Chapter 3469
Qian Shaobao was so busy at the port construction site these days that he was unaware of other matters. It was not until he returned to the division headquarters to report on the progress of the project that day that he learned that Gao Qiaonan had secretly reached an agreement with the Kingdom of Kandy.
"Uncle Gao, are you saying that instead of going to war with us, the Kingdom of Kandy wants to do business with us? This... can't be a scam, right?"
After Qian Shaobao heard what happened, he still couldn't believe that the situation would turn in such an unexpected direction.
Takahashi Nan said with a smile: "The Kingdom of Kandy is in a closed situation and lacks supplies. It needs trade channels to connect to the outside world. We are just in the right place. We have what they need, and we can also take this opportunity to control Ceylon. The output channel of gems.”
Qian Shaobao asked: "Are the gems they provided really that valuable?"
Takahashi South Road: "Whether it's worth it, in fact, the actions of the Portuguese have given a good explanation. They have been fighting off and on with the Kingdom of Kandy for a hundred years on the island, and they have spent countless human and financial resources. That's it. Still unwilling to give up conquering Ceylon.”
"After the Dutch arrived, they jumped in head first. They even tried to use force to expel the Portuguese and wanted to monopolize the gem trade in Ceylon. These Europeans have a much better understanding of the value of gems than we do. .”
Qian Shaobao said: "But before we set off from Phuket, why didn't my father mention this gem?"
Takahashi Minami explained: "Because our action target is not to take advantage of the island's gems, but to use the geographical location of Ceylon to implement subsequent strategic plans. Now that we have reached a trade agreement with the Kingdom of Kandy, it should actually be considered an accident. Harvest.”
What Gao Qiaonan said was indeed true. When Qian Tiandun was planning to enter the island of Ceylon, he regarded the indigenous political power of the Kingdom of Kandy as a potential opponent by default, so he never thought of cooperating with it at the beginning.
Most of the gem mines controlled by the Kingdom of Kandy on Ceylon are located in the mountains and forests in the middle of the island. They are easily two to three hundred miles away from Hambantota on the southern coast. The special warfare divisions were unable to do so in the early stages of entering Ceylon. To control these inland areas.
But now that good deals are automatically coming to your doorstep, Takahashi Minami will naturally not miss them. He has followed Qian Tiandun for so many years, and he is not only able to lead troops to fight, but also how to obtain more benefits for the special warfare division during the battle is also one of his responsibilities.
Although trading is not Director Gao Qiaonan's specialty, he knows that professional matters should be left to professionals and he can just take care of them himself. With a businessman like Li Yuande who is proficient in trade, he doesn't have to worry about being cheated in the transaction.
However, the trade agreement reached with the Kingdom of Kandy will not have immediate results. Takahashi Minami cannot conjure up the various materials needed by the other party out of thin air.
He could only report the matter to Phuket first, and after Qian Tiandun confirmed it, he could then place orders with domestic factories and firms.
Moreover, since the Executive Committee has begun to tighten the business rights of overseas troops stationed in recent years, this transaction cannot be handled directly in the name of Qian Tiandun or the special warfare division. Part of it must be handed over to the business firm under Luo Wudan's name. , the rest is cheaper than Li Yuande’s Furifeng.
After all, Li Yuande has been working hard for the special warfare division here for a year, so he needs to be given some sweetness to make it justified.
No matter how smooth this process is, it will still take about two months to organize the transportation of goods from domestic sources to Ceylon Island. This must be in stock. If the items are prepared after the order is placed, the delivery time may be longer. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. The Kingdom of Kandy will use what it buys on the battlefield, at least a few months later. When the Portuguese and Dutch families realize that the Kingdom of Kandy has found a new backer, the special warfare division is in Hambanto The tower's infrastructure project should also begin to be put into use. By then, no matter what tricks they use, it will be difficult to force the special operations division to evacuate the area.
Within a few days, the Dutch seemed to have caught a whiff. A Dutch cargo ship under the flag of the East India Company glided back and forth in the waters near Hambantota, seeming to be spying on the movements of the special operations division.
After hearing the report, Takahashi Nan was not in a hurry to react. He just asked the sentries on the coast to keep an eye on them and report them if the other party made any moves.
Takahashi Minami is not worried about any violent reaction from the Dutch. After all, the armed forces currently deployed on the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon Island are very limited and are not enough to shake the vanguard troops stationed in Hambantota.
Batavia, the headquarters of the East India Company, is six thousand miles away from the Island of Ceylon. With its mobilization capabilities, it would take at least half a year to prepare for a large-scale expedition against the Island of Ceylon.
In the end, the Dutch did not come directly like the other two families. Perhaps they also knew very well that as long as Haihan was eyeing a place, it would be difficult to drive him away. In the past, the Dutch had encountered similar situations more than once on Ambuna Island and Taiwan Island, and each time they suffered heavy losses at the hands of Haihan.
In late February 1658, the simple docks and military camps in Hambantota Bay were put into use.
Also completed during this period were three concealed forts located on the left side of the entry and exit channel, for a total of nine gun emplacements. Any ship that wants to break into the bay without permission must first accept the firepower test of the coastal defense batteries.
During this period, Gaoqiao Nan also organized a small number of local people to cultivate farmland on the plains on the north side of the bay, preparing to plant rice in the spring to relieve the food pressure on the garrison.
The goods ordered by the Kingdom of Kandy will not be shipped to Ceylon until March at the earliest. However, the indigenous king obviously does not want to interrupt the contact with the Haihan garrison. He also sent a batch of young men in accordance with Gao Qiaonan's request. Laborers worked for Haihan.
Of course, this kind of labor is not free, and Haihan also has to pay corresponding compensation for it. However, the other party did not intend to collect Haihan banknotes, but requested that the remuneration of these laborers be converted into the negotiated transaction to offset the cost of purchasing Haihan materials.
Takahashi Minami didn't care about this. He even told the other party that as long as the Kingdom of Kandy sent enough laborers to work, it was not impossible to negotiate a full deduction for the purchase cost.
But even if the Kingdom of Kandy has this idea, it will be difficult to realize the vision proposed by Takahashi Minami, because a new round of war has begun again.
For the Kingdom of Kandy, all young men are valuable fighting forces. At this time, they are needed to fight for the country instead of reclaiming wasteland for the Haihan people.
At this time, the vanguard force, which had basically established a firm foothold, also began to dispatch reconnaissance ships to various ports on Ceylon Island to explore the battle situation.
The intelligence collected through the investigation surprised Takahashi Minami. The most intense fighting now is not the battle between the Kingdom of Kandy and Portugal and the Netherlands, but the battle between Portugal and the Netherlands. The two sides are once again targeting the ownership of the city of Colombo. A battle began.