Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 175 The Expansion of the Smuggling Trade

"Fifth brother, are we left here?" Xu Dashan looked at the "Shunyun-2" transport ship gradually moving away, a trace of panic on his face.

"What are you talking about?" Lin Quanwu turned around and glared at him. "We are following the committee's orders to expand our territory here. We must occupy and defend this crucial island."

"But, with only about forty of us, how can we defend this place? If a strong group comes, won't we all be wiped out in one fell swoop..."

"Shut up!" Lin Quanwu slapped him on the head. "The transport ship just left, and you're already saying these discouraging words to me. Do you know that you're shaking the morale of the army?... According to military law, I can throw you into the sea to feed the fish!"

“…” Xu Dashan immediately shrank his head and dared not say anything more.

We are not soldiers, so why should we enforce military law?

This fifth brother was one of the first Ming Dynasty immigrants to come to New Continent China. He looked very friendly on weekdays, but a few years ago, he had fought against the indigenous tribe, seen blood, and killed people, so he was quite ruthless.

Moreover, during all the militia training sessions, he received many rewards and praises from the committee members for his outstanding performance.

If he wasn't a little older - in fact, he was only thirty-two years old, in the prime of his life - he might have joined the Marine Corps formed by our Xinzhou Huaxia and become a glorious soldier.

Yes, being a soldier in New China is considered an extremely glorious act.

As long as you join the Marine Corps, you can get a monthly salary of four silver dollars, which is equivalent to about three taels and two cents of silver, and this is the actual amount you receive.

Listening to what the newly arrived Liao people were saying, the Guanning Army, the highest paid of the Ming official army, received only about three taels of silver per month (when Xiong Tingbi was in charge of Liaodong, the soldiers' annual salary was about 18 taels. By the late Chongzhen period, the Guanning Army had a confirmed strength of 2.8 soldiers, and more than 600 million taels of silver were allocated for salary, with an average annual salary of about 40 taels). However, I'm afraid that less than half of this money would eventually be distributed to the soldiers.

In addition, after becoming a Marine, he and his family will receive various preferential treatments from the government, including agricultural tax exemptions, child subsidies, high casualty compensation, debt relief, and entry into the ancestral temple for worship (Martyrs' Shrine).

After completing their service, soldiers returning home will also receive government policy support. For example, under the same conditions, they will be given priority for recruitment as grassroots officials, factory and mine workers, or serve as local village heads, militia captains, and other positions.

If the recruited soldiers are new immigrants, they will be regarded as officially registered "citizens" after joining the army. After discharge, they will be directly allocated land, and there will be many preferential policies for house purchase and construction, and agricultural loans.

However, the army formed by Xinzhou Huaxia was not large in scale and had a very limited number of men. The total number of musketeers, artillerymen, and cavalry was no more than 230 people. They were carefully selected from the more than 3,000 strong immigrants.

Not to mention, Shixing Fort also established an army training school last month (November), recruiting more than a dozen teenagers to teach them how to march and fight.

As a result, it is quite difficult for ordinary people to get a job in the army.

In this case, the immigrants could only hope to obtain a piece of land after the four-year service period, work in the fields, support themselves with crops and save as much as possible.

This time, to develop this deserted island and establish a secret frontier outpost, these selected colonists will be treated with reduced service years.

Moreover, after two years of garrison, they can return to their homeland and receive a certain degree of priority when allocating land, obtaining houses and agricultural supplies.

This deserted island is not large in area. It is long and narrow from north to south, about 30 kilometers long and nearly 10 kilometers wide, but there is no human habitation.

It can be seen that the island is very desolate and dry. The south is full of rugged rocks, the land is very barren, and there is little vegetation.

The place where they landed was in the northern part of the island, which had some fertile valleys with many trees and meadows. They thought they could plant some vegetables and grains like potatoes and corn to supplement the land.

What is even more surprising is that there are thousands of seals living on the coast of the island, which is simply a gift from God for them.

Aren’t these just piles of walking food, and it’s fat and greasy meat!

However, the surrounding sea can be dangerous as large sharks swim around.

They also covet the meat of these seals to fill their stomachs.

If you go into the water rashly, you will most likely be torn into pieces and eaten by these ferocious big fish like a seal.

"Alright, everyone, stop standing there like idiots," Lin Quanwu shouted, waving his arms. "The first thing we need to do now is to use the building materials we've brought in to quickly build houses and dig rainwater collection ponds. Otherwise, we won't be able to survive these repeated downpours."

"After a few days, when the transport ships return from the Western Yi territory, we must have a decent camp here."
-
February 2, 3:13, Maria Madre Island.

Pedro del Alamober looked at Wei Yingbin, who was smiling in front of him, with a complicated expression. He opened his mouth several times, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Mr. Pedro, we've been friends for many years. If you have any questions, just tell us directly." Wei Yingbin frowned. "You act like we've cheated you during the transaction!"

"Wei..." Pedro smiled, then considered his words. "Tell me honestly, did you really build a base somewhere in North America and expand it over the past few years?"

"Look, last year we only brought in some small daily necessities, worth only a few thousand pesos. But this year, you brought me a whole boatload of daily production and living supplies, estimated to be worth over 20,000 to 30,000 pesos!"

"Why, Mr. Pedro, are you planning to collect intelligence about us for the Governor in Mexico City?" Although Wei Yingbin still had a smile on his face, his eyes instantly became sharp.

"Dear Wei, what you said is extremely serious," Pedro said solemnly. "We have been working together for four years, and we should have established initial trust. Do you think I would easily give up my huge business interests and sell you out to the Governor in Mexico City?"

"What if the benefits offered by your Governor are generous enough?" "Haha..." Pedro was stunned at first, then burst into laughter. "Wei, you really don't understand the political and economic environment in our Americas. How much benefit do you think those Peninsula people can give us? How can they be willing to give us benefits?"

"To be honest, the reason I decided to sell you out was definitely not economic gain, but the threat of death or torture. Yes, I can't guarantee that if the Mexican authorities discover my smuggling activities with you and threaten me with extreme measures, I will still insist on keeping all your secrets."

"Haha..." Wei Yingbin couldn't help but laugh after hearing this. "So, you'd better know less about our situation. As long as we can bring you continuous and substantial benefits, you don't need to ask about other matters. ...Oh, by the way, is there any latest news from the Mexican authorities?"

"What do you want to know?" Pedro asked. "Something about the news against you?"

"Well, any news is fine, and it's not just limited to our situation." Wei Yingbin thought for a moment and said, "You can also tell us about the major events that have happened in Europe in the past year. We are very interested in them."

"Haha, I really don't understand how a group of you... uh, a group of forces hiding in an unknown place would be interested in paying attention to the major events happening in Europe and even Mexico."

"Of course, we can't always think only about money and trade. Sometimes, we also need to pay attention to the well-being of people around the world."

"The well-being of the people of the world? ... Oh, dear Wei, this joke is not funny at all. Do you know? Now all of Europe is at war, and tens of thousands of people die every day. ... Well, not long after the Kingdom of Denmark withdrew from the war, the Kingdom of Sweden jumped out again, leading tens of thousands of well-trained troops to Germany, preparing for a life-and-death battle with the Emperor (Holy Roman Empire)."

"Under these circumstances, Spain continued to send edicts to Mexico and Lima, requesting the collection of more gold and silver to be sent to Madrid so that His Majesty could recruit and arm more troops and purchase more supplies to safeguard the Habsburg dynasty's interests in Europe."

"So, it's foreseeable that tax collection activities throughout the Americas will enter a climax period, and merchants like us may be the target of those noble lords from the Peninsula. So, Wei, can you give me a small portion of the profits from this year's Eastern trade goods?"

"Well, is there anything else?" Wei Yingbin automatically ignored his "rude request".

"...Last May, the American treasure fleet arrived early at the port of Seville, but only brought back three million pesos worth of gold and silver, of which only one and a half million were due to the king. However, in order to raise funds to restart new military operations, the kingdom's chief minister, Duke Olivares of Sanlúcar, ordered the forced conversion of one million pesos worth of private funds into government loans and confiscated all the gold that arrived."

"Haha, this move has caused a huge stir in the Kingdom of Spain and the Americas. This desperate and catastrophic measure will probably make all merchants afraid to entrust any of their income to the treasure fleet this year. Instead, they will spend a huge amount of money to hire armed merchant ships to sail to the European mainland alone."

"Well, I think that in the next few years, merchants will still not trust the official treasure fleet and will organize their own ships to travel across the Atlantic. As a result, piracy in the Caribbean will become extremely active. ... Wei, have you considered crossing the American continent and heading to the Caribbean?"

"Why go to the Caribbean?" Wei Yingbin shook his head and said, "We are not pirates, why should we join in the fun?"

“…” Pedro was stunned when he heard this and looked at him for a long time without saying a word.

How dare you deny that you are pirates?

You have robbed Spanish merchant ships traveling to and from the Pacific Ocean twice. The looted gold and silver are worth at least 600,000 pesos. Isn't this a clear-cut act of piracy?
Moreover, you landed on American coastal port towns several times, plundering people and supplies, which angered the American colonial authorities.

After all this, you still dare to say that you are not a pirate!

"Are the Mexican authorities still sending out search fleets to look for us?"

"Of course." Pedro's face showed a hint of worry. "In addition to the search fleet sent by the Governorate, it is said that merchants and investors who suffered heavy losses from the treasure ship hijacking are also offering a reward for your capture."

"You... had better not rashly attack Spanish merchant ships in the near future to avoid being hunted down."

"Thank you for your advice." Wei Yingbin nodded seriously. "We won't initiate any more naval attacks in the next two years. ...Don't look at me with such suspicion. After all, we're not serious pirates."

"For the time being, in addition to trading with you, we intend to diligently cultivate the land and develop production in the hope of achieving limited self-sufficiency. Therefore, Mr. Pedro, we require a large supply of cattle and horses, as well as copper, lead, tin, saltpeter, and even grain."

"Of course, we won't give you a bad price. We want to achieve a win-win situation. ...What do you think, Mr. Pedro?"

"As long as the price you offer is attractive enough, I'd be happy to provide you with these goods." Pedro's eyes lit up when he heard this. "You know, I want to collect these supplies and secretly transport them out of the port, but it's very risky."

That’s great! As long as they have purchasing demand, it means another huge trade profit.

You know, as the scale of smuggling between the two sides becomes larger and larger, the amount of "payment for goods" handled is also becoming larger and larger.

If they didn't need anything, they would have to collect hundreds of thousands of silver pesos before each transaction and deliver them to them neatly.

Looking at such an astonishing amount of money falling into their pockets so effortlessly, the melancholy in their hearts cannot be expressed in words.

Well, even though this money doesn’t belong to me, it still makes me sad just looking at it!

Now, they need to purchase cattle and horses, and buy materials such as copper, tin, lead, and saltpeter, so they will have to spend a considerable amount of money for this.

As an agent, it is my duty to raise the prices of these purchased materials a little bit and keep more profits for myself.

In addition, your cash flow should not be so tight.

As long as the scale of trade between the two sides continues to grow, their own profits will continue to expand, and the rise and prosperity of the Alamober family will be just around the corner.

(End of this chapter)