1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 944 Resource Integration
At the end of 1633, the island of Annabuna in the Far East became the focus of attention of various forces in the South China Sea. South China Sea Trade Alliance talks.

As a non-government force that has not yet established a country, it is absurd for Haihan to take the lead in organizing various countries to participate in this plan, but it is reasonable if measured by hard power.Regardless of human, material and financial resources, the current Haihan can be regarded as a rising star in the South China Sea region, and even a thigh that some countries are vying to embrace.If any other party came forward to organize this matter, I am afraid that they would not have the appeal that Haihan possessed.

The most prominent among the guests at the meeting is probably Van Diemen, the current governor of the Dutch East India Company.All other countries or organizations sent representatives to participate in this meeting, and only the East India Company was the boss himself.Of course, this is also related to the current difficult situation of the East India Company. They are still in a state of war with the most powerful country in South Asia, Matalam. The living space in the Far East is bound to be further compressed.Moreover, the country of Matalam also sent a commissioner to participate in the meeting this time. If Matalam and Haihan colluded together, the consequences would be unimaginable.In addition to obtaining the best conditions for joining the East India Company during this trip, Van Diemen also tried his best to prevent the terrible situation where Mataram and Haihan teamed up to deal with their own.

In addition, Fan Dimen also needs to personally confirm that the "South China Sea Multi-National Trade Alliance" that Yan Chujie boasted to him in the previous negotiations is not a fantasy, but a large-scale international trade organization that is about to take shape.If this trade alliance can really work as Yan Chujie said, then the East India Company really needs to seriously consider the necessity of joining it and the consequences of being excluded from this trade alliance.

It was the first time for Van Diemen to set foot in the area under the rule of Haihan. He always felt that the adjectives described by other people as powerful, rich, and stable were exaggerated, but this time he came to Port of Anbuna. It is an intuitive experience.He had visited this place twice in his early years, but when he visited again, he found that this place was quite different from what he had imagined.In the two years since Haihan occupied this place, Port of Ambuna has completely changed its appearance and turned into another look.

As the rumors say, Haihan's pier is actually made of that expensive and hard-to-buy "cement". The ground is very flat, not at all muddy and muddy like the Batavia port Rubbish.The dock berths have special freight passages, and the tracks laid on the ground allow wagons full of goods to quickly enter and leave the port area under the pull of animal power. Coupled with the tall booms on the dock, the efficiency of cargo loading and unloading is extremely high.He also noticed that the guide signs on the wharf used Chinese and Spanish at the same time. This was the first time he had seen this practice in the Far East, which also showed that there must be a lot of European businessmen who came and went here on weekdays.

The scale of Ambuna Port is small, but although the sparrow is small, it has all kinds of internal organs. All kinds of equipment and various management systems owned by Haihan in port operations have also been applied to this small port in the South China Sea.Van Diemen is an expert who has been engaged in maritime trade for many years. He has been to countless docks and ports. He can see a lot of knowledge from the layout and operation of this port. It didn't take him much time to confirm one thing. Han was able to rise through maritime trade in just a few years, not by luck.Such a level of port operation is definitely the result of long-term accumulation and continuous improvement.

In the past, the Port of Ambuna, which was managed by the Dutch, had no dock facilities at all except for a few trestles at the port dock. Compared with the port under the management of Haihan, it can only be described as rudimentary.Ask yourself, Van Diemen will also think that the Port of Ambuna under Haihan's rule will be more attractive to merchant ships and civilian ships passing through this sea area,

In Van Diemen's view, some measures and port equipment are not unique to Haihan, but the cost of their large-scale application is too high, and it is unlikely that general ports will be as extravagant as Haihan.For example, the freight tracks laid on the wharf, Batavia Port actually has similar settings, but they are usually wooden rails or at most covered with iron sheets on the outer layer, but the rails in the Port of Ambuna are not such cheap equipment .Van Diemen has confirmed that these tracks are all rolled from genuine steel, and their cost is far beyond that of wooden tracks.Moreover, there are neither iron mines nor iron smelting plants on this island. Presumably, all these rails were manufactured in Sanya and transported across the sea, and then installed locally.Haihan people are so willing to invest in the port infrastructure, it is no wonder that businessmen who have been to Haihan Port will praise its operational efficiency and port environment.

This is just a small supply port in the South China Sea. Sanya, the capital of Haihan, is known as the number one trading port in the South China Sea, and its construction level is even higher.Looking back at the port of Batavia, which the East India Company spent more than ten years building, Van Diemen inexplicably felt a sour feeling in his heart. So many Dutch people came to the Far East one after another, spending countless efforts over the past ten years Wealth, the result is not as good as a group of nouveau riche who fell from the sky.It has only been six or seven years since the Haihan people landed in Sanya, but the territory and construction achievements they control have far surpassed the East India Company. This is really a helpless tragedy for the Dutch.

"Welcome to Ambuna Island, Mr. Van Diemen!" Hai Han also paid enough attention to Fan Diemen's arrival. Yan Chujie came to the port to meet him in person, and also arranged a special high-end carriage as a means of transport.

The special feature of this special carriage is that all the parts outside the carriage are finished products brought over from time travel, and its comfort is far beyond that of the carriages of this era.However, there are not many such carriages in total. In the control area outside Sanya, only Guangzhou and Abuna Island have one each, and the one on Abuna Island was specially shipped by Schneider when he went south. Came here for facade.

The reason why it is so rare is that there are too few spare parts, and it is difficult to replace the tire bearings after they are worn out. Haihan's existing industrial capacity is limited, and the quality of the spare parts that can be produced is quite poor.This kind of high-end carriage will only be dispatched on more important occasions.

In the days following Van Diemen's arrival on Ambuna Island, representatives from other parties also arrived.The last person to arrive here was Ajisa, a representative from Johor. He arrived the day before the meeting, almost by the hour.The reason why he was almost late is also very subtle, because Haihan "invaded" the territory of Johor a few days ago and had an armed conflict with the Johor army.The Johor army suffered a lot of casualties in the conflict, which made the Sultan of Johor very dissatisfied.Originally, Johor was invited to attend this meeting, but after this incident, the Sultan of Johor planned to cancel the arrangement of sending people to the meeting. It was only under the persuasion of the ministers that he gave the Johor representative who came to the meeting this time Added a task of invoking the teacher.

After seeing Yan Chujie, Ajisha immediately conveyed the dissatisfaction of the Sultan of Johor to him, and asked Haihan to withdraw from the local occupied area immediately, and compensate Johor for the losses suffered by the armed conflict before that.

After Yan Chujie listened quietly to Ajisha's complaint and request, he asked calmly: "I just have one question. Is there any evidence for your country's claim of sovereignty over the local area? As far as we know, that island It's just an uninhabited island."

Of course, Yan Chujie was well aware of the recent situation on Xingdao, and also expected that the Johor Kingdom would probably not swallow it, and would probably take advantage of this opportunity to participate in the meeting on Abunana Island to attack Haihan.However, Johor is a disadvantaged group in the Malacca area. Most of the time, it is suppressed by the Aceh and Portuguese. Even if they come to ask questions, there is no means of retaliation that can pose a substantial threat to Haihan.Since the people of Johor believe that the dispute is a matter of territorial sovereignty, Yan Chujie decided to use this to counter the other party's formulation.

Ajisha retorted: "Our citizens lived on that island in the past, and there are many relics left by them to prove it!"

"You yourself said that it was just the past, and no one of your citizens lives on the island now. Could it be that as long as it is a place where your country's citizens have lived, it can be regarded as your country's territory?" Yan Chujie laughed: "This principle is arbitrary. Can't make sense anywhere?"

Ajisha is also straightforward, and didn't notice the trap left by Yan Chujie, and immediately retorted: "The place where our citizens live is of course our country. Is there any controversy about this?"

"According to this statement, Lord Ajisha came to Ambuna Island to attend the meeting this time, and after staying here for ten and a half months, Ambuna Island will also become your country's territory?" Yan Chujie asked back with a smile: " Isn't that ridiculous?"

Ajisha said angrily: "In the historical records of our country, there are also relevant records that can prove that this place is our country!"

Yan Chujie shook his head and said, "What you talk about is not recognized by other countries. How can it be used as evidence? Will the countries closest to Johor recognize your territorial claims?"

Ajisha was choked by Yan Chujie's rhetorical question. Of course, Johor's own written records contain content about Xingdao, but it is impossible to get the approval of neighboring countries. The closest country to Johor is Aceh and the Portuguese on Sumatra Island, and these two countries and Johor are endless enemies, it is impossible to stand on the side of Johor.As for other countries such as Mataram and Siam, it goes without saying that it is not a big deal to watch the excitement, and it is unlikely to offend Haihan for the sake of Johor.

Yan Chujie didn't wait for Ajisha to think about how to deal with it, so he continued: "According to Master Ajisha's theory, if there are citizens who live in the local area for a period of time, they can take this area as their own. Then those who have settled on this island recently But they are all from Haihan, according to your theory, this place should also belong to Haihan."

Ajisha said angrily: "You are sophistry! You are invading Johor!"

Yan Chujie shook his head and said, "You are wrong again. You can't prove that it is the territory of Johor, so how can you talk about the invasion?"

Ajisa said: "We Johoreans will never bow to anyone on the battlefield! Perhaps you should carefully consider what you just said!"

Yan Chujie smiled and said: "That's a coincidence, we Haihan people also have the same habit. If your country wants to go to war, then we will accompany you to the end. But I want to remind your country that once a war starts, we Haihan probably won't fight." It will be done like the Portuguese. We prefer to solve problems once and for all rather than skirmish back and forth."

"You are threatening us!" Ajisha was so angry that the flesh on his cheeks trembled.

"If you think so, I don't want to make any more excuses." After Yan Chujie spoke harshly, he changed the subject and gave the other party another step: "However, I suggest that Mr. Ajisha can take advantage of this time to come to Unbuna Island. Opportunity, first listen to the opinions of all parties involved in our establishment of this trade alliance, and think about whether to join us to gain more benefits, or to fight against us and become the public enemy of all countries."

"You are too alarmist! How can the territorial dispute between you and us make our country a public enemy!" Ajisha didn't quite believe Yan Chujie's warning.

Yan Chujie smiled and said: "That's because you haven't realized what this alliance means. After two days, you understand the mystery, and your thinking will definitely change."

"...What does this alliance mean? Do you think it is just a trade organization, allowing various countries to unify tariffs so that merchants can do business more fairly? No, it's not just that, the function of trade is just one of them, we I hope that this alliance can bring tangible benefits to all member countries, and only actual benefits can make this multinational organization stable and able to operate for a long time." Schneider looked at the participants present and said enthusiastically: "The essence of this alliance is to integrate resources and provide the most efficient and effective business services for all members. How we do this, please see here."

Schneider snapped his fingers, and someone next to him immediately removed the upper layer of the kanban behind him, revealing the content of the lower layer: "Look, everyone, what we have to do is to formulate unified trade standards, not just tariffs, It also includes shipping methods, settlement methods, etc. Anyone who has done business with Haihan has probably experienced the various conveniences Haihan provides in terms of trade, right? What we need to do now is to extend this operating mechanism to More countries will speed up the operation efficiency of goods and money in the international trading system, so that everyone can earn more money."

(End of this chapter)