Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 512 Public opinion is raging

"The Spaniards seem to have a plan for the whole army." "Pravda" reported on February 1646, 2.In this article, people from the East Coast reviewed in detail what the new supervisor had done after he came to La Plata, and focused on the refurbishment of the Buenos Aires coastal defense fort and garrison fortress. There is a description that part of the Spanish warships entered La Plata from Callao through the Strait of Magellan and were preparing to be stationed for a long time.

A trainee reporter named Li Dayan commented: "The new supervisor next door wantonly undermined the mutual trust between the two countries. This move is suspected of provoking an arms race between regions. Whether it is a new fort, a new fort or a new fleet, it makes the The international situation in our country has deteriorated significantly. The Kingdom of Spain's actions are not the attitude that a responsible major country should have."

Álvaro sat in his room, reading a summary of key points from Pravda translated by his son Álvarez.His son has learned Chinese for many years, and it is easy to read newspapers from the East Coast.And he got these newspapers from the east coast through special channels. To be honest, it was not easy.Because on the east coast at this time, it is not ordinary people who can buy a copy of "Pravda" every week, at least the middle class and above.To be able to get newspapers from these people, it must be said that the Rodriguez family has a wide network of contacts.

Although Alvaro was not used to the content, wording habits, etc. in "Pravda", this did not prevent him from understanding the general meaning of the articles in the newspaper.This reporter called—well, Li Dayan or Li Dayan used very provocative words. He first reviewed the "good relationship" between the East Bank and La Plata in the past, such as the joint construction of Colonia Free Trade City, Jointly fight against British and French pirates along the coast, the beef cattle trade that benefits tens of thousands of people in the two countries, and so on.At the end of the article, I made a sharp criticism of the policy of the new supervisor of La Plata, accusing him of destroying the mutual trust between the two countries, trying to provoke an arms race, and hurting the feelings of the people on the east coast.I believe that anyone who has read Li's article will have sympathy for the people on the east coast, and will involuntarily feel disgusted with La Plata's "military" actions.

"It's ridiculous! The people on the east coast have several powerful battle line gunboats, thousands of standing troops, and militia reserve forces that are several times the number. It’s ridiculous that people are militaristic! They really are shameless heretics, and everything is the fault of others!” Alvaro muttered dissatisfiedly, while patiently continued to read the newspaper summary.

"Revealing the Mystery of the La Plata Infantry Regiment - the Spaniard's New Sword!" The "Pravda" published on February 2 once again put the news from La Plata on the headlines.In the article, it was Li Dayan, the queen’s pen, who learned that the Spaniards had set up a new legion in Santa Fe, the La Plata Regiment, through interviews with some Central and South Europeans who had smuggled into the port of Rocha on the east coast. , headed by Major Anthony.

"The regiment has more than 1200 people, all of which use new flintlock rifles, and also have many light and heavy artillery, with strong combat effectiveness." The article continued: "Since its establishment in the second half of last year, the regiment has participated in many encirclement and suppression campaigns. The battle of the Indians killed thousands of peace-loving Indians and suppressed a large number of freedom-loving gaucho herdsmen. Now, they are targeting the people of the east coast and practicing hard day and night. We have There are reasons to believe that after Supervisor Garcia, who is known for his cruelty and harshness, took office, the commanders of the La Plata regiment may take tough measures against the people on the east coast in order to obtain the approval of the Supervisor, destroying our beautiful and peaceful life. "

"Absurd! Absurd!" Alvaro was almost annoyed.This Li reporter is really shameless. It’s okay if they don’t know the organization and equipment of the La Plata regiment. After all, they don’t understand the actual situation, but where did the massacre of Indians start?They did fight the Indians a few times, but the problem was that all the engagements were mostly frontal and there was basically no massacre - well, that was because they were taking slaves.Moreover, the gaucho people who were suppressed were all horse bandits. Isn't this kind of person Dongan himself also hunting and killing?Li Dayan actually hinted to readers that the La Plata regiment would do the same thing to the people on the east coast sooner or later by insinuating that the Spaniards slaughtered the Indians.

"Now the problem is very clear. People on the east coast are indeed very sensitive to the situation. They have indeed felt a strong threat. This can be seen from their newspapers. It's a pity that the officials in La Plata are still there Get away with it, thinking that the people on the east coast will not and will not be able to launch a large-scale war in the short term.” Alvaro, as a veteran who has been in the world for many years, indeed saw a trace of unusual meaning from these two issues of the newspaper.Maybe he doesn't understand things like taking the moral high ground and preparing public opinion, but that doesn't mean he can't feel the smell of gunpowder burning in the air.

On the brink of war, why did they suddenly come to this point?Alvaro thought a little disappointed.

"The Colonia free trade market is officially closed, marking the end of the relationship between the two countries." The third issue of February 1646 (published on February 2) "Pravda" reported again in the form of a sensational headline party Details of the closure of the Colonia Market are available here.In addition to narrative reports, the article also published interviews with some people from the East Coast.Among these people are officials from the National Material Reserve, the State Textile Administration, the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as some groups of businessmen.

Among them, a pagan businessman named Zhu Heng complained to Li Dayan, who has been officially converted from a trainee reporter: "In fact, many businessmen in La Plata are liars. They look down on others for no reason, and at the same time they are stingy. The quality of a sack of wool can be negotiated for a long time. To make matters worse, many merchants defrauded us of the deposit for the wool order this time, and then disappeared under the pretext of the closure of the Colonia market, which made us very angry! There is a The wool merchant whose surname is Rodriguez cheated me out of a deposit of 350 yuan, and I curse him to see Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva!"

It's Li Dayan again!No matter how well-mannered Alvaro was, he was a little angry at this moment.The article written by this reporter is sensational, and the interviewee's words are also ambiguous.For example, the sentence "there is Rodriguez in the surname" made Alvaro's face even hotter. Although he was sure that no one in his family had done such dishonest behavior to defraud the deposit, Rodriguez The words still made him furious, because it is hard to guarantee that many people who don't know the truth will think that their family has done such disreputable things.

"A fierce battle took place near Neukönigsberg. The students of the 35th Regiment of the Academy Guards fought bravely and defeated the enemy's attack. They killed and wounded more than 60 enemies, and captured many Spanish-speaking combatants. After interrogation , these people are from A Coruña and have many years of combat experience. According to the chairman of the Standing Committee, this is the second time that people from the east coast have encountered so-called foreign volunteer fighters who speak Spanish. He himself does not believe that these people have the same relationship with the Kingdom of Spain The government has nothing to do with it, and the Spaniards are obliged to give a convincing explanation. But when our reporter Li Dayan interviewed the Spanish Baron Bravo who is resident in Porto Oriental, the other party arrogantly refused the interview. It shows a certain attitude of the Spaniards." The content of the report in the last issue of "Pravda" published in February made Alvaro gradually calm down from his previous anger, and then gave birth to a chill from the bottom of his heart.

He is too aware of the lethality of this report, which is enough to make the middle class (technical personnel, military officers, wealthy farmers, captains, businessmen, small business owners, etc.) Big disgusted.What is even more desperate is that there are few Spaniards in these so-called middle class (the Spaniards call them gentlemen) groups. They are either from the Dutch and French who are sworn enemies, or they are the nests of pagans. The Nians and Mings had no affection for the Kingdom of Spain—certainly now there was a feeling of disgust and hatred.

These people belonged to the middle class of the society, and if they did not have a good opinion of Spain, it meant that the East Coast Republic as a whole did not have a good opinion of Spain. In Alvaro's view, this was actually a terrible thing.

After reading the four issues of "Pravda" in February, Alvaro only felt a kind of deep despair and powerlessness.The relationship between La Plata and the East Coast has reached a crossroads, and a wrong step may mean war!This is beyond Alvaro's tolerance.But in today's La Plata and even the entire Viceroyalty of Peru, none of the kingdom officials could accurately foresee the threat of war. They were intoxicated by the glory of the Kingdom of Spain, turning a blind eye to the weak local military power, Financial constraints lack understanding and turn a blind eye to the chaotic situation.Everyone is like an ostrich, with its head buried in the sand and its fat butt facing the East Coasters.As long as the east coast people want to, they can kick the ass of the Spaniards at any time.

Alvaro sat blankly in the room while reading newspaper summaries. During this period, he emptied two bags of high-grade shredded tobacco imported from Virginia, showing his irritability.After a long time, he finally got up. After bathing in the backyard, he changed into a new set of clothes, and then boarded a luxury carriage imported from the east coast under the escort of Domingos and other sword entourages. , heading towards General La Plata's mansion.He felt that he had an obligation to inform the Superintendent Garcia of the severe situation that La Plata was facing, so that he could quickly take measures and adjust policies, and it would be best to avoid the outbreak of this tragic war between the two sides.

(End of this chapter)