Chapter 933 Confrontation and Cooperation
Although Van Diemen does not understand the profound academic theory of "war is the continuation of politics", he at least knows that the cost of war is very staggering. Without money, let alone revenge, even the building currently being built in Batavia Port Coastal fortifications are full of difficulties. The Matalan people did not immediately come back after withdrawing their troops last year, not because they had no troops available, but because they did not have enough military spending to launch another war. Who will take the lead in the next confrontation between the Dutch East India Company and the Materan Kingdom will probably depend on whose economy recovers faster and can raise war funds in the shortest time. Ma Danlan knew this truth, and Fan Diemen also understood it, but when Yan Chujie pointed it out at this juncture, the intention was worthy of further investigation.
As we all know, Haihan is an emerging maritime giant in the Far East in recent years. Whether it is maritime trade or maritime armed forces, its strength is constantly approaching or even surpassing the first movers. Recently, it has even vaguely monopolized the Ming Dynasty's maritime import and export trade. trend. Even if Van Diemen refuses to admit defeat, he is still very afraid of Haihan's resources and mobilizable financial resources. If Haihan chooses Matalan as a trading partner in the Nanyang region, then the many resources they have in their hands will It will definitely bring a lot of profits to the Matalan country, thus quickly enriching its treasury.
Of course, this is secondary. What Van Diemen is more afraid of is the "military aid" that is the big weapon in Haihan's foreign policy. I think Haihan used this as an excuse to support Xu Xinsu in FJ against Zheng Zhilong, the spokesperson of the East India Company, and finally drove out all the Shibazhi step by step, making the East India Company's local situation very embarrassing. Annan and Champa, two countries supported by Haihan in the Indochina Peninsula, also vented their anger on Haihan and banned the East India Company from carrying out trade there, causing the Dutch to lose important supply points on the northern route.
Annan and Champa are nearly a thousand nautical miles away from Batavia. Although there are some indirect effects, they can be overcome. However, if Haihan provides military assistance to the Matalan country, the impact on the East India Company will be very direct. . Southern Sumatra and the central and eastern parts of Java are both the territory of the Matalan Kingdom, and Batavia is just a small corner in between. If the Matalan Kingdom colludes with Haihanhang and colludes to blockade the vicinity of Batavia sea area, or even launch another offensive against Batavia City, then the Dutch are really weak. The Haihan people did not even need to directly participate in the battle. They only needed to provide enough weapons and ammunition to the Matalan people, and it would be difficult to defend the city of Batavia.
Although the smile on Yan Chujie's face did not diminish when he said this, Fan Diemen immediately realized the sinister intentions of the Haihan people. Just to make him agree to the conditions proposed by the Haihan people, he refused to admit defeat. Even if a war breaks out over this, the company council will never agree to give up settling the past grievances with the Matalan people.
"General Ngan, the picture you paint is very attractive, but with all due respect, it is simply not possible. The hatred between us and the Matalan Kingdom must be settled. They killed thousands of people in last year's war." Dutch, this is not something that can be settled with money." Van Diemen paused and emphasized again: "We will do this at any cost!"
"No, no, no, you have misunderstood our proposal, Mr. Governor." Yan Chujie explained again: "We only propose to maintain peace, but whoever you want to go to war with is your freedom. What we are taking the lead in establishing is trade. An alliance, not a military alliance”
"Trade alliance? Military alliance?" Van Diemen carefully chewed the different meanings of these two terms.
"Yes, to put it simply, the future trade pattern in the Far East will be dominated by the alliance organized by our organization. People outside this alliance will not be eligible to participate in international trade in the Far East, at least within the scope of the existing member states. I want to get another chance." Yan Chujie waited for a while, and seeing that Fan Diemen still looked confused after listening to the translation, he continued to explain: "I will use you as an example, if you don't want to join us. trade alliance, you will not be able to trade with the member states of the alliance in the future.”
"But this is not a mandatory rule. How do you ensure that this rule can be effectively implemented?" Fan Diemen asked after understanding what Yan Chujie meant.
"Of course it relies on interests! Only by tying all members to the same interest chain can this alliance operate effectively." Yan Chujie explained: "The largest market and production place in the Far East is Daming, but we must compete with Daming. For transactions, re-export trade must be completed at the ports controlled by Haihan through our permission. The same is true for Annan and Champa. For these countries, we are the main trading partner with the largest transaction volume, which will affect it to a certain extent. To their treasury income and the stability of the upper class of society, everyone can make money by cooperating with us. If you want to break out of this circle and do it on your own, you will find that there is no other possibility except hitting walls everywhere.”
Haihan's layout across thousands of miles of sea territory from the East China Sea to the South China Sea has begun to bear fruit after several years of manipulation. From the most prosperous Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in the Ming Dynasty to the southernmost tip of the Indochina Peninsula, the most important trading ports are either under the control of Haihan or their partners. The import and export trade carried out by these countries and regions, among which At least one-third of the huge profits flowed directly into Haihan's pocket, and the speed of making money far exceeded that of gold mining in Taipei.
Only with Haihan's approval can one enter these areas for trading activities. The huge benefits brought by this near-monopoly business model are not only exclusive to Haihan's family, but also local officials, wealthy businessmen and other upper-class people in society have also benefited from it. There are many benefits and benefits, so I don’t think there is anything wrong with this operating system. Of course, even if someone realizes that Haihan is gradually monopolizing and controlling maritime trade in these areas, they are unable to change the current situation. After all, Haihan needs money and people, unless he uses the power of the whole country to fight against Haihan. , otherwise there will be no effect at all.
It was precisely when the Haihan Executive Committee saw that the early planning had begun to bear fruit that it began to launch the second phase, which was to take the initiative to establish an open trade alliance and implement the previous covert moves into the open. This kind of trade alliance certainly seems crude and crude compared to various mature trade organizations in later generations, but it is very practical in the international environment of this era. The long-term benefits of taking the lead in organizing such a regional trade alliance are even higher than launching wars to conquer these regions one by one. With the trade alliance as a means of pressure on foreign Western counterparts, it is easier for Haihan to gain the upper hand in the competition.
Under this operating mechanism, interests tightly bind all parties together. Whoever wants to break away from this system will have trouble with themselves. In most cases, there is no need to resort to military means. Huge interests will drive all parties to do so. Party consciously maintains the operation of this mechanism.
Of course, if any external force attempts to change this status quo by force, then the military alliance headed by Haihan will come in handy. For example, Shibazhi, who tried to monopolize FJ sea trade on its own, became the common enemy of Haihan and the FJ military. Even if it took several years, they must be eliminated quickly. Now the boundary drawn by Haihan for the East India Company is to force it to make a choice, either to join the trade alliance or to become an opponent. And if the East India Company is squeezed out, the consequences may be more serious than the outbreak of armed conflict, because most of its profits in the Far East come from the area currently controlled by Haihan. Once Haihan activates trade barriers, the East India Company You can say goodbye to this part of the income, and you won't even have a chance to fight.
As the current governor of the East India Company, Van Diemen certainly has some foresight. Yan Chujie has made it very clear. If he rejects the other party's proposal now, it will be equivalent to placing the East India Company in this trading system. outside. And he could more or less foresee the consequences that would result from this.
As a backbone Dutchman, Van Diemen certainly wanted to refuse the other party's unreasonable demands, but he was also the actual leader of the East India Company. Not only was he responsible to the local council and tens of thousands of subordinates, but he also had to Report to the board of directors in the Netherlands. If the decision made rashly in the heat of the moment affects the operation of the East India Company and even its life and death future, then his status as governor-general is probably not enough to settle accounts later, and he must be cautious.
Van Diemen took the initiative to adjourn the meeting for two days in order to inform the company's meeting of the content of the meeting and listen to the opinions of various department heads and shareholder representatives. Yan Chujie also knew that the Dutch would probably not make a decision rashly, so he did not object to this proposal. So after the two parties agreed on a time to meet next time, they boarded the ship and left.
The Combined Fleet is currently stationed on an archipelago about thirty nautical miles northwest of Batavia Port. The only drawback is that there are no products on the islands here, so while the Combined Fleet consumes the food stored on the ship, it also has to return from Batavia Port. Purchase supplies for replenishment.
After Yan Chujie returned, Zheng Zha and Fan Ji also expressed concern about the progress of the negotiations. Regarding the establishment of a trade alliance, Haihan had notified Annan and Champa before, and these two companies did not object to this. After all, their respective largest trading partners are Haihan, and they are both with Haihan has a military alliance, so there is no reason to oppose the establishment of such a trade organization that can bring huge benefits to itself.
As for how many members this trade organization can eventually absorb, it depends on Haihan's specific operations. The more members, the greater the trade volume it brings, so the two countries are eager to have more countries join the organization, the better. Even for a country like the Netherlands that has a grudge against Haihan, as long as Haihan doesn't mind, they don't think there's anything wrong.
"The Dutch promised to go back and think it over carefully. I think they are already moved. It's just that the conditions we proposed are too harsh and it may be difficult to accept them for a while." Yan Chujie introduced to several people who were unable to attend the meeting: "Give their activity space Compressing to the south of Ambon Island would mean giving up their strongholds in Taiwan and Japan. If I were in the position of the Dutch, I probably would not be willing to accept such an exchange, even if Van Diemen had this intention. , and may not be able to convince the Council to accept it.”
"General Yan, I think you might as well be more optimistic." Zheng Zhuo gently shook the tall glass in his hand. This gesture was also something he learned from the cocktail party held by the Haihan people: "The Dutch are a group of businessmen, not real people. The soldiers they occupied in the South China Sea are not Dutch territory. If they lose it, they will lose it. You Haihan have taken away Ambon Island for two years. Do they have any overreaction as long as they can still do business? I think the Dutch don't care so much whether they control a larger or smaller territory. What's the key? You can't let their Western counterparts enjoy better treatment. The Analects of Confucius says that if you don't worry about scarcity, you will worry about inequality. When they see others being treated the same way, they will be more receptive to your proposals.”
"The young prince knows a lot!" Yan Chujie couldn't help but praise.
The problem pointed out by Zheng Zha is indeed one of the key points in this deal. Before Haihan appeared, the Dutch's competitors in the Far East were all Western countries. Their strength was almost the same, and the competition was quite lively. But after Haihan was born, he first beat Portugal, then robbed the Netherlands, and finally did not let Spain go. As long as there was a territorial conflict with Haihan, no Western country would reap the benefits. Although the Dutch knew that they could not beat Haihan, they could at least see that they were not the only ones who were beaten and angered, and they would not be mentally unbalanced.
At this time, their rival, the Portuguese, had joined Haihan's camp and became a part of the trade alliance. If the Dutch refused to join, the gap with Portugal in terms of trade volume would widen. This is probably would be one of their most unacceptable consequences. It's just that Yan Chujie didn't think of this in time during the previous negotiations, otherwise he could have given Van Diemen another good blow. However, the Dutch are also very shrewd. Although Yan Chujie did not take the initiative to mention this matter, someone in the East India Company's meeting had already thought of it.
"If we reject the Haihan people's proposal, then the Portuguese will probably laugh out of their dreams, right?" Van Longen was the first to stand up and point out this "conspiracy": "This must be a trick thought up by the Portuguese. The Haihan people took the lead in setting up such a bullshit alliance so that they could exclude us from the Far East trade market! These lazy southern European parasites will just follow the Haihan people and pick them out! Send a fleet to sweep the Portuguese strongholds in GD and completely eradicate them from Haihan!”
(End of chapter)