Nanjing Forbidden City, Wenhua Palace.

Zhu Cihong, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, and the governor of the Dutch East Indies, Anthony. Fan. Diemen's talks continued.

At this time, the first outcome of the talks was that the Ming would open trade to the Dutch East India Company. The first step was to allow the merchant ships of the East India Company to enter and leave the Shanghai commercial port freely, and to allow the citizens of the Republic of the United Dutch Province to reside in the Shanghai commercial port and to operate industrial and commercial businesses!

However, the commercial contract reached between the Dutch East India Company and Zheng Zhilong had to be revised under the general principle of voluntary negotiation. Zheng Zhilong's loss must be compensated - Zhu Cihong's insistence is of course not for Zheng Zhilong, but for another purpose!

His purpose was twofold, one was to exchange the freedom of navigation of the East India Company's merchant ships off the coast of China for the freedom of navigation of Zheng's merchant ships in the South Seas.

If you want to colonize in the South Seas, you have to go there first. Although the East India Company's armed merchant ships could not defeat the Zheng family's sailors off the coast of China, if the battlefield was moved to the Strait of Malacca, around Java Island, or in the Spice Islands, the Zheng family's sailors had no chance of victory.

Moreover, the Dutch East India Company was not the main rival of the Ming Dynasty's expansion in the South Seas. The Netherlands is nothing more than a "coachman at sea", how much territory can a "big charioteer" swallow? After all, the Netherlands is a small country, and its mainland is still on the European continent, which is full of great powers, and it is impossible to expand overseas with all its might.

Therefore, compared to the empire on which the sun never sets in later generations, the power of the Netherlands now is simply insignificant.

The Dutch sphere of influence in the South Seas was only around the East Indies and the Spice Islands, and they did not control all of them, but only established some stronghold colonies, and only the island of Java occupied a relatively large territory and established the city of Batavia.

According to the history known to Zhu Cihong, when the Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia were at their peak, they only took the entire Dutch East Indies...... And the East Indies are not the target of Prince Zhu now.

Zhu Cihong's second goal, of course, is to peacefully recover the island of Taiwan, which has been a sacred and inseparable part of China since ancient times!

"Governor Dimen," Zhu Cihong's tone was a little calm, "Recently, this palace received a report from Taiwan's Bofu, saying that your East India Company sent soldiers to Taiwan's Geranza City and Chikan City to illegally collect tax packages from the villages belonging to Taiwan's Bofu, can there be such a thing?" ”

"Earl of Taiwan? The city of Geranza, the city of Chikan...... Your Highness the Crown Prince, do you mean Formosa? "Fan. Dimen was surprised, "This island is the property of the East India Company, and it does not belong to any Taiwan earl!" ”

Zhu Cihong said word by word: "Taiwanese Bo is Zheng Sen, the son of Zheng Zhilong!"

In the past decade or two, Zheng Zhilong has organized Fujian immigrants to go to Taiwan every year to reclaim land. Today, there are tens of thousands of Han Chinese households on the island of Taiwan, and they are all subjects of the Zheng family...... Therefore, this palace officially canonized Zheng Sen as the uncle of Taiwan last year! ”

Zheng Sen's original title was Uncle Dayuan, but later Zhu Cihong felt that the name of "Member" was not good, and it was also a homonym for "Dayuan", so he changed it to Taiwan Uncle.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince," Fan. Di Men had already realized the seriousness of the problem, "I think you were deceived by General Zheng Zhilong...... Formosa belonged to the East India Company and was a dependency of the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, not the territory of Zheng Zhilong. ”

Zhu Cihong looked at Fan. Dimen, "Since Taiwan Island is not Zheng Zhilong's territory, why can he send ten thousand subjects to Taiwan Island?" ”

"That's not General Zheng Zhilong's subjects," said Fan. Diemen argues that "the Han Chinese on the island of Formosa were subjects of the East India Company......

"Smack"!

Zhu Cihong had already slapped the table. Fan. Di Men spoke French, and Zhu Cihong could understand it, so he didn't wait for John Tang to translate, so he said sharply: "You dare to plunder the ten thousand Ming subjects for yourself...... Do you want to start a war with the Great Tomorrow Dynasty? ”

John Tang hurriedly translated Zhu Cihong's words into French, and then added his own words: "Mr. Governor, what basis do you have for considering the Han people on the island of Formosa as subjects of the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands?" Even if Formosa Island belonged to the East India Company, those Han Chinese were also expatriates of the Ming Empire! ”

"This ......" Fan. Dimon was momentarily speechless.

Zhu Cihong can also understand Tang Ruowang's words, and he doesn't wait for Fan. Dimon replied, and then asked: "If the island of Taiwan belongs to the East India Company, then when Zheng Zhilong transports the subjects to the island for reclamation, can he have the right of the East India Company to exercise jurisdiction?" ”

Of course not...... How can you manage it?

The Dutch East India Company never effectively controlled the entire island of Taiwan. Their territory is the southern part of Taiwan centered on the city of Gelanza and Chikan.

In 1642, they also captured the two Spanish strongholds in northern Taiwan, the cities of San Saldóba and Santo Domingo. However, it only occupies two strongholds, and it is unable to operate the surrounding territory.

In other words, most of the territory on the island of Taiwan is "ownerless". The East India Company's claim to own Formosa is also unfounded. However, they do occupy a small piece of territory in southern Taiwan and two strongholds in northern Taiwan, and whether they have sovereignty or not is another matter, but this is the reality of the situation.

"Governor Dimen," Zhu Cihong saw Fan. Dimon had nothing to say, so he was even more confident, "Now the island of Taiwan is actually under the joint jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty Taiwan Bofu and the East India Company...... Because of this, there have been many conflicts, and the jurisdiction of your two families is extremely unfavorable, so that many places on the island have become pirate dens, invading the coast of our Ming Dynasty, causing a lot of trouble! What this palace means is that your East India Company can negotiate with the Zheng family on the Taiwan issue, and bring Taiwan under the rule of one family and take full responsibility.

If the Zheng family is willing to withdraw, then all the Han people on the island will be moved...... In the future, it was not allowed to receive Hermes-Epitek, nor was it allowed to sail merchant ships from the coast of Daming to the island of Taiwan, and promised the palace that the island would not be used by pirates. If there is a violation, a fine must be paid and compensation must be paid for the damage caused by the pirate attack on the Ming coast.

If you are willing to withdraw, the palace can persuade the Zheng family to pay for the purchase of the cities of Geranza, Chikan, San Saldorba, and Santo Domingo. ”

Zhu Cihong actually only gave it to Fan. One of Dimmen's options was to sell the cities of Geranza, Chikan, San Saldorba, and Santo Domingo to Zheng Zhilong.

It was not profitable for the East India Company to let the Zheng family move Han people, close the islands, and take on the responsibility of exterminating the pirates—only large expenditures, but no income. Moreover, with an army of more than 1,000 people, it is impossible to ensure that the island of Taiwan is not used by pirates.

The deal went to my hometown in the Netherlands...... Hell with the East India Company's shareholders' meeting agreeing! Now the territory of "New York" is still "New Netherlands", where can the Dutch not get more than 20,000 square kilometers? Need the idea to hit the island of Taiwan?

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince," Fan. Dimon frowned, "Formosa is a trading base for Japan and China for the East India Company...... Actually, this island is not a very ideal base, and if you can provide a better place, such as a coastal port like Ho O, we can certainly abandon Formosa. ”

Zhu Cihong said: "Shanghai Commercial Port will be a city open to businessmen from all over the world!" Its geographical location is far superior to Taiwan, and if you East India Company come to China to trade, all you want is money, and Shanghai is the most suitable place to build a merchant house and a commercial dock.

and I will also authorize the East India Company to establish an embassy in Shanghai to represent the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands...... Of course, on the other hand, the Ming Empire should also set up an embassy in Batavia. ”

The establishment of an embassy in Batavia was, of course, to facilitate the collection of intelligence in the Nanyang region and to provide political and diplomatic support for the Zheng family's expansion in the Nanyangs.

John Tang translated Zhu Cihong's words into French. As he listened, Dimon thought it out in his heart.

How much is the benefit of building a commercial hall and a commercial dock in Shanghai, even a fool can figure it out. And the interests of establishing an embassy in Shanghai...... But it's not just about money!

The Republic of the Netherlands will be the first country to have an embassy in the Celestial Empire in the East!

At this moment, Zhu Cihong suddenly accentuated his tone: "If the East India Company wants to establish a stronghold in Taiwan where it can spy on our southeast coast, then this palace will order a ban on all ships of the East India Company and the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands...... Through the strait between Taiwan and Fujian! ”