Wild North America 1846

Chapter 600 Beating

Author: Portuguese toothless

Chapter 600 Beating

After entering March 1873

The world economic situation is getting worse. France took the lead in resorting to the magic weapon of high tariffs to shut out foreign industrial and agricultural products, triggering a series of reciprocal counterattacks.

Tang, Germany, and the United Kingdom have successively announced increases in tariffs against France and French colonial areas. The three major trade zones of pound, yuan, and franc have become increasingly fragmented, hindering the progress of global trade.

In order to protect their own product markets, when European countries have increased customs tariffs, a trend has formed to protect the domestic market.

The Tang Empire inevitably suffered a considerable impact from this trend of trade protection, and its commodity exports experienced a cliff-like decline.

In the first quarter of 1873, compared with the same period last year, the value of international trade exports dropped sharply by 37.2%. The hot economic development seemed to have a basin of cold water poured on the head and cooled down quickly.

Faced with an unfavorable international trade environment

The Tang Imperial government quickly took measures to protect itself, uniting the North and South of the United States, as well as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, the Andean Viceroyalty and other countries and regions that had signed the South American Unified Market, to form the American Trade Alliance, which unified and increased imports from Europe.

Tariffs on products cover a total of 723 varieties in 11 categories.

This unified action of the "American Trade Alliance" demonstrated the strong leadership of the Tang Empire in the Americas.

The Tang Empire immediately took severe disciplinary measures against Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and other countries that did not participate in the unified action.

The Imperial Royal Navy stepped up patrols in the Caribbean, seized 37 Venezuelan and Colombian cargo ships, and escorted them all to the Port of Colle in Panama Province in the name of not implementing the South American Unified Market decision.

All the goods were auctioned and the cargo ship was impounded at the military base.

this action

It is equivalent to blocking the foreign trade routes of Venezuela and Colombia, which has caused domestic prices to skyrocket. A large number of agricultural and sideline products they want to export pile up and rot at the docks, and the goods they want to import cannot be shipped in. Both exporters and plantation owners have suffered.

huge loss.

Countries such as Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia on the Pacific coast have received notices that their overland routes for exporting products to Europe and North America have been closed, and sea routes south to Tierra del Fuego for transfer to Europe have also been suspended.

The reason is that the sea conditions have been poor recently, and the route into the Atlantic Ocean via Tierra del Fuego has been completely closed, and cargo ships are not allowed to pass.

When will it be restored again, only God knows?

The Tang Empire's own cargo ships are not subject to this restriction and can still travel to and from European routes unimpeded. This kind of differential treatment makes some South American countries roll their eyes in anger.

This action has also been criticized by European countries, but in the face of interests, the empire's calls for trade protection have become louder and louder.

At this time, the Tang Empire showed a tyrannical imperialist face, pursuing the policy of "those who follow me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish", and provoked disputes on the Bolivian border through Paraguay.

Some Paraguayan cavalry frequently crossed the border, looted remote towns in Bolivia, committed murder and arson, and plundered women, triggering turmoil in the region.

A discerning person will know at a glance that the Tang Empire is letting its dogs bite.

Paraguay, a small country known as "South American Prussia", suffered a devastating blow in the South American War, losing half of its 460,000-strong population.

By the end of the war in 1869, there were only more than 240,000 people left, and the male population was less than 20,000 (including all citizens over 8 years old and under 70 years old).

Due to the strong support of the Tang Empire, in the postwar years, approximately 70,000 to 80,000 young and middle-aged Chinese immigrants settled in Paraguay every year, allowing this small South American country to quickly regenerate and reorganize more than 200,000 small families.

.

According to statistics at the end of 1872, the population of Paraguay has rebounded to 593,000 people. The large wave of immigrants has passed, but it is still increasing at a rate of 30,000 to 40,000 people every year.

However, with the increasing number of young and middle-aged Chinese immigrants, there is a huge gap in local women, which will not be solved for a while.

Look around

Uruguay was originally a small country with a smaller population than Paraguay. After the South American War, it also ushered in a large wave of Chinese immigrants, resulting in a surplus of male immigrants.

Argentina was severely damaged in the South American war, and its main population is concentrated in the areas surrounding Buenos Aires Province, which has a population of over one million and also has a considerable number of Chinese immigrants.

Brazil is the main destination for Chinese immigrants today. It continues to import 60,000 to 70,000 people every year. Starting from 1869, it is expected to continue for 15 years. A total of more than one million Chinese immigrants will be imported to make up for the huge loss caused by the suspension of the black slave trade.

Labor gap.

This part of the immigration funds was paid by the Brazilian Imperial Government and supported by the mature transoceanic immigration system of the Tang Empire, forming a profitable immigration trade.

Officials from the Tang Empire in Brazil are responsible for supervising the implementation of equal treatment of Chinese workers and equal pay for equal work in accordance with the labor importation treaty. So far, everything seems to be going well.

Chile is a South American country dominated by white immigrants. For many years, the military government has been in power, with strong military power and a relatively stable domestic environment.

Looking around the surrounding neighbors, it seems that only Bolivia is the most bullied.

Peru, Bolivia, plus Colombia, these three countries are the traditional territories of the Inca Empire in South America. After independence from Spanish colonial rule, they are also the most populous countries in South America.

At the beginning of 1873, in addition to the most populous countries Brazil with a population of more than 14 million and Argentina with a population of 1.5 million, the remaining most populous countries were Colombia with a population of more than 5.9 million, Peru with a population of 3.75 million, Venezuela with a population of more than 4.4 million, Chile with a population of 3.15 million, and Bolivia with a population of 2.3 million...

…

Colombia, Peru and Bolivia have relatively close relations. According to the domestic population, the majority are Indians, supplemented by a small number of native whites and mixed races. They have a typical agricultural social structure.

After the rise of the Tang Empire in North America, colonial expansion in various places was accompanied by bloody suppression policies. The Indians in the country were suppressed and their proportion of the social population was decreasing day by day.

Many Indians in North America were thrown into hard labor camps. In some southern provinces that were originally part of Mexico, economic development lagged behind and they were subject to discrimination and oppression.

In order to make a living, a large number of Indian women went north to work in wealthy families or became playthings, while men went to work in mines or plantations to work illegally. The future was gloomy.

During the Emperor's inspection of the southern provinces of the Tang Dynasty, a regicide riot broke out. This riot, which spread widely, was bloody suppressed by the imperial military.

Two imperial ducal families and dozens of South American nobles were annihilated, and hundreds of thousands of Indians were liquidated, suppressed, or thrown into hard labor camps in the mines...

The combination of various factors resulted in a sharp decrease in the proportion of Indian population in the Tang Empire, with the overall proportion being only a little more than 1%. This downward trend has not yet seen a turning point.

The rabbit dies and the fox grieves, and things harm its own kind.

Seeing the tragic situation of the Indian compatriots in Central America, how could Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia, the four South American countries dominated by Indians, have a good impression of the Tang Dynasty?

Even if every year during the first month of the year, South American countries would send high-level government delegations to the imperial capital Chang'an for pilgrimage, it was just a matter of face, temporarily succumbing to the might of the empire.

from the heart

These South American countries were extremely alienated from the Tang Empire and were unwilling to participate in regional organizations such as the South American Unified Market and the Andean Customs Union. They always maintained a distance from the Tang Empire.

The Tang Empire had long intended to attack these seemingly distant South American countries, and instructing its younger brother Paraguay to take action was just an appetizer. The empire's southern army had long been eyeing them, hungry and thirsty.

some of

The only country bordering Paraguay is Bolivia, which has a weak national strength. Because it has gained a lot of revenue from selling guano minerals and its overall economy is still good, it was listed as the first target to attack.

The people who invaded Bolivia were mainly Chinese armed cavalry. They came in teams of two to three hundred people and roared in when they moved. After they succeeded in plundering, they quickly withdrew.

Due to its well-equipped and strong combat effectiveness and the high mobility of the cavalry, Bolivia's army of only tens of thousands of people was unable to resist it and could only concentrate on guarding some large and medium-sized towns.

I watched helplessly as these invaders roared back and forth, taking away a large number of young women and wealth, cattle and sheep from the villages and towns.

The total number of Bolivian troops is less than 50,000. In addition to more than 10,000 soldiers equipped with muskets, most Indian soldiers still use cold weapons. How can they resist the Paraguayan cavalry who are armed to the teeth?

In just over two months

The Paraguayan cavalry ravaged several border provinces of Bolivia and robbed hundreds of thousands of young women and children. A large number of villages and towns were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the war poured into surrounding cities.

The sudden increase in population pressure has made these cities miserable, with shortages of food and other necessities of life leading to skyrocketing prices.

In times of crisis, Bolivia could only turn to neighboring Peru for help.

The relationship between the two countries is very deep. On July 28, 1821, they declared independence from Spanish rule and established the Republic of Peru.

In 1835, Peru and Bolivia merged to form the Peruvian-Bolivia Confederation. In 1839, the Confederation collapsed, forming the two countries of Peru and Bolivia.

Historically, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia were all part of the Inca Empire. They share the same language, religion, and customs, and have frequent exchanges.

Since Peru was the first country to become wealthy by selling guano, its army has better weapons and equipment, and it hired European instructors for training. It is the country with the strongest military and economic strength among the three countries.

In response to the little brother's request for help, Peru immediately took action to provide some arms and material assistance to help alleviate the current predicament.

But he also had troubles, because the Tang Empire had closed the route to Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America, and Peru's rich guano resources could not be transported out of the country, so they had to be sold to the Tang Empire at a low price.

This alone costs hundreds of thousands of Tang Yuan every month. This is simply a waste of money!

If you lose hundreds of thousands a month, what about a year or more?

(End of chapter)