Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 529 The Baron's Reply

"Dear Uncle Christian, I can't describe how I feel at this moment. I feel like I'm suffocating in this dirty, dreary, foul-aired Tartar port. It's full of warlike demons and ignorant aliens. Christians, the glory of the Lord is greatly obscured here, which makes me want to escape from this place that restricts the freedom of my soul all the time, but my responsibilities do not allow me to do so." In the Oriental Port State Hotel, Lao from Lima Baron Bravo was also sitting at the desk, writing a letter with a sad face.

"About the last time you asked me about the colonial competition between the Kingdom and the East Coasters in the area east of the Uruguay River, after sorting out and collecting information for a period of time, I think I can give you a positive answer to your question now. .Maybe the truth always hurts people's self-esteem, but the honest character in my heart and the brilliance of God make me refuse to lie, and here I have to answer you solemnly: We lost in this colonial competition, and we lost completely !"

"From a general point of view, it is our own inattention or slack that caused us to completely lose control of the situation in the area east of the Uruguay River. Since we established the first military post in the area east of the Uruguay River in 1634 Since then, in the past 12 years, no official from Asunción has ever visited the hilly area west of the lake, and only one official from Asunción has visited the grassland area on the east coast for a short time-if hunting is also regarded as a kind of Another kind of 'visiting' activities. The geographers and explorers of our kingdom have never attempted to conduct on-the-spot surveys of this vast and fertile land. Nowadays, many materials about these areas by the La Plata authorities are completely copied. Some short and incomplete travel notes published by people from the coast in a magazine called "National Geographic", which is really ridiculous!"

"The Governor's Palace in Lima It was not until 1639 that a scholar gave a rough description of the situation in the east of Uruguay. But this scholar who had never traveled to the East Coast described it lightly as a deserted area. A very valuable wild land, he once described: "Colonizing the entire east coast area will not only do us little good, but will bring a lot of adverse consequences. This is a quagmire."; "The east coast area is a barren Land, where there is nothing but grass and sparse forests, no furs, no minerals, and no slaves, it cannot be the granary that some people imagine, especially in our colony of La Plata. When funding it to get through the early stage of development.';'The colonization of the east coast region will not only hinder our relationship with the East Coast Republic of China, but also our relationship with the Portuguese, because the Portuguese also have an interest in this land. Ownership is full of interest. This is a disadvantage when we are deep in the war in Europe, and it is something we urgently need to avoid."

"Such views are arbitrary, hasty and blind, as the latest evidence of the richness of the East Coast region may surprise many who underestimate its value. Just yesterday, a ship from Buenos Aires On the fast boat coming to the port of Tatar, the captain handed me a letter from General de la Plata's mansion. They told me that a tributary of the Negro River-the area east of the Tacuarombo River may have a large-scale Not a small gold mine. In the letter they used exaggeration and bold speculation that the gold mines there are comparable to many gold and silver mines in New Spain. Although I have reservations about this, there is no doubt that there is great potential here , it is likely to be able to bring gold income worth 160 million pesos to the kingdom every year, and perhaps some additional silver income, so that the income may exceed 200 million pesos, which is enough for the kingdom to rearm an army of more than 4 people And maintained it for a year. The benefits are so huge, what do those so-called scholars who are blind to it have to say?"

"We just have to imagine that in the Southern Netherlands, Bohemia, Milan, the Two Sicilies, Catalonia, or Roussillon, there is an extra Spanish army of 5 to [-] well-equipped and well-trained. Army, this will greatly change the situation we face on various battlefields. Our enemies will be caught off guard, our allies will be rejoiced, and we will probably win the war." Baron Raul Bravo said with enthusiasm Passionately wrote, "We can also use this money to rearm our fleet, build new warships, add new transport ships, dredge silted ports, and repair broken batteries. The main fleet will also be restored to a certain extent. At present, the Kingdom of Spain urgently needs a naval fleet that matches its own status. Our local fleet even has only a few dozen professional warships, and it is not even comparable to the people on the east coast of the New World. This is absurd and shameful Yes, this shouldn't happen!"

Since the main force of the Spanish naval fleet was devastated by the Dutch a few years ago (the Mediterranean Fleet was completely destroyed and the Atlantic Fleet was severely damaged), due to the mire of war and the long-lasting government financial crisis, its strength has been slowly recovering.The strength of the warships currently possessed is barely enough to escort the fleet that goes to the New World twice a year for trading, let alone go to sea to fight the Dutch or the British.Their current naval strength is at the same level as that of the Portuguese, perhaps not as good as that. On the European continent, the naval strength of continental countries such as France and Sweden is not as good as that of the Spaniards.As a colonial power, this kind of shabby naval strength is indeed impossible and urgently needs to be rebuilt.

"In addition to our own slack and lack of understanding, our diplomatic weakness has also fueled the ambitions of the people on the east coast, making them intensify their colonial activities in the area east of the Uruguay River, and constantly encroaching on the territory that originally belonged to the Kingdom of Spain. Expel or kill the aborigines who are attached to us. In the past five years, the people from the east bank have continuously invaded the hilly area west of the lake. We were surprised by the concessions they saw as a result of military deterrence, further fueling what they saw as a barbaric perception that 'diplomacy is backed by force'."

"But sometimes we have to admit that the military power of the East Coast people in the La Plata area has an absolute advantage over us. Many Lima officials who talk about it can't correctly understand this. They always think that once a war starts, The Spanish army and the army on the east bank will be evenly matched. But I have to say, this is a completely wrong understanding. The people on the east bank build a country with force, and the whole country is filled with a disgusting fanaticism from top to bottom. When When they came into conflict with us more than ten years ago, they did not hesitate to go to war with us; when they had a major commercial dispute with the British East India Company, they went to war again; At the bottom, the whole country almost declared war on the Dutch; now that their relationship with La Plata is going to be ruined, will war be far away?"

"A few days ago, some fanatical and arrogant East Coast soldiers tried to attack me and my entourage at the market, but fortunately, a Second Lieutenant of the East Coast Army who was guarding me managed to persuade them away after talking to them .In fact, not only that, in recent years many well-documented border conflicts have all reflected the militant spirit of the people on the east coast. According to public information, they have 12 infantry companies and 6 cavalry companies And 3 artillery companies, a total of [-] well-trained standing troops, all equipped with modern weapons and equipment, such strength is not something that armed forces such as the La Plata Infantry Regiment, militia, and volunteers can compete with. You once asked me whether the people on the east coast have made up their minds to go to war with us. I couldn't give you a positive answer to this question before. But when I lived in the capital of the people on the east coast for a year, I was very impressed with their behavior Now that I have a certain degree of understanding of social details, social details and public opinion, I am now absolutely sure that the people from the East Coast will eventually fight us in La Plata!"

"The reason why I made this judgment is based on the public opinion of the people on the east coast—they are a group of people who have never tasted the bitterness of defeat in the war. Almost everyone agrees to go to war with us. For this reason, there are even young people The street organized activities to raise money for military expenses, and many ordinary people even donated money for it. They seemed to be eager for the war to bring them a more prosperous life; on the other hand, according to the past performance of the people on the East Coast , They seem to be more accustomed to resorting to force in disputes-naked barbarian style. They will never spit out the meat that has been eaten in their mouths. More than a month ago, they just set up a department called the Northwest Reclamation Bureau Institutions began to openly recruit residents to colonize the Tacuarumbo gold mining area in various towns. Before the establishment of this reclamation bureau, it was an indisputable fact that the people on the east coast had migrated to the west of their territory Tens of thousands of residents carried out reclamation and settlement, and often clashed with missionary groups such as the Jesuits and Franciscans, and even clashed with a few of our military outposts. They have never backed down in this regard, and now the establishment of the Bureau of Reclamation It seems to exacerbate the crisis in this regard, and they are more and more unrelenting."

"So now I am absolutely sure that unless the Kingdom of Spain makes major concessions here, war will be inevitable. But can we really not care about the Tacuarombo gold mine? Can we really turn a blind eye to the wanton massacre of Catholics on the east coast Is it true? The territory of the kingdom is constantly being eroded, can we really retreat step by step? Can gentlemen, including the royal family, really remain indifferent to the plummeting commercial income in the New World? If we want to cheer up, then we must enrich Lapla as soon as possible Tower's military power, because the war is really not too far away!"

After writing this last paragraph, Baron Bravo was still overwhelmed with excitement.After calming down a bit, he put the letter away and put on his coat.After doing all this, he seems to have become the pompous, irascible dandy nobleman again, and he will soon take his servants to the dock, where there is a merchant ship from Spain, the captain is his old acquaintance.He wants the captain to help him take the letter back to Spain and give it to his uncle, Christian, the clerk of the West Indian Academy. Prepare for a war that looks increasingly inevitable.

(End of this chapter)