Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1620 Decision and Navy

"The tree wants to be quiet but the wind keeps blowing..." The Central Executive Committee, which was about to be re-elected at the end of this year, is likely to be postponed again due to the tense situation in the Netherlands and France on the European continent. This makes Qi Wangping , Ma Wanpeng, Zhou Shenwo and others will be able to continue to govern for a period of time.

"However, no matter how the situation in Europe changes, what we are more concerned about is how to get more benefits from it?" Ma Wanpeng, the Central Executive Committee member in charge of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, just attended the funeral of a time traveler, feeling rather heavy.However, when faced with the visits of many juniors in the system, he is still willing to have a chat with them.

There are many people who come to visit him, most of whom are from the second generation, but there are also a few officials from this time and space, which can be regarded as their "capital" originally accumulated by the three generations of executive committee members Jin Kela, Zheng Bin, and Shi Qinjie. It is also the pronoun of the political forces called "agricultural department" by the outside world, just like the transportation department created by Xiao Bailang and others.

"The determination of the French to annex the lowlands will not change. Their original goal was the Southern Netherlands first, and then the United Provinces. However, due to the strong opposition of the Dutch - even economic sanctions and threats of war - the French Having to give up most of the spoils in the Legacy War, only the seven cities of the Southern Netherland were kept. This made the young Louis XIV feel that he was greatly offended, and began to regard the United Provinces as a thorn in his side. We must first pull it out and then quickly." What Ma Wanpeng said was commonplace, but many young and middle-aged officials who participated in this private tea party listened very seriously, and only heard him continue: "So, this war is Inevitably, at least half a year before the signing of the "Treaty of Aachen", I think the French have already started preparing for war, because France investigated and dealt with the property of more than 20 corrupt officials or 'rebel nobles' back then. While winning the hearts of the people, it also greatly enriched the treasury of France, which can be said to be the most direct evidence."

"What we urgently need to do on the east coast now is to reduce the risk of being involved in the war from a political point of view, and at the same time appropriately help the republicans in the Netherlands so that they will not lose too much power; Preparations for sea or land wars; economically, it is to grab more economic benefits and suppress the development of industries in European countries—especially England, where there are now more and more concentrated factories, and the upward trend is obvious— Maintain the inherent commodity market; from a geostrategic point of view, it is best to obtain the ownership of its Cape Town colony from the Dutch in order to fully occupy South Africa.” After taking a sip of tea, Ma Wanpeng slowly said that the East Coast people strategic planning.

Among the strategic plans mentioned by Ma Wanpeng just now, the most eye-catching one is undoubtedly "Occupy South Africa", and in fact, this has always been the goal that people on the East Coast have been striving for.From the first day of colonizing the river port, the people on the east bank fought with the British, then with the Dutch, and later with the French. Of course, we must not forget the indigenous Kama Kingdom. In order to take all of this land, although it is not very rich, it is extremely rich in mineral resources (this is only known to people on the east coast for the time being), and its strategic location is extremely critical.

However, after the British sold the Cape Town colony to the Dutch East India Company, due to the good relationship between the two parties, the people on the east coast have been unable to take it into their own hands, and can only build a semicircle around it. The encirclement circle actually surrounded the Dutch South African colony, making it impossible to expand the territory around and control the situation within a certain range.

Of course, this situation is definitely unacceptable to the high-level people on the east coast. In fact, they have been trying various methods to get the Dutch Cape Town colony over the years, but unfortunately all actions have ultimately failed.The head of the Dutch East India Company is very sober (perhaps it also has the opinions of its domestic insight behind it), knowing the significance of this colony to the company's trading fleet, so it has always refused to abandon or sell it.What's more, after a large number of Protestants from France and the Southern Netherlands immigrated to Cape Town, the local economy also achieved great development, and industries such as agriculture, animal husbandry, wine making, machining, and ship repair developed rapidly. Quickly, the Cape Town Colony is no longer a colony that simply loses money. On the contrary, it can bring certain economic benefits to the company. Although it is still pitifully small, if you count its extremely important geographical location, it will Already pretty good.

Therefore, it is indeed extremely difficult for the people on the east coast to obtain this important colony, unless they grab it hard, of course, it is absolutely impossible at present.The reason why Ma Wanpeng mentioned this meeting was that some people in the East Bank wanted to take advantage of the inevitable outbreak of the Franco-Dutch war to see if there was a chance to make money out of the fire.

"Commissioner Ma, will our country participate in a possible war between France and the Netherlands?" Chen Ke, commissioner of the Beihejian area, came out and asked, "I heard that the French's maritime strength is growing rapidly. There are eighty ships. If we join the war and become hostile to it, the trade will probably suffer a lot, right? Moreover, it will also be a big blow to the source of immigrants. If the French's Eastern Fleet attacks from the port of Toulon, it can Easily defeating our transport ships and small escort warships, this is a trouble that cannot be ignored."

"That's one of the reasons I said to keep our country from getting politically involved in the war as much as possible. We can't fight in the name of the country without risking severe retaliation from the French. But the soldiers were hired by the Dutch for private reasons. No matter how dissatisfied the French are, we are also acting within the rules of the game. If he wants to use this as an excuse to question us or even hostile actions, then this country’s trade routes to the East, in North America and I probably don’t want the Caribbean colonies anymore.” Ma Wanpeng smiled slightly and said, “That’s what we think. As for letting us go directly to the war, it’s impossible without great benefits, so once War breaks out, let's see what happens in the early stages."

In fact, Ma Wanpeng's attitude is also the attitude of the members of the Executive Committee of the East Coast Republic. These conservative guys are not willing to declare their position as soon as they come, because it will not do any good, on the contrary, it will cause economic damage. No small loss.Therefore, these "economic animals" acted like turtles with peace of mind, and planned to stand on the sidelines and watch for a while before talking.

In addition to the east coast, there is also a Spanish standing on the sidelines. Perhaps it is more appropriate to say that they were forcibly held back by the people on the east coast, because the people on the east coast do not want this huge and weak country to be involved. To the field of battle of the jackals.As early as a month ago, Mr. Mo San, the top person in charge of the foreign affairs department on the east coast, had sent a note to Baron Bravo, the Spanish ambassador to the east coast. Ask him to persuade King Carlos and the Queen Mother not to be encouraged to join the war, because the French are not targeting them this time.Mo San even pointed out bluntly that if the French army needs to pass through the land of the Spanish Netherlands, then let them pass, it's not a big deal, as long as they don't fall into endless wars.

The reason why he said this was related to the special geographical location of the Spanish Netherlands.As we all know, France does not border the United Provinces, and there are only two ways to attack that side.One is to go to the Spanish Netherlands and travel all the way there. The premise is to get the permission of Spain. There may be some troubles in it, because the Spaniards are sometimes unreasonable, and they may sweep the French. face.At that time, whether you fight or not, it is always a very painful thing; the second is to cross the Rhine, go around the German will area, and attack the United Provinces from the flank.Considering that the small states here have long been bought by the Dutch, and they are determined to fight against the French (in fact, it is impossible not to do it right, because they are also afraid of being annexed by your French), so this road is basically To call over.

Therefore, the people on the east coast judged that King Louis XIV of France might choose to avoid fighting in Germany and instead march into the United Provinces from the Spanish Netherlands, so this would require the "cooperation" of the Spaniards.Mo San asked them not to be too nervous, because the French will not do anything to the Spanish Netherlands for the time being, which is still the Kingdom of Spain, they can make preparations first, and then sit and watch the progress of the war.

Baron Bravo did not give a positive answer to Mo San's request—perhaps it was a request—maybe it seemed to him a humiliation, although what the people on the east coast said was not unreasonable.However, as a loyal and qualified diplomat, Baron Bravo also stated that he would report the matter to the country as soon as possible, and leave it to King Carlos (actually the Queen Mother and Don Juan) to decide.

"In the next period of time, you still have to do your own work well." After chatting with everyone again, Ma Wanpeng ended the topic decisively, saying: "The Hejian area is our foundation, we must build it well, and some should strive for It is time to act now, and in another year or so there may not be a chance to get approval from superiors. Once a war breaks out and military expenditures soar, how can there be a lot of money spent on people's livelihood projects? It can guarantee the most basic The project is good, so you have to be clear-headed and know what to do."

……

After bidding farewell to a group of young cadres, Ma Wanpeng took a carriage and returned to his villa in the suburbs.While passing the Admiralty Building on the road, he met Major General Guo Zili, Chief of the General Staff of the National Armed Forces and Minister of the Admiralty, who was also driving out. Looking at this hurried face, he probably had to go to the Ministry and the Army again. Helped the horse manure to be broken.

Mo Ming, the old soldier in the army, is not a friendly guy. He has been fighting with several navy ministers, civil servants, and competitors in his own army.This time, the situation in France and Netherlands was tense. Taking advantage of the east wind of forming a "participating army", the army has expanded its strength to four mixed battalions, which has greatly enhanced its strength, and at the same time put great pressure on the navy.You must know that the domestic military expenditure on the east coast is huge every year, and if the army eats more, the navy will eat less. Therefore, when it comes to issues of such core interests, the army and the navy absolutely have no way out. Do your best to fight!

Ma Wanpeng vaguely heard that after the army expanded its four battalions to thousands of people, the navy also called for restoring some sealed warships and being ready for battle at any time, and it soon spread to the entire army.Some more radical naval officers said that the Dutch spent millions of dollars to rebuild their navy in the Second Anglo-Dutch War, and they have been spending money on maintenance after the war; the French built 1665 heavy warships in five years starting in 65 Immediately after the plan ended, a new round of shipbuilding operations was launched non-stop. The strength of the two main fleets of the East and the West was greatly enhanced. However, the navies of England, Spain, Portugal and other countries also have some small supplements, and they quickly approached the distance with the East Coast Republic in terms of professional naval warships.

Therefore, they said that the tonnage of the navy has not increased much over the years, but at least some of the warships that were mothballed due to disarmament in the previous stage should be reactivated in case of emergency, right?If it was said that they were afraid of spending too much money in the past, then even the army has expanded now. Why should the navy continue to cut down on food and clothing, so they strongly demand that they also expand their army.

Guo Zili also had nothing to do about this kind of voice inside the navy. Although he has always followed the executive committee closely, his own soldiers are not lying, so he is also inclined to activate and dismantle the sealed naval warships in his heart. recalled.And he also judged that once the Army's participating troops arrived in the United Provinces—of course he did not expect that the Army might not be willing to send people to Europe as cannon fodder—and participated in the defense of some strong fortresses, it may cause the French to attack the sea on the east coast. If the trade line takes some less friendly moves (of course, it is only speculation at the moment), then this will require a large number of warships to escort.Considering the current strength of the Navy's First Fleet, it is impossible to do both to defend the mainland, to garrison the Cape Verde Islands, and to defend the area around Huaiyuan Island (Trinidad). Therefore, it is inevitable to expand the strength of the navy.

Ma Wanpeng is well aware of these things, and he can only sigh helplessly.Although he is not very willing to see the growing strength of the army, and although he does not want to see more than half of the country's fiscal revenue being used as military expenses, he has to admit that at these important historical moments, a strong army is still needed. The sound can be loud.

(End of this chapter)