The importance of the Taiwan branch to the Dutch East India Company can be seen from the site selection, the company ruled the city of Geranza in Taiwan specially built on the island chain of the open sea, between the towering fortress and the island of Taiwan there is also a large area of excellent haven, strong artillery fortress completely wrapped the harbor behind the back, once the enemy from the sea wants to break into the port, must first bear the fierce shelling of the city of Geranza.

Historically, Zheng Cheng's function captured the city of Geranza, luck accounted for a large component, don't look at him has more than 25,000 soldiers and horses, but the Dutch only have more than 2,000, but regardless of the terrain or weapons, the Dutch have the advantage, Zheng Chenggong's army is taking advantage of the tide, forcibly breaking through the narrow waterway of the city of Geranza into the inner harbor, breaking the Dutch's fortress in the later Tainan City, and then launching an attack from the back of the city of Geranza.

Even so, under the fire of the Dutch fortress, Zheng's army still suffered heavy casualties, and it was only by besieging the city that they recaptured Taiwan.

Speaking of which, Mao Jue's excuse for the East India Company's attack on Taiwan is a bit out of place, because this excuse was learned from an unspeakable opponent, the Japanese devil.

In the 77 Incident in later generations, the Japanese army asked to enter the city to search under the pretext that a soldier was missing in Wanping City, but the Chinese defenders refused, thus opening the beginning of the all-out war of resistance.

With such a strong defense, would the Dutch accede to the unreasonable demands of the East India Company?

The answer is yes, not exactly!

"Ladies and gentlemen, agree to let those wise people in! If there is a fight, the company's finances will suffer an avalanche next year! ”

At the Governor's Palace, at the Board of Directors' Meeting, Sir Nan Shiting, the secretary of the company in charge of the negotiations, had a gloomy face and made a difficult suggestion.

"I agree, it was the Spaniards who slaughtered the Ming Haiqiao and angered the Ming, although in the East these years, the company has a certain cooperation with the Spaniards, but we don't need to offend the big money owner of the Ming Dynasty for the Spaniards!"

Captain Beder of Geranza nodded in agreement.

After all, the Dutch East India Company is to make money in business as the main purpose, for the indigenous kind of war they are very happy, and the same Westerners compete for trade routes, they also have motivation, but with the Ming Dynasty, this kind of war is destined to lose, no one is willing to do it, the attitude of the two people represents the opinions of most of the directors present, a large group of Dutch businessmen can't help but nod their heads, and even a Dutch director snorted darkly.

"Anyway, there are still more than a dozen Portuguese and Genoese people in the prison, so let's take them as the culprits and hand them over to the Ming people."

But in the midst of the sound of approval, a dull cough rang out suddenly, interrupting the chaotic discussion, and to everyone's surprise, Governor Vanderberg, who had always advocated friendship and harmony with the Ming Dynasty, stood up with an old face.

"I'm against it!"

"Lord Governor!"

Full of disbelief, Nan Shiting also stood up, but saw that the old officer who had survived the eighty-year war shook his head with worry.

"Guys, don't you understand? The Spaniards provoked the Ming Dynasty just an excuse, this year, the regent of the Ming Dynasty, Lord Mao, acquired the British East India Company, this Oriental leader is completely different from other Eastern leaders who are attached to the land, the Tuwang chieftain, he has an extraordinarily greedy appetite, even if there is no Spaniards stupidly slaughtered the Ming people, the Ming will still be fully invested in the South Seas, this war is inevitable!"

Looking gloomily at the stunned directors, Vanderbilt slammed his fist on the table.

"Gentlemen, if we want to stay in the East any longer, we must fight with the Ming Dynasty with all our might, defeat these fleets that the Ming have just established, and make the Ming people fear us, so that this cornucopia can be completely handed over to us! Otherwise, according to the influence of the Ming people in Nanyang, the distance from Nanyang! Soon, we'll have to be kicked out of the South Seas!"

"Let's vote again! Gentlemen!"

After a few words, the directors of the company who listened to them were all earthy, and there was silence on the round table for two or three minutes, and Nan Shiting finally nodded with difficulty.

"I'll go to Batavia to contact Chief Rufeli and send the main force of the fleet to have a decisive battle with Daming!"

"The Spaniards are the ones who provoked this war, and they must also enter the war and compensate the company for its losses!"

"I'll order the lads to go and prepare now, move the grain and grass into the cellar, and block the harbor with artillery!"

…………

In a few words, the direction of the board of directors completely changed, and after the division of labor among the officers and directors was clear, they immediately went out, and soon, Vanderbilt was left alone in the governor's palace, and the old officer stood up worriedly, and looked out with a pair of dim old eyes.

Although he had fought such a long war with the Spaniards, for the first time, he felt so much pressure, and the Ming Dynasty was completely different from the aggressive but powerful Spanish Empire!

How nice it would have been if I had agreed to work with the Lord Regent last time? It's just half of the shares, according to the excellent ports of the Ming Dynasty, the rich products and the same shipbuilding capacity as cheating, far more than the price paid, the two join forces, the Oriental Sea will be monopolized by the Netherlands and the Ming Dynasty, and even the Caribbean and the New World are not able to dominate, why face this behemoth now?

Thinking of this, Vanderbilt sighed deeply again, God willing!

Once again, Zheng Zhilong's flagship ushered in the envoy of the Dutch, but this time, Nan Shiting's attitude was even more resolute and angry than the last time!

"The Dutch East India Company has never been united with the Spaniards, and the Great Man is also one of the sacred and valuable assets of the East India Company, and we will never allow anyone to touch the stain, and the reply of the Great Board of Directors is that the fleet of the Great Ming will immediately retreat from the city of Geranza, otherwise the company will declare war on the Great Ming!"

That's what you want! Glancing at Zheng Zhilong, the corners of their mouths were hooked with a sinister smile, this time, Yuan Dabao, the sergeant's advisor, respected Zheng Zhilong's rights and faced Nan Shiting, he stood up mightily and snorted coldly.

"Since the Red-haired Clan doesn't know how to lift, let's go to war!"

…………

The Ming Dynasty had just gone to sea, and it directly provoked the new overlord of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch, known as the coachmen of the sea.

However, this war is a bit boring, in history, Zheng Chenggong attacked with passion, as soon as he attacked, he forced Luermen and captured the Red City, but after the war with the Dutch East India Company was confirmed, Zheng Zhilong actually ordered the withdrawal of the army.

The army was mainly entrenched in the area of Taipei, transporting building materials from Fuzhou, and also building artillery forts, and then gradually expanding southward, picking up the Dutch strongholds on the island of Taiwan one by one.

We're just a lot of people!

In the old days, Zheng Zhilong's pirates had more than 27,000 people, and under Mao Jue's policy tendencies, most of them were equipped with bayonets, flintlock pistols and cannons, which were even more advanced than the Dutch arquebuses.

At this time, the Mao Jue East India Company was completely different from Zheng Chenggong's Ming and Zheng periods, Zheng Chenggong at that time, the entire continent was occupied by the Qing army, Fujian's Longwu regime was broken, Zheng Chenggong only had a foothold in Xiamen, and he was still facing the Qing army's back march at any time, so he sent troops to Taiwan, he was desperate, and he came up to fight to the death with the Dutch to fight for the dominance of the city of Geranza.

Now Mao Jue's East India Company doesn't have so many bad things, although the six provinces in the south of the Yangtze River are still in the hands of Zhu Yousong in the Southern Ming Dynasty, but it is absolutely impossible for him to send the army to find Mao Jue's stubble, and the back road is safe and worry-free, so you can play slowly!

Under the noses of the Dutch, Daming took over the Dutch plantations, manors, villages, and warehouses one after another, and the most fierce place in the entire battlefield was actually the company's temporary subscription base in Keelung Castle.

"Leave me one! Leave me one!"

"I'm going to contract three!"

The silver ticket was held high, just like when he subscribed for the shares of the East India Company, and a large number of merchants from the Ming Dynasty had red eyes and grinned forward, eager to snatch the account books in the hands of the clerks in front of them and sign their names.

On the one hand, it is the land plot of the Daming clan, and now in the Ming Dynasty, Mao Jue is a land austerity policy, restricting land annexation, buy this land, you have to plough it! Otherwise, the fine is enough for you to cry, at this time, Beiming's labor cost has risen a lot, and the income is too small, but the policy here is relaxed a lot, as long as you have silver, you can buy as much land as you want.

On the other hand, you can't lose it here! The reason why the Dutch have come all the way to come here is because it is profitable! It is much richer than Hainan, and the deerskins, medicinal herbs, sugar and spices produced here are all in demand, and the manpower here is much cheaper than that in Daming.

Before the battle started, Mao Jue's East India Company had already begun to make a profit, and in November and December, the company earned more than 3 million taels of silver just from the sale of land, earning back more than half of the war capital invested in advance.

As for the sailor, he is stationed in Penghu, and the South China Sea pirates who have changed shotguns have done their old job again, squatting at the gate of your city of Relansha, if you have a boat to dare to come out, it is not possible to rob you!

It is really the arrival of the magnificent era of piracy, in the dense sea fog, a Dutch merchant ship carefully pulled the triangular sail along the current, and the atmosphere did not dare to go out along the current to the southeast of Luzon, the ship was loaded with Taiwan's specialties.

The sun gradually rose, the sea fog slowly dispersed, looking at the empty sea behind him, the Dutch captain wearing a three-cornered hat couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, put down the monoculars, and immediately roared anxiously.

"Full sail and full speed ahead!"

"Captain!"

Suddenly, several crew members shouted in panic, followed by a sudden tremor in their hearts, the captain raised the telescope nervously, and in his pupils, the flag with the word Zheng was also full of sails, and it was suddenly wrapped from Taitung, which was leaning towards the Pacific Ocean.

On the top of the three Ming boats, a young man with a hairstyle similar to that of a Japanese man, wearing a wide robe, and carrying a samurai sword on his back also held his binoculars high, and his eyes in his binoculars were so bright that they almost glowed, and he muttered in his mouth.

"The silver has come to the door!"

"Full sails, full rudders, don't let the meat ticket run!"

(End of chapter)