Section 44 Viceroy De? Carpentil

"That's the information you got from that woman?" In one of the official residences in the city of Batavia, the governor of the Dutch East India Company, De? Carpontier looked at the report in his hand and asked the respectful Spanish veteran in front of him.

A man of medium stature stands in front of the fireplace. This person's demeanor is arrogant and ferocious, his eyes are sharp, his forehead is broad, his mouth is full of mustaches, and the short mustache under his lips makes his originally thin face look quite long. Years of exposure to the East Indian sun turns the skin into an unhealthy bronze. Although he was only in his early forties, his hair was gray—the East Indies were not a place of hospitality.

This man was the Governor of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia: German? Carpentil. As the founder of the East India Company in Southeast Asia, Young? Peter? Cohen's successor, who was also a brilliant Governor of the East India Company in Batavia, had all the hallmarks of an East India Company's senior executive: shrewdness and ruthlessness. Scheming and perseverance.

"Yes, sir." Savanki? Gonzalez said, "It cost four thousand guilders in total. ”

"That's a lot." The Governor blurted out in a businessman's reaction. Gonzalez felt a little disdainful in his heart—although he was no more than a so-called "squire" in the Castilian countryside, he had a so-called "Spanish lord" personality. It is incompatible with the "little shopkeeper" mentality of the Dutch.

Morality? Carpentere looked carefully at the bound booklet in his hand. The answers to his 125 questions are written in beautiful floral script in the style of a delicate woman. Some of the answers are simple, with only a few words, while others are written on dozens of pages in one go.

He shook the bell on the table, and his secretary walked in.

"Translate this booklet. In German. The Governor said, "Be quick." ”

"I flipped overnight. I'll send it to you tomorrow morning. The secretary bowed and withdrew.

The Dutch governor could not read Portuguese. He could only wait for his men to translate the pamphlet and read it carefully. But the "West Bank" in front of him, who has been in Macao for several months, must have gathered a lot of useful information from the local area.

"Well, you're from Macau, and you've probably heard a lot about these Australians. It is said to be a trading point that they frequented. ”

"Yes, sir."

"Tell me about what you've seen." Morality? Carpontier picked up a wine glass from a tray on the table, filled it with a rare local Portuguese wine and handed it to him.

"Xiexie, my lord." Savanki? Gonzalez gratefully took the glass and took a long sip. Honestly, the wine wasn't a good one – the rough seas for more than a year and the average temperature of over 30 degrees Celsius had turned the wine too sour. But for those who haven't been drinking wine for a long time, this glass of wine is like nectar-dew-.

"I heard a lot of stories about Australians in Macau and saw their goods......"

"Start at the beginning and tell me what you think of that Portuguese woman."

"She's beautiful!" Savanki? Gonzalez laughed, "It's hot again." Kind of like a Creole woman. She is smart and cunning. God testifies that there must be a little devil hidden in her body! ”

"She's said to be influential in Macau?"

"Yes." Savanki? "She is said to be ruthless, and those who are her opponents often die unexpectedly or disappear without a trace." She got a lot of wealth from the sea, so she was also very shili in the upper echelons. ”

The Governor nodded. He also learned this from Macau's intelligence network: Li Siya has a strong influence in the Macau City Council by bribery. She is generous and asks for little, and is a welcome benefactor to the councillors.

"Although it seemed to me that she was a very secluded person, she never appeared in public, many people had heard of her, but never seen her. Few people even know where to live. ”

"How did you meet her?"

"At the tavern, and somebody took me to get -- a blindfold was brought to me."

"She's careful." The Governor muttered to himself. It seems that Li Siya has a lot of enemies. Macau is not a very big place, and it is not easy to hide.

"Tell me about the Australians."

Savanki? Gonzalez recounted all the things he had seen since he arrived in Macau, especially the various "Australian goods" sold in Macau: a large amount of rum and Chinese spirits, all kinds of paper, from the most haode writing paper to toilet paper; All kinds of candy, the most popular white sugar, rock sugar and fruit-flavored candy......

Morality? Carpontier listened attentively—though the West Bank GI in front of him was speaking incoherently and incoherently, but it was the most authentic first-hand information. Combined with the information provided by Lisya, it was enough for the Batavian authorities to determine their policy towards Australians

The appearance of the Australians initially went unnoticed by the Dutch - after the attempt of the East India Company to open a trade port in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, was occupied by the Portuguese, and the East India Company's attempt to open a trading port in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, failed, the window for trade with China was transferred to the port of Dayuan in Taiwan. That is, their main trading partners were Fujian merchants, not in Guangdong. Not to mention Hainan Island, an island located in the western part of Guangdong. It took almost half a year for a group of people from overseas to occupy a remote island in China, and it took almost half a year for the news to reach Batavia, and no one took it seriously. It wasn't until Leizhou began to sell high-quality sugar in large quantities that the "Australians" really came into the sight of the East India Company for the first time.

Sugar was one of the most lucrative goods shipped by the East India Company from China, and it was the most important trade product besides spices, not only to Europe for resale, but also to the Persian Gulf coast. There are now a large number of high-quality sugar goods appearing in the markets of Guangzhou, Macau and Vietnam, which certainly caught their attention. The merchant stationed in Taiwan sent back a report that according to the Chinese merchants who brought in the sugar, it was shipped from Leizhou and Lingao -- and reported that the commerce of Lingao had been developing rapidly recently, and that the import and export trade had been very prosperous.

The merchants of Batavia immediately spread out their maps in search of the place "Lingao", and the Dutch were relieved to find that this place had deviated from their main trading port. Then they received more information from Liu Xiang, an ally on the Chinese coast, including a group of overseas arrivals who claimed to be Australians, who claimed to be descendants of the royal family of a previous dynasty, and so on. The most critical news is that the Australians are very well armed and strong enough to protect themselves. They defeated the attacks of the Spaniards and pirates from all walks of life. This has made the trades nervous – which means that Australians are about to form a new shili in Lingao.

Although the Dutch did not take any action, their eyes were always on Lingao. The Dutch East India Company was most concerned with monopolizing the spice trade from the East Indies to the Middle East and Europe, and secondly, it was trying to expand and secure its dominant position in trade with Japan and China. The sudden appearance of Australians and the start of exporting large quantities of goods is whether this move will affect the current landscape is one of their main concerns.

Overall, Australians are not very active in overseas trade. Despite their large imports and exports, it is clear that their main trading partner is the Ming Dynasty. This is followed by Beiqi. Most of the products that end up being sold outside of China are sold in Macao, and some are traded in Guangzhou. The East India Company's commercial network in Southeast Asia never reported the arrival of so-called Australian merchant ships at these ports, despite the constant flow of Australian goods. Clearly, Australians lack the ability to travel long distances at sea. This reassures the merchants: to monopolize shipping means to monopolize the profits of trade.

In particular, Lingao's products have strong competitiveness. In addition to liquor and confectionery, there is also great potential for glass products, which have beaten the sales of Venetian goods in the Far East, and paper. Lingao's cheap glassware and mirrors poured into Southeast Asia and India like a tide. Venetian products, from the most expensive large glass mirrors to cheap perforated glass beads, have failed. So much so that the Council wrote a letter back to Europe, demanding that all Venetian products be stopped and replaced with Lingao products. Even the clerks found that even with the expensive shipping costs, the cost of purchasing glass mirrors from Guangzhou and selling them in Europe was still lower than that of glass mirrors produced in Venice - especially for some large products. As for the wholesale price of paper, it was surprising to them......

From this point of view, the Australians in Lingao were a business partner to cooperate with rather than an enemy - the Dutch feared Shili with a strong maritime liliang, spared no effort to eliminate or squeeze out rivals with maritime liliang, and monopolized the shipping routes of goods was their consistent aim in the East Indies and East Asia.

Lingao does not fit this way. Although many sources point to the Australians having a navy, including a large castle-like iron ship, no one has ever seen the ship move. So Duc? Carpontier thinks it's either a rumor or that the ship has lost its ability to sail and is nothing to fear.

This was a matter of great concern to the Governor, and as a coachman at sea, he was well aware of the potential threat of a super-giant ship. Once the ship is able to sail, it will not only be a huge maritime threat, but also a huge amount of cargo that can be carried by the oversized volume is also a figure beyond human imagination.

“…… About that big iron ship, it does exist. "Savaki? "Many of the merchants and sailors who have been to Lingao say that it is true. There was a man named Aragonés who had personally visited Bopu. Li Siya also said that it was true. ”