The Java Sea draws a crescent-like bay north of Banten City, with the island of Panjang at the mouth of the bay, making it the best anchorage in West Java for centuries, where merchants from the Ottoman, Indian and Malay peninsulas gathered, creating a natural commercial port that was the envy of the surrounding countries. Since its independence from the Sunda Kingdom in the last century, it has served as the capital of the kingdom of Banten Sutan.

Java is already south of the equator, and unlike Brunei, the rainy season passed more than three months ago. The air was still a little wet, but the muddy roads in the city were dry and hard, and they were dusty with the heat of ox carts and people.

The capital of Lower Banten is only two miles square, wide from east to west and narrow from north to south, like an insole at the bottom of a bowl in the bay. At this time, most of the countries of the South Seas were normal, with rudimentary walls wrapped in moats, and a river running through the city. The city walls are 100 meters or 200 meters, dotted with square piers and watchtowers, which are the support of this place to defend against robbers from the sea and the mountains of Banten.

In the northeast corner of Banten Castle, near the mouth of the sea, there is also the same pier, and the guards on the platform lazily hide under the shed on the top of the platform and take a nap, not realizing how much the city will be threatened in such a hot day. But if someone also stands on the platform and looks east, across the moat to the east, you can see a wood-walled bazaar, which covers an area of nearly 40,000 square meters, and sells all kinds of local products under the palm bark-covered shacks, including honey, poultry and melons from Banten, spices, jewels and rice from the surrounding seas, and iron tools from India and Penggara.

To the east of the market is a large tidal flat, where the houses are mostly the workshops and residences of craftsmen.

On the edge of a tributary from the moat is a Gujarati ironware shop, which is clearly old and looks dilapidated against the setting sun.

There are often maritime merchants who customize some cheap weapons and protective gear in this shop, and they are quite famous in the small circle. The Englishman Quark was a regular customer, and he could always get a few things from the slave catchers at a cheap price except for the muskets, but he was clearly not here to do business today.

Zhang Deyu came to the courtyard behind the store with a familiar car, there will be no business in the store during the day this month, and the shopkeeper is resting in the room to reduce the consumption of physical strength, only one guy is in front of him, but he knows neither Chinese nor English. Quark seemed to have waited a while to see him beaming. Zhang Deyu's team has been in Banten for nearly two months, and as long as Quark does not go to sea on weekdays, they will meet here every week, but it is obvious that today is not the appointed time.

"What's going on?" Zhang Deyu frowned slightly.

Quark looked flattering, "I just heard some news from the Commerce Office that Banten's regency intends to be unfavorable to the Su Dong, and the chief's method seems to have worked." ”

This is the secret shared by the Senate and Quark, as early as before Su Minggang returned to Bandan, Liu Dawu felt that he needed to give Su some pressure from public opinion, otherwise he might not be willing to take the Chinese businessmen to settle in Coconut City with his steady temperament, and the facts once again proved Liu Dawu's judgment, until after the Spring Festival this year, there were not many Chinese businessmen who migrated from Bantan, and Su Minggang had no news, Zhang Deyu's team would be sent over in advance, Liu Dawu felt that it was time to give the Senate publicity.

Spreading rumors about Chinese merchants, there was no psychological pressure on Quark, who had benefited greatly from the slave trade in the past year, and who had enjoyed a high reputation in Banten thanks to the sugar and refined salt that the dwarf black population of the South Island had received from Mazen, and that even the commercial representatives of the East India Company would have repaid great respect for this successful countryman, and made him feel that cooperation with the Senate was really the right way, and that only the competition with Jaco, whose fleet had heard of the Maluku Seas, had been in and out of the Maluku Sea, the harvest in a year is also quite a lot, and the number of ships has increased a lot.

Now it seems that the chiefs' methods are indeed working, and the authorities in Banten have clearly taken the bait.

"It looks like we have to help Master Su." Zhang Deyu felt that this Su Minggang was very similar to Lu Junyi in the Water Margin, this was the rhythm of forcibly going up the mountain to join the gang, if it weren't for his reputation among the Nanyang diaspora, he wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble.

Seeing that the patriarch was about to make a move, Quark hurriedly came up with a smile, "What does the chief need me to do?" If there were ships, two of them were still in the harbor. ”

Zhang Deyu glanced at Quark, didn't think about it, and said, "Tell me the number of people and equipment of the other party......"

…………

With the sound of gongs, the sound of prayers resounded throughout the city, and an hour later, as the last rays of light dissipated on the horizon, a crescent moon had hung high above the city of Banten.

The faint starlight was circulating in the clouds, and the sky did not look very good, which was just the right weather for the team's operations.

As a team specializing in dry and wet goods under the Senate, this is the first external action after the bad guys were separated from Long Shenwei, I heard that Gu Ziming had a big game outside Guangzhou last year, Zhang Deyu was actually a little unconvinced......

Beyond the western wall of Banten City, the residential area that stretches for more than a kilometer is lined with houses, separated from the city wall only by a ditch seven or eight meters wide, and the commercial offices of the British East India Company, the mansions of Ottoman merchants, and the Chinese settlements are scattered in a chaotic and disorderly manner. At the mouth of the seaside river in the northernmost part of the town, there is a small fishing village, where in addition to some fishermen, there are also many merchant ships anchored, and there are traces of prostitutes, thieves and pirates everywhere.

In an inlet in a corner of the harbor, a willow-leafed boat, one of the most common in the region, is parked, and several people on the boat are busy at the moment, trying to temporarily install a portable paddle machine to the stern of the boat. When he got the information from Quark, it was said that the palace guards had already set off, and the time seemed to be a little rushed.

Another hour passed quickly......

In the southwest corner of the city wall stands the largest pier in the city, and if someone stands on the platform during the day, the Su Mansion compound two hundred meters away can be seen in full view, but thanks to the assistance of the low-light night vision device, Duprey can also do it all at night. Su Minggang's mansion is not as far as the Chinese neighborhood outside the East Gate as expected, but is located between the local houses of Java further south, and judging from the dense streets around it, it should be a place where the rich live.

However, this made Prince Papati feel more at ease, surrounded by the local residents of Banten, and he did not have to worry about making any noise at night.

A samurai who had not eaten during the day were having a feast, and the prince had no intention of interrupting their feast, and he had eaten and drunk enough to arrest people, which was a problem during Ramadan. But from this alone, it can be seen that His Highness Japara does not want to make a big deal out of it, after all, the samurai did not have to fast during the war.

Charlemagne was also troublesome, for what could have been done in an hour had been delayed until now by the pagan rituals, but fortunately all the intersections had been blocked, and the only waterway left was the back of the courtyard, and no boat would go there in the night. Even if Japara would not have punished Su Minggang too harshly for the sake of Banten's stability, it is conceivable that Su Dongzhu should pay a forgiveness money because of the affairs of Chaya Garda, and according to Javanese rules, the amount of this fine is usually not less than one-third of his entire property, which may make Su Minggang bankrupt or burdened with heavy usury given the bankroll's cash flow.

If it weren't for the company's interests, he wouldn't want to follow. According to the British custom, it is good to muddy the waters, and as for the limited armament of the company, it is even more precious, it is because he would rather accompany Papati here for another half a day, in order not to let his own people charge ahead, after all, those Chinese themselves say that dogs will jump over the wall when they are in a hurry.

The city gate was closed, and the benefits of fasting were revealed, and the guards of the pier also chose to go down to eat after nightfall, so that Du Prey could carefully observe and mark the situation around the Su Mansion one by one, even if the gold and silver hidden by Master Su could not escape the scan of the instrument hundreds of meters away. Just as Duprey was observing and reporting through the walkie-talkie, a faint shadow of the ship had already approached the Sujia wharf, the thermal phase showed that the power of the engine was almost at the lowest, and the outlines of the four humanoids on it were extremely clear.

At this moment, Su Minggang was regretting alone, although he had promised Liu Dawu, but when he saw Yacha Garda burned to ruins by the Dutch, he still retreated.

After all, most of his worth is in Bandan, and it is inevitable that there will be luck in his heart. The rumors of his relationship with the Chinese had appeared in the last two months had indeed made him a little suspicious, but since the rainy season was after the busy time of trade, he did not pay attention to it. But I didn't want the sword of the lord of the country to be on my neck so quickly, and although there were not many Javanese samurai around the streets, the people who heard the news were like samurai in the palace.

Although there were still some guards at home, there were few people after all, and none of the family members sent to the northern Chinese area to contact could not come back, so I am afraid they were stopped.

He weighed the possible changes, most of the life was not a threat, but I was afraid that a lot of property would be lost, now is the season to open the sea, he is not the first businessman to go through this kind of experience in the past, a few years ago Banten wealthy merchant Patra Sali because of Japara lost his wealth and fled back to his distant homeland.

He was thinking about it quickly, and after thinking about it, he felt that it was necessary to meet with the regent in order to resolve the 'misunderstanding' between them.

Everything is the fault of the Song people, not their temptation, how could they be confused with lard, and run to mix in this fire and chestnut thing, they can't hide when they are doing business on weekdays, what is the same text and the same species, how can they believe this nonsense.

"It's all short hair that hurts me!" Thinking of the depths, he suddenly cursed.

"Hurt you? We're here to save you. A bold voice walked into Master Su's room at this moment, accompanied by a tiger's figure, and the three people who came in behind were generally dressed in black suits, and suddenly appeared like ghosts.

Su Minggang was startled and stunned on the spot.

"Lord Su seems to be a noble person who forgets things, and I was standing next to you when you saw Mrs. Liu in Coconut City that day."

Su Minggang suddenly seemed to remember, but he still didn't have any impression of this person, but the person had already reacted and laughed dryly, "It turned out to be the chief." ”

He didn't know where so many people came from, the intersection outside was obviously surrounded, how did these people get in the middle of the night?

"It's useless to talk more, the British are pleading with the regent of Banten and want to arrest you, and the captain specially took care of me and waited to save the proprietor from the cage."

Su Minggang was a little at a loss for a while, and his face showed hesitation, "Several chiefs are gentle, most of Su's net worth is here, and it seems that the iron bucket surrounded outside seems to be able to get out." ”

"I have my own way of getting out, but I'm afraid the proprietor's belongings will have to be left behind, and the boxes of gold and silver in the cellar of your east wing can be taken away, and the merchant ship Fubo Army who went to Ambon to do goods will also help you stop it in Coconut City, you can rest assured."

As he spoke, two people had already rushed to the chamber, and before Master Su could react, he took out a box from inside, followed by two. In the two large chests were 900 taels of silver ingots and 2,000 pieces of Benyang, and the small ones were 600 taels of gold, and other copper coins and silk could not be carried.

Fortunately, there are only some nursing homes here, Su Minggang's wife and children are all in his hometown in Fujian, and there is only one Javanese native woman here, and she is not even a concubine.

It didn't take long for a familiar voice to sound again in the night wind, and through the image of night vision, Dupre saw a strange scene, and all the soldiers involved in the encirclement now put down their weapons and bowed down to the west, and the prayer began again. If the elders had lurked not in the fishing village of the poor and scoundrels, but in the city of Banten, they would have been familiar with this pious ritual. It was the beginning of the Xiao Worship, which also meant that when the worship was completed, it was also the time to arrest Su Minggang.

Three chests of gold and silver had been loaded onto the boat, plus five men, and although it was not too cramped, the draft of the boat was a little deeper.

At this moment, suddenly a native's shout came from the other side.

The rest of the people were still in a daze, but Zhang Deyu had already reacted, "Hurry up and start the boat, we have been discovered." ”

[References]

1、《Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce 1450-1680》Anthony Reid

2, "Sea Language" Huang Zhen

3. "Nanyang Yearbook"

4. "A Preliminary Study on Zheng He's Spread of Islam in Java and Other Places" by Xu Younian

5, "Emperor Ming Shi Law Record" Chen Renxi

6. "Zhucheng Weekly Consultation" is strict and simple

7、《The Rise of Ayudhya》Charnvit Kasetsiri

8, "History of Overseas Chinese in Nanyang" Chen Bisheng

9、《Chinaese in Southeast Asia》Victor Purcell