In the forty-fifth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, 1780 AD, the first year of the Republic of Lanfang, on the fourth day of March, Seoul, the capital of the Republic and a port city in the west of Borneo Island, was sunny and sunny.
In this newly established port city that was only two years old, a founding ceremony that was considered grand in scale at least locally was being held lively.
Out of respect for Zhao Xuening, who has officially assumed the post of President of the Lanfang Republic, the current Governor-General of the East India Company of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, Petrus Albertus van der Parra, personally sent people to attend the congratulations .
As a representative of Petrus who was unable to come in person due to "sickness", it is said that he has a very close blood relationship with one of the Seventeen Gentlemen at the core power level of the East India Company. It can even be said that he is a member of the company's headquarters. A plenipotentiary to coordinate the affairs of the East Indies, currently regarded as a colony by the Netherlands.
At about ten o'clock in the morning that day, Cornley took a merchant ship that had unloaded all its weapons and sailed into the Seoul harbor. However, because there were too many ships entering the port, Cornley had to wait for a while.
The news that the Lanfang Republic is to be officially established has spread throughout the entire sea area of the East Indies. Anyone who speaks in the entire sea area, as long as they do not have a blood feud with Zhao Xuening, will arrive in Seoul here to attend the founding ceremony and Zhao Xuening. During the inauguration ceremony, he took the opportunity to express his goodwill to Zhao Xuening.
The momentum that Zhao Xuening is showing now is no longer that of an idler. He has the potential to become the king of this sea area. No matter how rebellious the various forces are, they must admit this.
Therefore, they gathered at the Seoul port on this special day to participate in this grand event.
While waiting to land at the port, Cornley looked at the bustling but orderly scene in the port and sighed slightly.
Because once, such a lively scene should belong to Batavia, not Seoul.
"My eyes tell me that all this is true, but my brain can never admit it. It is rejecting the reality that my eyes see. Julian, you said that this situation is for me, Is it good or bad?”
Julian, the merchant captain standing next to Cornley, pushed up his glasses.
"Sir, it has been three months since you arrived in the East. You have even fallen ill once, and you were cured by the medicine sent by Zhao Xuening. I think you should be able to accept all this. This is true, not false. , all this has already happened.”
Cornley heard this and shook his head.
"But I still can't imagine how a Chinese orphan could turn the entire East Indies into this in less than ten years? Most of the industry that the entire company has created in more than a hundred years has been lost to him. It was taken away from me and I just feel like this is a nightmare."
"Without the company's efforts of more than a hundred years, he would not have been able to achieve this. Rather, it is precisely because the company has done too much work and eliminated too many enemies that his seizure of power seems so smooth. , so fast.”
Julian said slowly: "Your father was right about him. He was not only a natural military strategist, but also an excellent politician and a gifted liar. He was also born in a very good era. Everything went well for him as God favored him.”
"Don't say this to me, I really can't accept it."
"Compared to you, Mr. Governor is the most unacceptable person."
"Petrus?"
When Cornley mentioned this name, a sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "I heard rumors that he is a follower of Voltaire and a fanatical fan of the Qing Dynasty. Zhao Xuening used the cultural knowledge of the Qing Dynasty to obtain Petrus's Appreciate him and get closer to him."
"Absolutely, the same is true for the rumors I heard. This should be the truth. At the beginning, Mr. Governor Zhao Xuening taught Spanish and French, and Zhao Xuening taught Mr. Governor Chinese. They learned from each other and formed a very good personal friendship."
Julian said slowly: "Like Mr. Governor, I also like Voltaire's articles very much. The appearance of Zhao Xuening has also convinced me that the Qing Dynasty is indeed a very amazing country. He is good at fighting, brave, powerful, and very Smart, among all the people I know, no one is better than him, whether European aristocrats or ordinary people."
"Really? Unlike you, I prefer Rousseau's articles."
Cornley smiled and said: "The Qing Dynasty was very big and powerful, but it was also very barbaric, authoritarian and not enlightened. Voltaire believed that the Qing Dynasty's system was far superior to Europe until his death, but I think Ned Lan’s system was better than that of Qing.”
"There are many people who hold this view, but I think no matter what, you can't deny Zhao Xuening's talent."
Julian said seriously: "Zhao Xuening's talent exceeds that of any European I have ever seen. He is really powerful and talented. Many Dutch people even betrayed Batavia because of him. There are not only Chinese people around him.
There are also British, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and indigenous people. Many people are serving him and fighting for him. If there are only Chinese, then he is nothing more than that, but so many people from other countries are working for him. Fighting, then I think, he is very special. "
"I don't deny it, but I don't think there are people like this everywhere in the Qing Dynasty. Zhao Xuening may be just a special case."
Cornley said slowly: "Unfortunately, I don't think Petrus thinks so. I can feel that he likes the Qing Dynasty too much. In his eyes, the Qing Dynasty is prosperous and rich, and is better than Europe in every aspect. He even married his daughter to Zhao Xuening.
Although he has always denied it in front of me, saying that his daughter was robbed by Zhao Xuening, I think it was just a ridiculous struggle he made to save his last bit of face. If there were more people like this, then Europeans Perhaps there can be less blind reverence for the Qing Dynasty. "
"The marriage between Mr. Governor's daughter and Zhao Xuening was indeed decided by Mr. Governor."
Julian nodded and said: "Old sailors who have lived here for more than five years believe that without the promotion and protection of Mr. Governor, Zhao Xuening's power will never develop. It is precisely because of Mr. Governor's preference for him that Zhao Xuening's power has become stronger and stronger. So huge that it can’t be packed away.
As early as four years ago, I heard someone suggesting that we should be wary of Zhao Xuening. However, Mr. Governor has extraordinary trust in Zhao Xuening. He even married his daughter to him and promoted him to the top of the company. The more people opposed it, the more , the more he reused Zhao Xuening and his Qing people.
In the view of Mr. Governor, before the rise of the Chinese forces led by Zhao Xuening, the company's financial and operating conditions continued to decline. After the rise of the Chinese forces, the company's armed forces continued to defeat the British and the situation continued to improve. This was also a fact back then.
That's why so many people, including Mr. Governor, are willing to accept Zhao Xuening. Even the final break seems to some senior executives of the company to be caused by those within the company who didn't like Zhao Xuening framed Zhao Xuening.
After the great battle, there was a voice within the company that believed that if the opposition hadn't taken the initiative to attack him, perhaps Zhao Xuening would not have broken with the company. Zhao Xuening's actions were forced and he was not wrong. What was wrong was those who did not want to believe it. His people. "
"Julian, do you think so too?"
Cornley looked at Julian with sharp eyes.
Julian was silent for a while and nodded slowly.
"If I were Zhao Xuening, as the son-in-law of Mr. Governor, and on the premise of fully gaining the trust of Mr. Governor, I would never take the initiative to break with the company. I know very well that independence means here What."
"That's it."
Cornley withdrew his eyes and shook his head: "I finally understand why Zhao Xuening was successful. Even people like you treat him like this. It shows how good he was at what he did before and how trustworthy he is. But, I Still think it’s okay to mock Mr. Governor with that old fable.”
Julian frowned.
"Are you talking about the story of the farmer and the snake?"
Cornley nodded and said with a smile: "That story is quite interesting. The farmer saved the snake, but the snake bit the farmer to death. However, Zhao Xuening is not a snake, but a person. Mr. Governor is ill this time. Didn't he also send a doctor to help with the diagnosis? I think Zhao Xuening should be grateful to Mr. Governor in his heart."
"He must be grateful to Mr. Governor. Without Mr. Governor's support, he would not be where he is today."
Julian looked at the bustling Seoul harbor and pushed up his glasses: "But even so, I think that if Zhao Xuening is not a talented person, no matter how much resources and protection Mr. Governor gives him, he will not be able to We can’t do what we do today.”
"Talent... this kind of thing is simply a gift from God. God is equal in this matter. Anyone may have talent, and anyone may not have talent, no matter what his origin, the Republic The reason why we have reached this point is because there are too many stupid nobles..."
Cornley sighed and asked again: "I heard that under the guidance of Mr. Governor, Zhao Xuening is very fluent in French?"
"Yes, he is very fluent in French. Many people in Batavia know this. Many company officials there are related to Zhao Xuening. They say that Zhao Xuening's language talent is simply amazing. It is said that he was just It only took a month for me to be able to have simple daily communications in French.”
Julian took a deep breath, with obvious anger and disgust on his face.
"Not only that, he also understands Spanish and some English, and can communicate with Spanish and British people on a daily basis, especially the British. Two years ago, if those damn country bumpkins hadn't joined forces with Zhao Xuening, Zhao Xuening wouldn't have been able to do it so fast. Defeat our forces."
When talking about the British, Julian couldn't hold back the cultivated expression on his face.
Under the long sea breeze, this academic captain with an extraordinary background seemed to have something in common with the rude sailors he usually looked down on.
For example, hatred and disgust for the British, as well as all kinds of swear words blurted out.
Three large-scale wars and endless interest disputes in the past century have brought the relationship between the Netherlands and Britain to a freezing point of mutual hatred. The two sides can start a war anytime, anywhere, whether in Europe or the far East. A big fight.
Both commercially and militarily.
The East India Company in Amsterdam and the East India Company in London have been fighting each other on this sea of spices and gold for more than a hundred years, killing each other, and the blood of the other on each other's hands can no longer be washed away.
"Sure, those damn rubes."
Cornley also strongly agreed with Julian's statement.
His disgust and hatred for the British are engraved in his bones, and even his hatred for Zhao Xuening is far less deep-rooted than his hatred for the British.
Although today's Dutch East India Company is so weak that it cannot even put down a hateful Eastern traitor, watching him grow and become powerless does not prevent Cornley from identifying the culprit as the damn British. ——
Without those three disastrous wars and the endless harassment by the British, the Netherlands and the East India Company would not have declined to the extent they are today.
But he still fell into infinite emotion.
As Julian said, if Zhao Xuening himself is just a mediocre person, then no matter how much the stupid and arrogant governor supports him, he will never succeed.
The reason why he can now establish an independent country and compete with the East India Company is simply because he is so capable and talented that the former "Sea Coachman" could not even lift his whip in front of him, and had to wear a hat, He attended his founding ceremony with gifts and a smile on his face.
The only good thing is that this guy did not learn from the poor traditions of the British. Instead, he learned from the Netherlands and adopted a republican system that Cornley considered to be more superior.
Fortunately, Zhao Xuening claimed to be the president instead of the king, otherwise Cornley would bet that William V, who was in power in the Netherlands, would use his beloved deerskin boots to kick his servant's butt hard while swearing.
Cornley fell silent.
Julian also remained silent for a while, but he couldn't help but broke the silence due to his curiosity.
"Sir, the company headquarters...are you ready to accept reality?"
"Otherwise? What if you don't accept it? Send a naval expedition?"
Cornley lazily supported his chin and said slowly: "The company doesn't have many battleships anymore. If Zhao Xuening doesn't call, he will thank God for his blessing. And you know how many battleships the entire Republic can dispatch now?" Form an army and go to sea?"
"How many?"
"Twenty ships."
"Twenty ships?!"
Julian was so surprised that he didn't even notice that his glasses started to slip off: "I thought the situation was already bad, but..."
"Don't worry, make a bold guess, the situation will only be worse than you think, not better."
Cornley smiled bitterly: "What the company can't get, the Republic can't get either. Everyone's situation is almost as bad. What's more, the twenty battleships are still used to defend against the damn British. How can they be mobilized at will?" East?
Before I came, the news from London was already very bad. Some people in the London Assembly advocated that because we support American independence, we should pay a price. These damn British guys don't dare to attack the French, so they are ready to take advantage of us. Start first!
At this time, if we really go out with all our strength to fight Zhao Xuening, do you think the British guys in London will do nothing? They will send out their navy to occupy every one of our ports! Our military strength is really not what it used to be, and Amsterdam can no longer bear the risk of a war on two fronts. "
"this……"
Julian had no more words to say.
