Chapter 1733: Taking sides
Tao Donglai clearly defined the existence of partners and opponents. But in fact, the scope of establishing diplomatic relations is very broad. Some countries that have established diplomatic relations with Haihan have only maintained political and diplomatic relations, with very little trade exchanges, let alone deep exchanges such as alliances. Although Ming Dynasty had nominally established diplomatic relations with Haihan, in fact it was still competing with each other at every turn. It refused to recognize Haihan's current international status and influence, and was still classified as a partner country by Tao Donglai.
As for the opponents, everyone present could immediately think of Houjin, Spain, and the United Kingdom, which had suffered a big loss in the Star Island in the past two years. These countries had all had head-on confrontations with Haihan on the battlefield, and Haihan had no intention of reconciliation after the incident. It was obvious that he was content to treat these countries as opponents.
Spain and the United Kingdom were also unlucky to hit the iron plate. After all, Haihan now regards the South China Sea as his own back garden and does not allow Western colonial countries to easily get involved. The Netherlands and Portugal have been cautious in their words and deeds after suffering the hardships in the past few years. They no longer easily offend Haihan, but these two countries insist on competing with Haihan in terms of force. Naturally, there is only a dead end waiting for them.
However, Hou Jin, who was far away in the bitter cold land of Liaodong, was a little unjust, at least in the eyes of the outside world. After all, this barbarian regime had not been established for a long time, and there was no contact with Haihan in any form in the past. There is no grudge to speak of. However, Haihan crossed thousands of miles of sea territory at all costs, transported thousands of armed personnel to the Liaodong region, fought several real tough battles with Hou Jin there, and pushed back the areas controlled by Hou Jin all the way to the Jin Dynasty. North of the state isthmus.
Why Haihan wanted to go on an expedition against Houjin is a question that is not easy to understand in the eyes of outsiders. However, there is no doubt that Houjin must have been included in the group of opponents who would not fight to the death by Haihan, and even occupied an overwhelming position. Advantage has never mentioned peace talks with the other party since then. Such a resolute attitude is probably one of the reasons why Haihan was able to win North Korea's trust.
These countries regarded as "opponents" by Haihan all have one thing in common, that is, they have all suffered harsh and ruthless military attacks by Haihan. Therefore, Tao Donglai's words undoubtedly reminded everyone at the scene, including Fei Cexian, that if you want to be Haihan's "rival", you'd better think clearly about the consequences and understand yourself first. Whether the country can withstand Haihan's military attack.
The answer is undoubtedly no. Even if it is as powerful as Ming, it will not want to go to war with Haihan. Otherwise, Ming would have declared war in the year when Haihan annexed Hainan Island. Even though Haihan actually occupied Liaodong and other places, the Ming Dynasty still chose to negotiate to resolve territorial disputes. In fact, it admitted that it would be difficult to defeat Haihan militarily and could only use compromise to deal with Haihan. Strong performance.
Fei Cexian's current situation was really embarrassing. He originally just wanted to test Tao Donglai's attitude towards North Korea to see whether Haihan valued the Ming Dynasty more or protected North Korea. However, he never expected that it would be self-defeating. Tao Donglai's attitude It was far tougher than he expected, and he had no intention of saving any face for Ming Dynasty. He put the relationship between the three countries on the table very straightforwardly.
When Fei Cexian first arrived in Sanya, he heard a Hai-Han saying: Face is given by others and lost by oneself. He had deeply felt this feeling at this time. If he had thought more carefully before taking action, if he could have taken the initiative to change the topic after Tao Donglai opened his mouth and not let him use the topic, maybe the situation would not have developed into this difficult situation. The degree of tidying up.
In front of envoys and businessmen from many countries, Tao Donglai taught him a lesson so mercilessly. It is not an exaggeration to say that this was a humiliation to the Ming Dynasty. But Fei Cexian did not dare to continue the debate with the opponent at this time, because he really could not imagine what Tao Donglai would say next that was detrimental to Ming Dynasty.
"Daming and Haihan officially established diplomatic relations last year. Naturally, it is a partnership as mentioned by Chief Tao. However, I hope that Chief Tao will pay attention to his remarks and not harm the hard-won diplomatic relations between the two countries." Fei Cexian can only now Let’s talk a little about the scene, hoping Tao Donglai can stop here. But compared to the previous questioning, his tone now had a bit more of a pleading tone.
Tao Donglai obviously had no intention of beating Fei Cexian as a lost dog. When he saw that Fei Cexian had shown weakness, he gave up and said to everyone: "I would like to take advantage of today's occasion to say a few words. Our country and the Ming Dynasty are inseparable." Please remember that although there are still many minor differences of opinion and inconsistent interests between our two countries, I think these small issues can be resolved through friendly consultations. North Korea is our country’s partner, and our country will respect and understand their relationship.”
Tao Donglai's calm and calm look made Fei Cexian's chest feel tight again. You must know that a moment ago, the other party was saying that North Korea would not continue to treat Ming Dynasty as a suzerainty. In the blink of an eye, he seemed to have thrown away what he had just said. It's in the back of my head. Obviously, whether it is what he said before or his current statement, the statement made by Tao Donglai is actually untrustworthy.
Although Fei Cexian was angry when he realized this, he also felt a deep sense of powerlessness. The Ming Dynasty had been treated like this by other countries before. Even countries like Portugal and the Netherlands had humbly begged the Ming Dynasty for trade opportunities. Only this Haihan was the most arrogant and rude. When he arrived in North Korea, he tried to pull away the Ming Dynasty's strongest ally.
As an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, Fei Cexian should reprimand Hai Han for this "immoral" behavior, but unfortunately the situation is stronger than the people. Hai Han's army can be invincible no matter who the opponent is, but the Ming Dynasty is invincible no matter who the opponent is. The war situation abroad is very tight. After repeated defeats, the national strength is also declining rapidly, and it has even become the target of public ridicule by senior officials of Haihan.
Pitiful! sad! What a shame! As a bystander, Li Xi also had extremely complicated feelings about Daming's situation. In the past, the Ming Dynasty was the supreme heaven for North Korea. No one would question the authority and national power of the Ming Dynasty. However, the appearance of Haihan broke this impression that had lasted for more than two hundred years. Li Xi only found out after contacting Haihan. , It turns out that the Ming Dynasty is not the most powerful country in the world. At least this country located in the distant South China Sea has strength that the Ming Dynasty has to be afraid of.
With a livid face, Fei Cexian ended the unpleasant conversation with Tao Donglai and gave up his seat for others to ask questions. He didn't even bother to talk to Li Xi, who was leaning over to explain a few words. He went straight back to his seat and poured a glass of wine first, trying to relieve the boredom in his heart.
"Master Fei, why bother making yourself unhappy with trivial matters."
Fei Cexian raised his head and saw that the speaker was Ning Qi, another high-ranking official from Haihan. He immediately raised his hands and said: "Chief Ning, your country usually keeps calling Ming Dynasty an ally, and talks about sharing the same clan and common prosperity, but What’s the point of just saying these beautiful words and forgetting them?”
Ning Qi said: "Master Fei, our country's position has always been clear. It's just that your country is unwilling to recognize our country's strength, is unwilling to coexist with our country, and cannot accept the reality that our country occupies a dominant position in the relationship between the two countries."
Fei Cexian said: "Coexistence? I think it will take a few more years. Let alone coexistence, the Ming Dynasty will be annexed by your country and it will be enough! Mr. Ning, can the world really not see your country's ambitions and tricks?" As soon as Fei Cexian said these words, he couldn't help but regret it. He had just fallen into a big quarrel with Tao Donglai, so why was this lesson still in front of him, and he started to talk nonsense again. If he gets criticized again, he won't have to be the ambassador to Haihan in the future, right?
Ning Qi was not angry, but continued to persuade: "Master Fei, you are worrying too much. Has our country not given enough help to the Ming Dynasty? Let's not talk about the distance. In the past two years, we have sent troops to Liaodong to fight for your country. After the Jin army moved south, this can't be fake, right? After signing the diplomatic agreement last year, our country sold a batch of weapons with advanced combat performance to your country. They should have been installed in the army now, right? If our country has any influence on the Ming Dynasty? Coveted, why go through such a big circle and just send troops to attack Guangdong? Is there any Ming army in Lingnan that can compete head-on with the Chinese army? "
What Ning Qi was talking about was exactly the question that many people in the Ming Dynasty were puzzled about, that is, Haihan clearly had an intention to encroach on the Ming Dynasty, but why did it not take advantage of the Ming Dynasty to launch an offensive against the mainland while the Ming Dynasty was in internal and external troubles? He sent the army to the north to share the pressure for Ming Dynasty. Although it is true that Haihan took advantage of the situation to occupy the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, it did prevent the Jin army from being distracted from attacking North Korea or raising troops south to attack the border.
If Haihan really wants to attack Guangdong, Fei Cexian is not optimistic about how long the garrison here can resist. It is recognized that the strongest army in Lingnan is the army commanded by Xu Xinsu from Fujian. But the problem is that everyone knows that Xu Xinsu has been venting his anger on the same nostril as the Haihan people for a long time, and he neither listens to the court nor listens to the propaganda, and the court has nothing to do with him. After all, I'm afraid that pushing too hard will make Xu Xinsu rebellious, and then the situation will be out of control.
Of course, even if Xu Xinsu is willing to obey the imperial court's orders, he may not be able to defeat the Haihan people, because this army was originally organized and trained by the Haihan people to assist Xu Xinsu. The weapons and tactics they are equipped with are all from Haihan, and even Most of the senior officers in the company have had the experience of going to Haihan for training. If we expect such an army to defeat the Haihan Army, it is better to expect that the Haihan people will have a greater chance of suddenly discovering their conscience.
Fei Cexian never believed that this was because Haihan loved Daming deeply. He knew that these Haihan people acted extremely realistically and everything they did must have a strong purpose. However, he was limited by the information he had and could not There is no logical explanation for Haihan's behavior. But his intuition told him that although Ning Qi's words sounded impressive, they couldn't be fully believed.
"Although your country has helped Ming Dynasty solve some problems, what happened today is not an expression of goodwill, right?" Fei Cexian calmed down his emotions slightly and tried to avoid offending the other party with words. But I still couldn't let go of the depression that Tao Donglai had said before, so I still had to argue with Ning Qi for a few more words.
Ning Qi did not immediately respond to Fei Cexian's question. Instead, he slowly walked up to him and asked, "Can I sit down and talk?"
"Of course, please!" Fei Cexian couldn't refuse Ning Qi's request, and he really wanted to hear what else the other party had to say.
Ning Qi sat down for the simple purpose of talking to Fei Cexian alone. His entourage immediately cleared an area next to him, blocking others a few feet away.
"Let me make a long story short. Many countries in the South China Sea are waiting and watching, waiting for our country to express its attitude and whether it will go to war with Ming Dynasty." Ning Qi made a surprising statement: "In the eyes of many countries, Ming Dynasty is undoubtedly a big piece of fat. It’s just that they don’t have the ability to take a bite. But if Haihan can take the lead in doing this, there will be many people who want to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Fei Cexian responded coldly: "My Ming Dynasty is not made of dough... How does this have anything to do with today's events?"
"Of course there is a connection." Ning Qi explained: "The attitude we want to express is that although our country can go to war with the Ming Dynasty at all costs, we will not choose to take this path in the end."
Fei Cexian shook his head and said: "I don't think that what Chief Tao said earlier was to express such an attitude."
"It's not to show your attitude to your Excellency, but to express your attitude to other countries." Ning Qi reminded: "If you were from the standpoint of a bystander, what would you think of the debate just now?"
"What do you think?" Fei Cexian thought for a moment. Apart from North Korea's embarrassing situation, other countries should indeed be watching a show. Although Tao Donglai's attitude was domineering, he finally claimed that the two countries were partners and that Haihan would not go to war with the Ming Dynasty. This would probably be quite disappointing to the ears of those who have ambitions for the Ming Dynasty.
But Fei Cexian always felt that Ning Qi's statement was too far-fetched. If Haihan just wanted to show his attitude towards Daming, why would he have to humiliate himself to achieve this goal. But he still couldn't figure out what was wrong. And he didn't notice that at the same time that Ning Qi came to talk to him, the senior officials of the Haihan Executive Committee also dispersed and approached envoys from different countries to start talking alone.
In addition to communicating with these countries on their respective issues, they also have a common issue to raise with these envoys, which is to require them to stand on Haihan's side in the future. The premise for this position is that a war breaks out between Haihan and Ming Dynasty.
(End of chapter)