Rebirth of South America as King

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After the Paraguayan war, the Brazilian empire's domestic economy was sluggish, and the country's fiscal revenue was tight. Not only did Pedro II not have extra funds to buy warships, he owed the British a large foreign debt. Therefore, he could only choose to borrow from the British to buy Ship.

In the evening, Flores, the finance minister in charge of the Brazilian Empire ’s economy, came in front of the British embassy in Brazil in a tricycle.

Borrowing money from British businessmen is generally in charge of Edmond, the ambassador to Brazil. As the head of the Brazilian Empire ’s finances, Flores has to deal with Edmond. Therefore, the British guards guarding the embassy gate are also impressed with Flores. After seeing the other person get off the car, quickly ran into the door to report.

Flores and the waiter waited for a few minutes outside the door, and then saw a fat man in his forties walk out with a smile: "The business is busy, I couldn't meet Earl Flores in front of the door, please count the rudeness. A lot of forgiveness. "

The former Minister in Brazil was dismissed by the new Prime Minister Glaston after the fall of the Prime Minister of the British Cabinet, replaced by Edmond, also a Liberal, as the Minister in Brazil, and also responsible for handling British commercial interests in South America.

Edmund is from a family of emerging capital merchants. He has been working in the diplomatic system since politics. He has 20 years of experience in diplomatic work. After arriving in Brazil in mid-February, Edmund changed the arrogant and loose working attitude of the former Minister, and came to the door in person. Visiting the main officials and ministers of the Brazilian Empire, using moderate and equal attitudes, crowded out competitors from France, the United States, Prussia, the Netherlands and other countries, and enabled British financiers and businessmen to obtain about 70% of the Brazilian loan share and a large number of industrial and commercial orders. Received recognition and praise from the London government.

Although he knew that Edmond was courtesy of his status as the Minister of Finance of the Brazilian Empire, Flores felt very useful, and then replied with a smile: "There are important things to come late at night, you cannot inform the Minister in advance, The next time I meet, I will invite the Minister to meet for retribution. "

Edmund was obese, but his movement was not awkward. He took the initiative to greet Flores and the accompanying Brazilian soldiers, not minding: "The night is cold and the night, the earl still enters the house earlier, and there is nothing to do in the room. Talk carefully. "

Edmond said that he instructed the embassy staff to arrange Flores and others to enter the door.

In the hall, the embassy staff brought two cups of cocoa tea, and was escorted by Edmund.

"The Count came this time under the will of His Majesty Pedro II?" Edmond asked.

"His Excellency was not bad." Flores drank a bite of cocoa tea, holding the nobleman's etiquette, in a calm tone: "The Imperial Navy lost half of its main force after the war in Paraguay. Two days ago, it was purchased by Rio Grande do Sul Since the two iron armored ships in your country entered service, since then Rio Grande do Sul has surpassed the Imperial Navy. His Majesty Pedro II was deeply concerned about this situation, so he sent me to the Embassy to discuss solutions with His Excellency the Minister. "

"Florez, as a friend of the Brazilian empire, I regret the failure of your country in the Paraguayan war, but the purchase of a British Empire warship by Rio Grande do Sul is a normal commercial transaction, and I cannot make it because of personal emotional tendencies. Something that harms the interests of the British Empire. "

"His goodwill, Her Majesty Pedro II, and I understand that I am not here to interfere in British business transactions, but to conduct another transaction on behalf of Her Majesty and your country."

"Count Flores, as far as I know, your country suffered huge losses in the Paraguayan war, and your foreign debt has been postponed for two years before being delivered. In this case, your country can still use the money to trade ?"

Edmund asked deliberately.

"Uh, the empire's fiscal gap is gradually easing, and we will fulfill our promised external debts so that you don't have to worry about the ability of the Brazilian empire to pay."

The Brazilian empire is plagued with debt, and Flores bears the heavy responsibility assigned by Pedro II. Even if he is embarrassed, he has to continue: "The funds in Brazil are mainly used to restore the domestic economy and industrial production. His Majesty temporarily took no cash to trade with your country, so His Majesty wants to borrow a loan from your banker again to purchase warships to offset the threat of South Rio Grande to our sea. "

"The difficulties of the Brazilian empire are temporary, and I believe that under the wise leadership of His Majesty Pedro II, your country will soon overcome the current difficulties."

Hearing Flores's meaning, Edmond's mood improved immediately.

From the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century, it was no doubt that borrowing was the first thing to ask the great powers. By exporting funds to the borrowing countries, the big powers penetrate the economic field of the other country, and at the same time use the conditions attached to the borrowing to control the mineral resources and political direction of the other country. Finally, they gradually turn it into the dumping place of raw materials for their commercial capitalists. The purpose of controlling a country without spending a single soldier.

The Paraguayan war was a battle for interests behind the British. Although the Chinese troops joined midway and changed the direction of the war, it did not achieve the purpose of defeating the small Lopez. However, in terms of economic interests, Paraguay, Brazil, and South Africa The three countries of Ogland signed a contract and adopted the British's navigation and business rights on the Paraguay River, which not only achieved the control of the big river commercial interests in South America's La Plata area, but also deepened the penetration of British capital into Brazil.

The Brazilian empire is rich in mineral resources. The failure of the Paraguayan war gave the British the first favorable opportunity to penetrate the Brazilian economy. The request made by Flores now is another great opportunity to further expand the British business interests in Brazil.

Ten years of the army, one hundred years of navy, development of the navy, and conducting maritime military competitions are a very costly act. The maintenance and installation of supporting weapons after the purchase of the ship is also a large expenditure, so Edmond will not let go of this. Yes, on the contrary, it intends to take advantage of Pedro II's urgent need for ironclad ships to allow Brazil to pay more for the transfer of economic benefits.

Edmund quickly figured out how to maximize the British's benefits in the transaction, and then quickly proposed a ship purchase plan that he screened for the Brazilians.

The first option is to customize a "monarch" class armored ship

The monarch-class battleship belongs to the first-class iron armored ship with a displacement of 8455 tons. The main weapons and equipment are: 4 305mm guns, carrying 430 people, and the price is 400,000 pounds.

The second option is to purchase two three-tier iron armored ships of similar model to South Rio Grande. The ship has a uniform displacement of 3,500 tons, is equipped with four 228mm guns, and sells for 130,000 pounds. The two will pay a total of 250,000 pounds.

The price of the two ironclad ships sold by the British to the Chinese was 265,000 pounds, which is 15,000 more expensive than the Brazilians. It can be seen here that the British valued Brazil much more than Rio Grande do Sul, but even if it was reduced by 15,000 pounds For the sale price, Flores gave up the second ship sales plan and chose the first one.

From an economic point of view, adding two iron armored ships of the same level can suppress the novice South Rio Grande navy, but Pedro II appreciated the security brought by the artillery giant ship, so he directly ordered Flores to buy Large iron armored ships, small and medium iron armored ships will not be considered for the time being.

After choosing the type of warship, Flores directly stated the goal of customizing a "monarch" iron armored ship according to the order of Pedro II, but at this time, Edmund stopped him: "Earl, I I need to remind you beforehand that the 400,000 pounds are only the cost of a bare ship, and the weapons and equipment installed on the warship need to be calculated separately. "

"His Excellency, when your country trades with the Chinese, there is no additional calculation of the cost of weapons and equipment. Why should Brazil pay extra money?"

Flores was a little dissatisfied.

"You have misunderstood that if your country purchases ships in accordance with the second option, the cost of artillery and equipment can be waived, but the monarch-class battleships are the main battleships of the British Empire's new service. At present, these types of battleships are in the Imperial Navy There is only one. The naval shipyard needs to improve the construction of new warships according to actual needs, so there will be additional costs for the fee. "

"How much does the additional cost cost?"

"The amount is uncertain, but a warship will cost around £ 100,000 in total for improvement."

Edmund watched Flores' expression, pondering a reasonable number.

"Sorry, Mr. Minister, the warship transaction quota exceeds Your Highness's maximum authorized price. I need to return to Your Highness for instructions before I reply to you."

"The monarch-class battleship is the most advanced iron armored ship in the world at present, and I believe that Her Majesty Pedro II will realize its value." Edmund smiled indifferently, without any expression of the failure of the transaction.

"I hope so." Flores left unhurriedly and quickly left.

After Flores left, Edmund's complexion immediately calmed down. The Monarch-class iron armored ship was a new type of warship just launched in May last year. The technical performance is not complete and it has not yet been listed in the navy sequence. Listed as the first ship purchase plan, I wanted to take advantage of the monarch's high construction costs and retreat the Brazilians' intention to buy ships. Instead, I chose the second ship purchase plan. As a result, Pedro II was rushing to buy The purpose of the giant ship artillery was to deal with the British.

The sale of new main battleships to foreign countries was beyond Edmund's authority. In order to avoid the embarrassment of the Brazilians' genuine willingness to pay the price to buy a monarch-class battleship, Edmund quickly used a telegram to relay the message to the British mainland.

Telegram messages from Brazil passed through relay stations set up throughout the Americas, and were quickly passed to the dignitaries of the Cabinet of London.

After half a day of discussion, the British Cabinet officials reached a consensus and agreed to build a monarch class iron armored ship for Brazil.

Generally speaking, a democratic government's decision on a matter requires a short time of bargaining and bargaining, but the resolution to build a new iron armored ship for Brazil is rarely passed with the help of emerging capitalists and naval forces.

Emerging capitalists and industrial owners promote warship transactions. What they see as undoubtedly is the economic benefits attached to the transactions, while naval factions start from their own economic interests. Because of the rapid development of science and technology in the navy during the steam period, the time for the replacement of iron armored ships has been greatly shortened. For decades after being built from iron armored ships, new types of iron armored ships will be produced every few years, while the old iron armored ships However, in order to save research funding and help other countries build warships, it is a reasonable choice to accumulate warship construction technology.

The United Kingdom was not the first country to choose to do this. It was the case of the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships that were later built by Germany for the Manchu dynasty. Germany experimented with new warship construction technology on the two ships, and the costs of continuous improvement were covered by Manchuria. Clearing the purchase order has led to the continuous increase of the purchase cost of the two ships, which ultimately cost more than the price of similar warships built by Britain and France.

It took a few days for the British to pass the message back and forth from the mainland. After Edmond received a clear reply from London, the envoys from France, the United States, Prussia and other countries who received the news from other sources actively visited Pedro II, hoping that they would Provide loans and take charge of warship transactions.

If it was only the British family, Pedro II's gnashing of his teeth would also increase the loan amount and recognize more additional conditions to obtain the monarch class iron armored ship. However, after the envoys of France and the United States successively entered Rio de Janeiro, his thinking changed.

Of the two countries, France and the United States, France was the first country to build ironclads ~ www.wuxiaspot.com ~ The navy's strength is comparable to that of the United Kingdom, but the loans provided by the French are too high and the conditions are no less than those of the British.

Americans have more sincerity. They not only promise low-interest loans, but also have no harsh political and economic conditions. They just want to trade with Brazil on an equal economic partnership.

The United Kingdom, France, and the United States all have the funds and capabilities to build ironclad ships, but due to various concerns, Pedro II has not been determined to make a choice.

Britain and France are the two current hegemons in the world. The introduction of French forces is good for balancing the British influence on Brazil. It may also cause a crack in the relationship between Brazil and the United Kingdom. Americans are rich but rich, but Pedro II did not believe in the technology of Americans to build warships.

In comparison, it was difficult for Pedro II to make a final choice. During this period, when Edmond and Flores met again, the other party was supportive and did not give a clear answer.

The setback in the warship between Brazil and the United Kingdom has given confidence to the envoys of France and the United States. While lobbying important Brazilian officials, they frequently communicated information with their governments. A competition around the warship battle for the Brazilian industrial and commercial market was between Britain, France and the United States. Expand. Find this site Please search for "" or enter the URL: