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Monday, February 1o, 1642.

Early in the morning, the people of the American Concession on Terceira Island and Angra de Herosírdi poured into the high ground near the port, happily looking into the distance of the bay, as if they were welcoming some big man.

When the large ocean liner Atlantic Queen, which looks like a hill, appeared at sea level, the crowd of onlookers shouted one after another in amazement, and the Portuguese defenders of the coastal fortress of Heroic Port gasped one by one.

The Atlantic Queen is a large passenger and cargo dual-purpose steam merchant ship, which belongs to the Sino-American state-owned ocean shipping company and is built by Beiyang Shipbuilding Group. The construction took 16 months and cost $560,000. The ship sailed from Qingcheng Port on the sixth day of the first lunar month and arrived in the Yar Islands in only seven days.

The Atlantic Empress is arguably the largest ship ever built by Huamei Shipbuilding, and although it is a civilian ship, it has also reached the limits of iron-boned wood-hulled shipbuilding technology. The full load displacement reached 69oo tons, and two sets of 2ooo horsepower three-expansion steam units produced by General Industries were adopted, with a total capacity of 1ooo people in the three-stage cabin, a maximum cargo capacity of 28oo tons, a maximum of 15.4 knots, and a range of nearly 6ooo nautical miles at 12 knots. Although the most modest third-class cabin is still a dense three-layer berth like a sardine, the comfort and supporting sanitation facilities are still a grade higher than that of the large five-masted long-sail merchant ship of Oriental Union, and will be used exclusively for the immigration transit and cargo transportation business from North America to Nanshan Overseas Territory.

The light cruiser Princess Anyi, the main force of the Chinese and American Navy, which escorted its voyage, was once regarded as a big thing by the Portuguese in Yar, but now it is smaller by the side of the Atlantic Queen. Under the strong visual contrast, it is even more shocking.

At a time when the number of merchant ships and total tonnage have been rolled out, how to continue to improve the efficiency of ship shipping and reduce operating costs has become the next issue that the East American shipping industry must think about. After scientific calculations, a merchant ship with a maximum cargo capacity of 2ooo tons, in the same operating time. Compared with two merchant ships with a maximum cargo capacity of 1ooo tons, its comprehensive operating costs are only half of the latter.

Atlantic Queen is based on this idea, due to the high cost of construction, only one has been completed and put into operation, and its sister ship, the Caribbean Queen, is still only an outline, but its idea will become the focus of the next phase of China's civil shipbuilding industry.

In addition to carrying 2ooo tons of export grain, the Atlantic Queen also carried hundreds of passengers on the voyage. In order to maintain the effectiveness of publicity. The Atlantic Queen was moored at the quays of Angra de Marísmo de Grasmo and opened to the local Portuguese public, and the massive ship became one of the most spectacular sights outside of Atlantis Hills. Even the local Portuguese governor happily booked a first-class luxury cabin with the intention of spending the night.

……

The Lunar New Year holiday in North America is just over half over, and most government departments have not yet begun their work. However, the diplomatic work of the Chinese and American Foreign Ministries to mediate between Spain and Portugal in the Al-American Concession had already started ahead of schedule.

Ten months have passed since the Kingdom of Portugal was restored, and even though the Spanish royal family was furious, the Spanish army, which had been mired in the Thirty Years' War in Europe, could no longer be distracted, and the Spanish army was showing more and more signs of bad luck on the battlefield in France.

The military conflict between Spain and Portugal in the past six months has also been limited to a few insignificant border armed frictions, and the military confrontation in the Iberian Peninsula can be regarded as the most inconspicuous in the whole of Europe compared to the main battlefields of flesh and blood and hysteria.

Today, with the exception of the Governor of Ceuta in North Africa, who chose Spain, almost all of Portugal's overseas colonies have declared their allegiance to the restored Portuguese royal family of Bragança. For this near-perfect result. The Portuguese elite were also secretly glad that at least Tangier, another North African Straits Settlement of Gibraltar, had been saved.

However, the declaration of independence of the Kingdom of Portugal was not easy, and as recently as the year before last, the few Portuguese naval warships were still carried by Spain and suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Dunkirk. Except for a small number of local 6th Army, the Portuguese Navy now has only the last two large schooner warships imported from Huamei to guard Lisbon, and the other two warships of the same type that have been built have been dragged by Huamei for a long time without delivery.

Most of Portugal's coastal towns are undefended, and the Spanish verbal threat still looks terrifying. It is said that the main force of the Spanish Caribbean Fleet is being assembled in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and may sail back to Europe or south to Brazil at any time.

In fact, except for the inexplicable Portuguese crown. The two Iberian states, Spain and Portugal, have a deep historical connection, and even after they won the throne of Portugal, the Spanish royal family still respected the traditional sphere of influence of the Portuguese aristocracy and preserved the integrity of the Portuguese overseas colonies.

The search for a more decent outcome is probably the subtext of Spain and Portugal's eagerness to extricate themselves from the Iberian crisis. Now both countries are holding on to each other's refusal to make concessions, and they are afraid that a third party will intervene to eat cheap fruits.

In the end, both countries chose the "traditional ally" Huamei to mediate diplomatically, although the country on the other side of the Atlantic was equally greedy. But compared with European powers such as France or England, which eat people and do not spit out bones, Huamei obviously "pays more attention to rules" in foreign affairs.

……

On the observation deck on the top floor of the U.S. Concession Consulate, the Chinese and American Consul General in Europe, Dai Botong, who recently returned from Ireland, and Vice Foreign Minister Shi Wenbo. The two of them were watching with great interest the giant ship of their own country in a distant port.

"The round of formal diplomatic mediation talks is scheduled to be held the day after tomorrow. However, I am afraid that the Spaniards may not accept our proposal, and the Portuguese have not been reluctant to lease Terceira in its entirety. Looking at the giant ship of the country in the distance, Dai Botong was a little worried while being angry.

"The mediation of the Iberian conflict and the concession of Terceira are issues on two levels. We can talk to them separately, you are in charge of Portugal, I will deal with Spain, and when we find out their bottom line, we will finally join forces. ”

Swainberg, who is already a veteran of diplomacy, seems to be full of confidence, and does not feel that there is any other choice for Spain and Portugal now.

After speaking, Shi Wenbo smiled and waved slightly to his wife and children in the garden downstairs. In sight, Anna, a noblewoman with a big belly, was drinking tea and basking in the sun on the lawn with her four biological children. The youngest of them was shouting excitedly at the big ship in the distance. On the other side, Shi Wenbo's eldest son, Shi Anwen, who inherited the title of Duke of Santa Cruz in Spain a few years ago, was drinking tea with his sister Shi Anli, looking much more mature and stable.

"Frederick V of Emden is preparing for war, but he still does not believe that Denmark will come into conflict with Sweden, which has already received a military loan from our consulate in Emden; News came from the intelligence station in the port of Nantes that the French Prime Minister Richelieu was seriously ill in bed. It is estimated that it will not survive this year, but even so, Spain still loses more and wins less, and the mud still can't support the rhythm of the wall; The National Assembly of England and the citizens of London had executed the Earl of Stratford, Charles I's favorite, last month, and now that Charles I had fled to Yorkshire in the north, it is estimated that an English civil war is inevitable; The country has instructed the Secretary of State to provide Charles I with a loan for the purchase of arms. It is also helping the Home Rule Council of County Cork, Ireland to form a standing army, and initially intends to establish a force of 3ooo people, which may be used in the future, but I am afraid that the funds are a little insufficient. ”

Seeing that his predecessors were full of confidence, Dai Botong also calmed down and continued to tell the other party about the European information he had obtained in the past few days.

"Well, it's not much different from the speculation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If the English parliamentary party has any needs, they will try to agree to it. In addition, I heard that France has pitted us in Qingcheng this time, and it is estimated that it will not be long before we should find an opportunity to provoke France, which can be regarded as helping Spain reduce the pressure. ”

Swenbo nodded, satisfied that the current situation in Europe is basically in line with the expected pace, and he has also strengthened some of his unique historical ambitions.

……

Greenery. In the garden of the Consulate of the Yarmé Concession, Anna, a noblewoman who is pregnant again, is resting in the sun with her children. The eldest son and eldest daughter were by her side over tea and chatting, and Anna kept a kind smile throughout.

Although he is 37 years old, not counting the one in his belly, he also has four children. But the quality of Anna's life in Huamei is obviously much higher than that of the Spanish ladies in Madrid. She still looks young and beautiful at the moment.

His eldest son, Anwen Shi, who will turn 2o years old at the end of this year, inherited his grandfather's title as Duke of Santa Cruz in Spain many years ago, and is now studying for a bachelor's degree in business administration at an Ivy League university. As a product of Anna's strict upbringing, S. Anwen embraced Catholicism. Proficient in many foreign languages, he can be regarded as the most family-style young man in the second generation of a Chinese and American elite family.

In order to protect the interests of the family, Swainbo and Anna both set the eldest son's future daughter-in-law, which is Sophia, the youngest daughter of Frederick V, Marquis of Emden. For this fiancée who has only met once, Shi Anwen naturally doesn't know the legendary status of the other party in the original history, and his current identity is the same, but he has no choice in life.

The eldest daughter Shi Anli, 18 years old, in Anna's opinion, whether it is size or appearance, if you do not consider the existence of several other "wild species", Shi Anli is definitely the most beautiful daughter in this Chinese and Western family.

Annley is now studying literature and art at an Ivy League university, and her fiancé is also designated by her father, Swainberg, as Frederick V's youngest son, Rupert. This made Anna, who was bent on finding a future for her daughter in the Spanish aristocratic circle, had to compromise, after all, Frederick V's family was now considered a first-class aristocratic family in Europe.

The second daughter Shi Anbei, 15 years old this year, petite and cute, looks most like Anna herself, according to the couple's plan, Shi Anbei will marry a powerful family in Huamei when she grows up, in order to consolidate domestic connections.

The second son, Shi Anjie, is much younger than his brothers and sisters, and he is only 1o years old this year. However, Shi Anjie looks very much like his father Shi Wenbo, except for the color of his head, almost like coming out of a mold, and he is also the most lively and active age. Unlike several older brothers and sisters who are strictly tutored, Shi Anjie, who is destined to be by his parents' side, is very free in his daily life and learning.

As for the other dozen or so illegitimate children of Swenbo who have always made Anna unhappy, Anna is too lazy to care, and all of them are arranged by Swenbo himself in private. I heard that the eldest illegitimate child was born even a month before Shi Anwen, and is now studying in the reserve officer class of the Huamei West Point Military Academy.

Just as Anna was thinking about the future status of the family, a Hispanic housekeeper who had been with her for a long time walked into the lawn and placed a lettered with fire paint on the table: "Madam, Emden's letter is for Miss Julia (Ann Li). ”

As soon as she heard that the letter was from Emden, Shi Anli, who was chatting softly with her brother, turned her head and looked at the letter in her mother's hand, and her heart was full of deer, but she didn't dare to speak lightly.

"Maybe it was written by Miss Sophia, and I heard that she was going to study abroad in Manchester City this summer, so it was the best place for my sister to be with her." Seeing his sister secretly anxious, Shi Anwen hurriedly "begged" his mother for a letter.

"Well, that's for the best. But wait until after lunch, maybe your father wants to know more about Emden than you do. Anna smiled and handed the letter to her daughter disapprovingly. The latter quickly grabbed the letter in his hand, and nodded gratefully to his brother.

……

The following week, Spanish and Portuguese diplomats were invited to tea and chat by Svenbo and Dai Botong.

Spain remained tough on the surface, resolutely refusing to accept Portugal's independence, hoping that the Chinese side would cut off any Portuguese funding and join forces against French expansion in the Caribbean. Because not long ago, a large French colonial fleet invaded the Florida peninsula again after a few decades, building a fort in St. Augustine as a nail household, which terrified the few Spaniards in Florida.

Portugal hoped that China and the United States would provide military asylum at sea to Brazil and other overseas colonies in accordance with the original mutual assistance agreement to prevent Spain's annexation, but it has been unwilling to lease the island of Terceira in its entirety.

As far as Spain is concerned, Huamei wants Spain to recognize Portugal's independence, yes, Portugal can't afford to do what it can't do, Huamei should be sincere, right?

For Portugal, it is not impossible to lease Terceira in its entirety, unless Portugal can obtain greater benefits and security, preferably something that Spain does not have.

What kind of diplomatic mediation is this, it is completely that Spain and Portugal are looking for Huamei to seek east and west, as if Portugal's independence was all done by Huamei. However, the basic attitude of these two countries has also come out, and they have figured out a "more suitable" deal to save each other's face and interests.

I'm not afraid that you will refuse, I'm afraid that you won't make a price, anyway, this historical big deal was originally a gorgeous market, who makes and who loses is unknown? After Dai Botong and Shi Wenbo obtained the communication limit, they immediately sent the content of the first phase of diplomatic mediation to China, waiting for the cabinet to make a decision.