Chapter 952 Countermeasures
Although they are all unlucky, whether it is the Portuguese who took the lead in hugging Shanghai Han's thigh, or the Dutch who woke up after suffering several losses, their situation is obviously better than that of the Spaniards who just understood the situation. At least the first two or More or less, it can retain some trade share in Northeast Asia, but Spain's current situation is that it has been excluded from this chess game. Aragones even suspected that the number of Ming merchants coming to Manila for business this year had decreased. Perhaps Haihan had consciously imposed restrictions during this period, with the purpose of cutting off the trade relationship between Spain and the Ming Dynasty.
Although the Philippines is hundreds of nautical miles away from the Ming Dynasty, the colony's economic source relies heavily on the Ming Dynasty's commodity exports. Although there are other high-value outputs in the Philippines, such as spices, timber, copper mines, etc., after losing the market of Ming Dynasty, these outputs can no longer be exchanged for Ming Dynasty through barter as in the past. The actual value of the commodity will be greatly reduced. If it weren't for the massive amount of silver ingots sent from America as a ballast to stabilize the local economy, Aragones would probably be struggling with the declining trade situation at this moment.
But as the highest administrator of the Kingdom of Spain in the Far East, Aragones cannot sit back and watch the situation continue to deteriorate. Now that Manila has been excluded from the Ming Dynasty's trade partners, if it continues to sit back and watch the Haihan people do this, Aragones is very worried that Spain's living space in the Far East will be squeezed out bit by bit. If the goods shipped back to the Americas next year are still only half or even less than in previous years, then my job as Governor of the Philippines will probably be over.
Fight head-on with the Haihan people? Aragones felt that he did not have much certainty of victory. Considering Manila's geographical location, the risk of such a full-scale war could not be started casually. After all, the armed fleet of the Haihan people is not just a decoration. Since they have the ability to attack the pirate lair in Hangzhou Bay, which is thousands of nautical miles away from the base camp of Sanya, and the Ambrosia Islands in the South China Sea, they are only a short distance away from Sanya and Penghu. Manila, which is only six to seven hundred nautical miles away, should be within its combat radius.
If the Haihan fleet arrives at Manila, not to mention whether it can land ashore to attack the city, even if it is just a battle at sea, the Spanish fleet cannot afford to suffer too much damage. After all, in addition to Haihan, there are also the Netherlands and Portugal. These secretly coveting opponents may jump out and take a bite when Spain is at its weakest. This worst-case scenario must be guarded against.
But to take the initiative to talk to the Haihan people like this, Aragones also felt a bit embarrassed. After all, it was his side that was beaten in the first round. After suffering such a humiliating loss, he would have to deal with his side again in the second round. It's a little unreasonable both emotionally and rationally to show her face. The face of the Kingdom of Spain cannot be lost so easily.
Aragones thought about it, but still couldn't come up with a perfect strategy. When he was sighing in his office that day, a servant came in and reported that Sanchez, who was responsible for managing port affairs, came to see him.
Sanchez is a member of Aragones' staff team. He also contributed to the previous proposal to expand the Manila Port. The reason why he was not jailed like other staff members is because he happens to have another identity as Aragones. My nephew. Even if Aragones wants to find someone to take the blame, he cannot push him off the cliff, otherwise he will not be able to explain to Sanchez's family after returning home. Of course, in order to show fairness, Sanchez's two original deputies were arrested and convicted to serve as a warning to others.
"Tell me, Sanchez, have you got any good news?" Aragones looked at Sanchez and asked in an indifferent tone. Since the last time his staff were collectively punished, the relationship between Aragones and his nephew is not as close as before. Prior to this, Sanchez had won the trust of his uncle. Even after he suggested expanding the port, Aragones used his private property to invest in the construction of two new docks. However, the deterioration of the situation caused all this investment to be wasted. Aragones lost thousands of gold coins, so naturally he would no longer have a good opinion of his nephew.
"Mr. Governor, I just heard some news at the port. I think it is necessary to report it to you." Sanchez's face was a little flustered. It seemed that the news he brought may not make Aragones happy.
What Sanchez brought was indeed not good news. He learned from an Arab businessman who had just arrived in Hong Kong that Haihan had sent a fleet to visit Borneo and Java in the south a few days ago, and invited local countries are sending representatives to a meeting that will be held on Amborina Island in the near future. It is reported that several major countries in the South China Sea have been invited, even the Dutch are among them.
"Is this news reliable?" Aragones was still very sensitive to intelligence information. Although Sanchez's report was very rough, he still smelled something unusual in it and immediately asked Sanchez.
"It should be reliable." Sanchez explained: "Captain Hassan has trade relations with the Matalan Kingdom and the Dutch, and before coming here, he witnessed the huge fleet of the Haihan people in the waters near Batavia. According to He said that there are at least more than forty warships in the fleet, and there are two particularly large warships, which are much larger than our sailing ships. "
Aragones thought for a while and asked abruptly: "How much did you spend to buy this news from Hassan?"
"One hundred silver coins." Sanchez responded honestly: "I think what Hassan said should be true, because his side job is an intelligence dealer. If someone is willing to pay, I think he will also tell the topography of Manila Port Try to sell it to people in need.”
Arab merchants are a relatively unique group of merchants. They do not have large colonies in the Far East. They just constantly shuttle between various trading ports and obtain profits from price differences by transshipping goods. This kind of business strategy requires it to have good relations with various countries and camps, and generally there will be no obvious political bias or partisan behavior. And these Arab businessmen often resell the intelligence information at hand, acting as part-time intelligence dealers in various trading ports. Of course, most of this intelligence information is only related to trade, and only a handful of it involves military and political aspects. Generally speaking, the credibility is quite high.
Aragones stood up, lowered his head and began to pace around the room, thinking about Haihan's intentions. A powerful fleet was dispatched south to Java, but it was not for the purpose of starting a war. It was probably a special trip to show off its power. A powerful fleet can often frighten the enemy before starting a war and make it lose the courage to resist. The Spanish fleet has used similar methods all over the world. This is not uncommon.
But what about the Haihan people’s invitation to South China Sea countries for talks? Why did he invite the Dutch who were hostile to him? What issues do the Haihan people want to discuss with these countries? Is it related to Spain being excluded?
A series of questions popped up in Aragones' mind, but there was no clear clue. Although it is not yet known what the Haihan people's purpose is in contacting these countries in the South China Sea, Aragones already has a vague premonition.
"What about other countries? Especially those countries that have good relations with Haihan, such as Annan and Champa. Is there any news from these places?" Aragones still had a trace of luck. Maybe the talks that Haihan wanted to hold Just talking about trade and commerce with the South China Sea countries is not a big plan.
"I just want to inform you about this news." Sanchez's face became more and more gloomy: "More than a month before the Haihan fleet went south, I heard that Annan and Champa also sent warships to join Haihan. According to the information we received, they claimed to be holding military exercises in the South China Sea. "Bullshit military exercises!" Aragones yelled in an almost roaring tone: "Sanchez, they are planning a military alliance." ! Deliberately excluding us! These damn infidels! ”
Sanchez remained silent, not daring to answer the question in such a furious mood. He didn't think so much. He just felt that there might be some connection between the information, so he hurriedly came to inform Aragones.
"According to what you said, Haihan and Annan Champa formed a joint fleet more than a month before they visited Java. So you should have received this news a long time ago. Why are you reporting it now?" Aragonet Si was not angry yet. After calming down his anger, he immediately began to question Sanchez.
Sanchez said in astonishment: "Haihan has been in alliance with these two countries for several years, and they have held joint military exercises every year in the past. Since their destination is not the Philippine waters, I think these trends have little to do with us. relationship, so I didn’t report it to you before. It was only after receiving new news today that I thought that the two things might be related to some extent..."
After hearing this, Aragones felt helpless. This was not because Sanchez was not vigilant enough. It was indeed because he could not have expected that the Haihan Fleet would go south to Java to do such a thing in the name of an exercise. Annan and Champa who followed them south must have also played the role of flag-waving minions in the process of Haihan's contact with the local countries. So many countries have been dragged in by Haihan, but there is not even a hint of news in Manila. This is even more confirmed that Haihan intends to exclude Spain.
Regardless of whether the Haihan people want to form a military alliance or some other transnational alliance, Spain will obviously not receive any benefits if it is squeezed out, and it will also face competitive pressure from these countries in the future. This is absolutely bad news for the Manila authorities.
The only good thing is that it was not too late for Sanchez to discover the terrible truth. At least Aragones still had a glimmer of hope: "That Arab Assan..."
"It's Hassan, my lord," Sanchez corrected carefully.
"Call it whatever you want!" Aragones was not in the mood to argue about these insignificant details. He waved his hand and continued: "Have he found out the specific time when the Haihan people invited these countries to send people to the Ambunas Islands for talks? ?”
Sanchez's expression was as if he was mourning: "If his information is more accurate, then this meeting started about a week ago. By this time, all the participating countries may have finished talking and gone home."
Aragones suddenly felt a pain in his temples, as if his head was going to explode. He knew that his old problem had recurred. Every time he got excited, his head would swell like air. Only alcohol anesthesia or bloodletting could alleviate this terrible physical condition.
"Sanchez, pour me a glass of wine. I have to drink." Aragones put his head in his hands and ordered weakly.
Sanchez did not dare to neglect, and immediately walked quickly to the wine cabinet, picked up a bottle of wine, opened it, and poured a glass for Aragones.
"Thank you, I feel better." After a few sips of wine, Aragones felt that his headache was slightly relieved. At this time, he looked at the wine glass and said quietly: "This is sugar cane wine brewed by the Haihan people. They named it 'Sanya Special Brew', which means special wine produced in Sanya. This wine is special enough. Yes, the sugar cane wine we brewed in the New Spanish colony is far from having such a good taste. Look at this glass bottle. In the past, we could sell this thing to Ming merchants for at least five to seven pesos, but the Haihan people. But it is used to hold wine, and its appearance is even more beautiful than ours. Dear nephew, do you know how much this bottle of wine costs?”
Sanchez nodded and said: "I know, the price shipped locally by Ming merchants is eight pesos a bottle, and the retail price in the city can be sold for ten pesos."
"But the export price of this thing in Haihan is only equivalent to three to four pesos. Just because we have not established a trade relationship with Haihan, these profiteers can earn double the gross profit on each bottle of wine!" Aragones got so angry that he couldn't help but hit the table hard, causing Sanchez to tremble in surprise.
"The Haihan people sell glass products at the lowest price, and even use them as containers for other goods, such as various cooking oils, wines, and the perfumes they sell very expensively... This is really a genius idea. , if this kind of wine is sold in earthen jars, it can sell for at most one peso, but now it can be sold for ten times the price with high-end packaging, and our glassware is unsalable because of this..." Maybe It was because a glass of wine started to take effect, and Aragones's topic became more and more eccentric, from the international situation to business marketing techniques.
(End of chapter)