Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1721 Diplomatic Adjustment

After the meeting with Zheng Yong and others, Beveren and Wagner, who looked quite excited, went to the Dayu River Naval Shipyard to look at the ships promised to them by the people on the east bank, and they looked more satisfied.

The two 650-ton flute-shaped transport ships, powered by three-masted sails, are no longer small ships for the Principality of Courland. After all, even if their own Wendao Shipyard has been recruiting technicians for years, the largest ship that can be built is still smaller than this. No. [-], and it cannot be said that it is technically flawless, which is why they also ordered new ships in the UK, the East Coast and the Netherlands.

The ships they originally ordered could only be delivered in the second half of this year. As a result, in order to send two ships of military supplies to the Dutch, the people on the east coast moved the two ships of the same type ordered by the South Sea Transportation Company to them in advance so that the two The Courland merchant ship set off immediately.However, the new ship was given to the Courlandians, but their number of sailors was not enough. Even if some backbones were deducted from the two ships that had left the east coast for Amsterdam, the number was still not enough.In desperation, they could only negotiate with the people from the east coast, rent some sailors from the state-run South China Sea Transportation Company, and then recruit some people from the east coast who planned to go to sea to try their luck with a lot of money. The boat sailed back to Jakobshavn.

After dealing with these matters, the two of them took the Star of La Plata train with a few entourages and went south to Qingdao Port via Rocha County. They planned to participate in the Qingdao Autumn Commodities Fair held in May and purchased all kinds of new warehouses. After receiving the urgently needed supplies from Ireland, he drove two ships back to the voyage.

And when they came out of the train station (which was also the pier), what they saw head-on was a building that had been renovated to the end.With the eyesight of Governor Beveren, it can be recognized that this is a building complex with a strong Baroque style, free in shape, dynamic in pursuit, rich in decoration and carving, and strong in color.If you look at the shape of the building again, well, there are a lot of curved surfaces and elliptical spaces, then it must be designed by a designer who is familiar with current trends and hates rigid classical architectural forms!

Such designers should not exist on the east coast. They have their own architectural style. This can only be designed by a well-known designer hired by the owner from Italy with a lot of money. At the same time, there are a large number of skilled craftsmen working. It is quite expensive!

"It's French!" When he saw the conspicuous golden lily sign on the wall at the main entrance of the building, Governor Beveren immediately understood, but then he had some doubts: "A building of this scale costs a lot of money." It will not be less than [-] ducats, and if the interior decoration is more luxurious - judging from the French style, this is almost certain - then it is possible for the total cost to exceed [-] ducats. This is really It's too extravagant, it's just a business station, can it also serve as other departments, it's impossible!"

It is said that the East Coast Republic of China has required all foreign embassies to move to the capital Dongfang County in the past two years to facilitate the development of various diplomatic activities.For this reason, the Golden Deer Commercial House, which was also used as the English embassy, ​​has now turned into a pure commercial house again, and the British have found another site to build an embassy in Dongfang County.

Under such circumstances, it is naturally impossible for the French to build an embassy in Qingdao Port, so this can only be a commercial hall.Considering the French royal emblem of the golden lily on the outer wall of the building, then this is definitely funded by the French government, and part of the building was rented out for French businessmen.

"The French are always in style, aren't they?" said Leon Wolfgang Wagner in a slightly mocking tone: "They are naturally fond of luxury, magnificent architecture, exquisite carvings, monumental decorations, etc. They are all things they like, such a conspicuous business house, even in Paris, can be called a "very outstanding and obvious" building, and considering the low price of Qingdao Port, I can only say French Really rich!"

"Of course, we not only saw the extravagance and waste of the French, but also saw the deep-seated purpose of the French, that is, they spent so much money to build such a magnificent building here. Could it be that they intend to establish a long-term relationship with the East Bank? Are there stable diplomatic relations?" Wagner changed the subject and said to himself again.

"It's self-evident." Governor Beveren is an old fritter, and he has experienced many things in his life, so he immediately agreed: "The Sun King is really affordable, and the people on the east coast used to be their enemies. However, they have bombarded their coastal cities with warships, and even sent people ashore to rob them. This can put aside past suspicions and improve relations. Everything is based on national interests. Then I think all the rumors praising the Sun King are not true. exaggeration."

It is said that because the East Bank signed a secret alliance with the Spaniards back then, after Louis XIV launched the Heritage War, the East Bank Republic was passively involved in this war and triggered the mechanism for declaring war on France.After that, the task force of the people on the east coast used Spain and England as bases for supplies and sales, launched a long-lasting sea bombardment and harassment against the French, and also occupied some of their islands. This is a slap in the face ruthless.But what happened now? Louis XIV had someone build an expensive and beautiful building complex in the most prosperous port city on the east coast. This clearly shows that the relationship between the two countries has greatly improved, at least not anymore. The indifferent and slightly hostile relationship in the past is gone!

This realization is also a big shock to the Principality of Courland, because it probably means another drastic change in the situation in continental Europe, and a new round of drastic reshuffle among major powers.Governor Beveren couldn't help thinking: the east coast is in alliance with France?Unlikely!However, considering the relatively harsh diplomatic situation that the Kingdom of France is currently facing—allies are basically taken away by the Netherlands, surrounded by enemy countries, and the sea is also blocked by the Dutch Navy to a certain extent, and trade is greatly affected—they should have the initiative The impulse to seek new partners, in Europe, apart from Portugal and England, there is really no other choice.

And even England, now France's largest trading partner, faced fierce anti-French sentiment at home, mainly because Louis XIV paid the Catholic King Charles II to fight against the United Provinces. Dissatisfaction has generally been aroused in the UK, so now many people are clamoring to join the United Provinces and go to war with the Kingdom of France, and the Prince of Orange is also trying his best to get England to join his side.In such a diplomatic environment that can be described as besieged on all sides, it is not difficult for the French to attract allies and seek diplomatic breakthroughs!

Considering that the East Coast Republic of China has grown in reputation over the years, and gained a lot of fame in the Old Continent, which made a group of established countries, including the Kingdom of France, look at it differently, so Louis XIV coordinated the interests of the East Coast Republic and formed an alliance. It is indeed a natural choice to form a closer trading partnership.After all, the country on the east coast can produce a lot of goods at a lower cost and with higher quality. Even with the addition of freight and insurance fees, it is still profitable to transport them to the Old Continent. French businessmen are willing to cooperate with them to break the Netherlands The trade blockade they launched is also inevitable.

Thinking of this, Governor Beveren also felt a little enlightened. The relationship between countries is really interesting.He vaguely remembered that in the past 30 years, major countries such as England, Spain, France, the United Provinces, Sweden, and Austria have turned each other into enemies and friends several times. It is really faster to turn faces than to turn books!They are allies now, and maybe they will be enemies in a few years. Everyone has long been accustomed to this slightly chaotic diplomatic relationship.

That being the case, it is also in the common interests of both parties for the Kingdom of France to approach or even form an alliance with the East Coast.You know, the East Bank and the United Provinces just had a fight over the Cape Town colony. The "massacre" in front of the Gwanenport Prison was even more popular in the Old World. The Dutch and the East Bank The close relationship established over the years seems to have fallen to the bottom overnight, and there is no hope of reconciliation for the time being.

The reason why the people on the east coast have not officially formed an alliance with the French is probably because they don't want to completely offend the United Provinces, so that there is no room for change in the relationship between the two countries!They may want to wait a few years to see if the Prince of Orange has "calmed down", forgotten the unpleasant past between the two countries, and re-established a good business relationship. A country that is both very developed is a perfect match for the East Coast, which focuses on the production of various industrial products. There is still a broad basis of interests between the two parties.

A relatively weak country like the Principality of Courland can only seize some markets and do some business by taking advantage of the hostility between the East Coast and the Netherlands. It is really sad to think about it.Once the relationship between the Netherlands and the east coast warms up again in the future, and the Dutch merchants will once again represent a large number of goods from the east coast to sell in the Baltic Sea region, one can imagine what kind of ending the Principality of Courland will face!Their happy days are probably only in the past few years. The premise is to grab a certain market, otherwise, if they can't sell their products, they can only drink the northwest wind.

Beveren and Wagner sighed in unison when they looked at the French shop, then ran to the commercial area of ​​the pier and rented a yard as a temporary residence.It will take another month to get the ship, and the goods have to be selected and purchased slowly. Finally, they have to participate in the expo to see if there are any new and good products. It is conservatively estimated that they will have to live for two months. They really need to be in Qingdao Port There is a foothold.Before, they only opened a business house (which doubles as an embassy) in the capital on the east coast. Now that I think about it, it was a bit of a mistake. Now that all countries are buying land and building houses in Qingdao, Courland really can't lag behind.

The location of the rented yard is excellent. Open the window and you can see the calm bay. There are many masts in the bay, and ships with various flags are full of parked.Miraculously, Beveren and Wagner also saw the merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company, and they simply didn't know what to say.

Of course, the largest number of foreign ships in the bay at this time came from England.This country is also the one that has benefited the most from the Franco-Dutch war, especially after they withdrew from the war, a large number of businessmen who felt that the United Provinces were no longer safe and could no longer provide them with sufficient protection immigrated to England with their wealth. , Injected a strong impetus into England's economy, and at the same time further strengthened the power of England's domestic bourgeoisie, and further consolidated its advantage over the royal power.

In addition, the ruling Prince William III of Orange, an extreme antifa, had a very good impression of England (probably because of his wife's relationship), and handed over a large number of orders to the English, allowing them to earn money. Be full.And the massive manufacturing profits have further stimulated the expansion of England's industrial scale and technological progress. The gap between England's industry, which already accounts for more than [-]% of Europe's steel production capacity, and mainland countries such as France has further widened. Basic industrial countries gradually took shape in Europe.

Such England naturally has a natural impulse to expand trade with the east coast.Their pillar industry needs to import mechanical parts, high-quality steel bars, soda ash, high-grade dyes, primary machining equipment, machine tool heads and even various knives from the east coast. In short, the purchase volume has surged year after year. Even the East Coast Trade Department is surprised by the English. The "appetite" of China is so great that it begins to wonder if their country can digest these things?

Of course, the commercial and trade departments on the east coast are also happy to see this situation. Domestic factories are not very reluctant to export some basic parts, machinery or high-quality semi-finished raw materials (such as steel bars, ferromanganese, etc.) to the English. After all, they are happy when they make money.Moreover, from the perspective of the major policies formulated by the Executive Committee, there is no longer any mention of "uniting the Netherlands to control Britain", because it is completely unrealistic.On the contrary, their current trade with England can be regarded as a kind of implicit assistance to some extent, but to a lesser extent.

In the eyes of the members of the Executive Committee, the English who are isolated from the outside world are destined to urinate in the same pot as the mainland countries, so maintaining an appropriate healthy relationship and close trade ties with England is crucial to the future European strategy , may not be a boost.After all, when the people on the east coast have to interfere with the situation on the mainland to protect their own interests, if the impact on England is large enough, then this is also an excellent card to play: for example, when France invaded Spain, the people on the east coast You can actively use your influence to urge Britain and Spain to form an alliance to resist France.

In short, the relationship between the East Coast and England is developing rapidly, and the relationship with the French has also been reconciled. In the Baltic Sea, the Principality of Courland is also mainly supported as a commodity agent. The adjustment of this diplomatic strategy can be described as unusually large.Of course, this was all forced. Who made Prince Orange so dumbfounded?With the Dutch South African colony lying there, it seemed that the relationship between the East Coast and the United Provinces could not be restored for a while.

(End of this chapter)