I

  Chapter 665 662【Make enemies all over the world】

  The Netherlands lost 15 warships at one time, and the variables brought about can be large or small.

  Because the Netherlands dominates the sea, it does not rely on large ships, but the more than 10,000 merchant ships.

  Take the first Anglo-Dutch war as an example. The Netherlands sold its European fleet to only 55 old warships. However, after many frictions with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands felt that the war was inevitable, so it requisitioned a large number of armed merchant ships, expanding to 226 in less than half a year.

  Only in the past few years, the Second Anglo-Dutch War broke out.

  The Netherlands, whose economy was paralyzed, dispatched hundreds of warships again. This is still the case when the commander of the Dutch Navy led a large number of warships on an expedition to Africa, otherwise the number of warships in the Netherlands must be close to 200.

  For the Netherlands, it doesn't matter if it loses a fleet, and it can make up for it with armed merchant ships every minute.

  The real headache for the Netherlands is the lack of personnel, and after losing the war, the huge commercial benefits that are incidentally lost. The Netherlands is not like a country, but more like a big company, and the company's first consideration is profit.

   Governor of Batavia, Van der Lin, immediately requisitioned 8 armed merchant ships.

  He did not send troops to Taiwan again, but wanted to stabilize the situation on Java Island and prevent the United Kingdom from sending troops to Banten.

  The British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company competed fiercely in Asia. The Netherlands even massacred the British, killing all the British on an island.

   "Bang bang bang bang!"

   It wasn't who was shooting, but a merchant ship in Batavia Harbor, and suddenly a crew set off firecrackers on the deck.

  The incense master Zheng Hua waited for the firecrackers to be set off, and smiled and shouted towards the shore: "Great victory, great victory, the navy of the imperial court defeated the Dutch navy in the Sulu Sea! Long live your majesty! Long live the Datong navy!"

   "Long live Your Majesty, long live the Datong Navy!"

  The Chinese businessman on the pier shouted with his buddies.

  The Chinese coolies who settled here couldn't help smiling, but they were afraid of causing trouble, so they didn't follow suit and shouted long live.

  Zheng Hua is Zheng Zhilong's confidant. Now Zheng Zhilong is out of the sea, busy building bridges and paving roads in his hometown, donating money to the school frantically, and wants to let all Zheng's descendants go into official careers.

  However, the Zheng family's trading fleet is the largest in the country.

As for the incense master held by Zheng Hua, it belongs to the regular configuration of the fleet. Its main duties are: to take care of the Mazu gods on board, worship Mazu and the compass, and make tributes to the straits and islands along the way (the straits and islands have spirits, which can be bless the fleet).

   To put it bluntly, the incense master is dedicated to offering incense, which can be understood as the Minister of Rites in the fleet.

  The news about the war quickly spread to the shipyard.

  Lin Changfu was still working in the shipyard at this time, but a few years later, his son had grown up and married a mixed-race woman—a mix of Han and Malay.

   Finally made it to meal time, Lin Changfu said to Chen Dongshan: "The emperor won the battle, have you heard?"

   "I heard, don't implicate us." Chen Dongshan worried.

   Several years ago, Chen Dongshan said that he wanted to return to his roots, and he took his wife and children back to China to repair the ancestral graves.

   But he didn't leave after all, because he suffered a serious illness and spent a lot of money on treatment. And because he didn't believe in religion, the Batavian colonial government increased the poll tax for those who didn't want to convert. Here, Europeans have the lowest tax, followed by Malay natives, and Han Chinese have the highest tax.

  This situation is not a special case, it is the same in the whole Nanyang.

  The main reason is that the Han people are too capable. The colonists of Spain, the Netherlands and other countries must suppress the Han people through taxation.

  Lin Changfu sighed and said, "That's right, I'm afraid that Hongmao will lose the fight and take his anger out on us Tang people."

Chen Dongshan looked forward to it: "I heard from the merchants in Bacheng (Batavia) that after the emperor occupied Luzon Island, the Tang people in Luzon would no longer pay heavy taxes. This time they are attacking Taiwan again. The Tang people in Taiwan must definitely They also don’t pay heavy taxes. It would be great if the emperor sent troops to occupy Bacheng one day, and we would all have a good life.”

  Lin Changfu grinned: "That's great."

  His son Lin Yaozu interrupted suddenly: "Uncle Chen, my father said that the Tang Dynasty is very big, and the city of Guangzhou is bigger than the city of Bacheng. Is he bragging?"

   "Go away!" Lin Changfu cursed.

  Chen Dongshan suddenly laughed, and said with disdain: "Compared with Guangzhou, this Bacheng is nothing!"

  Lin Yaozu asked again: "Adjoining Bacheng, Wandan and Matalan are the largest countries. Are Wandan and Matalan together as big as Tang?"

   "Tang Kingdom is bigger than ten Wandan Kingdoms!" Chen Dongshan said.

  Lin Yaozu couldn't believe it: "How big is that, can the emperor manage it?"

  Chen Dongshan said: "The emperor is a star in the sky, and he knows everything in the world. Can you manage it?"

  Lin Yaozu turned to his father and said, "Father, I want to visit the Tang Kingdom."

  Lin Changfu slapped his son on the back of the head: "Your wife just gave birth to confinement, work hard in the shipyard, don't think about those who have nothing."

  Lin Yaozu pouted, feeling unspeakable grievance in his heart.

  He was born and raised in Batavia and has never set foot on Chinese land, but he has heard countless stories about China from his elders. He fantasizes about going back to the country of his ancestors, to see the cities there, to see the people there, to learn everything about it.

  Governor's Palace.

  Van der Lin heard the cheers from the pier, he clenched his fists angrily: "These damned Chinese!"

  The adjutant asked: "Do you want to send someone to stop it?"

"Go," Van der Lin warned immediately, "beware of stirring up riots. Don't be chaotic at this time, otherwise the British will take advantage of it. After a while, I will deal with those Chinese. I will impose additional taxes on them." Poll tax and port tax!"

  The adjutant immediately went out to issue an order, and soon a group of Dutch soldiers came to the pier with matchlock guns, prohibiting anyone from making loud noises.

  Van der Lin continued to convene the parliament, and the theme was still the same: whether to let the defenders of Zeelandia abandon the castle and surrender, and then return to Batavia.

   Meetings and discussions were held for several days, but there was no result. No one wanted to bear the responsibility of losing Taiwan.

  Let’s procrastinate, anyway, the food in Zeelandia Castle can last for more than half a year. Even if the war is lost, the Chinese army must consume more food and grass to besiege the city.

  The latest order from the headquarters that Van der Lin received was for him to establish a supply base at the Cape of Good Hope.

   This **** order, the Cape of Good Hope is obviously closer to Europe, and the Dutch headquarters will not send anyone there, insisting on letting Batavia arrange staff.

  The stronghold established by the Dutch on the Cape of Good Hope, later called Cape Town.

  The first batch of pioneers were Dutch, and the second batch were all Asian immigrants. Because that place is so remote, Europeans don't want to go there, so they can only send the Asian aborigines to Cape Town to kill the local African aborigines, seize their land, and then let the Javanese cultivate it.

  Van der Lin wanted to scold her mother very much, and felt that everything was not going well.

   First lost the Vietnamese market, and then lost Taiwan, and the expansion in the Arabian Peninsula was not smooth. After being defeated by Myanmar last time, he tried to reconnect with Myanmar, but the king of Myanmar killed the envoy. The market share in trade with Japan is also shrinking. Not only are Chinese businessmen grabbing the market, but the Japanese shogunate has also set a cap on trade volume this year.

   Now let yourself open up a stronghold in the Cape of Good Hope, open up your sister, only ghosts are willing to go to that **** place.

  In the absence of the Suez Canal, the Cape of Good Hope is the only place where the East and West sea routes must pass. Once the Netherlands establishes a stronghold there, it will be tantamount to choking the sea throat of the East and the West. It is indeed a very powerful decision.

  However, if the Dutch hold the Cape of Good Hope, it is tantamount to disgusting all European countries and want to play the character of Sea Teddy to the end.

  Historically, after the British captured Cape Town by force, in order to avoid intensifying conflicts with other countries, they immediately declared Cape Town a free port. Unlike the Netherlands, they only eat alone and do not want to share leftovers.

Counting the countries, the current enemies of the Netherlands are: China, Britain, Spain, Portugal, Ottomans, Persia, Mughals, Myanmar, Vietnam Ruan Thi, Banten, Mataram, Brunei, Sulu... unknown small countries and The tribe is too lazy to say.

  By the way, because the Netherlands controls the North Sea trade, it has a bad relationship with the three Nordic countries.

   Van der Linn announced the adjournment of the meeting and wrote to the Dutch headquarters again. He has finished writing the resignation letter, but he has to wait for the fleet to return to Europe before he can bring the letter back. Now I am writing another letter, asking for the approval of the shipbuilding, and at the same time requesting to suspend the establishment of the Cape of Good Hope stronghold.

   After writing the letter, Van der Lin fell into deep thought.

  Not thinking about how to break the situation, but thinking about ways to make money. How to make a huge sum of money in Batavia, and then pack up and return to the Netherlands to retire?

  …

  Tainan, Zeelandia City.

  Felberg, Governor of Taiwan, looked at the fleet approaching from the sea, and his whole body fell into despair.

  He recognized the Dutch warship among them, but it did not fly the flag of the East India Company. It was obviously captured by the Chinese navy!

   "I think that the company has suffered a defeat, and there should be no more reinforcements." Felberg said.

  Denker asked directly: "Do you want to surrender?"

  Felberg said: "Persist a little longer, wait until the food is finished."

  Denker asked: "The time has dragged on for too long, and the Chinese army has consumed too much rations. Will it be dangerous to surrender at that time? What if the Chinese are angered and we are all killed?"

  Felberg fell silent for a moment.

  Denker didn’t speak. He had killed too many Han Chinese and indigenous people, and the deep hatred was there, so he didn’t dare to surrender at this moment.

  The castle is built on the island, and there is no way to escape, nor dare to surrender, so you can only bite the bullet and delay time.

   After a long time, Felberg said: "Send an envoy to contact us. If you are willing to let us go back to Batavia, you will agree to surrender and let Zeelandia go."

  The so-called messenger is a Han Chinese living on the island.

  When this person saw Li Dingguo, he immediately explained his intention.

  Li Dingguo sneered: "Go back and tell the red-haired ghost that His Majesty has ordered that the debt be paid in blood! Although the Datong Army is short of food, they can still siege the city."

   There is no need to besiege the city at all, just keep the Taiwan fleet and patrol the nearby waters every day to prevent the Dutch from going out to buy food.

   On the side of Chixian City, 2,000 Datong troops are enough.

  The rest, what to do, let the Dutch slowly consume food on the island. Half a year later, the food ran out, and all the Dutch on the island starved to death.

  (end of this chapter)