed by the battleship "East Coast Man" quietly returned to the mainland, the United Provinces ambassador to the East Coast, Konrad van Boiningen, was also in the luxurious private room of the Oriental Hotel. Mr. Mo San, executive member and foreign minister, had dinner together.

Dinner was a typical East Coast way of eating, and Van Boyningen skillfully ate all kinds of delicious food with chopsticks.To be honest, after living on the east coast for so many years, he now feels more and more that the country on the east coast is not only advanced in technology and system, but even their culture is much more advanced than that of the United Provinces.Let's just talk about eating. Everyone sitting in the private room is eating with white ivory chopsticks. Compared with Europe, they can only use knives to cut crude food at this time (the Austrian court even eats with their hands. It is unimaginable), how convenient and civilized this is, so Van Beuningen is now more and more used to sitting under bright gas lamps, eating exquisitely cooked food with ivory chopsticks and porcelain plates.

"Conrad, you said you want to sign a supply contract with us first? Although we don't have enough such ordnance in our current arsenal, this is not a problem in my opinion, and we will be able to get them soon. It was produced and shipped away, more than 300 cannons are really not a big number.” Mr. Mo San put down the wine glass in his hand, wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, and said with a smile: “Of course the price is also very fair, no What harm will you suffer, after all, in the case of dealing with aggressive Englishmen, your two countries still have a common language."

Of course Mo San has this confidence. Today, when the "Blacksmith" series hydraulic presses are more and more widely used, it is not a big job to process some 12-pound and 8-pound gun barrels, even if the Dutch want the guns with a larger diameter ratio. It’s okay to be taller. In the eyes of manual gunsmiths, it is difficult to reach the sky, and the scrap rate is extremely high. In the high-diameter-ratio cannon barrel casting process, the East Coast Armory, which has hydraulic press forging and processing, not only has extremely stable quality, but also The processing output is also very high.It can be said that in terms of artillery production, the people on the east coast have left all countries in the world far behind.

The handsome Polish waitress re-opened a bottle of Xianghe wine imported from South Africa and poured Mo San a small glass.Mo San took it lightly, looked at the United Provinces Ambassador Van Boyningen who was sitting opposite him, and said, "I can promise you the issue of artillery sales right now. However, wars—especially naval wars—are not just Enough artillery can solve the problem, canvas, cables, wooden barrels, skins, gunpowder, shells, etc., everything is needed. After all, war is a big consumption. The production capacity of the British in this area It is still very strong, more than half of the armament of your country's naval fleet is procured in the 'Black Country' industrial area in Birmingham, this is very problematic..."

Van Boyningen knew that what Mo San said was true, but he had already purchased a certain amount of artillery in advance (this was also under risk and pressure). If he spent a lot of money to purchase the rest of the things, this responsibility would not be light It can be solved by writing a letter to Speaker DeWitt. After all, there is no actual war between the United Kingdom and the United Provinces, and the leaders of the three-tier parliaments don't really want to fight, do they?

Therefore, he could only say helplessly: "I haven't got enough authorization in this regard yet. Buying 1000 artillery pieces in advance is the limit I can do. Although I think this war will inevitably break out, we still have to We cannot ignore the fact that it has not really broken out. All I can say now is that I can make an agreement with you in advance. Once the news of the outbreak of the war reaches Dongfang Port and I confirm it, I will immediately sign a joint agreement with all enterprises in your country. A contract covering all aspects of arms, food, boats, daily necessities, machinery and equipment, various parts, oil lamps, the contract period is not less than five years, and the total amount can reach up to [-] million dong. This is very important for the business community of your country A very good opportunity, the war with the English ten years ago led to the great development of the handicraft industry in Germany, while the textile industry in Leiden was hit hard at that time."

Mo San nodded slightly when he heard the words. Regarding the five-year super supply contract, Van Boyningen had a rough chat during the brief meeting the day before yesterday, and later he also read the detailed information submitted by the secretary.Good guy, I really don't know if I don't look at it, I was shocked when I saw it!The Dutch purchased hundreds of commodities, including wine, cheese, butter, high-grade flour, dried fruit, salted fish, etc., which was enough to usher in a rare development for the food industry on the east coast, which had been difficult to go abroad for many years. Opportunities; as for traditional large exporters such as mechanical equipment, parts, cloth, hardware, and ammunition, as well as cutting-edge medicines such as essential oils, active oils, cooling oils, and wind-dispelling oils (only used in summer...), they It is also true to buy, it is simply a "explosive buyer" in the 17th century. The officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Trade were overjoyed when they saw it. They wished to ask the Dutch to execute the contract now so that they can enjoy it immediately. Make money for fun.

"Conrad, what does your country think of South Africa?" After eating a few mouthfuls of the famous east coast dish, beef stew with potatoes, Mo San asked Van Boyningen: "As you know, the Chinese government has always been very concerned about this place. .If war breaks out—I mean if—does your country have any plans for military operations in South Africa?"

Mo San asked Van Beuningen for a reason. To put it simply, people on the east coast did not want the British East India Company’s territory in South Africa to be annexed by the Netherlands, because it would strengthen the strength of the Dutch Cape Colony.If possible, the people on the east bank still want to take over the land by themselves. As for how to take over, there are many ways. You can buy it with money, exchange it with land, or even blackmail it. It all depends on how you operate in a timely manner. How is the grasp of the opportunity? For example, in Mo San's view, the people on the east coast can exchange the New Netherlands with the British for the South African colony.What?You said that New Netherland is still the nominal land of the Dutch West India Company?Well, it won't be soon. With the weak armed forces and manpower of the Dutch there, they can resist more than the British attack.

And if the British want to deal with the New Netherland smoothly, they cannot avoid the government of the East Coast Republic of China, which has the right of first purchase to this land.In other words, if they want to swallow the New Netherlands, they must first make the people on the east coast renounce their right of first refusal to this place, and this is obviously not enough without paying some benefits-South Africa (if it is already in danger at that time) words) is a very good condition to persuade people on the east coast to agree to give up the right of first refusal.

Of course, some people may say that there are only [-] white people in New Netherland, and the economy is mainly based on trade with the natives. There is not much cultivated land, and the logging and fishing industries have just started. It seems that it is not as important as the South African colony at all.Yes, this is true. In fact, in the eyes of the British, New Netherland is not only less important than the South African colony, but even less important than Guyana.Otherwise, after the failure of the second Anglo-Dutch war in history, they would not cede the entire Guyana that had been occupied by themselves to the Netherlands in exchange for the right to rule the New Netherlands.You know, in the eyes of the countries at that time, the value of Guyana, which can produce sugar and high-quality tropical timber, was much higher than that of New Netherland. Otherwise, the Dutch would not force the British to agree to exchange Guyana for New Netherland. Lan.

However, once this happens (that is, the East India Companies of the two countries in South Africa are safe and sound), then the people on the east coast will definitely find a way to exercise the right of first refusal to New Netherland in time, requiring the actual control of the place to The land jurisdiction is handed over to the East Coast Republic of China, or they will intervene in the war.Things have evolved to this point, and Mo San doesn't believe that the British guy can't make a wise choice.And once the people on the east coast successfully obtained the British South African colony, a situation of confrontation between the Dutch Cape Town colony would be formed, and it would not be a luxury to wait for the right time to take all of South Africa in the future.

Of course, Van Boyningen understood what Mo San asked about South Africa.From the bottom of his heart, he is actually unwilling to see British South Africa being annexed by the people on the east coast, because then the advantage of this pagan country in South Africa will be too great (they obviously don’t know that the people on the east coast are The development of the Nghe Seng area) poses a major threat to the Dutch East India Company, so he can only say vaguely: "Since the war between the two countries has not yet broken out, I cannot comment on it. Governor Van Riebeck is a I have heard about this shrewd and capable person from time to time in Amsterdam, and I believe that with him in Cape Town, he will handle South Africa’s affairs carefully.”

What Van Beuningen said was actually telling the people on the east bank euphemistically that the affairs of South Africa have nothing to do with you, and you'd better not try to intervene.Governor Van Riebeck is a sensible person who assesses the situation. He knows what to do to best serve the interests of the United Provinces and the East India Company. You should stop messing around, otherwise it may arouse collective hostility from everyone.

Mo San smiled slightly when he heard this, and then found an excuse to change the topic to another place. He had already tested the other party's cards.Although the Dutch asked for help from the east coast due to the possible outbreak of war, it does not mean that they can give in without principle and blindly meet the demands of the people on the east coast. For example, they do not want to see the east coast take the British colonies.And if that happens, God knows what the Dutch will do!

However, for the people on the east coast, taking all of South Africa has always been a basic national policy, and they are also determined to win the British South African colony. Therefore, no matter how the future situation develops, in this matter, the people on the east coast will definitely disrupt the situation—— All countries have their own interests, so differences are inevitable. Even the best allies cannot have conflicts of interest. Then it will be nothing more than to look at their own means.

After the sumptuous dinner finally ended at [-]:[-] p.m., the preoccupied Van Boyningen returned to the United Provinces embassy in a carriage. He still felt very confused about the future situation. What Admiral Michel Adrianson de Ruyter will do, of course he does not know that this sea veteran who was ordered to "warn" the English a little bit will instead lead the fleet to attack the British. Said the extremely important colony of Barbados, and this will undoubtedly further escalate the already tense situation between the two countries.

However, Mo San did not leave the Oriental Hotel immediately after Van Boyningen left. Instead, he called his assistants and entourages in and held a brief meeting, focusing on the evolution of the international situation in the next stage and the British government. , the Netherlands and the possible decision-making.Encouraged by Mo San, everyone spoke one after another, and the atmosphere was extremely enthusiastic for a while, and all the discussions that were considered valuable and insightful were also required to be recorded one by one, and then they would conduct in-depth joint discussions with the National Intelligence Agency to give The members of the executive committee provide a basis for making decisions-poor Portuguese, this will not be the focus of the diplomatic work of the East Coast Republic of China in the next stage. As for when a peace agreement will be reached, only Tianzun will know.

On May 1664, 5, with the approval of Prime Minister Tao Chenxi, Wang Huadu led a group of technicians from the East Coast Gas Company to enter major domestic manufacturers and install gas lamp systems for them.And this undoubtedly means that the people on the east coast have made sufficient preparations for the market opportunities brought about by the possible outbreak of the Anglo-Dutch war in the future.

(End of this chapter)