Chapter 400 The Other Side of the World: On Ceylon
Zheng Zhilong gathered all the personnel of the European fleet at the Fort of Good Hope and announced that the Cape of Good Hope Colony was under the jurisdiction of the Chinese Company. Therefore, the company's supervisors, financial and security personnel would be stationed there. He also announced that Cape Town would be renamed
Good Hope City, and all surrounding land, including the original Dutch land, will be allocated to those who are willing to stay locally.
Han Jing whispered to Li Jin on the side: "Dividing land ownership rights, does Huang Zhi's nephew have this power?"
Li Jin shrugged helplessly like a European and replied: "It doesn't matter, as long as he reports the matter to the ship owner, he will definitely get approval."
After the fleet annihilated the British fleet, it anchored at the Cape of Good Hope for nearly half a month. It not only completely destroyed the British fleet, but also captured more than 100 British sailors. At the same time, in the Chinatown slave market, the Chinese company came forward to capture more than 100 British sailors.
After being defeated and escaping, the British were captured as slaves by the black tribes and bought them. They were all collected into the dungeon of Fort Good Hope. These more than 200 British prisoners will be brought home with the fleet to serve as hostages in negotiations with the British East India Company.
Because the British were caught off guard, the Chinese army suffered very slight losses in the battle. There were more than 200 sailors in the fleet, and the soldiers were willing to stay and garrison the Cape of Good Hope. Several company employees were appointed as the company's financial director and security director in the Cape of Good Hope.
, the general manager of the Cape of Good Hope Colonial Zone, whether they were the earlier immigrants or the Chinese who voluntarily stayed this time, everyone unanimously recommended Li Dan. Many domestic merchants who accompanied the fleet to Europe, as well as Jewish merchants and Portuguese merchants, also
Personnel were sent to stay at the Cape of Good Hope, and they all discovered the vast grassland and jungle in the interior of the Cape of Good Hope Colonial Zone. In the eyes of the Chinese, it was an almost uninhabited land. Although it was dry, it was the best for grazing, and
In the book "Travel to the West" written by Yin Feng, the company's chief director, it is recorded that this place is rich in gold. Many people want to make a fortune in gold, so some old sailors with pirate backgrounds also stayed in the fleet.
Zheng Zhilong left Li Dan 400 flintlock muskets and a large amount of ammunition, as well as 6 cannons dismantled from the Xinxing ship, plus the Fort Good Hope arsenal left by the Dutch, as well as captured British arms.
Wangbao and Chinatown can already arm an army of 1,000 people, and there are nearly 30 cannons on the fort.
When the fleet left the Fort of Good Hope, which was flying the Chinese flag with Chinese characters on a blue background, the big flag with Yin characters, and the big flag with Li characters, the escort fleet and the cannons on the Fort of Good Hope fired salutes and set off fireworks for the good of the Chinese people.
Visit the fort and pray.
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After setting off from the southernmost tip of Africa, the Chinese company's fleet to Europe adopted the route discovered by the Dutch in 1611, which took advantage of the westerly and southwest monsoon winds to reach the Sand Strait in the Indian Ocean.
Half a month later, the European convoy that was supposed to arrive at Sumatra or Java was very unlucky and encountered a sudden storm on the way, and had to change its course and sail north. One evening, the convoy suddenly appeared.
South of the Palk Strait between Ceylon and the Indian subcontinent, and in the Gulf of Mannar to the west of Ceylon.
Days of heavy rain and wind made it impossible for the sailors of the fleet to see the sky clearly, so the European fleet got here astray.
As soon as the wind and rain stopped, the sea breeze dispersed the water vapor, and the visibility on the sea immediately recovered. The experienced sailors and needle masters on the Flying Tiger immediately discovered that the fleet had arrived at what the Chinese call the Lion Country, which is also the island of Ceylon.
In later Sri Lanka, moreover, the fleet had been lost in the storm. Three of the four three-masted cargo sailing ships were no longer in the fleet, and the two schooners in the escort fleet were also missing.
Li Jin on the Xinxing was extremely anxious, and Zheng Zhilong on the Flying Tiger was also very anxious. He hurriedly ordered the fleet to sail to the Colombo Port in the south, and at the same time sent two cruisers to the southwest and southeast to search for the lost Karak. Large three-masted cargo ships, these ships are loaded with gold, silver and jewelry earned from Europe, as well as a large amount of European goods. They carry dozens of businessmen from various European countries, as well as scholars and craftsmen recruited from the Netherlands and other countries. This time they are sent to Europe. Han Jing, the commercial director of the fleet, was also on board one of the cargo sailing ships "Fu Zi No. 3".
The Xinxing broke a mast and was traveling very slowly. The entire fleet had to sail slowly towards Colombo.
Colombo is now a Portuguese colony and is under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese Colonial Province of Goa. Colombo was captured by the Portuguese army three years ago.
The Portuguese maritime empire had begun its decline at this time. Originally, three routes in Portuguese Asia were operated by the royal transport fleet: they were the routes from Goa to Mozambique, Sri Lanka (Colombo) and the Molucca Islands. The routes operated by the royal fleet have now become a system called chartered routes, which can be operated by private individuals.
The Goa-Malacca-Macau-Japan route was perhaps the most profitable of the Portuguese Asia routes. According to the original Portuguese Jews who helped Yin Feng issue currency, it was estimated that from 1560 to 1600, the Portuguese shipped from Japan every year. 22,500 to 37,500 kilograms of Japanese silver, while during the same period, Chinese and Japanese ships transported 11,000 kilograms of silver, which was less than half of what the Portuguese earned in Japan. This was also one of the consequences of the Ming Dynasty's maritime ban policy.
After 1603, the Chinese Company gradually occupied the commercial trade route from Macau to Japan. By the previous year, this route had been completely cut off by the Chinese Company.
Since the Portuguese lost Salim to the Burmese and Malacca and almost all the colonies in Southeast Asia to the Chinese, in order to preserve the only remaining Asian possessions, the Portuguese have turned all the power of Portuguese Asia to the surrounding Indian Ocean. The defense forces in Hormuz, Goa, Maldives, Muscat and other places have been strengthened.
As early as 1505, the Portuguese landed on the Island of Ceylon. In the 1520s, especially after 1524, the Portuguese officials and the Mapilal people (controlled the island of Ceylon from Vedale, Gayaberdenam, Kajal in southern India) A series of fierce bloody conflicts broke out between ports such as Yankulam and Calicut all the way to the west coast of Sri Lanka). As a result, the cinnamon trade in Sri Lanka and the grain trade through the Gulf of Mannar were almost cut off. The Portuguese in 1530 They won the war in the 19th century, forcing the Sinhalese and Tamil kingdoms on the island of Ceylon to surrender, which had been fighting each other for hundreds of years, and forcing the Mapila people to request peace with Goa in 1540 on behalf of Chinnakuti Ali.
The Portuguese immediately occupied Batticaloa and Trincomalee and set up commercial offices in Colombo. However, the Portuguese did not go deep into the interior of Ceylon. They only controlled the inland villages through coastal strongholds. In 1590, the Portuguese began The fiefdom system was adopted in Sri Lanka. The owners of the fiefdom also obtained the fiefdom through a process called a lease contract. The Portuguese colonists controlled the local people's land and collected the profits from the land.
Subsequently, after 1619, the Portuguese retreated in large numbers from the area east of Malacca to Portuguese India, and many people moved to the island of Ceylon. Since the existing fiefdoms could not meet the needs of the Portuguese, the Portuguese began to occupy the unconquered parts of the island. The locals launched an attack, and troops sent from Portuguese India captured Jaffna. When they sent the European fleet to Europe for the third time, the Portuguese captured Colombo.
At this time, the Dutch, who had retreated from Java and the Spice Islands, arrived. After they retreated east of Malacca, they also set their sights on the Indian Ocean. Based on Mauritius, the Dutch East India Company occupied a colony on the island of Madagascar and began to intervene. Territory of Portuguese India.
Just a few days ago, a fleet of the Dutch East India Company attacked Colombo, which had just been occupied by the Portuguese. At the same time, the Dutch joined forces with the leaders of the Tamil state on the island of Ceylon to launch an anti-Portuguese uprising in Jaffna. of rebellion.
These days, the Portuguese Commander-in-Chief of the Colombo Garrison, Pedro Fernandez Navarrete, has been busy strengthening the forts at Colombo's port, and he drove a large number of Sinhalese natives to reinforce the forts overnight.
In the dusk, the last ray of sunset on the horizon is reflected on the sea surface of Colombo Port, and several Indian spinnaker fishing boats are entering the port.
Suddenly, a cannon shot was fired from the port lighthouse. This was an enemy attack warning. The Portuguese, who had been resisting the attack of the Dutch fleet these days, were highly nervous. They immediately ordered the entire port to be on full alert and prepare for battle. Two Portuguese warships sailed towards the port. port, ready to meet the Dutch.
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Han Jing's No. 3 Fu Zi broke a mast in the storm, and even the Chinese flag with a blue background was blown off. Most of the other ships also had their canvas torn and crossbars broken, and they continued to be repaired.
After the sea calmed down, Han Jing found that there were only two cargo ships and a schooner with him on the ship. The captain of the fast ship sent a semaphore signal, suggesting that he first enter the nearest port to repair the ship, and then search for the lost ship. of ships.
Han Jing turned to look at the Jewish merchants on the same ship. Andrew, the financial director of the fleet, who was Bernardo's nephew, frowned and asked: "Andrew, who owns the port nearby?"
"The sailors said that we are off the coast of Colombo, and this port may belong to the Mappila people. However, when we passed by last year, the Portuguese were besieging this place. Now, this place may have been occupied by the Portuguese," said a tall, thin man with a high nose. Andrew said: "However, we are at peace with the Portuguese, so it should be no problem to dock at the port to repair the ship,"
Han Jing sighed: "I didn't expect to encounter such a big storm. Now we can only repair the ship first."
He ordered three cargo ships and a schooner to sail eastward toward the island of Ceylon, where the green horizon could already be seen.
When approaching the Colombo port, Han Jing, who was cautious and attentive by nature, ordered other ships in the fleet to anchor and berth. He took the Fu Zi No. 3 and entered the port first to inquire about the situation.
He looked at the brightly lit port in the distance and sighed: "The Francois are just a small country in Europe. Who would have thought that they could occupy so much territory in such a far away place?"
Andrew sneered on the side and said: "The Portuguese will not live here long. I heard the ship owner Wang said in class at the Taiwan Hong Kong Military Academy that Ceylon Island is the crossroads of the Indian Ocean. Sooner or later, we Chinese companies will have to occupy it. ,"
Han Jing couldn't help laughing after hearing his words. This chestnut-haired Jewish young man immigrated to Macau from Goa with his family, and then joined Taiwan Yin Feng. He started working in Taiwanese companies when he was a teenager.
The elementary schools and military academies that were opened, students spoke Chinese exactly like Chinese people, and said "our Chinese company". It can be said that they were completely assimilated by the national military education promoted by Yin Feng, which was mainly based on military academies.