At the end of April 1637, since the outbreak of war with the Spaniards, the East Coast was once again subject to a de facto trade blockade.

Based in the ports of Dutch-ruled Brazil, the rampant British pirates recklessly roamed the long coastline stretching north to the Falklands Baleen Whale Harbor in the south, robbing passing merchant ships. Not only were merchant ships heading to the East Coast repeatedly attacked, but even Spanish transport ships were rumored to be "missing".

The largest pirate attack since the Victorian era is coming to a head. According to historical records, in the past, there were only 100 acts of piracy in Britain every year, and in many years it may reach 200 times. But in the first four months of this year alone, there have been more than 50 pirate attacks along the coasts of Brazil, the East Coast, La Plata, the Strait of Magellan, Chile and Peru, not to mention the Caribbean, where pirates are frequent, most of which are believed to have been carried out by British pirates.

The influx of British joint-stock companies into the South Atlantic has thrown a mess of shipping security. Coupled with some of the warships and armed merchant ships of the British colonial and trading companies that were interspersed in them, it was difficult for the weaker merchants to move an inch.

As a result, trade on the East Coast gradually withered. The contraction of trade has also greatly damaged the operation of the national economy of the East Coast Republic of China, and the biggest impact may be the severance of pig iron and cotton.

Arms, tools, hardware and cotton are among the few products that the East Coast can currently export to Europe. Due to the severe shortage of domestic iron ore production, large quantities of pig iron or iron ore have to be imported from Brazil every month for steel production, after the trade was cut off. The blast furnace of Ping An Iron and Steel Plant suddenly fell into a state of shutdown.

Even more worrying than the steel industry is the textile industry, the backbone of the national economy. Especially among them is the cotton textile industry. The woolen industry is limited to the domestic sheep population, which is not large enough. Wool production is limited, and the scale is not very large at present; But for the cotton industry, which produced 220,000 horses in 1636, the severance of cotton raw materials can be described as painful.

Some of the island's cotton fields planted in the country can now only supply 10 per cent of their annual needs, and the rest needs to be imported from Brazil or the Caribbean. Now, after the trade was cut off, the Ping An Machine Weaving Factory suddenly stopped production, and nearly 1,000 workers were unemployed at home. However, the state cannot ignore them, and they have to support them three meals a day, and they must also pay a part of their basic salary.

This is also a considerable burden for the Executive Committee, whose main source of revenue has been cut off. There is no choice. The General Directorate of Textile Industry left a small number of workers to stick to production, and most of the workers were organized to cultivate fields and grow flax, cotton and other cash crops that were urgently needed in the country.

Of course, these distant waters can't save the near fire. At present, the first priority of the Eastern Republic is to end the hostilities with the British colonial companies as soon as possible and restore normal order in the national economy. To this end, a working group composed of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, and the Ministry of Justice, through the Portuguese Governor temporarily stationed in Rio de Janeiro, sent a roundabout signal to the British Colonial Company headed by the East India Company to negotiate peace.

Yesterday, the reply from the British finally came.

"What? Compensation for the loss of 200,000 pounds, the withdrawal of East Coast textiles from the European market, the price of woolen wool shall not be less than 12 pounds per horse, and the sharing of textile technology with the United Kingdom......" Bai Siwen couldn't help but feel dizzy as he looked at the conditions of the British who had copied back from Gaumo.

What kind of conditions are this talking about? This is a surrender! Even Bai Siwen, a self-proclaimed dovish, moderate government official, saw this condition and felt that the British had no sincerity in peace talks, let alone many radical "violent elements" in the government.

"What a headache." Bai Swen put his hand on his forehead. With a look of disgrace, "Don't say that there is not much money in the treasury now." Even if you do, you can't give it. If I really want to give it to the army and not spray the spit stars in my face, let alone share the textile skills, this ...... How is this possible? ”

"If you really want to sign it, then this is definitely a traitorous treaty, and you and I will be stripped of a layer of skin." Foreign Minister Gaumo was also depressed, "According to the Portuguese, the British are very tough and refuse to back down at all, and they seem to have nothing to fear. Alas, now that we are passively beaten, it is indeed difficult to make people regress. ”

"The war must stop." Bai Siwen sat opposite Gao Mo and said, he waved his hand exaggeratedly as he spoke: "Look at what the national economic situation has become now, is the economy about to collapse?" Fortunately, we have established complete farmland and water conservancy facilities a few years ago, and now we don't have to worry about eating for the time being. However, fiscal revenues are extremely low, and at present, it is only supported by trade in Colonia, and it is still a question whether it can support the operation of the government. If you really can't do it, you can only raise taxes domestically! Moreover, it is also time to cut some benefits. In recent years, the state has provided for most of the people to eat three meals a day, and this burden is too heavy and must be cut. The taxes that should be collected must also be strictly enforced, and commercial taxes, income taxes, customs duties, etc., which were completely confused before, should be clarified now. ”

"Lao Bai, are you crazy?" Gao Mo looked at him with some surprise and said: "At present, domestic prices are rising three times a day, and you will raise taxes, how do you let the people view us?" This will weaken their confidence in us and shake the very foundations of our government. Moreover, don't you give those radicals more truth by doing this? You probably don't know the way, I just came back from Dingyuan Township, and there was a big incident there today. ”

"What's the big deal? Can you still rebel? Bai Siwen said disapprenously, "Don't change the topic, I'm looking for you to sum it up today......"

"Can you listen to me?" Gao Mo interrupted Bai Siwen's words and said solemnly: "It's not that simple behind this matter. The Bright Candle Factory in Dingyuan Township knows what you know, it was seized today. ”

"What? Who dares to ......" Bai Siwen stood up suddenly, his face bruised, "Who is so presumptuous?!" What about the officials of the Dingyuan Township Government? What about the township chief Lin Youde? I rubbed it, I knew that this kid couldn't do it, I couldn't look down on him at the beginning, but unfortunately Xiao Bailang's kid went through Ma Qianzu's path and supported him. Now I see that it still doesn't work, out of the basket! ”

"Lao Bai, can you use your brain?!" Gao Mo also stood up, "It was a group of students from the Dingyuan Army Military Academy who seized the Bright Candle Factory. You and I know better than anyone who is standing behind these people, is it that simple? The director of the Bright Candle Factory is your brother-in-law, right? That Portuguese is smarter than anyone else, but stupider than anyone else! He actually raised the ex-factory price of candles by five times without authorization, which annoyed a group of military cadets who came to buy candles, and there was even a verbal altercation and shoving between the two sides. Then, with the help of people with intentions, things developed to this point. ”

Hearing Gao Mo explain the reason for the matter, Bai Siwen suddenly sobered up: "What is the current situation over there, I will send someone to ask." ”

"No need to ask." Gao Mo waved his hand and said, "A group of students from the Dingyuan Army Military Academy have seized it with live ammunition, including the production workshop, warehouse and account books. Lao Bai, it's not me saying you, the raw materials of this batch of candles were imported at a parity before the war, and it stands to reason that the cost has not risen, so why should the price increase along with those candles smuggled from Brazil? Now the army is in charge, saying that it is to crack down on the illegal profiteers who make a fortune in the country, and ...... And the umbrella behind them! ”

Bai Siwen's face suddenly turned a little pale. Although he doesn't have a stake in the Bright Candle Factory, everyone knows what is going on here, not to mention that the director of this factory is still his brother-in-law, and he can't get out of it anyway.

Careless, careless! Bai Siwen suddenly regretted it, the past few years have been smooth, and he has become a little complacent. He felt that he was one of the eleven members of the Central Executive Committee, with great power, and he could walk sideways in this country, but he didn't expect to be slapped head-on at his most proud moment, not to mention how uncomfortable it felt.

"I don't believe that the army and navy guys are clean under their butts!" Bai Siwen was a little out of shape at this time. This matter can be big or small, and if the military department (Joint Staff Headquarters) insists on making it bigger, his brother-in-law will even be subject to military law. Even Bai Siwen himself, the position of the Central Executive Committee member is afraid that it will also be crumbling, at least the prestige will fall sharply, and whether he can be elected at the end of next year will have to put a big question mark.

"It's not interesting to be worse at this time." Gao Mo said with some hatred, "Let's be realistic, you know very well what the military department wants......"

"Lao Gao, are you here to be a lobbyist today?" Bai Siwen looked at Gao Mo suspiciously and said.

"I'm not here to be a lobbyist." Gao Mo smiled bitterly and waved his hand, and said: "Let me tell you, these people in the military department are iron-hearted this time, whether the executive committee approves it or not, they will take the main force of the navy and part of the army to the sea to fight the British." I think you should also be aware of it, in fact, I am doing this for the good of everyone. ”

The implication is that the military department is determined to go it alone, and with the support of such people as Chairman Ma, Xiao Bailang, and Shao Shude in the executive committee, their actions have become inevitable. In this case, the Executive Committee should hold its nose and admit it this time, which can be regarded as preserving a little authority and decency, so as not to make everyone's split public.

Bai Sven sat silently in his chair and did not speak. Gaumo stood up and patted him on the shoulder, then walked out the door. (To be continued......)