In fact, the historical so-called São Paulo flag team was a kind of colonial expedition spontaneously formed by Brazilian locals (mainly São Paulo). At that time, as the Pernambuco region became the world's largest sugar center, Brazil's name of affluence began to spread in Europe. Therefore, many poor Europeans came to the New World with the idea of getting rich, but only a few of them could get rich, and most of them still lived a very hard life. In such a situation, many people had the idea of trying their luck with expanding inland, especially at a time when rumors of gold mines were raging in the interior of Brazil.

Thus, in the 1580s, the "entradas" (colonists) and the "bandeiras" (flag teams) of the civilian population went deep into the interior of Brazil, hunting for gold and Indians. Even these adventurous fellows crossed the Spanish-Portuguese border stipulated by the Papal Meridian and entered the territory of the Spanish colonies to capture slaves, and it was these people who went to explore and develop the vast interior one after another, so that Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world with an area of 8.51 million square kilometers, was born.

"The number of these flag teams is only a few dozen, and the number is often hundreds or thousands. For example, in 1629 by Antonio. Tabares' flag corps consisted of 69 whites, 900 Mameluko, and 2,200 Indians; In 1639, the number of flag troops attacking the Paraguayan mission also exceeded 2,000; There has even been a super-banner team of more than 1,000 whites and 12,000 Native Americans in history. Xu Xin, who is familiar with these historical allusions, spoke eloquently, "that is, for Brazilians. Manpower is never an issue. Within the last 25 years. The São Paulo people brought more than 300,000 Indians from the interior. They can easily organize an army of thousands, if not tens of thousands. Of course, the equipment of these armies will be very problematic, they may not even be equipped with spears and bows and arrows, and their fighting quality is also very poor, but their numerical advantage is really great. ”

"Then why don't the Brazilians want to recover the seven generals' territories in the northeast occupied by the Dutch?" Ding Yiyu was a little puzzled, are these Brazilians stupid? If you have this strength, why don't you quickly regain the lost ground?

"I can't give you a satisfactory answer to this question, and it seems to me that it is likely to involve a question of the balance of power between the two sides." Xu Xin thought for a while and said: "The large-scale flag corps of the Brazilians, which are mainly composed of Indians, can only be used to beat the side drums, and it is definitely not possible to fight as the main force. The Spanish conquest of South America proved the weakness of the Indians. I think the Brazilians themselves know this very well, otherwise they would not have traveled far and wide to Europe to find mercenaries. These Indians could rely on a predominantly white army to fight together, so that their numerical superiority would be enough for the Dutch to have a headache. But that's all, and the Brazilians don't trust them very much, the Brazilians only trust the whites as well as the Mameluco (white and Indian mixed race). I think the large number of weapons that Brazil has ordered from us this time is mainly to arm the whites and Mamelukos in the territory, and as for the Indians who are dependent on them, I think the order for 10,000 spears is for them. ”

Qi Wangping listened to the two of them and didn't interject, but this didn't mean that he didn't have his own thinking. Xu Xin's explanation did not convince him completely. He remembers that before he left, he had seen some bits and pieces of information about the history of Brazil that everyone had worked together in the reference room. One of the pieces that caught his attention was that of João from Nassau-Siegen, who was the current head of the Dutch West India Company in New Netherland. Morris (Portuguese. In Dutch, it's called John. Morris. Fan. Nassau-Siegen, known as John in German. Mauritz. Feng. Nassau-Siegen).

The Earl of Maurice was the second son of William the Silent, Prince of Orange, the consul of the Netherlands, and during his reign he used his military talents to reform the Dutch army, making it a fighting professional army, defeating the Spaniards on several occasions. As the saying goes, a tiger has no son, and since he became governor of New Netherland in January 1637, the Earl of Maurice adopted a policy of free trade, encouraged agriculture, and returned land to Brazilian families who were subject to Dutch rule. Morris was also tolerant of non-Protestant Brazilians and Jews, allowing them to continue their original beliefs, and establishing a parliament in New Netherland that included all classes. He also used his high fame and deep connections to attract a large number of artists and architects from Europe to Recife, who made outstanding contributions to the city's urbanization.

Successful in civil affairs and the arts, the Earl of Maurice was equally skilled in military affairs. Under his command, the Dutch army fought in the north and south, defeating the Portuguese, Spanish, and Brazilian armies several times, and the Dutch occupation area continued to expand. Today, it encompasses seven of the richest generalized districts in northeastern Brazil.

The presence of such a dazzling figure in Recife is not good news for Brazilians and East Coasters. However, this is mainly a problem for the Brazilians, and it has little to do with the East Coast. The people on the east coast did not intend to go straight to the Dutch, and the maximum support they could provide to the Brazilians was in terms of weapons and supplies, and perhaps personnel training, that is, sending instructors to train the Brazilian army. As for sending an army into Brazil to fight directly with the Dutch army, this seems unlikely at the moment, but the Brazilians had the luxury of hoping for it, and raised a huge amount of money for it, and even tactfully promised the easterners through Blanco that they could forgive the debts owed by the easterners.

While the Brazilian's offer was tempting, the East Coaster was not going to accept it. Of course, the East Coast people did not directly reject the Brazilians on the surface, on the contrary, they also fought with the Brazilians in a high-profile manner. The return flotilla docked at San Vicente, and the appearance of two companies of the Army at the docks was part of the plan. In this way, the Easterners tried to demonstrate to the Dutch and make them realize that the Easterners could also threaten their vital interests. This bargaining chip is very important to the Eastern Coast Republic, and when they open up the Eastern Route and conflict with the Dutch in the future, this bargaining chip can be used to repeatedly put pressure on the Dutch in order to win the Dutch to give convenience to the Eastern Coasters on the Far Eastern Route.

Of course, it is not that no one pointed out that this plan to take the initiative to provoke the Dutch is a "madman's act" and a "gamble on the fortunes of the country". This argument is extremely popular among the civilian factions that advocate a peaceful rise in science and technology, and they cannot tolerate military or political adventures again and again, let alone provoking a behemothic colonial empire in the face of a huge disparity in national strength. The soldiers rightly ignored the criticisms and accusations of the civilian officials, and they stubbornly pushed the country step by step according to their own ideas.

"By the way, in addition to saying that they will forgive a lot of debt, the Brazilians have also said that they can further open the market in São Paulo and make São Vicente a special port for trade, allowing our goods, especially textiles, to be sold directly here. You know, before that, it was a group of local Brazilian merchants who were selling our products, and this time they really paid for it. Tao Chenxi, director of the General Administration of Textile Industry, who had been silently listening to the talk of several other people, suddenly spoke, and his words also made the rest of the people shake their heads after listening to it, Brazilians are so eager, but I am afraid that they will be disappointed in the end.

"Hey, old Tao, watch your ass. Don't just sit on someone's side just because you're a Brazilian son-in-law, your wife's pillow has been blowing a lot lately, haluha. Xu Xin jokingly said to Tao Chenxi.

"The pillow wind blows every day, and it is only after she stays at her mother's house that my ears are cleaner in the past two days." Tao Chenxi also said with a smile, "My cheap brother-in-law Blanco has also come to me twice, asking me to carry out domestic activities, especially in front of several members of the Executive Committee, so that the Executive Committee can make up its mind to directly intervene in the Brazilian war situation." No, in order to give me some motivation, they also promised to give me a cotton plantation near São Paulo, hehe. It's a pity that the current policy wind is not in the right direction, and I can't make this cheap. ”

A few people talked nonsense again, and they all went back to their rooms to rest.

On June 9, 1641, the fleet of ships on the east coast, which had rested for several days in the port of San Vicente, set sail again and set sail on its way back to the mainland. Prior to this, Xu Xin, the plenipotentiary representative of the East Bank Republic of China in San Vicente, began to frequently attend banquets held by local Brazilian nobles and large landowners. He has made a number of public statements in support of Brazil, arguing that the peace agreement between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Dutch is "inappropriate" about Brazil, and making it clear that the Eastern Republic will provide Brazilians with enough weapons and equipment to arm thousands of men at extremely favorable prices.

In addition to this, he even hinted that the East Coasters might sell to the Brazilians the siege artillery that they never exported, as well as the lightweight 12-pounder steel long-barreled cannon for the army. His remarks delighted the Brazilians, reinforced the pro-Brazilian stance of the East Coasters, and of course annoyed the executives of the Dutch West India Company in New Holland. Because they knew that with the limited involvement of the East Coasters, the Dutch would have to pay a greater price to deal with the Brazilian militia, which was as nasty as bed bugs. They are businessmen, and they are extremely disgusted by any increase in costs, and it seems necessary to talk to the East Coasters. (To be continued......)