1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 772
October 1660, 10, Java Island, Surabaya.

Liang Yun'an, the former leader of the Qing army who wanted to escape from the territory of the Qi State, had been drifting on the sea for three months until today if he set out in Jianye City in mid-July, but this journey seemed to last forever. Endless general.

What made him even more annoyed was that he thought that when he came to the Matalan Sultan Kingdom on this island, he should be regarded as out of the sphere of influence of the people of Qi, but he did not expect that this port called Surabaya would also It belongs to the territory of Qi State.

The Dutch sailors on those ships said that this place was indeed the territory of the Sultan Kingdom of Matalan before. However, because of fear of being invaded by their Dutch East India Company, three years ago, the port and its surrounding area [-] miles away were closed. The land within the range was leased to Qi State in order to obtain their protection.

His grandma's, this country of Qi is really a regional hegemon, and it even overwhelmed the Siyi, causing many small states to seek refuge and offer their land!This is much easier than my Qing Dynasty riding a horse and sieging cities and looting land all the way.

It is said that in order to better control this place, the Qi people have immigrated more than [-] people here one after another to grow rice, sugar cane and coffee.Liang Yunan knew about the first two crops, but what was coffee?Looking at the sailors on the ship looking at him like an idiot, he suddenly felt a [-]-point blow in his heart.

Therefore, when a sailor brought him a cup of dark, mellow and bitter drink, although Liang Yunan suspected the other party's sinister intentions, in order not to let them despise him, he insisted on enduring the scalding drink. The water liquid, drank it in one gulp.

His grandma's, something weird, bitter, with a hint of sour taste, but after drinking it, there is also a faint fragrance and sweet taste between the lips and teeth, giving people an indescribable feeling.

Seeing Liang Yunan's expression, several sailors couldn't help laughing.After more than a month of getting along day and night, coupled with the special and lonely environment on the sea, these sailors also gradually regarded this Tatar who fled Qi as a member of the ship.

Although they occasionally teased and beat him, it was also to show that their status on the ship was higher than that of the Tatar, and they enjoyed a feeling of superiority over others.As for the thought of putting him to death, it also dissipated a lot.Of course, when they arrived in Batavia, they still had to continue to seek his property.Because the captain and the navigator and other officers already knew of his existence, and they were bound to share part of the money and goods they got.

It may be that they are about to arrive in Batavia. During the two days when they docked in Surabaya, the sailors on the ship relaxed the control of Liang Yunan a little. They not only provided him with a lot of fresh food and clean water, but even let him take a good bath. And allow him to walk freely on deck.

Freedom of action, Liang Yunan's mind began to come alive.After getting along for more than a month, he already knew that the sailors on board were all employed by a large western trading company, and the personnel composition was extremely complicated.They traveled thousands of miles to the east, and all they wanted were gold and silver, without any sense of morality or loyalty.

Therefore, Liang Yun'an wondered if it was possible to instigate some of these barbarian people to rebel, bring them to my Qing territory, and use them for me.You know, during this period, not to mention Tang Ruowang, Nan Huairen and other highly trusted barbarians in the court, who helped the court compile the calendar and guide the casting of cannons.That Tang Ruowang was even appointed as the supervisor of the Qin Tianjian, and enjoyed a high position and high salary, glory and wealth.Even in the Beijing Central Firearms Bureau and Wuzhen Hachao in the Eight Banners Division, there are hundreds of Yi people who are loyal to the Qing Dynasty.

I still remember that more than ten years ago, it seems that this Dutch trading company once sent many barbarian people to Beijing to provide me with Daqing firearms and demanded trade.Later, for some unknown reason, they suddenly withdrew many people and stopped developing friendly trade with the Qing Dynasty.But at that time, there were still dozens of people who coveted the generous salary from the Qing Dynasty and stayed in Beijing despite the strict orders of this Western trading company.

When Liang Yunan tentatively contacted several military officers, he implied in his words that he was an important official of the Qing Dynasty and could recommend them to serve in the Qing Dynasty.He also said that as long as he has a skill, or can help the Qing Dynasty develop firearms and other artifacts, he will definitely get several times their current remuneration.

It can be seen that these barbarian officers were very moved in their hearts, especially when they heard the treatment and status that Tang Ruowang, Nan Huairen and others received, their eyes showed envy.

However, they admitted frankly that the entire continent is the forbidden domain of the Hanzhou people, and no Western forces are allowed to get involved.Moreover, in view of the close cooperative relationship between the Dutch East India Company and the Hanzhou people, all their employees have been severely warned by the company that it is best not to work for the Tatar regime in the north of the mainland.Otherwise, once the Hanzhou people find out about it, they will inevitably suffer merciless revenge and blows from them.

Liang Yun'an said that the Qing Dynasty occupies half of the mainland, has millions of soldiers, and the unification of the whole country is just around the corner.The Yi people from all over the world who live in the country enjoy preferential treatment and will be strictly protected by our Qing Dynasty, so there is no need to worry about being retaliated by the Qi people.Even, if you are willing, you can permanently settle in my Qing territory, and then you can marry a few gentle and pleasant Qing women, and finally take root and live and work in peace and contentment.This is much more relaxed and comfortable than you who are struggling to run a boat on the sea.

Several officers and senior sailors on the ship looked at each other, seeming a little hesitant.Over the years, under the influence of the Hanzhou people, many officers and sailors under the East India flag have always believed that the Tatar regime in the north of the mainland is known for being barbaric, ignorant, and backward.They massacred civilians, burned cities and villages, and destroyed all signs of civilization that could be seen, just like those crazy and brutal Mongols hundreds of years ago.

But the official who claims to be the Tatar regime in front of him has repeatedly claimed that their country is a prosperous, civilized and inclusive regime.They invaded the Ming country from the cold and remote northeast corner, in order to rescue the tens of millions of people who were persecuted by the Ming government, and to bring happiness and peace to countless oppressed people.However, the decadent Ming government was unwilling to give up the power to continue to enslave the people, colluded with the evil Hanzhou people, and forcibly prevented them from unifying the country, leaving countless people in dire straits of persecution.

Otherwise, how could there be so many Westerners serving them in Beijing, Shengjing, and Baoding? Tang Ruowang and Nan Huairen were even assigned by their Pope to preach in their capital.And under the protection of this regime, Catholicism spread smoothly in the north at that time.With the increase in the number of missionaries and the expansion of the scope of activities, the number of believers has increased rapidly. It is said that so far, the number of believers has reached 20.Ten years ago (1650), the Qing government also granted land to rebuild the church on the side of the original Catholic Church in Xuanwumen.Tang Ruowang and others expanded a scripture hall previously built by Matteo Ricci and built the first cathedral (South Hall) in Beijing.

On the contrary, in places ruled by Hanzhou, it seems that the government does not support and advocate Catholicism very much, and only a few churches are built. Not only are the building scales very small, but Catholicism in their country is also controlled by the government.In addition, some of the Catholic doctrines they promote feel different from those in Europe!

On October 10, the "Groningen" finally arrived in Batavia.

Three years ago, when Liang Yunan disguised himself as a fur trader and immigrated from the mainland to Hanzhou, he did not stop at Batavia, but stopped at Guangning Fort, a small stronghold. He did not realize that the Dutch built it for nearly 60 years. The prosperity of the trading center.

The first thing that caught his eyes was the boats on the pier, or more precisely, many boats.There are blessing boats and bird boats from the mainland, Malay house boats and Western-style galleys, as well as Arab Shebek boats, and more Westerners' three-masted ships and Galen boats.Of course, there are many Qi merchant ships flying the red and yellow dragon flags.

"Why, on your land, there is also a stronghold established by Qi State?"

After getting off the boat, Liang Yunan suddenly saw a tall flagpole standing in front of a large building on the west side of the pier when he was hijacked by a group of Dutch sailors and rushed to the city. He couldn't help but look stunned, and asked in astonishment.

"Oh, that's a warehouse built by the Hanzhou people." A sailor said casually: "It is said that the Hanzhou people rented several houses here more than 20 years ago for immigration and cargo turnover." Temporary residence. Now, the large area of ​​land in the west area of ​​the wharf has been rented by Hanzhou people, and then these warehouses, warehouses, restaurants, restaurants, and a huge market trading center have been built."

Liang Yun'an took a deep look at the large freight yard area built by the Qi people, and couldn't help but secretly slander. It seems that in this Nanyang region, it is not easy to bypass the Qi people's sphere of influence.Not to mention, the man has to find a way to leave here as soon as possible and return to the mainland.
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October 10, Batavia, Governor's Palace.

"After a year of fighting by the Hanzhou people, except for the British trading houses that did not attack the Mughal Empire, all the coastal trading houses in the southern kingdoms were captured or burned by the Hanzhou people. In addition, according to reliable The news confirmed that the Hanzhou people also sank and captured at least ten English merchant ships, and the number of ships damaged will only be more, so that the English did not even dare to sail out to sea."

The governor of Batavia of the Dutch East India Company, Jean Mattesek, is listening to the company's senior commercial counselor, Victor Flores, and the company's senior manager of regional affairs in India, Friedrich Severen, reporting on Indian affairs .When he heard that the Han Chinese had made the English miserable and suffered heavy losses, he couldn't help showing a playful smile on his face.

"What is strange is that after the English suffered such a heavy loss, they did not give much support at home. Even the ships that normally come to India for trade are much less than in previous years. Therefore, some supporters The Englishman who lives here sent a representative to the company's business office in Surat six months ago to ask for our help."

"Are they trying to pull us together to deal with the Hanzhou people?" Governor Matsek asked in surprise.

"No." Severon smiled and shook his head and said: "They should know that the relationship between us and the Han people has always been close, so why would we make such a request. The English asked us to conduct a comprehensive review of their ongoing war. Mediation. They are willing to conduct formal negotiations on the Hanzhou people's request for a truce."

"Why don't they ask the Hanzhou people directly for peace?"

"They approached the Hanzhou people, but they were stumped by the conditions proposed by the Hanzhou people, and they thought it was unacceptable."

"Hehe..." Governor Matt Sek laughed, "The stubborn English must be reluctant to give up the trade benefits they have obtained. Don't they know that rejecting the Hanzhou people not only cannot hold the benefits in their hands, That is, everything they own now may be destroyed by the Hanzhou people, or even completely expelled from the Indian market."

"Your Excellency, then we should reject the request of the English and not mediate the war between them and the Han people?"

"In India and Ceylon, the Hanzhou people have been sparing no effort to support the Portuguese to prevent them from being completely squeezed out of the above two areas by us." Governor Matsek did not answer Severon's question, but got up and walked to Next to a huge map, "The Hanzhou people did this because they didn't want our East India Company to take advantage of the situation, so they tried to win over the Portuguese to impose necessary restrictions and restrictions on us. If the English were driven out of India, Then in this area, there are only us, Han Chinese and Portuguese left.”

"My lord governor, what do you mean..." Severon looked at Governor Matsek thoughtfully.

"Although we don't like the English, and we in the United Provinces have been in a general war with them for more than two years. But in India, once the English are driven out, we may become isolated there. And , in the distant future, none of us can guarantee whether the close cooperative relationship between our East India Company and the Hanzhou people will always be maintained. Sometimes, a region needs to maintain a proper balance of power."

"My lord, I understand what you mean."

"In addition, according to news from Europe, the Duke of Cornwall (that is, Charles II) returned to London at the end of May. Perhaps this will cause some huge changes in the domestic situation in England after Cromwell's death. Changes." Governor Matt Sek said with a smile: "In this case, if we can mediate the conflict between the English and the Han people, we can use this to sell them well and open up the English market for the company. , or urge them to abolish the so-called "Navigation Regulations" and provide the necessary public opinion support."

"Will our mediation of war conflicts between Chinese and British harm the friendly relationship between us and the Hanzhou people?" As the head of the East India Company's Indian region, Severon is still very afraid of the arrangement of Hanzhou in the Indian region. military presence.

"Probably not." Governor Matsek shook his head and said: "War means unnecessary consumption. The Hanzhou people and the English have been fighting in India for more than a year, and they must feel a little unsustainable at this time. We Proposing mediation may just give them a chance to end the war. After all, in India, Hanzhou people are also engaged in trade, not like they drive out natives and seize land at their doorstep. Could it be that they Don't worry, our East India Company will take advantage of their fight to expand the scope of the market?"

Hearing this, Severon couldn't help but nodded in agreement.In the Indian region, it was not the Hanzhou Kingdom government that had an armed conflict with the English East India Company, but the powerful Indian trading house.Since they are all trading companies, they must not like fighting.Let's sit down, negotiate with each other, give in to each other, and continue happily earning lovely gold coins in India, okay?
"By the way, dear Flores, I heard that one of our company's merchant ships accidentally obtained an official from the Tatar regime in the north of the mainland." Governor Matsek suddenly turned his head to look at the senior commercial counselor. Victor Flores, "Do you think we could use this man to gain some additional business interest from that Tatar regime?"

"..." Flores looked at Governor Matsek in astonishment, and it took him a while to react, and then he said with a serious expression: "My lord governor, if we want to contact the Tatar regime in the north of the mainland, it is tantamount to playing Fire, destroy our current friendly business cooperation relationship. Doing so will greatly anger the Hanzhou people!"

(End of this chapter)