Chapter 2069
The originally planned armed fortress was eventually built into an almost undefended manor. This was a desperate move for the Taiyuan Port authorities. The traditional pioneering method of using force to protect commercial routes and colonial development was no longer feasible here. However, the first phase of the project, which took many years and a lot of manpower and material resources to be completed, could not be allowed to go to waste, so the only way to compromise to Haihan's requirements was to rebuild the manor.
Although the city of Geranje originally dismantled its outer fortifications and forts under Haihan's "strong suggestion", the outline of the bastion can still be vaguely discerned from the layout of the flower beds and low fences outside the manor. In the battlements and forts surrounding the official residence, the current scene is obviously less violent and more peaceful in the pastoral style.
The local residents of Damuan Port are mainly the Dutch and the Ming Han people who moved here in the early days. There are also a small number of Taiwanese natives and immigrants from Ryukyu and other countries. The total population is less than 3,000. Whether it is population size, infrastructure level or local agricultural output, there are already obvious gaps compared to several Haihan colonies on the island of Taiwan. However, a certain proportion of Han people have settled here, and their planting talents have allowed Damuan Port to achieve self-sufficiency in food, so there is no big problem.
This is not the first time that Yu Yao has visited this place. When he signed the peace agreement with the Dutch, he had been to Damuan Port. Now more than four years have passed. When he came here again, he found that this place was the same as four years ago. Not much has changed. Of course, from the perspective of competitors, the stagnant development and construction of Damuan Port is definitely a good thing for Haihan. This shows that Haihan's many restrictive measures have indeed had the desired effect.
After arriving at the official residence in Relanja City, Hans invited Yu Yao to his study. Since the other party made it clear at the dock that this sudden visit was to discuss something, he would save unnecessary red tape and go directly to the meeting. However, neither of the two senior officials spoke the other's language, so the conversation could only be conducted through an interpreter.
"Mr. Hans, the reason for my visit this time is to understand your country's trade situation in Japan." Yu Yao explained his purpose straight to the point.
After hearing this, Hans's expression immediately changed, and he smelled something bad in the other party's words.
The Netherlands is a mercantilist country. Most of the Dutch people traveling across the ocean across the world only care about trade and are not keen on other things, such as religion. This is different from the Spaniards and Portuguese whom Japan had contact with. Those Western visitors were always in the name of trade, but in fact they were for missionary work in Japan.
Therefore, in order to prohibit Westerners from proselytizing in Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate began to implement a closed-door policy, gradually expelling the Spanish and Portuguese who also came from Western countries, but still allowed the Dutch, who were dedicated to doing business, to enter Japanese ports for trade. The Netherlands was also fortunate to become a trading partner licensed by the Tokugawa Shogunate together with the Ming Dynasty.
Today, the only ports in Japan that allow foreign merchant ships to conduct trading activities are Hirado and Nagasaki. There are no official trade channels between Haihan and Japan, so there are no official agencies stationed in Japan. However, the Dutch have established commercial offices in Hirado and Nagasaki to maintain trade relations with Japan.
The Dutch obviously know much more about the situation in Japan today, especially the situation in the business world, than Heihan does. If there is a giant like Xu Xinsu in the Japanese business world at this time, the Dutch will definitely know about it, so the purpose of Yu Yao's sudden visit to Damuan Port is to get some valuable information from the Dutch. Of course, the relevant investigation work cannot entirely rely on the Dutch side. The intelligence department is also learning about the situation related to Japanese trade through other channels.
But Yu Yao's purpose seemed full of hostility to Hans. The first thing he thought of was that the Haihan people were going to start opening up trade channels in Japan. Once the other party entered the Japanese market, they would undoubtedly rely on their Its strong strength is squeezing out its own market share, which is by no means good news for the Netherlands.
Of course, the most irritating thing was that the other party came to him so openly and asked about the trade status of the East India Company and Japan. This made Hans feel offended. But considering the force the other party had, he didn't dare to get angry, lest he take the initiative to give the other party the reason to fall out.
"Your Excellency General, regarding the trade situation between the East India Company and Japan, this is our commercial secret. Please forgive me for the inconvenience of announcing the inside information to you." Hans refused Yu Yao's request without being humble or overbearing. However, he was still very uneasy in his heart. The other party came all the way to Tai Yuan Port and probably wouldn't give up immediately just because he hit a snag.
After listening to what the translator said, Yu Yao shook his head and said, "Mr. Hans has misunderstood my purpose of coming. Let me explain in more detail. I want to know whether there are ten businessmen engaged in cross-border trade in Japan." The remnants of Bazhi!”
"Eighteen Zhi!" Hans felt as if he had been burned when he heard this word, and his body shook involuntarily: "Your Majesty General, I don't understand what you are talking about. Eighteenth Zhi has been expensive a few years ago. The Chinese army was wiped out.”
Yu Yao said coldly: "The Shibazhi is gone, but the people related to the Shibazhi are not dead. As far as we know, many people from the Shibazhi fled to Japan. Maybe they fled When he was there, he also brought a lot of wealth that belonged to Shiba Zhi, and then used this wealth to become one of the top merchants in the local area. What do you think of this story? "
Hans became much calmer after listening to what the translator said: "As we all know, we Dutch only care about business and have no interest in other disputes. We do business with your country, do business with the Ming Dynasty, and do the same with Japan. It’s no different. We don’t care who we’re dealing with, as long as we get the deal done and we get a profit, it’s a good business for us.”
Yu Yao sensed Hans's shirk of responsibility from Hans's erroneous answer, and he immediately said: "Then let me make it clearer, you Dutch people are free to do business with whomever you want, but now I want to Do you know what is the current situation of Shibazhi’s remnants in Japan?”
Hans was silent for a while before responding to Yu Yao again: "Your Excellency General, there is no hatred between the East India Company and the Eighteen Zhizhi, so I didn't pay too much attention to the whereabouts of the Eighteenth Zhizhi's remaining party. I don't even know, What is the criterion for judging this status in your country? Have you ever joined the Shiba Zhi? Does it count if we have relatives or friends who are members of Shibazhi? Maybe there are the kind of people you mentioned among the Japanese doing business with us, but I don’t know who it is.” Hans’ explanation seemed to push things away. Everything was clear, but Yu Yao thought that what he said was not entirely true, deliberately pretending to be confused, and obviously had something to hide. When the Shibazhi controlled sea trade in Fujian, the East India Company also had frequent business dealings with it. Dutch merchant ships even had to pay passage money to the Shibazhi in order to successfully complete trade in Fujian waters. If Hans didn't know enough about Shibazhi, that's obviously not true.
Yu Yao stood up slowly, walked to the study window and looked outside: "As far as I know, the East India Company's merchant ships to Japan every year are not too many, and they should not be comparable to the scale of your transactions with my country or the Ming Dynasty. Mr. Hans, don’t let the small lose the big!”
Hans was shocked when he heard this and asked quickly: "General, what do you mean?"
Yu Yao did not look back, he still looked out the window at the scenery of Yanyan River with his hands behind his back, and slowly responded: "Mr. Hans, if you cooperate with us well and provide the information I want to know, it will not affect East India." The company's trade in Japan. But if you are stubborn and insist on associating with some dangerous people, then I think our country should reconsider its relationship with the East India Company... Once a place like Tainan Port is lost, it will be impossible to regain it. Back in the hands of you Dutch ”
Hans couldn't help but panic when he heard this threat, and quickly argued: "General, you can't do this! The East India Company has signed a formal agreement with your country, and has long recognized the ownership of Taiyuan Port..."
Yu Yao interrupted him unceremoniously: "Mr. Hans, the War of Independence between your country and Spain has been going on for almost seventy years. During this period, how many armistices and peace treaties have been signed? I'm afraid you yourself Countless. Isn’t it normal for conflicts between countries to fight for favorable conditions through various agreements? Isn’t it normal to sign these agreements to delay the war until the war is ready? Are we ready to tear it up? We can admit the East India Company's control of Taiyuan Port, or deny it if necessary."
"You are blackmailing me!" Hans could no longer restrain his anger. He originally wanted to respond by changing the subject and shirk responsibility, but now it seems that these methods will not work. The General Haihan in front of him is not So easy to fool.
"Blackmail? No, no, no, I'm just analyzing the situation in Taiyuan Port. I think this will help Mr. Hans make a correct judgment." Yu Yao paused and said: "In fact, the Portuguese and Annan people have always hoped that If the East India Company withdraws from this area, I think they will be happy to pay a fee to our country and take over this place."
Hans frowned. Of course he knew very well that the Portuguese had never given up on developing trade routes to the north. The East India Company spent a lot of money to get the Japanese shogunate to declare a ban on the Portuguese. But if the East India Company loses the transit point of Taimu Port, the trade route to and from Japan will become more difficult, and once the Portuguese gain a foothold on the island of Taiwan, they will probably ruthlessly try to cut off Dutch merchant ships heading to Japan. route.
Even if the Portuguese said in front of him that they were going to take Damuan Port as their own, Hans would not necessarily be afraid. Although this place did not have many defense means, there were Haihan people to maintain order in the Fujian waters. He could be sure that the Portuguese People dare not make mistakes. But if the Haihan people claim to want to change the ownership of Taiyuan Port, Hans would not dare to neglect it, because the Haihan people can really say it and do it.
The trade between the East India Company and the Ming Dynasty, Korea, Japan, and Ryukyu was basically carried out through Damuan Port. Losing this place would cause the scale of the East India Company's trade with these countries to shrink sharply, which would The economic losses caused will probably be no less than those of the Battle of Batavia that year. The subsequent impact of this may cause regional trade interruptions that will last for several years, which will make it difficult for the East India Company to operate in East Asia and lose the situation that it has worked hard to develop in recent years.
Hans immediately thought of a series of negative consequences that would result. He could not bear this responsibility, and the East India Company could not accept it. But if he wanted to compromise with Yu Yao, he was worried that the other party would put forward more conditions until he could no longer accept the move, and then he would use this as an excuse to send troops to seize Da Yuan Port.
"Your Excellency, the use of force will not help solve the problem and will only bring unnecessary disaster to this peaceful port. As trading partners, your country and the East India Company, I think we should come up with a better solution through consultation. This is the way for civilized people to deal with the current differences." Hans could only lower his profile, hoping to persuade Yu Yao to use a gentle way to deal with the problem.
Yu Yao finally had enough of the scenery outside the window, turned around slowly, looked at Hans with an eager face and said: "Mr. Hans, I think the meaning of partners is to support each other. If you encounter trouble, Instead of being able to help, the other party actually hinders and hinders us. I think it is more appropriate to call this a stumbling block instead of a partner.”
"You see, I regard the East India Company as a partner, so I don't shy away from visiting when I encounter trouble, hoping to get help from my partners, but things seem to be somewhat different from what I expected... Mr. Hans, do you think I should continue to trust my partner?"
"Of course! You must trust! We can definitely be regarded as one of your country's most reliable partners... In fact, I also want to try my best to help you, General, but it seems that our previous consultations fell into a misunderstanding, which made us misunderstand each other. The idea has been misunderstood. Maybe we should start over and solve the problems that caused us misunderstanding." Hans hurriedly walked down the ladder. He knew that if he didn't let go, Yu Yao might not have the patience to go down the stairs again. opportunity.
Yu Yao nodded and said: "Very good, I also hope that the differences between us are just misunderstandings. Then let's talk about the issue of Shibazhi again."
(End of chapter)