1635 Han style rises again

On January 1664, 1, Zhenhai (now Dili, East Timor).

Compared with the people of Qi who lived with dignity, the people on Ceylon Island at the southeastern tip of the Indian subcontinent seemed humiliated and helpless.

In Zhenhai, the Xuanhua District of Qi State, Flavio Tropp, the senior representative of the Dutch East India Company for special affairs, was discussing with Ji Changrong, the right minister of Honglu Temple in Qi State, how to divide the sphere of influence after Ceylon Island.

The two sides ignored the feelings of hundreds of thousands of local people in the existing Kandy Kingdom and Jaffna Kingdom on the island, and even ignored the Portuguese who had been running Ceylon for a hundred years. , started a dispute on the map.

Flavio Tropp held the pipe in his right hand, put it to his mouth, inhaled lightly, and then slowly exhaled a smoke ring, narrowing his eyes slightly, looking at Ji Changrong opposite, his face could not help showing A wry smile.

"Ji, you Hanzhou just kept a certain amount of silence when there was a conflict between us and the Portuguese, and you have to divide half of Ceylon Island. To be honest, this requirement is indeed a bit harsh. I think our Lord Governor I will not agree to this condition."

"But, you only shared the Jaffna peninsula and some places on the edge of the interior with us, isn't it too petty?" Ji Changrong wrinkled his nose in a subtle way. Over the years, he has never liked to smell this kind of smell. The choking smell of tobacco made him feel short of breath.

In view of the fact that the Portuguese married Princess Catherine to Charles II two years ago in order to curry favor with the United Kingdom, and presented Mumbai in India as a dowry to the British royal family, which made Qi very dissatisfied.When the state of Qi negotiated with the local government of Portuguese India, they were dissuaded from this kind of gift.As compensation, Qi Guo can acquire Mumbai through the Indian trading company at a premium.

However, this suggestion was politely rejected by the Governor of Portuguese India.They said that as an overseas colonial government, it has no right to violate the decision of the King of Portugal.Moreover, in order to obtain the final independent status and get rid of Spanish control, the Portuguese must obtain the support of Britain.

Afterwards, an irreparable rift appeared in the relationship between Qi and Portugal, and the two sides seemed a little indifferent.Qi State not only imposed more restrictions on the Portuguese in terms of trade, but also gradually cut off the supply of weapons to the colonial areas of Portuguese India.

Seeing this, the Dutch East India Company, which had coveted Ceylon for a long time, felt that its opportunity had come.Last year, they tentatively asked the representative of the Qi State in Batavia what the Qi government's attitude was towards some changes in the status quo in Ceylon.

Peng Zhonghui, the representative in Batavia, only stated that the Qi State has significant commercial interests in Ceylon.No matter what kind of changes occur, there must be no threat of hostility in Qi's merchant ships traveling to India, Persia, and Africa.As for whether to prevent the Dutch East India Company from using force against the Portuguese, Peng Zhonghui refused to respond positively.

After several rounds of consultations and discussions, the representatives of the Indian Affairs Committee of the East India Company believed that Hanzhou had abandoned the Portuguese, but they definitely wanted to get a share of Ceylon and obtain some special rights or a colony. …

Immediately, the East India Company sent Flavio Trop, a senior representative of special affairs, to discuss with the Hanzhou people in Zhenhai how to delineate each other's spheres of influence and their respective interests in Ceylon.

I thought that the Hanzhou people were exploring the Indian market, and they didn't have much ambition for Ceylon. They just gave them a few strongholds for supply and waterway safety maintenance on the way to India.

But who would have thought that the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hanzhou opened his mouth like a lion and demanded half of the ownership of Ceylon. In addition to the Jaffna Peninsula, they also wanted the western part of Ceylon, including Colombo, which was originally occupied by the Portuguese. the area.The price they paid was to stop supplying ordnance and weapons to the Portuguese, and to send professional warships to blockade Ceylon Island, and to isolate the Portuguese Indian colonial areas from sending support troops.

But the problem is that our Dutch East India Company has been thinking about Ceylon since 30 years ago, and launched several landing operations successively, and lost many ships and manpower for this.With great difficulty, after capturing Malacca, they took advantage of the situation and launched an attack on Ceylon. With the support of the Kingdom of Kandy, they landed from the east of Ceylon, and then began to slowly erode the power of Portugal.

If it weren't for the fact that you Hanzhou people have been giving the Portuguese a lot of support over the past ten years, our East India Company would have occupied Ceylon Island long ago.

Seizing Ceylon means completely controlling the origin of nutmeg and monopolizing all sources of spices that supply Europe except pepper, which is crucial to maintaining the commercial hegemony of our East India Company.

You said that Hanzhou does not operate the spice business, so why do you insist on obtaining half of the ownership of Ceylon? !
Do you still want to get an overseas territory here, and immigrating here is not possible?

"I heard that you are in Europe, and the relationship with England is very tense." Ji Changrong picked up the teacup on the table, blew on the hot air, and asked with a little deep meaning.

"Yes, the relationship between us and England is relatively tense." Tropp looked at Ji Changrong and said seriously: "But our inter-provincial republic is capable of defending our due interests, and we are determined to make any provocations against England. Give the most resolute counterattack."

When it comes to England, Tropp feels extremely angry.More than ten years ago, because of the "Navigation Regulations" unilaterally issued by England, the shipping of the Netherlands was hit hard. An unexpected incident instantly detonated the first full-scale war between the two sides.However, because of the lack of combat readiness and the slackness of the navy, England was beaten into a panic. In the end, they had to pinch their noses to negotiate a truce with England and recognize the shipping restrictions stipulated by the other party's "Navigation Regulations".

Shortly after the death of Cromwell in 1660, Charles II, the heir of Charles I, returned to England to restore the royal family and become the king. Easing relations with the Netherlands.

Unexpectedly, soon after Charles II ascended the throne of England, he conferred the title of "Royal Navy" on the British Navy and appointed his younger brother, Duke James of York, as the supreme commander.The new and more stringent "Navigation Regulations" were also promulgated, and Britain launched a new offensive to the Dutch colonies overseas. …

In the Americas, the British coveted the Dutch territory of New Amsterdam, while also spying on Dutch Guia; in the Caribbean, the British tried to get involved in the Dutch sugar business; in Africa, the British organized a "Royal African Company", coveting the West Bank of the Netherlands colonies in an attempt to wrest a lucrative trade in ivory, slaves, and gold from the Dutch.

In this regard, the Netherlands has begun to sharpen its sword, preparing to launch a strong counterattack against the United Kingdom.Two years ago, against the United Kingdom, they secretly signed a mutual aid alliance agreement with France and Denmark.In the military, Admiral de Knight succeeded as the commander-in-chief of the Dutch navy after the death of the veteran Tropp. He made great efforts to reorganize the navy.And reorganized the strategic thinking of the navy, that is, after the outbreak of the war, the main force of the navy should seek a decisive battle with the British fleet and seize the command of the sea.

Under the guidance of this strategic thinking, the Netherlands stepped up the construction of large warships.By 1664, the Dutch navy had more than [-] large warships, nearly [-] artillery pieces, and more than [-] officers and soldiers. Compared with the first Anglo-Dutch war, its strength had been significantly improved.

Under such circumstances, Tropp would speak such confident words in front of Ji Changrong.

Don't you Hanzhou people want to take advantage of the outbreak of war between us and Britain to gain more rights and interests in Ceylon under the pretext of supporting our East India Company against the British in India?

With the strength of our East India Company, it is more than enough to deal with the British in India, so I won't bother you Hanzhou people to help.

"Before I came, our King Qi gave me an explanation." Ji Changrong looked at Tropp with a smile, "Compared with the United Kingdom, the geographical position of your inter-provincial republic is very bad. Your south is a powerful In France, there are many German states to the east and north, and to the west is Britain, which is eyeing the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, your country can defeat the enemy a hundred times, but it must never fail once. Because your country lacks the necessary The depth of the country."

"...Our Federal Republic is currently an ally with France." Tropp listened, his expression froze, and he retorted: "Ji, you have got a concept wrong. There is no border between us and France. Part of it belongs to the territory of Spain and Shinra."

"Oh?" Ji Changrong frowned, then smiled, "Mr. Tropp, there are territories of Spain or other countries between your inter-provincial republic and France, these are not important. But you must not underestimate a The ambitions of European powers for territorial expansion, especially around it, are all small countries without territorial depth. Of course, your inter-provincial republic is also a powerful country, but is your army as powerful as your navy?"
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2 February, Ceylon, Colombo.

The governor of Portuguese Ceylon, Ricardo Horta, watched Liang Zusong, the treasurer of Qiguo Indian Trading Company in Colombo, leave the room without looking back, with disappointment and sadness on his face. …

The Hanzhou people were obviously not prepared to be involved in the upcoming armed conflict between them and the Dutch East India Company, and they also ruthlessly rejected their request for weapons.It can be said that the Hanzhou people have already sided with the Dutch in fact, but because of the friendship in the past, they did not take the initiative to join forces with the Dutch to attack their Ceylon territory.

Once upon a time, the Portuguese were the closest trading partners of the Hanzhou people. The two sides once joined forces to fight against the domineering Dutch East India Company, and happily made trade flourish in Ceylon, Makassar, India and other regions. A huge amount of Lilan is obtained every year.As a result, the Portuguese colonial rule in the above-mentioned areas was also maintained, and to a certain extent, the sphere of influence was expanded. After losing Malacca and the African island of Zanzibar, the prosperity and stability of the Portuguese India area was still maintained. .

In addition, a large amount of Lilan obtained in the Portuguese Indian region continued to flow into Portugal, which strongly supported the domestic war of independence against Spain.

However, two years ago, a British-Portuguese marriage ruined all this beauty.

When Portugal faced the threat of the powerful Spaniards, in order to gain the support of Britain, King Joao IV deliberately married Princess Catherine to Charles II, who had just completed the restoration of the royal family in England and became king.

In order to facilitate this marriage between the two countries, King Joao IV promised that as long as the King of England marries Princess Catherine, he will give a dowry of 80 pounds, and at the same time Tangier on the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea and Mumbai in India will also be presented to the United Kingdom. royal family.

It is said that Charles II didn't really want to marry Princess Catherine at the time, but the poor royal family's finances made him tempted by the generous dowry from the Portuguese.

But later, Catherine only brought a dowry of more than 30 pounds, and most of it was not cash. It was luxury goods collected from all over the country by the Portuguese sea fleet. It included Asian spices, Indian specialties and American sugar, as well as Ming Dynasty Charles II was very disappointed and very angry, and almost wanted to cancel the marriage.

In fact, the Portuguese Indian colonial authorities, including the Ceylon Territory, were very opposed to the king's gift of Mumbai to Britain as Princess Catherine's dowry.Because they know very well that the Hanzhou people have always been at odds with the British, and there was an armed conflict between the two sides in India a few years ago.Although under the mediation of the Dutch, the two sides temporarily reconciled, but the relationship is relatively cold.

In addition, more than ten years ago, the Hanzhou people reached an unwritten agreement with the Portuguese colonial authorities in private, that is, if the Portuguese wanted to get rid of the colonial strongholds they controlled, they should notify the Hanzhou people as soon as possible. Under the same conditions, they enjoy the right of first refusal.In return, the Hanzhou people provided all-round support and assistance to the Portuguese colonization activities in the past ten years, and prevented the Dutch East India Company from further encroaching and invading Portuguese Indian strongholds.

But the king's will and decision, these overseas colonial authorities cannot defy, they can only obey orders and hand over the seven islands of Mumbai to the receivers sent by the British royal family.

Mumbai is just an ordinary island town with a sparse population and no business.Although there is a good natural harbor that can berth large ships, it is not a mainland after all, and the cargo ships that come and go are generally unwilling to berth to unload their cargo.The ruling center of the Portuguese in India is Goa, and Mumbai is just an appendage of Goa. Naturally, there is a lack of interest in building Mumbai. …

The Hanzhou people took a fancy to this place more than ten years ago and wanted to buy this stronghold from the Portuguese.However, the Portuguese colonial authorities at that time thought that this place was too close to Goa, and a powerful foreign colonial force stationed here would threaten the rule of Goa, so they politely refused.However, in order to gain the support of the Hanzhou people, they sold the less important Cochin in the south to the Hanzhou people.

Later, with the increasingly close relationship between Han and Portuguese, and the cost of maintaining Mumbai was too high, five years ago, the Portuguese Indian authorities once wanted to sell Mumbai to the Han people.However, at that time, the Hanzhou people obtained a fishing port called Karachi in the northwest coastal area of ​​the Mughal Empire, and began to focus on construction, and they were unable to take over Mumbai for a while.

Who would have imagined that King João IV of Portugal, in order to urgently establish a relationship with the British, gave the seven islands of Mumbai to the British royal family as a dowry without consulting the Portuguese colonial authorities.

In this way, the Portuguese offended Hanzhou invisibly, and over the past year, the relationship between the two parties has taken a turn for the worse.

In the past few months, several strongholds of the Dutch East India Company in Ceylon have been frequently moving, and materials and personnel have been continuously gathered. It is obvious that they want to break the current status quo of Ceylon, and the target of the target is also faintly pointed at the Portuguese.

Governor Ricardo Horta reported the incident to the Governor of Portuguese India and asked for emergency support. At the same time, he summoned Liang Zusong, the head of the Qiguo Indian Trading Company in Colombo, hoping to get help from the Hanzhou people and obtain some military supplies. .If possible, they are willing to spend a lot of military expenses and request the Indian fleet of the Qi State Navy to station in Colombo to form a military deterrent against the Dutch.

But to our disappointment, Liang Zusong directly rejected his request.He claimed that he was just a businessman and had no right to mobilize the naval fleet.In addition, he also stated that Qi will strictly maintain neutrality in the event of disputes between Portugal and the Netherlands.

"Gentlemen, the Hanzhou people must have reached some kind of tacit agreement with the Dutch, and it is not ruled out that they signed some kind of secret agreement on the distribution of benefits against Ceylon." Horta looked at the several colonial officials present with a dejected expression. , "We may lose this rich island rich in nutmeg in the near future. To put it bluntly, we have been ruthlessly abandoned by the Hanzhou people!...May God bless us!"