Chapter 629: Peeling off the cocoon
However, in addition to minerals, the environment on Belitung Island is very suitable for the cultivation and growth of a kind of spice, that is, pepper. Ever since the ancient Romans had a taste of pepper, it has become an indispensable spice in European life. However, pepper is produced in India and Southeast Asia. This spice is not produced in Europe, so its value is also very high. But this spice has played a role in world history beyond just being a table condiment.
After the Visigoths captured the city of Rome in 408 AD, they asked the Romans to redeem the city with 3,000 pounds of pepper and a large amount of gold and silver, which shows how in short supply pepper was in Europe at that time. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, the trade channels between the East and the West were interrupted for a time, and pepper almost disappeared from European tables. At this time, the Arabs seized the business opportunity and transported pepper produced in India to Egypt, and then transported it to the Mediterranean coast by Venetian merchants. By the time this oriental spice arrived on the European table, the price had soared to forty or fifty times that of the place of origin. .
Such huge profits impressed not only European businessmen, but also the aloof Holy See. The Crusades that began in 1095, under the high-sounding religious banner, the Holy See's slogan was simple and crude: "The East is so rich, gold and pepper are everywhere!"
In 1453, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople and blocked the original pepper trade route, giving Europeans another reason to find another new route to the East. In the decades that followed, Columbus discovered the American continent, Vasco da Gama reached the Indian Peninsula by sea, and Magellan completed the first circumnavigation of the world in history. Among the great geographical discoveries of that era, an inconspicuous plant like pepper also quietly played a role in promoting human progress.
By the 17th century, pepper was still as valuable as gold in Europe, and could even be used as hard currency in the market for a certain period of time, used to buy land, pay rent and taxes, serve as dowry, etc. The Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, and British launched a hundred-year-long melee and plundering on the seas of the Far East. A considerable number of small-scale wars centered on the competition for pepper production areas.
After this spice crop entered China, it gained another use, that of being used as medicine. As early as in "Tang Materia Medica", there is a description of the medicinal properties of pepper: it is mainly responsible for lowering Qi, warming the middle, removing phlegm, and removing wind and cold in the lungs. Since then, almost every dynasty and every generation of medical books has omitted this medicinal material, which was originally introduced to China as a spice. The diseases it can treat are increasing with the development of traditional Chinese medicine. Among the goods exported to the Ming Dynasty by several Western colonial countries, pepper has always been an indispensable high-value commodity.
The East India Company sent the first batch of immigrants to Belitung Island five years ago, and the agricultural land developed there was mainly pepper cultivation. After five years of operation, the local pepper planting area has exceeded two square kilometers, and the annual income generated for the East India Company is also considerable. This time the search and rescue fleet led by Van Longen will also dock at Belitung Island and ship the pepper produced here.
Although the voyage from Batavia to Belitung Island is only two hundred nautical miles, due to the maritime search and rescue mission undertaken by the fleet, this trip also consciously slowed down the ship speed, hoping to luckily find the missing person on the route. Clues of ships. Of course, everyone knows very well that such a search is simply looking for a needle in a haystack, and it involves a lot of luck.
Just as the Dutch expected, they found nothing during this voyage. Three days after departure, the fleet arrived at the bay port at the southern tip of Belitung Island, where they would dock for a day to load pepper and replenish fresh water and other ingredients.
Except for the sailors on duty, the other crew members left the dock as soon as they docked and went to the town's tavern to have fun. This pair of them was one of the few who could let go and have fun during this hard work. place.
However, several high-level officials could not be so dissolute regardless of their status. The mayor of the port town, Wim Jonker, had already rushed to the dock, ready to receive the big shots from the company headquarters.
As a colony under the East India Company, the mayor here is naturally appointed by the East India Company, so Jonker is also an employee of the company, but his status is far inferior to that of high-ranking officials such as Van Longen, Spikes and Brouwer. . After all, there are at least twenty or thirty small colonial settlements like this port town throughout Southeast Asia. Employees who serve as mayors in such places are actually ordinary people in the company in Batavia. Just staff.
To the delight of the three Van Longen, although the conditions here seemed very simple, Jonker, who was given short notice, prepared a box carriage as a means of transportation to the town, so that they did not have to wipe themselves. The clean calfskin boots stepped into the muddy road that smelled of sea.
"It's an honor to meet three distinguished gentlemen here, but please allow me to ask, is the company preparing to go to war with anyone?" On the carriage, Jonke took the initiative to inquire about the purpose of this fleet. Among these three people, he had dealt with Van Longen several times, so he was not too unfamiliar. After all, this was the first time he saw that Van Longen's fleet actually brought two troop transport ships.
"War? Maybe, maybe not." Van Longen responded vaguely, and immediately changed the subject: "Mr. Jonker, from April until we come here, you have senior officials here. Have merchant ships returning from the port docked? ”
"Speaking of this matter, I am also deeply confused." Jonker responded: "According to the normal schedule, no ships from the north have been here since April. Of course, this situation has occasionally happened in the past. It has happened before. After all, the crew members returning from the north all hope to return to Batavia as early as possible, and are not willing to stop and rest just two or three days away from the end of the voyage. What's more, this is just a desolate island, and Nothing interesting.”
"Have you submitted a report to the company headquarters regarding this abnormal situation?" Spikes asked from the side.
"Of course, this is a matter within my responsibilities. I already mentioned the relevant situation in the routine written report sent back to Batavia last month." Jonker responded in a neither humble nor condescending manner.
"So has there ever been a situation where no ship came back from the north for more than two months in a row?" Van Longen continued to ask.
"No, this is the first time in my memory." Jonker said with certainty: "In the past three years that I have been the mayor, the situation you mentioned has not happened."
"So have there been any abnormalities in the ships heading north recently?" Van Longen continued to ask questions to sort out the clues about the missing ships bit by bit.
"It's normal as always. Just half a month ago, there was a merchant ship heading to Taiyuan Port to replenish fresh water and transport three hundred pounds of pepper. If the road goes well, the ship should be almost there. " Jonker replied.
"It seems that this is probably not the last stop for the missing ships." Brouwer, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke: "They probably had an accident before they arrived at this port." "Missing?" Jonker asked in surprise. : "Are you saying that all the ships returning from Damuan Port in the past two months have disappeared at sea? None of them have returned to Batavia?"
"Yes, they all disappeared out of thin air, and our responsibility is to find out where and why they disappeared." Brower said: "Mr. Jonker, if you know anything else, please tell us. For example, are there any new pirate forces in the nearby waters? Are there any strange rumors recently? ”
Jonker thought for a while before responding: "I haven't heard of pirates, but when a Ming merchant ship docked here recently, I heard that a port fort was being built in Natuna Port in the north. I wonder if Old Jansen received anything. Bad news? ”
The old Jansen whom Jonker mentioned was the mayor of the port town of Natuna. Van Longen had traveled to and from this route many times, so he naturally knew him. Hearing this, he frowned and said: "Build a fort? There is nothing to do on Natuna Island. Are there any pirates interested in looting things? ”
"It may not be pirates, it may be the nasty Portuguese." Spikes reminded: "They are very good at doing this kind of sneaky business!"
"Wait a minute, did the people on the Ming Dynasty ships that docked here mention whether they had seen our missing ships in Natuna Port?" Brouwer's mind was obviously much more thoughtful, and he immediately grasped a key point.
But Jonker's answer made him slightly disappointed: "This...I didn't ask in detail..."
"So the only ships that have come from the north recently are Akito's ships? Has Akito ever mentioned any news about pirates or Portuguese activities in the northern seas?" Brower still refused to give up and asked.
Jonke responded very quickly this time, and responded without thinking: "According to Mingren, the pirates who caused trouble in Qiongzhou Island last year were not completely wiped out by the Haihan people, and they still operate in the South China Sea from time to time. No one knows about them. No one knows where their base is, what their current strength is, and where they will appear next time.”
"Mr. Jonker, I don't want to hear this kind of meaningless nonsense." Broward shook his head in disappointment and gave his own evaluation: "What we need is not just rumors, but informative information!"< br>
Jonke's face turned red and he murmured: "I'm sorry, the news here is really limited. I can only get news from the outside world through the merchant ships that dock here briefly every month... I didn't know that something like this happened. Serious things..."
"Okay, this is not your fault, and you don't have to apologize for it." Van Longen couldn't stand it, and interrupted Jonke's apology: "Maybe we can go to Natuna Port in a few days, Lao Yang Sen can tell us some other news. That guy is a very lazy person. It must have been something special that stimulated his nerves to cheer him up and organize the immigrants to build the fort."
However, what Van Longen didn't know was that the Natuna Islands in the north had changed back to their previous names, and it was not the town elder Jansen who organized the construction of forts on the islands - he and his family had now arrived in Black Earth Hong Kong and began to work locally. At least in recent years, old Janssen may only be included in the East India Company's missing persons.
As for the Ming merchant ship crews who once docked at Ambrina Island, they were actually not able to tell the difference between the Portuguese and the Dutch very well, especially when one of them consciously disguised himself as the other. The group of immigrants specially sent by the Portuguese Council to Ambona Island from Macau did indeed act as a smoke bomb at this stage. After all, it was difficult for Van Longen and others to imagine that this small port in the north had become a trap for Haihan, and it was an ambush set against Dutch ships, but the Ming merchant ships were able to pass safely.
"It seems that the problem lies in the waters north of the Natuna Islands." Even the thoughtful Broward was misled by the information provided by Jonker and made a self-righteous and wrong judgment.
"That way at least we have nothing to worry about in the next few days." Spikes seemed optimistic in the face of the unknown situation.
"The fruit wine produced here is quite good. I've been thinking about it all the time. I guess Mr. Jonker must have prepared a lot for us, right?" Van Longen's mood also became lighter.
"Speaking of fruit wine, it can be regarded as one of the few masterpieces produced by the locals. Although these guys are smelly and lazy, they know how to use the natural conditions here to please themselves." Jonke introduced to the three distinguished guests. Said: "I have ordered people to go to the mountains to hunt some fresh prey. Today's dinner will definitely satisfy the three of you."
Jonker was not bragging. Although there were not many valuable products on Belitung Island, there were many varieties of tropical fruits. This has also led to the lazy habits of the local people, because even if they do not farm, they can survive well by eating various fruits produced by nature. In addition to filling your stomach, it can also be used to brew various fruit wines to satisfy your appetite.
However, the three distinguished guests were attracted by another kind of wine at dinner. According to Jonke, this was a new type of fruit wine brought by Daming Shipping from Guangzhou. It was called "Sanya Special Wine". It's something produced in Haihan. This kind of sweet wine not only tastes good, but the bottle it is filled with is not the crock pot or porcelain bottle used by the Ming Dynasty, but a crystal clear glass bottle - this kind of packaging is probably only available to people who are said to have mastered high-grade glass. Only Haihan people who are skilled in craftsmanship can do it. A bottle of "Sanya Special Brew" in a glass container like this is said to be sold for fifty taels in the Guangzhou market, and it is basically priceless and impossible to buy without some special relationship.
(End of chapter)