1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 629
However, in addition to minerals, the environment on Belitung Island is very suitable for the cultivation and growth of a spice, that is, pepper.Since the ancient Romans tasted pepper, it has become an indispensable seasoning in European life.However, pepper is produced in India and Southeast Asia, and this spice is not produced locally in Europe, so its value is also very high.But the spice has played a role in world history that is more than just a condiment on the table.

After the Visigoths captured Rome in 408 AD, they asked the Romans to redeem the city with 3000 pounds of pepper and a large amount of gold and silver, which shows how tight pepper was in Europe at that time.After the demise of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, the commercial channels between the East and the West were interrupted for a while, and pepper almost disappeared on the European table.At this time, the Arabs seized the business opportunity and transported the pepper produced in India to Egypt, and then transported it to the Mediterranean coast by Venetian merchants. By the time this oriental spice reached the tables of Europeans, the price had soared to forty or fifty times that of the place of origin. .

Such huge profits moved not only European businessmen, but even the aloof Roman Holy See was unavoidable.During the Crusades that began in 1095, under the majestic religious banner, the Holy See’s slogan was simple and brutal: “The East is so rich, gold and pepper are everywhere!”

In 1453, Ottoman Turkey broke through Constantinople, blocking the original pepper trade route, which gave Europeans another reason to look for another new route to the East.In the decades after that, Columbus discovered the American continent, Da Gama reached the Indian Peninsula by sea, and Magellan completed the first circumnavigation in history.During the great geographical discoveries of that era, the humble plant pepper also quietly played a role in promoting the progress of mankind.

By the 17th century, pepper was still more expensive than gold in Europe, and it could even be used as hard currency in the market for a certain period of time, used to buy fields and land, pay rent and taxes, serve as dowry, and so on.The Spaniards, Dutch, Portuguese, and British fought and plundered for hundreds of years on the sea in the Far East, and a considerable part of the small-scale wars revolved around competing for pepper producing areas.

After entering China, this spice crop has another function, that is, it can be used as medicine.As early as in "Tang Materia Medica", there is a description about the medicinal properties of pepper: it controls Qi, warms the middle, removes phlegm, and removes wind and cold in the lungs.After that, almost every generation of medical classics will not miss this taste, which was originally introduced to China as a spice, and the diseases it can treat are also increasing with the development of traditional Chinese medicine.Among the goods exported to 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 is also mainly pepper cultivation.After five years of operation, the local pepper planting area has exceeded two square kilometers, and the amount of income generated for the East India Company every year is also considerable.This time, the search and rescue fleet led by Van Longen will also berth at Belitung Island and ship the pepper produced here.

Although the voyage from Batavia to Belitung Island is only [-] nautical miles, because of the sea search and rescue mission undertaken by the fleet, the speed of the ship was consciously slowed down this time, hoping to find the missing person along the route. The clues of the ship.Of course, everyone is also very clear that this kind of search is purely looking for a needle in a haystack, and luck is very important.

As the Dutch expected, they got nothing during this voyage.Three days after departure, the fleet arrived at the bay port at the southern tip of Belitung Island, where they will dock for a day to ship pepper, replenish fresh water and other ingredients.

Except for the sailors on duty, the rest of the crew left the pier as soon as they landed, and went to the town's tavern to have fun. place.

However, a few high-level people can't do so without regard to their status. The mayor of the port town, Wim Jonker, has already rushed to the pier, ready to receive the big shots from the company's 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 worse than that of high-level officials like Van Longen, Spikes and Brower. up.After all, there are at least [-] or [-] small colonies like this port town in the entire Southeast Asia region. The employees who work as mayors in this kind of place are actually ordinary employees in the company when they were in Batavia. Staff only.

To the joy of the three of Van Longen, although the conditions here seem very simple, Jonker, who was notified temporarily, prepared a box carriage as a means of transportation to the town, so that they would not have to wipe themselves out. Clean calfskin boots stepped into the muddy road that smelled of the sea.

"It's a great honor to meet three distinguished gentlemen here, but please allow me to ask, is the company planning to start a war with whom?" Jonker took the initiative to inquire about the purpose of the fleet in the carriage.Among the three, he had dealt with Van Longen several times, so he was not too familiar with them. After all, this was the first time he had seen two troop carriers in Van Longen's fleet.

"War? Maybe, maybe not." Van Longen responded vaguely, and immediately changed the subject: "Mr. Jonker, from April until we came here, you have a senior official here. Have merchant ships returning to Hong Kong ever called at the port?"

"Speaking of this matter, I am also deeply confused." Jonker responded: "According to the normal schedule, no ships from the north have come here since April. Of course, this situation occasionally happened in the past." It happened. After all, the crew members who came back from the north hoped to return to Batavia earlier, and they were not willing to stop and rest at a place that was only two or three days away from the end of the voyage. Nothing fun to do."

"Have you submitted a report to the company headquarters about this abnormal situation?" Spikes asked beside him.

"Of course, this is something within my duty. I mentioned the relevant situation in the routine written report I sent back to Batavia last month." Jonker responded neither humble nor humble.

"Then has there ever been a situation where no ship came back from the north for more than two consecutive months?" Van Longen continued to ask.

"No, this is the first time in my memory." Jonker said with certainty: "In the past three years when I have been the mayor of the town, the situation you mentioned has not happened."

"Then, is there anything unusual about the ships going north recently?" Van Longen tried to clear up the clues of the missing ships bit by bit through constant questions.

"It's normal as always. Just half a month ago, there was a merchant ship going to Dayuan Port to replenish fresh water and transport [-] pounds of pepper. If the road went well, the ship should have arrived soon. ’ Jonker replied.

"It seems that this is probably not the last stop of the missing ships." Brower, who had been silent all this time, finally said, "They probably had an accident before they arrived at this port."

"Missing?" Jonker asked in surprise, "You mean all the ships returning from Dayuan Harbor disappeared at sea in the past two months? None of them 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 emerging in the nearby waters? Are there any strange rumors recently?"

Jonker thought for a while before answering: "The pirates haven't heard of it, but when a Ming merchant ship docked here recently, I heard that the port fortress is being built in the northern Natuna port. I don't know if old Jansen has received something. Bad news?"

The old Jansen mentioned by Jonker is the mayor of the port town of Natuna. Van Longen has traveled to and from this route many times, so he naturally knows him. Hearing this, he frowned and said, "Building a fort? There is nothing to do on Natuna Island." Is it possible that there will be pirates looking at the looted things?"

"It's not necessarily pirates, it could be nasty Portuguese," Spikes reminded, "They're good at this kind of stealth!"

"Wait, did the people on the Da Ming ship who docked here mention whether they saw our missing ship in Natuna Port?" Brower's thoughts were obviously much more careful, and he immediately grasped a key point. point.

But Jonker's answer made him a little disappointed: "This... I didn't ask in detail..."

"Then the ships coming from the north recently are only those of the Ming people? Has the Ming people mentioned any news about pirates or Portuguese activities in the northern waters?" Brower still refused to give up and asked.

Jonker responded very quickly this time, and replied without hesitation: "According to the Ming people, 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 their Where is the lair, and no one knows how strong they are now, and where they will appear next time."

"Mr. Jonker, I don't want to hear such meaningless nonsense." Browar shook his head in disappointment, and gave his own evaluation: "What we need is not just rumors, but information with solid facts!"

Jonker blushed, and murmured: "I'm sorry, the news here is really closed, and I can only get news from the outside world through the merchant ships that stop here briefly every month... I don't know what happened. serious matter..."

"Okay, it's not your fault, and you don't have to apologize for it." Van Longen couldn't see it, and interrupted Jonker's apology: "Maybe we will go to Natuna Harbor in a few days, old Jan Sen can tell us some other news. That guy is a very lazy person, and if he can get him to organize the immigrants to build the fort, there must be something special that stimulates his nerves."

However, what Van Longen didn't know was that the Natuna Islands in the north had changed back to their previous names, and it wasn't the town elder Jansen who organized the construction of the fort on the island—he and his family had now arrived in the black soil. Hong Kong, began to serve in local labor.At least in recent years, the old Jansen can only be included in the missing persons of the East India Company.

As for the crew members of the Ming Merchant Ship who had docked at Abunna Island, they couldn’t tell the difference between the Portuguese and the Dutch very well, especially when one of them consciously pretended to be the other.The Portuguese Council sent a group of immigrants from Macau to Ambuna Island, which indeed played the role of 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 for the 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 Brower was misled by the information provided by Jonker, and made a self-righteous wrong judgment.

"That way at least we'll have nothing to worry about for the next few days." Spikes seemed optimistic about the unknown.

"The fruit wine produced here is pretty good. I've been thinking about it all the time. Presumably Mr. Jonker should have prepared a lot for us?" Van Longen's mood also became lighter.

"Speaking of fruit wine, it is really one of the few masterpieces of the local people. Although these guys are smelly and lazy, they know how to use the natural conditions here to please themselves." Jonker 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 is not bragging. Although there are not many valuable products on Belitung Island, there are many varieties of tropical fruits.And this has also led to the lazy habits of the local natives, because even if they don't do farming, they can survive well by eating all kinds of melons and fruits produced by nature.In addition to filling the stomach, it can also be used to brew various fruit wines to satisfy the appetite.

However, the three distinguished guests were attracted by another kind of wine at the dinner. According to Jonker, this is a new type of fruit wine brought by the Daming Marine Merchant from Guangzhou. It is called "Sanya Special Brew". It is something produced by Haihan.This kind of sweet wine not only tastes good, but the bottle that contains the wine is not a container such as a crock pot or porcelain bottle that the Ming people use, but a crystal clear glass bottle-this kind of packaging can only be said to have mastered high-grade glass. Only Haihan people who are craftsmen can make it.Such a bottle of "Sanya Special Brew" in a glass container is said to be sold at a high price of 50 taels in the Guangzhou market.

(End of this chapter)