New Shun 1730

The man who despised Lian Huaiguan for being a coward was called Huang Ban. Among the Chinese outside the city, he was a figure like Chao Baozheng, loyal and resourceful, and many Chinese believed in him.

Lian Huaiguan, because he also had property in the city, was more like a black man. He had business dealings with the Chinese Kapitan, Lei Zhenlan, etc., and had many contacts with the Dutch. He was well-connected in both the black and white worlds, and would help those poor brothers when they had any difficulties.

The two had a good relationship before, but at this time, should they revolt and seize power, establish themselves as kings, and follow the story of Hunjianglong in the Water Margin? Or should they rely on the court, be its vanguard, and become the "vanguard of the Liao expedition" in the future?

There was a difference in the route. No matter how good the friendship was before, it was finally necessary to make it clear who they were following.

The Chinese outside the city really couldn't survive.

Want money? No, if they had money, they would not leave their hometowns and believe the words "go to Nanyang to make a living", get on the ship, and then "work in the sugar factory to pay the ticket".

If the sugar factory wants to make money, it is impossible to use people with official identities. Two silver coins a year, equivalent to the time when the salary is paid, these two silver coins must be issued - of course, they don't have to be issued to the hands, the Kapitan and Lei Zhenlan in the city contracted the head tax, just give them directly.

Want to beg in the city? Without a residence permit, as long as you are caught, you will be imprisoned and do hard labor.

The Netherlands does not have a poorhouse that makes people live worse than death, but hard labor is almost the same.

Huang Ban is a good man, and he respects Lian Huaiguan on weekdays, thinking that he is also a man who dares to do big things. But Huang Ban really didn't expect that at this juncture, Lian Huaiguan actually cowarded and pinned his hopes on the saintly monarchs and wise ministers of the court.

This is Batavia, after all, not Dashun. Even in Dashun, there were many people who cursed the emperor.

The children's army following Lian Huaiguan, or the people on the line of the Privy Council, did not have too many thoughts when they heard Huang Ban say "the surname Zhu and the surname Li are the same", thinking that it was just a casual remark by people in the martial arts world. To be honest, there was someone in "Journey to the West" who was willing to sacrifice his life to pull down the emperor.

They were people in the public circle, so they looked down on the martial arts methods and would not take the words of the martial arts people seriously.

However, whether it was the emperor's children's army, the Privy Council, or the line arranged by the naval staff, they all disagreed with the uprising at this time.

The court, the Privy Council, and the navy all had their own considerations.

But Huang Ban and his brothers could not consider it from the perspective of the court.

If they considered it from the perspective of the court, Li Zicheng should not have rebelled that year, and he should have starved to death and sacrificed for the overall situation, so that the court could concentrate its forces to fight the Eastern Tartars.

Since the founding emperor of the time did not consider the court, how can we ask the people to consider the overall situation?

Lian Huaiguan knew Huang Ban's temper, so he had to smile and say: "Brother Ban, if you want to provoke me, I will bear it. But if you really think that I am a coward, then we have to talk about it. You don't know what kind of person I am, right?"

Huang Ban was angry and provocative just now. He knew that he couldn't split up at this time. Seeing that Lian Huaiguan gave him a way out, he had to say: "Brother Huaiguan, I tell you, the court is unreliable. Even if the court comes, what can it do? The court today is no longer the court of the Taizu Emperor who distributed land and exempted grain."

"If the court really fights the Dutch for our brothers in Nanyang, my brothers and I will follow the court without saying a word and become heroes."

"But the court Can you fight the Dutch? If not, what can the court do? "

"Besides, although you and I have some wealth, so many brothers have no food to eat now. How long can our wealth last?"

"The sugar factory can't operate this year. Every pound of sugar sold to the Dutch will lose money. The Dutch are strict and there is no way to sell it to others. The brothers are just seeking a way to survive, otherwise they will die sooner or later."

"Even if what the Dutch said is true, and they are really sent to Ambon, Ceylon or Cape Town, aren't they also serving hard labor in those places? How many years can you live serving hard labor for the Dutch? Damn, Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall and Emperor Yang of Sui dug the canal, but they were not so cruel. "

The Chinese in Batavia knew very well what it meant to serve hard labor for the Dutch.

Living for five years is a big profit, and three years is considered a long life.

Even if what the Dutch said was true, and they didn't just throw the people into the sea to save money when the ship was halfway, but they really planned to transport them there, it was the difference between dying now and dying three to five years later.

This is one of the reasons why the sugar mill in Batavia could make money before: if you dare to make trouble or ask for money, you will go to Batavia to report that you don't have a residence permit, be arrested and sent to hard labor, and make sure that everyone works honestly in the sugar mill. In the sugar mill or sugarcane plantation, although there is no watermelon to eat, at least you can eat a piece of sugarcane secretly, right?

Most Chinese can endure it. No one is addicted to rebellion until they can't survive.

But now, they really can't survive.

Everyone helps each other, and these big brothers who take the lead still have some industries, but how long can they last?

They beat up the Dutch who came to arrest people before, how can the Dutch not retaliate? Could it be that when the time comes, the brothers who beat people will be handed over? Hand them over to the Dutch?

If they betray their brothers, who will trust them as big brothers in the future?

If the big brother gets the benefits, the brothers will take the brunt when things go wrong? Such a big brother will not last long.

Even if Huai Guan was suffering at this time, he couldn't tell. Even if the imperial court stepped in to solve the problem, it would be a matter later. But now, an urgent matter needs to be solved, which is the problem of feeding these Chinese people outside the city.

"Let's do this. I'll sell the property and it can still be maintained for a while. I'll talk to the people in the city and ask them to talk to the Dutch or help them and contribute some money."

As soon as he said this, Huang Ban and a group of men under Huang Ban laughed.

"Are those people in the city reliable? Can Brother Huaiguan still count on them?"

They are not the same type of people as the high-class Chinese in the city.

The high-class Chinese in the city can chat and laugh with the Dutch. They have legitimate industries, whether they are tax-paying or contracting and specializing, and they can still afford to pay the two silver coins in tax.

Many Chinese outside the city were slave laborers. Historically, after the Ostend Tea Incident, the Netherlands established a trade committee with China to directly trade with the Manchus in Guangdong. Batavia's advantageous position as a transit port gradually disappeared, and some ship owners The only way to make money in Batavia was to transport Fujian indentured slaves, or else they had to go empty ships.

In the city and outside the city, the two sides have completely different thoughts, and they can't reach the same place.

From the perspective of the Chinese in the city, they are divided into two categories.

One category is Kapitan, Lei Zhenlan, sugar factory contractors, wealthy businessmen, tax collectors, and moneylenders.

They also did not want the Chinese outside the city to revolt.

For one thing, the two sides are of different classes. They are not from the same place at all, and their joys and sorrows are not the same.

Secondly, as Chinese operators in the city, riots outside the city will also affect their industries.

Three, they have been trying to integrate into the Dutch ruling class. A stable Dutch colonial government will help their industries and profits grow.

The fourth is that they are worried that if the Chinese revolt outside the city, they will be implicated, causing the Dutch, who covet their gold and silver industry, to take the opportunity to exile them and swallow up the gold and silver.

The second category is small craftsmen.

For example, chefs, restaurant owners, small businessmen, salesmen, craftsmen who sharpen scissors, kitchen knives, and mend pots, etc.

They are completely sitting on the fence.

It would certainly be a good thing if the uprising succeeded, or forced the Dutch to accept conditions and abolish the poll tax.

They also have to pay a poll tax. If some people outside the city die and shed some blood, they can also benefit from it, which is of course a good thing.

If the uprising failed, they thought, the Dutch would not make things difficult for them.

Because in addition to Batavia's large-scale maritime trade and corporate monopoly operations, it can be said that these Chinese have supported the prosperity of Batavia as a city.

Without them, not only would the company have to collect hundreds of thousands of silver coins in taxes every year, but Batavia would also be paralyzed.

And because of the Dutch colonial policy, these small craftsmen's hatred of the Dutch was actually due to the Chinese tax collectors above them.

After all, the Dutch are generally out of reach, and the Chinese have their own circles. However, rice markets, fish markets, casinos, opera shows, small businesses, drinks, etc. are all contracted by high-class Chinese, and the food, clothing, housing, transportation, and even shit are taxed.

It can be seen as the buying and selling system in the Song Dynasty. It was auctioned at the beginning of the year, such as the rice market, and you spent 1,000 dong to buy it. The money was paid to the colonial government first. How much tax you can collect this year depends on your ability. Tax collectors... have the ability to scratch the surface.

For the Chinese outside the city, these small craftsmen have an indifferent attitude. I sympathized with them, but I hesitated to ask them to join in the work; there were poor brothers who came and hid, so I could help; but I wanted to rebel against the Dutch together with the poor people outside who couldn't pay the poll tax. Don't dare.

Even if the group of people outside the city broke into Batavia, it would be the Dutch and the upper-class Chinese who would suffer. Even "equalizing farmland and exempting grain", "distributing land", and "confiscating sugar factories" have nothing to do with these small handicraftsmen...

Because they simply don't have it.

Just like a wonton seller, he didn't believe that the Chinese slave laborers outside the city could successfully rob his wonton stall because of the successful uprising?

At most, it's just a bowl of wontons without paying. Kapitan disdains eating wontons, but if he really eats wontons, he won't dare to ask for them even if he is offered money. It doesn't make much difference.

Because people inside and outside the city have different classes and different thoughts, it is difficult to unite them with a community that is different from the class narrative.

There are many people outside the city who are strong and courageous. They dare to sacrifice and bleed. They dare to pull down the emperor even if they are killed.

But, no money and no connections.

No money and no connections. There is no way to get guns, cannons, or gunpowder.

People in the city have money, connections and connections, and can get guns and artillery.

But they did not support the uprising at all.

Historically, when the uprising broke out, the slave laborers outside the city had already started an armed struggle. Half of the people in the city were standing on the fence, and half believed that the Dutch would treat them fairly. After all, the Dutch "abided by the law."

As a result, the fighting was in full swing outside the city. The Chinese black-shirted party members and sans-pants men outside the city fought with the Dutch, the Indonesian mercenaries, and the chief cavalry. However, the people in the city obeyed the orders of the Dutch and used their hands to fight. The weapons inside, even the knives, were handed over until the Dutch butcher's knife fell on their defenseless heads.

Those high-ranking Chinese who were not massacred, or the four Lei Zhenlans who informed the authorities in advance, hated the insurgents outside the city to the extreme, believing that it was their riots that implicated them. By the way, Lei Zhenlan and the Kapitan were still scheming against each other before the uprising broke out. Lei Zhenlan bypassed the Kapitan and went directly to the governor to report in order to become the Kapitan in the future.

The ice is three feet thick, and it is not formed in a day. Now Lian Huaiguan actually said that he had to rely on the Kapitan, Lei Zhenlan and others to collude with the Dutch to solve this matter like a petition, and Huang Ban and others couldn't help but laugh.