Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 322 Common Defense

On February 1642, 2, the sky was still cloudy and rainy.On the empty Xinhua Castle pier, a Portuguese ship from Mozambique Island slowly stopped by the trestle.Luigi Ballardi dusted off the white hunting suit, then stepped onto the rope ladder on the deck, and descended skillfully to the pier along the rope ladder.

Next to his ship was a Dutch-style three-masted sailing ship, which seemed to have a tonnage of four or five hundred tons.There are obvious repair marks on the board. Maybe this is the Dutch ship captured by the East Coasters?God forbid, the poor bastard got right into the crossfire of a well-fortified coastal battery. Perhaps the only reason the East Coasters didn't sink it on the spot was that the sinking ship would block the waterway.

"Mr. Luigi Ballardi?" Schinger's secretary Rodrigo walked up to Ballardi with an oilcloth umbrella and asked in a questioning tone.

"Yes, I'm Ballardi from Siena." Ballardi said in Portuguese with a thick accent, "I was ordered by General Fernando to discuss with you some time ago Matters raised on the date."

"Then, please come with me." Lisbon-born Rodrigo nodded, then politely handed Ballardi some umbrellas and motioned him to follow.

Ballardi didn't say much, and after distributing the umbrellas to a few followers behind him, the group followed Rodrigo and walked towards the city along the Shugang Highway.

The Shugang Highway is still paved with broken bricks, tiles and gravels. Although there has not been a large-scale softening phenomenon under the heavy rain in the rainy season, some roads still inevitably have some slurry, which makes the shoes of people walking Often covered with mud.However, this kind of road surface is already very good in Balardi's opinion. You must know that even in big cities like Bordeaux and Florence, most of the road surfaces in the urban area are muddy.When it rains, it is often extremely muddy. Coupled with the sewage and garbage dumped by the residents, the road gives people the impression that the sewage is flowing horizontally, making it difficult to get down. Pedestrians often pass by covering their noses.

There are many canopies on both sides of the road, and there are many black slaves with expressionless faces squatting in the sheds, occasionally mixed with some Malay slaves.There are some tools such as shovels at the feet of these people, and they seem to be in the middle of their work.Even if it rains, you have to work. People on the east bank are really cruel masters, haha.

The road passes through a dense coconut grove, and then extends to a huge flat square.The ground of the square is paved with red bricks, which is very flat. It seems that the people from the east bank are really planning to do a big job here.Those Muscat and Persian businessmen have long been passing on rumors that the people on the east coast will set up a large trade center here. Now it seems that this is probably not just a rumor, but that the people on the east coast are really doing this preparations.It is conceivable that once the East Coast market is established, they should be able to slowly attract merchant ships from various countries who originally went to Mozambique Island for trading, relying on the large number of high-quality and cheap commodity resources they have at hand.

In this way, Mozambique Island has been sentenced to death as a trading port.This cramped small island cannot compete with this newly rising port city on the east side of the strait in terms of hardware facilities or the quantity and variety of goods provided.Perhaps, the only advantage of Mozambique Island is that it is right on the shipping line, while the port city called "Xinhuabao" by the people on the east coast is slightly off.

A small drainage ditch is dug between the Shugang Road and the square, and the drainage ditch is covered with a rectangular cement roof with seepage holes.The rainwater in the gutter was rushing in one direction. Correspondingly, although it rained continuously, there was very little water on the road or the square, and most of it flowed into the complex along the gutter. In the underground pipeline network, it finally discharged into the bay along a huge channel-just like the circular cement pipes that Balardi saw on the deck of the ship leading directly to the sea.

It's an ingenious project, but it's also a costly project.Ballardi shook his head. General Fernando of San Sebastian Castle decided that he would not be able to spend so much money and materials to build such a huge urban sewer facility.And it seems unnecessary, the people on the east coast are too extravagant, they almost seem to be building this colonial city with the attitude of building their own capital.Balardi, who has served as a clerk beside Fernando for many years, is very clear that whether it is the Portuguese, the Dutch or the English, they are running most of the colonies with a predatory mentality at this time. It is to make quick money, and lack the patience to manage the colony well. Unless the colony is very important, it is difficult to get proper investment.

The people on the east coast are different. They have built magnificent city walls, mighty forts, strong piers and reclaimed flat farmland wherever they went.The investment here is huge, and those large stones, bricks, cement and lime alone are an astronomical investment. What's more unfortunate is that these materials are often not produced in the colonies, and they need to be transported thousands of miles from Europe Transportation, the cost will be higher then.For example, the famous Spanish galleon fleet carries a large amount of bricks on the ships departing from Seville every year. Only big businessmen can afford it.I am really jealous of these people on the east coast. Their government allows them to burn bricks locally, and they also have the unknown technology of burning cement, all of which allow them to build their own cities at a relatively low cost.

After passing through a city gate made of thick hardwood, Balardi and his party finally entered the urban area hidden behind the tall city walls.Some buildings in the urban area are made of wood, while others are made of bricks. At this time, there are almost no pedestrians on the street, and one or two people passing by occasionally still hold some working tools in their hands.They don't rest even in rainy days, what a group of hardworking guys, Ballardi couldn't help sighing secretly.Compared with those blacks who like to sit under the trees in a daze, these immigrants from the Ming Dynasty are really hardworking. Maybe I can suggest to the General to recruit more immigrants from the Ming Dynasty to Mozambique to reclaim wasteland?

"Mr. Luigi Ballardi?" Shiqinger stood under the eaves of his office and nodded reservedly towards the person who came.

"I am Balardi, respected Mr. Shi." Balardi took off his top hat, bowed slightly, and said.

"Please sit down." Shi Qinjie pointed to the seat in the room, and then said.

Balardi didn't talk nonsense, and directly took his entourage to sit across from Shiqinger's desk.

"So, Luigi, what does General Fernando think of my proposal?" Shi Qinjie asked straightforwardly.He has made no secret of his worries. Although Wang Tiechui has repeatedly reassured himself that he does not have to worry too much, the Dutch only have more than 20 ships traveling between Europe and the East Indies every year. Generally speaking, it is difficult to threaten Xinhua Castle. safe.However, considering the weak combat effectiveness of the Second Fleet, once the Dutch block the port as they did when they besieged Mozambique Island, the people on the east coast will be in a very passive position.Not to mention that he has just approved the construction of the southern Tacheng area, which does not have such complete defense facilities as the Xinhua Castle, and it is probably difficult to resist the invasion of the Dutch.Then, at this time, it would be a wise move to win over the Portuguese, who also suffered from the Dutch, and strive for the two sides to establish a common defense system against the Dutch—or a quasi-alliance.

"General Fernando agrees to this." Balardi did not go around in circles, and said directly to Schinger: "Damn Dutch pirates, they are spying on the rich Mozambique Island almost all the time. They are still in the east The island of Ceylon attacked us for no reason. Last year, it colluded with the aborigines in Johor and other places to invade and occupy the city of Malacca, which we have ruled for more than 100 years. They forbade the kingdom’s ships to dock in Malacca, and all merchant ships from various countries who came here to trade Imposing heavy taxes and wantonly destroying the local trade rules that have been formed for many years. There is nothing worse than this, and General Fernando also believes that it is time for us to unite against the threat of the shameless Dutch."

"Then about the establishment of a regular patrol fleet?" Shi Qinjie began to ask the core question.Forming a Sino-Portuguese joint fleet to regularly patrol the major ports of both sides is the proper meaning of this joint alliance between the two sides.

"As you proposed before," Balardi said, "the two sides will send three ships each to form a combined fleet. As for the command of the fleet, each side will appoint an experienced captain to negotiate the command. The cruising route of the United Fleet is Mombasa-Zanzibar-Mozambique Island-Sofala-Lorenzo Marquis-Tacheng-Fort Xinhua, how about it? This cruising route map synthesizes your proposed Opinions, and also take care of our major ports here, do you have any different opinions?"

"This cruising route map is very good, and I have no objections." Shi Qinjie said after thinking for a while, "But I have to clarify one thing. Are there any professional warships among the three ships you are going to send?"

"No, they are all armed merchant ships." Balardi replied honestly, "but our sailors are all top-notch, and they are very experienced and brave."

"In this case, I think we only need to send two ships, because our ships are all professional warships, and one of them is a powerful battleship equipped with 66 cannons. The firepower of our two warships is already far away. More than your three armed merchant ships, so I think we only need to send two ships." Shi Qinjie said.

"I have to ask General Fernando for instructions. But I don't think it's a big problem. As you said, your warships are far superior in performance." Ballardi shrugged and said.

(End of this chapter)