September 1657, Mexico City.
This city, named after Mexicali, the Aztec god of war, was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire. It is now a splendid and gorgeous European-style city, with European-style palaces, Churches and monasteries can be seen everywhere. The streets in the city are straight, wide, clean and tidy. The buildings on both sides are either Spanish-style houses with yellow or red plastered walls, or palace buildings with numerous carvings and decorations. But no matter what type of mansion they are, they are all very well maintained, without the slightest sense of dilapidation.
In fact, most European cities of this era, including Madrid, the capital of the Spanish world empire, did not have the splendor and cleanliness of Mexico City.
Because the wealth they possess cannot be compared with Mexico City! The area attached to any European city is far less vast than the Viceroyalty of New Spain controlled by Mexico City - all Spanish territories in the New World are nominally governed by the Viceroyalty of New Spain stationed in Mexico City!
Although as early as 1542, the Kingdom of Spain established a Viceroyalty of Peru under the governor of New Spain to take charge of Spanish South America (the governor was stationed in Lima), Lima was only a subsidiary of Mexico City, both economically and politically. A vassal.
Mexico City in this era is the well-deserved star of the Americas, and it is also the gathering place of financial, material and human resources throughout the Americas.
The whole is like a magnet, attracting gold and silver from all over the New World, attracting products from the East and West, attracting the dignitaries of the Spanish Empire, attracting European immigrants who are struggling to survive under the rule of nervous Spain, and also attracting people from all over the world. Mestizos, Ladino people (all of mixed Spanish and Indian descent) and native white people throughout Spanish America. A noisy, prosperous, and wealthy metropolis was created abruptly in the New World of America, where humans are still a rare species.
In the autumn of 1657, more than 150,000 white Europeans, native whites, and Indo-Europeans were living in Mexico City, which they called the "City of Palaces."
To them, Mexico City was the Rome of the New World, and they were the Romans of the New World!
The current governor of New Spain, the noble Marquis of Spinola, Juan Gonzalez de Filippo Spinola, is the Caesar of the New World - at least he thinks so.
Although his "Augustus" Philip IV was in trouble in Europe, New Spain's advantage in the New World (excluding islands in the Caribbean) was still unshakable!
Because the total number of white and Indo-European people under New Spain who spoke Spanish, believed in God, and were loyal to the King of Spain exceeded half a million. In addition, there were tens of millions of Indians and black people under the rule of the governors of New Spain.
In New Spain, which was extremely rich in food, gold, and silver, the number of young and middle-aged men among whites and mixed-race whites was equal to the military mobilization potential of New Spain.
Among the 500,000 whites and mixed-race whites, there are no less than 100,000 young and middle-aged men who can take up muskets and fight for God and Spain!
If His Excellency the Marquis of Spinola can grant permission for some Indian men who believe deeply in God to enlist in the army, then an army of 200,000 people can be raised.
In Europe, the king of Spain only has this number of troops!
Therefore, we do not take into account the weakly defended islands hanging in the Caribbean Sea, the wild lands far away in the northeastern corner of the New World, and the territories randomly assigned to the Portuguese by Pope Alexander VI. In today's New World, there is no power that can challenge the authority of the governor of New Spain...
Moreover, in the foreseeable future, it should be impossible for enemies to challenge the power of New Spain.
Even if the French, English, and Dutch want to colonize the east coast of North America on a large scale, considering the population base of these three countries, giving them 100 years to slowly immigrate will probably not pose any threat to New Spain.
Because New Spain already has half a million whites and mixed-race whites, which were accumulated through more than a hundred years of hard work of immigration and childbirth!
In New Spain, which had abundant food, a vast territory, and a large number of Indians to enslave, the birth rate of whites and mixed-race whites was very high. The number of immigrants from France, England, and the Netherlands to the New World every year may not keep up with the number of whites and mixed-race whites born in New Spain.
Therefore, until September 10, 1657, the Marquis of Spinola would not believe that New Spain's hegemony in the New World might end in his generation!
"What? Admiral, what did you say? Your fleet was defeated by the Chinese? How is this possible?"
In the splendid and solemn palace of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the Marquis of Spinola had just heard some unbelievable bad news.
The powerful Spanish Oriental Armada actually suffered a disastrous defeat that the "Invincible Fleet" often suffered in Japan's Kagoshima Bay. Eighteen of the twenty-three armed galenic ships were sunk or captured, and the crew suffered losses. There were more than 2,000 people, and more than 2,500 people had to abandon the ship and flee to Japan's Kyushu Island. Most of them became mercenaries of the Satsuma Domain. Only a hundred and dozens of naval officers escaped back to Acapul on five 300-ton armed galen ships that slipped into Fuuchi Bay after the great battle of Kagoshima Bay. Branch (an important port on the Pacific coast).
"Admiral Garcia, you, you... you took away an entire fleet and thousands of sailors from me, and now you only brought back five ships and six to seven hundred people, and you told me not to care. Countless Chinese will soon cross the Pacific to the New World..."
After saying this, Marquis Spinola lowered his head and started looking for something on his luxurious desk.
"Marquis, what are you looking for?" He looked at the dark, thin, and very depressed admiral.
"I'm looking for a pistol!" the Marquis roared. "I'm going to shoot you, you idiot! Do you know what you did? You ruined most of the best sailors in the New Spanish Navy... Now I can get a lot of new ones." Armed Galen ships, I don’t have enough sailors to man them!”
There are not many whites and mixed-race whites in New Spain. It is a bit difficult to pull out a hundred thousand troops, not to mention thirty to fifty thousand, so the Marquis of Spinola can bear the loss of several thousand troops.
But a few thousand sailors...
Now the navy of New Spain may not even be able to defeat the pirates in the Caribbean!
However, the Marquis of Spinola did not find the pistol - even if he found it, he could not really kill the admiral. The admiral was the son of the Duke of Alba, Fernando Alvarez de Tolé. He has many grandchildren, and his brother is also the most trusted minister of the King of Spain... How can he be executed casually?
Moreover, the Spanish Armada fought so many defeats, and no commander-in-chief was executed...
Besides, if Garcia is killed, who can command the remaining fleet of New Spain? The Marquis of Spinola himself was incapable of doing the job of an admiral.
After slamming the table, the Marquis no longer looked for the pistol, but asked about China's coming to America.
"You said China is coming? Where did you get this news?" the Marquis asked, "Is there a mistake?"
"It can't be wrong..." Garcia said weakly, "If I hadn't gotten this bad news, I wouldn't have rushed from Japan.
The news was brought back by the envoys sent by the Satsuma Domain to China to sue for peace... The Chinese emperor has announced the establishment of the joint-stock United States of the New World! Prepare to raise 100 million taels of silver to colonize the New World!
Marquis, China now has a population of 150 to 180 million! Much more than in the whole of Europe...and they also have a base in Japan so that their low-cost hard sailing ships can float along the ocean currents to the west coast of the New World! "
