Chapter 928 Opening up new markets
For a country, the invasion of capital is far more difficult to resist than strong ships and guns. The latter may arouse the common hatred of the whole people, but the former can induce some people to submit or even cooperate. Haihan's official actions are never just about giving small profits. The generous offers are often irresistible. For example, Li Dagui, who entered the Surabaya Port this time to contact Matalan officials, the conditions he gave were enough to make the local officials' hearts beat. accelerate.
In the next three years, Haihan officials will donate 50,000 taels of silver to Surabaya Port in the name of "port construction expenses" every year. Of course, the destination of the money will be allocated by the Surabaya Port officials themselves, and Haihan will not interfere. Where to go. Not only that, if the Surabaya Port official requires payment in kind, then Haihan can also supply the goods at cost price according to the type of goods requested by the other party. In this way, as long as the Matalan official who handles the matter does not mind the trouble, he can rely on Get more profits by reselling Haihan goods that are in short supply. If you do it well, it is possible to directly double the profits.
As for the possible risks of this move... Are you kidding me? Haihan people have already brought their money to the door. Are they going to let the duck fly away? Officials from Matalan simply could not refuse such conditions, so they agreed to find a nearby place to meet with officials from the United Fleet Haihan to discuss the specific operation methods.
On October 30, the two sides met on a secluded coast on Madura Island opposite Surabaya. According to usual practice, Haihan still sent people in advance and set up a huge tent on the coast to serve as a temporary venue. This time, Haihan used ten large tents with an area of two to three hundred square meters connected together to build a giant tent that was nearly half the size of a football field to isolate the continuous rain this season. This necessary pomp can not only demonstrate Haihan's financial and material resources, but also showcase Haihan's capabilities in engineering construction.
Attending the meeting on behalf of the Matalan Kingdom was Apondu, the official in charge of the Surabaya Port. This 50-year-old governor has been in power locally for ten years. Before that, he also knew some information about Haihan. , but this is the first time to deal with the Haihan people face to face.
The first thing that impressed Apondu was not the huge canvas tent on the coast, but the two Majestic-class battleships docked about one nautical mile away from the coastline. This is the largest sailing ship that Apondu has ever seen in his life. If measured based on the size of the hull alone, Apondu can intuitively judge that Haihan's shipbuilding technology seems to be still superior to that of Westerners. The Haihan people had such a powerful navy, it is no wonder that the Dutch were defeated in their hands.
Apondu was very impressed by the Dutch fleet, because during the Battle of Batavia in July and August last year, the Dutch fleet took advantage of the opportunity of the Matalan Kingdom to launch a surprise attack on a series of ports such as Surabaya. . At that time, Surabaya Port was suddenly invaded by the Dutch fleet almost unprepared. It could not even organize a decent resistance. The burned ships and cargo at the port caused great losses to the local area. Apondu himself Afterwards, he was also reprimanded by the ruler Lang Sang.
Although the attack on Surabaya Port was not his fault, there was no way. The rulers needed a scapegoat to stand up at this time. And the reward Apondu received after taking the blame was another extension of his term. Being in charge of a trading port like Surabaya is definitely a lucrative job, and Lang Sang's arrangement is worthy of Apondu's efforts to take the blame.
The drain on the Dutch fleet was one of the main reasons for the defeat of the Matalan army in the Battle of Batavia last year. This is well known in the officialdom of the Matalan Kingdom. After the war, the Matalan Kingdom learned from the painful experience. This year Lang Sang will Orders have been ordered to build six to eight new shipyards across the country, striving to build a powerful navy within three to five years, and then launch revenge on the Dutch. Therefore, when Apondu saw the true appearance of the Haihan fleet, he couldn't help but take a few more glances.
However, Apondu's attention returned to the venue arranged by Haihan after landing. The huge tent and the upright Haihan soldiers holding muskets gave him a considerable visual impact. This kind of The strict military appearance was something he had never seen before in his own army. In fact, among the tens of thousands of troops that the Matalan Kingdom attacked Batavia last year, a considerable proportion of the soldiers were temporarily recruited from the local peasant soldiers. After putting down the farm tools and picking up spears, even if the identity change was completed, many of them He didn't even have a military uniform and was sent to the battlefield topless.
After meeting the leader of Haihan and being introduced by an interpreter, Apondu learned that this joint fleet not only included senior figures from Haihan, but also Annan and Champa each sent senior officials to join it. Unconsciously, he felt uncomfortable Haihan's appeal is a little higher. The Matalan Kingdom also has many vassal states, such as the Sukadana Kingdom on Borneo. I have also heard that Annan and Champa have a close relationship with Haihan. It seems that there is probably a sense of a leading brother and a follower between these two countries and Haihan.
During the meeting, Yan Chujie made several demands to Apondu. First, open the trade door to Haihan, allow Haihan goods to enter the Surabaya port for trading, and allow Haihan officials to set up business stores and offices in Surabaya. Of course, if Matalan State-owned With sufficient navigation capabilities, you can also go to ports under the control of Haihan for trade; the second is to send people to join the joint fleet to assist the fleet in visiting other ports in the Matalan Kingdom; the third is to establish a formal exchange relationship between the two sides and set up an official communication channel.
As for the first two requests made by Yan Chujie, Apondu has no objections. It is a good thing for Haihan products to enter the country of Matalan. As a local official who has managed the port for many years, Apondu still views this kind of measure that can promote market prosperity. Gotta understand. However, when it comes to the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between the two sides, Apondu does not have enough authority to make a decision. He can only say that it will be discussed after he returns and King Lang Sang will make the decision.
This is the first time the two parties have met, and they don't know each other well, so they can only talk about this for the time being. Yan Chujie made a gesture, and someone sent several boxes of gifts. These are all custom-made products specially designed for gift giving, and they are all in styles that cannot be seen on the market. After seeing them, Apondu liked them very much and thought that the sincerity of the Haihan people was quite good.
After staying at Madura Island for two days, the combined fleet set off to continue westward. Before leaving, Yan Chujie sent a team of people to settle in Surabaya Port. They will be responsible for building a business store locally to prepare for future trade with Matalan. Apondu also sent several of his men aboard the Haihan warship as promised. They carried documents signed by Apondu so that the fleet could obtain supplies at other ports in Matalan. Sailing about 180 nautical miles west from the Surabaya Strait, we arrived at Semarang, another important port on Java Island. According to legend, this place was named after Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Treasures, landed here when he went to Southeast Asia. Zheng He's deputy envoy at the time, Wang Jinghong, led a group of men to stay here to cultivate. Therefore, this place has preserved many scenic spots related to Zheng He. For example, Sanbao Cave, Sanbao Well, Sanbao Temple, etc. Even the 30th day of the sixth lunar month when Zheng He landed here has become a traditional festival celebrated by the whole city.
However, the port conditions in Semarang are not as good as those in Surabaya, and there is no harbor terrain suitable for building docks. This is just because Han people have been living here since the 15th century, and the culture is similar to that of the Ming Dynasty, so the Ming maritime merchants are also willing to use this place as a port. A stop on the southbound trade.
After Apondu's subordinates contacted the local government in Semarang, the combined fleet sent a supply ship to the port for purchase, and easily found a native Han guide here to help purchase various supplies. Yan Chujie pretended to be a businessman and brought a team of guards ashore to personally visit the traces left by the Sanbao eunuch.
Because he found a local guide to lead him, Yan Chujie arrived at Sanbao Cave in Lion Head Mountain smoothly. The entrance of this cave is only one meter square, and you need to bow down to get in. However, after entering, there is nearly a hundred square meters of space inside. According to legend, the local deputy envoy Wang Jinghong recuperated in this cave. There is also a statue of Zheng He enshrined on the stone wall in the cave, and there is a couplet engraved on it that reads, "The emperor was appointed to the Linhai Kingdom, leaving a trace of the cave to protect his people."
There is a well outside the cave. It is said that Zheng He dug it for his men to drink. It is regarded as holy water by the local Han people. There is also the Sanbaogong Temple in front of the cave. The middle hall enshrines a statue of Zheng He. The left hall enshrines a large iron anchor, which is said to be a relic of Zheng He's fleet. The right hall houses the deputy envoy Wang Jinghong who stayed here until his death. The tomb of the entourage. Yan Chujie saw that there was a dedicated person to take care of the place, and the incense was good. Although he did not believe in gods and Buddhas, he went into the temple to pay homage. Of course, he did not forget to take pictures of the situation here with his camera. When he returns to Sanya in the future, he will inevitably have to show off to his colleagues. Before leaving, he also donated a hundred taels of silver and incense money to the temple in his own name, which was considered as a gesture of gratitude to the descendants of the Han people.
However, apart from the relics left by Zheng He, there is nothing much else in Semarang. There are no special products in the area. The population is only 30,000 to 40,000. There is not even a decent city. It is a scattered port town. After Yan Chujie wandered around the local area for a day, he also lost interest in staying.
The combined fleet continued westward along the coastline and arrived in Cirebon after a day's sail. This is a smaller port than Semarang, but because of its location right in the middle of Batavia and Semarang, some Han maritime merchants heading south will also choose this port as a midway supply port to sell some porcelain. Goods such as tea. The fleet only spent one night here, and set sail the next day.
Starting from Cirebon and sailing more than a hundred nautical miles westward, you will reach Batavia, the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company in the Far East. This is also the stop with the greatest unknown variables in the Combined Fleet’s South China Sea cruise. Although this place was almost destroyed by war a year ago, Haihan still did not dare to take it lightly. After all, the Dutch armed fleet did not suffer much losses in that battle, but it was the key to the later stages of the war. Moment serves as an important force that changes the direction of the war. Although the Haihan fleet was not afraid of each other, Yan Chujie did not want to have an armed conflict with the Dutch at this time. After all, the mission of this trip was to find the next place for Haihan to stay, not to fight to the death with the Dutch.
On the other hand, Zheng Zha and Fan Ji, who joined the fleet as military observers, were very worried about the chaos in the world. They knew that Haihan had defeated the Dutch on Ambrosia Island, and they also knew that Haihan and the Netherlands had always Neither of them are quite right, but I really wish to see these enemies compete on the sea. As for the risks that may arise from this, military observers are not too worried. Although the Dutch armed fleet is powerful, it is a thing of the past. Compared with Haihan, a fleet that is armed to the teeth, the Dutch ships The team does not have any advantages.
On November 8, the combined fleet arrived at a position about twenty nautical miles outside the port of Batavia. The sudden appearance of this huge fleet quickly caused panic. The first ones to discover the joint fleet were fishing boats operating in nearby waters. When these unidentified fishermen saw the appearance of the joint fleet, they did not even have time to identify the other party's identity, so they turned around and hurriedly turned around. Escape back to the harbor. The terrifying scene of the Matalan army approaching the border last year is still lingering in the minds of fishermen. When they see an unidentified fleet appearing in nearby waters, their first reaction is that there is an enemy attack.
Cohen, the original governor of Batavia City, had passed away last summer, and the Matalan people seized the window of power transfer by the Dutch East India Company at that time to launch the war. However, Van Diemen, the successor that Cohen chose before his death, withstood the offensive of the Materan army with outstanding performance, and successfully counterattacked at the last moment, driving out the Materan people who had almost occupied Batavia. of this area. Both sides were severely wounded in this war. The Matalan lost tens of thousands of troops in the battle, while the East India Company had to face a Batavia city that was almost in ruins after the war. .
Although a full year has passed, the repair and restoration work of Batavia City and the port is still in progress. The damage caused by this war to Batavia was so profound that it would be difficult to recover without three to five years. Under this predicament, Van Diemen, who took over the power of the East India Company, faced a lot of pressure this year. On the one hand, he had to guard against the comeback of the Maltalan Kingdom, and on the other hand, he had to guard against the invasion from the north. The Haihan people took advantage of the situation and entered. In addition, a large amount of funds must be raised to complete the reconstruction project of Batavia City.
(End of chapter)