Molie's eel stayed in Colombo Harbour for a few more days. During this period, he was about to go to other areas for a walk, but the Dutch refused and only allowed him to take a look near the villages on the outskirts of the city. His precautions were not insufficient.

Because Colombo is the Dutch's heart of rule in Ceylon, the villages in its suburbs are still tightly controlled. When Moliee and others arrived in a village, the people in the village were paying physical taxes to the Dutch people stationed in the village, mostly grain and skinny livestock. After understanding, these foods and livestock were all set for "Thanksgiving" three months later on November 20 every year. On this day in 1658, the Dutch severely damaged the Portuguese forces, indicating the change of control of the island. Because the Dutch was invited by the king of the indigenous people at that time (in order to expel and exploit the fierce Portuguese), the Dutch shamelessly defined it as "Thanksgiving".

Thanksgiving is a serious festival in Ceylon. Whether it is the Sinhalese who believe in Buddhism or the Tamils ​​who believe in Hinduism, they all have to celebrate this festival under the tyranny of the Dutch. If anyone does not celebrate on the same day, they may be fined 100 rupees of bankruptcy, which is not something that ordinary people can afford.

Thanksgiving is usually held in churches at the village head. These churches are built in the Portuguese era and those built after the Dutch. However, no matter which era it was built, they only believe in the Protestant Reformed Religion, namely the Calvary. Catholicism is already illegal here, and its status is even worse than that of Buddhism and Hinduism.

The Dutch also made great efforts to promote Protestantism in Ceylon. They stipulated that only those who participate in religious activities on time are eligible to engage in jobs such as baking bread and selling coconuts, otherwise they can only be the lowest-class farmers and live a low and poor life. In addition, the churches given by officials and merchants are also economically strong, and they will give some food to the poor from time to time, which is very useful for promoting Protestantism.

Of course, the Dutch people brought not all the harm. At least they abolished some bad habits including intermarriage and personal dependence, at least when they were near the heart of the ruler such as Colombo. As for the places slightly further away, they were basically the same. The lives of ordinary people were even worse than those of the Portuguese. Before the Dutch landed, no one would care about this.

Mo Lie didn't find much interesting things in this village. The Dutch accompanying staff followed him and did not dare to leave at all times, which made him very depressed. In addition, he did not understand the local language, and the natives were also very alert to him, so they had no choice but to return to the dock and plan to stop the next step.

According to Mo Liei's plan, he planned to "play" here until the northeastern wind occupied the wind in late October, because at that time the ocean currents and wind direction were more suitable. He went down the coast of East and East Africa. It would not take long to return to New China Island, and he could also take two ships of Indian specialties back to make a fortune. Wouldn't it be a pleasure?

However, he still had the intention of going to the Tengmali area north of Ceylon Island to meet the British. Anyway, he came to India with strong winds and waves. This risk cannot be taken in vain. You should know that sailing in this era is very dangerous. Saying that the pampered and crossing the East Coast is not very brave enough to even take relatively safe sailboats to the Far East, for fear of burping. This shows the difficulty of navigation. The ships that were sunk in the sea in the east coast have been doing dangerous things like crossing the Indian Ocean. If you don’t do the things you have done well, it would be too careless to rush back.

Therefore, after careful consideration and repeated weighing, Molieei still planned to go to Trincomali in the northeast of the island to see if he could contact the English. No matter what he talked to the English, it would always be okay to leave a backup plan. It would be good to leave some thoughts for the English and the Portuguese (contacting the English basically means contacting the Portuguese. They are now in India to fight against the pressure of the Dutch) and firmly make up their determination to cause trouble for the Dutch.

Otherwise, the Dutch would be too "idle" here. Once this person is idle, he will think about everything and make some troubles. Mo Liei doesn't believe that when the English are working hard to compete with the Dutch East India Company for the Malabar Coast, Coromandel Coast, and Ceylon Island, they still have leisure to make trouble for the people on the East Coast.

So, he had made a reservation for this trip to Tingmali!

Of course, I decided to go there, but the specific details of how to go there are still very particular. On August 25, Molie Eel and Balsazer Bert met again, and then left behind about seven or eight people in the port of Colombo to wait for news about Batavia. He himself took two ships and raised his sails and left here. The explanation for the Dutch was to sail eastward to visit the Maulhammén area, which was a port where Western merchants often stayed. Although the Dutch were a little suspicious, he said nothing.

They sent two ships to set off with the "Fubomanli" and sailed east for several days. It was not until the East Coast people sailed at full speed that they shook off the two annoying followers (the two ships also went to Batavia). They changed their course, used steam power to adjust their course, and sailed patiently. They finally arrived at the Port of Trincomali around September 10.

The Port of Trincomali is currently under the control of the British. They built a fortress-style business station, leaving some business representatives and armed guards here. About ten years ago, the British reached an alliance agreement with the indigenous Highland Kingdom of Ceylon, determined to fight against the pressure of the Dutch. The poor indigenous people were initially attracted to the Dutch against the Portuguese, and now they attracted the British to deal with the Dutch. History was finally directly ruled by the British, and the Dutch rule was still miserable. It can be seen that not everyone can play with the tigers and wolfs. Therefore, after the two sides joined forces, they planned a tentative attack by the Dutch, and then they remained stable until now.

Of course, we cannot ignore the French East India Company established in 1664. The predecessor of this unlucky company (French Oriental Company) lost many colonies such as the Dovan Castle and New Brittany in the years of competition with the East Coast people, and suffered huge losses. If King Louis XIV of France had not generously donated and sponsored a lot of funds, the company would have probably gone bankrupt and liquidated long ago, and would not have been alive until now.

But then again, the French East India Company must be one of the most poorly managed companies in Europe (i.e. East India companies in various countries) and their luck is not very good. After losing Dovanburg and New Brittany, the French East India Company also recognized the situation and no longer disturbed the East Coast people. Instead, it set its goal to operate the trade in the Far East. Dutch East India companies such as the country, Siam, Myanmar, Vietnam, etc. are not particularly valued.

To be honest, the French have made correct ideas and have achieved certain results. With a certain amount of capital accumulation, they can covet a richer India. For example, they once tried to occupy Tengcomali, but the people who landed in the fortress died in unlucky manner all of them were killed in an epidemic and had to give up.

However, now, the French East India Company has not given up on the fight for Trincomali. The company did not dare to fight the Dutch-controlled cities such as Colombo, Galle, and Jaffner. They competed with the British for Trincomali every few days, which made the British so angry that they could not do anything about it.

Therefore, the current security situation in Tengmali is indeed quite subtle. Maybe one day it will end, and the British should also be aware of this. They are quite anxious and are still cautious in welcome to the sudden appearance of the East Coast people, which can be seen from the enthusiasm of the British.

However, the British people's enthusiasm could only accept it selectively. For example, when England asked the East Coast Republic whether it planned to go to full war with the Dutch East India Company, Mo Liei vaguely did not answer positively, but the British had already understood and were a little disappointed.

In the end, the two sides only reached some intentional agreements, such as trade agreements (East coast people can exchange industrial products and daily necessities for some precious spices and gems), port opening agreements (East coast port opening Cape Town port, UK opening Trincomali), etc., and most of them are oral agreements, without any words, although the British really want to do this.

Overall, the British are more interested in strengthening cooperation with the East Coast in Ceylon, perhaps because they feel the pressure. However, the East Coast people seem a little distracted about this, completely treating Trincomali and the British East India Company as a spare tire. Their priority is still to reach an agreement with the Dutch East India Company, so they are destined to be unable to respond to the English in the short term. If they are suffocated, they will secretly transport some weapons, metal utensils, daily necessities, and medicines from Xinhua Port in the future (of course, they are avoiding the Dutch), reducing the pressure on the British to operate Ceylon, so as not to let the Dutch East India Company really unify the entire island.

This kind of operation is basically to use the British as a countermeasure to prevent the Dutch from keeping their word. One day, the port was suddenly closed and the immigrant ships on the east coast were not allowed to leave. They really don’t have much interest in Ceylon’s specialty goods and even land, at least not at present. New China Island is the only target of their expansion.

On September 30, the East Coast people who had been squatting in Tengmali for more than half a month returned to Colombo Port. Before leaving, they asked the English to buy coal, but nothing unexpected happened. This made Mo Liebing and others depressed, so they began to seriously consider whether to set up a coal-plugging station near India. At this time, there was no official news from Batavia.

In desperation, Mo Lie Eel had to wait in the port again. At the same time, with the "gunning agreement" of the Dutch, they went to the surrounding countryside to purchase some specialty products. The Dutch who accompanied them repeatedly emphasized that the purchase of specialty products in Ceylon Island is only once, and this is not an example. If the East Coast people need it, they can bid from the East India Company, but they are not allowed to contact the local natives directly. Mo Lie Eel agreed impatiently.

They purchased some pepper and cinnamon in several plantations. The slaves with the "i" sign were usually Tamils. The Dutch brought them from mainland India, and then used a soldering iron to mark them under the command of the supervisor. They opened some warehouses and brought out the spices stored in them for the East Coast people to choose.

Mo Liehen and others were quite rich in money, so they purchased a lot of cinnamon, spices, and other specialties. In the end, they hired a lot of carriages to deliver the goods to the dock. It was October 10, 1676, and Batavia still had no ships coming. Considering that the north wind had just shown signs and the power of the southwest wind had not been completely removed, it was indeed inconvenient to arrive from Batavia to Colombo, so he gritted his teeth and continued to wait.

On October 25, 1676, the ship carrying Governor General Ricklauve Van Goens finally arrived at Colombo Port. The young messenger first glanced at the battleship "Fubowanli" with a not-so-friendly look, then entered Colombo City, and had an afternoon of secret talks with Balsazer Bert.

The next day, Ceylon's Supreme Military Chief Bert also formally informed the East Coast people that the kind Governor Van Goins agreed to open the port of Malacca and Galle to the passing ships of the East Coast for their docking and replenishment and repair. The number of ships is limited to ten a year and must not exceed the number of times, otherwise the Dutch have the right to refuse to provide services to more than the number of East Coast ships.

At the same time, Bert also formally made a request to people from the East Coast to open two African ports in a reciprocal way for East India Company's ships to be replenished and maintained. One of them is the Port of Cape Town, and the other is a port of the Eastern Cape Verde Islands. He also emphasized that this is a major premise. If the East Coast cannot meet the requirements of the East India Company, then nothing can be discussed. The Port of Malacca and Galle will naturally not open to East Coast ships.

Mo Liei thought about these conditions carefully and felt that there was no big problem in his heart, so he should agree in the end. Of course, he would not make his own decisions to agree to the Dutch now, but instead expressed that he would go back to report, and everything would be subject to the final decision of the government. Of course, he also told the Dutch that their requirements were met as "a high probability event" and "no big problem".

After receiving the Dutch letter, Mo Liei had no need to stay in Colombo Port. So on October 27, the two-ship formation he commanded left the dock, intending to cross the ocean and return directly to New China Island. About a week after they left, a merchant fleet departed from the Far East Qing Kingdom and slowly sailed into Colombo Port for supplies. The fleet was loaded with various oriental specialties, which seemed to indicate that the Dutch East India Company was becoming increasingly close to the Qing Kingdom.
Chapter completed!