Chapter 594: Boarding the Ship

After several back-and-forth exchanges via dispatch boats, the Annam side and the Fuyuan finally reached an agreement: the Annam side would send a formal envoy to the Fuyuan for negotiations.

And so that afternoon, on the previously deathly still wharf outside Shenglong Prefecture, a square-bowed, square-sterned Annam official boat finally appeared.

Zheng Chuntang stood erect at the prow, his expression stern. As the boat beneath him slowly sailed forward, the Ming warships with white sails hanging on either side were left behind one by one.

Though never on good terms with the Central Plain dynasties, a culturally deficient backwater like Annam had undoubtedly adopted that same Central Plain dynastic framework for its internal structure.

The current Annam Later Lê Dynasty court was a living replica of Han culture, complete with every department from the Ministry of Rites to the Ministry of Personnel and beyond. Domestically, education still emphasized Confucianism, with a formal imperial examination system. Economically, taxes were levied according to the Tang Dynasty's zu-yong-diao taxation method.

Shenglong Prefecture today was controlled by the Annam Zheng clan. So the key positions at court were naturally all occupied by Zheng family members, and this certainly included the Vice Minister of Personnel.

Zheng Chuntang was the Vice Minister of Personnel of the Annam State.

He was a close relative of the current Annam power-holder Zheng Zhuang, a cultured man well-read in the classics, who had even traveled through the Great Ming and other places in his early years — richly experienced, one could say. Thus, Zheng Chuntang had been entrusted with a heavy responsibility by Zheng Zhuang, serving as the envoy to the great enemy warship right outside their doorstep.

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After a long while, the envoy boat dispatched by the Annam court finally passed alone through the defensive zone formed by the various gunboats and arrived at the foot of the mountain-like great ship.

"Good God, the rumors are true — this ship is enormous!"

The exclamation came from a tall foreigner. Judging by his fiery red curls, sturdy build, and prominent cheekbones, this fellow was very likely Dutch.

Do not be surprised that a Dutchman would appear on an Annam envoy boat.

As early as the early seventeenth century, the Portuguese, fighting their way along the coastline, had already landed on the Indochina Peninsula, committed to establishing trade relations with the various native regimes.

At this point in time, the Portuguese happened upon the Annam civil war: the nominal Later Lê Dynasty of Annam existed in name only, with the country carved up between the Ruan and Zheng private military-political blocs controlling the south and north respectively.

Coincidentally, starting the very year the transmigrator appeared, the Zheng and Ruan sides began a seesaw civil war spanning over forty years: the Trịnh-Nguyễn Conflict.

In this process, the southern Nguyen Lords, being the weaker side, took in the Portuguese who had come seeking opportunities from the direction of India, and the two sides concluded a trade treaty.

After this, the Portuguese not only sold weapons to the Nguyen Lords, but also carried out a series of actions to enhance Ruan clan military strength, including soldier training, fortress construction, and setting up local foundry workshops.

It was precisely by relying on the advanced military thinking and weapons aid provided by Portuguese military experts that the Ruan clan survived the first "punitive expedition" launched by the Northern Zheng Clan in 167 — the Zheng great army battered itself bloody against the fortress complex built under Portuguese guidance along the Zheng River line, and was forced to withdraw in frustration.

After the fact, the Zheng clan quickly got to the bottom of it: so the Ruan clan had found foreign backers to prop them up!

What strategy to adopt?

"Report to the Great King, there are Red Hair 'Holland' merchants outside seeking an audience."

That is how it happened.

The Dutch, locked in combat with the Portuguese across the globe, immediately caught the scent and sought out the northern Ruan clan. The two sides hit it off at once, and the Dutch became the Ruan clan's military advisors and arms suppliers.

As military advisors, the Dutch also routinely played the role of "international relations consultants" for the native regime.

Regarding the powerful Ming fleet that had suddenly appeared days earlier, the Dutch possessed far more information than the Zheng clan. After all, the Zheng clan was merely an insular native agrarian regime, while the Dutch were the "maritime express" of the seventeenth century — the information gap between the two sides was enormous.

This was the reason a Dutchman was present on the envoy boat that came to the foot of the Fuyuan today.

And the tall Dutchman who had let out the exclamation was named Van Herman Horter. This man was precisely the trade representative stationed in Shenglong Prefecture by Batavia.

Hearing the Dutch advisor beside him so astonished, the Annam chief envoy, Vice Minister of Personnel Ruan Chuntang, was somewhat puzzled. In his view, apart from being a few sizes larger, the Fuyuan before them — with its prow painted with bold, aggressive characters — was really not so different from the Dutch merchant ships normally anchored outside Shenglong Prefecture.

"Mister Van, why such astonishment? Could it be your esteemed country has no such giant ships?"

Unfortunately, contrary to what one might imagine, at this point in time, the Dutch truly did not possess a thousand-ton battleship like the Fuyuan.

In this period, the Dutch, who had not even resolved their independence issue yet, were fully committed to global trade. The vast majority of what the Seven Provinces Republic sailed across the world's seas were armed merchant ships. Even when fighting major naval battles against the Spanish, the Dutch sent large numbers of armed merchant ships into the fray, following the path of overwhelming a master through sheer chaotic force.

Nor was it just the Dutch. Even for old maritime powers like England, France, and Spain, battleships with three gun decks — the "First-Rate Battleships" usable only for decisive coastal engagements — were likewise exceedingly rare in number.

The reason was simple: First-Rate Battleships were ruinously expensive to build and difficult to maintain. In this early seventeenth-century period, the primitive accumulation of the various European states was insufficient; neither social wealth nor science and technology had remotely reached the level seen during the Opium War.

So in these years, First-Rate Battleships were usually built only in small numbers, serving as "national symbols." They were generally used as the Emperor's personal conveyance, or as the flagship of the Navy Commander.

Unless participating in a major campaign, the slow-moving First-Rate Battleship, with its very low self-sustainability, would simply never appear on the distant seas — let alone make a long voyage rounding the treacherous Cape of Good Hope to reach East Asia.

The Dutch would not truly begin building thousand-ton professional warships until the First Anglo-Dutch War, zero years later. Only after that, having learned a painful lesson, would the Dutch set about constructing main-force battleships with three decks.

And so, Zheng Chuntang received a definitive answer from the Dutchman's mouth — which left him somewhat dejected. After all, Zheng Chuntang had imagined that the Dutch, capable of crossing vast oceans to reach this place, must have a home nest bristling with masts like a forest and teeming with great ships.

After a few brief exchanges, before Zheng Chuntang could ponder further, the rope ladder on the Fuyuan's hull was lowered.

At this moment, Zheng Chuntang had no leisure to study the subject of Chinese and foreign vessels. He hastily rallied his spirits, composed his expression, and climbed the rope ladder onto the Fuyuan. After the envoy mission came aboard, they first reported names and official titles and presented their documents, then underwent a soldier inspection, before being led by a functionary to the Fuyuan's bow.

Today, the transmigrator's reception venue was arranged at the bow position.

Unlike yesterday's drunken revelry, today was, after all, the reception of a foreign envoy, so the bow had not only been specially cleared of space but also arranged with orderly tables, chairs, and stools.

Thus, Zheng Chuntang witnessed a scene of rather "solemn" reception ceremony.

On the left side of the bow were three rows of folding chairs. Seated upon them were men with bulging bellies, clad head to toe in silks and brocades, wearing various types of head-scarves and traditional robes — Ming people, mostly middle-aged and elderly.

On the right side of the bow were two rows of folding chairs, far smaller in scale. On these two rows of chairs sat mostly strange Ming people in short front-opening jackets, with Kun hair, young, "brightly dressed and spirited."

Though the guests seated on the left and right differed in attire, the eyes they now fixed on Zheng Chuntang and his party revealed the same amused expression: this Annam official looked proper enough, his dress similar to a Ming dynasty official's. Yet on closer inspection, the ill-fitting robe and official hat, along with the bizarrely styled rank badge on his chest, made everyone feel rather awkward.

The next moment, Zheng Chuntang straightened his knockoff Han clothing and headwear, stepped steadily forward, and bowed with hands clasped to the middle-aged man on the central folding chair: "Your subordinate Zheng Chuntang pays respects to the Superior State's Cao Jiangjun."

The transmigrator was not at all surprised that this Annam envoy could speak fluent Nanjing Mandarin. Among the various younger brothers of the present Ming State, the upper echelons all used Chinese. Annam would have to wait until the French colonial period for missionaries to "invent" the later Vietnamese language.

Having received the documents beforehand, the transmigrator already knew the other party's name and background: "Vice Minister Zheng, dispense with the formalities. Offer him a seat."

After the middle-aged man in the seat of honor spoke, he continued with a chuckle: "Allow the Vice Minister to know — I am Advisor Shao Qiang of the Regional Commander's Office. As for the Regional Commander himself, diplomatic asymmetry applies, so you and your party will not be meeting Lord Cao today."

The principle of "diplomatic reciprocity" existed not only in later ages; even in ancient times, no envoy went straight to the palace for an audience with the Emperor upon arrival. So Zheng Chuntang was entirely unsurprised by these words — after all, he was a person of standing in Annam who had once traveled to Beijing to pay tribute to the Ming Emperor.

"Advisor Shao, seated firmly in the central command, must be someone who can make decisions on behalf of Cao Jiangjun. That is well enough."

Next, Shao Qiang naturally exchanged greetings with the Dutch Red Hair Van Herman Horter, who had been waiting to one side.

As the trade representative stationed in the Annam State by Batavia, Horter had already lived in this rainy, humid country for over half a year. So by now, he could communicate with the transmigrator in a bizarrely accented, stammering "Annam second-hand Chinese."

"Dutch East India Company trade representative Horter, on behalf of Governor-General Coen, presents to the Company's old friend, the invincible Eastern Commander, Earl Lord Cao, gifts and greetings from Batavia."

"Hahaha." Shao Qiang looked at the red-haired man before him, who had his tricorne pressed to his chest and was bowing at a ninety-degree angle, and laughed heartily: "Governor-General Coen is a hero of his time, and our Grand Commandant has always recognized heroes. Though we have never met, the Governor-General is an old friend."

"Someone, give Mister Horter a seat, serve tea."

On the whole, the first meeting between host and guests was relatively harmonious.

However, after sitting briefly to observe the bare minimum of courtesy and seeing that the pleasantries had concluded, Zheng Chuntang immediately rose to his feet. With a solemn expression and clasped hands, he came straight to the point: "The Superior State's great army came and went abruptly days ago, destroying our homes and killing our parents — by whose imperial decree, exactly, was this done?"