1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 554 The Gradient of Timor Island
November 1645, 11, Timor Island.

Sebastian Bernish, the special envoy of the Portuguese Governor in Goa, signed a series of trade agreements with the Ministry of Commerce and Trade of the State of Qi and the Hanzhou Indian Trading Company. Taxes, and provide necessary guarantees for the safety of business personnel of both sides in their respective territories.

In addition, the Portuguese colonial government in India also requested that Qi should continue to import necessary weapons and ammunition to the Portuguese as much as possible, especially the powerful coastal defense heavy artillery, to deal with the Dutch landing attempts.

You know, because the Portuguese and the Dutch competed fiercely in India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), both places were eroded by the Dutch in a few years, lost many colonies, and consumed a lot of weapons and ammunition .In the past, all consumption was transported thousands of miles from mainland Europe (a small amount was imported from Macau), not to mention time-consuming and labor-intensive. There will also be various storms, pirates, and Dutch attacks along the way, and loss is inevitable.

Now, since there is a local force that can produce firearms no less than European ones and can provide these weapons and ammunition, it is the most beneficial support for the Portuguese who are currently gradually weakening.

It should be said that during this period, the Western forces that were best at using local manpower for their own use were the Portuguese.In their respective colonies, they intermarried a large number of local aborigines to form a large number of mixed descendants, and then firmly tied these people to the Portuguese colonial power to rule a colony with a larger number of people.If the strength of the Portuguese at sea had not shrunk too quickly, they would not have been beaten up by the Dutch all the time, and the colonial power was shrinking year by year.

Now, with the weapon support of the Hanzhou people, even though we Portuguese cannot defeat you Dutch at sea, it is completely possible to consolidate the colonial forces in various places and resist the Dutch landing.

After the trade agreement was signed, the special envoy Sebastian Bernish took a transport ship from the Qi State and was going to Makassar via Timor Island to express condolences to the Portuguese residents living there and convey the message to the Governor of India. Some instructions and requirements for the place.

First, we arrived at Xinxiang City (now Suai City, East Timor), the earliest stronghold of the Hanzhou people on Timor Island, which has the largest rice-producing area on the island, and the valleys and plains between several rivers have been opened up. The 20 mu of cultivated land is distributed with hundreds of farms, large and small. Thousands of Hanzhou people drive countless natives to work and cultivate here, providing Hanzhou with a large amount of rice, corn, potatoes and other food.What's more, the abundance of precious trees such as nanmu and red sandalwood, as well as shipbuilding timber such as teak and camphor, has made this place one of the most important overseas territories of Qi State.

At present, the entire Xinxiangcheng area has a population of more than [-] people, controlling an area with a radius of tens of kilometers. In addition, Jianshengbao (now Persikama City, West Timor Island, Indonesia) near the edge of the Dutch influence , also managed by Xinxiangcheng.Although due to political and military considerations, the Xinxiang District Government has moved to Zhenhai City (now Dili City, East Timor) in the north, but the importance of this place cannot be concealed.

After staying in Xinxiang City for one night, Sebastian Bernish continued to take a boat to the next destination the next day—Tutuala, the king's city of Wihalil Sultan.

Although Tutuala is the royal city of the Weihali Kingdom, it is the supervisor of the Qi State stationed in the city who can ultimately decide all major events in the city. As for their Majesty Kabibi Sultan, he always likes to go to Jianye City to recuperate due to illness , and live for several months.Therefore, not only all the key affairs of the royal city will be decided by the supervisor sent by Qi State, but even the major affairs of the entire kingdom must be reported to the supervisor before making a decision.

If it weren't for the fact that the population of Hanzhou on Timor Island was too small, maybe the Qi government would directly implement prefectural and county management within the sphere of influence of Timor Island under its control and annex it completely.

In the eyes of Sebastian Bernish, this so-called Tubang King City is not comparable to the native Jianye City of Hanzhou, even the Xinxiang City he just passed by is far inferior.Except for the decent-looking palaces, government offices, and the residences of some dignitaries, the whole city is full of thatched huts and simple wooden huts. In front of the house, enjoying the warm sunshine.

Occasionally, a carriage would drive by on the street, and the nearby natives would respectfully stop and bow their heads to the man sitting in the carriage with a Ming face (or a Han face).It can be seen that this small kingdom has been deeply controlled by the Hanzhou people, and it has obviously become the most noble group of people here, just like the Portuguese in Goa, Diu, and Daman.

As a civilized person, it is obligatory to educate these ignorant and barbaric natives.In this regard, Sebastian Bernish did not show any disgust, but expressed understanding and respect for Han Zhou's actions.

During his one-day stay in Tutuala, he also saw a scene where Hanzhou people conscripted natives to do coolies in Hanzhou.A group of more than 200 natives, each with a blank face, was escorted by four or five armed guards, and walked slowly from the messy street to the pier.The Hanzhou officials who accompanied him all the way from Jianye City seemed a little embarrassed to explain, claiming that these natives were unable to obtain the supplies they needed to survive due to various reasons, and were facing a deep economic crisis. Provide some "good" job opportunities for these natives, so that they can earn enough labor costs to support themselves and their families behind them.

Sebastian Bernish nodded with a smile, expressing agreement with the other party's statement, and highly praised the kindness shown by the Hanzhou people.When the Portuguese in Makassar translated his words to the official, he seemed a little "embarrassed".

"Where did the barbarians come from?" On the pier in Tutuala, a group of soldiers from Zhenhai City looked at Sebastian Burnish and his party who were going away, discussing in a low voice.

"It's Portuguese. I heard that they came here on a ship from the mainland." A sailor-like man said disapprovingly: "I guess, either they came from Makassar, or they came from India or tin Lan came here."

"Well, it's Lao Ding who knows a lot. He is indeed a person who has run across the sea."

"That's right! If Lao Ding didn't hurt his leg, he wouldn't be able to retire from the Navy and come to us." A rough man said with a smile: "Okay, I've finished packing up one by one, and get on the boat quickly. Niu Dao (now Yandna Island in the east of Timor Island), bring a boat of wild buffalo back, and return to Zhenhai as soon as possible.”

"If you go to Niu Island, you will have to stay at least ten days and half a month." A village soldier said with a bitter face: "It is becoming more and more difficult to find wild buffalo on the island now. If you are unlucky, you may stay for a month. There are also."

"You crow's mouth!" The rough man slapped the village soldier, "I know buffaloes on the island are hard to find. But this time, let's go to the northeast end of the island to try our luck. If we get a hundred If you turn your head back, don't we get a big reward!"

"That's it! That's it!" The dozen or so soldiers standing around nodded and said yes, this time they were appointed by Zhenhai City Commander Gu Sanping to go to Niu Island to capture wild buffaloes to provide more animal power for the area.

With the establishment of several mines in the mainland of Hanzhou, the natives on Timor Island were continuously recruited to the mainland to serve as coolies in the mines.Originally, the various strongholds of Timor Island could rely on the large number of forced expropriation of natives to reclaim and cultivate more and more fields.However, the continuous "blood-sucking" behavior of Hanzhou natives led to a sharp decline in the number of natives on the island.

According to incomplete statistics, since Xinxiangbao, the first stronghold on Timor Island, was established eight years ago, no less than 3 people have been recruited from the island to serve as coolies in various mines in Hanzhou, and all of these people He is a strong man.Although the Hanzhou people promised at the beginning that after each native "worked" in the Hanzhou local mine for four years, he would be given a generous supplementary fee and sent back to Timor Island, and he would be allocated a piece of mature land. The field and myself.

But in fact, there are very few Timor Island natives who can be sent back by the Hanzhou people. Even if they finally survived the promised four-year "work" period, their whole body was completely destroyed. The "supplementary fees" given by Hanzhou may be difficult to maintain his own life.

The able-bodied men on the island were continuously expropriated to mine in Hanzhou, and the large and small farms opened up faced the dilemma of labor shortage.In order to cope with this predicament, relying on the geographical advantage of being close to Niu Island, the various strongholds of the Qi Kingdom on Timor Island often send their own township soldiers to Niu Island by boat to catch wild buffaloes to increase the local animal power.

Excessive capture has sharply reduced the number of wild buffaloes on Niu Island. The wild buffaloes that used to be seen everywhere in coastal grasslands or sparse woodlands are now becoming more and more difficult to find.The soldiers and natives who landed on the island often have to go deep into the inland for more than ten kilometers, or even tens of kilometers, to look for wild buffalo herds that may exist.

And the place where wild buffaloes were first discovered - Niubao (now the small town of Watmuri in the northeast of Yandena Island, Indonesia), has now become a pure coastal supply point. At the same time, they planted some vegetables and fruits to provide daily supplies for the ships that came to catch wild buffaloes. As for the daily food, they had to be transported from the nearby Xinxiang City or Zhenhai City.

"If you can't find wild buffaloes in Niu Island, why don't you find some savages and bring them back to the Commander?" The rough man said to himself as he watched the Tutuala Wharf receding away. .

"Those natives are even more ignorant than the natives on Timor Island. The grown-ups will definitely not like it when they see it." A village soldier sighed: "If we accidentally found a gold mine when we were looking for wild buffaloes, that would be great. How nice it would be!"

(End of this chapter)