1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 288 Formosa
"Brother, Chen Hui has returned with the boat." Zheng Zhibao hurried to the Quanzhou Governor's Mansion and found Zheng Zhilonghui to report.

"Have the Dutch come to Xinsheng Island?" Zheng Zhilong asked calmly.

"They came with eight large ships." Zheng Zhibao said, "Chen Hui was worried about heavy losses, so he didn't fight them, and went directly to Quanzhou Port via Guangzhou."

"Is it a big loss?"

"Two large ships, eight small ships, and more than 200 people were lost." Zheng Zhibao said: "However, they intercepted three Dutch merchant ships and gained a lot."

"That's good! By the way, did you bring back the 18-pound gun that Hanzhou promised us?"

"They gave two doors."

"Hanzhou is too stingy!" Zheng Zhilong said with a smile: "They must have more than two 18-pound heavy guns on that small island."

"They have to face the attack of the Dutch, so they probably want to keep the defense!"

"It is impossible for the Dutch warships to go to the island." Zheng Zhilong said: "They will not land and attack the island."

"Don't attack the island? Do the Dutch want to spend more time and energy blocking that small island?" Zheng Zhibao asked.

"No, they might use the power of the Guangnan Kingdom to capture that small island." Zheng Zhilong said meaningfully: "The Dutch people's favorite thing to do is to use the power of others for their use."

"Guangnan? The Annan people probably won't be able to capture that small island." Zheng Zhibao said, "Chen Hui said that there are two big fortresses on that island, and five or six small fortresses. Moreover, the Hanzhou people have many firearms, and even more And they still have [-] strong men on the island. With the strength of the Annan people, they probably won't be able to conquer that small island."

"We know the strength of that small island, but the Annan people may not know it." Zheng Zhilong said with a smile: "Maybe, they are so stupid that they rushed up like that!"

"Hehe..." Zheng Zhibao laughed, and then asked again: "Brother, what do we need to do?"

"Didn't you suggest attacking the Dutch stronghold in Taiwan last month?" Zheng Zhilong said solemnly, "Go down and convene people to discuss a plan."

"Brother, why did you suddenly change your mind?" Zheng Zhibao asked in surprise.A month ago, he proposed to Zheng Zhilong that capturing Taiwan would not only weaken the strength of the Dutch, but also serve as a way out in case something unexpected happened to the mainland.But Zheng Zhilong has not given a positive response.

"In mid-February, after the gold slave thief Dorgon led his army to plunder Hebei and Shandong, he crossed the canal and returned east. Along the way, the officials and troops from all over the country did not dare to stop him, and he was allowed to return north safely." Zheng Zhilong said slowly : "It was a service. The Tartars entered the pass for half a year, penetrated two thousand miles, captured one prefecture, three states, 2 counties, and two passes; killed my Ming governor, two, and more than 55 generals and officials above the defense; captured a population of more than 40. Looted countless gold and silver, and tens of thousands of livestock."

"Brother, what does this have to do with our capture of Taiwan?" Zheng Zhibao asked puzzled.

"The emperor ordered Yang Sichang to discuss the crimes of civil and military officials." Zheng Zhilong said: "Afterwards, the Huaiyang Road Counselor Zheng Eryang was called to the platform to inquire about the payment of training troops."

"We're in Fujian, it's not up to us to judge the crime, right?"

"It's not our turn to judge the crime, but the matter of raising the salary will be sent to Quanzhou in ten days." Zheng Zhilong shook his head and said.

"The emperor wants to ask us how much?"

"How could Long live God ask us for money!" Zheng Zhilong couldn't help laughing when he heard the third brother's question, "Nanjing's Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households jointly negotiated, and Nanzhili raised 50 yuan for the capital to train troops. The governor asked us to send 20 taels to the north."

"Give it to him!" Zheng Zhibao heard that there was only 20 taels of silver, and he didn't care at all. The Zheng family earned tens of millions of taels of silver in one year. There are also as many as 200 million taels per year.

"The north of our Ming Dynasty is completely rotten!" Zheng Zhilong sighed: "How do you know that in a few years, there will be nothing wrong with Jiangnan? Go to Taiwan first and make some preparations."
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As the fifth governor of the Dutch East India Company in Formosa (assumed office in 1636), Van der Bolge, on the coast of Daming, after the defeat of the Dutch East India Company in the naval battle of Liuluo Bay, Zheng Zhilong's sea power expanded rapidly.In this extremely unfavorable situation, Governor Bolger was requested by the company to make efforts to build Formosa into an important fulcrum that could effectively support the East India Company's trade routes between Daming, Japan, North Korea and other countries and regions.

The Dutch East India Company had two adjacent strongholds on the island of Formosa, Chikan and Zeelandia.In the battle for Penghu in 1624, the Ming Dynasty used more than a thousand warships and tens of thousands of soldiers to repel the Dutch.Even so, the 15 remaining Dutch soldiers were allowed to break through and leave.After the Battle of Penghu, the fleeing Dutch fleet, under the leadership of Captain Song Ke, did not run back to Batavia. Instead, it turned around and landed in Yikunshen (now Tainan City, Taiwan) in southwest Taiwan.Then, through both hard and soft means, two fortresses, Chikan City and Zeelandia City, were successively built.So far, it has been [-] years.

As the strength of the Dutch in Chikan and Zeelandia grew, they changed their attitude of living in harmony with the local Shengfan and began to conquer by force.Relying on the intimidation of massacres and force, the nearby Shengfan (Gaoshan ethnicity) Madou Club signed a contract with the Dutch, swearing allegiance, and paying various taxes, collecting local products such as deer skins hunted by their tribe.

In 1636, after Governor Van der Burg took office, in order to deter the tribal clans in the west of the island, he dispatched ships and mercenaries to launch a large-scale attack on the Xiaoliuqiu Islands. In order to "kill the chicken for the monkeys to see", they even There was a genocide in the area. Of the 1200 residents of the Xiaoliuqiu Islands, more than 400 died in the flames of war and massacres, and more than 100 young adults were selected by the Dutch and sold to the East Indies in batches as slaves.All the women of the tribe are assigned as "gifts" to the soldiers.The entire Little Liuqiu Island was almost wiped out.

The move was so cruel that it even alarmed the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company.The 17-member board of directors of the Batavian East India Company voted to declare that this approach was "not very appropriate".

Of course, the so-called "not very appropriate" is to say casually, "inappropriate" things should be done or done.However, the Dutch were not always cruel in their dealings. Instead of exterminating some tribes, they signed contracts with them to establish rule.One of the purposes is to make it easier to conscript their population, and then conquer other tribes, which saves effort and instigates hatred among the tribes, which can be said to serve multiple purposes.After more than ten years of successive conquests, most of the major mountain tribes near the city of Zeelandia have been incorporated into the colonial forces of the East India Company.

Compared with the aborigines of Shengfan (Gaoshan people), the Dutch "turned their faces" faster, but the speed of "turning their faces" against the Ming people on Taiwan Island was slower. The Geinming people were not as easy to bully as the natives of Shengfan , and it is very close to Daming.The two cities of Chikan and Zelanja also have Chinese districts dedicated to Ming people, and their economic relations have always been close.

According to the statistics of the Netherlands Colonial Organization in Formosa, in a normal year, there are as many as 1000 ships traveling between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and the total number of Ming immigrants who immigrated here exceeds 1633.The arrival of a large number of coastal Ming people had a profound impact on the economic structure of Taiwan Island.As early as the sixth year of Chongzhen ([-]), the Han Chinese who came to Taiwan from the mainland brought sugarcane to Taiwan, which later became a pillar industry in Taiwan.

The more important influence was the promotion of cattle farming. As of last year (1638), the total number of farming cattle in the entire Taiwan Island had exceeded 800, and most of them were transported from the mainland by ships from the land reclamation people.Mainly rice and sucrose, supplemented by tobacco, hemp, ginger, cotton and other cash crops.The total number of acres of arable land has also increased rapidly. According to incomplete statistics, the total amount of arable land in Taiwan has exceeded 26 mu.

It can be said that after several years of development, the southern part of Taiwan under the control of the Netherlands can basically achieve food self-sufficiency, and can provide the East India Company with a large amount of raw materials such as sugar cane, deerskin, medicinal materials, etc., and began to continuously provide the Dutch with Colonial interests.

Beginning in 1639, in response to the sudden Sino-Dutch War, the governor of Batavia requested more silver and sugar cane raw materials.As a result, the Formosa colonial authorities promulgated a new trade decree. Han people have to pay taxes when buying salt, and they are not allowed to buy deer hides without permission, and they are not allowed to sell sugarcane without permission. They can only sell it to the Dutch authorities at a low price so that the Dutch can make white sugar. profiteering.

The governor of Formosa, Van der Bolger, was not very worried about the outbreak of war between the Batavian authorities and Hanzhou in the East Indies.Hanzhou is just a small follower of the East India Company. Maybe, in a short time, those Hanzhou people who are overwhelmed will succumb to the Dutch.

However, recently, Governor Van der Bolger has received some very bad news from the northern part of the island.The Spaniards in northern Formosa seem to have received reinforcements from the Philippines, and gathered many armed soldiers and several warships.The purpose of their gathering force is naturally not to go west to the behemoth of the Ming Kingdom.Then, it is obvious to target them the Dutch.

Governor Van der Borge was a little confused about why these arrogant Spaniards were born to attack the Dutch stronghold in Formosa.Remember, last year, the two sides also exchanged prisoners and signed a truce agreement.It hasn't been long, why are the Spaniards trying to stir up trouble again?

In response to the threat from the Spaniards, Governor Van der Bolger urgently dispatched a messenger on a merchant ship returning to Batavia to report the situation to the company.He believes that if the Spaniards really want to attack them, they will definitely carry at least 400-500 soldiers, and there may be four or five warships.For the Dutch, it is a serious threat.

In addition to sending people back to report the news, Governor Van der Burg also issued a call-up order to the Shengfan tribes around the stronghold, requiring them to send more than [-] soldiers to Chikan City and Zeelandia City during the war. service.

Formosa is the most important trade base and route supply point of the East India Company near the Ming Dynasty, and it must not be taken away by the Spaniards.Moreover, after more than ten years of development, it has been able to stably create profits of 10,000+ dong for the company, which has great economic value.Presumably, the governor of Batavia and the company committee will definitely pay attention to the threat of force from the Spaniards.

(End of this chapter)