1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1730 Diplomacy
Haihan's logistics department put a lot of thought into the dishes prepared for this dinner, not only taking into account the different food tastes of various countries, but also highlighting the characteristics of Haihan's food culture.Chef Fan Wei, who has long since ceased cooking in person, organizes his capable team to study the menu and pre-order the ingredients a month in advance, spending a lot of time and effort in preparation.

But when it comes to the banquet, there are actually not many guests who will pay attention to the dishes.The identities of these people attending the meeting are either rich or expensive. They usually eat a lot of delicacies such as swallows, abalones, fins, ginseng, delicacies, and delicacies. Besides, many people have been active in Sanya for a long time and have long been accustomed to the taste of Haihan.Even if Haihan's chefs can cook dishes in different ways, there is nothing special in their eyes.

What really attracted the attention of the guests were some signals that Haihan officials took the opportunity of this dinner party to release, and the opportunity to communicate face-to-face with many prominent figures during the dinner party.After all, an occasion like this that can facilitate international exchanges is an extremely rare opportunity in the Far East in this era. Even the Ming Dynasty, which once had such a prosperous scene of "all nations come to Korea", it is difficult to have such an advanced diplomatic concept as Haihan. To hold such an event.

Those who are interested have already heard some implication from Tao Donglai's short speech before the dinner. First, Haihan is now gradually breaking away from the state of keeping a low profile. Tao Donglai even used "the best" in his speech without humility. , "Powerful" and other words to describe the Haihan Kingdom today, which is obviously different from Haihan's low-key diplomatic rhetoric in the past few years.

The second is that Tao Donglai emphasized Haihan's leading level in many fields, which is enough to make allies and partners full of confidence in the future cooperation prospects.What is the purpose of this emphasis? People who are interested will naturally associate it with some recent rumors. For example, Daming intends to borrow troops from Haihan to resist the invasion of the powerful enemy in the north.

Although this mode of providing paid military aid to other countries is not the first time for Haihan, there is no doubt that the appearance of Daming has greatly increased Haihan's strong attributes.Just imagine that even the First Far Eastern Empire in the past had already asked Haihan for military assistance, so even a blind person could confirm Haihan's international status in the military field.

As for why Tao Donglai showed a high-profile attitude on this occasion, all the participants have their own opinions.Representatives like Annan will be happy to see the results. For Annan, Haihan's growth will have more advantages than disadvantages. With this strong backing, Annan will be able to gain the upper hand in the protracted war with Siam.

Western countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands have a somewhat sour mentality. The strength of Haihan is not a good thing for their competitors, which means that they will encounter greater difficulties in occupying colonies in the Far East and expanding their trade scale. resistance.Even if the cooperation relationship between Portugal and Haihan is very close, it is difficult for Thomas not to consider whether Portugal will become more humble in the relationship between the two countries in the future.

As for Su Keyi, he was even more unhappy. Since he was stationed in Sanya in the name of an envoy, he personally felt that the country was growing rapidly at a speed that was almost visible to the naked eye.The speed of infrastructure construction in Sanya alone is many times faster than that of Batavia, which was rebuilt after the war, and the prosperity of Shengli Port and Sanya Port made him even more envious.What Tao Donglai said just now seemed to him more like a demonstration, but the East India Company was powerless to fight back. This is really a very sad thing.

Of course, it wasn't Su Keyi who suffered the most, but Ming Dynasty envoy Fei Cexian.The faster Haihan develops, the more troublesome it will be for Da Ming. Such a powerful and restless neighbor has made Da Ming feel like a thorn in his back in recent years, but he has no time to get rid of it quickly.

If it is said that in the past, Daming was able to use its advantages in population and land area to smooth out its own disadvantages in the military and economic and trade fields, then as Haihan occupied more and more places in the Far East, especially in the coast of Daming. A series of colonies have absorbed immigrants nearby, and the power gap between the two sides is increasing little by little.And Tao Donglai's words showed that Hai Han would not stop there, and it was very likely that he would continue to erode Daming in this way.

Fei Cexian stayed in Sanya for a few months, and the more he knew about Haihan, the more he knew that it was difficult to get this country to accept Daming's arrangement through pure negotiation.To make Haihan change his ways, he had to come up with enough conditions, but it was impossible for Da Ming to trade territory or population, so this conflict of interest was fundamentally unsolvable.Whenever Fei Cexian thinks of this episode, he can't help but feel a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart.

Even if every dish placed in front of him was carefully cooked, Fei Cexian really couldn't whet his appetite to taste it.He is now counting on the meal session to end quickly, because according to the arrangement, the formal social reception will not begin until after the meal is over.

Of course, among the guests at the banquet, Fei Cexian was not the only one with similar thoughts.In a social occasion like today, eating is just a ritual, and most people are waiting for the real highlight later.

Everyone had their own concerns, and some impatient people put down their chopsticks and wiped their mouths after eating a few bites of the main course, waiting for the senior official Haihan to announce the next arrangement.They didn't wait too long, and soon Ning Qi got up and announced that they could move around on their own during the banquet, and follow-up activities were arranged freely.

Haihan high-ranking officials were the first to be surrounded, but most of these people who moved the fastest were businessmen from various countries who came forward to consult with them for commercial purposes. The envoys relied on their identities, but no one planned to compete with these people for rankings .

Fei Cexian also sat still. As an envoy of Ming Dynasty, he naturally had to put on airs of a big country, and he would never take the initiative to attack until the right time.However, he still looked around very carefully to see who the guests were at the banquet.As soon as he came in, he was dragged to talk, but he didn't have time to take a good look around.

At this glance, he saw the envoy from North Korea sitting not far away from him. It was not difficult for him to identify the North Korean official uniform.Seeing that the other party was also looking at him, Fei Cexian nodded his head slightly as a greeting.

Li Xi couldn't sit still now, North Korea was still a vassal state of Daming, and since the envoys of Daming had noticed his existence, it would be bad to continue to sit and pretend to be fine.Immediately got up quickly, poured himself a glass of wine, and then went to toast Fei Cexian.

Although Fei Cexian had some opinions on North Korea's attitude in his heart, he didn't slap the smiling face with his hand, and he didn't deliberately put on airs to embarrass Li Xi, so he invited him to sit down and have a drink with him.

"I heard that a North Korean envoy has arrived in Sanya, but I haven't had time to meet with you, but that's okay, today's occasion is pretty good." After putting down his glass, Fei Cexian opened his mouth: "But this is the seat in the Haihan row. There is really a problem, knowing that I, Ming, have a profound friendship with your country, why don't I arrange to sit in the adjacent seat!"

Li Xi was shocked when he heard this, and quickly argued: "I have only just arrived in Sanya, and I haven't had time to pay a visit to Lord Fei, and I hope Lord Fei can forgive the disrespect."

Although Li Xi didn't want to meet with the Ming envoy in Sanya, he also didn't want to offend the other party because of these etiquette issues. If he reported the news to the capital with embellishments, then the envoys from North Korea to Daming would have a very difficult time in the future. It's hard.As for the seat arrangement, Fei Cexian dared to say casually that he didn't dare to speak out. There are people coming and going in this place. If someone else hears it and stabs the Haihan people, wouldn't it be easy to offend them? Haihan people.

Of course, from Li Xi's point of view, he actually accepted the seat arranged by Hai Han more. After all, it was a bit embarrassing to sit next to Fei Cexian on this occasion.If he hadn't met Fei Cexian's eyes just now, he would have gone to an official from the Haihan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to introduce him first, which would have made him appear more formal.

Fei Cexian asked: "I wonder what Master Li thinks about what Master Hai Hantao said just now?"

Li Xiying said: "I don't dare to express my opinion. I think Master Tao's words are very true. Haihan's strength should be more beneficial than harmful to neighboring countries. As long as we have good relations with Haihan, we should all benefit from it."

Fei Cexian nodded calmly, and continued to ask: "Then I wonder what benefits Mr. Li thinks the North Korean Congress will gain from it?"

Li Xi hesitated a little when he heard this question. If he didn't answer this well, he might easily offend the other party.

As if seeing Li Xi's embarrassment, Fei Cexian comforted him: "Today is not a formal occasion for negotiation, it should be a chat after drinking, just say it."

Li Xi thought to himself, do you think it's so easy to deceive a three-year-old child?However, he still responded to the other party's question after slandering him: "To tell you the truth, my lord, the biggest threat our North Korea is currently facing is Houjin. It is rumored that Houjin's enemy chief, Huang Taiji, originally planned to lead an army of [-] to conquer our country last year. However, it happened that the Haihan army also entered Liaodong last year, which hindered Houjin's plan to conquer the East, and my country was spared from the war. Moreover, when they negotiated an alliance with Haihan last year, they also promised our country that if Houjin sent troops to invade our country , then they will provide military aid to North Korea.”

Fei Cexian said: "Although the Haihan people are strong in force, they will not fight for other countries in vain, and it is even more impossible to send troops for free to defend your country against foreign enemies like me, Ming Dynasty. The promises they made are not reliable. Your country needs Think twice before acting!"

Fei Cexian's "sending troops for free" refers to sending troops to defend Korea against Japanese invasion during the Wanli period.At that time, even the capital of North Korea was captured by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army, and seven of the eight provinces of Korea had fallen. If Ming Dynasty hadn't sent troops to aid Korea in time, the Korean peninsula would have become Japanese territory more than 40 years ago.

Daming sent tens of thousands of elites and spent millions of taels of silver before and after to save the country for North Korea.In Daming's view, this is undoubtedly a great favor that the Koreans have been repaying for generations.

As for such selfless military assistance, Fei Cexian was sure that the Haihan people would not be able to do it. First, the Haihan people were always good at calculating and would never do business at a loss, let alone a war that would cost lives; The mainland is too far away from North Korea, and the cost of sending troops to North Korea will only be higher than that of Ming Dynasty, and North Korea has only recuperated for a generation after being captured by Japan, and there is no way to pay enough to satisfy Haihan.Fei Cexian believes that if they want Haihan to send troops to aid, North Korea has only two choices, either donate land or provide population.

Fei Cexian used this as a basis to warn Li Xi, which is not considered to be slandering Haihan, but his purpose is to make North Koreans have doubts about future cooperation with Haihan through this method.Even if North Korea cannot be brought back to Daming's side, at least it cannot be allowed to join Haihan's camp so quickly.

As a member of the royal family, Li Xi knows a thing or two about the content of the agreement negotiated between North Korea and Hai Han. He also knows that Hai Han's military aid is not provided free of charge, but the price that North Korea has to pay for this is more than the price of subjugation. The serious consequences appear to be negligible.However, he would not say such things to Fei Cexian, because the other party simply could not understand how much the situation in North Korea needed the support of a strong man.Daming is already in a state where the mud bodhisattva crosses the river and cannot protect himself, and can no longer provide North Korea with military assistance similar to that in the Wanli period. Now, the only life-saving straw that North Korea can grasp is that although it is very snobbish, it is also very powerful. Haihan people.

No matter how harsh the conditions Haihan offered were, the Jin army couldn’t lift their heads after their army fought so hard in Liaodong, and the military aid mentioned was not purely to satisfy their hunger, it was sold to North Korea by Haihan The first batch of firearms and artillery has arrived in North Korea at the end of last year, and the officers and trainees selected by North Korea have also gone to Liaodong to receive military training from Haihan on the battlefield and learn advanced firearms tactics that can defeat the Jin army.

Although with North Korea's national strength, even with the help provided by Haihan, it is impossible to defeat Houjin in a short while, but this at least gave North Korea a little hope, and there is no need to look forward to it like it did a few years ago. Daming's assistance, but in the end nothing came.Although the Haihan people are greedy, they do things unambiguously after receiving money. At least their business reputation is still trustworthy.

But Li Xi really couldn't tell Fei Cexian frankly about these things.Abandoning Da Ming and choosing Haihan's assistance, this way of handling will definitely be understood as disrespect to Da Ming.Therefore, for Fei Cexian's warning, Li Xi could only bow his head and thank him, not daring to refute.

Seeing that Li Xi had a better attitude, Fei Cexian felt that his persuasion should have played a role, so he continued: "Your country has established diplomatic relations with Haihan, so don't only see the immediate benefits. Thinking back when they first arrived in Qiongzhou, they Who would have thought that these people would annex the entire Qiongzhou Island when they wantonly bought local officials? The past will not forget the future, your country needs to be vigilant against the cunning of the Haihan people.”

(End of this chapter)