1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 424 "The Batavia Contract"

Sixth brother Lin looked at the sickly Su Minggang, and sighed slightly in his heart. Maybe the first Batavia Chinese Kapitan's time is numbered.

Su Shaonian, the eldest son of Su Minggang, showed a helpless expression to Sixth Brother Lin apologetically.Since August, my father has been seriously ill, and the situation has been good and bad. He has been lying in bed to support his health, and he has not been able to see things.

"Haosheng took care of your father and said that the situation has improved a little, so please let me know." Brother Lin said softly, "There are many Chinese businessmen in Batavia, and they are counting on Mr. Su to continue to give us advice on how to deal with the current complicated situation."

"Father, in the past year, he has stopped doing all the affairs of the family himself. As for the affairs of the outside world, I'm afraid it has been a long time since he heard of them." Su Shaonian shook his head and said in a low voice.

Brother Lin once again glanced at Su Minggang who was lying on the sick bed, feeling a little lost.

In the past two months, there have been rumors in the city of Batavia that the Dutch offered to negotiate peace with Hanzhou to end the three-year war between the two sides.For many Chinese businessmen in the city, this seemed a bit abrupt, but it was taken for granted.

Because during the three-year war, the Dutch, who dominated Nanyang in sea power, were frequently attacked by Hanzhou to break into their trading bases.The Dutch, on the other hand, did not seem to have heard that they had achieved any results in the Hanzhou people, which made the Chinese businessmen in Batavia both shocked and inexplicably excited.

The Chinese in Batavia are secretly happy that the Dutch have suffered in front of Hanzhou.Not only because they are Ming people, but also because in recent years, the colonial authorities of the Dutch East India Company frequently allocated various expenses to all Chinese businessmen in the city, and the squeeze was even worse.

The natives of the Kingdom of Banten and the Kingdom of Mataran came. In addition to donating a large amount of gold and silver materials, the Chinese merchants also provided the men at home, the shop assistants, and the workers in the workshop to the Dutch to form a strong team to fight with the Dutch. The natives fought.

After Hanzhou broke through the East India Company's commercial strongholds on the South Sea islands one after another, the Chinese merchants had to be levied a special tax to rebuild and restore several important stronghold facilities.

Just in April this year, the Dutch colonial authorities once again apportioned 5 taels of silver and some supplies to the Chinese businessmen, it is said that they were preparing to attack the Portuguese in Malacca.This made many Chinese businessmen miserable, but they did not dare to oppose it openly, they could only slander in their hearts.

Sixth Brother Lin heard the news yesterday that someone saw more than a dozen Hanzhou peace talks officials arrive in Batavia and settled in the posthouse arranged by the Dutch.He immediately realized that the Dutch might really want to end the war with the Han people this time.So, how these Chinese businessmen in the city should face this situation, many people are uncertain.So, he came to Su Mansion and discussed with Su Minggang, hoping that he would provide all Chinese businessmen with a coping strategy based on his decades of experience in Nanyang business.

"Ahem..." Su Minggang on the sickbed suddenly coughed violently, and Su Shaonian hurried forward to help his father who had woken up.

"Old Su..." Sixth Brother Lin saw Su Minggang's cloudy eyes looking at him, and shouted expectantly.

"...The old man already knows... cough cough..." Su Minggang coughed violently a few times, "Tell all the merchants of the Ming Dynasty that from now on, the Ming Zunhe people will secretly embrace Hanzhou, or you can keep me waiting for a long time. "

"Ming Zunhe people, embrace Hanzhou secretly." Sixth brother Lin chewed on this sentence, and then respectfully saluted Su Minggang deeply, "Thank you, Mr. Su, for your guidance."

Seeing Sixth Brother Lin leave, Su Minggang looked sideways at his eldest son Su Shaonian.

"I'm afraid I don't have much time. I've made dozens of plans for my Su family. Some things...we should have made arrangements earlier.... In this battle between the Dutch and Hanzhou, we may all have underestimated Hanzhou's power." Strength. In the past three years, Hanzhou has not been suppressed and defeated by the Dutch, but has been able to draw the opponent. If the war between the two sides ends this time, Hanzhou will surely be able to take advantage of the situation to rise in the land of Nanyang and become a powerful force standing side by side with the Dutch. "

"The power of the Ming Dynasty is getting weaker and weaker. They can't, and they don't want to protect our Nanyang Ming people. The Dutch people also use us and other Ming people more than they want to. The natives are ignorant and cruel, and they hate our Ming people. In the land of Nanyang, the Ming people are like rootless duckweed, and it is difficult to find long-term peace. For the current plan, the Hanzhou is rising. It has the same vein as China, and the Han people have the same origin. Maybe the Ming people can rely on it. Waiting for the Dutch people and Hanzhou After the peace talks, the Su family can transfer half of the savings accumulated over the decades to Hanzhou, relying on the fact that the daughter of the Su family has married into Cao Xiong's nephew and will take refuge in Hanzhou."

"Father, can the rise of Hanzhou last for a long time?" Su Shaonian asked.

"I don't know if it will last forever." Su Minggang closed his eyes and thought for a while, then said softly: "But if there is a chance, I have to gamble."

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"Does your Hanzhou have fleets in the waters near Japan?" When the Hanzhou and other peace negotiators entered the venue, Dutch negotiator Rolette Mapplethopoulo questioned.

"Where is our Hanzhou fleet haunted? This is a secret deployment of our Hanzhou military. As a representative of this peace talk, I cannot give you a corresponding reply." said Hanzhou chief representative Shangshu Li Renchang of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

"..." Rowlett Mapplethorpe stared at Li Renchang fiercely, and said angrily: "Two months ago, two of our merchant ships in the waters near Japan were attacked by your Hanzhou warships, and only one Return to Batavia with injuries. In addition, a few months ago, we still had a merchant ship heading for the Ming country that is still missing, and it must be because of you Hanzhou."

"Our warships in Hanzhou should have received a combat order in June. I think they should have not heard the news of the peace talks between us when they attacked your merchant ships." He Yunfeng said expressionlessly: "I think, As long as the two sides have not signed a peace agreement, we are still in a state of war. Therefore, for this peace talk, we should all do our best to eliminate the current differences and reach peace terms acceptable to both sides as soon as possible.”

"However, given the willingness of both parties to work towards peace, shouldn't you Hanzhou stop all military actions?"

"Of course, our Hanzhou has sent a fast liaison ship to the place where the fleet may stop for rest, and inform them to stop all military operations against your Dutch East India Company." He Yunfeng said seriously: "However, the sea is vast and the whereabouts of the fleet ships are uncertain. There may be a lag in getting orders from our mainland Hanzhou."

In fact, the Hanzhou General Staff did not send a fast liaison ship to the vicinity of Daming to inform the raiding fleet to stop attacking the Dutch merchant ships.Because when the northwest trade wind arrives in December, all Hanzhou ships gathered near Daming will start to transport immigrants back to Hanzhou mainland. At that time, the attacks on Dutch merchant ships will naturally stop.

"It is reported that in June 1606, the captain of the Dutch East India Company, William Jansson, drove the Defokeng and discovered a piece of land protruding from the mainland at the northern end of Hanzhou (near Cape York, Australia today). Therefore, We should have certain special rights to Hanzhou. However, you currently occupy the northern and eastern parts of Hanzhou, which we recognize and respect. However, in the vast west of Hanzhou, our East India Company will retain the future establishment of a trading base rights." Rowlett Mapplethorpe decided to attack the core of Hanzhou's rights and interests, so as to force the other party to give up other conditions in the subsequent peace talks.

"If you say so, our Hanzhou will also have the right to establish strongholds in Batavia, Palembang, Malacca and other places in the future. Hundreds of years ago, my Ming Dynasty sent a powerful fleet to swear sovereignty in many areas in Southeast Asia .And our Hanzhou originates from the Ming Dynasty and comes from the same lineage, isn't it more entitled to enjoy special rights here than you?" He Yunfeng said seriously.

Many radical young military and civil officials in Hanzhou not only regard the entire Hanzhou continent as their inherent territory, but also regard the entire Nanyang region as the Hanzhou's sphere of influence in the future.However, due to the current lack of strength, the Dutch East India Company can only let the Dutch East India Company expand its power in the Southeast Asia region.

"Although the Ming Dynasty and your Hanzhou have the same race and culture, they are thousands of miles away from each other. How can they be confused? In addition, Hanzhou is a very huge land. With your current strength, can you completely occupy it?"

"As far as I know, you Dutch East Indies don't have many people in the Nanyang region at present, and you are tens of thousands of miles away from your European mainland. Do you have the ability to occupy the entire Nanyang archipelago?" He Yunfeng asked rhetorically.

"The mainland of Hanzhou is our core interest. If your East India Company wants to seek a colonial stronghold in Hanzhou, I think it is pointless to talk about it any longer." Li Renchang said seriously.As he said that, he stood up and prepared to leave the negotiating venue with the Hanzhou peace negotiators.
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Governor of Batavia, Cornelis Van der Linn, quietly listened to the report of Rowlett Mapplethorpe, the chief representative of the peace talks.

"Have they reacted very strongly to the terms of the opening of the markets on both sides?" asked Governor Durling.

"Hanzhou is not entangled in this issue." Mapplethorpe said: "They even suggested that both of us fully open all the strongholds under our respective control to each other."

"What products do they have in Hanzhou that are worthy of our acceptance?"

"According to the trade records three years ago, in addition to wood, Hanzhou can also produce alcohol, including spirits and liqueurs. Oh, and sugar. The quality and sweetness are good, better than our own. Others Yes, some metal tools and farm implements. They should be able to smelt iron by themselves, and even smelt steel."

"Oh, there is still a certain amount of hand-made manufacturing in Hanzhou." Governor Delin nodded, "They don't object to the opening of the market, they must want to sell the things they produce to us. However, why are they so interested in being able to So obsessed with controlling a wider country? Hanzhou is just a barren and desolate continent, far less rich in products than ours in the East Indies. We can admit that they occupy the entire Hanzhou continent and its affiliated islands, as long as they ensure that Without violating our special East Indies interests."

"As for the scope of the East Indies, this requires our navy and commercial personnel to confirm the approximate scope. It is important to include the important islands and key routes that we need to control into our management. The power is excluded from the entire East Indies, so that we can exclusively enjoy all the resources here. In this way, if Hanzhou wants to continue to develop, it can only rely heavily on our East India Company."

On December 1641, 12, after the final joint efforts of the representatives of the two sides, the Dutch East India Company and Hanzhou formally signed a peace agreement, ending the three-year war between the two sides.

The agreement is as follows:

1641. On December 12, 24, between Hanzhou and the East India Company, both sides will end all military operations and no longer attack each other's ships and strongholds.After the signing of the agreement, within one month, all the personnel captured during the war will be released unconditionally, and the personal belongings and belongings of the personnel captured during the war will be returned.

[-]. The East India Company respected Hanzhou’s right to occupy the entire Hanzhou mainland and its affiliated islands, and recognized Hanzhou’s legal rights to occupy the former Portuguese colony—Dili City. The area east of the line also enjoys special interests.

[-]. Han Chau respected the special interests of the East India Company in the entire East Indies, and promised not to set up a stronghold in the East Indies other than Timor Island. (In the range of the East Indies, north of Timor Island, west of Weiyuan Island (New Guinea Island), south of Mindanao Island in the Philippines, and a large area of ​​islands east of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island)

[-]. The East India Company opened its strongholds and markets within its sphere of influence and Hanzhou, and promised to provide necessary supplies and docking for ships passing by Hanzhou (with the permission of the port of call).At the same time, Hanzhou also opened its territory and Hanzhou mainland market to the Dutch East India Company.Both parties shall not obstruct the other party's goods, personnel, and financial circulation under any pretext.

[-]. Hanzhou promised not to sell all kinds of weapons to the states and kingdoms of the East Indies, and to stop funding all local and riot forces that opposed the Dutch East India Company.

[-]. The two parties shall establish representative offices in each other's territory so as to conduct mutual trust and communication.

[-]. Both parties have the obligation to ensure the property and personal safety of the other party's subjects in their respective territories. If they violate the laws of the other party, they must be witnessed by officials of the other party's representative office before a fair trial can be conducted.

[-]. Both contracting parties have the right to establish firms, warehouses, and other types of commercial facilities in the other party's territory and sphere of influence. The two parties shall not deliberately obstruct, and are obliged to ensure the safety of the other party's property and personnel.

[-]. When a contracting party is in a state of war with a third party, the other contracting party must strictly observe neutrality.At the same time, the contracting parties shall not enter into agreements of an alliance nature with third parties against each other.

[-]. This agreement is valid for five years. After the expiration, if there is no objection from both parties, it will be automatically renewed for three years.

After signing the peace agreement, Li Renchang, chief peace negotiator of Hanzhou, immediately returned to Hanzhou mainland by flying fish boat, and submitted it to Grand Commander Qi Tian for final approval to make it come into force.

(End of this chapter)