The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Spain had just annexed Portugal twenty years ago. On the surface, Spain respected Portugal's overseas interests, but it penetrated into the Portuguese colonies through various means, one of the main methods being the church.

Linschoten, a businessman, was regarded by the Spaniards as one of their own and sent to spy on Portuguese intelligence. He relied on his own efforts to become the secretary of the Archbishop of Goa among the churches in the Portuguese colony of Goa.

For more than ten years, through his position, Linschoten has been secretly collecting various Eastern business intelligence and reporting some information about the Portuguese to the Spanish. Until the Netherlands became independent from Spain, Linschoten also withdrew from Spain. , and published all the information he collected publicly in the Netherlands in Dutch.

Thanks to Linschoten's more than ten years of espionage career, the Dutch learned about the main ports, residents, political systems and main commodities in the East at once, and mastered detailed information on the route from Europe to the Cape of Good Hope in the East.

In the year that Linschoten returned to the Netherlands, the Dutch's first fleet destined for the Indian Ocean and the East set sail, using Linschoten's information to break through the blockade of the Portuguese and Spanish. Traveling all the way to Southeast Asia, they successfully established the Batavia colony in Java.

Linschoten is a legendary spy who pioneered the colonial history of the Netherlands. Even the initial sales of Chinese porcelain in Europe were discovered and suggested by Linschoten during his undercover period. In the past ten years, Fujian's large-scale production of porcelain for export, some of which were Thanks to Linchoten for his propaganda work among the Europeans.

Wei Malang said worriedly: "Can any of our men find out about the Chinese around Wang Wenlong?"

Linschoten nodded and said: "I know a lot of Chinese people in Goa who go there to do business. One of them was baptized and embraced the Protestant religion. Many of them have considerable financial resources. They are considered respectable people even in the Ming Dynasty. He is deeply aligned with the interests of the Netherlands and will be willing to act on our behalf."

"I feel relieved that there is such a person. Find him as soon as possible. I want to find out the details of Wang Wenlong." Wei Malang said quickly.

"Be careful about this Wang Wenlong," Linschoten said seriously. "This time I returned to Asia and saw some translations of his works. According to his own statement, this man has at least traveled to various countries in Southeast Asia. He may even have been to Europe, but through my connections in Southeast Asia, I can't find any records of him. Just from the "History of Portugal", I know that he has an unusual understanding of Europe. The background of such a mysterious figure may be very deep. There’s no way he hasn’t been in contact with us.”

Wei Malang respected Linschoten very much. Hearing this, he asked in confusion: "Do you think it is possible that this person may have been a maritime merchant before, but he just used a pseudonym when interacting with us? You know, we have always been very careful about Chinese names. It’s hard to figure them out, they look very similar.”

"The time you have been in Asia is still too short. The appearance of Chinese people is still easy to distinguish for themselves. I suspect other things." Linschoten said thoughtfully: "In the article he wrote, His understanding of European history is not only far greater than that of other Chinese, but even greater than that of most Europeans. There are many viewpoints that even I would not have thought of, and I think it is impossible for him to understand these by relying on his own ability alone."

Linschoten was worthy of being a spy for a long time, and he directly provided Wang Wenlong with a profound organizational background.

Wei Malang was instantly surprised and said quickly: "Then we must find out the connection between Wang Wenlong as soon as possible, otherwise we don't know what danger it will cause!"

"Do it as the most important thing!" Linschoten ordered.

A few days later Wei Malang met a young Chinese businessman.

Wei Malang looked at the man's loyal face and shrewd eyes, nodded secretly in his heart, and asked, "Are you Pan Xiu? I heard that you are quite prestigious in Fujian."

Pan Xiu said modestly in Dutch: "How dare you say you have prestige in front of the company."

Wei Malang looked at Pan Xiu's introduction: "Your father is our partner, and you are also a scholar of the Ming Dynasty."

The word "xiucai" is a transliteration. Wei Malang read it very strangely. He probably understood it as a title awarded to private scholars. It is not a title, but represents the country's determined status and glory, a bit like a colony at this time. The "gentleman" or "Kapitan" in Chinese.

Wei Malang nodded with satisfaction and said: "You are the most loyal partners of the Dutch people. We hope to let you help the company perform a task."

Pan Xiu was a little surprised: "You want me to return to China?"

Pan Xiu's family is from Jinjiang and has been doing business on the island for generations. When the Dutch first came to colonize Batavia, his father was the one who led the way.

Because the Dutch adopted a method of uniting local forces for colonization, the income from working for the Dutch was far greater than that of being a lackey for the Spanish and Portuguese. Pan Xiu's family had even operated its own armed merchant ship at this time, and Pan Xiu had been growing up since he was a child. He was trained by his father. On the one hand, he learned Dutch, and on the other hand, he recruited scholars from Fujian to teach him how to read and write.

Pan Xiu returned to Jinjiang last year and actually passed the examination as a scholar. Although he paid a lot of money to bribe academic officials for this, his academic qualifications were already among the top among maritime merchants.

Now Pan Xiu was preparing to take over his father's business, but he didn't expect that the Dutch boss suddenly asked him to go back to Ming Dynasty.

Pan Xiu was unwilling in her heart, but she sized up the situation and did not object directly. Instead, she said with a smile on her face, "I wonder what the company wants me to do?"

"Do you know that there is a scholar in Fujian named Wang Wenlong? He should be the secretary of the Chief Envoy of Fujian. We will provide funds for you to return to Fujian in the Ming Dynasty to monitor people who come into contact with Wang Wenlong. It is best to get close to him and become his Party henchman, investigate his background."

It turned out that he was going back to work as a spy... Of course Pan Xiu had heard of Wang Wenlong's name. He suddenly thought of the robbery and murder of the British mission that Wang Wenlong had recently revealed in Fujian. He glanced at Wei Malang's expression and reacted instantly, The British envoy was probably killed by these Dutchmen.

Wei Malang said seriously: "We need you to lurk for a long time, just like the great Linschoten. If you can perform this task well, I, including the future East India Company, will not treat your family badly."

Pan Xiu quickly calculated in her mind that her family was now relying on the Dutch to make a fortune, and it would be no good if the Dutch didn't make life easier for their family. So Pan Xiu nodded and said: "I am very honored to serve you!"

"Keep in touch with me after returning to Ming Dynasty."

"I know."

Looking at Pan Xiuzhong's resolute expression, Wei Malang nodded with satisfaction: "This plan will probably not be completed in a short time. You have to be patient and protect yourself. All funds during the planning process will be provided by the company."

Pan Xiu was overjoyed when he heard this. He didn't feel much guilt, but was happy that he had found a long-term and stable relationship with the Dutch. As for his own safety, the worst he could do was betray him.

……

Entering the 11th month of the lunar calendar, Emperor Wanli issued an edict, and the development of Damuan Island has become a matter of strong support from the Fujian Yamen.

The colonies developed by the Trinity Church and the two trading ports jointly developed by Li Dan and several maritime merchants all received mobilization support from Fujian.

This time the Fujian Yamen really took drastic measures. They directly diverted the refugees to Dayuan for reclamation, sent local cattle to the island in batches, and even bought cattle from other places.

Quanzhou Port was particularly lively today. A large number of refugees were boarding the ship early in the morning, dragging their families with them.

Many officials came one after another to the dock.

There are several water routes to Taiwan for reclamation, and taking it directly from Quanzhou is also the choice of many sea owners.

Thanks to Wang Wenlong's support and Li Guoxian's lobbying to return to his natal family, and most importantly, seeing the court's intention, the Li Dan Group finally began to invest money in developing Taiwan.

The places they are looking at are the Keelung and Tamsui areas in Taipei. The first resettlement site is now expected to be completed by next year, and at most, the land reclaimed in the year after will be able to reap benefits.

"Okay, okay, you are going to be a high official. It is a good thing to expand the territory. After eating Fujian dim sum, you must also remember that the people in the countryside are still waiting for your return!" Gao Yin, wearing a flowery robe, stood in person On the edge of the gangplank, he handed out rice cakes to the immigrants who were about to cross the sea. His face was full of sincerity and sincerity, as if he really cared about these immigrants.

Because Wei Tianjue died a few years ago, Gao Yin finally did not eat children as crazily as in his previous life, but he did not torment Fujian a lot.

Before Gao Yin went out, he also ordered the tax supervisor to collect taxes in these villages with a large number of refugees, so as not to wait for the people to run away and get no money, but now he went to the dock to show off.

Nowadays, emigration of high-ranking officials is a matter that the emperor attaches great importance to, so Gao Yin naturally has to express his gratitude. He even donated thousands of taels of silver himself to "encourage development."

Of course, if a discerning person further investigates, they will find that all Gao Yin's money was donated to a few maritime merchants, and they will ask which maritime merchant dares to take Gao Yin's money? Gao Yin donated one tael and probably got back 30 taels of gifts.

Wang Wenlong was standing a few feet behind Gao Yin at this time, watching Gao Yin's performance with an expressionless face, and no waves in his heart.

In order to please Emperor Wanli, Gao Yin specially supervised and inspected the immigration officials, which was considered a help to Wang Wenlong and made the local officials be particularly diligent in this matter.

After Gao Yin handed out a basket of rice cakes, he washed his hands in the copper basin brought by the boy next to him, and dried his hands under the service of another boy. Then he turned around and smiled and exchanged greetings with the Quanzhou officials present.

Then he walked up to Wang Wenlong and said with a smile: "Jianyang, what you did is really beneficial to the people."

"Eunuch Gao is too praised. This matter depends on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the efforts of all Fujian people, and the efforts of Eunuch Gao. I, Wang Wenlong, am just a bridge builder." Wang Wenlong said.

"Jianyang is still so humble," Gao Yin invited with a smile, "How about coming to my house for a cup of tea today?"

"Thank you for your kindness, father-in-law. However, the affairs of the Chief Envoy's office are not finished yet, and I still have some official business in Quanzhou today." Wang Wenlong refused helplessly.

The two of them were talking affectionately and laughing, as if they had such a good friendship back then.

(End of this chapter)