February 16, 1640, Hanzhou, Jianye Port.

Lieutenant Andrew Florent was the first to jump off the ship. What caught his eye was a solid cement trestle that extended from the pier to the sea for more than fifty meters. At this pier, there are also permanent cement trestles like this.

There are four. In other words, the port of Hanzhou can dock ten large ships at the same time.

A tall pulley boom has been erected on each trestle, which can easily hoist various heavy objects onto the ship or unload cargo. Deep in the pier, there are more than a dozen half-covered gun emplacements, stretching

There are thick barrels. You don’t need to take a closer look to know that it is a heavy cannon of over 18 pounds.

"The port defense of Hanzhou is relatively tight." Dutch representative Rudene Cheers said softly: "No wonder our fleet dare not forcefully break in."

"As far as I know, in addition to the fort on the front of the pier, this port also has two forts on the mountains on both sides of the harbor." Lieutenant Andrew Florent said: "Theoretically, the Hanzhou building

The port is difficult for any fleet to invade."

"Oh, the Han people always like to build their stronghold into a tortoise shell." Rudene Chels said contemptuously: "It costs a lot to build a fortress that is difficult for outsiders to conquer. This is what the weak like to do most.

.”

"Is Hanzhou weak?" Lieutenant Andrew Florent shook his head and said, "We have suffered a lot at their hands."

"But in the end they couldn't persist in fighting us for long, so they had to send peace representatives. Didn't they?"

"No, they are not asking for peace. They may feel that it is meaningless to continue the war with us." Lieutenant Andrew Florent said: "Through more than a year of war, Hanzhou has proved to us

Yes, they have certain strength, enough to withstand the suppression of our Dutch East India Company. And it also shows that they cannot be easily subdued, let alone easily threatened."

"So..." Rudene Cheers looked at Lieutenant Andrew Florent with some confusion.

"So, they think they can end the war. Because if they continue to fight, they may intensify the conflict with our East India Company." Lieutenant Andrew Florent said: "I think the Governor may have misjudged Hanzhou.

.They should not be afraid of war, but want to try to have equal and peaceful interactions with us, and no longer be in our subordinate position."

"However, the Governor insists that Hanzhou will definitely be the strongest opponent of our East India Company in the future, and we must suppress and restrict them while they are still relatively weak." Rudene Chels expressed.

He said seriously: "So, Hanzhou must surrender to us and accept our plans and guidance. Only on this basis can we maintain peace with Hanzhou."

"Hanzhou is not those kingdoms in the East Indies. They inherited some of the traditions and civilization of the huge Ming Kingdom in the north. Moreover, some of their ideas and technologies even surpass those of us in Europe. Believe me, Mr. Chelsea, this

This time we come to Hanzhou, there will definitely be no results. Hanzhou will not succumb to us easily, and they will definitely continue the war after seeing the preconditions proposed by our East India Company."

"Lieutenant Florent, do you know them so well? Perhaps their current resources and potential can no longer support the war."

"Mr. Chelsea, I was once sent by the Batavia fleet to Hanzhou as a liaison representative, and I spent time with them day and night for a year." Lieutenant Andrew Florent said: "So, I know them well and know them well.

Familiar. They, even if their strength is obviously weaker than ours, would rather be destroyed together with the jade than be willing to settle for a while."

After listening to the words of Lieutenant Andrew Florent, Rudene Chelsea couldn't help but feel a little worried in his heart. Perhaps this time he came to Hanzhou to "give alms" to the peace offered by the East India Company, they would not be able to achieve their wish.

Target.

"Oh, look, the Han Chinese are so extravagant. They actually laid such thick iron bars on the road!" Just as we reached the dock and warehouse area, we suddenly heard a Dutch representative exclaim.

Everyone looked for the sound, and sure enough, two thick iron bars (rails) extended from the dock warehouse area to Jianye City in the distance. Under the iron bars, there were square pieces of wood padding. It was obvious that this

The two thick iron bars should be used for some kind of transportation. After loading the goods, they run back and forth on the two tracks above.

"This is steel!" A Dutch man who was familiar with steel materials squatted on the two rails, looked carefully, and tapped lightly with his hand a few times, and said in surprise: "The Hanzhou people actually laid steel on the ground.

!”

Several Dutch people suddenly changed their colors after hearing this. You must know that in Europe, steel is a very scarce metal material. It is not easy to refine and the output is also very low. Most of the smelting plants produce basically iron.

The final breakthrough in the development of steel in Europe occurred in 1856, when Henry Bessemer developed an effective method of using oxygen to reduce the carbon content in iron, the Bessemer steelmaking process, which gave rise to the modern steel industry.

.

Then, in the 1860s, German engineer Carl Wilhelm Siemens further increased steel production by creating the open-hearth process. During this period, the European steel industry began to grow explosively, making it the most important metal material in industrial development.

"There is so much steel in Hanzhou that it can be laid on the ground and used as a track for transportation. So, Hanzhou may really be as you said. They are not very weak, and their potential for war may be beyond our imagination." Rude.

Nei Chels smiled bitterly and said to Lieutenant Andrew Florent.

Not long after waiting at the dock, several plain carriages drove up to the Dutch representatives. Two cold-faced Hanzhou officers stiffly invited the Dutch delegation members to get on the carriages.

Arriving at Jianye City in Hanzhou again, Lieutenant Andrew Florent found that the place was more lively than a year ago, and there were many more buildings in the city. The faces of the residents in the city did not seem to show any changes brought about by the war.

, everyone is filled with a positive attitude. The streets are still very clean and tidy, and supplemented by neatly planned rows of buildings, the whole city seems to be very orderly.

The Dutch were taken to a remote building to rest temporarily. This was not because they were deliberately neglecting them, but because the two sides were still in a state of war, and the Hanzhou government was worried that the Dutch delegation would be attacked by excessive people.

Early the next morning, the Dutch delegation was taken by a Marine officer to the conference room on the second floor of the Hanzhou Commandery Mansion, where several senior Hanzhou officials were already sitting, waiting for their arrival.

After listening to the interpreter introducing the identities of the Dutch delegation one by one, Qi Tian couldn't help but smile and shook his head at Cao Xiong next to him. The Dutch representatives who came this time were all middle and low-level officials of the East India Company. It was obvious that they were very interested in this agreement.

Collegial discussions also come without the utmost sincerity.

"Just tell me, if you are willing to end the war, what conditions do you have?" Cao Xiong didn't want to waste time and asked directly.

Rudene Cheers was originally the governor of Palembang. Because of his outstanding performance, he was promoted to the company's senior commercial representative and returned to Batavia to serve. He originally thought that he had served as a decisive place in Palembang.

The governor will have some psychological advantages when facing the commander-in-chief of Hanzhou.

Although Cao Xiong only asked lightly, there was a fierce look in his eyes, which made him feel stagnant and his momentum weakened a bit.

"Regarding your request for peace from Hanzhou, our East India Company has carefully considered and proposed the following prerequisites for peace talks." After saying that, Rudney Chels took out a document and handed it to the Hanzhou representative across the table.

.

Qi Tian took the text of the prerequisites for collegiality, opened it and looked at it. The Dutchman was still very careful and prepared a Chinese text. He then took it closer and looked at it carefully.

The entire conference room seemed very quiet for a while, and the only sounds that could be heard were the sound of Qi Tian flipping through the pages of paperwork, and the... "tsk tsk" sneer coming from his mouth.

Seeing Qi Tian's reaction, the Dutch representative seemed a little sulky. If he had any objections to the prerequisites they proposed, could he raise them politely instead of with such a mocking look?

The people sitting in Hanzhou were also very surprised. I wonder what Qitian saw, and he behaved like this. Did the Dutch put forward very strange conditions?

"General, I feel that we in Hanzhou have no need to continue talking with the Dutch East India Company." Qi Tian finally closed the text gently, and then said to Cao Xiong: "We are ready to continue the fight.

Bar!"

Cao Xiong looked at Qi Tian with a solemn expression, nodded, stood up, glanced coldly at the Dutchman opposite, turned and left. Since Qi Tian didn't want to discuss the prerequisites with the Dutch at all, then,

One can imagine how excessive the conditions proposed by the Dutch were.

Subsequently, Yu Fukun, Qi Dajiang, Hu Wenjin and others followed Cao Xiong and left the room.

"You Dutch people are too confident." Qi Tian looked at the stunned Dutch representatives and said softly: "We in Hanzhou have not been defeated. I didn't expect that you would put forward these unreasonable conditions. You East Indians

The company will definitely pay the price for this!"

"We will wait and see who will pay the price in the future." Rudene Chels replied forcefully.

"Really?" Qi Tian smiled and said, "I heard that you have made many enemies in the Netherlands in Europe. I hope you can survive the siege of Spain, France, and the Holy Roman Empire."

Rudene Cheers was a little surprised when he heard this. The young man in front of him actually knew some situations in European countries. However, he may have been mistaken. The Netherlands is indeed at war with Spain and the Shinra, but at this time,

France is their ally, and together with Sweden, they are fighting against the HRE Alliance.

"War tests one's own strength and war potential, as well as the tenacious will to fight." Qi Tian continued: "And we in Hanzhou have exactly the above three things. As long as you Dutch people are willing, we Hanzhou
Chapter completed!