"It's possible. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info There is our Pearl in Taiwan, and Zheng Zhilong, and the Westerners are not capable of taking Taiwan. The Vietnamese side was also heavily defended, with only Singapore being the weakest. After speaking, Xu Lang asked, "Tell me about the situation in Singapore." ”

"Before you came, Singapore had only 1,000 troops and six six-pounder guns." Fan Qiuming said, "You have also seen the current castle, He Chaoyong was built according to the scale of 5,000 people, but now there is only a garrison of 1,000 people, and there are only more than 300 people." ”

"Didn't you recruit some people?" An Yuhang asked.

"It's not that we didn't recruit, it's that there aren't people at all." Liu Jun said with a smile, "Since the Portuguese burned down this place in 1613, there are basically no people, and these more than 300 people are still hired by us from these surrounding villages one after another. ”

"Are there many people in Malacca?" Xu Lang asked.

"There are more people over there, but Malacca is in the hands of the Portuguese." Pham Thu Minh asked, "Do you want to occupy Malacca?" ”

"It's not that it doesn't work." Xu Lang explained, "Our General Staff has speculated, and the Military Commission also has this meaning, if we have the ability, we will take Malacca and completely control the Strait of Malacca." ”

"I find this difficult." Liu Jun said, "If that's the case, I'm afraid we will have to fight a full-scale naval battle with the Westerners, and we in Singapore will definitely not be able to rely on this little bit of our Singaporeans." ”

"I know that, too." Xu Lang also said, "The meaning of the Military Commission, if you don't have this ability, you will stick to Singapore, and if you control Singapore, you will complete the biggest task." ”

Fan Qiuming suddenly smiled and said: "Xu Lang, controlling Singapore is the goal we have set a long time ago, but I listen to you, it seems that there is a new idea at home?" ”

"Not a new idea, but an idea." Xu Lang switched to Mandarin, "In the original history, in 1819, the British Sir Stamford Raffles landed on the banks of the Singapore River, and the discerning Sir Raffles believed that although piracy was rampant around Singapore, it was an ideal British overseas trading base. Raffles then gradually built Singapore into a free gang and adopted free trade measures, attracting merchants from Asian countries, the Middle East and even the Americas to engage in maritime trade. By 1824, in just five years, Singapore's population had grown rapidly from 150 to 10,000, laying the foundation for future development and proving that it was indeed an important port for East-West exchanges. ”

"So my family wants to make this a free gang too?" Fan Qiuming also asked in Mandarin.

"Yes." Xu Lang nodded, "But there is a problem now, the current business is still in the era of mercantilism, if we build Singapore into a free trade port now, what problems will be brought about, we can't predict yet." ”

"You guys wait a minute." Liu Jun interrupted the conversation between the two people, "I don't understand what mercantilism is. ”

"It's actually very simple, I'll explain it to you." Xu Lang spoke Yazhou dialect again, "Mercantilism, also known as the commercial standard, is a popular business theory in Europe now. It is based on the belief that a country's national power is based on the wealth that can be obtained through a trade surplus, i.e., exports greater than imports. The theory is that the more gold and silver a country accumulates, the richer and stronger it becomes. He advocated state intervention in economic life, banned the export of gold and silver, and increased the import of gold and silver. Mercantilists believed that the best way to obtain this wealth was to have the government regulate agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing; the development of foreign trade monopolies; protecting the domestic market through high tariff rates and other trade restrictions; and use the colonies to provide raw materials and markets for manufacturing in the home country. ”

After Xu Lang finished speaking, Liu Jun looked at An Yuhang, and then at Ye Zhan: "Do you understand?" ”

"Report sir." Ye Zhan shook his head, "Chief of General Staff Xu is too profound, and his subordinates can't understand it. ”

"Let's put it this way." Fan Qiuming explained, "Mercantilism means that if I make money, I can't make you money, because if you have money, I will be poor." And free trade means that there are no restrictions, and anyone can make money, because only if you make money, I can make your money. ”

"I see." Liu Jun nodded thoughtfully.

"That's not what we're talking about." "Our main task now is to strengthen Singapore's defenses and wait for news from home. Again, recruit more locals. ”

"Chief of the General Staff, I'm afraid this matter is a little difficult." Liu Jun said, "The locals are all on the Malacca side, and now under the bewitchment of Westerners, they are very hostile to us. He Chaoyong also had several conflicts at this time, and it was not so easy to recruit them. ”

"Malacca can't do it, but there's a place where it might be." Xu Lang walked to the side of the map, "Sumatra." After the Kingdom of Sumatra was destroyed by the Portuguese, many people fled to the island of Sumatra, and now that we have a ship, we will send someone to see if we can contact them. ”

"Is it in time?" An Yuhang asked, "It's already October, and according to the time calculation, there should be news from Taiwan, and the Westerners may be gathering troops and may attack here at any time." ”

"Try your best, go and get back quickly." After Xu Lang finished speaking, he looked around, "There is another matter, Li Fuqiang may have to attack Brother Pulian once." ”

"He's going to attack Priangor at this time?" Everyone present was shocked by Xu Lang's words.

"You don't have to look at it, attacking Priango is a last resort." Xu Lang said with a smile, "Li Fuqiang's southern expedition has dragged on for a long time, and the North Vietnamese side is anxious. Moreover, he is also short of manpower to grow peppercorns in Kampot and may be profitable. We don't have to worry about the affairs over there, Li Fuqiang will take care of it. ”

Zeng Guangxian has been staying in Taiwan and has not left, since the conditions were put forward with the Westerners, the reaction of the Westerners has been reversed, one will say that they can evacuate Taiwan, and the other will say that they will ask the governor of Batavia for instructions; One time he said that he needed to withdraw military expenses, and the other time he said that he could not do without, and he did not withdraw from the island of Taiwan for two months.

Wang Zhaoxing's Second Fleet had already reached the island of Taiwan, and Zeng Guangxian and Wang Zhaoxing went to the General's Mansion to meet with Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhihu.

"General Zheng, have you received an answer from the Westerners?"

"Not really." Zheng Zhilong was a little angry, "Brother Zeng, Zheng feels that Westerners are playing tricks on us now, and they don't want to withdraw from Taiwan at all." ”

"General Zheng, how many warships do you have in Taiwan?" Zeng Guangxian asked directly.

Zheng Zhilong did not answer positively: "Does Brother Zeng mean to use force directly?" ”

"General Zheng." Zeng Guangxian arched his hand, "The meaning of our Yulin Bay has been clear to the general, and this place in Taiwan depends on whether the general is interested." ”

"It's just Brother Zeng." Zheng Zhihu said on the side, "With your Pearl Ship we naturally won't have anything to worry about, but in case you evacuate Taiwan in the future, if the Westerners come again, this 。。。。。。 ”

"Is Brother Zheng worried about this?" Zeng Guangxian said with a smile, "Don't hide it from the two of you, I just received an order from Yulin Bay, if you want to fight, you will completely beat the Westerners down, and you will never give them a chance to turn over, this is one of them." Second, we are rushing to build four 500-ton warships at home, which will be delivered to General Zheng next year, each of which is equipped with 20 24-pound guns and can fight up to 1,000 zhang. ”

"Brother Zeng, is this true?" The eyes of the two Zheng Zhilong brothers widened at the same time.

"How dare you deceive General Zheng." Zeng Guangxian did receive an order from Yulin Bay, and the order given to Zeng Guangxian by the two committees was that in order to reduce the pressure on Singapore, it was best to rely on the strength of the Pearl and Zheng Zhilong in Taiwan to fight the Westerners first. Of course, we can't completely annihilate the power of the Westerners, but we will try to sink those two 800-ton warships. At the same time, Japan was used as bait to persuade Zheng Zhilong and Yulin Bay to attack Lushun together next year.

Zheng Zhilong's heart turned a few times, but he didn't say it explicitly: "Brother Zeng, if you really drive the Westerners out of Taiwan this time, Zheng will probably be useless with those four warships." ”

"What a cunning old fox." Zeng Guangxian secretly cursed in his heart and said, "General Zheng is too worried. For these four warships, we only charge the cost price, plus the cannons, a total of 3 million taels of silver. But the general needs to promise us one thing. ”