Lengthy negotiations continue.

Today is April 20, and the two sides broke up on April 10 because of the collapse of talks on the opening of Pacific ports. The Genoese mediators expressed their "serious concerns", and then Alessandro of the Doria family intervened to communicate the views of both sides, and finally persuaded the negotiators from both sides to return to the negotiating table.

At this time, in fact, the pressure on both sides is not small, but they are forced to insist on it for various reasons. The Spaniards, alarmed by the increasing military movements of the French in the Northeast, and the people on the east coast, under increasing diplomatic pressure from Genoa, the Netherlands, England, and other countries, finally resumed the fourth formal diplomatic negotiation between the two sides after a ten-day hiatus.

The focus of the negotiations remained on the opening of the Pacific ports, and the clerk of Balboa, perhaps communicating specifically with their king, was holding out on his word. And Mo San also understood that this issue was important, so he also pursued it fiercely, which puzzled both Balboa, who was a party to the negotiations, and Alejandro, who was the mediator: Are those fishing resources on the Chilean side so important to the people on the east coast? For this they even do not hesitate to give up some other interests, which is simply incomprehensible!

The Spaniards, of course, could not understand the insistence of the Eastern Republic's top brass on acquiring Pacific ports, nor could they understand the desire of the first generation of leaders, who were generally in their forties and fifties, to open Pacific migration routes, and they could not understand their "perverted" pursuit of rapid population introduction and control of more territory in their lifetime.

East Coasters. I've been looking forward to the Pacific for more than a decade! It's not just that super sea ranch equivalent to the production of ten southern Argentina's fishing grounds, and it's not just to gain the geographical advantage and supreme glory of the two oceanic countries, they need more people of the same language and species to fill the gap in the South American continent. This new people, born of blood and fire, will step on the corpses of Indians and Spaniards, build blank wastelands into farmland, pastures, factories and towns, and then step by step to the top of the world. Of course, the first step that needed to be done to achieve this was to take the land under the sun from the Spaniards. Since the Spaniards were unable to develop the vast area of La Plata, the East Coasters did the work for them.

"Mr. Mo, why does your country not forget to enter the Pacific coast? It's incomprehensible! Secretary Balboa stood up a little annoyed and looked at Mo San, who was sitting opposite. said: "In my opinion. This is an insult to the Kingdom of Spain! Our exploitation of the Pacific coast dates back more than a hundred years, and we paid a huge price to turn that wild land into a habitable civilized world. It is the most important source of wealth for our country, and I don't think there is any possibility of negotiation here. If you insist, then the negotiations are terminated. You shall bear the consequences. ”

"Entering the Pacific is the basic national policy of our government. At the same time, it is also a long-cherished wish of the government and the opposition in our country. We are even willing to pay a huge price for it. I do not know whether your Government, Your Excellency, Balboa, is mentally prepared for the harsh consequences that may result from its brutal denial of our country's access to the Pacific coast. The reality is brutal, and the siege of Callao was not accidental. It is now almost May, and the first fleet of your country to the Americas has departed, and it is hoped that they will still be able to bring back large sums of gold and silver from the Americas next year. Mo San motioned to the secretary to take his coat and top hat, and then said as he put them on: "The consequences of the termination of the negotiations are naturally very strict, and I believe that our government has made full preparations for this." I heard that His Excellency Registrar Balboa served in the army before entering the West Indies House, so cherish this good time, maybe the French will arrive in Madrid next year, and you will need to go to the front and fight for this country. ”

After speaking, Mo Sanzhong sighed, motioned for the secretary to follow him, and then left the venue first. Alejandro, who was waiting boredly outside the venue, was a little surprised when he saw this, and was about to step forward to ask something, but saw Balboa also walk out with a gloomy face. Mo San shook his head at Alessandro, then walked outside the door to board the carriage and quickly left the negotiation hall.

The days that followed were uneventful. Mo San still lived in the manor provided by the Doria family, and spent his days either reading some Spanish books like an old pedant with nothing to do, or receiving waves of guests who came to make peace. Of course, he was occasionally invited to a banquet hosted by the Spaniards, at which there were always some people who tried to test him in various ways, but he ignored them. At this time, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the people on the east coast should not have completely closed the door to negotiations, and Mo San should also be waiting for a suitable opportunity to restart negotiations, but the current differences between the two sides are too big, unless one side makes substantive concessions, it is difficult to negotiate.

The month of May passed quickly in the midst of such "leisurely" days. At the end of the month, a much disheartening news came from far away Germany. The defeat of the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Chusmashausen at the combined forces of Sweden and France, with more than 10,000 troops almost completely wiped out, almost announced that Austria would completely withdraw from the war, which was undoubtedly very bad news for the Spaniards, because it meant that the French could mobilize all their main forces to deal with the Spanish army.

Spain is now unable to win the war and cannot sue for peace, and if it were to sue for peace now, the French would certainly flatly refuse, and even if they reluctantly agreed to the offer, it would be unbearably high. For example, the cession of territories in the South Netherlands, the Pyrenees, Italy, Alsace and Lorraine is likely to require huge reparations, which Spain cannot afford today.

Under these circumstances, the Spanish king's close ministers finally lowered their posture a little, and began to advocate that the West Indian Council should do everything possible to resume the armistice negotiations with the people on the east coast. It is no secret that the King of Spain is secretly negotiating with the people on the East Coast, and the Spanish court, which leaks like a sieve, cannot keep any secrets for long. At this time, most of the Spanish nobles already knew about this thing.

At this most difficult time for the Kingdom of Spain, no one considered it a shameful event to negotiate with such a small country in the New World as the East Coast Republic of China. It has not been many years since the first war with the East Coasters, which was privately waged by the former Peruvian governor, and it is only a matter of repeating what was done. Thus, the fifth formal negotiations between Spain and the East Bank continued on 31 May in Valladolid, driven by realistic factors.

The two sides were again much more pragmatic than before, and the Spaniards, although bewildered and annoyed by the insistence of the easterners on entering the Pacific coast, were not as strong as they had been at first. At this time, the French army continued to increase its forces in the northeast and the Spanish South Netherlands, and a large-scale battle seemed inevitable. Although the Spanish troops stationed there were relatively capable of fighting, in the eyes of those who knew the inside story. They are both in terms of troops, equipment, supplies, experience, and will to fight. They are all so much worse than the French, so defeat is a high probability event.

At present, the king of Spain and a few favored subjects still expected his army to turn the tide, and others, including many foreign envoys, were pessimistic about defeating the French. They believed that the Spanish army, with its large number of recruits, was no match for the French, especially the English and Dutch, who were deeply wary of the rise of the French. They were now anxious for Spain to quickly end any unnecessary fighting. Deal with France with all your might.

The Spaniards added a negotiator this time. That is, Fernando, who was also the West India House. On behalf of the King of Spain, the two men engaged in three days of heated debate with the people of the East Bank, and finally reached a preliminary agreement on the evening of 1 June. During this period, the Dutch and the British kept sending warnings. Despite the threat of war in strong terms, they insisted that the East Coasters reach an agreement with the Spaniards, and the Genoese said that they would also reconsider some commercial cooperation with the East Coasters if negotiations dragged on. In the face of such tremendous pressure, Mo San had to compromise with the Spaniards and reach an agreement (subject to local approval).

The rest of the agreement hasn't changed much, with the highlight being on whether to open the Pacific coast. The Spaniards eventually made some small concessions, deciding to allow ships from the east coast with no more than eight guns and no more than 500 tons of tonnage to enter the southern Chilean waters for fishing during the four months from June to September each year, but not as far north as the southernmost tip of the island of Chiloe. As for the tax on fishing, it is set at 50,000 pesos per year, a price that is negotiated every three years and will not be changed for three years once agreed. The offer of the East Coasters to acquire a port near Chiloe Island or Valdivia was rejected by the Spaniards, but the port of Blanca, which was currently occupied by the East Coasters, was retained by Mo San's efforts, and was limited to the extension of the East Coast's buildings in the local urban area.

And the people on the east coast made considerable concessions in order to gain fair access to the Pacific, albeit restricted. First they would abandon their efforts to establish the Kingdom of Araucania in Chile, while cutting off any support for these Araucans, but the Free City of Araucan would gain independent status, protected by the East Bankers.

The independence of the Free City of Araucan was almost the most important achievement of Mo San's efforts, the city was nominally self-governing by the local population (80% Araucan plus 20% Easterners) and was protected by the East Coast Republic of China, but in reality the Spaniards acquiesced in the fact that the Easterners had gained a foothold in the Pacific, which was a formidable concession for them.

The second is that every time a ship from the east coast enters the Pacific Ocean, it will report to the port of Buenos Aires, and only after it will be allowed to cross the Strait of Magellan and enter the Pacific Ocean - of course, this is only a formality; Finally, they will sell the latest long-barreled army field guns and siege guns to the Kingdom of Spain, including the 12-pounder field guns that had been banned from export on the east coast, to support their war against the Kingdom of France, and of course they will not export any military supplies to the Kingdom of France.

Mo San and Balboa were not too satisfied with the preliminary agreement reached, but they were also helpless, knowing that this had touched the bottom line of the other party. After talking about these things, Mo San immediately sent his secretary to carry an encrypted diplomatic letter written by himself in five codes, and prepared to take a quick liaison ship from the Kingdom of Spain to the mainland of the Oriental Port, which still had to be approved by the mainland. (To be continued......)