Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2359 Portuguese Layout

Iron House, London, 1698 December 12.

Zheng Dexiang has been a little irritable recently.The government will be changing at the end of this month. He is thousands of miles away from the capital and has no news. It really makes people restless.

According to the East Coast system, when the executive committee is re-elected, the main government departments will naturally have to change along with them, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Pity him, the Zheng family has been in business for many years, and a group of old men with the best relationship are going to go down, which is really embarrassing.If there are no accidents this time, the member of the Executive Committee in charge of foreign affairs and foreign trade will be appointed by a more powerful official to conform to the future situation.But his Zheng family and they are not in the same way, which is a bit troublesome.

At this time, Zheng Dexiang hoped that Shao Yaoguang, the current chairman of the executive committee, could continue to stand firm and use the impending war as an excuse to postpone the reelection, so that his Zheng family still had a chance to turn around.But he also knew that this was an unattainable dream. Although Shao Yaoguang wanted to continue to sit on the chairman's throne, the situation did not allow it.He had no choice but to comply with public opinion and retire honorably.If nothing else, the next person to take office will be Liao Degong, a veteran with a strong military background, so as to better lead the East China Republic in the face of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so as not to miss too much.

"The old guys can't wait!" Zheng Dexiang sighed, but expressed his understanding.Whoever it is, I'm afraid they will not be able to hold back this opportunity to make a name in history.It is understandable that Chairman Shao is unwilling to step down. It is also understandable that Chairman Liao has successfully won the favor of the Founders Council and is eager to take office.Alas, it's all life!No one to blame!

But Cai Zhenguo's club is probably also very unhappy, right?Thinking of this, Zheng Dexiang laughed unkindly.As the special envoy to Europe, he probably thinks that the seat of the Executive Committee is in his pocket, right?It's a pity, this time he missed it. Some seniors in the diplomatic system took a fancy to him and wanted to have a good time. After the war ended and signed a peace agreement with the European countries, he would retreat.There is no way!

In the post-war negotiations, the leading power is definitely not on the side of the special envoy to Europe.Instead, they'll just be a marionette with most of their powers stripped away.If nothing else happens, there may be high-level officials arriving in Europe to preside over the negotiations in person.

In fact, it is said that Cai Zhenguo's seniority is not low, and he is a serious second-generation official.But who made him give birth a few years later and work a few years later?Now the senior vice ministers in the ministry are all focused on taking over the position, what's the matter with you, Cai Zhenguo?After all, this kind of opportunity to show your face is not common.It's fine if it's normal, and there's no need for everyone to fight you to the death.But now, of course, everything is different.

In fact, Zheng Dexiang and Cai Zhenguo met in Viana do Castelo in northern Portugal a while ago, and the two sides poured some bitterness on each other.However, it seems that Cai Zhenguo has not given up. He is still actively seeking the leading power in the post-war negotiations, even if he offends others. He is already in his 50s, why do he care so much?

Zheng Dexiang understands this very well.The two drank some wine, and under the sympathy of each other, it seemed that all the unhappiness in the past had disappeared.Afterwards, the two talked about the expansion of the Viana do Castelo military base, which involved a small dock berth, a ship repair yard and a large ammunition depot, which cost a lot of money. many.

Zheng Dexiang said that he would go to the Netherlands to recruit technicians as soon as possible.With these people working as low-level coolies, coupled with the technical backbone recruited from the east coast, it is almost possible to set up a shelf.This matter is actually quite important. After the Navy arrives in the North Atlantic in the future, the biggest key to maintaining its combat effectiveness is whether its logistics capabilities are sufficient.Among the various logistics indicators, the ship's maintenance capability is the most important thing, otherwise, the ship will only be hit less and less, and the ship will become weaker and weaker.After all, even if there is no war, the ship will spend a lot of money on repairs and maintenance after going out for a period of time.The navy fleet has always been a gold-swallowing behemoth!

In addition, the Army also put forward a request to renovate the Viana do Castelo base.After all, this base was originally rebuilt on the basis of the Portuguese, and the layout is a bit messy and a bit simple.A major war is about to break out now. If the French army invades Spain in the future, it may pose a threat to this base.Therefore, upgrading the Viana do Castelo base has become a must!To this end, the Ministry of the Army proposed a complete set of reconstruction design plans, which are expected to cost more than 30 won.

For this part of the funds, the commercial stations on the east coast in Europe will jointly contribute half of the funds, and the Portuguese will contribute the remaining 15 yuan. It has basically been negotiated.The newly completed base will be named "Wolf's Lair", echoing the "Eagle's Nest" on the east side of Genoa *, as the two keys for the people of the East Coast to gain a foothold in Western Europe - a mixed group of people on one side, and a group of people on the other side. When fully loaded, the deterrent effect on the enemy is still relatively large.

Of course, the wolf den base also needs some guards.However, there is no need to recruit additional mercenaries for this. It is said that the Portuguese government will send [-] soldiers to station here to train with the people on the east coast, and the command is in the hands of the commander of the Wolf's Cave Fortress. It can be said that it is full of sincerity.

Undoubtedly, such a gesture of favor by the Portuguese will inevitably bear strong pressure from the European countries, especially France, the largest country in Western Europe.But they don’t care anymore, seeing the powerful navy on the east coast—they’re not sure whether a small army on the east coast can fight hundreds of thousands of French troops in Europe—they have a lot of overseas interests, and they simply increased their efforts to seek refuge. What views do not view the.Now the situation in Europe is turbulent, and I feel panic if I don't hold my thigh.

Cai Zhenguo and Zheng Dexiang were satisfied with the Portuguese's obedience, but the army's request was a headache. After all, it was asking them to pay, but in fact they had no reason to refuse.The Army's request is actually very legitimate. Everything is based on the overall situation and is only for the national interest. What else can you say?Therefore, they finally agreed to the transformation and upgrading plan of the Wolf's Cave Base proposed by the Army, and initially decided to start construction in early 1699, and solve the problem as soon as materials and personnel were available nearby, with a view to completing the transformation before the middle of 1700-one and a half years, if If the money is in place quickly, it is almost enough.

In addition, Cai Zhenguo also mentioned one thing, that is, the Sixth Mixed Regiment of the Army who has arrived in Italy wants to "make trouble."Its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Bai Chuanping, planned to lead his troops to land in Ceuta in early 1699, and then launch a swift attack on Morocco.In fact, Cai Zhenguo didn't quite agree with this matter, but he couldn't restrain the gang of warriors, so he finally admitted it while pinching his nose. At the same time, he communicated with Zheng Dexiang and asked him to find a way to mobilize a sum of money (not less than 20 yuan) ), together with the 20 yuan raised by someone from Cai, was used as a reserve fund for the Sixth Mixed Regiment to launch a war.That is, once there is an accident in the war and the war expenses exceed the budget, then this part of the funds will be offset.If it is not enough, Zheng Dexiang will find a way to borrow another 30 yuan from the Dutch, and Cai Zhenguo will also find a way to make the Italians bleed and get 30 to [-] yuan.

Zheng Dexiang was speechless about this.In his impression, the Moroccans are still relatively tough. It was only 30 years since the founding of the country at this time, and the army and politics have not been completely corrupted. On the contrary, they still maintain a good fighting capacity. I can tell.For such a country, Zheng Dexiang doubts whether it can be resolved quickly.You must know that the east bank has few elite soldiers, so it is better to make a quick decision than to fight for a long time.It would be fine if the enemy's courage could be destroyed in a single battle, but if the enemy persisted in refusing to admit defeat, stalking, no matter the cost, it would still be a headache.Not to mention spending money, does the sixth mixed group have enough "schedules" to play with these Moors who are not bright enough?If you really get stuck there and can’t get away, then it’s going to be a joke. After all, the Moors have the bonus of religious weapons, they fight guerrillas everywhere, and there are few people who bully you. It is still possible to do this.

Zheng Dexiang expressed his worries, and Cai Zhenguo also expressed his understanding, and at the same time signaled that he should not worry too much, because he had already sent someone to Lisbon to contact and invited the Portuguese to send troops together.This country has been in love with Morocco for 200 years - when Portugal was annexed by Spain, it was because the king died in Morocco and had no heirs left behind - although it is much more peaceful now, but find a way to move around, if you can't keep others, you will follow The people from the east coast were dispatched behind their buttocks.Once the Portuguese are dispatched, the pressure on the people on the east coast will be much less.Especially when the Sixth Mixed Regiment attracted the main force of Morocco, the Portuguese landed on the Atlantic coast and stabbed the Moroccan chrysanthemum, which should have a very good effect.

But if you want to make the Portuguese move, you must not rely on pressure alone, and you have to give them some benefits.For example, Cai Zhenguo made a clear request that Zheng Dexiang open the two major material transfer depots in London and Riga, and donate a batch of weapons, ammunition and other military resources to the Portuguese as a reward for sending troops.Zheng Dexiang understood the seriousness of the matter, and nodded in agreement without hesitation.

After talking about these matters that required cooperation, the two people who were worried left Viana do Castelo and returned to their respective stations.Cai Zhenguo started to communicate in private, intending to make a last effort.As for Zheng Dexiang, he was guessing the list of members of the new executive committee and thinking about how to make money.If you want to be an official and want to make progress, then this face is absolutely unacceptable.It's a pity that he is now far away in London, too far away from the power center in the country, so it is inconvenient to move around, and he can hardly do anything except write some letters back home.

It's really not easy to mix in the officialdom!

I will finish my business trip tomorrow, and I am exhausted.

This chapter is the last chapter of this volume.There is also a volume of "Golden Age" at the back. This book has entered the aging period, but the subscription is still acceptable. Thanks to the readers who have accompanied me all the way to the present.

(End of this chapter)