"People?" Li Yiyuan's face changed slightly and he stood up straight. His expression suddenly became angry and stretched out, full of contradictions.

"What kind of person?" Li Yiyuan asked, and then said, "If the gentleman wants to take his mentor's descendants as hostage, then Li Mougai will not agree!"

Li Mingxun laughed loudly. It turned out that this guy thought he was going to get out of the hostages. He said, "I dare not, I dare not. Lord Shen is both a pillar of the East Country and an important partner of the community. How could I have such a dirty idea? I am not a hostage, but a craftsman from the East Country."

As he said that, Li Mingxun stood up and said, "I know that in your eastern country, the people are divided into four classes: aristocrats, middle-aged people, civilians and untouchables. Among them, untouchables do not have household registration and engage in untouchable careers. If they die, as long as their masters don't care, no one will care about them. The community wants these untouchables. Of course, I don't want the slaves of the officials and gentry families, but I want craftsmen."

Nowadays, the base camp and Nuergandoji have a large merchant fleet composed of sand and hibishu every two months, and the notification ships traveling between the north and the south are more frequent. Every month, the base camp will receive reports from the north. In this winter, Yuling Island, which has a non-frozen port, has developed the best. Kawaharada Oei got a large amount of Dingkou from Japan and North Korea through smuggling trade, most of which were Asahi untouchables who were traded as livestock. In the report, Kawaharada Oei expressed high praise for the proportion of craftsmen among the untouchables and the skills of craftsmen. In Yongning City, Korean slaves were also loved by various departments because of their obedience and cowardice.

"Okay, then how many people do you want?" Li Yiyuan asked.

Li Mingxun raised three fingers and Li Yiyuan said, "Are there three hundred people? This is not a problem."

Li Mingxun shook his head slightly: "It's three thousand people!"

Li Yiyuan hurriedly expressed his objection: "Impossible! Even three thousand animals will attract the attention of the court."

Seeing that Li Mingxun's expression became cold, Li Yiyuan also lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Li, although his teacher has opened Hamkyung Road, he is often constrained inside and outside. The East Barbarians have left envoys to monitor him, and the rebels in the court are also very eye-catching. The mentors have many sources of origin and are not yet determined. How can there be such a big change? Furthermore, the teacher seeks self-improvement, forging arms, digging mining, and building ships, and urgently needs craftsmen. If they are given to you, where is my hope in the East?"

Li Mingxun was not anxious or slow. After Li Yiyuan finished speaking, he smiled and said, "How dare I ask for three thousand craftsmen? Lord Li was over-concerned. Three thousand people, including three hundred craftsmen, and the rest were strong men."

Lee Yiyuan was still shaking his head, Lee Mingxun smiled slightly, and pointed a name from the Tang newspaper that Lee Yiyuan took out just now. When Lee Yiyuan saw that the man was Bian Shiji, the envoy of Suwon Prefecture, but a member of the Luo Party led by Kim Zidian. He arrived at Hamkyung Road with reinforcements and stationed at Datong Jiangkou, which was called assistant defense, but actually surveillance. The camps under his command were all Suwon elite soldiers, about 3,500 people.

At this time, Li Yiyuan completely understood that Li Mingxun did not like North Korean craftsmen, and was clearly fighting against the North Korean army. Speaking of which, Chen Qiyuan and Li Mingxun have made a private peace with each other, and the East Gate soldiers and horses were stored in Ningguta, and the only one who really wanted to fight was the people sent by Jin Zidian.

"No, this is......" Li Yiyuan shook his head repeatedly.

Li Mingxun interrupted him: "This is a matter of benefiting both sides, why can't it be? Lord Shen eliminates the unstable factors under his command, and I have to strengthen thousands of men, and each one should get what they need."

Li Mingxun didn't want to listen to the great truths that Li Yiyuan said. If he couldn't even clear away dissidents, how could he talk about separating the side from a long time? People who could not even control their troops had no value in training. In fact, Song Laoqi had long been disgusted with this Suwon Mansion envoy. He had prepared a military operation and took action when the ice and snow melted. For Song Laoqi, it would be better to go to North Korea to fight and arrest people than to catch savages all over the mountains and fields.

Li Mingxun didn't argue with Li Yiyuan at all. He handed him a letter to Shen Qiyuan, and then gave him a token to set off with the immigrant ship in Vladivostok in northern Shanghai.

Batavia.

This is a tropical city with beautiful scenery. After decades of construction by Chinese people, it was finally completed recently. After presiding over the final inauguration ceremony of Batavia, Governor Vandimen of Batavia inspected the entire castle, Ruby Fort, Pearl Fort, Diamond Fort and Sapphire Fort. Vandimen walked past each fortress, stroked the city defense cannons of each gate, and finally returned to his official residence.

Whether in the Netherlands or in the East Indies, Batavia Governor Van Dimen is a legendary figure. His status in the Netherlands East Indies Company was second only to the founder of the East Indies Company, Governor Cohen. Van Dimen's prestige is no less than that of the pioneer. Under his operation, the Netherlands East Indies Company became the de facto East Indies Empire, and the rule of the East Indies Company also entered its heyday.

It is precisely because of this indelible contribution that Governor Vandimen became the most powerful governor in the decades of history of the East India Company and was the uncrowned king of the East Indies.

During the years when Governor Van Dimen took office, the East India Company consolidated its control over the Spice Islands, invaded Ceylon occupied by the Portuguese, and completed the de facto spice monopoly. The surrounding Sultanate no longer invaded, some were destroyed, some actively compromised, and some surrendered. The company dominated Malacca, actually controlled the throat of East-West trade, and also kept the company's biggest profit point while Japan was closed to the country.

Back in the office, Vandimen took off his top hat and black uniform with a turtleneck and sat on an office chair. There were several reports in front of him. The pending report had been on his desk for the whole winter. Now that the southwest monsoon is about to rise, it is time to make a decision.

"His Honorable Governor, Cologne is here."

Cologne walked into the office. This was a 27 or 28-year-old Dutchman. He was wearing a black uniform, his beard was neatly combed, his high nose bridge and slightly slim figure made him look handsome and capable. The reporter was the confidant of Governor Vandimen. Some people even rumored that he was Vandimen's illegitimate son. After all, the two of them behaved so much like their behavior.

"Cologne, how are you investigating about Taiwan?" asked Fan Dimen.

Cologne smiled slightly and said, "According to the current information, we only need to dispatch a squadron of three heavy gunboats and a cruise ship and cooperate with some army to solve the threat of the newborn."

Fan Dimen smiled slightly, put his hands on his chest, and asked with interest: "But you wouldn't do this, right?"

"Of course, your honor, this is just the idea of ​​the officers. From your perspective, this is a rare opportunity. Of course, I still retain my opinion, that is, this trading company will sooner or later become a disaster like Zheng Zhilong. In the words of the Ming people, it is called a disaster for raising tigers." Cologne said seriously.

Fan Di told me: "How come I didn't know, but look at this."

As he said that, Van Di pushed a report to Cologne. Cologne looked at the cover and knew that it was from the Amsterdam headquarters, the masterpiece of seventeen gentlemen. After he opened it, he frowned. In the report, the seventeen gentlemen expressed concern about the East India Company's yield in the East.

For Cologne, this is completely nonsense. The yield rate of East India Company is higher than ever, and the dividends received by seventeen gentlemen are increasing every year. However, Cologne soon discovered that the seventeen gentlemen are not comparing the financial statements of previous years, but another colleague from Europe - the British East India Company.

In this report, seventeen gentlemen pointed out that the input-output ratio of the two companies is not at the same level at all. The equity of the British East India Company is only one-fifth of the Dutch East India Company. The annual capital invested in the East is only one-tenth, but the profit is nearly one-third.

That is to say, the yields of both sides were three times different, and seventeen gentlemen doubted the East India Council's business capabilities in the report.

But in fact, Cologne and the seventeen gentlemen were very clear about it. This is impossible to compare. The British East India Company was not the monster that ruled the whole of India in later generations. Now it is more like a submissive young wife. In the East, the British East India Company pursued a "quiet trade" policy. To put it simply, the British East India Company will not easily use force to seize colonies and conquer the indigenous people. They prefer bribery, lease and other means. In addition to dealing with the plundered pirates, their troops were almost all to help the powerful to please to suppress the rebellion. Therefore, the British East India Company did not have contact with the Spaniards and reached a cooperation agreement with the Portuguese. In the East, they had a good trade environment and only needed to maintain a limited armed force.

But the Dutch East India Company is different. In the entire East, the Dutch East India Company has countless enemies, including the Spaniards, Portuguese, Sultans, Zheng Zhilong and those strong Eastern countries on the Indochina Peninsula. The East India Company has colonies several times the area of ​​the Netherlands, feeding tens of thousands of troops and a strong fleet. The Dutch East India Company is in a state of war all the time, so naturally it has to invest more resources. Of course, whenever it defeats the enemy, the company will also get more profit points and higher yields.

But the seventeen gentlemen who have been far away in the country and have never thought so. They are businessmen, not politicians, but they only want golden gold coins and beautiful reports! Whenever they see a large amount of wealth invested in the war, the gentlemen will think that if there were no such war, these gold coins would fall into their pockets!

"We will deal with these things as usual, right?" Cologne put the report on the table.

The principle of dealing with things Cologne said is very simple, that is, gentlemen say gentlemen, we do ours. Starting from Cohen, this is the iron rule of the East India Council. After all, it takes nine months to sail between Batavia and the Netherlands to complete a contact. If you follow the instructions from the local area, everything will be too late.

"You are right Cologne. The gentlemen say gentlemen, we do ours. But it's not so absolute. At least this time, you must know that our new opponent has a complex background. The Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and Nicholas of Ming Dynasty have close ties with him. This may be a conspiracy. I don't deny that my fleet will win, but it may pull the company into a bottomless pit war. We can ignore the warnings of the gentlemen and continue to invest resources to guard our colonies, but we must never reopen another war. And it may be a behemoth like the Ming Dynasty, because it will affect our profits. If the dividends of the seventeen gentlemen are reduced next year, then the butt will be changed on this chair." Fan Dimen patted the chair he was sitting on and said.

Cologne nodded slightly. Even though they actually had an empire, the company was essentially a tool for making money, and no action could affect the company's profits. Otherwise, the seventeen gentlemen would use their supreme power to exchange for a more suitable butt for the Governor's seat.

"So, keep the option of war and negotiate first!" Cologne said.

Van Dimen nodded slightly and said, "You are right, this is also the reason why I chose you as the plenipotentiary."

As he said that, Van Dimen stood up, took out a bottle of wine from the wine rack next to him, poured a glass of wine for Cologne, and said, "To be honest, negotiation is also a good choice. We can transform the enemy into temporary partners and obtain higher profits through cooperation. If successful, it is to implement the requirements of gentlemen's quiet trade. If it fails, we have a more sufficient reason to start a war, right?"

Cologne agrees very much with this. He studied all the information about Tenglong Trading Company, and then summarized it and reported that the company's highest authority in the East India region - the East India Council, including Vandimen, was salivating about the resources in Tenglong Trading Company. It directly traded with the Ming Dynasty. Macau, the increasing sugar production, more and cheaper Ming Dynasty goods, and the strong demand for South China Sea goods. Of course, in addition to profits, there are other possibilities, such as forming an alliance with the company to start a war against the Spaniards and maintaining free navigation in the Taiwan Strait. If all this can be achieved, the company's losses in Taiwan seem not so important.

Fan Di knocked on the table and said, "You are the plenipotent representative of this negotiation. Don't let Chunis interfere. The fat man slandered him and concealed too much truth in the report. He will be responsible for everything that happened in Taiwan sooner or later. In addition, if the negotiation is successful, you must stay in Taiwan and pay close attention to all the movements of this community. Once its development is not conducive to the interests of the company, it must be eradicated as soon as possible."
Chapter completed!