The Australian Revolution of 1828

Chapter 89 Reaction

Besides Liu Tai'er, his three sons and seven core subordinates were also executed. These people, relying on their power and status, oppressed the good and committed all sorts of evil deeds.

Pick any Chinese immigrant from East Coast, and you'll find they all hate him to the core.

In order to gain control of the entire Lanfang area and influence its affairs in the coming period, Wei Guochang also sought to eliminate all evil and win the hearts and minds of the Lanfang Chinese community.

As long as there is this "popular support," they will not excessively reject the Xia Kingdom. Once the leaders of Lanfang rebel, they can rely on the trading post and the military strength of Deyang County to quickly assemble an army composed of Lanfang Chinese.

This is Wei Guochang's original intention, and it is something he needs to do his best to accomplish.

While his current influence is limited to the old shops in Pontianak, Wei Guochang's ambition is also great: to take over the entire Lanfang for Xia Kingdom.

With Lanfang in hand, the time required for immigration and trade can be shortened, thereby accelerating the development of Hanyang.

The plan is progressing smoothly, and Tang Boqian, who has completed the task of confiscating property and executing criminals, has also rushed back to Wei Guochang's residence.

The accommodation was temporary, arranged in an empty house in Dongwanlu.

After instructing his servant to serve Tang Boqian a cup of tea, Wei Guochang asked, "Boqian, the deaths of Liu Tai and the other two will inevitably affect other local chieftains."

"Whether this has deterred these people is still unclear. The only thing we can do is not let our guard down and must remain vigilant."

"Of the 8000 Lanfang Chinese recruited some time ago, 3000 of them were healthy and able to carry guns. The rest, along with their families, were sent to Xunyang County to farm."

"Those who remain should begin training, in case the Lanfang chieftain causes an uprising!"

Last time, in response to the joint attack by the Dutch and Liu Tai'er, the trading post hastily recruited 8000 men. Now that Liu Tai'er has been defeated in one battle and his power completely destroyed, these men have no further value.

Instead of continuing to receive military rations and a salary, they might as well be sent to Xunyang County to farm.

Xunyang County is currently short of Chinese immigrants, so this would not only change Xunyang's population structure but also supplement the able-bodied labor force and solve the problem of farming.

Wei Guochang had considered everything very thoroughly, and Tang Boqian had no objections. He readily accepted the task, saying, "Your Excellency, I will take care of it immediately."

"However, the execution of Liu Tai'er caused a great stir in Dongwanlu, and the Chinese people in Lanfang celebrated with each other."

"Some people set off firecrackers, and others ran home to tell their families, which is enough to show that Liu Tai'er and his ilk are unpopular!"

"We have punished the wicked and eliminated evil, winning the hearts of the people of Dongwanlu. The local leaders should be able to see this."

Wei Guochang nodded slightly and said, "That's not surprising. This place has a lot of rain and swamps, so rice production is even lower, and the people are very poor."

"Given such poverty, not only did they have to pay a poll tax to the Netherlands, but they were also exploited by the Chief Minister's office. Just surviving was a struggle!"

"Beheading Liu Tai'er and the others was perhaps the best thing we ever did!"

Tang Boqian agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "That's certainly true. I doubt the other chieftains will act rashly."

Wei Guochang said, "That makes sense, but we should also be cautious so that we can deal with any fool among these leaders in time."

"Furthermore, the trading posts should also be mobilized to promote Xia's immigration policy. As long as this war is won, the population of Lanfang can be relocated to Hanyang."

"They can not only receive a decent salary, but also have enough to eat, a stable place to live, get married and have children, and escape poverty. We can consider this a good deed."

Who said no?

It can also increase the population of the Xia Kingdom and strengthen its power.

Over time, Tang Boqian grew quite impressed with Wei Guochang, especially by his magnanimity and composure. He said, "Your Excellency, if the people of Lanfang heard these words, they would be moved to tears!"

Wei Guochang waved his hand and said, "Boqian, you're also from Jiaying, so you're practically a fellow townsman of Liu Tai'er!"

"You should have stood on Lanfang's side, but you didn't. Instead, you stood on Hanyang's side, which is enough to show that you are also a person who cares about the world."

"In Southeast Asia, the experiences of us Chinese are a history of suffering. We must never be like Liu Tai'er, who held regional prejudices and rejected people from other places."

"Only by uniting can we resist the aggression of foreigners."

Tang Boqian understood this point and fully agreed, saying, "This subordinate understands!"

"Your Excellency, this is what Liu Tai'er and his subordinates obtained after confiscating their property."

While he was speaking, he took out a list of items to be confiscated from his sleeve.

In addition to the Chief of Staff's residence, 10 other homes were also raided during this raid.

The list was very detailed, totaling 27 taels of gold, 6 taels of silver, 1231 pieces of porcelain, 713 bolts of silk, 517 pieces of jewelry, 75 horses, and a number of paintings and calligraphy works. It was a very fruitful haul.

With so much gold, it's not surprising.

Lanfang was primarily a gold mining town, attracting many Chinese to migrate south each year. However, as Dutch control strengthened, most of the gold produced was taken by the Dutch.

Conservative estimates suggest that Lanfang exported no less than 60 taels of gold to the Netherlands annually, which accounted for more than two-thirds of its annual mining output.

Wei Guochang was very satisfied with the list, saying, "With this money, this war wasn't a complete loss!"

Meanwhile, the leaders from various parts of Lanfang also quietly gathered in a town near Dongwanlu.

As the host, an elderly man of about 50 years old said, "Brothers, the execution and confiscation of General Liu's property is a warning to us!"

"We are caught in the middle between the Dutch and the Xia people, so brothers, please speak freely!"

The other chieftain, expressionless, said, "What else can we do?"

"I mentioned this to Liu Tai'er a long time ago. The war between Xia and He is not something we can interfere with. We should just sit on the sidelines and watch the show. But he wouldn't listen and insisted on provoking the Xia people. He brought this on himself."

Already dissatisfied with Liu Tai'er, he addressed him by his first name without any respect.

The host, still harboring some thoughts and not wanting things to end without a resolution, said, "Have you brothers not considered this?"

"What if the Xia people don't leave?"

"What should we do then?"

"The Xia Kingdom has recently annexed quite a few territories!"

The same chieftain retorted, "You make it sound like the Dutch have left, but they're still levying heavy taxes on our gold mines."

"My mine only produces 7 taels of gold a year, but the Dutch want to take 5 taels."

"I only have 2 taels of gold left, and I still have to support more than 2000 brothers."

"If you ask me, let them fight. We can just sit back and reap the benefits!"

The local leaders in Lanfang had long suffered from Dutch exploitation and had limited financial resources, making it impossible for them to support a large number of people.

There's no need to stand up for the Dutch.

Moreover, with Liu Tai'er already involved, the other leaders were even less willing to get involved and become the first to speak out, and they all rejected the host's unaware purpose.

No matter who they pay taxes to, how could they possibly pay more taxes than the Dutch?