Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 361 Hong Yi
"Your Excellency, we traveled across the ocean, came to East Asia from far away Europe, and occupied Taiwan, a precious land, for the purpose of conducting normal trade with East Asian countries, so as to earn a lot of profits for us to enjoy a noble life, and It’s not for the purpose of being an enemy of the Ming Empire, which is right in front of us. I’m afraid it won’t have a happy ending. Besides, there are not many immigrants and troops from the Ming Dynasty, and the area of ​​Taiwan Island is as large as several small countries in Europe. The best way is to get along with each other and carve up the island of Taiwan!"

The person who spoke was Pahlavit, the trade representative of the East India Company stationed in Taiwan. He was a gentlemanly young man with a straight nose, brown eyes, and a disapproving smile on his handsome face.

"I oppose Mr. Trade Representative's opinion! I think these actions of the Ming government are likely to pose a serious threat to the interests of our Dutch and East India Company in Southeast Asia!"

The speaker was Colonel Fan of the Dutch Garrison with a beard.Dyke.

"I appreciate Mr. Colonel's remarks, please continue to speak, Mr. Colonel!"

Putman looked at Fan with a look of relief.Deckard, motioned him to continue to explain his reasons.

"Obey, Your Excellency!"

Fan.Deckard nodded to Putman, and then quickly glanced at Pahlavit beside him.

"The current situation is somewhat similar to when we occupied this area. When the construction of Zeelandia City was completed, the aborigines such as Madou and Mujialiuwan were also hostile to us, and we tried to use friendship at the beginning. To resolve this kind of hostility, but the facts tell us that as long as there is a conflict of interest, it is absolutely futile to try to eliminate misunderstandings by showing goodwill!"

Putman nodded slowly in agreement.Dyke's remarks, while Pahlavit showed a noncommittal expression.

"All races in Southeast Asia have an obvious weakness: they bully the weak and fear the strong! The Ming people are the same! If we hadn't resisted the Madou people and the Mujialiuwan people, we would have allowed them to continue to destroy our castle construction and destroy the things we were about to acquire. Fruit, even afraid of fearing them and not daring to retaliate, then our olive branch will not be accepted by them!"

Speaking of which, Fan.Deckard gradually increased his tone.

"Facts have proved that when we used powerful force to completely defeat and destroy their people and villages, and incinerated their arrogance and arrogance, they took the initiative to extend a hand of friendship to us! The construction of local castles cannot be completed smoothly at all, and various products that sell well in Europe cannot be obtained from here! The ethnic characteristics of Southeast Asia determine that they all have barbaric genes, so let us use the sword of civilization to educate them!"

Fan.After Dyke finished speaking, he took a sip of the coffee on the table and praised casually: "The aroma of the coffee is far better than the tea from the Ming Dynasty. I think it will become popular in the whole of Europe. We should increase the trade of coffee. , Reduce the demand and dependence on tea from the Ming Dynasty!"

Fan and Dyke have a special liking for the coffee that has just become popular in a small area in Europe. They often ask someone to buy and bring coffee beans to Taiwan, and then grind them themselves and boil them for drinking.

"Mr. Colonel, I admit that what you just said is indeed reasonable, but you seem to have overlooked the most important point!"

Pahlavit stood up and went to the white glazed tea set on the table, picked up the teapot and poured a cup of hot tea, picked it up and sniffed it for a while before taking a sip, staying in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing it, his face showing With an aftertaste look.

"Tea is really one of the greatest inventions of the Eastern Ming Empire. This natural fragrance makes people intoxicated. After drinking a cup of hot tea, the whole person feels extremely comfortable! Of course, Mr. Colonel's praise of the bitter beans is also personal freedom. I have no objection!"

"Mr. Trade Representative, please continue your speech! This is to discuss business matters, please talk about issues that have nothing to do with the meeting in private!"

Putman interrupted Pahlavit's discussion of coffee and tea with slight displeasure.

Although he is the governor of the Taiwan region, he has no right to restrict Pahlavit, who represents the East India Company.

The purpose of occupying Taiwan is for trade, not to lose money after instigating a war. If he fails to obtain the consent of Pahlavit to go to war with Ming, then the East India Company will strongly impeach him until he returns home in despair. .

"Your Excellency Putman, Mr. Colonel, you two may not have a thorough understanding of the Ming Empire. Because I am in the East India Company, I am often involved in various trades with the Ming Dynasty, so I have also come into contact with and learned about it. Information on all aspects of the Ming Empire. Ming people are not as rude and savage as the aborigines on the island. On the contrary, most Ming people are polite and gentlemen. Moreover, the Ming Empire is a giant in the Far East. His army is Calculated, if the Ming government is provoked, our poor strength in Taiwan may not be able to withstand the attack of the Ming army, and the consequences will be devastating and unacceptable to us!"

After expressing his views solemnly, Paris Werther sat down with a teacup and continued to sip hot tea.

"Mr. Trade Representative, you obviously made a short-sighted mistake! Fortunately, you are not the senior commander of our Dutch army, otherwise, our army will always be in danger!"

Fan.Deke drank the coffee in his cup, slammed the cup on the table, and said in a mocking tone.

"Mr. Pahlavit, you may only see the small population and army of the Ming people on the island, but according to the information I have obtained, the northern part of the Ming country is suffering from a large area of ​​drought, and large-scale The anti-government forces are attacking the castles of the Ming government everywhere, and countless people in the north of the Ming country are forced to wander around. If my judgment is correct, these new immigrants are the wandering population in the north of the Ming country, organized by the Ming government They were transported to Taiwan, and in the next few years, a large number of Ming people will be transported to Taiwan, and they will spread to the entire island of Taiwan! If we don’t take measures to stop the behavior of the Ming government now, then our future The city of Zeelandia and the officials will be devoured by them!"

Fan.What Deck said made Pahlavit fall into deep thought, while Putman nodded frequently.

"Mr. Colonel's analysis is very reasonable! Our high-level personnel in the Far East know that the population of the Ming Empire is very large. According to estimates, the total population of the Ming Kingdom should be around [-] million; if they relocate the affected population in the north If one of them goes to the island, it will be a very scary number, and the population of several million is equivalent to more than double the total population of our Netherlands!"

When it comes to population, whether it is Pahlavit or Fan.Deckard had a look of joy and worry on his face.

The good news is that if they can open up a market that is several times larger than the total population of Europe, they will get countless gold coins and various kinds of wealth.

On the other hand, if you become an enemy with such a large empire, the pressure will be enormous.

The total population of the Netherlands during this period was less than 200 million. Although they ran across the ocean by force and won the daunting title of "Sea Coachman", they had never fought against such a large empire.

"In order to resolutely prevent the Ming government from invading Taiwan, we must use force to cause serious damage to the Ming army and immigrants, and make them feel fear from the bottom of their hearts. Only in this way can we guarantee our status and wealth in Taiwan and the entire Far East region! Barley Mr. Witte, I believe that the East India Company will also agree with my decision!"

　Thanks to book friend Wang Xing for the reward that this account is no longer used.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)