Wild North America 1846

Chapter 492 Brazil's wishful thinking

The essence of imperialists is bluffing, using their prestige to intimidate and blackmail small and weak countries in the region, the most successful case;
It was during the second Opium War that the Tsarist Russian Empire intimidated the Qing Empire in the name of military intervention and easily achieved its goal.

Through such vicious means, Tsarist Russia acquired a border territory of more than 170 million square kilometers without firing a single shot, and coveted Xinjiang and Mongolia and other places with insatiable desires, showing its ugly face.

Britain and France were victorious in the first Crimean War, while the Tsarist Russian Empire was beaten badly, and had no choice but to abandon the "Westward Expansion Policy" that had persisted for more than 200 years, and turned its head to look east.

In February 1856, Tsarist Russia surrendered.

Only eight months after the end of the Crimean War, in October 1856, Britain and France joined forces with Tsarist Russia, which was beaten to death in the first Crimean War, to launch the second opium campaign aimed at expanding colonial interests. war.

This time, the imperialists targeted the corrupt Qing government.

Tsarist Russia took advantage of the fire in the second Opium War. In 2, "Aihui Treaty" Russia ceded 1858 square kilometers in the north of Heilongjiang in the northeast of China and south of the Outer Xing'an Mountains.

In the Treaty of Beijing in 1860, 40 square kilometers of land east of the Ussuri River was ceded to Russia.

In 1863, "Sino-Russian Exploration and Division of the Northwest Boundary" recorded a territory of 44 square kilometers east of Lake Balkhash in the northwest of China.

In addition, the Kangxi Dynasty's "Nerchinsk Treaty" cut away more than 20 square kilometers of territory from Huaxia Shenzhou.

60万+40万+44万+20多万≈170万（平方公里）

The huge losses suffered by the Tsarist Russian Empire in the Crimean War were actually recovered from the Qing Empire. How can this be justified?

during this period
The Tang Empire is always watching the Civil War between the North and the South of the United States, making intensive preparations for the war, and is always ready to find a favorable opportunity to intervene in this great war that will determine the final structure of North America, and there is no time to spare it.

While the British, French, Russian and other imperialists were eating their mouths full of oil in China, the Tang Empire also completely defeated the United States of America (North) through a series of large-scale battles, establishing the hegemony of the entire Americas.

The Tang Empire did not suffer from this exchange.

After the North American War, a series of important treaties were signed, the establishment of a unified North American market, the post-war reconstruction led by the Datang Empire, and strategic measures such as the reorganization of the financial order finally formed the North American pattern of "one large area and three small areas".

Whether it is the North dollar issued by the United States of America in the north or the South dollar issued by the Confederate States of America in the south, the value of their currency is linked to the Tang Yuan issued by the Tang Empire at a ratio of 1:1, and a linked exchange rate system is implemented.

That is to say;

The credibility of the United States of America (North) and the Confederate States of America (South) is not enough to support the strong currency value of the issued currency. It must be linked to Tang Yuan and gold to rebuild the value system.

For example, in the above-mentioned banks that have obtained permission to issue U.S. dollars, [-] Tang Yuan must be deposited in order to issue [-] U.S. dollars (note: North or South U.S. dollars). The U.S. dollar is not actually a banknote, but a Tang Yuan exchange certificate .

Its basic logic is;
With the exchange voucher in hand (note; North or South US dollars), residents can go to the bank to exchange Tang yuan of the same value.

The above-mentioned banks of the two countries have no right to issue excess currency, and it is impossible to clear debts or stimulate the economy by printing banknotes, and the financial means that can be implemented are quite limited.

In order to obtain the right to issue exchange certificates, the above-mentioned banks must deposit gold in the designated banks of the Tang Empire, namely the eight major banks of the empire.

Through financial and debt means, the Datang Empire basically dominated the financial and bond markets of the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, and had the ability to influence its monetary policy and influence its domestic political trends.

Back to the topic
Seeing that the British Empire's blackmail methods failed, the British Minister James was full of complaints and dissatisfaction, but he had nothing to do with the tough Datang Empire, so he could only give up resentfully.

His methods of deceiving Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay are okay, but the Andean Governor's Office doesn't accept this at all, let alone Minister James, the dignified envoy of the British Empire, in the eyes, and he doesn't even pay attention to it.

This made Minister James couldn't help complaining behind his back;

A group of savages, reckless men, rude and ignorant colonists, barbarians without faith...

Nov. 1867, 4

a week after the war broke out
The news of the defeat in the Binonite Valley reached Sao Paulo, the capital of Brazil, which once again caused an earthquake in the upper echelons of Brazilian politics, and the empire was in a precarious state.

Throughout the history of the Brazilian Empire, its predecessor was a Portuguese colony, which lasted from the Age of Discovery to the early 19th century.

Napoleon attacked Portugal in 1807 and occupied Lisbon on December 12 of the same year.

In order to escape the war, the Portuguese royal family and most of the Lisbon nobles fled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1808.From 1808 to 1821, this city was the capital of Portugal, the only capital in Europe that was not in Europe at that time.

In August 1820, a Liberal revolution broke out in Portugal. The first measure of the new government was to invite King Joao VI, who had been exiled to Brazil, to return home.

With the opportunity to go downhill, Joao VI returned home with almost all members of the royal family and ministers, landed in Lisbon in July 1821, and reasserted the Portuguese throne.

After Joao VI returned home, Portugal's first constitutional assembly attempted to cancel the various privileges that Joao VI had granted to Brazil, making Brazil fall back into a colonial situation.

Brazilians have long been used to having their own king and government, and this practice has further stimulated the Brazilians' desire to have their own king and government.

Brazil cannot accept the abolition of its privileges and being reduced to a colony again, and civil opposition is loud.

Under such circumstances, Joao VI's son Pedro decided to stay and oppose the Portuguese government's resolution. Joao VI also acquiesced in his son's approach and reached a certain tacit agreement.

On September 1822, 9, Prince Pedro, who stayed alone in Brazil, declared independence and established the Brazilian Empire.

By the end of 1866, the new regime was the sixth largest country in the world. The territory of the Brazilian Empire was second only to Britain, France, Russia, and China. The current emperor was Pedro II, a lucky man who inherited the throne as a child.

In the resplendent palace
Pedro II swung his sword angrily and chopped the exquisite porcelain and antiques on the table into pieces, and chopped the baroque table from the Portuguese court in the 16th century so scarred that it was useless.

He couldn't control the anger in his heart, and shouted loudly;

"How could it be possible to lose like this? Are the Argentines stupid pigs? Even if there are more than 4 pigs, it will take a few days to catch them. I don't believe... There must be something wrong?"

"As God bears witness, I curse those Orientals to hell, including all of them."

"Damn Argentines, damn Orientals, and damn British, in order to safeguard the sacred kingship and honor, the Brazilian Empire will never back down, let them all go to hell."

"Oh...poor Duke Marquis de Cassias, it's not fair that he has suffered all by himself..."

"By the way... I want to write a personal letter to Demon King Richard. I once sent blessings when he ascended the throne. Did I get such a reward?"

Seeing Pedro II's furious appearance like a wayward child, Prime Minister Pacquiao Flores sighed secretly, stepped forward to dissuade him and said; "Your Majesty, although it is unbelievable, all this unfortunate It still happened. We should think about what to do?"

"The glory of the Brazilian Empire is above all else. The brave knights are not afraid of sacrifices. There is no doubt; I believe that the Duke of Cassias will bring me the victory I want. The Brazilian Empire has always been the most powerful country in South America."

"Uh... I'm worried that the Argentines won't be able to hold on?"

"Why? You mean..." Pedro II gradually calmed down from his rage, and turned his head to stare at the Prime Minister with a look of disbelief on his face.

Brazilian Prime Minister Pacquiao Flores shrugged helplessly and said in a tone of "I have already expected it";

"Your Majesty;

Although I don't want to admit it, the speculators in Buenos Aires are really unreliable.With the situation on the battlefield unfavorable, I am worried that Argentina will take the lead in making peace with the Tang Empire, thereby betraying the interests of the allies of the Brazilian Empire.

In this regard, we have to guard against it. "

"My dear Prime Minister, have you received any news?" Pedro II asked with a slight change of color.

Prime Minister Pacquiao-Flores hesitated for a while, but said;
"Your Majesty;

Arriving with the bad news of the defeat came a request from the Argentine government to renegotiate its position;
They hope to re-examine the combat objectives of the Allied forces, hope not to occupy the capital of Paraguay, Ascension, and not to stimulate the Tang Empire too much, and hope that military operations should be as restrained as possible.

This shows what?
It shows that our Argentine allies have become timid and tried to send some kind of signal in this way, which is not a good sign.

When the big ship of the Triple Alliance first showed signs of water leakage, some people already wanted to jump ship.

Compared with the fact that the Argentines can sacrifice the interests of the inter-provincial side to please the enemy, the situation we are facing is more severe, and there is almost no way out. "

The worried words of Prime Minister Pacquiao-Flores made Pedro II completely calm down, and he also frowned deeply, feeling very troubled.

think for a moment
Pedro II asked cautiously; "Master Prime Minister, do you have any effective countermeasures?"

Prime Minister Pacquiao-Flores replied;
"Your Majesty;

I suggest that the news of the defeat be blocked immediately, so as not to cause violent social turmoil, and to give those people with ill intentions and democratic republicans an opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to make waves.

The most urgent task is to quickly continue to increase the number of troops on the front line.

At present, the Allied forces are sufficient to deal with Paraguay, but they are far from enough to deal with the mobilized Datang Empire, and there is still a big gap.

Even out of prudent considerations, at least 20 more people must be armed.

It is now possible to consider a decent exit from the war, but if there is no achievement on the battlefield, it will be difficult to obtain the desired result of the Brazilian Empire.

anyway
Try to gain the initiative on the battlefield. The Orientals are much more difficult to deal with than the Paraguayans, and their strength is much stronger. It is the real big trouble facing the Brazilian Empire.

How to survive this crisis, I am afraid we still need the support of European forces..."

"To be more specific, what do you mean..." Pedro II blurted out.

He guessed something in his heart, but he was not completely sure.

Prime Minister Pacquiao-Flores answered clearly;

"The Brazilian Empire can accept casualties of 20 or more troops, but it cannot bear the social turmoil brought about by failure. The opponents of the imperial power and those anarchists have been demagogic, trying to find opportunities to attack.

In any case, the empire must nip the germ of the danger of secession.

As long as we can get strong economic support and use the freedom of emancipating slaves as a temptation, we can arm an army of black slaves.

Thus dragging the war into a long-term stalemate, and then getting what we need on the negotiating table.

British promises are too shaky, French loan sharks have a lot of influence over the government, we can get support from the French to keep the war going.

Bundling of interests is a good way, at least the French usurers will not be willing to see the failure of the Brazilian Empire. "

Listening to the prime minister's words, Pedro II's eyes gradually lit up, nodded vigorously and said, "Then act immediately, we need money and strong support from the French to strengthen the belief of the Argentine allies to continue fighting. Brazil I will never lose to those hateful Orientals, never..."

The establishment of the Kingdom of Brazil was not all smooth sailing. At the beginning of its establishment in 1822, the Portuguese Parliament was furious and sent a Portuguese expeditionary force to eliminate the newly established Brazilian Kingdom regime in an attempt to restore colonial rule.

under these circumstances
Pedro I pulled out his own knife and yelled the famous declaration "Give me freedom, give me death", and then confiscated the fields of many Portuguese manor owners, expelled the Portuguese nobles, and did everything right.

Finally, with the intervention of British force, Portugal pinched its nose and recognized the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil, and legislated to prohibit Portuguese immigration to Brazil.

The relationship between the two has also completely broken up, which means that they have never been in touch with each other.

When the Brazilian Empire is facing a crisis, it is impossible to expect the original suzerain Portugal to do anything. That is purely a daydream.

Among Brazil's more than 1500 million population, the proportion of pure white descendants is very small, less than one-fifth of the total population, that is, 260 million to 280 million people.

The rest are mixed-race whites, Indians or blacks. There is a saying that vividly describes the different historical periods of Brazil's development, that is, "In the early stage, it relied on Indian slaves, and in the later stage, it relied on black slaves."

During the period of great geographical discovery, when the Portuguese landed on the South American continent, the country had only a population of more than 150 million. The Portuguese colonists were busy plundering the wealth of India and the Far East, and it was difficult to mobilize more people from the suzerain country to develop Portuguese America.

In this way, the more than 300 million indigenous Indians on the land of Brazil naturally became the objects of enslavement by the colonists, and there is no way around this.

According to historical records;
As early as 1531, Baron Martin Afonso de Souza, Portugal's first military and political officer in Brazil, sent an "in-depth team" of more than 80 people into the interior to search for gold, attacked Indian villages along the way, and captured Indians were taken to the coastal areas as slaves, which was the beginning of the enslavement of Indians.

This move achieved great results, and attracted the Portuguese colonists to follow suit. They formed the "Bandera Team" one after another, entered the interior to capture Indians, and forced them to do slave labor in sugar cane plantations.

The blood, sweat and bones of the Indians laid the foundation for the primitive accumulation of capital in Portuguese America.

The Portuguese were the main participants in the notorious triangular trade and the most vicious slave owners.The captured Indians died in large numbers due to the heavy labor on the plantations, and the labor force could not make ends meet.

With the continuous development of the plantation economy, the Portuguese colonists had to turn to trafficking and driving black Africans.

Thus began the main phase of Brazilian slavery - the enslavement of black Africans.

1575-1650
Angola alone transported 38 slaves to Brazil. In the seventeenth century, 5 black slaves were trafficked to Brazil.

At the beginning of the 5th century, Brazil's "gold fever" rose, and the slave trade reached its peak. The number of black slaves entering Brazil reached [-] every year, reaching the most prosperous period.

The total number of black slaves imported into Brazil during the period of slavery was about 1500 million. More accurate figures come from literature and some special records. It is estimated that by 1866, the total number of black Africans who entered Brazil was 733 million.

In fact, the numbers are much more than that.

To date
The total number of black slaves in the Brazilian Empire is about 420 million, surpassing the United States as the largest destination for black slaves. Slavery still exists today, and the slave trade is still rampant.

According to the statistics

From 1820 to 1865 alone, more than 140 million slaves were transported to Brazil.

Throughout the colonial period, slavery was the foundation of Brazilian plantations, and Brazil's plantation and mining industries developed entirely on the blood and sweat of slaves.

Under the harsh conditions, the death rate of blacks was extremely high, and the average life expectancy of black slave labor was only 7 years.

The reason why Prime Minister Pacquiao-Flores is full of confidence is because the Brazilian Empire has an astonishing number of black slaves, as well as Indians at the bottom of society. There are as many cannon fodder as you want.

Not to mention 20 people, even 50 people are not a problem.

The only thing restricting the crazy expansion of the Brazilian Empire's army is economic factors. As an agricultural country, the Brazilian Empire doesn't have that much money to arm a large army.

Even if half of the people were equipped with muskets and half with spears and machetes, 50 troops would be enough to drag down Brazil's weak finances.

Pedro II knew what the old fox was thinking?
As long as the Brazilian Empire overcomes the difficulties in front of it, relying on the fig leaf of victory, it will be enough to maintain the feudal rule of the Brazilian Empire for a long period of time in the future, and the huge war debt it bears, then it will be time to find a way.

It is nothing more than a method of collecting money such as collecting war taxes. If new gold deposits are discovered, then it is OK, and the war debt can be paid off in minutes.

As long as the long-term rule of the Brazilian Empire can be maintained, all problems are not problems.

The contradictions in Brazil are complicated, and various political forces are everywhere. Pedro II, the emperor, is also very hard. He has to deal with these big nobles and big manor owners to maintain the superficial brilliance.

This veil cannot be torn away, otherwise the popular anger will ignite the whole of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and the ruling class of the Brazilian Empire will be finished.

(End of this chapter)