Chapter 668: Peeling off the cocoon
Temporarily sending a mission to Sanya to negotiate with the Haihan people was itself an emergency measure to delay Haihan's military action against the Natuna Islands. The key to it was the word "quick". If it was too late, , Haihan had already taken action, so the East India Company could only watch helplessly as the Haihan people took away the Natuna Islands. If you want to get it back from them then, I'm afraid the difficulty level will have to rise a lot. Therefore, after the board of directors decided to adopt this method, intensive preparations for the trip began immediately that day.
The mission's team is still mainly composed of Van Longen and his fleet, but the nature of this mission is quite special, so Van Longen does not plan to take all the remaining merchant ships to Sanya, but only uses one large and one. Two small sailboats. Of course, there is another reason for doing this that is not very honorable, that is, when he fought on Natuna Island last time, almost all of his ships were damaged, and only temporary treatment was carried out during his stay in Taiyuan Port. Complete renovation can only be done after arriving in Batavia. At present, only two sailing ships in better condition can be selected to perform this task.
Van Longen's main responsibility is to expand maritime trade for the East India Company. Although he is proficient in military affairs, he is not a professional soldier, so this mission must be equipped with an officer - not only for the security of the mission, but more importantly After going to the local area, a knowledgeable person can be responsible for observing and collecting military intelligence of the Haihan people. As for the number of combat personnel, Van Longen's ship is originally an armed merchant ship, and it is also equipped with various weapons on a daily basis. The crew members basically have certain combat capabilities. As long as they are not fighting against professional navies, they can protect themselves at sea. The ability is still relatively strong.
The officer selected by Governor Cohen for the mission fleet was a little beyond everyone's expectations. The officer who took up this position was not a local officer stationed in Batavia, but Van der Wegen, who had just returned from Dalian Port as a defeated man. Cohen’s explanation for this is that Van der Wegen is currently the only senior officer who has had experience fighting the Haihan people on a frontal battlefield. By going to Sanya, he can more accurately identify military ships in the local port and obtain valuable military intelligence. Of course, he didn't know that the opponents Spikes and Van Longen encountered in the Natuna Islands were also affiliated with the Haihan Militia, except that the Fujian side was the navy, while the Natuna Islands were the army in disguise.
Van der Wegen was naturally grateful for such an appointment. He originally thought that when he returned to Batavia to report on his duties this time, he would have to shed his skin even if he did not die. Unexpectedly, Cohen not only did not punish him, but instead entrusted him with important tasks again. Although there is no need to fight for this mission, Van der Wegen is more determined than when he played in Fujian last time.
In addition, Cohen considered that the East India Company had never dealt with the Haihan people before, and it would be difficult to communicate smoothly with them by sending only two Dutch representatives. Therefore, it became necessary to appoint a Chinese as a special assistant to the mission. . Of course, there are many restrictions on this candidate. First of all, family members of Ming Shang or people with close relationships are not allowed, because these people are very likely to have inextricable interests with Haihan, and their credibility is not high.
When Cohen proposed creating this position, he already had a candidate in mind. When Cohen took office in 1619, he appointed his Chinese friend Su Minggang as the Chinese manager of Batavia, Kapitan. In the following ten years, all Kapitan positions were held by the Su family. East India When the company was carrying out business activities along the coast of Fujian, the Su family also sent people to participate and contribute. If there is any Chinese in Batavia that Cohen can trust, the Su family is definitely the one to do it.
Due to this special relationship, many people in the Su family are working for the East India Company, and some of them have fixed positions in the company. Su Minggang's nephew, Su Keyi, who is now in his early thirties, is one of them. He joined the East India Company as early as ten years ago, starting as a low-level dock cargo recorder and rising step by step to his current position as harbor master. The three docks he is currently responsible for managing have more than ten merchant ships entering and exiting the port every day. He has nearly a thousand employees of various ethnic groups under him. He is considered a powerful middle-level manager in the company. Of course, due to his Chinese identity, he is unlikely to get the opportunity to serve in special departments such as the military and intelligence. The best way out is to compete for the next few Kapitan positions.
Henk, who was in charge of intelligence affairs, did not question this selection arrangement, because he also knew that the Su family was indeed one of the few Chinese families in Batavia that was worthy of the company's trust. He rejected this selection, and it would take a while or so. It was difficult to find a better replacement, and time waited for no one. The Governor gave him two days to prepare. Even if Henk had any ideas, he could only take the overall situation into consideration and swallow his dissatisfaction first.
The night before the mission's fleet set off, Cohen summoned Van Longen, Van der Wegen and Su Keyi to give them face-to-face instructions.
"There are some things that cannot be said publicly in the board meeting, so I can only communicate with you in this private setting." Cohen only said a few words before he began to cough. Van der Wegen was the closest and immediately stepped forward to help him rub his back to relieve the cough.
After a while, Cohen finally stopped coughing, nodded to Van der Wegen, and then continued: "My physical condition is already very bad. If I stay in this position, I will lose one day. I originally planned to leave before the end of the year." He left office and went back to the Netherlands to recuperate, but it seems he can’t leave now.”
"Mr. Governor, we all need your command. I hope you can take good care of your health and serve as a beacon for the company for a few more years." Van Longen lost no time in flattering him.
"This is probably very difficult to achieve. I just hope that the current troubles, especially the Haihan people, can be dealt with before leaving office." Cohen was not in the mood to joke with Van Longen, and quickly returned to the topic: "Gentlemen, although we They responded in the shortest possible time, but I think they may have fallen far behind the Haihan people in terms of progress in capturing the Natuna Islands.”
"You mean, even if we rush to Sanya now, it might be too late to stop their actions?" Van Longen immediately understood what Cohen meant.
"They most likely found someone to send this diplomatic letter after they were well prepared to go to war." Cohen said while tapping the letter signed by Haihan Executive Committee on the table with his finger. letter. The letter was written in both Chinese and English. Cohen had read it over and over again, trying to figure out the meaning of the wording.
"If that's the case, then why do they use the words in the letter to anger us?" Van Longen asked in confusion. After hearing what Cohen said in the letter at the meeting two days ago, Van Longen was also furious and felt extremely humiliated.
"This is a warning and also a threat. The Haihan people want us to know that if we object to the ownership of the Natuna Islands, we must be prepared for a full-scale war with them." Cohen paused and emphasized. Tone: "This battlefield is not only in the Natuna Islands, but may also include Fujian." "Including Fujian..." Van Longen turned his head and looked at each other, and both of them saw concealment in each other's eyes. Constantly shocked.
"Judging from the fighting situation described by Van der Wegen, Haihan's attack on our fleet in Fujian was not an accidental armed conflict, but a premeditated military action. I have been wondering why they did this, And why should I let you go..." Cohen pointed to the letter on the table again: "It wasn't until I read this letter repeatedly that I figured out their purpose. Gentlemen, the Haihan people need to find a reasonable excuse to deal with it. We do it, that’s where it all comes from.”
"I'm sorry, sir, I don't quite understand what you mean..." Van der Wegen stammered in response.
"I think the Haihan people have actually regarded us as a competitor for a long time, and decided to start competing with us for maritime control in the Far East after they became fully fledged, but they need a reasonable reason that is acceptable to both internal staff and the outside world to start. War, after all, war is a very resource-consuming activity, and it may cause other outside forces to be wary of them." Cohen said slowly: "But the problem is that there has never been direct trade or communication between them and us. There is no reasonable excuse to fall out in diplomatic dealings. Under such circumstances, what do you think the Haihan people will do? ”
"Obviously, combating piracy is an excellent entry point." Su Keyi, who had been silent until now, suddenly took over and said, "Whether it is in Fujian or the South China Sea, combating piracy is a high-sounding reason."
"That's it." Cohen expressed his praise for Su Keyi's quick understanding of the spirit: "Since our policy in Fujian is to support the Shibazhi against the government, it is easy for the Haihan people to get the handle, and Hans has another At this time, they chose to send troops to assist in the war, and the Haihan people were able to take advantage of the situation. I heard that it took a long time for Da Yuan Port to prepare for the war and assemble near Nanri Island before the war started. The spies have sent the news back a long time ago, so the Haihan people can wait at ease on Nanri Island for you to deliver it to their doorsteps.”
Van der Wegen's face turned pale. Although he had reflected a lot after the defeat, and even thought that there might be leaks beforehand that led to his own being ambushed by the Haihan fleet, he never thought that the other party's behavior was so profound. Purpose.
Cohen continued: "You don't have to feel upset. Even if Hans did not choose to send troops at that time, sooner or later the Haihan people would find other opportunities to fight against you. As for why, we will know after we sort out the timeline."
Cohen opened a notepad on the table and began to read from it: "The pirates occupied Natuna Island. Based on what we know, it probably happened in April this year. The following May , the Haihan delegation went to Fujian, and in the name of revenge for the assassination of Shibazhi in Zhangzhou, they led the Ming army to capture Nanri Island. In June, Shibazhi sent people to ask Hans for help. At this time, Haihan seemed to have sent another reinforcement force to Fujian to replace the Haihan mission stationed there. At the end of June, the search and rescue fleet we sent from Batavia suffered a defeat in the Natuna Islands. The Haihan fleet defeated the fleet led by Mr. Van der Wegen in the waters of Nanri Island. Four days ago, a strongly worded diplomatic letter from the Haihan people was sent to Batavia, warning us not to participate in the Fujian and Natuna Islands. ”
Cohen slowly closed the notepad, looked at the three people present and said: "Gentlemen, things have happened one after another in the past five months, and they are all related to us. If it is all a coincidence, I am personally skeptical. . Although I don’t have any evidence that the Haihan people were behind these incidents, at least they used the situation in these two places very efficiently to achieve their goals. "
"Seventy percent of the residents on the Natuna Islands are Chinese or of Chinese descent. When the pirates attacked the area in April, it was likely that fishermen on the islands or merchant ships that temporarily docked there took the opportunity to escape and move around. The territory of the Haihan people. After the Haihan people learned about the local change of ownership, they were probably already planning on that place." Van Longen immediately expressed his thoughts: "In the name of revenge for the pirate invasion last year, we went there. Expedition to the Natuna Islands, obviously this reason is easily recognized by their so-called executive committee.”
"But they will face two problems if they want to attack the Natuna Islands. One is the preparations for the expedition, and the other is how to deal with our censure." Van der Wegen continued: "That place belongs to our East India Company, and they If we directly occupy it, it will undoubtedly be no different from pirates, so they still need an excuse to drag us into the water, such as forcing us to collude with the pirates.”
"But they didn't have any concrete evidence in their hands, so they needed to do some work in other places to substantiate this excuse, so they chose Fujian to start." Su Keyi also kept up with the pace: "They can use the Fujian government to suppress bandits. In the name of the Communist Party of China, they dealt with Shibazhi openly and dragged Taiyuan Port into the water. Then the fact that the East India Company and the pirates colluded was established, and they could continue to use this as an excuse to take action in the South China Sea and warned us not to do so. Close to that sea area. From April to May, it is estimated that the Haihan people have been ready to attack Natuna Island. As the Governor just said, maybe our steps are too late. The only thing I don’t quite understand is why the Haihan people set a deadline for the Natuna Islands to end at the end of the year? Don’t they have the confidence to take down that group of pirates in one fell swoop?”
"I think they just need time to consolidate the island's defenses." Van Longen responded with a dark face.
(End of chapter)