Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1019 News from Macau

Zheng Zhilong was different from Liu Xiang in that Kun Bandit was not his confidant's serious problem, so he didn't pay much attention to Kun Bandit's movements in the past, the reason is nothing more than that Kun Bandit didn't show any intention of challenging his maritime commercial hegemony.

Although the Kun bandits have a huge iron ship, their ships are not seen sailing to Japan, the Philippines, or Batavia, and they are not even seen on the coast—except for Guangzhou, they are almost everywhere. don't go.

A small group that has been entrenched on the island and has never moved - just like the "mountain owners" everywhere in Fujian, is not the object of his concern.

When he wiped out all the heroes at sea, there was vague news that some former pirate leaders were recruiting soldiers for the Australians in the disintegrated gang, and it was also heard that some small groups went to Lingao, but only these It doesn't explain anything, not to mention that he was trapped by Li Kuiqi's sudden mutiny at the time, and when he was at his worst, there were only a few hundred people left on the boat, and he had no ability to ask the gangster what he wanted to do.

As a result, when the Kun thief suddenly showed their fangs, he realized that he had very little information about the Australians, only some sporadic rumors.

Of course, there have been a lot of rumors about the Kun thief, because they are full of adjectives such as "huge", "incredible", and "innumerable", so Zheng Zhilong can only hold a skeptical attitude towards these rumors—— Indeed, for his level of knowledge, the rumors about Australians were too absurd.

For this reason, he has sent his powerful spies to Guangdong Ocean to collect information.Now that they suddenly appeared in Taiwan, Zheng Zhilong was even more worried-the Australian fleet passed through Liu Xiang's territory, and Liu Xiang didn't seem to express any objection to this.Guo Huaiyi's letter clearly stated that the Australians' ships and personnel were in good spirits and had no signs of weathering storms or battles. Did the Australians and Liu Xiang already have some kind of tacit understanding or alliance?If the two merge, how powerful will they be?
Since Liu Xiang moved his entire division from the Pearl River Estuary to Shantou, Chaozhou, he has been constantly breaking into the Fujian Ocean, challenging his newly established hegemony in the Fujian Ocean—he also got information: Liu Xiang's big ship is already heading to Japan and Japan. Manila, which is his important source of income, will never allow anyone to get involved. Even the Dutch must respect his determination to monopolize Japanese trade.

But Liu Xiang is different from the Dutch. The Dutch need to rely on him to provide goods from Ming Dynasty, but Liu Xiang does not. He moved to Fujian Yangmian in order to intervene in the trade with Japan.

Australians, why did they suddenly come to Taiwan? Could it be that they also took a fancy to the fat meat of the trade with Japan?
What made him even more worried was that Guo Huaiyi clearly proved certain rumors that he had scorned in the past: Although the Australian fleet did not have the legendary large iron ship, it did indeed have black smoke and no ships. A large ship that can sail even with sails.

As a sea lord who has traveled across the sea for many years, he certainly understands the huge threat contained therein.

The only thing that reassured him was that the Australians had very few ships.Although the first batch of ships to arrive in Dagou were all large ships, the number was less than thirty.In terms of quantity, there is no advantage.If you want to meet in battle, as long as you find a suitable fighter to launch the main force to beat the dogs, you can wipe them out even with a fireboat.

"Beat the Dog," he thought, "that's a good name."

Thinking of this, some smiles appeared on his face.

At this time, a dark face appeared at the door. Although the visitor was wearing Chinese clothes, his dark skin and curly hair showed that he was a black man.He reported to his master in Portuguese: Lin Yishao is here.

These black people can't speak a word of Chinese, and they are all Catholics. Zheng Zhilong specially uses them to undertake his confidential affairs.Lin Yishao is one of his spies, responsible for contacting and ensuring the collection of the Portuguese.

"Send him in." Zheng Zhilong ordered in Portuguese,

"See you, my lord!" When the visitor came in, he bowed in accordance with the official rules.

Although most of the sea masters are from common people, they have great admiration for the way of officialdom. Now that Zheng Zhilong is an upright court martial arts school, it is dignified to use this set of official styles.

"Oh, is it Yi Shao? You're back!"

The man stood up slowly. He was in his 30s, with brown eyes and black hair. Lin Yishao was of Chinese-Portuguese mixed race and could speak fluent Portuguese. Like Zheng Zhilong, he was also a Catholic.

Zheng Zhilong sent Lin Yishao to Macau to inquire about the situation in Australia. He knew from many sources that Australians often move in Macau and have a stronghold.

Lin Yishao did not talk nonsense and began to report his experience in Macau.

After Lin Yishao arrived in Macau, he immediately visited the local "guanxi".

As Zheng Zhilong's contact person, Lin Yishao has some connections in the local area.Among them are many people in the gray area like Huang Shunlong-they are well-informed.

But these relationships now show a cautious attitude towards the sudden visit of Zheng Zhilong's subordinates, and they are not so straightforward in speaking.

"Oh, the Kun people are so powerful in Macau?" Zheng Zhilong was a little interested.

"The Kun people are now the patrons of Macau." Lin Yishao said.

Originally, the trade between Macau and the Senate was quite frequent, and a vested interest group had been formed.And since the imperial court ordered the prohibition of the Portuguese from entering Guangzhou trade last year, the Portuguese have lost the channel to import Chinese goods, while the Guangzhou government has been deaf to the Australian trade.Therefore, the Australians who occupied Hong Kong Island became the only import and export channel for the Portuguese to face Ming Dynasty.

With such a lifeline under control, the Australians are tantamount to becoming the masters of the Portuguese.As long as they ordered to stop the Portuguese trade, it would be difficult for the Portuguese to stay in Macau.

"Could it be that those smugglers have become decorations?" Zheng Zhilong said with great interest.As long as you have money, you don't have to worry about finding a source of supply.The so-called government ban is often nothing more than a dead letter.

"Since the Australians arrived on Hong Kong Island, the Pearl River Estuary has become their world. Their ships are constantly patrolling, and no ship can escape their eyes. Those smugglers either surrendered to the Australians and listened to their orders, or Just feed the fish in the Pearl River."

Lin Yishao continued, he finally went to Li Siya.

"It's her?" Zheng Zhilong said thoughtfully.Li Siya had served him before and provided a lot of information.

"Yes, she has a lot of information and is willing to provide it. It's just..." Lin Yishao hesitated to speak.

"It costs a lot of money."

"Yes, she took out a brochure and asked for 500 taels of silver." Lin Yishao said, "She showed me a small part, which was very informative. So I bought it because I was so humble." He took out a thin booklet.

Zheng Zhilong didn't take it seriously.He is a businessman. A successful businessman knows when to spend money

The pamphlet was hand-copied, and it was Li Siya who wrote it in a strange, but not lacking, delicate handwriting - Zheng Zhilong knew that it was written with a quill pen, and calligraphy handwriting is different from a brush.

After a cursory look, the content above is very comprehensive, much more detailed than the various rumors he had heard in the past. 500 taels of silver is really worth the money.

He was not eager to look, and asked, "Are the Australians very powerful?"

"Yes, very powerful." Lin Yishao replied without hesitation, "Australian warships often operate at the Pearl River Estuary. There are several ships that are emitting black smoke, and they are very fast. None of the ships have They run so fast, and the fastest they run without sails at all..."

Although this is not news, but from the mouth of my most trusted spy, the pressure given is completely different.

Then Lin Yishao talked about Lichun—it seemed so special that this ship appeared in the mouth of the Pearl River.It's hard not to get the attention of those nearby.The Portuguese specially sent people to Hong Kong Island to spy.The news received was obviously shocking.

The most frightening thing was the cannon on the ship. It is said that a shell fired more than ten miles away and exploded violently after landing.Some people have seen the Lichun shoot at the floating target of an old fishing boat on the sea, and the boat was blown to pieces with one shot, and there was not even a wooden trigger to be found.

For people like Lin Yishao, firearms and large ships are not things that frighten him. Zheng Zhilong himself has large ships and heavy artillery that are not inferior to the maritime powers at that time, but the rumor of the Lichun makes him feel that the situation is very serious. .For this reason, he deliberately took a small boat to Kowloon to spy on the training of the Australian fleet there.The rumors were confirmed to be true.

"Although there are not many Australians and warships, they are all elite and have strong combat capabilities."

"Well. It seems that we have a strong opponent."

"What, my lord?"

"Australians have come to Taiwan." Zheng Zhilong said, "They are beating dogs."

"Beat the dog? That's on the Dutchman's side."

"That's right, I think they chose to beat the dog on purpose - to be neighbors with the Dutch, not with me. The side of Bengang is still our territory after all." Zheng Zhilong said, "The Dutch have an alliance with them, right? .”

"I've checked it out, and it's true. But it's not a covenant, it's just a trade agreement." Lin Yishao said, "The Dutch allowed them to open shops in Bacheng, and the Dutch also opened shops in Hong Kong and Lingao. It is said that there is also a business house in the south of Hainan Island.”

"Australians are very fond of the Dutch." Zheng Zhilong said, he has a strong dislike for the Dutch.Although the Dutch are his business partners, he has a good understanding of the shamelessness and greed of the Dutch, and he knows that only force is the way to talk to them.

"It's better to say that the Dutch are courting the Australians. I found out that the Dutch can now get a lot of Ming goods from the Australians."

"That's why the attitude of the Dutch towards us is not as good as before. We have a new love." Zheng Zhilong said jokingly.

(End of this chapter)