1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 674 Negotiations
However, this is not a major obstacle. Su Keyi can still communicate with the Haihan people in Chinese, but it is difficult to keep pace with the two partners.

Van Longen also introduced the identities of the three on his side, and then the two sides sat down and began to enter into negotiations that had been delayed for many days.

"First of all, on behalf of the East India Company, I would like to express my strong protest against your plan to unilaterally take military action in the South China Sea!" Fan Longen knew that the meeting with the Haihan people was not easy. Directly cut to the point: "The Abona Islands belong to the territory of the East India Company. We have the jurisdiction over the local area. Without our permission, no armed forces are allowed to board the islands under any pretext!"

"Belongs to the territory of the East India Company?" Gu Kai smiled and said: "Do you know the deeds of the three treasure eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty who went to the West 200 years ago? Jurisdiction. Do you think that you occupied this island by force, and then changed the name on your own, and this place belongs to you?"

"No, no, no, what we want to discuss is not the historical ownership of this island, but its actual ownership at this stage." Of course, Van Longen knew that this place used to belong to Ming's overseas enclave. If we really want to discuss historical ownership, then It must be that he couldn't talk to the other party, so he quickly changed his words.

"If you want to talk about the current stage, well, the island is now occupied by a group of South China Sea pirates. Even if you want to talk, you should talk to the pirates. What are you talking about with us?" Gu Kai retorted with a look of disdain.The Dutch actually expected to gain the upper hand in a verbal confrontation, which seemed to Gu Kai wishful thinking—if you want to talk about it, I am a professional!

"Of course we won't let go of those daring pirates! But before that, Haihan must also stop using force against the local area!" Van der Wegen saw that Van Longen couldn't argue with the other party, and hurriedly chimed in.

Gu Kai shook his head and said: "Why do you dictate to us? The actual ownership of this island is not in your hands now, and the target we plan to fight is not you. After all, what are we going to do on Ambuna Island? What is the direct relationship with you?"

"No, sir, the ownership of the Natuna Islands belongs to the East India Company. I must emphasize this point again. The group of pirates temporarily occupying the local area does not have such power!" Van Longen felt that he was being led in circles by the other party. Halo, quickly re-examined the position again.

"Then let me ask you, how did your company get the right to own the place? Did you go to Beijing and kneel down and beg the Emperor of Ming Dynasty to cede the place to you? Or did you buy it from Daming with money?" Gu Kai sneered. Zhise said: "If yes, please show us the relevant documents to prove that you have obtained the local ownership in a legal and reasonable way."

"This..." Van Longen immediately misfired.Of course, the East India Company would not use the method Gu Kai said to obtain the ownership of the colonies. At the beginning, they only sent armed personnel to occupy the islands. Although there were no legal and reasonable procedures, isn't this the most normal method? ?

Gu Kai did not wait for Van Longen to answer, and continued: "The East India Company used force to seize control of the area, and you took it for granted, but when others use the same means on you, you will Dissatisfied?"

"I protest, there is a difference! Our East India Company represents the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and those pirates are just pirates!" Although Van Longen's momentum has not diminished, he has already seemed a little bit harsh, because he also knows , if everything is based on force, then the East India Company probably won't be able to take much advantage of Haihan's opponent.

"You're right. Of course everyone shouts and beats pirates. There's nothing to say about that. But we, Haihan, are not pirates. Our military action against Abuna Island has been authorized by the Ming government. The Qiongzhou government of the Ming Empire issued a letter of entrustment, and the military actions we have taken represent the Ming Empire, and any opposition and resistance will be regarded as a provocation against Daming." Gu Kai paused, and said word by word: "You guys In the same way we took the Ambuna Islands, we will take them back now!"

Gu Kai's words were so straightforward that the two Dutchmen didn't know how to refute them.Of course, they can also deny that the Ming Dynasty still has the right to rule the area, but they cannot deny that the East India Company did occupy the area by force, and did not get the permission and understanding of the original owner in the process.To put it bluntly, this world is ultimately ruled by the law of the jungle. The Dutch understand that their opponents also understand that even negotiations are based on this rule.The weaker side is not qualified to formulate the rules of the game.

The East India Company was not afraid of the Ming Empire’s upsetting, because they knew very well that this empire had no time to take care of a small sea enclave far away from its homeland, nor was it capable of sending troops to take back its ownership from the East India Company.But the problem is that the Haihan people have a different approach from Daming. They have no scruples about using troops abroad, and they are not afraid of war.The most important thing is that the Haihan people have no fear in the face of the East India Company on the battlefield, and they can faintly gain the upper hand, which is a level that Ming Dynasty cannot achieve.If one wanted to threaten Haihan into submitting from a military point of view, the possibility of success was obviously very slim.

"If you insist on going your own way, it will affect the future maritime trade relations with Western countries!" Van Longen also knew that his side seemed to have no advantage in force, so he could only use maritime trade as a negotiation condition.

The East India Company still has a certain amount of confidence on this issue. After all, the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait, the two main waterways connecting the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, are currently in the hands of the East India Company.Even hundreds of years later, these two places are still important nodes in the world's sea lanes.Mastering the control of this golden position is equivalent to mastering the maritime trade power of the Eastern and Western worlds.It was for this that the East India Company spent decades competing with Portugal for control of the region, and eventually gained the upper hand.

At present, goods from Daming, North Korea, Japan, Ryukyu and other countries in the Far East are transported to Europe. Most of them enter the Indian Ocean from this strait by sea, cross the Indian Ocean, bypass the Arabian Peninsula, enter the Red Sea, and transship in Egypt to enter the Mediterranean Sea. , and then shipped to Southern European countries.Commodities shipped from Europe basically followed this route, and after arriving in Batavia and other places in South Asia, maritime groups such as the East India Company took over the transportation and distribution in the subsequent stages.Van Longen's threats were not just empty words. The East India Company did have such capabilities, but he was still inevitably ridiculed by his opponents again.

Schneider, who had been silent all this time, finally turned on the mocking mode: "Mr. Van Longen, you have lived here for a week, I don't know if you have noticed the furnishings and decorations here, isn't this place much more comfortable than the dark castle where European nobles live? ?There are both Eastern ceramics and Western glass products. In fact, we can produce all kinds of commodities that you have shipped from Europe. Whether it is glass, spices, weapons, or all kinds of products that you are proud of A handicraft, as long as we are willing, we can produce it at a lower cost and sell it to your former sales target. If you want to interrupt the trade, very good, please just do it. I believe that the final loss is not We are Haihan."

How could Van Longen have not noticed the environment here? The three of them ate and slept this week. The radius of their activities is this house, and they have studied it countless times.The comfort level of the furnishings in this house was indeed far beyond that of all the aristocratic residences that Van Longen had visited in the past.Although there are no gorgeous gold and silver ornaments here, whether it is the bathroom facilities made of ceramics, or the transparent glass doors and windows, as well as the high-elastic mattress cushions made of unknown methods, they all made Van Longen and the two The companions were amazed.

In the three daily meals, he also noticed that the Haihan people's use of seasoning and spices is much stronger than that of Europe, and many new spice crops that he did not know before were added to the dishes.If the Haihan people are not intentionally showing off their financial resources, it can only mean that they have fully mastered the methods of growing these spice crops, and this is indeed a big deal for the Dutch who are still looking for spice planting places in Southeast Asia hit.

As for weapons, Haihan's performance in Fujian has fully proved their technological superiority in armament manufacturing.Ever since the Fujian Ming army began to replace the standard weapons provided by Haihan, the local battle situation has undergone obvious changes. Shibazhi, who originally had a certain advantage, has been defeated repeatedly. Fujian is a good deal.Although I don't know how the Haihan people did it, one thing is certain, the Ming Empire, the largest potential customer in the Far East, is unlikely to buy weapons from the Netherlands or other European countries in the future.

Speaking of which, it seems that Western countries do not have any advantage in supply of goods, especially the goods that the East India Company, based on maritime trade, can transport from Europe to the Far East, and most of them are produced in Sanya, and the quality is very high. , varieties and prices seem to be more competitive.If the East India Company tried to cut off the supply of certain commodities, Haihan would indeed have the possibility to take the opportunity to replace them.

"You are provoking the East India Company by doing this!" Van Longen didn't know how to refute the Haihan people. The cards in the opponent's hand were obviously better than his own, and the feeling of being suppressed by the opponent every time he made a move was really uncomfortable. .

"No, no, Mr. Special Envoy, you forgot that we are still at war, and there is no question of provocation." Gu Kai reminded with a smile: "I don't think you will forget that you are here so soon. A fight in Fujian, right?"

How could it be possible to forget that Van der Wegen present here was one of the witnesses at that time, but because the result of that battle was too one-sided, Van der Wegen did not have the face to expose his shortcomings on this occasion.

"How about this, let's talk about other things outside the South China Sea first, if you have related issues." Gu Kai saw that the two Dutchmen had nothing to say, so he took the initiative to change the topic.

However, Van Longen did not forget Governor Cohen's advice before departure, shook his head and said: "The ownership of the Natuna Islands is the bottom line of our negotiations, if we cannot reach an agreement on this issue, then there is no need to discuss other matters." .”

Gu Kai and Schneider exchanged glances, then got up to leave, suggesting to talk tomorrow.Van Longen also wanted to reorganize his thoughts and try to save some face in the subsequent negotiations, and he also agreed with this proposal.

After the two Haihan people left, Su Keyi learned about the content of the negotiation intermittently from the two of them.After listening, he couldn't help sighing: "The situation is too unfavorable for us. We don't have any conditions to blackmail Haihan. They can even ignore us."

"Don't the Haihan people really need to buy goods from the West? I always feel that it is impossible for them to achieve self-production in all fields." Van Longen frowned.

"As far as I know, there are a few things that Haihan imports in large quantities all year round." Su Keyi replied thoughtfully.

"Let's talk about it, maybe we can start from this aspect." Van Longen immediately urged.

"One is the canvas produced in India. The Ming merchants bought as much as they could buy, and these canvases were resold to Sanya and used on the sailboats of the Haihan people. You two may have noticed that their boats The sails are not the same as the hard sails of Ming Dynasty, but the soft sails of Western sailing ships. But I heard that the Portuguese are also ordering canvas from India for the Haihan people, so it may be difficult to completely block this business." Su Keyi introduced .

Van Longen thought it was true. The Portuguese still had quite a few colonies in the Indian peninsula. If they wanted to completely ban the sale of canvas to Haihan, it would be difficult for the East India family alone to operate it.

"The second kind of goods is people." The words that Su Keyi blurted out surprised both Van Longen and Van der Wegen.

Su Keyi explained: "The Haihan people have been continuously importing people from the outside world. Annan and Daming are their main sources. As far as I know, the Portuguese are also constantly helping them import slave populations. Last year at least Fifteen Portuguese slave ships arrived in Sanya to traffic black slaves to Haihan."

"Why have we never heard of this news?" Van der Wegen asked suspiciously.

"The Portuguese will definitely not take the initiative to publicize these news. This is all witnessed by the Daming maritime merchants who have been to Sanya and have trade relations with the Haihan people." Su Keyi paused and added: "Of course they will not take the initiative to report You Dutch talk of such things."

(End of this chapter)