Chapter 45: Li Siya's Report

The Governor-General didn’t quite believe that there could be such a large ship in the world, and one made of iron at that. Not to mention where so much steel could be manufactured, what was more important was the rumor that this ship did not need sails and could navigate on its own. In his view, if this were true, it was either a miracle of God or, more likely, a trick of the devil.

Although this was rumored everywhere, the Governor-General remained skeptical. If the Australians really had such a great maritime advantage, why would they stay on a remote island off the coast of South China? They could have sailed their great iron ship to other more prosperous and resource-rich places to settle.

But he was more interested in the so-called Australian goods—were they shipped from “Australia,” or were they manufactured in Lingao? The library of the Dutch East India Company had no records of “Australia.” As for “Lingao,” they only knew it as a small city with no commercial value—there were hundreds of such small cities in China. To say that such a small city could suddenly produce so many novel and high-quality goods was something the Governor-General could not imagine.

The Australians in Lingao had too many unsolved mysteries, which was the main reason he was so eager to spend a large sum of money to hire Li Siya to gather intelligence. The “small shopkeepers” never spent money recklessly. Four thousand guilders might be a lot, but for understanding the future situation of the sea in Southeast Asia and even the entire East Asia, it was really nothing.

Only by mastering enough intelligence could the Batavia authorities formulate a suitable policy towards Australia. Should they be a trading partner, or should they be ruthlessly attacked and this nascent force completely destroyed? Or what kind of means should be adopted to utilize and contain the Australian presence in the South China Sea?

The Dutch East India Company was the world’s first “truly capitalist enterprise.” Its capitalism was thorough, ruthless, and built on the most naked commercial monopoly and excess profits. The company was equally ruthless to its partners, friends, employees, and enemies. They were thoroughgoing profit-first-ists. Even for the company’s senior employees, in the East Indies, the Dutch East India Company was the most successful force in applying the law of the jungle.

For the Governor-General, the Australians were neither enemies nor friends. What role the Australians would play depended on their strength and their position in the entire East Asian trade system.

If the Australians were weak and unable to shake the company’s monopoly, they could serve as a suitable trading partner, like the Ming Dynasty, as a provider of Far Eastern goods. If their strength was great and posed a threat to the East India Company’s monopoly, containing the Australians would become the primary task, just as they spared no effort to contain and exclude the British in the East Indies, attack the Portuguese in Japan, and suppress Zheng Zhilong on the coast of China—the East India Company did not like competition.

“You may go and rest,” the Governor-General said, taking a check from the drawer. “Go to the treasurer and get your money. You can rest well for a few days.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency.” Gonzalez bowed, took the check, and withdrew.

The next day, the Governor-General carefully read the German version of Li Siya’s answers to the 125 questions. She had answered all the questions raised by the Council. Even on those questions where she answered “I don’t know,” there were some speculations, rumors, and her personal evaluation. The Governor-General felt that Li Siya’s performance was worthy of the remuneration she had requested.

First, Li Siya clearly answered the question of who the Australians were.

The Australians were Chinese—this could be confirmed from their language, writing, and national identity. However, although they considered themselves “Chinese,” they were very different from the Chinese—they had a completely different culture, system, and etiquette. Li Siya said in the report: the difference between them and the Chinese was no less than the difference between Europeans and Chinese—and may even be greater. In addition, there were people of European descent among the Australians, at least 2-3 people. According to intelligence, these Europeans also enjoyed the so-called “Senator” status.

There were about five to six hundred “Senators” in Lingao. The Senators practiced a European-style “Council” system. Nine highest-ranking councilors held all the power. But in form, all Senators enjoyed the same political power and formed a so-called “Senate” institution. In theory, all major policies were to be decided by a majority of the Senate.

Li Siya said in the report: they seemed to be practicing a kind of joint-stock cooperative relationship, because the Senators often mentioned words like “shares” and “dividends” in their conversations. From time to time, there were also disputes over the so-called power of the Senators.

“Is this the Australians’ East India Company?” Seeing this, the Governor-General couldn’t help but say.

Most of the goods the Australians used for trade were manufactured in Lingao. Li Siya used an exaggerated amount of space to elaborate on the powerful manufacturing industry the Australians had in Lingao. In fact, neither Li Huamei’s nor Lando’s reports described Lingao’s productivity in much detail. Li Huamei generally could not enter the core areas of Lingao, and Lando’s report to her had been specially revised by the Foreign Intelligence Bureau. The Foreign Intelligence Bureau did not want outsiders to truly understand Lingao’s productivity level. But Li Siya was bent on provoking a war between the Dutch and Lingao, and she exaggerated on the basis of these two reports, describing Lingao as a place of extremely abundant materials and embellishing the productivity of the Australian factories. Finally, she used four full pages to vividly describe the luxurious life of the Australian Senators in Lingao, from facts to rumors, with the most important being their luxurious toilets and bathrooms.

She believed that this rich prize was enough to incite the strong greed of the Dutch, thus triggering a Dutch attack on the Australians. Of course, the Dutch were by no means a match for the Australians. A battle between the two sides would consume each other, which would be of great benefit to her.

Sure enough, this long and ornate passage made the Governor-General’s eyes sparkle. The fingers of his ringed hand also curled up and tapped on the armrest. But after a while, the Governor-General calmed down. He was, after all, a rational Dutchman and would not be easily moved by exaggerated Latin-style rhetoric. In his view, this was just like when the Spanish went to the Americas and boasted that there was gold and silver everywhere: there was some truth to it, but it omitted the difficulty of obtaining the gold and silver.

The Australians in Lingao were certainly very prosperous, but their ability to occupy a city under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, which had a very rigid attitude towards foreign countries, showed that the Australians’ strength was not trivial. The East India Company had launched several expeditions against China in the past, but none had achieved the expected results.

Regarding the strength of the Australians, the report stated that besides the Australian Senators, there were local Chinese recruited by the Australians in Guangdong and local natives who were attached to them. The total population was unclear, estimated to be between fifty thousand and one hundred thousand. These people served the Australians as servants, soldiers, serfs, and artisans.

The exact number of the Australian army was unknown, but there were at least three to four companies of well-trained infantry—all composed of native Chinese except for a small number of officers. The infantry was trained in the European style and well-equipped. Their firearms were lighter and more powerful than those used by European armies—surpassing all light firearms in Europe. Li Siya specifically described the Minie rifle and the Deringer pistol. The Australians also had artillery, which was also very excellent, but in small numbers. Li Siya gave a detailed description of the coastal heavy artillery in Bopu—and even drew the specific location, terrain, and firing arc of the coastal battery. This greatly surprised the Governor-General. Li Siya was indeed an extraordinary woman! He began to value her even more.

In terms of maritime power, which the Governor-General was most concerned about, they had about a hundred ships, all of which were “junks” gathered locally in Guangdong. Except for a few, their tonnage was not large. They also had a few European-style ships. In addition, there were four iron clippers brought from Australia.

Here, Li Siya laid a trap. She knew very well from Li Huamei and Lando about the power of the “iron clippers” owned by the Australians, but her description was vague—she only said they existed, without saying how powerful they were. She did not want the Dutch to feel that the Australians were very strong at sea—once the Dutch feared Lingao’s maritime power, they would not easily launch a military attack on the Australians.

It took the Governor-General a whole morning to finish reading the report. Through this report, he gained a full understanding of the Australians. It was clear that the Australians were a strong force, but they currently lacked the ability to venture into long-distance maritime trade routes. This was a great opportunity for the company. It seemed necessary to open a trade route between Tayouan and Lingao as soon as possible.

He opened the map on the table and carefully examined Lingao, which had just been marked. He measured it with a ruler. He found that Lingao’s location was not remote on the Southeast Asian trade route and should be a good trading port.

De Carpentier was thinking. A knock came from outside.

“Come in!” He looked up. It was his attendant.

“What is it?”

“The representative of Liu Laoxiang from Guangdong has arrived. Do you wish to see him?”

“Of course,” de Carpentier nodded. “Please show him in.”

Liu Xiang had a certain degree of cooperation with the Dutch—of course, this cooperation was a result of Liu Xiang’s strength. After Liu Xiang’s large gang suddenly rose on the coast of Guangdong at the end of the Tianqi era, they quickly controlled the waters near the Pearl River Delta and once became the overlord of the Guangdong seas. In their expansion towards the Fujian seas, they gradually came into conflict with Zheng Zhilong. The Dutch also needed a force that could contain the ever-growing Zheng Yiguan, so the two sides hit it off.