Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 586 Brunei Submits

When Qian, the envoy to Wanyun Kingdom, saw something along the way, he would say something like, "Look at these dense trees. If they are cut down and used, they can be made into good tools. It's a pity that the people here are so stupid and lazy that they don't know how to make good use of them. It's no wonder that the country is not prosperous and can't compare with the prosperity of the superior country."

Zhang Shun, who was standing aside, felt really uncomfortable. The imperial court sent you here to make Brunei surrender, but you have been talking nonsense along the way. If the interpreter heard it and it got to the ears of the Brunei king, it would just cause more trouble.

So Zhang Shun warned Wan Yunguo in private. After hearing this, Wan Yunguo stopped refutation on the surface, but he still muttered to himself in his heart, but he did not dare to express it easily.

The delegation traveled all the way and finally arrived at the capital of Brunei. At this time, the Brunei Sultan Borkia Mahan was already waiting outside the city to greet them.

Ma Jinxian saw the delegation coming and stood up to greet them. Wan Yunguo led the delegation members forward steadily. After some greetings, everyone moved to the palace hall and took seats as host and guest.

Ma Han also put some thought into welcoming the delegation and held a banquet in the palace. In order to take care of the envoys from the Qian Dynasty, Ma Han specially sought out chefs from the Central Plains, used local ingredients, and made Chinese food with local characteristics.

Although the dish was not quite to everyone's taste, the members of the delegation had important matters to attend to after all, so after three rounds of drinks, they gradually got down to business.

Wan Yunguo spoke eloquently, detailing the great power, vast territory, and abundant resources of the Qian Dynasty. He also said that the Brunei Kingdom had an old custom of paying tribute to the Central Plains. Ma Han also understood the implicit meaning of his words.

As for what Qian Shi meant, Ma Han already had a plan in mind. The Brunei civil war had lasted for two years. If Qian Dynasty could help at this time, the hope of suppressing the rebellion would be much greater.

As for those Western barbarians, they will only take advantage of the situation to rob. In the eyes of the vassal states in all directions, the credibility of the Central Plains dynasty is still very convincing.

Then, after thinking for a while, Sultan Mahan of Brunei looked around at his ministers and said with a smile: "I have heard of the prestige of the Qian Dynasty for a long time, but unfortunately there are too many affairs in the country and there are thieves causing chaos, so I have never had time to send an envoy to the court.

Today, I am honored to meet the envoys of the Celestial Empire. My country is located in a remote corner, and I have long admired the virtues of the Celestial Empire. I am willing to follow the will of heaven and send an envoy to accompany your delegation back to my country to pay tribute to His Majesty the Emperor, so as to seek eternal friendship and never have second thoughts. "

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was delighted. Wan Yunguo was happy that the emperor's mission had been completed and he had also successfully completed it. The Brunei ministers also thought that the delegation would now go back with the Qian Dynasty's ship, so there was no need to leave the ship, and only a few envoys could be sent.

Moreover, paying tribute to the Celestial Empire would certainly not be a loss, but a profit. When the envoys come back, the Qian Dynasty, as a great country, will have to dispatch ships to escort them, and the Brunei Kingdom will not even have to pay for the travel expenses.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall was harmonious and cheerful. After the banquet, Envoy Qian returned to the posthouse to rest, while the ministers of Brunei discussed the specific matters of paying tribute, such as the types of tribute, the size of the delegation, who would be the envoy, etc., and discussed them in detail one by one.

The delegation successfully completed its mission and was waiting for a day to return to bring the good news of Brunei's submission to the Qian Dynasty.

In fact, for the countries surrounding the Qian Dynasty, paying tribute and being a vassal is just a title, and they will not lose anything by making a trip there.

………………

At this time on the vast ocean, thirteen Dutch merchant ships were slowly entering the port of Batavia.

The Dutch came to the southeast coast very early. At the beginning, the Dutch wanted to replace the Portuguese and control Macau. Later, they wanted to obtain a port on the coast of Fujian, but unfortunately they failed.

After finally occupying Dayuan, the Dutch were finally driven out by the Zheng family. The Dutch wanted to contact Meng Jun to jointly attack the Zheng family, but were rejected by Meng Jun. The Dutch forces had no choice but to retreat back to Batavia.

It was not until the Spaniards in Luzon were driven out by the Zheng family that the Dutch gave up the idea of retaking Tainan. Instead, after the Zheng family vigorously developed Luzon, the Dutch Governor of Batavia, Rudolf Hofstra, became worried that the Zheng family would threaten the security of Batavia.

At this time, the Dutch had occupied Batavia for more than 30 years. They built bastions, ports, docks and warehouses here.

A fairly large city had been formed around the bastion, and without a strong military force, it would be difficult to expel the Dutch.

At this time, three fleets coming from Europe, fully loaded with silver, money and goods, sailed into the dock. Surrounded by a large number of merchants from various countries, the sailors could not help but cheer.

These gold, silver and other goods would be unloaded in Batavia and exchanged for oriental porcelain, tea and silk. Sailing on the sea was a huge risk, but the profits were also ten or a hundred times greater.

The owners of these merchant ships negotiated the price of the goods at the dock, and soon the deals were concluded one after another.

As soon as the deal was done, many skinny natives, whipped by overseers, began to move goods out of the warehouse and piled them on the dock. Soon, these precious oriental goods filled the dock.

The Dutch collected taxes from all transactions. Occupying Batavia was like owning a mountain of gold for the Dutch. They would never give up Batavia no matter what.

Originally, the Dutch had an army of more than 1,500 people in Batavia and nine large galleons. After losing important figures, they transported another 800 soldiers and seven galleons from the mainland.

Although the army's strength does not seem to be great, it is more than enough to control Batavia. Moreover, sixteen galleons can be said to be a powerful fleet in East Asia.

While the port was busy loading goods, a Dutch patrol discovered a fleet of six merchant ships slowly approaching Batavia.

These ships all had the Zheng family's flags on them. The patrol team asked to board the ships for inspection, and the ships obediently lowered their sails.

The Dutch patrol skillfully threw out the rope, hooked the merchant ship, and then climbed up along the rope.

Boarding the leading merchant ship, the patrol team members began to check boxes of cargo neatly stacked in the cabin one by one.

There was no problem with the goods, all of them were silk, tea, porcelain bowls and bottles of various sizes, and some small and exquisite handicrafts.

However, during the inspection, the Dutch noticed that many of the crew members on the ship had sharp eyes and looked quite capable.

The patrol team walked around the boat and found nothing unusual after a careful inspection, so they waved their hands and said, "Okay, the inspection is complete, you can dock." Then they returned along the same route.

A Dutchman who returned to the patrol boat could not help but whisper to his companion: "Look at these guys, they are so fierce and look like they have killed someone."

His companion shrugged and said nonchalantly, "To make a living on the sea, you need some skills. Who knows what they have been through? It's normal for them to be a little ruthless."