1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 537 Countermeasure (continued)

November 1645, 4, Makassar, Sulawesi.

"Oh, God, you actually brought us artillery this time, and there are still fifteen pieces! This really surprised us, but it also made us feel sincerely happy!" Ogni, Governor of Makassar Portugal Matteo said in surprise.

Gu Rongtang, who had just disembarked, knew that the leader of the Portuguese community in Makassar in front of him was saying similar words of thanks even if he didn't need the interpreter next to him.

Because of the threat of the Dutch at any time, the Portuguese living here feel very insecure.Although the local Gowa people have always maintained a friendly attitude towards them, and the Sultan of the Gowa Kingdom has also made a promise to guarantee their safety, the Portuguese are still worried that the domineering Dutch will send ships again with armed forces , to expel them from this place, so they have been constantly strengthening the arms here.

Since the Portuguese lost Malacca four years ago, their strength has gone from bad to worse.Europe itself is busy with the War of Independence, and has no time to spare more manpower and material resources to support the distant Far East colonial areas.Therefore, the overseas Portuguese colonies can only independently fight against the powerful Dutch East India Company.If they hadn't made good use of the local indigenous forces, they would have been expelled from the entire Far East by the Dutch long ago based on their weak strength.

Over the past decade or so, the Portuguese can only struggle to support the aggressive attack of the Dutch.Now their largest and most stable colony of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) has also been successfully invaded by the Dutch. With the help of the Kingdom of Kandy, the other side has successfully established a foothold in the eastern part of Ceylon and began to slowly move towards Infiltration and expansion of northern and southern Ceylon.

In view of this, the Portuguese who retreated to Makassar almost lost the support of the Ceylon colony. In addition, because Haojing (today’s Macau) was excluded from the trade list by the Japanese shogunate authorities, its development was also difficult, and it was even more difficult to deal with it. Makassar provides necessary support.

Just when the Portuguese in Makassar fell into panic and despair, it was the Hanzhou people who had once had a conflict with them, and extended a helping hand to them. Food, cloth, agricultural tools, muskets, artillery, and even Chinese Small galleys were also sold to them without scruple, and they were allowed to pay temporarily on credit.

So what if Hanzhou is a pagan nation and has attacked their Dili colony?Today, Han Chau has become the savior of the Makassar Portuguese.

In order to ensure their own safety, the Portuguese have repeatedly requested to enter into an offensive and defensive alliance with the Hanzhou people so that both sides can deal with the Dutch together.However, out of consideration of their own interests, the Hanzhou people have always refused to agree, but the continuous import of materials has also allowed the Portuguese to slowly recover a bit of vitality in Makassar.

Two years ago, under the instruction of Hanzhou, the Portuguese in Makassar resold countless armaments to the Kingdom of Mataland and the Kingdom of Banten on the island of Java, which caused a certain amount of trouble to the Dutch.Through this kind of arms entrepot trade, the Portuguese also earned a lot of wealth. Not only did they repay the material assistance owed to the Hanzhou people on credit, but they also greatly improved the production and living environment of the Portuguese.

In fact, the Portuguese's views on Hanzhou are very complicated.Whenever they come to Dili City on a merchant ship—oh, the Hanzhou people have already renamed this place Zhenhai, and they see that the city they built by themselves in the past has become more and more prosperous under the rule of the Hanzhou people, and the population is also increasing. It has increased year by year, as if it has become the most dazzling pearl on Timor Island, and they all feel extremely sad and jealous.However, when the Hanzhou people sold them a lot of production and living materials at a price far lower than that of the Dutch, the Portuguese felt a kind of sincere gratitude in their hearts.

"We got some news from Batavia that the Dutch seem to want to do something to you." Gu Rongtang said solemnly: "It should be said that their exact purpose is to seize or destroy this trading port in order to eliminate the opposition here. Batavia's threat. Of course, it is also within their plan to expel or kill you conveniently."

"Oh, damn the Dutch!" Ogni Mateo cursed viciously: "They are a group of devils, a group of ugly businessmen who are only interested in profit, and even more inhuman executioners!"

Gu Rongtang was a little speechless when he heard that, you Portuguese targeted the local natives in various colonies, and you are not the same inhumane, just as mercenary.

"Dear Gu, you Hanzhou will help us, won't you?" Ogne Mateo vented for a while, and when he saw a disapproving expression on Gu Rongtang's face, he stopped cursing embarrassingly.

"So, I brought you artillery, muskets, and a lot of gunpowder." Gu Rongtang said: "In addition, considering that the Dutch will send a landing force to attack your stronghold, I also brought you a lot of gunpowder." Cement, help you build the castle stronger. By the way, can you help us contact Gowa Kingdom Sultan, or other high-ranking officials? I think it is necessary for us Qi to have more in-depth contact and exchanges with them."

"Your Hanzhou is going to establish a direct relationship with the Kingdom of Gowa?" Ogne Mateo asked nervously after hearing this.

"Governor Mateo, don't get me wrong, we just want to establish a direct political and diplomatic relationship with them." Upon seeing this, Gu Rongtang understood what the other party was worried about, and smiled and comforted him: "Before I came, I didn't We have received further notice from our Ministry of Trade and the trading company that you Portuguese are still the sole agent of our Hanzhou General Trading Company in Makassar."

After several years of development, coupled with the support of Hanzhou people, the Portuguese community in Makassar has grown rapidly, and the number of settlers has also increased from the original 700 to more than [-] today.They built two bastions, large and small, on the north bank of the Jenibelang River. There were not only Portuguese, but also English, Spaniards, and Germans in the city, as well as a large number of Gowas.

Because of the lack of European women here, most of the Portuguese married the local Gowa as their wives. Governor Ogne Mateo's wife was also a Gowa, the daughter of the local tribal leader.

The entire Portuguese stronghold opened up hundreds of acres of land on the north bank of the Jenibelang River, and planted some rice, corn, vegetables, fruits and the like.If only agricultural planting is used, the life of the Portuguese must be very difficult.But since three years ago, when they approached the Hanzhou people and became their business agents in Makassar, their standard of living has risen sharply.They sold Hanzhou goods to Gowasultan Kingdom, and easily earned a lot of trade intermediary profits, and their lives were quite prosperous.

"I think you Hanzhou people should go and get in touch with Prince Hassan-Uddin of Gowasultan Kingdom." Ogne Mateo showed a relaxed smile after taking the reassurance, "Prince Hassan-Uddin He is the successor of His Majesty Sultan today. He is a very smart and ambitious young man. He is proficient in our Portuguese and is familiar with many affairs in our Europe. More importantly, he himself seems to be very concerned about the domineering behavior of the Dutch. disgust."

"Does he know anything about our country of Qi?" Gu Rongtang asked.

"Of course." Ogne Mateo showed a strange look on his face, "Prince Hassan-Uddin respects the Ming Kingdom very much, and thinks that the Ming Kingdom is a very great country, and many Ming people are also praised for their diligence and kindness. The kingdoms of the East Indies are willing to accept it. But..., but Prince Hassan-Uddin has also shown a certain degree of concern for the strength of your Hanzhou."

"Pay attention?" Gu Rongtang was stunned when he heard the words, and then understood the subtext in the Portuguese's words. The Dutch were considered potential enemies in the region.

Unexpectedly, there are also people with open vision and clear minds in this native kingdom on the Nanyang Islands.

But compared to the Dutch, our country of Qi has only carried out limited expansion on Timor Island, which presumably does not pose a direct threat to the Kingdom of Gova Sultan.

In order to deal with the threat of the Dutch, and in order to keep the royal city of Makassar, and to maintain the most important trade distribution center in the region, the Gowa people should take over the olive branches thrown by the Hanzhou people and establish a potential counterattack. Netherlands Union.

In the Nanyang region, who told the Dutch to be so hated!
(End of this chapter)