Chapter 47: The Dutch

The envoy was taken aback, probably not expecting the Governor-General to suddenly ask about the Australians.

“They are a group of people from overseas! They claim to be descendants of the Great Song,” the envoy said. Realizing that talking about the “Great Song” to a foreigner was like playing a lute to a cow, he changed his words, “That is to say, they claim to be descendants of the Chinese.”

This point was no different from Li Siya’s report. The Governor-General nodded secretly and asked some other questions about the Australians. The envoy seemed happy to answer his questions and said a lot about the Australians—of course, most of it was hearsay. Although Liu Xiang had fought a battle with the Australians, he had never had any formal contact with this opponent. Most of the news was hearsay, part of it came from people who were captured in the attack on Bopu and later released, and another part came from the reports of his spies.

Although Liu Xiang had withdrawn from the Pearl River Delta due to pressure from Zheng Zhilong before the second anti-encirclement campaign, thus avoiding a direct conflict with the transmigrator group, he had laid many spies in the local area. He knew all about the news of the transmigrator group’s great victory over He Rubing, the shelling of Humen, and their advance to the city of Guangzhou. He had not expected that the Australians, who had been hiding in a remote corner of the country, would suddenly erupt with such combat power, even though their ships were strong and their cannons were sharp.

Fortunately, the Australians did not seem to intend to be his enemy. He was certainly annoyed that they had seized the Pearl River Delta, but now he would not dare to fight on two fronts under any circumstances. He had to deal with Zheng Zhilong first.

The Governor-General listened very carefully and attentively to the envoy’s chatter and did not interrupt him. He only asked a few questions after the other party stopped. Gathering intelligence on the Australians was his main interest now. He had not expected that Liu Xiang had had a conflict with the Australians. And the fact that the Chinese government had actually sent a large army to conquer Lingao, only to be defeated by the Australians, made him even more interested.

Although the Dutch had a low opinion of the Ming army’s combat effectiveness, every military action on the coast of China had been defeated by the seemingly endless manpower and material resources of the Ming army. As a fellow outsider, the fact that the Australians, occupying a corner of the Ming Dynasty, could withstand the tide of troops that had once made the company tremble, and successfully established a separatist regime on a piece of Chinese land, made de Carpentier extremely interested.

The information revealed in a war was more than all the intelligence gathered together. De Carpentier had heard many stories about the amazing level of the Australians’ firearms, and the two victories the Australians had won seemed to explain a lot.

It was clear that the Australians were a strong force. He rang the bell and summoned the attendant outside.

“Take this gentleman down to rest,” he said.

That evening, at a dinner party with the Governor-General and the senior commercial agents of Batavia, they discussed how to deal with the Australians, whether to aid Liu Xiang, and how to deal with Zheng Zhilong.

The military strength of the East India Company in Batavia was very weak. A few years ago, when they launched an expedition against China, they only sent seven ships. When they went on an expedition to Macau, they only had fourteen ships. The total number of army troops was not small, but these companies were scattered among dozens of trading posts of the East India Company throughout Java, which spanned thousands of kilometers. The soldiers recruited from Europe at great expense were constantly dying like flies in the hot and humid climate and unsanitary environment. Now, the Governor-General found it very difficult to fill the vacancies in the companies at various posts, and it was even more difficult to launch another large-scale expedition.

As for the small number of auxiliary troops composed of local natives, no one had much hope for their combat effectiveness. It was even difficult to say whether these natives were trustworthy.

It was beyond the Dutch’s ability to participate in the military conflict in the South China Sea with their limited military strength, not to mention that Zheng Zhilong still controlled the lifeline of the East India Company’s trade with China. Therefore, the commercial agents believed that the Governor-General’s decision to refuse to send ships to participate directly in the battle was correct. As for whether to provide ships and cannons to Liu Xiang, there was some debate among the senior commercial agents. Some believed that cannons were one thing, after all, European-style cannons had already been widely spread throughout East Asia. But pirates using European-style ships were still a very small number. The sudden addition of two European ships to Liu Xiang’s fleet would severely provoke Zheng Zhilong and might have a negative impact on the company.

Several other senior commercial agents supported selling the ships to Liu Xiang to contain Zheng Zhilong’s power. The Governor-General was inclined to this side.

“Gentlemen, the issue of ships is not a problem,” the Governor-General said, tapping the table lightly. “In the entire East Asia region, we are not the only ones who can provide ships. The Spaniards, whether in Manila or Macau, are capable of providing ships to Liu Xiang. Don’t forget, in the several conflicts between Liu and Zheng in the previous stage, a large Spanish galleon was directly involved in the battle. Even if Yiguan is suspicious, the biggest suspect is the Spaniards. We can completely deny all of this. Besides, do you think Zheng Zhilong will fall out with us before he has decided the winner with Liu Xiang?”

Furthermore, selling two dilapidated ships that would probably only be scrapped for firewood and ship materials was also beneficial to the company. After all, Liu Xiang was willing to pay in cash. As for the issue of sailors, he could recruit them himself—whether in Batavia, Manila, or Macau, one could recruit dregs of all nationalities willing to sail and fight for money.

Everyone finally agreed to the proposal to sell the “Zealous” and “Alert” to Liu Xiang, including all the weapons and navigation equipment on both ships. The “Zealous” was sold for ten thousand Spanish reals, and the “Alert” for seven thousand Spanish reals. In addition, they would sell Liu Xiang 10 bronze 12-pounder naval guns, and 24 iron 6-pounder and 12-pounder naval guns, and 400 matchlocks.

“Your Excellency, do you think Liu Xiang has a chance to defeat Yiguan?” a commercial agent asked.

“It’s hard to say,” de Carpentier shook his head. “It is said that the strength of the two sides is similar. But Yiguan clearly has the advantage—he has the support of the Chinese court. And Yiguan has already defeated all his opponents on the Fujian seas, including those who were once very powerful.”

According to the Governor-General’s view, if Liu Xiang could not win continuously or kill Zheng Zhilong himself in a certain battle, Liu Xiang would eventually fail.

A wave of regretful sighs sounded around the dinner table. Liu Xiang was not exactly an ally, but with him around, Zheng Zhilong’s attitude would be more relaxed. Once Liu Xiang fell, there would be no force that could contain Zheng Zhilong.

“Gentlemen, even without Liu Xiang, there are others in this world,” de Carpentier said, expressing his thoughts. “Have you ever heard of the Australians?”

The Governor-General sat in his armchair. From the long, narrow window next to his desk, he could see the city of Batavia. This city had been under construction since 1619 and had been continuously expanded and fortified for more than a decade. It now had a preliminary scale. De Carpentier had no doubt that the future governor-general sitting in this position would be able to see a more prosperous and great Batavia.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Come in.”

His secretary appeared at the door.

“Your Excellency, the junior commercial agent you summoned, van der Lanton, has arrived.”

“Please show him in.”

Van der Lanton walked in cautiously from the main door. He was about thirty years old, with a reserved face. He was a nobleman from the province of Zeeland, had served in the navy, and had fought in wars. Now he was a junior commercial agent in the East India Company. But even as a junior commercial agent, he was still above the level of ordinary company employees. On the ships of the East India Company, only the commercial agent had the highest command authority. At many trading posts, the commercial agent had all the power.

But as a junior commercial agent, van der Lanton’s authority had never exceeded that of a single merchant ship. He was eager to become a commercial agent for a fleet or a certain trading post. The Dutch East India Company was a very harsh company towards its employees. Although the East India Company gave dividends to its shareholders every year, with one share being worth several thousand guilders, the remuneration given to employees was meager. A junior commercial agent only had a monthly salary of twenty guilders and a food allowance equivalent to a quarter of his salary. It was impossible to get rich by serving the Dutch East India Company honestly. Climbing to a high position as much as possible and using the power in their hands to smuggle was their only chance to get rich in the Far East.

Van der Lanton took off his hat and bowed deeply to the Governor-General.

“Mr. van der Lanton,” de Carpentier said briefly. “I am now appointing you as the commercial agent on the ‘Magdeburg’.”

The “Magdeburg” was a “yacht”—in fact, this type of ship was neither “fast” nor a “yacht.” It was a flat-bottomed boat commonly used by the Dutch in the East Indies, with a carrying capacity of 400-600 tons. The stern was round, and the poop deck was high. The ship sailed very slowly and was mainly used as a merchant ship and transport vessel. But because of its short construction period, large cargo capacity, and small crew requirement, it met the needs of the “sea coachmen.”

Although van der Lanton had not been promoted to a senior position, the “Magdeburg” was a large ship, much more important than the small two-masted ship he was currently on. So this order still made him very happy.

“Thank you, Your Excellency!”

“No need to thank me, thank our master,” the Governor-General said. “After you get on the ship, prepare immediately. I want you to prepare to go to Lingao immediately to trade with the Australians.”

“Lingao?” Van der Lanton had not heard of this place. He knew about the Australians.

“Yes, I will send you a navigator. Your mission is to trade with the Australians in Lingao and to gather as much information about them as possible. If possible, find out if they are willing to reach a trade agreement with us.”

“As you command, Your Excellency.”

“I will send you several assistants. After you arrive in Lingao, take them with you and provide them with all conveniences.”

One of the people sent to the “Magdeburg” was Gonzalez himself. The Governor-General hoped that he, in his capacity as an officer, would personally see the military strength of Lingao and the fortifications of the port. Another was Leib Trini, an Italian and a professional draftsman. His mission was to try to draw maps of the port and terrain of Lingao. At the same time, he was to draw what he saw into an album. In an era without cameras, this was the only way to give people far away a direct impression.