Lin Tongwen had seen the Dutch fleet and had also boarded the large armed merchant ships of the Netherlands, but he was still shocked by Chen Shouxu's fleet.

The Changliu flag and various pirate flags fluttered in the wind.

Seven Galen warships, and he recognized the whaling ships as battleships. Of course, the Melville also had 4 4-pounder guns and 6 swing guns for self-defense, and it was not a big problem to bully the boat.

Three large dhows, many people like this type of ship.

The junk boat took overboard, and Chen Shouxu invited the guests to board the Changshui. Marmont was a captain who was even stricter than Chen Shouxu, and during the two days of berthing, all the warships of the fleet were thoroughly cleaned. The decks are all brand new.

The admiral of the fleet boarded the ship, and the boatswain blew two short and one long whistle. The Marines saluted with guns and the marching band played "He's a pirate." This piece was slowly recalled by Chen Shouxu during the long voyage, and it has been changed beyond recognition compared to the original song, but the passionate tone has not changed, and the rhythm of rapid advancement has not changed. As soon as the music was released, it was loved by the majority of officers and men of the fleet.

Chen Shouxu returned the salute to the Marines until he walked through the neat queue of the Marines. He watched Lin Tongwen's expression change with satisfaction, and stretched out his hand to the stern, "Brother Lin, please." ”

Lin Tongwen quickly returned to normal after a short period of distraction, but if you look closely, you can still find some unnaturalness.

The stern of the Changshui is naturally much larger than that of the Junk ship, and Chen Shouxu directly brought Lin Tongwen into the officer's cabin and invited the guests to sit at the round table. He returned to his room, took out his last bottle of Andean brandy, took out two more cups, and held the legs of them with his left hand.

"Brother Lin, I don't have tea here, only wine."

Lin Tongwen was in need of a glass of spirits from the Andes in South America in 1636 to suppress his shock, "Brother Chen is polite. ”

Lin Tongwen took the wine glass, frowned, drank it all, and then put the wine glass heavily on the table. He wiped the wine from the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand, and at this moment, it seemed as if he was no longer the personable maritime merchant.

"Brother Chen has done a great job! Lin is ashamed, compared to his brother Tai, it is far worse. ”

Chen Shouxu: "What do you think of what Brother Lin said on the way here?" ”

Lin Tongwen: "Brother Chen, I won't tell you, you started to tell me that you want to occupy the country of Beidan, and I only think you are talking crazy." ”

Chen Shouxu: "Now." ”

Lin Tongwen drank another glass of wine, "Now I'm willing to accompany Brother Chen to go crazy!" ”

Chen Shouxu: "Brother Lin should know the strength of Pattani very well, what do you think we should do?" ”

Lin Tongwen: "Brother Chen's soldiers, I think they are stronger than the Dutch. As long as there is a surprise, it is very promising for us to cooperate in Pattani. Does Tan Shou Xu have a map of Malay? ”

Chen Shouxu shook his head, his own map only had geographical significance for now.

Lin Tongwen immediately got up and walked out of the officer's cabin, shouted a few times to his ship on the deck, and brought a European-style map later, which was not the freehand style of ancient China.

Lin Tongwen opened the map on the table, "Brother Chen, I thought about it carefully just now, it is indeed a good idea for you to choose Pattani. Pattani was originally a vassal state of Siam, but ten years ago, Siam Suligawang executed the former king and proclaimed himself the lord of the Golden Temple. The queen of Pattani used this as an excuse to no longer recognize the suzerainty of Siam. ”

Chen Shouxu has been to Thailand, and he knows that this history mentioned by Lin Tongwen is also the main reason why he chose Pattani.

There were many harbors in Southeast Asia suitable for the fleet to anchor, but what his fleet needed was a ready-made harbor, and it was difficult for him to start from a barren beach. Among these ready-made harbors, Pattani is his best choice. Pattanii is located right in the middle of Buddhist culture and green religion culture. At present, although the Green Religion has a greater advantage in numbers, Buddhism has Siam as a big backer. Siam was undoubtedly the most powerful country in the vicinity, and the Ayutthaya dynasty made several expeditions to Malacca at its strongest, defeating the local sultanates.

Songkhla, Kedah, Pahang, Kelantan, and Pattani all paid tribute to Ayutthaya. It wasn't until Siam was annihilated by Tokhu that the northern Malay states were relieved of the mountain of pressure. Although Nalixuan was restored to the kingdom later, Siam's main enemy was always the Taungoo Dynasty, and its control over the Pattani kingdoms had been greatly reduced. Ten years ago, the Queen of Pattani took advantage of the change of Siam's throne and declared independence with the support of Johor and Pahang.

Suruga Vawang's army failed to capture Pattani. Siam sent troops on three expeditions, and Pattani was also reinforced by Johor and Pahang. Siam asked Batavia to send troops together, and Batavia agreed. But the first time there were no troops, the second time it was slow, and the third time Batavia didn't want to fight. The 30,000 Siamese army failed to capture Pattani, and finally withdrew under the mediation of the Sultan of Kedah and Batavia. Pattani became de facto independent, but Siam did not give up suzerainty in words.

Chen Shouxu: "How many troops did Johor and Pahang send to reinforce Pattani at that time? ”

Lin Tongwen: "A total of 5,000 people and 40 warships. ”

Chen Shouxu: "Why does Brother Lin think Siam will lose three times in a row? It is said that their strength far outnumbered the Hui troops. ”

Lin Tongwen: "Brother Chen doesn't know. The Malay and East Indies are hot and rainy, densely forested, and have very poor land transportation. When a large army went on an expedition, it was almost impossible to supply grain and grass from land, so everyone used sea ships to transport it. More than ten years ago, the Sultan of Mataran sent 300,000 troops to besiege Batavia, and the city of Batavia had only 2,000 defenders, and the city walls were not even completed. But the Dutch wiped out Matalan's convoy at sea, and the more troops the Sultan of Mataran sent, the more terrible the deaths became, and the corpses of his army paved the way of retreat from Batavia to the east. ”

Chen Shouxu: "What Brother Lin means is that Siam is not unable to break through Pattani from land, but that it does not have the strength to win naval battles. ”

Lin Tongwen: "Unless Siam exerts the strength of the whole country and besieges the city, another 100,000 people will be recruited for transport." As long as Siam dared to do this, Taungoo in Burma would dare to send troops to attack Ayutthaya. So at that time, King Parasadon (meaning the Lord of the Golden Temple) needed a fleet from Batavia. ”

Chen Shouxu: "Since Siam has a good relationship with Batavia, why did the Dutch send troops in the end?" ”

Lin Tongwen: "This has something to do with the Portuguese tooth people. The Dutch had always wanted to destroy the Portuguese in Malacca, but their own strength was not enough. They had been trying to contact the local sultanate, but Aceh did not agree, and only Johor remained. Now besieging Malacca is the combined Dutch-Johor forces. Four years ago, Siam's last military envoy, Pattani, was supported by Johor, when the Dutch were already preparing for this siege of Malacca, and it was impossible to offend the Sultan of Johor. ”

At present, in Southeast Asia, except for landlocked countries such as Laos, as well as the three powerful countries of Dongoo, Siam, and Quang Nam, they can not care much about the Dutch, and for other countries, the attitude of the Dutch is decisive. However, the Dutch were at the same time in demand for the Sultan of Johor, and it would be difficult for Siam to attack Pattani, which had a certain defensive force, without naval escort.

After a few glasses of wine, Lin Tongwen was more active than Chen Shouxu on how to capture the Great Year.

Chen Shouxu is now a little worried, "Since the Dutch have a request from the Sultan of Johor, the Sultan of Johor supports Pattani. You said earlier that the prince of the Sultan of Johor is engaged to the new queen of Pattani, how should we deal with the relationship with Johor and the Netherlands? ”

Lin Tongwen sneered, "Brother Chen, over the years I have been in Nanyang, I have seen a lot of intrigue and death-defying infighting between returning to China. After the restoration of King Narixuan, Siam was actually not strong enough to go on expeditions to Malacca, and the reason why these sultans surrendered to Ayutthaya was because of Aceh. During the reign of the Sultan Iskandar of Aceh, he conquered Malacca, destroying the capital of Kedah and plundering Johor, Pahang and Perak, taking away a total of 40,000 slaves of his co-religion. In those years, slaves on the market were as cheap as dogs. Iskandar brought back more than 20,000 slaves from Archie, and a few years later only 1,500 remained. These co-religious sultanates fought each other much more fiercely than outsiders. The Sultan of Kedah then ran to Lok Sihm and asked for asylum in Siam. It was also at that time that Pattani regained his vassal status to Siam. ”

The Malay sultanates are at war with each other, and this year they are still married and called brothers, and tomorrow they may meet each other and fight to the death.

Lin Tongwen: "The marriage between Johor and Pattani is just to restore the glory of the Malacca Dynasty. Brother Chen, think about it, will the Dutch allow Johor to rebuild an empire in Malacca? They are now asking for the Johoreans, but as long as they take Malacca, I can assure you that the Dutch are only thinking about how to weaken the Johoreans. To Anthony. Fan. For Dimmen, there can only be one center in the South Seas, and that is Batavia. Our family is already coping. With the Dutch's means, Malacca's future trade status would never be as high as that of the Portuguese. The Dutch only need to destroy Malacca, not build it. ”

Lin Tongwen analyzed this, and Chen Shouxu felt that his intuition was not bad. He chose Pattani more because he was sandwiched between Green Religion and Buddhism, and intuitively there would be opportunities. Although his first choice is Pattani, if it is really difficult, he also thinks about where to go. Between Quang Nam and Chenla, there is still a borderland. The Golden Ou Peninsula and the Mekong Estuary. It's just that there is no foundation there now, and he has to start from scratch.

Chen Shouxu: "Can Brother Lin convince the family when he goes back?" ”

Lin Tongwen: "I do my best. Brother Chen, don't worry, if the family doesn't agree, I will do it with you. It's just that Brother Chen wants to give me a reason to convince the family, if I capture Pattani, what will happen after that? ”

Chen Shouxu: "Does Brother Lin know about the Republic of Venice?" We can learn from the Italians. ”

Lin Tongwen's understanding of Europe is not as good as that of Italy, and Chen Shouxu has to explain it to him.

In Chen Shouxu's vision, this future republic should be the link between the pirate fleet and the Chinese merchants in the South Seas. Adopting a republican form of government, the existing officers and men of his fleet and the Chinese merchants of the South Seas, not limited to Pattani, together formed the superstructure of the republic. The fleet provided protection by force, and the Chinese merchants provided trade. As long as he can seize China's Western shipping routes and ensure a steady flow of Chinese goods into the South Seas through Pattani, the country will have a long-term logic. Trade and money are the foundation of a nation, war is temporary, and trade is eternal. Trade can turn a blood feud into an ally, and money can turn an enemy into a friend.

Chen Shouxu explained in detail to Lin Tongwen what a republic is, the difference between a republic and a monarchy, the difference between a republic and democracy, and the Republic, not Democracy. In the words of later generations, freedom and republic are the two banners of the big bourgeois landlords.

Lin Tongwen nodded frequently when he listened, this is the form of organization that businessmen who go to the South Seas dream of.

Since it is possible to capture Pattani, the remaining work is how to capture it.

Lin Tongwen: "How does Brother Chen plan to attack Pattani?" ”

Chen Shouxu: "Take the fleet and the Sulu pirates to the door directly, hold down and beat them violently." I don't think these green armies are strong. ”

Lin Tongwen only felt that the sweat was about to come out, "Didn't Brother Chen make a detailed plan to capture the big day?" ”

Chen Shouxu shook his head, he didn't even have a detailed map of the local area, what a plan. In fact, although he appeared confident in front of the fleet and the Sultan, he actually took one step at a time. Chen Shouxu just felt that in this troubled world, Nanyang would definitely have a chance.

Lin Tongwen: "Because of the war with Siam, the main defense of Pattani was to face land. His coastal batteries are not strong, but it will be more troublesome to cooperate with the fleet. We need to destroy their fleets first, especially the mercenaries in Johor and Pahang. ”

Chen Shouxu: "What is the best way for Brother Lin?" ”

Lin Tongwen: "I wonder if Brother Chen still wants to have more helpers?" I know some of the best and I'm sure they'll be interested. ”

Chen Shouxu: "Brother Lin, is your friend reliable?" ”

Lin Tongwen: "I can guarantee that they have no contact with those sultans in the South Seas. ”

Chen Shouxu: "That's fine." As long as they contribute to us, the brothers will all be members of the Senate in the future. "It's going to be a blank check, and there's no cost for Chen Shouxu to open it.

Lin Tongwen: "They are on Wuxia Island (Great Natuna Island), and I happened to contact them on the way back." ”

Chen Shouxu's face was solemn, and he took out a gold coin, "Brother Lin, I only believe in two things." He tossed the gold coin into the air and caught it again, "Money, and cannons." ”

"You can bring trade, and I have cannons. Our cooperation will certainly be very promising. I don't mind having more friends, but you and I have to be very cautious until we conquer Pattani. ”

Lin Tongwen was stunned, "Thank you Brother Chen for reminding me." ”

The two continued to drink, and Chen Shouxu asked him with the strength of the wine: "Brother Lin, these sultanates in Nanyang are fighting all day long, and the Chinese are very uncomfortable in the middle." ”

Lin Tongwen: "Not really. It is not uncommon for ships to lose their money when they encounter wars. However, we Chinese are relatively detached in the war in the South Seas, whether it is a foreigner or a sultan, no matter who wins the war, they have to rely on us. They would often slaughter cities for martyrdom among themselves, but generally would not do anything to the Chinese. It's just that the people involved in the La-la-Ran people are too hateful, and they slaughtered 20,000 compatriots at one time last year. ”

This Chen Shouxu knows. The Spaniards killed more than 40,000 Chinese in two massacres in Manila in 1603 and 1640.

Chen Shouxu stared at Lin Tongwen, "Brother Lin, the Spaniards slaughtered the Chinese because they felt threatened by the Chinese, and Manila was too dependent on Chinese trade. ”

Chen Shouxu's words sound so unreasonable, since he is dependent, why do he want to slaughter? But the reality was that after the first massacre of the Spaniards, they themselves were worried about losing Chinese trade. But under the temptation of silver, the Chinese still sailed to Manila one after another. There is no way, the pressure of domestic survival is too great, and the opportunities at sea are too tempting. So in the second massacre of 1640, the Spaniards were no longer under pressure.

Lin Tongwen raised his neck and drank a glass of wine, "Brother Chen, although I don't know the Chinese in Manila, but the blood and water are of the same origin, and the ones I hate the most are the Spaniards." Since the imperial court doesn't care about the lives and deaths of overseas Chinese, I have to do something myself. I don't sell goods to the Sultan of Sulu and sell him arms to make money, but more than this is a safe place to make money. I just wanted to take revenge on the Spaniards. ”

Chen Shouxu: "Brother Lin." The court is unreliable, we have to rely on ourselves. Although the indigenous countries on the Western route and the Dutch and Hui people in the South Seas have a good attitude towards the Chinese. But if the Chinese had been obsessed with trade and not their own cannons, I am almost certain that what happened in Manila would have been repeated in the South Seas. ”

Lin Tongwen was already drunk and hazy, "Brother Chen." The good brother of the ancestor and the ancestor, Lin Feng. They all wanted to lay a world for the Chinese overseas. Lin Feng led 5,000 people to storm Manila that year and fought hard in recent years. It's a pity that in the end, he was jointly killed by the imperial court and the related people. The ancestor and the imperial court fought bloody battles for more than ten years, and the imperial court's army was not vulnerable at all, but the imperial court's army was endless, and the ancestor had no choice in the end, so he led more than 2,000 old brothers to settle down in this big year. Lin Tongwen hugged his fists to the sky, "Brother Chen, if the republic you said can be established, I will also fulfill the last wish of my ancestors." ”

Chen Shouxu came up with wine, "Brother Lin is not afraid that if we fail, the Chinese in Pattani will be very dangerous?" ”

Lin Tongwen: "I can't manage so much, whether it's a blessing or a curse, I'll bet on this." If it didn't work, I moved all my business to Siam, and then returned to Pattani with the Siamese. ”

Chen Shouxu: "Brother Lin is so courageous. That's what I'm saying, I have 300 cannons, and if I shoot all the shells, I can smash the walls of Pattani. ”

Lin Tongwen's tears swept away, "Brother Chen, we must succeed." Do you know. Most of the soldiers brought by my grandfather and the Chinese who emigrated to Pattani are the credit of the soldiers who came to Pattani now. But, however, there were too many of them. They took power. When I was a child, the queen who came to power in Pattani, in order to please the envoys of the foreigners, asked my grandfather's subordinates to dance in the square in front of the palace with their chests and arms bare. Brother Chen, those 400 people are all warriors who have followed their grandfather through countless bloody battles. I still can't forget the humiliating look in my uncle's eyes at that time. But we really couldn't help it at the time. ”

Chen Shouxu sailed in and patted Lin Tongwen on the shoulder, "Chen admires the heroes and heroes on the sea the most in his life, and when our country is built, we must give them a monument and set up a biography, so that their deeds will not be wiped out overseas." ”