Xinshun 1730

Chapter 522 Prove Your Loyalty

Governor Valkenier was noncommittal to Lian Fuguang's proposal.

There are too many troubles now, and the company is still negotiating with Dashun.

No one thought before that China, which was considered "honest, timid, and ignorant of the outside world" by Batavia's founder Peter Pan more than a hundred years ago, would attack Japan without any effort defeated Japan.

Although after Arai Shiraishi's new policy, the company also planned to launch a gunboat switch to Japan, but in addition to some financial factors such as bubble explosions, the company in Nagasaki also observed Japan's military strength, and thought that although it was backward, it was not can be easily defeated.

Now Dashun has defeated Japan, and has a navy that may not even be able to beat Denmark and Sweden in Europe; but it is a force that cannot be underestimated in Asia.

Especially the news sent back by the company's special envoy, Phillips, said that Dashun had at least one heavy battleship, and that their "Minister of the Navy" was extremely belligerent and full of hostility towards the Dutch. Dutch patriots before the war": fanatical, fearless.

Although the Netherlands was drained of blood by France in the War of Western King Succession, and such "patriots" are rare in the seven provinces, and they are regarded as stupid, but Valkenier still easily understands what kind of people.

Dashun's army is still terrifying. Valknir knows about the war between Dashun and Russia, and also heard about the war between Dashun and the Oirat Mongols.

The Seven Years' War has not yet come, and the myth of the Mongolian cavalry has not been broken. The Russians often bring the Mongols of the Torghuts to fight against the Swedes, Poles and even the French. The Dutch know that those people are excellent cavalry, and Dashun can easily defeat their khanate, and the army doesn't have to think about going to war with Dashun.

If you don't have a navy, you can still do something in Batavia.But now that Dashun even has a navy, Valknir is a little at a loss.

The company sent him here because it tacitly allowed him to cut through the mess quickly and solve the "excess population", so as to complete the transformation smoothly.The company is very pessimistic about the prospects of the sugar industry, and Batavia has already been built, and these "Chinese" who were indispensable at the beginning seem to be redundant.

Although the 17 gentlemen in the company didn't want to take the blame, they secretly expressed the real meaning: the Chinese in Batavia are redundant, but Ceylon still needs a large number of Chinese, and it is best to use the residence permit , Turn these Chinese into debt slaves, send them to Ceylon, or send a batch to Cape Town.

In the words of 17 gentlemen: Chinese are more valuable than African slaves.They could do a lot of skilled work, not just on the plantations; they were also easier to organize, thanks to the fact that their governments often put them into servitude.

It is easy to become a debt slave.Those who did not have a residence permit were arrested and asked how long they had lived.Two silver coins a year, plus five silver coins for the residence permit, at least seven silver coins should be owed.These debts need to be paid, so be a slave until the debt is paid.

After Valknir came to Batavia, he also realized that the situation here was a bit out of control.

The Chinese...the population is too large.

The company does not welcome Dutch people who are not company employees to come to Batavia, very much.Batavia is not Dutch, but the private land of the East India Company. The Dutch population here is less than 7, while there are [-] to [-] Chinese in the city, and [-] to [-] outside the city.

The business of the sugar factory is not good, so many slave workers in the sugar factory are abandoned and find their own way of life.These people are in groups, and there is already a possibility of being organized.

It's just...it's really hard to do now.

Kill, dare not kill.Dashun's "Minister of the Navy" is a fanatical "Dutch patriot"-like aristocrat, this kind of person is in charge of the navy, it is best not to provoke Dashun officials to come forward.

Moreover, the request given by the 17-member committee is "not only to solve the excess population, but also to absolutely not affect the trade with China."

This is simply wanting the horse to run, but also wanting the horse not to eat grass.Unless there is a fool sitting in the Chinese court, how can it solve the surplus population without affecting the trade with China at all?
Lian Fuguang's suggestion now is to arrest the leaders first, and Valkner is worried that this will intensify the conflict?
If Dashun didn't have a navy and the power to defeat Japan, he would like to intensify the conflict, so that he would have an excuse to suppress and massacre.

But now, he doesn't dare to intensify the conflict.Once the conflict intensified, it might be difficult to deal with it. He wanted to wait for Dashun's official attitude.

Holland is legal.

For example, in the face of old pioneering colonial powers such as Portugal and Spain in the Netherlands, Grotius, the pioneer of international law, advocated free navigation and free trade on the high seas. The sea belongs to the whole world, and trade should be free and should not be monopolized by one country; For example, in the face of British competition in Southeast Asia, the Netherlands advocated that "free trade is a hotbed of crime, and the due interests of monopoly companies must be protected", and massacred a bunch of British, Portuguese, and Japanese on Ambon Island.

Now Dashun has a navy, and it should be the largest in Asia in terms of tonnage.The Netherlands still has to talk about the law, but it has to consider what kind of law it should talk about.

At this time, should we take out the "On the Liberty of the Seas", the pioneer of Dutch national law, and oppose any form of gunboat diplomacy?Especially against Dashun sending warships to Nanyang to deter the company with force and gunboat diplomacy?
If this is the case, then especially at this time should avoid intensifying the conflict.

In terms of Batavia's attitude towards trial and arrest, the long-standing theory of redemptive government should also be brought out, "God is a merciful king, he is willing and able to forgive all sinners unconditionally, but he must let people know The consequences of crime are actually very serious, so that people will not sin anymore. Punish those who commit crimes just to prevent others from sinning again. If you can use love and redemption to let those lost souls know that they have made mistakes, it may not be necessary. Severe punishment is required."

The current situation is not as good as before. In Valkenier’s view, the best outcome is that Dashun recognizes the Chinese as the people of the Batavian government, and should respect Batavia’s laws and acquiesce in sending these Chinese to other places to do business. debt slave.

At least, it was better than the Chinese uprising, the Dutch suppression, and Dashun finally found a pretext for war and sent warships here.The navy may not be afraid of Dashun's inexperienced navy, but the army... is really afraid.The army that could overwhelm the Russians and easily destroy the Mongol Khanate and defeat the Japanese samurai, as long as 1000 people went ashore, Batavia would not be able to hold it.

But the question is, what should these Chinese do?
The previous governors and various officials under them were too "nice" to the Chinese.As a result, the Chinese outside the city would not believe what the Batavian government said.

Besides, even if you believe it, it is useless to be a debt slave, even if you change the name to "redeeming one's sins with labor".

After hesitating for a while, when he still couldn't make up his mind, Lian Fuguang said again: "My lord, there is an old saying in our China that people don't hurt the tiger's will, but the tiger hurts the heart. In your words, people don't pray for the cold winter. , but winter will still come."

"Lian Huaiguan, Huang Ban and others have always behaved badly. They are ambitious. Will they stop making trouble because of the kindness of the governor?"

"For those who are ambitious, your kindness will only expand their ambitions. Those people outside the city are bewitched by them, so they are dissatisfied."

"If you don't catch them, they will also organize the black shirt party and the pantsless men. They commit crimes everywhere. Does it mean that if you don't catch them, they won't commit crimes?"

Valkneer looked up at Lian Fuguang, thinking that this seemed to be the case.Just like a war is about to break out, there is always an excuse.Even if I don't want to intensify the conflict, the conflict has not been resolved. The sugar factory is still unable to make a profit and needs to lay off workers.

If it is possible to capture the thief first and capture the king first, first arrest a few prestigious leaders at the bottom, and the rest will disperse in a hurry.

No one organizes them. These Chinese are like potatoes in the field. They are themselves and others are others.

"Well, Captain Lian, your words are very reasonable. The reason why you were selected as the Chinese captain is precisely because you know how to protect the interests of your compatriots."

"Those stupid rebels don't care about the lives of their compatriots at all. They don't deserve to be a human being. In the Netherlands, such people must have their heads cut into four pieces and their lungs hung on the flagpole."

"Your deeds have proved your loyalty. Your deeds have also saved your compatriots who worship gods, greedy money and have no morals."

"You are a qualified Kapitan."

Lian Fuguang heaved a sigh of relief, and Valkneer said again: "I have also read your sugar factory transfer documents. I think that there is nothing wrong between you and the law enforcement officers who beat up the residence permits in the sugar factory. It doesn't matter."

"However, as Jiapitan, you must pay close attention to the movements of the Chinese in the city. If there is any collusion with those rebels and careerists outside, you must report it in time. Only in this way can you protect your compatriots."

Lian Fuguang nodded hastily.

"Yes, Your Excellency Governor. We have an old saying in China that a stinky fish can stir up a pot of fish. I will find all these stinky fish."

"So, when will we arrest those leaders who instigated the rebellion?"

Valknir chuckled, and said lightly: "Mr. Captain, please pay attention to your identity. This is a secret, you should not ask. You have proved your loyalty, what you need to do now is to let your compatriots in the city , to prove his loyalty to Batavia."

Lian Fuguang claimed that it was true, handed over the paperwork to prove the transfer of the sugar factory, backed up to the door, and quietly backed out.

After leaving the door, he breathed a long sigh of relief, thinking that he would go back and let the servant lock up his younger brother first. At this juncture, don't get involved with the group of people outside the city.

(End of this chapter)