Chapter 1250 Postwar Compensation
As a life-and-death opponent on the battlefield not long ago, Hogg would not easily believe that the opponent's so-called "active release" had any good intentions. The Haihan people spent so much effort to capture him alive, and it was absolutely impossible to let him go back to the mountain so easily. However, this Haihan officer named Roger looked very shrewd and did not look like he was mentally ill at all.
Hogg concluded that there must be a conspiracy, and immediately answered very cautiously: "What are your intentions?"
"Intent? This question should be asked by me, right?" Roger said calmly: "What is your plan for inciting the Johor Army to invade our country? Do you still need me to analyze it for you step by step? ? Not executing you invaders is the greatest mercy of our army. Do you still want to live and eat here for free? ”
"You...really plan to let me go?" Hogg was a little confused about Roger's intentions now, so he continued to ask tentatively.
"Let go, I'm not kidding you." Roger nodded and changed the subject: "But freedom comes with a price. Before letting you go, we must first compensate our country for the losses it has suffered due to this war. That’s it.”
Hogg's heart sank immediately. He understood clearly what he said. The other party planned to use this to extort a ransom payment from the East India Company. However, this kind of behavior is not unusual. Ransom has been used in exchange for prisoners of war on European battlefields since ancient times. In particular, senior officers and nobles who were imprisoned often used this method to regain their freedom after the war. It is common practice for both warring parties to hand over money and people, or directly exchange captured personnel.
But since it is a transaction, there is room for bargaining, and if the other party's purpose is really money, then your personal safety will be protected accordingly. Thinking of this, Hogg felt a little more relaxed, and he immediately responded calmly: "Then please give me a price!"
"Before we talk about the price, let's sort out what compensation you need!" Roger calmly took out a book, opened it and showed it to Hogg: "Look, I've sorted it all out. .”
Hogg saw several rows of words written densely on it, and he couldn't help but feel a little panicked at the moment. The opponent was obviously well prepared for this challenge, and his own combat plan was controlled by it step by step, leaving no room for execution. And the plan to ask for ransom in exchange for freedom after the war had obviously been in the other party's calculations for a long time. In fact, there was no good intention at all to let him go. It was just a step-by-step trick to lure him to accept their arrangement.
"First of all, in order to respond to your sneak attack, the military and civilians on the island stopped work and training in advance to prepare for war. Therefore, the economic losses during this period, as well as the consumption and labor costs of all personnel, must be recorded on your heads... ”
The first reparations explained by Roger shocked Hogg. Although the number of Haihan soldiers and civilians stationed on the island was not too many, there were two to three thousand people. Roger opened his mouth for a month. During this period How much he spent on preparing for the war was entirely up to him.
Then Roger continued: "The second major item is the losses caused during your invasion. The port was shut down, the people stopped working, the damage to farmland and houses, and the treatment needed for our casualties. All the expenses and pension costs must be borne by you.”
Hogg's head started to hurt when he heard this. What the other party said seemed to make sense, but how to calculate these expenses could not be verified at all. The other party calculated the accounts in such detail, probably preparing for the lion's next big mouth.
Roger pointed out a third finger and said: "Next is the combat expenses of the troops. The personnel and warships we dispatched, the materials and ammunition consumed, and the post-war rewards. The related expenses will also have to fall on you. This account has not yet been fully calculated, so I will only list the items and not count them. By the way, we specially transferred a fleet from Ambuna Island to assist in the battle. During the encirclement and suppression of you, we blocked the Johor Strait and dispatched the navy. The cost is very high.”
When Hogg heard this, he was no longer worried about the sky-high price the other party would offer in the end, but how much his life was worth. He had to ask for a ransom according to the Haihan people's algorithm, fearing that the company's senior management would be looking forward to him. It would be better to die here.
Hogg, who was about to fall into despair, saw Roger extending another finger, and couldn't help complaining: "Why is there still more?"
"Of course!" Roger continued in a confident tone: "Fourth, post-war expenses. This includes post-war reconstruction and expenses for feeding you prisoners of war. We have no obligation to feed prisoners of war and provide you with the means to survive. Necessary conditions, the fee should be considered very reasonable, right? Just calculate it based on headcount and days. Of course, the personal expenses of a senior officer like General Hogg who enjoys special treatment will definitely be higher than that of ordinary prisoners of war. Finally, because of this. This war is because your East India Company and the State of Johor initiated the invasion, and we are the final victors, so we will also ask for an additional fine as punishment. Well... these are roughly the items. What do you think? ?”
Hogg responded angrily: "I heard that the Haihan people are greedy businessmen. It seems that the rumors are true, but you may think of my status too high. You have listed so many projects that require money. East India The company may not be willing to spend too much money to buy my life back!”
Roger shook his head and said: "No, no, no, it's not just your employer who pays, but also your partner Johor. I don't expect the East India Company to be able to bear the compensation alone, so in the end it's up to you two. Share the related costs equally. As for whether your boss is willing to pay to redeem you, I think we should not just consider how much your life is worth, but also consider whether it is worth completely offending our country for this. Of course, your boss can choose. Pretend to be dead and don't pay a single silver coin, but by doing so, you will give up the opportunity for reconciliation, and you will suffer retaliation from our country in the future, so don't have any complaints." Hogg didn't consider such a deep-seated issue just now. , being awakened by Roger, I realized that the other party's scheming was indeed bottomless. He had come up with so many names to prepare for the lion to open his mouth, but it was not because of the great value of the prisoners of war, including himself, but because of the price of the prisoners. It is certain that after this defeat, the East India Company and the State of Johor would not dare to further offend the State of Haihan. Roger's words have made it very clear. It's okay not to pay compensation, then just wait for Haihan to carry out revenge measures. As for what Hai Han's means of revenge will be, Hogg doesn't need to think too much. Such a strong military strength is no joke. Those indigenous troops in Johor who are still using spears and machetes will definitely not be able to defeat them fully equipped with muskets. Haihan regular army.
As for the East India Company, although the actual control area is still far away from the Haihan territory, if British merchant ships want to enter the South China Sea in the future, they will have to add another level of risk. They must face the so-called hegemon in the South China Sea, which is more powerful than Portugal and the Netherlands. Haihan Navy. This would have a much greater negative impact on East India's long-term plans in the Far East than the defeat they suffered this time at Star Island. This battle resulted in the loss of at most 500 mercenaries and a dozen British officers. However, it failed to capture Xingdao and completely offended Haihan. In the future, British ships will want to enter the South China Sea for trade and colonization. The possibility of expansion is even slimmer.
After comparing the two sides, Hogg felt that it was obvious which one was more important. If money could buy a trade channel into the South China Sea, then he felt that the company's top bosses wouldn't mind spending a little money to make this deal. As long as the price isn't too outrageous. Of course, Hogg also understood that in this matter, he first had to find out whether the price offered by Haihan only included the ransom fee for the prisoners of war, or whether it also included the so-called "settlement" fee.
Hogg sorted out his words in his mind before speaking again: "What do you mean by reconciliation? Can I understand it as allowing British merchant ships to pass through the Strait of Malacca and the waters under your country's jurisdiction after reconciliation?"
Roger smiled and said: "The extent of reconciliation depends on the sincerity of your East India Company. The situation you mentioned is not impossible. If you are willing in this regard, you can negotiate Slowly communicate and resolve differences. Our country has always advocated peaceful coexistence. If you had tried to contact us in a normal way from the beginning, how could this completely unnecessary war have broken out?”
Hogg was so angry at Roger's words that everyone could talk about peace, but Haihan's claim to advocate peace was really untenable. Before the founding of the country, he had already had a record of fighting with neighboring countries. It is said that this country was built by force. Although this war was initiated by the East India Company and Johor, Haihan had already noticed it beforehand, and they did not try to use negotiation to prevent the outbreak of the war. This peace-loving statement was simply a big lie.
But it is useless to accuse Haihan on this issue. Force speaks and the strong is respected. This is the real law of this era. If you cannot defeat others, there is no reason to say anything. Regarding this point, as a military adviser to the East India Company, Hogg knew that too. He came here with mercenaries and sent troops with the Kingdom of Johor to attack Haihan. Didn't he also follow this rule? The logic of the coalition is that if it defeats Haihan, it will naturally have the capital to bargain with the powers in the South China Sea, and only the winner will have the power to actively choose to negotiate to solve the problem.
But if according to Roger's statement, instead of fighting this war and directly contacting Haihan for negotiations, would the East India Company have a chance to achieve its goal? Hogg believes that even if there is, it is very slim. Haihan has relevant trade agreements with Portugal and the Netherlands, which may very well include some exclusive content. If the UK wants to establish trade or even diplomatic relations with Haihan, it cannot be done by wishful thinking. accomplished thing. The East India Company has also evaluated this, and ultimately concluded that it still needs to rely on force to open up the situation and win the war to gain the initiative in negotiations. Judging from the actual implementation effect, the result of this choice can be said to be disastrous. Instead of achieving the expected results, the coalition forces were completely wiped out, suffering heavy losses, and falling into a completely passive state.
Seeing that Hogg was silent, Roger continued to persuade: "The treatment we are giving you now is based on your status in the East India Company. If the East India Company abandons you due to defeat or ransom issues, then your Status will lose its value to us. At that time, you will have to do hard manual labor like other ordinary prisoners of war, and you will most likely die in the prisoner of war camp due to overwork. I hope you can cooperate with us on the ransom issue, which will be of practical benefit to you personally and to the country and organization you are loyal to.”
Hogg took a deep breath and said: "Then what do you want me to do?"
Roger smiled slightly and said: "First, I need you to write a handwritten letter..."
While Roger was persuading Hogg, Tan Juren was also doing ideological work for Johor General Ba Pong through a translator in another place. Roger had discussed with him how to deal with these prisoners of war before, so his direction of persuading Bapen was similar to Roger's.
Compared with the British who only lost a few hundred mercenaries, the Johor Army lost all its elite this time. Almost all of the nearly two thousand newly formed new troops were lost on Star Island, and hundreds of civilians who were captured along with the army were lost. , its value is simply negligible. The East India Company provided weapons and training to Johor, resulting in a huge investment in this new army. For this reason, Johor even owed a large debt to the East India Company.
Originally, it was hoped that most of this debt would be mortgaged through the right to use Star Island, but now this plan has completely failed. Not only did Johor lose all its money, but it also had to face the sky-high war compensation from Haihan. If they refuse to pay compensation, the group of prisoners of war headed by Ba Pong will never return home, and Johor will also face war revenge from Haihan.
Speaking of which, Johor is not a country that is afraid of war. It has fought almost all the neighboring countries, large and small. However, Johor’s own strength is limited and it is a player who has repeatedly fought and lost. Now these elites have all been defeated. Star Island, it is difficult to organize another strong army to fight against the powerful Haihan army. After this battle, Ba Pong also understood that it was not possible to confront the Haihan Army head-on with muskets and artillery. The strength gap between the two sides could not be filled by Johor's helpers. If a war breaks out between the two countries, the resistance that the Johor army can offer will be extremely limited. Even if the country is not destroyed, a huge loss of strength will certainly be unavoidable.
(End of chapter)