Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1681 Pampa (ten)

At noon, Constantin de Obando and Father Ramos had communion together in the church.

To be honest, the content of Holy Communion is still very rich.Here, you don't see inferior quality bread eaten by ordinary people, but golden white bread baked with high-quality wheat imported from the east coast.The method of preparation is not Spanish, but French, as are sweet breads and biscuits.

Ovando, Ramos and others followed the traditional custom and ate sweet bread dipped in wine.In addition to some vegetables, the meal is beef.Surprisingly, this is not bull beef, but cow beef, which tastes very good, probably because they are rarely milked.As for why bulls are not used, it is said that some bullfly larvae settled in the skin of several bulls raised in the church. The meat is very dry and is only suitable for inferior people, not Father Ramos and General Ovando. Such decent characters.

After eating these foods, the young man who was receiving theological education in the church brought some chocolates.Different from the chocolate on the east coast, the traditional Spanish chocolate adds some cinnamon, that is, the cocoa beans are dried and placed on a clean large stone board to knead into a soft dough-like object. Added some cinnamon and made the chocolate into shapes.

Generally, a piece of chocolate like this weighs about a pound, like a brick, and is usually stored.When making something to drink, a piece of this chocolate brick is cut off, stirred with a spoon while cooking, and then poured into a plate.When the dish is filled, it is stirred again, and herbs may sometimes be added, before being served.

In Peru and the Viceroyalty of New Spain at this time, it was very common for families above the middle class to drink chocolate in the morning, and often in the afternoon, but there were very few people who drank coffee and tea.It is worth mentioning that cocoa powder (for brewing) and solid chocolate made by people on the east coast have gradually occupied a certain market in Peru and New Spain in recent years because of their low price and are popular Some small craftsmen, soldiers, and farmers with decent families accepted it, and the demand was very high, basically forming a high-low matching pattern with Spanish local chocolate.

Of course, people from the East Coast have also produced a lot of high-end chocolates over the years. After all, the time-traversing people come from later generations, and they are more familiar with the various patterns of chocolate, and it is easier to design some products that taste good and look good.Especially in the case of sufficient high-quality raw materials and continuous innovation of production technology, it would be unreasonable not to order high-end products. Although currently limited by production and price factors, it basically only supplies domestic wealthy classes, but sooner or later it will break out of China and seize foreign countries. Marketing.

"How is the life of the people of the Lord of Mar del Plata?" Putting down the tableware in his hand, Obando wiped his mouth with a clean white towel, and then turned to ask Father Ramos who had finished eating long ago. : "Do you also rely on raising cattle for a living?"

Father Ramos nodded, and said blankly: "Yes, that's right. In fact, in the beginning, in Mar del Plata, there were still people who grew wheat, melons, fruits and vegetables, and of course there were people who raised cattle and sheep or fished. , but now there is none. I never imagined that the Andalusian black cattle, which can be seen everywhere in my hometown of Seville, would one day become a huge business. Hehe, everyone went to cattle hunting, farming , Fishing, prayer, peaceful life, everything has been disrupted. People’s hearts are driven by silver coins, and they are constantly rushing to the vast grasslands. The farmland is abandoned and the fishing boats are destroyed. Now the residents of Mar del Plata, the daily necessities Probably less than half of the food is supplied locally, and the rest is purchased from merchants on the east coast in exchange for their cattle.”

Ovando nodded when he heard the words. Even the gentlemen who are far away in Lima have now heard of the booming cattle hunting industry on the Pampa grassland and a series of processing industries around bison, such as cured meat and leather belts. , leather bags, ammunition bags, leather shoes, water bladders, fertilizers (bone bones are purchased locally), soap, leather armor and even pharmaceutical production and processing.The scale of these businesses was so great that more and more East Coasters came to the Pampa Plains from the Eastern Savannah and threw themselves everywhere.It can be said that all the production and business activities of the current series of settlements in the south of the Pampa Plain by the East Coast people are carried out around bison. Maybe there will be changes in the future, but for now it is true.

However, this kind of business of the people on the east coast is extremely difficult to be replicated by the Spaniards.Not to mention their small population, but just saying that the country lacks craftsmen and merchants is enough to dampen their desire to compete with the people on the east coast.The current Spaniards basically acted as suppliers to cattle traders on the east coast, catching cattle from their own pastures or the wild, selling them for gold, silver or other commodities, that's all.

Father Ramos was a little dissatisfied with this situation, because he vaguely felt that once the Spanish residents of Mar del Plata devoted themselves to this industrial chain, then perhaps the social form would undergo a huge change, which would definitely weaken the church and his respect for it. The influence of the residents was something he didn't want to see, so when General Obando asked just now, Father Ramos couldn't help the jealousy in his heart, and said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

Owando vaguely knew what Father Ramos was thinking, but he didn't bother to pay attention.In the next week, Constantin de Obando lived secretly in the church, and then observed and learned about the situation in the entire city.He even took the time to visit the new city area where people from the east coast live. The result opened his eyes and deepened his worries. The people from the east coast are really in a difficult situation here. It is necessary to step up negotiations with the East Bank government.

With this in mind, on February 1675, 2, General Constantin de Obando returned to Buenos Aires. Baron Stian met, but after thinking about it, he boarded a ship carrying cowhide to the east coast and arrived at Dongfang Port himself.

It had been almost a year before Baron Sebastian took over from Bravo.This diplomat who came directly from the peninsula now has a certain understanding of the domestic situation on the east coast, and has some guesses about the thoughts and interests of the people on the east coast. After talking with General Leith Constantine de Owando, he clearly expressed his support for him, and then together with Owando, he went to the East Coast Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked to see Mr. Zheng Yong, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the East Coast Republic of China.

At that time, Zheng Yong was on an outing with guests from the Ottoman Empire on the outskirts of Dongfang Port, and by the way, they discussed some matters related to business exchanges between the two countries-in fact, the people on the east coast tried every means to sell those commodities that were originally sold to the United Provinces ( Mainly military resources), and then sell it to the Turks, even if the price is a little cheaper, it cannot be dropped in the hands.

The Turks are now engaged in a series of battles with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which consumes a lot of money, and this war seems to have no hope of ending in the short term, so the demand for equipment, military funds, and medicines is not a small amount.If the people on the east bank operate well and adjust the transportation capacity for it, they may be able to reduce the losses suffered by the Dutch breach of trust and breach of contract to an acceptable level, so this is why Zheng Yong and Ambassador Osman traveled.

The Ottomans are actually very interested in this, not to mention that it was their initiative to increase the procurement of weapons and military resources. Therefore, the cooperation between the two parties has a strong foundation, and the speed of negotiation is also very fast, so Zheng Yong roughly reached an agreement with the Ottomans through an outing, and then returned to the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital city area, and met with Baron Sebastian and General Owando who had been waiting for a long time.

"Minister Zheng, please immediately order to stop the occupation of the Pampa Plain by the returned residents. According to the "Rocha Treaty" and "Valladolid Peace Treaty", the Pampa Plain is an indisputable area under the rule of His Majesty Carlos I. Territory, but now there are actually a large number of people from the east coast living there, please help stop this situation immediately, Mr. Minister, your country actually doesn’t want these two sacred peace treaties signed to become waste paper, right? It is a huge blow to the country's reputation." Baron Sebastian, the Spanish ambassador, was the first to ask.

Zheng Yong has practiced in Europe for so many years, and his thick skin is not comparable to that of ordinary people.After hearing the complaints from the Spaniards, he was not surprised at all, but said in an indifferent tone: "Regarding this matter, our government will send representatives to the Pampa region to conduct investigations to verify the allegations of returning home. As for when the representative will leave, we need to discuss this again, but after the investigation results come out, we will copy a copy to His Excellency Baron Sebastian. Of course, we will abide by the "Rocha Peace Treaty" and "Valladolid Peace Treaty" Effectiveness and legality, but we also need to see that it is possible for some Chinese residents to go to the Pampa Plains to do business or work in violation of the government's warning without authorization. For these people, our attitude is mainly to persuade, That is, try to persuade them to return to our country voluntarily, instead of using other means..."

Zheng Yong's words made the two Spanish officials very speechless. The co-authors did not confirm anything or promise anything. In the end, not only did they not achieve their purpose of coming here, but they also veiledly warned the Spaniards. , it is best not to be violent, so that some tragedy will happen, otherwise the consequences may not be predictable.

However, Sebastian and Owando have basically understood the bottom line of the people on the east coast, that is, killing and killing people with violence is definitely not acceptable, and they are looking for death.However, if according to General Owando's previous ideas, a large number of cavalry were sent to intercept and harass, so that the colonial towns of the people on the east bank could not continue to penetrate into the inland area, which would cut off their control of this vast fertile land. The purpose of occupation was also partially achieved.

As for those lands that have been occupied by the people on the east coast, such as Niuzhuang, Niulanshan, Yedianzi Township and other colonial towns and surrounding farms and pastures, Owando knows that it is basically impossible to take it back unless it is taken back by force. However, this is indeed a bad idea, and there is a risk of triggering the third East-West War, so we can only hold our noses and acquiesce in the colonization of these places by the people on the east coast.

Of course, whether this method of treating the symptoms but not the root cause can forever curb the erosion of the Pampa Plain by the people on the east coast is not something that Constantin de Obando and others can consider. In the event of a big trouble, try to maintain the national interests of the Kingdom of Spain.

"Although the Mesopotamia area was originally mortgaged to the people on the east coast because of the loan, during this time, any reasonable person would not have the extravagant hope that this land can return to the Catholic king's possession. I’m in my arms, because the area is full of towns and residents from the East Coast, and it’s impossible for the East Coast people to abandon that area, so in the end they can only sell it for a good price.” When walking out of the courtyard of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the East Coast Republic, Constance Ding de Obando said to the ambassador, Baron Sebastian: "If we don't do something now, maybe it won't take many years, and the rich and fertile Pampa Plain will gradually be taken over by the pagans on the east coast. Occupied, there is no room for the Lord's people to live, so we must take action."

"You probably don't know some things, Constantine." Looking at Owando's sad face, Baron Sebastian sighed and said to him: "According to the latest diplomatic report I got from the local Privy Council, Instructions, King Carlos has formally agreed to form an alliance with the United Provinces to jointly deal with the Kingdom of France, which has a feud with us. Therefore, our country has now indeed fallen into a war, whether it is in fact or in name. Therefore, we The country can't bear too many diplomatic risks now. Although I heard that the people on the east coast also had conflicts with the Dutch East India Company in South Africa, in the final analysis, it is not a big deal for the people on the east coast. They can be resolved by sending a partial division Therefore, we must be extra cautious at this time, not to worsen the relationship with the east coast, so I have no objection in principle to your decision to send cavalry to the Mar del Plata area, but I suggest you Proceed with caution, it is best not to cause any killings, it will be very troublesome, and it will also make the country passive."

"The heretics on the east coast are really lucky..." Hearing this, Constantine de Owando felt a little helpless, and could only slightly nodded, expressing that he would consider it carefully.

(End of this chapter)