Chapter 269: 267. Unequal Treaties? (Bonus for Big Boss Penguin)

Zhao Han's English conversation with Peter Mundy was an immense struggle!

The whole time they were guessing and piecing things together, occasionally writing down individual words. When that truly failed, they brought in the two interpreters.

The first interpreter would use Portuguese to converse with Peter Mundy, then relay it in Cantonese to the second interpreter. The second interpreter would then turn the Cantonese into the Ming official tongue — only then could Zhao Han actually understand.

"So what you're saying is, the Dutch navy is the strongest right now?" Zhao Han asked.

Peter Mundy replied, "Spain is not weak either; the two sides are evenly matched. But Spain is on the defensive, while the Dutch look for every chance to attack. It's the same in Asia — last year the Dutch fleet blockaded Malacca for several months, and the Spanish fleet avoided battle the whole time, never daring to show itself."

"How did the Dutch navy rise to power?" Zhao Han asked.

Peter Mundy said, "The Dutch were already advanced in seamanship. Ever since they began their revolt for independence, they've been building warships nonstop. Seven years ago, the Dutch fleet launched a night raid on Antwerp, annihilating the Spanish fleet in the harbor and capturing a large number of Spanish warships. From that point the balance of power reversed — the Dutch shifted from defense to offense, and Spain from offense to defense."

"The Netherlands isn't very large in territory, is it?" Zhao Han remarked.

Peter Mundy laughed. "Of course, very small. But they have money. Spain is a pauper now — they can't even pay their sailors' wages."

In legal terms, the Netherlands at this time was still a subordinate province of Spain, its highest ruler being the Governor-General of the Netherlands appointed by the Spanish king.

Religious conflict and the like were all surface pretexts. The Dutch were rebelling because Spain's exploitation was too crushing — in nature it was a bourgeois revolution coupled with a war of national independence.

As for the pivotal moment, it was the bankruptcy of the Spanish crown. The Dutch financiers suffered catastrophic losses, and from then on they threw their full support behind the independence faction.

Peter Mundy added, "Portugal is also in revolt and has long been secretly cooperating with the Dutch. Without Portugal's ports in India, the Dutch would have no way of meddling in China at all. But last year, the Dutch blockade of Malacca thoroughly enraged the Portuguese. Every colonial port in India refused to let Dutch ships dock for supplies. Left with no choice, the Dutch had to lift the blockade."

You could put it this way: Spain is the patriarch of the family, and Portugal and the Netherlands are the younger brothers.

Both younger brothers are clamoring to split off and set up their own households.

The Netherlands has given Spain a beating — they're trading blows back and forth.

Portugal doesn't dare join in openly; on one hand they're secretly passing the Dutch a club to help, while on the other they're standing off to the side muttering that they want to split off too.

The Portuguese in Macao are like a son born of a concubine in the family. On one hand they resent the patriarch Spain, and on the other they're brawling with their Dutch brother, because the Dutch want to come to Macao and snatch their lollipop.

Neither Zhao Han nor Peter Mundy knew that next year, after a naval battle, the Netherlands would formally become the world's foremost maritime power.

Limited to the sea alone!

From Africa to Asia, the entire route was lined with Portuguese colonial ports. The Dutch could swagger and strut at sea, but once ashore they moved as if sleepwalking, able only to huddle in southern Taiwan and bully the natives.

The Dutch once attempted to seize Macao. Over a thousand soldiers landed for the assault, were ambushed by a few dozen Portuguese, and the entire army collapsed in terror on the spot.

If it came to open-field land combat, two hundred Great Unity soldiers ought to be able to rout three or four thousand Dutchmen in a head-on fight.

Listening to Peter Mundy recount the situation in Europe, Zhao Han felt his opportunity had come — or rather, that the time ahead was exactly right for setting out to sea.

Spain was declining by the day, Portugal had long been a corpse, and England had yet to rise on the seas.

The Netherlands was about to reach its zenith, but Dutch territory was too small. Their population was sparse, their army feeble — they could only honestly do business; they shouldn't dream of seizing too many colonies.

China, as a center of commodity production, could beat these countries like dogs and drive them all out of Southeast Asia, and they would still come wagging their tails to trade. Because tea, silk, and porcelain could only be bought in China — all were scarce commodities in Europe.

But all of this must be led by China itself.

Before training a powerful navy, the Europeans could not be driven away. Macao would serve as Zhao Han's window to the outside world.

Of course, the Dutch had to be struck down — who told them to be the number one maritime power?

Peter Mundy returned to his room and continued writing his travelogue: "Zhao spoke today of the situation in Europe; he is extremely interested in it. This is a monarch of far-reaching vision. Yes, monarch — permit me to use this term. He may in the future become the Emperor of China. God above, how incredible, that I should become friends with the great Chinese Emperor…"

"Without question, Zhao is certain to develop a navy. I could see it in his eyes — he will surely go to war with Spain and the Netherlands in the future. For England, and for all the nations of Europe, this is a good thing. Once China defeats Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, many nations will be able to trade directly with China…"

"May God bless Zhao, bless him to triumph over the evil Spanish and Dutch. England shall reap enormous benefits from it."

……

After leaving the Macao delegation to cool their heels for three days, Zhao Han finally granted them an audience.

"It is a great honor to meet you, great General," Simão said with a smile, bowing.

Zhao Han cupped his hands. "A pleasure."

Guangzhou Prefect Fang Shengchang, Maritime Trade Supervisorate Commandant Guo Shunyu, Maritime Trade Supervisorate Secretary Deng Yunzhan, and Guangdong Naval Commander Wan Bangyan all attended and observed the negotiations.

The members of both sides introduced themselves to one another, and the negotiations soon entered the main agenda.

Macao councilman Décimo spoke in the Ming official tongue: "Regional Commander Zhao, the Governor of Macao and the Macao Senate are willing to recognize the General's authority over Guangdong. The precondition is that Macao maintains its current status, and that Guangzhou immediately resumes the grain supply."

"Of course that won't do," Zhao Han said with a smile. "I intend to take back Macao, especially the fortifications and gun emplacements you've built."

After Décimo's interpreter relayed this, Júlio, the commander of the Macao Guard, immediately shot to his feet: "This is impossible. The Great Ming Emperor has already leased Macao to us!"

Zhao Han put on a puzzled expression and asked, "Are you unaware that I am a rebel army? The Great Ming Emperor leased Macao — what does that have to do with me?"

Indeed, the Great Ming leased Macao — what the hell did that have to do with a rebel?

Júlio was instantly tongue-tied, then his neck flushed red as he said, "War, Your Excellency will surely bring about war!"

Zhao Han laughed. "I've made thorough inquiries. Not counting naval crew, your land garrison in Macao numbers only three hundred men. I can't even be bothered to send troops to attack — I'll just starve you for a few months and see."

Naval commander Sarmiento said, "What Your Excellency is doing is forcing the Macao navy to go raiding along the coast. We only wish to trade, not to become pirates. I ask Your Excellency to consider this carefully."

"Zheng Zhilong is currently a guest at my residence. If you wish to become pirates, you can have a chat with him — perhaps you might learn a thing or two," Zhao Han said in an amiable tone.

At the name Zheng Zhilong, every one of their faces changed dramatically.

The Portuguese in Macao also had to pay protection money to Zheng Zhilong. And on top of that, a major event had occurred this year: Japan had closed its borders and locked down the country.

The "Macao–Japan" trade route was one of the Macao Portuguese's main lines of business. From now on, if they wanted goods, they would have to go to Fujian or the Ryukyus, or simply ship from Guangzhou to Malacca.

Guangzhou was China's largest entrepôt trade center.

A vast quantity of goods from Zhejiang, Fujian, Japan, and the Ryukyus were all first shipped to Guangzhou for sale. With Zhao Han controlling this place, grain aside, he had the Portuguese commercially strangled as well.

Macao Governor Simão still wore his aristocratic smile: "Please, General, name a reasonable price. Otherwise these negotiations will be difficult to continue."

"See for yourself." Zhao Han tossed over a treaty.

Simão took it and read carefully, his expression turning extremely grim.

Article One: Zhao Han possesses sovereignty over Macao. The Portuguese-Macao side must hand over the gun emplacements and must disband the Guard!

Article Two: The Portuguese-Macao side is permitted to retain its Senate, but it may only administer the Portuguese and Spanish settlement zone.

Article Three: The Portuguese-Macao side is permitted to retain its High Court, but it may only adjudicate cases involving Portuguese and Spanish persons. Any case involving Chinese persons must be transferred to Xiangshan County for handling.

Article Four: The Portuguese-Macao side is permitted to retain its churches, but may only proselytize within the churches and may not proselytize outside the churches.

Article Five: Foreigners who have long resided in Macao must register their household status at Xiangshan County. Those holding a household certificate may leave the designated settlement area and are permitted to travel beyond Macao.

Article Six: A plot of land shall be set aside to establish the Macao Elementary School, with a Macao Secondary School to be established at a future date. All children in Macao under the age of twelve must enroll in school, and they shall not enjoy the privilege of free tuition.

Article Seven: Long-term foreign residents of Macao who can speak Chinese and write Chinese characters may apply for formal household registration and thereby become naturalized as Chinese. However, they must renounce Western religious beliefs such as Catholicism and Protestantism.

Article Eight: A Daoist temple and a Buddhist monastery shall be built at the edge of the foreign settlement in Macao, with land allocated to the monks and Daoists for cultivation. Foreigners willing to convert to Buddhism or Daoism may go there to hear the monks and Daoists expound the scriptures.

Article Nine: Portuguese and Spanish merchants are permitted to trade directly in Guangzhou.

If these nine articles were signed, what kind of Governor-General would Simão still be?

Julio's face was ashen. He was the Regional Commander of the Macao Guard, and Zhao Han was demanding the Guard be forcibly disbanded.

The regulations at Guangzhou Harbor were peculiar: merchants from all nations could trade directly in Guangzhou, except for Europeans and Japanese.

If Europeans wanted to do business, they had to smuggle goods through fishermen, transporting Guangzhou cargo to Macao.

This was the latest policy from the late Ming.

Now that Zhao Han was continuing to open things up, Portuguese and Spanish merchants could also go directly to Guangzhou to buy goods. What did that mean?

It meant the port of Macao was half ruined. It meant the Dutch and the English could bypass Macao and come directly to Guangzhou!

"No haggling. You have only two choices. Sign, or do not sign! Rest assured, even if you do not sign, I will let you leave. Go back, and prepare your troops well for war." Zhao Han finished speaking and walked away, ending the negotiations outright.

Everyone looked at one another in dismay.

Simão said, "Who dares sign?"

No one answered.

After a long silence, De Sinno said, "If we do not sign, Macao is lost. At sea there is Zheng Zhilong, and on land we cannot defeat them either. The fortresses are useless; cut off supplies for a month, and the defenders will all starve to death."

Simão slumped down into his seat.

(End of Chapter)