The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 31 The Dutch East India Company’s Choices
February 1723, 2, Quang Binh, Ceylon Island (now Galle City, Sri Lanka)
Nasheed Mirza, the Safavid princess, opened a corner of the curtain and looked at the temporarily parked city through the carriage window.

Different from the cities in Qi's overseas territories that we passed before, most of the buildings and planning layouts are almost oriental.Many of the buildings and styles here are actually European styles, including Baroque-style cathedrals, a series of Dutch-style castles, Gothic spires and warehouses, and a large number of Western-style ordinary residences.

The entire castle is built on a rocky peninsula. This peninsula should be a natural port. Due to the existence of a large number of coral reefs, the entrance to the port has become extremely complicated. When the ship enters the port, it takes a lot of time under the guidance of the pilot. Lean on the dock berth.

A pair of eye-catching signs are hung on the walls outside the important institutions and facilities in the castle, marking their names and functions.The tall and majestic governor's residence, the rigorous and steady office building, the elegant city hall, the solemn court, and the quiet and elegant official residences are lined up on both sides of the clean and tidy streets.

"This was first a colonial settlement occupied by the Portuguese, and was later taken over by the Dutch. Until more than 20 years ago, in order to have a ship docking point for supplies before arriving in the Indian mainland, the Qi people spent some money to ship from the Netherlands. Buy it from human hands.”

Once the loyal housekeeper of Prince Abbas, and now the plenipotentiary representative of Abbas III of the Safavid dynasty, Hadadi Payam watched Princess Nasheed Mirza look at the city curiously, and then faced her. She smiled and said harmoniously: "So, Her Royal Highness the Princess saw European buildings everywhere and many residents with European faces. I still remember that many years ago, the city wall on the north side did not have gates. Maybe it was the Qi people who wanted to improve it. Due to the traffic conditions inside and outside the city, a gate was specially opened in the city wall to facilitate the passage of carriages and pedestrians.”

"Didn't you say that Qi is the most powerful country in the entire Indian Ocean region and a well-deserved overlord? ... With the strength Qi has in India alone, I am afraid that it can easily defeat the Dutch and seize the entire island of Ceylon. Then , why do they still spend money to buy this castle from the Dutch?" Princess Nasheed Mirza asked curiously.

"Your Highness the Princess." Hadadi Payam smiled and replied: "Although the Qi people are powerful in the Indian Ocean region, they are a civilized country after all and will not rashly launch an aggressive war against other countries. In addition, More than 40 years ago, the State of Qi and the Dutch East India Company signed an agreement, in which the two sides delineated each other's spheres of influence on this island and promised friendly exchanges and non-aggression."

"Since Qi is a civilized country, why would it invade this island together with the Netherlands? ... This island should belong to the locals, or in other words, they have their own ethnic group and country. How can they be allowed to be invaded by foreigners? What about partition and domination?”

"Uh..." Hadadi Payam was at a loss for words when he heard the words. He was stunned for a moment and said vaguely: "Your Highness, the world is not very peaceful yet. The weak cannot protect their own safety. They must rely on The refuge of a strong man.”

"...Then we in Persia are also weak?" Princess Nasheed Mirza's big eyes showed a bit of sadness and confusion.

"We..., our Safavid dynasty, under the rule of your father, the Shah of the empire, will definitely restore its former glory, and then become stronger again." Haddadi Payam sighed slightly after hearing this. , avoiding the gaze of Princess Nasheed Mirza, looking sideways at the street scene outside the window, and said firmly: "We Persians have thousands of years of civilization and inheritance. Although we have experienced various disasters, we will still survive again and again. Reborn from the ashes, revived again, and created the glory of the empire. ...Oh, the true God will bless us!"

The city walls of Guangping are built to the end along the coast. The thick walls are actually thick houses with windows on both sides. Some of them are still occupied by people or have small grocery stores. They look full of fireworks and dilute the smoke of the military fortress. .

The huge city gate is open, and carriages and pedestrians pass through from time to time.Above the city gate, the city emblem consisting of a red and yellow dragon is clearly visible, and several Qi national flags are hung on several towers.To the west of the main city gate is the clock tower, with a huge and clear dial that provides accurate time to passing travelers and city residents.There is an old city gate below it, which was there when the Dutch built the fortress.The city gate has three levels. Except for the outermost gate, there are bunkers built on the two levels inside, indicating that this was once an important military fortress.

The streets in the city are in a network system, using a square grid layout where main roads and secondary streets intersect.A long row of single-story houses with terracotta roofs are built facing the street. The tops of the houses are supported by round brick or wooden columns. They form a verandah facing the street, like a row of neat tree walls, separating the houses from the street. Separate and connected at the same time.Wooden handrails placed between the columns add to the perspective effect of the street view created by the colonnade.The entrance of a house is generally located in the center of the house facade. The fan-shaped windows and window lintels on the house facade are quite varied, avoiding repetition and monotony.

Previously, the castle's infrastructure was not very complete and lacked necessary sewer channels. During the rainy season, sewage and excrement flowed across the street, making it difficult to walk on the streets.

After the people of Qi took over, they actually spent a lot of time and energy to build a complete and complex sewage system for the entire city. Its characteristic was that seawater was first pumped out through windmills, then introduced into the city through water pipes, and then sewered through sewage pipes. Sewage is discharged into the sea.At the same time, many old and dilapidated houses were demolished, the original narrow streets were straightened and widened, and the roads were hardened, giving the city a new look and becoming clean and tidy.

"Oh, you see, now even the Persians in the Gulf are coming to curry favor with Qi." Jan van Riebeeck, director of the Dutch East India Company and senior special representative, stood on the balcony and looked at a group of Persian envoys on the street. The convoy slowly left, smiling and joking: "Although Qi is located on the east side of the Indian Ocean, it feels like they have become the center of the Indian Ocean region!"

"No, Mr. Reback, you should remove the word 'as if'." Frankie de Jong, Commercial Counselor of the Dutch East India Company in Ceylon, shook his head with a smile and said: "Qi is the center of the Indian Ocean region. They are in fact The emperor has controlled this vast ocean and dominated the political, military and economic trends of the entire region. If I guessed correctly, this Persian mission must have gone to Hanzhou to seek support from Qi to help them recover The situation in the country. You must know that in this country, not only the capital and surrounding elite areas were completely occupied by the Afghans, but the Ottomans and Russia also began to take advantage of the situation and seized the Caucasus and western Persia. What is even worse is that they also have The two Shahs made the situation in Persia extremely chaotic."

"You mean that Qi will personally intervene in the situation in Persia?"

"Yes. A chaotic and turbulent Persia is not in the interest of Qi. As the maritime overlord in the region, it will definitely intervene." Frankie de Jong said: "As Qi becomes stronger, They began to seek to establish a new order led by Qi throughout the Indian Ocean region." "Mr. De Jong, as you said, we may not achieve what we expected with our upcoming visit and lobbying work to the Qi government in Hanzhou. Did it work?" Jan van Riebeeck said with a wry smile.

"Although the local board of directors still looks forward to the Chinese government, I have to say that this may not be a good result for our East India Company. Yes, I am not satisfied with Mr. Hanzhou's trip. Be optimistic. A Qi businessman once said something to me, which can appropriately express the contradictions and differences between our East India Company and Qi."

"Oh, what did that Qi businessman say to you?"

"He said, don't let others snore on the side of the bed."

"What does it mean?"

"The meaning of this sentence is that if you have a bed that belongs to you, you cannot allow other people to occupy half of it and sleep soundly."

"...Huh?" Jan van Riebeeck blinked and looked at Frankie De Jong in confusion.

"Sir, the Batavia, Cirebon, Palembang, Malacca, and Ambon occupied by our East India Company have posed potential security threats to China."

"How could our East India Company pose a threat to Qi?" Jan van Riebeeck said in surprise: "As far as I know, Qi has more than two hundred warships, which is several times more than our United Provinces Republic. How could such a disparity in strength threaten Qi? Moreover, the Qi people not only included the entire island of Java under their jurisdiction, but also established countless settlements on Sumatra and the Spice Islands (today's Maluku Islands) and sea bases. As long as they are willing, they can swamp our colonial strongholds in the East Indies with hundreds of times their strength at any time. The real threat should be Qi themselves!"

"Mr. Reback, as the overlord of the Indian Ocean region, a powerful empire comparable to France, it will not allow an uncontrolled foreign force to exist under its nose."

"...Then what result can we achieve in the end?" Jan Van Riebeeck asked dejectedly.

“We give up the ownership and management rights of colonial cities such as Batavia, Cirebon, Ambon, and Palembang, but we can ask the people of Qi to continue to open the above-mentioned areas to us in the form of free cities or free ports. East India Company, and thereby maintain our commercial interests.”

"Will the people of Qi agree?"

"should be."

"Can we ask for compensation from the people of Qi?"

"We can make this request. However, it is best not to report a number that will embarrass the people of Qi, so as not to anger them."

"Our East India Company is about to lose several high-quality fixed assets, which makes all investors at home and in Europe panic."

"Mr. Reback, after we gave up several colonial strongholds in the East Indies, we can actually reduce a lot of fixed asset expenditures." Frankie de Jong said: "At the very least, we don't need to hire too many armed guards. There is no need to spend a lot of money every year on basic municipal construction of colonial strongholds. We even don’t need to invest too much in maintaining routes in the Indian Ocean region. Because the people of Qi will take care of everything for us.”

(End of this chapter)