Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1718 Belonging of Cape Town ([-])

"Mr. Ambassador, please sit down." On March 1676, 3, in an office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the capital, Zheng Yong, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the East Coast Republic of China, sat on a grand chair.Behind him are several attachés from other departments, including military personnel and civil servants.On the other side of the room, several clerks had already spread out pens and paper, ready to record.

Sitting in front of him was Hieronymus van Beveninghe, the ambassador of the United Provinces to the East Coast. Compared with a day ago, his complexion had changed significantly. Not only was he much paler than before, but his eye sockets were also darker. Sinking, it looks like he didn't get any sleep at all last night, so he's very haggard now.

"Have you read the statement we gave to Mr. Ambassador? I can reiterate now that the matter of returning the Cape Town colony to your country is within the option. This is a collective decision made by the highest authority in our country and is the will of the country. It cannot be shaken or changed. When I say this, I wonder if you understand, Mr. Ambassador?" Zheng Yong looked at Van Beveninghe, who was frowning, and said in an unhurried tone.His voice was not loud, but he enunciated the words clearly and the meaning of the words was clear. It is impossible for Van Beverninghe, who can read and write Chinese proficiently, not to understand.

"I did carefully read the situation statement that your country gave me..." Speaking of this, Van Beveninghe smiled bitterly and said, "To be honest, I am very disappointed. If even the huge amount of 1000 million dong cannot If your country is moved, then I have nothing to say, it is extremely unwise for your country to insist on controlling the Cape Colony. This is a tragedy, both for the United Provinces and for the East Coast. Orange The Prince is a man of strong character, self-respecting and irritable, and perhaps he will do something to salvage that."

As soon as Van Beverninghe said this, there was a moment of silence in the room.A naval officer who looked about forty years old shook his head and said in an indescribable tone: "What measures will the Prince of Orange take? Could it be that he wants us to suffer a few military setbacks and then be killed by the Prince of Orange?" Are you forced to accept your country’s conditions? Please forgive me, there is no such possibility, this will only break the peaceful and peaceful state between the two countries, and our navy has sufficient capabilities to protect the interests of our commercial people.”

Van Beverninghe had a little impression of this naval officer. He knew that he was the commander of the Third Fleet. His name was Jiang Yaohui.But at this time, he somewhat lowered his opinion of this person, at least he felt that he was a bit too arrogant, because in Van Beverninghe's view, after 20 years of hard work, the United Provincial Navy has a large scale, high morale, and well-trained Naturally, small-scale battles may be played around by the fast warships of the East Coasters, but in the decisive battle of the large fleet, the densely packed ships will greatly limit the maneuverability of the East Coasters' fast fleet, forcing them to mess with the Dutch Navy. Combat and melee, and this is what they are good at, so the United Provincial Navy is basically undefeated.

Moreover, Van Beveninghe was a little disgusted with his aggressive attitude, so he had to remind him: "Please allow me to correct this. Since the day your country brazenly attacked the Cape Colony, the state of tranquility and peace between the two countries has been It has been broken, before our government asked your country to return the Cape Colony several times, and the East India Company also sent letters several times, but all of these did not get a good response. Now, the patience of our government has almost reached its peak , The people are also dissatisfied with this, even the Tripp family, the DeHaer family, etc., who have always been relatively close to your country, have expressed their dissatisfaction with your country's aggression in public many times."

"Are you a declaration of war?" Immediately, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stood up and expressed his indignation, only to hear him continue: "Mr. Ambassador Kishi, and has the status of a special envoy authorized by the Prince of Orange. Everything he says and does is legally binding, and may affect our judgment. Now, we need to confirm again, is your country planning to go to war with our country? "

The words were forced to this point, and Van Beverninghe had to express his position: "Of course I didn't mean that. Please don't get me wrong. I just pointed out some basic facts. Now, the Prince of Orange's first choice , still resolve the ownership of the Cape Town Colony through peaceful means. In other words, we should now seek common ground while reserving differences, and strive to find a solution that will not damage the dignity and interests of both parties, and at the same time be accepted by everyone. That's the most important thing, isn't it?"

"I also don't see any benefit to either of us from deteriorating the relationship between the two countries and even breaking out of war." Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit tense as soon as the two sides came up, Zheng Yong, the highest-ranking person present, East Coast Foreign Minister, He spoke: "Your country's East India Company will suffer unbearable losses, and our government will also lose an entire market. War is the last option, and it is also the option we are least willing to use. Seeking common ground while reserving differences, and working hard to bridge differences, indeed It is what we should do. But I still have to stress that returning the Cape Town colony to your government or the East India Company is also not an option. If your country does not accept this, then the basis for negotiations will not be restored Existence. Regarding this point, it was clearly written in the situation statement submitted to your envoy yesterday, and we still do not intend to change our original intention. The above is my own attitude, and of course it is also that of the East Coast Republic of China. manner."

When Zheng Yong said this twice, Van Beverninghe could of course hear that the people on the east coast of the Cape Colony were determined to swallow it, and there was absolutely no way they would let it go, unless war was used to "persuade" them, but this There are many difficulties in operation, and it is also not a good choice for the United Provinces, especially when they are still deeply involved in another war.

However, as a competent diplomat, Van Beveninghe still intends to make one last effort, so he only heard him say: "Actually, the United Provincial Government and the Prince of Orange are very sincere. If your country agrees to return the If the colony of Cape Town and guarantee that it will not be invaded by your country in the future, then you will immediately receive more than 1000 million guilders in cash and goods paid by the East India Company in batches within three years. In addition, the Amsterdam Exchange Bank will also consider paying for your country The country provides a ten-year low-interest loan of 500 million dong. The annual interest rate will not exceed 3%, and it can be paid 100% in one lump sum. I heard that your government has invested heavily in the past two years, and it has been launched in every corner of the country. A strong construction operation, the scale of which is breathtaking. But I think the funding gap must also be very large? And it just so happens that our government has more money in terms of money (this is actually not true, because Dutch war spending is now Haoda, the government has raised taxes three times), so they are willing to set aside some funds to support the construction of your country. Regarding this condition, Minister Zheng, please think carefully about it. This is the greatest sincerity we can show, and we don’t want to further deteriorating bilateral relations."

Zheng Yong smiled slightly after hearing Van Beveninghe's words, and said: "You have a heart. But the Cape Town Colony was won by our soldiers after paying bloody sacrifices. Now many immigrants from our country have been resettled. We are Building hard and getting ready to make it our new home. So it's not about money or not, it's just that we have no plans to give it back or sell it in disguise. Otherwise, we can't account to the government, and we can't tell the people Confession, this is a very terrible thing, I hope you can understand."

"So, if there is nothing new, I think the negotiations on the status of the Cape Town colony can be concluded now, because we are not at the same point at all, and there is no need to continue. Van Bevening Mr. He, please also write to the Prince of Orange, the Cape Town Colony is a non-negotiable object for us, please don’t waste any more time on this.” At this time, Zheng Yong stood up, While gesturing to the secretary to tidy up the scattered documents on the table, he said to Van Beverninghe: "I'm sorry, I still have some business to deal with. The Kingdom of France plans to open an embassy in Port d'Orient, and I plan to meet their special envoy Pina Excuse me, Mr. Goldie."

After finishing speaking, Zheng Yong left the conference room without more than 10 minutes.After he left, some other secretaries and clerks also started to pack their things and planned to leave here.Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Yaohui also picked up the military cap on the table, put it on his head, grinned at Van Beveninghe, and said, "Mr. I admire the superb level shown in the previous naval battles with the English, his ability to read wars and his commanding skills are fascinating, and I hope to have the opportunity to learn from him face to face."

After all the people left, Van Beverninghe was stunned for a while before realizing that the negotiation seemed to have ended just after it started.The attitude of the people on the east coast is very decisive, and they don’t intend to hand over the Cape Town colony at all. Even if he offered a pretty good redemption price (1000 million dong redemption fee + 1000 million dong low-interest long-term loan), these people still don’t agree. They were moved, and they didn't mean to bargain at all. It seems that it's really not a matter of money, but that they don't want to let go of Cape Town, so this matter will be a little difficult!

Hieronymus Van Beveninghe sighed softly, then hurriedly packed up his things with his four entourages, and then, under the urging of officials from the East Coast Ministry of Foreign Affairs, left the conference room and returned to the United Provinces embassy .

In the embassy, ​​he carefully reviewed every detail of the meeting between the two sides today, and then called several assistants who went with him to discuss the attitude of the people on the east coast.In the end, everyone agreed that the people on the east coast were probably really unwilling to give up Cape Town, unless they suffered a major setback on the battlefield.

But things like war are never controllable and unpredictable.Although Van Beverninghe is full of confidence that the Dutch navy can defeat the people on the east coast, but he also knows that there are too many unexpected factors in the war, and no one knows what the outcome of the war will be until the last moment, because sometimes there may be a bad weather The entire fleet of the warring parties can be wiped out.

What's more, the United Province is now in the quagmire of war!Don't look at the Prince of Orange who has basically recovered the country, but the army led by Prince Condé is still stationed in the Southern Netherlands and may make a comeback at any time.The Viscount Turenne, as if descended from the gods, continuously defeated all kinds of troops of the coalition army in Germany, and he seemed to be invincible. In order to stabilize these people and reduce the pressure on the United Provinces, the Prince of Orange had to spend money for these people. The country's army quickly "replenishes blood", and the country's financial burden is also quite heavy.

Under such circumstances, if you rashly engage in a protracted naval war with the somewhat difficult country on the east coast-because in Van Beveninghe's view, the people on the east coast will probably not directly confront them. Gather and annihilate them while waiting for them to escort merchant ships, but the sea is vast, which often requires a bit of luck-is it a good choice for the country to make the already heavy financial burden even more overwhelming?You know, strictly speaking, the Cape Town colony is only a colony of the East India Company. too much.

Therefore, as people on the east coast say, war is the last option!Thinking of this, Van Beverninghe also sighed, and then even found out some letters from the mainland that he had received during these days, and after re-reading them carefully, he further concluded that the Prince of Orange seemed to be There is no intention to start a war with the East Coast people at this juncture!In this way, the Cape Town colony is definitely, definitely, and definitely not going to be taken back. As a major event for the United Provinces in the East Coast Republic of China, Van Beverninghe's next main job is probably to continue to communicate with the people on the East Coast. Get in touch and see if you can find a way to acquire the ownership of the city of Cape Town Port—since you can’t get back the entire Cape Town colony, you can only retreat and find a foothold. I believe the people on the east coast It shouldn't be so stingy.

Thinking of this, Van Beverninghe had a little idea in his mind, and planned to contact the people on the east bank again in a few days to see if this matter could be accomplished.Of course, it is also one of his tasks to urge the people on the east coast to deliver the ships of weapons and military supplies that were detained before as soon as possible. Now that half of Europe is fighting, military supplies have always been in short supply, and the Dutch are also in short supply!

(End of this chapter)