On June 6, 1641, the 1st Company, the 103rd Company, and the 1st Company of the Independent Field Artillery, which had been withdrawn from the Fort Gouda area, began loading ships on the docks of the port of the river, awaiting their return to the mainland. Two ships of the South China Sea Transport Company have been docked here for several days, loading sorghum, liquor, peanuts, sesame seeds, and other specialties of the river fort while waiting for the arrival of the army.

The army had completed the shipment on the same day, and then the two transports left the port of the river and headed for the mainland port of the East, escorted by two frigates "Tuna" and "Salon Whit", which had been newly commissioned by the First Fleet last year (1640). After they left, the situation in South Africa was left to Fort River. Thankfully, after last month's battle, the Kama tribe had suffered some damage, and the Dutch to the south seemed to be too strong to pose a sufficient threat to the people on the east coast. Therefore, after transferring the Hezhong Security Regiment back to Fort Hezhong to defend the situation, Mo Ming left the 2nd Company, the 104th Company, the South African Field Artillery Company, and the South African Cavalry Company on the side of Fort Gundam.

South Africa aside, in early July, the convoy carrying the Army docked at the island of São Vicente in southern Brazil on its way back. The presence of hundreds of East Coast Army troops in San Vicente caused a great stir in the city, and at such a sensitive moment, when Brazilians had never felt so alone, the arrival of the East Coast was seen by many people as having a different symbolic meaning. The merchants, diplomats, captains and officers of all countries in the city of San Vicente had mixed mentalities of indifference, bitterness, warm welcome, and apprehension. Watch the people of the East Coast assert their presence with impunity. Of course. There are also some people who have already started to pass the news out through the fastest channel.

Xu Xin, the former East Coast Special Envoy to Bordeaux, who has recently been transferred to the post of Plenipotentiary in São Vicente, is already on the dock to welcome the arrival of the East Coast fleet. Xu Xin has been in Bordeaux for many years. At the end of last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs transferred him from Bordeaux to São Vicente, Brazil, not far from his homeland, as plenipotentiary representative, in consideration of his hard work and the need to train new people. As for Bordeaux, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will arrange another person from the mainland to replace it.

After greeting Xu Xin on behalf of the fleet, Lieutenant Ding Yiyu, captain of the frigate "Tuna," who served as the temporary commander of the fleet, and Qi Wangping, director of the Central Personnel Department, got into a large carriage and headed for the east bank trading station in the city. The East Coast Trading Station of São Vicente is located on a scenic hillside in the southwestern part of the island, surrounded by flowers and trees. It doesn't look like a trading post at all, but a noble manor. In fact, the post was originally acquired by a son of a Portuguese aristocracy, and after the acquisition, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the General Directorate of National Intelligence jointly rebuilt it, and then it became the trading post and intelligence station of the Eastern Republic in Brazil.

There were about thirty and a half children serving as servants in the trading station, and these fifteen or sixteen-year-old children were all collected by Xu Xin when he was in Bordeaux. At that time, most of these people were not in good health and were not suitable for long-distance sailing, and the trading post in Bordeaux did need some manual work, so they were retained. While recuperating their bodies, they did what they could, and sometimes Xu Xin would teach them literacy and simple arithmetic, so these half-grown children were also a small intellectual in this era when knowledge was extremely precious. After Xu Xin was transferred to the Saint-Vicente trading station, he transferred twenty teenagers from Bordeaux. At the same time, a dozen or so Guarani children were recruited in the local area, and these teenagers were the first employees of the San Vicente trading station.

The main building of the Merchant Station is a stone castle that looks like a bit of history. The style of the entire castle is quite thick and solid. This is also the favorite style of the East Coasters, who do not focus on artistic appreciation, but only on practicality and safety. Even during the day, candles and oil lamps were lit in the living room, which was not very well lit, and a few French maidens who acted as servants brought the guests a few cups of hot tea and then bowed their heads.

In addition to the host and two visitors in the living room, there is also a local official - Tao Chenxi, director of the General Administration of Textile Industry. This gentleman came to San Vicente for both business and private business, and said that he was on business because he had come to San Vicente as the head of the textile industry on the east coast to participate in negotiations with local Brazilian businessmen about further opening up the market; And the private matter is because he brought his third wife with him, who has been married for less than two years, a young lady of the Almeida family in Brazil and the youngest cousin of Blanco, who happened to take the opportunity to return home to visit relatives.

Ding Yiyu and Qi Wangping nodded to Tao Chenxi, and then sat down. Several Mesozoic military and political officials on the east coast gathered around, lit their pipes, and began to discuss some things.

"We also performed the return play for you this time, and it is up to you how to negotiate next." Ding Yiyu, the former first-class staff officer of the Admiralty, said, "We can't stay here for a few days, and how to talk about it during this period is your own business, and we can't help, in a word, we will try to cooperate with you during our stay." ”

"Actually, there's nothing to talk about." Xu Xin waved his hand and said, after staying in Bordeaux for many years, this middle-aged man who is nearly 40 years old is now getting richer and richer, "Brazilians are completely sick and rushed to the hospital, and it is a bit naïve to expect our government to directly send troops to intervene in the situation in Brazil." Now the Portuguese in Europe signed a peace agreement with the Dutch in order to concentrate on dealing with the Spaniards, but in order to obtain this ten-year peace agreement, they paid no small price, and even recognized the occupation of seven regions in northeastern Brazil, including Bahia, Saiara, Pernambuco, Piauí, and Maragnion. It's really confusing, how can the local Brazilians agree, especially the native Brazilian noble families who have their property or land confiscated by the Dutch, and who are now extremely disappointed in the Portuguese royal family in their homeland. It is not an exaggeration to say that those seven regions are important producers of sugar and tobacco in Brazil, and how could they be willing to let the Dutch occupy them for a long time. No, the war that has just been put down for less than two years is about to start again, so wait and see. ”

"This time the Brazilians were abandoned by their king, hehe." Ding Yiyu held the porcelain cup in the palm of his hand and said with a smile: "But they also have backbone, and they want to fight against the Dutch with their own strength, and their courage is commendable." I just don't know what their strength is? How much money did you prepare? And how many soldiers were prepared? You can't drive away the Dutch with just one blood! ”

"These people have a lot of money, after all, Brazil is famous for its wealth." Xu Xin sat back in a chair covered with a jaguar skin, and the bulging belly showed his current figure, "Even if the northeast is now taken away by the Dutch, there are still large areas of grain, tobacco, cotton and a small amount of sugar cane cultivation in the vast coastal belt of central and southern Brazil, and they also export timber to Europe, cotton, wool, furs, dried fruits and livestock, and they also smuggle a lot of money in La Plata and the Caribbean, so they actually have a lot of money on hand. This can be seen from the fact that they were able to borrow 10.2 million yuan from us. What's more, some of the Brazilian sugar tycoons in New Netherland (i.e., the Dutch-occupied region of northeastern Brazil, not Australia) also have secret connections to the south, and these people are very rich, and a little bit of it is enough to help these Brazilians in the south. ”

"Of course, if you have money, someone has to have a gun, otherwise it won't work." Xu Xin smoked his pipe and continued: "A few days ago, Blanco of the Almeida family made a special trip to the port of the East, visited the princes of the executive committee, and also placed a large military purchase order. It includes 1,500 flintlock rifles, 300 armor sets, 2,000 sabers, 10,000 three-meter standard spears, and 20 cannons. It is said that they also sent people to Europe to mercenary troops to fight in South America, and they paid a high price, presumably to fool many Scottish, German, and Bohemian mercenaries who came to fight in South America. And they should be able to put together a lot of militia in their own country, and don't forget the famous St. Paul's flag team in history. ”

"Flag team? I think I've heard the name, aren't they slave catchers? The kind of scum slave trappers who often trap Guarani in Spanish priestly attire? Ding Yiyu frowned and thought about it, "I remember that there are often some Brazilian flag teams passing by on our northern border, and they seem to have gone deep into the interior to capture Guarani slaves. These people are outlaws, and can even be called scum, and the slaves they capture are generally miserable. Of course, they also made a lot of money by capturing slaves, and seeing that they made a fortune, more São Paulo people joined the flag team to make a fortune. It's a bit like the sailors in Europe who went to pirate and followed suit after seeing others get rich, except that pirates were not legal, while the São Paulo flag corps was a legal organization recognized by the Kingdom of Portugal and the local self-government of Brazil. ”

"Yes, the flag team I'm talking about is these São Paulo people, these scumbags." Xu Xin said affirmatively. (To be continued......)