1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 675
As Governor Cohen was worried, the identity of the Dutch often became an obstacle to obtaining intelligence information at this time. This has little to do with whether the intelligence department led by Henk worked hard. It is impossible for the Chinese to give them complete trust, just as it is impossible for them to fully trust the Chinese.Naturally, it is difficult for these news that have been passed down by word of mouth in the Chinese circle to flow into the ears of the Dutch high-level officials.

As the number of Daming maritime merchants who have been to Sanya has increased year by year, the development of Haihan in the past two years is no secret, and it has also spread to Batavia through various channels.Su Keyi's job was to deal with the Daming Maritime Merchant, so he naturally heard a lot of related information consciously or unconsciously.As for the Dutch, the top executives of the East India Company, they usually have direct contact with the maritime merchants of the Ming Dynasty. Even if they meet, they only discuss trade matters, and their friendship is far from the level of chatting about these anecdotes.

Seeing the stunned looks of the two, Su Keyi didn't bother to explain the reason in detail, so he continued: "It is said that when the Haihan people arrived in Sanya at the beginning of the Seventh Day of the Apocalypse, there were only a few hundred people. It is said that within a hundred miles of Sanya alone, there are 7 to [-] people working for it day and night. In Annan, Guangdong and other places, there are coastal areas controlled by Haihan, and the population under its jurisdiction is also It’s definitely not a small number. And Haihan’s demand for population seems to be endless, and only Daming and Annan can’t satisfy it, so the Portuguese are required to continue to traffic Kunlun slaves from Kunlun Prefecture.”

"You also said earlier that there are at least 10 people under Haihan's rule, so what is the approximate population of Qiongzhou Island?" Fan Longen asked.

"There should be 20, but the exact figure is not very clear. Qiongzhou was originally populated by Fucheng and Danzhou in the north. After the Haihan people settled down in the south, they managed Sanya into an island. It is the most prosperous area on the island. There are also tens of thousands of Li and Miao mountain people who live in the forest in the center of the island all year round." Su Keyi explained.

"That's quite a lot!" Van Longen felt even heavier after hearing this answer.Although the East India Company also claimed to have tens of thousands of employees, they were all scattered in the colonies of the Far East, and did not have a sphere of influence with a relatively concentrated population like Qiongzhou.The natives in Southeast Asia are naturally lazy and not as hardworking as the Chinese. Production and construction projects such as farming and infrastructure that require a large amount of labor are often slow due to low labor efficiency.It is almost impossible to build a prosperous port city like Sanya in more than four years like the Haihan people in Southeast Asia.According to Van Longen, Batavia has been established for more than ten years, but the urban area and port may not be as decent as Sanya.

However, the city of Batavia is larger than the Fort Victory at the foot of the mountain. Of course, this is understandable. It is said that there are only a few hundred pure Haihan people who came across the sea. How could they build a large city by themselves in the early stage.Moreover, it is said that there are extremely powerful coastal defense fortifications on the coast near Shengli Port, and the Haihan people don't need to build a strong city to ensure their own safety.But when it comes to maritime trade, Sanya has a geographical advantage that Batavia does not have, that is, it is very close to Annan and Daming, and naturally has two markets with huge potential, and the Haihan people are also descendants of Chinese, and trade with Daming There is no obstacle, and there is no need to entrust a middleman to trade in the form of smuggling like the East India Company.

It is reasonable to say that using force may not win the battle, and trade sanctions are what people want, and they seem to be at a disadvantage compared to the development potential. After thinking about it one by one, Van Longen was very frustrated to find that he really had no advantage at all. Zhan, how can you negotiate terms with the other party in this negotiation?Only then did he realize that this errand was completely different from what he had imagined before he set off. Before he set off, he just thought that this mission might be dangerous, but now it seems that his personal safety will not be a problem, but the content of the negotiation is completely At an impasse.

Cohen had already set a bottom line for them that could not be changed before they set off, but he failed to give them any trump card that could really threaten Haihan, which caused an extremely passive situation in their negotiation process.Obviously, the Haihan people would not take the initiative to make concessions in this situation. Although the negotiation took only half a day, the Dutch delegation seemed to be at the end of their rope.

"If we can't think of an exchange condition that can make the Haihan people feel nervous, then our trip will probably end in vain." Van Longen scratched his head and thought for a long time, but finally he could only come up with such a helpless answer.

At the same time, Schneider and Gu Kai were happily describing today's negotiation process to the other executive committee members.The fact that the Dutch sent envoys to seek negotiations this time was basically within the expectations of the Executive Committee.At that time, people were sent south to submit a diplomatic letter to the East India Company. The Executive Committee did have the idea of ​​provoking the other party. If the Dutch were very unsteady and wanted to take military action against the Abunana Islands and even Sanya, then Haihan could take advantage of it. Taking this opportunity to teach the Dutch a lesson, there will be more reasons to take further actions in the future.However, the Dutch seemed to have not recovered from the successive defeats, and did not rush to send troops again. Instead, they chose to follow the Wendou route and sent a mission to negotiate with Haihan.

However, in the eyes of the executive committee, this method is nothing new. It is nothing more than trying to delay time through negotiations, and the exchange terms they can propose during the negotiation process are even weaker.Schneider and Gu Kai had sprayed the Dutch envoy so badly that they couldn't tell the difference between east, west, and north.

"These two Dutchmen are obviously not professionals in the diplomatic field. They probably don't even have a negotiation outline." Schneider commented unceremoniously: "I'm not proud, let Gu Kai and I talk to them today, In fact, it’s really a bit of a sledgehammer.”

"It's absolutely possible to ask Xiaobao to come forward and talk to them." Gu Kai also made no secret of his attitude: "Talking with this kind of layman is really a waste of our time."

"This is all based on the fact that we can beat them. If we lose in Fujian, guess what kind of face they will have?" Yan Chujie said with a smile: "So don't give all the credit to the two of you. Take it away, our military also has a share!"

"Negotiating with the Dutch, you can indeed let it go for now." Tao Donglai, who had just entered the conference room, raised the document in his hand: "Qiao Zhiya sent a telegram from Changhua, and the steel factory over there will soon It is about to go into production, and asked if we would like to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the past.”

Haihan started the construction project from Changhua to Shilu in June 1629, building a freight railway from Changhua Port to the inland Shilu mining area, and at the same time began to build a coal-iron composite industrial base in Changhua.During these two years, Haihan Lu successively mobilized more than 6 immigrants to settle in the local area, and changed the main service place for prisoners of war to Shilu. After nearly 20 months of labor by nearly [-] people, Changhua—— ——Shilu's freight track was successfully opened to traffic, Shilu Iron Mine was put into mining, and the last link of the iron and steel smelter was finally put into operation.The metal ore transported from the deep mountains of Shilu will meet in Changhua with the coal transported from Annan Black Earth Port to produce a large amount of steel required for the construction of a modern industrial system.

Of course, in terms of the production conditions of this century, even if Changhua is dubbed as a "coal-iron composite industrial base", the actual production capacity in the eyes of the time traveler is far inferior to the forced production before the time travel. A small iron and steel enterprise that was shut down and converted.However, in this era, it is quite eye-catching. After the completion of several phases of the planned projects in a few years, the steel production in Changhua alone will exceed the combined production capacity of all countries in the Far East.

And Qiao Zhiya has been diligent and conscientious ever since she fell to work on the construction site to supervise the repair of the railway. In the past two years, except for the anniversary, Qiao Zhiya has basically never returned to Sanya. The time was spent on the field construction site, which really deserves the words of hard work and merit.Of course, the treatment given to him by the executive committee has also improved a lot compared to before. Qiao Zhiya can be said to be a real local emperor in the local area. Once the military and government are caught, he can directly make decisions on big and small matters. His power is no more than that of Danzhou and Qiongzhou. Administrative officials.Moreover, due to the special nature of the local industry, it is no longer administratively divided under the jurisdiction of any existing state capital, but a genuine area directly under the jurisdiction of the Executive Committee.

"For such a big event, people must be involved." Gu Kai was the first to express his opinion: "Qiao Zhiya has really worked hard outside the past few years, and the executive committee sent a representative to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which is also a kind of affirmation of his work. "

"Then you go." Tao Donglai immediately ordered: "I just heard you say that the negotiation is not passionate, so put aside the matter at hand and go to Changzhou. The ribbon will be cut next week, and you will leave tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, which is about the same time.”

"I...I have other things on hand!" Gu Kai was not very willing to go to Changhua for a business trip, and there seemed to be no other special features of the place except for the soot all over his face.

"Don't push back the tasks assigned to you by the organization!" Tao Donglai put the telegram in front of him: "That's it. Later, you can ask the Shipping Department to arrange the shipping schedule for you, so don't miss the time."

"Then...well, I'll just make this trip reluctantly." Gu Kai shook his head and reluctantly accepted the errand.

So when the Dutch continued to negotiate the next day, they found that the Haihan people present had changed their lineup. Gu Kai, who had appeared the day before, had disappeared and was replaced by Yu Xiaobao, the young man who had dealt with him a few days ago.

Schneider and Yu Xiaobao are old acquaintances, and there is still a mentorship between the two.When the Guangzhou Office was established, Yu Xiaobao followed Schneider to Guangzhou and started his official career.After two or three years, the small follower from the fishing village managed to take charge of the work all the way, and then transferred back to Shengli Port to join the Youth League as the backbone. The future is bright.A few days ago, several members of the executive committee were already discussing to let him enter the foreign affairs department to exercise, and then the Dutch mission came to the door, which happened to give Yu Xiaobao a chance to perform.

In the negotiation with the Dutch mission, Haihan didn't think about reaching a specific result. Like the other party, they also wanted to procrastinate for time, so there was almost no reason for Yu Xiaobao to replace Gu Kai. Some people objected - anyway, Schneider was watching, and nothing major would happen.So Yu Xiaobao, who just turned [-], became the youngest naturalized civilian diplomat in the history of Haihan.

Yu Xiaobao has dealt with these people a few days ago, so it is not a matter of nervousness, but his English level is still at the level of nodding yes and shaking his head no, and he is definitely not at the level of come and go. Unable to communicate directly with the two Dutchmen, the only option is to talk to Su Keyi, who can speak Chinese.As a result, the way of negotiation took a 180-degree turn compared with the first day, and Su Keyi replaced the two Dutchmen as negotiators.

"Brother Baishuo is polite!" Yu Xiaobao followed the traditional etiquette as soon as he came up, and greeted Su Keyi.

Su Keyi also watched the negotiation process between the two Dutchmen who were incompatible with each other yesterday. Seeing that the opposite party has changed people today, he had already planned to use a different way to win the relationship, so as not to make the situation too rigid to talk, so he responded with a smile: "Yu You and I are both Chinese, it is fate to meet in this way here today, I am a few years older than you, if you don't mind, just call me Brother Su."

Before Yu Xiaobao responded to Su Keyi's tactic of soliciting relations, Schneider coughed dryly beside him and said, "To be serious, this is a state-to-state negotiation. What everyone wants to discuss is state affairs, which is a very serious matter. There's no need to solicit personal relationships like this, right?"

Su Keyi is usually a person who can speak well, so how could he stop here, and he continued after hearing the words: "Mr. Shi's words are wrong. Brother Yu and I hit it off right away, so what's the harm in making friends? , We are friends off the field, each has its own thing.”

Schneider thought in his heart that you still want to talk about me, but it's too easy to think, he smiled and said: "I don't know the relationship, you want to make friends with Xiaobao, well, I'll take care of the relationship first. Xiaobao, what is the relationship between you and me?"

Yu Xiaobao had been following Schneider for a long time, so he knew it naturally after listening to the string song, and quickly responded respectfully: "When discussing official affairs, it should be the relationship between superiors and subordinates; when discussing private affairs, it should be the relationship between master and apprentice."

Schneider nodded, turned to Su Keyi and said, "It's fine if you want to make friends with Xiaobao, but the relationship has to be sorted out. I'm his master, and you have to call me uncle in terms of seniority. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)