New World 1620

The Kingdom of Portugal, once known as the "most remote corner" of Europe, has been seeking space for survival and development almost since its founding. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese nautical community under the leadership of Prince Enrique began arduous sea exploration.

At the same time, the Portuguese royal family, who were keen on the cause of the "Sea Crusade", had a huge anti-Islamic world plan on paper, which was highly praised and sought after by the Pope of Rome.

"All the land that has not been occupied belongs to Portugal, and no one shall infringe it!"

In the middle of the 15th century, the Pope announced such a slogan in the European world, which was far more symbolic than practical. He granted the Kingdom of Portugal the privilege of monopolizing maritime interests.As a result, the entire Kingdom of Portugal began to explore overseas routes even more frantically.

The Gold Coast in the black African rumors and the rich land in the East recorded in Marco Polo's travels to the East have made generations of Portuguese navigators believe that exploring the African route and circumventing the East is their only way out in this world.This also caused the decision makers of the Kingdom of Portugal to miss Columbus at the end of the 15th century.

The discovery of the New World and the new Pope's reneging made the Kingdom of Portugal lose its privileges overnight. The whole of Portugal felt an inexplicable sense of loss from top to bottom, and was extremely dissatisfied with the challenge to the interests of the sea world initiated by the Kingdom of Spain.

However, the maritime power accumulated by Portugal in the past [-] years made them respond quickly. The famous "Treaty of Taurdesirias" finally gave Portugal the opportunity to establish a colonial empire on the other half of the earth.

Whether it's the Pope or the Spaniards, people who don't know much about the real world have fallen into the trap of the Portuguese, who have long been familiar with and monopolized the secrets of ocean currents and wind directions along the coast of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean. The Portuguese quickly began their large-scale exploration.

Brazil, the South American land east of the Pope's meridian, was discovered in this way, and then neatly fell into the pocket of the Kingdom of Portugal.

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The Port of San Salvador in the Bahia region of Brazil, built in 1549 AD, was already a European city at this time, except that the palm trees all over the harbor and around the town showed a tropical scenery different from that of the European continent.

Nearly [-] Portuguese residents have taken root here. A large number of local Portuguese-style buildings are scattered in the city's port district. Churches and monasteries, large and small, are filled with a strong European style.

Yan Xiaosong, who was in charge of traveling to the Ming Dynasty to implement the immigration plan, gave up his plan to go to the port of Recife in the Pernambuco area, which is more familiar to people in history.After repeated scrutiny with Su Zining, a dog-headed military strategist, San Salvador became the core node of Yan Xiaosong's future plan.

San Salvador is now the capital of Portugal's colonial rule in Brazil, South America, and the center of the sugar industry and slave trade in South America. The sugar cane, tobacco plantations and sugar fields all over the suburbs of the city brought Portuguese nobles far away in Europe. A steady stream of wealth.For quite a long time, its population size even exceeded that of Havana, the largest city in the North American Caribbean region.

Thanks to the sailing channel explored by the Portuguese for hundreds of years, starting from Lisbon in early May, following the Canary Current from north to south, it took Yan Xiaosong and Catalina less than half a month to go all the way to the first place smoothly. Arrived in Portugal's Cape Verde colony in the westernmost part of Africa.

After two days of simple replenishment, it plunged into the Atlantic deep in the southwest again, crossed the equator and joined the south equatorial current from east to west. The Brazilian warm current from north to south.

The Portuguese captain's skillful route control ability made the former Spanish Navy Lieutenant Catalina sincerely admire it.Although the Kingdom of Spain displayed a stance of supremacy throughout North and South America, it was clearly the Portuguese who were the real seafarers.

The entire fleet consists of 5 Portuguese armed merchant ships, which belong to the Lisbon Chamber of Commerce controlled by the Duke of Bragança in Portugal, including trade agents of several Portuguese nobles.

The Spanish royal family, which is in charge of the native Portuguese regime, basically has no way to intervene in the local military and economic control of the old Portuguese aristocratic forces, except for a few symbolic regional fleets throughout Brazil.

When the fleet flying the family emblem flag of the Duke of Braganza and the Portuguese flag slowly entered the port of San Salvador, the local Portuguese governor hurried over.

Except for ordinary merchant ships traveling between Europe and the United States, they have not seen such a large-scale local armed merchant fleet with a clear political identity for a long time. Officials once thought that something major must have happened in the mainland.

Break with the Spanish royal family?Or is the Dutch trying to take advantage of Brazil again?Or have the English made other moves?With all kinds of speculation, the Governor of San Salvador Gonzalez waited for the secret letter from Theodosio, Duke of Braganza.

Gonzalez was a little confused about fully cooperating with the order from the "Oriental Special Envoy of the Republic of China and the United States of America".But this is not important. When a set of exquisite glass wine sets and a bottle of perfume with a crystal outer packaging were delivered, the Governor of San Salvador immediately put aside all distracting thoughts.

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Although San Salvador in June is located in the southern hemisphere, its special tropical rainforest climate still keeps its temperature relatively constant throughout the year.

The temperature over 20 degrees and the humid air made Yan Xiaosong feel comfortable all over his body.Holding a wheelchair, under the protection of several Portuguese guards, the Oriental youth took Katerina for a walk on a small river outside the city.

When she crossed the equator and was about to approach Brazil, Catalina got a serious illness. The medicine specially prepared by the ship doctor Lao Zhao when she left Lisbon played a huge role.That night when the Portuguese ship's chaplain showed despair, Katerina's high fever subsided, and the entire fleet was frightened by the magic potion of the Americans.

Today, Katerina's body has not fully recovered, and she can only sit in a wheelchair and be pushed forward by Yan Xiaosong.

Looking sideways at her lover's consistent confident smile, Katerina felt sweet in her heart, and the once tomboyish Spanish Navy lieutenant curled up in the wheelchair obediently and silently like a little bird.

"Dear Member of Parliament, San Salvador is the pride of our Kingdom of Portugal. Here, you can enjoy everything you can see in Europe!"

The Portuguese officials who accompanied Yan Xiaosong couldn’t hide their complacency. The prosperity of the city was almost the greatest pride in the hearts of local Portuguese officials. They often used this to cover up the disappointment that Portugal was controlled by the Spanish royal family.

"Well, I agree very much. This is also the reason why His Excellency the Duke of Braganza has always emphasized that the American business community should set up the South American trade center in San Salvador. I personally have no objection, and I will immediately write to Port Heroes of the Azores U.S. commercial representatives, they will consider sending personnel to come at the right time."

After Yan Xiaosong finished speaking, he bent down with a smile, hugged the sick and weak Katerina, and then walked along the small river.Such an intimate act surprised the Portuguese officers and soldiers guarding a group.

On the flat land on both sides of the river, there are countless sugarcane plantations dotted around. The almost naked black slaves from Africa carried bundles of cut sugarcane on their shoulders under the whip of the supervisor, and transported them to the sugar factory not far away. .In the sugar workshop that never stops fire all year round, the processed sugar cane will be boiled into expensive sucrose, and then the remaining sugar residue will be transported to the brewery to make the most popular rum of this era liquor.

"Yan... you'd better put me down, you're too tired..."

After Katerina's serious illness, her slightly flushed face was filled with a happy smile, and she snuggled into the young man's arms and muttered softly.After that thrilling duel, Katerina found that she couldn't help but fell in love with this oriental young man who had a somewhat loose attitude towards the great God.

Especially on the night when I was seriously ill and had a high fever, the always confident young American congressman stayed by his side almost all night, wiping the cold wine-like liquid that felt very comfortable, and even used a A strange-looking tube and silver needles stuck into his arm.

"This way you can see farther." Yan Xiaosong touched the Spanish girl's forehead, and found that the low-grade fever that had been repeated several times seemed to be gone, so he finally let go of the stone in his heart.

"Why don't we start early, I'm ready, otherwise it will take too much time for you. Didn't we agree to reach Sofala in East Africa before July?" Katerina played with the young man's tie With a soft voice.

(Note: Sofala, now a coastal city in Mozambique, was the most important port in the Portuguese East African colony in history.)

"No, I can just make more preparations here, so as not to make mistakes in the future." Yan Xiaosong smiled, as if he didn't worry about anything at all.

Just when Katerina was a little sleepy because of her weakness, a horse-drawn convoy came out from the dense jungle in the far west. The car seemed to be loaded with some kind of ore. Dozens of slaves supported it under the supervision of soldiers. The frame slowly came towards Yan Xiaosong and his party.

Among a group of thin and short tired slaves, a man with a much stronger body was holding on to the edge of the carriage, his head dripping with sweat. Unlike the other slaves around him, this man's complexion was not that of an African. It is black, but a dark brownish-yellow after being exposed to the hot sun for a long time.

His hair was not the dense and short layer of African slaves, but a long strand of black hair tied on the top of his head.

An Oriental!Yan Xiaosong saw this different slave at a glance, and his pupils shrank.

"Your Majesty the Sheriff, may I ask that these are all slaves?"

Yan Xiaosong quickly turned his head to a short middle-aged Portuguese official beside him and asked. After Katerina's instant translation, the Portuguese official nodded in a daze.

"I now lodge a solemn protest to your country, because I discovered that one of my compatriots is being forced by unjust means by you, and is doing lowly labor!"

Yan Xiaosong slowly put Katerina into the wheelchair, straightened his coat, and tightened his tie, with a sullen expression on his face.

ah? !The Portuguese officials were stunned for a moment, and everyone present looked at each other in blank dismay, as if they didn't understand.

"Well, I will write a letter to the country. I believe that in the near future, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country will inform His Excellency the Duke of Braganza of Portugal what we know. If possible, we will also send a formal diplomatic note to the Kingdom of Spain requesting The local government of San Salvador, Brazil, immediately stop this behavior that seriously damages the relationship between the two countries!"

Yan Xiaosong said coldly, then pointed at the convoy that had stopped by the roadside under the stop of the Portuguese guards.

"I can't believe that a noble Chinese compatriot would do heavy labor with African slaves! Is he a prisoner of war? Or was he kidnapped? I need a reasonable explanation!"

At this time, Yan Xiaosong's angry look even surprised Katerina, but now the meaning is clearer, and almost everyone can clearly see a certain oriental face among the group of slaves.

"This...what the hell is going on? How could Americans become slaves?" The Portuguese magistrate looked back at his colleagues nervously, hoping to figure out everything as soon as possible.

"Your Excellency, it seems that a group of Dutchmen sold slaves to the mine here a year ago..." a small official replied cautiously.

Dry!These guinea pigs who roam the world causing trouble all day long!The Portuguese magistrate couldn't help but cursed severely.