Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 337 River Fairy
On the second day after the meeting with Tao Weici, the negotiations that had been suspended for a few days resumed. Nguyen Phuc Yuan still did not show up, and the representative of Guangnan Kingdom was still Nguyen Phuc Khe, Duke of Xiang County.

However, this time, Nguyen Phuc Khi was very relentful: "Prime Minister, I have discussed with the civil and military officials these days. Kim Hoa wants Cambodia to cede some land in the lower reaches of the Mekong River, which is not a bad idea. In this way, our two countries will be neighbors, and we can cooperate more sincerely from now on."

"What the county lord said is exactly what I want." Lin Hai naturally took advantage of the situation and continued, "So your country intends to agree to the proposal proposed by me?"

"No, no, what Ruan means is that you and I can each occupy some prefectures and counties in the lower reaches of the Mekong River, but how to divide the border between the two sides needs further discussion..."

Nguyen Phuc Khe took out a map and gestured as he said, "Prime Minister, please see that the upper reaches of the Dong Nai River are not Cambodian territory, but Champa territory, and there are mountains along the way, so it is useless to take it. The lower reaches of the Mekong River are all flat land. If we follow the plan proposed by the Prime Minister, it will be unfair to Quang Nam."

It is not unreasonable to say that what Nguyen Phuc Khe said. The proposal put forward by Lin Hai was to use the Guzhan River, the easternmost part of the Mekong River system, as the boundary. In reality, it was equivalent to dividing more than half of the Mekong Delta Plain, leaving not much for Guangnan.

Moreover, neither the Saigon River nor the Dong Nai River can lead to Oudong, the political center of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Phnom Penh, the economic center. These two cities are in the Mekong River Basin, making it easier for the Kingdom of Phnom Penh to control the political situation in Cambodia.

"Since the county lord says so, how about we switch places? Let's use the Guzheng River as the boundary, with Jinhe getting the east and Guangnan getting the west?"

Lin Hai was sure that the Nguyen Lord would never agree to the exchange, because the land to the east bordered Champa. More than ten years ago, Nguyen Phuc Yuan conquered Champa and gained some land, and turned it into his vassal state. In other words, the Nguyen Lord's sphere of influence could be connected to the Saigon River and Dong Nai River basins, and he would not give up this and ask for an enclave.

Furthermore, the land to the west claimed by the Kingdom of Jinhe is close to the Gulf of Siam. Although it is blocked by the Cardamom Mountains on land, it will have to face the navy of Siam and its vassal states on the Malay Peninsula at sea, which will further increase Guangnan's defense pressure.

More importantly, Guangnan currently does not have enough population to immigrate overseas, and they do not have the ability to develop the Mekong River basin on a large scale.

The flow of the Mekong River is very large during the rainy season. Despite the regulation of the Tonle Sap Lake, its lower reaches are still a swamp. In contrast, the climate in the Saigon River basin is much drier, which is very beneficial for early development, after all, the demand for water conservancy projects is lower, but the long-term potential is not as good as the Mekong River.

Because periodic floods are a double-edged sword, they can bring fertility to the land. Whether it is the Nile River or the Tonle Sap Lake, they all rely on this to develop brilliant civilizations.

"Prime Minister, I'm afraid this is inappropriate. The land of Chaigun was given by the Buddha's son-in-law as a gift to Lord Taishan. How can we give it away?" Nguyen Phuc Khe refused outright.

“That sounds very high-sounding…” Lin Hai cursed in his heart. He knew very well that Guangnan did not have the strength to develop the lower reaches of the Mekong River. After all, the Nguyen Lords were only recruiting immigrants by exiling prisoners. Even the Saigon River basin was developed by the Ming Dynasty survivors half a century later.

At that time, Yang Yandi's troops were stationed in My Tho, which later belonged to Dinh Thuong, while Chen Shangchuan's troops were stationed in Panlu, which later belonged to Bien Hoa. These two places are located on both sides of the Saigon River, and they were the beginning of the development of this area. As for the west of the Mekong River, it was a little later and was developed by Yu Jiu, a Leizhou native who was dissatisfied with the Qing Dynasty's rule.

"Then according to your opinion, how should the boundary between the two countries be divided?" Lin Hai was actually unwilling to exchange with Guangnan. He valued the long-term potential of the Mekong River Basin and the value of sea power in the Gulf of Siam. As the saying goes, honey to one is poison to another. "The land of Chaigun was originally promised to Guangnan by the former king of Cambodia. This place is already our territory..." Nguyen Phuc Khi began to speak loudly, "If it is your opinion, the boundary between our two families should be the Houjiang River."

The so-called Hau Giang is one of the two major tributaries of the Mekong River below Phnom Penh. It is also the westernmost estuary of the lower reaches of the Mekong River. This plan is equivalent to taking away eight of the nine major estuaries of the Mekong River, and the last one will be shared by the two countries.

To be honest, Lin Hai was a little annoyed at this time. In fact, whether it was Jinhe or Guangnan, it was impossible to occupy such a large area in the short term. However, he planned to sign the Tripartite Treaty after the war. Although these treaties might not really work, they might become legal basis in the future.

"How about this: the Jin River is the boundary of the Houjiang River, and the Guangnan River is the boundary of the Saigon River. The land in between still belongs to Cambodia. What do you think?"

This is actually equivalent to both sides taking a step back. No one has the ability to occupy so much anyway, so they might as well take less. As for the middle area, which is the most difficult to develop, it still belongs to Cambodia on the surface, but in reality it is just left for future resolution. After all, Cambodia is already a fish on the chopping board and does not even have the right to participate in this negotiation.

In other words, whoever migrates faster and has a bigger fist will be more likely to occupy the middle ground in the future. Historically, Vietnam occupied the Mekong Delta by constantly creating fait accompli and then forcing Cambodia to submit.

Nguyen Phuc Khi really couldn't talk any more, and he felt that Jinhe had a small population and a long journey, so in the long run they would definitely not be able to compete with Guangnan, so he agreed with this proposal in his heart.

However, he did not have the power to make the decision, so he replied: "What the king said seems feasible, but Ruan still needs to consult my brother."

Lin Hai nodded and smiled, "In that case, I will return to the residence first and wait for good news from the Duke."

A few days later, Nguyen Phuc Yuan finally agreed, and recovered from his cold. He once again hosted a banquet for Lin Hai, and both sides enjoyed themselves very much.

According to this final plan, what the Jinhe Kingdom actually obtained was the territory of the Ha Tien Port Kingdom during its heyday, which was the country established by the overseas Chinese Ou Jiu in the second half of the 18th century.

In fact, this is not Lin Hai's bottom line. His bottom line is very low. It is enough to get the territory when Ou Jiu first founded the country. At that time, the Hexian Kingdom only occupied the coast of the Gulf of Siam.

This is enough for Lin Hai. After all, the first step to reach cooperation is the most important. Without Guangnan’s support, it will be difficult for Jinhe Kingdom to stabilize the situation in Cambodia.

As for what happens in the future, it all depends on one's ability. In any case, Guangnan will not be able to actually control the mouth of the Mekong River within a century, while Huiyou Company has a huge population base behind it.

Nguyen Phuc Khi thought that Jinhe was a country with few people and a long distance, which was undoubtedly a mistake. Even Nguyen Phuc Nguyen and Tao Weici, the wise rulers and wise ministers, would never have thought that Lin Hai might be able to rule the Forbidden City in the future!
(End of this chapter)