Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 688 What Are They Going To Do?

"Master Civil Affairs Officer, no matter what the purpose of your large-scale purchase of grain is, it poses a huge threat to our East India Company. I ask you to provide a reasonable explanation." Putmans protested.

After he came to Shenglong City, he always had an ominous premonition in his heart, and he must figure out the evil purpose of the Kyushu Army.

"Excuse me, do we have to explain to you?" A Cochin Chief Secretary who was handling government affairs nearby whispered, not letting Putmans hear clearly.

Although Xiong Wencan wanted to say this in his heart, as the highest civil official of the Chief Secretary of Cochin, of course he couldn't talk to Putmans like this, and he always had to pay attention to etiquette: "Mr. It is not your turn to tell us what to do on the site, just like you will not give us the details of the East India Company. It is impossible for us to tell you what we do. I am sorry to disappoint you, come ,see a visitor out."

"You are trying to hide it! I protest!"

Putmans yelled, but was thrown out by several yamen servants.

After Putmans left, Xiong Wencan said to the officials on the left and right: "We made too much noise in buying grain, and the Westerners still noticed it. I'm afraid we won't be able to hide our invasion of Siam for a long time."

"My lord, our army has already set off. By the time the Westerners react, they must have already besieged the royal city of Siam. After the Westerners react, they will spend time building a fleet and then come to bargain with us. The time difference in between Enough for us to do a lot of things," one official said.

"That's right, this time we were prepared for the unprepared and made a time difference. I hope that the Nanyang Fleet can quickly get out of the battle against the Siam King City to deal with the Westerners, otherwise the Westerners' warships will block the Hoi An Port. With the sea route leading to the Gulf of Siam, we can only provide supplies to the front line by land." Xiong Wencan said.

After Putmans left the office of the Chief Secretary of Cochin, he was very depressed. Not only did he not get a satisfactory explanation from the Kyushu Army, he was kicked out instead. Could it be that he wanted to come from Batavia Port in vain? ?

"Putmans, this trip is considered a waste of time. The Kyushu Army must be planning a major event. I am more and more worried that they will plot the Spice Islands and take away our interests in the East India region." Netherlands The businessman Cruise followed Putmans to Thang Long City, and unwittingly got involved in the battle between the East India Company and the Kyushu Army.As for his fellow Dutch merchants, he left the Spice Islands early.

"They said that this matter will not harm the interests of our East India Company, so the purchase of grain should not be for the purpose of attacking the Spice Islands. To some extent, I am relieved." Putmans said.

"The Han people have always been cunning, and what they say is not trustworthy. I have been in business for many years, and among the businessmen I have met, the Chinese businessmen are the most shrewd. They are only spontaneous business activities among the people. I am afraid that their influence in the Southeast Asian countries will be greater than ours. Above the East India Company." The pot-bellied businessman Cruise's eyes flickered, obviously he was afraid of the Chinese businessmen.

"This..." Putmans also repeatedly suffered losses under the hands of the Kyushu Army, and he felt lingering fear when thinking about it, so he said: "Let's stay in Shenglong City for a while and ask around. We must find out the Kyushu Army's intentions. Come here for nothing."

Putmans then lived in Thang Long City.

The atmosphere in Shenglong City is getting more and more tense day by day, and the pedestrians on the street are in a hurry, busy with production and transportation.Putmans and his men were searching for information, trying to find out from the locals what their busyness was.

At the place where Putmans lived, a group of plainclothes men were secretly staring at them, watching their movements all the time.

On a hanging bamboo building next door, a big man was sipping tea carefully.

A middle-aged man dressed as a street peddler walked up the bamboo building on stilts, came to the side of the big man, and said in a low voice: "Sir, these Dutch people are buying people's hearts with silver taels, and they want to find out about us. The purpose of purchasing food on a large scale."

"Did they figure out our purpose?" The big man asked indifferently.

"Not yet." The man dressed as a peddler replied.

"Try to provide them with false information, fool them first, and buy time for the front-line army to attack Siam. Specifically, how to provide false information and what false information to provide, you have worked in our intelligence department for many years, you should know what to do gone?"

"Yes."

The man dressed as a peddler bowed slightly, and then got off the hanging bamboo building again.

"Sir, why don't we just kill these Netherlanders directly? Wouldn't it be more thorough to throw their bodies into the sea, as if they were sunk on the rocks or looted by pirates?" said the man.

"That would be too much. This Putmans was one of the governors of the East India Company. He died inexplicably in the waters near Thang Long City. In addition, we bought food in a big way. It is too much to cover up. It is better to fool him first. It made him dizzy. If he is not sure of our intentions for a day, it is not easy to report to the East India Company, but it can buy us time. When he finally understands, it will be too late." The big man tasting tea Said.

Putmans is very anxious now, and he can't wait to find out the intention of the Kyushu Army immediately.

His men fanned out, asking passers-by or vendors in the surrounding streets, but to no avail.

"These civilians either don't know what the higher-ups are doing at all, or they hesitate and haw, and they can't make any valuable words at all." Putmans's men came back and reported to Putmans.

"Is there no way to get them to talk with silver?" Putmans said.

"That requires them to know the whole story." Cruise said, "I think we have found the wrong person. We should not ask some people in the market, but the businessmen here. Shenglong City has There are many merchants who sell food, and some of them are greedy, we can use their greed to get information from them."

"Cruise, I didn't expect you to know so much about Chinese businessmen. If this matter is resolved smoothly, I don't think you need to return to Europe. Our East India Company can hire you as our consultant and agent in the Spice Islands. Let's conquer together Nanyang." Putmans threw out an olive branch.

"No, no, I just want to go back and be a rich man." Cruise declined.

(End of this chapter)