Li Siya made up as a local Minnan woman, painted her face darkly, and wore a dark hat. She followed a few people under Guo Huaiyi, pretending to be a hunter who went to Daguan to sell deer skins.
member.
Her identity is the "daughter" of one of the hunters. These people are all Guo Huaiyi's confidants. They often travel between Da Yuan and Bengang, spying on the movements of the Dutch in the name of doing business.
The road from Bengang to Dajuan is basically safe - at least during the day, Han immigrants and East India Company employees can walk in groups without fear of being attacked by natives.
Most of the indigenous people on the island of Taiwan are Malays who drifted from Southeast Asia. Some of them only landed in Taiwan during the Tang and Song Dynasties. Many so-called indigenous people brought a custom of headhunting from their distant homeland.
Headhunting is not necessarily for hatred or profit - of course it is better to have hatred and profit. In many cases, it is more about headhunting for the sake of headhunting. The rows of heads on wooden piles in the village are like modern people's collections.
A collectible that can be shown off. The dried human head is used to prove the owner's courage and strength.
The shipwrecked sailors who landed on the island, the sailors who fetched water, and the immigrants from southern Fujian who landed on the island all became the targets of headhunting at the beginning of the landing. Malaria and headhunting by indigenous tribes made Taiwan Island a notorious sight to outsiders for a long time.
With the increase in immigration, the establishment of self-defense forces and the operation of the Dutch in Taiwan, the natives in Xingang and other places began to surrender, and headhunting has become much less common. However, it is still unsafe to travel alone. The road from Bengang to Dajuan
Although a lot of farmland has been developed on both sides, a large area is still wilderness and inaccessible. Neither the Dutch nor the immigrants can guarantee the security of this area.
The Dutch Trading Post was originally located on the last island of the North Line, taking into account both defense and protecting the inner sea of the Taijiang River. However, in order to facilitate transactions with local people, several additional houses were built on one side of the Luermen Waterway as trading posts. Acquisition
Deerskin and cane sugar, selling some daily groceries, ironware and salt.
The trading station itself is also a brick and stone building. The second and third floors are warehouses, which are used to stack purchased goods. At the entrance of the trading station, Han Chinese who sell deerskin products and indigenous people from Xingang and other places are queuing up under the steps.
Waiting. There is a large table on the steps. Deerskin is placed on the table, and a low-level Dutch businessman is responsible for checking the price. Deerskin is Taiwan's most valuable local export after sugar, and the Dutch are very fond of it.
Pay attention to.
The sunshine in Taiwan in May was already very hot. Except for the indigenous people who showed their heads bald as usual, almost all the Han people wore bamboo hats common in southern Fujian. Their faces were almost invisible. Li Siya knew that as long as her face was not seen, she would be fine.
There will be problems. She carefully observed the situation of the senior officials under the bamboo hat.
Although it is difficult to carefully observe the progress of the Castle of Relanja from this place, even if it is vaguely visible, it can be seen that the construction volume is more than half, and Li Siya estimates that it will be completed in less than half a year.
What shows the vigilance of the Dutch more than the Castle of Geranze is their fort on the island at the end of the northern line. The fort has obviously been reinforced, and the bamboo pole walls erected on the ramparts illustrate the Dutch's newly strengthened vigilance. She
It was discovered that the number of artillery on the fort on the island at the end of the northern line had also increased. The number of sentries patrolling the island had also increased.
Recall that Guo Huaiyi said that the Dutch have recently been recruiting a large number of civilian workers to work on the construction site. Apparently they are eager to complete the city of Relanja as a support point to defend against the Australian attack.
This place is very close to the Japanese village, and Li Siya soon discovered that there was a notice in Japanese posted on the bulletin board at the entrance of the store. She excused herself and walked over to take a look, and found that it was a recruitment order from the Dutch.
The Dutch were recruiting Japanese soldiers as soldiers - this new discovery confirmed her suspicion. She knew well that the East India Company was stingy and would never recruit mercenaries for no reason.
Chief Putmans is either extremely wary of the Australians, or he intends to do evil to the Australians.
However, as of now, the Dutch are far from the Australians' opponents in terms of Taiwan's strength. It is impossible for Hans Putmans to be crazy enough to actively take hostile actions against the Australians. Moreover, he does not have the power.
After selling the deerskin, Li Siya came to Dajuan Street - there was a simple market outside the Dutch buying station due to trade. At this time, there were only a few shops and some small stalls. It was done locally.
The business of the indigenous people and the Han people who came to trade. Many of the people walking in and out of the streets and shops were local indigenous people from Xiaoluo Society, Madou Society and Xingang Society. They had been "civilized" by Dutch missionaries.
, already have simple clothes. But many natives are drunk and staggering around in the street.
The Dutch transported a large amount of arrack from Batavia and rum from Lingao, specifically to exchange fur goods with the natives.
Letting the natives become addicted to alcohol is a common practice of many trading companies in the Age of Discovery. The less civilized natives generally do not need too many daily necessities, so the natives must be forced to do transactions frequently. Only if they have a dependent hobby
Use more brains when tasting. Once the natives become addicted to alcohol, they become poor people who can be exploited by companies. This scene is happening everywhere from North and South America to the Bering Strait and Siberia.
Li Siya herself had done this kind of business, and she didn't care about it at all. She asked Guo Huaiyi's men to take her into a decent wine shop. People coming in and out of the door saw that this place did not entertain natives.
Most of them are Han Chinese, with occasional Japanese, blacks and East Indians coming in and out.
The tavern was bustling with people, and all the windows in the room were open for ventilation. Seven to eight people were seated inside. There is always a lot of news in the tavern, especially in such a tavern. Judging from the people coming in and out, there are not only people coming here for trade.
Han Chinese, as well as various people serving under the Dutch. We should be able to learn a lot of information from their mouths.
Li Siya can speak many languages common in East Asia - even some dialects. At her signal, the group found a table near a table where several Japanese people were drinking, ordered some wine and rice, and quietly
Eat and drink.
The Japanese spoke in Japanese - they probably felt that since they were all Chinese here, no one could understand Japanese, so they did not shy away from the content of their speech. Li Siya soon received a lot of news: including the recently strengthened alert;
An order was issued to increase the reserves of rice and gunpowder in the city and various forts; new artillery and matchlocks would also be shipped from Batavia.
Then Lisya heard an important news: the trading ship coming from Batavia on the southern trade wind would carry a big man to the city of Relandia.
Although the Japanese have a relatively low status and don't know who the visitor is, judging from the various preparations they mentioned in their conversation to welcome this big man, the visitor is at least a Batavia critic.
A senior official of the East India Company at the level of a member of Parliament, or possibly a big shot from within the Netherlands.
This news immediately aroused great interest in Li Siya. The sudden arrival of this big man obviously had an important purpose. If you can know who the visitor is and what his purpose is, you may be able to use it.
After leaving the tavern, Li Siya immediately decided to stay overnight in order to investigate the matter.
There were simple inns in the market, and it was certainly inconvenient for Li Siya to stay there. Fortunately, Guo Huai had someone in the area who was responsible for inquiring about information, so he stayed at his house.
"Are there any prostitute activities near Da Yuan Street?" she asked her attendant immediately after settling in.
"Yes, there are many prostitutes on the street. There are Han Chinese and natives..."
"Whose business do you do?"
"Everyone does anything."
"Is there anyone doing business with red-haired people?"
"There isn't one on the street. But there is a tavern next to Midao Pier on the Northern Line. They are all saltwater girls, some are Han Chinese and some are black. Occasionally there are ghost girls. They specialize in business for sailors on ships. The red ones in the city
The hairy people often go there too.”
Li Siya knew that the black people in the Han population included black slaves from Africa and natives from the East Indies. Black people are relatively rare in East Asia, and there are less likely to have black women; it is more likely that the Dutch came from Batavia.
Brought indigenous female slaves from East Asia.
"As soon as it gets dark, try to send me to the last island on the northern line."
"Young man, I understand!" The entourage had received instructions and followed this woman's arrangements.
"When I want to return, I will hold up a light on the shore as a signal, and you will send a boat to pick me up."
"It's easy." The attendant said, "The ship doesn't need to return. There are many rocks on the Lu'ermen side and the water is shallow. The red-haired ghost never patrols there. I will hide the boat among the rocks. If you whistle on the shore, I will
Come out and respond."
After it got completely dark, Lisiya and her two followers quietly came to the shore, where a small boat had been prepared. Lisya was wrapped in a black hooded cloak, jumped lightly, and landed on the boat.
"Let's go."
The boat quietly paddled across the water - this is the Lu'ermen Waterway, which is inaccessible to large ships, so it is inaccessible. The boat soon crossed the waterway safely and rested among the tangled reefs on the shore.
"Wait for me here. If I don't come back before dawn, go back and report to Guo Touren." Li Siya observed the situation on the shore and warned.
"I understand, little one."
Lisya quietly landed on the coast. It was not far from the pier. The pier was dark and only a few lights were still on. She had already asked for the location of the tavern and went there.
She carefully dodged the sentry near the dock and took off her cloak next to a cargo pile. She was wearing a European-style cotton dress, deliberately torn in some places, and her hair was fluffed down. She tore it off
He pulled up a circle of skirt to expose part of his calf. He quickly took out the rouge from his pocket, quickly applied it on his face and lips, and then used charcoal pencil to outline his eyebrows and eye circles.