Chapter 361: The Red Barbarians

"Your Excellency, we have crossed vast oceans, journeying from distant Europe to the East Asian region, and have occupied this precious land of Taiwan. Our purpose is to conduct normal trade with the nations of East Asia, thereby earning substantial profits to support our noble way of life — not to make an enemy of the great Ming Empire that lies right before our eyes. To do so would surely not lead to a pleasant ending. Moreover, the Ming migrants and troops are not numerous, and the island of Taiwan is large enough to hold several small European nations. The best course is for us to coexist peacefully with the Ming people and divide Taiwan between us!"

The speaker was Balevit, the trade representative stationed in Taiwan by the East India Company. He was a young man of considerable gentlemanly bearing, with a high-bridged nose and brown eyes, an easy smile of faint disdain playing across his handsome features.

"I oppose the trade representative's opinion! I believe these actions by the Ming government may well pose a serious threat to the interests of our Netherlands and the East India Company in Southeast Asia!"

The speaker was the Dutch garrison colonel, a man with a full bushy beard — Van Dyke.

"I greatly appreciate the colonel's remarks. Please, Colonel, do continue!"

Putmans looked at Van Dyke with an expression of gratification, gesturing for him to go on and explain his reasoning.

"As you command, Your Excellency!"

Van Dyke nodded to Putmans, then his gaze flickered briefly toward Balevit standing to one side.

"The present situation is rather similar to when we first occupied this region. When Fort Zeelandia was completed, the aborigines of Mattau and Bakloan also bore hostility toward us, and at first we likewise attempted to dissolve that hostility with friendship. But the facts have taught us that whenever there is a conflict of interests, it is utterly impossible to eliminate misunderstanding through gestures of goodwill!"

Putmans nodded slowly in agreement with Van Dyke's words, while Balevit wore an expression of noncommittal indifference.

"All the races of Southeast Asia share one obvious weakness: they bully the weak and fear the strong! The Ming people are the same! If we had not resisted the Mattau and Bakloan people back then, if we had let them continue destroying our castle construction, ruining the fruits we were about to harvest, or even feared them so much that we dared not retaliate, then the olive branch we extended would never have been accepted!"

At this point, Van Dyke's tone gradually grew more forceful.

"The facts have proven that when we deployed overwhelming force to utterly crush and destroy their people and villages, burning away their arrogant pride, they instead took the initiative to extend the hand of friendship to us! Had it not been for this, our castle construction elsewhere could never have proceeded smoothly, and the various goods so popular in Europe could never have been obtained from here! The racial character of Southeast Asian peoples dictates that they all carry barbaric genes — so let us use the sword of civilization to educate them!"

Having finished speaking, Van Dyke raised the coffee on the table and took a hearty gulp before remarking casually: "The aroma of coffee far surpasses that of Ming tea. I believe it will become popular throughout Europe. We should expand our trade in coffee and reduce our demand for and dependence on Ming tea!"

Van Dyke had a particular fondness for coffee, which had only recently begun to spread in small circles across Europe. He often asked people to purchase and bring coffee beans to Taiwan, then ground and boiled them himself to drink.

"Colonel, I admit that what you have just said does carry some truth, but you seem to have overlooked the most important point!"

Balevit rose and walked over to the white-glazed tea set on the table. He picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of hot tea, raised it to his nose and savored the aroma for a while before taking a small sip. He held it in his mouth for several seconds before swallowing, a look of lingering appreciation spreading across his face.

"Tea is truly one of the greatest inventions of the great Eastern Ming Empire! This natural, delicate fragrance is intoxicating, and after drinking a cup of hot tea, one feels utterly comfortable throughout! Of course, the colonel's advocacy of that bitter bean is his own personal freedom, and I have no objection to it!"

"Trade Representative, please continue with your remarks! We are discussing serious matters here — anything unrelated to the meeting should be saved for private conversation!"

Putmans cut off Balevit's discussion of coffee and tea with a hint of displeasure.

Although he was the governor of the Taiwan region, he had no authority whatsoever to restrain Balevit, who represented the East India Company.

The purpose of occupying Taiwan was trade, not to provoke a war and lose money. If he were to go to war with the Ming without first obtaining Balevit's consent, the East India Company would vigorously impeach him until he was forced to slink back home in disgrace.

"Governor Putmans, Colonel — the two of you may not have a thorough enough understanding of the great Ming Empire. Because of my position with the East India Company, I frequently participate in all manner of trade with the Ming, and so I have come into contact with and learned information about every aspect of the Ming Empire. The Ming people are not crude and barbaric like the island's aborigines. On the contrary, most Ming people are courteous gentlemen. Moreover, the Ming Empire is a colossus of the Far East — its armies are numbered in the millions. If we provoke the Ming government, our pitiful strength here in Taiwan may well prove unable to withstand the blow of the Ming armies. The consequences of that would be devastating and unacceptable for us!"

Having solemnly expressed his views, Balevit sat back down with his teacup and continued taking small sips of the hot tea.

"Trade Representative, you have clearly committed the error of shortsightedness! Thank heavens you are not a senior commander of our Dutch forces — otherwise, our army would be in constant peril!"

Van Dyke drained the coffee in his cup in one gulp, set the cup down heavily on the table with a thud, and spoke in a tone laced with mockery.

"Mr. Balevit, you may only see the currently small number of Ming people and troops on the island. But based on the intelligence I have received, the northern regions of Ming are suffering from a massive drought, and large-scale rebel armies are attacking Ming government castles on all sides. Countless people of northern Ming have been forced to wander as refugees. If my judgment is correct, these newly arrived migrants are the displaced population of northern Ming, organized by the Ming government and shipped to Taiwan. And in the coming years, large numbers of Ming people will continue to be transported here, spreading across the entire island of Taiwan! If we do not take measures now to stop the Ming government's actions, then in the future our Fort Zeelandia and Tayouan will be swallowed up by them!"

Van Dyke's words plunged Balevit into deep thought, while Putmans nodded repeatedly.

"The colonel's analysis makes excellent sense! All of us at the senior levels in the Far East know that the Ming Empire's population is extremely large. By estimation, the total population of Ming should be around one hundred million. If they were to relocate even one-tenth of their northern disaster victims onto the island, that would still be a terrifying figure — several million people would be more than double the total population of our Netherlands!"

At the mention of population figures, both Balevit and Van Dyke wore expressions that mixed delight with concern.

The delight came from the thought that if they could open up a market several times larger than the entire population of Europe, they would acquire countless gold coins and all manner of wealth.

But conversely, if they were to become enemies of such a vast empire, the pressure would also be tremendous.

At this period, the total population of the Netherlands was still under two million. Though they roamed the oceans with their military might and had earned the fearsome title of "Wagoner of the Seas," they had never yet faced an empire of such magnitude as an adversary.

"To resolutely halt the Ming government's encroachment upon Taiwan, we must use force to inflict heavy casualties upon the Ming troops and migrants, instilling fear in their hearts. Only thus can we secure our position and wealth in Taiwan and the entire Far East! Mr. Balevit, I am confident the East India Company will endorse this decision of mine!"