Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 482 New Market ([-])

The next step is to discuss the boring details. For this reason, Mo San specially called several of his assistants over to bargain with each other.The Ottomans were not very sure about the type and quantity of arms they needed, or they were not very sure about their ability to pay.But it doesn't matter, Mo San has plenty of time for this lengthy and boring negotiation. After arranging his assistants, he started another action of his own, which is diplomatic public relations—commonly known as giving gifts to promote relationships.

While visiting old contacts such as Nasukh Pasha in Istanbul, he sharpened his head and wanted to meet other powerful figures.For example, Ibrahim Sultan's teacher Sinsi Hauka, the current Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha, Empress Dowager Kosem Sultan, court eunuch Lala Suleiman Aqa and so on.However, these big figures either still look down on Mo San, or they are very busy. Only the palace eunuch Lala Suleiman took the time to meet Mo San, which made him very happy.

Lara Suleiman Aga is a young eunuch who is in charge of many small and medium eunuchs, guards and slave male servants in the Sultan's court. Muhammad's biological mother, a former slave girl from Russia, maintained a good relationship, in short, a very simple character.Of course, Mo San, who was born in China, is well aware of the power of the court eunuch, so he gave Suleiman Agha a large gift, and Suleiman Agha also accepted it with a smile on his face. It looks really peaceful.

Some people may say that Suleiman is a eunuch with status after all, how could he accept the gift the first time they met.In fact, if you understand the degree of corruption in the Ottoman Empire at this time, there will be no such doubts. At this time, most of the Ottoman officials have to donate a large amount of money to their superiors and competent departments. Like an official.It is conceivable what the officials who spend money to buy official positions will do after they take office. The expenses they spend on running for official positions will inevitably be passed on to ordinary people in the end, and this will undoubtedly aggravate the Ottoman domestic crisis. Public grievances.

Therefore, it can be said that it is common practice to receive gifts in Ottoman at this time. It goes up to the Grand Vizier (Prime Minister), Aga (Commander) of the Guards, and down to the local Pasha (Governor), Sheikh (Lord, Chief, Patriarch), Bayi (lord, low-level bureaucrat), almost no one did not accept or give gifts, which almost became a kind of official culture and unspoken rules of the Ottoman Empire at this time.In comparison, Lala Suleiman, the eunuch Ajia, only received gold and silver coins worth more than a thousand yuan from Mo San, twenty pieces of valuable furs, and some Dongzhu brought back from the wild Jurchen. It's really nothing to say.

The leisurely days continued until June 6, when Ibrahim Sultan's army began to land on Crete. The first battle was to besiege the Venetian port of Hanya.After all, Ibrahim Sultan did not personally lead the army to fight against the Persians like his brother Murad IV. He did not have such courage, so he decided to hand over the command of the army to the Agamen on the front line. It is better to turn the power back to the concubines in the harem.As long as the Ajias handed over the captured spoils to him, he wouldn't bother to care about other things.I heard that those hateful Christian pirates hid all the treasures they plundered over the years on the island, and the Venetians also built a large supply base on the island, so there should be no shortage of loot.

The 10 troops have all started to land on the island to fight, and the people behind are still arguing with the people on the east coast about the types, quantities and prices of weapons purchased. The al-Maliki government in Iraq in the Middle East in later generations struggled against ISIS from time to time.Perhaps this kind of thing is really ridiculous, Kara Muradaga of the Ganishari Army can't stand it anymore, he is asking for instructions from Bektashi Agha, Sultan Ibrahim, and Queen Mother Sultan Kosem And Xinxi Howka, finally decided to start speeding up the negotiation process, abandoning some unnecessary trivial details, and directly started a face-to-face conversation with the people on the east coast on the core issues of the type, quantity and payment method of weapons.

At this time, Mo San could no longer stroll outside leisurely. He also returned to the venue and started a verbal confrontation with the Ottomans. In early August, when the lengthy negotiations between the two parties had been going on for more than a month, an Ottoman supply fleet was routed near the island of Naxos. The Christians received great sympathy and help from the Christian world, and they formed a new Christian joint fleet, preparing to compete with the Ottomans for sea dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean.

This bad news finally exhausted the last bit of patience of the Ottomans. While they transferred all the warships purchased from the east coast docked in the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, they reached an early stage of arms purchase with the people on the east coast as quickly as possible. protocol.The main contents of the agreement are: the people from the East Coast will provide five thousand 32-C flintlock rifles located in the warehouse of Xinhua Port, Madagascar (the additional standard accessories are a 41-year steel bayonet, an iron cleaning rod, and a rifle strap), 1 pairs of leather military boots, 1 leather ammunition bags, 12 armed belts, [-] leather water bladders, [-] spears, [-] collar armor, a batch of telescopes and artillery measuring instruments, [-] doors of various types All artillery and ammunition were sold to the Ottoman Empire at a preferential price, and the price of all the above goods was [-] East Bank dollars.The Ottoman Empire will pay the full amount in cash in one lump sum, on the condition that the people on the east bank immediately organize personnel to deliver goods.If there are additional armament orders in the future, the price and payment method will be discussed separately by the two parties.

Many soldiers of the Ottoman Empire had been trained in the use of flintlock guns, but they still used the old arquebus.In the era when matchlock guns had been phased out in Western Europe, the Ottomans' armaments were undoubtedly lagging behind.Moreover, the Ottoman army still maintained a large number of cold weapon troops at this time, which was in sharp contrast to the number of spearmen in the European infantry phalanx, which showed that the composition of the Ottoman army was similar to that of the European infantry. Combat thinking is also gradually outdated.For such an aging Ottoman Empire, when the navy did not have an absolute advantage, it was difficult to attack the well-defended Venetian fortress across the sea.

This battle may take a long time!Mo San suddenly had such a feeling in his heart, but he quickly shook his head and smiled, playing for a long time is good for people on the east bank.The longer the delay, the greater Ottoman's demand for military purchases, and the more money the people on the east coast will make.The production capacity of those military factories in China has not reached the maximum in recent years. Let's see if the more than [-] troops of the Ottoman Empire can make the domestic military factories that are usually awesome on weekdays busy and complain.

And the longer the fight has another advantage.That is, as one of the competitors of the East Coast people in cotton cloth, the Venetians have been causing a lot of trouble for the East Coast people in the Italian market. If this battle can hold them back and make them poor, this country that has just recovered from the economic depression The small Mediterranean country that has not recovered for a long time may completely withdraw from the competition with the people on the east coast in the cotton cloth market due to lack of money to update equipment and decline in influence. Big plus.Not to mention that this may involve part of the energy of the two live treasures of Austria and Spain, which will inevitably reduce the various pressures that the East Coast Republic faces in the New World.

After the agreement was reached, Mo San was not ambiguous. He immediately asked two assistants to take his personal letter and a copy of the agreement to Suez Port, and then took a boat to Xinhua Port to find the director of the National Material Depot of Xinhua Port to deliver the goods.As the plenipotentiary envoy of the East Coast Republic to the Ottoman Empire, he already has great power, and it happens to be within his purview to sign "regular" business agreements with foreign governments, so the issue of shipments from Xinhua Port is not a problem. big.

After Mo San’s assistant set off, as if to celebrate the agreement reached by the two sides, on August 8, the Ottoman army captured the port of Chania and seized a large amount of supplies and some artillery left by the Venetians.The news was quickly sent back to Istanbul, and Sultan Ibrahim was very happy. He finally had time to withdraw from the concubines in the harem and meet some of the Aga who came back to report the good news.His Majesty the Sultan encouraged them to continue to fight bravely, and at the same time tactfully expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of spoils. He asked the commanders on the front line not to only focus on capturing cities, but should pay more attention to collecting spoils.

Poor Greeks on Crete have welcomed the Ottoman army from the first day they set foot on the island. They are welcome to rescue the Greeks from the harsh Venetian rule, but how do they know that the Ottoman army will compare How much better are those Venetians?Although the Greeks accounted for a considerable proportion of Ottoman's [-] troops, they did not have the slightest sympathy for the so-called compatriots on Crete.

After capturing the port of Chania, the Ottoman army slowed down the pace of attack due to supply difficulties.The Venetian navy frequently launched attacks in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Ottomans lost a lot. Even a fast cruiser purchased from the east coast was burned by the Venetian arson ship during the battle. Therefore, the supply of combat materials on the front line subject to certain restrictions.Taking advantage of this opportunity, the main force of Venice on the island gathered in the capital city of Gandia. After obtaining a vital supply of materials and personnel, they began to repair fortifications and deploy artillery, preparing for a long-term confrontation with the Ottomans.

(End of this chapter)