1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 75 The Batavia Storm ([-])

Batavia City Hall is located on the northeast side of the city. It is a stone building built in 1621. It is thick and sturdy. It is more appropriate to say that it is a fortress than the office of the City Hall.

Indeed, after the Dutch conquered the city in 1619, in order to prevent the counterattack of the Kingdom of Banten, many buildings in the city tended to be durable and functioned as fortresses.

Of course, with the gradual expansion and extension of the Dutch East India Company, it has gradually become the most powerful colonial force in the Far East, and the backward and barbaric Banten Kingdom is no longer enough to threaten the safety of Batavia.

Therefore, the East India Company is planning to start building a city hall that can better represent the strength and image of the company.The initial site selection will be in the city center.However, in view of the current pressure from the company's shareholders to increase the amount of dividends, and the confrontation against Zheng Zhilong's maritime forces, it is difficult to spend funds. Therefore, the construction plan of the new city hall has to be postponed indefinitely.

"Your Excellency the Governor, fellow representatives, although the Portuguese arrived in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) first, their business conditions are not ideal..."

"...the island of Ceylon has precious sapphires, which are favorites of the royal families of Europe and can provide huge profits..."

"...Of course, we cannot ignore the fact that Ceylon has cinnamon all over the island. ...Gentlemen, I think this is a great challenge for us in the East India region."

"...Therefore, we cannot abandon Ceylon because of one or two failures. Colombo, which the Portuguese have operated for many years, may present great difficulties in capturing it. But why don't we try again elsewhere in Ceylon .”

In a large meeting room in the city hall, the heads of the East India Company's India Committee and various colonial agencies are conducting a discussion on the surrounding situation in order to formulate the company's next business policy and specific measures.

Because, last year's colonial activities against Ceylon suffered a serious setback.The more than 100 people who landed near Colombo were all wiped out in less than two months.

Portugal is weak and dare not face it head-on.But this does not prevent it from using the contacts and resources that have been cultivated in Ceylon for many years to easily provoke the local natives to attack the Dutch.

When the second support fleet of the Dutch East India Company arrived at the landing camp again, what they saw was a bleak scene of being burned to a white ground. The population, livestock, and supplies were all gone.

The Dutch went home reluctantly and suspended their plans to colonize Ceylon.

Today, however, a representative of the Indian Council proposed plans to recolonize Ceylon.

"I think that the action against Ceylon must be two-pronged. First, the company should send a deterrent fleet to Malacca to deter and threaten the Portuguese. Second,..."

"Finally, the composition of the colonists is mostly Javanese and Ming people. After all, they can quickly adapt to the local environment..."

Hendrik Brownville, Governor of the Dutch East Indies, nodded in agreement after listening to the representative's speech.As a senior employee of the company, the leader of the local military and civil affairs, of course, hopes to make a good performance during his term of office.

However, the damn company's financial control system limited the development of East India colonial institutions.If the expenditure is greater than the income, it will definitely be rejected; if the investment is large and the income is small, it will be questioned by the company; if the investment is long and the income is slow, it will be protested by shareholders.

Two years ago, in the naval battle of Liuluo Bay, the Dutch were almost wiped out by Zheng Zhilong.For this reason, Governor Hendrik Brownville was questioned by the company's 17-member committee to explain the loss of many of the company's properties.

In fact, according to Governor Hendrik Brownville's plan, more than [-] warships from the company were to be mobilized to crush Zheng Zhilong's sea power in one fell swoop.

However, it was vetoed by the Indian committee because the European side needed to transport spices, porcelain and precious silk back in time, and the company's interests could not be affected because of the war.Therefore, in that naval battle, the Dutch only dispatched eight warships, and joined forces with Liu Xiang to attack Zheng Zhilong.

As a result, it is conceivable that Zheng Zhilong's hundreds of small boats swarmed up like ants, until they devoured your flesh and blood.

"By the way, Mr. Ludwild." Governor Hendrik Brownville turned his head to look at the East India Company Indian Council Senior Commercial Counselor Connett Ludwild sitting on the right, "You suggest to gather and assist those Nicholas Opponents of (Zheng Zhilong's Western Christian name), how is the plan going?"

A month ago, when Cornett Ludwidd was returning to Batavia from Formosa, he encountered two shameful pirate ships, but fortunately he was rescued by five "heroes of justice" who passed there.And the owners of these five ships happened to be part of the original partner Liu Xiang.

Therefore, after returning to Batavia, Cornett Ludwig submitted a proposal to him to gather and support all opponents of Zheng Zhilong's forces, control them one by one under the colonial agency, and fight against Zheng Zhilong's efforts in Ming Dynasty. The threat of armed force along the coast.

In order to ensure the safety of the merchant ships in the past, they had to pay 3000 to [-] taels of silver per ship to Zheng Zhilong's forces, which was simply an insult to the East India Company.We must find an opportunity to deal a severe blow to Zheng Zhilong's arrogance.

"Your Excellency, so far, I have contacted seven sea forces. They have all fought against Nicholas. Unsurprisingly, they have all failed."

Connett Ludwig said: "The big ones now have only five or six ships and one or two hundred people. The small ones even have only one ship and twenty or thirty people. Unfortunately, all of them The ships I own are all smaller Ming-made military passenger ships.”

"However, one of them has five large ships. Although four of them are medium-sized ships with weak firepower, they own a powerful Spanish galleon."

As we all know, the Dutch do not have professional warships in the Far East and the East Indies.Those who engage in naval battles are generally armed merchant ships, with only twenty to thirty large and small artillery pieces.

However, even so, the armed merchant ships of the Dutch were beyond the reach of all forces in the Far East, not to mention the Ming Dynasty, which had lagged behind Western shipbuilding technology for a hundred years.

Although the Spanish galleon was not a professional warship, it had to patrol the Caribbean Sea full of pirates and conduct global transportation across two oceans. Its shape, firepower, and protection were far beyond that of ordinary Dutch armed merchant ships.

After countless wars with England, Holland, France, Ottoman and other great powers, the Spanish galleon was unable to replenish its replenishment in time due to the consumption of national strength, and was eventually sent to the bottom of the sea by its countless opponents one by one, without its former glory.

"More importantly, they seem to be very rich." Connet Ludwig said, smiling, "Maybe, they robbed the Spaniards in the Philippines... I think they are worth our investment Object."

"Very good, I trust your professional judgment!" Governor Hendrik Brownville nodded, "For this, we can pay the initial investment. If necessary, we can also provide free support with manpower and material resources. However, they Must obey the company's overall interests and obey the company's scheduling arrangements."

"In order to facilitate the control of them, I suggest that all armed forces should not be integrated, but should be controlled by one person, so as not to become bigger. We should control them separately. Well, this matter is entrusted to Mr. Ludwild, Badawi Assisted by Colonel Aryan Van Dijk, Commander of the Sub-Fleet."

"Yes, Your Excellency Governor." Colonel Aryan Van Dijk nodded to Governor Hendrik Brownville.

"... Next, let's discuss the progress of the colonization of Borneo..."

"Mr. Ludwild, if it's convenient for you, after the meeting, I'll invite you to go to the hometown of Orange for a drink. I heard that they have a new batch of champagne from Porto. ... By the way, let's talk about how those little pirates organize and Coordination." Batavia Fleet Admiral Aryan Van Dijk whispered to Ludwiddyl next to the table.

"Okay, Colonel Van Dijk." Ludwig nodded reservedly, "We can't underestimate these... little pirates, maybe they will play a big role in the future. Perhaps, they can also shake some of the existing order in the Far East. A fulcrum!"

(End of this chapter)