Chapter 2239
Li Nai's view of Annan Kingdom is not without purpose. As the first foreign army to cooperate with Haihan, Annan Kingdom has been imitating Haihan's military system since the end of the civil war. It not only purchased large quantities of weapons and equipment produced by Haihan, but also The entire army's organization, training methods, and command system are constantly moving closer to Haihan.
In recent years, the Annan Kingdom has invested a lot of resources in military construction, and the results achieved have been very significant. Now the Annan Army is considered the leading military in the Indo-China Peninsula. It has also sent troops to accompany the Haihan Army to fight overseas several times, and has accumulated a lot of experience. combat experience.
Annanguo has benefited from such military cooperation and now selects young officers from the army every year and sends them to Sanya for military training. These trainees have already been exposed to Haihan-related military systems in China, and some can even speak Haihan Mandarin. Therefore, their adaptability after arriving in Sanya is generally better than that of trainees from other places, and the training effect is often the best. OK
As far as Li Nai knows, in the past few similar competitions, Annan students have performed well. Although they have not won the first place in all events, they are indeed the most powerful group of students from various countries. Therefore, Li Nai's subconscious first choice for Su Keyi's question was Annan.
After listening to the reasons stated by Li Nai, Su Keyi also nodded slightly in agreement: "Annan Kingdom now has both land and water armies in shape, and the ruling King of Qingdu admires Haihan. The Annan Army can indeed be regarded as Haihan's favorite disciple. Yes. When I met overseas students from Annan, I couldn’t tell whether they were from Annan or Haihan.”
Li Nai smiled and said: "I have the same trouble. After all, many citizens of Haihan Kingdom moved from Annan in the early years. Now there are tens of thousands of Annan citizens on Hainan Island, and there are also many in the Haihan Army. It is indeed difficult to distinguish the identities of soldiers of Annan origin. ”
During the Annan Civil War that year, Haihan took the opportunity to collect a large number of war refugees in Annan and transported them back to his own territory for resettlement to fill the large labor force urgently needed for his own development. Later, most of these refugees stayed in Haihan and naturally became citizens of Haihan, and many of them entered the yamen as errands and officials.
It is not uncommon for soldiers of Annan origin in the Haihan Army to be soldiers. There are even South Vietnamese surrendered generals like Wu Sen who are reused in the Haihan Navy. The Annan Army sent personnel to Haihan for training. It can be said that there is basically no big cultural gap. This is probably one of the reasons for its excellent training results.
Su Keyi added: "There is also Mr. Xu from Fujian. He has sent many people to Sanya for training over the years, and he has good personal relationships with senior officials in Haihan. To say that those who can learn real skills from Haihan are Mr. Xu's subordinates It must be counted as one.”
The Master Xu that Su Keyi refers to naturally refers to Xu Xinsu, the commander-in-chief of Fujian. In her early years, Xu Xinsu relied on Haihan's support to defeat her rival Shibazhi, and has since become Haihan's loyal supporter and ally. The size of Fujian's annual arms purchase orders from Haihan, the number of military operations it participates in, and the number of military personnel sent to study abroad in Haihan are basically equivalent to those of Annan.
It's just that Fujian is several times farther from Sanya than Annan, so the close exchanges with Haihan are actually not as close as Annan. In addition, Xu Xinsu is a local warlord after all, so there will be restrictions on the candidates sent to study in Haihan, and he is more likely to When choosing a descendant of the Xu family, the selection scope is inevitably smaller than that of Annan.
This difference is also caused by the different environments between the two places. The domestic situation in Annan has stabilized. Regardless of whether the people sent to study abroad are children of the Zheng family, the only way to go is to serve for the Qing capital king Zheng Zhi after returning to China. And Xu Xinsu would definitely be worried that the talents she had worked so hard to cultivate would be taken away by the Ming Dynasty with high-ranking officials and generous salaries, so she would be more inclined to be loyal to her own tribe in terms of candidates.
If things go on like this, the quality of trainees in Annan will be better than that of Fujian, which is also reflected in the results of past competitions. Therefore, although Su Keyi was also optimistic about the trainees from Fujian, he still ranked them after Annan.
Li Nai said: "Brother Su seems to have been paying attention to this for a long time. Why not persuade the Governor of Batavia to let him put aside his estrangement and become an ally with the Haihan Kingdom. From now on, whether it is training or competition, buy Whether it’s arms or not, you no longer have to be just a spectator!”
Van Diemen is still in charge of the East India Company in Batavia. After the war with Madara in 1632, he took over the governorship and the local post-war ruins. It took him nearly five years to The reconstruction of the city and port of Batavia was completed.
The East India Company had a very difficult life in the past few years. Most of the money it made from East Asian trade was invested in the reconstruction project of Batavia. This also made the shareholders in the Netherlands very dissatisfied with the profitability of the East India Company. If Van Diemen had not managed to maintain the Taiyuan Port and Japan routes after taking office, and avoided the outbreak of new wars during this period, I am afraid that the domestic shareholders The shareholders had already sent someone to replace him.
However, due to the sluggish development in recent years, the East India Company's influence in East Asia has been greatly reduced, and it can no longer compete with Haihan in the South China Sea. Even the Portuguese, who have always been suppressed by the East India Company, have become more prosperous in recent years because they are closer to Haihan. The scale of trade in East Asia has vaguely surpassed that of the East India Company.
The only good news may be that the Spanish were suppressed step by step by Haihan during this period. Even their most important colony in the east, Manila, was lost and forced to retreat to the depths of the South China Sea. The Spanish's current situation is equivalent to the East India Company losing Batavia, and there is no hope of turning around in a short time. This old rival was in trouble due to Haihan's attack, which slightly alleviated the competitive pressure that the East India Company had to face.
Neither the East India Company nor the current Governor of Batavia, Van Diemen, is satisfied with the current situation. Even if they are unable to confront Haihan due to the gap in armed strength, they must at least find ways to compete with the West. Take advantage of the competition among peers, and at the same time frighten the enemies in the surrounding area, so as to avoid the tragic situation of being beaten by horses and the troops of the Lan Kingdom coming to the city again.
But the reality is that the East India Company can hardly produce the steel needed to make weapons on its own, and has to spend a lot of money to import these raw materials from overseas. Without sufficient weapons and equipment, the armed fleet and city fortifications that the East India Company was proud of would be difficult to complete, let alone revive.
This dilemma is not without a solution. As long as the East India Company is willing to bow to Haihan, learn from the Portuguese, follow Haihan's lead in East Asia, and obey Haihan's arrangements in trade and military matters, then there will be a lot of hope. It is hoped that Haihan's recognition can be obtained and bilateral relations can be eased, so that the East India Company can return to its original development track. But the problem is that the Dutch have been unwilling to lower their heads, and Su Keyi doesn't quite understand whether this is Van Diemen's obsession, or whether the major shareholders in Europe are unwilling to let the East India Company succumb to a small emerging country.
Therefore, after hearing Li Nai's suggestion, Su Keyi could only respond with a wry smile: "Onlookers can see clearly, Brother Li can see it very clearly. It's just that this kind of business direction affairs, where the Han people are from the lower class, and the Batavia people are soft-spoken, it's not at all No way to intervene.”
In fact, Su Keyi claims to be of low caliber, but that is not true. The Su family is a large Han family in Batavia and is quite influential among the local Han people. This is why Su Keyi was recruited by the East India Company at a young age. , became a special consultant in the company. Later, because he was proficient in the languages of the Netherlands and the Ming Dynasty, he was sent to Haihan, who was also in power as a Han, as a permanent envoy.
Su Keyi will send reports back to Batavia regularly, and the contents of these reports will also become important reference materials for Van Diemen and the company's board of directors to adjust the strategy against Haihan. However, whether the East India Company wanted to fundamentally change its stance and attitude towards Haihan was indeed beyond his control.
Li Nai said: "Maybe Brother Su can try a few more angles to persuade the Governor. After all, the purpose of your East India Company's business is to make money, not to fight. Besides, who has ever taken advantage of Haihan? ? It’s better to respect them and make a fortune together. Look how happy the Portuguese have been in recent years. Thomas, the minister stationed in Sanya, has now purchased several large farms in Haihan, so he can make a stable profit without venturing out to sea. Isn’t it good that the income is recorded? ”
After Su Keyi heard this, he must be lying if he said he wasn't moved at all. How could he not know that growing cash crops on the farm in Haihan would bring stable and generous long-term profits, but this way of making money was not suitable for him. The reason was the same old problem. Haihan had many restrictions on the Dutch's trade activities in the country, including Including large farm operations.
Although Su Keyi was essentially a Han Chinese, he was indeed working for the East India Company and was therefore within the restricted scope. Because of their alliance with Haihan, the Portuguese suffered far fewer restrictions. The Portuguese could operate many industries that the Dutch could not enter. Su Keyi could only watch as these ways of making money were gradually eliminated by competitors. Cannibalize.
Su Keyi said: "Why am I willing to fight with Haihan? It's just that the general trend of the world is not as simple as brother Li understands. The Governor insists on his position, and he must have his own special considerations. Fortunately, he signed a peace agreement with Haihan After that, there will be no more fighting between the two sides. As long as there is no war, there will be no other major events.”
When the city of Batavia was besieged by the Matalan army, Su Keyi also witnessed the cruelty of the war in the city, and he did not want the same situation to happen again. With Haihan's current military strength, he has been able to capture a strong city like Manila across the sea, so Batavia is probably not a problem either. Therefore, maintaining peace with Haihan is equivalent to saving the city of Batavia from war. In Su Keyi's view, this is much more important than other things.
Li Nai nodded slowly after hearing this and said: "The Haihan people are shrewd, and the Dutch are actually not much inferior. Otherwise, why would there be any need to impose various restrictions on them... The general trend of the world is indeed not as simple as it seems on the surface. Brother Su's words are reasonable. ! ”
In fact, Li Nai sees the direction of the international situation far more clearly than Su Keyi, but his intention is just to take the opportunity to reconcile the two sides, and does not want to use Haihan's true strength to intimidate Su Keyi, so his rhetoric is not radical. , even if he knew that some of Su Keyi's views were one-sided, he would not take the initiative to criticize them, but would slowly follow the other party's words.
Su Keyi sighed: "Brother Li knows me well! In fact, whether we can completely reconcile with Haihan, in my opinion, we can talk about it slowly, but the trade between the East India Company and Ming Dynasty can definitely be maintained at the current level." Improve it again. Fulifeng is the number one company in Guangdong. If it can take over the purchase orders of the East India Company in Daming, it will be of great benefit to both of us."
Su Keyi's turn was a bit abrupt, but Li Nai heard it and immediately understood the other party's intention - the trade share lost by the East India Company in Haihan could be made up for in the Ming Dynasty. Of course, the premise is that there must be a powerful local dignitary like Fulifeng in Ming Dynasty as a partner. As for making profits, it will be a matter of course.
However, it is no secret that Haihan imposed restrictions on the East India Company's trade activities. Li Nai also knew it well. If Furifeng cooperated with the Dutch privately, it would certainly be able to expand its foreign trade scale, but This is contrary to Haihan's wishes. Li Nai knew what Haihan meant to Furifeng, and he certainly could not and would not dare to agree to Su Keyi's proposal.
"Brother Su, Haihan stipulated that trade between the East India Company and the Ming Dynasty must be completed at the port operated by Haihan. I don't believe you know the purpose of this restriction. Do you want to Establishing a direct trade relationship with Furifeng means circumventing the rules set by the Haihan people. Have you seriously considered the risks this will bring to you and me?" Li Nai was not in a hurry to reject Su Keyi, either. Be patient and tell him the truth.
Su Keyi said: "The greater the risk, the higher the return. Brother Li doesn't understand this, right?"
Li Nai shook his head and said: "The income is not as high as Brother Su thinks, which allows Furifeng to risk offending Haihan to do such a thing. Once exposed, even the existing stable income will be lost." No more. I am not a risk taker, and there is no need to take such a big risk for a small gain.”
Su Keyi was slightly disappointed when he heard this. This was of course not the first time he had made similar suggestions to Li Nai. However, no matter how much he tried to persuade him, Li Nai would never let go and would not be moved by the conditions he gave. Su Keyi could only lament that it was too difficult to bribe a smart man with power and wealth.
(End of chapter)