Chapter 1252 Tempting Conditions
As for why the British took the initiative to attack Star Island, it was not difficult for Roger to deduce their true purpose from the known information. They had hoped to extend trade routes to the South China Sea and Northeast Asia decades ago, and were looking for opportunities to establish armed strongholds and colonies. However, their actions were a little slower than Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands. The result was that one step was slow and one step was slow. , fell into a completely passive and backward situation, and was completely shut out by the other three countries. Although the British established the East India Company in 1600 to manage trade and colonial affairs in the Far East, its scope of activities could only reach the coast of the Indian Ocean. British ships that entered the South China Sea and Northeast Asia had to carefully disguise themselves as other countries. Merchant ships are in danger of losing their lives once their true identities are discovered by their European counterparts.
Naturally, the British will not give up on the huge potential market in the Far East because of this. They continue to try to break the blockade of their European counterparts year after year, and owning a port in the Strait of Malacca has become their obsession. Star Island, a once unclaimed land, may have been favored by the British for a long time, but after all, the old problem of slow movement has not changed, and Haihan still occupied it first, so their strategy is to take advantage of the sea. When Han's foothold was not stable, he took over the island again. Anyway, the location of Xingdao is more than a thousand nautical miles away from Haihan's "homeland", so there seems to be no need to worry that Haihan will take immediate retaliatory measures. It just so happened that Johor, a down-and-out country that wanted to regain its former glory, was available, so it became a logical thing to form a coalition to attack Star Island.
After clarifying the opponent's purpose and means, it will be much easier to deal with it. Now that the opponent's force offensive has been completely disrupted and he has taken the initiative in the negotiation field, Roger only needs to explain to him the stakes of the future situation in the Far East. Enough. Haihan did not have to worry about not having trade channels to Western countries at hand, but the British had to try to get tickets to enter the Far East. The difference in situation gave the British not much choice. If they did not accept Haihan's conditions, they The situation in the Far East will only become more difficult.
"If your East India Company wants to enter the South China Sea, relying on Johor is not feasible. You should choose a more powerful partner who can guarantee that you have a port to dock in the South China Sea and will not be spanked by Portugal and the Netherlands... Yes, It's just what you think, no one is more qualified for this role than us Haihan!" Roger ignored the other party's surprised eyes and continued to talk: "Do you know why Portugal and the Netherlands want to cooperate with us? The reason is very simple? , what should you do if you find that your opponent is far superior to you? Should you continue to seek death, or should you find a way to turn your opponent into a partner? They have all chosen the wisest option. Now it is your turn, the British. .”
Cooperating with an enemy who had just defeated oneself, this change of position was indeed too sudden. The British representatives attending the negotiations were not even sure whether Roger was just talking casually or a sincere suggestion.
Roger had interrogated Hogg before and knew that the British who were currently staying in Johor could not make the decision on such a major matter. He immediately changed his perspective and continued to persuade: "It is not the point that you have suffered a defeat here. Think about your purpose. What. If you can open up the sea trade route you dream of, what does it matter whether you win or lose this battle?"
Yes, if the ultimate purpose of launching the war is to open up the two-ocean route, then Haihan has now given a glimmer of hope. Although the conditions they offered were very harsh, it was still much better than the current situation of getting nothing after a defeat. What's more, Haihan seems to have no intention of leaving the option of "rejection". If the East India Company must be stubborn and do this, it will face a more severe naval blockade in the future, and it will be even more difficult to squeeze into the Far East. It’s getting harder.
If you choose between the two outcomes of "suffering a defeat and completely offending Haihan" and "suffering a defeat but being able to save the situation by paying compensation", then it must be the lesser of the two evils. After all, the latter seems to be still possible. possibility of achieving the purpose. Whether through war or negotiation, entering the South China Sea and Northeast Asia is the major political policy that the East India Company wants to achieve. Hogg's people naturally understand this truth, and they can't help but feel excited after listening to Roger's persuasion.
Roger struck while the iron was hot and offered his trump card: "If the East India Company can meet the conditions we proposed, we will gradually release prisoners of war after receiving compensation, and will consider opening Xingdao and other Haihan ports to British merchant ships. Stop and give British merchants the right to trade in Haihan Port!”
The person responsible for negotiating on behalf of the East India Company was originally a merchant ship captain, and his eyes lit up when he heard this. He had once been to Amborna Island under the rule of Haihan, where he had heard rumors about the major trading ports in the South China Sea. He also knew that the ports controlled by Haihan were located all over the Indochina Peninsula and along the coast of the Ming Dynasty. If he could catch this line, then the East India Company's trade expansion in the Far East will undoubtedly achieve twice the result with half the effort.
"Do you mean what you said?" The British representative's breathing became heavy.
"Of course you are serious, but you must first pay the compensation proposed by our country for the previous war, and then sign a written agreement on trade matters." Roger responded seriously: "At that time, we can arrange special officials to come and negotiate with us. You will negotiate a specific trade charter to ensure that the interests of both parties will not be damaged as much as possible.”
"Then if the Portuguese and the Dutch are opposed to this, how will your country choose?" the British representative still asked with some worry.
"What I just mentioned is a bilateral agreement, not a multilateral agreement. The relevant agreements signed by our country with Portugal and the Netherlands are not exclusive, and the same will be true for the agreements signed with you in the future." Roger was very clear about this and immediately gave it. A clear answer.
In fact, when Haihan signed the agreement with Portugal, there were still some exclusive contents, but they were all time-limited. As time has passed, these exclusive contents have long since expired. After that, Haihan's international trade grew bigger and bigger, with more and more targets. Naturally, it was unwilling to sign such exclusive diplomatic agreements with any party when the road was widened. Of course, Roger's explanation was actually a bit vague. He only said that the British would consider opening ports and trade rights after paying compensation, but he did not make any promises. If the conditions cannot be negotiated by then, or the executive committee has other ideas, it will not be considered a breach of the agreement. But he knew what the British were thinking. Since such unconventional means as launching a war were used, as long as there was hope of achieving the goal through negotiations, the other party would definitely not give up such an opportunity easily.
Roger knew that the alliance between the two families was led by the British. As long as the British could be persuaded to accept the conditions, it would be much easier to deal with Johor. The British negotiator was indeed very moved by what he heard, but he did not forget his mission. Even if he asked Haihan to show his sincerity, he would first release the senior officers headed by Hogg and Barpen, and then talk about the subsequent war compensation issue.
"Let the person go first? Then you are overthinking it." Roger refused the other party's request unceremoniously: "Pay one hand with the money and hand with the person with the other. If you don't have money, you can take the goods, and if you don't have the goods, you can exchange them with people. Please. You should first clarify the fact that we, Haihan, are the victorious countries. No matter what the outcome of the negotiation is, it will not cause us much loss, but it may not necessarily mean that we can stop the loss in time if we negotiate well. If it doesn’t work well, it will only make things worse!”
Roger knew very well that the two generals, Papen and Hogg, were the truly valuable people among these prisoners of war. If these two people were released, then the ransom for the prisoners of war might not be collected. Moreover, these two people are high-level figures in their respective camps, and a lot of valuable information can be slowly obtained from them, which is even more valuable than themselves. No matter how hard the opponent tries, Haihan will never make any concessions at this stage.
Negotiations involving the three parties will naturally not end in this round. After everyone shows their cards, the direction of the next negotiation will have to be left to the decision-makers to weigh. Roger has already communicated with the Sanya base camp through the radio, and the executive committee has also authorized the Sing Tao Management Committee to handle follow-up matters. However, Johor and the East India Company obviously cannot be so forthcoming. Johor depends on the attitude of the British. , but the British needed to pass the message back to their stronghold on the Indian Peninsula first. After this back and forth, they would not receive a reply for months.
Haihan didn't care about the long negotiation process, and took advantage of this period to further strengthen the island's defense measures. Taking advantage of the availability of cheap labor force from labor camps, some infrastructure projects with large construction volume such as transportation, water conservancy, housing, etc. can also take this opportunity to quickly start work.
Tan Juren has more plans for the use of this free labor force. He hopes to open up new agricultural land as soon as possible to plant rubber trees and other cash crops with long growth cycles but stable long-term returns. This is not because he has a far-sighted vision, but because he has received a task from the Ministry of Agriculture before going south. There is a long list of various cash crops that must be planted in Xingdao, but it is also because of this. It requires a lot of manpower.
In fact, these planting plans are not that the Ministry of Agriculture is eager to generate income in Xingdao. They are somewhat of a scientific research nature. As the geographical span of Haihan Colony becomes larger and larger, the cultivation of various food crops and cash crops must also begin to consider the impact of regional environmental differences on yields. Although several travelers from the Ministry of Agriculture are professionals, their experience in tropical agriculture mainly comes from book knowledge and statistical data before the travel. Moreover, this era is hundreds of years different from before the travel, and the climate and environment are also different. Which crops are more suitable for planting near the equator can only be determined through practical testing in order to accumulate experience for future agricultural development. Moreover, in order to make the sample comparison more scientific, the planting scale cannot be too small, which puts a greater test on Xingdao's already tight labor arrangement.
Fortunately, after arriving at Xingdao, he happened to catch up with the wave of "sending warmth" actions by the United Kingdom and Johor, which sent two thousand free young and healthy laborers to the island. Naturally, Tan Juren had to seize this opportunity to deal with the overdue work at hand. Finish first. However, considering that arranging and supervising prisoners of war to work in the field would be troublesome, Tan Juren also made corresponding adjustments to the labor arrangements. He arranged for more prisoners of war to work at construction sites near the stronghold, while the task of reclamation in the field was left to the local people. .
Tan Juren has already communicated with Roger about the issue of prisoners of war. He proposed the plan of exchanging civilians for prisoners of war. If the two families want to get all these prisoners of war back, then they should deliver the full amount according to the amount given by Haihan. Reparations, or the use of young and strong labor in exchange for the release of these prisoners of war. Of course, considering the value of soldiers, a one-to-one exchange is obviously impossible, and Tan Juren will never be vague about where he can be extorted. If this transaction condition can eventually be realized, then the problem of labor shortage on the island can be solved in the short term.
Except for a very small number of senior officers, almost all prisoners of war were assigned to work on various construction sites. However, even Hogg and Bapen were not completely spared and were still assigned the task of breaking stones. Tan Juren didn't quite understand how deeply his subordinate Han Zhengshan resented the work of breaking stones, but at present it seemed that Han Zhengshan's management of the prison camp was in order, and there wasn't much to find fault with. This made Tan Juren quite proud of his choice of Han Zhengshan. He believed that he had a keen eye and picked a capable management talent.
Of course, Hogg and Bapone, who were enslaved, were not so comfortable. For them, the labor tasks arranged by Haihan were boring and arduous, and such days may last for a long time. Roger summoned them when he returned to the base after the negotiation, and clearly informed them of the attitudes of Johor and the East India Company. Although the two were mentally prepared, they heard that they might not receive a positive reply from their respective camps in the near future. Not without some disappointment.
The news that Haihan was fighting with the coalition forces of the two countries on Star Island slowly began to spread through various public opinion channels. The outcome of the war did not cause much of a sensation. After all, the countries in the South China Sea region were well aware of Haihan's strength. The coalition formed by the two countries only added a significant boost to Haihan's record, and did not succeed. Break Haihan's ever-victorious golden body. The British are just fine. They don't understand Haihan's strength enough, so it's normal to act rashly. However, Johor is an unofficial member of the South China Sea Trade Alliance, and they follow the British to fight for death. This will inevitably make other countries suffer. The crowd laughed openly or covertly. There are even people who are worried about the chaos in the world and are already secretly asking whether Haihan will take further revenge against Johor.
(End of chapter)