After Mo San left, Balboa sat in the room for a while, then got up and walked to the next room, sat in front of a man who was just enough to taste the wine, and said, "Fernando, what do you think of today's negotiations?"

The man named Fernando did not answer his words, but pushed a piece of letter paper in front of him and signaled him to see it himself. Balboa took the letter paper and saw it said:

"Only after I have experienced the seriousness of the current situation, I dare to express my opinions wholeheartedly. His Majesty, my most honorable king. I blindly express a tough position to the people of the East Coast. This will inevitably lead to a breakdown of our negotiations, and the consequences of the breakdown of the negotiations are undoubtedly disastrous, because it will greatly weaken us."

"There is a bad atmosphere in Madrid, that is, people are used to criticizing our army, our navy, and our colonial officials, criticizing their decay and incompetence, because they have put the great Spanish kingdom into humiliation, and we are now the laughing stock of the French and Swedes. I think this is unfair to those who are still fighting with the East Coast in Peru, and it is always easy to criticize others, especially when these critics are often idle and idle guys at home, they do not need to make any constructive opinions or take any responsibility. They irresponsibly create public opinion trends, objectively the possibility of putting Spain into a dangerous abyss."

"I had the honor of reading the report on this war written by Lima, and I was surprised by their optimism. They still believe that they commanded a considerable number of troops in Peru and were able to maintain the situation. They even boasted that the East Coast Army did not dare to occupy Peru's land cities. This is awful perception!"

"No doubt. We are experiencing a bad economic period. Our fiscal revenue is declining and our debts are growing. More than one person has persuaded Your Majesty to change the fiscal policy currently implemented. But I think this is not just a matter of fiscal policy. A large part of the current economic difficulties is caused by our diplomatic strategy. Yes, we are trapped in too many disputes, but how much is necessary? The war with the East Coast people has caused our millions of pesos. And there may be more losses waiting for us next year. Our business allies - Genoese, Portuguese (Jews) and even some friendly Dutch merchants have been complaining to us that the endless war with the East Coast people has seriously damaged their business interests, and they unanimously asked Your Majesty to consider how to end this long-lasting war."

"Our interests are in Castilla, and our political center is in Castilla, so all our efforts in military, political and diplomatic areas must be arranged around our security in this region. The chaotic situation has dragged us into many wars, but some of them are simply unnecessary. The earlier we leave, the better, and the losses we are suffering now are caused by our lack of vision. Therefore, my Majesty. I ask you to give us negotiators greater autonomy to end the war with the East Coast people as soon as possible. After all, the French are the enemy of our life and death. You must know that many areas in Catalonia and the Southern Netherlands are not in our hands now."

"Writing like this will anger many people," Balboa said worriedly.

Mr. Fernando is one of the Senators of the West Indian Affairs Department and is also the helper sent by His Majesty to assist Balboa in the negotiations. Fernando, who was sitting in the next room, heard clearly and quickly wrote a letter of advice to His Majesty the King according to the negotiations between the two sides. Judging from the content of the letter, Fernando coincided with many of his ideas.

Both of them are senior officials of the West Indian Affairs Council. They deal with various things in the New World all year round and know all about the local situation. Therefore, from a technical perspective, their opinions are actually the most reliable, but what is abominable is that His Majesty the King is always surrounded by a group of idle and short-sighted nobles. They are fighting and ignorant, but extremely sensitive and self-esteem. Moreover, many of them have invested a lot in the New World, and some of them have their property seriously damaged by the East Coast army, so they are naturally urging the king to continue to fight with the East Coast people.

"Many French nobles contacted us in private and wanted to overthrow the rule of Cardinal Mazaran. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. Once an agreement is reached with them, many French teams on the front line will turn against each other, and our great Spanish Kingdom will also send troops into France. At that time, Spain will stand on the top of Europe again! This is what we need to do!" Fernando put down his wine glass, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said.

"So shouldn't we ask the East Coast people for so much compensation? You know that this is what the king means, and we are very short of money now..."

"Of course, compensation is needed!" Fernando said firmly, "but the method needs to change. No one will be willing to pay out millions of pesos of war compensation at once, but if we replace part or most of the compensation with muskets, cannons, spears, armor, and even cotton cloth, medicines, food, steel and other war materials, perhaps the East Coast people will be able to agree with us. You must know that they have always produced these goods very quickly. With these materials, the dilemma of our front-line army can alleviate a large part, which will be very beneficial to our plan to march into France."

"Your Majesty is unusually concerned about any possibility of entering France." Balboa nodded and said, "But this requires the assistance of French internal opponents, and we cannot get in without them. We have to admit that since the demise of the Flanders, it seems to have become unusually difficult for us to win a victory in the head-on battle with the French. Of course, if civil strife broke out in France, it is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. May God bless Spain."

After chatting for a while, they dispersed. On February 4, Barboa reported to Philip IV the recent progress of negotiations and submitted the letter of proposal written by Fernando. As expected, the letter of proposal caused a stir in the circle of the king's confidants. On February 7, Philip IV secretly convened some of his confidants and two negotiators from Balboa and Fernando to hold a meeting to discuss what to do next? Should we make concessions and continue negotiations with the East Coast people, or to resolutely not give in and then interrupt the negotiations. Earl Gutierrez, who had firmly opposed peace with the East Coast people, had not been summoned by His Majesty because of illness, which was regarded by many as a hidden hint.

At the meeting, the Secretary of the Barboa pointed out sharply that it is not worth taking huge risks for some desolate land east of the Uruguay River. The Kingdom of Spain cannot take this risk now, and the foundation of the country is still in the old continent. He said meaningfully that if the territory east of the Uruguay River is transferred to the East Coast people, their territory will double and cannot be digested in a short time. Moreover, based on the Pope's Meridian, the East Coast people will also have territorial disputes with the Portuguese, which is undoubtedly a blessing for the Kingdom of Spain, which is now even defeated by the Portuguese army.

Fernando immediately spoke, pointing out that we should allow the East Coast people to occupy the entire East Coast prairie, but their government should also make their public recognition of the Spanish Kingdom's sovereignty over the rest of La Plata - of course, the status of the Port of Blanca that they claimed can be discussed separately.

Fernando believes that what the Spanish kingdom needs most now is time. They need to rebuild order in La Plata, rebuild Peruvian fleet, regain the territory occupied by Portugal in the west and the territory occupied by France in the northeast, and in addition, to destroy the Catalan uprising as soon as possible and regain the entire Aragon region. Of course, the Southern Netherlands is the top priority, and the army there needs to be strengthened urgently, otherwise it will only be defeated by the French again and again.

The opinions of Balboa and Fernando were mixed among the king's close ministers who attended the meeting. Several still insisted that Spain had the ability to solve all difficulties and did not need to make peace with the East Coast people at this time. Of course, there were also one or two people supporting them, but in general, no consensus was reached. At this time, His Majesty Philip IV's own tendency was extremely important.

His Majesty Philip IV has not spoken since the meeting, but just sat aside and listened quietly to everyone's opinions. At this time, he saw that everyone was arguing, so he announced the recess, and then summoned Balboa alone in his room and secretly negotiated for half an hour.

Half an hour later, the meeting continued. His Majesty Philip IV also formally expressed his opinion: "There is no doubt that war is undesirable. We need time to reorganize the defense of La Plata and rebuild the crucial Peruvian fleet. Of course, we need to obtain a much-needed amount of money or supplies from the East Coast people to prepare for the military action to be taken when chaos broke out in France."

His Majesty Philip IV also promised that after prioritizing the problem of difficult life and death of the Kingdom of Spain, he would turn his focus to the new world. At that time, whether it was war, diplomatic negotiations, or other means, he would make the East Coast people pay a heavy price for their reckless behavior that once provoked the Kingdom of Spain.
Chapter completed!