Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 608

"Batavia, here we come!"

The crew cheered, and land appeared on the blue horizon.

In the morning, the fleet of six merchant ships finally arrived in Batavia after a long voyage.

Batavia is hot and busy.

Wei An specially took a shower in the cabin, and then changed into the scarlet robe and whitebait bestowed by the emperor. He straightened his black gauze hat and walked out of the cabin.

The Dutch in Batavia Harbor were also very happy with the arrival of this fleet.

Since the loss of Taiwan, the Batavia, Taiwan, and Nagasaki routes of the Dutch have also been interrupted for a long time. They lost [-]% of the trade volume in the Far East, which once made Batavia lifeless.

Fortunately, Van der Lang finally negotiated a trade treaty with Daming. Although it cost a lot, the route was finally resumed.

The arrival of these six large merchant ships also made the merchants in the port very excited, which meant countless wealth.

Standing on the deck, Wei An looked at this apparently strange port city, everything seemed different.

Much hotter than Guangzhou.

It was originally winter, but here it was like the dog days.

"Prepare to enter the port to berth and unload cargo. All crew members are not allowed to disembark without permission."

Wei An reiterated discipline.

This is not a simple sailing trade, it will also be an official declaration of Ming Dynasty's national prestige and establishment of diplomacy.

Soon, Van der Lang came to welcome him in the port.

Although the former commander of the Far East Fleet was defeated in Taiwan, he was praised by the 17-member council for successfully signing a trade treaty with Ming Dynasty.

Not only did he not be thrown into prison like the unlucky businessman in Timor before, but he was appointed as the new governor after the new governor who replaced Governor Van Diemen was dissatisfied and returned to the Netherlands.

Van der Lang's main task is to establish a friendly relationship with Ming to restore the trade volume and profits in the Far East.

The arrival of six Ming merchant ships this time was undoubtedly regarded by Fan der Lang as his meritorious achievements. He personally came to the Guangzhou in a small boat and went up to the deck to welcome Wei An and others.

"Respected Ambassador Wei Shibo, I received a letter saying that you will lead the merchant fleet to come here. I am looking forward to it day and night. I have talked with Ambassador Wei several times in Fengtian before, and we are very close. Come, I'm so glad."

Fan der Lang stepped forward and grabbed Wei An's hand and shook it vigorously.

Wei An had met Fan der Lang several times before, but he was not familiar with him. Seeing his appearance that he had not seen his relatives far away for a long time, he could only laugh.

Under the glare of the sun, Fan der Lang's body exuded a strong smell of sweat and the peculiar body odor of foreigners, which made him almost faint.

But still can only try to keep smiling.

Seeing that Fan der Lang still wanted to hug him, he quickly pulled his hand back, "I heard that Commander Fan has been promoted to governor. I'm really happy to congratulate you. It will be much more convenient for us to deal with each other directly in the future."

After an overly enthusiastic greeting.

Wei An was also business-like, explaining the main mission of this trip and the goods he was carrying. After hearing about the quantity of the goods, Fan der Lang was very happy, which was unexpectedly large.

Especially raw silk, porcelain, and tea are all very popular items.

"Ambassador, please enter the city to rest, and I will send someone to help unload the goods."

"It's hot on the ship, let the sailors and merchants on the ship go to the city, I have already prepared a quiet and comfortable place for you to rest."

Wei An led his men onto the pier, feeling the vitality of the city.

Harbors, piers, and canals in the city are connected, castles, forts, city halls, Christian churches, schools, and lively markets.

There are even special Chinese neighborhoods here, including Tea Street, Porcelain Street, Bowl Street, etc., and the city is still under construction.

A group of Chinese businessmen came to welcome them.

Fan Delang told Wei An that the leader is the Chinese Jiapidan.

Wei An did a lot of homework before coming here. He knew that this was a kind of overseas Chinese leader system implemented by the Dutch, Portuguese and other foreigners in the Nanyang colonies. Deal with expatriate affairs.

There are many Chinese in Nanyang. There are Chinese businessmen who come and go regularly, and some Chinese who have taken root in the local area. Some have even been here for many generations. They have formed an influential Chinese group and have relatively prestigious leaders.

For example, before the Dutch established Batavia, there were many Chinese businessmen in the nearby Banten Port, and the Dutch tried their best to attract these Chinese to live and trade in Batavia.

They conferred the title of Kapitan to some prestigious Chinese leaders and asked them to assist them in governing the Chinese.

In Dutch, Kapitan is originally the transliteration of the captain or leader of the merchant ship.

However, although these Kapitans manage the Chinese for the Dutch, they don’t really have any real power. At most, the imperial power in the mainland does not go to the countryside. , to help with administration, to assist in the collection of taxes and conscription, and so on.

The commercial prosperity of Batavia is inseparable from the contribution of the Chinese.

The Chinese not only provided stable Chinese goods, but also controlled the planting and supply of spices in many parts of Southeast Asia, which attracted the Chinese and allowed the Dutch to maintain sufficient advantages in the colonial trade in Southeast Asia.

Whether leading trade or collecting taxes, the Dutch love going through Kapitan.

Back then, the Dutch blocked the port of Banten, and then offered generous terms to attract Chinese businessmen to leave Banten and come to Batavia. About 30 years ago, when the first Kapitan Su Minggang was appointed, there were only about [-] Chinese people. Live in Batavia.

A few years ago, after the Dutch captured Malacca, which had been controlled by the Portuguese for many years, they rebuilt Malacca on the ruins. They recruited a group of Chinese immigrants from Batavia and appointed a Chinese leader as Malacca Pitan.

"The construction of Batavia is all thanks to the Chinese craftsmen led by Kapitan. The towering city walls and the three canals in the city have been completed by Chinese craftsmen in almost all the buildings in Batavia over the years." Fan der Lang said in front of Wei An , did not hesitate to praise the Chinese.

The first Kapitan Su Minggang, who was awarded the gold medal by the governor of Batavia, was from Fujian. He returned to his hometown ten years ago, and was later invited by the Dutch to go to Taiwan to help attract business and immigrants. He stayed in Taiwan for three years. But it was not successful. In the end, seeing the turmoil in the current situation, he returned to Batavia. He died of illness three years ago and was buried there.

Su Minggang has indeed made many contributions to Batavia. For example, he first recruited [-] Chinese to Batavia. After years of hard work, by the time he left office ten years ago, there were already thousands of Chinese.

During his tenure, no ships came to Batavia due to the interruption of trade. He also personally went to Fujian to attract seven merchant ships for Batavia, full of silk and porcelain.

Moreover, he has been collecting poll tax, gambling tax, customs duty, slaughter tax, etc. for the East India Company on behalf of the Chinese, helping transactions, collecting commissions, and he even obtained the right to mint coins.

The various Dutch fortifications in Batavia were basically contracted by Su Minggang.

He was also a member of the Dutch Parliament
Among the Chinese in Batavia, there is no one who is unmatched in terms of power or wealth.

Su Minggang has been in Jiapitan for 16 years, and he is also the president of the Chinese organization and Ba Guogongtang.

He owned four merchant ships, opened several casinos, and owned a mint. He even had a close relationship not only with the Governor of Batavia in the Netherlands, but also with the Sultan of Banten.

After his death, the whole of Batavia supported his funeral. His mausoleum was even as luxurious as a king's mausoleum, and even Suminggang Street and Suminggang Port were named after him.

"Little Yang Kun pays homage to your lord!"

A Chinese businessman dressed in silk Hanfu came up to meet Wei An.

"Yang Kun is our third Kapitan in Batavia." Van der Lang told Wei An.

After Su Minggang resigned ten years ago, the second Kapitan was succeeded by the sixth brother Lim Lok Lim, who was also a well-known Chinese businessman, but died of illness after only serving for three years. Yang Kun took over after his death.

Yang Kun is also from Fujian, a fellow villager of Su Minggang, his son-in-law, and his former important partner. They were engaged in maritime trade together, worked hard in Batavia, contracted the construction business of Bacheng, opened casinos, and represented taxes etc.

This unremarkable black and thin man was the leader of thousands of Chinese in Bacheng at this time, and also inherited the post of chairman of the Baguo Court.

"Hello, President Yang." Wei An also knew about this Yang Kun in advance, and knew that this person was not simple, not only the leader of the Chinese, but also had a good relationship with the native Sudan here.

Anyway, he is a well-rounded person. The Chinese businessmen who come here to operate are not only protected by him, but also need to pay protection fees to him.

Yang Kun introduced to Wei An a group of Chinese businessmen in Bacheng. Although these people are far away overseas, some of them have completely settled their homes here, even for several generations. Still very respectful, even a little afraid.

After all, this Ambassador Wei not only came here with commercial goods, but also with gunboats. The warships are no worse than those of the Dutch. And Ming Dynasty directly captured Taiwan last year and forced the Dutch to surrender and pay compensation. The Chinese were also very excited.

In the past, Daming looked down on or even hostile to these businessmen who abandoned their hometowns and ancestral graves. They were not their own people at all. Even if they were killed outside, they would not care, and they might even say that it was good to kill.

But now the Emperor Shaotian can not only beat up the Dutch, deter the Portuguese and the Spaniards, but also remember them. Who is not excited about this.

They left their homes and sailed across the sea, but in fact, they just wanted to survive and make a fortune. The country still remembers them and can protect them. Everyone is deeply moved.

Wei An came this time to establish an embassy in Batavia, responsible for contacting the Dutch East India Company in Bacheng, and protecting the Chinese businessmen in Bacheng.

In the commercial treaty between Ming and the Dutch, there is an article about Ming's enjoyment of consular rights.In the past, the Dutch East India Company restricted the Chinese in Pakistan from leaving the country, but now Ming Dynasty requires the Dutch to cancel this restriction and allow Chinese businessmen to return to China at any time and come and go freely.

As long as Chinese businessmen want to return to China, they can apply to the embassy, ​​and then the embassy will arrange for them to return by merchant ship.

(End of this chapter)