Chapter 642 Alternative Conditions
Zheng Xinzhi thought for a moment and then changed his explanation: "The Haihan people are good at engineering construction. Whenever they go to a place, the first thing they do is to build ports and fortifications. Although I have never been to Sanya Victory Port, it is said that the local The forts and fortifications are all over the harbor, and there is also a strong city built by the Haihan people, called Victory Fort. However, it only took the Haihan people about a year to complete such a large project. It was used by the Haihan people as a settlement outside Qiongzhou Island. There were at least four ports built by them near the Pearl River Estuary alone, and the Haihan people used these ports as springboards to sell their specialties to the Ming Dynasty and other countries. Immigrants from outside the country come in to fill the vacancies in their labor force.”
Hearing this, Fan Longen interjected again: "It is understandable that the Haihan people enjoy privileged treatment in Annan. After all, they helped Annan end the civil war between the north and the south. But how could the Ming Dynasty allow outsiders like them to open and build ports on their own along the coast of Guangdong and Guangxi?"
Van Longen didn't ask this casually. When the Dutch occupied Penghu, they tried to turn it into a transit port for the East India Company to the Ming Dynasty and Northeast Asia. However, for some reason, the Fujian government did not care about this island group with a small population. He was very concerned, as if his tail had been stepped on, and he relentlessly organized tens of thousands of land and sea troops to fight with the Netherlands for more than half a year, even at the cost of several times the casualties, and finally drove the Netherlands out alive. Penghu is finally settled.
In the consciousness of the Dutch, the Ming Empire should be very sensitive to the issue of territory. Even overseas enclaves such as Penghu would not easily be occupied by outsiders, and the Haihan people should be no exception. Even though the appearance of the Haihan people is very similar to that of the Ming people, and they claim to be descendants of the Han people, neither the Ming people nor the Dutch really think that they are from the same country as the Ming Han people. However, the Haihan people were able to enclose the territory of the Ming Dynasty, build cities and ports, and even organize immigrants from the Ming Dynasty to move to their own territory. This kind of differential treatment was really incomprehensible to Van Longen.
Zheng Xinzhi replied: "Although Haihan people use engineering construction as the foundation for development, their external expansion is based on commerce. As we all know, most of the things produced in Victory Port are valuable things, and Haihan makes less profit from them every year. It's worth one million taels of silver, and it's definitely not Haihan's family who has benefited from this. As far as the villain knows, most of the local officials in the coastal areas of Guangdong and Guangxi have interests entangled with Haihan, and many of them are even directly involved. In the Haihan people’s business, a lot of the money that comes and goes goes into their pockets.”
Fan Longgen suddenly said: "After accepting money from the Haihan people, these Ming officials naturally turned a blind eye to their actions."
The Dutch have done a lot of similar things. When dealing with certain Eastern countries to establish commercial relations, bribery is always the best stepping stone. However, it is almost impossible for the East India Company to allow outsiders to participate in the company's operations. It will simply provide other parties with economic benefits. This approach is obviously different from Haihan's approach.
Zheng Xinzhi nodded after listening to the translation and continued: "These Ming officials thought they had received benefits, but they did not know that they were allowing Haihan to do whatever they wanted. The Haihan people gained land and population, and their strength became stronger and stronger. Last year, Qiongzhou Island There was a banditry in the city, and the Guangdong government was unable to send troops. In the end, it asked the Haihan militia to go out. The banditry was eliminated, but the northern part of Qiongzhou Island was naturally taken over by the Haihan people. Now all ships going to Qiongzhou have to stop in Haihan. The Maritime Department must go through the formalities before it can dock in the port. Otherwise, the Haihan people will be labeled as spies and the people and the ship will be confiscated. Although Qiongzhou Island is still nominally owned by the Ming Dynasty, it has actually been taken over by the Ming Dynasty. Controlled by the Haihan people.”
Van Longen and Hans couldn't help exchanging glances when they heard this, and found that the other party was both surprised. Although Qiongzhou Island is similar to Da Yuan, it is also a large island hanging overseas, but Da Yuan does not have the Ming Dynasty's administrative seat. The Dutch will occupy it, and there is no dissatisfaction from the Ming Dynasty for the time being. Qiongzhou Island is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. There are still more than 200,000 people on the island. The Haihan people have surrounded them all so quietly, which really makes the Dutch a little envious and jealous.
"There are people in Haihan today who are rich and occupy the overseas enclave of Qiongzhou Island. They also have the ability to manufacture their own weapons and train their own troops. It would be very difficult for the Ming Dynasty to restrain and suppress them." Zheng Xinzhi He said sincerely: "If you can't suppress their momentum of entering Fujian, in one or two years, the coastal areas of Fujian will also be controlled by them. By then, let alone trade with the Ming Dynasty, even if you want to keep the relationship with Ryukyu, Ryukyu, The trade power of Japan and other places will probably also be under pressure from Haihan.”
"In the end, the topic came back to asking for help..." Fan Longgen had already heard Hans talk about the purpose of the Haihan envoy's request, so he was not surprised when Zheng Xinzhi brought up the topic.
With the strength of Shibazhi, it is a bit difficult to face the Fujian Ming Army head-on. If there is a stronger Haihan who has been sitting behind the scenes and has not taken any action, then Shibazhi will indeed be difficult to withstand. If help cannot be found as soon as possible to change the current unfavorable situation, it seems that it is not far away that Shibazhi will lose its base in Penghu or even be completely destroyed.
Hans asked Van Longen calmly: "Mr. Van Longen, what do you think?"
"Hai Han is indeed an object worthy of our vigilance, but based on our current situation, it is not suitable to start a war with Hai Han." Van Longen's view is still relatively objective: "Our first task is to improve the port of Taiyuan and Relanjia. The construction of the city, rather than a crusade against a force that is not easy to mess with, not to mention that with our armed strength on Dayu Island, we may not be able to defeat the Haihan people.”
Hans nodded in agreement: "You basically agree with me. Although Haihan is a threat, we do not have the ability to eliminate this threat now. So even though he has visited me several times, I still don't agree. His request."
After losing Penghu and fighting in Taiyuan Port, the East India Company appropriately strengthened the deployment of armed forces. Now Taiyuan Port can arm about 1,500 troops. In addition, some local indigenous tribes that have surrendered can also organize six to seven hundred troops. A human-sized Confederate Army. These forces may be enough for self-protection. After all, less than a thousand troops withstood the offensive of tens of thousands of Ming troops in Penghu for more than half a year. But if these people are to be pulled out to face that army on the frontal battlefield, It is said that the Haihan Militia, which has never been defeated since forming an army, did not dare to guarantee that it could defeat its opponents. Moreover, Haihan and the Fujian government have obviously reached some kind of alliance. No matter which of the two forces is offended, the consequences may be that they will face a joint attack. The board of directors of the East India Company would never want any big trouble to occur in Damian Port, which is two thousand nautical miles away from Batavia. Because of such a long distance, the company would be powerless even if it wanted to rescue.
The translator got instructions from Hans and did not inform Zheng Xinzhi of the content of this conversation. Zheng Xinzhi looked at the two men uneasily, hoping to see some sign of good news from their expressions.
However, Hans's next reply to him through a translator still disappointed him: "Although I am very worried about Mr. Zheng Zhilong's current situation, the East India Company will not directly intervene in the conflict between Shibazhi and the Ming Dynasty government. Go in. Unfortunately, I can't agree to your request." Zheng Xinzhi knew that if he didn't take the opportunity to say more, Hans would probably order the guests off again, so he hurriedly said: "Master Hans. , please listen to me, if you are willing to assist my lord in retaking Nanri Island this time, you will be rewarded in the future!”
"Oh? Do you have any conditions for repaying us?" Hans asked back. In the previous negotiations, all Zheng Xinzhi could offer was to increase the price and pay more. However, the decision to make such a matter was not just based on economic considerations. Hans considered more political factors. , and there is no way to give Zheng Xinzhi a detailed explanation for this reason.
"Shibazhi is willing to send troops to help you drive away the Folangji people entrenched in the northern part of Dayuan Island!" Zheng Xinzhi felt that the other party's tone was loose, and quickly offered the generous conditions he had prepared: "After taking over the local area , my lord is willing to divide the territory with you and share the results of the victory!”
Hans's expression was a bit contemptuous, but his mind was already active. These Ming pirates couldn't even tell the difference between Portugal and Spain. They just called them Francois according to the established customs. Little did they know that although the two countries have now become one country, their actions in the Far East are still the same. revolve around their respective camps. It was the Spaniards who came north from Luzon Island who occupied the two ports of Jilong and Tamsui in the northern part of Taiwan Island. These guys were like poisonous snakes, biting just seven inches of the East India Company's Northeast Asia route. Invisibly, it added a lot of danger to Dutch merchant ships heading north to Ryukyu, Korea, Japan and other places.
In the five years since the arrival of the Spanish, the Netherlands has lost more than fifteen merchant ships in the waters north of Taiwan Island. Some of them disappeared for unknown reasons, and some were sunk or captured in maritime conflicts with the Spanish. ——Of course from the Dutch point of view, the reasons for all the missing ships are attributed to the hateful Spaniards.
Of course, the Spaniards had very good reasons for doing this, because since the Dutch settled in Taiwan, they have tried every means to block maritime merchants from the Ming Dynasty to Manila, asking these merchants to either sell the goods directly to them or transport them themselves. Go to Batavia on Java Island to isolate Spain from trade with the Ming Dynasty and other countries in Northeast Asia. For this reason, the East India Company dispatched armed fleets more than once to intercept and kill Spanish merchant ships in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. There were also many Spanish galleons that fell into the hands of the Dutch.
In order to ensure smooth access to the countries in Northeast Asia, the Spanish spent a lot of money to build two port strongholds in the northern part of Taiwan Island, forming a confrontation with the Dutch in the north and the south.
After Hans took office, of course he also regarded the Spaniards at the northern end of the island as his primary enemy. After all, no one could tolerate sand in their eyes, and no one was willing to tolerate his opponents setting up a stronghold so close to him, but the force organized by Hans Several offensives against the Spanish did not go well, and could even be said to have suffered minor setbacks. With the prospect of the war unclear, Batavia was unable to provide more support to Hans. Under such circumstances, Hans could only temporarily acquiesce in the other party's existence and wait silently for the next opportunity.
Shibazhi has always adopted a relatively neutral attitude and maintained trade relations with both parties. If the two sides do not help each other, no one will be offended. Zheng Xinzhi's statement can be said to be the first of its kind. In Hans' opinion, although the combat effectiveness of the Shibazhi was only at the level of bandits and pirates, its military strength and maritime transportation capacity were really hard to ignore. Although they have suffered consecutive defeats in Fujian for several years, the number of armed personnel in Shibazhi can still be maintained at more than 10,000, which is five times more than the local Dutch armed forces. If this strong support can be obtained, the possibility of the Dutch side winning the battle will indeed be greatly increased.
However, Hans was not dazzled by the news, and still remained calm and cautious, because he knew very well that the pirates of Shibazhi had no moral principles at all. They usually maintained a certain relationship with the Spaniards in the north. According to the exchanges, there might be another envoy going to the north and offering the same conditions to the Spaniards. If the Spaniards are willing to help them recapture Nanri Island, there is no guarantee that these guys will betray their moral integrity.
"As far as I know, you seem to have a good relationship with those guys in the north?" Hans asked tentatively: "Can you really break up and start a fight with them?"
"Perhaps not in the past. After all, we and Folangjiren have been business partners for several years. But now in order to protect ourselves, we can only do it reluctantly." Zheng Xinzhi looked calm, showing no signs of betrayal. Awareness: "Those who can help us are our partners."
"So you have already tried to obtain military assistance from them?" Hans asked with a half-smile: "After the failure there, you came to the south to find us, right?"
"It doesn't matter. My lord has identified your side from the beginning. As for the Francois, they should return to Luzon Island to rule the local natives." Zheng Xinzhi responded with an unchanged expression.
Seeing how calm and composed he was, Hans couldn't tell for a moment whether he was acting or telling the truth.
"You have no proof. Do you have any proof such as Mr. Zheng Zhilong's handwritten letter?" Fan Longgen, who was next to him, proposed a solution in a timely manner.
(End of chapter)