January 15, 1646, sunny, town harbor.

In the old dock of the Zhenhai Shipyard, two huge ships are laying keels. From the appearance of the two ships, there is not much difference between the two ships, one of them is slightly larger in size and type than the other, but it can be seen that the two ships should belong to the same model.

Yes, the two ships did belong to the same model - the "August 10" class battleships, one was purely sail-powered, while the other was a sail-hybrid one. After lengthy negotiations and consultations between the Ottoman envoy to Vostochny and the people on the east coast, as well as changes in the international situation, the Executive Committee finally agreed in principle to sell the Ottoman Empire a powerful battleship with 66 guns.

Undoubtedly, this is a signal of strong dissatisfaction with the Spaniards, and it is up to the Spaniards to pick up the recruitment.

The Ottoman representative stationed in the port of Vostochny was overjoyed upon hearing the news, and immediately sent an urgent diplomatic letter to the country through the cargo ship on the east coast to Smyrna, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Eastern Republic also sent a letter to Istanbul at the same time, asking Mo San to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire as soon as possible to implement a series of commercial agreements brought about by the sale of battleships. The people on the east coast sold this powerful warship to the Ottoman Empire, but at great political risk, if they could not make up a little profit in commerce, it would be a big loss.

If we count from the time when the Ottomans first tentatively proposed the purchase of battleships, negotiations and consultations between the two sides on this matter have been going on for more than two years. Moreover, each side sent plenipotentiaries to each other's capitals to negotiate separately in order to reach an agreement as soon as possible. After two years of arduous negotiations. With the change of the security situation on the east coast. The Third Executive Committee of the Eastern Republic finally agreed to sell this powerful warship to the Ottoman Empire. That is, the battleship "Bayezid".

The price of the battleship "Bayezid" is an astonishing 370,000 yuan, and if you add spare artillery, ammunition, canvas, barrels, ropes and other items, the full price is close to 400,000 yuan. This price is extremely tricky, because the East Coast's own construction cost is less than 100,000 yuan even if you count spare parts, and the profit in it has reached 300%. What is even more exaggerated is that the Ottomans did not hesitate to nod their heads in confirmation, and at the same time said that they would pay the first payment as soon as possible, which makes people sigh at the magic of war.

And in order to win the favor of the Ottomans. The Executive Committee and the Admiralty also said that construction could start early without receiving a down payment, which was even more satisfactory to the Ottomans.

If this business is so profitable, how can the Admiralty not keep an eye on this piece of fat. No, the Ministry of Trade imported large quantities of Brazilian sumac from Brazil and the New Granada region, and at the same time started construction of two battleships, namely the sail battleship Bayezid, which was sold to the Ottoman Empire, and the sail hybrid battleship Control Oriente, which was used for its own use.

Not only was the Bayezid not steam-powered, but even the guns equipped on board could not be compared with the "Control of the East" in terms of multiplier and longevity, and it was a shortened version of the battleship. Speaking of which, the "Control of the East" is already the fifth battleship of the "August 10th" class of the Navy on the East Coast. After the ship entered service, five aircraft-sail hybrid battleships (330 large and small guns), coupled with some large supply ships, repair ships, and hospital ships with hybrid sails. Cruising in the enemy's outer seas or on important shipping routes is sure to make it difficult for the enemy to sleep.

Imagine that. 5 fleets with a large number of large-caliber heavy guns appeared on the route from New Huaxia Island to Batavia, so did the Dutch trading ships still want to survive? The survivability and sustained combat capability of this task force at sea was quite strong, and it was not comparable to the Dutch East India Company's merchant ships with several small guns per ship. And even the speed is much faster, and even partially ignoring the ocean currents and wind direction, the turn is so fast that the Dutch, Spanish merchant ships and even professional warships will never survive.

Since January, skirmishes in the hilly areas of Huxi have become more and more frequent, and New Königsberg, Mucaoling Fort, and even Dafengbao, Xihu Fort, and Hekou Fort have been harassed to a certain extent. In order to counter such frequent offensive attacks, the War Department has transferred the 1st Company, the 103rd Company, and some cavalry to the Yazihu Valley in the north, and at the same time has begun to carry out partial mobilization in Zhenhai and Ping'an counties, and a large number of militia have been incorporated into the reserve force to strengthen training, all of which have greatly affected the production and construction in all aspects of the country.

Baron Bravo, who has now returned to La Plata, and García, the new superintendent (general) of La Plata, were questioned about the frequent cross-border attacks by armed forces under the control of Jesuits and other missionary groups against the villages and towns of the East Bank, but they arrogantly stated that they had no comment. As for the proposal of the East Coasters to strictly restrict the entry of the parishioners of La Plata into the East Bank, the other side naturally refused without hesitation, claiming that the East Bank people were carrying out illegal cross-border reclamation, and hoped that the East Bank people would immediately demolish the illegal settlements and withdraw to the eastern boundary of the hilly area, so as to avoid any unpleasant incident affecting bilateral relations.

The members of the Executive Committee and the Council could not figure out why the Spaniards had such a cold attitude towards the East Coast. Relations between the two sides had warmed up a few years earlier, when the people on the east coast had built some frigates and anti-smuggling fast cruisers for the Spanish navy, which had almost been wiped out, so that their ports would not be empty.

In the past two years, however, relations between the two sides have deteriorated, with the Spaniards constantly blaming the East Coast government for cross-border settlements and religious issues, and their rhetoric has become increasingly harsh. Although La Plata, and even the Spanish colonial officials in Lima, were reluctant to make enemies with the East Coasters, because they were well aware of the power and influence of the East Coast Republic in the New World. But perhaps it is the growing pressure from the homeland that they can no longer tolerate some of the actions of the people on the East Coast, which has led to the delicate and tense relationship between the two sides.

On closer examination, this is actually a long-term process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change. First of all, the unscrupulous occupation of the East Coasters beyond the agreed borders or the vague boundaries stipulated in the agreement, and the tendency to continue to go deeper, made the Spaniards feel the crisis and began to migrate to the western half of the East Coast Savannah to fill these inhospitable areas and prevent them from being easily encroached upon by the East Coasters.

The second is the extermination policy of the East Coast people against the indigenous peoples during the pioneering operations. Their vigilance and hatred of the aborigines surprised even the Spaniards, who left nothing to lose anywhere they went, and even the indigenous tribes that had annexed them were exiled to a place called "Australia", which was extremely murderous.

What is even more troublesome is that these indigenous people have generally incorporated into Catholicism, and the Jesuits, Franciscans and other missionary groups that have worked hard in the Paraná River and the Uruguay River valley are more attentive to these naturalized barbarians, not only giving them agricultural tools, seeds, and livestock, but also teaching them some institutions and rules from the civilized world. Thus, the massacre and exile of these indigenous peoples by the East Coast were seen by the missionaries as an open declaration of war against the Holy See.

It's nothing to openly declare war on the Holy See, don't you see that the Portuguese have been capturing the Guarani as slaves, and there is bloody rain everywhere they go, isn't this a slap in the face of the Holy See? But there are some things that the Portuguese can do, but the people on the east coast can't! After all, who made you all hateful heretics who would soon be destroyed? Heretics have no human rights!

The change in attitude of the Spaniards is clearly felt by the people of the East Coast. When Baron Bravo first came to ask him for his guilt, the members of the Executive Committee were able to treat him as a clown after communicating with the authorities in Lima. But things have developed to this day, and with the transfer of the former governor of La Plata, who had an ambiguous relationship with the people of the east coast, and the large number of Guarani paranis from the Paraná valley into the hills west of the lake, any clever cover-up seems so pale. It is already clear that the Spaniards, for various reasons, showed ill will towards the East Coasters.

The Kingdom of Spain was still engaged in a seemingly endless war with France on the Old Continent, and it did not seem like a wise ruler to attack the people of the East Coast at this time. But the question is, who told you that His Majesty Philip IV, the supreme ruler of Spain, was a wise king? Who told you that this cocky guy wouldn't take some of the necessary measures against the East Coasters for the sake of religion? In this world, many times what happens is so unreasonable.

In all fairness, the people of the East Coast have been immersed in development and rushing to transport the population over the years, and they are basically holding their tails between them. Not only did he make friends with the Portuguese, but he also partially eased relations with the Dutch. Among the great powers of the Christian world, Britain, except for the civil war, has also had a bad relationship with the French in business, and it is really unbearable to be low-key to this job, and it is still remembered!

Is it really because he is too low-key? So the French arbitrarily imposed high tariffs on East Coast textiles? So the Spaniards blamed the East Coasters for religious policies and the problem of cross-border settlement? So the Dutch always refused to allow ships on the east coast to pass through the Strait of Malacca? So, shouldn't you light your muscles at the right time, so that there will always be people who can't recognize the situation and feel that the people on the east coast are weak and can be bullied!

On January 25, 1646, the main force of the First Fleet of the Navy of the Republic of the East Bank left the naval base of Zhenhai and sailed south directly into the Río de la Plata, which shook Buenos Alliston. (To be continued......)