On December 28, the 14th year of Chongzhen, there were only three days before the New Year.

On the blue sea, a large sailing ship broke through the waves and sailed towards the port of Shanghai, this sailing ship was more than 60 meters long, the deck was slightly narrow, and the side of the ship was bulging outward, it was a typical Dutch sailing ship, and it was also equipped with twenty-four cast-iron guns.

"What a port!"

A few people emerged from the cabin of the Dutch galleon, looking at the twists and turns of the coastline in the distance, and their eyes showed a look of greed.

The ship was brought by the Dutch East India Company from Batavia (Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia) to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty, and the commander was Anthony van Derman, the governor of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia, accompanied by Paul Duratinius, the sixth governor of the Dutch East India Company in Taiwan.

The Governor of Taiwan, Paul, exclaimed: "This is a much better location than Dayuan (southern Taiwan), and if it can be occupied, it will become a cash cow for our Dutch East India Company!" ”

Antony, the governor of Batavia, said with great regret: "Yes, it's a pity that our troops are not enough, this sunset Ming Empire under the leadership of a young prince has rejuvenated itself, and our chances are very slim." ”

The naval battle between the Jinghai Fleet and the Zheng Naval Division, the Spanish, Portuguese, British, and Dutch were very concerned, and the defeat of the Zheng Naval Division made the Dutch willing to come to Nanjing to talk seriously about maritime trade with the Ming Dynasty.

At that moment, the sailors on the lookout pointed into the distance and exclaimed, "Look, Lord Governor, it is the ship of the Spaniards." ”

Anthony and Paul immediately took out their binoculars and looked in the direction of the soldier's finger, and sure enough, they saw a Spanish galleon moored on the shore in the distance, with the Spanish flag flying on it.

Seeing the pattern on the banner clearly, the two glanced at each other, Anthony frowned and said, "Hell, that's the Spanish negotiating team from Manila, and they actually arrived before us!" ”

The Netherlands and Spain have always been at odds, and although the Netherlands broke away from Spain 60 years ago to form the United Republic of the Netherlands, Spain has never recognized it, and the two sides have been at war for decades.

The two countries have repeatedly clashed in their colonies around the world, such as the Netherlands and Spain, which occupy the south and north of Taiwan respectively.

At first, the Dutch garrisoned only 260 troops in Taiwan, and they did not dare to act recklessly, and they were quite restrained in dealing with the local natives, practicing fair trade, and getting along amicably.

After the city of Geranza was repaired, the Dutch increased their troops from Batavia to Taiwan by 475 men, and began to show the hideous face of the colonists, and carried out bloody conquest of the local natives of Taiwan.

Within five years, more than 4,000 indigenous people were killed, more than 7,000 were sold as slaves, and more than 8,000 houses were burned.

In addition to military conquest, the Dutch also took advantage of the few contacts between the local aborigines in Taiwan, and used means such as division and provocation to provoke internal strife between the natives, fighting one side and striking the other, and at the same time sending missionaries to the villages and communities of the aborigines to preach, prohibiting the aborigines from believing in local religion in order to exercise spiritual control.

Up to this time, more than 40,000 people from more than 200 indigenous tribes in Taiwan had submitted to the Dutch, and every year they had to participate in the Dutch rally held in the city of Geranza to pay tribute to these red ghosts.

The closer it was to the southern part of Taiwan, the stricter the Dutch control became, and the Dutch continued to infiltrate the central and northern parts of Taiwan to dominate Taiwan.

After the Battle of Liuluo Bay, the Dutch knew that the Zheng family, who had immigrated in central Taiwan, was not easy to bite, so they targeted their old enemy Spain.

Before Antony and Paul arrived, the Dutch East India Company had prepared an army to expel the Spaniards north this year, and it was at this time that the Ming court and the Zheng family sailors went to war and defeated the Zheng family.

Before the start of the war, Antony, the governor of Batavia, received a letter of state from the Ming Dynasty, claiming that the Ming Dynasty would open several commercial ports, and asked the highest Dutch official in East Asia to go to Nanjing for an audience to discuss the issue of maritime trade and the ownership of Dongfan.

At that time, Anthony's first reaction was disdain, although the Netherlands was at a disadvantage in the competition with Zheng Zhilong, and every time Zheng Zhilong had to dispatch ships several times more than the Dutch fleet to defeat the Dutch fleet, Anthony did not dare to easily touch the Zheng family in his heart.

In his opinion, Zheng Zhilong was like an abominable shark, and it was impossible for the sailors of the Ming Court to defeat this murderous shark.

At the moment when the war report reached Batavia, because the messenger was a Catholic priest, Antony was a little suspicious, and it was not until he learned that Zheng Zhilong had been escorted to Nanjing, that he set off to arrive.

The Dutch East India Company was a profitable business, and as the company's appointed governor, Antony's first concern was profit.

If the Zheng family is defeated, it is very necessary to go to Nanjing, you can find out the attitude of the Ming court towards the company, whether the Dutch has the opportunity to attack the northern and central parts of Taiwan, dominate Taiwan, and then occupy the coastal areas of Fujian in China, and take over the former sphere of influence of Zheng Zhilong.

Taking a step back, if the Chinese military is really that strong, it is better to negotiate with them and try to obtain trade rights from them, so that trade with China can also be expanded.

As colonists, the Dutch robbed everywhere they went, and did business without capital; If you can't beat it, just talk about it, and do business honestly.

Just as Anthony's sailboat approached the port of Shanghai, it was stopped by two warships of the Jinghai Fleet, and the two sides greeted each other with flags for a long time before explaining the situation to each other.

Under the guidance of two warships, the Dutch galleon sailed into the port of Shanghai, and Anthony could see clearly from the ship, at this time there were many Chinese warships with dragon flags cruising around the port, and there were many cannons arranged on the shore, which looked very rough......

The galleon docked by the trestle, and representatives of the Dutch East India Company, such as Anthony and Paul, set foot on the land south of the Daming River for the first time.

To the shock of several Dutchmen, at this time, the shore was waving flags and tigers, and on a huge square behind the port, there were tens of thousands of heavily armed troops, forming a black and oppressive phalanx.

All the armor soldiers were dressed in fine armor, with muskets on their backs, and they were clothed in red and filled hair, and they did not move in the cold wind and snow.

Anthony asked the Ming officials who came to greet him in surprise: "What kind of army is this?" What are they doing? ”

The person in charge of receiving the foreign devils was Wang Fuzhi of the Ministry of Rites, and he said with a smile: "These are the Tianwu Army of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who is responsible for welcoming envoys from various countries. ”

Anthony let out a long sigh, and once again carefully looked at the army in front of him, everyone was smart, and knew that this was the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty demonstrating to them.