Nanjing Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.
The talks between Zhu Cixiang, Prince of Fujun of the Ming Dynasty, and Anthony van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, are still continuing.
At this time, the talks had already produced the first result-that is, the Ming Dynasty would open trade to the Dutch East India Company. The first step is to allow the merchant ships of the East India Company to enter and leave the Shanghai commercial port freely, and to allow citizens of the United Provinces of the Netherlands to live and operate industry and commerce in the Shanghai commercial port!
However, the commercial contract reached between the Dutch East India Company and Zheng Zhilong must be modified under the general principle of voluntary negotiation. Zheng Zhilong's losses must be compensated - of course Zhu Cixiang's insistence was not to make the decision for Zheng Zhilong, but for another purpose!
He had two purposes. One was to exchange the free navigation rights of the East India Company's merchant ships along the coast of China in exchange for the free navigation rights of the Zheng's merchant ships in the South China Sea.
If you want to colonize Nanyang, you must first go there. Although the armed merchant ships of the East India Company could not defeat the Zheng family's navy along the coast of China, if the battlefield was moved to the Strait of Malacca, around Java Island or the Spice Islands, the Zheng family's navy would have little chance of winning.
Moreover, the Dutch East India Company was not the main opponent of Ming Dynasty in its expansion in Southeast Asia. The Netherlands is nothing more than a "sea coachman". How much territory can a "carriage driver" swallow up? After all, the Netherlands is a small country, and it is still on the European continent where there are many great powers. It is impossible to expand overseas with all its strength.
Therefore, compared to the empire on which the sun never sets in later generations, the current power of the Netherlands is simply insignificant.
The Dutch's sphere of influence in Southeast Asia was only the East Indies and Spice Islands. They did not control all of them. They only established some stronghold-style colonies. Only Java Island occupied a relatively large area and established the city of Batavia. .
According to the history that Zhu Cixiang knew, when the Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia reached their peak, they only managed to capture the entire Dutch East Indies... and the East Indies were not Prince Zhu's goal now.
Zhu Cixiang's second goal is, of course, to peacefully take back the island of Taiwan, which has been a sacred and inalienable part of China since ancient times!
"Governor Dimen," Zhu Cixiang's tone was a little serious, "Recently, I received a report from the Taiwanese uncle's office, saying that your East India Company sent soldiers to Relanjia City and Chikan City in Taiwan to illegally attack the Taiwanese uncle. Is this a problem if the villages under the government collect tax packages?"
"Earl of Taiwan? Relanje City, Chikan City... Your Highness the Crown Prince, are you talking about Formosa Island?" Van Diemen said in surprise, "This island is the property of the East India Company. He doesn’t belong to any Taiwanese count!”
Zhu Cixiang said every word: "The Taiwanese uncle is Zheng Sen, the son of Zheng Zhilong!
In the past ten or twenty years, Zheng Zhilong organized Fujian immigrants to go to Taiwan for reclamation every year. Nowadays, there are tens of thousands of Han households on the island of Taiwan, and they are all subjects of the Zheng family... Therefore, last year, I officially canonized Zheng Sen as the Ming Dynasty's Counterattack on Taiwan! "
Zheng Sen's original title was Da Yuan Bo. Later, Zhu Cixi felt that the name "Da Yuan" was not pleasant and it was also a homophone of "Dayuan", so he changed it to Taiwan Bo.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince," Van Diemen had already realized the seriousness of the problem, "I think you were deceived by General Zheng Zhilong... Formosa belongs to the East India Company and is the Federal Republic of the Netherlands. The territory belongs to Zheng Zhilong, not Zheng Zhilong.”
Zhu Cixiang looked at Fan Diemen, "Since Taiwan Island is not Zheng Zhilong's territory, then why can he send tens of thousands of people to Taiwan Island?"
"Those are not the subjects of General Zheng Zhilong," Van Diemen argued. "The Han people on Formosa Island are all subjects of the East India Company..."
There was a "pop" sound!
Zhu Cixiang had already slapped the table. Van Diemen spoke in French, which Zhu Cixi could understand, so without waiting for Tang Ruowang to translate, he said sternly: "How dare you rob tens of thousands of Ming Dynasty subjects for yourself... You want to make peace with Will there be a war with the DPRK tomorrow?"
Tang Ruowang quickly translated Zhu Cixiang's words into French, and then added his own words: "Mr. Governor, what basis do you have for treating the Han people on Formosa Island as subjects of the United Provinces of the Netherlands? Even if Formosa Mosa Island belongs to the East India Company, and those Han people are also expatriates of the Ming Empire!"
"This..." Van Diemen was speechless for a moment.
Zhu Cixiang could also understand Tang Ruowang's words. He did not wait for Van Diemen's answer and continued to ask: "If Taiwan Island belongs to the East India Company, then when Zheng Zhilong transported his subjects to the island for reclamation, could the East India Company exercise jurisdiction? right?"
Of course not... How can we manage it?
The Dutch East India Company never effectively controlled the entire island of Taiwan. Their territory is the southern part of Taiwan centered on Relanjia City and Chikan City.
In addition, in 1642, they also occupied the two Spanish strongholds in northern Taiwan, San Saldoba and Santo Domingo. However, it only occupied two strongholds and was unable to manage the surrounding territories.
In other words, most of the land on the island of Taiwan is "unowned". The East India Company's claim to own Formosa was also baseless. However, they do occupy a small piece of land in southern Taiwan and two strongholds in northern Taiwan. Whether they have sovereignty is another matter, but this is the reality.
"Governor Diemen," Zhu Cixiang became even more confident when he saw that Fan Diemen had nothing to say, "Now the island of Taiwan is actually under the joint jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty's Taiwanese Prefecture and the East India Company... That's why it came about There are many conflicts, and the jurisdiction of your two families is extremely unfavorable, so that many parts of the island have become pirate dens, invading our coastal areas of Ming Dynasty, causing great harm to many people! What I mean is that your East India Company can negotiate with the Zheng family about Taiwan Negotiate on the issue and place Taiwan under one government with full responsibility.
If the Zheng family is willing to withdraw, then all the Han people on the island will be moved away... In the future, they will not be allowed to accept Han people, and merchant ships will not be allowed to sail from the Ming Dynasty coast to Taiwan Island, and they will guarantee to this palace that the island will not be Used by pirates. If there is any violation, you must pay a fine and compensate for the losses caused by pirates attacking the Ming Dynasty coast.
If you are willing to withdraw, I can persuade the Zheng family to invest in the purchase of the cities of Geranzea, Chikan, San Salvador and Santo Domingo. "
In fact, Zhu Cihong only gave Van Diemen one choice, which was to sell the cities of Relanja, Chikan, San Salvador and Santo Domingo to Zheng Zhilong.
It would be unprofitable for the East India Company to have the Zheng family relocate the Han people, seal off the island, and take on the responsibility of exterminating pirates. It would only cost a large amount of money, but not much income. And with an army of more than 1,000 people, it is impossible to ensure that Taiwan Island is not used by pirates.
This deal went to my hometown in the Netherlands... It's only a damn thing that the shareholders of the East India Company agreed! Now the land of "New York" is still "New Netherland". Where can the Dutch not get more than 20,000 square kilometers? Need an idea for Taiwan Island?
"Your Highness the Crown Prince," Van Diemen frowned deeply, "For the East India Company, Formosa Island is a stronghold for trade with Japan and China... In fact, this island is not a It’s an ideal base. If you can provide a better place, such as a coastal port like Hao’ao, we can certainly give up Formosa.”
Zhu Cixiang said: "Shanghai Commercial Port will be a city open to merchants from all over the world! Its geographical location is far superior to Taiwan. If your East India Company came to China to trade and all you wanted was money, Shanghai would be the most suitable place to establish a commercial center. and commercial docks.
And I will also allow the East India Company to set up an embassy in Shanghai that can represent the United Provinces of the Netherlands... Of course, in contrast, the Ming Empire should also set up an embassy in Batavia. "
The establishment of the embassy in Batavia was of course to facilitate the collection of intelligence in the Nanyang region and to provide political and diplomatic support for the Zheng family's Nanyang expansion.
Tang Ruowang translated Zhu Cixiang's words into French, and Fan Diemen was thinking about it in his mind while listening.
Even a fool can understand the benefits of establishing a commercial hall and commercial dock in Shanghai. And the benefits of establishing an embassy in Shanghai... are not just a matter of money!
The United Provinces of the Netherlands will become the first country to have an embassy in the Celestial Kingdom in the East!
At this moment, Zhu Cixiang suddenly emphasized his tone again: "If the East India Company wants to establish a stronghold in Taiwan that can peek into our southeastern coast, then I will order a ban on all ships of the East India Company and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. ...through the strait between Taiwan and Fujian!”
