Chapter 1566 Everyone depends on their ability
For media industries such as newspapers, good news is what can catch readers' attention. As for whether the news content is a national event or a folk gossip, that is secondary. Private newspapers like "Sanya Express" basically publish whatever news is exciting, and there are some bloody stories on the front page, such as "The mistress poisoned the first wife." If the news content is thrilling enough and the newspaper sells 1,800 more copies, the newspaper's income will naturally increase. Therefore, editor-in-chief Xu Zhengye did not refuse Xun Pengcheng's request for more reporting space.
Although he didn't know what happened at the gate of Victory Fort, seeing the excitement on Xun Pengcheng's face, Xu Zhengye thought that maybe there was something to be done about this matter. What's more, Xun Pengcheng's writing is not bad, so giving him a space to express himself may bring unexpected surprises.
Xun Pengcheng returned to his seat, prepared paper, pen and ink, sorted out the manuscript he had typed earlier, and then began to write furiously. Regarding the incident he just witnessed, Xun Pengcheng thought that it could be improved in writing, and then it would be a popular article that could attract readers.
At Victory Fort, which is only one mile away from the newspaper office, Ma Dalan envoy Luo Hong finally achieved the initial purpose of this risky move and was jointly received by several senior officials of the Haihan Executive Committee, including Tao Dong. Come inside.
"As for the arms sales, the Executive Committee still needs to hold a meeting to study. If you do this, you are embarrassing our country!" Tao Donglai sighed: "You have made such a big noise, and the Dutch will hear the news soon. I will also follow you.”
Luo Hong was very calm and did not panic because of Tao Donglai's complaint: "Dear Sir, please forgive me. I can only think of using this method to show our country's sincerity. I also know that your country has relevant diplomacy with the Dutch. Agreements must be followed, but rules are dead and people are alive. Agreements signed in the past may not be suitable for today's situation. If they have become outdated, then it is natural to re-write the rules. "
Luo Hong chose this radical approach in order to explain his true thoughts after meeting with senior officials of Haihan. He believed that the fundamental reason why Haihan was unwilling to sell weapons and equipment still lay in the damn agreement. Only by letting Haihan take the initiative Only by canceling this sales restriction agreement will the country of Matalan be able to achieve its goal of purchasing arms. As for whether Haihan will sell the same type of weapons and equipment to the Dutch after the agreement is cancelled, Luo Hong is not very worried - the Malta Blue Army has an absolute advantage in terms of military strength and financial resources. If both parties have The Dutch will not take advantage of being able to purchase Haihan's equipment.
"The negotiation and formulation of a diplomatic agreement cannot be accomplished overnight. It takes time. Moreover, we are not in a position to unilaterally tear up the agreement. For our country, Materan and the Dutch East India Company are equally important trading partners, and we are not willing to unilaterally tear up the agreement. Be prepared to take sides. Especially since there is irresolvable hatred between you, we cannot just watch the war break out." Tao Donglai's compassionate tone almost made Luo Hong believe that this was Haihan's true position. .
But Luo Hong also understood that the Haihan people were not as peace-loving as they seemed on the surface. Their history of external expansion was almost a history of war, and every step of external expansion was accompanied by war. Moreover, I heard that the war between Annan and Siam in recent years was also instigated by Haihan. Like the East India Company, a so-called "partner" that was also included in the arms embargo by Heihan and whose relationship was not very harmonious, how could Heihan worry about the resumption of war between the Netherlands and Malta.
Before coming to Sanya, his uncle La Deng had specifically warned him not to believe too much in the so-called goodwill released by the Haihan people: "The Haihan people are not as kind as they seem. Don't forget that in today's South China Sea, all the people who interact with the Haihan people All the countries they fought failed without exception. So their best skill is not doing business, but fighting! They are not even afraid of participating in wars, so how can they care about wars breaking out between other countries? "
Therefore, Luo Hong would not easily listen to Tao Donglai's statement: "Honorable Sir, since you can negotiate terms with the Dutch to ban the sale of weapons and equipment to our country, is that as long as our country can provide a more generous offer than the Dutch?" If the conditions are met, you can consider terminating the agreement you signed with them?”
The agreement signed between Haihan and the Netherlands was not as simple as Luo Hong thought. It was not an independent agreement, but part of a series of cooperation agreements signed between Haihan and the Dutch East India Company. This package agreement covers diplomacy, trade, politics and other aspects. Haihan made certain compromises to the East India Company in terms of arms sales, in exchange for the East India Company's commitment to the scope of activities in the Far East. Otherwise, the East India Company would not have been shrinking in the South China Sea in recent years and would not have continued to develop colonies in the north.
The value of this geopolitical exchange condition cannot simply be calculated in terms of money. Both Haihan and the Netherlands are countries that advocate maritime colonization. The essence of this specific exchange condition is that the two maritime powers are dividing the cake. It is difficult for a third country to play a substitute role in this situation. The Matalan Kingdom is indeed a regional power in South Asia, but its influence on a larger scale is far less than that of the Netherlands. Therefore, when Haihan negotiated this agreement with the East India Company, there was no Consideration was given to involving the Malayan nation.
Therefore, after Luo Hong proposed this condition, Tao Donglai and others looked at each other and smiled. Of course, they could not explain such a complicated international political transaction to Luo Hong, nor could they inform him of the transaction between Haihan and the Dutch East India Company. of the entire content. A few days ago, Yan Chujie showed Luo Hong the contents of the arms-related agreement, which was the limit of what he could do. But looking at the stubborn temper of the Ma Dalan general, it is obvious that if he cannot get a satisfactory answer, it will be difficult to let the matter go.
"Of course the conditions can be discussed again, but with all due respect, the agreement signed between our country and the Netherlands is very complicated. Lifting the arms embargo will involve a lot. Frankly speaking, this cannot be solved by the two trucks of gold bricks shipped from your country. "It's not a question of money," Tao Donglai said frankly to Luo Hong, "do you understand?"
At the same time, Dutch Minister Su Keyi rushed to Fort Victory as quickly as possible after receiving the news. What he is most worried about now is not that Haihan lifted the arms sales ban, but that he failed to take the initiative when the opportunity came. If they cannot get ahead of the Matalan Kingdom, Batavia's future security issues will be in jeopardy again.
While the envoys from the two countries were negotiating with Haihan senior officials in Victory Fort, the last article of this issue of "Sanya Express" was finally finalized. Editor-in-chief Xu Zhengye was quite satisfied with Xun Pengcheng's article, so he replaced it. The original front page of the newspaper was replaced by his manuscript.
"Hurry up and do the typesetting. Let the printing house print 500 more copies of this issue!" After Xu Zhengye gave the order, the people in the newspaper office immediately became busy.
Printing 500 more newspapers is not a matter of just one sentence. Someone must be sent to the printing factory immediately to say hello so that they can prepare materials in advance. The typesetters here have already laid out most of the layout. It will take another hour to finish arranging the last fresh front-page article before it can be sent for printing.
"Editor-in-Chief, you have to give me the extra printing fee. Forget it if you forgot about the short article on Tofu Chuan last time. This time it's the front page!" Xun Pengcheng, who was waiting nearby, quickly added.
"Do the math, haven't I already recorded this for you?" Xu Zhengye pointed to the notepad in front of him. The latest item on it was indeed a record of Xun Pengcheng's front-page article on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, plus Print five hundred copies. With this typesetting, Xun Pengcheng will be able to earn about thirty yuan more when he settles his remuneration next time.
"Okay, I'll get off work if I have nothing to do today!" Seeing that this issue of the newspaper was about to be printed, Xun Pengcheng thought he had nothing to do, so he planned to leave early. Xu Zhengye was also open-minded, waving his hands and saying: "Go, go, remember to add two dishes for yourself tonight!"
At dinner time that day, the latest issue of "Sanya Express" appeared in the hands of newsboys on the street, and the front-page news they shouted quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding people.
"Take a look and see why a certain country in Nanyang publicly sent two trucks of gold bricks today. Our reporter will reveal the secret!"
"Two cartloads of gold bricks fell from the sky. Who will get it in the end? Please buy a newspaper and read it!"
"There are new ways to show off your wealth, gold bricks are coming to block the road! Are you ready to pick up money?"
The newsboys used their own tricks to attract customers through shouting, and the incident that happened outside Victory Fort this morning quickly spread through the newspapers. Some teahouses where storytellers are stationed even go out of their way to buy newspapers and arrange for the storytellers to tell the new news first.
Victory Fort received the news not much later than the outside world. Tao Donglai and others had just sent Luo Hong and Su Keyi away after all their efforts, when someone sent this newspaper that published the incident.
"These paparazzi have a very keen sense of smell!" Tao Donglai quickly glanced at the article on the front page and couldn't help but sigh: "Look, this article says that the Madalan people came to Sanya with a large amount of gold, just to pay tribute to Our country is looking for weapons, and the arms trade is no longer a secret.”
The attitude shown in this newspaper article is obviously in support of arms exports. It believes that since there is extremely strong market demand at the moment and people are coming to the door with gold bricks, Haihan should seize this opportunity and take advantage of it. The arms trade generates revenue to replenish state coffers. But why this request was not approved by Haihan? The author of the article speculates that there is a problem with the coordination of interests between various official departments. Some people do not want this arms deal to be negotiated, so they forced Ma to fight against the blue messenger. The gold bricks can only be transported to the gate of Victory Fort to show their sincerity in purchasing arms and equipment.
"How did this reporter find out the news? Could it be that Luo Hong spread the word before he came today and deliberately wanted to unite us?" Yan Chujie was quite unhappy after reading the newspaper. Although the report in the newspaper was not There was not enough power to influence the decision of the executive committee, but it was unpleasant to have this kind of national political matter exposed by a gossip newspaper. Yan Chujie first thought of the possibility that Luo Hong took the initiative to hype it up.
"This shouldn't be possible." Ning Qi retorted: "I think Luo Hong is straightforward in everything he says and does, so he may not have such a vision. Moreover, he has only been in Sanya for a few days, and he can tell the local newspaper so quickly Get on the line, unless he has already planned this step before he comes. But you have also met him, do you think he is someone with such deep knowledge in the city?"
"He may not be able to come up with such an idea, but the same cannot be said for the people under him. In a mission like this, there will always be a few bad-minded think tanks." Yan Chujie still insists that this matter may have something to do with it. Luo Hong related: "Besides, this kind of tabloid is always greedy for money. If the Ma Dalan people throw some money over, they will write an article to promote them. Isn't this a very reasonable situation?"
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Schneider, who was sitting next to him, ended the argument: "Isn't it simple that the Ma Dalan people are behind this? Call He Xi immediately and ask him to verify the newspaper and the reporter who wrote the article. Finished? ”
Indeed, it is unwise to waste time guessing the truth at this time. Let the Ministry of Security dispatch personnel to investigate the matter. The results will be available in one or two hours at most. Immediately, Tao Donglai called He Xi, explained the situation to him, and asked him to conduct verification immediately.
He Xi did not expect that after investigating the leak case related to the Dutch a few days ago, there would be another case related to the Dutch to be investigated so soon, and it was Tao Donglai who personally called to arrange the work. He Xi didn't dare to neglect, so she called Xu Shiqi over immediately and asked him to go to the "Sanya Express" newspaper office immediately to investigate what was going on with today's front-page article.
Xu Shiqi had never read the newspaper that He Xi mentioned. After accepting the mission, he went to the street to buy a newspaper and read it. Only then did he realize that there was such a drama outside Victory Fort today. As for the newspaper article, whether the newspaper office took advantage of the Ma Dalan people to build publicity for them, or whether the reporter really has a keen sense of smell, that can only be known by checking it first.
Of course, Xu Qiqi would not rashly take radical measures such as closing down newspapers, as that would not be beneficial to the subsequent direction of public opinion, and his superiors did not explain his likes and dislikes of such remarks in newspapers. Therefore, Xu Shiqi chose a responsible investigation method and went to the newspaper office to find the editor-in-chief Xu Zhengye, then revealed his identity and asked the other party to cooperate with the investigation.
Although they were both from the same family named Xu, after Xu Zhengye saw the other party's identity document, he had no idea of getting married, but felt a chill down his back.
(End of chapter)