Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 460 Calculation
The night was deep, and the sea breeze blew in, pattering against the wooden windows on the second floor of the trading house.

The flickering candlelight illuminated several solemn faces in the room.

Anxiety seemed to seep into the wood grain of the carved pine table. Alonso Pablo Garza sat behind the table, his slender fingers holding a white porcelain teacup, the celadon lid lightly scraping the rim of the cup, making a crisp sound.

He sipped his warm Earl Grey tea with feigned composure, but his other hand was rapidly tapping on the rolled-up secret letter, the rhythmic tapping of his white knuckles unable to conceal the turmoil in his heart.

Across from him, Adropapogomes, the Xinhua Trade Representative in Acapulco, frowned deeply.

His fingertips unconsciously traced the rim of the teacup, which had long since cooled. The tea rippled at the bottom of the cup, mirroring his chaotic state of mind.

"Are you sure this information is reliable?" Gomez finally broke the silence, his voice low but tense like metal.

Alonso put down his teacup, the bottom of which made a dull thud as it hit the table.

“Absolutely true!” He leaned forward, the candlelight illuminating the resentment in his eyes. “My father heard it from the governor’s aide, and later had someone verify it with the chief inspector’s personal valet. Governor Pacheco has certainly been persuaded; their ambitions extend far beyond your exploration team in San Diego Bay.”

Gomez's fingers suddenly paused, his fingertips digging red marks into the cold rim of the glass: "Where do they get their confidence?"

"You mean finance?" Alonso asked with a smile.

“That’s right.” Gomez nodded. “As far as we know, the Governorate’s finances have long been in deficit, and even the soldiers’ salaries have been delayed for more than six months. Where would they get the funds to fight a naval battle with Xinhua that spans thousands of kilometers?”

"The Governorate's finances are already empty, and it's true that it can't come up with extra funds to conscript troops and launch a large-scale expedition in the short term. But now, the situation is different."

Alonso sighed, took out a document bearing the royal seal from the drawer, and gently pushed it in front of Gomez. The top one read "Special Donation Order".

"The chief inspector compiled a list of more than 160 'suspected smugglers' and 'tax evaders,' with a ransom amount marked after each name." He pointed to a note in the corner of the document, "It says here, 'Those who fail to pay on time will be tried and convicted by the prosecution court.' So, no one dared to bet that this gentleman from the peninsula was not just making threats."

"Isn't this blatant extortion?" Gomez's eyes widened. "Isn't this chief inspector afraid of offending all the officials and nobles in the entire governorate?"

“Because he is the nephew of Count Olivares, the kingdom’s chief minister.” Alonso gave a wry smile. “Of course, there are also rumors that he is actually the count’s illegitimate son. Moreover, he once served as His Majesty’s personal attendant and was deeply loved and trusted by His Majesty.”

"How much did your Garza family pay?" Gomez asked curiously.

“Thirty thousand pesos!” Alonso paused for a moment, then said resentfully, “In addition, we also gave him gifts and Mexican ‘specialties’ worth ten thousand pesos personally.”

Mexico's "specialty" is silver!

“Thirty thousand pesos.” Gomez was shocked. “Your family contributed thirty thousand pesos. If all 160-plus suspected smugglers and tax evaders give in, wouldn’t that amount to more than… more than… several million pesos? That’s enough for the governorate to build an army of tens of thousands!”

“Four million eight hundred thousand pesos,” Moreno, Gomez’s young assistant, whispered.

“Heh…” Alonso glanced at Moreno, his lips twitching. “Mr. Gomez, not just anyone in Mexico can easily come up with 30,000 pesos. The reason our Garza family is paying this huge donation is to prevent the Inspector General from launching a political purge afterward, and also so that he can remove our family from the list of smugglers.”

"But everyone in Mexico knows that your Garza family is one of Xinhua's closest partners!"

"So what?" Alonso rolled his eyes at him. "As long as the Madrid court doesn't know about this, our Garza family can continue to live a life of ease."

Upon hearing this, Gomez couldn't help but laugh.

In this land known as "New Spain," not everyone is unconditionally loyal to the Spanish monarchy.

Especially the Creoles—these native descendants of white people, whose plantations, mines, and caravans are already inextricably linked to this land.

Perhaps deep down, they have long hoped that the shackles from Madrid would be loosened, allowing them to have more freedom to control their wealth.

Why should the sweat they shed in sugarcane fields and silver mines become luxury items in the Madrid court?

Of course, the authority of the Spanish monarchy still existed in the Americas. A tight and hierarchical system of colonial officials, including governors, prosecutors, military governors, archbishops, tax collectors, and treasurers, formed a powerful network that firmly controlled this vast territory and continuously transported the wealth plundered here to Spain.

However, as the power of the native Creoles gradually increased, their voice in the colonies also began to expand, and they tried their best to unite to protect their own interests and oppose the unlimited exploitation and humiliation by the Peninsulars.

Many Creoles inherited vast amounts of land and wealth from their fathers through a system of guardianship and other legal and illegal means, becoming large landowners, ranchers, or mine owners in the colonies.

Smuggling and tax evasion have long been unspoken rules for the Creoles to resist the oppression of the royal family.

By the 1920s and 30s, Creoles had acquired key positions in the finance department and a few in the administration. For example, the elder Garza, who served as the vice president of the Mexico City Council, was the most typical Creole representative.

In this way, after obtaining mid-to-high-level positions in the colony, they could provide opportunities to evade taxes for their various business activities.

As their wealth grew, the Creoles increasingly believed that evading the colonial government's taxes was crucial to their prosperity.

They would take advantage of the lax control of the mother country over the colonies to form informal alliances with the colony's finance and tax officials, and dominate the colony's finances, taxation, mint management, and the increasingly "prosperous" smuggling trade.

Although the Creoles considered themselves descendants of conquerors, possessing naturally noble qualities, and enjoying many preferential rights in education, official positions, specialized professions, and the church.

However, conflicts and contradictions between the Creoles and the Peninsulars continued. Although they constituted the absolute majority of the white population, they also enjoyed the same status as the Peninsulars under the laws of the Spanish monarchy.

In reality, whether in terms of political environment or economic interests, they are still at a relative disadvantage when facing the people of the peninsula, simply because they were born in the Americas.

Even Spanish merchants and officials newly arrived in the American colonies would exploit their close ties with their homeland and Europe to discriminate against the Creoles born in the Americas. For example, in this instance, the Inspector General of Quevedo, in his quest for wealth, disregarded the "face" of the Creoles and extorted over 160 Creole merchants, plantation owners, and mine owners on charges of smuggling and tax evasion, leaving everyone in a sorry state.

It should be noted that, given the status and position of the elder Garza, he was not only one of the few powerful figures in the Viceroyalty, but also had a family that had been rooted in Mexico for over eighty years, wielding extremely deep influence in both the local political and economic circles. Successive governors and judges all showed him the utmost respect.

Unexpectedly, this noble scion from the peninsula didn't take old Garza seriously at all. He slashed at him with his first blow, threw a bunch of "evidence" he had collected from who-knows-where in front of old Garza, and then brazenly demanded a large sum of "atonement money".

The Garza family is not short of money, and they don't care much about being asked to pay 30,000 pesos as "atonement".

The problem is, spending this money feels frustrating and makes me feel uneasy.

If this chief inspector were to privately discuss with the Garza family and, in a more equal and friendly manner, earnestly request a "donation" from us, even if we asked for more money, the wealthy and powerful Garza family would be able to provide it.

After all, the Garza family earns at least 100,000 pesos annually through smuggling activities with the new Chinese. Giving the chief inspector a bribe of 30,000 to 50,000 pesos is no problem at all.

But the result?

That arrogant and rude son of a peninsula nobleman, after only a brief discussion with the governor, bluntly issued a "special donation order," rudely demanding that the Creoles suspected of smuggling and tax evasion pay "atonement" within a specified period.

This made the Creoles, represented by Old Garza, feel a strong sense of humiliation.

People from the peninsula are so rude!

In a fit of shame and indignation, old Garza resigned from his position as vice president of the Mexico City council a week ago and went straight to his family estate in Zacatecas in the north.

Out of sight, out of mind; I won't bother with these people from the peninsula anymore.

That's so tasteless.

However, this action by old Garza does not mean that he has given in or endured this silent contempt and humiliation.

Since the Inspector General intends to use the pretext of a military conflict with Xinhua to extort money from the Creoles, then don't blame us for taking strong countermeasures and making you look foolish.

Alonso then went to the Acapulco port trading post and secretly met with Xinhua's business representatives, revealing to them in detail the Governor General's military operations against Xinhua.

"The chief inspector from the peninsula once told the governor that if we could take over your gold mine in San Francisco Bay, we could not only make up for part of the military expenditure, but also send Madrid at least 200,000 pesos in annual tribute."

Alonso lowered his voice and said with feigned seriousness, "He even boasted that after conquering California and Oregon, he would advise His Majesty the King to establish a new governorate, thereby gaining a title from the King for his merit in expanding the territory."

"This kind of conversation should be very private. How did you find out about it?" Gomez asked suspiciously.

“Heh…” Alonso immediately revealed a mocking smile, “In Mexico, as long as you pay enough money, you can find out the details of even the Governor-General’s intimate moments with his mistress.”

"Do you have a detailed battle plan for the Governorate?" Gomez asked him hopefully.

“Of course!” Alonso pulled several documents from his satchel on the table and handed them over. “The Governorate’s strategy is to first send three hundred soldiers to San Diego Bay to capture your exploration team that broke into the area. Then, those soldiers will build a military fortress there and prepare for long-term defense.”

"I guess that once Xinhua learns that the exploration team has been captured by the troops sent by the Governor's District, they will definitely send their army and navy to San Diego Bay to rescue them."

"At that time, your colonies in California should have been undefended. The Governorate's army, escorted by more than ten ships, would have rounded San Diego Bay, launched a surprise attack on you, captured your strongholds, and seized the rich gold mine."

“Tsk tsk…” Gomez laughed upon hearing this. “Which military genius devised this battle plan? Does the Governorate think that the defenses of our Yongning Bay Colony are made of paper? Even if you send three thousand men, you might not be able to breach any of the fortresses there!”

“What if we add the troops from the Viceroyalty of Peru?” Alonso said softly.

"Huh?" Gomez's eyes widened immediately. "How is that possible? Aren't the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Viceroyalty of Peru separate entities, independent of each other?"

“Mr. Gomez, you seem to have forgotten something important.” Alonso sighed. “That chief inspector from the peninsula can order the two viceroyalties to cooperate and send troops together. You must know that he represents His Majesty the King and the chief minister, Count Olivares, and has supreme authority in the Americas.”

"Is he insane?" Gomez jumped up, the chair legs scraping the floor with a screeching sound. "He dares to mobilize two governorates to go to war over a single exploration team?"

“In his eyes, your exploration team is a provocation.” Alonso gave a strange look and spread his hands. “He calculated that you would rescue the exploration team, and as long as the two sides exchange fire, he could legitimately escalate the war. He needs a victory to cover up the extortion scandal, and he needs the gold mine to fulfill his promise to Madrid.”

As the candlelight dimmed, Alonso added another candle, and when the light returned, his eyes sharpened: "Mr. Gomez, we don't want war, because your goods are very important to us. But now, you must prepare yourselves. The chief inspector has already gone to Lima, and he will likely persuade the Governor of Peru soon."

Gomez stared at the annotations on the battle plan and suddenly sneered: "They're insane! I don't know where that chief inspector from the peninsula and your governor got the confidence to think they could defeat us, take California, and seize our gold mines."

Alonso looked at him expressionlessly: "Are you confident of winning?"

“It’s not that we’re confident,” Gomez said, rolling up the plan and handing it to Moreno beside him. “It’s that they simply can’t win.”

He looked at Alonso, his gaze becoming serious. "But we need more detailed intelligence: the ships that the Mexican and Peruvian colonial authorities can muster, as well as the fleet's departure time, ship types, commanders' habits, and troop numbers."

Alonso nodded: "I will do my best to obtain this information and then transmit it to you through secret channels."

The sea breeze pattered against the windowpane again, but the candlelight was much more steady.

Looking at the intelligence documents on Gomez's desk, he suddenly remembered a quote from old Garza: "In America, real power is not in the governor's mansion, but in the plantation owners' ledgers and the mine owners' silver mines."

Alonso picked up his teacup again, and this time, his fingers finally slowed down their tapping on the table.
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(End of this chapter)