1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 606 The East India Company's Plan
Batavia, Governor's Palace, 1648 June 6.

"Currently, the price of food in the entire Batavia region has risen by more than 25% on the basis of last year, and the price of alcohol, including sorghum shochu and beer produced in Hanzhou, has also risen by more than 40%. In addition, meat, egg , poultry and other related foods have increased by more than 30%..., and even the prices of fish products have risen in varying degrees." Fred Upton, senior commercial counselor of the Dutch East India Company, said with a wry smile: "In short, In Batavia, we encountered an unprecedented increase in grain prices, all of which were triggered by Hanzhou's aggressive purchase of grain on the market."

"Is the sea storm hit by Hanzhou very serious?" Batavia Governor Cornelis Van Derlin asked, frowning: "As far as we know, Hanzhou controls a huge piece of land. They Although Timor Island and Weiyuan Island (now New Guinea Island) have been hit by two huge sea storms, it will not affect the mainland of Hanzhou, right?"

"It is reported that the northern part of the mainland of Hanzhou has encountered severe drought since December last year, and the grain production should have been reduced in a large area, or there was no harvest. The eastern part also suffered severe floods in April this year. A lot of farmland was washed away. All of this has somewhat affected the local food supply in Hanzhou." Upton shook his head and said: "In addition, Hanzhou has transferred nearly 12 immigrants from the Ming Dynasty this year. When they arrived in Hanzhou, they were alone and had nothing. They will need Hanzhou to provide corresponding production and living materials for a long time to come."

"So, in order to feed more than 20 people in their country, Hanzhou frantically purchased food in the East Indies, which affected the normal life order of our Batavia." Governor Delin showed a smile on his face, "So Speaking of which, Hanzhou is very short of food?"

"I think so." Upton said: "Hanzhou not only purchased grain from the East Indies, but also planned to ship back a large amount of grain from Annan, Cambodia, Siam, and even India for domestic needs."

"What do we need to do for this?" Governor Durrin asked.

"Sell more food to Hanzhou, and seek greater operating profits for the company." Upton said naturally.

"No! We should do everything possible to prevent the Hanzhou people from obtaining more food, thereby exacerbating the degree of disaster in their homeland." Governor Delin said: "Gentlemen, think about it, if more than 20 people don't have enough to eat, What will happen even if you are hungry? As far as I know, there was a huge chaos in the Ming Dynasty, and the Tatars invaded the country. The biggest reason is that there are many ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty who cannot eat a full meal. , which in turn sparked civil uprisings across the country.”

"Your Excellency, Ming Kingdom and Hanzhou are two completely different countries." Upton looked at Governor Delin in surprise, "Although Hanzhou occupies a huge piece of land, their population is only over 20. With With Hanzhou’s nascent maritime transport force and their huge gold and silver reserves, they can get enough grain from anywhere. What’s more, Hanzhou must have a certain amount of grain stocks to deal with this natural disaster.  …Yes Therefore, we cannot cause them trouble, unless we launch a war against Hanzhou and block their transportation channels!"

You must know that the Dutch rebelled against Philip II (the second king of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty, reigning from 1556 to 1598), not only against his Catholicism and absolutism, but also against the Spanish business practices.For both political and economic reasons, the Dutch rejected the mercantilist idea of ​​a sovereign state as an economic unit.Because they, as a small country of less than 200 million, are middlemen in Europe, and their wealth depends on open trade.

Perhaps affected by this, the vast majority of Dutch businessmen despise state authority and government intervention, and even for them, patriotism is not as attractive as profit.

But now, in order to suppress and weaken Hanzhou, Governor Delin is trying to sabotage the commercial exchanges with Hanzhou, and there are faint signs of provoking war.You know, Hanzhou is not one of the many indigenous countries in the East Indies!
He didn't understand this very much. If it wins, the East India Company may not benefit from it. Instead, it will face a long-term hostile southern force; if it loses, the political and economic status of the East India Company here will be changed. Unstoppable shaking, even collapse.

What we Dutch people are best at is commerce, trade, maritime transportation, and the monopoly of channels in various regions such as Europe, the Far East, and the Americas, and the continuous profits obtained from this are the powerful genes of our federal republic .

Don’t you see, our federal provinces have been in war with the mighty Spain for decades. Not only has the country gained de facto independence, but the entire Netherlands has seen population growth, increased agricultural output, improved animal husbandry, and textiles. Industry prospered, trade expanded, and the entire national economy prospered during the war.

Correspondingly, Spain not only suffered repeated defeats on the battlefield, but also the domestic economy was in a mess. The finances of the entire kingdom government also went bankrupt several times. You must know that the Spaniards transported a large amount of gold and silver back from the Americas every year. Even so, it still cannot save their dilapidated economy.

For a powerful enemy, we Dutch people actually have a better way to deal with it, and war is the most uneconomical choice.

"Your Excellency, I think it is time to implement the necessary restrictions and controls on the maritime transportation of Hanzhou." Rear Admiral Gregory Copet, Commander of the Batavia Navy, said: "The Hanzhou people are not only in the East Indies. They began to build their own commercial channels, and even went to far away India to collude with the Portuguese. The Portuguese in Ceylon and India must have received arms support from the Hanzhou people. When they faced our attack, they showed Strong counterattack capability and firepower density have made it impossible for us to achieve complete victory in Ceylon."

"Moreover, just in January of this year, the Portuguese actually transferred Cochin, a stronghold in southwestern India, to Hanzhou. Now, the Hanzhou people are doing a lot of construction there, strengthening the castle there, and building huge warehouses. After that, they It is bound to use this as a bridgehead to deeply intervene in the Indian market. These measures will greatly damage the commercial interests of our East India Company."

"Major General Kopet, as far as I know, the Hanzhou people went to India for trade, and the goods they sold were basically all kinds of industrial products produced by themselves, and the gold and silver they got from them were also bought a lot of cotton locally. , saltpeter, indigo, pepper, and even women, and then return to the mainland of Hanzhou. This does not conflict with our trade in India, and there is no harm to our commercial interests." Upton frowned and retorted.

"However, isn't the company's future business goal to completely control the Indian market?" Major General Kopet said, "In Ceylon and India, we spare no effort to eliminate the Portuguese's influence, isn't it just to monopolize the commercial channels of the entire India? Now, the Hanzhou people have suddenly embedded themselves in Southwest India and gained a well-developed stronghold, who can guarantee that they will not exclude our Dutch East India Company from the Indian market in the future?"

"However, Hanzhou has only a population of more than 20. How could it possibly occupy the Indian market, and even exclude our East India Company! You must know that India is a huge market with tens of millions of people, and it is not a country with the size of Hanzhou. Can be controlled."

"The Principality of Courland in the Baltic Sea seems to have a population of just over 20. But they have established two colonial strongholds in remote America and Africa, and they have brought countless sugar, tobacco, coffee, cotton, ginger, indigo dye, cocoa , and even tropical birds and their feathers were brought back to Europe and competed with us for trade. You know, they are located in the Tobago colony in America, which was one of the assets of the West India Company (founded in 1621). Who Can you guarantee that in the Far East, for the sake of profit, Hanzhou will not snatch the trading base of our East India Company?"

"Major Admiral Copet, if there is a war with Hanzhou, will our navy be able to completely suppress Hanzhou's sea power?" Batavia Mayor Sylvie Haimer asked suddenly: "That is to say, in the event of a war After the outbreak, can our transportation routes on the East Indies be guaranteed to be safe? Also, can our various trading bases in the area be protected from attacks by the Hanzhou people? You know, the Hanzhou people who happened ten years ago During the Dutch War (November 1638), our Ambon and Kupang were attacked by them, and several trading ships were also lost, and the operating profits of the entire company dropped sharply. All of this can be avoided when we face another war ?"

Hearing this, Upton couldn't help but glance at Sylvie Highmore gratefully.Yes, there is a price to pay for war. Although the previous governor, Mr. Dayman, apparently returned to his hometown to be promoted as a senior regional business representative, but in fact it was because the East India Company was frequently involved in local wars, which led to continuous After three years of declining business performance, the board of directors finally deprived the Batavia Governor of Batavia.

"...The losses caused by the war are unavoidable." Major General Kopet pondered for a moment, and then said: "However, as long as we are determined, I think the final victory must belong to our East India Company. The region has absolute maritime dominance. As for the losses suffered by the company after the war broke out, I think that after defeating the Hanzhou people, we can force the other party to pay corresponding compensation and get the necessary compensation.”

"In addition, Hanzhou has a huge territory. We can rely on attacking their coastal cities to obtain some supplies and gold and silver income. Although Hanzhou's sea power has developed in the past few years, it still cannot compete with our East India Company. It is even more impossible to fully protect the safety of many coastal towns in China.”

Governor Delin listened to the arguments of several people, but he didn't speak for a while, resting his chin with one hand, he kept weighing and thinking in his heart.

"Major Admiral Kopet, with our current maritime strength, is it difficult to take care of the escort operations of all merchant ships?"

"...Yes, Your Excellency Governor." Rear Admiral Kopet nodded and admitted: "Hanzhou has thirty or forty ships with certain weapons, at least ten of them are professional warships, and there are also two super giant ships. If there is a war, our merchant ships may be attacked by them in an all-round way. But at the same time, we can also attack Hanzhou's merchant ships in an all-round way."

"Then can we guarantee maritime security between the Strait of Malacca and India?"

"absolutely okay."

"I think we should look for more partners for the military operations against Hanzhou." Governor Delin said thoughtfully: "Be sure to attack them suddenly at the same time, so that the other side loses all its power, and it is difficult to take care of one and the other. What do you think, gentlemen?"

(End of this chapter)