Cape Town, 15 September 1724.

When the two whaling ships slowly sailed into the port of Cape Town, in addition to more than 20 merchant ships docked for supplies, on the west side of the wharf, there were also four mighty Qi warships, and a red rising sun and yellow dragon flag of Qi was also raised on the wharf port building, and hunting fluttered under the blowing of the sea breeze.

Yes, from July 20, with the completion of the transfer of power between the first Governor of Qi and the last Governor of the Dutch East India Company, Cape Town officially became part of the overseas territory of Qianzhou of Qi, and the Dutch colonization of the region for more than 70 years came to an end, and the Qi people finally took South Africa as a strategic location.

The negotiations between the two sides continued for more than a year, during which they talked and stopped and talked and argued for an unknown number of times, and finally reached an agreement that was reluctantly accepted by both sides, and the Dutch East India Company transferred Cape Town and its dependent territories (including Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Milnaton, Durbanville, and Robben Island, including six or seven towns and their annexed lands) to the Qi State, for which the Qi State paid the East India Company a transfer fee of 800,000 guilders.

Although Cape Town had not yet been formally handed over to Qi a few months ago, the Qianzhou Governorate of Qi could not wait to send a mixed army battalion and two battalions of township soldiers escorted by two warships to directly land in the Cape Town territory and exercise the right of garrison and defense in advance. This move shocked the local governor and many colonial officials.

Is there such urgency? Are you still worried that our East India Company will not leave!

Perhaps in the eyes of the Qi people, the so-called negotiations were just a formality, and whether the Dutch agreed or not, in their eyes, Cape Town had long been the existing territory of the Great Qi Empire. Negotiation is just a formality to make the people of Qi more justifiable, after all, everyone is a member of the civilized world, and the legal right to rule a certain land is sometimes very important.

After the seventeen-member committee in Amsterdam had confirmed with the envoy to the United Provinces the transfer contract drawn up by the two sides, it signed and sealed it very happily, quickly clarifying the status of the colony of the Dutch Cape Town, and taking care of everything here.

Now, the final result has finally settled, the Qi people bought the Cape Town colony at a large price, and the Dutch East India Company received a promise from the Qi people, the port will be permanently open to East India ships like Batavia and Malacca, that is, the Qi people will make Cape Town a free port, allowing the East India Company's merchant ships to and from the free entry and exit, and obtain the necessary supplies.

In addition, the two sides have also made proper arrangements for tens of thousands of immigrants in the Cape Town area, who can choose whether to join the national status of Qi's overseas territories within three years, or they can choose to leave freely, and Qi cannot be forcibly prevented.

In addition, the Dutch also gained another important advantage: the new Dutch churches in the former Dutch South African colonies could be preserved, and the priests could continue to preside over religious activities and develop believers. But the premise is that it must accept the guidance and management of the Qi State Civil and Religious Affairs Office.

To be honest, in order to win this right for tens of thousands of immigrants, the Dutch still paid a lot of other costs in exchange. For in their eyes, even if Cape Town became a free port, there would be no new churches in the city, no pastors, and no spiritual sustenance, which would still be a great failure and unthinkable thing for them. Therefore, after repeated struggles, this right was obtained, which once made the people of Qi very confused, don't you Dutch people believe in money and wealth? For a while, I felt that these people were really religious madmen, which was a bit unreasonable.

However, although the Dutch East India Company had lost its long-standing colony of Dutch South Africa, there were still many bases on their routes to and from the East where they could replenish and stop. Moreover, these strongholds do not need them to spend additional construction costs and armed defense costs, and they can freely enter and exit the ports of the Qi people, which in essence does not have much loss, but saves a lot of fixed costs.

At the same time, the "transfer" of the East Indies and South Africa's possessions to Qi also won the friendship and trust of Qi and further strengthened the trade between the two sides. So, they have been doing business since then, and the market has not been lost – and even expanded, so what is there to regret?

What? The Qi people may close the port of Cape Town while the two sides are at war?

Oh, the Dutch never thought of such a thing, since the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Netherlands has been in a state of collapse, and the army has completely begun to rot after William III took over England, and there is almost no combat effectiveness, which is not as good as the armies of the German states.

Navy? Not to mention, it was so suppressed by England across the Channel that it could barely maintain the safety of the Caribbean route. In this way, it was still on the eastern route because the Qi people vigorously maintained the security of the Indian Ocean waters, so that the Dutch greatly reduced the investment in the eastern maritime forces, so that they could come up with limited resources to support the sugar trade and slave trade in the Caribbean, West Africa and other regions.

In this world, nothing is smooth sailing, so why go against the people of Qi? Wouldn't it be nice for everyone to judge the situation and follow them together to make a fortune?

Of course, the Dutch also obtained the right to invest in the territory of South Africa, just as they did in Han Zhou and the East Indies - it is reported that the Dutch East India Company has invested a total of 18 million dong in the country, involving finance, minerals, railways, textiles, machinery and plantations and many other industries, and can obtain a lot of returns every year, this right is extremely valued by the Dutch East India Company.

To be honest, people like the Dutch, who love to pursue commercial interests, don't particularly value land, and many times in their opinion, land is lost, but there must be a business. The pursuit of commercial interests has almost become an instinct that has penetrated into their bones, and for this reason, they do not hesitate to give up some rights and interests in land.

This attitude or philosophy of the Dutch is not good or bad for the Qi people, but the Qi people, who have been striving to expand more living space for the Chinese nation and future generations, do not agree with the Dutch approach. Because they obviously value land resources more, and believe that every inch of conquered territory cannot be given up, especially in South Africa, a region with a critical geographical location and abundant resources, it is even more reasonable to give it up.

Although the Dutch had established a colonial base in Cape Town as early as 1652, they did not immediately expand on a large scale as their European counterparts, and for more than half a century extended their colony from the Cape Plains to Stellenbosch (more than twenty kilometers from present-day Cape Town).

Gain, the fleet passing through the Cape of Good Hope was limited in number and had a limited need for livestock, and the Dutch could meet the demand by plundering the land where the Khoi lived without the need to work to expand the colony.

Another reason is that the number of Dutch immigrants is also insufficient, Dutch farmers are busy cultivating land in their own country, and have no desire to immigrate to South Africa, and by the end of the last century, there were only more than 20,000 Europeans who emigrated to South Africa, so they could not colonize the vast South African land.

Of course, the most important reason was that the Dutch East India Company was simply not willing to spend too much money on colonization here. There was no sugar, no spices, no gold or silver, and the Dutch could not think of anything of value to be gained from Cape Town other than as an important supply point at sea.

In less than 20 years, the Qi people extended from Changning (now Durban, South Africa) to Xinningbao (now Mosselbe, South Africa), less than 300 kilometers away from Cape Town, covering most of the coastline of South Africa, and also expanded to the inland areas in a big way, and the population size was several times that of the Dutch colonists, forming a crushing trend for Cape Town.

The Dutch were not only afraid of Qi Guo's earth-loving style, but also despised in their hearts. Because, in their view, South Africa did not seem to be a very good colonization, the land here was not as fertile as the East Indies, the minerals here were not as rich as India's, and the natives here were more primitive and barbaric, and it was very difficult to domesticate.

Could it be that the people of Qi are trying to seize this strategic place where the two oceans meet and complete their so-called key to the Indian Ocean?

However, when the Qi people discovered a huge gold deposit in the inland Xingshan region (present-day Johannesburg) last year, the Dutch were not calm.

Nima, the people of Qi are really shit lucky!

"That's right, the people of Qi have indeed been favored by God."

In a tavern in Cape Town's docklands, a group of European gold diggers are eagerly discussing the Xingshan gold mine, drinking inferior honey (sugar cane wine) while their eyes are glowing gold, and they are looking forward to how they will arrange a better life in the future after they have found gold.

"I heard that a local from Cape Town ran to Xingshan and found no less than thirty pounds of gold in less than a week. Oh God, that lucky guy has probably returned to Europe by this time and is living a life of aristocratic luxury. ”

"Really? Since digging for gold is so easy, why doesn't he keep digging a little more? If it were me, I'd have at least fifty pounds of gold!" ”

"Come on! If you dig up so much gold, how do you bring it back safely? It is said that robberies and murders happen every day, and even when you sleep, you have to open one eye. Otherwise, it is likely that one night, the gold you dig will be snatched and your head will be brutally cut off. ”

"Not really, right? I heard that the Qi people sent an army of more than 1,000 people to the Xingshan gold mine, will they sit back and watch this kind of violence happen? ”

"An army of a thousand? Oh, that's useless! Do you know that the entire gold mining area stretches for hundreds of miles, not to mention that the Qi people sent a thousand troops over, even if they send 10,000 people, I am afraid that they will not be able to control such a large gold mining area! ”

"Then we got to the goldfields, and we had to get together. Otherwise, none of us will be able to return to Europe alive. ”

"That's true. I heard that the Qi people in the gold mining area are carrying muskets, so we must be cautious! ”

“……”

"What do you think, Mr. Sassoon?" Eneco Quinn's heart burned when he heard the Scotsman's conversation.

In less than a week, they were able to dig up 30 pounds of gold, which was much easier than the hard chase of whales at sea, and the "return on investment" was much higher.

"Digging for gold is indeed the best opportunity to get rich." Victor Sassoon took a gentle sip of the slightly astringent low-grade wine and whispered, "But, as they say, the gold panning process is also full of danger and bad luck. If you are not careful, you will throw your precious life into the wilderness. Even, you will encounter the plundering and killing of the greedy Qi people. Can you imagine? Can a group of heavily armed Qi soldiers withstand the greed in their hearts when they see you carrying a large amount of gold? ”

"Not really." Eneco Quinn said: "It is said that the soldiers of Qi are very disciplined and will not commit acts of robbery and massacre for no reason. You have also heard that the people who went to Xingshan to pan for gold were not only Qi people, but also many people from Europe. If the soldiers of the Qi State wantonly robbed and killed the gold diggers for no reason, they would definitely arouse the resistance and condemnation of the civilized world, and then offend the entire European country. ”

"Do you think the arrogant and arrogant Qi people will care about this?" Victor Sassoon smiled contemptuously, "Under the temptation of gold, they will surely expose the darkest side of human nature." Besides, if they kill people, they will definitely cover it up to a certain extent, and it will not be known to too many people in the civilized world. ”

"So, Mr. Sassoon, do you think that the wisest thing to do in this gold rush is to stand at the highest moral point and make a sneer?" Jerm Heiney listened and couldn't help but sarcastically.

The Jews seem to be deeply hostile to the country, and have a vicious view of everything in the country.

"In this raging gold rush, if you want to get the most profits, you don't have to follow the greedy gold diggers, with a few shovels and pickaxes, to dig for gold with all the effort, and you have to be vigilant at all times, face all kinds of plots and attacks, and lose your life if you are not careful." Victor Sassoon shook his head and said, "We need to change our thinking and choose the most secure and lasting business opportunity." ”

"What's that?"

"What do you think those gold diggers need on a daily basis?"

"Food, drink, tents, gold panning tools...... well, maybe horses, vehicles, and swords for self-defense."

"How many do you think there will be in the gold pan?"

"Tens of thousands? …… Or more? ”

"Think about it, if each gold prospector spends only one gold coin on food, drink, shelter and transportation, how much will tens of thousands of people spend? What about hundreds of thousands? ”

"......" Eneco Quinn listened, and looked at Victor Sassoon blankly, half loudly, with a hint of admiration on his face, "Mr. Sassoon, I have to admit that you Jews are indeed very unique in their business vision!" So, would you like to invest with us? ”

(End of chapter)