1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 668
Temporarily sending a mission to Sanya to negotiate with the Haihan people is in itself an emergency measure to delay Haihan's military operations against the Natuna Islands. The key lies in the word "fast". , Haihan has already made a move, so the East India Company can only watch helplessly as the Haihan people snatch the Natuna Islands.At that time, if I want to get it back from them again, I'm afraid the difficulty level will have to rise a lot.Therefore, after the board of directors decided to adopt this method, intensive travel preparations began immediately on the same day.

The team of the mission is still dominated by Van Longen and his fleet, but this time the task is of a special nature, so Van Longen does not intend to take all his remaining merchant ships to Sanya, but only calls one of them. Small two sailboats.Of course, there is another reason why this is not too glorious, that is, when he fought on Natuna Island last time, almost all the ships under his command were damaged, and only temporary treatment was carried out during his stay in Dayuan Port. It can only be completely renovated after arriving in Batavia. At present, only two sailboats in good condition can be selected to perform this task.

Van Longen's duty is mainly to expand maritime trade for the East India Company. Although he is proficient in military affairs, he is not a professional soldier. Therefore, this mission must be equipped with an officer—not only for the safety of the mission, but more importantly. After going to the local area, there can be a knowledgeable person responsible for observing and collecting military intelligence of the Haihan people.As for the need for too many combat personnel, Van Longen's ship is an armed merchant ship, and it is equipped with various weapons on a daily basis. The crew basically have certain combat capabilities. As long as they are not fighting against a professional navy, they can protect themselves at sea. The ability is still relatively strong.

The officer selected by Governor Cohen for the mission fleet was somewhat unexpected. The officer who took up this post was not an officer stationed in Batavia, but Van der Wegen, who had just returned from Dayuan Port as a defeated warlord.Cohen's explanation for this is that Van der Wegen is the only senior officer who has had experience with the Haihan people on the frontal battlefield. He can more accurately identify military ships in the local port and obtain valuable military intelligence when he goes to Sanya.Of course, he didn't know that the opponents Spikes and Van Longen met in the Natuna Islands were also affiliated with the Haihan Militia, but the Fujian side had a navy, while the Natuna Islands were an army in disguise.

Van der Wegen was naturally grateful for such an appointment. He originally thought that if he returned to Batavia to report this time, he would have to peel off his skin even if he did not die, but he did not expect that instead of punishing him, Cohen entrusted him with an important task again.Although there is no need to go all out for this task, Van der Wegen has made greater determination than when he played in Fujian last time.

In addition, Cohen considered that the East India Company had never dealt with the Haihan people before, and it would be difficult to communicate with the other party with only two Dutch representatives, so it became necessary to appoint a Chinese as the special assistant to the mission. .Of course, there are many restrictions on this candidate. First of all, Mingshang family members or people with close relations are not allowed, because these people are very likely to have inextricably linked interests with Hai Han, and their credibility is not high.

When Cohen proposed to create this position, he actually already had a candidate in mind. When Cohen took office in 1619, he appointed his Chinese friend Su Minggang to serve as the Chinese manager of Batavia. After that, the Su family held all the positions in Kapitan for more than ten years. East India During the company's business activities along the coast of Fujian, the Su family also sent people to participate in it.If there is any Chinese in Batavia that Cohen can trust, the Su family will definitely do their part.

Due to this special relationship, many members of the Su family are working for the East India Company, and some of them have fixed positions in the company.Su Minggang's nephew, Su Keyi, who is in his early thirties, is one of them.As early as ten years ago, he joined the East India Company, starting as a low-level wharf cargo recorder, and gradually rose to the current position of port supervisor.The three terminals he is currently in charge of manage have more than ten merchant ships entering and leaving the port every day. There are nearly a thousand employees of various ethnicities under him, and he is considered a small and powerful middle-level manager in the company.Of course, due to his Chinese identity, he is unlikely to get the opportunity to work in special departments such as the military and intelligence. The best way out is to compete for the next few Kapitan positions.

Henke, who was in charge of intelligence affairs, did not question the arrangement of this candidate, because he also knew that the Su family was indeed one of the few Chinese families in Batavia city that could be trusted by the company. It is difficult to find a better replacement, and time waits for no one. The Governor gave two days of preparation time. Even if Henk had any ideas, he could only take the overall situation into consideration and swallow his dissatisfaction first.

On the night before the mission's convoy departed, Cohen asked Van Longen, Van der Wegen, and Su Keyi to be recruited to give them face-to-face instructions.

"Some things are inconvenient to say publicly at the board meeting, so I can only communicate with you in this private place." Cohen started coughing after saying a few words. Vander Wegen was the closest, and immediately stepped forward to help him rub his back to relieve it.

After a while, Cohen finally stopped coughing, nodded to Van der Wegen, and then continued: "My physical condition is already very poor, and every day I stay in this position is one day less. I originally planned to leave before the end of the year. Resigned, and then returned to the Netherlands to recuperate, but now it seems that I can't go."

"Governor, we all need your command. I hope you can take good care of your health and serve as a lighthouse for the company for a few more years." Van Longen flattered him without losing the opportunity.

"This will probably be difficult to achieve. I just hope that the current troubles, especially the Haihan people, can be dealt with before leaving office." Cohen was not in the mood to joke with Van Longen, and quickly returned to the topic: "Gentlemen, although we Responded in the shortest possible time, but I think it is likely that they have fallen far behind the Haihans in the progress of taking the Natuna Islands."

"You mean, even if we rush to Sanya now, maybe it's too late to stop their actions?" Van Longen immediately understood what Cohen meant.

"It is very likely that they found someone to send this diplomatic letter after they were ready to go to war." Cohen said as he tapped the letter signed by the Haihan Executive Committee on the table with his finger. letter.The letter was written in both Chinese and English, and Cohen had read it many times to figure out the meaning of the wording.

"If that's the case, then why do they use the words in the letter to anger us?" Van Longen asked puzzledly.Hearing what Cohen said in the letter at the meeting two days ago, Van Longen was also furious at the time, feeling that he had been greatly humiliated.

"This is a warning, but also an intimidation. The Haihan people want us to know that if we object to the ownership of the Natuna Islands, then we must be prepared to go to war with them." Cohen paused and emphasized Tone: "This battlefield is not only in the Natuna Islands, it may also include Fujian."

"Including Fujian..." Van Longen turned his head and exchanged glances with Van der Wegen, both of them could not conceal the shock in each other's eyes.

"Judging from the combat situation described by van der Wegen, Haihan's attack on our fleet in Fujian was not an accidental armed conflict, but a premeditated military operation. I have been thinking about why they did this, And why did you let you go..." Cohen pointed to the letter on the table again: "It wasn't until I read this letter repeatedly that I figured out their purpose. Gentlemen, the Haihan people need to find a reasonable excuse to deal with We do it, and that's where it all starts."

"I'm sorry, my lord, I don't quite understand what you mean..." Van der Wegen stammered in reply.

"I think the Haihan people have long regarded us as competitors, and decided to start competing with us for the control of the Far East after the full-fledged, but they need a reasonable reason that can be accepted by both internal personnel and the outside world. War, after all, war is a very resource-intensive activity, and if it is not done well, it will arouse the vigilance of other outside forces." Cohen said slowly: "But the problem is that there has never been a direct trade or relationship between them and us. In terms of diplomatic contacts, there is no reasonable excuse to turn your face, under such circumstances, what do you think the Haihan people will do?"

"Obviously, cracking down on pirates is an excellent starting point." Su Keyi, who had been silent all this time, suddenly took up the conversation and said, "Whether it's in Fujian or in the South China Sea, cracking down on pirates is a high-sounding reason."

"That's right." Cohen praised Su Keyi for quickly understanding the spirit: "Since our policy in Fujian is to support Shibazhi against the government, it is easy for the Haihan people to catch them. At this time, the government chose to send troops to help the war, and the Haihan people just took advantage of the situation. I heard that it took a long time for Dayuan Port to assemble near Nanri Island before the war. The Fujian government must have placed it in Dayuan The spies have already sent the news back, so the Haihan people can wait for you to send it to your door in Nanri Island."

Van der Wegen's face turned pale. Although he had a lot of introspection after the defeat, and even thought that it might be the leak that caused his side to be ambushed by the Haihan fleet, he never thought that the other party's behavior had such a deep-seated reason. Purpose.

Cohen continued: "You don't have to feel upset. Even if Hans didn't choose to send troops at that time, the Haihan people will find other opportunities to fight with you sooner or later. As for why, let's understand the timeline."

Cohen opened a notepad on the table and began to read according to it: "The pirates occupied Natuna Island. According to the situation we know, it probably happened during April this year. Next May , the Haihan mission went to Fujian, and led the Ming army to capture Nanri Island in the name of revenge for Shibazhi's assassination in Zhangzhou. In June, Shibazhi sent people to ask Hans for help, and At this time, Haihan seems to have sent another reinforcement force to Fujian to replace the Haihan mission stationed there. At the end of June, the search and rescue fleet we sent from Batavia suffered a defeat in the Natuna Islands. In mid-July, The Haihan fleet defeated the fleet led by Mr. Van der Wegen in the waters of Nanri Island. Four days ago, the Haihan people sent a fiercely worded diplomatic letter to Batavia, warning us not to participate in the Fujian and Natuna Islands. business."

Cohen slowly closed the notepad, looked at the three people present and said: "Gentlemen, the events that have happened in the past five months have been continuous, and they are all related to us. If it is all a coincidence, I personally doubt it." Yes. Although I don’t have any evidence to prove that the Haihan people planned these incidents behind the scenes, at least they used the situation in these two places very efficiently to achieve their goals. Now I want to hear your opinions.”

"Seventy percent of the residents on the Natuna Islands are Chinese or Chinese descendants. When the pirates attacked the local area in April, it is very likely that some fishermen on the island or merchant ships temporarily docked in the local area took the opportunity to escape and went. The territory of the Haihan people. After the Haihan people learned the news of the local change of ownership, they may have already made plans for that place." Van Longen immediately expressed his thoughts: "In the name of revenge for the pirate invasion last year, go to Expedition to the Natuna Islands, obviously this reason is easily recognized by their so-called executive committee."

"However, if they want to attack the Natuna Islands, they will still face two problems. One is the preparations for the expedition, and the other is how to deal with our criticism." Van der Wegen continued: "That place belongs to our East India Company. If it is directly occupied, there is no doubt that it is no different from pirates, so they still need an excuse to drag us into the water, such as forcing us to have a collusion relationship with pirates."

"But they don't have real evidence in their hands, so they need to make some articles in other places to substantiate this excuse, so they chose Fujian to start." Su Keyi also kept up with the rhythm: "They can use the Fujian government to suppress bandits In the name of China, they dealt with Shibazhi openly and aboveboard, and by the way dragged Dayuangang into the water, and then the fact that the East India Company colluded with the pirates was established, and they can continue to use this as an excuse to do something on the South China Sea, and warn us not to Close to that sea area. From April to May to now, it is estimated that the Haihan people have already made preparations to attack Natuna Island. As the Governor said just now, perhaps our pace is too late. Now The only thing I don't quite understand is why the time limit set by the Haihan people for the waters of the Natuna Islands is until the end of the year? Don't they have the confidence to take down those pirates in one fell swoop?"

"I think they just need time to consolidate the fortifications on the island." Van Longen replied with a dark face.

(End of this chapter)