Chapter 3488
Compared with Li Xie's low-key traveling style, this convoy from another country was obviously much more flamboyant. Not only did it bring dozens of cavalry to escort the convoy, but they also specially held a flag guard of honor, making it difficult for others to ignore its presence. .
The big word "Zheng" on the flag indicates the person this motorcade serves - King Zheng Zha of Annan.
As a country with comprehensive strength second only to Haihan in the South China Sea, Annan's international status has also risen. It is natural for the king to arrange a guard of honor during his visit.
However, Zheng Zha didn't have any airs after getting off the car. When he noticed Li Xie and his party who came to the guest house at the same time, he immediately took the initiative to say hello.
As early as when the two were still heirs in their respective countries, they both went to Sanya to study. At that time, they had already known each other and considered themselves friends. In total, they had been friends for more than 20 years.
Although the two of them haven't had many opportunities to interact face-to-face in recent years, since they met on Haihan's property, they definitely still had to exchange a few words.
Li Zhi succeeded to the throne much earlier than Zheng Zha. After the palace coup in Korea in 1638, he was pushed to the throne by Haihan.
Zheng Zhe was the crown prince until he was almost fifty. It was not until his father Zheng Zhe passed away four years ago that he officially succeeded to the throne as King Annan.
Perhaps it was because of their different seniority in the position of king that the two had completely different ideas about the arrangements for the ceremonial guard during the trip. The two motorcades came together, forming a sharp contrast.
After chatting for a while, the two agreed to meet at another time in the next few days, and under the guidance of Haihan's diplomatic staff, they went to their pre-arranged residences.
The scale of the guest house that Haihan built at the foot of Baoshi Mountain on the bank of the West Lake is much larger than the previous guest house in Sanya. There are as many as eight hospitals planned here that can only accommodate large-scale missions. Nearly half of the area is still unfinished.
Although Korea and Annan were both vassal states, they were also nominal allies of Haihan. When the kings of these two countries visited Hangzhou, they naturally had to stay in the highest-grade hospitals. Not only can the residence enjoy the beautiful scenery of the West Lake, but it also has all kinds of living facilities and is built according to the living standards of Haihan senior officials.
That night, at the welcome dinner hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Haihan, the two kings met many senior officials from Haihan whom they were familiar with. At the same time, they also discovered that they were not the only foreign dignitaries attending the dinner, there were at least a dozen countries present.
It's just that the status of these guests is that most of them are diplomats or senior generals of their own countries. Indeed, they are the only two kings of a country present. They are basically the most distinguished guests at this dinner.
During the dinner, Yan Chujie explained to the guests the reason and purpose of holding the Zhoushan Forum, and then answered various questions from the guests. This process became the highlight of the dinner.
"What this forum will provide you is a platform for equal exchanges, countless information that can be obtained for free, a window to understand changes in the international situation, and an opportunity to improve your own military strength. I hope to come here after a long journey Everyone who participates in the forum will get what you want.”
After answering a series of questions raised by the guests, Yan Chujie had to bring the Q&A event to an end. These guests are very positive about the upcoming forum activities. If they continue to chat, they may not be able to finish until midnight. But not everyone could fully understand the explanation given by Haihan's senior management on this forum. After Li Zhi returned to his residence after the banquet, he was still trying to figure out the information he had received previously.
He didn't know what others wanted to get from this event, but for North Korea, the most ideal goal of participating in this event is to take this opportunity to further consolidate its alliance with Haihan and ensure that North Korea can stay in Haihan for a long time. Under the protection of China, and able to play a more important role in the international system built by Haihan.
Li Zhi knew that his personal attendance as the king was just to show his attitude of importance to Haihan. If he really wanted to achieve the expected goal, it was obviously not enough to just rely on rhetoric in diplomatic settings. More practical measures must be taken. Just fine.
Purchasing arms from Haihan is of course one of the effective ways to express one's wishes. Although it is a disguised payment of protection fees, it can indeed improve one's own military strength.
However, Li Zhi had been dealing with Haihan for so many years and knew that this event period was not the best time to purchase arms.
Such a concentration of buyers will only make the limited armament resources in Haihan's hands even more scarce, and there will most likely be bloody scenes of bidding and purchasing. Due to this, the price will definitely rise a lot.
Besides, after more than 20 years of running-in, the North Korean army has already had a relatively stable equipment replacement cycle. It has well-planned arrangements for when to purchase new equipment. If it suddenly needs to make a large-scale military purchase in the middle, it will not only If it affects the original arrangement, it will also cause turmoil in the national finances.
The method that Li Zhi was most looking forward to was actually sending troops to participate in certain military operations led by Haihan.
In previous battles, the North Korean army rarely participated in frontal battlefield fighting. Most of the time, it only had to fight for the Haihan army, serve as logistical equipment during operations, or guard and escort prisoners of war. The consumption was exchanged for considerable military merit.
Just last year, in the war launched by Haihan against the Ming Dynasty, North Korea also sent thousands of troops to participate in some combat operations.
This kind of joint military operation not only allows the North Korean army to accumulate actual combat experience, but also effectively proves its status in the Haihan military system. After all, there are currently only a limited number of armies in the world that are qualified to cooperate with the Haihan Army.
In Li Zhi's view, using this method to prove one's own value is much more cost-effective than temporarily arranging military purchases outside the plan. But it is still unclear whether Haihan will have any large-scale military operations in the near future.
On the table in front of Li Yan was a copy of the latest "Haihan Times". The prominent news title on the front page was "Fearless and Dangerous, Special Forces Division Enters Ceylon Island". The content is that the Special Forces Division stationed in Ceylon in the Indian Ocean. There are reports of the establishment of a new base on the island.
Of course, the timeliness of this report lags far behind, and it does not mention the recent fighting in the local area. However, what Li Zhi focused on was the location of Ceylon Island, which was still more than five thousand miles away from the former southern border island. This shows that Haihan is expanding rapidly in this direction.
It's a pity that this place is too far away from North Korea, and the North Korean army with limited long-range delivery capabilities can only look back and sigh. Even for Annan, which is located in the South China Sea, it is not easy to send troops to join in the fun.