Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 823 Dutchman

The envoy was taken aback for a moment, probably not expecting the governor to suddenly ask about the Australians.

"They are a group of people from overseas! They claim to be descendants of the Great Song Dynasty." The messenger said, probably realizing that saying "Da Song" to a ghost is playing the piano against a cow, so he changed his words, "That means they claim to be descendants of the Chinese."

This is exactly the same as Li Siya's report.The governor nodded secretly, and asked some other things about Australians.The messenger seemed happy to answer his questions, and said a lot about the Australians - mostly hearsay, of course.Although Liu Xianglao had fought against the Australian, he had no formal contact with this opponent.Most of the news is hearsay, part of it comes from the people who were captured and released during the attack on Bopu, and the other part comes from the report of his eyeliner.

Although Liu Xianglao withdrew from the Pearl River Estuary due to Zheng Zhilong's pressure before the second anti-encirclement campaign, he avoided direct conflict with the Crossing Group.But he has laid a lot of eyeliner in the local area.He knew all the news that the Crossing Group defeated He Rubin, bombarded Humen, and approached the city of Guangzhou.Although the Australians who had been hiding in the backcountry in the past had powerful boats and guns, it was unexpected for him to burst out with such fighting power all of a sudden.

Fortunately, the Aussies don't seem to have any plans to make him an enemy.The fact that they had seized the mouth of the Pearl River certainly annoyed him, but now he would not dare to fight on both sides no matter what.We can only deal with Zheng Zhilong first.

The governor listened carefully to the envoy's chatter and did not interrupt him.It was only after the other party stopped that they asked a few questions.Gathering intelligence on Australians was his main interest now.Liu Xiang had a conflict with the Australians, which was something he did not expect.And the fact that the Chinese government sent a large army to conquer Lingao, but was defeated by the Australians made him more interested.

Although the Dutch had a low evaluation of the Ming army's combat level, every military operation along the coast of China was defeated by the Ming army's seemingly endless manpower and material resources.As the same outsiders, the Australians occupying a corner of Ming Dynasty were able to block the tide of the army that made the company terrified at the beginning, and succeeded in occupying a piece of land in China. De Capentil couldn't help but became very interested in this.

A war reveals more news than all the intelligence put together.De Capontier has heard a lot about the astonishing level of firearms of the Australians, and the Australians' second victory seems to explain a lot of problems.

Clearly, the Australians are a strong force.He rang the bell and summoned the footman outside.

"You take this gentleman down to rest," he said.

That night, at the dinner meeting of the governor and senior businessmen from Batavia, there were discussions on how to treat the Australians, whether to assist Liu Xianglao, and how to deal with Zheng Zhilong.

The East India Company's military presence in Batavia was weak.When the expedition to China was launched a few years ago, only seven ships were sent.There were only [-] ships when we went on an expedition to Macau.The total number of army units is quite a lot, but these companies are scattered among dozens of trading posts of the East India Company across thousands of kilometers of Java.Soldiers recruited from thousands of miles away from Europe are dying like flies in the hot and humid climate and unsanitary environment. Now they replenish the vacancies of the companies in various strongholds, which makes the governor feel very difficult. He wants to launch another large-scale expedition powerless.

As for the auxiliary force composed of a small number of local natives, no one has much hope for their combat effectiveness.It is even hard to say whether these natives are trustworthy or not.

Participating in military conflicts in the South China Sea with limited military strength is beyond the capabilities of the Dutch, not to mention that Zheng Zhilong also holds the lifeblood of the East India Company's trade with China.The merchants therefore believed that the governor was right in refusing to send ships to directly participate in the fighting.As for whether to aid ships and artillery to Liu Laoxiang, there is some debate among senior businessmen.Some people think that artillery is easy to talk about. After all, European-style artillery has spread widely throughout East Asia.But there are still very few pirates using European-style ships.The sudden addition of two European ships to Liu Xianglao's fleet will seriously irritate Zheng Zhilong, which may have a negative impact on the company.

Several other senior businessmen supported the sale of the ship to Liu Xianglao in order to contain Zheng Zhilong's power.The governor is on this side.

"Gentlemen, the problem of ships is not a problem." The Governor said lightly tapping on the table, "We are not the only ones who can provide ships in the entire East Asia region. West Banks, whether it is Manila or Macau, the Spanish All of them are capable of providing ships to Liu Xianglao. Don’t forget that in the previous conflicts between Liu and Zheng, a Spanish galleon was directly involved in the battle. Even if an official suspects it, the biggest suspect is Seabank. We can completely deny all of this. Besides, do you think that Zheng Zhilong will turn against us before he has a decisive battle with Liu Xianglao?"

Furthermore, it would be beneficial to the company to sell the two hulks that could only be scrapped as firewood and ship materials.After all, Liu Xiang is always willing to pay in cash.As for the problem of sailors, he can recruit them himself—whether in Batavia, Manila, or Macau, he can recruit scum of all nationalities who are willing to sail and fight for money.

大家最终同意了将热心和警戒两艘船卖给刘香老的提议。包括两船上的所有武器和航海设备。热心号为一万西班牙里亚尔，警戒号为七千西班牙里亚尔。另外，向刘香老出售铜质12磅舰炮10门，铁制6磅和12磅舰炮24门。火绳枪400支。

"Your Excellency, do you think it is possible for Liu Xianglao to defeat an official?" A businessman asked.

"It's hard to say." De Capentil shook his head. "It is said that the strength of the two sides is almost the same. But the first official is obviously more dominant-he has the support of the Chinese court. And the first official has defeated all the people on the ocean in Fujian. opponents, including those who were once very strong."

According to the Governor's opinion: If Liu Xianglao cannot win consecutive victories or kill Zheng Zhilong himself in a certain battle, Liu Xianglao will still fail in the end.

There were sighs of regret around the table.Liu Xiang is not an ally, but with him, Zheng Zhilong's attitude can be relaxed.Once Liu Xianglao fell, there would be no power to contain Zheng Zhilong.

"Gentlemen, even if there is no Mr. Liu Xiang, there are other people in this world." De Capentier said his thoughts, "Have you ever heard of Australians?"

The Governor is sitting in a chair, and from the long window next to his desk, he can see the city of Batavia. The city was built in 1619 and has been continuously expanded and strengthened for more than ten years. Now it has Take shape.De Carpentier had no doubts that a future viceroy in this position would be able to see a more prosperous and great Batavia.

There was a knock on the door outside.

"Come in."

His secretary appeared at the door.

"Your Excellency, the low-level businessman you summoned, Van der Lanteron, has been summoned."

"Please come in."

Van der Lanteron walked in through the gate cautiously.He was probably in his early thirties, with a reserved face, a nobleman from the province of Zeeland, who had served in the navy and fought in wars.Now working as a low-level merchant in the East India Company.But even low-level businessmen are above the level of other ordinary company employees.On the ships of the East India Company, only the merchants had the highest command.In many shops, the merchant has all the power.

But as a low-ranking merchant, van der Laantron's authority never extended beyond a merchant ship.He desperately hopes that he can become a merchant of a fleet or a certain trading station.The Dutch East India Company is a company that treats employees very harshly, although the East India Company's annual dividends to shareholders can reach thousands of guilders per share.But the remuneration given to employees is meager.Low-level businessmen only have a monthly salary of [-] guilders and a food allowance equivalent to a quarter of their salary.There was no way to get rich in law-abiding service in the Dutch East India Company.Climbing to a high position as much as possible and using the power in their hands to smuggle is their only chance to make a fortune in the Far East.

Van der Laantelon took off his hat and bowed deeply to the governor.

"Mr. van der Lanteron." De Capentil said briefly, "I now appoint you as the merchant on the 'Magdeburg'."

The "Magdeburg" is a "fast boat"-in fact, this kind of ship is neither "fast" nor "boat".This is a flat-bottomed boat often used by the Dutch in the East Indies, with a load of 400-600 tons, a round stern and a tall poop.The boat sails slowly and is mainly used as a merchant ship and transport vessel.However, due to the short construction period, large cargo load, and fewer sailors required, it meets the needs of "sea coachmen".

Although van der Laantelon had not been promoted to a senior position, the Magdeburg was a large ship, much more important than the brig he was on now.So this order still makes him very happy.

"Thank you, Your Excellency!"

"You're welcome, thank our master." The governor said, "Get ready as soon as you get on the ship. I want you to prepare to go to Lingao immediately to trade with the Australians."

"Lingao?" Van der Laantelon had never heard of this place.Australians know it.

"Yes, I will send you a navigator. Your task is to trade with the Australians in Lingao and find out as much information about them as possible. If possible, find out whether they are willing to reach a trade agreement with us."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"I will send you some assistants. When you arrive in Lingao, take them with you and provide them with all conveniences."

One of those sent to the "Magdeburg" was Gonzalez himself.The governor hoped that he would see Lingao's military strength and the fortification status of the wharf with his own eyes as an officer.The other is Leibtrini.An Italian, professional draftsman.His task was to try to map Lingao's port and topography.At the same time, draw what you see into an atlas.This is the only way to let people from afar get an intuitive impression in the age without cameras.

　Plot adjustment notice:

　　Found a small BUG, ​​an error appeared on the timeline.The 46th chapter of the fifth volume that has been released is in the summer of 1630, before the Ming army began to attack Lingao, but there are some contradictions in the plot: Lando returned to Macau with information after the Lingao exposed his identity after the war, So the governor saw Li Siya's report after the war, not before the war.

　　Therefore, the time of this section is adjusted to January of 1631. In verse 1, "the envoy was taken aback for a moment, probably not expecting the governor to suddenly ask about the Australians." After that, the part up to the end of the verse is invalid, and verse 46 continues the plot after this sentence.

　　This update is 3200 words to make up for the 200 words that were canceled at the end of the previous section, please understand.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)