Chapter 1572 Bidding and Competition
The fact that Tao Donglai was able to describe the arms trade that drove the war so fresh and refined with a sanctimonious look on his face shows how profound his rhetoric skills are. Although the envoys from various countries present were somewhat disapproving of this in their hearts, no one showed it on their faces. They all responded to Tao Donglai's speech with warm applause. Even Su Keyi, who was quite unhappy about this, clapped his hands a few times symbolically.
People with quick minds have already begun to think about Haihan's intention. In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can already see that Haihan's attitude towards the Dutch has always been to be wary. The arms sales ban mentioned by Tao Donglai seems to be a disadvantage for the country that cannot buy goods with cash, but it is not a disguised suppression of the Dutch.
At this time, it was announced that the embargo on the two countries would be temporarily lifted, but the opportunity to purchase arms had to be obtained through bidding, which was not friendly to the Netherlands. Because everyone knows that the Madalan people directly shipped two trucks of gold bricks to show off their wealth, and the Dutch could not make up this amount even after selling all their assets in Sanya. Although Tao Donglai did not say that this bidding must require cash, it is obvious that the Ma Dalan people have taken the lead and occupied a more active position in this confrontation.
Li Nai turned his head and lowered his voice and asked Schneider: "Just bidding? No other conditions? This is not like the executive committee's behavior!"
Schneider smiled and said: "Of course there are additional conditions, but I definitely won't say them on this occasion, you know."
After hearing this, Li Nai nodded understandingly. Having dealt with Haihan for so many years, he naturally knew that Haihan was accustomed to adding some conditions in the trade process that should not be made public. For example, in addition to being responsible for distributing Haihan's products, Furifeng was also responsible for expanding Haihan's contacts in Guangzhou, recruiting immigrants, and buying people in the government. The benefits given by Haihan will not be given in vain, and the high returns brought by international trade must be exchanged for some conditions that cannot be disclosed.
As for this kind of transaction between countries, Li Nai can actually guess what kind of conditions Haihan will put forward. Haihan's external expansion mainly takes two ways. One is to use war to seize it, and the other is to let a country voluntarily set aside some coastal areas for Haihan to manage, which is actually the same as ceding territory. Similar to the situation of Matalan and the Netherlands, they are already trading partners of Haihan, and most of the conditions that can be proposed are related to land. The two countries are located in the South China Sea and are not far apart. If Haihan comes up with such a bidding scheme, I am afraid that what he wants is not just money, but also who can offer better conditions.
Although Li Nai's guess was not entirely correct, it was not far off either. Regardless of whether it is the Netherlands or Malta, the exchange conditions they can offer other than money are very limited, and for Haihan, the real attraction is the area under their control. Although it is impossible for Haihan to completely annex the areas controlled by these two countries in the foreseeable future, it will still strive to establish a new colonial port in the South China Sea to prepare for future expansion.
Before Luo Hong and Su Keyi attended today's banquet, they had actually been notified by Haihan, who implicitly pointed out to them the terms of the arms purchase trade other than money.
Luo Hong did not respond much to Haihan's request to establish a colonial base in the Makassar Strait or the Banda Sea. In his view, the powerful Matalan country gave a piece of land near the sea to a friendly country that was willing to help it, and It's not a big deal, not to mention that Haihan also said that he can pay a certain amount of rent to Matalan Kingdom at his discretion.
This is of course because Luo Hong did not know enough about the history of Haihan's fortune. He allocated land from other countries in the name of concession to build a colonial port, and then controlled it through colonization and deployment of troops, and gradually included it into his own territory. It was Haihan who A common routine used in the process of external expansion in the past few years. However, this is indeed unknown knowledge to the country of Matalan, which is located in a remote part of the South China Sea. Moreover, at this juncture, Luo Hong had no way to send Haihan's request back to China for instructions. He could only make the decision directly. As long as Haihan can agree to sell arms to his country, Luo Hong feels that there is no harm in agreeing to this condition.
The conditions proposed by Haihan to the East India Company made Su Keyi find it difficult to accept. When the East India Company chose a site at the western end of Java Island to build the city of Batavia, one of the main reasons was to secure the Sunda Strait between Java Island and Sumatra Island, the throat channel into the South China Sea. The Dutch did later rely on Batavia's geographical advantages to keep colonists from Britain, France and other European countries out of the South China Sea for a long time. But now the Haihan people's request is to establish a colonial port near the Sunda Strait.
Su Keyi knew that the Haihan people knew very well that the Sunda Strait had been the traditional sphere of influence of the East India Company since the founding of Batavia. Making such a request was no longer an unreasonable request, but an ambition that could not be concealed. exuberant. There are only two main waterways entering the South China Sea from the Indian Ocean, one is the Strait of Malacca and the other is the Sunda Strait. Now Haihan has established a colonial port at Xingdao at the eastern end of the Malacca Strait and has begun to control the Strait waterways. And if they are allowed to bring the Sunda Strait under their control, then any ship from a Western country that wants to enter the South China Sea will have to do so under Haihan's nose.
The East India Company is currently using this trick to keep its Western counterparts out of the South China Sea. However, if Haihan also directly intervenes in the Sunda Strait, it will inevitably compete with the Netherlands for control of the strait channel in the future, and may even give Dutch sailing ships Trading activities create trouble. From the standpoint of the East India Company, Su Keyi must try to stop Haihan's ambition.
But the problem is that Haihan proposed this as an additional condition for the arms trade. If you refuse directly, you may lose the opportunity to purchase Haihan's arms. This is also a result that the East India Company is unwilling to accept, because the East India Company The "loss" of Batavia will most likely become the "gain" of the opponent, the Matalan Country. The ebb and flow of the situation will only make the Batavia region fall into crisis faster.
Su Keyi didn't want to attract a wolf into the house, but he also didn't want to lose this opportunity to participate in the arms purchase. It was the lesser of two evils. He believed that it was more important to obtain the opportunity to purchase the arms, because this would be equivalent to depriving his competitor Ma of the opportunity to fight against the blue country. Indian companies can also form a strategic advantage over Malaysia in the past year or two at least. But if you do not agree to the conditions of the Haihan people, then even if you retain control of the Sunda Strait, you will inevitably have to face another war launched by the Matalan Kingdom in the next period of time. This is not only an issue of control of the strait waterways, but also It will directly threaten the safety of Batavia City.
The party involved and the people who ate the melon ended this reception banquet with a complicated mood, which could not be said to be cheerful, but slightly strange and dull. Of course, for these big guys on the executive committee, they would not put themselves in the shoes of the Dutch or the Malayan people. In fact, seeing the frustrated expression on the Dutch Minister Su Keyi's face, the executive committee members were all It's a pleasure to see it come to fruition. In their view, Han people like Su Keyi still feel a little uncomfortable when they choose to serve the Dutch colonists. If they can find an opportunity to teach this guy a lesson, they will not be merciful.
A few days later, the arms bidding meeting co-hosted by Haihan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Haihan Ordnance Industry was finally held. Because there were not many people attending the meeting, the meeting was held in the conference room usually used by the Executive Committee in Victory Fort. Tao Donglai, a symbol of Haihan State power, personally presided over the meeting to demonstrate the Executive Committee's commitment to the meeting. degree of importance. Except for representatives from the East India Company and the Matalan Kingdom, Haihan officials did not invite anyone else to attend the game to keep the meeting confidential to the greatest extent possible. A special cordon was even drawn outside the conference room, and dozens of heavily armed soldiers were deployed to stand guard to reassure representatives of the two countries.
"Before we begin, I would like to reiterate my previous statement. Our country's attitude is to advocate peace and oppose war. Therefore, no matter what the final result is, our country hopes that the weapons and equipment sold can be used to defend peace and tranquility rather than launch war. ." Tao Donglai still had a compassionate tone, as if what he was going to sell to these two families was not a murder weapon, but a token of peace and friendship.
After Tao Donglai made a brief opening statement, he asked Bai Kesi to carry out the subsequent steps. Bai Kesi said loudly: "As for the weapons and equipment that will be open to you both for sale this time, I believe that you two have read the list we sent before, and you should also consider your opinions on the purchase. Let me explain again, this The military purchase is divided into two major items: the navy and the army. The army is divided into three sub-items: firearms, artillery, and other equipment. The navy is divided into three sub-items: combat ships, non-combat ships, and weapons and equipment. Each sub-item is separate. Bidding, the highest bidder will get the right to purchase the content. In addition, I must remind both parties that we will not open a second purchase opportunity to you within one year after the bidding ends. Do you have any questions? ”
Su Keyi raised his hand and said: "The final transaction price of this transaction must not be a small amount. The price I shouted here may not be able to pay a sufficient amount of cash immediately. Does your country have any restrictions on this? Those who cannot pay with one hand. How to settle the payment for the equipment delivered first hand? ”
Bai Kesi responded: "Payment can be made within ten days after the meeting. However, for equipment with a relatively long manufacturing cycle, such as warships, you can settle in installments. Pay a 30% deposit first, and then pay 30% after the keel is built. An additional 30% will be paid at this stage, and the remainder will be paid after receiving the ship.”
"Ten days? There is no way Batavia can send money in time at this time." Su Keyi shook his head, indicating that this was an unscientific request.
"It doesn't matter. You can apply for a low-interest loan from Haihan Bank with the military purchase contract." Bai Kesi was already prepared for this and immediately explained the relevant measures: "Our professionals have prepared the relevant documents. We will hold a meeting later. You can complete the procedures on site after the completion.”
Schneider, who was sitting next to Bai Kesi, nodded to Su Keyi, indicating that there was no problem with what Bai Kesi said. Schneider is attending the meeting today on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but because he is also in charge of economic work in the executive committee, he also has the final say on the arms purchase loan. This method of operation is actually not new. It was used by Haihan when he sold weapons to Annan. Anyway, this loan is a matter of transferring the loan from the left hand to the right hand. There is actually no risk for Haihan, and he can also make extra money. A little interest. As for the country that dares to default on the debt owed to Haihan, it has never happened so far. No one wants to offend such a creditor with super strong military force, let alone leave Haihan with an excuse to do whatever he wants.
This measure seems considerate and considerate. Using the money lent by Haihan to buy Haihan's weapons and equipment, where can you find such a good thing in the world. But if you think about it carefully, this actually means that the buyer is not given the opportunity to regret, and he must pay immediately as soon as the transaction is completed.
Luo Hong originally thought that the gold bricks shipped this time were completely sufficient, but in the past two days, he studied the equipment list sent by Haihan at the Guest House, and the Ministry of Defense of Haihan also arranged to watch two drills displaying equipment. He found that in addition to the warships he originally planned to purchase, there seemed to be a need to purchase other equipment in large quantities.
Apart from anything else, the Haihan warship and the weapons equipped on the ship are sold separately. If you just buy the ship, you can buy at most half of its combat power, which is definitely not enough. In addition, the army is equipped with firearms and artillery. This is also the weapon needed by the Ma and Blue Army, who suffered a big loss in the siege of Batavia last time. If they want to attack Batavia again in the future, these long-range attack weapons will definitely be able to Make siege warfare easier.
But if a comprehensive purchase is to be made, Luo Hong is also a little worried that the money he brings is not enough to pay for the military purchase. After all, there is a competitor on the opposite side who will continue to raise prices with him. However, since Haihan has provided loan services, Luo Hong at least does not have to worry about his lack of "confidence".
"If you two have no objections to all the requests we have made before, then the next step will begin." Tao Donglai looked at the representatives of both parties and said. As for the specific content of the previous requests, the parties involved naturally know it well and do not need to say it on this occasion.
"There is no objection to the horse beating the blue country." Luo Hong was already gearing up and ready to perform well.
"The East India Company... has no objections." Su Keyi's tone was somewhat reluctant, but the Haihan people did not leave him any choice. If he had any objections, Tao Donglai would probably ask him to leave immediately. Let the Ma Dalan people have exclusive access to this arms purchase opportunity.
(End of chapter)