Chapter 1563 Diplomatic Rhetoric
Su Keyi was worried that Ning Qi was just bluffing him with words, and then asked the Ma Dalan delegation to sneak into Chencang and quietly sign the arms purchase contract. When the time comes for Batavia to hold him accountable, they won't care how difficult his operation in Sanya was. The blame will definitely fall on him. Seeing that he couldn't get an accurate word from Ning Qi, Su Keyi had no choice but to try to find Tao Dong.
Of course, as the main person in charge of the Haihan Executive Committee, Tao Donglai is not always available to meet whenever he wants. If there is something unresolved outside, Tao Donglai will be approached, even if he has 48 people a day. Hours are not enough either. Especially for foreign-related meetings, you must first submit an application through the diplomatic department and make an appointment.
Ning Qi responded: "Mr. Su, it's okay if you want to see Chairman Tao, but you still have to follow the rules. If you need it, I can arrange for someone to register for you immediately, but I can't give you any time to see him. You promised.”
Ning Qi's words made Su Keyi calm down from his excitement, and he immediately realized that he had indeed made a mistake before. Tao Donglai is almost equivalent to the king of a country in Haihan. As a foreigner, how can he meet him just by saying he meets him? If you don't follow diplomatic procedures, the other party will naturally have good reasons to exclude you. Let alone talk about arms business, I'm afraid it will offend Haihan's senior officials.
Su Keyi took a deep breath to calm down his anger, and said to Ning Qi in as calm a tone as possible: "Minister Ning, I just lost my temper, I hope you don't mind. Actually, this matter concerns our East India Company. The fate of the future, now that I have received the news, I must do my best. Minister Ning should also be very clear about the grievances between the Matalan Kingdom and us. Although their attack on Batavia City failed in the end, His ambition has never given up on finding opportunities to continue to wage war. If your country sells military weapons and equipment to it, it will be equivalent to helping the tyrants to provoke war. I know that Minister Ning has always advocated peace, so we cannot ignore this matter! "< br>
Ning Qi thought to himself that you might be a little too young to talk to me about these big principles. It's not that simple to start a verbal fight. The pacifism advocated by Ning Qi has evolved continuously over the past few years, and it is no longer the good-natured attitude it once had. The so-called peace is only for Haihan himself. What he advocates is to try to avoid resorting to war to resolve territorial or trade disputes. However, this presupposes that one of the participants in the war is Haihan. If Haihan does not have to participate in the war, Then how could he care whether a cow gored a horse to death or a horse kicked a cow to death.
To put it bluntly, if the East India Company went to war with the Ma Dalan Country again, Haihan would definitely be happy to see it happen. After the strength of the two countries was weakened by the war, Haihan would naturally be able to use many methods. Make them more dependent on themselves in the field of trade. War in this era often slows down the development of countries in the region. Even the victor needs a long time to digest the fruits of victory and heal his own injuries. No matter who wins or loses between the two countries, Haihan, an outsider, will definitely Become a vested interest. Su Keyi's sincere persuasion had no effect on Ning Qi.
Of course, as a qualified diplomat, Ning Qi will still cooperate and act: "Mr. Su said exactly what I just wanted to express. From the perspective of our country, of course we can't bear to see the two of you break out again. War, if this kind of incident can be avoided, our country will definitely handle it properly. So please believe us, Mr. Su, that things will not develop in the direction you expected, and everything will be resolved through normal channels."
Su Keyi listened with suspicion, always feeling that these words were just Haihan's usual diplomatic rhetoric. The Haihan people also said that they would treat Portugal and the Netherlands fairly and equally, but what is the reality? Portuguese merchant ships have been allowed to enter the northern waters, but Dutch merchant ships are still prohibited from entering this area. Moreover, Su Keyi also knew that the Portuguese secretly bought a lot of artillery from Haihan and shipped them back to Europe, but the sale of these heavy weapons to the Netherlands was completely prohibited. Haihan's different treatment of the East India Company was no longer a day or two. Su Keyi did not believe that they would change their stance on the matter of the Matalan Kingdom and side with the East India Company.
Of course, this idea cannot be expressed directly, so Su Keyi took a roundabout way and said: "Of course I can trust your country's reputation, but I certainly can't trust the Matalan people. If they buy arms from your country, The first thing to do after returning is to start a war. I hope that your country can confirm in a public way that your country will not sell weapons to the Matalan people.”
"In a public way?" Ning Qi raised his eyebrows. It was obvious that Su Keyi still refused to give up. He just settled for the next best thing and asked Haihan to reject the Madalan people's purchase of weapons and equipment. But if Haihan makes an announcement through official channels to reject the Ma Dalan people, this may affect Haihan's future arms business.
"I think Mr. Su should go back and wait for news first. If the Matalan people really apply to our country for arms procurement, then we will definitely carefully consider the impact this will have on the East India Company." Ning Qi was unwilling. If he continues to quarrel with Su Keyi and engage in such time-wasting verbal disputes, he might as well serve tea to see the guests off.
Although Su Keyi's words were dry, it had almost no effect on Ning Qi. At the moment, he could not think of any other way but to treat a dead horse as a living doctor and expressed that he would ask to see Tao Donglai through diplomatic channels. After going around in a circle, this is the only way to see a glimmer of hope.
Ning Qi nodded in agreement and sent Su Keyi out of the office. Then he called Tao Donglai and explained to him what he had just discussed with Su Keyi. Finally, he asked Tao Donglai for instructions: "Can you give me an idea on this matter? ”
Tao Donglai said: "The Dutch cannot afford to lose. If the Malan people launch a large army to attack the city again, they may not be as lucky as last time. The situation of the Malan country is slightly better, at least the Dutch Now it has no ability to pose a fundamental threat to this country. Once the war breaks out, the East India Company will have no choice but to take a defensive stance. If the Malta Blue Army can obtain military assistance from our country, the chance of breaking through Batavia City will be higher. It was much bigger last time”
Ning Qi was a little confused when he heard this: "Old Tao, what do you mean, we simply support the Ma Dalan Kingdom and let them send troops to attack Batavia and destroy the East India Company?"
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"It's not about destroying them, it's about weakening them." Tao Donglai explained on the phone: "If there are no Dutch, then our only connection with the Western world will be the Portuguese. This is like putting eggs in the same basket. It’s just as dangerous here. So the presence of the Dutch in the Far East is still useful to us, as long as they bleed every two or three years.”
When Ning Qi heard this, he already understood Tao Donglai's plan: "That is to cancel the arms sales ban and sell both parties?"
"You have to be more skillful in selling this. If you do it well, these two companies will help you count the money after the sale and say thank you. I have discussed a general framework with Lao Bai before, but Lao Bai still has a few days to go. Come back, why don't you step into his position and organize related matters first?" Tao Donglai gave Ning Qi a suggestion on the phone, but it sounded a bit unreliable to Ning Qi.
"Why do I feel like you guys had a plan and were just waiting for these two families to come to your door?" Ning Qi could faintly smell the conspiracy. If he hadn't heard the Matalan people's arms purchase request in person, he would have almost thought that Haihan Ordnance had already negotiated the deal with the Matalan people in advance. Tao Donglai responded: "This cannot be said to be premeditated. The Haihan Arms Industry that Bai Kesi is in charge of is engaged in arms export. Of course he has to figure out how to sell weapons to those customers who are in urgent need without threatening Haihan customers. You Don’t forget, Matalan Country also bought weapons from us before, but later the Dutch made a big fuss and suspended this business. So how to sell arms to these two companies is actually not new. Bai Kesi has been thinking about this topic for a long time, just waiting for the right time.”
Ning Qi then remembered that between the end of the Batavia War in 1632 and the establishment of the South China Sea Trade Alliance at the end of 1633, Haihan had indeed sold hundreds of millions of dollars to the Matalan Kingdom through some informal private channels. guns and ammunition. Although these artillery pieces are only the oldest cast-iron cannons, for the Matalan people whose weapons and equipment are relatively backward and have almost no heavy long-range weapons, these artillery pieces are nothing short of magical weapons. And except for Haihan, no other country is willing to sell this weapon to them. Therefore, although the selling price of these artillery pieces is extremely high, the Matalan people still believe that they have made a profit in the transaction.
However, after the establishment of the South China Sea Trade Alliance, the East India Company requested Haihan not to sell arms to the Matalan country, and also signed the supplementary agreement that Su Keyi had mentioned before to ensure that the East India Company's force could be used in areas near Java. Maintain a dominant position for a long time.
Of course, the so-called advantageous position of the East India Company is only at sea. The combat effectiveness of the Dutch armed merchant ships is comparable to that of the best warships of the Materan country. But if we compare it with the armed forces on land, the Materan The Blue Country only needed to rely on its superiority in military strength to make the East India Company complain endlessly.
So this time when the Madalan delegation came to Sanya, their main purchase target was Haihan's warship. Sultan Matalan believes that as long as the country's maritime armed forces can become strong enough, the city of Batavia will not have a second chance of luck. The relatively small tonnage "exploration-class" and "exploration-class" warships became the equipment that the Matalan people tried to purchase this time.
Although the Haihan Navy's combat vessels have always been built at the Shengli Port Shipyard, the shipyards that can manufacture "Exploration-class" sailing ships are no longer just in Sanya. There are shipyards in Danzhou, Zhoushan, and even Annan Black Earth Port. Can build this kind of warship. Therefore, the Matalan people believed that this kind of warship was no longer a scarce commodity, so they applied to Haihan to purchase it.
Since the Matalan Kingdom is relatively far away from Hainan Island, they are not very familiar with Haihan's arms sales methods. However, their purpose of purchasing weapons and equipment is unabashed, just to compete with the Dutch. For Haihan, this situation was equivalent to being taken advantage of, and he even took the initiative to hand the stick to his hand, making it difficult not to hit him with the stick.
Tao Donglai had been thinking about how to maximize Haihan's benefits from this matter, and Su Keyi's proactive appearance undoubtedly provided him with a solution to the problem. Since the Dutch are also very concerned about this, let these two companies compete head-on.
Ning Qi finally couldn't resist his curiosity and went to Tao Donglai's office to listen to him talk about how to sell arms to both countries at the same time without causing resentment. After listening to the story, Ning Qi couldn't help but admire Bai Kesi's imagination for being able to come up with such an incredible way to deal with it.
Bai Kesi's handling method is not complicated at all, it is the simplest auction. Since these two families have a strong desire to buy weapons, Haihan will arrange a 1v1 special auction for them. If you want to buy a warship, you will announce a reserve price based on the existing market price. Then each of the two companies will bid, and whoever can afford more money will take the ship away.
What will appear at the auction is not just an order for a certain ship. If the purchase desire of the two countries is strong enough, it is very likely that the final transaction price will be raised to a record high.
In the same way, warships are not the only things that can make these two countries take action. If you look through the arms sales list of Haihan Ordnance Industry, there are a lot of weapons that can make these two countries fight. I just don’t know how much money the Madalan Mission brought this time. Is it enough for them to dominate the auction and suppress the East India Company, which is also wealthy?
"Then this turn is too sharp, isn't it? When I sent Su Keyi away just now, I swore to him that Haihan would never easily sell weapons to other countries. This is about to slap him in the face!" Ning Qi complained.
"It's okay if you want to turn it slowly, but you have to do it yourself. If you can convince them to accept this method, then the follow-up things will be relatively easy." Tao Donglai continued to encourage Ning Qi to join this Come as planned.
Ning Qi sighed and said: "Give me some time and let me think about it. If the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also involved in this matter, it will be difficult to do the future work."
Ning Qi had previously told Su Keyi how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintained peace between countries and refused to provoke any war manually. However, if he participated in this auction, the reputation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be harmed.
(End of chapter)