New Shun 1730

The news that Liu Yu had an unpleasant quarrel with Kapitan and Lei Zhenlan soon reached the Governor's Mansion. A powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake. This is the Dutch territory, and someone will report every move.

"Then what?"

"Replying to the Governor, Liu Yu went to the charity hall poorhouse, and Kapitan and others followed him, constantly admitting their mistakes. Liu Yu said that the original intention of the poorhouse was charity and goodwill, but now it has become a bad policy. He said..."

The whistleblower looked at Valkniel, who was tending to the potted plants and put down the scissors he was pruning branches with, and asked: "What did he say? He was suggesting that I abandon the poorhouse?"

"He said... He quoted the words of the Bible, saying 'You reap what you sow, and you reap what you sow.' But he said that this sentence was only half right. Rice cannot be grown in the desert, and kelp cannot grow on the snow-capped mountains. Some things are not subject to human will."

The whistleblower knew that the Protestants only opposed Catholicism, but they were not against the Bible. On the contrary, they should follow the words of the saints more than God. The original words he heard were much more unpleasant than this, and some modifications were added here.

Valkniel heard this and laughed: "So he is saying that the Chinese are a cold-blooded nation and cannot build any charity organizations? Or is Batavia itself a sinful city and cannot carry out any charity activities?"

"No, Governor. What he said is that if this kind of donation model is carried out in the Central Plains for charity such as poverty relief and free schools, the money will eventually be used to buy land for rent, lend money, collect rent from local landlords, and maintain usury by interest."

"In Batavia, because of the land ownership and loan restrictions, the models of buying land for rent and lending are not suitable, so sooner or later it will move to a model of relying on administrative power to collect taxes. Or the poorhouse organization will become a tax farmer and maintain the continuity of funds through tax farming."

"But whether it is using charity funds to buy land, collect rent, or lend money at high interest in the Central Plains Lending to reclaim land in disaster years; or using charity funds to buy tax farming rights in Batavia, or using administrative power to increase taxes... but ignoring those who need relief, who are themselves victims of the existing system - the people in the Central Plains who need relief are precisely because of land rent and lending and land collection in disaster years; the people in Batavia who need relief are precisely because of the tax farming system and administrative tax increases. "

"In the Central Plains, the most successful manifestation of this kind of charity is to make the rescued become landlords who collect rent, lend money and buy land in disaster years; and in Batavia, the most successful manifestation of this kind of charity is to make the rescued become tax farmers. "

"And landlords and tax farmers are the source of suffering. "

"So the more successful this charity is, the more people will fall into suffering. "

After listening to this report, Valkner was stunned, and the smile on his face disappeared immediately.

He sat down on the chair, swallowed his saliva involuntarily, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

He had only thought that Liu Yu was a fanatical "patriot" like the kind that could be seen everywhere in the Netherlands before the War of the Spanish Succession.

This kind of person is fanatical but not persistent, crazy and easy to instigate.

However, Dashun was not a small country that had completely lost its patriotic enthusiasm after being bled by France once. The national strength behind this kind of person made simple fanaticism and madness become particularly terrifying.

However, judging from the few words in the report, this person is more than that. This is not a rough man who can only fight, nor is he the rude nobleman imagined.

Neither talking about human nature nor morality, but just coldly with a natural disdain, like the gods on the top of Mount Olympus watching the struggles of the world.

If this kind of person wants to comfort Nanyang, it must be a big trouble. Originally, I thought that when I received him, the overall situation had been decided, and the other party did not make any extreme moves, but it seemed that I was too nervous before.

But now it seems that this person is really more terrible than I thought before. God knows what unpredictable actions China will make when it comforts Nanyang this time.

"Governor?"

The snitch handed over a silk handkerchief meekly. I don't know why these few words made the Governor so nervous.

"Governor? You... you care about the poorhouse?"

After another shout, Valkner came back to his senses, took the handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Poorhouse? No, I don't care. What I care about is his view on the poor relief system in Batavia. If the expansionists in China all think in this way, it will be a disaster for the entire Christian world."

The person on the lookout didn't understand and asked, "He just talked about the poorhouse system."

Valkniel raised his tired head and asked back, "So, with such eyes, look at the tax system, trade, and our rule in Southeast Asia? He can see terrible things, but we can't make him only look at the poorhouse."

"Okay, go, continue to monitor them, see what he is doing today, and continue to report."

"I want everything! Anything he said, any whereabouts of him in Batavia, and what those Chinese are doing in Batavia, don't miss any small things!"

Although the monitor didn't know why the words about the poorhouse made the governor so panic, he knew that this matter was of great importance in the eyes of the governor, and hurriedly left the governor's mansion.

In the evening, the monitor came back with a piece of paper recording various things, and reported to Valkniel one by one.

"At 1:30 pm, he sent some young men to the Chinese community in the south of Batavia to inquire about the living conditions of the Chinese. These people should not be officers or court officials, but rather his attendants."

"At 3 o'clock, the captain and officers of the scientific research ship that had docked earlier went to Kapitan Lian Fuguang's manor, where Liu Yu was temporarily staying. A banquet was held there, but it was an internal banquet, so we had no idea what he said."

"At 5 o'clock, the young men who had investigated the Chinese community in the south of the city returned to the manor. We asked the Chinese people, and the questions they asked were varied. Including tax types, income, the proportion of taxation to income, business conditions over the years, and the comparison between the business performance of direct trade in recent years and the previous re-export trade."

"In fact, after the workhouse incident, we had no chance to approach him. You know, he is the imperial envoy of the Dashun Empire. As long as he doesn't want us to approach, we have no way to approach him."

The nervous Valknier took the paper, and it seemed that nothing could be seen from the paper alone.

Just looking at this piece of paper, it seems that this is a more pragmatic official, unlike the customs officials in Guangzhou and other places that are rumored, who are just thinking about collecting more bribes or putting on an arrogant attitude that the captain must kneel down when boarding the ship for inspection.

But the questions asked by the young people sent to the Chinese district in the south of the city made Valknir feel a little uneasy.

It seems that nothing can be seen today, but the shadow of the poorhouse incident is still hanging over his head. If a series of negotiations are to be carried out tomorrow, this will be an extremely difficult opponent.

Who knows if he will make any terrible suggestions based on the questions answered by the Chinese in the south of the city?

With this uneasiness, Valknir knew that he would have to deal with such a difficult person tomorrow and needed to rest well, but he didn't fall asleep until midnight.

But the next morning, when the sky was bright, someone woke Valknir up.

"Governor! Governor! The Chinese warships on the dock are hoisting their sails and preparing to set sail. When I asked them, they said it was routine training. According to regulations, after the supply is completed, they cannot stay for a long time without the cover of the artillery."

Walknife had a bad sleep last night and his head hurt a little, but after hearing this report, he bounced up like a spring and asked repeatedly: "So, where is Liu Yu?"

"He is still resting in the manor. He said that he is not used to the climate and is a little unwell. He needs to rest for a few days. About 250 Chinese Marines are on guard near the manor, and the rest are difficult to approach. Some people are rushing to the sugar factory outside the city and the northwest of the city where Chinese without residence permits gather. I don't know what they are going to do."

This somewhat abnormal behavior made Valknife sweat coldly. Regardless of the fact that it was early in the morning, he grabbed the bottle of wine on the table next to him, poured a glass of wine and drank it. After calming his pounding heart, he immediately issued an order.

"Tell the troops in the city to assemble immediately. Strengthen the guard at all city gates."

"The warships in the harbor should also set sail immediately and follow the Chinese fleet from a distance. Do not get too close to avoid collisions. Always maintain combat formation."

"Notify the Chinese Kapitan and Lei Zhenlan that all court activities will be suspended today and they must be on standby at the Governor's Office."

"Send someone to Lian Fuguang's manor to inquire about the Marquis's condition."

The adjutant hurriedly asked: "So, should we put the whole city on alert like the last time the Wushan Party rioted outside the city?"

" Idiot! Of course not! "

After scolding, the adjutant was about to leave, and Valknir thought of something again and warned: "Tell the fleet that if the Chinese fleet is provocative near the port, they should be as patient as possible, and be as patient as possible. Once sailing, don't get too close to the Chinese fleet, just don't make contact. But also be prepared for the Chinese fleet's surprise attack and war. "

"Let the soldiers gathered in the city gather near the Governor's Mansion."

The adjutant was ordered to leave, and the people of the Council also came to report and asked what to do about this matter.

Valknir gave a solution helplessly.

Wait.

Now the initiative is completely in Liu Yu's hands. There are still tens of thousands of Chinese who are in a state of pre-explosion outside the city. These people have not been transported to Ceylon.

Even if Liu Yu only has 50 people in the city, Valknir dare not take the initiative to capture these 50 people first, or open fire first.

Dashun is not those weak feudal chiefs. The 250-man marines near the manor are certainly not the entire strength of Dashun.

Even if these 250 people can fight, Batavia still has hundreds of soldiers, as well as a large number of native soldiers and hired cavalry. Once the fight starts, these people will not be able to gain an advantage.

But behind these 250 people is an empire with a population of over 100 million that has just defeated Japan and just bit Russia hard in the northwest. Even if it is at the level of the Ottomans, can the Netherlands beat the Ottomans in Crimea?

Attacking the imperial envoy of the empire without reason will be an endless revenge without considering the investment and return ratio.

What Valknir fears most is that Liu Yu wants to force the bandits to respect themselves, or to occupy Batavia alone.

At this time, he is really afraid that Liu Yu will find some excuse to start a war.

He can only order the fleet to face the possible provocations of the Dashun Navy and try to be patient.

Because Liu Yu did not express direct hostility, the reason he gave was also very appropriate: the navy was just doing routine training, he himself was not used to the climate and was resting in the manor and would not see any guests.