1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3209
The military equipment exhibition held in Hangzhou for the first time not only attracted a large number of local people, but also many visitors from other countries.

In order to avoid long queues, Simao and Thomas even arrived earlier than most of the people, and they were probably among the top [-] in the queue waiting to enter.And the foreign appearance of the two of them is particularly conspicuous among the locals.

"Look around, we've all become spectators...Maybe we should come here when Haihan arranges a visit for diplomatic envoys, so we don't need to be crowded with so many people!"

Thomas grumbled and complained, which made Simao slightly dissatisfied.

He shook his head and retorted: "Mr. Thomas, let's not talk about whether Haihan will specially arrange for foreign envoys to visit. Even if they do, it may not be our part!"

Thomas said: "Our country and Haihan have always maintained close cooperation in the military field, so we shouldn't be excluded!"

"Cooperation?" Simao sneered: "Our cooperation with Haihan is limited to dealing with the Spaniards. Look at what they have done in the Straits of Malacca recently. Is that what a partner should do?"

"Also, I heard that after yesterday's military parade, the Haihan people met with envoys from some countries and sold weapons to them. Why didn't we inform us of this kind of thing? We couldn't afford the price? Or didn't they regard us as As an ally?"

"There's such a thing?" Thomas only knew that Haihan was making trouble in the Strait of Malacca, but he didn't know that he had secretly engaged in a wave of arms sales activities yesterday.

Simao said: "So don't expect Hai Han to be honest with us, I have a bad feeling, today's Hai Han... is different from before!"

The basis for the alliance between Portugal and Haihan is that there are conflicts of interest between the two countries and Spain that are difficult to resolve.As for the common goal of opening up maritime trade between the East and the West, the direction of the efforts of the two sides is also tending to be the same.

Therefore, the relationship between the two countries was once so good that it was a honeysuckle. Portugal once took over the trade activities between Haihan and the Western world, and even sold the arms produced by Haihan to the European battlefield.

And in the fights between Haihan and Spain in these years, Portugal has almost never been absent, and every time it will send a large-scale armed fleet to participate in the battle.

Simao has also participated in the combat operations of the Haihan Army in various parts of East Asia as a military observer on many occasions.In terms of his understanding of Haihan's military strength, he should be regarded as the leading expert among the Portuguese.

But in recent years, with the expansion of Haihan's territory, the relationship between the two parties has gradually begun to undergo some subtle changes.

Under Haihan's continuous pressure, the Spaniards are gradually declining in Asia, which makes Portugal's military assistance slowly appear to be dispensable.Haihan already possesses sufficient ability to independently launch a large-scale war against Spain's colonies in Southeast Asia without the Portuguese intervening at all.

In terms of trade, with the westward expansion of Haihan's influence, coupled with the entry of maritime merchants from the Middle East into East Asia, and competition from European counterparts, the good days when Portugal monopolized the trade between Haihan and the West are gone forever.

It now appears that Haihan's westward expansion is unstoppable, and entering the Indian Ocean through Malacca is only the first step of this huge plan. Sooner or later, Haihan's tentacles will extend to the Middle East, East Africa, and even the Mediterranean region.

At that time, in addition to cooperation, Haihan and Portugal may gradually transform into a relationship of competitors.It is no exaggeration to say that the open and covert struggle for control of the Straits of Malacca has begun to show signs of this.

In the process of going north with the Executive Committee this time, Simao felt more and more that the relationship between the two parties was becoming estranged.

On the way to Hong Kong, the Executive Committee even arranged for the Dutch envoy to be on board with him, but Simao and Thomas did not enjoy the same treatment.During the visit to the naval base in Zhoushan, the Portuguese were also subject to certain restrictions. They could no longer visit any ship as an ally as before.

After coming to Hangzhou, Simao felt that the treatment was not as good as before. North Korea, Annan, and the grades of these countries are now on the same level as him.

And the inside information received last night made Simao almost break his defense.Haihan held an arms sales event, but did not notify Portugal. This is a treatment he has never suffered in the past many years.

Although Haihan sent someone to inform him later, saying that the arms sales activities would be carried out in batches, and the Portuguese mission would be arranged to attend in the future, but Simao had already realized that Haihan deliberately drew a line between Portugal and his vassal state. Boundaries, differentiated treatment.

As for the purpose of doing this, it is obvious that Haihan does not want these countries to get too close to Portugal.Realizing this, Simao no longer expected Haihan to provide Portugal with special arrangements for the next event, so Simao pulled Thomas out early in the morning to queue up for the military exhibition today.

Simao also wants to take this opportunity to test Haihan's attitude again. If Haihan refuses to visit, then it is really necessary to re-examine the relationship between the two countries.

"Listen, this Yan Chujie is recruiting again... I don't understand, Haihan is so eager to recruit, are they really planning to start another war with Daming?"

Thomas shook his head while listening, dissatisfied with Haihan's militaristic behavior.Although the target of Haihan's war will definitely not be Portugal, seeing its military strength continue to grow, it still makes him feel very depressed.

Simao replied: "Although the expansion of Haihan's army is not good news, if they really start a full-scale war against Ming Dynasty, it will not be a bad thing. At least within three to five years, their energy will be dragged by the battlefield here. The pace of offshore expansion should slow somewhat."

Thomas continued to shake his head and said, "What about three to five years later? If Haihan completes the annexation of Daming, then there will be no rivals in the entire East. At that time, they may put a larger force on the sea, and the fleet will continue to grow." Expanding dozens of times... I can't think of anyone else who can stop them!"

Simao said helplessly: "But at least it can buy us a few more years of buffer time, can't it? Maybe Haihan will be stronger in a few years, but maybe they will still be unable to get out of the quagmire of war in a few years... Don't forget, when the Bohemian and Palatine allied forces attacked Ferdinand II, the world thought that the war would end soon. No one would have thought that this war would last for 30 years and wipe out the entire European continent. Get involved!"

Thomas was silent for a long while before he said softly: "I understand what you mean, but if we secretly fund Haihan's opponents, it will be very risky. Once discovered, our country's interests in the east may be wiped out by Haihan And empty!"

(End of this chapter)