Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1554 Pampa ([-])

While the Dutch were discussing the export of porcelain with Cai Huaze in Hai'an Port, on June 1669, 6, in Niuzhuang Port, a newly established port town on the Pampa Grassland, Buenos Aires, Governor General of Peru, Kingdom of Spain Owando, the supreme chief of the procuratorial court district, was looking helplessly at a stern-faced East Coast official, not knowing what to say.

Niuzhuang Port is located in Necochea Port on the eastern edge of the later Pampa Prairie. It is a colonial town that has sprung up in recent years due to cattle hunting and intensive processing of livestock products.The town had no name at first, and the east coast government did not send people to the government to colonize it. However, with the increasing population of the east coast and the continued popularity of La Plata bison in the domestic market, many people who dreamed of making a fortune drifted abroad. Came here across the sea, or were employed by the government's cattle team, or teamed up with others, and then started hunting the thousands of bison that roamed the grasslands.

Undoubtedly, their hunting operations were extremely successful. The captured young cattle were snapped up in the east coast, and even a lot of adult cattle that were not well domesticated were bought.In addition, the market sales of raw materials such as cowhide, horns, tendons, and tallow are also very good. The members of the cattle hunting team all earn a lot of money, which undoubtedly stimulates more people who dream of making a fortune. ——especially those non-national laborers who have just become regular workers and have no money left—come to catch cattle on the grassland.

Later, some businessmen also saw business opportunities. They hired manpower and purchased machines from China, and then shipped them to Niuzhuang (the name everyone agreed to) to such an extraterrestrial place. For example, the marinating of beef and so on, it can be regarded as helping the members of the cattle hunting team to solve a big problem.After all, those people don't have much time to stop and slaughter cattle, which is the job of a butcher.

Now, the East Bank government sees that Niuzhuang Port has gathered more than [-] people, and it is no longer a colonial point that can be ignored. Therefore, without notifying the Spanish Royal Government, the State Development Bureau sent a set of The team came over and formally managed the place—it really can’t be justified, Niuzhuang Port is such a big business, cowhide, beef, live cattle, etc., the annual sales are extremely amazing, if you let it go, it will be lost in vain Tax source, this is something that the members of the executive committee who have always been black-eyed and can't see the white money can't tolerate it. Therefore, He Yuan, the former customs officer of Hai'an County, was sent here as the mayor of the town, and took full responsibility for this. side affairs.

To be honest, the mayor of Niuzhuang Town is a department-level position, and the head of the Hai'an Port Customs that He Yuan previously served was a deputy department-level cadre, so it is really underrated to be the mayor of the town.However, I feel that there is not much room for advancement in the customs system. If you climb up, you will be the head of the customs of Xingnan, Qingdao, Dongfang and other big ports. The competition is too fierce. He Yuan, a bloody road, felt that it would be better to find another way. While the father-in-law, Liu Dafa, was still a little bit involved, he jumped hard, picked out the shallow pond of the customs, and stretched his fists and feet in a wider space.

This time he took advantage of the fact that everyone hadn't realized it, and he preemptively took down the post of mayor of Niuzhuang Town. He envied how many colleagues who were dawdling in the customs.After all, once the people from the east coast intensify their colonial efforts in this area in the future, build more towns, set up county-level administrative units or even regional administrative offices, He Yuanke will be the first batch of veteran officials, and the prospects for advancement are naturally not The customs chief of Hai'an Port is comparable.

It is also because of this that when faced with the criticism of the Spaniards, He Yuan was extremely tough and did not back down at all, even though the Spaniards took the two countries to sign multiple treaties-"Rocha Peace Treaty", "Bala Peace Treaty" Dolid Peace Treaty" and so on - he read it word by word to someone He, and he ignored it. He said forcefully and arbitrarily that this is "our home" and no one can take it away. Popular enough.

This time Constantin de Obando came to Niuzhuang Port, which was already the third time for the Spaniards to come here, and it was also the time when the official rank was the highest.But obviously, this negotiation ended in failure again. He Yuan attached great importance to his future "advanced ladder" and resolutely refused to make any concessions. The gun demonstrated outside, which made Owando's face quite ugly.

In fact, it's not that Ovando can't straighten his back, it's that the whole country of Spain can't straighten his back.The news is fairly well-informed. He has just learned that the Kingdom of France has begun to mobilize troops frequently after being silent for almost a year. It seems that it intends to rekindle the flames of war. This makes the Spanish court immediately stupid and does not know what to do. .

In fact, there are good reasons for the French to do so. The de facto cease-fire between the two countries in the first half of 1668 was not so willing for King Louis XIV of France. At that time, the Netherlands gathered a large number of countries to openly threaten—both military and military threats. The economic threat - made the French worry a lot. Second, Louis XIV learned from a reliable source that the young King Carlos of the Habsburg royal family was dying, so he had the idea of ​​picking up a bargain, so he stopped the war. Under the mediation of the Dutch, he started peace talks with representatives of all parties in Aachen.

That is to say, the motives of the French for the truce at that time were quite impure. Louis XIV considered the secret agreement signed with the Austrian King Leopold I (that is, after the death of Carlos II, the entire territory of the Netherlands, Franche Comte (that is, some small city-states in the nearby area belonged to the Kingdom of France, and Spain was ruled by Leopold), felt that Carlos II, who was seriously ill, was likely to die within a year. A region, instead of risking life and death to snatch it at the risk of the world as it is now, and it is not necessarily justified, so it is natural how to choose. After all, they are still facing heavy pressure from the Dutch at this time. Just go down the donkey and start peace talks with the Spaniards and the East Coasters.

But whoever thought that the peace talks were full of twists and turns, because of the bewitching of the people on the east coast and other reasons, the Kingdom of Spain was tough in the negotiations, and the degree of concessions was far below the expectations of the French. The continuous harassment and attacks on the French coast made King Louis XIV of France furious and interrupted the talks several times.

After a year of negotiations, the United Provinces, as the mediator, have not reached an agreement, because they always feel that the negotiations must end as soon as possible, and the representatives of France, Spain, and the East Coast must be as fast as possible. Sign the peace treaty, only in this way can the dust settle on this battlefield.Otherwise, just like the old saying that people on the east coast often say, "nights are long and dreams are many", maybe the French will brazenly overturn some of the previous negotiation results, and instead put forward harsh conditions that the Spaniards cannot accept.In that case, a full-scale war will break out again, which is a nightmare for the Dutch, because they are very likely to be involved.

The current situation is just as the Netherlands feared. The French swallowed up half of the southern Netherlands and withdrew their troops from Franche-Comté and other places. However, they did not disband the entire army, but still retained tens of thousands of elite army troops Staying in the land of Xinde, let the Dutch feel like a thorn in their backs.Moreover, as the negotiations have been fruitless for a long time, and the East Coast Navy's continuous provocations along the coast of France (these and the loss of the French Caribbean islands are hurting Louis' self-esteem), the French giant may be furious at any time, and then detonate again. War—you know, the representatives of the three parties have not yet signed the peace treaty. If the pen is not signed, the threat of war will not be eliminated.

Therefore, the Dutch sent representatives to understand the views of the people on the east coast, persuade them to give up some unrealistic demands, and quickly end the war with the French; The representatives of the United Provinces were not so polite. They strongly asked the Spaniards not to entangle too much and end the war as soon as possible, otherwise they might take some economic measures.

This undoubtedly made the Spaniards extremely depressed. Economic sanctions are always very sad. Although they now have some financial support from the Genoese who are shaking again, they still cannot compete with the big benefactors, the Dutch. Compare.Therefore, they had to express their concern at the request of the Dutch, otherwise they would have to declare financial bankruptcy again, let alone war or something. A lot of land on the land will also be taken away, which is unacceptable to the Spaniards.

Therefore, the Spaniards are really in a state of helplessness and can't straighten their backs. They are very afraid of the Dutch, and at the same time, they have very complicated perceptions of the East Coast as an ally. know what to do.And with this kind of attitude from the top, when it is transmitted to the bottom, the people below will naturally not be able to straighten their backs. Now Owando is like this when facing He Yuan: the cattle catchers on the east bank wantonly invaded the Pampa prairie, Moreover, he lived in the mouth of the river in a stately manner. It seems that he will set up camp for a long time. What can you do?drive them away?Do you have that skill?Not to mention anything else, the power of the Kingdom of Spain here is so weak that even the Indians can't handle it (the Spanish colony here was killed by the native Indians on the day of the Ascension Day of a certain year), let alone the Indians The east coast "bandits" who are a hundred times stronger!

Therefore, after going on and on, in the end, our "diligent" Lord Constantine de Obando could only collect a favor fee of 1000 yuan from Mayor He Yuanhe Da, and withdrew with his entourage in a desperate manner. No matter what the East Coast people do in Niuzhuang Town—as long as their footsteps are limited there, just turn a blind eye and forget it. Who makes the current situation difficult for the country?The reason why Master Owando anesthetized himself is very sufficient, obviously he is very familiar with the road...

After coaxing away the Spaniards, He Yuan took a few entourages on a whim, got on his horse, and galloped onto the wide grassland outside the town.For this endless grassland, he now likes it more and more. He keeps imagining in his mind the scene of converging people and fertile fields in a few years. By then, he may have been promoted from the position of regional administrative commissioner to the central government Are you employed by a ministry?

"'Pampa (Pampa) is a name spoken by the Indian population. It comes from the Quechua language and means 'plain without trees', and this is indeed an endless plain without trees." An attendant rode on a horse, He casually said to He Yuan: "According to the summary and analysis of the situation obtained by our expedition team, the vast Pampa can be roughly divided into two major regions, namely the wet Pampa in the east and the dry Pampa in the west. People call it 'Estepa'."

"It's really a 'distinctive' area." He Yuan smiled and said: "Humid Pampa can be said to be the heart of La Plata, and it can be directly or indirectly connected with almost all other places. Exchange. You see, the east is close to the sea, the other side is close to the Patagonian platform, and the north side has the benefits of boats such as the Paraná River and the La Plata River. Contact. Its large area, fertile land, and mild climate rank above other places. In the future, it will surely concentrate a considerable part of the country's important cities. Its strong economic strength, large number of residents, and the development of human society will also It is at the forefront of the country. Gentlemen, such a great cause will start in our hands, I am a little excited to think about it, haha!"

When He Yuan said that, everyone just laughed, and no one cared that Ovando of the Kingdom of Spain had just left.Think about it too, how can He De occupy this vast and fertile land in a poor and settled country like Spain?Besides, don't you Spaniards also pay little attention to this place?Well then, since you value the Tropical Tribunal districts of Chalkas, Lima, Guayaquil, Quito, Santa Fe Bogota, Panama, Guadalajara, Guatemala, Mexico City, etc., go there It's all right, we people from the east coast will not interfere.In exchange, I'm afraid that Pampa, who is thousands of miles away, will stay. Everyone gets what they need!

After wandering around the grassland for a while, everyone returned to Niuzhuang Town with a puma carcass that had been brought to the door so hard to die.Just at this time, another cattle-hunting team drove a large herd of bison to the cattle pen outside the town. The originally quiet Niuzhuang Port suddenly boiled. Traders, butchers, workshop owners, cobblers, coopers and even The Italian prostitutes all took action—in a place like Niuzhuang, the bison herd is the baton and the core of all economic activities. Once a large herd of bison arrives, more than 1000 men, women and children in the town will take action in the shortest possible time. Get ready for everything, now here it is!

After today, it shouldn't be too busy, and the time can finally be adjusted slowly.

(End of this chapter)