Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1600

On May 1671, 5, two three-masted sailing ships sailed into the dredged and dredged Guanhe River one after the other, followed the southeast wind all the way, and finally stopped at a newly established river port—Xiangshui Port.

Thousands of Qing Dynasty residents currently live near Xiangshui Port, so this place is also known as Xiangshui Town. The Qing Dynasty set up customs offices here (this seems to be another new thing learned from the outside world), salt road offices, river affairs offices, and response offices. Battalions (a large-scale battalion that uses the Spanish method of warfare), coastal defense forts, and a series of institutions. Except for a few salt workers and vegetable farmers, all residents in the town are basically family members of officials.

In addition, near Guanhekou, which is a little farther away, Guanhekou City, which was roughly built by the people on the east bank, was also used by the Qing army.They continued to repair and expand the original scope, and referred to the opinions of British consultants, adding many elements of European fortresses, making this brand new Guanhekou City a medium-sized fortress that can accommodate about two to three thousand soldiers and a large amount of supplies (A cavalry camp accommodating [-] cavalry was also built a few miles away), which is an important gateway to Xiangshui Town.

After setting up the land and sea defenses in the Guanhe Estuary area, the Qing Dynasty contacted the British East India Company, which had been in private contact for many years, and jointly decided to set up the trade site between the two parties here.As for the places where the Qing government traded with the Dutch Communist India Company, there are many places. At first, it was Haizhou. It is located in Jiangsu Province - a new province just established by the Qing court, formed by the division of Jiangnan Province from east to west - in some locations along the coast.Even, sometimes the Dutch would venture to the Liaodong Peninsula or Hangzhou Bay to trade with the Qing Dynasty, because they saw that the navy on the east coast was insufficient and could not take care of the weaknesses everywhere.

Although Xiangshui Port is a river port, in all fairness, the conditions are very good. The river is wide and deep, which is convenient for large ships to enter and exit; at the same time, the river is calm and the water is calm, so it is a very good anchorage.In addition, the hinterland of Guanhe is Huai'an Mansion, which has always been affluent. Although 50 people from the east bank were moved away at one time, the foundation of this populous mansion is still there, and the population of many unaffected counties is still very dense. ——Even in counties such as Shanyang, Qinghe, and Andong that were affected, there are still a large number of people in the Siye countryside—in addition, the Qing court has been migrating from places such as Jiangnan and Henan, where populations have grown rapidly over the years. Farmers with few lands settled in Jiangbei to reclaim wasteland, which greatly restored the social economy of Huai'an Prefecture in Jiangbei, and the production of foreign trade products such as raw silk and satin also increased day by day, which brought great fiscal revenue to the Qing court. .

Therefore, in general, it is reasonable for the British and the Qing court to take a fancy to this place.This is indeed a very ideal trading port. Although it is not as good as the area around the Yangtze River and Hangzhou Bay, considering that it is an area where the navy on the east coast, like the Changshan Islands, is routinely engaged in, the danger is not low. As a businessman, it is best to avoid it. that piece of sea.After all, the naval strength of the people on the east coast is seriously insufficient, and it is very difficult to block the Yangtze River and Hangzhou Bay. Naturally, they are powerless to other places.

It is not the first time for Hawkes Clifford to come to the Far East, but he used to be a sailor. This time, after raising enough funds and buying a ship in London, he can finally be a captain and a merchant. , Sailing to the Far East for trade was no small leap for himself.

As a rising star of the Clifford family, Hawkes also understood what this voyage meant to him.Years after their uncle died at the hands of the East Coasters (although there is no definitive proof, it is believed that the East Coast warships robbed Clifford's ships), the family has just paid off their debts and gained a little poor If I fail this time and return home, the Baobuqi family will have to start from scratch again.

Fortunately, this time it seems that the luck is not bad. Surprisingly, the several ships passing along the way have all arrived in India, Macau, Xiamen and Xiangshui Port in full. There are all sorts of problems that lead to tragic robbery by pirates, distress on the rocks, loss of course, and so on.

Clifford's ship is called "Squid", built in London, with a standard displacement of 460 tons and 12 small and medium-caliber artillery, which can barely be called an armed merchant ship.Along with them, four merchant ships belonging to the East India Company came to Xiangshui Port, namely the narrow tail sailing ship "Bandan" and the large merchant ship "Crown" (these two ships went to Taiwan in 1671 to establish a merchant ship. disappeared on the way to the station), the armed merchant ship "Return" and the "Test" (these two ships successfully sailed to Taiwan and established a trading station in 1672, and were later captured by the Dutch in the Banga Strait on the way back to Banten). Ships of about several hundred tons carried a large amount of artillery and muskets (the Qing court made their own muskets and imported them at the same time. Because the quality of British guns was much better than that of the Qing court, a batch was imported every year), plate armor, and telescopes. , Cannon sighting and weighing equipment, etc., are all ready to be sold to the Qing Dynasty, and they are very easy to sell.

In addition, as usual, there are also a group of military talents recruited from the British mainland and German regions on board. Among them are former mercenaries who are familiar with battle formations, and construction talents in military engineering. It was hired by the East India Company at a high price in Europe-of course, this will not cause any losses, because the Qing government has promised to buy out their contracts at a high premium, and then re-sign a high-paying employment contract with them, so that Let them serve the Manchu court with more peace of mind.Even, if the work is excellent, it is said that it may be incorporated into the Eight Banners system and even conferred titles. The former German mercenary officer Reizenstein has set an example for everyone.

"The King of Fujian, Guo Xingye, and supporter of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong, also recruited military personnel around Xiamen. It is said that the 'Flying Eagle' and 'Formosa' have already loaded a large number of weapons and Nanyang specialties to Xiamen Island. It is said that A formal commercial station will also be built there for long-term contact, and this is really a brave attempt." Martin, the Dane, the first mate of the "Squid", whispered next to Clifford while holding a big pipe.

"They're pinning their hopes on the constant conquests of Guoxingye, but that seems unlikely to me. Just before Christmas last year, Guoxingye's ships went to Banten and Batavia, looking for copper. , but they have all hit a wall. This person obtains a large amount of copper pieces through Japanese trade every year, but it is still not enough. It can only show that he used all the copper to make guns and coins. We are in crisis, so we need a lot of money and weapons, which is an important factor that a qualified businessman has to consider.” Little Clifford took out a money bag from his safe, and then turned towards the big Deputy Martin said with a smile: "However, considering that even the Dutch East India Company failed to establish a trading station on Xiamen Island, so how about letting the 'Flying Eagle' and 'Formosa' try their luck? Maybe they'll make it, maybe they won't, we have nothing to lose."

"You can't say that, Mr. Captain." Martin shook his head lightly, and said in a tone of disapproval: "The establishment of a commercial station in Xiamen is bound to dilute our strength, and the King of Fujian is not a good investment. Object. He has a relatively elite armed force at hand. I remember the name is 'Iron Man Army', all of which are heavy infantry formed with plate armor imported from the Portuguese and the Dutch. This may have been ten years ago It is still useful, but in today's mainland China, such heavy infantry units are becoming more and more outdated. They are clumsy, slow, and exhausting, but they cannot effectively resist bullets and shells. It is simply too bad, and he He is still obsessed with strengthening the establishment of this kind of troops. In addition, the territory of the King of Fujian is too barren, just like the continuous mountainous areas in Switzerland and northern Italy, and the output is almost nothing worth mentioning except for tea and a small amount of raw silk. The way he relies on to maintain a huge armed force now is to monopolize the trade between mainland China and Japan, but the degree of this monopoly is still much worse than that of his family's previous generation. Mr. Captain, I have lived in Macau for nine years, and I know this all too well. It is hard to say whether the power of the Fujian Wang family has progressed or regressed in these years, especially when they brought leather, sugar, When the sources of raw silk, tea, and cotton cloth are decreasing day by day."

In fact, the problem that Martin mentioned is also the dilemma that the Zheng family in Fujian has been facing for these years, that is, the power of the people on the east coast has risen rapidly in the Pearl River Estuary, and they have controlled more than half of the foreign trade of Guangzhou and Huizhou, which has raised the The market prices of commodities such as raw silk and sucrose made the Zheng Group uncomfortable.It can be said that if Zheng Chenggong was not still in the Ming Dynasty system and bought back a considerable amount of sucrose from Guangdong, how his trade with Japan could continue is also a problem.Therefore, this is the reason why Zheng Chenggong began to send people from Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi to collect people from Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi a few years ago, and went across the sea to the island of Taiwan—mainly the northern area where the Dutch had no influence—to reclaim wasteland. Look for a steady source of leather, or you could be in big trouble.

In addition, there is another problem that has to be mentioned, that is, Zheng Chenggong is old now, and his health is not very good. He even contracted malaria a few years ago. Nashuang barely saved his life.Now, Zheng Chenggong, who feels that his time is running out, has already begun to arrange for succession. His eldest son Zheng Jing has been studying political strategy and military affairs with him in recent years, and has been attending various occasions. People in Zheng's group As long as you are not blind, you will know which lord you will be loyal to in the future.

Although Zheng Jing's ability is not very outstanding, it is not bad, and it should not be a problem to use it to defend the foundation.Besides, there are some talents around this person, such as Chen Yonghua, Feng Xifan, Liu Guoxuan, etc., who can be regarded as good ministers. If Zheng Jing can make good use of it, the future is still promising—even if the mainland cannot beat others in the end After being defeated, you can always retreat to the sea to try to recover, right?

"You are right, Martin, and I accept your point of view. The current Guoxing Lord is worth betting on, but it cannot be a heavy bet. Let's see what the future holds." Cox Clifford I am very satisfied, and feel that the old Danish sea dog I recruited in Macau last year is worth the money and is worthy of the high salary I gave him.

"Yes, Captain Clifford, it's not time to make a big bet yet, let's let the cards on the table be dealt for a while and see what happens." Martin said: "When I was in Macau, I heard a relative An acquainted missionary mentioned that the relationship between the Guoxing Lord of Fujian and the Dutch East India Company has not been very good recently, probably because of disputes involving Japan or Southeast Asia trade. This kind of conflict seems to be still within the controllable range. However, in the future, once Guo Xingye’s subordinates develop more and more in-depth development in Formosa Island, it may be further upgraded. At that time, it may be the opportunity of our British East India Company, especially the British East India Company. When the Dutch decide to help Li Chengdong, the king of Guangdong who has a grudge against Zheng Chenggong, or simply help the Manchurian Tatar emperor, Zheng Chenggong will have a very difficult life. I guarantee that at that time, it will be time for him to come to us."

"Very well, after years of unremitting efforts on the card table in the land of China in the Far East, we have finally sat at the card table. The trade with the Qing and Ming countries is so lucrative that many people in the company are Shouting 'forget India', what a funny fact. Martin, enjoy the moment, the east coasters have limited ships here and cannot monopolize the size of the country - in fact I reckon no one No way to monopolize this trade treasure trove that could be called a Second India—now is our time to enjoy the lucrative trade profits, although the Dutch East India Company and the Emperor of Manchuria seem to be equally connected.” Cox Clifford in Servant’s With help, he changed into decent clothes, and then sprinkled some perfume imported from India on his body. Accompanied by first officer Martin and several other entourages, he went down to the pier through the springboard and started contacting the customs officials of the Qing Dynasty. Negotiate with.

The weather was fine and the air was fresh. After the negotiation, Captain Clifford routinely bribed the dock officials hundreds of pounds, and then calmly lived in a luxuriously decorated inn on the shore, waiting for the delivery of the goods.

(End of this chapter)