Invincible urban management

97. Westerners from the East

February 1520, Gulf of Mexico Beach, Sumpoyal Village

A thunderstorm that came and went in a hurry in the afternoon brought a bit of freshness and humidity to the sultry air.Behind the dark clouds that quickly dissipated like a receding tide, the tile-blue sky was exposed again, with white seagulls circling and singing in the air, and the refreshing sea breeze made people feel refreshed.

Easterners from the West, and Westerners from the East, have just concluded an important meeting here on the future and destiny of Central America.

——No way, from the perspective of Native Americans, China on the other side of the Pacific Ocean is located to their west, while Europe on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean is to their east.The "Westerners" in the traditional view of the Old World should be Orientals in their eyes; and the East Asian peoples who are usually considered "Orientals" are Westerners in the eyes of Mexicans... Well, let's talk about it In the end, it seems that the author himself was dizzy...

On the simple pier of this small fishing village, the waves slapped the embankment lightly, the warships undulated gently, and the simple canoes surrounded by the surrounding, swaying with the waves.

The turquoise and clear water gently slapped the reefs on the shore, and the foamy waves washed up on the beach and then receded slowly.Numerous small finger-thick holes are all over the receding beach. Little red crabs crawled out from their shelter and looked up curiously until they were picked up by rough hands, cleaned up and seasoned. Skewer on the grill, or throw straight into a boiling stock pot.

The sea breeze with a slight fishy smell gently brushed over the dense coconut groves, making a soft rustling sound, and rolled up a faint yellow dust mist on the beach.Amidst the crackling sound of firewood, piles of bonfires were burning on the beach, filled with a strong aroma of barbecue.

Crowds of all kinds of dresses and colors sat around the fire, happily sharing seafood feasts and drinking wines of all colors—among them were Spanish soldiers in metal helmets and linen military uniforms, and others in dragon cloaks. Tongues, Tlaxcalans smeared with red dye, Aztec royal guards wearing feathered crowns, salt-soaked cotton armor and animal skin battle robes, hard hats, old-fashioned green uniforms and rubber Hong Xiutiz of Jiefang Shoes is a "female migrant worker", as well as Totonak, a local native seashore with dark complexion and curly hair.

There are also many local indigenous girls with flowers on their heads and delicate features, who shuttle among them like colorful butterflies, serve wine and food for everyone, and occasionally make poses and sing and dance to add to the fun.

Panfilo de Narvaez, a half-life Spanish military aristocrat, is sitting next to a blazing bonfire, drinking the sweet Red Star Erguotou with relish, and tasting a lot of pepper sprinkled with relish. , cumin and other spices, dipped in fine salt, the delicious golden-yellow and crispy grilled fish, from time to time, joked a few words with the cronies around him, with a relaxed and happy face.

He never thought that this expedition would be so easy!

I just landed ashore, and I haven't started exploring yet!Almost all goals have been successfully completed!

All kinds of hardships and dangers that Narvaez originally imagined before departure, such as storms, rocks, voyages, food shortages, aboriginal ambushes and plagues, etc., did not happen during this expedition; All kinds of good luck are falling desperately as if they don't want money. It is not an exaggeration to say that you have won the lottery and your character has exploded!

——The fleet of Narvaez had just landed in the village of Sumpoyal when a group of Indian troops approached them. Hearing that they were attacking Cortes, the generals of this army were immediately overjoyed. Not only did he take the initiative to ask to go with him to encircle Cortez's gang, but he also sent a large amount of food, cotton cloth and gold as gifts.And Navaez also thought it was a good omen when he saw that there would be benefits just off the ship this time.

And then, more good luck came one after another, making Narvaez so happy that he didn't know what to say for a while.

——After disembarking, due to the exhaustion of the long-distance voyage, his army did not immediately go to battle. Instead, he rested for a few days in the village of Sumpoyal. During the period, he saw some rare commodities that seemed to come from China or India, and heard There are many rumors about "Western gods and men".Narvaez was thinking about how to go to the far west to find Chinese strongholds after beating Cortes!Unexpectedly, the Chinese mission came to the door from the inland direction of the west with a large number of Indians of all kinds, without any effort on his part!

In this way, the Easterners from the West and the Westerners from the East had a historic meeting in a peaceful and friendly atmosphere.

Well, well, although in the process of contact and negotiation between the two sides, it seems that there is not much harmony, and many contradictions, conflicts and misunderstandings broke out. For example, two groups of Indians almost went to war directly in the village of Sumpoyar.However, under the hard mediation efforts of him and the Chinese, the forces of all parties finally reached a consensus, that is: "Put aside disputes and work together, and all issues will wait until Cortez is finished first!"

More importantly, Navaez also successfully reached a trade agreement with the Chinese envoys. After the Cortez gang was wiped out, the port of Veracruz was used as a transit port, allowing Spanish businessmen to stay permanently.

The leader of the Chinese mission, a prince with the surname "Ma" assured him that as long as the Spaniards can bring the gold produced in the Caribbean islands to trade here, then all the silk, porcelain and All kinds of spices are available, and they are guaranteed to be cheap and high-quality, much cheaper than the Venetians and Portuguese who monopolize the European spice market at this time!

And the Indians of all ethnic groups also swore to each other that as long as the Spaniards did not leave the port and go deep inland, they would not violate the security of Veracruz Port, and used it as a peaceful trade distribution center among various ethnic groups.

Just a few hours ago, the first batch of goods provided by the Chinese had been carried on board, and Narvaez personally inspected them. They were all the best peppers, cloves, peppercorns and nutmeg, as well as colorful Silk and porcelain.For this, he paid for the small amount of gold nuggets he had just obtained from the natives, as well as the Spanish silver and copper coins he carried with him, and even the ring on his hand, leaving himself penniless, but as long as he could get When they were shipped to Cuba, Navaez had the confidence to sell them for at least ten times the price!

So far, most of the tasks of this expedition have been successfully completed, the trade route flowing with spices and silk has been successfully opened up, and the golden road that marks wealth and fame has been unfolded in front of him... Narvaez is almost happy Can't find North.

Almighty God!Are you rewarding me for my piety over the years, so you specially sent down these Easterners from the West, thus giving me such a great fortune?If I can really succeed this time, I will definitely donate money to build the most beautiful cathedral for you in the future!

When the wine was half full, Narvaez couldn't help but looked up at the sky with tears in his eyes, talking silently like this.

——Different from Cortez, a super madman who is the only one in heaven and earth, Narvaez in the East, who also got to know the East through "Marco Polo's Travels", is relatively more conservative and stable.For the legendary rich and powerful Eastern Empire, there is also awe from the heart, which is more in line with the "normal" European way of thinking in this era.

Under the guidance of "Marco Polo's Travels", a "realistic bestseller" that is actually similar to fantasy readings in other worlds, that mysterious oriental country has simply become a paradise on earth in the eyes of most Europeans in this era ——The people there live in gorgeous palaces, wear gorgeous silks and satins, eat unimaginable delicacies in Europe, and live a life like a fairy; the people there are very rich, silk and porcelain are high-end luxury consumer goods in Europe Spices and spices are not very valuable commodities in the oriental origin; as for the wonderful gold, there are so many in the orient that it is so exaggerated that you can use gold to pave the floor and decorate the roof with gold...

The East is a fantastic land of spices and gold.Going to the East to make a fortune has become the dream of many Europeans.

This dream has inspired several generations of Europeans to go to the raging sea, thus ushering in the famous era of great navigation.

By the beginning of the 16th century, although the route from Europe to India, Southeast Asia, and China had been initially opened up by the Portuguese, 3 pounds of pepper worth 100 gold coins in India could be sold for 80 pounds when shipped back to Europe. Gold coins, the huge profits are unimaginably high.But the price the Portuguese paid for this was unimaginably high - Portugal lost thousands of excellent sailors during this unprecedented great voyage.They crossed one ocean after another, one climatic zone after another, sea ships sank continuously, people continued to die... Finally, the route was opened. In order to maintain the [-] nautical mile long route from Lisbon to Macau, China, Portugal People had to build a dotted fortification trading station on the long coastline spanning tens of thousands of nautical miles across the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa from West Africa, South Africa, East Africa, India, Malacca, the Spice Islands to Macau.Around every fortress, there are hostile faces of alien races.

To make matters worse, since the Portuguese chose the road of military conquest from the very beginning, they had an unrealistic attempt to become the hegemon of the entire Eastern world.The Portuguese Expeditionary Force with very limited forces had to fight against the entire Eastern world—they were fighting the Chinese, the Arabs, the Africans, the Indians, and the Southeast Asians at the same time. He fought fiercely with the Venetians in the naval battle of Diu.In West Africa, in Somalia, in the Arabian Sea, in the Bay of Bengal, in the Strait of Malacca, and in Guangzhou Bay, the endless naval and land battles one after another caused the Portuguese to bleed almost dry. There are also failures.

Moreover, their opponents are not the original natives of the Stone Age in the New World, but civilized countries with warships, artillery, and cavalry like Europeans, and old Muslim opponents who have been fighting with Christians for nearly a thousand years. The Portuguese expeditionary force is often Thousands of people will die in one battle.

In contrast, the Spanish conquest of America was as easy as a game.

Even if the Portuguese were able to win the war, due to the backward sailing conditions of this era, they would often die next from climatic discomfort, shipwreck and epidemic disease.According to the Portuguese themselves: "One in 100 guys who go to India will not come back!"

The huge profits of the spice trade during this period were entirely based on the numerous bones of the Portuguese, which made people envious and frightened.

However, the entire Kingdom of Portugal only has a population of 200 million, which simply cannot support such a terrible death rate.According to the general view of the Spaniards, as long as this rate of population loss continues for a few more decades, even if mercenaries can be recruited from other parts of Europe, the Portuguese should die!

However, just as the Portuguese were recklessly fighting the entire East for spices and silk, the Spaniards discovered another shortcut to obtain spices and other oriental specialties—from Spain to Vera Cruz in Mexico. Hong Kong, just cross the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, the entire voyage is only one-fifth of the Far East route from Portugal to the Spice Islands, and the safety factor is many times higher.

The well-informed Narvaez, as long as he imagines a little, he knows how many merchant ships smelling of gold coins will flock to the port of Veracruz to buy cheap and high-quality spices from the "Chinese" , silk and porcelain, and many oriental products never seen before.

In addition, he also understood why the governor of Cuba, Velasquez, insisted on taking this wonderful trade route with coins back into his hands at all costs.Therefore, although the port is still controlled by Cortez's people, Narvaez has already made up his mind. After the war is over, he must find the mayor of Veracruz Port anyway The super big fat is missing.

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Now, there is only one last task left for Narvaez, which is to crusade against the Cortez gang, capture the traitor, and send him to the gallows.

This task does not seem to be difficult to complete, because the Indians in Central America are currently standing with Navaez.Even the envoys of the "Ming Empire" became furious during the meeting because Cortez and his group of wanted criminals dared to forge official documents and pretend to be Spanish officials to deceive them. , and serve as the main combat force.

The Totonacs, who had been allied with Cortes, had to tear up the covenant under strong pressure from all parties, and withdrew their fighters from the port of Veracruz, and they were about to follow his army. The "Regular Army of the Kingdom of Spain" participated in the crusade against the "Cortez Gang".

According to Narvaez's estimate, there will be [-] troops fighting alongside him in the siege of Veracruz Port. Just thinking about it makes him excited-in Europe that has just come out of the dark Middle Ages, due to feudal separatism There are many states and countries, the population that the kings of various countries can directly control is not large, and the scale of armies and wars is generally small.Group fights involving dozens of people and hundreds of people occur every day, but battles involving tens of thousands of people are very rare.

Take the Hundred Years War between Britain and France that ended in the last century as an example. At that time, France, the strongest country in Western Europe, mobilized the whole country in the largest battle, but only gathered a mere 1494 troops.At this time, the battle for Italy was breaking out between France and Spain. In 5000, King Charles VIII of France gathered [-] people and fought from the Alps to Naples, sweeping the entire Italian peninsula from north to south.

Therefore, in Europe in this era, apart from the princes and kings who ruled a country, there were very few generals who could lead tens of thousands of people to fight.Narvaez reckoned that he would never have such an opportunity again in his life. Even when he was old, he could brag about it in the tavern, saying that he had led an army of [-] to fight—although most of them were natives— — Guaranteed to impress a legion of alcoholic gamblers in no time.

More importantly, even if these allies don't work hard, Narvaez is confident to win the victory alone-he has 300 brave soldiers under his command, more than [-] armed servants, as well as [-] warships and dozens of soldiers. A cannon is already a formidable force in the West Indies.

(Note: Due to the butterfly effect in the novel, the date of dispatching troops is earlier than in history, and the preparation time is shortened. Therefore, the strength of Narvaez's crusade team has shrunk slightly compared to the original historical figures.)

After Cortez lost most of the Indian allies (there were still some Indian slaves brought from the Caribbean islands), due to a series of casualties in the previous expeditions, there were only poor Indians left. More than 400 people were divided between the port of Veracruz and the city of Tenochtitlan, hundreds of miles apart, and they were unable to support each other in time.

What's more terrible is that all the ships of this group of rebels have been scuttled by Cortez himself, and now they have nowhere to go even if they want to escape.

In fact, when he landed in the village of Sumpoyal a few days ago, he had already won his first victory against the Cortez gang—the five sneaked out of the port of Veracruz to meet mistresses in the village Many rebel soldiers became captives of the crusading army before they could escape.Through the above-mentioned information tortured from their mouths, Navaez became more and more complacent and confident, and felt that it would be effortless to crusade against this group of people.

Originally, he planned to send a few people to lobby for surrender, but now it seems that there is no need to do anything extra, as long as the army is pulled over directly-if the gang of traitors under Cortez have some brains, they will definitely watch the wind And down.

Thinking of this, Narvaez couldn't help taking another gulp of shochu triumphantly, then hugged an indigenous girl who was flirting with her head while being drunk, took out a beautiful little jewelry and shook it in front of her twice, then viciously kissed hard...