() De Wet once again met with Xu Xinsu’s cousin Xu Xinxu at the meeting office of the Chief Executive’s Office, but now he was no longer the chief executive. Not long ago, company council member Peter Natz led the fleet from Batavia
He arrived in Orange successfully, succeeded him as the third chief in the history of the chief minister, and brought a resolution that the company had discussed for a long time. The city of Orange was officially renamed the city of Geranje.
Peter Natz is just like the rumors, his brain is full of arrogance, conceitedness, ignorance, disgusting, without any qualities worthy of praise. As soon as he arrived, he ignored De Wet's own feelings and couldn't wait to occupy the chief's office.
, dictating and arrogant to the employees in the office. However, he soon left the city of Relanja and went to Japan.
According to him, the relationship between the company and Japan was tense due to De Wet's tough tariffs on Japanese businessmen, so he went to Japan to wipe De Wet's butt.
De Wet was very annoyed by the accusations made by the company and Natz. Did I propose the decision to impose tariffs? Or did the tariffs collected go into my pocket? No, not at all! Japan has always coveted Formosa.
(Taiwan), trying to take it as their own, this is the most fundamental reason why the relationship between Japan and the company has become increasingly tense.
Speaking of being tough, DeWitt thought that compared to the arrogant Natz, he was as gentle as a sheep. He could already predict that Natz would be looked down upon, ignored or even expelled in Japan.
When Naz left, he ordered De Wet to stay at the headquarters as the commander of the Castle of Geranze until he returned from Japan. This did not conflict with the time of De Wet's return to the country, and he had no reason to refuse.
He didn't want to refuse. He hated Zheng Zhilong's previous behavior of breaking the agreement and playing tricks on him. He had to teach the other party a memorable lesson. This time it was not for money, but for dignity, so that this pirate who did not keep his reputation knew how to anger him.
What a price a noble gentleman will pay.
The only thing that bothered him was that Natz went to Japan and took away several sea ships. Now we only have 9 sea ships that can be used for combat. If they were all Dutch ships, De Wet would not be troubled.
Unfortunately, there were only 5 Dutch ships, and the other 4 were Junk ships (Chinese sailing ships). Fortunately, Natz brought 300 energetic soldiers and sailors from Batavia who had just arrived in Asia from Europe.
, coupled with the garrison in the city of Relanja, the manpower is abundant and the strength is strong.
After listening to the content of Yu Zigao's letter through an interpreter, De Wet pondered for a while and said: "Simhiok (Xu Xinxu). I heard that the iquan (一官) is in Guangdong, and you also know that we and the Portuguese in Macau have always been
There is a hostile relationship. Until not long ago, I sent ships to blockade Macau and fight with the Portuguese. Although any of them are not the company's opponents, if they unite, they will pose a certain threat to the company. This letter from the Fujian Navy Commander
..., it’s not enough to motivate me to take the risk of going to Guangdong.”
Xu Xinxu said calmly: "My brother and the chief town have no such intention. They just want to invite Mr. Waite to Zhongzuo for a while."
"Oh?" De Wet asked: "What does simsou (Xu Xinsu) and the navy commander mean by inviting me?"
"Business." Xu Xinxu said slowly.
De Wet was moved when he heard this. If the Chinese Empire allowed merchants to trade freely with the high officials, the company's interests would be greatly, very, very greatly improved for the high officials. Taking the raw silk that the company most desires as an example, every load in the sea
Cheng's ex-port price was 350 Dutch guilders (about one hundred and forty taels of silver), while Xu Xinsu's price when sold to officials was 500 Dutch guilders (about one hundred and forty taels). As long as the Chinese Empire was willing to lift trade controls on merchants and companies,
The purchase price will immediately be reduced by more than 40% if shipped to other countries...
Of course, something that the company has always dreamed of but has been unable to achieve is now proposed by the other party. It is obvious that it is powerless to iquan (一官) and is trying to use the power of the company to expel iquan (一官).
De Wet himself was trying to settle accounts with iquan (an official), both publicly and privately. He couldn't refuse the other party's proposal: "Simhiok (Xu Xinxu), give me a few days, you know that there is a high possibility that this trip will involve you and
If something unpleasant happens to the iquan (an official), I must make the most adequate preparations to ensure that I will not lose the war."
"That's right." Xu Xinxu nodded, then stood up and said goodbye: "Mr. Waite is ready, please send someone to notify me, and I will return with you."
De Wet saw off Xu Xinxu and immediately began to prepare for his trip north. A few days later, wearing a fashionable but bloated and gorgeous outfit, he boarded the deck of the "Vrede" anchored in Taiyuan Port.
The Vrede is 36 meters long, 8 meters wide, 34 meters high, and weighs 170 rasters (approximately 340 tons, rastes, the load-carrying unit of Nordic ships, 1 rast = 2 tons).
It is a jacht-type sea-going ship. Because the Dutch also call coastal sloops jacht, the two are often confused. The jacht is a three-masted sailing ship, and the fluit-type sea-going ship can be called the Dutch East Indies.
The company's two pillars at sea account for 70%-80% of the total number of ships.
Unlike the fluit-type ships, which are mainly used for long-distance commercial transportation and supplemented by combat, weighing 200-500 rasters (400-1000 tons), the jacht usually weighs between 40-200 rasters (80 tons).
-400 tons), it is a multi-functional ship that integrates combat, patrol, exploration and short-distance transportation. The famous British adventurer Henry Hudson, who was employed by the Dutch East India Company, drove it back then.
A jacht-type clipper ship, the Half Moon, discovered New York. Of course, it is not called New York yet, but New Amsterdam.
Because there was a need for combat on this trip, De Wet increased the number of naval guns on the Vrede to 20, the number of sailors to 90, and it also carried 80 soldiers with good equipment and high morale.
In addition to the Vrede, the other four Dutch warships were the Heusden, which weighed 250 tons and carried 16 guns, and the Erasmusmuns, which weighed 240 tons and carried 16 guns.
The 150-ton Dehaan, which carried 12 guns, and the 100-ton Sloten, which carried 10 guns, were also three-masted jachts.
The combat effectiveness of the jacht sailing ship is not bad, but it is still a bit weak compared to the heavier fluit-type ships that carry more guns. You must know that some heavy-duty fluit-armed merchant ships in Batavia carry
It has 40-50 guns. Although it is not as good as the regular battleships in Europe whose main function is combat, it is a giant in Asia.
It is not that we have never seen heavy-duty fluit armed merchant ships weighing more than 500 tons and carrying more than 40 guns. In fact, there are not only one, but more than one or two. Unfortunately, we are not suitable for berthing large sea-going ships with deep drafts.
, big ships cannot play a role here. What's even worse is that when there is a storm, especially when the north wind blows, the ships have to take shelter on a cliff in the north of the port.
Therefore, Song Ke, the first chief minister, believed that the chief minister's trade must rely on small ships with a draft of 11-12 Dutch feet (about three thousand feet), and asked Batavia not to send any more fluit merchant ships.
It also needs four Junk ships (Chinese sailing ships) equipped with 80 Dutchmen and 24 naval guns.
De Wet looked at the powerful fleet consisting of 9 warships, more than 700 sailors and soldiers, and 98 naval guns. He was very satisfied with his recent preparations. The iquan (一官) ships may be many, but they are all
The slow-moving and fragile Junk ships, as well as the Chinese-made cannons that only threatened people but not ships, only purchased a very small number of large-scale naval guns. De Wet had every reason to believe that iquan (一官)
It will suffer a disastrous defeat in front of its own fleet.
De Wet showed full confidence, but Xu Xinxu was not so optimistic. Xu Xinsu, Yu Zigao, including him, all overestimated the strength of the Dutch at this moment. He originally thought that De Wet would send at least ten plywood ships on this trip.
However, in the end, they only dispatched five ships and four bird ships. With this strength, could they deal with Zheng Yiguan? The latter had more than 400 warships. Even if they were all used as fire ships, they could still kill the Dutch.
Burned to death.
Unaware of Xu Xinxu's worries, De Wet held the sword in his hand and gave the order to set sail with high spirits.
"As you command, Your Excellency, Commander." the boatswain said respectfully.
After receiving the order, in a blink of an eye, the sailors were walking between the sails like apes and working dexterously. The Dutch have the best sailors in the world. This is not something they call themselves, but is recognized by all European countries. Together with the Dutch businessmen
Equally famous. Europeans said sourly: "Norway is their forest, both sides of the Rhine are their vineyards, Ireland is their pasture, Prussia and Poland are their barns, and India and Arabia are their orchards." The Netherlands.
It was through merchants and sailors that people spread their commercial footprints throughout Europe and the entire earth.
As the name suggests, a jacht three-masted sailboat has three masts. The main mast and topmast are hung with horizontal sails on the upper and lower masts. The mizzen mast does not have a topmast and only hangs a large triangle sail. This is a characteristic of the jacht sailboat. This design makes it easier to sail.
Adaptability has been greatly enhanced and can face a variety of situations.
The differences between Dutch ships and Daming ships are very obvious, just like the race, language, and culture of the two countries. Therefore, when the De Wet fleet appeared off the coast of Wuyu Island, it was immediately noticed by the people, the government, and the pirates. (To be continued.)