Chapter Thirteen, Twenty-Seven Moments in the Four Years of Chongzhen Thirteen Moment 13: The dormant Dutchman The fourth year of Chongzhen, the winter of 1631 AD, Taiwan, Damuan Port, the modern ancient city of Anping, Tainan City Although it is already winter, in Taiwan, apart from a slight chill in the morning and evening, the weather is still quite warm during the day.
Facing the refreshing sea breeze, a middle-aged Dutch man in luxurious clothes was sitting on the balcony of the Dutch Commercial House in Taipei Port.
While enjoying the bright sunshine, he waved his knife and fork and enjoyed a portion of schnitzel, A sumptuous lunch of grilled fish, vegetable soup, pastries and fruits.
This man has an arrogant and ferocious look, sharp eyes, a broad forehead, and two slender mustaches around his mouth, making his face look even thinner.
His once-pale skin had long since turned bronze after years of basking in the tropical sun.
This man was the fifth administrator of the Dutch East India Company in Formosa: Hans.
Putmans.
He had all the characteristics of a senior executive of the Dutch East India Company: shrewdness, ruthlessness, scheming and perseverance.
Only with such qualities can one establish a foothold in a strange and foreign land.
However, Governor Putmans was obviously not doing well today.
He just ate a few hasty bites, pushed aside the white porcelain plate with most of the food left, then picked up a glass of rum and sipped it, One side overlooks the scenery of Tai Yuan Port outside the balcony: the sparkling sea , lush primeval forests, the Castle of Geranje still under construction, the always lively and noisy taverns, drunken sailors on the streets and the indigenous Dutch transported a large amount of arrack from Batavia, and then from Rum was shipped from Hainan Island and used specifically to exchange fur goods with the indigenous people.
Because getting the natives addicted to alcohol was a common practice of many trading companies in the Age of Discovery.
The natives with a lower level of civilization generally do not need to buy too many odds and ends, and the natives must be forced to do transactions frequently.
Only use your brain more on those addictions that you can't quit, such as tobacco and alcohol.
Once the natives became addicted to alcohol, they became poor people who could be exploited by the East India Company at will.
From the Americas to Africa to the Spice Islands, this scene was played out everywhere in the world during the Age of Discovery.
Of course, as a seaport city, the most eye-catching thing here is always the bustling dock lined with masts.
Compared with previous years, the number of merchants coming to Dayuan for trade this year has increased several times.
There are ships of different sizes moored around the pier.
Except for a few Dutch ships, most of them are Chinese ships such as Guangzhou Shipyard and Fuzhou Shipyard.
Rows of new warehouses and yards have also been built on the docks, and mountains of goods awaiting shipment are piling up.
“Damuan Port is really becoming more and more prosperous.”
With some indescribable tangled emotions, Governor Putmans murmured in a low voice, and at the same time cast complicated eyes on a sea ship that was slowly leaving the port.
This was a large ship that was equivalent to the Spanish Galen ship, but The shape of the ship is much longer and more beautiful.
The chimney between the two masts is constantly emitting black smoke, and at the top of the mast, a morning star flag with a blue background and white stars is flying high.
This has been the source of all the joy and distress of Governor Putmans in recent years, and it has also been the nightmare and savior of the Dutch colony of Taimuang.
"But this island of Formosa no longer belongs to the United Provinces of the Netherlands," he sighed helplessly.
Looking back at 1629, when Governor Putmans first came to Taiyuan Port to take office, this small colonial stronghold was in an extremely embarrassing predicament: on the one hand, trade with China was disrupted by pirate battles along the coast of Fujian. came to a standstill, and trade with Japan was interrupted due to diplomatic conflicts.
The Dutch wanted to establish a Customs was set up and taxes were levied on Japanese merchants who came to Taiwan to trade, but Japan did not recognize Taiwan as Dutch territory.
Conflict broke out between the two sides, starting from the natives and Chinese immigrants in Formosa.
Everyone knows that this is the Dutch name for Taiwan.
Also unable to squeeze out enough oil and water, the financial situation of the Dutch Commercial House in Damuan Port has been in a state of deficit for consecutive years.
On the other hand, the Spanish in the Philippines also set their sights on the island.
Not only did they build castles in Jilong, Keelung and Tamsui in the north, but they also once dispatched an armed fleet from the Philippines to attack Damuan Port.
If it weren't for a miracle, A storm like this blew away the Spanish fleet, and Damuan Port, which had extremely weak defenses at the time, was almost destined to fall.
As if the house was leaking and it rained all night, before Governor Putmans arrived, two Fujian immigrant leaders in Taiwan, Zhang Wei and He Bin, launched an anti-tax rebellion, killing the Dutch tax collectors who went to collect taxes in kind.
They were beaten to death and driven out.
Governor Putmans also admitted privately that the previous governor not only imposed a poll tax on these Chinese, but also confiscated all the sugar they produced from their hard work planting sugar cane, which was indeed a bit excessive.
But if this is not the case, what should Damian Port do to pay the mercenaries, which has not done any maritime trade for several months?
Let me explain that in the early days when Taiwan was not yet developed, the "bulk" commodities exported were venison and deer skins.
Only after large-scale planting of sugar cane occurred during the Chongzhen period, cane sugar could be exported, which was also an important source of wealth during Zheng Chenggong's era.
However, sugarcane plantations cannot be established in a day.
Around 1630, Taiwan could export very little sugar.
Moreover, compared with the lucrative and huge-scale trade with Japan and China, the meager output of Taiwan at that time was not enough for the Dutch businessmen known as the "sea coachmen". .
Once foreign trade is cut off and the Dutch are forced to rely on plundering islanders to make a living, then the overwhelmed islanders will really have no choice but to rebel.
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Therefore, as soon as Governor Putmans took office, he had to try his best to recruit troops and launch a counter-insurgency war to punish the Chinese.
At first, with his usual contempt for the indigenous people of East Asia, Putmans thought that with the 400 soldiers assembled by Taimu Port, he would soon be able to crush the resistance of these Chinese.
The mercenary commander of Taimuang Port asked The governor boasted that one of his soldiers could defeat twenty-five Chinese.
But reality gave him a heavy slap in the face.
A famous legendary general from the Ming Empire across the Taiwan Strait actually secretly dispatched his direct troops "Fire Fighting Battalion", a battle-hardened force equipped with flintlocks and field artillery that could The elite troops of the Spanish Grand Front were sent out to support the rebellion of these Chinese immigrants on the island of Taiwan.
As a result, in just one battle, Governor Putmans lost half of his army and was shot himself.
He had to flee back to Taiyuan Port in despair.
Not only did he fail to resume his rule and oppression of Chinese immigrants, , and we had to worry about them attacking Taiyuan Port to retaliate: at that time, the construction of the Relanja Castle had not yet started, and in the face of modern firearms troops, Taiyuan Port had no defensive capabilities at all.
In the first half of the seventeenth century, the Dutch East India Company was, of course, a super multinational monopoly with more than 20,000 employees.
It had nearly 4,000 regular mercenaries under its command.
If you include those who could participate in the war with a little armed force, slaves, the total global military strength is only 20,000 to 30,000 people.
But please note that this is the total global military strength of the Dutch East India Company, so naturally it must Used in global battlefields, these valuable troops need to simultaneously defeat Malayan natives, South African black uncles, Portuguese colonial points, English pirates, Nordic fishermen fighting for fishing grounds, and a series of opponents all over the world to protect the company's benefits and the interests of all shareholders. income, so it is impossible to send many troops to a remote corner of Taiwan where we are losing money all day long.
Fortunately, the Chinese immigrants in Taiwan do not seem to have the idea of attacking Danyuan Port for the time being.
No matter whether it is He Bin who is entrenched in Beigang or the more annoying Zhang Wei in the "dog fighting" place, the final outcome of this war is a shame.
Peace Treaty: The Dutch East India Company surrendered to He Bin of Beigang and "Dog Fighter" Zhang Wei, and henceforth gave up its suzerainty over them, and was no longer allowed to levy any taxes on Chinese immigrants.
Kaohsiung was formerly known as "Dago".
It is said that in order to avoid external intrusion and internal fighting, the local aborigines planted a large number of thorny bamboos near the villages to protect the villages.
The native pronunciation of thorny bamboo is "beating the dogs".
As for the name Kaohsiung, it was created by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation based on the Japanese pronunciation of "beating dogs".
Both the pronunciation and the meaning of the word were much more elegant, so it became the official name.
Just as Keelung replaced the chicken coop.
Since then, the last stable source of income for the Dutch merchants in Taimuang Port has been cut off.
They can only rely on their past savings to make money, or rely on the intermittent trade with China and the provision of fresh water and supplies to passing ships.
A little pitiful service charge As the ambitious chief executive of Taiyuan Port, Mr.
Putmans certainly does not want Taiyuan Commercial Store to go bankrupt and close down in his own hands.
While he was facing the financial pressure of being heavily in debt, he started to build a series of fortifications around the castle of Geranje and the generals to improve the defense status of this stronghold.
While continuing to work hard to open direct trade channels with China, most Europeans who have traveled thousands of miles to the East have read Marco Polo's famous travel notes.
Even illiterate country bumpkins have at least heard of "The East is full of gold."
"This sentence.
Although Europeans who have actually arrived in the East know that this statement is a bit exaggerated, the wealth of the Eastern world still opens their eyes to the Europeans, especially the Ming Empire, which is across the sea from Damuan Port.
The porcelain, silk, and various exquisite handicrafts flowing from this land, as well as the tea that is gradually becoming a fashion among European upper classes, are all so exciting.
If anyone could monopolize trade with this big eastern country, I believe even God would be jealous of his wealth.
However, unlike Europeans who were extremely eager for Eastern goods, the Ming Empire, which was self-sufficient in most supplies, had little interest in goods from the Western world.
Although they also opened several trade ports, they did so more out of the desire to calm things down and not cause trouble than to make a profit.
Even at these trading ports, the Ming Empire's officials still refused to trade directly with European merchants, and all goods had to be changed hands through middlemen.
Not only is there a layer of profit missing for no reason, the quality of the goods is often affected, and the quantity is often not enough.
What's even more terrible for the Dutch is that even the trade with China that changes hands through middlemen, they can't get involved and are monopolized by the Portuguese in Macau.
The relationship between the Portuguese and the Dutch in the East is really bad: since the rise of the Netherlands, they have almost snatched away all the Portuguese overseas colonies in Asia.
If it were not for the support of the Ming Dynasty, they might even lose Macau.
How can this relationship get better?
Therefore, the Dutch in Taiwan could only purchase some Chinese specialties intermittently from various pirate groups in Fujian and Guangdong.
The price was expensive, the quantity was pitiful, the quality was even worse, and the profits were really limited.
Obtain a stable and reliable purchase channel.
The maritime trade between the Netherlands and the Ming Dynasty completely relied on pirates.
It is a sad fact that Damuan Port is a den for selling stolen goods.
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Governor Putmans tried every means to open up the situation, but the successive failures were simply despairing: Zheng Zhilong, the most important ally and commercial agent, had worked for the Dutch East India Company for many years and always had an erratic attitude.
The governor's request was just prevarication.
The court and officials of the Ming Dynasty were also unpredictable: they did not respond to any negotiation requests made by the company, and from time to time closed ports and seas, and used various means to obstruct trade.
The Dutch did not respond at all, whether it was requests, bribes, or threats. usefulness.
As for the Chinese merchants at sea, they were either unwilling to enter Taiyuan Port for trade and sailed directly to Manila; or they promised to purchase goods on their behalf, but fled with the deposit paid by the company.
What poor Governor Putmans never knew was that all this was actually caused by his "ally" Zheng Zhilong.
While speaking ill of the Dutch to the government, he also used force to ban Fujian merchants from trading in Taiyuan Port.
To ensure that they can dominate the trade channels in the Fujian Sea.
This persisted until 1630, that is, last autumn, the situation in Formosa was completely hopeless and trade with China could not be opened.
Although trade with Japan was restored, it did not have much oil and water in Damuan Port: of course the Dutch could Taxes are collected from a few Japanese businessmen who come to Taiwan, but Japan can also withdraw the taxes paid in Taiwan from the Dutch businessmen in Nagasaki and Hirado on Kyushu Island.
In this way, the Dutch East India Company suffered greater losses.
As a result, under the pressure of the company, Damuan Port had no choice but to continue to implement a zero-tariff policy for Japanese merchants.
Huge losses year after year have accumulated to a level that is unbearable for the Batavia headquarters.
Governor Putmans insists on the huge cost of building the Castle of Geranze, which makes the stingy company directors almost jump: Why should they continue to invest money after they have already lost like this?
Shouldn't they cut off the losses decisively?
Although the Chinese think that Tai Yuan Port in Taiwan is a Dutch colony, in the eyes of the Dutch, it is just an armed trading post.
It has the same nature as the concessions in major Chinese cities during the Republic of China: well-run and profitable.
Naturally, it can continue to expand; if the business is not good and has been losing money for many years, then it should decisively close the business and leave, just like modern large consortiums will close those overseas branches that lose money after investment failure.
As for farming and reclamation, not only is the return rate slow, but it is also not easy to introduce large numbers of refugees from Fujian, at least for "foreigners" like the Dutch.
What's more, even if the population is obtained, it will be difficult for the Fujian farmers who come to Taiwan.
The Dutch's exorbitant taxes were almost unbearable, and they tried their best to escape from the Dutch rule.
They either went to Beigang in the north or Kaohsiung in the south.
Even the Japanese village originally attached to Taiyu Port has been mostly emptied, leaving the population of Taiyu Port in negative growth for a long time, and the satisfaction of companies and residents continues to decline.
The only news that made Governor Putmans slightly happy was that Zhang Wei, the hateful rebel leader in Kaohsiung Port in the south, was surrendered by another powerful armed group, the "Australians" entrenched in Hainan Island and the Pearl River Estuary, and has since been accepted into the fold. left the island.
However, the "Australians" who took over Kaohsiung Port were more powerful, and He Bin from Beigang also joined them.
The company was still unable to restore its control over the Chinese immigrants on the island.
Moreover, since Kaohsiung and Beigang sandwiched Da Yuan Port from the south to the north, the Dutch could no longer find space to conquer and develop on the island.
In addition, what shocked Governor Putmans was that even the powerful leader Zheng Zhilong, who had many ships under his command, was raided and wiped out by this group of "Australians".
Although Zheng Zhilong's death was not a pity, the port of Taiyuan has since been lost.
The most important source of Chinese goods.
It could neither conquer the natives on the island nor open the window for trade with China.
Under such circumstances, the East India Company spent huge sums of money year after year to maintain the fortress, officials and troops of Taiyuan Port.
What else could it do?
It is too wasteful to use it purely as a relay station for trade with Japan.
However, just when Governor Putmans was completely despairing about the future of Taiyuan Port, and even began to think about how he should close the Taiyuan Port Commercial Station as decently as possible, and how to maintain his life after being fired from the company and returning home, An incredible miracle happened.
The Dutch East India Company headquarters in Batavia successfully signed a trade agreement with the Australians.
A large number of cheap and high-quality Chinese goods were obtained from Lingao, Hong Kong and other places under the control of the Australians.
What's even better is that various goods can be used to pay for the goods instead of scarce silver.
Although I don’t know how these “Australians” completely opened up the Chinese market and achieved what the East India Company had not been able to achieve for many years, the silk, tea and porcelain they obtained were not fake, so Batavia Very pleased with this breakthrough.
And for Governor Putmans, who was trapped in the backcountry of Taiyuan Port and was suffering, he was even more happy: After the Dutch East India Company in Batavia signed a trade agreement with the "Australian" Senate in Lingao, Hainan Island, Damuan Port immediately got rid of its past half-dead state and transformed from a forgotten remote corner to a It became an important trade port between the two sides.
Governor Putmans, who had been running into obstacles before, had already lost confidence in opening up trade with China: in his view, Chinese businessmen were too cunning and had always been treacherous.
If they did not use force to protect trade, the company's business would be very difficult.
It is difficult to achieve a decent breakthrough.
Unfortunately, the situation along China's coast has been so chaotic in recent years, and the company's available military force in East Asia is too weak.
However, after the Batavia Corporation and the Australians signed a trade agreement, the situation in Damian Port changed almost immediately.
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Australian ships began to enter Damian Port continuously, bringing in countless Dutch people.
Chinese goods that were once coveted - silk, tea, porcelain, and a large number of "Australian goods" that are becoming more and more popular.
Moreover, since the opening of Kaohsiung, the supply cycle of the Australians has continued to shrink.
Governor Putmans soon discovered that the Australians had established a huge transit warehouse in Kaohsiung, accumulating a large amount of goods for the Dutch and Japanese for sale.
Compared with Zheng Zhilong and other pirate groups who used to be the main supplier of the Dutch Merchant House in Taimuang Port who always changed their orders day and night and liked to constantly raise conditions, these Australians clearly have a very good "contractual spirit" and have always been meticulous in fulfilling their contracts.
Not bad.
Of course, they are always so strict and even harsh when asking others to fulfill their contracts.
Fortunately, this is also the strength of the Dutch: if they don’t even have the basic spirit of contract, how can the Dutch do business all over the world?
As a result, Governor Putmans' performance quickly prospered, and the head office in Batavia praised him highly.
And his personal benefits are also rolling in, which makes Governor Putmans feel a little ashamed, because this is completely taking advantage of the head office, rather than relying on his own efforts.
In short, less than half a year after the signing of the agreement, Damuan Port went from a bankrupt trading stronghold that was almost abandoned to a "jewel" on the performance list of the Dutch East India Company.
Especially these "Australians" are not like Chinese merchants in Fujian and Guangdong were so enamored with silver that they had a voracious appetite for all the goods the company could offer, from metals to wood, from dyes to leather, as well as slaves, linen and almost everything.
This greatly alleviated the "silver shortage" situation of the Dutch East India Company in its trade with China.
Then, the huge profits that rolled in over the past year not only turned the financial situation of Taiyuan Port into a profit for the first time, and the employees and mercenaries made up for the back wages, but also gave the Governor enough funds.
Come and continue the construction of the Castle of Geranje, which had been forced to stop.
But there are also disadvantages.
Based on the bilateral trade agreement of the Batavia Corporation, Governor Putmans had to sign a supplementary agreement with the Australians who took over Taiwan, recognizing that Taiwan is Australian land, and then Australia will classify Damuan Port and part of the surrounding land as a Dutch concession.
The lease term is 25 years, and the rent is a symbolic Dutch guilder.
If the lease expires, the lease can be renegotiated.
In addition, the Dutch could travel freely outside the concession, but were not allowed to engage in activities other than trade outside the concession, such as taxing indigenous peoples or forming alliances, etc.
Since then, the Dutch East India Company's power in Taiwan has been suppressed in the small area near Damuan Port.
Although they were limited to meager manpower and material resources, they had only occupied such a small piece of territory on the island before, but it did not hinder Governor Putmans placed the entire island on the map with the Dutch Prince of Orange flag.
But now, he can only sit back and watch Australian troops and immigrants pouring into Taiwan like a tide, building Kaohsiung City in the Dagou area at an alarming speed.
At the same time, he quickly wiped out the surrounding headhunting indigenous people and reclaimed rice fields. , vegetable fields and sugar cane fields Long before the Australians landed, the guy named Zhang Wei had already wiped out the indigenous people of the Tagalyan community closest to Kaohsiung.
In the autumn of this year, with an unprecedented bloody sweep, the Australians destroyed the Madou Society, which had defeated the Dutch.
It is said that the leader of the Madou Society, Mona, led the tribe to fight bravely to the last soldier.
His wife and children also heroically chose to commit collective suicide.
But in the face of the powerful strength of the "Australians", their resistance was like a praying mantis blocking the wheel.
They were destined to be crushed from the beginning.
With the destruction of Madou Society, all the aboriginal tribes in southern Taiwan knelt at the feet of the Australians in horror.
Including the natives of Xingangshe who had been dependent on the Dutch for a long time, they changed their masters without hesitation and went to Kaohsiung to kowtow and pay tribute, which made Governor Putmans feel very uncomfortable.
But no matter what, the native people who originally posed a great threat to Taiyuan Port and often "outed" and "headhunted" outside the city have now been basically defeated and tamed by the Australians.
The land route from Taiyuan to Kaohsiung has also changed.
To feel safe, the Australians even started building a road between the two places.
At the same time, another more powerful Australian army, also under the cover of artillery fire from naval warships, launched an attack on the Spanish colonial stronghold of San Salvador in the Jilong area of northern Taiwan.
Sadly, the Spanish mercenaries in the city were not even as strong as the indigenous warriors of Madou Society.
It is said that the offensive and defensive battle lasted less than forty-eight hours.
Unable to bear the bombardment, more than a hundred Spanish mercenaries volunteered to sacrifice their lives. to the city of San Salvador.
Next, the city of Santo Domingo in Tamsui took the initiative to send envoys to negotiate surrender terms.
They only had an extremely pitiful 20 people in total, and they were also infected with the plague.
I am afraid they would not be able to survive for even an hour in front of the powerful Australian army. .
In this series of war storms full of blood and fire, the Dutch in Taiyuan Port were able to enjoy the tranquility of watching the fire from across the shore.
Under the guarantee of the peace treaty, the Australians have always shown no regard for the Dutch in Taiyuan Port.
Malicious, but also full of good intentions: The Dutch can not only go to Kaohsiung to purchase all kinds of fresh food at any time to enrich their monotonous dining tables, but they can also buy novel drinks such as cigarettes, alcohol and salt sodas for entertainment.
If you are willing to pay a big price, you can even buy ice cubes to cool off the heat.
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I don’t know how the Australians did it.
So Batavia believes that there is no need to deliver any supplies to the generals from now on, because except for gunpowder and guns, Besides, “you can buy everything” in Kaohsiung.
This will free up space to transport more trade goods for transactions.
Dutch sailors and soldiers in Taiyuan Port have recently been frequenting Kaohsiung's business district for recreation and entertainment.
Compared to the simple market in Taiyuan Port, Kaohsiung's business district undoubtedly has more choices.
If they get sick, they can still receive treatment from Chinese doctors in Kaohsiung.
Compared with those smelly German doctors who only know how to give blood and bloodletting, Chinese doctors' medicine and acupuncture are always slightly more effective.
The rum, salt soda and kvass produced by the Australians are even more popular among sailors from the Netherlands and other European countries.
As time went by, the hundreds of Dutch people in Taiyuan Port became more and more dependent on the material supplies from the Australians in Kaohsiung City.
They generally wore T-shirts, shirts and long t-shirts sewn from imported Dutch linen by the Kaohsiung Quilt Factory.
Trousers, rattan sandals made in Hainan Island, and rattan helmets are more suitable for the climate of Formosa than the cumbersome and stuffy European-style clothes of the Dutch.
Later, even the ship repair work was outsourced by the lazy Dutch to the ship repair yard in Kaohsiung - there are large dry docks and heavy cranes, which are much more complete than the facilities here in Taiyuan Port.
Repair and maintenance A few Dutch round ships were out of the question.
Rare peace, prosperous trade, abundant financial income, and rich leisure life all seem so beautiful.
However, as a shrewd and capable businessman and a calm and cunning adventurer, Hans.
Governor Putmans was not fooled by the good situation of the "Australian-Dutch Concord".
No matter from which point of view, the Australians, the new neighbors, are not "peace-loving".
They massacred the indigenous people on the island, and The expedition to the Spanish strongholds in the north fully demonstrated that they would never show mercy once they needed to take action, and their methods were even cruel.
The peaceful and friendly atmosphere between the Australians and Damuan Port today is nothing more than that they still need to carry out trade cooperation with the East India Company.
If one day this trade is no longer important to them, they will definitely attack the generals and occupy the entire Formosa Island.
However, even after seeing through this, Governor Putmans still could not come up with an effective countermeasure.
How can we ensure the continued existence of the Dutch East India Company in Formosa?
Obviously, it is useless to rely on force to resist.
No matter how strong the Dutch build the fort, due to the huge disparity in strength between the two sides, once the company and the After the war broke out with the Australians, Governor Putmans did not think that the battlefield performance of the garrison at Taiyuan Port was much better than that of the Spaniards with fresh water and chicken coops.
Although the construction of the Castle of Geranze is still continuing - after all, the company has invested a large amount of money in the castle and cannot give up halfway, and presiding over the construction project is always a lucrative job, but His Excellency the Governor is very interested in strengthening the defense of the Port of Damien.
He is no longer interested in power matters, and he just does whatever the company instructs him to do.
Once, after drinking a few more glasses of rum smuggled by Australians, he even turned on the commander of the garrison, Heinrich.
Captain Weidenfeller shouted: "Do you really think that Taiyuan Port is still in the hands of the company because of your four hundred black lazy men and German scum with matchlock guns?
No, we can still stay here.
It’s purely because of the company’s agreement and the kindness of Australians.”
Since military means are useless, it seems that we should follow the example of the Portuguese in Macau and rely on "soft power" such as bribery, flattery, and preaching to win a stable right of residence.
But the problem is that the Australians around him are not the easy-to-fool Ming Empire.
The way of thinking of these guys seems to be as shrewd and ruthless as the board of directors of the Dutch East India Company, the client of Governor Putmans.
If a serious conflict of interest arises, Governor Putmans believes that no matter what past friendships there are, it will be impossible to prevent Australians from turning against him.
No matter how much he thought about it, Governor Putmans could not think of a way to solve the problem once and for all.
Judging from various signs, the current good situation of the "Australian-Dutch Concord" seems to be able to last for a long time. , so he simply stopped thinking about these things in the distant future, and decided to make a big profit during his term, and then leave this mess to the next governor to have a headache.
Therefore, in order to make a huge profit that would allow him to live comfortably for the rest of his life, in addition to using his authority to participate in trade with China, Governor Putmans also made a very serious deal with the Japanese rulers this summer.
Big business, but the problem is, this business may It may be smooth sailing, but it may be possible to lose everything, or even seriously offend the interests of the Australians, causing a devastating disaster to Taiyuan Port.
The result will be huge mental pressure, making the poor Governor paranoid and worried all day long.
Baijie was almost going to have a nervous breakdown.
Since the "Zhengchang War" in 1627 AD, the seventh year of the Apocalypse, the seemingly huge shogunate army first smashed its head in front of the modern bastion of the Choshu Domain Mori family, and then was trained by Huang Shi, a time traveler.
The new modernized Choshu Army defeated the greater number with less, and after a complete defeat, the Tokugawa shogunate who ruled Japan was greatly shocked and stimulated, and realized that its military strength was so backward.
Therefore, after negotiating peace with the Choshu Domain and barely stabilizing the domestic situation, the Tokugawa shogunate began to regard strengthening its military capabilities and establishing a new army as a top priority.
As a military regime, the Tokugawa shogunate's biggest bargaining chip in ruling Japan It is absolutely superior military power.
If the Tokugawa family's army can no longer suppress the feudal lords, then a wave of overthrow will soon arise throughout Japan.
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After all, it had only been a mere twenty years since the collapse of the Toyotomi family, and the Tokugawa family's rule was far from rock-solid.
As a result, an unprecedentedly large arms order and a recruitment plan for military instructors hit the Dutch merchants in Hirado Port and Nagasaki Port.
Although since the end of the Warring States Period, Japanese craftsmen have been able to produce very good The Japanese called the matchlock gun "iron gun", which was not much worse than the muskets in the hands of the Dutch today.
However, the ability to cast the artillery was so poor that even the Koreans were inferior, so they had to rely on outsourcing.
However, the Dutch businessmen in Japan did not have that many artillery on hand, nor did they have military instructors with sufficient experience in land warfare, so they asked for help from the rear.
Then, Governor Putmans, who got the news from the Dutch business office in Japan, immediately smelled the huge profits.
It happened that he had a large number of high-quality artillery on hand that was originally intended to be used to arm the Castle of Geranze, and dozens of them Veterans who have fought in the war should be able to get it together.
Anyway, now that the Australians are suppressing the indigenous people on the island and raiding the nearby waters, the security situation around Damuan Port is unprecedentedly good, and it doesn't matter even if some armed forces are withdrawn.
If the Australian army were to attack, what would be the use of keeping these artillery pieces and soldiers?
Therefore, he sent a merchant ship to Japan with more than fifty artillery pieces and supporting equipment to sell to the shogunate.
By the way, he also brought the garrison commander Heinrich.
Captain Weidenfeller and more than thirty German mercenaries were sent there and the final feedback was quite good.
The Tokugawa shogunate readily bought all the artillery and paid for it with gold of very high purity.
The current batch of The gold has been transported to Taiyuan Port in full quantity.
Captain Weidenfeller and others who took the initiative to apply for jobs also received employment contracts and generous rewards from General Tokugawa.
It can be said that everyone was happy.
But the problem is that even Governor Putmans, who is not very well-informed, vaguely knows that the Australians on Hainan Island are in the same group as General Huangshi from Fujian.
General Huangshi has been with Japan's Changshu for several years.
The feudal clan was an ally, while the Tokugawa shogunate was the traditional enemy of the Choshu clan.
Although the war between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Choshu Domain has ended for a long time, the Australians joined forces with the Choshu Domain this year to attack the Satsuma Domain, another powerful prince in Japan, and expelled the Satsuma Domain from Ryukyu Island.
This shows that the relationship between the Australians and the Choshu clan is very close.
In this case, after the news leaks out, how will the Australians view the Dutch arms sales?
Therefore, after the joy of making huge profits, Governor Putmans began to become worried, fearing that one day an Australian envoy would come to Taimu Port to investigate and even issue a threat of war.
Although such a thing never happened, But he still couldn't help but bear the huge mental pressure.
He couldn't eat or sleep all day, and he even lost weight.
He didn't know how long it would take to adjust his mentality.
In fact, Governor Putmans could safely pocket this batch of gold without worrying about any subsequent troubles because the Dutch artillery he sold to the Tokugawa shogunate had not had time to deal with "Australia".
"People" and their allies of the Choshu Domain have already turned into scrap metal if they pose any threat, and soon more than half of the military instructors he sent to Japan will be turned into minced meat and charcoal.
In December of the fourth year of Chongzhen, another sudden disaster hit the Tokugawa shogunate, which had been having a difficult time recently oshow7: