() De Wet’s full name is Gerhard F. De Wet (.with), or De Wet for short. He is about forty years old, about 1.7 meters tall, with brown hair and brown hair.
Se eyes, and a beautiful beard. Big lapels, bows, stuffing, garters, lace, boots, any of the most popular elements of Dutch men can be found on him. It must be said that he is
A fashionable person, a person who follows the trend.
It's a pity that there are not many people in the Far East who can appreciate his dressing sense. The people from the Ming Dynasty and Japan who deal with him usually look like they have seen a ghost. "There is no way, barbarians are barbarians!"
De Wet has been in the Far East for five years. In other words, he is the first Dutch to enter the Far East. At that time, Batavia sent 16 Dutch and British ships in order to trade with the Chinese Empire.
Battleships and 1,024 soldiers attacked Macau in an attempt to take the Portuguese's place. After being frustrated, they turned to occupy Penghu, and then a jilie conflict broke out with the Ming Navy.
At that time, De Wet was just an inconspicuous businessman on the ship, with a pitiful monthly salary of 40 guilders (about thirteen taels of silver), although it was much more than the 810 guilders of a soldier.
The following year, in 1623, De Wet was sent to Xiamen by Song Ke, the first chief of the Da Yuan Dynasty, to negotiate with Chinese officials and was promoted to commercial officer. Two years later (1625), he became the chief commercial officer and the second minister of the Da Yuan. In the same year, Song
Unfortunately, Ke suffered a shipwreck, and De Wet served as chief officer and commander of the castle to this day.
However, a merchant ship coming from Batavia recently brought news that Batavia believes that his tough policies towards Japanese businessmen in Taiwan have greatly harmed the company's interests, and has decided to dispatch company council member Peter Na in the near future.
Pieternuyts replaced him as the new chief of staff.
"These politicians who deserve to go to hell!" DeWitt cursed in his heart more than once. His policies came from Batavia, and it would be shameless to let him take the blame when something goes wrong. Fortunately, he has been a senior official for these few years.
Year. The monthly salary reached 200 guilders, plus the share of the merchant ship and some shady gray income, which was enough for him to return to the Netherlands and live a happy life like an aristocrat.
But De Wet can't leave now. Even if the new chief executive Peter Natz arrives, nothing will change, because Xu Xinsu owes him money. It's as simple as that. Xu Xinsu owes the company 49,624 Dutch guilders. 18 Stover (20 Dutch guilders)
Dover = 1 Dutch guilder). His share is in it. For the Dutch, money is as important as God.
De Wet is about to return to the country, and he doesn't care at all about the promises made by the highest official of the Fujian Province of the Chinese Empire and the commander of the navy.
Nikolai is located on the coast of Fujian. Yiguan (s.iquan) is Zheng Zhilong. Nikolai is his Christian name and Yiguan is his nickname. He used to work as a translator in the company. De Wette and him
There is some friendship, but this friendship is vulnerable in the face of money that is equal to God. The second is to act as a mediator between the two sides, even if it is just a temporary armistice treaty, when Xu Xinsu pays back the money, he will just pat his ass and leave, no matter what
The two of them later fought to death.
Just when De Wet was considering whether to attack Zheng Zhilong or speak, he was stunned when he heard that the latter was visiting.
Xu Xinxu was secretly worried, but kept his face silently. He was Xu Xinsu's cousin. Xu Xinsu trusted him more than his brother Xu Xinlan. How could he not entrust him with all matters big and small in Taiwan without a hint of city government?
De Wet reacted quickly and said through the translator: "Simhiok (Xu Xinxu), I'm sorry that I can't agree to the request of you and the top official of Fujian and the commander of the navy. War may not solve the problem. But it will definitely bring death. Every
Each Dutchman is a valuable asset, and no one can let them die except for national interests. You know, iquan (Zheng Zhilong) and simsou (Xu Xinsu) are both my good friends. I will try my best to persuade iquan later.
He should not embarrass Simsou."
Xu Xinxu sneered secretly, Zheng Zhilong is in high spirits at this time, will he listen to you? That's fine. Only when De Wet suffers a loss from Zheng Zhilong will he completely fall to their side. He stood up and said: "Friend? Friend
In the eyes of Zheng Yiguan, he is worthless. My brother has been friends with him for ten years, and Zheng Yiguan always falls out with him. Mr. Waite is so kind, but I don’t know if he appreciates it or not. Alas! It’s not convenient for Zheng Yiguan and I to get along.
I saw you, so I took my leave first, hoping to see you again and Mr. Waite can bring good news."
DeWitt nodded and said: "This is also my wish." After saying that, he sent Xu Xinxu out, and then stood at the door of the office waiting for Zheng Zhilong's arrival.
According to people from the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong currently has 400 military ships (Chinese sailing ships) and 60,000 to 70,000 men. The number of ships was certified by Xu Xinxu, but his military strength is not that exaggerated, only 20,000 to 30,000 men.
Even so, the number is still terrifyingly large. You must know that the entire Dutch population is only about two million. However, De Wet is not afraid of the opponent. He only needs to give him 10 battleships and 1,000 Dutchmen, and he can easily defeat Zheng Zhilong's army.
Junk fleet.
Soon after, Zheng Zhilong's figure came into De Wet's brown eyes. He was no longer the low-key company translator he once was, but the king of the sea in the Chinese Empire. He was wearing a red robe with a figure with horns and claws printed on it.
, a snake-like animal, De Wet knew that it was a mythical beast worshiped by the entire Chinese Empire, symbolizing supreme power and wealth. Since it is a fictitious thing, there is no word in Europe that can correspond to it. Some people call it "snake"
Instead, it may be described as a "big snake-like insect", or translated as "dragon". His guards are tall and strong, with vigilant eyes to ensure that he is not harmed in the slightest.
Before the two got close, Zheng Zhilong said in Dutch from a distance: "Mr. Waite, long time no see. Are you standing here waiting for me?"
"Of course." De Wet then joked: "iquan, I want to tell you, your Dutch has deteriorated a lot."
"In language, practice makes perfect, but I can't find anyone to talk to, so it's inevitable that I'm unfamiliar." Zheng Zhilong replied with a smile. He is a language genius. Ming Mandarin, Minnan dialect, Portuguese, Japanese,
Fluent in all aspects of Dutch.
De Wet deliberately pretended not to understand and invited Zheng Zhilong into the office. In fact, he heard the other party's subtext. The other party was vaguely complaining that the senior official was close to Xu Xinsu and alienated him. But this can't be blamed on them. There is only one person in the Far East.
This kind of person is qualified to be a friend of the Dutch. That is someone who creates benefits for the company. Zheng Zhilong did not have this qualification in the past, but Xu Xinsu did.
On the way to the conference office, De Wet half complained and half accused: "iquan, due to your actions along the coast of Fujian, Danyuan's merchant ships have been reduced by more than half this year than in previous years, causing the company to suffer huge losses."
Zheng Zhilong said calmly: "That's why I brought the fleet here this time. Don't worry, this is just the first batch, there will be more precious cargo later. I'm afraid you won't be able to eat it by then."
The East India Company was the embodiment of the Dutch will in Asia. De Wet was dissatisfied that Zheng Zhilong looked down on the company and said with a serious face: "iquan, I need to remind you that the wealth owned by the company extends throughout Asia, which is absolutely unimaginable to you."
Zheng Zhilong had no intention of entangled with the other party and explained: "I don't mean to look down upon your company."
De Wet then softened his expression and nodded. He led Zheng Zhilong into the office, closed the door, isolated everyone, and said: "iquan, my friend, I am going back to China, maybe in the autumn, maybe in the
Winter. Just this year.”
"Ah? Will you come back again?" Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but be a little surprised.
Come back again? Stop joking! De Wet immediately shook his head. It should be known that risks are always proportional to benefits. He lives a decent and wealthy life now, but at least half of the people who came to Asia with him have returned to the Lord.
Embracing. De Wet is grateful that he has withstood shipwrecks, wars, diseases and other life and death tests. Now it is time to enjoy life.
"That's a pity. You are one of my few Dutch friends." Zheng Zhilong then asked: "Do you know who the new chief is?"
DeWitt said in an unfriendly tone: "Peter Natz, a man who only came to Asia last year and knows nothing about Asia."
Zheng Zhilong asked again: "How is he?"
"Your brain is filled with arrogance, conceit and prejudice against Asians. You will never be as relaxed as facing me again."
DeWitt obviously has a problem with Natz, but Zheng Zhilong only believes in him three or four times.
Soon the two of them turned their attention to this transaction, which was the key point. As a result, Zheng Zhilong was satisfied with the purchase price, and De Wet also gained a lot of benefits. What he lost was only a little bit of the company's profit, just a little bit...
After the two reached an agreement, De Wet invited Zheng Zhilong to have lunch. He looked at the bread, cheese, chicken, bacon, fruit, vegetable soup on the table... Zheng Zhilong really couldn't afford to eat, and his heart felt towards the Dutch.
The food culture is greatly despised, thinking that there are tens of thousands of Han people living in Dayuan, why can’t they hire a few good cooks? Only the French wine, praised by De Wet as the best wine in the world, can be imported, but it is also incomparable.
China’s vintage wines.
After a few glasses of wine, the atmosphere became increasingly lively. De Wet took the opportunity to say to Zheng Zhilong: "iquan, I want to make a request to you. Can you shake hands with Simsou (Xu Xinsu) and reconcile? He owes the company a
He paid a large sum of money and promised to transport 300 loads of raw silk for us, but you blocked the Fujian port and prevented him from going to sea, which made me very embarrassed."
Zheng Zhilong took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "Xu Xinsu sent someone to ask for help from you."
DeWitt did not deny it and continued: "You are my friend, but the company does not belong to me alone, and I am about to step down as chief executive. If the situation does not improve, Natz's arrogance will definitely treat you
Waging war. This is not the result I want to see, and you certainly don’t want it either."
"Is this...dangerous?" Zheng Zhilong said without changing his expression.
De Wet shook his head and said: "No. I am just reminding you as a friend not to ignore the company's interests and wishes. You may be very powerful and defeat the Chinese Fujian Navy and dominate the sea, but compared with the power controlled by the company,
, you are still insignificant."
"..." Zheng Zhilong laughed angrily. When he was a teenager, he went to Macau to seek life. Later, he traveled to Nagasaki and Luzon routes, and finally settled in Taiwan. Over the past ten years, he had come into contact with the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and Su Zhi.
The Westerner Yelang was arrogant, but he still laughed at De Wet's arrogant tone. He didn't know how powerful the Dutch East India Company was. He only knew one thing. On the Ming Dynasty, the opponent must be coiled even if it is a dragon or a tiger.
He has to lie down, he has this strength now.
Zheng Zhilong's palace was so deep that he seemed to have listened to De Wet's warning. Not only did he promise not to embarrass Xu Xinsu again, but he also promised not to intercept the merchant ships heading for the high officials.
De Wet had no doubts about him. After all, in his opinion, going against the company was an extremely irrational thing, no different from committing suicide.
After all the goods were unloaded ashore and the silver was loaded onto the ship, Zheng Zhilong did not want to stay here for a long time and immediately said goodbye to De Wet. De Wet sent him away and couldn't wait to find Xu Xinxu and said with a smile: "Simhiok (Xu Xinxu), good news, iquan
I have already promised that simsou (Xu Xinsu) no longer has to worry about safety issues. After you return, ask him to send the debt and raw silk to the chief officer as soon as possible."
Even through the translator, Xu Xinxu could feel De Wet's pride, and he sneered in his heart. He really believed his words and didn't know how he died. He pretended to be surprised and said: "That's great, if it really looks like this
As Mr. Waite said, my brother from another country will definitely repay Mr. Waite's kindness when he comes to serve as a senior official."
When he heard the word "repay", De Wet couldn't help but laugh. The past few years of getting along with him made him deeply impressed by Xu Xinsu's wealth, and he was always generous. This time, he had a considerable income just by talking about it.
Some don't want to leave. Of course, this is just a joke and cannot be taken seriously. He took the risk and came to Asia just to live a decent life in the Netherlands.
In the days that followed, Lidvedt had been looking forward to the arrival of Xu Xinsu. Unfortunately, not to mention Xu Xinsu, there were only a few merchant ships. According to the accounts of Ming people on the merchant ships, Zheng Zhilong did inform merchants in various ports that they could go to Daguan when he returned to Zhongzuo.
Trade, however, merchant ships are often intercepted and killed by pirates as soon as they enter the sea loaded with goods, and less than one in ten can escape.
De Wet was dumbfounded after hearing this. When he realized that he had been tricked by Zheng Zhilong, he felt unprecedented humiliation. If it weren't for the lack of warships, he would definitely go to the other party to settle accounts now. Now he can only temporarily endure this bad breath and dispatch
The two ships went north to Wuyu Island to inquire about the situation, and negotiated with Zheng Zhilong to see if things had improved, while he was waiting for the arrival of the new commander Naz and the fleet. (To be continued. Mobile phone users please go and read.)