Dutch prisoners became the main labor force in the construction of Cape Town. They burned bricks and tiles to build houses, workshops, and mined slates to pave the main roads in Cape Town. Dutch prisoners undertake heavy physical labor, so that there were two large-scale riots, but they were soon suppressed by the sheriff. Some of the Dutch prisoners escaped, but the number of people was very small. It was not that the sheriff strengthened its binding force, but that the prisoners who returned to the Dutch military camp lived a more difficult life.

In Cape Town, the Dutch people who undertake heavy physical labor will get enough food, sorghum rice and bone broth, and occasionally get a little wine to drink. The liquor made by sorghum belongs to the national group, and only the high-level officials can drink the rare beer. The wine consumed by Dutch prisoners is wine. You must know that wine is generally only aristocrats in Europe. The reason for this kind of wonder is that the vineyards of local French immigrants have achieved a bumper harvest and began to try to brew wine. The Chinese have a relatively low acceptance of wine.

In fact, when Europeans drink wine, on the one hand, they foolishly believe that red wine can supplement and purify blood of the same color as it, while on the other hand, Protestantism promotes. In the hearts of Christians, red wine is the blood of Jesus Christ, and common people can also enjoy it at the Communion.

(Red wine is not necessarily wine)

Due to the variety of grapes, the differences in planting methods and brewing techniques, Cape Town winemaking is not yet mature, and the Chinese cannot tell whether this type of wine is delicious or unpalatable, so naturally they cannot assist French immigrants in providing market feedback. In Cape Town, where the supply of sufficient supply of "Cape Town Daqu", only Dutch prisoners (actually from German princes, more people from Nordic and French) are willing to be this guinea pig.

When the funny war was delayed until six years after Yongli, some Dutch soldiers could not bear the hard life in the barracks and fled to Cape Town. The news they brought to the former prisoners was that there was an epidemic spreading in the barracks, and they could only eat dry and hard bread, stinky salted fish and jerky meat every day. If the supply ships were not arrived in time, they would not have to eat these and drink bitter and salty water. One of the five people would die, with no rotation system at all, and there was no hope. 'Just like stupid pigs raised in pigpens, the sailors on the ocean-going ships lived better, at least they could see different scenery'.

The arrival of the soldiers and sailors calmed the Dutch prisoners. When the war ended, the Dutch people in the prisoner-of-war camp in Cape Town almost exceeded one thousand. Neither Litman nor ordinary Dutch sailors, nor Cape Town, they could understand why the West India Company still had to fight, and Recife was still fighting, and their troops were not sufficient. The East India Company needed to arm the ships and block Cape Town, which did not even have a sampan, would be better to go to Batavia to join the war.

In fact, the local gentlemen in the Netherlands also quarreled about this, but one thing is that Cape Town must be in a state of war. In this way, when the war in the East is decided, the Netherlands can still play Cape Town as a card. If it is withdrawn, the previous efforts will be unreported. In fact, the West Indian Company also wanted to reduce its investment and asked Littman how many people needed in the South African battlefield to maintain the situation. Littman gave the answer of 1,500 people, but the premise is that all kinds of building materials and equipment must be invested first, and the temporary barracks on the coast are built into a simple fortress. Considering the recent logistics coming to Recife, it means that 400,000 Dukats may be invested, which is about 650,000 taels of silver. The gentlemen chose to give up and let 2,500 people continue to rot on the beach of Table Bay.

During the stalemate of the war, Zhou Zeyu, Gao Yingwu and several pioneer team leaders had planned to drive the Dutch into the sea or gather on the beach. After all, Cape Town can arm 4,000 people, and at the appropriate time, it can also prevent black slaves from participating in the war. After planning, it was found that the success rate was very high, the difference was that 300 or 500 people died, but in the end he chose to give up.

There is no benefit to drive away the Dutch. Even if the Dutch left the beach, the Dutch armed ships in Table Bay could still block Cape Town. Cape Town still could not enter a normal state. Since nothing has changed, why bother to pay for it? In the final analysis, the Dutch soldiers on the coast were just involved in cavalry and some militias. In addition to the sound of gunfire like an alarm bell every day, Cape Town is still a peaceful country.

After observing the Dutch military camp and finding that as usual, Zhou Zeyu visited every corner of Cape Town as usual, then returned to the office to check various reporting materials. After the construction of the "Dutch Wall" was completed, most of the roads in the city were hardened. The chief of the prisoner-of-war camp asked Zhou Zeyu to arrange new tasks for Dutch prisoners. After all, some of them could not be masons. Zhou Zeyu waved his pen and asked him to burn bricks and quarry to prepare for the future construction of the dock.

The report sent by Gao Yingwu from the northern settlement outlined the land to be reclaimed this winter on a simple planning map. This is impossible. The external passage has been closed and the black slave trade has stopped. In order to obtain enough livestock and food, the slave hunting team is still carrying out small-scale slave hunting and expulsion. Slaves cannot be idle. Reclaiming land has become the only job. The newly reclaimed land will not be planted on wheat and other grain crops, because there is really no qualified labor. These lands will be planted next spring to free livestock and increase the fertility of the land. When the war is over, they will be used to resettle immigrants.

Zhou Zeyu agreed to Gao Yingwu's plan with a big stroke. He had no better plan. The efficiency of land reclamation was also decreasing. The reason was the lack of tools. There were many blacksmiths in Cape Town. At least the proportion of blacksmiths was far higher than that of some local administrative regions. However, there were iron scarce local areas. Although some small iron ore were found, there were too few people in Cape Town to support iron ore mining, screening, and smelting. In fact, there were no talents in this area. The stock of iron ingots was declining. Zhou Zeyu thought for a moment and wrote a warrant.

This was an order issued to the cavalry team, allowing them to go to the battlefield of the Galen Ship Battle, drag the bombed Dutch artillery back, and some large iron parts, such as iron anchors, could also be brought back. In the final analysis, they were collected and 400 strong black slaves were mobilized for this to be dispatched.

The Garen ship had more than 30 artillery pieces, plus iron anchors, anchor chains and some iron shells. It would be no problem to make up a hundred tons of iron, which could solve temporary worries.

At the end of the work, Zhou Zeyu thought about it and found that he had not been in trouble with the Dutch for several days. He thought for a moment and wrote a sincere letter to Litman in the coastal barracks. The content was relatively simple, and he exchanged two barrels of delicious red wine that no one wanted to drink for Litman's order. Since you Dutch people are fighting a few symbolic shots every day, then they simply agreed to make the time to fight, and they will shoot two shots every morning, 12 noon and 6 pm each day, so that the city of Cape Town will not need to ring the bell. Zhou Zeyu finally attached two silver coins, claiming that this was the salary of the bell ringer.

The provocative letters and two barrels of wine were sent to the Dutch military camp, and soon the rumbling sound of cannons sounded. Litman, who was unable to hold back, was revenge. The cannon made Zhou Zeyu in the office feel less bored.

In a joyful atmosphere, Zhou Zeyu wrote a secret report, which was related to some European situations. The main sources of information were those mercenaries and some low-level officers who surrendered. The Dutch nation's perception of its own nation and loyalty to the country was far lower than its desire for money. The rapid decline of the Netherlands in the 18th century had a huge relationship with the Dutch capitalists abandoning the Netherlands and turning to London. Under the temptation of money, many people came to surrender and brought some news.

It has been confirmed that the relationship between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom is deteriorating rapidly. In October last year, the United Kingdom promulgated the Navigation Ordinance, and the Netherlands is also preparing for war. The naval tax increased by one third last year, and the five naval departments also organized some armed merchant ships and warships to escort merchant ships and fishing boats. Zhou Zeyu does not have any of these information to confirm, but one thing is certain that the scale of Dutch ships heading to the east is shrinking, which indirectly confirms the rumors of tense situation in Europe.

The report will be delivered to the southern bay, and Fitzheimer's ships travel between Cape Town and Mozambique every two months, and he will deliver the report to the country.

Batavia.

It is rumored that the Governor Fan Dimen was dead because he had not appeared in the sight of the white people in the city for a long time. The news of the defeat in the battle of Linga Island in front of him was even more uneasy. Although the East India Company claimed that it had won the victory, it was understandable that it was not brought back a ship, but not bringing back a Chinese sailor proved that it was a boast.

However, Vandimen was not dead yet. He was just seriously ill and could not be cured. He moved from the wet and hot seaside Fort Badavia to a villa in the southeast corner of the city for recuperation. In fact, his condition was deteriorating further, but he was still dragging his sick body to hold a military parade in Batavia, demonstrating the strong maritime power of the East India Company to all Batavian residents.

What worsened with Vandimen's condition was the situation of war. Some secrets were only circulated among the seven people of the East Indies Commission, but the atmosphere of despair still enveloped the sky above Batavia. Before the parade, a senior businessman was executed in the square south outside the city. This man was very close to one of the seventeen gentlemen, and the charge was for being in touch with foreign enemies. But in fact, the senior officials knew that it was common for the businessman to hand over his personal belongings to a Spanish merchant and let him take his secret back to the country. This was a common thing, but under the current situation, it was so inappropriate.

It is not a secret that the senior employment of East India Company uses its power to embezzle and smuggle. It is transferred to the local area every year that is far beyond its salary level. After investigating and punishing a few people, the British East India Company became a way for them to transport black money to their hometowns. However, the hanged senior businessman chose the Spanish, which proves the rumors that Batavia has been spreading, and that the British-Dutch relations are on the verge of war.

The worsening of Vandimen's condition was inseparable from it. The governor hoped that merchant ships far away from Europe would return to join the Batavian fleet. If possible, he also hoped to have several more Dutch Navy standard warships, but the final result was that there were no warships and no merchant ships. The locals were preparing for war, and the colonies would have to make sacrifices. The secret orders given to Vandimen by the seventeen gentlemen were to end the war in the East and end the war in the East with the means to invest resources to the local area. Vandimen sent a letter of peace to Li Mingxun, and Li Mingxun put forward harsh demands. Vandimen knew that only by winning the naval battle could we truly usher in peace.

For Vandimen and East India Company, it is meaningless to wait any longer. There will be no support fleets in the country. The longer the time is, the stronger the United States will be in the Java Sea. This country is not only a naval overlord, but also an infrastructure maniac. It took only half a year to build a port supporting the large fleet to fight on Banga Island. What will happen in another half a year? Wouldn't they want to build one on Java Island?

The whole company is seeking a war, especially the members of the East Indies Commission. They hope that Van Dimen will decide the victory before his death, because this twilight old man will take on all the war. If he loses, Van Dimen is responsible for it, bear the anger from the country, and may be sent to the United States as a war criminal. If he wins, the stubborn person can only enjoy flowers and applause, and the authority and interests will be inherited by others. As a politician, does Van Dimen understand the thoughts of his subordinates, but he is willing to take on this role, and only he can bear all of this.

He has been the governor of the East India Company for seventeen years and has witnessed the rise of the East, a maritime power. In the past decade, the East India Company's annual profits and expansion of its sphere of influence are his credit, and the birth of such a strong opponent is also his sin. The profits brought to the Netherlands by the United States anesthesia of seventeen gentlemen far away in Europe, but he has never anesthetized him, and Vandimen chose to take a desperate bet.

To this end, Vandimen concentrated the last wave of strength. He pulled back all the resident fleets of Banda and Ambon, picked and selected the existing fleets in Batavia, and sent the warships with weak firepower and slow speeds that were not suitable for the battle line to Ceylon Island to deal with the Portuguese fleets, and drew the elite troops in Galle, with elite soldiers and strong generals in hand to deal with the United States.

Tian Ji's horse racing is not suitable for Fan Dimension. He wants to use the strong to fight against the strong and the weak to fight against the weak.
Chapter completed!