Chapter 379 - Guo Huaiyi

Li Siya disembarked at Bengang and went to meet Guo Huaiyi.

Although the Bengang area of Tainan was ostensibly within the Dutch sphere of influence, the Dutch had no actual control here, only a mission station. Most of the Fujian immigrants here had been settled by Yan Siqi and Zheng Zhilong. Besides paying a head tax to the Dutch for their military protection, they were basically controlled by various Chinese village heads and stronghold chiefs.

And all these people answered to Guo Huaiyi, the leader of the Han Chinese immigrants in Tainan.

On the surface, Guo Huaiyi was merely the village head of Youchehang, a local immigrant village. In reality, he was Zheng Zhilong’s agent in Tainan. This was no secret among the Fujian immigrants. Even the Dutch were well aware of Guo Huaiyi’s strong influence among the Chinese.

Disguised as a man and escorted by people sent by Zheng Zhifeng, Li Siya secretly arrived at Youchehang village and met Guo Huaiyi in a large mansion built in the Southern Fujian style. Guo Huaiyi was a middle-aged man who looked no different from a local Southern Fujian landlord: dark skin, deep wrinkles. Although he was a landlord, he still had to work in the fields with his hired hands. He was also very amiable in his dealings with people.

Although this was Li Siya’s first time in Taiwan, her intelligence was always very good. She knew that Guo Huaiyi had been ordered to come to Tainan to oversee the immigration and land reclamation here since the time of Yan Siqi. He was a veteran figure in the group whom even Zheng Zhilong had to respect.

However, Zheng Zhilong did not attach much importance to Taiwan. Since he took control of Anping, he had opened a direct trade route to Japan and was not very interested in Taiwan as a trade transit point. Besides encouraging Fujianese immigration, he did not spend much effort on how to increase his actual control over Taiwan—of course, he didn’t have the energy for it at the moment either.

Lacking support from the mainland, Guo Huaiyi had to rely on himself to organize self-defense. His policy was simple: in the grand scheme of things, submit to the Dutch, pay them a head tax, provide labor service, and also supply them with various Taiwanese trade goods. The main export product of Taiwan, deerskin, mostly came from the hands of Fujianese immigrant hunters or small traders who ventured to trade with the natives.

This made the Dutch view the Fujianese immigrants in Tainan as “useful subjects” and they were willing to use their military force to protect them. The successive governors of the trading post spared no effort in campaigning against the natives, largely to ensure the safety of the Fujianese immigrants’ labor.

Of course, the Dutch themselves had limited strength and were sometimes unable to take care of themselves, so on a smaller scale, he could only encourage the villages and strongholds to form local militias for self-defense. The Fujianese immigrants in Taiwan basically all came from the Southern Fujian region. They already had a strong sense of regionalism, and immigrants often moved in clan units. This easily led to the formation of small-group villages centered on region and clan, creating many local strongmen.

The Southern Fujian immigrant strongman group continued to control the grassroots society of Taiwan even after the Qing dynasty reconquered the island, and it was even more serious than on the mainland. Coupled with the severe malaria problem, outside officials and yamen runners often couldn’t acclimatize and would die of illness before completing their terms. The one prefecture and two counties established by the Qing dynasty in Taiwan had no control over the grassroots level. They even faced personal danger when sending yamen runners and officials to the countryside on business. Lin Shuangwen, who rebelled during the Qianlong era, also had this background.

Guo Huaiyi was the leader of this strongman group. Li Siya knew very well that his position in the “great gang” was the same as Zheng Zhilong’s: he had great prestige and power, but not absolute command.

Therefore, she decided to speak as little as possible to Guo Huaiyi, only discussing matters related to her mission.

She presented Zheng Zhifeng’s token. Guo Huaiyi stared at it for a moment, then invited her into the inner courtyard for tea, and the two began to talk in secret.

Guo Huaiyi already knew the purpose of Li Siya’s visit. A few days earlier, a messenger had brought a letter from Zheng Zhifeng. He had been waiting for her arrival.

Li Siya was most concerned about the specific situation of the Australians in Taiwan. Zheng Zhifeng had only told her that the Australians had brought a large number of immigrants to the Dagou area and were building a castle on a large scale.

“Miss,” Guo Huaiyi pondered for a moment, “I think it’s best if I take you there myself. You should see it with your own eyes. Otherwise, a few words might not be enough to explain it clearly.”

Li Siya thought this was acceptable. After all, she needed to see it with her own eyes to make a concrete plan. She agreed, “Alright. I’ll have to trouble you, sir, to send a few capable people to guide me.”

“No trouble, that’s easy.” Guo Huaiyi said that the Fujianese immigrants here had had a lot of contact with the Australians in Dagou recently. The two sides often traded, and some people had even moved to Dagou to live. It was easy to find a few reliable and knowledgeable people to be guides.

“What is the Dutch attitude towards the Australians?” Li Siya was most concerned about this.

“The Governor is very worried about the Australians,” Guo Huaiyi said. “One could even say he can’t sleep or eat in peace.”

Hans Putmans was very worried about the Australians’ immigration activities in Dagou. First was their terrifying transport capability. In less than half a year, the Australians had already transported forty thousand immigrants to Dagou. It’s worth noting that the Fujianese immigration, which had been going on for more than a decade since the time of Yan Siqi, had not brought in so many people. And accompanying the immigrants was a continuous stream of building materials and a large amount of supplies.

The Dutch had gone through five governors in Taiwan and had only just built a decent castle. The Australians, on the other hand, had been building a fortress larger than Fort Zeelandia since they landed, and had already completed 80% of the work in less than half a year. At the same time, they were also building docks, dredging the harbor, and reclaiming large amounts of wasteland.

With a neighbor possessing such terrifying efficiency and maritime transport capacity less than a few dozen leagues away, it was no wonder Hans Putmans couldn’t sleep or eat in peace.

“…More than ten days ago, the Governor even invited us to a meeting at the trading post, telling us to be more careful of the Australians,” Guo Huaiyi said with a smile.

“Oh? What did he say?”

“Nothing more than telling us to be careful and to avoid contact with the Australians as much as possible,” Guo Huaiyi said. “The Dutch are very afraid that the Australians will win me over. Then there would be no one to work for them, buy deerskins, or pay the head tax.”

“Do the Australians have such intentions?”

Guo Huaiyi shook his head, “No. They’ve never sent anyone to recruit us. It seems they’re completely uninterested in us.” He added with interest, “On the contrary, many of our people have been attracted there. Some go to do business, some to work, and some have just moved there directly.”

“So, the Australians are completely open in Dagou?”

“That’s right. Anyone who is willing can go there to work, do business, or even settle down,” Guo Huaiyi said. “It’s quite free, you can come and go as you please. I hear many Japanese from the Dayuan side have gone there too.”

“Why would the Japanese go?” Li Siya was a bit surprised.

“Because Hans Putmans forbids the Japanese from praying according to their Jesuit rites. He wants them to pray according to the Dutch ‘true Christianity’ rites, and the Japanese have always had a problem with that. Now, the Australians have Jesuit missionaries and a small chapel. Many Japanese have gone over there.”

“Such a thing happened!” Li Siya understood the Dutch governor’s worries even more. The Japanese were very important to the Dutch in Dayuan. Although they were not as economically important as the Fujianese immigrants, they were a major source of sailors and soldiers for the Dutch.

Now the Australians’ hands had reached here—these Australians were quite good at poaching!

Li Siya felt an even stronger urge to meet the Australians again.

The information she gathered was very satisfactory: the Dutch in Dayuan were filled with anxiety and fear towards the Australians. And she knew that since the East India Company had opened trading posts in both Hong Kong and Hainan Island, a large amount of Chinese goods were being transshipped from Guangdong, dealing a heavy blow to the trade in Dayuan.

In the beginning, when the East India Company established a trading post in Taiwan, they faced unpredictable partners and endured various inconveniences and continuous losses precisely because they valued its role as a procurement window for trade with China—the company needed to attract Chinese merchants here to sell the various goods the company urgently needed.

And now, Hong Kong and Sanya could meet most of the company’s needs. Fortunately, Dayuan had some advantages in sourcing export porcelain and indigo from nearby Fujian, and it also served as a base for trade with Japan. Otherwise, it would have little value left. One could imagine the mood of the Taiwan governor, whose importance was constantly declining.

For both public and private reasons, Hans Putmans would not have any good feelings towards the Australians and could be easily provoked.

As for the Australians, Li Siya believed that since they were also a rising maritime power, they would not be full of friendly feelings towards the Dutch. In the end, their current trade cooperation was a matter of mutual benefit, and there was no element of mutual trust in this benefit.

Perhaps within both sides, there were intentions to open fire on the other, to deal a heavy blow or even destroy the opponent. Li Siya had served the East India Company and spied on the Australians; she knew the Dutch way of thinking very well.

“Are there any important company figures in Dayuan harbor recently?”

“I’m not sure, I don’t go to Dayuan often,” Guo Huaiyi said. “If you wish, I can arrange for someone to inquire tomorrow.”

“Good. Also, if possible, I’d like to go to Dayuan myself to have a look first.”

Guo Huaiyi looked her over and said, “Forgive my bluntness, but Miss Li is a bit too conspicuous…”

In a place like Taiwan, it wasn’t strange for ordinary women to show their faces in public—especially since Southern Fujian women were often an important part of the workforce. The problem was that Li Siya was of mixed Chinese-Portuguese descent, with unusual features, and she looked like a woman from a wealthy family at a glance.

Li Siya smiled, “No problem, I’ll just put on some makeup. I guarantee no one will recognize me.”