Warm, humid air currents from the South Atlantic brought a torrential spring rain to La Plata.

In Buenos Aires, the city's poor municipal facilities have been exposed by the spring rains. Nearly every inch of the narrow streets were filled with overflowing sewage, a cloudy liquid of garbage, human and animal droppings, and dead rats flowing in front of homes. Pedestrians struggled along the road to find a place to put their feet, and occasionally an aristocratic carriage passed by, and the splash of sewage stained the bodies of the decent men who looked like they were middle class, and there was an unbearable pungent smell.

The few homeless men huddled at the foot of the roadside wall laughed at this, as if the bad luck of this decent man could bring them great pleasure. They laughed so happily that some of them coughed violently and had a sickly flush on their faces.

"Despicable wanderer, God never intended for you to have a meal of white bread, nor for you to live in a beautiful, bright and dry house, but to huddle at the foot of a filthy and damp wall, in the company of mud and dead rats. Repent, proletarians, you are a disgrace to the city. The middle-aged man, whose clothes had been soiled by the carriage, cursed in annoyance. He wears a fine blouse made of silk and short wool on the upper body, a pair of black cotton midpants, two purple stockings below the knee, and a pair of pale blue whale skin shoes with natural patterns.

There is no doubt that he is a rich man. The color of that trouser was dyed with the famous East Coast Black (Anillin Black) dye, and the price was extraordinary. Socks are the same, the dazzling purple color seems to be the famous East Coast purple (aniline purple). Natural dyes from the Old World could not do this. Far from it. As for the leather shoes. It must have been the high-end whale leather shoes sold by the people of the East Coast, which were once all the rage in Buenos Aires and Asunción, and were the favorite of countless nobles and big merchants.

When such a noble gentleman put on a straight face and lectured a few bored tramps, one can imagine how frightened they must have been. And they did this at first, it was their instinct to be in awe of gentlemen, but perhaps it was the unexpected rain today that provoked their anger, and soon a homeless man launched a counterattack: "Come on. Master in leather shoes, you will soon be able to stop pointing fingers and judging me. For I was about to go to the east coast, where my boyish countryman Zamparini had made a fortune, with two horses, five cows, and fine silks and porcelain sent back from the East, and his family lived on the shores of Lake Duck in the life of a gentleman of La Plata. I'm going to be like him soon, I'm going to get rich, ahem......"

"Matri, this guy with a sense of superiority seems to be Álvaro in the north of the city. Lord Rodriguez. I hated him when I remembered that this guy had hired me to dig a ditch for him. I was so tired that I couldn't eat enough. My feet were even soaked in water. But he gave me only four silver pesos in the end, instead of the eight pesos that had been negotiated at the beginning. He even withheld the rations he had to give us, and let us live in the wilderness at night, God, what kind of natural scoundrel could do such a thing, and he should be sent to hell! Another homeless man stood up in solidarity with the one who had just spoken out.

Álvaro's face stiffened when he heard this, and he first pinched the sword at his waist, then put it down again, and after snorting heavily, he turned around and disappeared into the endless rain. In the distance, a small number of candle lamps have been hung in front of the doors of some shops, and the bright candlelight is shrouded in glass covers, which look somewhat dim in the rain.

Álvaro hurried into a shop that specialized in metal farming tools, dyed leather goods, and ordinary small hardware, and the owner, Thiago, exclaimed when he saw his proprietor come in in a state of embarrassment.

"Father, how did you become like this?" Álvaro's son, Álvarez, also came out of the store, holding a ledger in his hand and seemingly calculating something.

"The car was damaged outside the city, and Dominguez was there with men guarding the goods, after all, it was a priceless whale oil soap bought from the east coast, and there was no room for sloppiness. I had something to do in a while, so I came back first, and on the way I met a few homeless people who were babbling nonsense, which was really unlucky. Álvaro still didn't seem to be able to shake off his anger, and he slammed his saber on the table with a loud bang. Fortunately, the sandalwood table imported from the east coast was strong enough, and after being smashed by the heavy saber, not even a single mark appeared on the table.

"Why are there so many homeless people in the city?" "Father Ramirez and Captain Tavarez have recently been gathering homeless men and beggars to join the army and prepare to go north to the Paraná Mission to join the Guarani there," said Álvarez, somewhat curiously. They should all be gone, why are they still in Buenos Aires? Who gave them food? Are they crazy? ”

"Captain Tavares' recruitment did not go very well, and at first it was assumed that he had gone to the Paraná Mission to fight the Mameluco and São Paulo of the Brazilian slave catchers – as had been the case with the war between them for decades. But then there were rumors that this time it was to go to the mission of Rio Grande do Sul, southeast of the Paraná mission, to fight against the vicious people of the East Coast, which made many people retreat. Álvaro changed into a clean set of clothes under the servant's service, and then explained to his son.

"Damn war!" Alvarez complained, and then couldn't help but say to his father, "Father Ramirez has asked our United Chamber of Commerce to sponsor at least 80,000 silver pesos, and at the same time, there will be additional taxes in the missions to cover the high maintenance costs of the mercenaries who have come from the Old World. I heard that the Guarani people in Paraguay were so enthusiastic that they not only donated a lot of money and goods, but even volunteered to join the church army to save their relatives in the Rio Grande mission. ”

"This is ridiculous, where did the barbarians of Paraguay and the barbarians of Rio Grande do Sul get related?" Álvaro snorted and said disdainfully, "It's all about legitimizing your actions." However, the Church has grown rapidly in the Paraná River valley over the years, arming a large number of Guarani, and rumors of a crushing defeat of the São Paulo slave catchers have been heard. Now these Guarani want to put their claws into the mission of Rio Grande do Sul, hmph, do they think they have a long life? The East Coasters are also comparable to those cowardly St. Pauls? Barbarians are barbarians after all, even if they have put on a veneer of civilization, they are still barbarians. ”

"Actually, I hate heretics more than barbarians." Alvarez looked at his father's face and said firmly, "Although I have done a good job of dealing with the people of the East Coast in terms of business, they are heretics after all—a group of heretics who vigorously persecute Christians, and this is an unforgivable crime. Although they created an extremely civilized and breathtaking life, the pagans were born sinful, and in God's name they all deserved a harsh and just Inquisition. ”

Álvaro sniffed his sleeve, and there seemed to be a faint smell coming from him, which distressed him. It is time for the people of Buenos Aires to welcome His Excellency the Inspector General, who has recently arrived in La Plata, a representative of the local business community who has managed to increase his fortune several times in recent years, thanks to the prosperous trade with the people of the East Coast. Naturally, Rodriguez was going to attend, and the mayor would undoubtedly introduce him to the distinguished "Peninsula man" (i.e., the Inspector General) as an important local gentleman.

Álvaro looked at the luxurious pendulum clock imported from the East Coast worth a thousand pesos on the table next to the wall, and it seemed that there was still some time, so he quickly decided that it would be better to bathe first. Thiago quickly ordered the two Sicilian maids to prepare the precious East Coast whale oil soap, thick white towels—well, East Coast goods, good hardwood bath barrels—or East Coast goods, and finally some Kashmiri perfume imported from the Ottomans, and when everything was ready, Álvaro went to the backyard and began to bathe.

"Thiago, bring me my cloak and bayonet sword, I'm going to take Domingos." Alvarez looked out the window at the drizzle and sighed.

"It's already dark and raining outside, so it's not a good time to go outside. Domingos, who had served in the Flemish Legion for many years, knew that nothing would happen to the gaucho bandits and the Italian vagabonds of the steppes. Thiago said hesitantly.

"No, you didn't understand what I meant." Álvarez said unequivocally, "I want to send all the Hungarian indentured slaves in the convoy to the country farm." The new Governor Garcia was a ruthless character, yes, the offspring of the lowly pig shepherd, who had ordered a ban on excessive servitude throughout La Plata, and had drafted them into the army in large numbers to guard against the East Coasters. As much as I hate the East Coasters, Supervisor Garcia's stupidity could well put the whole of La Plata in big trouble. Anyway, I can't do that much, but it's better to hurry up and move those dirty Hungarians to the country, lest the pig shepherd get some grip on them. ”

With that, Alvarez put on a high-quality raincoat made from whale intestines on the East Coast, then took four saber minions and drove out of the store. Thiago looked at the dark rain curtain outside the door and sighed, the undercurrent of La Plata was surging, and it seemed that the good days would not last long. Closing his eyes, Thiago still remembered the tragic battle that took place in Rocha more than ten years ago, and the helpless feeling of the East Coast soldiers in blue and red-trimmed military trousers stepped past his injured and fallen side, and he did not want to experience this feeling again in Buenos Aires. (To be continued......)