As the pirate ship approached the docks and was still at sea, the pirates removed the fearsome black and golden-handed pirate flag and transformed the ship into a ship that looked no different from a long-distance ship.

The pirates rampant in the South China Sea, the composition is complex, on the bright side, there are Spaniards, Portuguese pirates, Qing pirates, and some small pirates composed of archipelagos, these official pirates are lined with mountains, each gang has its own unique flag, when doing things, the flag flutters, the carriage and horses are displayed, and they do not shy away from killing people and goods, ** plundering, and doing all kinds of evil. In addition, the Badawi merchants who held the slave capture license of the Dutch East India Company, and some Chinese ships that went to sea also sold dog meat on the head of sheep, and the profit of a sea trip was pitifully low.

The former kind of pirates robbed and kidnapped tickets, and at least had the hope of living when they met, and the latter kind of pirates would definitely die if they encountered them.

The leader of this group of pseudo-pirates is called Lin Chu, the bow of the ship hired by Fusheng Ji, who has done the business of murder and robbery in the past, and then encountered the killing of officers and soldiers, the original gang was scattered, and the bottom was leaked in the Qing soldiers, and the Qing Dynasty could not go back, so a few people ran to Batavia to make a living, and there were more than a dozen people mixed under their hands, and they made a living as coolies in Fusheng Ji, but they were used to the days of big fish and meat, and they could no longer eat clear soup porridge, so they simply wrapped the faces of the same boat when they ran the boat to do the next case, once they were dirty, no one was clean, came and went, and the whole ship of men was led to the wrong path.

This time Lin Chu took a secret job, the person who bought the murderer was an acquaintance in Lin Chu's original gang, and after he dispersed, he went ashore to wash his background, and threatened with his previous evil deeds, Lin Chu had to follow. So he arranged for the four faces under his hand to go to Guangzhou, and made the whole ship of business travel on the return trip, regardless of men, women and children, all of them were killed, but when they did it to the two children, it was like a celestial phenomenon, and they hit the boss with a thunderbolt, so that the subordinates were still a little frightened, but before the shore, everyone at least divided a hundred or ten taels of silver ingots to suppress the money, and they were all elated when they divided the money, and forgot the amazing thunderbolt to the clouds. As for conscience, a few singles under his hands may still be a little, Lin Chu has already sold that thing, in this era of ruling the world like troubled times, human life is as cheap as a dog, what is conscience.

"Xie Laosi, you are sharp! Upside down, haven't you eaten? The boat docked, set up a springboard, Lin Chu asked the leader of his subordinates to organize the unloading, "Liu San, let the brothers have long eyes, all the things that should be unloaded are unloaded, and the subcontracts that should not be unloaded are sunk to the bottom, find someone in the line to push the cart away, don't be cheap that old dog of Tessie!" ”

The tax collector of the East India Company stationed at the wharf was a red-nosed and big-nosed, and he usually collected taxes from Chinese merchants entering the port in two parts, one was handed over to the company, and the other was collected in his own pocket. After a few times, the big nose knew that Lin Chu's crew had some good things, and every time they entered the port, they would inevitably come to investigate and find out.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for a chubby Dutch tax official in bloomers to get on the boat, holding a pen in one hand and a tax book in the other.

Big Nose couldn't find an excuse so he had to settle the taxes and get off the boat, Lin Chu arranged everything, left the boat by himself, and walked towards the city.

Originally called Hata Calaba, in the 12th century, it was the trading port of the Bachachala dynasty, the last Hindu kingdom in West Java. Originally, it was the main place of residence of the foreign people, so the meaning of foreign karaba is "the land of coconut groves" or "the coconut groves of other people".

Because of the War of Independence, the relationship between the Netherlands and Spain was not good, and during the period when Spain and Portugal monopolized the spice trade, the Dutch could only buy spices from the Portuguese, and when Spain and Portugal merged into a single kingdom, the Dutch spice supply was cut off. The East India Company was formed by fourteen companies specializing in Oriental trade.

When the Dutch first arrived in the Southeast Asian islands, they made agreements with local chieftains to build warehouses and other structures on the banks of the Cilion River. On March 12, 1619, the Dutch successfully defeated their main rival, the British, and called the fortress they had built "Batavia", which means a tribute to the Dutch ancestors, the Batavians.

Although the name of Ba Cheng is very Dutch, the main population living in the city is Chinese. The Dutch East India Company saw the potential of the area, but a hundred years ago it was sparsely populated, lacked food, had no timber to build ships or houses, and the surrounding area was a desolate swampland, flooded during the rainy season, and from time to time tigers, wild boars, rhinoceros and other wild animals paraded near the port, and occasionally invited a few humans to live in the forest with their fangs and claws. The Dutch were seafaring and merchantable, but their population was small, and most of the people who were willing to emigrate to the Asian islands were East India Company employees and soldiers, and then homeless people and criminals who could not make it in Europe. In the early years of the opening of the city, some old virgins and maidens from Dutch orphanages were brought to the East Indies and anxiously snatched up by hundreds of seamen and soldiers, and even in the residence of Governor Kern, a young naval ensign ravaged a young noble girl, who had been entrusted to the custody of the Governor by her father. Although the East India Company encouraged Dutch men to marry local women, the Dutch population of Ba remained around 1,500 people.

The surrounding Muslim kingdoms were hostile and threatening to the Dutch, and the construction of Batavia also required a large number of human resources. The governor of the Dutch East India Company, Kern, recruited Chinese immigrants in many ways, and even hired oriental pirates to kidnap and plunder Chinese immigrants along the coast of the Ming Empire. For more than 100 years, due to the wars of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the change of dynasties, a large number of Chinese crossed the ocean to Bacheng, and because of the economic development of Bacheng, it also attracted Ming immigrants around Java Island, and these Chinese became the main pioneers of Batavia's urban construction. A hundred years later, the Chinese community had monopolized fishing, logging, brick making, construction, gardening, sugar cultivation and production, the supply of Qing goods, the operation of rice and shochu, all kinds of retail commerce and coastal trade in the city, and the 130 sugarcane plantations in the rural areas outside Bacheng belonged to 84 plantations, 79 of whom were Chinese, and became an ethnic class with a lower political status than the Dutch.

According to the lunar calendar, it is now the winter solstice, and the temperature in Batavia still cannot be lowered. Bypassing the towering fortress built by the East India Company next to the port, crossing the Jinshui Bridge among the local population, and following the river in the Chinatown area between the port area and the East City Gate, walk six or seven streets to Taifeng Teahouse.

The Dutch East India Company implemented the overseas Chinese consular system in the Chinese community, and the Chinese leaders were responsible for governing the government, and the Dutch governor appointed Chinese high-ranking powerful figures as "Kapitan" and "Lei Zhenlan" to deal with the internal management of the Chinese.

This Taifeng teahouse is opened by Lei Zhenlan Chen Fu of the Bacheng Hua District Public Hall, across the street is the public hall yamen of the Bacheng Chinese community, and then six or seven streets to the north through the street is the Bacheng Wharf, a little farther, but compared to other areas, there are many Chinese here, and the rows of shops and buildings are all shops opened by Chinese businessmen, which is an extremely lively place.

By this year, the number of Chinese in Bacheng has reached 4,199, accounting for almost 60% of the city's population. There are more and more Lei Zhenlan in the public court, and it is no longer elected by the Chinese elders, or by money, or by hereditary, most of them are rich and powerful wealthy families, and most of the shops on the entire Gongtang Street are "from Jia Lei", but because of this, the street is very safe, and there are few troublemakers and disturbing masters. Taifeng Tea House has also become a place for Chinese people to gather for leisure and inquire about news.

At this moment, the upper and lower floors of Taifeng Tea House are full of people, the big teapot is open before and after, chatting, drinking tea, and noisy are all messed up into a pot of porridge, but the Chinese like this lively, upstairs and downstairs noisy and noisy, chaotic into a pot, occasionally a few rough rags fly over people's heads, thrown from one guy to another, whether it is the merchants who drink the best tea upstairs or the coolies who drink inferior tea downstairs are accustomed to it, and do not care.

As soon as Lin Chu entered the door, the sharp-eyed guy stepped forward to greet him, "Lin Tou'er, you haven't been here for a long time!" How have you had a good business on the last few boat trips? ”

"Confused and confused." Lin Chu didn't plan to chat with anyone, he was here to find someone.

"Then please inside!"

Without waiting for the guy to say hello, Lin Chu went up to the second floor and entered the room in the corner of the river. There was a man with five big and three thick clothes sitting in the room, who was the "middleman" who wanted to blackmail Lin Chu to take over the job-Wang Gouliu.

"Damn, Lao Tzu is blowing the sea breeze on the sea, facing the waves, licking blood on the knife edge to find a way to live, you dog Liuzi looks like a dog here to drink tea and enjoy!" As soon as Lin Chu entered the door, he didn't have any good words, and his mouth kept being fragmented. He was really annoyed, it didn't feel good to be held in his hands for his shortcomings, and the feeling of being forced to do a case made him even more angry.

"Yo he! Boss Lin is back! Sit down and rest. "When Wang Gouliu sees Lin Chu, his eyes light up like a mouse sees rice, and a dog sees a bone, and he is enthusiastically like an old lady who has been waiting for her own man for a few months." Tea guys! Change the pot of tea! Change the pot for good tea! ”

The tea guy carried a new teapot and hot water into the door for a new hot tea, glanced up, and then exited the room with a sense of humor, and closed the door with his hand. The two people in the room spoke with confidence.

Wang Gou Liu seemed to care about Lin Chu very much, but what he cared about was not whether Lin Chu was safe when he went to sea and whether the belongings on his body were complete, but how well the things explained by the master, "How is the work?" ”

"It's done." Lin Chu crooked his mouth, his face was depressed, and he poured himself a big bowl.

"Finished?" Wang Gou Liu was stunned, as if he didn't expect Lin Chu to answer so simply, "No one is gone?" ”

"It's gone."

"Is it clean when you do it?"

"Damn, with Lao Tzu's skills, so many years of work on the road has always been a result, Lao Tzu is finished is finished, clean and clean without leaving a tail, if you don't believe it, you can go to the bottom of the sea to dig bones by yourself!" Lin Chu's eyes were round, and his face looked angry.

Wang Gouliu didn't seem to care about him, he still smiled and smiled, took a cloth bag from under the table, and said with a smile: "Boss Lin is not angry, brother doesn't believe in your craftsmanship, isn't this to give the master a letter back!" There are always some details to be known before you can speak. ”

Lin Chu's eyes were staring at the cloth bag, Wang Gou Liusheng was not in a hurry to open it, so he angrily nose was not a nose, "There was an accident when I did it, that kid was not slaughtered by a knife, but was killed by thunder." ”

"Killed by lightning?" This result was very unexpected by Wang Gouliu, "What about the corpse?" ”

Lin Chu said: "A fire even the boat with the corpse burned clean, sank to the bottom of the sea, you dog Liuzi wants to see the corpse can't be seen, if the person is still alive, it's a joke, Lao Tzu does this business, kill or bury." ”

Wang Gouliu tilted his head and thought about it for a long time, as if he was pondering the truth of Lin Chu's words, but the other party's handle was in his hands, and he didn't dare to tell a lie, that person must be dead, so he smiled: "It's good to burn!" Fire is a good thing, no matter what it is, if you go through the fire like this, you will become a god and a ghost, and Ren Tianwang Lao Tzu will not be able to turn over. He casually opened the small cloth bag in front of him, and there was a small pile of Daqingping Treasury silver in it, "Boss Lin has worked hard this time!" This is a little bit of caution in the main family, don't ask more about the identity of the main family, don't ask more, ask in vain, this kind of grievance in the family, but you and I can ask about this identity, the more you know, the more dangerous it is. ”

Lin Chu didn't bother to ask, he did the business, and now is the time to collect the money. Halfway through the count, Lin Chu's face was full of unhappiness, "Why is it only one thousand taels?" Your dog Liuzi, when my brother is called Hanako, is it? ”

Of course Wang Gouliu wouldn't tell him that there were still four thousand taels in his pocket, and when he raised his eyes, he saw the sharp light flashing in Lin Chu's eyes, and said in his heart, this surnamed Lin wouldn't think about killing people, right? He didn't do any less disgusting things about grandma, so he hurriedly brought out the master behind him to the town, "The water is long!" I'm leaning on a big guy this time, coughing the whole city of Bacheng has to tremble, not to mention the rich rival country, the king of Bacheng Xiyang Aoyi (the governor of the Batavia East India Company, the early Qing Dynasty folk called Portugal Macau, the European countries collectively called the Western Aoyi, called the Dutch governor the king) is also his guest, called brother and brother, such a character, from his fingers a little bit is enough for you and my brother. ”

Wang Gouliu is not a fool, Lin Chu is not a stupid thing, he really had the intention of killing people just now, but the information that leaked out of Wang Gouliu's mouth was understood, if the other party was really such a person, it was really not good for him to act rashly.

The two of them called each other brothers, and pretended to be a fool of themselves, Lin Chu took the first step with the cloth bag, and Wang Gouliu walked out of the Taifeng Teahouse, and saw that no one was following him on the left and right, and he turned around and walked into a secluded alley.

There was already a small sedan chair waiting in the alley, except for the four native sedan chair slaves who carried the sedan chair, there was only one young man wearing a long shirt and coat and looking polite. Wang Gouliu nodded and greeted the young man, walked up to the sedan chair with a licking face, and respectfully said to the sedan chair: "Master! The small one will call you back. It was very clean, a fire connected the ship with corpses, and those who were already dead could not die again, and it was a joke to be alive. ”

An old and deliberately lowered voice in the sedan said, "Very good!" That's a good job. There is a reward behind the master, the fewer people who know about this, the better, you didn't tell anyone, did you? ”

Hearing that there was a reward, Wang Gouliu's face was already smiling into a flower, and he hurriedly replied: "It's gone!" How can the little one chew the root of his tongue about the things assigned by the master? Don't worry, the small one's mouth is very strict, no one wants to pry it open, this matter will rot in the small stomach. ”

"Good! In this case, the old man was relieved. The people in the sedan chair seemed to be very relieved, and instead instructed the sedan chair slave to get up in the local dialect, and the people in the sedan chair were very careful, and the sedan chair slave could not understand Chinese.

"Master, let's go!" Wang Gouliu also wanted to show it, the sedan chair walked out ten steps away and found that something seemed to be missing, there was a sharp pain in the chest and back, and he couldn't help but want to scream, but his mouth was tightly covered, and he couldn't leak a little sound, and then he remembered that the young man who followed the sedan chair was behind him, and someone whispered something in his ear.

Hearing the sound of falling to the ground from behind the sedan chair from afar, the person in the sedan chair touched the jade wrench of the index finger of his left hand, smiled with satisfaction, and said as if talking to himself: "It's done, and then let your tongue continue to live, that's a joke." ”