ps: Thanks to Heyin and core classmates for their 1oo coin reward for their support!
After coming out of the wooden house, Liu Wu separated from the other pirate leaders and led his pirates towards their home base. After about two hours, the ship was a certain distance away from the island occupied by Wang Luoba. Liu Wu stood in the middle of the boat.
, while looking back, he asked, "Are there any suspicious ships nearby?"
"The brothers followed the boss's instructions and drove carefully all the way. They have already left Wang Luoba's patrol boat behind."
A small pirate leader replied.
"Very good, tell all the brothers that all the ships will turn around and head north. Today I will give my brothers a bright future!"
Liu Wu said decisively.
"Yes, the boss." The little pirate leader agreed happily, and then directed the pirate ship to turn around with great enthusiasm...
In Batavia (Jakarta), the capital of the East Indies, several unusual guests came to the home of Zhang Zhenxun, the richest businessman in Southeast Asia.
"Mr. Zhang, this is Mr. Kirby from the UK. Mr. Kirby is a successful businessman. He has many companies in the Qing Dynasty and Japan. Mr. Kirby heard that you are the number one businessman in Nanyang, so he specially came from
Japan came to the East Indies and wanted to cooperate with me in business."
Jakarta Chinese Kapitan Huang Fuyuan pointed at a foreigner with golden and blue eyes and introduced him to Zhang Zhenxun.
"I wonder what kind of business Mr. Kirby wants to discuss with Mr. Zhang?"
Zhang Zhenxun asked.
"I heard that Mr. Zhang has seven reclamation companies in the East Indies, and the rubber reclamation farms alone cover more than 100 square kilometers. I want to cooperate with Mr. Zhang and open rubber plantations together. What do you think of Mr. Zhang?"
Kirby, the foreign devil, did not use Huang Fuyuan to translate, but spoke with a Jiangsu and Zhejiang accent.
"Mr. Kirby may not know much about the situation of the rubber reclamation farm. The Yuxing Rubber Plantation Farm under Zhang's name is not the property of one person, but an enterprise jointly invested and held by Zhang and Defeng Agricultural Reclamation Company.
The rubber seeds and seedlings of Yuxing Rubber Planting Farm were all introduced by Defeng Agricultural Company. When they first cooperated with Defeng Company, the agreement signed between the two parties stipulated that Yuxing Company could not unilaterally introduce the second batch of rubber seeds and seedlings without the consent of Defeng Company.
It is a three-party partnership, so if Mr. Kirby wants to cooperate, he still needs to find a manager from Defeng Company."
"Huang, do you know the situation of Defeng Agricultural Reclamation Company?"
Kirby turned around and asked.
"The manager of Defeng Agricultural Reclamation Company is a German company. They have many rubber plantations in Sarawak, Sabah and other areas in Borneo. Moreover, Defeng Agricultural Reclamation Company officially employs 40,000 to 50,000 workers and equips Dresser
There are two to three thousand rifle guards. In the Borneo area, the strength of the Defeng Agricultural Reclamation Company is comparable to that of the Lanfang Company, and it is very difficult to mess with."
Huang Fuyuan introduced.
“East India is a crazy place!”
Kirby, the foreign devil, slapped his head and said in surprise, "Huang, do you know? How surprised I was when I passed through Sarawak and heard that Brook established a country there?"
Kirby, the foreign devil, asked himself and answered: "Brook is just a poor sailor. How incredible that he can establish a country in Borneo!
And not only did Brooke establish a country and have an army in Borneo, he also had thousands of people armed in other places in East India, such as Kapitan in Kuala Lumpur, Kapitan in Malacca, and Kapitan in Penang. I really don’t understand how they have so much money.
Supplying armed forces?”
"Ahem, all of you Kapitans are collaborators of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. They have suitable armed forces to protect the interests of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in the East Indies."
Huang Fuyuan himself is a vested interest in the Kapitan system. After hearing Kirby's words, he explained with some embarrassment.
"Well, the situation in the East Indies is different from that of the Qing Dynasty and Japan. Since Mr. Zhang can't make the decision, let's put aside the rubber plantation for the time being and talk about another business."
"Mr. Kirby please speak."
"Kobe Iron Works and Kapitan have a big business to do, which requires a lot of ships to transport goods, so I hope to rent a group of merchant ships from Mr. Zhang. The number does not need to be too many, just twenty ships with a water capacity of 500
The merchant ships above are sufficient, Mr. Zhang should have no problem, right?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kirby, my shipping company has just been established, and the company's merchant ships are now out transporting goods and cannot be leased out."
Zhang Zhenxun said with a regretful expression.
"The rental time can be relaxed, and it can be rented after ten days."
"To be honest with Mr. Kirby, the company's fleet will not have free time to rent out after ten or twenty days, so Mr. Kirby still looks for other companies to cooperate. There are dozens of Nanyang shipping companies. I believe Mr. Kirby will be able to find a suitable one soon.
Partner."
On the surface, Zhang Zhenxun's attitude was sincere, but in fact, he blocked the possibility of cooperation between the two parties with one sentence. The foreigner Kirby and the Chinese Kapitan did not let go at all when they saw each other, and left Zhang Zhenxun's residence after saying a few polite words.
"Dad, the foreigners and the Kapitans are very powerful, why are you unwilling to cooperate with them?"
After the foreigners Kirby and Huang Fuyuan left, a pretty girl came out from behind the screen and asked in confusion.
"Huang Hock Yuan in Kapitan, Jakarta, Zheng Jinggui in Kapitan, Perak, Yap Ah Lai in Kapitan, Kuala Lumpur, and Dunn Dunn in Kapitan, Negeri Sembilan... None of these people are easy to get along with. They are closely connected with the foreign devil Kirby.
It's hard to do anything good, so it's better for dad not to get involved with them."
Zhang Zhenxun looked at his precious daughter and explained patiently.
"It's because dad has foresight. Our Zhang family has a great business and we can't do bad things with them just for a little profit."
Zhang Baoyi sat obediently on the chair to the right of her father, picked up a cup of tea and handed it to Zhang Zhenxun and said, "I heard that the daughter of the Lord of Songkhla City is going to marry the King of Han. Will Huang Fuyuan and the others send people to attack the Lord of Songkhla City in order to retaliate against the Taiping Society?"
The fleet my daughter is in?"
"Probably not, those Kapitans don't have the guts."
Zhang Zhenxun shook his head and said, "Although the Taiping Society has grown in the Nanyang region, which has harmed the interests of the Kapitans who have taken refuge with foreigners, the maritime force escorting the Lord of Songkhla City is powerful. Even if they want to retaliate against the National Defense Forces behind the Taiping Society, they will not collide.
On the hard rock of the convoy."
"Then should we remind the Han State in advance? After all, the rubber plantations at home are provided by the Han State. If the Han State's power suffers losses in Nanyang, it will not be good for the family."
Zhang Baoyi is only fifteen or sixteen years old, but she has already habitually given advice to her father.
"The information should be revealed to the Chinese side. Although the Defeng Agricultural Reclamation Company is covered by German skin, it is still a company controlled by the Han State. The Han government has given many benefits to Nanyang businessmen. When something happens,
, we should help if we can."
Zhang Zhenxun put down the tea cup, looked outside, thought for a while, and then said, "Baoyi, do you want to go to Han?"
"Daddy, why do you ask that?"
A puzzled expression appeared on Zhang Baoyi's face, which combines the softness of an oriental girl with the fair skin of a Western woman, as she asked.
"The Dutch have become wary of me. Since nine years ago, they have continued to restrict the development of the company under my name. Now, compared with nine years ago, my family's assets have decreased by about 10%. After all, the East Indies is
It is a Dutch colony. If we stay in other people's territory to make money, it will easily arouse their envy. So I want to leave a way out for the family in advance, so that you and your sixth brother can go to Han to buy an estate, which can also be used as a member of the Zhang family.
A place to live in the future.”
Zhang Zhenxun was a wealthy man in Nanyang. In 1869, the total assets controlled by Zhang Zhenxun were about 8,000 taels of silver, which was nearly 10 million more than the annual fiscal revenue of the Qing government. The huge assets coupled with the low political status of the Chinese in Nanyang
Naturally, it aroused the greed of the Dutch colonists. Like other Southeast Asian Chinese businessmen, the Chinese businessmen who became wealthy through commercial activities such as land reclamation and contracting for mineral development became the money bags of foreigners. In 1989, the Dutch generally encouraged the natives to massacre the Chinese.
way, to take the wealth accumulated by the Chinese as their own. Since the Taiping Society has grown in Nanyang and demonstrated the strength of the Chinese through counterattacks against indigenous forces, the Dutch generally no longer use the method of inciting indigenous massacres, but instead target
The Chinese set up numerous overt taxes and exploited the Chinese wealth in more covert ways.
Afraid of the deterrent power that foreigners have cultivated over decades, Nanyang Chinese businessmen did not dare to confront foreigners face to face. Therefore, over the past seven or eight years, Zhang Zhenxun and other Nanyang Chinese businessmen suffered varying degrees of restrictions, and their assets were also exploited and taxed by the Dutch.
Slowly shrink.
Zhang Zhenxun had given Van Lansberg some help when he was gone, and with the help of Van Lansberg's connections as the Governor of the East Indies, Zhang Zhenxun was able to become a wealthy man in Nanyang. However, after all, Van Lansberg was appointed by the Dutch government.
As the governor-general, his administrative policy in the East Indies needs to be dominated by the national interests of the Netherlands, and he will not be spared just because Zhang Zhenxun helped him in his early years.
Moreover, Van Lansbergh's term in the East Indies is about to end. Without his care, Zhang Zhenxun's extremely wealthy assets will face greater dangers. Therefore, Zhang Zhenxun is preparing to speed up the transfer of assets and distribute them in the East Indies.
The assets were transferred to Han, Songkhla and other places.
Zhang Zhenxun's assets are huge. Compared with the total assets, the proportion of the assets transferred to Han in the early stage is very low. As a member of the Zhang family, Zhang Baoyi can understand the necessity of his father doing this. However, thinking about his mother's situation after he left, Zhang Baoyi feels a little bit.
He hesitated and did not immediately agree to his father's request.
"Baoyi is worried about your mother, right?
Don’t worry, I’ll ask your mother Anna to accompany you to Han in half a month.
My father heard that the culture in the Han country is open, and many Han families have foreign women. Your mother should be able to adapt quickly when she gets there."
After thinking about the reason why his daughter did not agree immediately, Zhang Zhenxun smiled and explained.
"Would it be inconvenient for a mother to follow her daughter to Han?"
"It's okay. I will go to Han in person after a while and see you mother and daughter. You don't have to worry."
"Then my daughter will feel relieved."
Zhang Baoyi smiled and nodded, and the expression on her face became much lighter.