Chapter 663 The house leaked and it rained all night
Before resolving the trouble on Natuna Island, Batavia also suspended all shipping missions from Northeast Asia through the South China Sea to ensure that no more sailing ships belonging to the East India Company would fall into the hands of this group of pirates. The interruption of maritime transportation will bring losses to the East India Company, which is also a huge amount that cannot be ignored. Most of those who are eager for the company to send troops to conquer Natuna Island again are the ones who have suffered losses as a result.
This account is very easy to calculate. It has been nearly four months since the merchant ships repeatedly disappeared in April. In other words, one-third of the whole year has been wasted because of this, and the sufferers are not in the mood to postpone this matter to the next year.
If there are those who advocate war, there will naturally be those who advocate peace. Not everyone is accustomed to using force to resolve disputes, not to mention that the results of the previous use of force were so bad. Some people pointed out that the Ming Dynasty merchant ships passing through the Natuna Islands were not robbed during this period. This shows that the local pirates were consciously targeting Dutch merchant ships. However, no one knew why they would target the East India Company in this way. Know. The main peace faction suggested finding a Ming businessman to act as an intermediary. They should first discuss the terms with the other party and find out the whole story. If we really can't reach an agreement, it's not too late to use force to resolve the issue.
The main war party naturally sneered at this. If the dispute can be resolved through negotiation, then why does the company maintain thousands of armed forces? They have already done so many things, and they have specifically targeted the Dutch merchant ship, which shows that they are not afraid of you at all. They have already stepped on your own face, and how can you still have the audacity to negotiate? If you can still tolerate this, it will be a shame to the East India Company!
Governor Cohen himself was actually more inclined to use force to solve the problem, because this opponent with an unknown background appeared with obvious malice from the beginning, and Cohen did not feel the slightest possibility of reconciliation from the opponent's behavior. Moreover, the company's armed forces suffered heavy losses on Natuna Island this time. Even Brower was killed in the battle. If retaliation is not implemented, where will the company's face be and how will it explain to the families of these victims?
But how to start, this really puts Governor Cohen in a dilemma. If Spikes' description is not an exaggeration, then the company must at least organize a larger army than last time to be able to regain the Natuna Islands from the pirates. However, this was not an easy task for the East India Company. In addition to deploying combatants from various colonies in the Far East, the funds and materials required for cross-sea expeditions were also considerable.
In addition, who should be appointed to lead the army is also an extremely troublesome matter. Both Spikes and Brouwer have fought for the company, and their abilities are quite outstanding. Cohen also arranged for them to go out together in order to buy double insurance. Apart from them, there are only a handful of senior officers in the company who can command large-scale military operations. Most of them still have their own posts. It does not mean that they can be released immediately if they are transferred. After thinking about it, Cohen felt that the only one who had just returned to Batavia from Delnate was Anthony Van Diemen.
Due to Van Diemen's outstanding achievements in the expedition east of Java, Cohen has submitted an application to the domestic parliament, recommending that Van Diemen be promoted to Admiral of the Far East. In terms of professional qualifications, Van Diemen is definitely qualified for this position. . However, in view of the previous disastrous defeat, Cohen still has doubts about whether Van Diemen can bring a victory to the company. Cohen will not dare to make another bet on Natuna Island without further understanding the strength of his opponent. .
While Cohen began to secretly mobilize manpower and prepare supplies, he ordered the company's intelligence department to collect information from the Chinese merchants who traveled between Ming Dynasty and Batavia in recent months, trying to find out who the pirates on Natuna Island were. What's the background? However, Haihan had anticipated this situation in advance, so they carefully concealed their identity after occupying the local area. For this purpose, they also sent hundreds of Portuguese people to replace the Dutch, and used this method to fool the people. Daming maritime merchants in the past. Although there are actually many differences in appearance between the people of the two countries, for ordinary Ming merchants, there is no way they can distinguish these tall-nosed and deep-eyed people from their appearance.
Therefore, from the confessions of the Ming Dynasty merchants, the Dutch learned another important fact - there were probably a large number of Europeans on the island, and judging from their appearance, they were most likely the Portuguese, old friends of the East India Company.
But according to Spikes, when the Dutch army attacked the local area, they saw no trace of the Portuguese at all. The personnel fighting on the battlefield can definitely be East Asians with yellow hair, black skin, and thin bodies. No matter how confused Spikes was, he would never mistake the Portuguese for East Asians. The previous evidence seemed unable to confirm whether the Portuguese were directly involved in this matter. But this group of people actually came up with such a way to defeat Tao and hide it from the outside world, which shows that they have indeed planned to occupy the local area for a long time, and it is not a temporary act.
As more and more information became available to him, Cohen became more and more convinced that his opponent was targeting the East India Company. Because of this, Cohen became increasingly cautious about launching another island-seizing campaign, because his opponent should also anticipate the East India Company's attack. response to carry out targeted preparations locally.
After spending nearly two months in suspicion and uneasiness, Van Longen, another participant in the Battle of Natuna, finally returned to Batavia. However, before the board of directors could convene the nth hearing on the Battle of Natuna, Van Longen had already met with Cohen immediately and reported another bad news to him - the resident's armed fleet was recently destroyed by the Ming Dynasty and the sea. Han's combined fleet was defeated off the coast of Fujian, losing four armed galleons and more than three hundred sailors.
"Why did Hans send troops to fight along the coast of Fujian? The mission of these armed sailing ships is to protect Damuan Port and the northern route, not to fight against the Ming Empire!" Governor Cohen's anger was written on his face. He really couldn't tolerate his subordinates. Such foolish behavior - especially not long after the incident on Natuna Island - was a disaster for the East India Company.
Moreover, judging from the time mentioned by Van Longen, the war at Da Yuan Port broke out after he arrived there. In other words, Da Yuan Chief Hans knew that something had happened on the southern route, but he still rashly sent troops to open up the route. Another battlefield. If Hans wasn't scrambling to show off his abilities at this moment, it would be because the fever had burned out his brain.
"According to Mr. Hans, the war broke out because our opponent launched a surprise attack on our fleet, and we were caught off guard and suffered such heavy losses." Van Longen said while thinking silently: Mr. Hans, I can only help you so far.
When he was a senior official, Van Longen believed that the reasons that uncle and nephew Hans came up with were simply untenable. Governor Cohen was far smarter than them, and these little tricks would definitely be seen through at a glance. It's just that Hans gave him a lot of benefits in private and asked him to act on his behalf after returning to Batavia. Van Longen was also taking people's money to eliminate disasters for others. However, Van Longen is not optimistic about the effectiveness of this approach.
Sure enough, this statement attracted Cohen's refutation: "Sudden attack? How could our fleet appear on the Nanri Island you mentioned? As far as I know, it is close to the coast of Fujian. Didn't this guy Hans know that this would happen? Directly inviting attack from the Ming army? I think he just wants to be in the limelight at this time!"
Since the battle with the Ming army during the Tianqi period, the East India Company chose to withdraw from Penghu and retreated to Damuan Port, trying to avoid another military conflict with the Ming Dynasty as much as possible. This was not because the East India Company was afraid of war, but because of interests. First, a long-term battle with a behemoth like the Ming Dynasty in the local area will inevitably consume a lot of resources and energy of the East India Company. Although the opponent's army is not strong, the East India Company is an outsider after all. If the war continues, it will definitely not consume the Ming Dynasty.
Secondly, the war between the two sides also directly affected the East India Company's trade with the Ming Dynasty. Although the Ming Dynasty officially did not agree to establish trade relations with the East India Company, in fact, this trade relationship not only existed but was huge in amount. Even Xu Xinsu was in the early years. He made his fortune by doing smuggling business with the East India Company. Once an armed conflict breaks out between the two sides, trade will have to be suspended. This is not a scene that the Dutch want to see.
In the past two years, in addition to the above two reasons, a new reason has been added: to avoid giving Haihan people the opportunity to interfere in Fujian affairs as much as possible.
The rapid rise of Haihan has actually attracted the attention of the East India Company, and it is not a matter of a day or two for them to secretly provide military assistance to the Fujian government. In Cohen's view, its ambitions are already obvious. Sooner or later, these Haihan people will They will reach out to Fujian, just like they did in Guangdong.
But Hans obviously did not understand this spirit well. The use of troops along the coast of Fujian undoubtedly gave the Haihan people an opportunity to take advantage of. In particular, Van Longen also mentioned that when the Haihan delegation visited Zhangzhou three months ago, the assassination sent by Shibazhi failed. As a result, the Haihan people retaliated and directly captured Nanri Island, which was originally occupied by Shibazhi. This It was also the direct trigger for the later involvement of senior officials.
If Shibazhi is causing trouble, at least Daming and Haihan will not direct their guns at the East India Company, although they may also know who is behind Shibazhi. But Hans rolled up his sleeves and ended up, so the nature was different. On the one hand, Ming could take this opportunity to avenge the apocalypse, and on the other hand, Haihan could also openly participate in this war as an ally. Come in.
Cohen's temper got worse and he couldn't help but cough violently. His physical condition was already quite bad. If it weren't for several Chinese doctors who nursed him back to health, he would have already become a historical figure.
After finally regaining his composure, Cohen said feebly: "Tell me carefully about the battle process you know."
"Sir Governor, Mr. Van der Wegen, who led the army in the battle this time, is also back with me. Perhaps he will describe the battle process in more detail." Van Longen wished he could get himself out of this pile of rubbish as soon as possible, and said I don't want to stay here any longer.
"Okay, you ask him to come see me as soon as possible. Also, you stay in the city. The board of directors will summon you soon to ask about the war on Natuna Island. During this period, don't go out and move around much, let alone talk to Spike. Stay in touch, understand?" Cohen urged.
"Of course, I will strictly follow your order." Van Longen took out an envelope from his arms and handed it to Cohen respectfully: "This is a personal letter written to you by Mr. Hans from Taiyuan Port."
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After completing the handover, Van Longen finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although there are still procedures such as hearings to go through later, in general, he is relieved.
When Van Longen left Batavia two months ago, Cohen had promised him that as long as this errand went smoothly, he could inherit Van Diemen's position and take charge of the maritime trade of the colonies east of Java. affairs. However, this mission turned out to be unsatisfactory beyond imagination. The Natuna Islands and the senior officials that Van Longen arrived at all suffered varying degrees of failure, and they did not dare to mention it again after returning. If he had a choice, he wouldn't want to go to the northern waters anymore in the near future.
Van der Wegen was actually waiting outside the Governor's Palace. When he saw Van Longen coming out, he quickly stepped forward to inquire about the news. Van Longen coughed dryly and said: "Governor Cohen wants to see you now, but after you go in, don't rush to shirk responsibility. The Governor may ask you about the battle process in detail. Answer his questions first. Remember not to Confront him.”
It was precisely because of Van Longen's instructions that Van der Wegen was much calmer when he went in to meet Cohen, preventing Cohen's impression of him from deteriorating further. Hans's letter did not blindly evade responsibility. He only used a relatively large amount of space to analyze the political situation in Fujian and explain his reasons for sending troops. This also restored Cohen's perception to a certain extent.
After reading Hans's letter, Cohen realized that Haihan's influence in Fujian could no longer be ignored. The Fujian government's attitude towards Shibazhi and the East India Company was largely due to the support given by Haihan. Especially in the military aspect, Haihan was no longer satisfied with the superficial work of selling arms to the Fujian government and assisting in training the army. He directly sent an armed fleet to station along the coast of Fujian. This is undoubtedly a terrible signal, and it will definitely affect the country in the long run. East India Company's interests in Fujian. From this perspective, Hans's attempt to interfere with the process by force was actually justified, but his approach was inappropriate and led to subsequent serious consequences.
(End of chapter)