Chapter 262 News from Macau
Zheng Zhilong was different from Liu Xiang in that the Kun thief was not a serious problem for him, so he did not pay much attention to the Kun thief's movements in the past. The reason was simply that the Kun thief showed no intention of challenging his maritime commercial hegemony.
Although the Kun thieves have a huge iron ship, their ships are not seen sailing to Japan, the Philippines or Batavia, and they are not even seen along the coast - except for Guangzhou, they are almost everywhere. Don't go.
A small group entrenched on the island that has never taken any action - just like the "mountain owners" everywhere in Fujian - is not the object of his concern.
While he was wiping out the heroes at sea, there was vague news that some pirate leaders from the past were recruiting soldiers for the Australians among the collapsed gangs. He also heard that some small groups had defected to Lingao, but this was all. It doesn't mean anything, not to mention that he was trapped by Li Kuiqi's sudden rebellion. When he was at his lowest point, he only had a few hundred men and ships left, and he had no ability to ask what the thief Kun wanted to do.
As a result, when the thieves suddenly showed their fangs, he realized that he had very little information about the Australians, only some sporadic rumors.
Of course, there have been many rumors about Kun Thief. Since they are full of adjectives such as "huge", "unbelievable", and "too numerous to count", Zheng Zhilong can only have a skeptical attitude towards these rumors - Indeed, given his level of knowledge, the rumors about the Australians were too absurd.
To this end, he has sent his most capable spies to the ocean in Guangdong to collect information. Now that they suddenly appeared in Taiwan, Zheng Zhilong was even more worried - the Australian fleet passed through Liu Xiang's territory, and Liu Xiang did not seem to express any objection to this. Guo Huaiyi's letter clearly stated that the Australian ships and personnel were in good spirits and had no signs of having withstood storms or battles. Did the Australians already have some kind of tacit understanding or alliance with Liu Xiang? If the two merge, how powerful will they be?
Since Liu Xiang moved his entire division from the Pearl River Estuary to the Chaozhou and Shantou areas, he has been constantly breaking into the Fujian ocean, challenging his newly established hegemony on the Fujian ocean - he also received intelligence: Liu Xiang's ship is already heading to Japan and Manila, which was his important financial source, would never allow anyone to get involved. Even the Dutch had to respect his determination to monopolize Japanese trade.
But Liu Xiang was different from the Dutch. The Dutch needed to rely on him to provide goods from the Ming Dynasty, but Liu Xiang did not. He moved to Fujian to intervene in trade with Japan.
Why did the Australians suddenly come to Taiwan? Could it be that they are also interested in the fat trade with Japan?
What made him even more worried was that Guo Huaiyi clearly proved some rumors that he had scorned in the past: although there were no legendary large iron ships in the Australian fleet, there were indeed ships that were spewing black smoke and were not attached to the ship. A large ship that can sail even with sails.
As a sea master who has been at sea for many years, he certainly understands the huge threat contained in it.
The only thing that reassured him was that there were very few Australian ships. Although the first batch of ships to arrive at Dagou were all large ships, they numbered less than thirty. There is no advantage in terms of quantity. If you want to go to war, as long as you find a suitable fighter plane and launch the main force to close the door and beat the dogs, you can wipe them all out even with fire ships.
"Dog," he thought, "that's a good name."
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on his face.
At this time, a dark face appeared at the door. Although the person was wearing Chinese clothes, his dark skin and curly hair showed that he was a black man. He reported to his master in Portuguese: Lin Yishao is here.
These black people could not speak a word of Chinese and were all Catholics. Zheng Zhilong specifically used them to handle his confidential affairs. Lin Yishao is one of his spies, responsible for contacting the Portuguese and ensuring collection.
"Send him in." Zheng Zhilong ordered in Portuguese.
"See you, Your Excellency!" When the visitor comes in, he bows according to the rules of official circles.
Although most of the sea masters were born as ordinary people, they had great admiration for the official style. Now that Zheng Zhilong is an upright court martial arts school, using this official style is just a matter of grandeur.
"Oh, is it Yishao? You're back!"
The man stood up slowly. He was in his thirties, with brown eyes and black hair. Lin Yishao was of mixed Chinese and Portuguese descent and could speak fluent Portuguese. Like Zheng Zhilong, he was also a Catholic.
Zheng Zhilong sent Lin Yishao to Macau to inquire about the situation in Australia. He learned from many channels that Australians often moved around Macau and had a stronghold.
Lin Yishao didn't talk nonsense and began to report his experience in Macau.
After Lin Yishao arrived in Macau, he immediately visited the local "Guanxi".
As Zheng Zhilong's contact person, Lin Yishao has some connections in the local area. Among them are many people in the gray area like Huang Shunlong - they are well-informed.
However, these relationships now show a cautious attitude towards the sudden visit of Zheng Zhilong's men, and their speech is not so straightforward.
"Oh, Kun people are so powerful in Macau?" Zheng Zhilong was a little interested.
"Kun Ren is now the financial owner of Macau." Lin Yishao said.
Originally, the trade exchanges between Macau and the Senate were quite frequent, and a vested interest group had been formed. Since the imperial court banned the Portuguese from entering Guangzhou last year, the Portuguese have lost their channels for importing Chinese goods, while the Guangzhou government has turned a deaf ear to Australian trade. Therefore, the Australians who occupied Hong Kong Island became the only import and export channel for the Portuguese to face the Ming Dynasty.
By controlling such a lifeline, the Australians became the masters of the Portuguese. As long as they ordered the cessation of Portuguese trade, it would be difficult for the Portuguese to stay in Macau.
"Did those smugglers become decorations?" Zheng Zhilong said with great interest. As long as you have money, you won't have to worry about finding a source of goods. The so-called government bans are often nothing more than a piece of paper.
"Since the Australians arrived on Hong Kong Island, the Pearl River Estuary has become their domain. Their ships are constantly patrolling, and no ship can escape their eyes. Those smugglers have either surrendered to the Australians and listened to their orders, or Just feeding the fish in the Pearl River."
Lin Yishao continued that he finally went to Li Siya.
"Is it her?" Zheng Zhilong said thoughtfully. Li Siya once served him and provided a lot of information.
"Yes, she has a lot of information and is willing to provide it. It's just..." Lin Yishao hesitated.
"It costs a lot of money."
"Yes, she took out a pamphlet and asked for five hundred taels of silver." Lin Yishao said, "She showed me a small part, which was very interesting. So I was bold and bought it." As he said that, he bought it. He took out a thin booklet from his arms.
Zheng Zhilong didn't take it seriously. He is a businessman. In addition to caring about profits, successful businessmen also know when to spend money.
The booklet was handwritten, written by Li Siya in a strange but elegant handwriting - Zheng Zhilong knew that it was written with a goose quill, and the calligraphy handwriting was different from that of a brush.
At a glance, the content above was very comprehensive, much more detailed than the various rumors he had heard in the past. Five hundred taels of silver is indeed worth the money.
He was not in a hurry to see it and asked: "Are Australians very powerful?"
"Yes, very powerful." Lin Yishao replied without hesitation, "Australian warships often operate at the Pearl River Estuary. There are several ships emitting black smoke and the speed is very fast. No ship has the speed. They run so fast, and when they run fastest they don’t even put up a sail..."
Although this is not news, but coming from the mouth of his most trusted spy, the pressure on him is completely different.
Then Lin Yishao talked about the Lichun - this ship seemed so special when it appeared at the Pearl River Estuary. It's hard not to attract the attention of those nearby. The Portuguese specially sent people to Hong Kong Island to spy. The news was obviously shocking.
The most terrifying thing is the cannon on the ship. It is said that a shell traveled more than ten miles and exploded violently after landing. Some people have seen the Lichun shooting at the floating target of an old fishing boat on the sea. One shot blew the boat to pieces, and not even a wooden trigger could be found.
For people like Lin Yishao, firearms and large ships are not particularly frightening. Zheng Zhilong himself had large ships and heavy artillery that were not inferior to those of the maritime powers at that time, but the rumors about the Lichun made him feel that the situation was very serious. . For this reason, he specially took a small boat to Kowloon to spy on the training of the Australian fleet there. The rumors were confirmed to be true.
"Although the Australians don't have many numbers or battleships, they are all elite and have very strong combat power."
"Hmm. It seems we have a formidable opponent."
"What, my lord?"
"The Australians have arrived in Taiwan." Zheng Zhilong said, "They are beating dogs."
"Dog hunting? That's on the Dutch side."
"Yes, I think they deliberately chose to hunt dogs - they are neighbors with the Dutch, not with me. Bengang is still our territory after all." Zheng Zhilong said, "The Dutch have a treaty with them, right? .”
"I've checked it out, and it's true. But it's not a covenant, it's just a trade agreement." Lin Yishao said, "The Dutch allowed them to open commercial stores in Bacheng. The Dutch also opened commercial stores in Hong Kong and Lingao. It is said that there is also a business building in the south of Hainan Island.”
"Australians are very fond of the Dutch." Zheng Zhilong said, he has a strong dislike for the Dutch. Although the Dutch were his business partners, he was very aware of the shamelessness and greed of the Dutch, and knew that the only way to speak to them was through force.
"It would be better to say that the Dutch are trying to please the Australians. I heard that the Dutch can now get a lot of Ming Dynasty goods from the Australians."
"That's why the attitude of the Dutch towards us is not as good as before. We have a new love." Zheng Zhilong said jokingly.
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