Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1725 Talks in Colombo

On the way to India, the battleship "Fubo Wanli" went to Djibouti, which is located on the coast of Honghai, a piece of "Djibouti" surrounded by sea water and desert, which was bought from the Ottomans by people on the east coast for only tens of thousands of yuan. Barren land”—of course, this is not the case now, and Djibouti, which exports at least one shipment of potash salt to the mainland every year, still has its important commercial value.

"Now the trade between Djibouti and the Abyssinians is gradually starting." In the only high-grade house at the Djibouti pier, the Djibouti garrison commander Nanjiro was telling the story to Morley Eel, who brought them supplies. Looking at the development here, I only heard him say: "The main commodities of the Abyssinians are gold, ivory, horses, slaves and food, all of which we need, and we purchase a considerable amount every year. Abyssinians The Nigerians are also willing to do business with us, because we can provide them with cloth, high-quality ironware, glass products, and silk. Of course, some Indian or Arab merchants will also carry some rose water, dried roses, various beads, crystals, and dates. bundles and opium, and we bought them all and sold them to the Abyssinians at a good profit, because they were really popular in Abyssinia."

Morie eel nodded frequently while listening to Nanjiro talking about his business experience.This guy was originally an old oil official in the army, with the rank of captain, and once served as the police commander of the Zelu area for a short time. Unfortunately, he was robbed of his position by Peng Yuanzhi, the secretary of the former leader of the Denglai pioneering team, Shao Shude. , so he had to be sent to Djibouti, a place with an extremely harsh environment, to serve as the commander of the security. The gap was not small.Fortunately, in this place, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Nanjiro, who was caught by the military and government, is here to say that he has great power. After a few years, he has made a lot of money. I care about it, so I can say that I live very comfortably.

Of course, the New China Pioneering Team also knows some things about Nanjiro, but as the saying goes, if the water is clear, there will be no fish, not to mention that people contribute to the country in places with difficult conditions, so it is nothing to make some money!Open one eye and close one eye!

"To build a good relationship with the Abyssinians, we have no conflict of interest with them. On the contrary, we need their food, fruits, vegetables, and livestock to supply ourselves and the passing ships. You have to rely on them? Captain Nan, do a good job. Although you are in the army, your work is of great significance to our navy. Thank you for your dedication over the years." The bottles of liquor and wine were given to Nanjiro, which made him a little touched, and he hurriedly thanked him.

"By the way, how is the situation of the Ottomans?" Morieel asked about the situation of another neighbor.

"Ah, they have always been relatively peaceful, and they have only come to us once in so many years. It was a small cavalry unit that got lost. They replenished some fresh water and food with us. Their attitude is still friendly, which probably benefits from It’s because our ships are often active on the Red Sea, and of course our merchant ships often go to Suez Port for trade is also an important reason, in short, our country’s influence in Egypt is really growing.” Nanjiro replied: "Oh, by the way, recently those Christian apostates (that is, Mamluks, which means 'people bought with money' in the local language) have gone south in large numbers, with thousands of people and many servants Bing, it seems that there have been some armed conflicts with the Abyssinians, of course, it may also be that the Ottoman Sultan wants to conquer a larger Abyssinian territory, in short, it has little to do with us.”

"Staying away from these right and wrong is the right thing. The relationship between the Ottoman Empire and our country is very good, and the Lake Mamluks who rule Egypt are also our important friends. We must not get involved in their conflicts with the Abyssinians, let alone Don't sell any weapons or military supplies to the Abyssinians, so as not to cause trouble." Moreel said in a slightly admonishing tone: "Of course, if outsiders bully the door, we don't have to be polite, in short, as long as Remember, you are not fighting alone, behind you is the entire Second Fleet, the New China Pioneering Team, and even the government of the Republic."

Morley Eel and others did not stay in Djibouti for too long. On June 1676, 6, the battleship "Fubo Wanli" and the ammunition supply ship left Gebert Lake one by one and sailed into the vast sea. .When passing near Aden, two merchant ships belonging to the Ottoman Empire rushed up and asked to sail with the people on the east coast. After thinking about it, Morley agreed.

The two ships were loaded with realgar, cinnabar, mercury, copper, steel, weapons, good horses, and gold and silver coins. They were headed to the port of Diu in India for trade, and they had a part of the voyage with the people on the east coast.Considering the "friendship" with the Ottoman Empire, Morley agreed to escort them in disguise through this section of the sea where pirates are said to be active.

On July 7th, people from the east coast parted with two Arab merchant ships off the coast of Muscat. Before leaving, these generous merchants sent some Socotra aloe vera and dragon blood to Mollie to thank him for his support along the way. take care of.

In the afternoon of the same day, the "Fubo Wanli" took the lead in sailing into the open waters of Muscat Harbor, avoiding some areas where the enemy installed forts, and ostentatiously demonstrated in the harbor.At that time, the "Fubo Wanli" opened a gun window on one side of the ship, and the densely packed gun barrels aimed at the buildings on the shore and the Omanis who were running around endlessly, and then drew a wonderful circle while these people were stunned. Arc, turned around and went away.

Although due to various considerations, the battleship "Fubo Wanli" did not bombard the targets on the ground, the effect of the demonstration was still full, because obviously, the Omanis could not take action against a powerful battleship of the level of "Fubo Wanli". Any countermeasures can only sit and watch the opponent walk around in their own port, which is definitely a very bad thing.I don't know if Saif Sultan of the Muscat Sultanate will be moved after witnessing today's "drama".

After leaving Muscat, the two-ship formation composed of two east coast ships headed north all the way, first visited Bandar Abbas, and with the help of the local east coast commercial station, supplied some fresh water and Some of the goods purchased in Djibouti were sold on the spot, and part of the profits were distributed to the sailors as bonuses, and some local Persian goods were purchased, which were planned to be sold in southern India.

It's a pity that here, the key coal cannot be replenished at all.In fact, it is not surprising when you think about it. In this world, there are not many areas that use coal resources on a large scale at this time. Persia has no industry. Even iron smelting workshops use charcoal, but the price is too expensive. A small portion was ordered to be used as a fuel reserve on board.

Afterwards, the two-ship formation went to visit Basra Port in the deep interior of the Persian Gulf. People from the east bank also set up a trading station here, but the scale was not very large.On the way to Basra, they stopped briefly in Bahrain and purchased a lot of pearls here. The texture is very good. It is a hard currency in India and Southeast Asia and can be used as currency in many cases.

Generally speaking, the cruise of the battleship "Fubo Wanli" in the Persian Gulf is still very effective. Through its tall figure and tyrannical combat power, it has gained a lot of awe from the Arabs and Persians. The east bank commercial stations in Bath and Basra will be of great help in future work.At least, no one will trouble them for no reason anymore, right?It can be said that, except for the stupid Russians who dared to confiscate the goods on the east bank and close the commercial stations on the east bank, the Persians who asked for help on the east bank probably did not have this idea, because they are now fighting on two fronts, and the weapons on the east bank In great demand.

Of course, the people on the east bank also took advantage of the relationship established by exporting a large number of weapons to sell many other commodities step by step, and achieved great results.For example, the sugar market in Persia used to be Taiwanese sugar sold by the Dutch East India Company, but it is no longer the case. Sugar from Xinhua Island has entered the market in a big way, driving the Dutch out of the country that has been in business for more than 20 years. .

Similar to cane sugar are coffee (imported by the Dutch at Mocha Port and sold to Persia), pepper (purchased by the Dutch in India and sold to Persia), etc. In short, the plantation economy in Xinhua Island is developing more and more Today is booming, and almost all tropical specialty products that compete directly with people from the east coast cannot be sold in Persia or even the Asian part of the Ottoman Empire—this market is basically dominated by people from the east coast!

The Dutch once thought about whether to take tough measures to regain what they lost, but the existence of the Second Fleet with Xinhua Port as its home port has always made the Dutch East India Company timid in doing things.Although the strength of this fleet has hardly increased over the years, it is still a tyrannical force capable of crossing the sea. After much deliberation, the East India Company still did not dare to make mistakes, and finally had to accept the reality of failure.

After the "Fubo Wanli" left the Persian Gulf, there was no further delay. The two-ship formation went all the way south along the ocean current, and finally arrived at the port of Colombo in the southwest of Ceylon Island on August 1676, 8. After negotiations, he was finally allowed to enter this port which is not open to the public.

Since the Dutch signed an agreement with King Rajasinghe II of Ceylon in 1638 to jointly attack the Portuguese, the Dutch have taken the coastal area of ​​this rich tropical island to themselves step by step, and finally completed it in 1658. This goal - just like the people on the east coast occupying the periphery of Xinhuaxia Island, all the land along the coast of Ceylon Island has fallen into the hands of the Dutch, and only the native kingdom exists on the inland highlands, but it is only lingering That's all.Colombo was one of the strongholds of the Portuguese on the island at that time. After being occupied by the Dutch, its castles, outposts, forts, and docks were relatively well preserved, so it was designated by the Dutch East India Company as the colonial rule center of Ceylon Island.

As the place where the current East India Company Governor, Ricklaw Vangoens, started, Ceylon Island is now handed over to his close comrade-in-arms and confidant Balthazar Burt.This guy from the navy now has a fleet of twelve armed merchant ships under his command. It is an important armed force of the East India Company in Ceylon and the southern coast of India. In recent decades, he has fought many times with the Portuguese and the British. Most of the Dutch warships are basically from this fleet.

At this moment, there are probably seven or eight ships moored in the port. It seems that they are all armed merchant fleets that have not yet had time to transport food and other commodities to Batavia. The combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. In the end, the most direct reason for daring to let the battleships of the people from the east coast into the port is that I am now "many people" in the port, so I am not afraid of you doing anything that is not good for me!

Moreel sent someone to get in touch with Bert immediately, identified himself as a diplomatic envoy (at the same time provided some written identification), and requested to consult with the de facto supreme authority of Ceylon Island to find out the Galle Why is the port closed to passing East Coast migrant boats.

After Burt learned about the situation in his official residence, his mood suddenly became a little complicated.On the one hand, he was a little angry that the people from the east coast came to question him so directly. Anyway, the Dutch East India Company is a big and famous company. When do you want to do something, when will it be your turn to tell the people from the east coast?On the other hand, he is also very aware of the unfavorable situation the company is facing today, that is, after the loss of the Cape Town colony, the merchant ships traveling between Amsterdam and Batavia can only be resupplied in the Mascarene Islands. Rest, and the route is also facing the risk of being cut off by the people on the east coast at any time, so they may be able to be tougher when facing the British and Portuguese, but when facing the people on the east coast, they have few options. I can only bite the bullet and sit down and have a good discussion with the people on the east coast.

Therefore, although he was extremely unwilling, Balthazar Burt, who still had reason, held his nose and agreed to Morley Eel's request, intending to have a conversation with him at the dock of Colombo Port, intending to see him first How to say.Of course, Bert didn't forget to inform Batavia's Governor Van Goins of the matter as quickly as possible, and asked him to make up his mind quickly, because he really couldn't make decisions about some things.

After doing all this, in the early morning of August 8th, Balthazar Burt arrived at the Colombo pier with a drizzle of 20 entourages.Morley Eel, who had just woken up, also left the captain's room as soon as he heard the news, and then got off the boat with a group of entourages and guards, walked with Bert and others to a nearby gazebo that could shelter the rain and sat down, the official launch began. talks.

(End of this chapter)