Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1303 Messenger

"An envoy from Batavia?"

Zheng Hongkui, who was resting in the city, was extremely busy when his subordinates suddenly reported that a warship patrolling the north side of the strait had intercepted an armed Dutch merchant ship. They initially thought the ship was there to launch a surprise attack or gather intelligence, but the ship claimed to be an envoy from Batavia and requested to see the highest commander of the Ming Navy.

"Strange..." Zheng Hongkui was puzzled. Logically speaking, the Dutch had just lost their main fleet here, shouldn't they be on high alert in Batavia now? Why did they suddenly send envoys? Could it be that the Dutch are afraid? Planning to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty? But they could have made their stance clear before negotiations, why wait until after the defeat to negotiate? What kind of tactic is this?
Regardless, Zheng Hongkui still intended to meet the other party, after all, this was an envoy from Batavia. It would be best if the Dutch could surrender without a fight. Although Zheng Hongkui had destroyed the Dutch main warship in one battle, he was not entirely confident about the next attack on Batavia.

The Dutch operated in Batavia for nearly fifty years, a feat that far surpassed the former town of Rezhelan in Xiaoliuqiu.

Batavia was not only vast in area, but also exceptionally well-fortified. The city had a population of tens of thousands, along with several thousand elite garrison troops. Furthermore, numerous cannons were mounted on the city walls, and the Dutch firearms were quite advanced, if not quite on par with the latest Ming Dynasty firearms, but not far off.

Such a fortified city is not easy to take down with the military force at hand. Moreover, the Dutch have been operating in the area for many years and control several nearby small countries. Batavia will definitely also conscript troops from these small countries to fight against the Ming Dynasty.

Although the armies of these small countries are not strong in combat, they are capable of defending cities. As long as Batavia has enough food, it can hold out for half a year without any problem. Moreover, although the main force of the Dutch fleet has been annihilated, they still have some warships. In addition, it was learned from the interrogation of prisoners that the East India Company had long ago requested reinforcements from the mainland. If the time drags on too long, the reinforcement fleet from Europe will arrive, making the battle even more difficult.

"Bring them here!" Zheng Hongkui thought for a moment. Regardless of the other party's purpose, he had to meet them. It was normal for two countries to send envoys to each other during wartime.

Thus, the Batavia envoys boarded the docks and followed the Ming people into the city. They soon met Zheng Hongkui, the Ming commander, and Wang Fuzhi, who was accompanying Zheng Hongkui.

The meeting was brief, consisting of only a brief encounter, some polite conversation, and the other side inquiring about the situation of the Dutch prisoners. Aside from that, a letter was delivered, and nothing more.

After having the messenger leave, Zheng Hongkui and Wang Fuzhi read the letter together. After reading it, they frowned slightly, somewhat surprised.

"Brother Nong, something's fishy about this. I find Batavia's attitude quite strange!"

“Indeed…” Wang Fuzhi stroked his chin and nodded slightly. He picked up the letter and read it again. After reading it, he pondered for a moment and seemed to understand something.

"I remember the governor of Batavia was Reines?"

“It’s him!” Zheng Hongkui nodded and said, “This guy hasn’t been governor for long. He only took office because the previous governor lost Xiaoliuqiu.”

“Hehe, this is interesting.” Wang Fuzhi laughed. “According to common sense, as the governor, Reinius is not only the highest-ranking official in Batavia, but also the decision-maker of the Dutch East India Company in the Far East. However, this letter was not sent in the name of the governor, but in the name of the board of directors of the East India Company. Don’t you find this unusual, Brother Rijian?”

Zheng Hongkui was taken aback and quickly picked up the letter to examine it more closely. After reading it again, he, like Wang Fuzhi, noticed the problem. Wang Fuzhi was right; the letter was not addressed to the Ming Dynasty in the name of Governor Reinice, but rather in the name of the board of directors of the Dutch East India Company. It even bore the joint signatures of three directors, but conspicuously lacked the governor's signature and seal, which was completely illogical.

“No wonder!” Zheng Hongkui suddenly realized: “I was wondering why things were so strange earlier. That envoy was neither a formal Batavian official nor a soldier; he was just a merchant. Even if the Dutch lost the battle of Sulumay, they wouldn’t be unable to send a formal envoy and instead use an ordinary merchant as their envoy.”

“Brother Rijian is right.” Wang Fuzhi pointed at the letter and smiled, “Moreover, that envoy clearly showed unusual concern for the prisoners. If I’m not mistaken, there must be relatives among the prisoners, otherwise he wouldn’t have had that expression. Furthermore, this person is clearly unqualified as an envoy. What kind of envoy doesn’t talk about other things but focuses on these trivial matters? If we put all these things together, then the answer is obvious.”

Zheng Hongkui nodded silently, indicating his agreement with Wang Fuzhi's judgment. Neither of them were ordinary people, and besides, the Dutch hadn't bothered to conceal their intentions when sending the letter, so it was easy to see their purpose.

Judging from the current situation, things in Batavia seem rather complicated. Perhaps a conflict has arisen between the Governor-General and the Director of the East India Company. The former's stance is unknown, but the latter's sending an envoy indicates a willingness to negotiate. Furthermore, the Ming army's decisive victory at the Battle of Sulumayi nearly wiped out the Dutch naval power in the Far East, leaving the Dutch at their weakest point. This likely explains the disagreement on their part. Thinking this, Zheng Hongkui subconsciously glanced at Wang Fuzhi. Wang Fuzhi nodded slightly in response. Having known each other for a long time, he naturally understood the other's meaning and immediately grasped the situation.

After discussing the matter, the two met with the envoy again the following day. This time, Wang Fuzhi took the lead in the negotiations, first asking a few questions based on the envoy's concern about the prisoners. The envoy's quick response confirmed their earlier assessment: indeed, the envoy had subordinates and friends who had been captured in Sulumayi due to the East India Company's conscription, and he hoped to buy their freedom from the Ming Dynasty.

During the negotiations, Wang Fuzhi subtly inquired and gradually learned what had happened in Batavia recently. He learned that the Dutch in Batavia were extremely dissatisfied because of the Dutch defeat in the Battle of Sulumayi. In particular, a large number of people had fallen into the hands of the Ming Dynasty, which made the Dutch strongly demand that the Governor-General's Office ensure the safety of these people as soon as possible and find a way to bring them back.

Faced with this situation, Wang Fuzhi was completely convinced of the truth and immediately stated that the main cause of the war did not lie with the Ming Dynasty, but with the East India Company. It was precisely because of the East India Company's egregious act of using warships to impersonate pirates and intercept Ming merchant ships in the South China Sea that the war broke out.

To this day, the Netherlands has never made any statement about the incident, not even an apology, which completely violates the norms of civilized countries and is intolerable.

Furthermore, since the establishment of the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch's series of military actions in the Far East have been a provocation against the Ming Empire. It should be noted that the Ming Dynasty was the most powerful country in the Far East, and many countries and regions in the South China Sea have always been within the Ming Dynasty's traditional sphere of influence. Some countries not only respected the Ming Dynasty as their leader, but were also vassal states of the Ming Dynasty. The Dutch actions were no different from provoking war, and the Ming Dynasty would never allow such a situation to occur.

For all the reasons mentioned above, the Ming Dynasty could not tolerate the actions of the Netherlands, which led to the outbreak of this war. However, as an official of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Fuzhi stated that the Ming Dynasty was a peace-loving country and a nation of etiquette. War was merely a means to an end; the real purpose was to make the Netherlands realize the consequences of their mistakes and hoped that they would pull back from the brink and not make the same mistake again. If the Netherlands did indeed intend to negotiate, it was not impossible, but the key point was that they needed to pay the price for their previous mistakes and make up for the losses suffered by the Ming Dynasty.

Wang Fuzhi spoke these words with righteous indignation, and the other party nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would definitely convey the Ming Dynasty's attitude back to Batavia.

After some deliberation, Wang Fuzhi instantly became amiable again, suggesting that the envoy could meet the prisoners. He even offered to allow the envoy to take three prisoners back with him when he left, considering the possibility of further negotiations.

The Ming Dynasty allowed the three prisoners to be taken back without any cost or ransom being demanded; it was merely a gesture of goodwill towards peace talks. As for the ransom and other issues, that would depend on the Dutch response. Wang Fuzhi stated that the Ming Dynasty would await the Dutch reply, but this wait would not be long. If the Dutch failed to provide a satisfactory response within a certain timeframe, the war would not cease, and the Ming Dynasty would inevitably launch a war against Batavia. Once the flames of war reached Batavia, things would no longer be as peaceful as they were now.

This combination of persuasion and coercion surprised and delighted the Batavian envoy. The envoy nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would convey the Ming Dynasty's message back to Batavia as soon as possible, and eagerly anticipated seeing the captured personnel and bringing back the three prisoners promised by the Ming Dynasty.

Having said what needed to be said, Wang Fuzhi readily agreed, summoning someone to take the envoy away and instructing him to go to the prisoner-of-war camp to find the person and fulfill his promise. After the envoy left, Wang Fuzhi laughed heartily, his expression becoming very relaxed, and even Zheng Hongkui's face showed a smile.

"It seems we were right; there is indeed a problem in Batavia. The governor and the board members have fallen out, and they are no longer on the same page."

“Brother Rijian is right, but this matter is both a good thing and a troublesome one.” Compared to Zheng Hongkui, Wang Fuzhi considered things more deeply and gave a gentle reminder.

"And what does Nong mean...?"

"The fact that the enemy is internally divided is extremely advantageous to us. Although I am a scholar, I know the principle of the best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Moreover, if our current approach can incite internal strife or even civil war, it will be even more beneficial to our Ming Dynasty."

"In my opinion, Governor Reinice is a proponent of war, while the three directors are proponents of peace. The differences between the two sides are quite obvious. If we soften our stance slightly now and give them some false hope, they will think that the possibility of peace talks is much greater. In this way, once the contradictions between the two sides intensify, a conflict will definitely occur."

“Rynes, as governor, wields real power, but the East India Company is not equivalent to the state and has a strong degree of independence. The directors also wield considerable power and even have the potential to dismiss the governor. If they were to fight, regardless of who wins or loses, it would theoretically be beneficial to the Ming Dynasty. However, the outcome would be different.”

(End of this chapter)