Countless coconut trees, endless beaches, and bushes in the distance all told them that this was not the so-called New Guinea island.
On the way there, they were deeply impressed by the tall, airtight woods and the humidity of one pound of air and half a pound of water.
The island in front of you, or the mainland, is definitely not New Guinea.
"This is?" Du Long was stunned.
"Head, it should be the new big island!" the first mate opened his mouth and said.
"It should be!" Du Long nodded, and then gave the order: "Everyone, park the ship, then replenish the resources, food, and drink, and make sure it is fully loaded!"
Stepping onto the beach, a sense of solidity hits your face.
Everyone started looking around.
However, the islands along the way taught them a lot of lessons. They had to be careful, wrap themselves up tightly, wear good shoes, gloves, and beware of poisonous insects, snakes, and scorpions.
Across the beach, you will see uninhabited mountains and all kinds of strange animals and plants, which is an eye-opener.
You guys don’t mind it, you should eat it.
Animals that are not afraid of people die quickly, and those that cannot be eaten are smoked and dried and become stored goods.
Everyone did not dare to spend the night on land at all, so they returned to the boat to spend the night.
The next day, the large army continued to march inland.
They understand that the huge area of Exploration Island, a large island, will be the key to their success.
The larger and more valuable they are, the more promising they are.
…
At this time, representatives from Batavia, representing the Dutch East India Company, took ships north to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty, preparing to divide the sphere of influence in the Southeast Asia.
And his first stop was Brunei.
When he learned that this small country was also occupied by Akito, he was stunned: "God, this is only a few days away from Batavia."
The guide could only wait in silence.
"Are they going to colonize here?"
Looking at the prosperous port under construction, Gilbert couldn't help but ask.
"On behalf of your Excellency, a country will be established here, which will be a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty."
The guide said seriously: "After the Ming conquered this place, the Ming Emperor rewarded his ninth son here and became the king here."
“The country’s name is ‘Xiang’!”
"Hunan?" Gilbert repeated it clearly and sighed: "Compared to the name of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Ming Emperor is like Octavian, holding huge power."
"But isn't the lesson of the Frankish Kingdom enough? Why does this emperor want to divide his empire?"
The guide hesitated for a moment and then said: "Perhaps these allocated lands are basically barren colonies!"
"Although the colonies belong to the Ming Empire, the Ming Empire belongs to this emperor."
This explanation is very simple and clear.
Just like the East India Company, although it belonged to the Netherlands, if the Dutch nobles wanted to carve up the colonies and make them their own fiefs, that would not work.
Not even the Prince of Orange could do that.
But it was possible in Ming Dynasty.
Gilbert was shocked: "This emperor gave up the interests of the empire and gave them to his own family, but no one dared to object."
"What a huge power this is!"
"Even Octavian and Charlemagne don't have such power!"
The construction of Brunei was in an orderly manner, and Gilbert did not stay too long. He continued northward by boat and arrived in Luzon.
Regarding Luzon, Gilbert smelled the prosperity there, and he lamented: "The loss of the Philippines is just like the Spanish hegemony, which is gradually coming to an end. Only I, the Dutch, are the overlords of Europe!"
The Second Anglo-Dutch War came to an end and ended with the victory of the Dutch.
The Dutch fleet ravaged the Thames for three days and blocked the estuary for several months, forcing London, which had suffered from fire and plague, to succumb and reach a peace agreement.
Britain ceded Suriname to the Netherlands in exchange for the New Netherland region of North America, including New Amsterdam.
Britain was forced to amend its navigation laws and cede some commercial interests to the Netherlands. It was forced to form a three-nation alliance with the Netherlands and Sweden to jointly put pressure on the newly emerging France and ask King Louis XIV of France to return a large amount of territory to Spain (1667-1668
France defeated Spain in the Transfer War).
As a result, the Dutch lost the burden of the New World, gained colonies in West Africa, suppressed the expansion of France, and reshaped their status as a European hegemon.
Only Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France were unwilling to do so.
The Netherlands is doing very well throughout Europe.
It is precisely for this reason that the East India Company will look for opportunities to go north and take advantage of the limelight to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty, thereby stabilizing its rule over the East Indies Spice Islands.
You must know that the number of Chinese in the entire Southeast Asia has reached one million, covering Siam, Myanmar, Java Island, the Strait of Malacca and other places, which can be said to have a great influence.
In addition, with the support of a huge entity like the Ming Dynasty, once they are combined, it will be a huge pressure for the East India Company.
At the same time, the strong desire for expansion of the Ming Empire also made the East India Company uneasy.
Borneo was so close to Java and the East Indies that this empire could no longer be allowed to continue.
After admiring the scenery of Luzon, Gilbert continued north and arrived in Taiwan.
Compared with Luzon, which is more Hispanic, Taiwan is a model of combining Chinese and Western styles.
There are countless various buildings, and the Gothic church is refreshing.
The Spanish, Dutch, Japanese (those who believed in Catholicism were forced to be expelled), Portuguese, etc. formed settlements, with large and small settlements mixed together.
But obedience to Taiwan's government and county governments is their principle of limited autonomy.
After Gilbert settled in Taiwan, he did not continue north.
Because of such a diplomatic visit, Gai originally wanted to inform Ming Dynasty. Without his consent, it would be difficult for him to enter Beijing.
However, in Dayuan County, he enjoyed visiting the places.
The narrow road can only allow a few people to pass side by side because there are a large number of small stalls on both sides of the street.
Europeans with black hair, blue eyes, or yellow hair were shouting in Mingren's language, looking around, seeking the favor of customers.
Some were wearing Western vests, some were wearing short shirts, and some were wearing Ming Dynasty short coats, which looked particularly strange.
Gilbert stepped on the stone slabs, feeling the solidity of the ground and the cleanness without feces. He felt that his high heels were worn in vain.
The clanking footsteps made many vendors look over:
Another newcomer!
Gilbert looked around, dazzled by the various goods.
There are snacks, such as cakes, candied haws, sour plum soup, turtle paste, asparagus candy, maltose, sugar cakes, pea yellow, sugar cakes, candied fruits, etc.
He watched with rapt attention and ate with relish.
After a while, he sighed: "It is indeed the sugar capital of the East, and there are indeed many sugar products!"
Although the West Indies also continued to produce sugar, the white sugar, rock sugar and other specialty sugars imported by the East India Company accounted for half of the European market.
Annual imports total more than five million Dutch guilders.
Converted into silver dollars, that's two million yuan.
This is a huge number.
The profits it generated were almost half that of the East India Company.
Among them, 70% are produced in Taiwan.
Naturally, Taiwan is known as the Sugar City.
Wandering around the streets now, as expected, there were countless various candy products, and he was surrounded by sweetness.
I bought a cup of shaved ice and was surprised by the coolness of the summer, but Gilbert felt much calmer.
The towering Gothic cathedral made him unable to help but stop and step into it.
As expected, this is Protestant territory.
The believers were sitting on chairs, and the pastor was leading everyone in reading the Bible.
And if it is in the Catholic Church, the priests will just preach with white teeth.
The priest is Catholic and the priest is Protestant.
Among the believers sitting in the church, half are Europeans and half are Asians.
Everyone was very qualified and read along sentence by sentence.
But Gilbert was very embarrassed, because this tmd was speaking Chinese, not Latin, French, or Dutch at all.
So uncomfortable.
He left the church almost in embarrassment: "God, do all these people understand?"
Because the Taiwan government pursues a liberal policy, he can browse around and learn more about Taiwan.
This Spanish colony has only been under the rule of the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years. Its total population has exceeded 800,000 and it has six counties.
Hundreds of ships arrive every year, almost half of which come from the East Indies.
On the way, he met several Europeans in long robes, who looked a bit like Spanish people, heading towards a house.
The wide courtyard was opened, and the banquet was placed on the street.
Firecrackers were crackling all over the place, and all kinds of guests came to visit, took out red paper, and then sang loudly.
Even though I can't understand the words, my joy is beyond words.
"Sir, what happened here?"
Gilbert quickly grabbed a Spanish man.
"Oh, this is a happy event for the Held family!" The man frowned, but when he saw a Dutch guilder, he immediately smiled.
"A man from the Herder family has been admitted as a scholar and is giving a banquet. Everyone, whether they know him or not, can sit down and eat!"
"Xiucai?"
"Oh, a lifelong title that can be passed, which is equivalent to a servant, and can be qualified as an official."
The man explained without reservation: "With hundreds of people competing for a title like Ming Dynasty, it is very fierce. It is both an honor and a future for the entire family!"
"A knighthood that can be tested?" Gilbert was shocked and stayed where he was, unable to move.
The man left quietly.
"I have to go check it out!"
Gilbert stepped in, and all he saw were Europeans wearing Mingren robes.
Blonde hair, blue eyes and a high nose, wearing that robe, looks particularly strange, but unexpectedly harmonious.
The host's speech was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and won rounds of applause.
But Gilbert couldn't understand it. There was no doubt that it was Chinese.
He can only listen to it through an interpreter.
He thanked him for a moment, and then explained that his son would work in the county government in the future and serve the Ming Emperor.
The son's speech next was more low-key and humble, nothing more than encouraging everyone to study and obtain fame.
Everyone's emotions are very intense and at the same time full of longing.
What's wrong with Gilbert's heart?
For a commoner like him, a lifetime title is rare.
After leaving the banquet, Gilbert returned to the street.
The newsboy's brisk footsteps woke him up.
It was strange that a pair of newspapers came out, so he bought one and read it, and then the interpreter translated:
"The Nanhai Navy will be divided into four branches, stationed in Guangzhou, Penghu, Luzon, and Hunan respectively, and the scale will be expanded to 15,000 people..."
"Fujian people will be able to freely enter and leave Taiwan, and they can settle down and become naturalized!"
However, in a remote place, Gilbert learned that Taiwan's sugar exports reached one million dan.
He calculated in his mind that each stone of sugar exported cost five silver coins, which was 12.5 guilders, which was 12.5 million guilders.
"My God, isn't there two million guilders a year in taxes here?"
After hearing that nearly half of the population was engaged in the sugar industry, which also supported thousands of soldiers and the Penghu navy, no matter how much Gilbert ignored it, he understood the huge value of Taiwan.
The taxes on the output here were almost the net profit of the East India Company.
For a moment, he was so passionate that he wanted to rush back to Balavia and let the navy go out to conquer this fertile land.
But almost instantly, he calmed down and immediately understood the situation.
Taiwan is the territory of this huge empire, with an army of millions and a navy of tens of thousands. It is the top empire in the world.
Even if the East India Company defeated the Penghu Navy, then there would be the Nanhai Navy and the East China Sea Navy, and a steady stream of troops would come over and crush the company, which would bankrupt the company.
This is a loss-making business that no one would do.
Using one company to provoke a huge empire is not a good choice.
Likewise, Gilbert was waiting in Taiwan, exploring whether he could find his own plan to make a fortune.
A few days later, he was overjoyed when he discovered moth balls.
At this time, news from Beijing also urged him to go north.
At this time, there were two warships guarding them.
This made Gilbert feel quite flattered.
When they arrived in Beijing, people from the Ministry of Rites arranged for them to be taught etiquette.
"Foreign ministers, I pay homage to His Majesty the Ming Emperor, I wish you a long life!"
"Get up!"
Zhu Yixi glanced at the East India Company representative, looked at it for a few times and asked:
"The Anglo-Dutch War is over?"
Gilbert was startled, then breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your Majesty, it ended not long ago!"
"Oh!" Zhu Yixi sighed: "You must have won in the end, otherwise why would you have gone north to see me? It's just a show off."
"However, what belongs to the Netherlands belongs to the Netherlands, and what belongs to the East India Company belongs to the East India Company. These are two different things and cannot be confused."