Chapter 196: The Dutch Admiral's Report (II)

“…… In general, most of the members of the envoys of the Ming Empire were a bunch of very ridiculous and ridiculous guys, they were so arrogant and arrogant, they regarded their face far more important than the survival of the country, and arrogantly despised and hated everything they saw in front of them, and even hostile to the Australians who could decide their life and death, completely forgetting that they were already just a dying representative of a small country asking for help. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Of course, there were also a few diplomats of the Ming Empire who were trying to fulfill their duties and gather intelligence about the Australians, but instead they were scolded and ridiculed by their lazy colleagues, me and Fan. It was difficult for the senior merchants of Transtron to understand their strange logical thinking.

The attitude of the Australians towards these guys is also dominated by cynicism, and it seems that it will be difficult for them to complete their mission this time. However, the members of the Ming Empire's envoys didn't seem to care much about their tasks at all. It is said that even if their envoy fails to ask for help, the emperor of the Ming Kingdom has no right to punish them in any way, so these guys will have no sense of responsibility at all. The emperor's situation must have been very sad.

In stark contrast, the Japanese envoys who lived in the room next to me were there. These diminutive Japanese men had a fanatical reverence for Australians and what they saw in their capital, as if they had come to the Holy Land as if they were devout believers.

At present, Japan, the 'Treasure Island' depicted in Marco Polo's book, is also in the midst of a brutal civil war. However, compared to the Ming Empire, which entered the 'Year of the Three Thousand Tyrants' and became extremely chaotic, the situation of the Japanese Civil War is more clear, that is, the king (emperor) has been in power for a long time and cannot handle government affairs. Japan's two most powerful aristocracy, the 'Mori family' who ruled western Japan and the 'Tokugawa family' who ruled eastern Japan, took the opportunity to rise up and attack each other to compete for the throne of the Japanese shogun, which is roughly equivalent to the regency in our European political concept. It feels somewhat similar to the War of the Red and White Roses in England, but like the Civil War of the Holy Roman Empire currently taking place in Germany, there are many elements of religious warfare mixed in with the Maori family in the west who have converted to Christ Jesus, while the Tokugawa family in the east represents the conservative pagan power in Japan.

At the beginning of the Civil War, the Tokugawa clan in the east held the title of shogun and ruled most of Japan. But after several years of fierce fighting, the western Maori clan had initially turned the tide, and even invaded the Japanese capital under the banner of the Crusaders and established a new Christian regime. The defeated Tokugawa clan retreated with the Japanese king to their eastern base and continued their stubborn resistance by uniting with Japan's conservative pagan forces.

The Japanese envoys who lived next door to me were from the Maori family that ruled western Japan, and their envoy was a very kind and talkative old man, who had worked as an interpreter at the company's trading house in the port of Nagasaki and spoke good Dutch. Amazingly, according to him, the Maori family had been in contact with and allied with the Australians for a decade, and it was under the influence of the Australians that the Maori family converted to Christianity. If the Mori family were to win the civil war, the island nation of Japan would probably be able to bask in the glory of the Lord from now on.

Although neither the company nor the United Provinces were enthusiastic about missionary affairs, and their relations with the Holy See were very bad, it was a great pleasure to be a Christian to see the glory of God spread over more and more land.

To get back to the point, contrary to the arrogant and arrogant Ming State envoys, the members of the envoys sent by the Japanese Christian government are all polite gentlemen, who speak very politely and modestly, and their politeness is impeccable. They have shown an astonishing enthusiasm for the magnificent architecture, military might, and culture and art of the Australians, and in just a few days, they have collected many Australian books, and they have literally forgotten to study and read. Several times when I woke up in the middle of the night, the lights were still on in the rooms of the Japanese missions, and there were still voices of discussion and argument.

At present, the Christian army of the Japanese Maori family has occupied most of the area, including the capital, but the resistance of the old Japanese pagan forces is still very stubborn, and riots are spreading everywhere. Moreover, the Tokugawa army, which had retreated to the eastern base area, was also actively courting allies and planning a new counteroffensive. Not long ago, the Mori Army, which was conquering the eastern region, had suffered a tragic defeat at the birthplace of the Tokugawa family, in a place called "Land of Three Rivers" (Mikawa Country), and suffered heavy losses. For this reason, the Japanese legation representing the Mori family hoped that the Australians would provide more arms assistance, and it would be better to send fleets and legions to assist them in the battle, so as to eliminate the old enemy Tokugawa family in the shortest possible time and restore order in Japan.

Unfortunately, the Australians agreed to provide large quantities of cheap arms to the Japanese allies at the first opportunity, and they are now being shipped to the port of Nagasaki, which is under the control of the Maori family. However, the issue of sending troops to help the war effort is fiercely debated within the Australian government and military, and the outlook does not seem optimistic. The ostensible reason is that the Australian army has just experienced two years of strategic operations in the Ming Empire, and the whole army is already very tired and unwilling to step into a new battlefield immediately. And secretly it seems to be mixed with the military and bureaucracy, and the complex struggle between the central government and local governments.

In addition to the Ming Empire and Japan, I also saw envoys from other small Asian countries here. The first was a prince of the Ryukyu Kingdom, a very small island, about the size of Malta, where the Knights Hospitaller were stationed, located in the southern part of Japan. More than a decade ago, the Ryukyu Kingdom was conquered by the Japanese and the royal family was taken prisoner, but it was only with the help of the Australians that it was successfully restored.

Therefore, today's Ryukyu royal family has become a loyal vassal of Australians, and the Ryukyu prince in the state guesthouse has also studied in an Australian school for several years, and has shaved Australian's short hair, wears Australian clothing, and behaves almost the same as Australians.

Next, Korea, located in the north of Japan, the rumored "land of the hermits of the East", which is very mysterious, also sent an envoy to Australia. However, the mission of this 'land of hermits in the East' was surprisingly small, with only two people in total - the Korean envoy and his servants.

The Korean envoy was a middle-aged man who looked sad all day, and had just arrived in the Australian capital, and had fallen ill and been admitted to the hospital because of the lack of adaptation to the water and soil, so I had not been able to talk to him in a serious way, and I felt that he really had the demeanor of a hermit.

Then, according to my casual conversation with the Japanese envoys, the Australians' occupation zone and the Allied forces had now surrounded Korea on three sides, so that even Korea, the country of the hermits in the East, which had always been extremely slow in diplomacy, had to send envoys to the Australians to test the attitude of the other side. More importantly, according to the Japanese envoy's understanding, this Korean envoy should not be an important figure in their country, and it is even very likely that he is a criminal official who has been degraded, but he was just sent by a certain local Korean official to probe the situation, and there is no point in dealing with him.

The Portuguese and Jesuit missionaries from Macau also sent envoys, but at first glance it became clear that they were little people who had come to gain knowledge and to eat and drink, and that their attitude towards the company was not good—after all, we were competitors in business.

Finally, there were several chiefs of barbarian tribes from the northernmost part of Asia, all dressed in rough fur clothing, and one of them had strange tattoos on his face. Aside from the fact that these people like to drink heavily all day long and get drunk, there is basically nothing worth paying attention to.

However, there is one piece of information from their mouths that may be of some value to the company: according to their account and the explanation of the Australian translator, the expedition sent by the Russian Tsar to the East has not long been in the northernmost part of China's traditional territory, on the edge of the steppe that gave birth to the Mongols, establishing several small colonial strongholds, and making small contacts and trade with the Australians.

I can't speculate on how this change will affect the company's interests for the time being, but I just want to make a few reminders here.

In addition, Mr. Governor-General, in order to increase my understanding of Australian culture, I have also entrusted the service staff of the State Guesthouse to purchase some Australian books in the past few days, and I am going to bring them to you when the Magdeburg returns to Batavia. Among them is an epic tome, A Song of Ice and Fire, which is well worth reading. I took the time to flip through it these days, this is a novel between myth and historical legend, the author is obviously very knowledgeable about European history and culture, it is hard to imagine that the person who wrote this book actually lives on the other side of the world!

Well, it's ten o'clock in the evening, and it's almost time for me to rest. Dear Mr. Governor-General, I must get enough sleep tonight and be ready to attend the inauguration of Mr. Victor Vandel, the first Supreme Leader of the Australian Republic, tomorrow morning. So far, put the pen down. ”

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After putting down the barrel of the pen, Anthony? Fan? Admiral Dimmen rubbed his eyes, spread the letterhead on the table, pressed it with a weight, and waited for the ink to dry completely. Then he stretched out of the desk, went into the bathroom to wash up for a while, and then took off his clothes and prepared for bed.

According to the admiral's plan, after attending the inauguration of President Wendex, he sent the expedition ship 'Magdeburg' back to Batavia, bringing back his letters to the governor and the books he had recently collected. He himself is going to stay in the Australian capital for a while, trying to gather more valuable information, and at the same time see if there is any chance to leave the capital and visit other cities in the Australian mainland...... In order to provide a more accurate assessment of the true strength of the Australians and the extent of their actual domination.

However, his head had just been touched on the pillow, and before his muscles could relax, he was suddenly startled by a rapid ringing of bells!

“…… Damn it! Damn it! What is this sound? Oh...... It's the phone ......."

After stumbling around in a dark room, Anthony? Fan? Admiral Dimon finally found the switch, reached out and lit the electric light on the roof, and then followed the crisp sound of the ring, grabbed the receiver of the telephone, and immediately heard a young man say in fluent Dutch, "...... Hello, is it Anthony? Fan? General Dimon? This is the White House Office, so sorry to disturb your rest. ”

Yo! You also know that this will disturb my sleep? Don't even look at what time it is now?

The admiral in his pajamas rolled his eyes in displeasure, but the resounding name of the "White House Office" still made him barely hold back his anger -- through this period of inquiry, he already knew that the "White Palace" was the official residence of the supreme leader of the Australian Republic, and this "White House Office" was probably the organization of the staff and favored ministers arranged by Chairman Wen Dehei, and naturally he must not be easily offended.

“…… Well, I just, what's the matter? I'm going to attend Mr. Moon's inauguration tomorrow morning! ”

“…… In this way, after tomorrow's inauguration, President Moon is ready to lead government officials and foreign envoys to the desert areas of the north to pay homage to the relics of the old imperial era to show that he will not forget history. Would you like to come and see it together? ”

Anthony was planning to travel around Australia? Fan? Admiral Dimon blinked in disbelief for a moment, and then his heart was seized by the great excitement, and when he swallowed with difficulty, he hurriedly replied, "...... Delightfully, sir. ”