1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 673 House arrest in disguise
"How many "naturalized people" like him are there in the Haihan people's current ruling area?" Van der Wegen also asked curiously.

"This... I don't have any more detailed figures, but based on the population of Qiongzhou Island and Haihan's continuous introduction of immigrants in recent years, the number of 'naturalized people' who are loyal to Haihan should be at least More than [-]." Su Keyi didn't have a definite conclusion on this, and could only make rough inferences based on the information he knew so far.However, such inferences are not accurate at all, and the error may be ridiculously high.

"One hundred thousand..." Van der Wegen whistled lightly: "No wonder they have the confidence to send troops to expedition to Annan and Fujian."

The war potential of a force is directly proportional to the population under its rule. Without a certain population base, it is difficult to bear the huge consumption of war.There was nothing wrong with van der Wegen's opinion, but Heyhan was an anomaly in this regard.When the expedition to Annan intervened in the civil war, the population under Haihan's rule was small and the force was extremely limited. The Haihan Executive Committee took great risks and put most of the regular army on the Annan battlefield.And this kind of adventure also brought huge war dividends to Haihan, making Annan the main commodity sales market and source of labor for Haihan in the early stage of development.

As for the two shots in Fujian this year, no matter from the economic or military point of view, there is no too much pressure on Haihan.What's more, Haihan's investment in Fujian will not be less rewarding than Annan's. It can be said that it is a good deal with no loss.If it weren't for the fact that the distance between Fujian and the Sanya base camp was far away, and there were many practical problems in the supply of combat materials, the Haihan Military Commission actually had the idea of ​​​​taking advantage of the victory to pursue it.

"Although the armed forces organized by the Haihan people are called militias, they are actually a professional army." After a brief contact with the Haihan people, Van Longen has already got the answer: "It may even be more professional than the army of our East India Company." high."

Although the East India Company has thousands of standing armed personnel, these people also exist as sailors and crew members in peacetime, rather than professional soldiers who are completely off-duty in the true sense.In terms of nature, the Haihan Militia, an armed force purely for military purposes, can be regarded as a real professional army.

"Their professional army is much more powerful than the army of the Ming Empire!" Van der Wegen had a personal experience, and he couldn't help replying with a wry smile.In fact, Van Longen also faced the Haihan militia in the Battle of Ambuna Island, but he didn't know the real identity of the other party.

Sure enough, Yu Xiaobao did not show up again that day. Although the three Dutch representatives complained a lot, they could only spend the night in this sweltering hut.And their wish also changed from "see Haihan people as soon as possible" at the beginning to "stay in a more comfortable place as soon as possible".

When I woke up the next day, except for the seafood porridge breakfast, nothing seemed to have changed, and the trio could only continue to lean against the wall and listen to the training call signs for a long time.

It wasn't until the afternoon when the sun was about to set that Yu Xiaobao appeared in front of them again: "The three special envoys, just received the latest order from the executive committee, please drive to the guest house."

Although I don't know what the guest house is like, but hearing this tall name, it must be much better than this airtight hut. The three of them got up and walked out almost instantly.

However, after they walked out, they did not gain freedom of movement. A four-wheeled carriage with black curtains was already parked outside.Yu Xiaobao graciously rushed to the front and opened the car door: "The three of you, please get in the car."

At this time, the three of them had nothing to worry about, so they got into the carriage directly.After nearly an hour, the carriage stopped, and then Yu Xiaobao opened the door from the outside, and asked the three of them to get off.

"What a great place!" After the three of them got out of the car one by one, Su Keyi couldn't help sighing when he saw the scene in front of him.

The place where they got off was next to a flower garden with a radius of three feet, full of various seasonal flowers, and the aroma was tangy.Behind the flower garden is a two-story house with bamboo and wood structure, but its appearance is obviously different from traditional Chinese buildings. There is no such structure as carved beams and painted buildings, but square and square, with very simple and clear lines.This house is located on the hillside, and there are several similar buildings nearby, all of which are built according to the terrain and scattered in a well-proportioned manner.

At this time, the two Dutchmen were looking in another direction and could not speak. From where they were standing, they could see the harbor in the distance.At this time, the sun had not completely set, and the port was still busy under the setting sun.What shocked them the most was that a ship as big as a hill was docked on the east side of the port, but it had no masts or sails, and it looked very strange.

"That's the legendary big iron ship of Haihan." Su Keyi also quickly noticed this strange sight, and explained to the two of them: "It is said that the ship was made of hundreds of thousands of catties of fine iron, and was driven by an unknown force. The Han people came to Sanya on that ship."

"Can... build such a ship..." Van Longen's mood is very complicated. As an old sea dog who has been at sea for many years, he can naturally see how difficult it is to build such a large ship.Regardless of whether the Haihan people really came across the sea on this ship, the shipbuilding technology alone is a level of technology that the Dutch are currently unable to achieve.

Yu Xiaobao has long been familiar with this, but all newcomers who come to Shengli Port for the first time will inevitably be shocked by the "New World" in the port and be speechless.Thinking back when he saw such a huge ship sailing into Yulin Bay, why didn't he almost pee out of fright.

"Three special envoys, please come inside!"

Following Yu Xiaobao's call, the three of them recovered from their stunned state, and followed him into the house.The interior furnishings once again shocked the three of them. In addition to the elegant furniture, the porcelain and glass products that can be seen everywhere in the room also caught their eyes.In particular, the Haihan-style ceramic sanitary ware and the bathroom inlaid with mosaic tiles made the three of them feel like a treasure.

"Three special envoys, if you need anything, please go to the door to greet our waiter. As long as we can do it, we will try our best to provide it." After the waiter delivered a large plate of fresh fruits, Yu Xiaobao also said to the waiter The three said goodbye.

"The Haihan people really enjoy it!" After a while, Vanderwegen lay on the beach chair and sighed while enjoying the fresh coconut juice.

"It's no wonder those great Ming maritime merchants look fascinated when they talk about Sanya." Su Keyi also couldn't help sighing.Although he is also from a wealthy family, he has never experienced a residence with such superior conditions and beautiful environment as the Haihan Guest House in his past life.

Of course, the main reason is that they have just been released from the confinement room of the army base. The comparison between the two sides naturally highlights the huge contrast in the environment.

But it wasn't until the next morning that they really felt the bustling scene here.On the hillside where the Guest House is located, you can have a panoramic view of the line from Shengli Fort to Shengli Port Wharf, and this area is the most prosperous area of ​​Shengli Port. There are rows of shops and restaurants on both sides of the landscape avenue, and the crowds on the street are bustling. No worse than those big cities.

After seeing Su Keyi, he planned to go to the bustling area for a while, but his idea could not be implemented. On the way out, there were soldiers with live ammunition standing guard, blocking them back.Although the reason is polite, it is indisputable: we are for the sake of the safety of the three, to avoid problems.

The three of them had no choice but to accept such an explanation, and satisfied their curiosity by gazing at the prosperous scene of Victory Harbor from the balcony on the second floor of their residence.

From this day on, whether it is three meals a day or other treatment, there has been a qualitative leap from the day I first arrived in Sanya.But other than that, their actions were still strictly restricted, and the only people they could see were sentinels, waiters, and Yu Xiaobao who appeared once every two days.

During this period, Su Keyi naturally asked Yu Xiaobao to meet with Haihan's high-level officials many times, but Yu Xiaobao also gave a lot of reasons. Today, the chief went out to inspect work, and tomorrow the chief has important There is a meeting to be held, in a word, "busy", there is no time to meet them.

After five or six days like this, the three of them have already noticed the smell—the Haihan people are consciously hanging themselves out, and their purpose is not only to give their side a bad impression, but also to delay the negotiation time.

As for why there is a delay, everyone is well aware.The Haihan people issued an ultimatum to the East India Company to attack the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea.Obviously, they didn't want to use this as a condition to negotiate with the East India Company, but they really wanted to seize this place. For this reason, they even consciously avoided peace talks with the East India Company.

"I think we should do something to let the Haihan people know our attitude!" After dinner that day, Van Longen finally couldn't help bringing up the matter: "We have arrived in Sanya for a week, but now even an authentic Haihan I have never seen them before, and if we continue like this, I am afraid that we will lose the Natuna Islands before we see them."

"Mr. Captain is right. We must let the Haihan people know that delaying time is not a reasonable way to solve the problem." Van der Wegen also agreed.

"Then what should we do?" Su Keyi asked.

"We will start a hunger strike tomorrow. This is the only means of resistance we can use now." The method proposed by Van Longen is really not a good strategy, but just as he said, it seems that there is no better way under the current situation. Good choice.

"Are these guys on a hunger strike?"

The next morning, Tao Donglai, who heard the news, couldn't help but smile and said, "Then did they say they plan to go on a hunger strike for a few days?"

"They claimed to stop the hunger strike after seeing the chiefs." Yu Xiaobao also smiled: "It seems that they really don't have the patience to wait any longer."

"I think it's enough to hang them out for a week, what do you think?" Tao Donglai asked the other executive committee members present for their opinions.

"Roger's fleet arrived at the Ambuna Islands last week to complete the handover of defense. The day before yesterday, Mu Xiabo also sent a telegram back. He has returned to Cam Ranh Bay, and the dust on the South China Sea has basically settled." Yan Chujie took the lead to clarify the military's position.

Although there are still a large number of fortifications to be built on the main island of Ambuna, this is no longer a hindrance to the overall situation.If the Dutch can organize a second wave of counterattack in such a short period of time, then they don't need to send envoys to negotiate.As long as the mobilization and deployment of troops is completed, for the military, this matter has come to an end.

Ning Qi also continued: "They have lived in Victory Harbor for a few days, and they should have figured out our purpose. There is no need to procrastinate any longer. It will only waste our entertainment expenses."

"Then go and inform Schneider and Gu Kai, and let them arrange a time to meet with the Dutch envoy." Tao Donglai immediately gave the order.

The reason why Schneider and Gu Kai were asked to take charge of this negotiation is mainly because of their language skills.Although neither of them can speak Dutch very well, they are fluent in English. There should be no major problems in communicating directly with the Dutch.

After the Dutch envoys went on a hunger strike for two hours and 33 minutes, Yu Xiaobao appeared with good news: "Three, the chief decided to meet you this afternoon, so your hunger strike can stop now, don't delay I'll have lunch later. By the way, today's lunch is the well-received Haihan Mixed Paella, which only comes once a week, so it would be a pity to miss it."

After Yu Xiaobao finished speaking, he left, leaving the three of them staring at each other.It took a long time before Van der Wegen said, "If we had gone on a hunger strike a few days earlier, would the Haihan people have summoned us then?"

"Maybe, maybe not, who knows?" Van Longen was also dumbfounded by the reaction of the Haihan people. After breakfast, the Haihan people had already compromised. I really don't know what kind of consideration they made. Decide.

In the afternoon of that day, they finally met the two Haihan people who came to visit at their residence.To their surprise, the appearance of one of them was obviously European, and the obvious German accent after he spoke made the two Dutch people mistakenly think that he was from a certain European country.

"Gentlemen, I am an orthodox Haihan person. Although I have a German name Schneider, I prefer to use the name Schneider. This Mr. Gu Kai and I are both members of the Haihan Executive Committee, so You can now tell us the purpose of the three trips." Schneider finished his self-introduction in English without haste.

Van der Wegen and Van Longen could speak English, but Su Keyi could only speak Dutch and Chinese, and there was a situation where the translator became an outsider.

(End of this chapter)