The Kapuas River originates from the Batu Brok Mountains. After stretching for more than 2,000 miles from east to west on Borneo, it converges with another Lanta River from northeast to southwest, and rushes westward into the sea.
, thus forming a surging red water hundreds of meters wide.
Pontianak is located on the banks and delta of this body of water.
At this moment, in the deputy office of the Lanfang Company in the new port, Johannes Seeberg, the son-in-law of the former Batavia Governor Altin, the VOC's chief adviser and the director-general of East India, was having a conversation with an old Chinese man.
"Mr. Luo, the East India Company has a long-term cooperation with you. This time we are going to war with the Seris people. I hope you will not listen to the rumors and interfere in Batavia's affairs."
"Mr. Seaberg, please go back and tell Mr. Altin that Luo and Lanfang Company have no interest in matters on Java Island."
"Oh? Then I would like to ask, what happened to the strange ship on the Kajiang River before? Why do the Sailis people's clippers wander in the waters of Pontianak? I heard that they have been here for several months, why don't you
Expelled?"
"Haha, Mr. Seaberg, I came here to hunt crocodiles, and there is no other excessive behavior. Even if I go ashore to buy things, the money I should give is a lot. The people of Pontianak have been suffering from crocodiles over the years, so
Even Sultan Abdulrahman is happy to see the results of eliminating harm for the people. Besides, although their boat is different, it does not hinder water transportation, so Luo naturally can't take care of it."
The old man who spoke was none other than Luo Fangbai, the president of Lanfang Company. This time he came all the way from Dongwanlu to meet with the VOC envoy. Although this man is fifty-six years old and has white beard and hair, his voice is as loud as a bell and sonorous when he speaks.
He is powerful, has piercing eyes, and is in very good physical condition. However, no one can guess that if there are no accidents, this person will only have two years to live.
Despite Luo Fangbai's casual words, he just didn't want the Dutch to put their hands into Pontianak again. In fact, in the past few months since the arrival of the North Korean Navy's crocodile hunting team, he and his subordinates were very tired of it.
Not to mention that the long-planned plan to establish prestige came to nothing, and the carefully written "Essay on Sacrifice to the Crocodile" also became a piece of waste paper.
Now the common people in Pontianak all know that it was the crocodile hunting team of the Northern Navy that helped them eliminate the crocodile problem. Since the twelfth month of last year, those fast boats patrolled the Kajiang and Lanta rivers every day, specifically hunting crocodiles. Several
By the end of the month, at least more than two hundred crocodiles were hunted, and all crocodiles near Pontianak were wiped out. Only then did the crocodile-catching team swagger back to Bacheng.
However, in the eyes of people like Lanfang Company, the performance of the crocodile-catching team is not about "removing harm for the people". The large blue strange ship of the North Navy, the speedboat that breaks the waves at high speed, and the crocodile-catching team
Luo Fangbai and others were shocked by the powerful "muskets" in the hands of team members that could fire continuously.
Everyone in Lanfang Company knows that if the Northern Navy in Bacheng wants to occupy Borneo, it will definitely be a more terrifying enemy than the Dutch!
As the general manager of Lanfang, Luo Fangbai was very puzzled by the sudden extension of Beihai Town into Borneo after two years of silence. You must know that after the news of the surrender of the Dutch in Bacheng reached Pontianak, he had sent his men to Jiangxi.
Five... Oh, that is, Jiang Wubo went to Bacheng in person to express his intention to cooperate. Although the general named Deng was very polite and sent many gifts in return, he did not comment on his proposal.
No, just no, Luo Fangbai had no intention of surrendering. As for the sudden appearance of "Beihai Town", he heard about it from the Chinese businessmen who came to Pontianak. It was just a group of "sea pirates" entrenched in the far north outside the customs.
.In his heart, it was his lifelong ambition to gain recognition from the Qing court and become an overseas vassal state of the Qing Dynasty. Only with the endorsement of the Celestial Kingdom could he establish himself as king.
The problem was that the Manchus did not favor him at all, and coupled with the previous precedent of Chen Yilao, both Qianlong and the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi regarded these Chinese who secretly went abroad as traitors. It would be fine if they could not become kings. The problem was that even his
His biological son Luo Zizeng was unwilling to inherit his huge property, which made Luo Fangbai very depressed.
If wealth cannot be returned to its hometown, it will not be able to glorify the country. And even though Uncle Luo Fang is as rich as the country, he does not dare to send a large amount of money to his hometown in Shifan Town, because it will simply bring disaster to the Luo family in Dalingxia. Since he became rich
Later, I only asked someone to bring back a bag of gold and silver jewelry to distribute to the fellow villagers.
However, even though the Manchu Qing Dynasty did not want to see Luo Fangbai and his Lanfang General Administration, he still falsely claimed that the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi had reported it to the court and was waiting for the emperor's approval. This kind of pulling the tiger's skin and pulling the banner was to frighten the surrounding forces.
, and at the same time, he can effectively manage the hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers under him.
After hearing the other party's impeccable explanation, Seaberg couldn't say anything else. His purpose of coming to Pontianak to meet with Luo Fangbai was to force the Chinese companies and the Sultanate not to send a grain of grain to Bacheng through intimidation or inducement.
Otherwise, you are the enemy of VOC.
You must know that the current war to retake Batavia is the VOC's top priority.
The military operation to siege Bacheng was the result of a vote by the 17-member board of directors of the VOC headquarters. Its purpose was to save the economic crisis caused by the sharp decline in domestic demand for Asian goods.
The majority of the 17-member board of directors believe that VOC must retake Bacheng and inflict a heavy blow to Beihai Town in order to reshape VOC's prestige in the Malacca economic circle. Only in this way can VOC continue to exercise its economic monopoly on the Malacca economic circle, and then
Then by controlling the gold mines in Borneo, VOC can save the current situation of continuous losses.
After repeated discussions, the former Governor Altin and the current Governor Overstraten formulated a huge military plan of "killing one thousand enemies and damaging eight hundred". That is to say, a large number of ground troops and maritime troops were gathered to carry out a long-term attack on Bacheng.
The military siege lasted for more than half a year, and the ground war prevented Bacheng from carrying out normal agricultural production. At sea, "break-up warfare" was adopted, which finally forced Beihai Town to surrender due to lack of food.
In Altin's view, he lost Batavia purely due to lack of preparation, and the shameless sneak attack by those "devils" wearing tiger armbands brought heavy losses to the Württemberg Corps. Altin
Ting concluded that as long as the Northern Navy in Bacheng could not get enough food and ammunition supplies within half a year, he would definitely win.
The reason why the Dutch dare to think and act is that they think they have obtained enough intelligence. Since the evacuation of Bacheng, VOC has begun to collect intelligence on Beihai Town everywhere. Needless to say, Bacheng, Annan, Hoi An, Macau,
Spies were sent to Guangzhou, Nagasaki, Jeju Island, and almost all places where Beihai Town had been, and a lot of seemingly useful information was obtained.
Altin believes that the biggest problem of Beihai Town is that the supply line is too long and the maritime power is insufficient. The large iron ships in Beihai Town are powerful, but they are still too few in number. The six gunboats deployed in Bacheng and Hoi An need to maintain as far south as Bacheng.
The vast sea area stretching north to Ryukyu has too many loopholes.
The maritime power of the VOC is still very strong. Not to mention the dozen returning ships and several frigates, the vassal sultanates alone have hundreds of naval gunboats. As long as they do not attack Bacheng from the sea, they can rely on the "ant"
The strategy of "killing more elephants" can cut off the supply lines at sea no matter what.
Well, if it were any other opponent, Altin's judgment would be fine, and the chance of winning would be high. However, since Zhao Xin is taking command in Bacheng, VOC is destined to be like a dog biting its urine and rejoicing in the empty space.
"Very good, Mr. Luo. I hope that the cooperation between VOC and Lanfang Company can continue. This is in the interests of both of us. To show our sincerity, this is an additional diamond order from the company."
As Seaberg spoke, he took out a list from his file bag and put it on the table. Luo Fangbai stroked his beard and smiled silently. Seeing this, a scholar-looking man behind him stepped forward to take it and opened it.
He looked surprised. He then bowed to Luo Fangbai and whispered softly: "Brother, in this order, they have ordered another two thousand carats."
"The Dutch are rich all over the world. Are you surprised that such a small amount of money is worth making? You are really ignorant."
The scholar blushed, bowed and said, "That's what the chief taught me a lesson."
In another time and space, there is a saying that the British De Beers hyped up a century-old diamond marketing scam, what is the conspiracy of the Rothschild family behind it, etc. But these self-proclaimed "smart people" don't know
Yes, since the 18th century, the Chinese in Kalimantan have been exporting diamonds to Europe. In 1789 alone, VOC ordered 1,500 carats of diamonds from the Chinese, with an average price of more than 10,000 carats per carat.
Dollar.
Therefore, diamonds have never been cheap and do not need to be speculated at all. Whether in the East or the West, women just like shiny things!
After Seaberg finished talking about the business, he said goodbye. Luo Fangbai immediately stood up and led a group of his men to the door of the deputy hall. When they returned to the meeting hall, Jiang Wubo who was standing next to him said to Luo Fangbai: "
Brother Luo, are we really not going to get involved in Bacheng’s affairs this time?”
"Need not."
Jiang Wubo said: "But they are all Chinese after all. Besides, when the eldest brother's young master was critically ill, someone else's hospital saved him."
Song Zabo on the side said: "Lao Wu, what you said is wrong. Don't forget how they treated you when you went to Bacheng. Let me tell you, except for our own brothers in Jiaying Prefecture, no one else cares about him.
It’s there!”
Luo Fangbai pondered for a moment and said slowly: "We have been cooperating with the Dutch for more than a day or two. We know each other well. If we fall out, the diamond business will be greatly affected. Let's take a look first."
The reason why the general manager said this is mainly because the formation and development of Chinese companies in West Borneo have always been closely related to the Dutch.
It is said that since the 16th century, Borneo has become a territory contested by various internal and external forces. Malays from Java and other islands established a sultanate on the coast, and conquered it through force or intermarriage with the local Dayak people.
Expanding inland. In the early seventeenth century, the Chinese, Dutch and British East India Companies and the Bugis also joined the local game.
However, the Europeans soon gave up on Borneo, the Spanish occupied Luzon, the British set their main targets on the South Asian subcontinent, and the Dutch turned their targets to Malacca and Java, which is rich in pepper. The Chinese and Bugis thus controlled most of the
trade routes.
By the mid-eighteenth century, the Bugis used their dominance over the Sultan of Riau and Johor to infiltrate polities in West Borneo, such as Lampawa and Samfa, and became the group with real power in these places. At the same time, a large number of
Chinese workers began to pour in to dig diamonds and gold mines.
In 1779, in order to expel British merchants traveling to and from Borneo, the Dutch East India Company signed a contract with Sultan Abdulrahman of Pontianak, officially recognizing his rule over the Pontianak area and providing him with military protection. In exchange, VOC
Commissioners are stationed in Pontianak to supervise incoming merchant ships and tax them. Ships without a license from the Batavia authorities are not allowed to enter the port.
From then on, various Chinese companies, whether it was Nambawa or Pontianak, were directly brought under the jurisdiction of VOC. Then the Dutch used Pontianak as the entry point to target the entire trade network around Malacca.
In 1787, the combined forces of the VOC and Pontianak launched a massive attack on Nam Pak Wah. At that time, the Lan Fong Company's predecessor, the Lan Fong Society, took the initiative to provide assistance. According to the East India Company's chronicle written by Willer, a commissioner of the Dutch colonial administration in the 19th century,
Among them is a document written in Malay, which states that a man known as "Big Brother Beard" once led Chinese laborers to assist the VOC and the Pontianak coalition forces.
And this "bearded brother" is what the locals call Luo Fangbai.
The Lan Fong Society participated in the Dutch military operations throughout the entire process, and after the victory, they plundered the loot in the center of Nambawa, and the Dutch were happy to see the results.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The reason why Luo Fangbai is willing to work for the coalition forces of VOC and Pontianak Sultan is to open up the upstream port trade and the downstream import cargo transportation. From this, Lanfang
Only then can the company sell the gold mines and diamonds mined upstream, and can also obtain low-cost maritime trade materials through the downstream.
Sure enough, after the war, the son of the Sultan of Pontianak was appointed by VOC as the actual ruler of Nambawa. Since then, the upstream and downstream have been connected, the Lanfang Company has grown stronger, and Luo Fangbai and others have gradually become as rich as the country.
The "Nambawa War" caused a large number of Chinese miners to migrate to Pontianak and Sanfa in the north, and the new settlements attracted many immigrants directly from Fujian and Guangdong, which promoted the further consolidation and strength of Chinese organizations.
In order to prevent the outflow of Chinese workers, both the VOC and the Sultan of Pontianak took active measures to win over the Chinese in Numbarwa. After the war, the Chinese in West Borneo were directly under the jurisdiction of the VOC. This move was equivalent to putting Chinese companies on the same level as Malay.
Sudan has an equal status, and the Chinese do not need to continue to pay the head tax.
By 1790, after more than ten years of fighting, almost all the Sudanese political systems in West Borneo had been severely weakened. Since the Chinese were directly protected by the VOC, the Pontianak Sultan could not collect the head tax and could only obtain it from the Lanfang Company.
Part of the gold mine rent. The Sultan of Pontianak also fell into a financial crisis because of his extravagant spending to maintain his extremely luxurious and decadent life, and his debts were getting larger and larger.
Lanfang Company quickly got rid of the influence of Pontianak and formed a large corporate structure with Luo Fangbo and Meizhou Shifanbao Hakka as the core. As for the Dalaolu Mining Company in Sanfa, it also experienced a similar process.
In order to win over them, Sanfa also followed Pontianak's policy. As a result, these companies gradually grew and eventually broke away from the Sultan's jurisdiction, forming a relatively loose alliance with Dagang Company as the core - Heshun General Office.
The above is the truth about the development of Lanfang Company led by Luo Fangbai. To put it bluntly, they have been cooperating with VOC and have been under the protection of VOC, so that decades later, Lanfang Company will accept VOC
It’s not surprising that he even helped recruit people from Dagang Company.