Chapter 1570: Guidance on the Maze
After getting some advice from the author, Luo Hong finally had a clearer understanding of Haihan's official attitude. At least he has understood that the door to arms sales has not been completely closed. The Haihan people are not unwilling to sell, but they have to wait for a reasonable time and price. The most important thing is that Haihan hopes that the parties involved, namely Matalan and the Netherlands, will realize this, so he implicitly expressed the official attitude through the newspaper media.
Since it has been hinted, Luo Hong certainly cannot remain indifferent to this. However, the effect of pulling the gold to display outside Victory Fort the day before yesterday was not ideal. Apart from the unexpected gain of generating news events, Haihan's senior management actually showed no interest in it. Moreover, it is impossible to use this trick repeatedly. If you do it again, you may really anger the Haihan people.
“Mr. On the reporter.
"This..." Xun Pengcheng couldn't answer. He knew that his abilities were limited. He could just write gossip articles and complain about social events, but he was still far from being able to think about national affairs. And after yesterday's lesson, how could he still dare to express his opinions on government affairs at will, not to mention that the person he was talking to at this time was a man from Matalan whom the Ministry of Security was very concerned about.
But Xun Pengcheng's hesitant reaction fell into Luo Hong's eyes, and he had a different understanding. After some explanations just now, he believed that Xun Pengcheng should be a real insider, and perhaps also knew something about the solution that Haihan officials had not come up with. If the other party could give me some guidance, this matter might be solved.
Thinking of this, Luo Hong motioned to his men behind him to take a small wooden box from the floor, put it on the table, opened it and pushed it in front of Xun Pengcheng: "Sir, please show me the way!"
The box was padded with cotton cloth and wrapped in two gold bricks, each of which was at least five or six times larger than the gold coin just now. It can be seen that Luo Hong came well prepared. Not only did he prepare a meeting gift, he also secretly prepared a heavy gift, just waiting for such an opportunity to use it to hit people.
Xun Pengcheng glanced at it and knew that the gold bricks in this box were of the same shape as the two carts of gold bricks he saw outside the Victory Fort yesterday. The value of these two gold bricks can really be worth the several years of hard work in my current position.
Want it? Of course Xun Pengcheng wanted it. With this money, he could immediately realize his dream of buying a bigger house, and then find a place to contract hundreds of acres of land to build a plantation. In the next few decades, he could become a master and enjoy happiness. But the problem is that Xun Pengcheng doesn't know the answer Luo Hong wants to know at all. Even if he knows it, he may not dare to tell Luo Hong. As for making up any explanation for the other party, Xun Pengcheng had a thief heart but not the courage. He didn't want to be visited by Ma Dalan people or the security department afterwards.
"This...it's not necessary!" Xun Pengcheng swallowed hard and tried to refuse Luo Hong's request.
But in Luo Hong's view, Xun Pengcheng's lack of firmness was a deliberate push and pull to hint at him. He was even more unwilling to give up now. Xun Pengcheng must come up with an explanation, otherwise he would stay here and not leave.
Xun Pengcheng not only wanted the money, but he was also worried that he would be arrested and imprisoned if his transaction with Ma Dalan was exposed later. At the time of crisis, Luo Hong finally made up his mind with one sentence: "Sir, you are not helping Ma Dalan to help me." Blue Country is helping your country! If this happens, your country will have a higher prestige in the South China Sea. It will be beneficial to the people and serve the country!”
Xun Pengcheng, who was already a little confused by the temptation of gold, thought, yes, since what I am doing is beneficial to the country, why should I be timid? Perhaps it was because the mental pressure was relieved, he suddenly came up with a set of words.
According to Xun Pengcheng's understanding of the official attitude, he does believe that the official is more inclined to lift the previous ban in some way, but how to convince both countries involved obviously requires very high-end operations. With Xun Pengcheng's social status, of course he couldn't figure out how to achieve such a goal, but he gave Luo Hong a quite feasible idea.
After hearing this, Luo Hong nodded again and again, thinking that this move was indeed expected to change the official attitude of Haihan. As for whether it would work, we would know after looking back. Xun Pengcheng knew the rules, and he refused to accept the two gold bricks first no matter what. He only accepted the gold coin that he had taken out earlier. Luo Hong then made a promise to give him a thank you gift after everything was done.
After finally sending Luo Hong and his party away, Xun Pengcheng went back to bed and lay down, but he couldn't sleep anymore. Only now did he feel strangely flustered. If Luo Hong didn't get the job done and couldn't get the two gold bricks, it would be a small matter. If he was implicated in this, the Security Department was afraid that he would have to add another one. The crime of "knowingly committing a crime". But if it happens, Luo Hong will definitely send someone to deliver gold bricks, and then he will be transformed into a rich man. The two unpredictable futures were like two ropes tied to him, constantly pulling his emotions in completely opposite directions.
But Luo Hong was full of excitement. He believed that Xun Pengcheng's advice represented the official attitude of Haihan to a certain extent. At this time, he should strike while the iron is hot and quickly apply to Haihan senior officials for a new negotiation. So after he came out of Xun Pengcheng's residence, he didn't even return to the guesthouse, and went straight to Victory Fort.
"Luo Hong is here again?" Tao Donglai felt a headache after hearing the news for the first time in a long time. Although there are many foreign envoys and businessmen coming in and out of Fort Victory every day, it is rare for someone like Luo Hong to be so persistent. It seems that if Haihan doesn't let go, he will establish his presence in Fort Victory. Although Tao Donglai had preliminary ideas on how to deal with the arms embargo, this matter still needs to be coordinated with the departments of diplomacy, commerce, military industry, etc. It's not a big trouble at all.
But Tao Donglai doesn't want to offend the other party. After all, the Matalan country has a very strong willingness to purchase arms. It is a potential big customer for Haihan. He just needs to grasp the balance and obtain as many exchange conditions as possible from the other party. , especially content related to geopolitics.
Although he felt it was a bit troublesome, Tao Donglai decided to see Luo Hong again. He knew that the other party must have come here after reading today's new special issue, and he also wanted to hear whether the other party understood the spirit conveyed by Haihan officials. However, even if Tao Donglai was cunning, he would never have imagined that this seemingly rude general Ma Dalan would immediately think of going to the writer to clear up his doubts after reading the newspaper. Although Xun Pengcheng's explanation was also biased, it did help Luo Hong better understand Haihan's official intentions. Tao Donglai was mentally prepared, but when he actually heard the solution proposed by Luo Hong, he still suspected that there was something wrong with his ears, because Luo Hong's idea coincided with his plan. , hoping to win the opportunity to purchase Haihan arms through one-on-one bidding with the Dutch.
"...According to your country's method, bidding is undoubtedly the most reasonable solution. I know that the Dutch have always wanted to buy your country's weapons and equipment. We will compete fairly and the one with the highest price will win, so that no one will gossip. Even if the Dutch lose, it will be obvious and there is no reason to resent your country.”
Luo Hong followed Xun Pengcheng's suggestion and proposed his own solution to Tao Donglai. Of course, he also knows that this plan is not perfect. The geopolitical exchange conditions between Haihan and the Netherlands are not problems that can be solved by money, but at least Matalan has enough sincerity to bear the consequences of this method of purchase. premium.
Seeing that Tao Donglai was silent, he continued: "If you are worried about the attitude of the Dutch, you can at least inform them of the situation first and see if they are willing to accept this method. If these cowards are on the battlefield, Other places can only timidly choose to avoid fighting. Then I suggest that your country really does not need to cooperate with them anymore. Cowards are not worthy of being partners of Haihan Country!"
This is of course a gamble. If the Dutch refuse, then no matter how sincere Luo Hong is, it may be difficult for the Haihan Executive Committee to take the initiative to tear up the agreement signed with the East India Company. However, according to Xun Pengcheng's previous analysis, the Dutch also have a strong need to purchase arms, and the most important thing is that Haihan officials have the intention to open arms sales, so this attempt has a certain possibility of success.
Tao Donglai had to admit that he had made a mistake earlier. This Luo Hong was not a rough man, but a thick man with some finesse, and he still had something in his belly. Regardless of what Luo Hong said, whether he figured it out by himself or some expert gave him the idea, this suggestion indeed paved the way for Tao Donglai's plan, allowing Haihan to use a very reasonable reason to notify the Netherlands. people participate in this bidding.
"I will convey your proposal to the Dutch, but I can't make any promises to you now. This is a national matter for either of us, so it must be handled with caution. I hope you can understand our arrangement, Luo Hong General." Tao Donglai responded cautiously, and he did not let go easily even though there were still possible variables.
But when Luo Hong heard these words, it was already a huge concession compared to his previous attitude, and at least he saw a glimmer of hope.
In the afternoon of the same day, Schneider paid a visit to the Dutch Minister Su Keyi and conveyed to him the proposal of the Materan Kingdom, which was actually also the proposal of the Haihan Executive Committee, that is, if both the Netherlands and Materan had the intention to purchase Haihan military equipment , then Haihan will arrange a bidding to give the two countries a chance to compete fairly.
Although this was indeed the opportunity that the East India Company had been waiting for for a long time, Su Keyi did not take the initiative as he expected. Instead, he lost to his old rival Ma Dalan in this link. This frustration made him furious, and after Schneider left, he broke a set of expensive blue and white porcelain tea sets.
Sukeyi did not like the solution proposed by the Matalan people. Although the East India Company was financially strong and Governor Van Diemen had granted him autonomy, he still believed that the nature of this kind of bidding was to kill the enemy. Thousands, eight hundred self-inflicted wounds, the only ones who take advantage are the Haihan people who sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. He really didn't understand what the Ma Daran envoy was thinking, and he actually chose such a solution that was not conducive to the Ma Daran country.
Of course, Su Keyi really couldn't imagine that Luo Hong's plan actually came from tabloid reporter Xun Pengcheng's suggestion, and the plan proposed by Xun Pengcheng was completely subconsciously conceived from Haihan's standpoint, and the natural winner would be It can't be a horse attacking the blue country. It's just that Luo Hong was obsessed with buying weapons and overpowering Holland. This obsession prevented him from delving into who was the biggest beneficiary in the end like Su Keyi.
And this is not the most uneasy thing for Su Keyi. He thinks that the Haihan people may have other things they are hiding from him, such as having secretly negotiated certain exchange terms with the Ma Dalan people. Haihan was able to quietly negotiate terms with the East India Company in the past, and now he can naturally engage in this kind of secret operation again - as long as the Maltalan people can come up with good enough conditions.
Su Keyi knew that Haihan had a strong interest in the eastern and southern waters of the Sunda Islands, but he had never found an opportunity to establish a coastal supply point such as a colonial port in this area. The East India Company has also been strictly guarding against this, leaving no suitable coast for Haihan to build a port within its control area. But if the Matalan people foolishly agree to Haihan's request to build a port somewhere in order to purchase arms, then the situation in this sea area will be even more unfavorable to the Netherlands in the future.
Similar situations are not without precedent in the past. In order to gain Haihan's support, Annan State allocated four places on its own coastline for Haihan to build ports. The result was that Haihan relied on these four colonial ports. In just a few years, it controlled almost the entire eastern coastline of Indochina, making it impossible for Western colonial countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands to compete for control of maritime trade in this region. To this day, merchant ships from other countries that want to trade with Annan can often only dock at ports operated by Haihan people. All trade content must also be subject to Haihan supervision, and there is no freedom of trade at all.
This set of operating techniques was later used by Haihan in the Ming Dynasty. Today, Haihan’s colonial ports exist along the Ming Dynasty coastline from south to north, near key waterways and major trade areas, almost cutting off the influence of Western countries. Possibility of colonization of these areas. If Matalan and Haihan also staged such a show, then in a few years, the entire Sunda Islands waters would probably become Haihan's control area.
(End of chapter)