Fort Freshwater.

He met with the visiting senior merchant of the United East India Company and the second-in-command of the Council of Geranza, Weatherling.

"Your Excellency, Matsolko tells me to come and pay you a visit as soon as you return from your long voyage. This is a gift that we have always entrusted me with. ”

Shou Xiang received the heavy gift.

A model of an 80-gun battleship, carved with railings and paintings, is very exquisitely made. The most conspicuous feature of the ship is the large coat of arms at the stern, which surrounds the lion of Orange in the seven provinces.

The ship had two layers of continuous gun decks, and the outboard waist board had a gangway, but the deck did not, and it could be seen that the battleship was transitioning to a flat deck, and the sails were equipped with more winged sails.

The Netherlands, due to port depth restrictions, did not have such large warships. There is a sandbar outside the port of Amsterdam, which is very difficult for large ships to get in and out, and they have to tie pontoons to the sides of the ship to lift the hull to pass through the channel.

"Is this your new battleship?"

"Yes, the model of the Seven Provinces, Your Excellency."

"I remember that your country didn't have such a big warship before?"

"Our country has relaxed restrictions on the size of the construction of warships."

Relaxed or smaller than the British, the British battleships were generally larger than the Dutch battleships, the largest of the British battleships had more than 100 guns, the Dutch only 80. The Seven Provinces were placed at the level of second-class battleships in the United Kingdom, and many second-class ships in Britain had three layers of continuous gun decks.

"What a heavy gift, thank you on my behalf."

"I will tell you, Your Excellency."

"Sit down, Mr. Weatherline."

"Thank you, Your Excellency, has your voyage been smooth?"

The discovery of gold by the Federation on the east coast of Australia is no secret in Asia, but the shipping route is a secret. The Dutch were a little jealous of this.

"The southern route is not friendly to sailing boats, and we encountered a lot of difficulties during the voyage."

"As you can imagine, God willing, you have made your return without a hitch, and you have brought gold with you, adding fresh blood to our trade."

"Gold is not unusual, dear Mr. Weatherling, there are even greater gold mines on the west coast of Australia, which you frequent."

Wetherine was a little shocked, "Really, Your Excellency? ”

"Can you send an expedition to land, Mr. Weatherling, I remember that your early job was to explore the gold mines in Taiwan. Believe me, Western Australia is a bigger gem, and Taiwan is not worth mentioning. ”

"I'm sure you're right, I'll apply to the East India Council when I get back."

Shou Zhi smiled faintly, "You're going to have good luck, Mr. Weatherine." ”

Gold is a sight to behold, and it can also cause unnecessary wars. The Dutch were told that there was more gold in Western Australia and that it would be better to transport people to mine it than to spend money on war.

In the early days of the colony, it was basically input, and there was very little output. The cold snap in Western Australia was even less friendly to sailboats, and the galleon Batavia ran aground off the coast of Western Australia and sank.

It took more than a decade for the Confederation to achieve such a small success, and the Netherlands lacked manpower in Asia, and they had to pay a greater price for mining gold.

Gold was a side story, and Witherine had something else to do: "We have something to remind your country. ”

"Please."

"On the other side of the strait, the official surnamed Anhai and Xiamen sent people to collect fishing taxes from the Chinese many times, and he even set foot in Penghu. This was not tolerated by the United East India Company. ”

Shou Zhi held his chin with his left hand and listened quietly.

Witherine continued: "We have sternly warned Koku, he is stepping on the edge of a cliff, not to try to challenge our patience. ”

Orderly: "It sounds like you've spoken your mind. ”

"Yes, the country flinched in front of us, but he was doing it in other ways. He tortured the families of immigrants who did not pay taxes on the mainland in order to force our subjects to pay him money. ”

"I understand your position, Mr. Weatherling, but what can I do about it?"

"Join us in warning the national surname."

Shou Xuan pondered for a while, and said slowly, "I'm afraid I can't help it." The surname of the country is very strong in the Anhai area, and it won't listen to me. ”

"We know that, too. The country was in great difficulty on the mainland, and he had many soldiers under his command, and the United East India Company was worried that he would take risks. ”

Shou Xuan smiled, "Could it be that your fleet is still afraid of those junk ships?" ”

"There are tens of thousands of troops in the country. If we send a large fleet to Geranza, you know, it's a big burden on the company's finances. ”

"Well, Zheng Chenggong has at least 50,000 people, and you only have 1,200 people, you must stop him at sea."

The 1200 garrison was already the result of Batavia's efforts to increase the number of troops in Tainan, and Batavia needed to maintain the route from the Cape of Good Hope to Nagasaki, which was too long and not enough to divide the troops.

"So we need your Excellency to issue a joint statement with Geranza."

"What's the content?"

"We and China jointly guarantee the right of freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait, and any individuals and organizations that try to challenge this right will be jointly attacked by our two countries."

"Is this what Matsolko means?"

"Yes."

"If I'm not mistaken, we use the military to jointly maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, right?"

"Yes, we use our fleets and artillery to deter all potential hostile forces, including Tatars and nationals."

Orderly lit his pipe in thought, and the smoke clouded his expression.

"I could make this statement, but I don't think it's enough."

"Your Excellency, please speak."

Open the map in order.

"I have a suggestion for your consideration. We need to protect much more than the Taiwan Strait. The Federation respects your special rights and interests in the Nagasaki shipping route and the Strait of Malacca, so what we need to jointly safeguard is maritime trade in the entire South China Sea, from the opening of the northern part of the Taiwan Strait to the eastern side of the Strait of Malacca to the Riau Islands. ”

"What about the British vs. the Spaniards?"

"Pull them in together."

"Although China has negotiated peace with Britain and Spain, I am afraid that this will be difficult."

"Without your permission, the British could not cross Malacca or the Sunda Strait, and Spain brought in 2 million to 3 million pesos a year from the Americas, and it must be admitted that the South China Sea trade could not be separated from them."

According to recent data on trade with Manila, Shou Xian found that he had underestimated the courage of Manila's smuggling, and the volume of goods transported was several times the king's limit. That's good, and the federal revenue from it is almost a million taels a year.

"What about the Portuguese?"

"It is up to your country to decide whether or not to join the Portuguese."

Witherine nodded.

The Dutch-Portuguese war continued, with Sinhala i.e. Sri Lanka, Brazil and West Africa being the main battlefields.

The East India Company was fierce and beat the Portuguese to the point of not holding their heads up in Asia.

Two small countries on the Gold Coast in West Africa became Dutch protectorates.

The West India Company could not, and after Maurice of Nassau, in 1654, the Netherlands lost Recife. The Netherlands suffered a major setback in Brazil.

Since the Netherlands and Portugal were at war, this joint declaration could not bring the Portuguese in for the time being.

Spain and Portugal are in a strange state as well. After Portugal's independence from Spain, Portugal had no claims to Spanish territory, which Spain had in turn. The two countries fought several small wars in Europe, and on diplomatic occasions, Spain did not recognize Portugal's independence. But each country has stronger opponents, Portugal and the Netherlands, and Spain and France. Therefore, the two countries did not tear their faces.

The demands of the colonies are even more different from those of the mainland, and the Philippines has more cooperation with Macao. In 1642, after the independence of Portugal, the import duty paid by Macao merchant ships in Manila accounted for 50% of the local share. Trade between Manila and Macau has declined sharply recently, and Spain is trying to develop relations with Batavia.

The diplomatic relations of these European countries are changing rapidly, and the colonies are affected by them, and their own interests are superimposed, which is even more complicated.

It was a bit difficult to strike a political balance in it, but the order believed that Europeans came to the colonies to make a fortune. How good it is for everyone to be happy and make money together.

"Your suggestion is beyond my decision, and I must report it to Batavia," said Witherine. I think that regardless of the final outcome, our statement on the Taiwan Strait is a good start. ”

"Indeed, Mr. Senior Merchant. As a matter of good faith and as a first step, I agree that the two sides will first make a joint statement on the Taiwan Strait. ”

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Wetherine was glad she had achieved her goal.

"Mr. Weatherine, has Batavia sent an official mission to the Tatars?"

"Yes, they were ceremoniously received by the two royal highnesses of the old vassal king and the small vassal king in the city of Guangzhou."

The Dutch came into contact with the new Chinese conquistadors relatively early, and in 1653 Batavia and Shang Kexi tentatively negotiated trade matters, which Shang Kexi welcomed very much.

So in September 1655, .yzer was the chief and deputy head of the regiment, and led a delegation of 14 people to Guangzhou on two sailing ships. The purpose of the Dutch was to enter Beijing and talk directly to the Shunzhi Emperor.

Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao welcomed the Dutch with open arms and promised to bring the Dutch into Beijing on the condition that the Dutch come up with 300,000 taels of silver for the activity.

The Dutch were very generous, and although they did not give 300,000 taels, they gave 120,000 taels of silver, and gave 35,000 taels of silver as a gift from the two feudal clans of Ping and Jing.

Shang Kexi took the silver and became more enthusiastic, and held a very grand banquet in Huaiyuanyi.

The Dutch are still in Canton, awaiting a summons from Beijing.

Order expressed concern about Batavia's contacts with the Tatars. (Intervention may be required)

The two sides had a full exchange of views on the situation in China. (Unable to reach an agreement, noisy)

They have enhanced their understanding of each other's mainland policies. (The divergence is a bit big)

Respect the policy orientation of the Dutch mainland. (Not entirely agreeable)

After the meeting, both sides said that the talks were beneficial. (The goals of the two sides are far apart for the time being, and it would be nice to sit down and talk.) ）

"Mr. Wetherine, China has a population of 100 million, this is the largest market in the world, if the Chinese open the trade ban, we, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal combined, will not be able to eat."

"But the Tatars are still in the forbidden sea, Führer."

"What if we open that country?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. Senior Merchant, we have been friends with each other for more than ten years. Allow me to remind you that the Tatars are barbarians, they do not know what the spirit of contract is, and it is unreliable to pin any hope on the Tatars. ”

"Your Excellency," said Weatherine, "I will convey your words to Matsolko, and that the East India Council will be able to make the decision that is most favorable to the Netherlands." ”

Shou Xuan smiled, "When your mission returns, we can verify whether what I said is accurate." ”

"Yes, we'll find out soon."

Orderly sent Weatherine to the door of the residence, "Goodbye, Mr. Weatherine. ”

"Goodbye, my Führer."

Witherine walked to the harbor and boarded a flute-shaped ship returning from Japan to replenish supplies with fresh water.

This boat has a deep draft and cannot enter the inland sea of the Taijiang River, and if it is not replenished in fresh water, it will go to Penghu. Obviously, the commercial conditions of Tamsui are ten times better than those of Penghu, so Dutch merchant ships returning from Japan mostly choose to dock in Tamsui and do some business by the way.

After setting sail from Tamsu, the flute boat will no longer stay and sail straight to Batavia.

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Note: Jiangnan caused some confusion in the previous article, and no one has read the work, so I will explain it a little here.

The Ming Dynasty had two capitals in the north and south, and the Qing Dynasty canceled Nanjing and changed it to Jiangning. Jiangnan Province of the Qing Dynasty was inherited from the Southern Zhili of the Ming Dynasty, and its jurisdiction was roughly the two provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu today. The so-called Liangjiang Governor first referred to Jiangnan Province and Jiangxi Province, and later to Jiangsu, Anhui Province, and Jiangxi Province.

The names of Anqing and Jiang provinces only appeared for the first time in the Qing Dynasty, and the first word of Anqing and Huizhou was Anhui, and the first word of Jiangning and Suzhou was Jiangsu.

The Governor is the Dispatching Officer and the Inspector, and theoretically the Chief Secretary is the administrative body.

After the division of Jiangnan Province, the Anhui political envoy was stationed in Jiangning, and the Jiangsu political envoy was stationed in Suzhou. In this sense, since the establishment of Anhui, the provincial capital has been Nanjing (cover your face).

Later, the Qing Dynasty felt that it was a bit inappropriate to draw this line, so it moved the Anhui political envoy to Anqing.

The governor of Liangjiang led the political envoy of Jiangning to Jiangning, and managed the six prefectures of Jiangning, Huai'an, Yangzhou, Xuzhou, Haimen, and Tongzhou.

The governor of Jiangsu led the political envoy of Jiangsu to Suzhou, and governed the five prefectures of Suzhou, Changzhou, Songjiang, Zhenjiang and Taicang.

The governor of Anhui led the political envoy of Anhui to Anqing.

The governor of Jiangxi led the political envoy of Jiangxi to Nanchang.

Qingjiangpu, Huai'an Prefecture in northern Jiangsu, has the governor of Caoyun and the governor of the river. Later, he also served as the governor of Jiangbei, and he was also stationed in Qingjiangpu.

Within the theoretical jurisdiction of the Liangjiang Governor, there are three provinces, three governors, three governors, and four political envoys.

The weaker Governor of Liangjiang can't even get out of Nanjing, and he looks at his high status, but he is actually quite boring.

By the way, Jiangnan Province was separated, and there was no score in the exam, so it was called Nanfu, the first township test in the world.