However, in addition to minerals, the environment on Belitung Island is very suitable for the cultivation and growth of one spice, which is pepper. Ever since the ancient Romans tasted pepper, it has become an indispensable seasoning in the lives of Europeans. However, pepper is produced in India and Southeast Asia, and it is not produced locally in Europe, so its value is also very high. But the spice's role in world history is more than just a condiment on the table.

After the Visigoths captured Rome in 408 AD, they asked the Romans to ransom the city with 3,000 pounds of pepper and a large amount of gold and silver. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, the trade between the East and the West was interrupted, and pepper almost disappeared from the European table. At this time, the Arabs seized the opportunity to transport pepper from India to Egypt, and then to the Mediterranean coast by Venetian merchants, and by the time the oriental spice reached the tables of Europeans, the price had skyrocketed to forty or fifty times the place of origin.

Such huge profits impressed not only European merchants, but also the high Holy See. The Crusades that began in 1095, under the high-sounding religious banner, were simply and brutally sloganed: "The East is so rich, gold and pepper are everywhere!"

The Ottoman Turks' invasion of Constantinople in 1453 cut off the original pepper trade route, giving Europeans one more reason to look for a new route to the East. In the decades that followed, Columbus discovered the American continent, da Gama reached the Indian Peninsula by sea, and Magellan completed the first circumnavigation of the globe in history. In the great geographical discoveries of that era, pepper, an inconspicuous plant, also silently played a role in promoting the progress of mankind.

By the 17th century, pepper was still more valuable than gold in Europe, and even used as a hard currency in the market for a certain period of time, used to buy land, pay rents and taxes, and serve as a dowry. The Spaniards, the Dutch, the Portuguese, and the British waged a century-long war and raid on the seas of the Far East, and a considerable number of skirmishes were fought over pepper production territory.

And after this spice crop entered China, it got another function, that is, medicine. As early as in the "Tang Materia Medica", there is an account of the medicinal properties of pepper: the main qi, warmth, phlegm, and the removal of wind and cold in the lungs. Since then, almost every dynasty and generation of medical classics have not omitted this flavor, which was originally introduced to China as a spice, and the diseases it can treat have also increased with the development of Chinese medicine. Among the goods exported by several Western colonial countries to the Ming Dynasty, pepper has always been an indispensable high-value commodity.

The East India Company sent its first immigrants to Belitung five years ago, and the agricultural land developed there was also dominated by pepper cultivation. In the past five years of operation, the local pepper cultivation area has exceeded two square kilometers, and the annual income generated for the East India Company is considerable. This time, the search and rescue fleet led by Van Longen will also dock at Belitung Island and load the pepper produced here.

Although it was only 200 nautical miles from Batavia to Belitung Island, the fleet was tasked with a search and rescue mission at sea, so the ship was consciously slowed down in the hope that it would be lucky enough to find clues about the missing ship on the route. Of course, everyone is also very clear that such a search is purely a needle in a haystack, and the luck component is very heavy.

And as the Dutch had predicted, they had nothing to gain during the voyage. Three days after departure, the fleet arrived at the bay port on the southern tip of Belitung Island, where they would dock for a day to load pepper and replenish fresh water and other ingredients.

With the exception of the sailors on duty, the rest of the crew left the dock as soon as they docked and went to the town's tavern for fun, which was one of the few places in the orre where they could have a free hand.

However, a few high-ranking people can't afford to be so disrespectful of their status, and the mayor of the port town, Wim Jonk, has already arrived at the docks, ready to receive the big man from the company's headquarters.

As a colony of the East India Company, the mayor here is naturally appointed by the East India Company, so it is said that Jonk is also an employee of the company, but his status is far worse than that of high-ranking officials such as Van Longen, Spikes, and Browwer. After all, there are at least twenty or thirty small colonies like this port town in the whole of Southeast Asia, and the employees who become mayors in such places are actually ordinary employees of the company when they were in Batavia.

To the delight of the Van Longen tried, despite the seemingly rudimentary conditions here, Jonker, who had been given the notice, had prepared a horse-drawn carriage as a means of transportation to the town, so that they would not have to step their clean-wielding calfskin boots into the muddy dirt road with the smell of the sea.

"It is an honor to meet three distinguished gentlemen here, but may I ask who the company is preparing to fight against?" said Jonker, who in the carriage took the initiative to inquire about the purpose of the fleet. Of the three, he had dealt with Van Longen a few times, so he didn't see much of it, after all, this was the first time he had seen Van Longen have two troop transports in his fleet.

"War? Maybe, maybe not. Van Longen replied vaguely, and immediately changed the subject: "Mr. Jonke, from April until we came here, have you had any merchant ships returning from Dayuan Harbor docked here?"

"When it comes to this, I'm also deeply confused. Jonk replied, "According to the normal schedule, no ships from the north have been here since April. Of course, this has happened occasionally in the past, after all, the crew returning from the north wanted to be able to return to Batavia sooner rather than stop for a rest just two or three days from the destination, especially since it was just a desolate island with nothing to do. ”

"Did you file a report on this anomaly to corporate headquarters?" asked Spikes.

"Of course, it's within my line of duty. I already mentioned this in my regular written report back to Batavia last month. Jonk replied without humility or arrogance.

"Was there ever a situation where no ship had returned from the north for more than two months?" Van Longen continued.

"No, it's the first time I can remember. Jonk affirmed, "In the last three years I've been mayor of the town, nothing has happened like you've been talking about. ”

"So is there anything unusual about the ships heading north in the near future?" Van Longen asked guò questions, looking for clues about the missing ships little by little.

"As always, it's normal, just half a month ago, there was a merchant ship heading to Dayuan Port to replenish fresh water here and carry away three hundred pounds of pepper. If the road goes well, the ship should be almost there. Jonk replied.

"Looks like this isn't the last stop for the missing ship. Brower, who had not spoken, finally spoke: "Something happened to them probably before they arrived at this port. ”

"Missing?" said Jonker, surprised, "do you mean that all the ships that have returned from Dayuan Harbor have disappeared at sea in the last two months, and none of them have returned to Batavia?"

"Yes, they have all disappeared into thin air, and it is our responsibility to find out where and why they disappeared. "Mr. Jonker, if you know anything else, please tell us as well, for example, if there are any new pirates in the nearby seas?"

Jonker thought for a moment before responding: "The pirates haven't heard of it, but recently, when the Ming merchant ship docked here, I heard that the port battery is being built in the port of Natuna in the north, I wonder if Old Janssen has received any bad news?"

The old Janssen mentioned by Jonk was the mayor of the port town of Natuna, and Van Longen had traveled back and forth to this route many times, so he naturally knew it, and frowned when he heard this: "Build a fort?

"It doesn't have to be a pirate, it could be a pesky Portuguese. Spikes reminded, "They're pretty good at stealing chickens and dogs!"

"Wait, did the people on the Ming ships docked here mention if they saw our missing ship in the port of Natuna?" Browwer was obviously much more thoughtful, and immediately grasped a key point.

But Jonker's answer disappointed him slightly: "This...... I didn't ask in detail......"

"So the ship that has come from the north lately is only the ship of the Akito?Has the Akira ever mentioned that there are pirates in the northern seas or the activities of the Portuguese?" asked Brower, still refusing to give up.

Jonke responded very quickly this time, and replied without thinking: "According to the Ming people, the pirates who caused trouble on Qiongzhou Island last year have not been completely wiped out by the Haihan people, and they will still operate in the South China Sea from time to time. No one knows where their nest is, no one knows what their strength is now, and where they will appear next time. ”

"Mr. Jonker, I don't want to listen to this pointless nonsense. Brower shook his head in disappointment and gave his assessment.

The following paragraphs will be updated later

Not to mention that it's just a deserted island, and there's nothing interesting about it. ”

"Did you file a report on this anomaly to corporate headquarters?" asked Spikes.

"Of course, it's within my line of duty. I already mentioned this in my regular written report back to Batavia last month. Jonk replied without humility or arrogance.

"Was there ever a situation where no ship had returned from the north for more than two months?" Van Longen continued.

"No, it's the first time I can remember. Jonk affirmed, "In the last three years I've been mayor of the town, nothing has happened like you've been talking about. ”

"So is there anything unusual about the ships heading north in the near future?" Van Longen asked guò questions, looking for clues about the missing ships little by little.

"As always, it's normal, just half a month ago, there was a merchant ship heading to Dayuan Port to replenish fresh water here and carry away three hundred pounds of pepper. If the road goes well, the ship should be almost there. Jonk replied.

"Looks like this isn't the last stop for the missing ship. Brower, who had not spoken, finally spoke: "Something happened to them probably before they arrived at this port. ”

"Missing?" said Jonker, surprised, "do you mean that all the ships that have returned from Dayuan Harbor have disappeared at sea in the last two months, and none of them have returned to Batavia?"

"Yes, they have all disappeared into thin air, and it is our responsibility to find out where and why they disappeared. "Mr. Jonker, if you know anything else, please tell us as well, for example, if there are any new pirates in the nearby seas?"

Jonker thought for a moment before responding: "The pirates haven't heard of it, but recently, when the Ming merchant ship docked here, I heard that the port battery is being built in the port of Natuna in the north, I wonder if Old Janssen has received any bad news?"

The old Janssen mentioned by Jonk was the mayor of the port town of Natuna, and Van Longen had traveled back and forth to this route many times, so he naturally knew it, and frowned when he heard this: "Build a fort?

"It doesn't have to be a pirate, it could be a pesky Portuguese. Spikes reminded, "They're pretty good at stealing chickens and dogs!"

"Wait, did the people on the Ming ships docked here mention if they saw our missing ship in the port of Natuna?" Browwer was obviously much more thoughtful, and immediately grasped a key point.

But Jonker's answer disappointed him slightly: "This...... I didn't ask in detail......"

"So the ship that has come from the north lately is only the ship of the Akito?Has the Akira ever mentioned that there are pirates in the northern seas or the activities of the Portuguese?" asked Brower, still refusing to give up.

Jonke responded very quickly this time, and replied without thinking: "According to the Ming people, the pirates who caused trouble on Qiongzhou Island last year have not been completely wiped out by the Haihan people, and they will still operate in the South China Sea from time to time. No one knows where their nest is, no one knows what their strength is now, and where they will appear next time. ”

"Mr. Jonker, I don't want to listen to this pointless nonsense. Brower shook his head in disappointment and gave his assessment.