Leaving the Governor's Palace, Sheng Yeyun rode on the street in a luxurious carriage printed with the family baron's logo, through the window, you can see the Chinese merchants carrying burdens on the street, the indigenous women selling fruits along the street, and the Dutch white people wearing white suits and holding canes in their hands, bustling and lively.

Most of the commerce in the city of Batavia (Jakarta) is in the hands of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and if it is really about doing business, without using other obscene means, three white Dutch people tied together cannot compete with a Chinese.

Thus, in the Dutch East Indies, white Dutch planters spread across Java, Sumatra and Borneo, controlling the vital spice trade, while almost all other areas of commerce were dominated by Chinese merchants.

Sit in the carriage

Sheng Yeyun was tall and had a white face, and he looked like an elegant and moderate nobleman, but the light that flashed in his eyes from time to time revealed his ambition, and he was not like him.

He was well-read in history, proficient in Dutch, Spanish, English, Cantonese and Jianghuai Mandarin, and at the age of thirty-five or sixteen, when he was in the prime of life, he naturally would not be willing to live under others.

After years of planning

Sheng Yeyun was finally able to enter the sight of the Governor's Palace, and was sent to the mainland and Australia to detect the military situation as a secret son, and there was a benefactor in the middle ~ Wen Beike, the former assistant to the political officer.

He seized this opportunity to make a splash, successfully assisted the Royal Dutch Army to land in Lucky Bay, and was awarded the title of Baron, and was awarded the title of "Kapitan" Grand Chieftain.

As for the subsequent annihilation of the Royal Netherlands landing force, these are completely different things.

In terms of status

Sheng Yeyun is a nobleman in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and compared to Wenbeck, who is still a commoner, he is not much better, and even has a higher status.

In fact, the accounts can't be calculated like this, the indigenous nobles will always be the indigenous nobles, and they can't change their skin, blood, and race, just like the vines in the forest that cling to the towering trees, and they must be lackeys for the white people.

When he gets carried away, he is not far from returning to his original form, Sheng Yeyun obviously won't be so stupid.

Therefore, when the benefactor Wenbeck said something heavy, his intention was very obvious, and he could no longer pretend to be stupid, and he had to tell his heart.

"Alas...... It's hard to survive in the cracks! ”

Sheng Yeyun sighed, frowned and thought carefully about the current changing situation, where should I go?

In fact

Before the arrival of the Dutch colonists, there was no concept of a unified East Indies in the world, which was just 17,508 islands scattered throughout the South Pacific.

Due to the extremely underdeveloped shipping industry, the East Indies developed separately at that time, and the communication links between them were quite limited.

A certain historical period

The rise of a more powerful regime on the island of Guawa will spread its influence to other islands for conquest and expansion.

Before the arrival of the Dutch colonizers, none of the most powerful feudal kingdoms in the Indonesian archipelago were Sriwijaya on the island of Sumatra and Majapahit on the island of Java.

At the height of its power, Sriwijaya not only controlled the entire island of Sumatra, but also included much of the Malay Peninsula and the Sunda Islands within its sphere of influence.

In 1397 A.D. (the thirtieth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty), the Kingdom of Srivijaya was destroyed by Majapahit.

At the height of its power, the Majapahit Kingdom ruled the southern Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and Bali, and was the most powerful maritime empire in Southeast Asia at the time.

In the East Indies, the islands of Java and Sumatra formed feudal empires much earlier than the other islands, developing unique civilizations and historical heritages.

Compared with the above two, most of the other islands are in the era of primitive tribal civilization, and have established large and small weak indigenous kingdoms, most of which are in a relatively primitive state.

As a result, these islands were developed much later than those of Java and Sumatra.

Due to the division of the archipelago by the sea, these islands have been slow to move from primitive tribal civilization to more mature feudal states.

The East Indies has 17,508 islands, but the five main islands are Kalimantan, Sumatra, Shangri-La (Irian), Sulawesi and Java.

Except for the five main islands, the other islands are relatively small in size, with a large number of tropical rainforests, and the arable land area is quite limited, and the degree of development is extremely low, which cannot give birth to a relatively large feudal state.

The island of Java occupies about 7% of the area of the Dutch East Indies (based on the previous September 1881) and is the fifth largest island in the archipelago.

Due to its rich historical heritage and the continuous development of Dutch colonists for more than 200 years, the island of Java, with an area of only 138,000 square kilometers, is home to nearly 70% of the population of the East Indies and most of its economic output.

Java Island is rich in spices, communicating the ancient maritime Silk Road of China, India and Southeast Asian countries, starting from Quanzhou, Guangzhou and other ports in southern China through the Strait of Malacca into the Indian Ocean, located in the west of the archipelago of the two islands of Java and Sumatra, because of the proximity to the Strait of Malacca, the east-west trade node, so as to take the lead in development.

After the rise of the power of the Earl of Queensland, Australia, this originally quiet East Indies is the first to bear the brunt of the challenge of emerging powers.

Unfortunately, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has been in decline for a long time, and it is clear that it is not ready for a strong challenge, and it is defeated at the first encounter.

It didn't take long

The luxurious carriage drove into an ancient courtyard on the outskirts of Batavia, the tall and sturdy stone walls bearing the marks of the rings of time, the courtyard was deep and lush with vegetation, and the sturdy man in the black coat stood at a distance when he saw the head of the house returning.

The luxurious carriage did not stop for a moment, and traveled along the road in the courtyard until it reached the entrance of the main building, and the rider shouted loudly to take the reins, and the carriage came to a steady stop.

At this moment, a group of maids wearing cyan short jackets and revealing half of their white arms greeted them.

The leader is a middle-aged housekeeper Sheng Gui wearing a melon skin hat, this is the head of the Sheng family's sons and slaves, who is shrewd and capable, and is very trusted.

Sheng Gui took the first step to open the carriage door, and then immediately lowered his hand and made a thousand; "Sheng Gui welcomes the lord back to his home, and the little one is saying hello to you."

"Hmm." Sheng Yeyun responded silently on his face, bent down and got out of the carriage, handed the ivory cane to Sheng Gui, and took off the top hat on his head, Sheng Gui hurriedly took it and handed it to the maids behind him.

Sheng Yeyun unbuttoned his suit as he walked, Sheng Gui followed with a trot, and said earnestly; "Sir, the weather is so hot, you have prepared a sour plum soup from Jingshui Town, added some lemon juice, and took some ice ballast from the ice room, the ice is cold."

"Yes, let's bring it up."

"Yes, I'll bring it to the lord right away, the uncle and the second master have been waiting in the council hall for a long time, see when you ......"

"What's the matter?"

"The uncle and the second master didn't say, and the little one didn't dare to ask, but they just arranged a tea and fruit plate and waited carefully."

"Got it, you go and say I'll come right away."

"The little one understands."

Sheng Yeyun took off his suit and handed it to the maids, and came to the hall to sit down, at this time the cold sour plum soup was served, and hot towels were served.

He picked up a towel and wiped his face and hands, then threw the towel on the tray, picked up the iced sour plum soup and drank a big sip, and suddenly felt cool from the inside out.

After resting for a while, he went to the back room to change into a light gown and coat, and Sheng Yeyun walked towards the council hall.

Before entering the door, he heard the angry voice of the second brother Sheng Yelin from the council hall; "Grandma's, this time no matter what, to occupy the tea mountains of the old Wu family, his tea mountains are dozens of hundreds of years old tea trees, and the quality of the alpine tea produced is the best, and he will earn at least tens of thousands of guilders a year, and it may be more than that."

"I know that the Wu family tree has deep roots and has a lot of face in front of the Dutch, so I have to think twice about this matter." This is the voice of the eldest brother Sheng Yetian

"When is that the old Huang calendar, now the third child is a popular fried chicken in front of the governor, our Batavia "Jiabidan" leader, I don't believe that the old Wu family's voice can be louder than the Sheng family, the third child is now a lord and nobleman of the Dutch Kingdom, and it is good to enjoy the shade under the big tree, so we should make a fortune. ”

"That being said, but there are still concerns about the implications."

"Big brother, don't be mother-in-law......

Hear here

Sheng Yeyun smiled slightly, and entered the council hall with steady steps, the eldest brother Sheng Yetian, who was originally sitting in the council hall, and the second brother Sheng Yelin saw him come in, and involuntarily stood up to greet him.

"Third brother, you're back."

"Yes, I listened to the second brother shouting outside, I think I fell in love with the old Wu family's tea mountain, we Batavia has four families of "Zhou Wu Wangsheng" tea business, among which the Wu family's tea mountain has the longest history, the best location, and the highest quality of tea, it seems that the second brother's vision is good! ”

Sheng Yeyun said with a light smile, walked to the top of the council hall and sat down, he is now a baron, he is the head of the Sheng family, and he should sit in this position.

Among the three brothers of Shengfu, the eldest Sheng Yetian and the second master Sheng Yelin are both middle-aged, but this third Sheng Yeyun has been talented since he was a child, never forgetful, and very visionary, and is the out-and-out backbone and talker among the three brothers.

Sheng Yelin sat down with some sneer when he said this; "The third child, our Shengfu adheres to the ancestral teachings, divides the property and does not divide the family, I am also considering the common interests of the three houses, everyone earns money, it is a hundred times stronger than being monopolized by the Lao Wu family, and how did the tea mountain of the Lao Wu family come about? It's not that when their ancestors were serving as Kapitan, they snatched it from others, and their hometown has been earning it for so many years, so it's time to change positions. ”

This is pure bandit thinking, and it is so reasonable to say it in Sheng Yelin's mouth.

Sheng Yeyun took the fragrant tea offered by the maid, waved his hand and said; "Master, let's all go down."

"Yes." The maids bowed their knees and retreated.

Sheng Yeyun tasted the tea quietly, without saying a word, and without any expression.

"Third brother, I've said so much, you always have to come up with an explanation!" Second Master Sheng Yelin couldn't help but urge.

Uncle Sheng Yetian has always been steady, and reprimanded with displeasure; "Ye Yun naturally has an idea about something, second brother, you have to say less."

Gently putting down the teacup, Sheng Yeyun raised his eyes and looked at the second brother and said; "The goal is well chosen, and things are good, but is it necessary to shout so that the whole world knows?"

"Do you mean these little maids, forgive them for not daring to go out and talk nonsense, it's a big deal to sell them in the kiln and change them again, I just look at these old faces and get a little bored."

"You have a little temper and shout everywhere, and you can't always replace people, right?" Sheng Yeyun pinched his eyebrows in distress, and there was nothing he could do about this stunned second brother.

People in their 40s still can't hide a word in their hearts, and this temper seems to be unchangeable.

As the saying goes, the big nerd is stunned and the third is sharp.

Very vividly interprets the three masters of the Sheng Mansion generation, the boss Sheng Yetian is indeed steady, steady and rigid does not know how to change, the concept is pedantic and conservative, and it is difficult to accept new things.

The second child, Sheng Yelin's big temper, can't hide the slightest thing in his heart, the 450-person volunteer team is in his hands, and there are some armed family forces under him.

As for the third child, Ye Yun is a very smart person, scheming, far-reaching, and an out-and-out trendsetter of the times, once he has the opportunity, he can dance to the sky.