Wild North America 1846

Chapter 496 Short Board
The few people arrested in the tavern were quickly identified. There were three accomplices of the horse-faced man in the tavern. Two of them were arrested, and one escaped with a bad sense.

After torture and interrogation, the horse-faced man and his companions confessed successively;
They are all Chinese Christians who were ordained by the Southwest Church in Los Angeles. They were bewitched by the priest of the church, Jean Bernadotte, and they secretly preached the gospel of freedom, equality, and democracy, and criticized the imperial feudal autocracy and power corruption.

The chief of the local police station did not dare to neglect, and immediately sent additional police forces to arrest the church father Jean-Bernadotte and some church members who had confessed, and arrested his followers one after another.

This "Southwest Church Case" involved more than [-] people. It was a typical case of spreading dangerous ideas through church channels.

Many new Chinese believers have retreated. Originally, religious belief was a good wish to pray for longevity, but now it has been linked to conspiracy and rebellion.

No one knows, will those priests carry private goods with them when they preach?
The North American continent is the place where the ideas of democracy and freedom spread most widely. After the rise of the Tang Empire, a large number of Chinese flooded into this hopeful continent, which completely reversed the widely popular democratic ideas in North America.

Due to the traditional conservative ideas of the Chinese, Eastern religions and language barriers, and the fact that Christianity inherited from the West is not popular, it is called "Guilaoism", which is a non-mainstream religion with a low presence in the empire. .

Several church cases occurred one after another, bringing it back into people's field of vision.

Just like the church case that broke out in the land of China in the same historical period, the actions of the Christian church aroused strong resentment from the people of the Tang Empire, which in turn triggered a series of incidents.

More than 100 churches located in various parts of the empire were successively attacked by the people. Some priests and believers were beaten with bruised noses and swollen faces.

but that's all
It is rare for European public opinion to be in unison, and to criticize the church more than sympathize with it, which is quite difficult.

It is really that the church has done a poor job. As a servant of the Lord, it is enough to preach the doctrine with due diligence.Even using the church channel to instill a dangerous concept of equality and freedom into the congregation, this has already touched the taboo of the feudal kingdoms in Europe.

Clay figurines are still angry, not to mention secular kingship?
this age
It was no longer the Middle Ages, when theocracy was superior to secular kingship.

The feudal kingdoms in Europe took strict precautions against the trend of democratic freedom and anarchists, generally adopted a zero-tolerance attitude, and implemented a severe crackdown policy.

In Europe, whether it is the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Spanish Royal Family, or the Ottoman Empire, the prison cells are filled with some radical scholars and professors, as well as many outstanding students from institutions of higher learning influenced by them, and there are many people of noble origin , are all called "political prisoners" and "dangerous tendencies".

The more conservative and backward kingdoms in Europe are, the tighter they will be on dangerous political speeches, and they will carry out severe crackdowns without letting go.

Taking advantage of this trend, the Tang Empire successively banned a series of church schools and church charitable organizations, imposed strict restrictions on Christian districts, required registration for new believers, and paid an additional "conversion tax".

Since you believe in God, there is always a price to pay.

Under the organized suppression of the empire, the newly-emerged Protestantism suffered a heavy blow and once again failed to recover.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"What did you say? If you want to get a loan from the Royal Oak Bank or the Bank of America, isn't there a bank in the French Empire?" Prime Minister Milian Del Brasso opened his mouth wide in surprise, blurting out questions.

Minister of Finance Antoine Fernandez spread his hands helplessly and said;

"Neither Bank of Lyon nor Paris Saint-Germain has established branches in the Brazilian Empire, and cannot support such a large-scale international bank exchange business.

In the Americas and East Asia, only the Royal Oak Bank of the Tang Empire or the Bank of America has such strength. The above two banks have branches in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo and are capable of directly cashing funds.

Of course, their fees are also high.

The international exchange fee negotiated by the French is 2.75%, that is to say, out of a total loan of 8000 million francs, the bank will take 220 million francs in exchange fees.

Compared with the manpower and material resources required to escort such a huge amount of money from Europe, international exchange is the most feasible and convenient channel. "

"God! To send a sum of money will take away 220 million francs in exchange fees. This is tantamount to robbery."

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, please understand that such a huge amount of remittance does not happen often, and it may only happen once in 20 years or even longer. Armed escort is more dangerous, such a huge amount of money will be tempted by the Tang Dynasty and even the United Kingdom, not to mention the rampant Pirates of the Caribbean and Vikings. Surely they will swarm like flies smelling carrion, laying siege to warships delivering huge sums of money."

In just a few words, Prime Minister Milian Del Brazo shut his mouth.

Just as the Minister of Finance Antoine Fernandez said, in the chaotic Atlantic, a French warship escorting a huge sum of money is simply the target of public criticism, and the Royal Navy can't help but be tempted to end and play a cameo as a pirate.

The Brazilian Empire was in close consultation with the French loan sharks to try to borrow 11 hectares of cotton fields in the country as collateral for a war loan of 8000 million francs, which was equivalent to about 400 million pounds, or 2000 million Tang dollars.

This money is led by Lyonnais Bank, and a total of 11 banks and 34 funds participated in the private syndicated loan. The relevant interest rate and loan term are under discussion, which is also the biggest difference.

The loan will be issued by the French syndicate to fund subscription warrants, and loan sharks will subscribe for the share of the Brazilian war loan. It is expected to involve tens of thousands of French loan sharks and rentiers, which will largely influence the French government's South American policy.

The focus of the debate now is the interest rate of this huge war loan.

Prime Minister Milian Del Brazo could only helplessly accept the reality, and then asked with concern; "How is the interest rate negotiation going?"

"It's not ideal. The French, headed by Lyon Bank, are very greedy. They bite to death at an annual interest rate of 9.5%, and the loan conditions for 12 years are not relaxed. It is far from our goal of no more than 7%. This is the most frustrating Where it hurts." Antoine Fernandez replied with a heavy face.

This is the most odious thing about the French usurer;
No matter how risky the war loan is, it can't scare the French usurers, the difference is only the interest rate.

Like vultures that hover over battle, they feed their appetites on the carrion of the defeated.

In some regional wars where the risk of defeat is high, the interest rate is as high as 20% or even 30%, because the French loan sharks dared to lend because they included sunk costs and intervention costs.

For example, the loan from the Brazilian Empire is actually not very risky. Even if the Brazilian Empire is defeated and split, the subsequent democratic regime must recognize the war loan and assume responsibility for repayment.

Otherwise, France will unite with European countries to deny its legitimacy, or even intervene by force.

in the original history
The British and French banks recovered Xinjiang loans for Zuo Zongtang. The highest interest rate of 350 million taels of silver was as high as 14.5%, and the monthly interest rate reached 1 cent 2 percent 5, which is not the highest.

The highest is the loan that the French lent to Tsarist Russia. One dared to borrow it, and the other was not prepared to repay it at all, so the interest rate was sky high, with a monthly interest rate of two cents everywhere.

It's all bad news, Prime Minister Milian Del Brazo's face turned black when he heard it, and he hesitated for a while before saying;
"God... please punish these blood-sucking Frenchmen!
The current situation on the front line is in crisis. Duke Marquis de Cassias is under great pressure from the Easterners. He urgently needs to expand his army as soon as possible and reach a damn loan negotiation as soon as possible.

We need food, military uniforms, steel, weapons and ammunition, and all war supplies. Your Majesty has decided to recruit another 30 troops, mainly black slaves and Indians. The shortage of supplies is too great.

We can't even equip everyone in the army with a spear. Even if it is cannon fodder, at least they have to eat. Every soldier has a knife in his hand. These materials need to be imported from Europe. "

Brazil is a purely agricultural country, and its industrial process lags behind that of the Confederate States of America. In 1847, Brazil opened the first medium-sized shipyard, which was the starting point of industrialization.

By 1850, Brazil had 50 industrial enterprises in textiles, salt mining, iron making, food, etc., with a total of more than 3000 workers.

From 1849 to 1850, Brazil exported a total of 879 tons of rubber. The main export products were cotton and coffee, and the total value of foreign trade exports was about 210 million Tang yuan.

By 1867, Brazil had added 62 industrial enterprises, 14 banks, 3 loan banks, 20 steamship companies, 8 mining companies, 3 urban transportation companies, 2 gas companies and 8 railway companies.

Railroad and telegraph lines also grew rapidly. In 1866, the mileage of the railway was 675 kilometers, and the length of the telegraph line in 1866 was 287 kilometers.

铁路通车里程约是大唐帝国的1/150，电报线长度是大唐帝国的1/230，外贸出口的总额是1/210。

With the poor industrial capabilities of the Brazilian Empire, they could easily produce 30 cannon fodder, but they couldn't equip each of them with a handy weapon.

Out of the self-confidence and enthusiasm of the South Americans, the upper-level bureaucrats of the Brazilian Empire could not see the gap in industrial strength at all, and were still intoxicated in the powerful dream, full of a sense of self-confidence.

From the Brazilian Emperor Pedro II to a group of important ministers, no one thought that Brazil would lose the war. How could it be possible?

Brazil is a large empire with a population of 1500 million people. It has a vast territory and all kinds of resources. The Andean Governor's Palace is just a new colony with a population of more than 150 million people. It is far behind in all aspects.

Even if 10 people fight one, it is impossible for the Brazilian Empire to lose.

(End of this chapter)