Chapter 674 Negotiation
However, this is not a big obstacle. Su Keyi can still communicate with the Haihan people in Chinese, but this makes it difficult to keep in step with the two partners.
Van Longen also introduced the identities of the three people on his side, and then the two sides sat down and began the negotiations that had been delayed for many days.
"First of all, on behalf of the East India Company, I would like to express my strong protest against your preparation for unilateral military action in the South China Sea!" Van Longen knew that meeting with the Haihan people was not easy to come by, and after so many days, he was not in the mood to go around in circles anymore. Let's get right to the point: "The Ambrosia Islands are a territory belonging to the East India Company. We have jurisdiction over the area. No armed force can board the islands under any pretext without our permission!" < br>
"Territory belonging to the East India Company?" Gu Kai smiled and said: "Do you know the deeds of the Sanbao eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty who went to the West two hundred years ago? At that time, this archipelago was already named Ambrosia Island, and accepted the Central Dynasty's Jurisdiction. Do you think that if you take over this island by force and then change the name, this place will belong to you?”
"No, no, no, what we want to discuss is not the historical ownership of this island, but its actual ownership at this stage." Of course Van Longen knew that this place used to be an overseas enclave belonging to the Ming Dynasty. If we really want to discuss the historical ownership, then He must have been unable to convince the other party, so he quickly changed his words.
"If you want to say that at this stage, well, the island is now occupied by a group of South China Sea pirates. Even if you want to talk, you should talk to the pirates. What should you talk about with us?" Gu Kai retorted with disdain. The Dutch actually expected to gain the upper hand in the verbal confrontation, which seemed to Gu Kai to be a wishful thinking - when it comes to talking nonsense, I am a professional!
"Of course we will not let go of those daring pirates! But before that, Haihan must also stop taking military action against the local area!" Van der Wegen saw that Van Longen was unable to defeat the other party, and he quickly helped.
Gu Kai shook his head and said: "Why are you dictating to us? The actual ownership of this island is not in your hands now, and the person we intend to fight is not you. After all, what are we going to do on Ambona Island? What is the direct relationship with you? ”
"No, sir, the ownership rights of the Natuna Islands belong to the East India Company. I must emphasize this again. This group of pirates who temporarily occupied the local area do not have such rights!" Van Longen felt that he was being led around in circles a bit. Dizzy, I quickly re-examined my position.
"Then let me ask you, how did your company obtain the ownership of the local area? Did you go to Beijing and kneel down to ask the Ming Emperor to cede the local area to you? Or did you buy it from the Ming Dynasty with money?" Gu Kai said with a mocking look on his face. Zise said: "If so, please show us the relevant documentary evidence to prove that you have obtained the local ownership rights in a legal and reasonable manner."
"This..." Fan Longgen immediately lost his temper. Of course, the East India Company would not use the method mentioned by Gu Kai to obtain the ownership of the colony. At the beginning, it only directly sent armed personnel to occupy the islands. Although there were no legal and reasonable procedures, wasn't this the most normal method? ?
Gu Kai did not wait for Van Longen's answer and continued: "The East India Company used force to seize control of the area, and you think this approach is natural, but when others use the same means to impose it on you, you will Not convinced? ”
"I protest, there is a difference! Our East India Company represents the Dutch United Provincial Republic, and those pirates are just pirates!" Although Van Longen's momentum remained unchanged, he already seemed a bit stern, because he also knew , if everything depends on force, then the East India Company probably won't be able to take much advantage against its opponent Haihan.
"You are right. Of course, everyone shouts about pirates. There is nothing to say about it. But we Haihan are not pirates. Our military actions against Ambona Island have been authorized by the Ming Dynasty government. The Qiongzhou Prefecture of the Ming Empire issued a commission document. The military actions we took represent the Ming Empire. Any opposition and resistance will be regarded as a provocation to the Ming Dynasty." Gu Kai paused and said word by word: "You guys. In the same way we took away the Ambrosia Islands, we will take them back again in the same way!”
Gu Kai's words were so reasonable that the two Dutchmen didn't know how to refute them. Of course, they can deny that the Ming Dynasty still has the right to rule the area, but they cannot deny that the East India Company did occupy the area by force, and did not obtain the permission and understanding of the original owner in the process. To put it bluntly, this world is ultimately governed by the law of the jungle. The Dutch understand that their opponents also understand that even negotiations are based on this rule. The weaker party is not qualified to set the rules of the game.
The East India Company was not afraid of the Ming Empire turning its back, because they knew very well that the empire had no time to care about a small sea enclave far away from its territory, and it also had no ability to send troops to regain its ownership rights from the East India Company. But the problem is that the Haihan people have a different approach from the Ming Dynasty. They have no scruples about using foreign troops, let alone fear of war. The most important thing is that the Haihan people were not afraid at all when facing the East India Company on the battlefield, and they could still gain the upper hand. This was a level that the Ming Dynasty could not achieve. If you want to threaten Haihan into submission from a military perspective, the possibility of success is obviously slim.
"If you insist on going your own way, it will affect future maritime trade relations with Western countries!" Van Longen also knew that his side seemed to have no advantage in terms of force, and could only turn to maritime trade as a condition for negotiation.
The East India Company still has some confidence on this issue. After all, the two main waterways connecting the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Sunda, are currently in the hands of the East India Company. Even hundreds of years later, these two places are still important nodes in global sea lanes. Controlling this golden location is equivalent to controlling the maritime trade power of the Eastern and Western worlds. The East India Company spent decades fighting the Portuguese for control of this region, and eventually gained the upper hand.
At present, goods from the Ming Dynasty, Korea, Japan, Ryukyu and other countries in the Far East are shipped to Europe. Most of them enter the Indian Ocean from this strait by sea. After crossing the Indian Ocean, they bypass the Arabian Peninsula and enter the Red Sea. They are transshipped overland in Egypt and enter the Mediterranean. , and then shipped to southern European countries. The goods shipped from Europe basically followed this route. After arriving in Batavia and other places in South Asia, maritime trading groups such as the East India Company took over the later stages of transportation and distribution. Van Longen's threat was not empty talk. The East India Company did have such capabilities, but it was inevitable that he would be ridiculed by his opponents again.
Schneider, who had been silent for a long time, finally turned on the mocking mode: "Mr. Van Longen, you have lived here for a week. I don't know if you have noticed the furnishings and decorations here. Isn't this place much more comfortable than the dark castles where European nobles live? ? There are both Eastern ceramics and Western glass products. All kinds of goods that you brought all the way from Europe can actually be produced here, whether it is glass, spices, weapons, or all the things you are proud of. As long as we are willing, we can produce handicrafts at a lower cost and sell them to your former sales targets. If you want to interrupt the trade, fine, just go ahead and do it. I believe that the one who will suffer in the end will not be the one who suffers. We are Haihan.”
How could Van Longen not notice the environment here? The three of them had eaten and slept this week, and their activity radius was this house. They had studied it countless times inside and out. The house was indeed furnished with a level of comfort far beyond that of any aristocratic residence that Van Loungen had visited in the past. Although there are no gorgeous gold and silver ornaments here, whether it is the ceramic bathroom facilities, the transparent glass doors and windows, or the high-elastic mattress cushions made of unknown methods, it is all that Van Longen and the two The companions were amazed.
During the three daily meals, he also noticed that the Haihan people's use of spices was much stronger than that in Europe, and many new spice crops that he had never known before were added to the dishes. If the Haihan people are not deliberately showing off their financial resources, it can only mean that they have completely mastered the cultivation methods of these spice crops, and this is indeed a big deal for the Dutch who are still looking for spice cultivation sites in various parts of Southeast Asia. blow. As for weapons, Haihan's performance in Fujian has fully proved their technical advantages in arms manufacturing. Ever since the Fujian Ming Army began to switch to the standard weapons provided by Haihan, the local battle situation has changed significantly. Shibazhi, who originally had a certain advantage, suffered repeated defeats. In the end, the Dutch personally went into battle and failed to win. Fujian got a good deal. Although I don’t know how the Haihan people did it, one thing is certain. The Ming Empire, the largest potential customer in the Far East, is unlikely to purchase weapons from the Netherlands or even other European countries in the future.
In this way, it seems that Western countries do not have any advantage in supply of goods. In particular, the East India Company, which is based on maritime trade, can traffic most of the goods from Europe to the Far East. They are also produced in Sanya, and they are of good quality. It seems to have more competitive advantages in terms of , variety and price. If the East India Company attempts to cut off the supply of certain commodities, there is indeed the possibility that Haihan will take the opportunity to replace them.
"You are provoking the East India Company by doing this!" Van Longen no longer knew how to retort to the Haihan people. The opponent's cards were obviously better than his own, and it felt really uncomfortable to be suppressed by the opponent every time he made a move. .
"No, no, no, Mr. Special Envoy, you have forgotten that we are still at war, and there is no provocation." Gu Kai reminded with a smile: "I don't think you will forget so quickly. A fight in Fujian, right?”
How could we forget that Van der Wegen here was one of the witnesses at that time, but because the result of that battle was too one-sided, Van der Wegen did not have the shame to expose his shortcomings on this occasion.
"How about this, let's talk about other things outside of the South China Sea first, if you still have related issues." Seeing that the two Dutchmen had nothing to say, Gu Kai took the initiative to change the topic.
However, Van Longen did not forget Governor Cohen's instructions before departure. He shook his head and said: "The ownership of the Natuna Islands is the bottom line of our negotiations. If we cannot reach an agreement on this issue, then there is no need to talk about anything else. .”
Gu Kai and Schneider exchanged glances, then stood up to leave, suggesting that they talk again tomorrow. Van Longen also wanted to think through his thoughts again and try to save some face in the subsequent negotiations, so he also agreed with this proposal.
After the two Haihan people left, Su Keyi learned the contents of the negotiation intermittently from their mouths. After listening, he couldn't help but sigh: "The situation is too unfavorable for us. We don't have any conditions that can threaten Haihan. They can even ignore us."
"Do the Haihan people really don't need to purchase goods from the West? I always feel that it is impossible for them to achieve self-production in all fields." Fan Longgen frowned.
"As far as I know, Haihan does have a few things that it imports in large quantities all year round." Su Keyi responded thoughtfully.
"Let's talk about it, maybe we can start from this aspect." Van Longen immediately urged.
"The first is the canvas produced in India. The Ming Dynasty merchants almost bought as much as they could, and these canvases were resold to Sanya and used on the sailing ships of the Haihan people. The two of them may have also noticed that their ships The sails are different from the hard sails of the Ming Dynasty. They are soft sails like Western sailing ships. However, I heard that the Portuguese are also ordering canvas from India for the Haihan people. It is estimated that it will be difficult to completely block this business," Su Keyi said. .
Van Longen thought that this was indeed the case. The Portuguese still had many colonies in the Indian Peninsula. If they wanted to completely ban the sale of canvas to Haihan, it would be difficult for the East India Company alone to do so.
"The second kind of goods is population." What Su Keyi blurted out surprised both Van Longen and Van der Wegen.
Su Keyi explained: "The Haihan people have been constantly importing people from the outside world. Annan and Daming are their main places of origin. As far as I know, the Portuguese are also constantly helping them import slave populations. At least 100,000 people were imported from the outside last year. Fifteen Portuguese slave ships arrived in Sanya, trafficking black slaves to Haihan.”
"Why have we never heard of this?" Van der Wegen asked in confusion.
"The Portuguese will definitely not take the initiative to publicize this news. This was witnessed by the Ming Dynasty merchants who have been to Sanya and have trade relations with the Haihan people." Su Keyi paused and added: "Of course they will not take the initiative to spread the news. You Dutch talk about this kind of thing ”
(End of chapter)