Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 246 Signing of the "Minghe Nanyang Treaty"

On the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month in the fourth year of Apocalypse, facing the blockade of the Marikata Strait by the Ming army, the Batavia Governor's Office issued another order.

Cohen claimed that if the Chinese want to stay in Batavia, they must go to the government to apply for a residence permit. If they want to move, the Dutch fleet is willing to escort them to Borneo in the north.

And it is emphasized in the order that the escort mission of the fleet does not charge any fees.

In order to show his sincerity, Cohen also released the Chinese who had committed crimes in Batavia and compensated them for a sum of money.

Such behavior is naturally due to the suffocating power brought by the Ming Navy.

When Cohen took a boat to the north and saw that the Ming army was strong enough to block the Karimata Strait, he knew that the Dutch army was no match for the Ming army.

He is trying every means to negotiate peace with Daming, and giving the Batavian Chinese a very high right to act independently is the first step in his gesture of goodwill.

At the same time, all the employees of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia began to pack up their belongings and salute, and sold the houses and fields in their hands to the local Chinese and aborigines at a low price.

Everyone saw the behavior of Cohen and others, and the local Chinese even changed their image of being timid in the past, showing off on the street with a straight waist.

Seeing them showing off, the Dutch military police who used to scold them also shut their mouths.

Sometimes when the two sides looked at each other, the Dutch gendarmes would smile, without the arrogance they used to have.

And as the best among the Chinese, some Ming smugglers known as Jiapitan also felt the benefit of having someone behind them.

Gradually, they got together and began to discuss how to protect their best interests under the changing situation.

It's just that before they could discuss it, someone rushed into the back room in a panic.

At this moment, in the back room, a dozen or so Jiabitans were sitting on the left and right, and before they started discussing matters, they saw the person who came running panicked and said:

"It's not good, the red-haired Yi are preparing to evacuate Batavia."

"what?"

Some people got up in surprise and asked:

"The fight hasn't started yet, why did they surrender? Didn't this group of red-haired barbarians go to invade our Daming coast before? Why are they so weak now?"

"That's right, didn't they use warships to threaten us to pay taxes before?"

"This has become too fast. How many people did the imperial court send on an expedition?"

Under the urging of many Jiapidans, the people who rushed over quickly took a sip of water to relieve the burning throat discomfort, and then hurriedly said:
"I heard that the imperial court sent too many warships and soldiers this time. The Hongmaoyi have already sent ships for peace talks. In addition, they have made second-hand preparations. If the imperial court does not agree to negotiate peace, they are going to start from the Sunda Sea area." breakout."

"This..." Hearing this person's words, all Jiapidan looked at each other in blank dismay, their hearts were full of shock.

They couldn't believe that the arrogant Dutchman in the past was actually in such a mess this time.

At this second, everyone is thinking about a question, that is "how many warships and soldiers and horses did the imperial court send".

However, their question may only be intuitively felt by Cohen, the governor of the Dutch East India at this moment...

On the endless Karimata Strait, the blue sky, white clouds and deep blue water make people feel the scenery is beautiful.

It's just that in such a beautiful sea, more than [-] ships dotted around make people feel desperate.

Standing on the deck of the [-]-ton Batavia, Cohen was left with nothing but shock.

The Batavia is 33 meters long, 4.2 meters wide, and has a displacement of 824 tons.

This is the largest warship of the Dutch East India Company in the Nanyang region, and when this proud warship sailed into the Ming Navy under the attention of the Ming Army, it looked like a giant who had mixed into the ranks of giants. dwarf.

The Ming warships are towering all around, and the Batavia, which is only one-third of their height, hardly sees the sun during the whole journey, and is almost covered by the shadow of the warships.

Coupled with the many ships staying on the sea, it seemed like a maze, which made Cohen and the others feel very depressed.

Passing through the D-class and C-class warships on the periphery, Cohen and the others approached the B-class and A-class warships.

When the leading four first-class warships appeared, Cohen and the others even held their breath for a while.

At the same time, on the Taishan ship, the largest of the four first-class warships, Huang Long also walked to the bow and looked down at the Batavia.

"Europa's human ship is still so small, no wonder they dare not fight us head-on."

As soon as Huang Long's words came out, Li Dan next to him also said:

"Red Maoyi like to use Galen boats. The boats are much smaller than the ones in Dafraji, but they are fast."

"According to Jin Yiwei's news, they have ninety-seven warships and armed merchant ships in Nanyang. The total number does not exceed [-], which is less than one-sixth of our army."

Li Dan's words revealed the fig leaf of Europe's strength in Nanyang.

Similarly, this also severely slapped everyone in Daming in the face.

With a population of less than [-], an army of less than [-], less than [-] cannons, and less than [-] ships, the Europeans can occupy millions of acres of arable land in Nanyang every year and occupy millions of taels of land every year. trade routes.

Looking at Daming again, it has the world's most boatmen, the most shipyards, the largest population, and the shortest distance, but it can't even completely occupy Nanyang at its doorstep, and even the confinement lasted only a few decades.

If it wasn't for Zhu Youjian, their vision might have been within the territory of Ming Dynasty for the rest of their lives.

"There's no need to continue the fight, but we can't let them go so easily."

"Didn't they offer [-] taels of silver as compensation? Then I'll make an offer, [-] taels of silver."

Huang Long turned his head to look at Li Dan, and asked again: "Do you think they can get it out?"

"It shouldn't be possible to get it out. They don't have that much cash in hand." As a maritime merchant, Li Dan knew that Cohen and others, who were also armed merchants, did not have that much silver, because the assets of the maritime merchants were all in the goods.

However, this does not mean that Li Dan wants to persuade Huang Long to give up asking for compensation, but...

"However, they can be divided into ten years to pay."

As soon as Li Dan opened his mouth, Huang Long's eyes lit up instantly, and he even said after hearing the words:
"Since it has to be divided into ten years, let's round up an integer, two million taels."

"Two million?!" Hearing Huang Long's words, the corners of Li Dan's mouth twitched, whoever rounded up a whole number and directly made one hundred and one...

As far as the size of the Dutch East India Company is concerned, one year of trade and tax payments to one's own country can earn hundreds of thousands of taels at most.

Huanglong's words will basically take away one-third or one-half of their profits in the next ten years.

But Li Dan didn't have much to say. After all, he also participated in the whole process of the army's southward march, so he naturally knew that the navy's southward march cost a lot.

Let’s not mention the military pay, just to raise money, food fodder, fresh water, vegetables, etc., the war has basically consumed more than [-] taels of silver.

If you add the military pay for these three months, it will be close to [-] taels.

It is not too much to ask the Netherlands for two million taels.

"Captain, what about Spain? The Spanish envoy is still waiting for news from us in Padang."

Li Dan's words directly stated the fact that Spain is also submissive, and compared to the Netherlands, Huanglong is more angry with Spain.

The Netherlands attacked Fujian and Guangdong in order to force Ming Dynasty to start trade, but in fact they caused more than [-] casualties to Ming people and soldiers.

Compared with the Netherlands, Spain's massacre in the [-]st year of Wanli actually killed at least [-] people.

Therefore, Huang Long directly said with a cold face:

"According to the pensions of my Ming soldiers, unless Spain pays three million taels of silver, there will be absolutely no possibility for my Ming to negotiate with them!"

Huang Long's words made Li Dan understand what he meant. After all, in the land of Nanyang, Zhu Youjian's authorization to Huang Long was entirely up to Huang Long to handle.

Now Huanglong said three million taels, so it was three million taels.

He understood Huanglong's bottom line, and at the same time, Ke En's ship also arrived at the foot of the Huashan ship.

The Ming army lowered the ship's ladder, and after the Batavia docked, Cohen also took two members of parliament to board the ship's ladder, and then walked onto the deck of the Huashan ship step by step with anxiety.

When they stepped onto the deck, Huang Long and Li Dan had already sat under the awning, and Cohen and the others were brought to Chuan Shou by the Ming army, where they met Huang Long and Li Dan.

When he saw Huang Long, Cohen abandoned his dignity as a governor, knelt down on one knee, and offered a letter of surrender with both hands.
"The United Provinces of the Netherlands, the Governor of East India, Jan Petersjohn Cohen, hereby proclaim the Great, Powerful and Invincible, the Commander of the Navy of the Ming Dynasty, the Warrior who liberated Luzon, the Helmsman of the Ocean Armada, Nanyang General Huanglong, the Guardian of the Realm, begs for surrender."

"Because of my personal greed, I have offended the emperor of the Great Tomorrow Dynasty, His Royal Highness King Qi of the Great Tomorrow Dynasty, and all the citizens of the Great Tomorrow Dynasty. Please forgive my stupidity and accept my surrender..."

Cohen let go of the dignity and face that he once made the entire Nanyang countries submit to, and begged for Huanglong's forgiveness like a dog with a broken spine.

In this regard, Huang Long also signaled people to complete the letter of surrender.

At this time, Li Dan took the initiative to get up and walked over, took the surrender letter and took the lead in taking a look at the content of the surrender.

After reading it, he returned to his seat, and while putting the surrender book on the table, he explained to Huang Long:

"There are four items in this letter of surrender. According to the content of the treaty, the Hongmaoyi will be returned to Java Island and the affiliated islands in Nanyang, and to Ming Dynasty, and recognize that Nanyang has been owned by Ming Dynasty since ancient times."

"Secondly, the Hongmaoyi gave all the land in Nanyang, all the forts, military weapons, factories and all public objects to my Ming Dynasty forever, and also compensated my Ming Dynasty with [-] taels of silver as compensation for military expenses. The money was divided into five years. , Finished five times."

After talking about the content of the treaty, Li Dan also specifically said:

"From this point of view, the money these red-haired barbarians can earn should be less than we imagined, and even five hundred thousand taels will need to be repaid in installments over five years."

"Well, but no matter what, two million taels of silver can't be less." Huang Long's attitude was very firm.

"Yes." Hearing Huang Long's words, Li Dan also said in Dutch:

"We have no objections to the three items in the treaty, but the compensation is too little."

"[-] taels of silver is only a small part compared to the cost of our trip to the south this time."

"If you still want to trade with Daming and restore peace, you must pay at least three million taels of silver."

"Three million taels?!" Hearing Li Dan's words for another one million taels, the faces of the two congressmen behind Cohen turned green with fright.

Three million taels of silver, which is almost eight years of net profit of the Dutch East India Company.

This condition is particularly harsh for them, but if they do not agree, Ming's army will wipe out Java Island.

But if they agreed, it would mean that they would be stagnant for six years.

Thinking of this, the two congressmen didn't know what to say for a while, and at this time, Cohen, who was quite courageous, said:

"Japitan, you should know that we cannot afford this compensation. In order to show our sincerity, we can pay one million taels in five years."

"It's impossible. If you want to talk like this, then I think I'd better ask General Huanglong to continue to blockade the Karimata Strait and besiege Batavia." Li Dan shook his head.

However, their discussion is just to test the bottom line of both parties.

Therefore, after seeing Li Dan's expression, Cohen gritted his teeth and said immediately: "One and a half million taels, how about seven years?"

"It's impossible, please stop raising unrealistic numbers." Li Dan frowned slightly.

After Cohen saw his displeased appearance, Cohen could only speak:

"If I want to continue to increase, then I need to discuss with the two MPs behind me before I can make a decision, so please give us an acceptable amount."

Cohen looked at Li Dan eagerly, but Li Dan turned his head and asked Huang Long unhurriedly, "Captain, after the discussion is over, can we drink tonight?"

"You can drink a Gu." Huang Long rubbed his short beard and smiled lightly, and Li Dan immediately turned around with a smile, put away his smile when he saw Cohen, and said seriously:
"[-] million taels, in installments of [-] years, and [-] taels will be repaid every year."

"This... Please wait for us to discuss it." Cohen frowned, then turned his head to discuss with the two congressmen in a low voice:

"Two million and six hundred thousand taels, in installments of ten years, what do you think?"

"That's too high, let's see if it can be lowered."

"I think so too. If you spend [-] taels a year, there will be problems with the company's operation and funds."

"We can see if it can be reduced to [-] million taels, and then pay [-] taels in one lump sum, and the remaining [-] million taels will be repaid in nine years."

"Um……"

The three discussed for a while, and finally Cohen tentatively asked: "Can it be reduced to [-] million taels? We are willing to pay [-] taels of compensation in the first year, and the remaining [-] million taels will be divided into Nine years to pay."

"[-] million taels, [-] taels will be paid this year, and the remaining [-] million will be paid in nine years, [-] taels a year." Li Dan took a sip absently from the jug.

"This..." Cohen frowned, but he also knew that the longer the delay, the more unfavorable the situation would be, and the Ming army would ask for a higher price.

"it is good!"

After a moment of thought, Cohen immediately nodded with a heavy heart, but he added:

"We hope to purchase such ten merchant ships from Your Excellency General, and please allow us to participate in the trade."

When the voice fell, Cohen was afraid that Li Dan would refuse, so he quickly explained:
"We are Europa's company with the largest number of people in Southeast Asia and the largest merchant ship. The annual trade volume between the east and the west exceeds one million taels."

"If you are willing to approve us to purchase merchant ships, then our scale will continue to grow, and we will purchase more and more goods in the future."

"Europa is in urgent need of a large number of commodities now. As long as we expand our scale, we will definitely be able to bring sufficient gold and silver to the Great Tomorrow Dynasty."

It has to be said that the Dutch East India Company was able to form such a large scale in the Nanyang region, and it is indeed unique in the selection of personnel.

It is different from countries such as Britain, Spain, Portugal, and France, which generally keep top talents locally, send the second-ranked talents to the Americas, and send the third-ranked talents to the Far East.

The Netherlands can be said to be evenly distributed, and because of this, Cohen's ability is actually not bad.

When he is at a disadvantage, he can still think about the problem from the perspective of both his side and Daming, and has the courage to make such a request. All this makes Li Dan and Huang Long admire him.

Although Cohen made a plan to force Ming to switch trade, the plan failed.

But from some perspectives, Cohen is a person that Ming can cooperate with.

Thinking of this, Huang Long narrowed his eyes, and then said:

"If I give you thirty merchant ships with seven thousand materials, how much can you increase your trade volume?"

"Delivery of good goods can increase the trade volume by [-] taels." Cohen replied quickly, obviously doing business has been engraved in his bones.

"A merchant ship of [-] materials, [-] taels of silver, we will sell as much as you can." Huang Long squinted his eyes and said, not worried at all that Cohen took the merchant ship back to dismantle it and imitate it.

To put it bluntly, merchant ships and warships are different, and the materials used are also different.

The new Ming merchant ships and warships are all ships made by Zhu Youxiao and craftsmen according to the characteristics of teak and other native woods of Ming Dynasty.

If there is no teak, replacing other woods will only increase the cost of shipbuilding, and the strength of the ship will not be as strong as the new Ming ship.

This is also the anti-theft method developed by Zhu Youxiao.

After all, wooden sail merchant ships and warships are actually very different from Western warships. As long as you look at the shape and muzzle of the ship, as well as the operation methods of some sailors, it is equivalent to stealing half of the technology.

The remaining half of the technology can be researched and manufactured only by trial and error.

Daming can only keep from being overtaken by Xiyi if he maintains a constant enterprising spirit.

However, even catching up is useless, because with Europe's current steel production and artillery production, it would be difficult for a single country to build a first-class fleet, let alone compare with the twelve guards of the navy.

That's why Huanglong was so generous.

Instead of letting the Europeans learn secretly, it is better to send the ship over generously, let them know the cost, and willingly pay for it.

Even if they succeeded in imitating it a few years or more than ten years later, who knows what kind of horror the Ming Navy will develop into at that time?
After this southern expedition, Huanglong also felt that it was time to eliminate some supply ships with [-] and [-] materials, and the fleet needed more than [-] materials.

The cost of transforming these supply ships into warships is too high, but they can cheat Cohen and the others.

Li Dan also knew what Huanglong was thinking, so he told Cohen what Huanglong was thinking, and after a moment of hesitation, Cohen gave three thumbs up decisively.

"I need [-] for the time being, and I will buy another [-] by this time next year."

"Of course." With a smile on Huang Long's face, he drank the wine symbolizing reconciliation with Cohen and the others, and signed his name in the peace treaty.

This treaty is known as the "Kari Mata Treaty", also known as the "Minghe Nanyang Treaty".

With this treaty in hand, Cohen and the others disembarked, reluctantly left the Ming army's fleet, and promised to withdraw to South Asia within two months.

Regarding this, Huang Long was not in a hurry, and nodded slightly, indicating that he would go to Batavia to take over West Java on the first day of February next year.

It was only after they were completely out of sight of the Huashan ship that Huang Long turned around and said to Li Dan next to him:

"I didn't expect that the battle to regain Nanyang would only be a tough battle in Luzon."

Huang Long was sighing, but he didn't know that if his strength and fleet size were exposed in advance, Fernando, who had been thrown into the sea to feed the fish, would cry and surrender.

The most unlucky thing for Spain was that they didn't know the strength of the Ming Dynasty Navy, and then they got a fat beating.

Seeing how miserable he was, other countries sent envoys one after another. After the envoys saw the size of Daming's navy and learned of the power gap between the two sides, the governors of other countries dispelled the idea of ​​fighting against Ming.

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is the character of most countries on the continent of Europa.

Expect them to unite against Daming in Nanyang?It's better to think about European unity.

What's more, they are all united. With the warships and armed merchant ships with a total tonnage of less than [-] tons, the Ming Navy can sink them with a ram.

Under such circumstances, is it difficult to wait to become the next Fernando if he does not surrender?
Waiting for their own nationals to be imprisoned, and writing letters to family members thousands of miles away to pay ransom?
If you really waited for the Ming army to come over, all the property accumulated in Nanyang for more than ten years would have to be packed away.

It's better to step down with dignity, and then continue to trade with Daming.

This kind of thinking is the thinking of Cohen and many governors, and the only one who is depressed is probably the Spanish colonial governor.

"In a few days, you go to greet the chief executive of the Great Francine Country. It's still the same sentence. The price is three million taels of silver, not a penny. living accomplice."

"Otherwise, I will have no choice but to personally lead the troops to Tianzhu to fight against them in the future!"

Huanglong leaned on the fence and looked at the Ming Navy Fleet that covered the surrounding sea area, and Li Dan also bowed and said:
"As ordered..."

After all, he also raised his head and said to Huang Long:
"Captain, now that Xiyi has been dealt with, the next step is to deal with the natives who refuse to accept Wang Hua."

"Hmm..." Huang Long nodded slightly, turned around and said:

"It's easy to fight against the Xiyi. They are few in number and bully the weak and fear the strong, but the natives are a bit difficult to deal with."

"I'm afraid it will take a lot of time to clean them up."

"After the Great Francine Kingdom handed over those accomplices and murderers, I will write a book and go north. After Wanzai and His Highness read it, I am afraid that I will celebrate the achievements of our navy."

"Your Highness will definitely show merit for the general." Li Dan also complimented, but when he complimented, Huang Long kept frowning, which made Li Dan think that he was flattering the wrong ass.

Just when he was about to make amends, he heard Huang Long sigh, and then murmured "Your Highness...Your Highness..." and returned to his cabin.

Maybe Li Dan is a good person in the world, and he has a good sense of words and demeanor, but he has not stepped into the officialdom after all. I don't know that for a general of the Qi King faction like Huang Long, the more meritorious he is, the more he will be afraid of those in power.

Once Zhu Youjian is targeted, it will be hard to say what will happen to these highly accomplished people...

　There is another chapter at four o'clock in the afternoon, in hand code...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)