A word woke up the person in the dream, and at this time Zhao Tianming realized that the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce had never been so fragile as it was today.

The Ming court wants to conquer the Tatar Qing in the north, which means that all the forces of the Ming court must be concentrated in the north, and the sea area south of Manila, the Ming court will not care at all, because this is beyond the sphere of influence that the Ming court can govern.

And the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce relies on the Ming Court to live.

After all, without the blessing of the Ming Court, it would be impossible for the four seas to develop and grow.

This also caused the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce to be safe and secure only when it operated within the sphere of influence of the Ming Court.

The goal of the Ming court was to conquer Tatar in the north, so it was necessary to stabilize the Jiading area.

Therefore, under the order of the Ming Court, the land and sea, the merchant fleet of the Ming Sea all converged in the South China Sea, and there were lucky ships coming and going in the South China Sea every day.

On the other hand, the Ming Dynasty Navy warships also patrolled the South China Sea to protect the fleet of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce.

Therefore, the indigenous forces in both Guangnan and Chenla will be afraid of the influence of the Ming court, so that the Four Seas Commercial Houses will gain certain privileges and power along the coast of the South China Sea.

This is the unprecedented influence of Nanyang Chinese businessmen in the past.

All this is naturally due to the Ming court, which had previously invited the merchants from the far seas to enter Batavia, in fact, under the guise of this idea, using the power of the Ming court as a means of protecting the Chinese merchants.

But the problem is that the Ming Dynasty Sword guides the sea.

South of Manila was not on the agenda for the Ming army's advance, at least for now.

This made the Chinese businessmen in Batavia, including Zeng Qilu, make a very fatal mistake.

How can you be sure that the Ming Court will really anger the Dutch for you Batavian Chinese merchants?

In the same way, it is impossible for the offshore merchant fleet in Batavia to rely on the Ming court as a backer.

"Going to Batavia for trade is Governor Liu Yu's intention, and the letter to the Governor was also written and handed to me by him, if the Ming Court has no intention of developing south of Manila, then why did he go to Batavia by sea?" Zhao Tianming, the owner of the ship, suddenly realized, and said with some indignation.

"That's exactly what the Governor meant." Wang Zhu said with a smile.

"The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce and the Ming Court are only in cooperative relations, not counting the Ming Sea, which has close cooperation with the Ming Army, the other three seas have their own independence, and they only need to pay taxes to the Ming Court every month, and the taxes paid by the Far Sea to the Ming Court are the highest among the three seas." Wang Zhu said with a smile.

"Minghai is controlled by the Ming Court, only responsible for transporting logistics grain and grass for the Ming Court, Lu Hai is backed by the Tatar Qing Dynasty, and smuggled to Luzon through the mainland people, not to mention the mountains and seas, but they are just traders on the Luzon Road, and only my offshore fleet is all over the South Seas."

"From the north to Liangguang, Fujian and Zhejiang, to the west to Siam Pattani, and to the east of India and to Batavia in the south, there are all my far-sea merchants, and the scope of activities is so large that it has long been beyond the control of the Ming court."

"Does Ship Master Zhao know why we, the merchants who went to the South Seas to live, were hated or even exterminated by the imperial court?" Wang Zhu looked at the thoughtful Zhao Shipmaster and said.

"Neither the emperor of the Ming Dynasty nor the emperor of the Tatar Qing Dynasty has any intention of developing the South Seas. Therefore, we, the Chinese businessmen living in Nanyang, have long been freed from the control of the court, so we must be killed. Zhao Tianming said without thinking.

"What is the difference between the relationship between the Far Sea and the Ming court in Luzon today and the relationship between the Ming Dynasty or the Tatar Qing Dynasty and the Chinese merchants in Nanyang?"

Wang Zhu said this, Zhao Tianming instantly understood the meaning of this, and in an instant, the cold sweat behind him flowed.

"What the hell does the Governor mean?" Zhao Tianming looked at the Fuyang warship not far from the Fu fleet with a frightened look.

The hull of the huge Tiger Ship was even larger than that of the Merchant Fleet's Fu Ship.

I don't know why, now seeing these Ming warships, he, Zhao Tianming, has a creepy feeling.

"This time, we set sail from the port of Laoag to Batavia, and the sailors of Fuyang Town accompanied me all the way, could it be that the Governor is warning the far sea?"

After thinking of the attitude of the Chinese businessmen in Batavia towards the Ming Court in Luzon, Zhao Tianming suddenly felt that this was not impossible.

After all, south of Manila has exceeded the traditional sphere of influence of the Ming court, and the offshore merchant fleet is the only chamber of commerce that has a chance to stay away from the Ming court's sphere of influence.

Rulers who are deeply influenced by the Confucian culture of the Central Plains will never allow such a force to escape from their palms.

"The Governor's dispatch of the newly formed Fuyang Naval Division to escort the far-sea merchant fleet all the way to Batavia is not just a warning, if the Ming court is really warning that the far sea cannot be undivided, then the Ming Marines can follow the high-sea merchant fleet to Batavia, instead of waiting until they arrive in the waters near Batavia and then let the Minghai merchant fleet go to Batavia City alone." Wang Zhu shook his head and said.

"I don't understand what you're talking about, what kind of medicine is this governor selling in his gourd?" Zhao Tianming was also angry with Wang Zhu.

"The Governor is testing the far sea, and outside the sphere of influence of the Ming Court, how will the merchants of the far sea choose." Wang Zhu said.

"You mean that this trip to Batavia is a test for us by the Ming Court?" Zhao Tianming was surprised.

"Yes, whether it is going to Batavia to trade, or establishing a merchant hall in Batavia, it is actually just a test given to us by the Ming Court, and as for sending an offshore fleet to escort all the way, it is actually just a simple escort."

"The Governor actually wants to cultivate the Far Sea into an East India Company belonging to the Ming Dynasty." Wang Zhu finally expressed his opinion.

Zhao Tianming was stunned, if the wealthy merchants on the mainland and coastal areas did not know what the East India Company was, then the Chinese merchants in the South Seas, especially the merchants from all over the world who often dealt with the East India merchants, knew the East India Company too well.

"I did think that the Ming court would cultivate a certain line in the four seas into a similar East India Company firm, but whether it is the Ming court or the merchants of the four seas, they all think that the Ming sea is the choice of the Ming court."

"There are also various indications of this, such as the fact that Minghai has the lowest tax burden, and only Minghai can buy firearms from the Firearms Division. ”

"But this trip to Batavia makes it clear that the Governor is trying to make the Far Sea the East India Company of the Ming Dynasty." Wang Zhu said.

"That is to say, from now on, no matter how difficult the far sea encounters in the South Seas, it will need to be solved by the far sea merchants themselves, and the Ming court will not care." Zhao Tianming said thoughtfully.

"Yes, the corresponding open sea will also have a certain degree of freedom." Zhao Tianming and Wang Zhu looked at each other and smiled.

"Presumably, this time back to Laoag, the Governor will open the right to purchase firearms from the Firearms Division to the open sea, and even let the far sea form an armed merchant fleet of its own."

Wang Zhu glanced at the mercenaries who were on guard on the deck.

These so-called mercenaries are actually alternative Ming officers and soldiers.

They will only protect the merchant fleet from pirate raids, but if the merchant or fleet in the merchant fleet betrays the Ming court, they will capture the merchant of the fleet, no matter how much money they are lured.

After all, these mercenaries themselves were the most determined Ming officers and soldiers.

Whatever the reason for their departure from the ranks of the Ming army.

But there is one thing without exception, and that is that the loyalty to Da Ming is unparalleled.

Han does not extinguish