Chapter 263 The Zheng Brothers
"But the Dutch may not like them coming to Taiwan. -/ -- Advertisement Full text," Lin Yishao said.
"Hmm." Zheng Zhilong did not answer. Lin Yishao's statement did make sense. No matter what status the Australians have in the hearts of the Dutch, Taiwan will never allow others to sleep soundly on the other side of the bed. The Dutch may not immediately fall out because of the treaty.
"Needless to say, the Dutch will definitely come to borrow the knife to kill again." Lin Yishao said again.
The Zheng family has not been tainted with the Shangguan faction, and the situation where subordinates are too frightened to say a word does not exist here. Lin Yishao expressed his opinion naturally. But such an attitude is very disrespectful in the government.
Zheng Zhilong did not answer his words: "You have worked hard this time, go and pay fifty taels of silver, and go back and have a good rest for a few days!"
After Lin Yishao left, Zheng Zhilong thought about signing the contract for a long time. The Australians landed in Taiwan and it was clear that they wanted to have a foothold in Fujian's ocean. They must not take it lightly.
He called in Portuguese, and again the black servant appeared at the door.
"Go and invite the Second Master, the Third Master and the Fourth Master."
The so-called second master, third master and fourth master are his three brothers and generals of the Zheng family: Zheng Zhihu, Zheng Zhifeng (Zheng Hongkui, Zheng Zhibao).
There are several brothers in the Zheng family, including cousins, but the three brothers are Zheng Zhilong's confidants and occupy a pivotal position in the family.
The meeting between the four Zheng brothers did not last long: it was obviously not possible to use force against the Australians immediately - this would only encourage the Australians and Liu Xiang to join forces.
"It is not appropriate for us to add another opponent now." Zheng Zhilong said. The year 1630 that just passed was a turning point for the entire Zheng family. In 1629, Li Kuiqi even captured the Zhongzuo Institute, which disgraced him. He had to ask for the support of the Dutch on very high terms, and then he completely defeated Li Kuiqi and then Zhong Bin last year, in February of the third year of Chongzhen. Now, his only enemy is Liu Laoxiang.
He is very disgusted with the Dutch - not only because the Dutch are using their tricks to play checks and balances in the Taiwan Strait, but when he was fighting Li Kuiqi and Zhong Bin, the Dutch were betting on both sides, playing both sides. The person he holds a grudge against is Peter, the Dutch chief stationed in Taiwan? Natz also tricked him into boarding a ship and kidnapped him in the name of negotiation, extorted several hundred taels of gold, and forced him to sign a trade agreement before releasing him. /--/ --Advertisement Full text Not to mention the fact that the Dutch ignored their once cooperative relationship with him and teamed up with the government to try to eliminate his "glorious past."
"I heard that Liu Xiang had a fight with the Kun bandits before, and the two families had a bit of a feud, but that doesn't mean they won't join forces. We have also joined forces with Li Kuiqi and Liu Laoxiang before." Zheng Zhihu expressed his feelings Opinion: "I see that when they arrive in Taiwan, Liu Laoxiang and the Dutch may not be able to sit still."
"The Dutch are probably the most restless," Zheng Zhifeng said. "Look, it won't take long for the Dutch to come to us and offer us benefits. They will incite us to attack the Australians."
Zheng Zhibao twitched his beard: "We don't want to be their thugs. It's better to let the Dutch do it themselves."
"I think we have to get the Dutch to do it," Zheng Zhifeng said.
"Haha, that's right." The three brothers laughed together, but the eldest brother Zheng Zhilong just smiled. Keeping joy and anger invisible is the secret to being a leader and an official. Even in front of his own family.
"The Dutch are smarter businessmen than us," Zheng Zhilong said. "If we want them to take action, they can't do it without giving us some information."
"Brother, what's your clever plan?"
"No clever plan, I have an idea," Zheng Zhilong said, "Let's not be anxious first. Let Guo Huaiyi keep an eye on the thieves to see what they are doing and what they want to do, and then we can make a decision. Anyway, there are people who are more anxious than us. Some are..."
Zheng Zhilong had suffered enough losses from the Dutch before, so he was extremely wary of the Dutch. The sudden appearance of the Australians was a greater threat to the Dutch. He might have to use the Australians to contain the Dutch.
"Zhibao, you go to Kinmen Island tomorrow to see Trodnius." Zheng Zhilong said, "Check the Dutchman's tone - he has frequent contact with senior officials and should have a lot of information. Look at them What do you think of Australians?"
Trodnius is a senior businessman, Hans? Putmans stationed him in Zhangzhou Bay, specifically responsible for contacting Zheng Zhilong and other Chinese businessmen in and out of Anping.
"I'll go find him tomorrow, brother."
Hans? Putmans looked out the window of the business building at the ships moored in the harbor. Several Junk ships have just returned from Zhangzhou Bay. In addition to transporting various trade goods, they also transported tens of thousands of red bricks, many stones and wood.
So much building material was brought to expand the castle of Geranzi and the series of fortifications surrounding it. Although Putmans's trade was at a serious loss when he took office, he still started spending money to build fortifications - and this was not without reason.
Hans? When Putmans took office in 1629, the entire Daikan was in an unprecedented crisis. On the one hand, Daikan's trade was far from profitable, and the trade with Japan broke out due to the mishandling of Hamada by his predecessor Nats. The Dutch were interrupted by the Military Guard Incident, and trade with China did not develop well. The Dutch were not able to open the door to direct trade with China, and were trapped in the battles between various sea owners along the coast, which almost came to a standstill. On the other hand, the Spaniards were ready to move. Not only did the Spaniards build castles in Chicken Coop and Tamsui, they also once dispatched a fleet from the Philippines in an attempt to expel the Dutch in one go. If a storm hadn't dispersed the fleet, they would have been defenseless. The fall of high officials is inevitable.
Finally, there was the harassment from local natives. Several Aboriginal communities around Da Yuan had tense relations with the Dutch. The Dutch and the Chinese who served them were constantly attacked by the Madou Society and the Mujialiu Society, some of which were headhunting without meaning or due to conflicts of interest. His predecessor Natz made a great "contribution" to intensifying relations with the local natives. The Dutch's safety was limited to less than a few miles around Da Yuan. Just eight days before Putmans took office, more than 50 Dutch soldiers were raided by the local Madou Society on their way to fight against Chinese pirates, and the entire army was annihilated.
Similar incidents, but with less casualties, are happening locally. In particular, the natives were equally hostile to the Dutch and Chinese immigrants. The Chinese were often attacked by local natives when hunting and cultivating in the area.
Combating pirates, suppressing natives, and trying to expand trade were the three major problems facing the fifth administrator of the Dutch United East India Company in Formosa.
Hans? Putmans was a soldier and very capable. He came to East India in 1624 as a low-level merchant and was promoted to merchant in 1626. He made great achievements when Batavia was besieged by the local king. In less than five years, he qualified as a member of the East India Council.
Probably because he was a soldier, Hans? Putmans has a firm and courageous character and is keen on using force. As soon as he took office, he began to crusade against the small groups of Chinese pirates that appeared in the local area, and at the same time, he continued to retaliate with force against the hostile local natives. At the same time, he also requested the East India Council to send him 1,300 soldiers and the necessary weapons to expel the Spaniards occupying northern Formosa and place their castles within the jurisdiction of the company - this request was rejected. It was a natural rejection. The Company's army in the East Indies never exceeded 8,000 men. Even if Spain could be expelled for a time, ruling such a large area would definitely be a huge burden on the company. You must know that so far, Daguan's trade is still at a loss. When Putmans first took office, the merchant's business office failed to conduct any maritime trade for four months. It was beset with internal and external difficulties, and the company almost gave up on the place. In the end, it was still able to support it because it valued this as a trade window facing China. down.
Since the company signed a trade agreement with the Australians, the status of senior officials has declined dramatically. Hans? Putmans learned from the exchange of letters that the company obtained a large amount of Chinese goods from Lingao and Hong Kong, which were controlled by the Australians, and it was very rare that they had to use goods instead of silver to pay for the goods.
Putmans knew very well: If Lingao and Hong Kong were not located too far south to take into account trade with Japan, and the company would probably give up its top officials to Zheng Zhilong Company.
As a high-ranking chief executive, the ambitious Putmans certainly did not want the high-ranking store to close down in his own hands. He has always dreamed of opening direct trade channels with China. But so far he has not succeeded - Zheng Zhilong's attitude is erratic. The court and officials of the Ming Dynasty were also unpredictable: they did not respond to any suggestions and requests for negotiation made by the company, and used various means to obstruct trade, no matter what the request was. Neither bribes nor threats achieve any results. Chinese businessmen were either unwilling to enter the large-scale trade and sail directly to Manila, or they promised to purchase goods but took away the deposit paid by the company and fled.
Hans? Putmans came to the conclusion that to trade with the Chinese, force must be used. Use force to conquer a port on the coast of China, establish a stronghold, and then continue to plunder maritime trade to force the Chinese government to agree to trade between the two sides. He has written a report specifically on this plan and submitted it to the Batavia Council for discussion.
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