Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 279 Incentives
"According to statistics, the number of our captured soldiers and officers should be around 720. However, after more than ten days of field visits, we have discovered that the number of prisoners held in your several prisoner-of-war camps is far less, only 564. Can you, the Xinhua people, provide a reasonable explanation for this?"

Lázaro de la Garza, Vice President of the Mexico City Legislature of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the plenipotentiary representative for Xinhua affairs, solemnly addressed the two Xinhua representatives before him. "I have come to Xinhua on the instructions of the Governor-General and the earnest instructions of the relatives of all the captured officers and soldiers to bring everyone safely back to Mexico and reunite them with their families."

"However, these officers and soldiers who should have appeared before me have disappeared. The number of personnel is over 160 less. So, I want to ask you, what happened to these people?"

"Ahem, I'm so sorry, Speaker Garza." Gomez, who had been called in to act as an interpreter, glanced at Li Xianqing next to him. After receiving a signal, he cleared his throat and said solemnly, "In that battle a few months ago, we annihilated a total of 1213 of your Spanish officers and soldiers, of whom over 700 were captured. However, in the following months, a number of prisoners succumbed to injuries, illness, or acclimatization, resulting in only 560 survivors."

"Tell the truth..." Garza was silent for a long time after hearing this. Then he looked up at the Spanish "traitor" and said in a deep voice, "Were those people tortured to death by you?"

"No, no, no..." Gomez quickly shook his head and said, "We in Xinhua are a civilized country. We would not abuse prisoners, nor would we wantonly kill innocent people."

"Those people had endured a long and arduous journey at sea. Before they could even catch their breath, they, under the orders of Spanish officers, launched an invasion of our Xinhua. Their bodies had already been worn out. If we hadn't taken such good care of them after capturing them, they might all have died miserably and helplessly."

"..." After hearing this, Garza glared at him with an unexpected look on his face.

This is a bit hurtful!

So, the deaths of those Spanish officers and soldiers were caused by us?
However, when visiting those prisoner-of-war camps, the prisoners did not dare to complain much about the environment and their experiences under the strict supervision of the New Chinese.

But looking at their haggard appearances, their expressions of despair and empty eyes, one can imagine that these people must have suffered all kinds of cruel torture and abuse by the new Chinese.

No matter how fierce a battle is, the casualty rate will not exceed 40%.

The total number of Spanish officers and soldiers who landed was more than 1,200, but the Xinhua people claimed that as many as 400 to 500 were killed or wounded, and only more than 700 were captured.

What does this mean?
The Xinhua people may not have provided any medical treatment to the Spaniards injured on the battlefield, and may even have killed prisoners to some extent after the war, which is why so many soldiers died.

Then, in the following months, those captured officers and soldiers were forced by the New Chinese to do many hard and dangerous tasks. The food they ate must not have been very sufficient, and they may have been whipped and subjected to various abuses, which led to the torture and death of more than one hundred Spanish officers and soldiers.

Well, that's probably the case.

"Chairman Garza," Li Xianqing said with a faint smile, "Now that we are both conducting a prisoner handover, the most important thing is how to safely and smoothly repatriate the remaining prisoners, rather than dwelling on the missing personnel. After all, people eat grains and cereals, so it's inevitable that they will get sick and die."

"Furthermore, they've traveled thousands of miles from the warm and comfortable Mexican region to our Xinhua territory. They're likely to experience some acclimatization issues, making them more susceptible to incurable diseases. Just think about it: over eight months, out of a total of over 22 prisoners, only died, a mortality rate of just %."

"On the other hand, you Spanish captured seven of us, but only three survived, a mortality rate of over 3%. Tell me, which side treated the prisoners better?"

“…” Garza’s eyes widened immediately after hearing this.

Is there such a comparison?
You only lost four people, but we Spanish officers and soldiers lost seven hundred people!

"Speaker Garza, the dead are gone. We don't need to dwell on these unchangeable facts," Li Xianqing said. "We should now look forward and envision future cooperation to maximize the benefits for both sides. Isn't that right?"

"Benefits?" Garza said with a hint of contempt. "What interests do we have? I need to reiterate that your trade licenses as Chinese in New Spain are prohibited in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Do not attempt to engage in dirty smuggling. Otherwise, we will regard it as an infringement on our Kingdom of Spain and will retaliate decisively."

"I heard that Speaker Garza owns a manor in Nueva Vizcaya, Mexico, covering thousands of cavalerias (a cavaleria is approximately 1 hectares) and raising over 38.5 sheep?" Li Xianqing ignored the other party's warning and continued, "With so many sheep, the annual wool harvest must be enormous, right?"

"Huh?" Garza looked at him suspiciously, somewhat bewildered. How did he know I owned a large estate in Nueva Vizcaya, raising tens of thousands of sheep?
What does he mean by this?
"I heard that in Mexico, one farenega (a Spanish unit of weight, equal to 1 kilograms) of wool sells for between 1 and 55.5 pesos." Li Xianqing glanced at the documents on the table and said with a smile, "If Speaker Garza is interested, we at Xinhua can buy the wool from your estate at 35 to 45 pesos per farenega."

"Well, if you can integrate all the wool producers in Mexico, we can even make you our Xinhua's main wool supplier in Mexico."

"Hiss..." Garza gasped and looked at Li Xianqing in disbelief. "What do you want all this wool for?"

Li Xianqing waved to a clerk next to him to take the object in his arms and show it to Garza.

"This is..." Garza reached out and touched the thick and gorgeous woolen coat, and his eyes lit up.

"This is a woolen coat produced in Xinhua. Its quality is no less than that of woolen products produced in England and the Netherlands." Li Xianqing walked over to him and said proudly, "However, its price is about 20% to 30% lower than those woolen products from these two places."

"You mean to say that you are buying wool, processing it into woolen cloth, and trying to sell it in Mexico?"

"Yeah, what do you think?"

"Haha..." Garza sneered twice and said sarcastically, "Our Viceroyalty of New Spain prohibits any foreign merchants and goods from entering the Mexican region. You, Xinhua, are no exception!"

"I've heard that along the Atlantic coast, you Spaniards are simply unable to prevent the smuggling of goods from the European continent," Li Xianqing said with a smile. "This smuggling trade is not only massive, but also involves a myriad of people, including local colonial officials. Speaker Garza, what are your thoughts on this issue?"

"We in the Viceroyalty of New Spain will deal with any smuggling with the most severe punishment," Garza said calmly. "There will be no exceptions. Even if local colonial officials are involved, we will crack down on and punish them mercilessly."

"Chairman Garza, after serving for several years, Spanish officials will amass vast sums of wealth and engage in corruption. They will then return to Europe with the gold, silver, and jewelry they have looted, enjoying a more luxurious life and a higher status."

"As native Creoles, your status and treatment are always much lower than those Peninsular people, yet you are so law-abiding and wholeheartedly loyal to the King of Spain."

"To be honest, this kind of dedication really makes us admire and respect it!"

As he spoke, Li Xianqing gestured to a clerk to bring over a wooden box, which was one foot square and looked extremely heavy.

"Chairman Garza has been in Xinhua for over two weeks. As the host, I haven't done enough to entertain you. I feel deeply ashamed. This is a gift from us to you as a token of our appreciation. Please don't despise it."

"Later this evening, Director Luo will host a banquet for your delegation. Please do us the honor of attending."

Li Xianqing nodded slightly, then stood up and left the State Guest Building with his men.

The Xinhua people had been gone for a long time, but Garza was still sitting on the chair, staring at the box for a long time without any movement, as if he was thinking about something.

"Huh..." He let out a long sigh, slowly stood up, walked to the box, unlatched the latch, and opened the lid.

"hiss!"

There were neatly arranged stacks of gold coins in the box, which looked extremely dazzling and glaring in the sunlight coming through the window.
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(End of this chapter)