1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1735 Subtle Situation
Haihan's diplomacy has never been a pure choice of likes and dislikes. Relevant decisions are often made out of comprehensive considerations of various aspects, especially economic interests, which are the top priorities of Haihan when considering maintaining diplomatic relations with other countries Heavy.Whether it is the establishment of diplomatic relations, war, or other more complicated diplomatic means, the ultimate goal is to win more benefits for Hai Han.

For various reasons, Haihan was unwilling to use war methods against Ming Dynasty, but it was still necessary to suppress this declining empire from time to time.Haihan voluntarily gave up using military means to overthrow the Han regime on the mainland, but at the same time, he is also trying to indirectly control the direction of the country through economic, cultural and other fields.Although it is not as easy to send troops to the mainland to flatten the prefectures and counties in this way, the gains are also clearly visible.

According to the design of the Executive Committee, after this round of diplomatic suppression, Daming will be politically isolated in the Far East, and foreign trade, especially ocean trade, can only rely on controlling most of the coastline and ocean trade routes of Daming. Haihan, thus benefiting from the monopoly of Daming's maritime trade rights.

However, this complex plan is still in the initial stage of implementation. Due to limited vision, no one can understand Haihan's real purpose at present.The person involved, Fei Cexian, was even dizzy by the chatter, completely unable to understand why Hai Han did these seemingly superfluous things.In his view, the diplomatic relationship between Daming and Haihan is actually only two states of war and peace, and it is impossible to imagine that Haihan has more complicated plans.

Portugal and the Netherlands are the two with the most sensitive sense of smell. After all, they are old colonial countries, and their application and understanding of various diplomatic methods are far better than those of Daming, a country with a closed environment.Although they didn't really understand the true intention of Hai Han's combined boxing, they were keenly aware of the business opportunities that might be hidden in it.

"The East India Company will abide by the diplomatic agreement signed with your country, and guarantee that the due position will not change." After responding to Haihan's request to stand in line, Su Keyi immediately asked Schneider who came to him: "Your country is not You won’t really use force against Daming, right?”

Schneider laughed: "Why do you have such an idea?"

"Because... I really can't think of any reason for your country to use force against Daming." Su Keyi stated his thoughts frankly: "Your country has controlled most of the coastline of Daming, and has knocked on the door of Daming in terms of trade. As for recruiting immigrants from Daming and going to your country to colonize the occupied areas of Daming, I think it is difficult for Ming to create too many obstacles for your country. Under such a general environment, messing up Daming should do more harm than good to your country That's right."

Schneider responded noncommittally: "Of course war will cause social turmoil, so annexing the country of Ming Dynasty, or occupying part of its territory, wouldn't it be a good thing for Haihan?"

Su Keyi was not so sure this time, and replied with a little hesitation: "It may be that your country cannot take such drastic measures against Daming for some reason!"

For a strong country, annexing the weak in the process of continuously expanding its territory is only a reasonable method.Of course, it is not very accurate to describe the Ming Empire as weak, but in front of Haihan, Ming's military strength is indeed not strong enough, so in the past ten years, Haihan has encroached on many key points near the coastline.

However, when Haihan gained power, he never extended this measure of annexing Ming's territory to the inland areas, and only maintained his control over the sea.And other countries really couldn't see through Haihan's seemingly restrained approach. It was not until Daming and Haihan established diplomatic relations that the outside world believed that Haihan hoped to open the door of Daming through peaceful means, so as to better Make full use of the market and resources owned by Daming.

But just when everything started to go on the right track, Haihan finally didn't have to start a smuggling trade with Daming semi-openly, but made a statement of intention to use force, which was not a reasonable expression in the eyes of those who cared.Since Su Keyi was stationed in Sanya, he has been paying close attention to the diplomatic trends between Haihan and Daming. As the saying goes, a bystander knows everything. He definitely understands the situation more comprehensively and meticulously than someone like Fei Cexian. He was so confused that he couldn't figure out the direction, but Su Keyi discovered some details that Haihan was trying to hide.

Although Su Keyi couldn't fully understand Hai Han's intentions, but based on his understanding, it was not too far away from the actual situation. It was just that it was not so easy for him to get the old Schneider's words from him, and the two went back and forth. However, Schneider just didn't give an affirmative answer, making it impossible for Su Keyi to confirm whether his guess was correct.

On the other side, Thomas faced Tao Donglai, who had just finished beating the envoy of Ming Dynasty. Although he had learned Fei Cexian's lesson and tried to avoid provoking the other party with words, Tao Donglai's aggressiveness today was really serious. Strong, when Thomas raised a question similar to Su Keyi, he summoned Tao Donglai to respond with a strong attitude.

"Whether our country will use force against Ming Dynasty is out of consideration for our country's security and development. It is a decision that will be made after careful consideration and full discussion by the Executive Committee. To blow this wind to your country today is just to remind your country to maintain Take a good stand and don't easily intervene in the diplomatic affairs between our country and Ming Dynasty!"

When Tao Dong said these words, his face was serious, which forced Thomas to swallow some of the questions he had prepared.The other party's last sentence was obviously warning himself not to ask questions related to the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The envoys from various countries received so much and complicated information that night that it was difficult to digest for a while. Many people still couldn't sleep after returning to their residences. For example, Fei Cexian was one of them.Although he has been in Sanya for several months and has long been accustomed to the water, soil and climate here, but today he feels extremely uncomfortable, lying on the bed tossing and turning without sleepiness.

Fei Cexian got up and drank a cup of herbal tea, which slightly relieved the dry mouth after drinking.But the depression in his heart couldn't be eliminated.

Judging from the meeting tonight, Fei Cexian believes that Haihan is deliberately trying to win over other countries to isolate and suppress Da Ming. Even if what Ning Qi said is true, Hai Han has no plans to launch a military attack on Da Ming. The measures taken by the field are still extremely unkind.

Fei Cexian's defense didn't get any sympathy from Ning Qi, and Haihan didn't express any intention to change his attitude. In the future, Ming Dynasty will probably be shrouded in the cloud of war.The most exasperating thing is that Haihan's actions have neither reason nor purpose. Fei Cexian doesn't even know how to report this change to the country, and even if he writes today's events into the memorial, those high-ranking officials in the court will not It is not necessarily possible to understand what happened here.

Among Fei Cexian's responsibilities, safeguarding the interests and dignity of Daming is naturally the first priority, but if Haihan wants to use force against Daming or even formally declare war, then the court will only think that he has not done a good job in diplomatic work in Sanya, otherwise why the two? The two countries only established diplomatic relations last year, and this year they will start fighting?
Before coming to Haihan, Fei Cexian couldn't understand why the local officials in Fuzhou and Guangxi obeyed Haihan's words and dared not provoke this group of thugs who invaded Daming.But after coming to Sanya and slowly deepening his understanding of Haihan, Fei Cexian realized that the southern coastal area of ​​Ming Dynasty has been under the cloud of war in recent years.

The Shibazhi pirate gang that used to dominate the southeast waters is gone, replaced by the stronger and sharper Haihan Navy.No magistrate can bear the responsibility of causing the war, so it is better to take a step back and give Haihan a certain amount of space, so that he can not only get the benefits that Haihan offered, but also keep the black hat on his head.There are people who are good at management, such as Xu Xinsu from Fujian, who can even rely on Haihan's support to become the local emperor who is unambiguous in the local area.

The imperial court knew very well that the territory occupied by Haihan was already difficult to get back through negotiations, and if Ming did not want to lose more territory, he had to maintain a good relationship with Haihan.Therefore, in order to maintain peace between the two countries, the court did not hesitate to agree to a series of harsh conditions for the establishment of diplomatic relations proposed by Haihan.The cabinet scholars don't care about Fei Cexian's situation in Sanya. They can't understand Fei Cexian's work process after being thousands of miles away, they can only see the final result.

Fei Cexian put down his teacup and sighed heavily.Before he went south, someone from the Ministry of Rites reminded him that going to Haihan as an envoy is both a good thing and a bad thing. Fortunately, the official contact with Haihan itself is a fat job. Haihan's generous spending on Ming officials is well known in the southern coastal official circles Things, as long as you obey their wishes, the rewards you receive are much better than searching for the people's fat and anointment in the official position.

The bad thing is that Haihan has a strong desire to control. If he refuses to act according to Haihan's wishes in office, then this official will be a doormat, and it is likely to be the kind of splint that is not human inside and out. .At that time, Fei Cexian didn't quite understand this description, but now in such a delicate environment, he finally realized the good and bad feelings.

Haihan has explicitly hinted to Fei Cexian more than once that he can provide him with generous remuneration, not only to ensure that his treatment during his tenure is far better than that of ordinary officials, but also to arrange his life after leaving office.Whether it is a plantation in Nanyang or a local official under Hai Han's rule, Fei Cexian can choose, and all he needs to pay is to cooperate with Hai Han's arrangements as much as possible in terms of diplomacy.

However, Fei Cexian still has a very high degree of loyalty to Daming, and he did not easily agree to Haihan's conditions, and used his identity to fight for Daming's interests from time to time.But when it comes to decision-making at the national level, Fei Cexian's identity obviously has no influence at all. When Ning Qi told him about Haihan's arrangement today, he probably didn't think about paying attention to his inner feelings.

Fei Cexian thinks that he has tried his best to fight for Daming, but maybe it is really limited by his ability. His efforts have not played any role on Haihan's side, and he has not even been able to earn the respect of Haihan people.And when he thought that after reporting this situation back to China, he would have to deal with the pressure from the court, Fei Cexian became even more depressed.

He put on a coat and walked to the balcony. From here, he could overlook the harbor of Victory Harbor. There were still lights on the pier in the distance. He knew that it was a ship moored to load and unload cargo all night. Such a busy scene, as long as the weather It's sunny, almost every day.

And just a few months ago, he had witnessed the scene of dozens of Haihan battleships loading supplies overnight at Victory Harbor. The situation at that time left a deep impression on him, and those warships were not completed until dawn. Shipment, and then sailed out of the harbor when the sky was white, and a few days later, it killed all directions in the remote Philippine Islands, almost annihilating the local Spanish fleet.

Of course, Fei Cexian saw the subsequent battle situation from the articles published in the local newspapers, but at this moment, what he thought of was that if one day Haihan really wanted to use force against Daming, how busy it would be in Victory Port scene.With the size of Daming, the number of warships and supply ships that Haihan needs to use will increase many times. Even if the port of Shengli is fully activated, it may take several days to complete the task of loading supplies.

But these absurd thoughts just flashed through his mind, and didn't spread any further.Ning Qi said that Hai Han's next target for using force would not be Daming, and Fei Cexian didn't know whether to believe it or not.Experience told him that "the mouths of Haihan people are deceitful ghosts", but the current situation forced him to believe Ning Qi's statement, otherwise he would really report to the country that Haihan planned to tear up the peace agreement, and there would be no chaos in the court ?

If he didn't report to the country, once Haihan made a move, Daming would be defenseless to fight, and the result can be imagined.But if the report is made, regardless of whether Haihan takes action or not, there will be chaos in Daming. If it is really just a false move as Ning Qi said, then Fei Cexian will definitely be charged with lying about military information in the end.

Fei Cexian only felt a pain in the temples on both sides of his head. He had never encountered such a complicated situation in his past experience as an official, and he really didn't know how to deal with it properly.But he knew that once he chose the wrong method, his official career might come to an end.

"If I knew this, I might as well be a leisurely official in the capital!"

This may be the first time that Fei Cexian has truly regretted the mission of going south to Haihan.Although the Ministry of Rites is a Qingshui Yamen, at least it doesn't have to deal with such complicated international relations, let alone shoulder such heavy responsibilities.

(End of this chapter)