SWDnovel Chapter 59 Speculation
Chapter 59 Speculation
Zhu Jiheng understood the princes' answers but remained outwardly calm. Only after the banquet had ended did he order Zhang San to keep an eye on intelligence regarding Sulu.
Sulu is a small country. Although it doesn't have the power to offend the Dutch, it also doesn't have the power to offend them. Moreover, compared to the Dutch, Luzon is closer to Sulu. Unless the Sultan of Sulu is out of his mind, he won't go to war with the Dutch.
However, this does not mean that he can ignore Sulu.
Zhu Jiheng immediately ordered his men to prepare pen and ink, and personally sent a letter to Jinghai. He also ordered the navy, which was still stationed there, to dispatch warships to patrol the northern Sulu Sea and the western coast of Mindanao Island in shifts.
This was for two reasons: first, to demonstrate their presence and deter potential threats; and second, to intercept suspicious vessels and investigate the movements of Dutch ships. Furthermore, vessels flying the Dutch East Indies flag or Sulu ships could be questioned as appropriate.
After sending the letter, Zhu Jiheng did not relax; he remained vigilant towards the Dutch.
Looking across the entire Southeast Asia, only the Dutch still had the strength to rival him. Spanish power had collapsed, the Portuguese were huddled in Macau and Timor, barely surviving, and the British were still fighting for control of India and the Malay Peninsula, temporarily unable to look eastward.
Only the Dutch, entrenched in Batavia, controlled the Spice Islands, possessed a powerful fleet, extensive trade routes, and harbored a natural hostility towards any power that might challenge their trade monopoly.
"The Dutch won't stand idly by and watch us continue to grow stronger." Zhu Jiheng paced back and forth in his study, his mind racing. "In the Battle of Cebu, our army swept through Cebu with lightning speed. The Dutch were shocked by this and will certainly not let it go."
So what will they do next to curb their own power?
As Zhu Jiheng pondered this, he walked to the wall where the South China Sea chart was hanging, his gaze wandering around Batavia and Luzon.
Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the behemoth to the north, the Qing Dynasty, which he regarded as an irreconcilable enemy.
Could it be... that they will join forces with the Qing government?
The thought flashed through his mind, and Zhu Jiheng felt as if he had been shot, his whole body jolting.
Yes!
The Dutch could very well have done so, as they had dealings with the Qing government before.
When Zheng Jing was still alive, the Qing army launched the Battle of Kinmen and Xiamen, and joined forces with the Dutch to attack the Zheng family. They signed the so-called Qing-Dutch Agreement, promising that "after capturing this island (Taiwan), the Qing army should hand over the island and all castles and properties to the Dutch for them to live in."
Of course, there have always been two different versions of this matter. One version is that it was just a unilateral proposal by the Dutch, and the Qing government did not agree to sign the agreement, but only wanted to use the Dutch as cannon fodder.
Secondly, the Qing court only retained a few conditions in the treaty. Regarding the clause on the cession of Taiwan, the Qing envoy neither objected nor agreed, only saying that he could not make the decision and needed to consult the court.
Regardless of the version, in subsequent developments, the Qing and Dutch armies did indeed join forces to attack the Ming Zheng regime and captured Xiamen and Kinmen.
Following this, in the second year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Prince Jingnan Geng Jimao and Fujian Governor-General Li Shuotai both submitted memorials to report the Qing army's achievements against the Dutch allied forces.
Even in the third year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, he personally celebrated the Dutch colonists' "assistance in suppressing" the Chinese, rewarding them with silver, "for their meritorious service in assisting the troops to suppress the sea rebels in the winter of the second year." (Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty, Volume 12 of the Veritable Records of the Holy Ancestor Emperor)
Therefore, it is not entirely impossible that the two families who once joined forces against the Ming-Zheng regime would now unite again to deal with him, the "successor of the Ming-Zheng regime."
"Using one tiger to devour another... using someone else to do the dirty work..."
Zhu Jiheng gasped when he thought of this possibility, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
The Dutch only needed to stir up trouble for the Qing court, emphasizing the danger of the Ming regime in Luzon and its potential threat to Qing rule, and then propose an enticing plan for joint military action and a pincer attack from the north and south. It would be hard for Emperor Kangxi and his princes and ministers, who were eager to consolidate their coastal defenses and eliminate the remnants of the Ming dynasty, not to be tempted.
Even if the Qing court is temporarily unwilling to launch a large-scale overseas expedition, as long as they show understanding or even tacit approval of the Dutch actions, strengthen naval patrols along the coast of Fujian and Guangdong, block trade routes to Luzon, or even secretly provide some intelligence or material support to the Dutch, it would be enough to put pressure on Luzon.
Zhu Jiheng felt a burning rage. He had previously focused more on the internal power struggles in Southeast Asia, almost overlooking the possibility that the largest and most deadly enemy in the north might join forces with the Dutch.
"It seems I have to strike first..."
Zhu Jiheng murmured softly.
He originally intended to develop slowly for several months or even half a year, at least to produce dozens of fifth-class and sixth-class ships and several thousand line infantry before deciding whether to seize Batavia or launch a counterattack on Taiwan.
But now, the thought of the Dutch joining forces with the Qing army to attack him from both sides made Zhu Jiheng uneasy.
He couldn't gamble, he couldn't gamble on how crazy the Dutch were for their profits, nor could he gamble on how much the Qing court would be willing to pay to wipe out him, this "remnant of the former Ming dynasty".
However, he was also willing to gamble, even on the fate of the nation—waiting for the Dutch to form a complete alliance with the Qing Dynasty and launch a pincer attack from the north and south would be tantamount to suicide. He had to disrupt the Dutch's plans and even inflict heavy damage on them before they reached an agreement and the Qing navy sailed south, leaving them too busy to plan any bigger schemes!
He planned a surprise attack on Batavia.
This bold, even somewhat crazy, idea ignited in Zhu Jiheng's heart like wildfire.
Batavia was the heart of the Dutch East India Company in the Far East, serving as its political, economic, and military center.
If we can strike their fleet or port facilities with lightning speed, even if we cannot capture the city, it will be enough to shake the entire South Seas, disrupt the Dutch's overall plans, greatly relieve our own pressure, and gain the initiative and time for subsequent strategies.
As mentioned earlier, this was undoubtedly a gamble, a high-stakes gamble. Batavia was well-defended, with a fleet permanently stationed in the port, and it was quite a distance from Luzon. A long-distance raid would present enormous challenges in terms of secrecy, resupply, and surprise.
If they were to suffer a defeat, not only would the Nanyang Fleet be severely damaged or even annihilated, but the accompanying army would also perish.
The risks are enormous, but so are the potential rewards.
If Batavia could be conquered, the entire top leadership of the Dutch East India Company would be wiped out, and how could they then cooperate with the Qing government?
Zhu Jiheng's mind raced as he weighed the pros and cons and devised a plan.
After a long pause, he finally made a decision and ordered someone to summon Zhang San, Lin Qingyuan, and the others.
A moment later, Lin Qingyuan and Zhang San rushed over. Seeing Zhu Jiheng's unusually solemn expression and the tense atmosphere in the study, they realized that something big had happened and became serious as well.
Zhang San returned after leaving, and he couldn't help but wonder if Zhu Jiheng's seriousness was because something had happened in Sulu. But he quickly dismissed the thought, thinking it was impossible that he, the intelligence chief, didn't know before Zhu Jiheng.