Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1530 Difficult Progress

"Sir Fox was arrested. The secret police of the East Coast people searched the Golden Deer Shop and arrested a total of 12 people. At the same time, they also froze the shop's account in the Bank of La Plata. Now many businesses cannot be done. , unless you happen to bring cash." In the newly completed English embassy in Dongfang Port, Sir Charles was listening to his subordinates' report, and the news obviously shocked him: "The people on the east coast are treating us very badly now. I even wonder if they will rush into the embassy to arrest people in the next moment, and the relationship between the two countries that has warmed up in recent years is estimated to be re-examined."

Charles also sighed when he heard the words, and re-engaged with the east coast. This loss is indeed a bit big, because many things that have been confirmed are expected to change again, such as the negotiated contracts for the export of some industrial machines. Of course, the British are not there yet. The money has been paid, the bank account is frozen, and it's messed up!

When it comes to these machines and parts, we have to mention the industry in England today, that is, the dependence on goods from the east coast is increasing.This kind of dependence is passive but irresistible. In the early days, the English tried to resist the invasion of machinery and parts on the east coast, but recently, more and more businessmen have applied to the king to allow funds to flow out to buy Mechanical parts produced in the east coast, cutting heads for processing (of course only the types allowed to be exported), durable hardware tools and so on.

The king didn't understand this very much at first, and felt that it was necessary to spend a huge amount of more than 3 pounds every year to purchase these things?But in the end, he still gave in, because the people below successfully made him realize that if he used similar products produced in the UK (in fact, it is difficult to produce many things by himself), the expenditure would be far more than [-] pounds, so in the end he Still, a license was issued for the outflow of the funds.

The purchase expenditure of more than 3 pounds per year was exchanged for a large number of iron textile machine parts (replacing the wooden mechanical parts produced in the UK), machine tool parts, processing cutter heads, hardware tools, and soda ash (used in textile and glass manufacturing) , bleaching powder (used in the paper industry, which is one of the six pillar industries in the UK, and partly used in the textile industry), and these commodities have injected strong impetus into the relatively good manufacturing industry in the UK, making the UK Domestic wool, glass, paper, munitions, leather products, and building materials poured into France, Germany, and Italy, earning huge profits.

It can be said that British industrial capital has tasted the sweetness from the trade activities of importing east coast standard equipment and parts, and unknowingly adopted the technical standards and specifications of the east coast.With the gradual development of British industry in the future, its reliance on industrial machinery and parts on the east coast will become stronger and stronger. Unless the British can cut their wrists, endure the sense of gap in using domestically produced inferior equipment, and work hard to copy and catch up, they will never get rid of this situation. situation.

The United Kingdom is like this, and so is the United Provinces, especially this country has also undertaken the transfer of some of the eliminated technologies on the east coast.Leiden, a major city in the textile industry in the United Provinces, can see that a large number of eliminated hydraulic textile machines lined up on the east coast rumbled and produced a large amount of woolen cloth, cotton cloth or linen, and then sold them through the powerful distribution network of the Dutch. Traditional commercial sites such as the German region and the Baltic Sea coast continue to be dotted with the few remaining industrial landscapes in the Netherlands.But generally speaking, the United Provinces' demand for East Coast-style machinery, parts and chemicals is indeed not as urgent as that of the English, and the quantity is also much smaller. This seems to explain the gap in the industrial level of the two countries from the side.

"For the contract signed with the people on the east coast, those who have already paid should immediately urge them to deliver the goods as soon as possible. Those who have signed the contract but have not yet paid, please think of a way as soon as possible. There are still more than 2000 pounds in cash in the embassy, ​​and there will be more later. Some merchant ships who come to trade from the mainland may also have some cash or goods on them (which can be sold to people on the east coast), try to raise all the money, and transport those precious goods back to England. London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle We all need these things, so don’t be stingy with the money at this time, because as long as we ship these things back, we can recover several times or even ten times the income in the future.” After a moment of silence, Sir Charles began to calmly order: “In addition, stop All espionage activities, let everyone give me peace of mind. Now that the Golden Deer Business Hall has been sealed up, I don’t want this fire to go to the embassy again. That will be the end of it. I dare say that the East Coast people’s The secret police must be watching our every move with a magnifying glass, we can't be picked out by them, understand? Stop all activities, everything!"

"I will remember, sir." The intelligence chief who reported the report nodded, and then added: "In fact, since the Golden Deer Shop was seized and Mr. Simones was arrested, the spies of many countries have stopped their activities. Everyone is not stupid. If you are accidentally caught by people from the east coast at this time, what terrible things will happen if you don’t keep it together, especially Spain and Portugal bordering the east coast. So, I will tell everyone to be careful , but it may not be possible to inform everyone, because it is too unsafe now, especially some of our people are still far away in South Africa, and it may not be possible to pass the news once in two years."

Sir Charles sighed: "It's good to know some of them. As for the fate of others, it depends on the arrangement of God's will. I hope that among the spies publicly executed by the East Coast Syphilis Patient Statistics and Investigation Bureau next month, there will be none of us. People. The matter of the Golden Deer Commercial Hall is really a tragedy. I also hope that the industry in England can survive this shock. I think the people on the east coast may embargo England for a period of time because they need to find Turn your face."

Having said this, Sir Charles recalled the letter sent by his friend from London a few days ago, which highlighted England's progress in steam engines, and wondered whether it would be adversely affected by this shock.The friend mentioned in the letter that the workshop of Mr. Maurice Thompson, a large tobacco wholesaler, shipping merchant, and one of the partners of Thomas Stone Tucker Company, had launched a brand new steam pump, and it was launched in the Thames, London. It was successfully operated for three days in a shipyard by the river—well, it fell down after three days, but it was still a big improvement—in three days, the water pump worked day and night, which was better than the animal pump next door that used mules and horses. The efficiency is much higher, the pumping speed is much faster, and because it can use all fuels including coal and firewood, the maintenance cost is also very low (it is better than mules and horses that eat grass and grain beans), so it is favored It was sought after by many businessmen who were invited to visit.

It is reported that several coal mine owners in Newcastle inquired about the details of this steam pump, and one person placed an order on the spot to buy two sets, intending to bring them back to use in their own mines.The two steam pumps were later shipped to Newcastle and installed. As a result, one broke down and was damaged on the spot, and the other stopped after working normally for more than a week. The platform has almost been repaired and can be put into use. This has not seriously affected the normal production order of the mine.However, the steam engine produced by Thompson's family has repeatedly fallen into the nest, but it also shows its low reliability and impractical use. They are not exquisite enough in workmanship and the quality of materials is not relevant enough.

Compared with the British steam pumps that already have customers (currently only limited to shipyards and coal mines), the progress of Portugal, France, the United Provinces and other countries that carried out research almost at the same time was somewhat unsatisfactory. .Basically, their steam engines can only be called "toys" instead of having a certain practical value like the British, and the difference is not small. This may also correctly reflect the gap in the industrial level of several countries.

This time, once the people on the east coast completely freeze the trade with England, it will inevitably affect England's mechanical processing field.As far as Charles knows, Maurice Thompson's workshop has been using East-made parts all year round. Once the trade between the two countries is temporarily cut off, they can only rely on inventory to support them. Otherwise, they can only go to Birmingham or Wales to find a way. See Let's see if the artisans over there can relieve their troubles.Otherwise, the processing accuracy of the steam engine will be a problem, and the efficiency will inevitably decrease-of course, Charles also believes that there are many skilled old craftsmen in Birmingham, who can process things that are not inferior to or even higher than the precision of eastern parts, but the problem This is because the cost is relatively high, one or two is okay, if there are too many, the loss outweighs the gain.

"Sir, maybe the situation is not so pessimistic." The subordinate also comforted Sir Charles, only to hear him say: "Even if the trade between the two countries is really suspended for a period of time, that's okay, and maybe it will motivate the craftsmen in Birmingham even more." It is not necessarily a bad thing for them to work hard to improve their skills, to motivate workshop owners to quickly improve the level and management of their workshops, and to motivate scholars to decipher the knowledge unique to the East Coast people more quickly."

"That's the only way I can think of it." Charles said with a wry smile.In fact, things are not so easy!

Sir Charles has also lived on the east coast for many years, and knows many things about this country very well.For example, there are many large-scale factories in this country, and the workers concentrate on doing all kinds of work full-time. There are only a few places in England that have such enterprises.Moreover, these factories have also established their own factory-run technical schools, recruiting young people who look smart from primary school graduates to learn various skills so that they can be better used by the factories.

This way of training workers can only be done by some trade associations in England, and the scale is much smaller.Moreover, the apprentices trained by those trade associations almost have to work day and night for ten years or more for those who invest in them, before they can be free and open their own businesses. How can this be compared with the East Coast?Not to mention the difference in knowledge level between the apprentices trained by the two countries. Charles used to hear people complaining that the workers under him were so stupid that they couldn’t teach something after a long time in England. The east coast is much better. At least these apprentices have graduated from elementary school, and their comprehension level is much stronger, so they will naturally learn things faster—of course, this is only limited to the cities. In the vast inland hinterland, I heard that there are Education is very problematic. The number of primary school graduates is very small, and the quality of teaching is also poor. Therefore, a large number of ignorant rural teenagers also act as industrial apprentices. They are almost the same as apprentices in England. This shows the importance of basic education.

Therefore, the longer he stayed on the east coast, the more Charles realized that the gap between England's industry and the east coast's industry was all-round, partly determined by the level of industry and education, and partly determined by the system.England's industry may of course be stimulated to make progress after the severance of trade between the two countries-in fact, it has been making progress over the years-but it is hard to say how far it can progress. This requires them to reform their backward industrial system first, but This is too difficult.The same is true for education. Unless the poor boys are very lucky, it is impossible for them to have the opportunity to receive education, even if it is just apprenticeship education that is extremely difficult and lacks freedom.

However, Mr. Charles also believed that after he sent diplomatic letters one after another—the envoys or businessmen of other countries are probably doing the same thing—after they were sent back to London, whether it was His Majesty the King himself or members of Parliament Gentlemen, you should be a little touched by this, right?There are also some basic textbooks, scientific magazines (especially medicine) and even ordinary newspapers on the east coast that I risked a lot of money to collect. I heard that London has established a large-scale translation office. While doing translation work, it recruits students to teach Chinese. , That should be understood by many students-I heard that London has now banned people from pouring sewage or dumping garbage on the streets at will. Although it is hard to say how effective it will be, it is at least a good start.

As long as England continues to walk on this correct path, it is not impossible to surpass the East Coast in the future, right?After all, according to Pravda, as of the middle of this year (1668), the population of the entire east coast is estimated to have just reached 215.2 million (of which Ming people accounted for 44.52%, and the proportion of second-generation citizens has climbed to 39.17 %, the number of white men continued to remain at 7%, and the number of white women dropped slightly to 9.3%. In addition, the number of non-national laborers has risen to a historical high of 28.8, which surprised many people), which is less than England If you count Scotland and Ireland, which are under the domination of England, it is even more incomparable.

So there is hope for England, provided they continue to do the right thing, which Mr Charles is hopeful about.

(End of this chapter)