Chapter 208 It’s not up to you whether to sell or not
Schiff helped Vladivostok sell bonds through his own channels, risking his own credit and must be responsible for these funds.
It seems logical that Schiff would send people to Vladivostok to supervise the use of this fund.
The problem lies here.
The Hebrews are best at using many seemingly reasonable requirements to achieve an unreasonable goal.
If George agrees to Schiff's request, let Schiff send someone to Vladivostok.
Then George believes that Schiff will make more equally reasonable demands in the future.
If George is unprepared, then by the time George realizes that the situation is not good, Vladivostok, the entire Amur, and even the entire Russia will have no secrets left for Schiff.
Schiff has not yet clearly expressed his hostility to Vladivostok.
The British attitude is even more obvious.
The British seized a set of steel equipment ordered by Dolgolu Company and a mixed ocean-going passenger and cargo ship on the pretext of unclear purposes.
And of the 11 information leaks that have occurred this year, 9 came from technicians hired from the UK.
George was not polite and threw all the people involved in these 9 cases into the mines to mine.
For this reason, Vladivostok encountered strong opposition from the British government.
The British government claimed that if the Governor of Amur could not guarantee the safety of British people in Amur, then the British government would refuse all Amur merchant ships and immigrant ships to obtain supplies in British ports.
This threat has little effect on George, because most of the merchant ships and immigrant ships traveling between Vladivostok and Europe are French and have nothing to do with the Amur Governorate.
British methods are more than threats.
In April this year, the British government and the Japanese government reached a loan agreement. The United Kingdom will provide Japan with a loan designated for the purchase of warships in the United Kingdom.
Japan is a small country with no overseas interests to protect, so what’s the use of having warships?
Also in April, the British army fulfilled its promise and began to evacuate from Juwen Island in batches.
The Shiga family stated that after the land lease in Nagasaki expires, the land will no longer be leased to the Siberian Fleet, which means that the Siberian Fleet will lose its only wintering place.
George has nothing to say. He is stepping up his deployment in Southeast Asia. In at least two years, the ships in Vladivostok, at least in Southeast Asia, will be free from British control.
The Russian Empire has no ports in Southeast Asia, not to mention military ports, not even civilian ports.
This means that if Britain refuses Russian ships to enter British ports, Russian ships will lose supplies in Southeast Asia.
Without supplies, Russian ships will have to make more space to load coal and water, and transportation capacity and efficiency will be seriously affected.
Britain has a powerful Royal Navy, which George cannot afford to offend yet.
The once powerful Sea Coachman has been reduced to a third-rate country. George can still have a touch.
Last winter, George and Mikhail made a strategy in Vladivostok to buy plantations from the Dutch East Indies and provide natural rubber and tobacco to Vladivostok.
This work has already begun. In the early spring of this year, Mikhail sent people to the Dutch East Indies to purchase plantations.
This work did not go smoothly. The plantations in the Dutch East Indies were either controlled by the Dutch or operated by Chinese. They either asked for too high a price or refused to sell.
There were many desert islands that the Dutch East Indies were willing to sell, but those islands were completely uninhabited and did not even have fresh water, so there was no possibility of running plantations.
“What are you going to do?”
Milyugin still knew George very well and heard an unusual meaning in George’s words.
“I don’t care about this matter, Misha is responsible.”
George did not respond directly for fear of scaring Milyutin.
Not selling?
Haha, it’s not up to you whether to sell it or not.
In March 1873, the Netherlands sent warships to invade Aceh and provoked the Aceh War.
In January 1974, the Dutch army occupied the capital of Aceh, and the Sultan of Aceh was forced to evacuate to the mountains, and soon died of illness.
Subsequently, the Netherlands announced the annexation of Aceh.
The Acehnese did not give up their resistance and continued to resist the Dutch invasion under the leadership of the new Sultan.
Although the Dutch colonial government announced that the Aceh War was over, in fact the Dutch army only controlled the main transportation lines and did not go deep into the interior. Moreover, hundreds of millions of dong in military expenditures had been spent on the Aceh War, which caused a stir in the Netherlands. The controversy is getting bigger and bigger.
Although the Acehnese people are still resisting, smart people know that if there are no accidents, the Acehnese resistance will eventually fail, so more and more Acehnese plantation owners choose to sell their plantations. Leave Aceh and make a living somewhere where there is no war.
During the war, the price of plantations in Aceh was extremely low. Molana, the largest plantation owner in Lansha, sold his 3,000-hectare plantation to a group of people from the Russian Empire for 2,000 pounds. Ivanov moved his family to the Lion City.
Morana still had some conscience. After completing the transaction, he reminded Ivanov that the Dutch would confiscate all the plantations in Lansha in one month.
"You don't have to worry about it. I wish you a safe journey."
Ivanov doesn't care. If the Dutch are willing to pay ten thousand pounds, then it doesn't matter if they sell the plantation to the Dutch.
This business is profitable.
3000 hectares is about 30 square kilometers.
Such a large area is only sold for 2,000 pounds, which is a good deal no matter how you calculate it.
For the Acehnese, the Dutch threat is still very intimidating.
So in just one month, Ivanov bought almost all the plantations in Lansha.
In mid-May, the Dutch arrived as scheduled.
"Confiscation? What confiscation? Are you sure you want to confiscate my plantation?"
Ivanov's sinister smile made Lieutenant David, who was leading the team, feel terrified inside.
"Who are you?" Lieutenant David still had the last glimmer of hope.
Ivanov’s Slavic characteristics are still very obvious, and his proficiency in Russian clearly shows Ivanov’s identity.
“Russians, what do you think?”
Ivanov’s words made Lieutenant David’s heart sink to the bottom.
The Dutch could confiscate Acehnese property with impunity.
But when it comes to the Russians, the Dutch are wary of them.
So the next day, two Dutchmen in casual clothes came to the Ivanov Plantation.
“Not for sale!”
Ivanov’s reply was crisp and clear, with no common offer or counter-offer at all.
The next day, a tax official from the Dutch colonial government came to visit.
"Pay taxes? What kind of taxes should I pay? Even if I pay taxes, they will be given to the Aceh Empire and have nothing to do with you."
Ivanov has an arrogant attitude and does not recognize the Netherlands at all. Colonial administration of Aceh.
"The Aceh Empire no longer exists. If you want to keep your plantations, you must pay taxes to the East Indies, otherwise your property will be confiscated."
The attitude of the tax officer Equally determined, all the plantations in Lansha belong to Ivanov. If Ivanov refuses to pay taxes, Lansha will become a state within a state.
The Netherlands spent hundreds of millions of guilders on military expenses to conquer Aceh. If they did not get corresponding benefits, then this war would be meaningless.
"Haha, you just said it was confiscated, did I hear you correctly?"
Ivanov couldn't believe his ears.
“Yes, you heard it right, if you refuse to pay the tax, your property will be confiscated!”
The tax officer is very jealous. If you don’t try, how will you know if you can receive it? What about taxes.
Ivanov looked up to the sky and smiled.
After laughing, he punched the tax official in the face.
The tax official fell to the ground without saying a word, and was knocked unconscious by Ivanov's punch.
Another tax official saw that the situation was not good and ran away.
“Come back and drag this guy away.”
Ivanov only cares about killing, not burying.
A week later, Lieutenant David led a group of Dutch soldiers to Ivanov's plantation.
"Stop, the front is private property, please do not enter unless you are not allowed."
Beside the road at the entrance of the plantation, a warning sign was erected at some point.
Lieutenant David waved his hand and ordered the troops to move forward.
"Are you sure you want to infringe on the property of citizens of the Russian Empire? No matter who you are, you will be fully counterattacked by the Russian Empire!"
There was another warning sign on the roadside. Lieutenant David became irritated and ordered the soldiers Remove the warning sign.
As soon as the warning sign was pulled out, Lieutenant David suddenly heard a "bah, bah, bah" sound.
Danger!
Lieutenant David had no time to warn and jumped directly into the ditch next to him.
Boom——
Boom Boom——
The opponent has a lot of experience in using explosives, but he still has a series of thunders.
After several violent explosions, more than a dozen Dutch soldiers fell in a pool of blood. The remaining Dutch soldiers dispersed in a hurry, not even taking care of their companions.
Lieutenant David waited for a long time, but could not hear any movement. He climbed up from the ditch shivering, and then froze.
In the woods across the ditch, Ivanov and a dozen of his men were looking at David with smiles.
David raised his hands and surrendered without any resistance.
After Lieutenant David was taken to the manor in the center of the plantation, he discovered that the manor had been turned into a military camp.
Lieutenant David alone saw at least 30 strong young men.
Although they are not wearing military uniforms, their military temperament cannot be concealed.
There was a guard tower at the entrance to the manor, and Lieutenant David discovered at least four circular positions made of sandbags.
Although David could not see what the weapons were in the middle of the circular position, the soldier's intuition told David that if he wanted to attack this military camp, he would probably have to pay an unbearable price.
David was taken into a gloomy house. There was a stove burning in the middle of the house, and the soldering iron in the stove was already burning red.
The table next to the stove is filled with various tools such as tweezers, hooks, and knives.
A guy who was missing one eye, but was not wearing an eyepatch, and was missing two front teeth when he opened his mouth, turned back to David and said with a smile.
"Tell me what you know, cooperate with me, and I will let you go back, otherwise you will know the consequences."
Before David could speak, he suddenly felt a little hot in his crotch.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, can’t you be more brave without being scared? Otherwise, wouldn’t all my preparations be in vain?”
Antonov was very disappointed. , you Dutch people can’t do that.
(End of this chapter)