Due to the annihilation of the main force of the Spanish Army, the land war basically came to an end. On the evening of July 20, the Executive Committee held a meeting, and the attitude of the members was basically very unanimous: to end the war as soon as possible. Since the Spaniards officially declared war at the end of February, the protracted war has exhausted the families of the traversals.

During the war, the rapid consumption of all kinds of materials, especially the consumption of gunpowder and lead bullets, was even more worrying, and two-thirds of the gunpowder stored before the war was consumed, and the remaining one-third could no longer withstand the consumption of several battles. In addition, coal, steel, grain, cloth and meat are consumed, and the stocks of many materials have reached extremely dangerous levels. Moreover, due to the delay in the agricultural season, the wheat that was originally planned to be sown in a large area in autumn and winter has also been delayed, which has greatly damaged the grain reserves of the people.

A large number of villages and workshops scattered in the Dingyuanbao reclamation area have also been greatly damaged, and many facilities have been completely destroyed. Some of them were destroyed by the Travelers themselves to avoid being used by the Spaniards, and the other part was destroyed by the Spaniards. This reconstruction is also a heavy burden.

All in all, the traversal was impoverished by this war, and the development process was interrupted or even slightly reversed. Therefore, all the commissars almost unanimously demanded immediate negotiations with the Spaniards in order to end the war as soon as possible. Of course, negotiating with the Spaniards requires a negotiating subject, that is, in what capacity the Travelers are negotiating with the Spaniards. Some say that it will continue in the name of the East Coast Company, but others feel that it is necessary to establish a country now.

"Our country was founded in a war of fire and iron against the Spaniards, and this war was the battle for our nation. This battle will not only make the Spaniards recognize our existence, but also make them recognize our country! Judicial Commissioner Bai Siwen said very actively. Born as a lawyer, he was good at lip service, and he saw that he was very angry because of the successive victories in the recent period of time and the limelight of the military, so he decided to find another way to push through the country, brush up his sense of existence, and increase his popularity.

It is not easy for the executive committee to make a decision on this kind of matter, not to mention that Bai Siwen is not alone, he also has the support of Xiao Mingli, a member of the Civil Affairs Committee, and Du Wen, a member of the Education Committee. Therefore, Ma Qianzu, chairman of the executive committee, simply let the news out, decided to solicit opinions from more people who crossed the public, and then convened a plenary meeting to discuss and decide if it was really necessary.

On 21 July, the hapless Captain Torres again acted as a messenger, bringing a letter from the Executive Committee to Diego García, commander of the Spanish task force near Roccia, with a proposal for peace negotiations from the Executive Committee. At the same time, the matter of the founding of the country continued to ferment among the people who traveled through the people, and gained the support of many people. This is not to say that the popularity and support rate of Bai Siwen and others are high, but mainly because the majority of people do have such a need in their hearts.

At this point, the Executive Committee could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb, so it began to issue documents to solicit opinions from all the people on a series of issues such as the name of the country, the national emblem, the national flag, the national anthem, and the national system.

On 25 July, Diego García, commander of the Spanish task force, finally accepted the facts after repeatedly checking information about the Army's defeat. He sent Navy Lieutenant Falcao and Army Lieutenant Leo as negotiating envoys to the site of the former Spanish army camp on the north bank of the Big Fish River to prepare for armistice negotiations with the representatives of the Crossing Crowd. At this time, the negotiators who crossed the crowd were also determined, a total of 4 people, including Foreign Affairs Commissioner Gao Mo, Judicial Councilor Bai Siwen, Army Commissioner Peng Zhicheng, and Navy Commissioner Wang Qinian.

As for the founding of the country, which was hyped up a few days ago, it seems that it has become the trend of the times, and almost the vast majority of the people have demanded the formal establishment of the country, and the few remaining people also have an attitude of necessity. The question of the national anthem, the national flag, and the national emblem was unclear for a while, but the name of the country was decided. The Executive Committee chose the most popular one: the East Coast Republic of China. As for the other messy country names, the Executive Committee did not adopt them because their popularity was too small.

Thus, on the day of the formal negotiations on 26 July, the four-member delegation of the Travelers negotiated with the Spaniards in the name of the East Coast Republic of China. Before the negotiations began, Foreign Affairs Commissar Gaumo formally protested to the Spaniards, demanding that the Spaniards officially call the Spaniards Huaxia or Dong'an, and reject misleading names such as Tatars. To this, the Spaniards, who were slightly depressed because of the defeat, politely said that there was no problem.

Before the negotiations began, the Spaniards also stated that before the war the Viceroy of Peru had granted His Excellency Commander of the Fleet Diego García the right to armistice and not to conclude a peace treaty. Thus, in fact, any outcome of the armistice negotiations would need to be ratified or signed by the Governor of Peru, who is far away in Lima, in order to enter into force. For this, Gao Mo and others expressed their understanding.

After the negotiations officially began, the two Spanish negotiators were relatively pragmatic. The two had previously taken the two of them to visit the Spanish captives outside Dingyuan Fort who were repairing damaged houses and workshops under the guard of soldiers, so they did not put forward any unrealistic or absurd conditions that ignored the current situation on the battlefield. They made only three proposals: First, the immediate cessation of hostilities between the two sides. The vicinity of Rocha Harbor became a demilitarized zone, and the Spanish fleet withdrew to anchor off the coast of Rocha, retaining only some liaison personnel in the improvised port, and the cavalry currently cruising around the eastern coast was not allowed to attack Rocha Harbor. 2. The two sides shall not pay compensation to each other, and the status quo shall be maintained in the territory. The Spaniards recognized the legitimate right of the easterners to rule over the lands on both sides of the Great Fish River basin and over its 50-mile stretch, and all other territorial claims were considered illegal. 3. Immediately release all prisoners of war. A total of 767 Spanish prisoners of war captured in the previous battles must be released completely, and the people on the east coast must not be left in distress for any reason. In addition, the personal property of the prisoners of war must be returned, as must weapons, armor, horses, and other property belonging to the Kingdom of Spain as soon as possible.

Gao Mo and the others don't have much doubt about the first one, because now the warring parties are in an embarrassing state of no navy on the east coast and no army for the Spaniards, and they are already in a de facto ceasefire.

As for the second and third articles, Gao Mo and others raised fierce objections. It is recognized that the two sides will not pay reparations to each other, but the territory of the Republic of East China should not be confined to the current small territory, and the area east of the Uruguay River and south of the Gérard Mountains should be the legitimate territory of the Republic of East China Province. As for the issue of prisoners of war, the Eastern Republic will not consider the release of prisoners of war without compensation, and the Spaniards need to pay a certain ransom, as for the size of the amount, it can be discussed in detail. The Eastern Republic refused to return the weapons, armor, horses and other trophies of the prisoners of war.

After refuting the terms of peace of the Spaniards, Gaumo and others added a few more: First, the Spaniards and Jesuit missionaries were unable to effectively educate the natives of the East Coast, so that they would enter the realm of civilization. Accordingly, the Eastern Republic had the right and duty to educate, protect, and supervise the Charuas and Guarani, with no gross interference from the Spaniards. 2. The Spaniards shall not impose a trade embargo or set up trade barriers against the Republic of the East in the region of La Plata, and the two sides shall be friendly to each other. 3. The Republic of the East Bank has special interests in Tierra del Fuego. The Republic of the East Coast may, for the payment of a certain fee, acquire the right to exploit the minerals, timber, fisheries, animal husbandry and other resources of Tierra del Fuego, and the ships of the Republic of the East Coast may moor freely on Tierra del Fuego, and the Spaniards may not set up obstacles without reason. 4. The Republic of the East Bank is granted the right of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Magellan, the Uruguay River and the Río de la Plata River.

The two Spanish negotiators looked at each other when they saw these additional proposals, and they subconsciously felt that many of them could not be approved at all, and that if they all agreed to these conditions, the king would immediately hang him in the Inquisition, for this man must have been bewitched by the devil.

The first negotiations ended unhappily. With a broken face, the two Spanish representatives walked out of the gate to return to the port of Rocha to report to the commander of Diego García's fleet on the progress of the negotiations. Just as they were leaving, outside the negotiation venue and under the city of Dingyuan Fort, the passionate "March of the Victory Belongs to the Army" was playing, and Peng Zhicheng, a member of the Army Committee, and a group of officials from the War Department were reviewing all the officers and men of Liao Meng's detachment who had returned from victory.

The Army's third, fifth, and sixth posts, artillery posts, spearmen, and cavalry battalions lined up to be inspected by the officers of the War Department. The young men who had just won a big victory were in high spirits, and the two Spanish negotiators were deeply impressed by their straight military uniforms, sabers, tall war horses, and fluttering military flags.

In particular, at the last moment of the review, all the officers and soldiers shouted three times, "Wan Sheng!" March to Buenos Aires! The two Spanish negotiators did not understand what they were saying, but they did understand the words "Buenos Aires". After listening, the faces of the two were so gloomy that they seemed to be able to drip water.

Without a polite "see you again," the two Spanish negotiators turned on their horses, crossed the Big Fish River, and galloped south.

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