Chapter 1254: Striking a balance
It was Haihan's old acquaintance Philip who came to Star Island on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. He was no longer a pure maritime merchant. Because he has gained a lot from the trade with Haihan in the past two years, Philip has now entered the management of the East India Company with his rich wealth. Although he has not yet touched the door of the decision-making level, he can at least serve as the company's official Representatives attended some diplomatic activities.
Regarding the British secretly selling weapons to Johor, Philip first learned the information through his own information channels. After confirming the authenticity of the news, Philip and the company executives decided to inform the Haihan garrison in Xingdao. On the one hand, they wanted to show their goodwill, and on the other hand, they also hoped to use Haihan's power to cause damage to the British competitor. A heavy blow ended its dream of entering the South China Sea. So Philip has personally traveled to Star Island several times for this matter, handed the information he knew to Roger, and informed the East India Company of its attitude towards the matter - if Haihan needs it, the East India Company can send him Armed men entered Star Island to help in the battle.
Of course, this proposal is unlikely to be approved by Roger. His trust in the Dutch is very limited. Even if the intelligence about the British is indeed true, he will not agree to let Dutch armed personnel board Star Island.
The relationship between the Netherlands and Heihan is very delicate. On the one hand, the Netherlands has been defeated by Heihan in several previous battles, and its status in the world that it took several years of hard work in the Taiwan Strait has been completely replaced by Heihan; On the one hand, in order to maintain trade channels in the Far East, the Netherlands had to bow to Haihan and maintain peace on the surface in exchange for trade opportunities in Northeast Asia. In terms of situations, the Netherlands and Portugal have many similarities. Although they are unwilling to accept Haihan's dominance in the South China Sea, they are frightened by Haihan's terrifying force and can only choose to compromise and submit.
The Dutch took the initiative to inform the British of their secret plans. Roger did not think that this was because the Dutch were in the same camp as him. The competition between them and the British was very fierce. This was just a means of killing with a borrowed knife. If Heihan and the British were to fight in a losing battle, he had no doubt that the Dutch might jump out at the last minute to hit both sides at the same time. So when Philip proposed to pursue the victory and continue to attack Johor and Britain, Roger seemed to have no interest at all.
"Fighting is very expensive. Even if we defeat Johor, there won't be much direct benefit. They can't even spend the money to redeem the prisoners of war. If we continue to fight, it will only be a waste of our military expenditure." Roger said very directly The attitude is expressed, and the implication is that I am not willing to spend this unjust money to continue the war. If you Dutch want to send troops, just ask for it. If you want to drag Haihan into the water, then don't do it.
Hearing Roger's tone, Philip naturally knew what he meant by hearing the string song, and did not force the topic to continue. He also had another thing that he cared about that he wanted to ask Roger about: "I seem to have seen two ships on the dock. Portuguese sailing ship, these profiteers are not here to buy the loot you captured, are they?”
"Loots? I would like to sell them, but the Portuguese think they are too expensive!" Roger smiled and said: "How about you take over the things? I have a large number of almost brand-new matchlocks here. They should be in your Batavia city. Can come in handy”
What Philip really cared about was not Heyhan's spoils, but the Portuguese's intentions. At present, each of the two companies controls a strait connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and their development in the South China Sea is considered balanced. However, the two companies have been fighting for a long time, and their vigilance against each other has never relaxed. Since Philip knew that there were Portuguese people on the island, he naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it to avoid putting himself in a passive position.
"As long as the price is right, it can be considered." Philip responded casually, and then turned the topic back to the Portuguese: "Then they must have heard that your country defeated Johor, and they are rushing to add insult to injury to Johor, right? After all, they The feud with Johor has been going on for decades. Being watched by the enemy day and night, life must not be easy. ”
Roger couldn't hear Philip's implication. Regarding the competitive relationship between the Netherlands and Portugal, he also had the mentality of sitting on the mountain and watching the fight. If the two families started fighting again one day, he would definitely not He will act as a peacemaker in the middle. Taking into account Philip's earlier favor of sending British intelligence, Roger told him the Portuguese's suggestion truthfully.
"These shameless southern liars just want to use your country's victory for their own benefit! What were they doing before the war started?" Philip immediately expressed his indignation at the Portuguese's actions, completely forgetting that he had just A similar suggestion was made to Roger. Of course, from Philip's perspective, he probably doesn't think there is anything wrong with his attitude. After all, he provided key intelligence to Heihan before the war, and also expressed on behalf of the Netherlands that he could Send troops to help fight. Compared with the Portuguese who jumped out to pick up the peaches after the fact, the Dutch did put a lot more energy into this matter, and naturally they did not want to see the fruits of their efforts snatched away by their competitors.
From a strategic point of view, if Portugal established a colony across the two oceans in the Strait of Malacca, it would not be good news for the Dutch East India Company, which was still in the reconstruction period of Batavia. Moreover, the Netherlands never wants to see Portugal and Heihan jointly sending troops. This kind of thing may happen one or two times. If the Netherlands has a military conflict with Portugal in the future, and the other side pulls Heihan out to block the gun, how can it operate? ? Philip secretly made up his mind that if Roger had been persuaded by the Portuguese, he would have to mess up the matter no matter what.
"General, the Portuguese are all selfish villains. They just want to use your country's force to achieve their goals! I hope you can see their faces clearly and not be swayed by the temptations of these guys." Philip Unceremoniously continue to complain about the Portuguese's behavior, trying to destroy the other person's impression in Roger's mind as much as possible.
"What about you? What is your purpose?" Roger asked meaningfully, staring at Philip.
"We have completely good intentions and take the initiative to help our partners in the difficult situations they face. It is completely different from the starting point of the scammers." Philip paused and then added: "Of course, if there is a chance, we will do it again." It would be best to teach the British a lesson.”
The Dutch East India Company had long monopolized the spice business east of Java, and had publicly executed British merchants who entered the area for trade without authorization. The two countries had deep hatred. Now the British are trying to enter the South China Sea to establish a stronghold. Even if the Haihan people don't take action, the Netherlands will sooner or later take action against them. Although Haihan won a complete victory in this battle, the deterrent effect on Britain was not as great as that of the Netherlands. This was one of the main reasons why Philip wanted to encourage Roger to carry out military retaliation. Of course, Philip now has another reason, which is to prevent the Portuguese from profiting from this matter. The Portuguese wanted to seize a larger control area from Johor, but the Dutch wanted to take the opportunity to further attack the British. Although both sides adopted similar methods and both hoped to jointly send troops with Haihan, their purpose was There are obvious differences. It's just that neither of these two families could have imagined how big Haihan's heart was. They had just finished fighting with their opponent, and they were already thinking about offering conditions for their opponent to join the international system dominated by Haihan.
Although Roger was a soldier, he was not a reckless man. His political vision and sensitivity were even higher than most of the leaders of this era. He believes that only necessary wars should be fought. War is only a means and not an end. How to maximize one's own interests through war is the meaning of war. If political or other means can better achieve his goals, then he will not insist on using war to solve the problem.
What Sing Tao is facing now is such a situation. Roger knows very well that Sing Tao's armed force alone cannot destroy Johor, nor can it stop the British from entering the South China Sea. However, these two countries are fighting against Haihan. The tension formed later put a lot of defensive pressure on Xingdao. Even if he knew that these two families could not defeat him, it would not be an easy and pleasant thing to have two more enemies that he had to worry about all the time. .
To solve this hidden danger, either go to war and beat the opponent completely until he is convinced, or try to incorporate the opponent into his own system - this is something Haihan has done very well, Portugal and the Netherlands are successful examples. Although it cannot be said that we are completely assured of them, after gradually becoming bound by many common interests, at least we no longer have to worry about their military retaliation against Haihan all day long.
After fighting this battle, Roger believed that his strength had been fully demonstrated, which was enough to undermine the opponent's confidence in continuing to use military means. The previous armistice negotiations basically confirmed Roger's idea. The attitude shown by the opponent was simply There is no fighting spirit at all. All he wants to do is minimize the losses caused by the war. In such a situation, using political means to solve the problem will obviously be more efficient than continuing to use military means, and the results may also be more ideal. If Johor and the United Kingdom can really be included in the Haihan system, then the defense pressure on Star Island will be reduced a lot, and more energy can be devoted to local construction and development instead of building fortifications on the island day and night. .
Now the Portuguese and Dutch are rushing to persuade Haihan not to cease the war and continue fighting, and even offer to send troops to help. This is something Roger had not expected before. From this, we can also see that these Western colonial countries are very fierce in fighting against each other. Even if they maintain peace on the surface, they will try their best to suppress their competitors and strive for more benefits for themselves when they get the opportunity.
The news that the Dutch envoy had arrived at Star Island soon reached Ricardo's ears. Although the purpose of the other party's appearance at this time was not yet clear, Ricardo always felt that the Dutch had bad intentions and immediately took action. As soon as Roger returned to his residence after entertaining Philip, Ricardo came to see him.
Ricardo's intention was also very clear, which was to find out the Dutch's purpose. Roger was dumbfounded by the envoys from the two families. He could only comfort Ricardo and tell him not to worry too much, reasoning that the Dutch had heard the news and came here to buy the various trophies that Haihan had captured from the battle.
Ricardo thought that the red-haired ghost was really insidious. He actually wanted to use this trick to win over Haihan. How could I let them succeed so easily? He immediately answered: "General, those trophies you mentioned earlier are not acquiescence." Are they all going to be sold to us? How can the Dutch get involved in this deal?”
Roger thought that you were the one who thought it was too expensive before. Now that he saw the Dutch coming, he hurriedly tried to save him. He immediately said unhappily: "The Dutch are quick to do things, but they have no intention of bargaining with us!"
Ricardo heard that Roger was not in a good mood, and felt a slight thump in his heart. He quickly said, "Please forgive me for complaining about the price before. It was just a business habit, and there was no disrespect to the general. In fact, the price offered by the general was also Fair enough, I’m just worried that I don’t have enough money this time to buy all the loot at once.”
Roger thought that a businessman was just a businessman, and he had no moral integrity at all. He had no difficulty in licking back what he had said before, and he could still look calm and composed. Faced with this kind of thick skin, he could only express admiration. However, he also knew that Ricardo changed his story not because he wanted to be taken advantage of and acquire the spoils, but because he wanted to know more about the Dutch's intentions and try to prevent the close exchanges between the Dutch and Haihan as much as possible. This kind of thing is not uncommon. In Ambona Island and Sanya, the envoys of these two families also acted in this way, fearing that the other party would win over Haihan and suppress them.
Of course, the competition between the two families is actually a good thing for Haihan. The fiercer they fight, the calmer Haihan becomes and the more political means he can use. The two envoys expressed their positions one after another within a day, which made Roger wonder for a moment whether it would be more enjoyable to simply organize a support force to sweep northward to Johor. However, this idea only flashed through his mind. He also knew that it was impossible for Portugal and the Netherlands to fight side by side on the battlefield, and if he only brought one of them to play, he would inevitably suffer the resentment of the other, so this kind of coalition company There is no theoretical possibility.
"The way I see it, it's getting late today. You go back and rest first. When you find time tomorrow, we can go see the seizures and prisoners together. You can also weigh whether you want to acquire those weapons and equipment." Roger paused and then added: "I will let the Dutch come over at that time, so that everyone can compete fairly and don't have to worry about which side I will favor."
(End of chapter)