Zhao Ming listened to Chen Mingyu's words and knew that after years of development, the northern and central parts of Taiwan Island had been mostly developed by Zhao Ming's colonization army.Over the years, Zhao Ming has continued to move troops and civilians to the island, and the registered population of Taiwan Island has reached 3 million.After gaining a foothold in Taipei, the colonization army of Donghai Town continued to advance southward, and two years ago, the big belly kingdom in central Taiwan had been annihilated near the South Society of Turbidity under the attack of Donghai Town and the Dutch in Tainan.In the face of the soldiers and civilians of Donghai Town, who were constantly landing on Taiwan Island, the strategy originally adopted by the Dutch was to instigate the Potbelly King to fight against Donghai Town, in order to achieve the purpose of preventing Donghai Town from going south, but the Potbelly Kingdom, the level of civilization is too low, and it can't even smelt iron by itself, and a well-equipped Ming army warrior is enough to kill five or six tribal warriors of the Potbelly Kingdom, and the strength is not proportional at all.Just like a Han army that could kill five Huns, the Dutch saw that the Potbelly King was not the opponent of Donghai Town at all, in order to prevent Donghai Town from annexing the Potbelly Kingdom and further strengthening the strength of Donghai Town, the Dutch stabbed the Potbelly King from the back and divided the Potbelly Kingdom with Donghai Town.At present, there are only two forces on the island of Taiwan, one is Donghai Town and the other is the Netherlands, and the two sides are bounded by turbid waters and enter a state of confrontation between the north and the south.When Zhao Ming heard that the northern and central parts of Taiwan Island had been developed by the colonization of the Wei Institute, and there was not much land to be allocated, his eyes immediately narrowed, and he turned his attention to the Dutch in Tainan."
Marshal, if you can occupy Tainan, you will certainly be able to obtain a large piece of land, but once you start a war with the Dutch, trade will be affected, and taxes will definitely be greatly reduced!"
Chen Mingyu had insight into Zhao Ming's intentions and immediately reminded.These words made Zhao Ming frown and fall into deep thought.With the strength of Donghai Town on the island of Taiwan, Zhao Ming thought that it would not be a big problem to take Tainan, but once the war with the Dutch started, Donghai Town's maritime trade would definitely be affected.Nowadays, the economy of Jiangdong relies largely on maritime trade, and the Dutch are known as the coachmen of the sea, and what they do is to resell goods, and most of the cotton cloth and silk produced in Jiangdong are eaten by the Dutch and then shipped to the West.Once Donghai Town and the Netherlands start a war, Donghai Town will first lose the largest purchaser of the Netherlands, lose the sales channels of the Dutch, and suffer huge losses.Previously, the Dutch colluded with the Manchus and sold a large number of firearms and even warships to the Manchus, and Zhao Ming did not go south to attack Tainan, but went north to attack the Manchus, because Zhao Ming could not completely defeat the Dutch.The Dutch had many strongholds on the sea, and it was easy for Donghai Town to occupy Tainan, but it was impossible to drive the Dutch out of Nanyang, and the Dutch would use Batavia as a base to harass Donghai Town's trade in Nanyang, which would definitely cause Donghai Town to suffer heavy losses.Zhao Ming was silent for a while, realizing that Donghai Town's preparations were not sufficient, and suddenly asked, "Is there any news from Cheng Bi?"
”Chen Mingyu was slightly stunned when he heard this, several staff members looked at each other, and then shook their heads and said, "Back to the marshal, there is no news of Cheng Bi." ”Zhao Ming's brows furrowed into the word Sichuan, Cheng Bi led the fleet of China Merchants Shipping Company, a total of forty armed merchant ships, two years ago, when Zhao Ming went north to attack the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he set off from Shanghai, and then went to the West, preparing to take Zheng He's route to the West again, and open up a trade route for Donghai Town.If Cheng Bi successfully went to the Western Ocean, it proved that the fleet of China Merchants Shipping Company could carry out ocean trade, sail to the South Seas, India, and even further East Africa, and ride the wind and waves on the sea like the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, then Zhao Ming would not be afraid of war with the Dutch, and no longer needed to use the Dutch's channels and routes to sell goods to distant places.This trip is two years, and it stands to reason that it is enough to circle the earth, and it should have come back a long time ago, but there is no news so far.At the beginning, Zhao Ming chose to let Cheng Bi go to the West again, instead of crossing the Pacific Ocean and going to the Americas, because the economy of Donghai Town was to produce goods in exchange for overseas silver and cheap production raw materials, in order to find a market, sell the goods produced, and trade with other countries and regions.Since it was for trade, it was naturally a fairly wealthy and civilized area, and the market was larger, so Zhao Ming chose to let Cheng Bi sail westward and open up trade routes, rather than landing in the Americas.At this time, Nanyang, South Asia, and East Africa are richer than the Americas, and the degree of civilization is much higher.Therefore, Zhao Ming's strategy set in advance was to go to the South Seas."
Haven't you heard anything after all this time?"
Zhao Ming's face was a little worried.Chen Mingyu thought for a while, "Returning to the marshal, it's not completely without news, about half a year ago, I learned from the Portuguese businessmen that they met Cheng Bi's fleet in East Africa. ”China Merchants Shipping Company has a map of all countries, which was drawn by Zhao Ming with the help of images, the map is not accurate, just a rough idea, but it draws the outline of the five continents, and uses a more modern name to name.Therefore, Chen Mingyu and others also roughly know where East Africa and South Asia are, and which countries are recorded in Chinese history books."
It's in East Africa!"
Zhao Ming was excited when he heard this, "That's the Three Treasure Eunuchs, arriving at the farthest place!"
”If Cheng Bi arrives in East Africa, as long as he can return smoothly, it will be equivalent to reproducing the feat of going to the West again, and it can also prove that Donghai Town can also transport goods out without relying on the Dutch, and there is no longer a need for the Dutch as a middleman to earn the difference.Saying that, Zhao Ming couldn't help but stand up, walked back and forth a few steps, and then commanded in a deep voice: "Mr.
Chen, please continue to inquire about Cheng Bi's news, in addition, Ben Shuai wants to organize another fleet, without waiting for Cheng Bi to come back, he will sail west, one to open up the trade route, and the other to pick up Cheng Bi!"
”When Chen Ming heard this, he hurriedly hugged his fists and said: "The lowly job will start to prepare!"
It's just that now the finance~" Zhao Ming understood what he meant, and now he was overspending, and if he formed a fleet to go to the Western Ocean, it would be a big expense."
This must be done, opening up trade routes, not only can increase income, but also the confidence of Ben Shuai to start a war with the Dutch and recover Tainan."
Zhao Ming said in a deep voice.Now if Zhao Mingruo directly launches a campaign to recover Tainan, he will certainly be able to obtain the land of Tainan, but once he tears his face with the Netherlands, Donghai Town will lose the Dutch, the biggest middleman, and lose the routes and channels they control.As a result, the land was acquired, but the trade was affected, and the financial predicament of Donghai Town was not resolved.Therefore, Zhao Ming wanted to start a war with the Dutch, first, Donghai Town needed to have the ability to escort merchant ships in the ocean, second, merchant ships had a certain combat power and could resist the attacks of the Dutch, and third, Donghai Town opened up its own shipping routes, established nodes on the routes, and established relationships with local merchants and countries, and was allowed to enter the local market.()