Chapter 1259 Forced to Accept
The civil and military officials of Xingdao have unified their opinions in advance, and it will be very difficult for Ricardo and Philip to defeat them one by one. In fact, they did not have much to say. Over and over again, they only emphasized the danger of Britain entering this area, and the negative impact that changes in the trade and security situation in the South China Sea would have on Portugal and the Netherlands. But these reasons are just scratching the surface for Haihan, and they don't have much persuasive effect at all.
If possible, the two envoys would like to kill the British prisoners here immediately. Only by completely intensifying the conflict between the two warring parties may Haihan give up his previous crazy idea. However, the risk of angering the Haihan people by using force on Star Island was very high. They could not afford the consequences, so they could only fantasize about it in their minds and did not dare to actually try such a dangerous plan.
Despite repeated attempts by the Portuguese and Dutch envoys, they could not change Roger's decision. The next morning, a letter written by Hogg all night after being reviewed by Roger was sent to a Persian merchant ship in the port. Captain Hassan will serve as an intermediary to send the letter to the British East in the Indian Peninsula. Indian company base.
It is estimated that it will take about a month at the earliest to get a reaction from the British. However, Haihan would not be so patient with Johor, which was so close at hand. On the day when the Portuguese and Dutch envoys arrived at Star Island, Haihan took the initiative to release a Johor officer, explained the current situation to him, and Send it back to Johor, north of the Strait.
Roger's warning this time was more direct. He claimed that Portuguese and Dutch armed personnel were ready to go. If Johor did not respond as soon as possible, Haihan would regard it as a signal that he was unwilling to end the war, and would then unite Portugal and the Netherlands. Let’s conquer Johor together. Also brought back to Johor were letters written by Johor General Pa Pong and British officer Hogg. The content confirmed that Haihan's warning was not false, but that there was a real possibility of a full-scale war, and warned the Johor royal family to be cautious. treat the matter.
The Portuguese and Dutch envoys never dreamed of it. They rushed to Xingdao in a hurry. They originally wanted to take advantage of Haihan's victory to achieve their goals. However, Roger refused and did not say anything. Instead, he was regarded as He used the performance props to make it look like the three countries were about to jointly send troops. After scaring the British, he then scared Johor.
I have to say that this script really hit the weak points of the British and Johor, especially Johor, which was originally not strong and relied heavily on the British in this operation. After the defeat, it was completely deprived of its backbone. It didn’t know what to do. How to face Haihan's retaliatory measures. Now that the British have chosen to give up confrontation, the Johor royal family will naturally not have the determination and courage to fight Haihan to the death.
As a result, the second round of separate negotiations with Johor soon began in Sing Tao. Envoys from Portugal and the Netherlands also attended the negotiations as special observers. Roger was not worried about the contents of the negotiation being leaked to the two countries, because there was really nothing to keep secret. The conditions proposed by Haihan to Johor were only economic compensation, with no additional political conditions or territorial claims, not even confirmation of the ownership of the island. There is no content in the right - Roger believes that this issue no longer needs to be confirmed through written documents, and it is more appropriate to save the time arguing about such details and discuss more valuable issues.
As for allowing envoys from Portugal and the Netherlands to attend, both Roger and Tan Juren agreed that this would help put greater pressure on Johor, allowing it to understand the seriousness of the situation as soon as possible and completely abandon its confrontational mentality and accept the conditions proposed by Haihan.
The negotiator sent by Johor this time is a member of the royal family, and he is also a figure with a say in the domestic ruling class. It can be seen that the warning sent back to Johor for the second time has played its due role, and in exchange for the Johor royal family's support, Pay enough attention.
However, even if the King of Johor comes in person, it will be difficult to gain an active position in the negotiation field under the current situation. Almost all the former elites of the Johor Army were lost on Star Island. More than a thousand people from General Patong on down are still detained in prisoner of war camps on the island, while the Haihan Navy continues to deploy troops in the Johor Strait and threatens to join forces with Portugal and the Netherlands. Send troops to Johor. In this case, Johor will not have any bargaining capital at all.
Johor does not have enough strength to continue its military confrontation with Haihan, let alone the coalition of these three countries. The only thing the negotiator could do was to endure Hai Han's wrath and beg Hai Han to lower the compensation amount slightly, at least to a level that Johor's finances could bear. Regarding Roger's righteous accusations, he could only accept it with a dull head, but he kept crying when talking about compensation, saying that Johor simply could not afford the amount requested by Haihan.
Roger did not want to waste too much time and energy in this kind of post-war negotiation. After the deadlock that lasted for half a day, Roger had lost his patience and his words became more severe: "The compensation we proposed is not based on the This money is to give your country a chance to resolve the dispute peacefully! Your Excellency has been so pushy and has no sincerity in peace talks. I think there is no need to continue this negotiation, so we can only take the initiative to cooperate. You can do it yourself, but when the army comes to the city, there will be no room for negotiation. The losses your country will suffer due to the war will definitely not exceed the amount of compensation we are currently demanding!”
The Johor representative was still complaining and just continued to beg Roger to relax the conditions. He knew that even if he agreed now, Johor would not be able to pay the amount requested by Haihan at all, and he would not be able to explain it when the time comes. The order given to him by the King of Johor before coming was to at least cut the compensation amount in half, but now it seems that it is extremely difficult to complete the task. In the face of the strong attitude shown by Haihan, it can even be said that there is no hope at all.
In the end, Tan Juren, who was responsible for the popular singing, came out to smooth things over and suggested that Johor use other methods of payment to offset part of the compensation, such as delivering some Johor specialties designated by Hai Han on an annual basis, or sending a certain number of laborers to Sing Tao to work for Hai Han. . This plan had actually been proposed during the first negotiation, but it was not recognized by Johor at that time. This time, Haihan further reduced the cash ratio of the compensation part, allowing Johor to use a more flexible way to pay the war compensation. However, Haihan no longer left any room for counteroffers. Johor either refused or had to accept all the compensation. accept.
In the end, the Johor representative could not bear the pressure and chose to compromise, choosing to accept the compromise proposed by Tan Juren. The State of Johor will repay 40% of the compensation in cash and in kind in installments, and then send laborers to the island to work for Haihan for a long time to offset the remaining part of the compensation. After five years of labor, these Johor nationals sent to work in Sing Tao can choose to stay or return home.
Although Haihan's final plan seems to have made certain concessions, if the actual benefits are calculated, it may actually be more cost-effective than receiving full cash compensation. Especially the thousands of laborers used to exchange for prisoners of war and compensate for compensation. The value that five years of labor can create is beyond the estimation of the Johor royal family. They felt that this plan saved them a lot of money, and Haihan also believed that he was the one who really took advantage. Both parties got what they needed, and it was considered a peaceful resolution of this trouble. In early June 1635, Haihan and Johor signed the "Treaty of Armistice between the Two Countries" in Sing Tao, which was known as the "Treaty of Sing Tao" in history. In addition to establishing Haihan's dominant position over Johor, this treaty was more important in that it secured a large amount of funds and labor for the construction and development of Star Island, and accelerated Haihan's process of controlling the Malacca Strait channel.
Portugal and the Netherlands were undoubtedly very disappointed with the signing of this treaty. Both countries hoped that Haihan could retaliate against Johor and the United Kingdom through war, but in the end Haihan chose to call it quits and end the conflict peacefully. Of course, the amount of Haihan's compensation after the war was enough to make the envoys of the two countries who were observing the negotiation process jealous. The compensation from Johor alone was enough to offset Haihan's combat expenses.
However, Philip, who provided important intelligence to Heihan, did not gain nothing. Roger announced that he would receive a Bronze Star Medal specially awarded by Heihan's Executive Committee in recognition of his important role in the Battle of Star Island. Philip will thus become one of the few foreigners to receive an award from the Haihan Executive Committee. Unfortunately, due to the long distance, it will probably take a long time for his medal to arrive at Star Island. This award finally made Philip's depressed mood improve. At least his previous efforts were not in vain, and this kind of medal issued by another country is undoubtedly a great praise for his work. In the future, he will have one more medal that can be used for wine. The glorious deeds of the latter.
The Portuguese Ricciardo was not so lucky. His trip to Star Island was lackluster. He neither achieved the set goals nor fell behind in the competition with the Dutch. The Dutch could at least go home with Heihan's award. However, he made a special trip this time but really got nothing. He just witnessed how Heihan bullied his subordinates in the negotiation arena.
Johor has mixed feelings about the outcome of the negotiations. They are happy that this big trouble has finally been settled at a relatively small economic cost. But they are worried that after this battle, Johor may never be able to hold its head high in front of Haihan, and this time even the United Kingdom will also be involved. Folded together inside, it will be more difficult to find military assistance from the outside in the future. Of course, if Johor can afford the price, Haihan can also provide it with one-stop military services, and it will be far more reliable than the British measures.
As for the British response, they are still waiting for a long time, but Roger is still very confident that the British will resolve the matter through negotiations. On the one hand, Hogg’s special status and background, and on the other hand, the prospect of being allowed to enter the South China Sea is enough. Let the British look at the compensation conditions proposed by Haihan from a rational point of view. If the top brass of the East India Company can really resist this temptation and choose to give up the opportunity to enter the South China Sea, then Haihan will have no choice but to sentence all the captured British and their mercenaries to life imprisonment and let them work in hard labor camps. Fucked till death.
As for the Ambuna Island reinforcements who also contributed troops in this operation, in addition to receiving telegrams of commendation from the Executive Committee and the Ministry of Defense, the soldiers will also receive one month's additional military pay as a reward after the war—— The money will be provided by Sing Tao, to be precise, from war reparations in Johor. Although the fleet that Mu Xiabai brought over had almost no direct exchange of fire with the enemy, the mission was indeed completed perfectly. It can be said that it was the final word for Haihan's victory.
However, for Mu Xiabai personally, this mission did not satisfy him. There were almost no decent battles during the blockade of the Strait of Johor in the north. Mu Xiabai, who was full of battle plans, felt that all the fists he punched fell. In the empty space. After Johor surrenders, the troops stationed in the South China Sea may really have no combat missions in the near future, which may not be good news for generals who need to make achievements.
One week after the signing of the treaty, Johor's first installment of compensation was received, and Haihan also fulfilled the agreement and released seven Johor officers headed by Papong. After the news reached the ears of British prisoners of war, Hogg also expressed greater hope for his release.
The negotiation process and results between Haihan and Johor were immediately relayed to Sanya via radio, which also happened to coincide with the publication cycle of Haihan Times. Under the direct intervention of the Propaganda Department, the editor of the newspaper temporarily withdrew several less important articles and filled the front page with the article "The Haihan Army shows off its power in the South China Sea, Marshal Luo invades Xingdao".
In addition to the battle process being exaggerated and reported as always, the "Haihan Times" also published the general content of the "Singdao Treaty" finally signed after the two sides negotiated after the war, as well as rare recent commentator articles.
As one of Haihan's official media, the Times has a very strong political flavor in this commentator's article. It is always written by a high-ranking time traveler, but anonymous is used as a pseudonym when publishing. This time it was Ning Qi who wrote the article. In addition to criticizing Johor and the British for their shameless sneak attacks, and praising the bravery and courage of the Haihan Army, his commentator article also briefly explained the historical background and current situation of Xingdao, so as to make people more aware of the situation. The people have a deeper understanding of the significance of this war.
Ning Qi pointed out in the article, "This war will greatly consolidate the southwest bridgehead of Haihan territory, and Haihan's international status in the South China Sea will also be further enhanced."
For the people in Sanya, Star Island, thousands of miles away, is too far away, and it is difficult to have much real sense of what is happening there. However, winning a war is something worth celebrating after all, not to mention that this time they defeated two enemies in one fell swoop. coalition of countries. Within a few days after the newspaper was released, storytellers in restaurants and teahouses across Sanya made a small fortune because of the enthusiastic rewards from the citizens.
(End of chapter)