"The Dutch were more belligerent than we had anticipated, or rather they valued the route and the supply points on it more than we had anticipated. "In terms of naval warfare, we can't afford to invest too many troops in the South China Sea in a short period of time, so we can only try to strengthen the defense capability and self-sustaining capacity on Ambuna Island," Wang explained. We need to build warehouses, arsenals, fortifications, and maybe even agriculture on the island so that this stronghold can continue to exist in the South China Sea. This kind of comprehensive project requires not only the efforts of the military, but also the coordination and cooperation of other departments. ”

"But this is not quite what we intended, and the purpose of our occupation of Ambuna Island was to have an outpost, not to turn it into a war zone against the Dutch. Tao Donglai frowned and said: "The ones you just mentioned need to complete a large number of infrastructure projects locally, but now the technicians and construction materials in this area are in short supply, and there have already been corresponding arrangements, and a share will be temporarily squeezed out to Ambuna Island, which will definitely affect other places." ”

"We can slow down the progress of the construction of the four southern ports of Annam, now Da Nang has begun to take shape, can temporarily meet our needs in terms of commerce and trade, and first transfer part of Annam's engineering forces and materials to Ambuna Island, if it is fast, three or five months, and then it will be about half a year, and we will be able to build a solid military base on the island, and even if the Dutch attack on a large scale, we will not have to worry about losing this place." Wang Tom immediately threw out a small abacus that the military had already made in advance.

"That is, you want to replicate another Victory Fort on Ambuna Island?" Gu Kai had already understood what he meant, but still questioned this: "With such a large amount of work, the island is not like when we landed, there were still some construction machinery available, can the construction period you said be completed on time? And how many building materials need to be transported from Sanya, have you calculated it well?"

"The island now has a population of more than 3,000, almost half of whom are young and middle-aged, and the human resources situation is much better than when we first arrived. Tom patiently explained, "And we don't have to copy the past exactly according to the model of Fort Victory. There is already a certain construction foundation in the local area, which is much better than the situation when we came here to be poor and white, and all we have to do is to strengthen and transform the existing foundation, and the amount of work is not as exaggerated as the original construction of Victory Fort. ”

"Where will the cost of the renovation project come from?" Schneider, who had not spoken for a long time, finally spoke: "Do you want to ask the Ministry of Finance to set up a special additional fund to subsidize military spending? This is not a good habit." ”

Tom Wang responded: "The military has captured several Dutch merchant ships before this, and this capture is actually basically enough to complete the project I just mentioned, but this requires the special approval of the Executive Committee, and this part of the income can be allocated to the military for use." Of course, the corresponding accounts will then be provided to the audit department for inspection and filing, so as to prevent embezzlement of public funds and false reporting of expenses in the process. ”

"If the military can solve the cost on its own, then I have nothing to say. Schneider was very happy to make his attitude clear on behalf of the financial department - in fact, this was already a disguised support for the military.

There has never been a lack of precedent in the history of the development of the Haihan militia in the form of war and warfare, and most of the booty captured by the militia army during the war in Annam in the first two years was discounted and transferred to the military's treasury in the name of military expenses, which has almost become a fixed mode for the militia army to raise its own military expenses. Although the military has not said it explicitly, the purpose of choosing Ambuna Island as a supply point and trapping the Dutch merchant ships here is probably not only to block the news of the change of ownership of the island, but also to seize the booty from the Dutch to subsidize military spending, which is probably part of the consideration.

Schneider has always had a good relationship with the military, and his opposition is not actually to stop the military's actions, but to take the initiative to raise the issue first, so as to avoid making others make a fuss about military spending. Tom Wang obviously understood his intentions, and the two of them cooperated quite well with each other's questions and answers.

One of the most susceptible reasons for the military's proposals to be thwarted is the issue of military spending, and as long as this issue can be properly resolved, other factors will become less important. Tom Wang's proposal was also won by a majority in the following vote, and the Executive Committee will coordinate resources to assist the military in completing the task of renovating the project on Ambuna Island.

Compared to the well-organized Haihan Executive Committee, the Dutch, who suffered defeat on the island of Ambuna, were not so easy. Fearing that the opponent would still have ships to intercept them at sea, the fleet did not rush north or south after sailing out of the port of Ambuna, but sailed straight east for dozens of nautical miles before making sure that there were no pursuers.

Van Longen was lucky enough to be able to escape from the island, but he couldn't be lighter when he thought about the loss of two ships and a large amount of valuable cargo. Moreover, the death of Brauwer, one of the three commanders of the fleet, was not only a heavy loss in personnel, but also had a certain negative impact on the reputation of the East India Company, the dignified Dutch military attaché, one of the candidates for the position of governor, had died so quietly at the hands of a group of unidentified pirates, and the governor of Cohen was afraid that he would be very angry when he heard the news.

"Mr. Spikes, what do we do now?" Van Longen was at a loss as to what was ahead, so he had to ask Spikes for advice first.

Spikes wasn't much better off than he was, looked up at him, shook his head, and said, "We probably won't be able to fight back." ”

Fan Longgen said in his heart that he still wants to fight back in this situation, you really think your life is too long, isn't it? If it weren't for Lao Tzu's application to get on the ship in advance to prepare for evacuation, it would be impossible for these people to be blocked in the port and unable to escape.

"Go back to Batavia, you have to report this to the company in detail. Spikes was in a heavy mood, but he was able to prioritize them. Compared with other things, the most important thing is to make it clear to the top management of the company what is happening now, and then further consider the strategy to deal with it and the corresponding retaliation measures.

"But what about these ships?" Van Longen immediately objected: "There are still a lot of goods on these ships that need to be sold to Japan, Korea, and the Ming Dynasty, are we wasting these days in vain?

"Is the current situation suitable for these things?" Spikes raised his voice a lot, "There is such a big thing, and the interests of the company must be the most important!"

Van Longen was not willing to give in, he immediately thought of another path: "Even if we don't consider the cargo on our ship, then we must also take into account that the ships of Dayuan Port will continue to send ships south without knowing the truth, and they are likely to fall into the net here on Ambuna Island! ”

Both of them had good reasons, and neither of them could be convinced, so it was decided that the fleet should be split in two, and Spikes would take the two ships south to report the battle to the company's board of directors. Van Longen will lead the other three ships on their way north to Dayuan Harbor - so that at least some of the capital can be recovered, and there will be no loss of money.

Van Longen's fleet trembled along the way, and it was twenty days after they arrived at Dayuan Harbor. The first piece of news he received after coming ashore here was that Eighteen Zhi had suffered a crushing defeat at Nanri Island last month, and had lost his last stronghold near the coast of Fujian. It was not the old rival Fujian Navy Division that defeated them, but a Haihan army that had gone to Fujian from Qiongzhou Island.

The news also took Van Longen by surprise. The Dutch did not want the Fujian seas to be monopolized by the Ming government or one of the Eighteen Zhi, because that would make their "outsiders" face a higher threshold for local trade. Although the Dutch did not directly intervene in the protracted war between the two sides on the coast of Fujian, they still gave some support to Shibazhi in private, so that they could maintain pressure on the Fujian government.

It is no secret that the Haihan people supported Xu Xinsu in the military field, but the Dutch never imagined that the Haihan armed forces far away on Qiongzhou Island could march into Fujian so quickly, and with the cooperation of the government, they would use force to attack Shibazhi. In recent years, after Xu Xinsu received the support of the Haihan people, the trade with the Dutch has become less and less, and now the two sides have openly come together and cracked down on the Eighteen Zhi, who is the middleman of the Dutch, which makes Van Longen have a bad premonition, that is, the Dutch are likely to be excluded from the Ming trade circle.

Zheng Zhilong was working hard during this time, intending to snatch Nanri Island back from his opponents, and sent an envoy to Dayuangang, hoping to buy some powerful artillery from the Dutch. However, his request was destined to be denied, and Van Longen's fleet had been carrying several guns to be sold to Shibashi or the Ryukyus further north at Ogen Port, but all of them were destroyed by the enemy's artillery fire on the battlefield while on the island of Ambuna. Zheng Zhilong now wants to buy cannons, unless the Dutch are willing to unload the cannons on the walls of the city of Geranza and sell them to him as commodities, but this is obviously unlikely.

When Van Longen heard the news on the docks, he immediately went to the local East India Company office to see the person in charge. Since 1624, when the East India Company established an administrative body in Taiwan, it appointed the position of Governor to be responsible for the administrative affairs of the whole island. The current incumbent is the fourth in this position, named Hansputmans.

Hans joined the East India Company in 1624 as a merchant, and in 1626 he was promoted to the rank of Merchant and Court Judge, and in 1627 he was appointed Chairman of the City Council, a position he took over from his predecessor Pieternuyts in 1629. It is said that Hans's family background was so strong that he became a high-ranking local official after only five years of joining the East India Company. Behind his rocket-like promotion, there is also a large group of colleagues who have been stepped on as stepping stones.

However, Hans's predecessor did not step down from this position because he wanted to make room for him, but there are deeds worth mentioning. In 1627, Peter Ruiz became the prefect of the Imperial Minister, and in July of the same year, he went to Japan to hold peace talks with the shogunate on trade between the two sides, but failed to succeed in the obstruction of Hamada Yabei. Peter held a grudge against Hamada and retaliated by arresting him when he came to Taiwan the following year. Although he was soon released, Hamada retaliated violently by taking Peter and his son hostage, taking them directly to Japan and holding them prisoner, and sealing off the Dutch trading house in Hirado, Japan.

The East India Company sent Hans to Taiwan to take Peter's position in order to appease the anger of the Japanese shogunate, and the hapless Peter returned to Taiwan and was extradited to Japan where he was imprisoned for four years, where he was not released until 1636, after which he was repatriated to the Netherlands.

Hans was much more powerful than his predecessor, and during his tenure, he had defeated most of the indigenous tribes on the island of Taiwan and gained the allegiance of some of the tribal leaders. The construction of the Dutch colony of Geranza, which began in 1624 near the port of Oyyuan, was also completed during his tenure - of course, he probably had little chance of completing his original term in this space.

"Mr. Hans, first of all I must tell you bad news. After a few words of implication with Hans, Van Longen quickly cut to the chase and informed Hans of the battle that took place on the island of Ambuna on the road to the future.

After hearing this, Hans was also shocked: "Then this means that not even one of the five merchant ships that set off from here to the south in the first two months arrived in Batavia, and all of them had an accident on Natuna Island?"

"At the moment, it seems that we found three sabotaged company merchant ships in the local port, but unfortunately our crew members were not found. Van Longen paused and said, "Maybe they have all been killed, those pirates are quite murderous!"

"May God bless them!" Hans raised his hand and drew a cross on his chest, then continued, "Then that means we have one less reliable supply point on our voyage south, and the company has no better way to deal with it?"

Van Longen responded: "I personally think it is very difficult, the pirates on that island are not ordinary goods, they are even better armed than the Eighteen Zhi, it is likely that they have received assistance from the Portuguese, and it is even possible that they have purchased weapons from the Haihans. ”