Chapter 660 The Dutch’s response
Hans had previously decided to send troops to assist Shiba Zhi in attacking Nanri Island. Firstly, for the sake of money, he felt that if he had such a windfall, he would not take it for nothing. There would be no risk if he took it. Anyway, the fleet was just going to the south. They assisted in the defense of the Japanese island and did not participate in the landing and seizing the island operations. With the strength of the Dutch armed fleet, it stands to reason that there would be no risk. Secondly, Hans still has a glimmer of hope that the Eighteen Zhi led by Zheng Zhilong will counterattack the mainland. He hopes that the current unfavorable situation of the Eighteen Zhi can be saved through military support, and he hopes to use the Eighteen Zhi to put pressure on the Fujian government of the Ming Dynasty. Third, since the Haihan people have intervened in the war in Fujian, the East India Company cannot completely ignore it. Let Shibazhi weigh the Haihan people and observe their combat methods, which is also one of the reasons for sending troops.
In addition, there is another reason that is not humane to outsiders, and that is to create an opportunity for his nephew Van der Wegen to gain military exploits, so as to pave the way for his future promotion within the East India Company. Of course, this idea obviously did not go smoothly enough. Instead of achieving any decent military exploits during this trip, Van der Wegen lost two-thirds of his men and ships. He was lucky enough to be able to escape back to Damuan Port alive. .
Uncle Hans still knew how much van der Wegen weighed. If he didn't have some real skills, Hans would not be so stupid as to use the company's armed sailboat as a toy for van der Wegen. In fact, Van der Wegen was definitely considered a capable young talent within the East India Company. Whether it was sailing or commanding operations, he had a certain level. What he lacked was an opportunity to make a name for himself. But after this setback in Fujian, Van der Wegen will probably not have another chance to be entrusted with important tasks in the short term. This even bothers Hans more than losing several sailboats in the battle.
Misfortune never comes singly, bad news came one after another. As soon as the news of Zheng Zhihu's death in the battle on Nanri Island arrived, envoys from the Fujian government came to demand compensation. Under such circumstances, Hans was not in the mood to talk about compensation with the Ming envoy. Naturally, he pushed the matter aside first and then bit back, trying to change from passive to active.
However, this attempt seemed feeble under the premise that our side had just been defeated. The Ming envoy did not even refute, and stood up to leave. He only said that he would stay in Damuan Port for three to five days. If Hans changed his mind, Then the two sides will make an appointment for negotiation. That confident expression made Hans itchy - what qualifications did the Ming envoy have to pose as a winner in front of him?
Although he was very reluctant, Hans had to start seriously considering what would happen if he rejected the request of the Ming envoy. Hans ordered Van der Wegen to be called over to discuss countermeasures with him.
"What do you think of the Fujian government asking us for compensation?" Hans asked straight to the point.
"If what the other party's envoy said is true, then we probably have no other way to take back the people who fell into their hands except paying the ransom." Van der Wegen's face also looked very ugly. After all, he was the owner of this fleet. commander, but two-thirds of his men failed to follow him back to Damiang Port, and were chased by his opponents to demand ransom for prisoners of war. This was really a great shame. Nine years ago, in the second year of tomorrow, the Dutch fleet blocked the seaport of Zhangzhou with seven warships and 900 soldiers, making it impossible for the Fujian Navy to go to war. Nine years later, the Dutch fleet was defeated by almost the same opponent in the same sea area. This gap is really unacceptable.
Although it is commonplace on European battlefields to redeem prisoners of war with gold, silver, jewelry or other valuables, the Dutch are rarely in such a passive situation in the Far East. Most of the time, it is the local indigenous people who are defeated. Ransoms were then paid to the Dutch for their captives. Even when the Ming army was defeated and withdrew from Penghu in the fourth year of the Apocalypse, and twelve Dutch soldiers were captured, the East India Company never paid a ransom of copper coins to the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, the Ming Dynasty did not mention ransom at all at that time. The Fujian government directly escorted the captives Gao Wenlu and others to Beijing to ask for merit. Later, these prisoners of war were beheaded in Beijing for public display. The Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty even issued an imperial edict to inform the world. There was no intention to reconcile with the East India Company from the beginning to the end. For the Ming Empire, face was much more important than a little money.
But this time the attitude of the Fujian government has changed significantly. Not only has the attitude become tougher, but they have also sent people to ask for money. Needless to say, the Haihan people must have played a role in this. The most disgusting thing is that the Haihan people actually asked for fifty thousand silver in compensation, which was really unacceptable to Hans. If it weren't for the fact that there were hundreds of prisoners in the opponent's hands, Hans would really want to break up on the spot.
"But they actually asked us for one hundred thousand taels of silver as war compensation. This is absolutely impossible!" Hans said gloomily: "If the gentlemen of Batavia knew that I agreed to such conditions, Then they will definitely send an executioner to Taiyuan Port to hang me.”
"Besides, we don't have one hundred thousand taels of silver to offer in exchange." Van der Wegen added frustratedly.
It is not the trading season, and there are not many silver reserves in Taimuang Port. According to previous years' arrangements, Batavia will probably arrange a silver ship to deliver a large amount of silver to Damuan Port between September and October. In the past, these silver ships had to go to Japan, but in the past two years due to the Hamada Yabei incident, the open trade between the East India Company and the Japanese shogunate has been interrupted. Only a few smuggling channels are still operating secretly, and the trading locations It was also changed from Hirado, Japan to Ryukyu. But because the Spaniards are now more active in the north, Hans has ordered that this year's trading location with Japanese smuggling merchants be changed to Taimuang Port as a precaution.
Even if Hans is determined to reach an agreement with Ming Dynasty to exchange prisoners of war, there is not so much silver to mobilize in Damuan Port now, and it will have to wait until at least two months later. Moreover, the silver shipped from Batavia will be used for this year's bulk trade. If it is used for other purposes, no one can fill this hole.
But if he wanted to sit back and watch these hundreds of prisoners of war being captured and punished by the Ming Dynasty, it would be equally difficult for Hans to explain to Batavia. You must know that this fleet is almost concentrated with the elite of Damuan Port, and those who participated in the war are also Several armed sailing ships in the best condition in the local area will be gone soon. Even if they can be concealed for a while, they will not be concealed forever. When Batavia is punished, Hans will not be able to escape responsibility.
"This matter is too big a responsibility. I have to report it to the company headquarters." Hans looked at Van der Wegen and said slowly: "I have to send a person back to explain the battle to the gentlemen of the board of directors."
Van der Wegen's face turned slightly pale, and he finally understood why Hans called him alone to discuss the matter. It turned out that he planned to send him back to Batavia to make a face-to-face report - in view of the disastrous defeat in Fujian, This report is very likely to turn into taking the blame. After all, someone has to stand up and take responsibility for a defeat. Obviously, Uncle Hans intends to push himself to the forefront and shoulder the corresponding responsibilities, which is definitely not a good job.
"If possible, I would of course prefer to go back to Batavia to explain to the board of directors the causes and consequences of this battle with Ming and Haihan, but you also know that my responsibilities are my responsibility and I cannot leave the affairs of senior officials behind..." Hans looked at his nephew's pale face and felt equally uncomfortable. He sighed and said, "You have to remember one thing. As long as I don't fall down, you will always have a chance to get up. If even I fall down, you will always have a chance to get up." , then no one can support you from now on!”
Van der Wegen didn't know that there was a saying in China that "throw away the car but save the commander", but he could also understand that his uncle wanted him to understand the priorities of this matter. Returning to Batavia to shoulder the responsibility for the defeat would most likely result in certain punishment from the company, but at least it would preserve his uncle's position and give him a chance to make a comeback in the future. But if Hans loses his position as chief officer because of this incident, it will be difficult for Van der Wegen not to be implicated, and it will be difficult for the uncle and nephew to have the opportunity to be reused in the Far East in the future. "Uncle, I understand what you mean." Van der Wegen finally said after a long silence: "I will return to Batavia as soon as possible and report this operation to the board of directors. But what about our lost sailors and soldiers? Explain to the board of directors?”
"According to what I told the Ming Dynasty envoy, this was a deliberate attack by Haihan against us! Our fleet was attacked in a completely unprepared situation. Haihan's behavior was to launch a unilateral war. The board of directors understands that this behavior must be retaliated against!" Hans immediately gave him instructions.
"But this way we will completely lose the captives!" Van der Wegen was a little worried about this: "The Haihan people have proposed such harsh exchange conditions. If we reject them outright, then they probably will not be kind enough to release the prisoners of war."
"You are still too young!" Hans shook his head and said: "Do you think the conditions proposed by the other party are really feasible? A compensation of one hundred thousand taels of silver, and a promise to Ming not to take any hostile actions in the future. They simply They are not coming to negotiate with us in good faith, they just want to embarrass us and embarrass us!”
"But what good does this do to them? Is it just to show off the pride of the winner in front of us?" Van der Wegen asked puzzledly: "I heard before that the Haihan people are very pragmatic and will not waste time doing something. It’s unrealistic. Do they have other plans for doing this? ”
"Maybe, but I can't think of what their purpose is now." Speaking of this, Hans also looked a little confused: "If the Haihan people just want to fight with us, then there is no need to propose anything else. The terms of the exchange of prisoners of war are that everyone will decide the outcome on the battlefield, but they sent people to negotiate, and the conditions they proposed are completely impossible to achieve. I really don’t understand what their intentions are.”
At this time, a guard came in and reported: "Mr. Van Longen wants to see you."
"Invite him in." Hans did not particularly shy away from Van Longen's arrival. The news of the defeat of the Dutch fleet in this expedition had already spread throughout the entire Taiyuan Port when Van der Wegen escaped. This was not a secret that needed to be kept. Moreover, Van Longen had been in Batavia for a long time and had a close relationship with the company's senior personnel. Hans originally planned to ask for his opinion.
"Mr. Hans, I'm here to say goodbye to you today. Thank you for your care and convenience during this period!" Van Longen entered the room and exchanged a few words of greeting before getting down to business.
"When are you leaving?" Hans asked with concern.
"Probably early tomorrow morning, all the goods and supplies that need to be loaded have been loaded on the ship. The next time we come to Taiyuan Port, we may have to wait a long time." Van Longen's mood also seemed relatively low. This trip departed from Batavia. When we were there, our troops were strong and our horses were strong, and our momentum was unparalleled. However, when we returned, we were alone and panicked.
"If possible, I hope you can allow Van der Wegen to join your fleet. He needs to rush back to Batavia as soon as possible to report what happened here to the company's board of directors." Hans immediately made a request.
When Van der Wegen fled back to Taiyuan Port, there were only two scarred sailing ships left, which were no longer suitable for ocean voyages, and Hans did not intend to allocate one or two more sailing ships to him among the limited number of sailing ships in Taiyuan Port. After all, the local maritime defense must retain a certain strength. It happened that Van Longen was about to return to Batavia with his merchant ship, so Hans took the opportunity to give Van der Wegen to him.
"It's an honor." Van Longen nodded to Van der Wegen in a friendly way to welcome him. As a captain who had experienced a major defeat not long ago, he understood Van der Wegen's mood at this time. The feeling of failure was indeed uncomfortable.
"If possible, I hope you can put in a good word for Van der Wegen in Batavia. After all, the main responsibility for the defeat of this war does not lie with him. It is really the Akira and Haihan people who are too shameless. He has tried his best to fight. "Hans continued to say to Van Longen: "At the same time, I also hope that the board of directors can send a more powerful armed force to Danyuan Port to retaliate against the Fujian government. These ungrateful Orientals must learn a lesson!"
"Mr. Hans, I think you may have forgotten one thing." Van Longen shook his head and said: "The gentlemen of Batavia are probably worrying about another thing now. Even if they want to send troops, they must first Just solve another problem. Don’t forget, the Natuna Islands gave us a big setback last month!”
(End of chapter)