New Shun 1730

Governor Valkenir did not comment on Lian Fuguang's suggestion.

There are too many troubles now, and the company is still negotiating with Dashun.

No one had expected that China, which was considered "honest, timid, and ignorant of the outside world" by Peter Pan, the founder of Batavia, more than a hundred years ago, would actually attack Japan and defeat Japan effortlessly.

Although the company also planned to switch on the gunboats against Japan after the Arai Shiraishi New Deal, in addition to some financial factors such as the bubble explosion, the trading house in Nagasaki also observed Japan's military strength and believed that although it was backward, it could not be easily defeated.

Now that Dashun has defeated Japan, it has a navy that may not even beat Denmark and Sweden in Europe; but in Asia, it is a force that cannot be underestimated.

In particular, the news sent back by the company's special envoy Phillips said that Dashun has at least one heavy battleship, and their "Minister of the Navy" is an extremely warlike person and is full of hostility towards the Dutch. He is a person like the "Dutch patriot before the War of the Spanish Succession": fanatical and fearless.

Although the Netherlands was bled dry by France in the War of Western Succession, and such "patriots" were rare in the Seven Provinces and were regarded as idiots, Valknir still easily understood what kind of person he was.

The Dashun Army was still very scary. Valknir knew about the war between Dashun and Russia, and also heard about the war between Dashun and the Oirat Mongols.

The Seven Years' War had not yet arrived, and the myth of the Mongolian cavalry had not yet been broken. The Russians often took the Tuerhut Mongols to fight against the Swedes, Poles and even the French. The Dutch knew that those people were excellent cavalry, and Dashun could easily defeat their khanates, so the army did not have to think about going to war with Dashun.

If there was no navy, it could still do something in Batavia. But now Dashun even has a navy, which makes Valknir a little overwhelmed.

The company sent him here, tacitly allowing him to cut the Gordian knot and solve the "extra population" so as to successfully complete the transformation. The company was very pessimistic about the prospects of the sugar industry, and Batavia had been built, so these "Chinese" who were indispensable at the beginning seemed to be redundant.

Although the seventeen gentlemen of the company did not want to take the blame, they secretly expressed their true meaning: the Chinese in Batavia were redundant, but Ceylon still needed a large number of Chinese. It would be best to use the residence permit issue to turn these Chinese into debt slaves and send them to Ceylon, or send a batch to Cape Town.

In the words of the seventeen gentlemen: Chinese are more valuable than those African slaves. They can do many technical jobs, not just on plantations; they are also easier to be organized, thanks to their government's frequent organization of them for labor.

Becoming a debt slave is simple. Catch those who do not have residence permits and ask how long they have lived there. Two silver coins a year, plus five silver coins for the residence permit, at least seven silver coins must be owed. These debts need to be repaid, so be a slave before the debts are paid off.

After Valknir came to Batavia, he also realized that the situation here was a little out of control.

The Chinese... too many people.

The company does not welcome Dutch people who are not employees of the company to come to Batavia. It is very unwelcome. Batavia is not Dutch, but the private land of the East India Company. The Dutch population here is less than 10,000, while there are 4,000 to 5,000 Chinese in the city, and 60,000 to 70,000 people outside the city.

The sugar factory's business is not good, resulting in many slave workers in the sugar factory being abandoned and finding their own way to survive. These people are in groups, and it is possible to be organized.

But... it is really difficult to deal with now.

Kill, dare not kill. The "Minister of the Navy" of Dashun is a fanatical "Dutch patriot"-like aristocrat. Such a person is in charge of the navy, so it is best not to provoke the Dashun official to come forward.

Moreover, the requirement given by the Seventeen-member Committee is "to solve the problem of excess population, and never affect trade with China."

This is simply wanting the horse to run, but not to eat grass. Unless there is a fool sitting in the Chinese court, how can it be possible to solve the problem of excess population and not affect trade with China at all?

Lian Fuguang's suggestion now is to arrest the leaders first. Will Valkenir worry that this will intensify the conflict?

If Dashun did not have a navy and the power to defeat Japan, he would have wanted to intensify the conflict so that he would have an excuse to suppress and massacre.

But now, he is not too brave to intensify the conflict. Once the conflict intensifies, it may be difficult to deal with. He wants to wait for the official attitude of Dashun.

The Netherlands is abiding by the law.

For example, when the Netherlands faced old pioneer colonial countries such as Portugal and Spain, Grotius, a pioneer of international law, advocated free navigation and free trade on the high seas. The sea belongs to the whole world, and trade should be free, not monopolized by one country; for example, when the Netherlands faced the competition of Britain in Southeast Asia, it advocated that "free trade is a hotbed of crime, and the interests of monopoly companies must be protected", and a group of British, Portuguese and Japanese were massacred on Ambon Island.

Now Dashun has a navy, and it should be the first in Asia in terms of tonnage. The Netherlands still has to abide by the law, but it has to consider what kind of law to abide by.

Shouldn't we take out the "Freedom of the Seas" by the pioneer of Dutch national law and oppose any form of gunboat diplomacy? In particular, should we oppose the Dashun sending warships to Southeast Asia to use force to intimidate the company and conduct gunboat diplomacy?

If this is the case, then you should especially avoid intensifying the conflict at this time.

In Batavia’s attitude towards trials and arrests, we must also bring out the long-standing theory of redemptive government. “God is a loving King. He is willing and able to unconditionally forgive all repentant people, but He must let people know The consequences of committing a crime are actually very serious, so that people will stop committing crimes. Punishing those who commit crimes is just to prevent others from committing crimes. If we can use love and redemption to let those lost souls know that they have made mistakes, it may not be necessary. Severe punishment is required.”

The current situation is no better than before. According to Valknier, the best outcome is for Dashun to recognize that the Chinese are the people of the Batavia government. They should respect the laws of Batavia and acquiesce in sending these Chinese to other places for work. Debt slave.

At least, it was better than the Chinese uprising, the Dutch suppression, and Dashun finally finding an excuse for war and sending warships. The navy may not be afraid of Dashun's navy that has no actual combat experience, but the army... is really afraid. The army that could suppress the Russians, easily destroy the Mongol Khanate, and defeat the Japanese samurai could not hold Batavia as long as a thousand men landed.

But the question is, what should these Chinese do?

Previous governors and various officials under them were all too "nice" to the Chinese. As a result, the Chinese outside the city would not believe anything the Batavia government said.

Besides, even if you believe it, becoming a debt slave, even if you change the name to "redeem your sins with labor," is of no use.

After hesitating for a while and still undecided, Lian Fuguang said again: "Mr. Governor, there is an old saying in China that a man does not harm a tiger's will, but a tiger harms his heart. In your words, people do not pray in the cold winter. , but winter will still come.”

"Lian Huaiguan, Huang Ban and others have always behaved badly. They are ambitious. Will they stop causing chaos because of the kindness of the Governor?"

"For those who are ambitious, your kindness will only make their ambitions bigger. Those outside the city are bewitched by them, so they are dissatisfied."

"If you don't catch them, they will still organize the Black Shirt Party and the Sans Sans. They will commit crimes everywhere. Could it be said that if you don't catch them, they won't commit crimes?"

Valkenir raised his head and looked at Lian Fuguang, thinking that this seemed to be the case. It's like a war is about to break out and there's always an excuse. Even though he did not want to intensify the conflict, the conflict was not resolved. The sugar factory was still unprofitable and required layoffs. The unfair treatment of the Chinese and the joint exploitation of the lower-class Dutch bureaucrats and the urban gentry also did not diminish.

If we say we can capture the thief first, we should first arrest a few leaders with prestige at the bottom, and the rest will disperse in a rush.

Without any organization, these Chinese are like potatoes in the field. They are themselves and others are others.

"Yes. Captain Lian, what you said makes sense. The reason why you were selected as a Chinese captain is precisely because you know how to protect the interests of your compatriots."

"Those stupid rebels don't care about the lives of their compatriots. They don't deserve to be human beings. Such people in the Netherlands must have their heads chopped off and cut into four pieces, and their lungs hung on the flagpole."

"Your actions have proven your loyalty. Your actions have also saved your compatriots who worship God, love money and have no morals."

"You are a qualified Kapitan."

Lian Fuguang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and Valkenir added: "I have also read your sugar factory transfer document. I think that the evil deeds you and the law enforcement officers who assaulted the residence permit in the sugar factory are absolutely incompatible with each other." It doesn’t matter.”

"However, as Kapitan, you must pay close attention to the movements of the Chinese in the city. If there is any collusion with the rebels and careerists outside, you must report it in time. Only in this way can you protect your compatriots."

Lian Fuguang nodded hurriedly.

"Yes, Lord Governor. There is an old saying in China that a stinky fish stirs up a fishy pot. I will find all these stinky fish."

"So, when are we going to arrest the leaders who instigated the rebellion?"

Valkenir chuckled and said lightly: "Mr. Captain, please pay attention to your identity. This is confidential and you should not ask. You have proven your loyalty. What you need to do now is to let your compatriots in the city know your identity." , to prove his loyalty to Batavia."

Lian Fuguanglian claimed that it was true, handed over the paperwork proving the transfer of the sugar factory, walked backward to the door, and quietly backed out.

After leaving the door, he breathed a long sigh of relief, thinking that he would go back and have his brother locked up by the servants first. At this juncture, he must not get involved with the group of people outside the city.