The corpses on the ground and the extremely cold words did not force Felberg to surrender immediately.
Until the Ming army appeared on the battlefield unscrupulously, pulled the hair, stretched out the sword, and cut off the head neatly, and then they were as ecstatic as if they had picked up gold nuggets, without caring about the brains and blood flowing on their bodies.
And those wounded soldiers on the battlefield were stabbed to death without any scruples and their heads cut off.
Such behavior, which was like that of the devil in hell, made all Westerners watching the battle close their eyes and call out to God.
Killing with a musket is civilized, cutting off the head is barbaric.
Felberg, who witnessed all this with his own eyes, turned pale with fright. Immediately, a white flag was raised in the city of Relanja.
The spring breeze of February blew from the city of Relanja, filled with luck, joy, and unwillingness, but along with it came leaves all over the ground.
The blood mixed with the leaves was trampled by pairs of big feet, and then integrated with the earth, becoming nourishment for all things.
Although the heavy music was not played, a solemn atmosphere quietly emerged. In this spring season, the time when everyone and everything revives, the Dutch ushered in their humiliation.
Groups of Dutch were forced out of the city, carrying their personal belongings, and then witnessed the three Western countries watching.
Especially the Spaniards, who couldn't stop smiling and their beards almost flew up.
Only the English have some regrets, as the Dutch have always been an example for them to admire and learn from.
At this time in Europe, the maritime hegemony was usurped by the Dutch, and financial wealth was concentrated in the Netherlands, just as it was a lowland and should naturally gather gold and silver.
In Africa, it built fortresses and colonies at the Cape of Good Hope, opened plantations there, and ensured the supply of fresh water and food for passing ships.
It defeated the Portuguese fleet twice in Java and the Straits of Malacca, and continued to pursue and rob Chinese merchant ships, monopolizing Eastern trade.
In the Americas, the Netherlands established the West India Company in 1621 to control trade between Northwest Africa and the Americas, occupied a colony in North America, and established New Netherlands with New Amsterdam (now New York) as its center.
For example, the first stock exchange was born in the Netherlands and the first joint-stock bank was born in the Netherlands. Its total tonnage of ships at this time was equivalent to the total tonnage of Europe.
Even in agriculture, it has the reputation of being the barn of Europe, supplying grain to France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Food prices in several countries have been in turmoil.
The East India Company alone had 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, 50,000 employees and 10,000 private armed forces.
In Asia, after the Ming Dynasty, there were almost no rivals.
"The city of Relanja has been taken!"
Zheng Zhilong sighed.
Of course he knew about the expansion of the Dutch in Dajuan, but with their strong maritime strength, even he had to avoid three points.
But now with the support of the emperor, the powerful Dutch are not worth mentioning.
"Brother, you see the East India Company is making so much money, why don't we set up one too?"
The youngest Zheng Zhipeng said quietly.
"The imperial court will not allow private individuals to own so many ships."
Zheng Zhilong flashed a flash of struggle, and then said resolutely: "Our Zheng family has a hereditary title this time. This is the wealth inherited from generation to generation, so that the businessman's way can continue!"
Who doesn’t know the benefits of sea trade? The Zheng family can collect dozens or millions of taels every year just from tolls, but compared with the title, it seems insignificant.
"Brother, are you saying that the imperial court is interested in sea trade?" Zheng Zhihu said in surprise: "Then what should we do? Give it up?"
Several brothers looked unwilling.
"Do you still dare to confront the imperial court head-on?"
Zheng Zhilong said coldly: "Then wasn't my recruitment twenty years ago for nothing?"
"Without land, how can we live a lifetime on a ship? Fallen leaves return to their roots!"
Several people were speechless.
Historically, the Netherlands thought that it had sea power in its hands and that European hegemony was just a matter of course. However, Louis XIV of France asked it to be a man, and a Franco-Dutch war directly caused the Netherlands to collapse.
What determines the victory or defeat of a country is, after all, the army.
The rise of the British was not due to their strong ships and powerful artillery. Can their naval strength compare to that of the Netherlands?
In fact, the reputation of the Empire on which the sun never sets is based on the British Army - the Red Shrimp Soldiers.
The Seven Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars, etc. defeated France, and the Crimean War defeated Russia.
The Second Opium War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Anglo-Burmese War, the invasion of Ethiopia and a series of Afghan invasions by Tsarist Russia in the late 19th century.
France was only super powerful during the Napoleonic period, but the British Army, which was evenly matched by Napoleon, lasted two hundred years.
Metaphorically speaking, the navy can only open the door to your home, but the army can put a dagger to your throat.
The weakness of the army was a weakness that Zheng Zhilong could not solve.
"The Dutch are really good at it."
Sun Lin visited Relanja City and kept nodding: "Remember, don't let those craftsmen run away. We will build a city like this in the future."
After sending someone to count these properties, Sun Lin was extremely satisfied and received the Dutch account book.
Once the translation came through, I was immediately overjoyed.
I saw that these account books recorded the annual profits of the Dayuan branch, as well as the registered population.
Among them, there are more than 20,000 Tibetan households and 15,000 Han people, with nearly 100,000 acres of land, including 30,000 acres of sugar cane land.
As a result, the profit in Da Mian alone reached half a million guilders.
That is, 160,000 taels of silver.
"In just one county, there are 160,000 taels—"
Sun Lin was shocked.
If this is all development, isn't it worth a province?
After swallowing the surprise in his heart, Sun Lin calmed down and said to Zheng Zhilong and others: "I will report your merits to the court one by one. Be careful not to be impatient."
Only then did a few people become happy.
Immediately, Sun Lin asked someone to submit the imperial edict and began to promulgate the edict again.
The content is also very simple. It is to establish Taiwan Prefecture and govern the huge Xiaoliuqiu Island.
Among them, the plan is to establish Penghu County on the Penghu Islands, Tamsui and Jilong counties in Taipei, and Dayuan County on the Jiade Plain, which will be governed by the Taiwan Prefecture.
The newly established Taiwan Prefecture had four counties, but its total population did not exceed 100,000.
"Officials who have responded will naturally have arrangements from the court, so we don't need to worry about them."
Sun Linshi said casually: "However, the threat from the Dutch is still there, so we need to think carefully about it."
A relative, an angel, and a naval guerrilla can be said to have a prominent status, and the Zheng brothers can only obey.
Sun Lin treated the businessmen who were watching the ceremony with great courtesy and announced an important event:
All countries are allowed to set up commercial offices in Dayuan as a trade transit point.
In other words, Taiyuan County will become a free port, and Western merchants can come and go, trade and even live at will.
This is a qualitative breakthrough for other countries.