The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Chapter 242 Maritime Trade Office

From Nantianmen to Malacca, the journey was fortunate to be carried by favorable winds, taking only a day and a night.

Metsuiko's flagship led the way, followed closely by Xu Chuang and Yin Huasheng. The three large ships formed a single column and slowly sailed north along the Strait of Malacca.

When the fleet arrived in Malacca, it was dusk the next day. Xu Chuang stood at the bow of the ship and could see the outline of Malacca in the distance.

At first glance, all you see are gray-blue city bricks, and behind the city walls are layers upon layers of roofs with upturned eaves, a typical Han-style architectural style, which intertwines with the palm and coconut trees of Southeast Asia, creating a unique feeling.

The pier has also more than doubled in size compared to a year ago.

Xu Chuang still remembers what Malacca looked like under the rule of the Dutch East India Company. At that time, the dock only had a pier and a few warehouses, and the dock was piled with spices and sugar waiting to be loaded onto ships.

Meanwhile, the local inhabitants, shirtless, carried sacks back and forth under the whips of the Dutch overseers.

Back then, Malacca was a city controlled by guns and cannons, but now it's different. The pier has been expanded with six piers, each wide enough for two horse-drawn carriages to walk side by side.

On both sides of the pier are rows of blue brick warehouses, with the types of goods labeled in Chinese and French on the warehouse doors—silk, porcelain, tea, spices, sugar, tin ore, sandalwood, neatly categorized.

The laborers still carried sacks back and forth, but the overseer's whip was gone. In its place stood a burly clerk in a short brown robe, holding an account book and a charcoal pencil, recording entries one by one.

These were all compliant citizens, that is, recruited natives. After being issued identity cards, they could work here to earn food for their families, which was similar to the dockworkers in Shanghai in later generations.

But the Han Chinese exploited the foreigners even more severely because they didn't pay wages. The grain that a strong laborer earned carrying loads of grain each day wasn't even enough to feed his entire family.

There was no other way. Having just experienced a great war, the people of the Han Dynasty were extremely poor and needed sufficient resources to become wealthy. Liu Mu didn't have that much time to wait.

Most importantly, if the local people aren't exploited, what's the point of the Han occupying this place? Is it for charity?

But despite this extreme exploitation, the workers seemed happy, even a little blissful, judging from their expressions.

The reason is that the Han Dynasty did not prohibit religion and allowed freedom of belief.

For these indigenous people, it was good that they could still eat despite being exploited by the Han people, and that they didn't have to fight and die at any time.

Xu Chuang and his group climbed the cargo elevator from the ship to the dock. At a glance, the Dutch bastion and church were still there, only slightly different in appearance.

The diamond-shaped fortress has been preserved, but a layer of blue bricks has been added to the outside of the gray stone walls, and eaves have been added to the top of the fortress. Copper bells hang from the corners of the eaves, and they ring incessantly when the sea breeze blows.

The cannons on the wall are still there, but their muzzles have turned 180 degrees—no longer pointing towards the city, but towards the sea.

Above the stone archway of the main gate of the fortress hangs a plaque. Xu Chuang squinted to make out the inscription, which read "Zhenhai Anjiang" (镇海安疆), and was signed by Liu Mu.

"What a change! His Majesty's handwriting is still as magnificent as ever!" Yin Huasheng's voice came from the side.

Xu Chuang was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded quickly with an exaggerated expression: "Indeed magnificent."

Xu Chuang was stunned because Liu Mu's calligraphy was so ugly that it was probably not even as good as that of an average scholar. The plot is heating up: Update, come and see!

Just like the poetry-writing maniac of his previous life, he only had that one hobby. So what if he was a little short? As a subject, he could not speak out against it no matter what, after all, he was eating under someone else's command!

"Governor Mei, what is that?" Just then, Yin Huasheng looked to the left side of the castle and asked Metsuiko.

There, a new building was under construction. The foundation had been laid, and the bricks were half a person high. The craftsmen were erecting scaffolding.

Judging from the scale of the foundation, there are at least dozens of steps, and with the main structure being even larger than a bastion, the main body looks more like a grand hall.

Upon hearing this, Metsuiko took out a slip of paper from the Ministry of Works from his pocket. "That's the Maritime Trade Office of the Ministry of Revenue."

"When the Dutch ruled Malacca, the Dutch East India Company set its own prices, purchased its own goods, and transported them its own way."

"Our Great Han is not greedy. We will wait until the establishment of the Maritime Trade Office, and then all import and export goods in Malacca will be taxed according to the tariffs of the Great Han Customs: one-tenth for silk, one-tenth for tea, and one-tenth for porcelain."

Yin Huasheng was silent for a moment, then asked, "What about the British? The Spanish? The Dutch?"

Metzück glanced at him, a faint smile playing on his lips. "The English, add 30%. The Dutch and Spanish, add 50%."

Xu Chuang paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Why are these stairs built so high?"

Upon hearing this, Metsuyi shook his head, his smile fading. "Wrong. It was His Majesty's brilliant and mighty idea that came up with the idea to make these Westerners remember whose rules Malacca is now, and to remember that from now on, this sea will no longer be ruled by them."

Xu Chuang and Yin Huasheng exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves: This Dutchman, Metsuiko, has become quite the expert now, his flattery comes out of his mouth without hesitation!

……

As the people on the ship gradually disembarked for fresh air, Xu Chuang and Yin Huasheng separated to arrange supplies. They were about to set sail for Southeast Asia, and they needed to replenish their supplies of fresh water, food, vegetables, and medicinal herbs.

The sailors took turns going ashore; some went to the city to eat, drink, and bathe, while others used their savings from half a year's wages to buy Southeast Asian specialties for their families.

Those naval soldiers whose household registration was in Malacca returned home in batches for half a day to reunite with their families.

The next day, the fully replenished fleet raised its sails again and headed toward the Bay of Bengal.

……

The Bay of Bengal is bordered by the coast of the Indian Peninsula to the west, the fertile delta formed by the Ganges River to the north, the Burmese Peninsula and the South Pacific islands to the east, and the vast Indian Ocean to the south.

The sea area has a great difference in depth, and the shallow shoals near the shore are covered with silt and reefs. Especially in the summer, the waves and winds are unstable, and the fleet can only sail along the coastline of the Indochina Peninsula, and a vanguard ship is needed to navigate through the waters.

Once the ship ran aground on a reef, it needed to be towed, which caused the journey, which was originally expected to take one and a half months, to be delayed for two months before finally reaching the Ganges Delta.

It was already September!

Before the fleet even reached the river mouth, a rowboat sped up, and a centurion dressed in the same style as the Han Chinese, but in a green military uniform, stood at the front. After approaching Xu Chuang's ship, he spoke fluent Chinese.

"Who are you? Do you have an ultimatum?"

"Next, we will enter the land of the King of India!"