Kangxi, your Qing Dynasty is dead

Chapter 168 You rent me a piece of land, and I rent you an island, that's fair! (ask for subscription, ask for monthly pass)

On the water of Lingdingyang near the Hao-Mao Peninsula, three Galenic sailing ships with a deadweight of no more than [-] to [-] tons are moored at this time, flying the three-color VOC flag of the Dutch East India Company and the cross of the British East India Company. The horizontal bar flag, the red crossed flag of Spain.

It is really a rare scene for the ships of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Spain to come together so harmoniously. But this is the coast of China, and Europeans can't run amok in this area for the time being, so it is necessary to hold together to keep warm.

That's why ships from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Spain organized a group to watch the jokes on the sea near Haoao—mostly to watch the jokes of the Qing Dynasty. St. Paul Castle is a bastion that the Portuguese have been running for decades!

At that time, the Dutch wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that most of the Portuguese men in St. Paul's Castle went to Guangzhou to purchase goods. In the end, they were defeated by a small number of Portuguese defenders and armed citizens with their strong fortresses. .

And lost twice in a row!The second time I wanted to play hard, but I lost again!

The Dutch lost no confidence in St. Paul's Castle, so although they took all the Portuguese fortresses on the Malacca side, they had no idea of ​​building the St. Paul's Fortress in Haoao for decades.

And they also built several strong bastions in Java, Malacca, Ceylon and other places, among which the Batavia Fortress in Java is the number one stronghold!
However, the Batavia Fortress is still a little worse than the St. Paul's Fortress. After all, the St. Paul's Fortress has to face big countries like the Ming and Qing Dynasties, while the Batavia Fortress has to deal with some Javanese natives.

The Spaniards did not attack the St. Paul's Fortress, but they gnawed at the Dutch bastion in the lowlands of the Netherlands for decades, bankrupting the good Spanish world empire.

However, their own ability to build bastions is not small. In Manila, the Philippines, they built a "never-completed" Fort Santiago - the construction began in 1571, and the first phase of the project was completed 15 years later, and then continued to increase and strengthen Anyway, every time the governor changes, he has to add a few more projects to the big project of Fort San Diego.So they also know that St. Paul's Fortress is very strong. They all start with "Holy", so there must be no difference.

As for the English, they are not old-fashioned imperialists yet, and they are still newcomers in the imperialist sequence. They have no strongholds east of the Strait of Malacca, but they have already got more than 20 business houses in India, and built a sanctuary in Madras. Fort George, planning a fort in newly acquired Bombay.

In short, the bastion is one of the three magic weapons for European colonists to conquer backward countries, just like strong ships and sharp guns.

If the bastion is not "protected", and a backward civilized army like the Qing army can be taken down casually, how can the European colonists colonize?You can't have an army of ten thousand and eight thousand everywhere, can you?This cost can't go to heaven?

Colonials are most afraid of losing money!

But now European fortresses are almost all over most of the world, which just shows how powerful the bastions are!
The heads and minds sent by the Dutch East India Company, the English East India Company, and the Governor-General of New Spain and the Philippines who want to gain benefits in the upcoming "Qing-Wu War" heard that the Governor-General of Macau, Portugal Involved in the "War of Qing and Wu", St. Paul's Castle may be attacked by the Qing army. Immediately, it became vigorous, or took an armed merchant ship in person, or sent representatives to sail over to seek trade privileges and colonization. opportunity for profit.

When they discovered that the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi in the Qing Dynasty actually led an army of tens of thousands of people to besiege St. Paul's Bastion, they immediately realized that their opportunity had come!
In order to seize the opportunity as soon as possible, Herman Klenk, the head of the Dutch East India Company's business office in Japan, John Chapple, the commissioner of the East India Company in Dayuan Island, and the Philippine Governor's Office in New Spain The special envoy, Lawrence de Ventes, couldn't wait for a month. After waiting at sea for half a month, but still didn't find out that the Qing army had launched an attack on St. Paul's Castle, they agreed to board a small boat together on the Hao'ao Peninsula.

In their opinion, the reason why the Qing army did not launch an attack for a long time should be that they felt that St. Paul's Fortress was too strong to attack by force, and they were planning to switch to the method of long siege. However, the reserves in St. Paul's Fortress are extremely rich, and There is a city wall very close to the sea, unless it is helped by real sea powers such as the Netherlands, England, and Spain, it will be difficult to completely block it.

In addition, on Xiangdao and Kowloon Peninsula facing Haoao Peninsula across Lingdingyang, there are also Wu Sangui’s forces. If the governor of Qing Dynasty, Guangdong and Guangxi refuses the help of the allies of the Netherlands, England, and Spain, then the three countries may have to help Wu Sangui is gone!
If the main force of the Qing army continues to attack Haoao for a long time, and Wu Sanwei and Oboi on Xiangdao and the Kowloon Peninsula grow bigger with the help of the Netherlands, England, and Spain, then the situation of the Qing army in Guangdong will be greatly damaged. !
However, these three Western colonists, who had planned to kill the Qing Dynasty, went to the Haoao Peninsula and found that the Qing army led by the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi had a good organization and order no less than any European army. The "digging and siege warfare" that these three great colonists who have mastered the advanced military knowledge of the West can't quite understand is in full swing.

In the past half a month, tens of thousands of Qing army officers and soldiers who are not afraid of hard work have used shovels, wooden stakes and sacks to build a series of fortifications extending from the vicinity of Wangxia Mountain to the vicinity of the city wall of Haoao Fortress. The fortifications include several winding ditches, one seems to be an arc-shaped wide trench located in the north, northwest, and northeast of St. Artillery and musket firing behind the trench.

And when the three of them were led by Yao Qisheng, the master of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and an official named Dai Zi who could speak Latin, they boarded a temporary command post built with sacks filled with mud on Wangxia Mountain, and commanded from the top , When overlooking the battlefield, they were even more shocked by what they saw.

They found that twenty or thirty "gun pits" were excavated inside the wide trench surrounding the north, northwest, and northeast directions of St. Paul's Castle. A large caliber mortar!

These mortars are already very close to the castle. If they fire now, they should be able to blast the explosive shells directly into the inside of the fortress, right?
The area of ​​St. Paul's Fortress is not very large. With so many mortars bombarded at close range, there is no place inside the castle that is safe, right?

Groups of officers and soldiers of the Qing army were carrying baskets of ammunition and sending them to the "cannon pits". It seemed that the shelling was about to start!

Thinking of the Portuguese who were about to be bombarded, Herman Klenk, John Chapple, and Lawrence De Vontes worried about the fate of those poor Portuguese. Those people believed in God after all. European whites!
"boom boom"

The Portuguese on the St. Paul's Fortress also seemed a little anxious, and began to bombard the Qing army below with the [-]-pound guns mounted on the St. Paul's Fortress.

But these shells seemed to be "blind", all of them were shot high, and flew over the trenches of the Qing army. None of them fell into the trenches or the artillery pits, but one or two shells hit those behind the artillery pits. , A fort made of sacks filled with soil.But the shell hit the "earth bag", but it seemed to have no effect!At most, it is to penetrate in, and then blow up a few earth bags, and there will be no more.

It seems that this is not the first time that the Qing army has been disturbed by this kind of "tickling" shelling, so it did not panic at all, and continued to deliver ammunition to the artillery pit in front of it unhurriedly.

And the Qing army on standby in the trenches, artillery pits, and behind artillery bunkers, as well as a small number of cavalry lined up on the north side of Wangxia Mountain, also behaved very calmly.

The Qing army on the entire battlefield behaved like a real elite!

Just when the three colonists were reevaluating the combat effectiveness of the Qing army in their hearts, the guards guarding the temporary front enemy command post suddenly opened their throats and shouted: "The principal is here!"

headmaster?

These three colonists all knew a little bit of Chinese, but they really couldn't remember what kind of official the "principal" was?So we looked at the entrance of the command post together, and saw a tall and very young official with a blue crown on his official hat walking in surrounded by a group of personal soldiers.

It turns out that the principal is a fourth-rank official and it's not that big!

The three colonists were a little disappointed because they did not see the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, but only a "fourth-rank principal".At this time, Dai Zi said to them in Latin: "Principal Wang is the son of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and he can completely represent the governor of Wang."

Oh, the governor's son. Then this "principal" is still a bit big.

So Herman Klenk, John Chapple, and Lawrence de Vontes bowed to Wang Zhongxiao together, and then introduced themselves one by one in Latin.

Wang Zhongxiao didn't understand Latin, but fortunately Dai Zi was by his side to act as an interpreter.After Dai Zi finished translating, Wang Zhongxiao said to the three of them with a smile: "You came early and I haven't captured St. Paul's City yet! But you can see for yourself how I captured this bastion! "

Dai Zi translated these words into Latin.

"Mr. Principal, I think you know what the defense of the bastion looks like?" The Dutchman Herman Clarke had participated in the Battle of Reziran City many years ago-it was the stain of his life (he escaped Now I heard a Chinese boasting that Haikou was about to take a Western bastion lightly, so I couldn't help but poured a small plate of cold water.

After listening to Dai Zi's translation, Wang Zhongxiao said with a smile: "Yes, I know what the bastion is about? And I also know how to take it. If you want to persuade peace, or want to provide some help, Then there is no need, the battle of St. Paul's Castle will end soon. If you are here for trade, I can talk to you, because I am currently in charge of the Qing Dynasty and Guangdong Customs."

Now the three colonists don't know what to say?

The siege of St. Paul's has not yet begun, but the Qing army that attacked the city seems to be a bit strong.
The three of them pondered for a while, and then John Chapple, the commissioner of the East India Company in Great Island, spoke. He didn't look like a gentleman at all. A bearded British guy, he said to Wang Zhongxiao in unfamiliar Latin: "I am the envoy of the British East India Company in China. I hope that I can obtain the right to conduct free trade in the coastal areas of Guangdong from you! Free trade can give Prosperity for all, good for both of us.

In addition, I also hope that I can obtain a relatively large piece of land from you to establish the British East India Company's business hall. And in the business hall area, English laws that are different from the "Law of the Qing Dynasty" will be enforced.It would be even more ideal if you could lease us a deserted island off the coast for us to set up a trading house.If you promise, our East India Company will definitely reward you handsomely! "

Hearing Chapple's request for free trade and the establishment of concessions so bluntly, Herman Clark and Lawrence De Van Teese were not polite, and they also made similar requests.

In fact, it is not necessarily a colonial act to establish "commercial halls" similar to concessions for trade, and to implement "foreign business autonomy" at the same time, as many countries do.For example, the Koreans set aside a piece of land in Busan for the Japanese to build "Woguan" for trade.

The Japanese, on the other hand, artificially filled out a "Dejima" in the Nagasaki Bay to establish a trading house for the Dutch East India Company. Of course, the Dutch East India Company also claimed to the shogunate in order to obtain this "Dejima".But for the Dutch with a softer figure, being a courtier is not a problem.As long as the Qing Dynasty can lease an island to the East India Company, the company can also become a vassal.

The waist of the Spaniard is harder!Now Spain still supports the dignity of a world empire, and its territory is larger than that of the Qing Dynasty. It is impossible for the Philippine Governor-General to submit to the Qing Emperor.

"You want to rent a piece of land to build a business, don't you?" Wang Zhongxiao smiled and said, "It's not impossible. If you want extraterritoriality, I can agree! However, whether it's trade or diplomacy, you must pay attention to the relationship. Wait and be fair. If you want to rent a piece of land in Guangdong to build a business office, then I will also rent land in Amsterdam, London and Acapulco to build a Chinese business office, and enjoy the same extraterritorial rights!"

After his words were translated into Latin, the three colonists were stunned.

They never imagined that the principal of the Qing Dynasty and the Guangdong Customs Road actually wanted to establish "Qing Concessions" in London, Amsterdam and the New World.
"But, but you can reach London without a merchant!"

"That's right, your navigation technology is too backward, you can't reach Amsterdam at all!"

"Not to mention the New World!"

Wang Zhongxiao had known for a long time that these three colonists would not agree to his reasonable request, but his purpose was not really to establish any clearing concessions in Europe and America.

So after Dai Zi translated the objections of the three colonists into Chinese, he pretended to think for a while, and then said: "Well, I can make a concession. I don't want to set up business offices in Europe and the New World. I want to Establishing commercial offices in Java, Malacca, and Luzon Considering that the status of Java, Malacca, and Luzon cannot be compared with London, Amsterdam, and Acapulco, the land I rent in Java, Malacca, and Luzon must be better than yours. The land rented in Guangdong is bigger!

If you rent me a piece of land, I will rent you an island, isn't it fair? "

Wang Zhongxiao's request was actually made to the Dutch, because the British did not have strongholds in Malacca, Java, and Luzon.The Spaniards would not agree to lease a piece of land or a subsidiary island in Luzon to Qing Dynasty.

But the Dutch may say yes!
Because once Wang Zhongxiao conquers Haoao, the Europeans will not have any trade bases along the coast of China. If Wang Zhongxiao is willing to rent a piece of land to the Netherlands to build a business office, then the Dutch will be able to occupy a place in the future foreign trade between China and the West. A very favorable position.

And the island that the Netherlands paid for this concession. It is absolutely possible to snatch one from others!

Anyway, the Dutch have a lot of power in Java Island and the Straits of Malacca, but the territory they actually control is very small. They don’t have many people in that area, so they don’t occupy much land. They designated an island for the Qing Dynasty. It seems that it is not impossible.

For Wang Zhongxiao, the value of China's foothold in Malacca recognized by a Dutchman cannot be overestimated!
With this island, the Chinese in Nanyang will have a backbone!If the European colonists want to engage in anti-Chinese, they have to weigh it carefully. After all, their military strength in the Nanyang region is only tens of thousands, and the main force is still indigenous.

And the land he leased to the Dutch is actually a matter of extraterritoriality, isn't it just a matter of taking it back?Even if the Dutch build a bastion on top, Wang Zhongxiao will not be unable to defeat it.

Of course, the deal of "exchanging concessions for leased islands" is so big that it cannot be negotiated by a chief executive of the East India Company stationed in Japan. It is estimated that the governor of the Dutch East India Company stationed in Batavia will decide on this matter. Maybe I have to ask the 17-member committee in Amsterdam for instructions.However, considering that the Franco-Dutch war is about to start, the Dutch, who cannot guarantee their homeland, will most likely approve this deal
At this time, Wang Leiyong, Wang Zhongxiao's member of the Jingwu Hall, walked quickly into the command post, clasped his fists, and reported loudly: "Principal, all the sky cannons are ready!"

"Okay!" Wang Zhongxiao nodded, "For all the sky cannons, test fire three times. The target is St. Paul's Castle!"

"Yes!" Wang Leiyong replied loudly, then turned around and went out to convey the military order.

But Wang Zhongxiao turned around and said to the three "international friends": "Three, please watch the battle with me! Maybe it won't be long before we can enter St. Paul City!"

(End of this chapter)