Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1413 Concerning South African Efforts

Charles carefully looked at a secret letter by the dim candlelight.

The secret letter was sent from South Africa by Sir Montagu. In the letter, he detailed the current situation of the British South Africa colony, which gave Mr. Charles a lot of things. The news that the East India Company has officially started war.

In fact, the fight between the two can be said to be somewhat surprising, but also reasonable.It is unwise to say that the accident was because the two families faced the pressure from the people on the east coast in South Africa, but they still "killed each other", which is a bit unwise; but it is reasonable to say that it is also a bad relationship between the two East Indians. This really has a "long history". It can be traced back to the Dutch murder of dozens of British merchants and sailors. It is normal.

If in the past, based on the current strength comparison between the two sides, the Dutch would naturally have the overall advantage, but after the British East India Company borrowed more than a thousand British republican soldiers from Brazil, it would be difficult to say in a fight.In fact, the situation on the battlefield is indeed the same. At the beginning of last month (September), the Dutch gathered a large number of people to attack Fort Charles, and were repelled by the well-prepared English soldiers, which made Governor Van Riebeck very angry. .

Ten days later, this guy organized more than 800 white soldiers, carrying 10 artillery pieces and a large number of servants (many of which were composed of slaves), and once again besieged Fort Charles. The epidemic also consumed a lot of ammunition, so we had to withdraw our troops.But even so, the losses of the British are not light, because the epidemic epidemic in the Dutch army also caused them to fall a lot of people, and the ammunition consumption is also a lot, and they urgently need to be replenished from the outside - not the Portuguese It is the people from the east coast. It is really unrealistic to transport war materials from the mainland, so it is better to transport the army directly.

After two failed attacks, the Dutch stopped temporarily, and the British breathed a sigh of relief.In today's situation, it is obvious that the Dutch have the initiative, because the strength gap between the two sides is too large. If the British hadn't temporarily dispatched this group of experienced soldiers to come to the rescue, they might not be able to stop those under the Dutch's command. German mercenaries.Although the Dutch have retreated now, God knows when they will come back, and there will always be two Dutch armed merchant ships wandering there every now and then in the sea off the Brie River Estuary, which also makes the English very upset.

This kind of "disturbance" from South Africa also disturbed Mr. Charles' mood through letters. He has been officially appointed as the ambassador of the Kingdom of England to the East Coast Republic of China. He attaches great importance to the situation in South Africa and is also a little worried. A vital colony, which in turn adversely affected Eastern trade.You must know that Mr. Charles, who has lived on the east coast for many years, has always been one of the representatives in England who support Eastern trade, and has long been engaged in debates with the seriously injured advocates (usually local industrial capitalists) who oppose Eastern trade.

Those capitalists who came from textile industrial areas such as West Riding and Manchester hated the large amount of Indian textiles sold in England every year (mainly high-end products such as printed cloth and dyed cloth, which sold 1664 pounds in 21), because This obviously affected their income-"Just as bread is called a necessity of life, the textile industry is also a nourishment for the Kingdom of England" is their main argument. Of course, Mr. Charles also used "bread alone may be able to barely maintain life." , but if you want to be strong and strong, you need other nutrients, such as the "East India Trade" to fight back forcefully, which once made these people speechless.But no matter what, the predicament encountered by the English East India Company today will definitely make these people secretly happy, which will lead to some unfavorable changes in East India trade.

Thinking of this, Mr. Charles immediately felt relieved of the letter, and took out a new stack of letter paper—high-grade letter paper produced by Jingjiang Paper Mill—and wrote a letter to some powerful figures in China: "...It is foreseeable that in After the war with the Dutch East India Company, we will lose a large amount of spices, cotton cloth, silk fabrics, raw silk, cotton yarn, wool, medicinal materials, saltpeter, precious stones, perfumes, etc. Sudden demand for all sorts of English goods, no doubt fueling the pride of some, especially the textile mill owners and aristocrats with large landholdings, strong demand for native textiles and a rise in the price of wool (which would raise rents) It will make them smile, and they will preach the evils of the East India trade even harder..."

"...the East India Company has been cast with distaste in recent years, because some of its goods have been regarded by some as a hindrance to the manufacture and consumption of domestic goods; and by other foolish early mercantilists who saw nothing but silver coins It is stupid and unreasonable prejudice to be transported by the company's ships without seeing the crude industrial products of Birmingham and Wales being exchanged for more gold and silver bullion from the East India..."

". . . I now have a deep suspicion that someone (perhaps not a member of Parliament, but no doubt of considerable influence) may well have been bought by the Dutch, or who, in order to cater to the Dutch interests, declared openly against the East India trade; Others, either because of carelessness or insufficient knowledge of the nature of things, go along with their erroneous views; joined their ranks. Therefore, in such a time of crisis, any discerning soul can see that if His Majesty the King does not rely on the help of the Legislature, out of his fatherly love for the people of England, with his The utter ruin of the East Indies trade, and the total loss--at least a serious impairment--of this lucrative trade in the Kingdom of England, would be the fact of the wise intervening forcefully in this matter. Permit me, therefore, Strong appeal: Increase subsidies to the English East India Company, whether it is money, personnel or supplies, please help it maintain the East India trade, because this is of great benefit to the kingdom, and the first thing we have to do That is, try to keep the colonies in South Africa from being taken away by the United Provinces, the East Coast, or whatever."

Writing here, Ambassador Charles recalled that a few days ago, people from the east bank came to negotiate with the South African colony for the second time, and their new Central Executive Committee, Mr. Zheng Yong, who was in charge of diplomacy and trade, also summoned him in his office. He asked whether England had the idea of ​​selling the South African colony, but was rejected by Mr. Charles on the grounds that he had not received the local authorization, but he believed that the people on the east coast would never let it go, perhaps their envoys were already heading to London On the way, Mr. Charles understands their dedication to the land on their doorstep in South Africa.

In fact, in all fairness, the price paid by the people on the east coast in order to obtain the British South African colony is quite high.They are willing to protect the safety of life and property of all personnel in the British South African colony, and are willing to give up the right of first refusal to New Netherland (this is a prerequisite for the British to annex the land smoothly, otherwise it is very likely to have disputes with the east coast) , and at the same time, they are willing to appropriately pay some money and goods (about [-] pounds) to compensate those who have suffered losses. According to the words of the people on the east coast, "there is nowhere to look for them with a lantern." generous.

However, perhaps because of the efforts to support the forces of the East India Company, perhaps because England has the upper hand in the current situation, or perhaps because they are more confident in their power in South Africa, in short, the London side temporarily put aside the proposal of the people on the east coast and decided to Don't give an answer for now, let's see the development of the situation first. Of course, this is not something that Mr. Charles, who is far away on the east coast, can know.At present, he is still actively working hard to maintain the existence of the Kingdom of England in South Africa in accordance with the instructions he received before and his own inclination, although the current situation does not look very optimistic.

"Although South Africa is not short of food, it still has to import a considerable part of it every year. It is possible to import from Mozambique, because the Dutch cannot block the sea all the time. After all, Cape Town does not have a permanent fleet. " After Mr. Charles finished writing the letter, he stood up again, and while pacing the house, he thought: "But there is no way to purchase medicines, ordnance and ammunition. You can only find a way from the people on the east coast, unless you come from the East Coast. England sent supplies, but how is this possible? The cost is too high! That is to say, to some extent, the people on the east coast now control the life and death of the South African colony. It's an uncomfortable feeling that we're going to be lost to the Dutch for a long time."

"In addition, I don't know what the East India Company is thinking. Whether they can withstand the pressure and continue to invest money, materials and personnel to maintain the existence of the South African colony after being criticized by domestic businessmen and business owners is also unknown. After all, the Dutch East India Company is too powerful. Will they make peace with them and sell the South African colonies for their own interests? This is also very possible! If they really do this, then It is really regrettable, the loss of the South African colony, whether it is for the Kingdom of England or the East India Company itself, is not destined to be a loss that is destined to be extremely far-reaching." Mr. Charles stopped in front of a glass window and sighed.

Outside the window is the bustling and wide August Avenue-a large number of government agencies in the capital on the east coast are located here-and there are bright gas lamps at intervals, quietly blooming their beauty in the night.Mr. Charles looked back, patted the window sill heavily, and sat back on his chair.

And while Mr. Charles was lamenting over the East India trade and the South African colony, on the other side of August Avenue, in an office of the East Coast National Intelligence Agency, a group of people were also lighting up the night and fighting, sorting out what seemed to be always the same. Endless intelligence documents and analysis reports.

"Although we didn't directly intervene in this war, our country has taken its own interests to the greatest extent through careful diplomatic and trade policy choices." After serving a large plate of steaming coffee to his subordinates, the National Intelligence Sheng Dehong, deputy director of the South Africa Department of the Overseas Department of the General Administration, said with a smile: "According to the instructions of the Executive Committee, South Africa must be obtained quickly, and this is what we have been working hard for. Lao Gao, I heard that the military police The people in the team also intend to intervene in this matter. You have to ask them to warn them not to go too far, otherwise I will report to the department and even the headquarters to file a lawsuit. We have been working for so long, we can't let others Come pick the peaches."

"Understood, boss, I will warn them." Lao Gao stood up and took the coffee, and after thinking for a while, he said: "The information sent by Captain John last time showed that the Republican soldiers currently stationed in many places in British South Africa They are very dissatisfied with their fate of being sold, and their families are also living in poverty in England. Some family members of military officers have even suffered persecution to varying degrees. They don’t like the rich men of the East India Company, and they also I don’t like royalists, and of course I don’t like Dutchmen. Captain John said that many people yearn for the East Coast, which also upholds the concept of republic. If we can take their families to the East Coast and resettle them properly, then they don’t mind. time to respond to our actions.”

"How many people do they have now?" Sheng Dehong, who just turned 30 this year and is in the prime of life, asked.

"There are about two hundred people, most of whom are veterans and military officers. Many of them have been displaced for a long time after the restoration of the King of England. Many of them are even extremely remorseful, regretting that they did not firmly stand on the side of Major General Lambert at the critical moment. behind him, to maintain a glorious and fair republic, so that villains like Monk can control the power of the army. Therefore, now they want to make some different choices, if the time is right." Lao Gao looked at Sheng Dehong eyes, said.

"Let them continue to wait for the opportunity. It is not a good opportunity to start it now, and let them rest assured that we will not ignore them. What we promised them will be done, and they and their families will be properly settled in the end. "Sheng Dehong waved his hand and said to Lao Gao: "After all, the idea of ​​the executive committee is still to settle peacefully. They don't want to use some ugly means for a place like British South Africa, unless I have to."

"On the contrary, I'm very worried about those people in the army." Sheng Dehong sighed heavily, and said worriedly: "Especially that Captain Yang, who is known as the firefighting captain, I really doubt that if he can't hold back, Entering the colony of British South Africa under the pretext of looking for missing soldiers, how should we end up, alas, this gang of horse manure that makes people trouble!"

Sorry everyone, Mike was imprisoned for appendicitis surgery yesterday afternoon, and may not be able to update on time in the past few days//(ㄒoㄒ)//

(End of this chapter)