Leonard Buses works at the customs office at the Port of Batavia. His main task is to provide pilot services for newly arrived ships and collect ship taxes on his behalf.
Ships from the Dutch East India Company, Chinese dhows or other Western ships entering the heavily defended port first had to pass through the maze of waterways formed by Belitung Island and the Karimata Islands. Afterwards, anchorage was to be anchored north of Fort Batavia at the mouth of the Gillian Canal or one mile offshore from the town.
In fact, his task is not onerous, it can even be said to be very easy. In recent years, the number of merchant ships that come to Bacheng every year is no more than ten and at least seven or eight. Except for the three merchant ships that come from Macau every year, the others are all Tang ships from Guangzhou, Xiamen, and Ningbo.
It is already late March in the Western calendar, and the southward season for Tang ships has ended, so Mr. Buses did not go out for a ride today, but sat in the customs office to check the cargo list.
Ships from the coast of China to Bacheng all go south when the northeast monsoon blows in winter, and return when the southwest monsoon blows in early summer. In addition to large quantities of tea and porcelain, the most important "cargo" on these ships was the population.
Throughout the eighteenth century, the number of Tang ships carrying people to Bacheng continued to increase slowly. Even though the voyages were temporarily suspended due to the Hongxi Massacre, the momentum continued thereafter. During the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, the demand for manpower soared; by the end of the war, the Dutch began to impose strict restrictions.
After a busy morning, the time has come to 20 minutes to 12 o'clock. Buses collected the documents and prepared to go home for dinner. However, the noise coming from the window became louder and louder. It seemed that something happened on the pier, which attracted many people to watch. Just as he was thinking about taking a look, the door of the room was knocked open with a bang, and one of his subordinates rushed in.
"Mr. Busseth! Come out and take a look!"
"What's wrong? Peter. What happened?" Busseth locked the filing cabinet slowly and asked without looking back.
"Outside the port, come on, a big ship is coming!"
"Haha, it's a good thing there's a boat coming. Why are you panicking?"
The subordinate Peter swallowed, and then said: "You'd better take a look at it, that boat, that boat is a bit big."
Haha~~Busess thought that the big ship was not a bad thing, the customs could make some money again! However, when he and his subordinates came to the dock and saw the blue and white ship anchored five nautical miles away without a telescope, Leonard Busceston was petrified on the spot.
This, this is too big!
"Gulu~" Like his subordinates, Buses also swallowed his saliva. His first reaction was how should I collect taxes?
The Dutch East India Company has always had a tax system for Tang ships, ranging from 2,200 to 3,600 silver dollars for large ships and 1,680 to 3,000 silver dollars for small ships. In addition, a warehouse rental fee of 10,000 silver dollars must be paid in advance. Buses thought to himself that for such a big ship, it wouldn't be too much to charge five, six, seven or eight thousand silver dollars, right?
With a tariff system as vicious as VOC’s, it’s no wonder it’s getting worse and worse. For example, in order to compete with the Dutch for business, the Kingdom of Johor established the Port of Johor as a duty-free free port, and no tax was levied on merchant ships entering or exiting the port. Moreover, Johor Port is located northwest of Batavia, making it more convenient for Tang Dynasty ships to travel there. Therefore, in the past few decades, many Tang Dynasty ships have moved there to do business.
Leonard Buses said to Peter beside him: "Quickly prepare the pilot boat, Peter, we have to go and take a look."
At this time, the pier was already crowded with people. More and more Chinese, Dutch, and Javanese natives were gathering, pointing and talking. There were even people on the fortress on the east bank of the Ciliwung River observing with telescopes. However, the rapid ringing of bells from the castle and the fortifications across the river indicated that the local garrison had entered a state of alert.
The order to put the garrison on alert was issued by William Arnold Alting, the Governor of the Dutch East Indies. To say that the average person in Bacheng didn't know about the Thor was fine, but Governor Altin knew it very well.
Don't forget, when Zhao Xin and the others went to Nagasaki for the first time, they fought against the Saga Domain and forced the Toda clan to commit suicide in Nagasaki. At that time, the Dutch merchants were shocked. Half a year later, when Governor Altin received the report from Nagasaki, he was envious of the Northern Navy's record of extorting 150,000 taels of gold from the shogunate.
Look at people, I went to Nagasaki and spent ten years working as a Dutch merchant!
After that, Zhao Xin and the others drove the Thor to Tanzai Island. First, they frightened the British, then they fought with the Xiangshan Water Camp, and bombarded the Hengqin Island. They did thirteen things that no one knows about. Not to mention that Liu Zheng stayed at the Thirteenth Bank for a year and did not leave until Zhao Xin "brought disaster" to the Guangzhou officialdom. Therefore, the Dutch Embassy had already reported all the information it could find to the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
Having stirred up troubles along the East Asian coast for several years, all Westerners engaged in East Asian trade now know that the group of "Serris" entrenched in North China are not to be trifled with. Even the British East India Company knows this, and the Dutch even more so. Didn't run away.
A while ago, the Thor went to Annan to stir up trouble and trouble, and the Tang ships heading south spread the news.
Now that the Thor appears unexpectedly outside Batavia Port, do you think Governor Altin can't be wary?
Leonard Buses sat in a small boat more than 20 meters long, took his subordinate Peter and five Dutch soldiers to wander slowly for an hour, and finally approached the Thor. Looking at the long and tall hull, Buses thought to himself that this ship could carry as much as three ships from Macau in one shipment. This way, the customs would make a fortune and he would also have a lot of oil and water.
Leonard Buses' monthly salary is only 120 guilders, but his real annual income is as much as 35,000 guilders. In addition to fraud within the customs, another major source of income is blackmailing Chinese businessmen.
However, the Thor did not lower the gangway and let him board the ship to collect taxes as he had imagined. Instead, a letter was hung from the deck. Another Chinese with a southern Fujian accent leaned forward and said a few words loudly, That meant that he should hand this letter to the Governor first, and wait until the Governor reads it before saying anything else.
The envelope was not very bulging, and when pinched it seemed to have only two or three pages. The seal was sealed with a mark that looked like Chinese characters. Buses made the trip in vain and was angry at Thor's "rudeness". However, he thought that the other party might have some big deal to discuss with the governor, so he ordered the sailors to turn around and return to the port quickly.
Two hours later, this strange letter was placed in front of Governor Altin. The governor's secretary carefully opened the seal with a paper knife. After opening it, he looked at it for a few times and was stunned.
"What did it say?"
There were only two pages of letter paper. The secretary came back and looked at it for a while, and said awkwardly: "Sir, this, this is all in Chinese. I'm sorry, I can only understand a very small part."
Seeing the other party's appearance, Altin stood up and took the letter from the other party's hand. He found that it was all written in Chinese, but the fonts were very small and the strokes were very thin. It didn't look like a brush commonly used by Chinese people, but very much like an ink pen.
The official languages of the Dutch East Indies are Dutch and Portuguese, and many people understand Malay. Although Chinese make up the majority of the local population, Chinese has never been the official language. Even the Chinese "Kapitan" could only negotiate in Dutch when they met with the Dutch.
"Oh? What are these Siris people doing? Send someone to the Chinese Residence to find a Chinese translator who understands Dutch."
The so-called Chinese Mansion is actually the autonomous association of the Chinese in Bacheng, with a court hall. The "Kapitan" appointed by the Dutch will cooperate with the Dutch in managing the Chinese there, and will also be responsible for hearing cases and handling disputes.
After the "Hongxi Massacre" fifty-one years ago, tens of thousands of Chinese in Bacheng died, and only 150 people escaped. After that, the Dutch pretended to use the appeasement policy, and the Tang people began to return to Bacheng, but from then on they could only live outside the south gate and were no longer allowed to live in the city.
The Chinatown outside Bacheng is called "Tangren Jianguang". The word Jianguang comes from the Malay word "Kampong", which means countryside. The Chinese mansion Altin mentioned is also located here.
At this time, Kapitan Wang Chusheng and Lei Zhenlan, who were appointed by the Dutch, were leading a few men to conduct fire inspections in Chinatown. Nowadays, more and more Chinese people live outside the south gate of Ba Cheng, and even extend to the east gate and west gate. There are also rows of shops with front doors.
"Boss Qian, now that the rainy season is about to end and the time of dryness is coming, you have piled so many debris outside the door. When the time comes, the fire will not only be your family's problem. By the way, the shop in Betel Club It's yours too, right? This year's taxes haven't been paid yet."
"I know, I know, Qian will ask the guys to clear this place in two days. Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Lu. Come in and have some tea."
Lu Wen, who was in his thirties, waved his hand and said: "No, thank you very much, Boss Qian. I will follow Mr. Wang to the Iron Street. That shop..."
Boss Qian hurriedly came over, put his hand into Lu Wen's sleeves, and said with a smile: "Tsk tsk, Mr. Lu's ability is really admirable. Not only is he good at writing articles, but he is also proficient in Dutch. He used to I'll have to leave more to you, sir, for all the official matters in the future."
Lu Wen remained calm. He already felt that what the other party handed over was a pack of ten double-column silver coins. Everyone knew it, so he immediately handed over to Boss Qian, said goodbye with a smile, and walked a few steps quickly to follow Wang Zhusheng.
Before the group reached Blacksmith Street, they heard someone shouting from behind: "Kapitan Wong! Kapitan Rei!"
People who speak Dutch in Bacheng's Chinatown are either red-haired or Malay. Wang Zhusheng and others looked back and recognized the person as an officer from the Governor's Mansion. The two Kapitans hurriedly came forward and bowed and said, "It turns out to be Second Lieutenant Huygens. Why are you calling us two?"
The visitor ran all the way from the Chinese Residence, already sweating profusely, and said with a dissatisfied look on his face: "His Excellency the Governor has ordered us to find a Tang translator who is proficient in Dutch."
Hi, that’s it. After hearing this, Wang Zhusheng turned to Lu Wen and said, "Yuzhi, you are the best in Dutch and you are a child. You should go with Second Lieutenant Huygens."
"yes."
More than half an hour later, when Lu Wen, who was sweating profusely, followed Huygens to meet Governor Alting, he then took the letter from the Thor and opened it. Okay! Sweat broke out on the back of Lu Wen's neck, almost turning into "waterfall sweat". Even the hand holding the letter started to tremble.
"Damn, what did it say?" Altin was already a little impatient after waiting for a long time.
"This, this, I beg you, the Governor, to forgive me for being rude." Lu Wen's legs went weak, and he knelt on the floor, kowtowing and said, "This, this is clearly a letter of challenge."
"What?!" Altin jumped up from his chair and said sternly: "I order you to translate it for me immediately, word for word, without missing a word!"
"Yes." Lu Wen then stood up, compared the Chinese in the letter, and began to translate, while Altin's secretary began to take notes at his desk.
"Northern Navy to His Excellency William Arnold Alting, Governor of the Dutch East Indies, regarding the Batavia Massacre of 1740, hereby declares:
The Netherlands, a small country in Northern Europe, is a trader in Europe.
It has been more than a hundred years since the founding of Bacheng. If there were no Chinese to teach you farming skills and manage your city buildings, how could all industries prosper, trade prosper, and the conference could be achieved? You do not want to be grateful, and carry out acts of oppression, increasing taxes, extortion, and even murder for the sake of wealth, killing people in the city, and plundering all the wealth to make up for the East India Company's losses.
In the journey of the great road, the world is for the common good, the summer watch is eternal, the rituals and music are prestige, the world is the same, the country has the supreme, the heaven is happy and the destiny is fulfilled, and life is the body. Why have we, the Chinese people, failed you? Why have we, the people of China, lost so much hatred that we have killed ten thousand people? ! If there is any resentment, there is no need for vendetta. All the descendants of Zhangquan survivors can be returned, and the trading of ships and ships will continue as before. The bandit has done nothing, and is so unjust, he will be punished by Heaven!
Now there is the North Sea, allowing Fentianzang to be viewed, eight chapters should be seen, the Arctic Ice Sea, the South China Sea, and so on, reaching the ocean in the east and Central Asia in the west. When the sun shines and the moon comes, it is the first day of the lunar month. For example, Annan and Xishan invade China, kill Chinese people, pretend to be vassals, form private alliances with pirates, and invade our coast. They drove troops thousands of miles from Beihai, sent messages to the officials, and invaded the land of Yi Zong. They added troops to destroy them.
The mighty spirit of China rushes into the universe, and now there is Beihai. It advocates righteousness from heaven, takes the blame for the people, and avenges the shame. With millions of soldiers and thousands of battleships, they avenged the unjust killings of tens of thousands of living beings and avenged the humiliation of the gods above and below.
Pass it on with a message, and the messenger will know about it. "
This letter was written by Jiang Fan. Although the writing seemed laborious, it was full of momentum. With the little ink Deng Fei, Wang Yuanfang and Hong Tao had, they were simply not qualified to make revisions. Hong Tao tried to write several drafts in vernacular, but in the end they were not as good as this one, so he had to give up.
But it was precisely because of this that Lu Wen, a Zhangzhou native who was born as a child, was sweating profusely and frightened. When he finally translated the text in the letter into Dutch, Governor Altin's face turned green.
His first reaction was to shout something bad, the Chinese are coming to settle the accounts!
"Immediately notify all forts to enter wartime alert! Order Colonel Berg to immediately summon troops, mobilize the city, open the armory, and recruit Malays to join the war!"
After the secretary finished writing on the letter paper, Governor Altin immediately signed his name. Then he saw the embarrassed Lu Wen, his face darkened and he roared: "Get out! You have nothing to do here!"
Unexpectedly, just when Lu Wen was about to leave, Altin immediately came to his senses. He shouted to Second Lieutenant Huygens outside the door: "Show this guy to me. Don't let him tell the Chinese people the news in the letter!"
When Lu Wen heard this, he panicked, knelt on the ground and said, "Mr. Governor, spare your life, this is none of the villain's business!"
However, Altin had no intention of paying attention to him. He waved his hand impatiently and had Lu Wen taken down for custody. When Governor Altin was the only one left in the room, he slumped back on his chair weakly, his temples on both sides beating wildly.
Does this matter have anything to do with you? What happened fifty years ago has something to do with me!
It is said that Altin only joined the East India Company in 1750. By the time he arrived in Batavia, the former governor who was responsible for this job, Adrian Vargennier, had been dead for several years. Now the grass on his grave is They have probably grown into towering trees.
But Altin also knew that as the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies, this matter was closely related to him. In fact, the crimes committed by the East India Company in killing Chinese people in Java were not limited to Hongxi. After being imprisoned, Valgenil confessed that in June 1741, the East India Council also passed a "condemnation of the Chinese in the entire Java" "total massacre" resolution.
So in early 1742, a tragedy comparable to that of Red Creek was staged in Sampolong, Central Java; after that, the Dutch continued to massacre in Surabaya and other places in East Java.
Historically, of the crimes committed by the Dutch in Java, except for the Red Creek Massacre, no news of them reached the country at all. Because it is only spread by word of mouth among a small number of Chinese, even the Chinese in Batavia don't know it now.
The problem is that Altin knows it! The records in the East India Company's files are clear and crystal clear!
This guy is so bad, it's too late to call for reinforcements. Altin suddenly thought that he could go to Latbu (Singapore) to find the British East India Company. Perhaps for the sake of everyone being God's people, he could help his brother. Even if the British will not participate in the war, it would be good to mediate.
Thinking of this, he quickly took the letter and after thinking about it for a while, he began to write a sincere letter asking for help.
At this time, on the deck of the Thor, Hong Tao, who was smeared with sunscreen and wearing sunglasses, lazily sat on a beach chair and took two sips of juice with ice cubes. After feeling satisfied, he did the same to those around him. Deng Fei said: "Old Deng, what do you think the Dutch are doing now?"
"Hey, I guess I was frightened by Jiang Ziping's letter. Now the whole city should be mobilized to prepare for war, and at the same time, we have to guard against the Chinese."
Before Deng Fei finished speaking, he saw a figure in front of him. Wang Yuanfang, who was already soaked in sweat, snatched the cup away, took a sip of the juice and said, "It's better to mobilize. We've got everyone together so we can serve the food!"
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Set a small goal first, such as remembering in 1 second: Shukeju
