New Shun 1730

"Mr. Mi, you don't know. Ninety-nine percent of the sugarcane plantations around Batavia are worked by us Chinese. Those Javanese people only need to work for a hundred days a year to survive. Rice is harvested three or four times a year, and there are many wild fruits in the forest. People here have their own villages, so few work in sugar factories."

"Only the people of the Celestial Empire are hardworking and diligent. When they come here, they generally work in sugar factories. If the Dutch really think of expelling us to Ceylon, it will be dangerous!"

"Ceylon is far away from here. I don't know how many people can survive on the way. Even if we are lucky enough to reach Ceylon, it will be hot and humid, and more people will die than live."

"Since the Celestial Empire has inferred this, is it going to watch tens of thousands of Celestial Empire people in Batavia die overseas?"

After observing Lian Huaiguan's expression, Mantou was sure that this person was not a Dutch spy. If he was a Dutch spy, he would not take the blame.

Lian Huaiguan was not only extremely shocked, but also approved of this behavior of throwing feces on the Dutch. Obviously, the Dutch's daily behavior made Lian Huaiguan very distrustful of their ability to do good things. Speaking of which, although the Dutch have not done this yet, even if there is a great possibility that they will do it, since it has not happened yet, it is not too much to say that it is not too much to put the blame on the Dutch at least at this time.

This deliberate blame is the situation where Mantou judges what kind of attitude Lian Huaiguan has.

But Mantou still wants to ask one more question.

"This hard work... I really don't understand it. Why are Chinese people hardworking? Since you don't starve to death as long as you work for half a year, are we really born hardworking?"

At least, in Liu Yu's opinion, hard work is not a good evaluation.

At this time, the dream of most people is to be a landlord who collects rent and lives a life of food and clothing. I am afraid that hard work is not innate. If you can live a life of food and clothing by being lazy, I am afraid that no one is willing to be hardworking.

Lian Huaiguan explained, "Your Excellency doesn't know. The Javanese still have villages, and even if things get bad, they can still go back to live in the villages. As for the Chinese who come here, the plantation owners don't pay the head tax to save money. If they are not diligent, it will be difficult for the slaves to survive. If they are not diligent, they will be reported to the Dutch as illegal residents without residence permits, and they will be captured and forced to work until they die."

Mantou sneered and said lightly, "Oh, so they are so diligent."

Lian Huaiguan didn't understand Mantou's true meaning, and said, "These Westerners are not good people. Spain has been slaughtering us in Luzon since the Wanli period of the previous dynasty, and it has been seven or eight times. The Dutch and the Spanish are red-haired devils, and they can do such things."

Mantou thought to himself, of course I know about this, and the master has said it more than once. But the master has a different judgment on the Batavia incident, and I need to consider it when I deal with it on the spot.

He knew that Liu Yu's mind was on the South Seas, and he also knew that the problem of the South Seas was the navy.

As for how large a navy is needed to ensure control of the South Seas, Liu Yu on Liugong Island gave an inference of about 15 cruisers, relying on wolf pack tactics to bleed, cut off merchant ships, and cut off the cash flow of the East India Company. As long as France cooperates a little, the Dutch East India Company will soon collapse.

Now the navy of Weihai is still a certain distance away from this bottom line goal.

However, Liu Yu's plan is purely from the perspective of the navy. If you take into account the resistance of the Chinese in Batavia and the fact that there is an army of two to three thousand, the pressure is actually much smaller.

Even at this time, Britain only transported a few hundred troops to India at a time, not reaching the scale of two thousand. From the Netherlands to Southeast Asia, even if it is a merchant ship, without considering the transportation of troops and supplies, it takes an average of about 200 days.

As long as the army is involved, the threat of the Dutch alone may be far less than the mosquitoes in Batavia and the leeches in the woods.

The biggest problem facing the feudal dynasty of Dashun is which part of the Chinese in Nanyang should it rely on?

Should it replace the Dutch and let those Kapitan Lei Zhenlan continue to rule, just as Dashun compromised with the gentry in Jiangnan in order to defeat the Later Jin Dynasty?

Or should it rely on the vast sugarcane plantation workers, slaves, and small Chinese property owners around Batavia?

What kind of attitude will Dashun have in the future when it comes to operating Batavia?

Mantou and Liu Yu thought the same thing, so they really wanted to know how much power the workers in the sugarcane plantations here had? What kind of attitude was it?

Seeing that Lian Huaiguan had clearly mentioned the Luzon Massacre, Mantou basically confirmed Lian Huaiguan's attitude. But this attitude is only in the general direction.

What does Lian Huaiguan want?

Is it to be a hero who obeys the will of heaven and protects the people? Or does he want to be a ruler of a separatist country? The difference between the two will make a big difference in future cooperation.

"Although you go to sea, our dynasty allows you to go to sea to make a living. Even if you go to sea, you are still citizens of the Celestial Empire. If something really happens, we will naturally take care of it."

"But the matter of migrating to Ceylon is just speculation. It is unknown what will happen in the end. Or perhaps, they will allow local cultivation and relax regulations, and treat you leniently with appeasement to seek stability. It's hard to say."

Deliberately speaking as if he didn't want to care, Lian Huaiguan thought that if the Dutch could relax regulations and treat them leniently, then the sun would really rise from the west.

Leniency would not appear, but it would really be possible to send all the brothers to Ceylon.

Many places in the South Seas have legends about the founding of countries by pirates. The stories of Li Jun founding a country overseas in "Water Margin Sequel" and Qiu Ran Ke establishing himself as a king in "The Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust" have inspired generations of people who want to do something big.

They don't have much affection for the Dashun Dynasty. They can only say that they want to be kings here and pay tribute to the Celestial Empire.

They are unwilling to be the ministers of the kings of the world, so Lian Huaiguan didn't say anything like welcoming the king's army with food and drink. He just hoped that Dashun could intervene here. The Netherlands can have the East India Company. If they can be independent and become a tributary of Dashun, it will be the most comfortable.

For example, the small countries under the Anxi Protectorate? Or the Zhaowu Nine Surnames in the Western Regions? Or the chieftains in the southwest?

Lian Huaiguan wanted to do something big, but he was not Yue Wumu, and he had never eaten a grain of Dashun rice since he was born. His idol was not Yue Wumu, but the bearded guest and Hunjianglong who founded a country overseas in the story.

However, to accomplish such a big thing, it would not be possible to rely solely on his brothers. He hoped to use some external forces, such as... the Celestial Empire.

"Master Mi, I know what the Dutch are like. There is no way they will relax their control. This is under the control of the Governor of the Dutch East India Company. The company must be responsible to its shareholders and make a profit. Are the Dutch shareholders all kind people who spend money to make the Chinese in Batavia live better? This is obviously impossible."

"I only ask you to explain to the superiors after you go back. Please consider that we are all Chinese. If the Dutch really expel us in the future, I only ask the Celestial Empire to negotiate... Or, please ask for some weapons, so that if something really happens, we overseas Chinese can protect ourselves."

Finally, he got to the point. Mantou's heart moved, but his face remained calm. He asked: "What position do you hold in Batavia now?"

"I am a commoner. I don't have a position, but I have some money."

"Oh... According to you, the Kapitan and Lei Zhenlan here are also unreliable?"

"Hehehe... I am afraid that if the Dutch give an order, they will go to help get things done as soon as possible. Anyway Most of them do not make a living by operating sugarcane plantations, and they all have residence permits, pay head taxes on time, and are tax farmers in Batavia. Without them, the Dutch cannot even collect taxes, so the Dutch will most likely not make things difficult for them. "

"Well... if that's the case, it seems to make some sense. People like you who go to sea are also citizens of the Celestial Empire. If the Dutch really do this, they really can't ignore it. However, I have something urgent to do now, and I have to go to Sweden. This round trip will take one or two years. How about this..."

When Lian Huaiguan heard that this seemed to be a good opportunity, he became excited and said, "Sir, please tell me."

"I'll write you a letter. If you really want to plead for the common people, you might as well go back to the Celestial Empire. Take my letter and go to Songjiang. After you go there, look for the location of the trading company, and with my letter, someone will take you to see some people. I am a nobody, but the person I recommend is enough to do what you said. "

Lian Huaiguan thought to himself, isn't this the gentleman this lord is talking about? Listening to what this person said, it seems that he has great respect for this person. Songjiang is not far away, so it is okay to go there.

If we rely on this person, let alone whether he can come back after going to Sweden, even if he comes back, it will take two years. After two years, who knows what will happen?

"In that case, thank you very much, sir."

Mantou nodded and smiled slightly, picked up a pen and wrote a letter, describing the things here in detail, and sealed it with wax.

Lian Huaiguan asked about Songjiang again, asked for the details, and then said goodbye.

"When you get off the ship, don't talk about some things. We can talk about what we are going to Sweden for. A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. There are too many spies in the Dutch in Batavia, so you need to keep your mouth shut."

"Yes, I remember that."

After leaving the Free Trade, he returned to his house in Batavia under the cover of night. Several trusted brothers came over and asked, "Brother Huaiguan, did the officials of the Celestial Empire say anything?"

Lian Huaiguan shook his head and said, "Nothing. He is going to Sweden to work for the emperor and will not stay here for long. It's just that he set sail with the Swedes, and the Swedish ship was detained, so he could only come and see. However, he said that there seemed to be some changes in the Celestial Empire, and asked me to go to Songjiang to take a look. I think we might as well go to Songjiang to take a look?"

These brothers don't have any proper jobs. To put it nicely, they are Lian Huaiguan's retainers, and to put it bluntly, they are Lian Huaiguan's lackeys, so they follow Lian Huaiguan's lead.

Most of them were born here, and they may have never returned to the Middle Earth in their lives. But it is still easy to go back to Fujian and Guangdong from Batavia.

Even if he doesn't have a ship, Lian Huaiguan has many connections here.

Many merchants have a home in Dashun and a home in the local area. If they miss the monsoon, they have to wait for a long time. They also need someone who knows the weather. Generally, they will marry another one here. These merchants often go back to Fujian and Guangdong. Lian Huaiguan believes that his interpersonal relationships are still good. It is not difficult to go to Songjiang to take a look.

If he can really get some help, let alone go to Songjiang once, it will be worth it even if he goes there eight or ten times.

"Since the brothers have agreed, this matter must be kept secret. After a few days, when the wind has died down and the Swedish ship has left, we will go there."