Chapter 119: The Original Master

What finally made Pauw Nuyts resolve to negotiate with the Transmigrators was the sand-ship flotilla that passed the Sloten on the afternoon of the 25th. Because when the Strolling Quartet came aboard the Sloten by boat on the morning of the 26th, they accurately reported the quantities of raw silk and porcelain unloaded from the three sand ships.

Faced with such enormous visible profit, Nuyts had to forcibly endure the immense discomfort brought by the reversal of host and guest on Dayuan Island, and began seriously assessing the possibility of negotiating with the Crossing Faction.

In truth, aside from negotiating with these strange short-haired Ming people occupying Dayuan Island, Nuyts could hardly make any more threatening move. After all, the Sloten had been anchored off the coast of Dayuan for three days now; it had neither left straight for Batavia, nor attempted to retake Dayuan with the paltry hundred-odd crewmen aboard... Its awkward predicament was laid bare — they couldn't win a fight, yet if they left, how would they explain themselves back home?

Finally, on the morning of the 26th, Mr. Van der Hagen — who had labored tirelessly these past two days, shuttling busily between the port and the open sea, nearly metamorphosing into a "Dutch traitor" — returned to the port and announced good news: Governor Nuyts would come to Dayuan Port at noon today to open negotiations with the Transmigrators!

This was indeed good news, for the Crossing Faction was still very weak and needed vast amounts of manpower and raw materials to grow. The Dutch could gather many resources in Batavia, and crucially, they had ships, many ships, and plenty of empty tonnage on their northbound voyages to the Great Ming — all things the Transmigrators urgently needed right now.

At noon, Dayuan's third and final Governor, Mr. Pauw Nuyts, accompanied by Junior Merchant Mauritz, boarded the boat piloted by the Strolling Quartet and formally set foot on the port of Dayuan Island, returning to the place he had briefly ruled.

In this era, exchanging hostages between maritime trading parties was a very common practice. Whether it was Zheng Zhilong, the Dutch Commercial Agents, or great merchants like Xu Xinsu, all had experience serving as hostages; therefore, compared to the colossal disaster of losing the Dayuan Trading Post, Nuyts was not worried about his own safety — he was, after all, merely a senior VOC employee, the kind who could be dismissed at any time.

When Nuyts stepped onto the dock, Cai Feiming and two assistants waiting nearby came forward to greet him. The Dutchman, well-prepared, shook hands briefly with Cai Feiming, and both sides exchanged cordial greetings in Dutch, as if old friends meeting.

Though mentally prepared, upon meeting them in person, Nuyts still felt curious about these strange Ming people: the three men were tall, with clean skin and short-cropped hair, like the Buddhists of South Asia. They wore short jackets and long trousers of different colors but similar cut, and on their feet were peculiar short black leather boots that gleamed with a strange luster.

"At the very least, sons of nobility with a fine education and sumptuous dinners," Nuyts silently assessed in that moment: the even, white teeth revealed when they smiled, their generally tall stature, certain unconscious gestures of courtesy — these Ming Dynasty noble brigands and the Ming coolies on the dock were two entirely different breeds...

"Perhaps Van der Hagen's guess is correct: guardian knights of an ancient dynasty attempting a restoration." In that moment, Mr. Nuyts silently formed his assessment of the Transmigrators.

Cai Feiming, who was ushering the guest toward the Shang Hall, naturally had no idea the Dutchman harbored so many speculations; nor was he interested in Nuyts's attire, which was quite ordinary except for the rather flamboyant pair of red sappanwood shoes.

The early 17th century was precisely the era when the Netherlands, the earliest capitalist nation, was thriving and ascending, the whole country bursting with vigor; as the rhythm of production and daily life quickened, economy and convenience became recognized virtues.

The Dutch were the first to discard the cartwheel-like neck ornament called the "ruff," and the padding inside their clothes was also eliminated, replaced by lightweight lace. All this could be seen on Nuyts today: a gray thin-wool short jacket with lace trim sewn at the collar and cuffs, white stockings below, and the boat-shaped wooden shoes most popular in the Low Countries.

The Netherlands, a land of low elevation, has much rain and damp soil, so wood was hollowed out to make boat-shaped shoes with thick soles and upturned toes. These shoes resist moisture and wear well, and when stuffed with straw or cotton, they also ward off the cold. Even in later generations, wooden shoes remain the most famous specialty product of the Netherlands, as renowned as its windmills.

After crossing the jetty, Nuyts soon spotted the half-pounder cannons mounted on the Northeast Cape Fort — unique to the Ming brigands, and unanimously called "Devil Cannons" by everyone.

This cannon had a slender barrel and a distinctive square-shaped body; under the midday sunlight, they reflected a blue metallic sheen. From Nuyts's current angle, he could clearly see the brass-colored slender shells hanging on the cannon body like a string of trussed-up rats.

In short, Nuyts, accustomed to bulky armaments, found it hard to imagine that such a slender gun could kill fifty soldiers in an instant — it seemed more like a toy than a lethal weapon.

On the fort were two or three Ming men in blue homespun short jackets, holding a kind of black binoculars, keeping watch within their assigned arcs. Through a gap in the battlements, a figure in colorful clothing flashed past Nuyts's eyes, seemingly sitting in a chair, then vanished from sight the next moment.

"If all goes well, there will be a firepower demonstration before you leave, Mr. Nuyts," Cai Feiming said considerately, seeing the Dutchman straining to observe the heavy machine gun.

"Is that some kind of threat?" Nuyts asked, somewhat displeased.

"Threats only occur before negotiations." Cai Feiming's face still bore a gentle smile. "A demonstration after everything is concluded is a price that must be paid to avoid real conflict in the future; please believe me, this is goodwill. After all, a lion does not befriend a lamb, wouldn't you agree?"

"... Very well, a unique Eastern mode of thought." Nuyts shrugged and muttered a few words.

The group soon arrived before the gates of the Shang Hall.

Only upon arriving here did Mr. Nuyts, whose attention had been elsewhere the entire way, suddenly realize that the filthy bamboo sheds originally scattered outside the Shang Hall were all gone. Of course, the rammed-earth enclosing wall of the Shang Hall still stood, though it looked somewhat more dilapidated: two hastily patched breaches of different colors greatly diminished the wall's defensive function.

Standing before the Shang Hall gates, removing his boat-shaped hat, Nuyts slowly turned around, taking in the surrounding scene.

Some Ming coolies were transporting goods using a type of small wooden cart; these carts were all pushed by a single person, some three-wheeled, some four-wheeled. Part of the goods on the carts were being carried into the Shang Hall, but more numerous were red bricks, which were being stacked into neat square piles extending toward the center of Dayuan Island.