Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1378

It's getting to the season of warm spring and flowers blooming. A merchant ship from New China slowly berthed at the commercial pier of Dongfang Port. Samir Yusuf, wearing a traditional Turkish felt hat, was supported by his servants. He sat down on a row of stone chairs on the pier lightly, feeling dizzy.

Yousuf, who was born as a landlubber, could not stand the long-distance turbulence at sea. During the journey from Xinhuaxia Island to the east coast, he spent most of his time lying in a hammock in the bilge of the ship. Without him, he was too seasick.And when he finally got used to the seasickness a little bit, he arrived at his destination, and in the end he tragically got landsick again—landland ducks in mainland countries are so "frustrated", and the east coast fishermen, sailors, The naval officers and soldiers looked at the big stupid man with a smile, pointing their hands, not knowing what he was talking about.

The diplomats from the East Coast who accompanied Ambassador Yusuf had returned from the Port Authority at the pier. The officials from the Port Authority who arrived at the same time gently asked Samir Yousuf a few words. After responding, he sighed helplessly, asked his subordinates to get a carriage, and planned to send them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first.

The brisk and steady four-wheeled carriage drove on the asphalt road, which is rarely seen in China, and soon arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building located in the middle of August Avenue. The Ottomans were tossed into the Oriental Hotel with relatively luxurious facilities, and then they were told that Minister Mo San was very interested in them, and planned to take time to meet the Ottomans in the next two days.

In other words, since Hassan (who has died in political strife for many years) visited the East Bank, it has been many years since the official envoys of the Ottoman Empire have come to the New World, and even businessmen are rarely seen, because They seem to lack large ocean-going vessels, nor the tradition of traveling across oceans to do business.

This time, the Ottoman Empire official named Samir Yusuf was ordered to come to the east bank, which really had a hint of ice-breaking journey after many years, so Mo San also attached great importance to it.After all, the current Ottoman Empire is the largest trading partner of the East China Republic, and the annual import and export trade volume is extremely huge. In addition, the East Bank has operated the Black Sea and White Sea regions for many years, and its business partners are all over Ottoman and Crimea. Although the partners have lost a lot after being swayed, there are still some on the stage. Generally speaking, it is an area with relatively high investment costs.

This time, Samir Yusuf was sent to the east bank by the new Grand Vizier Ahmed (son of Koprulu) of the Ottoman Empire. Mo San was very happy, because it meant that the Ottomans were When encountering difficulties, the first thing that comes to mind habitually is the East Coast Republic of China, and that is enough—what is influence, this is influence!

As for the purpose of the Ottomans' visit this time, in fact, Mo San basically had a general understanding after communicating with other officials in the ministry.To put it simply, the Ottoman Empire has gradually been unable to play against Austria, which has grown rapidly in military power over the past ten years. In the army no longer has an overwhelming advantage.On the contrary, with the intensification of the cleaning of the imperial army in recent years and the execution of a large number of experienced officers, the combat effectiveness of the Ottoman army has dropped to a rare low ebb over the years. It can be seen from the interception that the attack is really weak.

Moreover, new military theories in the West have emerged one after another, and army building is gradually on the right track—this is especially evident in the French army. Various military engineering, military logistics, and new training methods have begun to be promoted throughout the army—and this is obviously It is the biggest secret of their long-lasting fighting power.As one of the most powerful countries in Central Europe, although the army construction of the Kingdom of Austria is not as good as that of France, it has been affected to some extent, and its tactical thinking is also relatively advanced. Therefore, in recent years, the gap with the Ottoman army has rapidly narrowed. Under such circumstances, they were no longer at a disadvantage, and even faintly had the upper hand, which shocked and frightened the Ottomans, so there was a cross-sea visit by Samir Yusuf, a trusted confidant of Daweiqi.They wanted to see the people on the east coast to see if there were any "weapons" that could restrain the military power of the West.

"Last year (1663), Ottoman Turkey's new grand vizier Ahmed Pasha took office. The first thing he did was to lead the army and attack Austria, because they had been fighting in Hungary, Transylvania The competition in the area of ​​​​Nia is very fierce, and small-scale wars often break out. In the border areas between the two countries, such as Serbia and other places, mutual border plundering wars are staged every few days, and both sides have accumulated enough hatred , A big battle is already in place.” Before Mo San set off to meet Samir Yusuf in the meeting room, he took the time to sort out the materials and looked at the things summarized by the National Intelligence Agency: “Osman assembled They gathered more than [-] troops and confidently planned to march on Vienna. As a result, in Austrian Hungary, their actions were not smooth. The Hungarians resisted tenaciously. Ahmed Pasha had to postpone the march to Vienna until the next year. Of course, this is only his imagination. We believe that the Ottoman army’s lack of ability to attack fortifications, as well as the tenacious fighting of the Hungarians and Austrians, they did not have the slightest Chances of winning. Maybe the Ottomans also know this, so they will come to the east bank to ask for help. Of course, they should not have too much hope for this, after all, the long-distance water cannot quench the near-thirst..."

"Which analysis room summed up this information, it's quite in place, you must tell the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs when you go back, and reward it." Mo San thought while walking: "But let's talk about our country's intelligence in the Ottoman Empire The collection ability is quite strong. After all, the business stations are located in major cities, and the business and political connections are also very deep, which makes it much easier to collect information. In contrast, in France, England, and the Spanish court, we hardly have any Relationship, a lot of information even has to be obtained from the Italians and the Dutch, it is not as good as the Russian court! After all, in Moscow, our outstanding officials from the State Intelligence Bureau are still teaching mathematics to the tsar’s prince..."

The meeting room is at the end of the corridor. Samir Yusuf, who had barely recovered, and his group of six immediately stepped forward to salute Mo San. Mo San smiled and waved his hands, asking everyone to sit down together. Served with fragrant Tacheng coffee.

"Yousuf Pasha, it is a pity to hear that your country banned coffee shops last year. Coffee is a wonderful thing that should be enjoyed every day. The officials of our country's Xinhua Island complained to me last time , said that there is a large backlog of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans in the Port of Suez, and everyone’s losses are huge. Oh, you are really reckless..." Mo San, who had been in the Ottoman Empire for a long time, first used the skilled Turkish He half-truthfully complained about the East Coast coffee industry, and then said with a smile: "Fasher Ahmad Daweizi is an ambitious person, I appreciate it, but his approach is a bit eager. The Austrians have been recuperating for many years. Over the years, they have been reorganizing the army, improving equipment, and absorbing advanced military technology and ideas. Therefore, the combat effectiveness of the troops has improved rapidly, and this is obviously why they dare to intervene in Transylvania The root cause of the chaos in Nigeria and Hungary. Of course, your country’s nearly [-] troops were attracted to the Crete battlefield, which is also one of the reasons why they are ready to move.”

In fact, there is one more thing that Mo San didn’t say. The endless coups and turbulent and bloody purges in the Ottoman court are also one of the important reasons why Catholics became more courageous.A large number of experienced officers and soldiers were either executed or killed in the rebellion (there were many rebellions in the Koprulu era...), or they were simply exiled overseas (mainly on the east coast). depressed?Giving them even the best weapons is not enough!I think Kara Muradaga, Bektashiaga and others who were the first to come into contact with the weapons of the East Bank and who had a close relationship with the people of the East Bank, have all been executed successively. The people on the east coast who have invested a lot of capital on them can only cry without tears, and at the same time mourn the declining army morale of the Ottoman Empire.

In fact, not only the soldiers, but also the cleansing and killing of the political and business circles are going on. Mo San knows this best, because last year alone, more than a thousand Ottoman officials, businessmen, artists and their families passed through Egypt to New China. Came to settle on the east coast.And this has almost become an unwritten rule in Ottoman political strife, that is, those implicated with minor crimes can go into exile abroad, but they cannot return to the Ottoman Empire.After all, the winners on the stage today cannot guarantee that they and their families will not be liquidated in a few years. The Ottomans also understand the principle of forgiving and forgiving—of course important members of groups that have lost political struggles and their Families are not lucky.

Samir Yusuf Pasha is such an upstart who rose up after the second Salari rebellion. He first followed Grand Vizier Koprulu, and now he is the son of Koprulu and the new Vizier Fasher Al. Ahmad's men, this visit to the East Bank, this guy can be sent as a special envoy, which is enough to show his weight.

"The cafe was always crowded with conspiratorial soldiers, so it was closed by the order of the Grand Vizier. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, Ghani who tried to restore the 'Dark Sultan of Agha' era The soldiers of the Shari Legion, the Sultan and the Grand Vizier have been very vigilant." Samir Yusuf heard Mo San's complaint and immediately explained: "As for the backlog of coffee in the Port of Suez by businessmen from your country, we will find a way to pay the full amount. Pasha, you can rest assured."

Mo San, who was honored as "Pasha" by the Ottomans, was a little bit dumbfounded. He waved his hand, changed the subject and said, "Yousuf Pasha, let's start the topic directly. What kind of mission does the East Bank shoulder? Please rest assured that the China East Bank Republic has always been an old friend of the Ottoman people. As long as your country’s request is reasonable, we will do our best to help. "

Samir Yusuf was still hesitating how to speak before, but now Mo San asked, and he was not pretentious at the moment, and immediately said: "Ahmed Vizier led an army to attack Austria last year and planned to occupy Vienna. , to wipe out these despicable people who are always planning plots and riots in Hungary and Transylvania. But in action, we found that our enemies always rely on a large number of forts, fortresses and other natural barriers (such as rivers) Blocked and consumed us, and seldom engaged in dignified battles with us, which made our progress very slow, and the consumption of materials and personnel was also very high. And because of the long delay, the soldiers were exhausted and the army The epidemic is rampant, the fear of war is very high (the Austrians are comfortably hiding in the fortress for defensive warfare...), and they were attacked several times by the enemy rushing out of the fortress, and the casualties were not small. Therefore, we urgently need expensive The country provides some heavy weapons capable of breaking down the enemy's fortress, so that we can find out the gang of mice hiding in the hole one by one."

The other party's answer was not what Mo San expected, so after asking a certain officer beside him pretendingly, he turned to Samir Yousuf and said, "Unfortunately, Yusuf Pasha .Although we can indeed provide some heavy siege guns to your country, these guns are not bad against ordinary city walls. If they are against the solid masonry fortresses built by the Upper Austrians, they have limited effect. Against those so-called fortresses, we My suggestion is to siege with heavy troops. Anyway, your army is often several times the size of the Austrians. There is really no good way. Of course, if you need it, we will of course provide some long-barreled heavy artillery to your country, large-caliber short-barreled mortars Cannons are also available, and the price is also negotiable. However, the method of payment for the goods..."

Samir Yousuf was frowning when he heard that, when he heard Mo San talking about the payment, he immediately said: "The payment method is barter, to be precise, exchanging slaves for your country's weapons, how about it? Our army captured a large number of slaves and prisoners of the Austrian army in Hungary, and they have all been sent to Belgrade. If you need them, we will transfer these people to the coastal city, and then wait for ships from your country to come and ship them."

"It's this again." Mo San lamented in his heart. This Ottoman is really poor. He can't afford enough cash to buy things every time. He always likes to stuff "bad things" to the east bank. In exchange for a lot of industrial products.It is estimated that they can’t change it. Who made their finances a mess? Even the currency they minted is not recognized by the people, resulting in a large number of foreign currencies such as the Venetian Ducat (and now the East Coast Dollar) are rampant in the market, and a large amount of power is spilled , This method of managing the country's finances is too rough.

However, the East Bank is now entering a critical period of production capacity expansion, and the executive committee has just approved Zheng Yong's request to suspend the reduction of slave import quotas, so the Ottomans proposed to exchange captives for weapons, so let's do it!As for the warnings of the Austrians and the resentment of the Hungarians, what is that?What's more, they may not be able to do anything, not every country's rulers are as incomprehensible as Poland, and that country has not even "forgiven" the behavior of importing Polish prisoners of war on the east bank.

After seeing Mo San nodding in agreement, Samir Yousuf let out a long sigh of relief. His errand was finally finished, and he would definitely be praised by Grand Vizier Ahmed when he returned. It can completely shut up a group of people in the court who are jealous of their own speed.

After the two main officials agreed on the principled issues, the following is the details of the discussion between the two attachés.This process is not very long, because this transaction is relatively simple, mainly muskets, cannons, military water bottles, bandages, ammunition bags, saddlery, armor, sabers, riding spears, hand-throwing bombs, heavy cargo carriages, medicines, etc. The materials and quantities are also clear, and the discussion will be completed in a short time. It is nothing more than arguing about the price of the goods-in a relatively friendly atmosphere between the two parties, this is actually not a big problem.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the matter has basically been discussed. After intense calculations, the attachés of both sides found that according to the number of slaves provided by the Ottomans and the price determined by the two parties, there was still a difference of about 5 to 5 yuan. May not be able to pay.In this regard, Minister Mo San laughed, and asked in a tentative tone that due to the strong winds and waves in the northern Indian Ocean in summer, merchant ships on the east coast urgently need a place to rest and replenish before entering the Red Sea, so whether it is possible to sell Djibouti as a whole to For the East Coast Republic of China, the final payment of [-] to [-] yuan will be ignored.

It is said that there is not a single Ottoman in Djibouti. Except that they occasionally send some troops to declare their military prestige and sovereignty, the local native sultans are basically in a state of autonomy.In other words, the rule of the Ottomans here is looser than that of the Arabian Peninsula. It is basically in a state of laissez-faire, and it is said that its nominal territory is a bit too much.But who makes the relationship between the East Bank and Ottoman good? If you occupy this place without saying hello, it will inevitably affect the relationship between the two countries (although the possibility is not very great). This time there is such an opportunity, so Mo San will mention it. If it comes out, it means that the payment of tens of thousands of yuan is not needed. The Ottoman Empire can give this arid land to the east bank. Anyway, you have never ruled seriously.

Samir Yusuf also recalled for a long time before he remembered where Djibouti was, and then he directly agreed to the request of the people on the east bank. It is estimated that he was still laughing at the stupidity of the east bank. That place has little to do with Ottoman, but still It's really a bargain to spend tens of thousands of dollars in exchange.

Moreover, after hearing that the people on the east bank would repair the pier there and station several warships to cruise the offshore, he was even more willing. Without him, due to the scumbag naval power of the Ottoman Empire, they were in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. The rhythm of being beaten has seriously affected trade and foreign exchanges. People on the east coast are willing to send a few warships to Djibouti to "fight against pirates", so they can also settle down in peace, and there are cheaper ones than this. something?Samir Yusuf felt that he had been hit by a pie falling from the sky. After returning home, he could be praised by Grand Vizier Fasher Ahmed just because of this.

Although he added that this matter still needs the final approval of Sultan Muhammad, both he and Mo San himself are convinced that Djibouti will officially belong to the East Coast Republic of China by the second half of next year at the latest.And such a geographical location is relatively important, and there is also a certain area of ​​production (such as potassium salt). It may not be obvious now, but it will have a great impact on the East China Republic in the future. Europeans will understand this sooner or later. of.

In the evening, Mo San invited Samir Yusuf and others to a grand dinner, and Qiang Quansheng also delivered a speech. The exquisite tableware and food on the table, and the bright gas lamps in the restaurant all dazzled Osman human eye.And the visit itinerary starting from the second day opened the eyes of the Ottomans who have lived in the Near East for a long time. If you think about it, the world is indeed in an era of change. Is the Ottoman Empire a little restless?

(End of this chapter)