In addition, the more important reason is that they are afraid of the reaction of the Han Dynasty and do not want to send a fleet to stimulate the nerves of the Han court.

Perhaps because of the establishment of the country through industry and commerce, since the establishment of the Han Dynasty, it has attached great importance to overseas trade and has been expanding its exports overseas. In addition to traditional exports such as silk, porcelain, and tea, which have been sparing no effort to increase sales, the arms trade has also been developed, and China's demand for commodities such as timber, coal mines, and machinery is increasing.

In order to defend trade, almost from the beginning of its establishment, the Han Dynasty established a navy, and under the personal supervision and support of the emperor, the navy developed very rapidly, and the strength of the fleet has been expanding, and it soon became a feared force in the Pacific.

At the same time as the naval strength expanded, the sphere of influence divided by the Han navy also swelled more and more, and the range of fleet patrols became farther and farther, and even regarded the coastal waters of China and Goryeo as the exclusive sea areas of the Han Dynasty, and foreign warships were not allowed to enter easily.

At the beginning, of course, the Dutch could not bear this result, so the Dutch fleet and the Han fleet broke out several small conflicts, relying on the navy with rich maritime experience in the early stage, the Dutch had a slight advantage over the Han, but soon the Han navy caught up through rigorous training and actual combat exercises, and the size of the fleet also increased, and slowly gained the upper hand in the conflict with the Dutch.

Soon, the Dutch discovered that if they continued to engage in an unfriendly battle with the Han navy, Asian trade would be in the most desperate situation, because China had very large resources, and as long as they had the determination to control the surrounding seas, they could not care about losses, and the Dutch did not have such conditions to consume with China.

Since there is no hope of continuing to consume, in line with the nature of merchants, the Dutch acquiesced to the fait accompli of the Han ruling the surrounding seas, and made great efforts to make friends with the Chinese court and develop trade with China.

As in Japan, the Dutch also set up a merchant house in the port of Tianjin, and also sent special personnel to take charge of trade and diplomatic negotiations between the two countries. The Han navy had been actively cleaning up pirates and maintaining normal and safe trade exchanges, which soon made the loss of merchant ships very small, so that the Dutch felt that the existence of the Han navy was beneficial to them.

Since trade with China was extremely important to the Dutch, and the Han navy de facto ruled that area, it is no wonder that the top brass of the East India Company and the Dutch governor were so scruples about sending a fleet to that area to eliminate pirates, and they could not afford to offend the Han and did not want to offend the Han.

After several discussions, they finally decided to use the channel between the Netherlands and China to ask the Chinese court to send a naval fleet to re-clear that area, and they had already informed the Dutch trade representative in Tianjin to make a case with the Chinese court, and at the same time asked the employees of the company in Japan to also make a case to the Han trade representative in Nagasaki, so that they could go together to communicate with the Han court.

After receiving the order from the company's headquarters, Gozette naturally did not dare to slack off, and ran over to intercede with Liu Jing today.

Of course, it was impossible for Liu Jing to tell him the inside story, on the contrary, he was shocked.

"What? Has Mr. Gozette been getting a lot of news about pirates lately? ”

"So, your country's merchant ships have also been attacked?" Seeing Liu Jing's realistic performance, William Gozette immediately believed it, and felt that his mission had more hope of success, "Japan's shipping route is crucial to the trade between our two countries, Mr. Liu, I think we must not ignore this matter and solve it as soon as possible." ”

"Of course, of course!" Liu Jing nodded again and again, "Recently, I have received a lot of reports from merchant ships that they have been attacked by pirates, and I am ready to report this information to the country and ask them to solve it." ”

"Mr. Liu, it is great that you can understand the importance of the matter, as long as you have help, the government of your country will definitely make a reasonable judgment as soon as possible." Gozette, who was overjoyed, saluted the Chinese official with the courtesy of a Westerner, "Your navy is excellent, and I believe that with their efforts, calm will soon be restored to the seas, and the United Province will be grateful for your generous help." ”

He had served at sea for many years, and had been involved in naval conflicts between the Netherlands and China many years earlier, but now, after all these years of business dealings, he also understood that the situation was stronger than people, and he had no desire to confront China again, preferring to work with the top brass of the East India Company to acquiesce to the reality that the northern seas were monopolized by the Chinese.

"It's easy to say, it's easy to say." Liu Jing was still full of smiles and waved his hand again and again. Although he knew that these Westerners seemed to be polite, but their hearts were deceitful, and they must not be gullible, but a burly Westerner man was really a little funny about his appearance of being condescending.

Of course, he will definitely not help the other party, and these pirates will continue to wreak havoc until the Han Navy has completed its preparations for the conquest of Japan.

Liu Jing thought that after he agreed to the Dutchman's request, the Mr. Gozette would choose the right time to leave, but after he had greeted Gozette for a long time, the Dutch businessman still had no intention of saying goodbye, and Liu Jing understood that the other party had other things to ask him for help.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me, Mr. Gozette? If so, please explain it directly. Because he has a lot of affairs now, Liu Jing didn't have the idea of going around in circles with him anymore, and went straight to the point.

The smile on Gozette's face suddenly disappeared, and his expression became cloudy, obviously hesitating about something.

Looks like there's something important. A hint of realization flashed in Liu Jing's heart, and then he simply looked at the other party and treated him with all his might.

"Actually, you're right, Mr. Liu." After a moment of hesitation, Gozette finally made up his mind, and then suddenly lowered his voice, "The company's headquarters also told me another matter in addition to the pirate matter, because this matter is very important, so I ask you to make sure that no one else here knows." ”

Seeing that the other party was so dignified, the smile on Liu Jing's face slowly disappeared, he habitually looked around, and then immediately made a package ticket with the other party.

"Please rest assured, this is our Han Merchant House, and no one else will be able to hear about it. In addition, the people on our side are also people from the imperial court, and they know what is good and bad, so they won't ask too much. ”

"Okay, please also ask Mr. Liu to keep it a secret for us." Gozette made up his mind, "The company told me that I want to ask for help from the Han through you, and ask the benevolent Emperor of the Han to send a navy to help us defeat the Spaniards as soon as possible, sweep away those bandits from the seas of Asia, and let us monopolize the trade of the whole of Asia together!" ”

"What?" Although he had already made some psychological preparations, after hearing the news, Liu Jing was still very shocked, and finally understood the other party's words. "Your country...... Your country wants to borrow a navy from our court to fight the Spaniards? ”

He had been working in the maritime trade for many years, and of course he knew the general situation of the Spaniards, who had come here in the first year of the Ming Dynasty, and then easily occupied Luzon and entrenched there, and had worked hard in Luzon for many years, and I heard that it was now full of Spanish plantations.

He was not well aware of the conflict between the Dutch and the Spaniards in the West, but he knew that the Spaniards and the Dutch had been fighting here for many years.

However, although they often fought before, they had never been involved in the Chinese side, and this time they actually ran directly to them to ask for the Han to send troops to assist, which really surprised Liu Jing.

God, the imperial court is now thinking about sending troops to Japan, why did the Dutch suddenly do such a thing?

"This ...... This...... I'm afraid it's inappropriate, right? Liu Jing immediately whispered to himself, but he didn't know what he was talking about, "Why...... Why does your Congress ask for this? ”

"Our country is facing a life-and-death struggle with the Spaniards, and we need to do our best, even with the help of external forces." Gozette anticipated his reaction, so he immediately went on to explain, "Your country is very strong at sea, and as long as we can help us, then we will definitely win this fight, at least in Asia." ”

While he was explaining, Liu Jing, who had taken a few deep breaths, finally regained his composure.

"This ...... This is a big deal, your country...... Why did your country come to tell me? "He immediately sensed something was wrong." If your country really has a similar request, wouldn't it be best to convey it directly to the imperial court through the envoys in Tianjin? ”

"Under normal circumstances, you are quite right, we will negotiate with your court through people in Tianjin. But sometimes the situation is a little special...... "Gozett's face became more and more strange, "the situation is very special now, and we can't communicate with your court through that side for the time being. ”

"Why is that?" Liu Jing asked as a matter of course.

"Because, there are some differences between the governor and the company for the time being, and the people in Tianjin cannot use it for the time being."

Then, Gozette explained the inside story to Liu Jing with an embarrassed face.

It turned out that pirates were not the only ones being debated in Batavia, within the East India Company. Because the war with the Spaniards was protracted, and the situation had always been very tense, and too much manpower and financial resources were consumed, the idea of using the Chinese imperial navy to fight the Spaniards began to arise in the company's top management.