Chapter 3514
In order to save time, the meetings between the Haihan Executive Committee and Portugal and the Netherlands were held almost at the same time. But compared to the back and forth in dealing with the Netherlands, Heihan's talks with Portugal were much simpler.
The meeting with Portugal was hosted by Shi Diwen. The topics of both parties were also focused on the Indian Ocean region, which Haihan had just entered. They explained their own interests and demands straight to the point, eliminating the need to test each other.
Qian Tiandun's troops recently sent troops to save the city of Colombo and preserve Portugal's core territory in Ceylon. This made the Portuguese owe a huge favor.
The executive committee naturally wanted to make full use of such a negotiating advantage, so both Simang and Thomas were fortunate enough to read the detailed battle reports sent back from the front line in Colombo.
The first question Thomas asked after reading the battle report was a bit unexpected: "Does Su Keyi know the situation in Ceylon?"
The global competition between Portugal and the Netherlands will of course also include the diplomatic front. Thomas had served as the Portuguese ambassador for many years, and his main opponent during this career was Sukeyi, who represented the Dutch East India Company in Haihan.
It is not difficult to judge from the time that Su Keyi, who is in Zhoushan, is unlikely to know the battle situation in Ceylon Island through his own channels. Therefore, Thomas's first reaction after reading the battle report was how Haihan would use this battle report to against the Dutch.
The meeting arrangements between the Haihan Executive Committee and the Netherlands have long been announced, and Thomas also knew that other senior officials from the Executive Committee were meeting with Su Keyi at this time.
Shi Diwen smiled and asked: "Do you think it is better for him to know, or not to know?"
Thomas said: "If Su Keyi sees this battle report, then he probably has nothing to talk to you about. After all, the two countries are already at war, and he has to wait for clearer instructions from Batavia."
"But if your country planned to take advantage of the time difference in the transmission of news to reach some agreements with Su Keyi first, then it should not inform him about the war situation in Ceylon at this time."
Shi Diwen said: "Your Excellency seems to have misunderstood what I meant. I want to ask him whether he knows or not, and is it good or bad for your country?"
Seeing that he could not be fooled, Thomas had no choice but to respond directly: "Of course it is best not to let him know. In this way, maybe I can also use this time difference to make the Dutch suffer a small loss."
As long as Su Keyi has not yet learned about the Dutch defeat at the hands of Heihan on the Island of Ceylon, it will not be difficult for Thomas to take this opportunity to stumble the opponent. However, there is a prerequisite, that is, you must make sure that the other party has not received the message, otherwise it will easily be self-defeating and be plotted by the other party.
This is why he insisted on confirming with Shi Diwen whether Su Keyi had learned about the situation in Ceylon Island.
Shi Diwen smiled and said: "The face your country lost on Ceylon Island is going to be regained on Zhoushan Island?"
Thomas said: "I guess Mr. Shi will be happy to see this happen, right?"
Shi Diwen said: "But don't make the Dutch anxious. If a full-scale war really breaks out, we won't be able to send troops everywhere to help you repel the enemy."
Shi Diwen seemed to be persuading, but the implication was that he acquiesced to Thomas' plan. As for the question of whether Su Keyi knew the situation in Ceylon Island, there was no need to give a clear answer. Haihan would not use this matter to deceive his allies.
As Thomas said, Haihan, Portugal and the Netherlands were actually competitors of the same colonial powers. When disputes and conflicts arose between the other two countries, Haihan was of course happy to sit on the sidelines and watch. Shi Diwen cleared the relationship first, lest if Portugal got lost, Haihan would have to send troops to deal with the aftermath for them. In other countries, the atmosphere of meetings with Haihan was not so relaxed.
On behalf of the Manchu and Qing dynasties, Geng Jimao made fifteen demands to Haihan, most of which were related to border supervision. He hoped that Haihan could relax existing regulatory measures so that Manchu and Qing people could engage in border trade activities more conveniently.
Geng Jimao even proposed that Haihan should open the mouth of the Yalu River so that the Manchu and Qing Dynasties could gain a passage to the sea, so that they could trade with the Shandong Peninsula and even further south in the future.
Geng Jimao's "unreasonable ideas" were naturally rejected ruthlessly by the Executive Committee.
Haihan blocked the Manchu and Qing sea channels in the direction of the Yellow Sea in Liaodong. One of the purposes was to control the Manchu and Qing channels for obtaining supplies from the outside world, so that they could only rely on the supply of Haihan. The second was to intentionally drive the Manchu and Qing Dynasties to develop northward, and clearly stated that the Manchu and Qing Dynasties were able to obtain supplies from the outside world. If you want to get out to the sea, you can only go to the Sea of Japan at a higher latitude.
Of course, even if the Manchus and Qing Dynasties could successfully achieve this goal and obtain the outlet to the Sea of Japan, there would actually be no convenience at all.
Geng Jimao knew that this was a bad idea and pointed out the many shortcomings of this plan.
Taking the location of Vladivostok as an example, if the Manchus and Qing Dynasties established a port there, they would have to pass through the Sea of Japan and Tsushima Strait from north to south before entering the East China Sea or the Yellow Sea. The journey to Shandong Peninsula via this route is about six times that of starting from the mouth of the Yalu River.
As the voyage becomes longer, the transportation cost to Haihan will naturally be difficult to reduce. If the high freight is included, then there is no point in going to sea. It is better to trade with Haihan directly in Liaodong.
And located near the outlet of the Sea of Japan, there are only two countries, Japan and North Korea. One has been an old enemy for many years, and the other is about to fall into a long-term civil war. No matter how you look at it, they are definitely not suitable trading partners.
Moreover, given the tense relationship between the Manchu and Qing Dynasties and North Korea, if Manchu and Qing merchant ships were to sail back and forth in the Tsushima Strait at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, safety would become a big issue.
North Korea has continuously strengthened its armaments over the years. Today's maritime armed forces are much stronger than those of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. If they want to cut off the channel of the Tsushima Strait, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties really have no choice.
After Geng Jimao expressed his views, Yan Chujie, who met with him, just shook his head slowly and said: "The problems you mentioned are not our problems, but your country's problems, and we have no obligation to solve them for your country." Trouble.”
Geng Jimao was speechless for a moment, and Yan Chujie's statement seemed to be logically correct.
The current embarrassing situation of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties without access to the sea was originally due to Haihan. If you want Haihansong to let go and give up a channel to the sea again, you have to come up with sufficient exchange conditions.
But in the current Manchu Qing Dynasty, how can we find any meaningful conditions?
Yan Chujie continued: "If you think you can't stay in Liaodong any longer, I have an idea."
Geng Jimao said: "Please give me some advice, Mr. Yan!"
Yan Chujie said: "I think it is better for your country to simply cross eastward to Japan and occupy Hokkaido in the northeastern part of Japan. The mountains are high there and the emperor is far away, and no other country can threaten you. You can build as many ports as you like by then."
Geng Jimao could only smile bitterly at Yan Chujie's suggestion. If the Qing Dynasty had the ability to organize large-scale cross-sea operations, why would they have to beg Haihan to relax restrictions here?