Ban Dutch merchant ships from passing through the Taiwan Strait...
After hearing what Tang Ruowang translated, Fan Diemen's face became so dark that he almost shed tears!
If Dutch ships cannot pass through the strait, then not only will trade with China be impossible, but trade with Japan will also have major problems.
Without the Sino-Japanese trade route, the Dutch East India Company's financial report would suffer huge losses!
Of course, he could choose to block the Strait of Malacca, completely cutting off the trade lines between China, Japan and the West, and putting pressure on the Ming Empire by blocking trade.
But...how could a commercial company whose first priority was making money go into a trade blockade war with a feudal empire based on agriculture because of four unprofitable castles?
This way of playing will go out of business!
If Van Diemen is really going to do it, his governorship will come to an end...
"Governor Dimen," Zhu Cixiang said warmly at this time, "there are many islands and landmass in the world that are larger and richer than Taiwan. They have no owners and no disputes. They can be occupied by the East India Company at will. Why do you insist on Taiwan? You The establishment of a stronghold on the island of Taiwan is nothing more than to facilitate trade with China.
Now I allow you to open commercial offices and embassies directly at the mouth of the Yangtze River... What value does Taiwan have? In addition to deerskin and sugar, the only thing in that place was deadly malaria.
In addition, our Ming Dynasty is currently at war with the Tatars in the north, and needs a lot of Western artillery, muskets, and gunpowder. This is a big deal! In the future, the merchant ships of the East India Company can come in full of guns and cannons, and leave full of silk and porcelain... One entry and one exit are two big deals! "
yes! Van Diemen thought to himself: What a big deal! How can you refuse? This is immoral! In the final analysis, he is the manager of the East India Company. He must first be responsible for the investment of shareholders. The shareholders invest money to obtain profits rather than to conquer the world!
And a land about the same size as Formosa... Where can I not get it? Maybe the environment will be more pleasant and there will be no fatal tropical diseases!
He made up his mind, but Van Diemen couldn't let go. He wouldn't look like a cunning businessman if he let go so early.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince," Van Diemen said, "I will seriously consider your proposal, but General Zheng Zhilong has not arrived in Nanjing yet, and I hope to directly negotiate with him on navigation issues and island issues.
Additionally, I would like to further examine the Shanghai Commercial Port to determine if there is a viable alternative to Formosa. "
hehe! Zhu Cixiang sneered in his heart: What are you pretending to be? You, a profiteer, can you really put away a lot of money and not make money?
...
"Master Chitose, Emperor Zheng has arrived and is waiting outside Donghua Gate."
As soon as Fan Dimen left, Huang Xiaobao brought Zhu Cihong the news that Zheng Zhilong had asked for a meeting.
Zheng Zhilong arrived in Nanjing one day earlier than Van Diemen. As soon as he arrived at the Quanguo Palace in Nanjing, he received good news from the palace - his daughter Zheng Chagu was indeed pregnant with Prince Zhu's flesh and blood!
So when Zheng Zhilong saw Zhu Cihong today, he laughed so hard that he could hardly close his mouth!
And Zhu Cixiang also gave Zheng Zhilong enough face. He did not sit and wait in the Wenhua Hall, but greeted him at the Wenhua Gate. When he saw Zheng Zhilong kneeling down for him, he waved his hands and said with a smile: "No need to kneel down, they are all members of our family." , not in the court."
Zheng Zhilong did not kneel down, but he still bowed and said, "I respectfully wish to express my sincere greetings to Your Highness, the Crown Prince."
"No courtesy, no courtesy. Let's go and see the tea lady first. She has missed you these days..." Zhu Cixiang said as he and Zheng Zhilong walked towards the Changchun Pavilion behind the Wenhua Palace.
Changchun Pavilion is not a pavilion, but the collective name of a courtyard and five pavilions, one large, four small and five small. There is a larger three-story pavilion in the middle, which is the dormitory shared by Zhu Cihong and Wu Sanmei. There are also four smaller pavilions, located in the east, south, west and north of the main pavilion. Among them, the three pavilions located in the east, west and north belong to Zheng Chagu, Ning Xiangyu and Fei Zhen'e respectively. The Yongchun South Pavilion, which is adjacent to Wenhua Hall and Kenan Hall in the south, was used to entertain royal relatives who came to the palace to visit relatives.
When Zhu Cihong and Zheng Zhilong walked into the South Pavilion talking and laughing, Zheng Chagu had been waiting there for a while. Although she was diagnosed with a happy pulse, she was only a month old and could not be seen at all, nor did it hinder her movement. When he saw Zheng Zhilong and Zhu Cixiang coming together, he jumped up and shouted: "Daddy!" He lifted up his skirt and flew towards them. However, the two aunties who were serving her (both of whom entered the palace with Tea Aunt Zheng and had been serving Tea Aunt for many years) were startled and they hurriedly chased after her. But where can they catch up with the Pirate King's daughter? The daughter of the Pirate King was flying on the rickety ship. The two aunts ran a few steps, and one of them stumbled and fell. The other hurriedly helped her up, so that she was not in a hurry.
Zheng Zhilong frowned when he saw his daughter jumping up and down - why is this girl so unruly? Not to mention entering the palace, even marrying into an ordinary rich family and becoming a young mistress cannot do this!
However, Zhu Cixiang looked at Zheng Chagu with a smile. As a prince, he was very silly and sweet. Chagu and Sanmei were both of this type, so they were very popular with him. However, the dignified Ning Xiangyu and the little vixen-like Fei Zhen'e were not his cup of tea.
Tea Girl had already arrived in front of Zheng Zhilong at this time, made a blessing ceremony, and then took Old Zheng's rough big hand with red eyes. Zheng Zhilong is a down-to-earth person and won't say anything disgusting. He just looked at his daughter and said with a smile, "Do you still have enough money? Daddy has brought you another fifty thousand taels this time, and they are all deposited in the Maritime Bank."
After Zhu Cixiang listened to Zheng Zhilong's words, he shook his head and said: "Old Taishan, don't be too doting on Tea Girl...she can't spend much money in the palace."
Zheng Zhilong also smiled: "This girl has been spoiled since she was a child. She spends too much money. I, as a father, have a few, so I just let her spend money."
In fact, Zheng Chagu is not a girl who spends a lot of money, and Zheng Zhilong, the richest man, is not someone who will pamper his children - he has so many children, and he can't even dote on them!
Now he is stuffing a lot of money into Tea Girl's pockets in order to make Tea Girl spread out in the Ming Palace... If Tea Girl is lucky enough to give birth to Zhu Cixiang's son, and is willing to spend money on weekdays, and With the support of the Zheng family, the next crown prince will most likely be the son of the tea aunt.
Zhu Cixiang naturally understood Zheng Zhilong's thoughts, but he did not interfere... Only he could decide who was older or younger in the harem.
...
The meeting between father and daughter had ended. After having lunch together and chatting with each other for a while, Zheng Zhilong followed Zhu Cihong back to Wenhua Hall. Both Weng and son-in-law entered the study in Dongnuan Pavilion. After sitting down, Zhu Cixiang talked to Zheng Zhilong about the negotiations with the Netherlands.
"Old Taishan," Zhu Cihong said, "Van Diemen can't screw us this time. He doesn't have much leverage. But we can't just focus on the immediate interests. We have to look further."
"Look farther? How far?" Zheng Zhilong was a real person and asked directly.
"The farthest we can see... is the continent of Europa!" Zhu Cixiang said, "We have to send people to Europa to do business, study abroad, and hire their craftsmen, teachers, officers... and sailors!"
"Sailor? We have sailors!" Zheng Zhilong patted his chest, "It doesn't matter how many you want!"
Zhu Cixiang glanced at him and said, "Can your people sail to Europe and the New World? Can they sail that kind of soft-sailed large ship?"
"This..." Zheng Zhilong thought for a while, "Actually, before the Battle of Liaoluo Bay, I built ten soft-sailed Galen Yi ships, all with double gun decks, and they were arranged according to the Yi people's method. The movable Red Barbarian cannon. Unfortunately, before we could form an army, we were attacked by the warships of the Red-haired East India Company. Ten warships were destroyed in one go. What a pity!"
