Chapter 196: Report of the Dutch Admiral (Part 2)
"...In general, most of the members of the Ming Empire's envoys are a group of very ridiculous and ridiculous guys. They are so arrogant and arrogant. They regard their own face as far more important than the survival of the country. And they arrogantly despise and hate everything they see in front of them, and are even hostile to the Australians who can determine their life and death, completely forgetting that they are just representatives of a dying small country asking for help
Of course, there were a few diplomats from the Ming Empire who were working hard to perform their duties and collect intelligence about the Australians, but instead they were scolded and ridiculed by their sabotaging colleagues. Fan and I. It is difficult for Delantron's senior businessmen to understand their strange logical thinking.
The attitude of the Australians towards these guys is also mainly cynicism. It seems that it will be difficult for them to complete their mission this time. However, the members of the Ming Empire's envoy didn't seem to care much about their mission. It is said that even if their mission to seek help fails, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has no right to punish them in any way, so these guys have no sense of responsibility. I think the emperor's situation must be very sad.
In stark contrast, the Japanese envoys lived in the room next to mine. These short Japanese people hold what can be described as a fanatical reverence and pursuit of Australia and everything they see in the Australian capital, as if they were devout believers visiting a holy place.
Currently, Japan, the ‘Treasure Island’ described by Marco Polo in his book, is also in the midst of a brutal civil war. However, compared with the Ming Empire, which became extremely chaotic after entering the "Three Thousand Years of Tyrants", the situation of Japan's civil war is relatively clear, that is, the king (emperor) has been deprived of power for a long time and cannot handle government affairs. The two most powerful aristocrats in Japan, the 'Maori family' that rules western Japan and the 'Tokugawa family' that rules eastern Japan, took the opportunity to rise up and attack each other to compete for the throne of Japan's shogun. This is roughly equivalent to the concept of our European political circles. the position of regent. It feels a bit similar to the War of the Red and White Roses in England, but like the Civil War of the Holy Roman Empire currently breaking out in Germany, it is mixed with many elements of religious wars - the Maori family in the west have converted to Christ, while the Tokugawa in the east The family represents the conservative pagan forces in Japan.
At the beginning of the civil war, the Tokugawa family in the east held the title of shogun and ruled most of Japan. But after several years of fierce fighting, the Maori family in the west has initially reversed the situation, and even invaded the Japanese capital under the banner of the Crusades and established a new Christian regime. The defeated Tokugawa family and the Japanese king retreated to their eastern base, united with Japan's conservative pagan forces, and continued to mount a tenacious resistance.
The Japanese envoy who lived in the room next to me came from the Maori family that ruled western Japan. Their envoy was a very kind and talkative old man. He had served as an interpreter at the company's commercial office in Nagasaki Port and could speak well. of Dutch. What is surprising is that, according to him, the Maori family had contacted and formed an alliance with the Australians as early as ten years ago. It was also under the influence of the Australians that the Maori family converted to Christianity. If the Maori family wins the final victory in this civil war, then the island country of Japan will probably be able to bask in the glory of the Lord from now on.
Although neither the Company nor the Republic of the United Provinces were keen on missionary affairs, and their relationship with the Holy See was very bad, as a Christian, seeing the glory of God covering more and more lands, it was still a daunting task after all. Something that makes people very happy.
Closer to home, in contrast to the arrogant Ming Dynasty envoys, the members of the envoys sent by the Japanese Christian government are all polite gentlemen. They speak very politely and modestly, and their courtesy is impeccable, except for their hairstyles. Apart from being rather strange, there is simply nothing that can be criticized. They showed amazing enthusiasm for the magnificent architecture, military power, culture and art of the Australians. In just a few days, they had collected many Australian books, studying and reading them without sleep and food. Several times when I woke up in the middle of the night, the lights were still on in the Japanese mission room, and the sounds of discussions and arguments could be heard.
At present, the Japanese Maori Christian army has occupied most areas, including the capital, but the resistance of Japan's old pagan forces is still very tenacious, and riots are spreading everywhere. Moreover, the Tokugawa army, which has retreated to its eastern base, is also actively recruiting allies and planning a new counterattack. Not long ago, the Maori army that conquered the eastern region suffered a tragic defeat in a place called the "Land of Three Rivers" (Three Rivers Country), the birthplace of the Tokugawa family, and the losses were quite serious. For this reason, the Japanese mission representing the Maori family hopes that the Australians can provide more arms assistance, and preferably send fleets and legions to assist them in combat, in order to eliminate the old enemy Tokugawa family in the shortest possible time and restore order in Japan.
Regrettably, although the Australians agreed at the first opportunity to provide a large amount of cheap arms to their Japanese allies, they have now been shipped to Nagasaki Port under the control of the Maori family. However, there is a fierce debate within the Australian government and military about sending troops to assist the war, and the prospects do not seem optimistic. The superficial reason is that the Australian army has just experienced two years of offensive operations in the Ming Empire. The entire army is very tired and unwilling to enter a new battlefield immediately. Behind the scenes, there seems to be a complicated struggle between the military and bureaucracy, as well as the central government and local governments.
In addition to the Ming Empire and Japan, I also saw envoys from other small Asian countries here. The first is a prince from the Ryukyu Kingdom. His country is a small island, about the same size as the Malta Island where the Knights Hospitaller is stationed, located in the south of Japan. More than ten years ago, the Ryukyu Kingdom was conquered by the Japanese and the royal family became prisoners. Later, it was only with the help of the Australians that the Ryukyu Kingdom was successfully restored again.
Therefore, today's Ryukyu royal family has become a loyal subject of the Australians. The Ryukyu prince in the state guesthouse has also studied in an Australian school for several years. He has shaved his short Australian hair and is wearing Australian clothes. , their words and deeds are almost the same as those of Australians.
Next, North Korea, which is located in the north of Japan and is rumored to be a very mysterious 'hermit country in the East', also sent an envoy to Australia this time. However, the mission of this 'Hermit Kingdom of the East' was surprisingly small, with only two people in total - the North Korean envoy and his servant.
This North Korean envoy is a middle-aged man who looks sad all day long. He fell ill and was admitted to the hospital due to acclimatization as soon as he arrived in the Australian capital. Therefore, I haven't had a serious conversation with him once. It feels like There really is something of a hermit about him.
Then, according to my chat with the Japanese envoy, the Australian occupation zone and the Allied Forces have surrounded North Korea on three sides. Therefore, even North Korea, an Eastern hermit country that has always been extremely slow in diplomacy, has to send troops to the Australians. Messenger, test the other party's attitude. More importantly, according to the Japanese envoy's understanding, this North Korean envoy should not be an important figure in their country. He may even be a demoted criminal clerk who was just sent out by a North Korean local official to find out what was going on. There's no point in dealing with him.
The Portuguese and Jesuit missionaries in Macau also sent envoys over, but at first glance it was clear that they were just insignificant people who came just to gain knowledge and eat and drink, and their attitude towards the company was also very different. It's hardly good - after all, we are business competitors.
Finally, there were several barbarian tribe chiefs from the northernmost part of Asia in the state hotel, all wearing rough fur clothing, and one of them had strange tattoos on his face. These people basically have nothing worth paying attention to except that they like to drink and get drunk all day long.
However, there is a piece of news from their mouths that may be of certain value to the company: According to their statement and the explanation of the Australian translator, the expedition sent by the Russian Czar to the East has not long ago reached the northernmost part of China's traditional territory. , on the edge of the grassland that gave birth to the Mongols, several small colonial strongholds were established, and small-scale contact and trade were carried out with the Australians.
I have no way of inferring the impact this change will have on the company's interests for the time being, but I just want to give you a little reminder here.
In addition, Dear Mr. Governor, in order to increase my understanding of Australian culture, I have also entrusted the service staff of the State Guesthouse to purchase some Australian books in the past few days, preparing to return to Batavia on the 'Magdeburg' I will bring them to you together when the time comes. Among them is an epic masterpiece "A Song of Ice and Fire", which is well worth reading. I took the time to read it in the past few days. This is a novel between myth and historical legend. The author obviously has a lot of research on European history and culture. It is hard to imagine that the person who wrote this book actually lived On the other side of the world!
Okay, it's already ten o'clock in the night, and it's almost time for me to rest. Dear Mr. Governor, I must ensure adequate sleep tonight and recuperate my energy to prepare for the inauguration ceremony of Mr. Bonaventure, the first supreme leader of the Australian Republic, tomorrow morning. Stop writing here. ”
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After putting down the pen holder, Admiral Anthony Van Diemen rubbed his eyes, spread the letter paper on the table, pressed it down with a heavy object, and waited for the ink to dry completely. Then he stretched himself out of the desk, walked into the bathroom to wash up, then took off his clothes and got ready for bed.
According to the admiral's plan, after attending the inauguration ceremony of Chairman Wends, he sent the expedition ship "Magdeburg" back to Batavia, bringing back the letters he wrote to the governor and the recently collected information. books. And he himself plans to stay in the Australian capital for a while, trying to collect more valuable intelligence, and at the same time see if there is an opportunity to leave the capital and visit other Australian cities... in order to better understand the Australians. to conduct a more accurate assessment of the country’s true strength and actual territorial scope.
However, just as his head touched the pillow and before his muscles could relax, he was suddenly startled by a rapid ringing sound and jumped up!
"...Damn! Damn it! What is this sound? Oh...it's a phone..."
In the dark room, after stumbling around for a long time, Admiral Anthony Van Diemen finally found the switch, reached out to light the light on the roof, and then followed the crisp ringing sound and grabbed the phone. Then I heard a young man say in fluent Dutch, "...Hello, is this General Anthony van Diemen? This is the White House Office. I'm sorry to disturb your rest."
Yo! You also know this will disturb my sleep? Don’t you even look at what time it is now?
The admiral in his pajamas rolled his eyes in displeasure, but the resounding name of "White House Office" still allowed him to barely suppress his anger - through this period of inquiring, he already knew The "White Palace" is the official residence of the supreme leader of the Australian Republic, and this "White House Office" is probably the organization where Chairman Wen Desi arranges his staff and favors. Naturally, he must not be offended easily.
"...Well, I'm just, what can I do? I have to attend Mr. Wen's inauguration ceremony tomorrow morning!"
"...It's like this. After tomorrow's inauguration ceremony, Chairman Moon is going to lead government officials and foreign envoys to the northern desert to pay homage to the relics of the old empire to show that history is not forgotten. Are you interested? Would you like to go and have a look together? "I originally planned to go on a trip. Admiral Anthony Van Diemen, who has traveled all over Australia, blinked in disbelief for a moment, and then his heart was seized by great excitement. He swallowed hard and quickly replied, "...With pleasure, sir."