Batavia City.

When the news of the total destruction of the Dutch fleet came, all the Dutch in the city were dumbfounded, and endless fear enveloped the entire Batavia City, and everyone was anxious, afraid that one day the fleet of the Ming Dynasty would appear on the sea outside the city!

Moreover, after this battle, the colonial chief of the Dutch Far East Company, Van Zerey, was also captured by the Ming Dynasty, and the Dutch in Batavia City suddenly lost their backbone and were divided into three factions in a fierce quarrel.

The main battle faction was the least numerous, but the most tough, these people believed that although the navy was defeated, there were still more than a dozen warships that escaped, and coupled with the strong defense of Batavia, and the considerable number of artillery on the city, the Dutch could continue to fight.

"If the Ming people have the courage to chase Batavia, this is the burial place of the Ming army!"

These people even clamored that they would build an indestructible fortress in the whole of Batavia, and if the Ming army really came, all the Dutch would fight to the death with the Ming army here!

The Lords and factions were the most numerous, and these people were unwilling to continue fighting, believing that the reason why the Dutch wanted to go to war with the Ming was to maximize profits, in order to control as many trade routes and wealth as possible in the Far East.

However, now that the navy has been defeated, it is obvious that it will not be able to seek benefits for the Dutch if it continues to fight, and the only way out is to negotiate peace with the Ming as soon as possible, at least to ensure the safety of Batavia.

As for the trade routes and commercial interests of the Dutch, it is completely possible to wait until the end of the peace talks and reach an agreement with the Ming Dynasty, and then mobilize the fleet and army from the mainland to slowly try to do it, instead of breaking the jar and fighting to the death with the Ming Dynasty!

These lords and factions are basically merchants and rich people among the Dutch, these people are all interests first, and they are very desperate for their lives, if the Dutch fleet wins, these people will naturally ask to continue fighting, but now that the fleet has basically been exhausted, it is better to negotiate peace.

These businessmen looked at the soldiers and explorers of the main battle faction, and their faces were full of disdain, thinking that these people were all tendons, and they didn't know how to be flexible at all, and if they followed these people's opinions, sooner or later something bad would happen.

The third group, on the other hand, was the most passive, consisting mainly of Dutch officials.

All of them advocated that all the Dutch in Batavia leave Luzon by boat as soon as possible and return to the Netherlands mainland.

These people believe that the Ming Dynasty is too close to Luzon, and as long as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty is willing to spend money, he can send a huge fleet and army to attack Luzon at any time, and even if the city of Batavia is indestructible, it will eventually be breached.

"Batavia is a formidable fortress that can withstand the attack of dozens of warships and tens of thousands of enemy troops, but what if the Ming Kingdom sends hundreds of warships and hundreds of thousands of troops? What if the Ming army surrounded Batavia and cut off our food and water sources? We cannot afford to put our compatriots in such a dangerous situation! ”

"Batavia must not be abandoned! This is a crime against the Netherlands! ”

"Peace negotiations with the Ming Dynasty must be made, only an armistice can keep Batavia and allow the Dutch to survive in the Far East!"

"It is impossible for the noble Netherlands to negotiate peace with the yellow-skinned monkey, this is a blasphemy against the Netherlands, fight down, fight endlessly with the Ming Kingdom, ask for help from the mainland!"

"We can't hold this place, the best way is to retreat to the mainland first, only in this way can our families save their lives!"

The chaotic quarrel continued, causing the whole room to shake, and everyone had been arguing for a whole day, but finally did not reach an agreement.

The very next day, Van Zerey, the colonial chief of the Dutch Far East Company, returned to the Batavia docks on a disarmed merchant ship, and the whole city of Batavia was suddenly in a sensation, and almost all the Dutch rushed to watch this incredible scene with wide eyes.

After everyone returned to the main hall, Fan Zerui took out a thick document, gently placed it on the long table in the center, and then said very vicissitudes: "This is a peace negotiation treaty drawn up by the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming court requires us to give an answer within two months, otherwise we will send troops to Luzon!" ”

These words were like thunder, which suddenly made the entire main hall noisy, and the people of the three factions quarreled again, especially the main peace faction and the abandoned hand faction were more emboldened, while the voice of the main battle faction was much weaker.

Fan Zerui was also silent when he saw this, the experience of being captured by Daming this time had made Fan Zerui's sharpness disappear, and was replaced by a deep fear of Daming.

During the period of capture, Fan Zerui, accompanied by Zhang Xiaojun, the chief military officer of Shandong Town, visited several military battles such as the Yushan Military Bureau, and saw the drills and tactics of the soldiers of the trapped army.

At this time, the image of Da Ming in Fan Zerui's eyes is completely the existence of a great power, and it is also a huge power, Fan Zerui can no longer afford half of the hostility towards Da Ming in his heart, because in Fan Zerui's view, it is impossible to win a war with Da Ming after all!

Looking at those people from the main battle faction, Fan Zerui's eyes were full of pity, in his opinion, these people were already equivalent to dead people.

And for those who abandoned the guards, Fan Zerui was very angry in his heart, although his attitude towards Daming has changed from contempt to fear, but this does not mean that he can tolerate the abandonment of Luzon!

Van Zerui was still inclined to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty, after all, this was the best path that the Dutch could choose on the premise of preserving Luzon.

After arguing for a long time, they still did not come to a unanimous conclusion, so they began to ask Fan Zerui, hoping to get support from him, at least to get information about the big hole cards.

In this regard, Fan Zerui was also blunt, saying: "The Ming Dynasty is by no means something we can defeat, and the determination and strength of the Ming court to go south to capture Luzon Island is also unquestionable, so I think what we need to discuss now is not whether to fight or not to fight, nor whether to give up Luzon, but how to bargain with the Ming in this treaty!" ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was immediately excited, except for the main and faction, the other two factions all began to point the finger at Fan Zerui, after all, for everyone, Fan Zerui was first defeated, then captured, and now he strongly advocates signing a contract with Daming, which is already a betrayal of the Netherlands.

Fan Zerui never said a word about the people's reproaches and reprimands, and waited until the voices of the people were a little quieter, and then described what he had seen and heard in various parts of Shandong, and finally said: "Signing a treaty is the only way out, this is my opinion, if you don't agree, I will withdraw from the discussion, and the future fate of Batavia will be decided by you!" ”

After speaking, Fan Zerui left the main hall lonely, leaving only everyone who was still in shock.

"It must be Fan Zerui exaggerating! An arsenal of this magnitude cannot even be seen in Europe, let alone the Far East! ”

"That's right! The Ming navy also relied on stratagem and numerical superiority to achieve victory, and the losses of the Ming navy were not small, and they would never be as Fan Zerui said. ”

"A huge army equipped with advanced firearms? How could such an ancient country as the Ming Kingdom have a powerful army comparable to the Dutch Army! ”

"Treaties must not be signed......"

Just when the main battle faction and the abandoned faction were chattering, some people from the main and defensive factions looked at the treaty, and saw that the treaty was full of clauses such as land reparations, support for the natives of Luzon, and demand that the Ming Dynasty monopolize the Far Eastern trade routes.

But when everyone's anger was vented, they finally realized that the Dutch in Luzon at this time did not have many hole cards to play, and even their own safety could not be guaranteed.

So everything was back to square one, and everyone began to discuss the war and peace again.

That night, the controversy was still not over, and everyone was exhausted and pessimistic about the future of Batavia, and even some elderly people began to burst into tears. A tragic mood began to spread among the crowd.

At this moment, a merchant said: "Luzon Island is also tens of thousands of miles away from the Ming mainland, and if the Ming Kingdom wants to capture Batavia, it will need at least tens of thousands of troops, and it will take at least half a year, how many ships will be needed to transport it?" How much courage and money does it take? Do you think the emperor of the Ming Kingdom will make up his mind? ”

This is the determination to put hope entirely in someone else, counting on someone else not to go on an expedition!

However, such an absurd idea has won the approval of the vast majority of people, after all, at this time, compared to despair, such an idea can give people a faint hope.

"Since this is the case, then let's seize the time to strengthen the castle, stock up on food, and prepare for the battle to defend the city!"

"We also have to rectify those native armies, and if the number is not enough, we will catch more and come back, we will defend the city of Batavia!"

"The dozen or so warships that have come back will be repaired as soon as possible, and they will be able to fight in the future!"

The crowd shouted as if they had found a way to save the city of Batavia.

"And what about this treaty?"

A man asked cautiously.

Everyone stopped and looked at each other, and the last old merchant gritted his teeth and said, "We don't sign a contract!" ”

"Our opinion in the Netherlands is that there will be no war, no peace talks! If the Ming people want to continue fighting, let them travel tens of thousands of miles to Batavia! ”

That is to say, ignoring the opinions of the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch continue to nest in Luzon to stall for time!

All the Dutch agreed with this attitude, and the main war faction demanded immediate help from the mainland, and asked the mainland to send a fleet to Luzon!