Chapter 10

Selvin was a citizen of Stralsund, a city in northern Baltic Europe. In 1630, when the legendary Imperial Army of Wallenstein swept through Germany, the citizens of this city decided to resist. The citizens' desire for freedom overcame their fear of destruction, and they resolutely refused to open the city gates to the imperial garrison, preparing for a long siege. Although they managed to hold the city with the help of Sweden and Denmark, relying on the advantage that their opponents could not block the port, the cost was enormous. The war destroyed everything. Most of his family died in the war, and a once vibrant city became desolate. After nearly a decade of wandering, he had to accept employment with the Dutch East India Company and come to Asia to seek his fortune.

In Asia, he seemed to find his luck.

Upon his arrival in Taiwan, in 1642, he joined Captain Peter's 300 soldiers and participated in the attack on Keelung. He bravely joined the suicide squad, braving the fierce Spanish artillery fire, and captured Keelung, forcing the Spanish to surrender. This battle not only earned him a 50-riel bonus but also promoted him to sergeant, with 15 soldiers under his command. He later participated in a series of pacification operations.

What he was most proud of was his participation in the 1645 expedition led by business agent Steen and Captain Bowen. They had a total of 210 men, tasked with opening a road from Tainan to Keelung and the northern part of Danshui, and at the same time, to teach a lesson to the aborigines who refused to pay tribute. Along the way, they burned eight villages, crushed the resistance of thirteen villages, and killed 126 people. If not for the quick surrender, the death toll would have been even higher.

To everyone's surprise, when they returned to Tainan in 1646, they were unscathed. The newly arrived Governor Ovendal commended everyone and promised that another such achievement would result in a promotion for all. This was truly something to look forward to.

The only thing he regretted was not having a good position like Captain Peter or Captain Bowen. One was in charge of the tax collection in the Danshui area, and the other was in charge of the Keelung area. The local aborigines often rebelled, which allowed soldiers to take on tax collection duties. In reality, each rebellion was easily suppressed, and sometimes the sound of matchlock guns was enough to make them scatter. There, they were treated like kings. In the Dutch East India Company, only genuine Dutch Lowlanders could advance faster and have better positions.

He could only lead 15 men, rent a Chinese junk, and inspect fishing licenses along the coast. Dutch and Chinese merchant ships in Tainan needed escorting, mainly to prevent them from heading to Manila. So, Selvin could only hire fishing boats.

The Chinese fishermen were honest, mostly having fishing licenses, and they willingly paid the tithe. This job was not challenging for him, but he still enjoyed this boring work. When he inspected their licenses and even shouted at them unreasonably, their meek and fearful expressions satisfied him. Even if they had no faults, they would secretly give him some silver. At first, he did not understand, but later he accepted it calmly, even deliberately finding faults, always with some gain.

"Isn't this life wonderful?" Selvin said lazily to one of his subordinates.

"Of course, Sergeant, it would be better if it were the fishing season now," said one of his subordinates named Ritchie.

"Not for another three months. We don't have their good luck, but every day is a good day for tax collection."

Ritchie was a Slav, and he knew who the "they" the sergeant was referring to.

"Have you heard that we will soon expand to the south?"

"Yes, Governor has this idea. The north has no more blank areas."

"It would be nice if we could get a tax district."

"That's my dream."

The Heart of the Sea was speeding along, displaying a passion never seen before. On May 9, 1648, the sea conditions were excellent, perfect for the yacht to show off.

Sun Defa glanced at the radar screen and saw a fishing boat sailing northeast, 12 nautical miles away. He ignored it and focused on the tactics discussed earlier.

They were determined not to go ashore, to only observe the outer harbor of Tainan, and to travel during the day, crossing back at night. Gathering basic information was enough.

Around 4 p.m., they followed the map and found Tainan.

Indeed, it was a large port, the first large artificial structure they had seen after a day of travel.

Anyone with a basic knowledge of history knew that the Dutch occupied Tainan, Taiwan, in 1624 and built a fort, Fort Zeelandia, by 1632. Its name became immortalized in history when Zheng Chenggong successfully recaptured Taiwan.

The group took out their telescopes to observe. The ten-meter-high walls made it impossible to see the internal structure, but the entire fort, composed of three layers, was clearly visible. The central part was a semi-circular protrusion, the southern corners were square towers, and the northwest tower flew the Dutch flag. Upon closer inspection, there were some characters on it. They took many photos, gathering materials to analyze later.

Sun Defa tried to get as close as possible to the port in front of the fort to gather more hydrographic data. The people on the shore were surprised by the strange boat, discussing and pointing at it. There were no large ships on the shore, only a few small ships of 40 to 50 tons, with their sails lowered and moored at the shore.

Some sailors were running around on the ships, and some were even fiddling with the cannons.

"Let's go, no need to take risks," Wu Dapeng said after collecting a few more data points with the rangefinder.

Sun Defa made a beautiful turn to the northeast and left. Not far away, they heard a cannon shot.

In the evening, at the governor's residence in Fort Zeelandia.

The ninth governor of Taiwan, Governor Ovendal, listened to the report from the sailors on the shore, his mind uneasy.

A white, shiny small boat? Sailors in colorful clothes? No sails but a speed of up to 20 nautical miles? Spying on the port and the fort?

He really did not believe the sailors' report. If not for the many sailors who saw it, he would have thought they were hallucinating after drinking too much rum.

"Without sails, it can only be powered by human or animal force, but how could it reach 20 nautical miles? Unless it was divine power, but if it had divine power, how could it be driven away by the sailors' small cannons?" Governor Ovendal's logical reasoning was very tight, leaving the sailors speechless.

Governor Ovendal ignored the dejected sailors and made a judgment: "Those damned Spaniards, it must be them playing tricks! Unwilling to be driven out of Taiwan, they are spying on Tainan! Ha, come on, the mighty and impregnable Fort Zeelandia will be your grave!"

Governor Ovendal tossed a riel to the sailor and said, "Your information may not be accurate, but at least your loyalty is commendable."

The sailor bowed and left.

Governor Ovendal said to his attendant, Captain Harper, "Notify the people in Danshui and Keelung to be cautious of Spanish provocations. Also, strengthen the port's defenses and tell that lucky fool Selvin to stop extorting poor fishermen and focus on patrols and warnings."

Harper nodded respectfully and accepted the order. He genuinely respected Governor Ovendal.

In the early days of the Dutch occupation of Tainan, due to the costs of fort construction and personnel, as well as disputes with the Zheng family, the income from Tainan barely broke even. After Governor Ovendal took office, he decisively abandoned the re-export trade of raw silk and silk, increased the export of sulfur, lead, rice, sugar, and deer meat, and encouraged the migration of mainland refugees to expand rice and sugarcane cultivation. He also expanded the tax base. The expected income for this year was 400,000 riels, double what it was when he took office.

What earned him even more respect was that he increased the income of staff and garrison troops, unlike the previous governor, Galon, who was a kitchen assistant, who submitted all the income to headquarters to secure a position as vice-governor of the East India Company, ignoring the meager salaries of his subordinates.

Governor Ovendal soon stopped worrying about the strange boat. What could it do, no matter how strange? He had the mighty Fort Zeelandia and 700 fully armed and loyal soldiers. Apart from Batavia, this was the hardest place to attack in all of Asia.

His mind soon turned to pepper.

The pepper trade was Governor Ovendal's stroke of genius. Although pepper, as a major spice, had been traded by the Dutch East India Company for a long time, it was usually bought from Batavia at 10.5 riels per picul and sold to the mainland at 14 to 15 riels, with an annual volume of about 8,000 piculs. After Governor Ovendal took office, he increased the purchase to 16,000 piculs and raised the resale price to 18 riels.

Both the merchants in Batavia and his subordinates were shocked by his actions. During times of war, the consumption of pepper should decrease, so increasing stockpiles and raising prices seemed irrational.

Governor Ovendal ignored the private discussions and even pre-ordered 20,000 piculs of pepper for delivery in 1648.

The results were surprising. By 1648, all the pepper in the Tainan trading post had been sold, with the last batch selling for 19 riels per picul. The profits were enormous, and everyone was red-eyed. Strictly speaking, a profit of less than 100% in foreign trade was not significant, but the cost-effectiveness was too high. The distance from Batavia to Taiwan and from Taiwan to the mainland was not far, and it felt like picking up money. More importantly, Governor Ovendal's foresight was truly admirable.

At a ball, Governor Ovendal proudly explained to the fawning merchants: "It's simple. First, during war, the demand for pepper for preserving meat increases. Second, the war is moving south, so the north will be more stable, which is good for transportation. Third, mainland merchants have the habit of stockpiling goods, and I bet they will continue to do so. Fortunately, I was right."

The ladies and noblewomen applauded and gave him admiring glances, while the men cheered. Governor Ovendal modestly bowed to everyone. But in his heart, he was proud. It was simple to say, but an accurate business judgment could only come from a sharp mind and detailed analysis.

The 20,000 piculs of pepper he pre-ordered last year were about to be delivered. Governor Ovendal was very clear that the praise from the Governor of Batavia and the flattery from the merchants were partly due to the 20,000 piculs of pepper. After all, he had pre-ordered 70% of the market's production.

Governor Ovendal felt he needed to make a good plan, not for a little money, but to use the pepper to help him secure the position of Governor of Batavia.