1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1728 International Influence

Mr. Fei Cexian, who was missed by North Korean special envoy Li Xi, had just left the house at this time.In fact, because the Daming Embassy in Sanya has not yet been completed, he is currently living in the Guest House, but the villa he lives in is far away from Li Xi's residence, and the two have not met each other for the time being. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged carefully.In view of the sensitive relationship between the two, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not want them to meet in Sanya too early.

This time Haihan invited North Koreans to Sanya to watch the ceremony. In fact, Ning Qi had already discussed this matter with Fei Cexian in private.Although Fei Cexian knew that Ning Qi's greeting was out of respect for Daming, but when he thought that the North Koreans who used to bow down in front of Daming were now hugging Haihan's thigh and sending special envoys to Sanya to build an embassy. Some pimples.

Thinking back to when Fei Cexian was an official in the Ministry of Rites, he also received envoys from North Korea. Fei Cexian still vividly remembers the humble attitude that the North Koreans showed in the Ming Dynasty hall at that time.But since Haihan entered the northern part of Daming, North Korea seemed to no longer regard Daming as its only backer. Fei Cexian, who went to Liaodong to see the fighting situation on the front line, also knew the reason.Both Ming and North Korea were unable to cope with Hou Jin, but they were defeated by the Haihan army fighting far from the mainland. It is no wonder that the North Koreans were half-hearted.

The guests invited this time have basically arrived in Sanya before that, and the purpose of today's dinner is to warm up the celebration that will start two days later, so that guests from all over the world can get to know each other in advance, Haihan officials will also pass by Announce the specific arrangements for the subsequent celebrations at the dinner party.And Fei Cexian also wants to take this opportunity to confirm again which countries have chosen to fall to Haihan, and which countries still regard Daming as their first choice in the direction of diplomacy.

Although the imperial court in the capital was still harmonious, and Daming's status as the court of heaven seemed to never change, after leaving Daming, Fei Cexian could clearly feel that the external situation was not as optimistic as before.The Daming sea area south of the Liaodong Peninsula has become a territory where the Haihan people can get whatever they want. I am afraid that the high-ranking officials in the court did not really realize the huge crisis hidden in it.

For example, the Shandong Peninsula that restricts the export of the Bohai Sea, the Hangzhou Bay in the fertile land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the Fujian Strait in the southeast sea, and the Pearl River Estuary, the most important sea passage in the south of the Lingnan River. The colony actually controlled by the name.The Haihan people not only carried out trade and colonial activities in these places, but also stationed a large number of armed forces. The land occupied by the magpie nests performed the so-called function of "maintaining maritime order" for Ming Dynasty.

Didn't the Ming court know about these situations?No, in fact the emperor and the cabinet ministers are well aware of Haihan's small actions on the coast of Daming, but the problem is that Daming has no ability to expel Haihan from these areas, let alone the long coastline Such a sea power goes to war.After the failure of Shandong to expel the Haihan people by force, no one in the imperial court mentioned the matter of war again. Everyone knew very well that the Ming Dynasty at this stage could not afford to fight, let alone lose, such a war. It is necessary for the Haihan people to hold back Jinnan's pace in Liaodong.As long as Haihan didn't intend to invade the inland, these small actions on the coastline would be ignored.

But even so, Fei Cexian still wanted to win some benefits for Daming as much as possible within his ability.Especially in the international community to maintain the image of the Great Tomorrow, and not let Haihan steal all the limelight.

If he hadn't come to Hainan Island in person and seen Haihan's deeds here, Fei Cexian would have been hard-pressed to imagine how a small emerging country would grow into a rivalry that even the Ming Dynasty feared in less than ten years. opponent.

In the past few months of building the embassy, ​​Fei Cexian has been living in the guest house, and also took the opportunity to get acquainted with many dignitaries in the country.Although these small countries in the South China Sea may have been inconspicuous foreigners in the eyes of Da Ming in the past, after they gradually regarded Haihan as the leader of the region, they gradually stopped going to Da Ming to pay tribute.Although Da Ming doesn't care about the value of the local products that these small countries pay tribute to, Haihan's international reputation has indeed been rising rapidly in recent years.

For example, at today's dinner party, there were at least a dozen countries that sent representatives to attend. Except for Ming Dynasty and North Korea from the north of Hainan Island, basically all of them were countries in the South China Sea region or Western colonial empires. It is difficult for the current Ming Dynasty to realize it.

However, to Fei Cexian's relief, Daming was at least as thin as a camel than a horse. When he stepped into the venue, he immediately attracted a lot of attention.People who recognized him all took the initiative to say hello, and Ning Qi also came over to greet him immediately, which made him feel that his sense of presence was quite good.

"There are quite a few countries attending today, and it looks like it will be a very lively banquet." Fei Cexian praised Haihan's dinner arrangement with a smile.

Of course, Ning Qi understood the meaning of this kind of scene, and responded with a smile: "I believe that many people came here to see Lord Fei. When I leave later, Lord Fei will be surrounded."

Fei Cexian and Ning Qi looked at each other, and they both laughed tacitly.As the two most powerful countries in the Far East, the relationship between Haihan and Daming is undoubtedly the focus of attention of many countries.It is no exaggeration to say that every word of their conversation here will have many people pricking up their ears to know the content. After all, the diplomatic relations between the two countries they represent will determine the future international relations in the Far East to a large extent. The situation is going.

Fei Cexian still has a good impression of the Foreign Minister of Haihan. After all, they are both scholars, and Ning Qi is a history and culture researcher. He knows a lot about Daming, and the two still have a lot of common topics.Moreover, Ning Qi was not as aggressive as other high-ranking Haihan officials, and he advocated a diplomatic way of peaceful coexistence, which Fei Cexian admired quite a bit.Countries should be like this now, sit down and enjoy good wine and good food while conducting diplomatic consultations, with peace as the common goal, of course, it would be even better if they can respect Ming Dynasty.

Sure enough, after the two exchanged pleasantries, as soon as Ning Qi walked away, several people took the initiative to surround Fei Cexian, trying to find out from him what the two had just exchanged.However, Fei Cexian was a little disappointed that the people who took the initiative to surround them were all multinational businessmen. What they cared about was not whether the relationship between the two countries was good or bad, but whether their business could benefit from the changes in the relationship between the two countries. Avoid harm and earn more money.

However, the envoys from other countries did not take the initiative to come over immediately, and I don't know whether they disdain to be with these merchants who are full of copper smell, or they have other considerations.And Fei Cexian, relying on his status, would certainly not take the initiative to greet the envoys of these countries.

In the end, the foreign envoys who took the initiative to chat with Fei Cexian were only Portugal and the Netherlands.Thomas, the Portuguese ambassador, and Su Keyi, the minister of the East India Company in Haihan, are both based in Sanya and have known Fei Cexian before. The three parties have one thing in common, that is, none of the three countries will Haihan is regarded as the suzerain country.Therefore, although these three countries have no common interests, their positions happen to be similar, and naturally they have a lot of common language.

And if any one of them gets too close to Haihan, it will arouse the vigilance of the other two, especially Daming and Haihan are of the same family, and they are both countries ruled by Han people. No one can match it in the Far East, which does not bode well for the Western colonial powers.

Although Su Keyi is of Han origin, his allegiance is to the Dutch East India Company, so he also doesn't want to see Haihan and Daming join forces. After coming over, he straight to the point and asked Fei Cexian: "Master Fei, what did Minister Ning just say to you?" Do you have any special instructions?"

Fei Cexian frowned and said, "Master Su is wrong. Minister Ning and I just exchanged a few words. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, how can we say something special? Besides, I am a minister of Ming Dynasty, how can I accept the instructions of Haihan officials!"

Su Keyi said: "Could it be that Mr. Fei hasn't heard the rumors outside recently?"

Fei Cexian asked back, "What rumor?"

Su Keyi said: "It is rumored that Haihan's expedition to Manila this year is for Daming, so as to convince your country of their ability to fight across the sea. In this way, your country may invite Haihan to send troops to Liaodong to replace You deal with the post-Gold barbarians outside Shanhaiguan."

Fei Cexian almost couldn't hold back his expression. The rumors were too untrue. How could Haihan's fight in Manila have anything to do with Da Ming, and besides, Haihan's army had already joined the battle in Liaodong, so there was no need for Da Ming to invite him.And judging by the attitude of the capital, it is unlikely to ask Haihan for military help.

Fei Cexian shook his head repeatedly and said, "I've never heard of such rumors, and Minister Ning has never talked about these things with me. I'm afraid Mr. Su's source of news is wrong."

Thomas has lived in Sanya for a long time, and he has learned Chinese a long time ago. He can understand the conversation between the two, and immediately took over the conversation: "Lord Fei, if your country really needs military aid, you can actually consider our country. Mr. Xu and Mr. Sun have both received help from our country, and the military cooperation between Portugal and your country has always been very pleasant, so it is not necessary to ask Haihan to send troops."

Master Xu and Master Sun mentioned by Thomas refer to Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua, who had spared no effort to persuade the Ming court to introduce Portuguese artillery, mercenaries and craftsmen who made guns. There are few generals who master new tactics.However, the situation was unfavorable. A Denglai Rebellion not only caused Sun Yuanhua to be unjustly killed in the fifth year of Chongzhen, but also caused Xu Guangqi, who was full of grief, anger and disappointment, to die in depression the following year.

Since then, the Ming court has never had similar military cooperation with Portugal, but Portugal has been thinking about this matter, hoping that based on military cooperation, Ming can open the northern trade ports to Portugal, and no longer It was a situation where Haihan's family monopolized.Seizing the opportunity, Thomas naturally tried to lobby the envoys of Ming Dynasty, but whether it would work or not is another matter.

Of course, Fei Cexian also knew what happened back then, but what he didn't quite understand was why the ambassadors of the Portuguese and Dutch countries thought that Daming would invite Haihan to send troops to the north, so he immediately asked: "Maybe the news is blocked, may I ask?" Where did these two rumors come from?"

Su Keyi said, "Lord Fei, you haven't read the newspaper in the past few days, have you?"

Fei Cexian was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "I've been busy receiving all kinds of items from Daming these days. I wonder what new news has been published in the newspaper?"

Su Keyi said: "The Haihan Times published an article the day before yesterday, saying that the peasant army's rebellion in the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty was intensifying, and the military pressure from the north was also increasing day by day. Some people in the Ming Dynasty proposed to borrow troops from Haihan to stop the northern strong forces for Daming first." The enemy went south, and then freed up his hands to clean up the internal diseases."

Fei Cexian responded casually: "Haihan has always been known for his shrewdness, so surely this borrowing of troops will not be for nothing?"

Su Keyi nodded and said: "That's natural. The newspaper said that if this matter is negotiated and the Haihan army can successfully retreat from the enemy, maybe Daming will cede Liaodong and other places to Haihan as a reward for borrowing troops to defend against the enemy."

Fei Cexian was about to swear. He knew much more about the situation in the north than the ambassadors of the two countries, so he naturally understood the purpose of Haihan officials releasing these rumors through their national newspapers.

Haihan's many colonies along the coast of Daming have been occupied in fact, and thousands of troops have been deployed in Liaodong. Daming can only pretend to turn a blind eye to this, but has not publicly acknowledged the ownership of these places The power was transferred to Haihan, and there was never any mention of borrowing troops from Haihan in the future, let alone any remuneration.And Haihan is releasing the news now, which is obviously preparing to put these occupied areas under his own name in a grandiose name.

For Daming, it is difficult to clarify the truth and falsehood to the outside world. After all, it is an objective fact that Haihan stationed troops on the territory of Daming. The army went thousands of miles to defend Daming against foreign enemies.No one would believe that Hai Han took the initiative to do such a thankless thing, but if Daming gave a generous reward, such as ceding the land, then everything seemed to make sense.For spectators such as Portugal and the Netherlands, this is indeed a seemingly reasonable explanation.

"No, these are all rumors. Our country has not borrowed troops from Haihan. The Liaodong War...that is military cooperation between the two countries, but it is definitely not military assistance!" Fei Cexian certainly cannot admit that the news in the newspaper is true, even if the Unable to clarify the facts, he still has to express his attitude on behalf of Daming.It's just that when he said these words, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

(End of this chapter)