Chapter 487 Official Notice

Traveling to every corner of the warship, Putmans went from initial hope to despair. Ignoring the rate of fire of the rear-loading guns, just looking at the number and caliber of the cannons equipped by this shipyard, we know that the entire East India Company will not be able to win a naval battle even if it comes out. Thirty 24-pounder guns, thirty 18-pounder guns, how many such ships do they have? Let's just count it according to the fifty articles, right? That's three thousand cannons. And it's all large-caliber artillery.

You must know that Zheng Zhilong needed to purchase cannons from the Dutch, and the largest caliber purchased was only a 12-pounder gun, and the Dutch were not willing to sell it to him, not because it was a matter of making money, but because he was not enough. Casting cannons has never been an easy job, and in the whole of Western countries, the success rate of cannon casting is not high. The Portuguese dared to salvage the shipwreck of the British and used it as a Hongyi cannon to fool the Ming Dynasty. What to say about a four-thousand-pound cast-iron cannon.

Behind this phenomenon, it reflects the steel output of Daming and the technological level of the manufacturing industry. The navy can be trained over time, and there is no shortage of people in the Ming Dynasty. These two items are not the result of someone else doing it. Carefully calculate the time, this is a very frightening result. Once this result is determined, Putmans will feel a chill to the bone.

What really made him more desperate was still to come, and the moment he stepped out of the carriage, the hardened ground on the ground made him feel terrifying. This small city on the edge of the Tamsui River is still in its infancy. If you look closely, you can see that some of them are unusual. The streets are wide. The ground did not know how to carry out the hardening, and it is certain that Daming discovered a new material and promoted it on a large scale. Probably this is called cement, right? The streets were clean, and many of the pedestrians were men, many of whom carried muskets. If you want to say that there are more than people, the Ming Dynasty will dominate the world a long time ago, so population is not necessarily a terrible thing in this era. But the population with muskets in their hands is a completely different concept. How many Dutch are there in Reshalam? How many people are there in Southeast Asia combined? But it is said that there were 500,000 immigrants here, and a third of them had guns in their hands, which was close to 170,000 muskets. That's definitely a desperate number. Take 10,000 steps back. One in ten people had robbed, and fifty thousand muskets were among the people, which was enough to make Putmans desperate.

When Daming, the cabinet minister, put on this posture, it showed that the Dutch could not stay in Dayuan. After the Ming Dynasty completely occupied the big man. The next step is to occupy the Ryukyus. The entire trade route to tomorrow and Japan. will all be cut off. This sea area will only be decided by the Ming Dynasty in the future, what kind of concept is this? It's not too much of a problem. What's next? The Ming Dynasty made so many warships, did they come to play in such a small sea area?

The answer is obvious, and Putmans suddenly found that his previous letter to the Indian side was still too conservative.

This house belongs to Lin Hengwan, as a maritime merchant, he belongs to the kind of businessman who can't be offended over there and has a good relationship. At present, few people who mix at sea are good people. Lin Hengwan is kind to others, and it also depends on the object. After the Dengzhou Sailor took control of the northern part of Dayuan, the entire trade from the mainland changed the place of trade. Let's put it this way, ships that are unwilling to accept trade in the north, have only three results, sunk, sunk, or sunk. The Dengzhou Navy is not a vegetarian, they are bloodthirsty sea wolves. For this sea force that appeared almost suddenly, Lin Hengwan was indeed a little caught off guard. But he reacted quickly and immediately built his own mansion in this place. And soon got acquainted with these navies from Dengzhou. This is also the reason why he was able to mix in the wind and water at sea.

In the final analysis, the Europeans of this era, when facing the Ming people, still have a certain sense of superiority. I think this side is relatively backward, similar to the natives. It is probably the Portuguese who know this most profoundly. Even in the late Ming Dynasty, when the Portuguese broke the law in the Ming Dynasty, the officials would rush into Macao to arrest people. In the minds of the Ming people, this is the Heavenly Empire, and the others are all Fanbang. It's an interesting gap.

Portugal was still very well-behaved in Daming, which also made Daming officials unable to find an excuse to drive them away. The Portuguese mercenaries in history were still very hard working in the battle for the Ming army. Only Europeans who have seen some cities of the Ming Dynasty in this era will realize that Europe in this era is rural compared to the Ming Dynasty.

Putmans's previous perception was that it belonged to the general level of Europeans. Even if he was defeated by Zheng Zhilong, he still despised the sea power of the Ming Dynasty and did not think that it could pose much of a threat to the Dutch. It was not until the advent of the Dengzhou Navy that this point of view quietly changed.

That night, Putmans went to bed late and wrote a long letter about what he had seen and heard. As the supreme governor of Reshaland, he personally came to the north in order to obtain a suitable benefit for the Dutch. But now he doesn't have much hope, which can be seen from the fact that the Ming navy has controlled the trading location in recent years.

Once you see this thing and get it, who is willing to let it out? The silk, porcelain, and tea of the Ming Dynasty are almost the only production areas that Europeans cannot live without. It was already late at night, and I walked out of the house and looked at the lights of the fortress in the distance, like a star in the sky. Putmans's heavy mood was not relieved at this time, but intensified. Tomorrow, what awaits you?

A rainstorm came without warning, and the appointed time was approaching, so Putmans and Lin Hengwan had to brave the rain to go out. Looking through the windows of the carriage and watching the whirlpools of water flowing from both sides of the road, I was shocked to realize that the luxury of the Ming Dynasty had reached the point of using large pieces of transparent glass as windows.

If it were in Rotterdam, what would the streets look like when such a heavy rain fell? The conclusion is obvious.

The carriage walked in the torrential rain, and the sound of horses' hooves was drowned out by the sound of raindrops. Putmans puffed his chest a little as the car stopped at a gatepost, at least at this time, he was an official from the number one maritime power in Europe, and he could not afford to lose the face of the Netherlands. Straightening his clothes and looking refreshed, Putmans got out of the carriage.

Lin Hengwan's subordinates used umbrellas to protect him down, and he didn't feel the same as when the rain wet his back. At this time, Putmans's attention was on the guards at the door. The gatekeeper standing there, wearing a raincoat he had never seen before, stood straight and straight, like a wooden stake. The blue bayonet was beside him, and he didn't mean to move when he saw anyone coming.

The soldier in charge of the inspection had a good attitude, and after a brief check, he let them in. Turning a screen, I entered the living room of the main hall, the trouser tube was a little wet, and I didn't see any stagnant water on the way, just raindrops. Explain that there is a good drainage system here.

The layout of the living room is very simple, with a central hall hanging in the middle, two rows of chairs on both sides, and the maid stands on the edge of the curtain of the separated door, without the meaning of coming up to greet her. The person in charge of the reception was a soldier with a grim face, leaving a somewhat blunt sentence: "Wait a minute, I'll go and report." "You have to wait, forget it if you don't greet it. When a strong sense of humiliation grew in Putmans's heart, Lin Hengwan replied with a smile: "Excuse me, thank you for your hard work." ”

One sentence woke him up, this is the cabinet minister of the Ming Dynasty government. Not to mention such a big country, even if it is a small country in Europe, can the cabinet ministers see it whenever they want? It seems that the Dutch have been too obedient in recent years, and they have forgotten that they are a small country. This kind of affection made Putmans feel even more uneasy.

The curtain was opened, and out came a young official, who did not look like an ordinary Ming official, and was a little close to the clothing of Europeans. "I'm Chen Xie! What do you have to say when you two come here? "Young people take the initiative to introduce themselves, and there is no ordinary official who comes out with someone shouting. It's just a natural way to come out and introduce yourself very casually.

Putmans was a little better, Lin Hengwan was directly stunned, he saw Chen Xie for the first time, but he didn't expect it to be such an opening. Pomp and circumstance are the same everywhere, especially in this era, those royal families in Europe are more exquisite. When Chen Xie appeared in front of these two like this, both of them were a little uncomfortable. Lin Hengwan's reaction was more intense, and he knelt down as soon as his legs were weak. Chen Xie didn't stop it, and watched Putmans's reaction. This one stepped forward, pressed his hand to his chest, and bowed deeply.

"Putmans, the governor of Taiwan in the Netherlands, has met His Excellency the Minister of the Ming Cabinet." Putmans maintained a polite manner, behaved in moderation, neither humble nor arrogant. Chen Xie's reaction was to be stunned, and said lightly: "The governor of the Netherlands and Taiwan? When did the Grand Master become part of the Dutch State? How did I not know? ”

Immediately after the paraphrase, Putmans froze, completely unsure of what to say next. He wanted to say that Taiwan was the territory of the Netherlands, but he knew better that as long as he said this, the cabinet minister of the Ming Dynasty would immediately turn his face. It is a trivial matter to drive him away, so I am afraid that I will cut him off directly and use his head to "sacrifice the flag". Akito has this habit.

"In accordance with international practice, there is no problem with my statement." Putmans chose a mild statement, Chen Xie crooked his mouth, and said lightly: "What international practice?" Isn't it just what you say? The Netherlands, a country with a big palm, is embarrassed to say what international practices? I tell you that this is the sea area of the Ming Dynasty, and Taiwan is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. You come uninvited, and you don't leave, not because of international practice, but because of the strength of your ship. Originally, I was going to send someone to inform you, but now that you're here, you just save yourself this trouble. Now I officially inform you that within a month, all the Dutch will leave Taiwan. (To be continued......)