Chapter 935: Situation is stronger than people
It is not a secret that when Haihan people export certain products with relatively high technical content and special application fields, such as weapons, ships, etc., they will only sell foreign trade versions with inferior performance. Even if it is a shipyard established with the help of allies like Annan, the warships built according to Haihan's guidance look similar to the original ones, but the overall performance is at least 20 to 30% worse.
Van Diemen knew very well that even if Heihan sold civilian versions of steam engines or sea-going ships propelled by steam engines in the future, their performance would definitely be significantly different from their own versions. As for imitating the Haihan steam engine, Van Diemen believes that the implementation is very difficult, not to mention the technical difficulties in its design principle and processing and manufacturing. Just to lay out various supporting industries and train relevant technical personnel, it is necessary to It will take several years. Otherwise, the Haihan people would have built this steam engine when they first arrived in Sanya, and they would have had to wait several years before it was unveiled.
What the East India Company lacks most now is time. The Haihan people came to the door at this time, clearly not intending to leave them any time to heal. Not to mention the steam engine, if they did not agree to their request, the East India Company might not be able to wait until the day when the Batavia City restoration project was completed, and there would be no time to study the secret device of imitating the Haihan people.
"Mr. Governor, I think that although Haihan has the ability to send the fleet to Java, it does not mean that they can capture it." Van der Wegen was not reconciled to being severely squeezed by Philip just now, and still insisted that we should resist Haihan: "Their nearest supply point, Amborna Island, is 600 nautical miles away from Batavia, and the nearest naval base, Cam Ranh Port, is a thousand nautical miles away. As long as we can hold on for a month... no, it may only take half a month. They will retreat on their own because their supplies are exhausted!”
"Mr. van der Wegen, you still haven't understood the essence of the matter." There was an expression of disappointment on Van Diemen's face that could not be concealed. Van der Wegen was a young officer who was very optimistic about the former Governor Cohen, but he repeatedly failed in his dealings with the Haihan people. After the setback, it seems that the insight into the situation is getting worse and worse.
"Haihan is not trying to launch a war against us. They are just trying to suppress our space for activities as much as possible and coerce us to cooperate with them... No, it should be said that they are coercing us to obey their orders. They are not trying to Instead of driving us out of the Far East, we need the East India Company to play the role of an obedient errand boy in the Haihan system, just like the Portuguese are doing now." Van Diemen also gradually cleared up the fog during this discussion. After learning the truth, they realized the true intention of the Haihan people to bring their fleet to the city.
"Although the Haihan fleet did not come with the intention of starting a war this time, it was definitely prepared for a war, because they must use a show of force to have enough deterrence against us. Although I I still don’t quite understand what’s going on, but at least the Haihan people still need us.” Fan Diemen clarified his thoughts bit by bit: “They have a very strong purpose in doing things, and all their methods are to get us to join their leadership. trade system, and the purpose of this trade system is to allow Haihan to achieve a monopoly on maritime trade in Northeast Asia.”
Van Diemen has basically guessed seven to eight points of the truth. The remaining part is due to the fact that his vision and knowledge are limited to this era. It is impossible to see the overall situation from the same height as Haihan. Naturally, he cannot think of Haihan. The reason why Han temporarily left the East India Company unchanged was to ensure the stability of the maritime trade channels between the East and the West. But if Yan Chujie heard his analysis, he would probably give him a thumbs up and praise him.
Accepting the conditions of the Haihan people, joining the trade alliance, and shrinking the scope of activities to areas south of the equator will definitely greatly affect the East India Company's profits, and future trade with Northeast Asia will be subject to the Haihan people. But the advantage is that it can temporarily silence the Haihan people and stop coming to Batavia to seek bad luck in the short term. As for how long this life extension can last, only the Haihan people can probably control it. The decision-making power does not lie in the hands of the East India Company itself.
"So now we have to make a decision, whether to fight to the death with the Haihan people immediately, or to obey their arrangements first, and then find an opportunity to take revenge on them after two or three years." Van Diemen's eyes flickered from the faces of everyone present one by one. Sweep: "Gentlemen, if you decide to choose war, then I will not cower, but I hope that when the war starts again, everyone can go to the front line to fight for the East India Company, instead of cowering in the city or simply Run away and return home!”
When the Mata Blue Army attacked Batavia last year, some members of the council first interfered with the military's combat plan. Later, after Van Diemen forcefully took over the command, they all huddled in the fortress in the center of the city, from beginning to end. I didn't even go to inspect the defense line. Van Diemen naturally couldn't bear to look at such cowardly behavior. If anyone in this meeting wants to clamor for war, he will be ready to send them to the front line to fight, so that these politicians who only talk can talk about it on the ground. Experience the cruelty and horror of war.
Of course, everyone is now aware of the situation. The choice Haihan gave is nothing more than the difference between the East India Company dying early and dying later. After they stabilize their control area in the north, they will definitely go south again to seek to gradually control Nanyang. They will even push westward through Malacca - after all, the Strait of Malacca is now in the hands of the Portuguese, and they probably will not refuse Haihan's request.
Whether to survive or to fight is a difficult question for everyone here. Rejecting Haihan may intensify the speed at which the company is squeezed out of the Far East market, and obeying Haihan can only watch the other party encroaching on its own territory bit by bit. No matter which path it chooses, it will not matter to the East India Company. is a good thing. But as an organization that started out as a commerce company, the East India Company's ultimate consideration was commercial interests rather than face or political factors. Therefore, after two days of discussion, the council made a difficult decision to authorize Fan. Diemen and Heyhan first signed a memorandum of understanding, striving to gain more benefits for the East India Company before signing a formal agreement.
When Fan Diemen saw Yan Chujie again, perhaps because he had made a decision, his mood was much more relaxed than the last time they met.
"The company's council has studied your proposal, and we believe that there are many areas worthy of further discussion, especially in terms of protecting the company's interests in the coastal areas of northern countries. We need you to make concessions and a clearer commitment. ." Van Diemen said carefully: "We will not agree to this, especially the cancellation of local commercial agencies. "
Yan Chujie thought that since you specifically pointed out this problem, then all other conditions would be fine. The Dutchman is quite knowledgeable. Originally, he wondered if the other party would reject Heihan's proposal. He would need to pull out the fleet to practice a land attack in Batavia Port, but now it seems that it is more economical. Because of this trouble, the other party obviously does not intend to resort to force confrontation, but wants to gain more benefits for itself through negotiation. Yan Chujie still has a good idea of where he can make concessions and where he must insist on the entire plan. Requests such as the abolition of commercial institutions are originally a means of shouting out prices. Now that the Dutch want to pay back the money, they must follow them. I wanted to act together.
"This issue is not non-negotiable, but the personnel stationed locally must be reviewed by us, and the number must be controlled within the limits stipulated by us." Seeing Van Diemen's face looking ugly, Yan Chujie just turned a blind eye and said, "Do this It’s also for the safety of your company’s employees and the citizens of your country. There are too many people and it’s difficult for us to protect them.”
Van Diemen thought to himself that you are obviously worried about us arranging colonization in the local area, and you actually gave such a high-sounding reason.
Haihan is very clear about the development methods of Western colonial countries in the Far East. The establishment of colonial settlements in various places is their main expansion method, and this method has been fully learned by Haihan. In the six to seven years after traveling, Haihan developed the colonial area at a speed far exceeding that of his Western counterparts. Of course, after Haihan mastered this expansion method, he naturally had to be wary of competitors using this method to cause trouble for him.
As a result, the two sides engaged in a heated debate around the issue of the East India Company's trading post. Van Diemen hoped to set up shops or offices in every port under Hai Han's control, but Yan Chujie would not accept his condition and only agreed to set up shop in Da Nang, Sanya, Hong Kong, Penghu, Zhoushan and Ambuna Island. These six places established offices of the East India Company. For the office set up by the Dutch, the Ministry of Security will definitely need to arrange a large number of manpower for surveillance. Yan Chujie does not want to be complained by He Xi and Hao Wanqing about not being able to handle things after he returns.
Van Diemen was obsessed with details like this. By the next day, Yan Chujie had already started to have a headache and regretted that he didn't drag Schneider along with him this time. Although he is also very good at talking, he is not very professional after all. It is very difficult to argue with the Dutch about these business details. If Schneider is here, he should be able to deal with the troubles caused by Van Diemen more easily. .
However, Yan Chujie did not leave the combined fleet idle. Taking advantage of the current negotiation period, he asked Roger to take half of the warships, together with the ships participating in the operation from Champa and Annam, westward along the coastline of Java Island. Sailing, in the name of sea training, went to the Sunda Strait to explore the route.
The Sunda Strait is located between Java Island and Sumatra Island. The strait is about 80 nautical miles long and the narrowest point is only more than 10 nautical miles. This narrow waterway connects the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is also a detour from North Pacific countries to Africa. The Cape of Good Hope is an important link on the route to Europe. Like the Strait of Malacca to the north, it is a strategically important area guarding the east-west maritime routes.
When Zheng He sailed to the Western Ocean more than two hundred years ago, he also led his fleet through this strait to the Indian Ocean. However, after the Dutch came to the Far East, they controlled this strait, making it the exclusive passage for Dutch ships to the Eastern Spice Islands. Of course, this situation has changed after the Netherlands lost to Malta Blue last year. Although it is only half a day's voyage from the Port of Batavia to the Sunda Strait, the East India Company no longer dares to easily send ships to patrol the area and can only deploy most of the armed sailing ships near the Port of Batavia. On the one hand, it is to prevent strong enemies from attacking from the sea, and on the other hand, it is also worried that the weak patrol ship will be besieged by the Madalan sailing ship in the strait. Although the Dutch sailing ship was armed to a certain extent, it was ultimately unable to defeat four people with two fists. It would be troublesome if it was blocked in the strait by the horse-drawn men.
On the deck of the fleet's flagship "Wei Signal", Zhang Yun was pointing to the islands in the distance and imparting relevant geographical knowledge to the two men: "The Sunda Strait is an area of active crustal movement, with frequent volcanic activity. You see that These cone-shaped mountains are landforms formed after volcanic eruptions. These volcanic eruptions can cause strong earthquakes and tsunamis that can spread thousands of miles away."
Although Zhang Yun is a biologist, geography is a part of the natural sciences and he has also dabbled in it. In fact, this is the first time for him to observe such volcanic terrain at close range with his own eyes, and he can't hide his excitement in his tone. However, he knew that the volcanoes here are currently in a safe period. According to historical records, the large-scale volcanic eruption in the Sunda Strait occurred at the end of the 19th century. When the active volcano called Krakatoa erupted, the volcanic ash washed up to the height of 80 Kilometers high in the sky, it drifted around the world for a long time. The sound of volcanic explosions could be heard as far as 3,500 kilometers away. The strong airflow even destroyed part of the forest in the Malay Peninsula more than a thousand kilometers away. This volcanic eruption triggered a strong earthquake and tsunami. Huge waves with a height of more than 30 meters hit the coast near the strait, destroying countless cities, towns and villages, and killing tens of thousands of people.
The two brothers Zhang Zhi and Zhang Dong were so surprised that they couldn't open their mouths from ear to ear when they heard the entrance. The biggest explosions they recognized were nothing more than artillery bombardment or mining and cannon fire. They had never thought of the situation described by the teacher. With the knowledge stored in their minds, it is difficult to imagine the actual scene when the volcano erupts.
"The land across the strait is Sumatra. It is the sixth largest island in the world, with an area of 470,000 square kilometers, equivalent to the size of more than a dozen Hainan Islands." Zhang Yun looked at the looming outline of the land in the distance and said: "Let's see if there is a chance to go to Sumatra this time. I would like to see what a real Sumatran tiger looks like."
(End of chapter)