The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 309: The Sun and Moon Flag Will Never Fall

Governor Petrus was already sixty years old this year. He was stout, wearing a gorgeous light brown robe with patterns, a wig on his head, and a belly like a huge bucket. He looked very similar to the typical European aristocrat in the cartoons.
This overweight body caused Governor Petrus to suffer from severe diabetes and high blood pressure.

At this time, this is a fatal terminal illness. People don’t even know how it causes the disease, let alone how to prevent it.

For example, the Governor-General enjoyed a meal of his favorite syrup waffles while waiting for Counselor Rainier to arrive.

The almost milky syrup meandered over the waffles, its sweet taste, combined with the softness of the biscuits, whetted Governor Petrus' appetite.

However, after he finished eating a few large pieces, he felt dizzy and his vision began to blur.

Seeing him like this, the native servant next to him handed him a big pipe very smoothly, and the governor also took it smoothly.

The candlelight flickered a few times, and Governor Petrus sighed happily. The dizziness and blurred vision disappeared a lot at once.

Yes, this Governor not only has three highs, but is also an opium addict with a smoking habit of more than 20 years.

Opium was a very common drug among Europeans at that time, used to relieve various pains and discomforts. Before Europeans used opium to poison the Chinese, they did not spare their own people.

In addition to cutting off hands and bleeding, European doctors were best at prescribing various medicines with opium products as the main ingredients to their patients.

Even in the lower classes of Europe, mothers would feed opium to their children of a few years old to give them a false sense of fullness, and some would give it to babies to prevent them from crying all the time.

If Mo Zibu were here, seeing Governor Petrus's current condition and the soles of his feet that had completely turned black due to diabetes, he would know that this guy would not live long.

But Counselor Rainier didn't know that he was still reporting diligently.

Governor Petrus was a little dizzy because of this complicated situation. Ten years ago, no, five years ago, the Governor might still be an energetic dictator.

But now, long-term opium smoking and the three highs have seriously affected his physical health while also affecting his mind.

"Middle, this is a good thing. You know that the company recently asked to reduce financing debt to save high interest and increase profits. We can agree to the king's request."

Counselor Rainier was born in Middelburg, the Netherlands, so Governor Petrus liked to call him Middel affectionately.

As the second secretary of the Batavia government, Secretary Holdeck still did not have access to the company's top business secrets.

The approximately three million Dutch guilders in cash he saw was just the necessary funds that the VOC kept in its account for normal purchases and to pay employee salaries.

In fact, the VOC company's strength is far more than this. The company's cargo and merchant ships in Batavia alone are worth more than 40 million Dutch guilders, equivalent to about 17 million taels of silver.

The funds that the company could mobilize were not a pitiful 3 million Dutch guilders, but as much as 8 million Dutch guilders, or about 2 million taels.

At present, the part of this money, about four million Dutch guilders, is becoming a concern for Governor Petrus.

Because he raised this money from the Amsterdam stock market at an annual interest rate of 6%.

Governor Petrus raised such a large sum of money because he was planning to take advantage of Batavia's recovery to make a big move.

However, in recent years, due to the excessive amount of spices shipped from the East to the West, the prices have plummeted, forcing the VOC company to reduce the shipment of spices to Europe in order to stabilize the prices of spices.

Then, the funds raised from the Amsterdam stock market immediately became a burden.

"Your Excellency, I think King Xingtang has bad intentions. He may want to shirk his responsibility." Counselor Rainier never expected that Governor Petrus would agree so readily, and he advised with some surprise.

"I know." The Governor nodded and then sighed.

"Middle, you are my best friend, and I might as well be frank with you. My health is getting worse and worse, and I don't know when the Lord will call me to go.

It's already hard for me to handle all the company's affairs. The 17-member board of directors and the shareholders, both large and small, who have bought the company's stock, are like vampires.

If we don't satisfy them, everything we have built in Batavia will be gone."

Counselor Rainier fell silent. Although the local board members and shareholders were vampires, they were not good people either.

Thanks to Governor Petrus's maneuvering over the years, the Board of Seventeen has delegated a large amount of power to the Parliament of the Indies in the East, or to put it bluntly, to Governor Petrus himself.

Now in Batavia, all key positions are filled by their people, and each of them earns a huge annual salary in the company.

For example, Counselor Rainier's annual salary and dividends amounted to 17,000 Dutch guilders, equivalent to about 7,000 taels of silver. In addition, there were a large number of other hidden benefits.

Moreover, most of the Dutch people in Batavia today have not been to the Netherlands for decades, and some are even indigenous white people whose ancestors have lived here for several generations.

For them, in Batavia they had castles, guards, male and female servants. They dominated everything here, and everyone lived like the great nobles in Europe.

But if they return to Europe, they will just be ordinary businessmen, and everything they have now will no longer exist.

The Netherlands has become their homeland to which they can never return, and they cannot lose Batavia.

Counselor Rainier left Governor Petrus's room in a daze. He looked at the Dutch-style buildings hidden in the green shade outside and felt for the first time that he had no idea where the future of VOC lay.

However, not long after he walked out of the door, Governor Petrus called over his confidant and nephew, William, the first secretary of the fleet.

"Go buy up all the gunpowder and rifles the company has stored in Surabaya right now, and get the price down to the lowest possible. Then say you're planning to open a port privately."

"Okay, uncle, but there's a lot of stuff in Surabaya Port. There's 170,000 pounds of gunpowder alone. Who can buy so much?"

Nephew William was also shocked. So much gunpowder was enough to fight a medium-sized war.

"Someone will pay for it, and the price will not be low." Governor Petrus smiled faintly. He needed money now because he had an illegitimate son and three grandchildren in Colombo. He had to prepare a generous private property for them before he died.

Because illegitimate children had no inheritance rights, Petrus could only secretly make preparations for them in other ways to avoid the illegitimate children's family falling into trouble after his death.

"William, the envoy of King Xing Tang has arrived in Batavia. Please contact him secretly and tell him that I can get an additional loan of one million Dutch guilders for King Xing Tang.

But I need him to buy my gunpowder and my guns, and a 15 percent commission."

June 1774, 6, the 28th day of the fifth month of the th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty.

Under the escort of the Xingtang Navy, Mo Zibu arrived in Dongwanlu, West Borneo.

Before Mozibu arrived, Reinstein had already commanded the expeditionary army to once again attack the indigenous people of the Bangalore Sultanate in South Borneo, forcing them to flee to the southeast and completely eliminating the potential threat from Pontianak.

At the same time, the volunteers, led by local miners, conducted several raids on the middle and upper reaches of the Kun River (Kapuas River), almost driving the Dayaks to the high mountains in the central region.

When the sun and moon flags symbolizing King Xing Tang arrived at the outskirts of Dongwanlu, the Chinese people who had been waiting there for a long time were ecstatic, and tens of thousands of people lined up in a long queue to greet them.

Most of these people were liberated serfs and miners, who were extremely grateful to King Mo for saving them from the devil's lair. The liberated serfs and miners knelt and kowtowed by the roadside, many holding burning incense sticks. This made King Mo, who was heavily guarded, look like a lord being carried out of a temple.

When they arrived in front of the old Liu family mansion in Dongwanlu, after going through numerous screenings and finally confirming that there was no one with malicious intentions, Mo Zibu began to show up.

A white-haired old farmer was surrounded by the crowd and walked to the front. He had a skinny body, but his complexion was good and a little shiny. It seemed that he had just lived a good life recently.

"Your Majesty, please drink this bowl of sugarcane wine, which I brewed myself."

In his skinny hands, he held a bowl of slightly turbid sugarcane wine. There was also a large black pottery jar at his feet. It looked like he had brewed it himself.

Luo Fangbai, standing nearby, explained to Mo Zibu with some emotion, "Ashengbo arrived in West Borneo in the 13th year of the Yongzheng reign.

Upon arrival, I was detained by the Liu family of Sanxingtang. I was fed coarse rice stained with stones and lived in a cowshed. I worked as a serf for them for nearly forty years without receiving a penny of wages.

Mist grass!

Mo Zibu was shocked. The thirteenth year of Yongzheng's reign seemed to be around 1735. This was really cruel. They detained people and made them serfs for forty years. What a beast!
Tears fell from the corners of Ah Shengbo's eyes. "I came here when I was sixteen, and I'm fifty-five this year. I've suffered for forty years, and all the fellow countrymen who came here with me are dead.

Only after the king arrives can I have my own land and eat a full meal. I kowtow to the king!

The old man's movements were quite agile, and although he looked skinny, his hands were quite strong. Mo Zibu tried to help him but almost failed to lift him up.

I think this is also the reason why he was able to be a serf for forty years. If it were an ordinary person, he would have been driven away by the Liu family and left to fend for himself because he was unable to work.

"Old man, do you have any wishes? I, Mo Zhao, cannot drink your wine for nothing." Mo Zibu drank the slightly sweet sugarcane wine in one gulp. Some of the wine spilled on the scarlet robe in front of his chest, but it made him look more down-to-earth and heroic.

The crowd cheered loudly again, and Uncle Ashen also grinned with his mouth, which only had a few teeth left.

"Thanks to the king's great blessing, Ashengbo was also allocated 50 mu of good land and a sloping land for growing spices.

But he could no longer farm, so he wanted to see if there was anyone at home in Tangshan. If there was a nephew who was willing to come to West Borneo to take care of him in his old age, he would pass the land to that nephew.

"Forty years of hard work have been exchanged for fifty acres of good land. It can be said that all the work was not in vain." Mo Zibu sighed. The land that has been reclaimed in West Borneo now has extremely high economic value.

If we ignore the factor of hometown, these fifty acres of land are at least equivalent to thirty acres of good paddy fields in the Pearl River Delta, which is a considerable fortune at that time.

"Fangbai, you are in charge of this matter. You must find Ashengbo's relatives and choose a filial nephew to come to West Borneo so that Ashengbo can enjoy his old age.

It would be best if I were to choose someone who is already married and has children, so that once we get to West Borneo, we can have a large family.”

Hearing what Mo Zibu said, Ashengbo couldn't help but grin and chuckle, with a gleam in his eyes, as if he had already seen his carefree old age.

"Not only Ashin, but all those in West Borneo who are 50 years old or above or have difficulty in moving should follow this example and have their relatives back home come over to take care of them if needed."

Mo Zibula pulled Ashengbo's hand and shouted to the crowd, which immediately brought another round of cheers.

At this time, a lame miner rolled out of the crowd and came in front of Mo Zibu. His face revealed a look of sadness, which was different from the cheers of others.

"Who was it? Which dead guy pushed me?" Seeing that Mo Zibu noticed him, the lame miner was frightened and roared angrily at the crowd, trying to suppress the fear in his heart with his sharp voice.

I, King Mo, am a very smart man. I knew at a glance that this miner might be a little troublesome, but he came here to solve the problem.

Without any disgust, he reached out and pulled the miner up from the ground.

The miner was frightened and trembling slightly. He looked at Mo Zibu with an expression that looked like he didn't know whether to cry or laugh. His body was bent over, as if he wanted to kneel down but didn't dare to move.

Mo Zibu looked at his feet. His right leg was completely twisted at the ankle, so that his foot could not touch the ground normally. His left hand, which was being held by Mo Zibu, had lost its little toe.

"Hey young man, if you have any difficulties, tell me and I will help you solve it."

The lame miner looked at Mo Zibu, his lips moved a few times, and then he shook his head stubbornly, "Your Majesty sent heavenly soldiers to save my life. I cannot repay your great kindness. I cannot cause you any more trouble."

"Fangbai, you tell it." There was no other way, Mo Zibu could only ask Luo Fangbai.

Perhaps because the sun was too strong, a few beads of sweat suddenly appeared on Luo Fangbai's shiny forehead.

"My lord, this young man arrived in West Borneo only last year. He injured his foot on his third trip into the mine. If our soldiers hadn't arrived, he would have been buried by the unscrupulous mine owner.

But because he didn't do much work in the mines, he couldn't get any wages, so now even his food is provided by the government."

After hearing what Luo Fangbai said, the lame miner's face turned red with embarrassment and tears welled up in his eyes. He had wanted to make a lot of money in the future, but in the end, he not only did not make any money, but also became lame.

"Zheng Xiu, Fuxing Company will be responsible for maintaining order in the gold mines of West Borneo. What do you think we should do about this?"

Mo Zibula pulled the lame miner's hand and asked Zheng Xiu, the general manager of Fuxing Company, who was a little further away.

"Your Majesty," Zheng Xiu cupped her hands. "Fuxing Company has established a gold miners' union in West Borneo. The union has set up a special relief agency, and Fuxing Company will cover the expenses. They can provide compensation for this brother and all those who have suffered the same fate as him."

After that, Zheng Xiu looked at the lame miner and said, "Little brother, come with me now and fill in the information.

Fuxing Company will compensate us according to the extent of our injuries. If the unscrupulous mine owner's property is not enough, the king will pay the full amount out of his own pocket.

If you want to return to the mainland, we will convert it into cash. If you want to settle down in West Borneo, we will buy you a piece of land and a native woman from the prisoner-of-war camp to be your wife and have her take care of you.

The lame miner looked at Zheng Xiu in disbelief, almost thinking that he had heard it wrong. Suddenly, he looked at Mo Zibu fiercely, burst into tears, knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Mo Zibu frantically.

"I bow to you, Your Majesty, and thank you. You are a living Bodhisattva!"

With the lame miner's bow, the crowd knelt down in a mess, and everywhere they shouted excitedly, "The king is a living Buddha!"

Mo Zibu took the opportunity to walk onto a makeshift platform, holding Ashengbo with his left hand and the lame miner with his right hand, and shouted to the cheering and bowing crowd below:

"From today on, the incidents of the Chinese in West Borneo harming their compatriots will become a thing of the past.

From now on, if you encounter any unfair treatment, you can go to the government office and file a complaint. If any official dares to refuse to do his job, I will strip him of his official hat."

There was another round of enthusiastic cheering from the audience, and Mo Zibu continued:
“But my fellow villagers have seen that West Borneo’s prosperity was hard-earned, and it needs us, the Tang people, to protect it. Only when everyone is willing to come here to farm and pan for gold can it continue to prosper.

I, Mo Zhao, welcome all my friends and family to West Borneo. As long as you see this sun and moon flag still flying, you should know that West Borneo is our home.

"I hope the Sun and Moon Flag will never fall in West Borneo. Please join me in protecting it."

(End of this chapter)