Invincible urban management

95. The Butterfly Storm That Sets Off the World

In September 1519, the Caribbean Sea, the capital of the island of Cuba, the port of Santiago.

In the northeast of the Caribbean Sea, near the southern tip of the Florida peninsula, there is a long and narrow tropical island, which is famous for its Havana cigars, leader Fidel Castro, revolutionist Che Grava and the red fortress in the western hemisphere island of Cuba.

But in 1519, let alone Castro and his comrades, even the famous Havana cigars had not yet formed a brand.The Port of Santiago, where Castro and Che Grava landed, is just a small town that has just been established.

At this time, the person who ruled the island in Santiago was the Cuban governor appointed by the Spanish royal family, His Excellency Diego Velasquez, who was always healthy and strong.

——The future capital of the Republic of Cuba will be Havana at the other end of the island, but the early capital of the Cuban colony will be in Port of Santiago.

In general, Governor Velazquez is not only a brutal colonist, but also a very capable builder. Since he came to Cuba Island in 1514 to plan to build a town, it took only 5 years to build a Port of San Diego, born in the wild, already has a population of tens of thousands, and has developed into a prosperous town full of strong Spanish style.This speed of development is really astonishing.

In the past few years, Velazquez not only massacred hundreds of thousands of Indians who refused to surrender with an iron fist, but also brought a large number of armed immigrants and missionaries from Spain, and purchased a large number of West Africans from the Portuguese. The black slaves used various preferential regulations to attract many traders from the Netherlands, and used the policy of tolerance to attract some Jews who avoided the religious judgment, and even converted many Indians to Catholicism and became obedient citizens of the Kingdom of Spain.In addition, there are some Latin American mixed-race children born after the multi-ethnic mix-although the scope of the so-called "Latin America" ​​at this time is only a series of islands in the Caribbean Sea.

Relying on the above-mentioned human resources and the gold plundered from Indian tribes, Diego Velasquez spared no effort to build his capital, Puerto de Santiago—the winding streets were designed in Spanish style, and the largest building in America at that time was established in Santiago. The Catholic Church, and the governor's mansion he built with huge stones for himself is recognized by later generations as one of the oldest European-style buildings in America.

At this time, Governor Diego Velazquez, who ruled the island of Cuba, was sitting on the balcony of his newly completed Governor's Mansion, admiring the sea view at dusk.

No matter in what era, tropical beaches are always so charming.Looking around, the calm sea is crystal clear, and the pure blue is endless.Only under the breeze blowing, will there be a slight ripple.Seagulls soar above the coconut groves with the salty smell of the ocean in the soft breeze.

And in the evening, the sunset gradually fell from the sea level, the fiery red sunset was beautiful, and the scenery under the twilight was infinitely intoxicating.

Governor Diego Velazquez sipped from a teacup while admiring the seascape at dusk.On the low table in his hand, a set of exquisite blue and white porcelain tea set was exuding the fragrance of tea, and the beautiful colored porcelain vases, cups and plates beside him were equally pleasing to the eye.

In the exquisite and gorgeous blue and white porcelain teacup, the newly brewed tea is sweet and mellow, refreshing. In this era of Europe, it is a high-quality tea that is not often seen even in the courts of various countries, but it can't comfort the old man who is entangled. And depressed heart.

Because, the assortment of exquisite porcelain on the table, as well as the fragrant tea, are the source of a series of troubles for the Governor-General recently.

——The great nautical pioneer Columbus, who was looking for the elusive Eastern trade route in his life, was actually opened up by that damn Cortez!

Since Castillo, the clerk of Cortes, was ordered to return to Santiago with a large amount of spices, silk, porcelain, tea and other belongings, trying to ease the relationship between Cortes and the governor, the entire island of Cuba let this The news exploded.

Governor Diego Velazquez was very unwilling to admit this fact, but the oriental treasures in front of him at this moment shattered the last trace of doubt in his heart—as far as he knew , with Cortez's net worth savings, I am afraid that he will go bankrupt and borrow usury that has not been paid off for 100 years. I am afraid that he cannot afford to buy so many exquisite oriental porcelains to deceive people!

Speaking of which, this Cortez, whom he hates so much now, is actually a distant relative of the governor. He was also a capable person who helped the governor conquer the various Indian tribes on the Cuban island at first. The favor of Governor Velazquez.

Otherwise, Hernan Cortez would not have been authorized by the governor to appoint him as the commander of the expedition.

However, as soon as this guy took office, he used his power as the commander of the expedition team to force the governor to use a huge amount of public funds and a lot of private savings, and even allocated shares to many wealthy businessmen who were willing to play venture capital. The expedition fleet is his own—well, Cortez himself did put all his belongings into this expedition team, but it only accounts for a quarter of the total expenditure, okay?

You, a distant relative, ate mine and used mine, drove the warship I built with public funds, but drove away all the people I installed, appointed cronies and cronies wantonly, trying to take the opportunity to go out and fight the world by yourself... This is not ungrateful, plotting against the law , what is it?

Don't forget, I personally promoted your immediate superior, and more than half of the expenses for this expedition were public funds that I squeezed out!

Governor Velazquez couldn't help but feel regretful, and at this time, someone just bribed him with money and wanted to seek the position of commander of the expedition team.So the Governor-General followed suit and issued a removal order for Cortez.Unexpectedly, Cortez had almost managed the expedition team as his personal soldiers, and he refused to obey the order despite the governor's anger. The letter of authorization fooled the sailors, and ordered the fleet to set sail and leave. The governor was so angry that he jumped on the shore, and immediately issued a warrant for Cortez.

Fortunately, although Cortez is a wild and unruly guy, he still knows a little bit of worldliness and knows that he can't use the title of a wanted criminal to expand the country's territory.Therefore, after obtaining a large number of oriental specialties in the port of Veracruz, he immediately sent the clerk Castillo back to pay tribute to the governor, trying to restore the relationship-only the porcelain he entrusted this time, Spices, silk, and other exotic goods were enough to cover Cortez's illegal seizure of state assets and private financing, and even more than enough.

In this way, Governor Diego Velazquez, who received an unprecedented gift, began to fall into long-term hesitation and fierce ideological struggle: on the one hand, the various embarrassments Cortes gave him before he left half a year ago The humiliation and humiliation are still fresh in my memory, which made the governor very, very want to take revenge.Moreover, if every subordinate imitated Cortez's reckless behavior, he, the Cuban governor, would not have to do it.

On the other hand, as the so-called cannibal has a soft mouth and short hands, although Cortez is an ungrateful guy, he is more or less up to the mark, for the sake of paying so much tea, spices, porcelain and silk , Is it okay to forgive him one more time?After all, they are also relatives!

However, just as Governor Diego Velazquez was having an ideological struggle and was hesitating all the time, Castillo, the clerk sent by Cortez to clear the relationship, was unable to reach the Governor's Palace due to a long wait in Santiago. According to the news, they actually began to try to pass through the door of the church, bypassing the governor and directly writing to the king of Spain, requesting that Cortes be canonized as the governor of Mexico, so that the newly conquered land would be separated from the governor of Cuba from then on!

In addition, through unknown means, Castillo got in touch with another great official of the Spanish colony in the Caribbean, the governor of Hispaniola Island (the island of Haiti in later generations), as if he wanted to Change the gate.

As a result, Governor Diego Velasquez was furious when he heard the news—as we all know, any high-ranking person hates his subordinates for not being able to get along with other high-ranking people.Moreover, in the Kingdom of Spain in the 16th century, there were still many medieval enfeoffment systems. The governors of the Spanish American colonies also generally regarded their territories as fiefdoms and themselves as princes—for a prince However, if a retainer is a little awkward with himself or something, it is still a "contradiction among the people", but if this retainer goes to collude with other princes, it is an unforgivable crime.

Therefore, the governor immediately ordered to send troops to arrest Castillo, but unfortunately the news leaked out, and Castillo slipped away first.

However, this also made the angry Governor Diego Velazquez finally make up his mind to use force to solve the "Cortez gang" as soon as possible-if this guy really finds a relationship, he will be canonized by the king, making Cortez, a traitor and wanted man, has the title of governor of Mexico with a high-sounding appearance, and he is on an equal footing with him, the governor of Cuba. So where should he put his face as Diego Velasquez? !

At this time, all the preparations for the expedition against Cortes were basically ready, and the only step left was to appoint a commander in chief.

Accompanied by the high-pitched transmission of the Indian servant, a middle-aged man with a dignified appearance and full of military demeanor, who looked like an old soldier, walked in proudly and stood in front of Governor Velasquez to salute solemnly.And the governor graciously asked him to sit down, and made him a cup of hot tea with trembling hands.

Seeing the flattered expression on the other party's face, Governor Velazquez couldn't help but smile.

"...Dear Navaez! I'm afraid you have heard that Cortes, the unforgivable traitor, actually discovered a golden trade route to China in Mexico and brought back many priceless oriental specialties. The whole island of Cuba is going crazy because of this incident!"

"...Yes, I've heard about it, but I don't know what you mean..." Narvaez replied somewhat cautiously.

"...So, this time I have an honorable and difficult task for you! Dear Narvaez!"

Governor Velazquez stood up, patted Narvaez on the shoulder, then pointed to the harbor lined with masts in the distance, and ordered him loudly, "...I have prepared battleships and soldiers for you, please You must master the troops as quickly as possible, familiarize yourself with your subordinates, and then set sail to fight against the traitor who did not follow orders for me! And you must seize the golden trade route to China, no one can take it away Walk!"

The hazy twilight of the setting sun faintly illuminated the ferocious and greedy face of Governor Diego Velasquez.

If it is said that Cuban Governor Diego Velasquez sent an expeditionary army to Mexico, it was basically expected by the traversers.Then another huge change in this world caused by the butterfly effect of the traversers was completely beyond their expectations.

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September 1519, the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the capital of the Kingdom of Spain, the Port of Seville

On this day, the Port of Seville, as usual, has been noisy since early morning.

Thin laborers chanted and loaded and unloaded supplies and cargo for each merchant ship.Loaded or empty horse-drawn carriages rush back and forth, making the entire pier filled with the mixed smell of leather, wool, tung oil, seafood, horse manure, etc., and many buyers and brokers who choose goods shuttle among them, shouting prices Selling and inquiring about each other's information made this port seem more noisy and noisy.

Since the beginning of the age of great voyages, such bustling and lively scenes have appeared day after day and year after year in the port of Seville, and countless great voyages that have gone down in history have also been blown in this port. The first horn sounded to raise the anchor.

A radiant middle-aged man is standing on the noisy pier, directing the sailors to carry food and various supplies like ants, and is confidently preparing for another great voyage that will go down in history...Of course, It was also the last voyage in his life.

His name is Fernando Magellan, a Portuguese who served for the Spanish government, a great navigator who is as famous as Columbus and da Gama, and the leader of the first circumnavigation in history.At the southern tip of the South American continent, a strait is named after him.

Magellan was born in a declining knight family in Porto, northern Portugal in 1480. He once served as the servant of the Queen of Portugal, gained a lot of knowledge in the court, and took the opportunity to get acquainted with several famous sailing pioneers who sailed to the Indian Ocean.

Next, in order to get ahead, the young Magellan joined the expedition fleet of Almeida, the first Portuguese governor in India in 1505.In the next few years, he successively followed this Portuguese expeditionary fleet to carry out colonial activities in East Africa, India, and Malacca. He fought successively with the sultans in India and Southeast Asia, defeated the Arab navy several times, and made many achievements.

When participating in the colonial war in Southeast Asia, Magellan learned from the local aborigines that there is also a vast sea east of the Spice Islands.Moreover, one of his friends, the astrologer Falilo, also calculated the latitude and longitude of the Spice Islands.From this, Magellan guessed that the east of the sea may be America, and firmly believed that the earth should be round.

So, he had a plan to sail around the world, so as to make himself famous in history.

However, in this era, the opening of a global route is not in the national interest of Portugal.

——After Da Gama’s voyage around the Cape of Good Hope, the Kingdom of Portugal in the early 16th century devoted all its military strength and through a series of thrilling sea expeditions, it has defeated the Egyptian, Arabian and Indian fleets that originally ruled the Indian Ocean, and basically controlled the The sea route from Africa around the Cape of Good Hope to the Indian Ocean established a series of trade posts on the coasts of North Africa, West Africa, East Africa and India, and extended eastward to Macau, China, thereby monopolizing the maritime trade routes from the Spice Islands to Europe. to reap huge profits.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Portugal was not interested in voyages around the world at all, and it was even more unwilling to see the Spanish fleet sail from the Americas to the Spice Islands to become their competitors and break the country's monopoly on eastern routes. Therefore, it refused to support Magellan's voyage plan.

Unwilling to give up his dream of sailing around the world, Magellan had to change his family and go to the Kingdom of Spain, and successfully obtained the generous funding of the King of Spain, thus forming an expedition team consisting of 5 sailing ships and 266 people.According to Magellan's scheduled plan, he was going to set sail from the port of Seville in September 1519, cross the Atlantic westward, and begin the first circumnavigation in history.

However, just as the Magellan fleet was about to set off, the explosive news that Cortes discovered Chinese specialty products in Mexico also crossed the vast Atlantic Ocean and reached Seville, the capital of the Kingdom of Spain, disrupting the Magellan's original plan.

"... Mr. Magellan! Is Mr. Magellan there? Which one is Mr. Magellan?"

A young courier dressed as an aristocratic attendant stumbled out of the carriage, then struggled to squeeze through the turbulent crowd on the pier, waving his arms aimlessly, and shouted so loudly.

"...I am Magellan, what should I say?"

Magellan frowned, put down the work at hand and greeted him.

Then, Mr. Magellan got a piece of shocking news that stunned him for half a minute.

"...The latest information from Cuba! Someone found traces of the Chinese in the New World! Your Majesty, please enter the palace to discuss this matter as soon as possible!"

After being dazed for half a minute, Magellan regained his composure. While calmly ordering the sailors to continue loading supplies on board, he asked someone to bring his horse, and prepared to follow the anxious messenger into the palace for an audience.

For some reason, he had a vague premonition that this time the global voyage plan and his own future and destiny were about to change.

In the coming months, conversations like this will take place in cities like Lisbon, Paris, London and Venice.

——A small butterfly descended on the Pacific coast of Central America in the New World. After several years of brewing and fermenting, it finally set off a huge storm that completely overturned history on the other side of the American continent and the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

What's even more regrettable is that the traversers obviously lacked enough expectations for this...