In the vast South China Sea, the Vlissingen merchant ship is slowly moving on the turquoise sea.

The weather is nice today. The sea breeze is quite pleasant, and the sun shines very well. The wind in this part of East Asia has gradually changed from south to north, which is not conducive to the northward movement of Western sailing ships, but the Vlissingen is different because it is an old lock ship.

Don't look at it has a very Westernized name, but its owner is a Chinese.

Following the Dutch defeat at Formosa, Batavia had already passed down orders not to advise Western merchant ships to sail into the South China Sea and sail into the Zheng family's sphere of influence until they reached an agreement with the Zheng family.

Therefore, even if it is a transportation by Dutch negotiators, Batavia would rather use an old lock ship than an armed merchant ship or even a warship, so as not to make the Zheng family feel provoked.

Fanosini was an Italian man, but he had been with the Dutch East India Company for twenty years. If he could, he would have preferred to settle in Armstrong rather than return to the chaotic Apennines.

With the opening of the east-west sea route, both Venice and Genoa, the two powerful republics fell into decline, but the war (against the Ottomans) and the Great Depression continued.

Fanosini wanted himself and his descendants to be on a great ship to strength, not a sinking ship of decay.

Although the loss of Formosa will bring certain losses to the Dutch East India Company, Fanosini, who is deeply aware of the company's strength and capital, is still very optimistic about the future of the company and the future of the Netherlands.

The Vlissingen merchant ship was laden with spices, ivory and rhino horn from Africa and Tianzhu, as well as some silver coins, and two horses from the heavens. The latter is said to be the favorite of Zheng Zhilong, the Oriental overlord on the sea.

In the past few years, many people have made huge profits from the Chinese by selling horses from Tianfang and Tianzhu.

Governor Anthony was trying his best to curry favor with Cheng Chi Loong, because the whole of Batavia was worried about the Cheng family's next move, and they actually built a port and fortifications in Temasek.

Zheng Zhilong extended his hand from the traditional South China Sea to the South Sea.

While they have repeatedly stated that this is not aimed at anyone, Temasek's geographical location is very important.

It was not valued by the Dutch, Portuguese, Spaniards, or English. But with a sizable military port built from scratch, Temasek's location is in the spotlight of all.

With Zheng Zhilong there to respond, his influence can completely cover the entire South Seas.

Even the Malacca waterways are shrouded in the shadow of Temasek's military port.

The Netherlands and the Zheng family have repeatedly negotiated and negotiated without reaching an agreement, and Temasek plays a large part of the factor.

The Dutch did not want to see a deadly military port around them, and the existence of it was almost life-threatening to the cities of Malacca and Batavia.

The Cheng family said that they were ready to turn Temasek into a port for free trade, and if you think about it, a large number of Chinese goods appear there, and the trade is free, so how should Malacca City and Batavia City deal with themselves?

With the loss of Formosa, the company's interests in Asia have already been greatly affected. If Malacca City and Batavia were to be abolished, Mr. Anthony would need to report his resignation to Armstrong immediately.

Anthony would not allow the company's interests to be threatened again, let alone accept the unbridled expansion of the Zheng family's influence in Nanyang.

It's a pity that the Spaniards have declined, and the Portuguese have to take care of their own interests in Macau, and they can't pee in the same pot as the Dutch, and the British are so untrustworthy. Otherwise, the negotiators around Fanosini would have been composed of people from many countries.

The fleet continued north from Luzon along the familiar route, arriving first in Macao, then along the southern coast of China into the coast of Formosa, and continuing north along the Taiwan Strait, where you could see Kinmen.

That's where they negotiated so many times.

The outline of an island appeared in the distance ahead, and the captain Huang Dejiang held a telescope to look at a green island, full of dense trees, and he could also see several fishing boats nearby.

It shouldn't be wrong, it's Dongsha Island, which is the original Nanao gas.

The island is densely wooded and has a large number of seabirds. No one lives here all year round, only fishermen, and the island's dwellings are seasonal.

After Huang Dejiang decided in his heart, he didn't put down the binoculars, but held it up and continued to look at it. Because there is news that this place has been opened up as a port by the Zheng family's sailors. Zheng Zhilong said that this place is the southern gate of Fujian and Guangdong, located in the center of the Pearl River estuary, Qiongzhou Island, Luzon Island and Dayuan Island, and is the only way for ships to infest the South China Sea.

"Boss, we found two ships! No, it's three! In the west. The lookout in the mast shouted loudly in his Mandarin with a thick Cantonese accent.

What the?! Huang Dejiang was startled, and hurriedly climbed from the bow to the stern deck in one breath. At this time, he could clearly observe without a telescope that three ships had appeared on the western sea.

The three ships were in an inverted triangular formation, and the speed was not very fast, but looking at the flag carried on the mast, it was obviously the Zheng warship.

The two in front are also old lock boats, and the back one is a large plywood ship of Xiyi.

The opposing ship had apparently also discovered Huang Dejiang. They adjusted their course and rushed straight this way.

Under the blowing of the sea breeze, the speed of the two old lock ships on the opposite side was obviously much faster than that of the Vlissingen, and Huang Dejiang did not panic. He came this time to give away, not to fight.

Hurriedly asked people to hang out the flag.

The banner of the Zheng family. The people who paid the money were all old friends of the Zheng family.

Although the two old lock ships had lost their previous turbulence and had slowed down, judging from the movements of the soldiers on board, they did not relax their vigilance.

One cannon after another has been untied, and the soldiers are standing by the guns.

The distance between the two sides was rapidly approaching, and when they were less than two nautical miles away, a dinghy was lowered from a boat on the left side of the opposing side, and rowed towards the Vlissingen.

Everything that followed was very logical, and they spent the night peacefully on Dongsha Island. Replenished with fresh water and food.

Then we continued to Macau.

Huang Dejiang had nothing but joy at this, he got what he wanted on Dongsha Island, water, food, whether it was vegetables, fish, shrimp and meat, and even alcohol, and two doctors in their forties, who seemed to be trustworthy enough. And the wood, ropes, nails, tung oil, and canvas that he didn't need this time, but he might not need it again when he came back here.

Dongsha Island has everything a sea boat needs to sail on the sea, except for the absence of silk and porcelain.

But this has made Huang Dejiang extremely satisfied, and he feels that he is a little safer to travel between Batavia and the southeast.

However, he did not see the gloomy face of Fanosini, which was hidden in the shadows.

Dongsha Island, this is not the first time he has experienced here. He remembers the last time he experienced here, the so-called Dongsha Port was just a small and simple port, like many, many dilapidated ports along the coast, the wharf here was small, and all that could be provided was water and food.

But what about now?

He found that this place had become unrecognizable.

At least four docks, I'm afraid it will be a piece of cake for twenty or thirty ships to stop in. Tall and sturdy warehouses were built at every wharf, and he even saw a small dock here. And the towering forts.

A port with such a configuration, if it is placed on the coast of Africa or in the Americas, it can be considered very good. This reminded him of the rapid progress of the Port of New Wales.

"Zheng Zhilong has sufficient financial resources, and China is a huge empire, as long as he has money, how can Zheng Zhilong get everything he needs from home. If he is willing to invest enough money in the South Seas, I believe that ports such as Dongsha Island will soon be opened by him throughout East Asia. And if this is the case, Zheng Zhilong will be a far greater threat to the company than the Portuguese......"

Fanosini left a passage like this in his notebook.

At the same time, he had been in a bad mood for the rest of the journey.

Huang Dejiang keenly felt this, and even he could guess why, but what does this have to do with him?

The Hanmin people in Nanyang respect Zheng Zhilong very much. With the defeat of the Dutch by the Zheng Jiashui Division, the upper echelons of the Han people such as Huang Dejiang and his big boss behind the scenes can clearly feel the changes in their social level.

In Batavia before, although the Dutch were not as bloody as the Spaniards, they also suppressed the Han people very strongly. You can know this by looking at Oyuan Island.

But now?

The oppression from the top of his head was clearly loosened. Especially after the Cheng family established a military port in Temasek.

Huang Dejiang doesn't know what choice the Huang family behind him will make in the end, but he has already decided that once the Zheng family announces Temasek, no, it is New South Wale, and the land and real estate in New South Wales can be bought and sold freely, he will go bankrupt and grab a piece of land there.

This is not based on economic interests - yes, the Cheng family said that NSW will be a free trading port in the future, and as long as half of this promise is fulfilled, it means that it will prosper and prosper in the future, and there will be no loss in buying property here.

In fact, people are now allowed to buy Xinzhou storefronts, but those are the big strokes of some 'big people', and people like Huang Dejiang don't expect storefronts, but just want a place to stay.

The reason why he made such a decision was more from the perspective of his own life safety.

The Spaniards set off several bloody massacres in Manila, which frightened not only the remnants of the people, but also the Chinese in Batavia.

Trying to survive on someone else's land, where is it easy to live on your own land. And if you can live as an uncle, no one wants to be a grandson, right?

Huang Dejiang won't pay attention to Fanosini.

In this way, when the Vlissingen docked in Macau, Fanosini still had a straight face, as if someone owed him 100,000 guilders. His attachés also had serious expressions.

It wasn't until the evening that Ma Jiadao, the head of the Catholic shepherd, came to him......