Chapter 3010
In the current era, Aceh can definitely be regarded as a regional power. Most of the world's sixth largest island, Sumatra, is Aceh's territory, and the narrow area between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula is the connection between the Pacific Ocean and the Malay Peninsula. The Strait of Malacca is the most important waterway in the Indian Ocean.
This means that half of the Strait of Malacca belongs to Aceh. If any force wants to use this trade channel for a long time, it must deal with Aceh.
Precisely because of its strategic location, Aceh became the core country in the region after the fall of the Malacca dynasty.
A strong country will inevitably embark on the path of external expansion, and Aceh is no exception. In the last century, the Aceh Kingdom launched several attacks on the Portuguese who colonized the Strait of Malacca, but in the end their strength was slightly inferior. Each time, the thunder was loud and the rain was small, and the results achieved were very limited. The fighting lasted for decades. Unable to capture the Portuguese-controlled city of Malacca.
However, facing other neighbors, Aceh's record is very brilliant. In 1564, the Acehnese army invaded the Kingdom of Johor, destroyed its capital Johor City, and even abducted its king.
At the beginning of this century, Aceh once again entered the Malay Peninsula across the strait and successively conquered Pahang, Kedah, Perak and other independent states.
In 1613, the Aceh Kingdom launched an attack on the Tammu Kingdom in central Sumatra and captured the opponent's capital, Old Port, in one fell swoop. Its expansion seemed unstoppable.
However, in 1629, Aceh suffered heavy losses when it launched another attack on the city of Malacca. It was defeated by the combined fleet of Portugal, Johor, and Pattani, and the army that crossed the sea suffered heavy losses. After this battle, Aceh was forced to slow down its pace of external expansion.
At this time, a series of internal problems caused by Aceh's too rapid expansion began to be exposed. Those princely states that had been annexed by Aceh, as well as some ambitious generals, took the opportunity to cause chaos and tried to break away from Aceh's rule.
Of course, Aceh's old rivals will not miss such an opportunity. Some openly or covertly support the rebel forces in Aceh, and some simply raise troops to conquer Aceh.
The Haihan Army occupied Xingdao and extended its tentacles into the Strait of Malacca. Naturally, Aceh was regarded as an opponent. The two sides also played against each other several times in the early days. However, under the domestic and foreign troubles in Aceh, there was no spare time to confront Haihan head-on. He soon gave up on confronting Haihan and began to have diplomatic contacts with the Sing Tao authorities.
This is not because Aceh is willing to give in. The situation is actually stronger than the people and they have to bow their heads. Portugal's colonies in the Straits of Malacca have been eaten by Aceh for decades. Haihan is obviously stronger than Portugal, and they are allies with Portugal. If these two companies join forces to deal with Aceh, then what will happen to them? The trouble is big.
For Aceh, the wisest choice is, of course, to resolve conflicts as much as possible. Even if they cannot be resolved, do not further intensify the conflicts and make yourself uncomfortable.
The war between Aceh and Portugal has lasted for more than a hundred years and has been fought for generations. The hatred between the two sides cannot be resolved by simply resolving it. There was no conflict of interest between Aceh and Haihan before this. It would not be too difficult to implement a ceasefire first and then peace talks.
After going back and forth, Aceh discovered that Haihan could actually provide mercenaries to carry out military strike missions, and began to think of using this method to solve domestic conflicts.
Of course, Aceh may also want to use this method to win over Haihan and prevent Haihan from participating in the dispute between Aceh and Portugal. After Haihan became Aceh's partner, if Portugal wanted to start a war with Aceh, it would have to take Haihan's feelings into account.
"The situation faced by Aceh is very complex, and it is difficult to solve the problem solely by relying on its own army. Fortunately, Aceh is rich and can find other ways, such as asking us for help." Roger briefly introduced Looking at the situation in Aceh, he sounded proud of the current special military cooperation relationship. After all, among the many countries in the Strait of Malacca, only Haihan can sit down and discuss cooperation with the always rebellious Aceh.
Qian Tiandun said: "As you said, the relationship between Aceh and neighboring countries is not very harmonious. If we cooperate with them, what do other countries think about this? The Portuguese should be very concerned about it, right?"
Roger smiled and said: "Of course the Portuguese don't want to see this situation, so every time he meets with the Governor of Malacca, he always complains, saying that we have not fully considered the feelings of our allies and hope that we will fight with Aceh." Clear boundaries. As for other countries, to be honest I don’t really care what they think.”
Qian Tiandun responded knowingly: "Unless they can offer a higher price than Qi Qi, then maybe we can still talk."
Roger nodded and said: "This is the truth, but it is indeed impossible. According to the Ministry of Industry, in addition to Aceh's geographical advantage, Sumatra also has many untapped mineral deposits whose value is inestimable. Du Du alone Mai’s oil fields can be exploited for at least two to three centuries. Basically, other small countries do not have such capital.”
Sumatra is very rich in mineral deposits. In addition to oil, there are also tin, bauxite, coal, gold, silver, etc. However, due to the exploration capabilities of Aceh, most of these mineral deposits are still buried underground and have not been discovered.
If Haihan can maintain its cooperative relationship with Aceh, it will definitely have the opportunity to exploit these mineral deposits in the future. Even if it is developed in the form of cooperation, it will be a profitable business for Haihan.
As for those small countries that could not offer exchange conditions of equal value, Roger was naturally too lazy to pay attention to them, let alone interrupt cooperation with Aceh just because of the small country's ideas. What's more, the people sent by Xingdao to Aceh to perform tasks were not the Haihan Army, but the foreign mercenary group.
In other words, no matter what the outside world thinks, the Star Island authorities will never admit that the mercenary group represents Haihan's official will.
"Helping Aceh form and train a new army and eliminate domestic rebels. These tasks are perfect for the mercenary group. As long as the Aceh people can afford the price, I don't mind having the mercenary group stationed there for a long time. ”
Roger raised his finger and pointed to the barracks outside the window and said: "With so much space available, we can recruit more people and expand the mercenary group's establishment."
Qian Tiandun said: "What should we do next? Should we transfer the mercenary group back from Aceh first?"
Roger waved his hands confidently and said: "There is no need to come back. The people of Xingdao are too savvy, and bringing the mercenary group back will expose their whereabouts. I plan to let them set off directly from the station on Sumatra Island to avoid being monitored."
Qian Tiandun said: "Where is the destination?"
Roger stood up and walked to the hanging map, pointing out three places in succession: "Here! Here! And here!"
(End of chapter)