1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 691 Negotiation Results
"Implement joint management of the Abunana Islands?" Tao Donglai couldn't help laughing after hearing the report: "The Dutch are trying to save face forcibly! They even said such things as joint management... How did Xiaobao reply? Their?"

"Xiaobao is very aggressive. He only said that civilian ships are allowed to dock in the local area, and he doesn't mention management rights at all." Speaking of Yu Xiaobao, a proud student, Schneider also looked proud: "With these Dutch The envoys have been around for more than a month, and Xiaobao's progress is indeed obvious. I think that after this negotiation is over, Xiaobao can directly work in the Ministry of Commerce."

"What about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?" Gu Kai refused to agree: "Isn't it already arranged for Xiaobao to work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

"Let's slow down the affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There are too many things for the Autumn Fair. The Ministry of Commerce is simply too busy now. It needs to transfer someone to help. There are not many cadres like Xiaobao who can work without training. This candidate Just stop arguing with me for now." Schneider didn't even have the slightest intention of giving in.

"Let's put Xiaobao's job assignment aside for now, and let's talk about it when the business is done!" Tao Donglai had to pull back the direction of the conversation that was about to be distorted: "Since the Dutch are now showing a tendency to give in, let's strike while the iron is hot. Conclude the negotiations as soon as possible. It is best to avoid the eyes and ears of the Dutch as far as possible about the matter of the Autumn Fair, after all, there is a great conflict of interest with them."

The "conflict of interest" mentioned by Tao Donglai mainly refers to a series of trade agreements that Haihan will reach with all parties during the Autumn Fair.These trade agreements will help Haihan win over maritime merchants from various countries, making them use the various ports under Haihan's rule as their final destinations.And these measures will inevitably affect the daily trade of the East India Company. Those merchants who would have traveled thousands of miles to Batavia to conduct transactions may choose Haihan, which is closer and has significantly lower tax rates. The port serves as a distribution center for supplies.

Of course, distance and tax rates are not the only conditions that affect merchants' choices. Local market conditions, port conditions, products, security, and the government's attitude towards merchants are all external conditions that need to be considered comprehensively.After combining these conditions together, Haihan's advantages will be further highlighted.

Batavia can provide a lot of commodities, but now Hainan Island can also produce most of them, and what is lacking is only a few locally produced agricultural products, and the economic value is not high.On the contrary, the various Haihan special products produced in Hainan Island are often scarce products that cannot be seen in the Batavia market, and many types are limited to the market for a limited time, which means that only those who maintain the same relationship with Haihan Merchants with a good cooperative relationship, for example, voluntarily sign a reciprocal trade agreement with the Haihan Ministry of Commerce, so that they can have the opportunity to purchase these high-value and high-profit commodities.

In recent years, Batavia has opened up to the Chinese in terms of taxation. In order to attract more Chinese to settle in the area, the East India Company established the Capitan system and granted all local retail businesses, including coastal trade contracting rights, All were handed over to the Chinese leader Jiapitan.Among the 21 taxes levied by the Batavian authorities on retail, gambling, import and export trade, entertainment and other industries, the Chinese contracted 17 of them.From the perspective of tax rate alone, Haihan does not have a particularly obvious advantage. It is just that some details are better than the other party, such as the statistics of the value of goods and tax settlement methods, etc., and the operating efficiency is better than that of Batavia. of the Dutch are quite a bit taller.

In terms of port conditions, Haihan is obviously superior.The development and construction of every trading port in the area under the Haihan rule is very attentive. Although it is difficult to reach the level of later generations in terms of engineering technology, the developed areas and port designs are almost all based on the materials of later generations. The mechanical means of handling, widely used by the port management system, operated far more efficiently than its contemporary competitors.All merchant ships who have been to Haihan Port have obvious feelings. Whether it is loading and unloading cargo or going through customs clearance procedures, the time spent in Haihan Port is only about one-third of that of other places. They save the time it would take to make several extra trips each year.

As for safety, Haihan's undefeated record in recent years has already explained everything. No one will doubt whether Haihan has the ability to protect the safety of the port.Because even Shibazhi, the most powerful pirate gang in the Far East, suffered several defeats under Haihan's hands in recent years, and even the big boss of Zheng Zhihu's level died in Haihan's hands.In terms of combat results alone, the Haihan Navy's record in recent years has even surpassed that of the Daming Navy.An important reason for Haihan to station troops in Annan, Guangdong, and Fujian is to ensure the safety of Haihan-related business and trade.

This is not just talk. In the waters north of Hainan Island, from Annan to the entire coastline of Guangdong, there are almost no pirates anymore, because they have all been wiped out by the Haihan militia.And the defeat of the unlucky Dutch in the Ambuna Islands has been deliberately publicized by some interested people-the Dutch can't even deal with a group of pirates, so how to protect the lives and property of the sea merchants?
The various departments of Haihan used various methods to publicize the trade advantages of Hainan Island compared to Batavia to the businessmen from various countries participating in the Autumn Fair, explicitly or covertly, with the purpose of competing with Batavia for the South China Sea trade. central position.If the Dutch envoys find out what Haihan is doing, there is no doubt that it will explode immediately. This is much more serious than the armed conflict in Fujian and the dispute over the sovereignty of small islands in the South China Sea. It is not only the city of Batavia that will be shaken. Prospects, but also the trade base of the entire East India Company.

Of course, with the end of the Autumn Fair, Haihan's methods will spread to Batavia through various channels sooner or later, but it will be next year at the earliest when the East India Company responds.And this period of time is enough for Haihan to complete the fortifications on Anbuna Island and prepare for the battle plan against Shibazhi in Fujian.At that time, the East India Company has lost its opportunity if it wants to turn its face again.

Five days later, the negotiations between the East India Company and Haihan finally came to an end, and the two sides signed a draft peace agreement.Of course, this draft cannot take effect immediately, because it is only the result of the current staged negotiations. The mission of the East India Company must return to Batavia with this draft, submit it to the board of directors for discussion and approval, and then notify Haihan's specific effective date.And if the board of directors of the company thinks that there is something wrong with the content of this draft, then there may be repetitions, and maybe they have to go to Sanya after making changes to continue bargaining with Haihan.

In this draft, the East India Company agreed in principle to suspend all forms of communication with the Shibazhi gang in Fujian and no longer provide any military assistance to it.However, out of consideration for its own interests, the East India Company also asked Haihan to keep the content of this agreement confidential and not publicize it, otherwise the agreement would automatically lose its validity.Haihan didn't have much objection to this, the executive committee only cared about the result, not the form.Taking a step back, the executive committee actually hopes that the East India Company will not really implement this agreement thoroughly. It is best to leave some clues, so that Haihan will take action against the Dutch stronghold on Taiwan Island in the future. There are better reasons.

As for the sovereignty dispute over the Abona Islands, the East India Company can only swallow its anger.Although in the agreement, the Middle East India Company did not admit that the ownership of the local area had changed to Haihan, but it also clearly promised not to expel the Chinese or Haihan on the island by force—this is already beyond the reach of Van Longen and others. The wording that came to mind was the most tactful and able to save the face of the East India Company. At least it seemed that the East India Company had taken the initiative from the literal point of view.Of course, as for the co-management and co-governance they requested, it was not mentioned in this draft at all. Supplies are available."

The East India Company made such a big concession, but of course it was not without quid pro quo.In fact, Van Longen also put forward corresponding requirements. For example, the Haihan side must promise not to support any third party and the East India Company's hostile actions, and must no longer provoke, intercept, or attack Dutch ships in the Fujian waters. The Dutch sailors captured in the Nanri Island naval battle in Fujian, and the previous claims made by Haihan against the East India Company, etc. were renounced.

These requirements are not too difficult for Haihan, and will not hinder Haihan's next series of development plans, so the executive committee did not make things difficult for him.As for any other changes in the future, the Executive Committee does not hesitate to directly tear up the so-called peace agreement.In fact, both parties are very clear in their hearts that the agreement reached this time only serves as a buffer. As long as there is a huge conflict of interests between the two parties, sooner or later they will continue to do so.

It was Gu Kai who finally signed on behalf of Haihan. After completing the draft agreement, both parties breathed a sigh of relief.The Dutch certainly felt that a catastrophe had been avoided, and the Haihan side also felt that a heavy burden had finally been relieved, and they no longer had to worry about the Dutch sending troops in the South China Sea all the time.Of course, driving away the Dutch mission that had been in Sanya for more than a month can be regarded as saving unnecessary daily expenses.In addition, the vacated villa will also come in handy immediately. There are too many foreign businessmen who have arrived in Sanya recently, and no matter what level of reception place they are, they are already in a hurry.

On October 1631, 10, the East India Company fleet led by Van Longen finally left Sanya Port and went home.Before departure, Van Longen and others were allowed to visit the business district near Victory Harbor and Landscape Avenue accompanied by diplomatic staff.And they finally got what they wanted, seeing with their own eyes how grand the "First Port in the South China Sea" that was called "the first port in the South China Sea" by the merchants of the Ming Dynasty was.

There is no doubt that the commercial atmosphere here far exceeds that of Batavia. The row upon row of shops and the fleet of merchant ships on the pier amazed the well-informed Van Longen. He believes that only a golden port like Amsterdam can compete with The prosperity of Sanya is on par.

In the 17th century, Amsterdam was the center of shipping and capital flow in Europe. A large number of merchant ships were sent from here to the Baltic Sea, North America, Africa and the far east. It can be said that the foundation of the global trade network originated from here.Among the stock holders of the East India Company, merchants in Amsterdam accounted for the majority, and this is also where the first stock exchange in the world appeared.Even when the current European war is raging, the prosperity of Amsterdam has not been greatly affected by the war, and it still maintains its status as the economic center of Europe.

After seeing the situation in Victory Harbor, Van Longen also realized how terrifying the Haihan people's construction capabilities were.It took nearly 14 years for Amsterdam to be built as a great port city, from being awarded the status of a city in the 17th century to becoming a European economic and trade center in the early 300th century.And it has only been a few years since the Haihan people came here, and they have developed a prosperous city. Although the size of the city here is far smaller than that of Amsterdam, just think about the short and terrible development history of this small city. Fan Longen couldn't help feeling vigilant.If the Haihan people are given ten, 20 or more years to develop, what will this place look like in their hands?

Before boarding the ship, Yu Xiaobao once again hit Van Longen hard with his intentional or unintentional words: "For a port city of the size of Sanya, there are at least two other sites under construction on this island."

What Yu Xiaobao was referring to was of course Qiongzhou Fucheng and Danzhou in the north. The natural conditions of those two places were not bad, and it was reasonable to develop into a regional business center in time.However, Van Longen obviously misunderstood a little bit. He thought that the other two places mentioned by Yu Xiaobao had already reached the size of a city like Sanya, and the estimate of Haihan's strength had to be raised to another level.

Van Longen was very grateful to be able to go to Haihan this time. If he hadn't come here to see the situation in Sanya with his own eyes, it would be hard for anyone to believe the rumors among the sailors, saying that the Haihan people in Sanya are rich and rich in steel. It was so inexhaustible that it was used to build large iron ships and put them in the port as a display. Coastal defense forts were built all over the mountains and plains, and there were hundreds of thick thigh artillery alone.After actually seeing it here, I realized that the absurd scenes in the rumors were actually true, and they couldn’t fully describe the prosperity of this place. The entire row of warships docked at the military pier on the east side of Victory Port alone made Van Longen He was horrified to see it - any one of them was taken out, and the tonnage was much larger than the flagship in his own fleet.

(End of this chapter)