"Dear Captain Cole Collins, you'd better have a good enough reason to allow you to wake me up so late!" Governor Walgenier walked into his office with an angry look on his face.

In the office, Captain Cole Collins, the mercenary commander of the Dutch East India Company, was pacing nervously, and in addition, Erlang, a well-known "all-purpose merchant" in Batavia and a close ally of Governor Wargenier, was also excited.

"Oh? Dear Erlang, why are you here? ”

"Your Excellency the Governor, this is an urgent matter, and we have to take the liberty of disturbing your rest." Erlang smiled happily.

Walgenier sat down behind his governor's desk, motioned for the slave girl to pour herself a glass of water, took a sip to refresh herself, and then said, "All right! Gentlemen! I'll give you three minutes, and you'd better have a very good reason to convince me to keep listening to your nagging. My God! I've only slept for three hours! What a rascal with enough bastards. ”

Erlang said, "Your Excellency, you will not regret the few minutes you have given. Captain Collins, please truthfully explain to the Governor what you have gained tonight. ”

"Yes, sir." Captain Collins cleared his throat and solemnly reported to the Governor: "Your Excellency, under the authority of the Assembly of the Republic and the East India Company, my law enforcement fleet and I are often to ...... on the waters under the jurisdiction of the East India Company."

"That's it!" Walgenier interrupted in annoyance: "Skip this section of grievances and merits! I'll give you a proper reward, but you're going to cut it short, you know? Captain! ”

"Yes, Your Excellency. This afternoon my patrol boat recovered a criminal twenty nautical miles east of Batavia, who was interrogated and claimed responsibility for the murder and theft of a wealthy Chinese businessman. The captain blinked nervously and finished in one breath.

"Finished?" Walgeniel wondered.

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

"Bastard! What a scoundrel with enough bastards! The Governor was furious, "Just for the sake of such a little thief, you dare to wake me up from a good dream?" ”

The captain was frightened, and Erlang tried to speak several times, but the Governor's roar continued.

Seeing that the Doge's anger had taken up most of the three minutes, Erlang interjected at the right time: "Your Excellency, don't you want to add greater glory and wealth to your family?" Don't you want to be the greatest governor in the history of the Republic? ”

The Governor immediately stopped his steady stream of anger and said quietly, "Go on! ”

"Your Excellency the Governor, you have studied the history of the East in depth, so do you know the person 'Zheng He'?" Erlang asked rhetorically.

The governor kicked the captain out of the office before saying, "Zheng He? It was a famous oriental navigator three hundred years ago, who once led a large fleet to Africa, and was a very remarkable oriental. He was also a very strategic admiral, commanding several perfect naval battles. Some say that such a talent, if he appeared in the Republic, might become a figure like Admiral Marton Tropp (Dutch Admiral of the Navy, one of the greatest admirals of the Dutch Republic. The same great naval hero, it is a pity that he was born in the ancient East. ”

"Perhaps!" Erlang obviously didn't care about Zheng He, but listened to him continue: "Zheng He may be a very great navigator, who knows? He's been dead for three hundred years anyway, and who cares about someone who has been dead for that long? But the glory and wealth you are about to gain has to do with the one thing that this person has left behind. ”

"Oh?" The corners of the Governor's mouth twitched inadvertently, and his interest was raised at once, "Alright! Dear Erlang, my interest has been piqued by you. You continue. ”

Erlang smiled slyly, and instead talked about European history, "Your Excellency, more than two hundred years ago, the most powerful countries on the European continent were Portugal and Spain, because they controlled the shipping lanes to the East and the New World, respectively, and had vast colonies, the establishment of which brought wealth to both countries that are unimaginable today. Who would have thought that in 1492, a Genoa-born navigator Christopher Columbus discovered a continent that could turn a decaying and degenerate old-fashioned kingdom like Spain into an empire that dominated Europe for nearly a hundred years! Even today, 200 years later, Spain, a country with little commercial and industrial heritage, can still live a luxurious and erosive life! This is all thanks to the colonial resources of Spain! What a fortune! ”

Wallgenier frowned, he didn't like Erlang's unusual way of communicating at all, but the topic of wealth still attracted his attention, and he couldn't help but retort: "Spain and Portugal are outdated, and our motherland, the great Netherlands, is the master of this world's oceans!" ”

Erlang said: "It's a pity that we were challenged by the English. ”

"But we have been victors in the last two wars!"

"I do not deny that, Your Excellency. But the three Anglo-Dutch wars had depleted our resources, while England, with its vast New World colonies and Scotland, was able to quickly regain its strength, and in the last few wars our commercial power has been declining, while the English are getting stronger! Even now, the Spaniards live in luxury on the many overseas territories in their hands, while the English are becoming formidable challengers to Dutch maritime supremacy through the New World! Excellency! From the Americas to the Spice Islands, there were their colonies and warships everywhere. And we need to compete with the English all over the world......"

"But we still hold South Africa, Ceylon and the Spice Islands, and our fleet is regaining strength! Aha! Sooner or later, those nasty English people will have to taste the power of the Republic......"

"Your Excellency, I am a merchant, and a merchant will only stand on gold coins and measure everything. We are so small and have few resources, and in the days when we dominated the seas, Poland grew wheat for us, Sweden provided us with all kinds of industrial raw materials, Spain and France were our markets, and the whole of Europe was serving us, but these are becoming history. The only colonies we now have are the colonies of Cape Town, Ceylon, the Malabar Coast, and the East Indies, but they are too small to match the vast resources that the Spaniards had acquired, and our own European homeland is not only low under the threat of the sea, but also so small, that the coveting of our land by the Kingdom of France from the time of the Sun King to the present day has always been evident, and the English have more than once wished to trample us under their feet. So we need new, bigger, richer colonies – a continent big enough for the Netherlands to be strong again! Anyone who can provide such a colony for the Republic is a hero of the Republic! His fame will be on par with that of the great Orange-Nassau! Think about it, dear Lord Governor. ”

Erlang's seductive voice hooked Walgeniel's heart to his throat, and the Doge fantasized about the great glory and riches, but gradually calmed down.

"That's impossible! Mr. Erlang. "The precious land of the world has been divided, and we can no longer easily acquire the colonies and resources that will allow the great Dutch Republic to resume its expansion unless war is waged!" Although our motherland is very strong, it is not afraid of any war! ”

"I am convinced of this, Your Excellency the Governor." Erlang smiled slyly, "But there is still a continent still hidden in the mist!" From the time of ancient Greece to the present day, many noble scholars have insisted that the southern continent proposed by the philosopher Aristotle exists, and that this continent called Mevara Niga is hiding in some corner of the world waiting to be discovered. ”

Valentineer suddenly smiled disdainfully, "What are you referring to...... Could it be Movara? I always thought it was just a baseless guess! ”

"Eight years ago, Mr. Rayleigh Fielding of the University of Amsterdam submitted a detailed report to the Consul William IV, in which Mr. Fielding referred to the shocking fact that he had discovered after extensive research—that Columbus, when he had persuaded the Queen of Spain to support the voyage, had in his possession a chart obtained from the Italian traveler Nicolas da Conti, with the outlines of Europe, Africa, and Asia, There are two other continents that are not known to the world, one of which achieved supreme glory for Columbus and contributed to the rise of Spain to what is now the New World, North and South America! And the location of another continent is in the Pacific Ocean! Think about it! Dear Excellency the Governor, that is Mervara Niga, the hope of the re-emergence of the Dutch Republic, our ideal new land! ”

Hua Genier suddenly smiled with a little disdain: "I always thought you were just a mercenary businessman!" Mr. Erlang, I didn't expect you to be a patriot! ”

Erlang hastened to salute in obedience, but continued to tempt in a low voice: "Your Excellency the Doge, if you can acquire such a colony, or if you will create a new Grand Duchy under the banner of a Republic, I hope that you will be able to monopolize several of its industries. ”

Wallennier frowned and said, "Since Columbus has nautical charts, that is, there have been people who have visited that southern continent in the past few hundred years......"

"Yes! Yes! Erlang exclaimed excitedly, "My dear Lord Governor! That's the chart! It's that continent! ”

"But where is that chart now?"

"Columbus, the Genoese from humble origin! Mr. Fielding was sure that Columbus, the selfish fellow, in order to ensure that his interests and glory were not violated and surpassed, had kept this secret until the last moment, when he collapsed on his hospital bed in Valladolid, and was unable to get up, ordered his servants to burn this precious chart in front of him! ”

Walgeniel was angry: "Mr. Erlang! I don't have time to listen to your story here! ”

Erlang smiled mysteriously: "According to the conclusion of Mr. Fielding's research, some written records have recorded that the sea ship in the East was depicted on the chart, marked with Chinese characters!" ”

The governor immediately realized the crux of the problem: "That chart was drawn by the Chinese?" And the era of large-scale organization and mapping of Chinese is the era of Zheng He......"

"Exactly! Your Excellency the Governor! Erlang's eyes sparkled with a strong longing, which Vargeniel could see was a thirst for the riches of the New World.

"But, dear Erlang, how does that help us? We still don't know where to find such a chart. ”

Erlang said: "The convict captured by your captain, Mr. Collins, this afternoon, has asked to negotiate a deal with me, he knows where Zheng He's chart is hidden, and he only asks for a small pardon from you. ”