"If the Haihan Empire stops its external expansion one day, it will not be that the rulers of the empire are finally satisfied with the territory they have, but that they are busy dealing with some higher-priority matters. Once they are freed up, , the terrible Eastern Empire will once again embark on the journey of expansion.” - Excerpted from the secret letter sent to King Alfonso VI by Thomas, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Portugal to Haihan in 1657.
It has to be said that as observers who have been closely following Haihan's development for thirty years, the Portuguese have a deeper understanding of Haihan's style of behavior than their neighbors who border on Haihan.
But even Thomas himself, who wrote this secret letter, would have found it difficult to imagine that Haihan was already turning his guns and looking for the next target just as the war against the Ming Dynasty came to an end.
Tao Donglai was not surprised when he heard Shi Diwen reveal his plan. He knew that Shi Diwen had always had some ideas about conquering Japan.
However, the territorial expansion direction pursued by Haihan is mainly on the East Asian continent. What Shi Diwen can do in the direction of Japan is only to use the existence of the Sasebo base to maintain a certain degree of military pressure on it.
Although the Executive Committee is happy to see the results of suppressing Japan, it does not want to use precious military resources to attack this island country with constant natural disasters and poor resources.
In recent years, Haihan has used it as a market for dumping cheap industrial products and low-end weapons and equipment, and has also benefited greatly from the trade. At the same time, a certain number of workers are being recruited from Japan, trained into occupations such as sailors, miners, and land reclamators, and then assigned to some remote areas that are relatively unpopular and difficult to recruit practitioners in Haihan.
"If a war breaks out in Japan, it will inevitably have a negative impact on our business. Have you considered the consequences?"
Hearing Tao Donglai's question, Shi Di bra answered confidently: "I have weighed the pros and cons here. Once the war starts, the sales of ordinary goods will inevitably be affected, but the demand for arms will quickly Improvement, I think the gains in this area more than make up for the losses in other areas.”
Tao Donglai said: "Arms orders are not ordinary commodities. Even if they are cold weapons and equipment such as armor, swords and guns, it does not mean that they can be delivered immediately. Especially arms specifically for the Japanese market, in the past, they were only shipped after receiving the order. Start organizing production, and the delivery time is often one or two years later.”
"If you want to instigate a civil war in Japan, you must provide them with a large amount of weapons and equipment in the shortest possible time. There shouldn't be much inventory in the East China Sea Region, right? Have you talked to Bai Kesi about this?"
Shi Diwen said: "When Lao Bai came to inspect the Donghai Region last year, I mentioned this to him. He said that as long as he greeted him two or three months in advance, the arsenal would have time to complete material preparation and production plan adjustments. It can cope with Japan’s arms orders.”
Tao Donglai smiled and said: "His statement is simply encouraging you to take action!"
Shi Diwen said: "I just want to continue to weaken Japan's national power so that we can control it, but Lao Bai is different. He really wants to directly destroy the country. I mentioned this to him, but he told me He gave me many ideas on how to provoke a civil war in Japan through arms trade.”
Tao Donglai said: "It's not surprising. People of our generation will have thoughts like Lao Bai's. In fact, you don't have to do this quietly. Even if it is discussed by the executive committee, the probability of passing it is It’s 100%, it just depends on how to implement it to reduce losses and maximize profits.”
Shi Diwen said: "I don't want to hide it from everyone, but there is no airtight wall in the world. If it is discussed openly by the Executive Committee, I am afraid that this matter will be spread out soon, so that Japan can be prepared. . If it is put into practice by then, the effect will be greatly reduced.”
Tao Donglai asked: "Can the Japanese be so well-informed?" Shi Diwen smiled and said: "Don't underestimate them. The Japanese have been residing in the East China Sea region for a long time in the name of diplomacy, trade, studying abroad, traveling, etc. There are at least thousands of people. The Tokugawa Shogunate and several vassal states in the west have also set up embassies here. Among these people, there are many spies who specialize in collecting intelligence and seeking information. I guess there must be one. There are about a hundred people.”
"Especially those diplomats, there are many opportunities to deal with our official personnel. As long as they are willing to spend money, it is not too difficult to buy some information from relevant personnel."
Tao Donglai said: "It seems that the movements of these spies cannot be hidden from you, so why not cut off these intelligence channels?"
Shi Diwen shook his head and said: "At most, they will only catch a few shrimps. They will still send people over to do the same thing. It is better to keep these channels and release some information purposefully when needed."
When it comes to intelligence warfare in the diplomatic field, Shi Diwen obviously has his own opinions. He has dealt with the Japanese much more than Tao Donglai, and of course he has a better understanding of their temperament and acting style.
Shi Diwen continued: "If this matter is controlled remotely in Hangzhou, I am worried that it will not achieve the results I expected. So I plan to go to Japan in person and discuss the details with them in person."
Tao Donglai asked slightly surprised: "Are you going in person? Is this necessary?"
Shi Diwen said: "I have been planning this for two or three years. It is safest to talk to the other party face to face. But there are too many official duties at ordinary times, and I can't get away. It just so happens that the executive committee has also moved to Hangzhou. , I can just get away to do this.”
Tao Donglai asked: "Then under what name do you plan to go there?"
Shi Diwen said: "Inspect the Sasebo base and visit trading partners. If the executive committee does not object, then I plan to set off in a few days."
Tao Dong came to see that he had made up his mind, so he had to tell him to be more careful when he went to Japan, and to ensure safety first.
Shi Diwen didn't care much about this. The garrison at the Sasebo base was enough to defeat the local armed forces in the surrounding areas. Moreover, in order to seek military support from Haihan, those big names had no time to curry favor with him. How could they dare to have other ideas.
Such high-level diplomatic visits are actually not uncommon. Chen Yixin visits North Korea every two or three years, and Shi Diwen has also visited Japan many times. Therefore, when other members of the executive committee learned that Shi Diwen was going to visit Japan, they were not surprised. Only Tao Donglai understood the mystery.
According to his agreement with Shi Diwen, the real purpose of this visit will not be made public for the time being. Tao Donglai will not inform other members of the executive committee until he arrives in Japan.