Chapter 1253 I am afraid that the world will not be in chaos

A small country like Johor, which has tense relations with neighboring countries and is relatively weak, has a lot of people who want to make trouble for it. For example, Portugal, which has a lot of quarrels with it, smelled it immediately and took the initiative to send people

Come to Xingdao to find out the news.

Portugal's main stronghold in the Straits of Malacca is Malacca City, which is also the capital of the Kingdom of Malacca, the predecessor of Johor. The distance from Star Island is only a little over a hundred nautical miles. When the sea conditions are good, this voyage can be completed in one day. And the Portuguese

Haihan, who has expanded his territory to the Straits of Malacca, is not unwary. He also pays attention to the situation of Singdao. Some time ago, Haihan suddenly blocked the port of Singdao and stopped accepting foreign ships to dock. Portugal had already noticed something was wrong. After a few days, Haihan suddenly blocked the port of Singdao and stopped accepting foreign ships to dock.

After digging into the news, I learned that it turned out that there was an armed conflict between Haihan and Johor and the British, and it seemed that the scale of the battle was not small.

The Portuguese have been dealing with Haihan for several years, and they are quite familiar with Haihan's armed strength. Naturally, they will not doubt the outcome of the war. What they are more concerned about is whether Haihan will pursue the victory after the battle.

, continued to carry out military attacks on the State of Johor. Portugal had defeated Johor and its predecessor State of Malacca several times in the past few decades, and plundered large areas from them as their own colony in the Strait of Malacca, if possible.

, they don’t mind following Haihan, a strong man, to fight against the autumn wind, or see if there are any opportunities to cause greater trouble for the British.

Costa, a Portuguese who currently serves as the chief executive of Malacca City, is an ambitious official. He is not willing to remain under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Goa. He wants to carve out a situation in the South China Sea, and then apply to the country to establish a new

As a local management agency, he will have a great chance to win the title of "Governor of the South China Sea" as a pioneer.

Of course, getting the country to agree to the establishment of a new governor-general in the Far East cannot be achieved by just talking. In addition to quantifiable political achievements such as opening up a certain area of ​​new colonies and increasing a sufficient number of colonial populations,

In addition, and more importantly, Portugal can maintain a long-term stable position in this region and its influence among regional countries is enough to protect its own interests. Only after achieving these points can the "South China Sea Governor" be able to turn from idea to reality.

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Judging from Portugal's current actual control over the South China Sea, this is still an unattainable goal. The influence that it finally established in the Indochina Peninsula in the past has been completely replaced by Haihan. Malacca is not connected to Macau in the south of the Ming Dynasty.

There were no ports controlled by Portugal, let alone colonies.

From a pragmatic perspective, the eastern coastline of Indochina Peninsula has been controlled by Haihan from north to south, and Annam and Champa are also nominal allies of Haihan. It is no longer realistic for Portugal to intervene in this area again.

Further north, Haihan has the final say on the Ming coast. He is lucky to be able to retain control of Macau. Haihan's control area is still extending northward, leaving little maneuverable space for Portugal on the mainland coast.

Close to zero.

As for occupying a few scattered small islands in the South China Sea as colonies, Costa has no interest. After all, Portugal does not have the development and construction capabilities as strong as Haihan. It is impossible to create a scene as big as Ambon Island on its own.

.So the most practical solution is actually to try to expand the territory nearby, with Malacca City as the center and radiating outward.

However, this plan also has obvious shortcomings. A few dozen miles east of Malacca City is the Johor-controlled area, and Costa’s troops are relatively limited. Even if the colonial boundary is pushed out for a few dozen miles, by then

It is difficult to guarantee the security of these areas at that time. But if Haihan can be united to further suppress the Johor ruling area, then it is not impossible to establish a colony that spans the Malay Peninsula from east to west and connects the two oceans by land. If it can really be done

If such a result is achieved, Portugal's situation in the South China Sea will be greatly improved, and the establishment of a special administrative governor in Malacca is basically a certainty.

In fact, before Haihan and Johor went to war, Costa had already had this idea, but he also knew that Haihan had not established a stable foothold on Xingdao, and he probably would not easily take the initiative to start a war. Portugal's strength is limited, and it is difficult for him to fight against such armed forces.

He plays a leading role in the action, so he can only wait patiently for the right time.

But Costa never expected that Johor would actually jump out to provoke the big evil star Hai Han. Regarding the instigating role played by the British in this process, Costa could only sincerely praise a job well done. If it weren't for this gang

Johor probably couldn't muster up the courage to take the initiative to provoke Haihan. Now that he heard that the sneak attack by the two countries was defeated by the Haihan garrison in Star Island, and probably many people were captured, Costa felt that he had been waiting for a long time.

The time has come. If Haihan has the intention of retaliating against Johor, he might as well push it harder.

After Haihan occupied Star Island, Costa actually visited the local area once, and had a chance encounter with Roger. Although there was no close friendship, the two countries had already had several years of trade cooperation foundation, so the two of them were simple.

The two countries have agreed on basic mutual assistance principles such as that civilian ships and merchant ships can enter each other's ports to berth, and they usually communicate with each other. At this time, it is normal to send envoys to pay attention. It just so happened that Ricardo, the Portuguese envoy to Ampurna Island, recently returned to Malacca to handle the matter.

Just as he was about to return after completing his official duties, Costa gave him the task of testing Haihan's attitude.

The relationship between Ricardo and Roger is much more familiar. When Roger was still the chief officer on Ampurna Island, the two got acquainted because of their work relationship.

They became familiar with each other. After Roger was transferred to Star Island, whenever Ricardo passed by, he would usually make a special trip to the port to visit him, which was considered a personal relationship. Ricardo himself could speak some simple English.

Roger also learned some Portuguese after getting to know him well, and the two of them could basically communicate by mixing the two languages. It was precisely because of this relationship that when Roger heard about Ricardo's visit

, and even took the time to go to the pier to greet this acquaintance.

At the reception banquet in the evening, Ricardo took the initiative to inquire about the recent war on Sing Tao, and said that if necessary, Malacca could organize armed personnel to assist Sing Tao as soon as possible.

Roger thanked Ricardo for his kindness and briefly explained to him the results of the battle. Ricardo heard that Haihan captured more than 2,000 people in one go, including hundreds of people working for the British East India Company.

The mercenaries and even the generals who led troops from both countries were left behind. They were shocked at the moment. Although he and Costa both thought that Haihan's victory should not be too difficult, they did not expect such a complete victory.

status.

"I've seized a lot of weapons this time, and I'm planning to find someone to dispose of them. I'll go back and see if you're interested in collecting them. I'll give you a friendly price." Roger paused and added: "There are just matchlock guns.

About a thousand."

Ricardo thought to himself that these two families were really losing money. Thousands of musketeers, who spent an unknown amount of money just to train and arm them, were all taken over by Haihan. How huge is the disparity in strength?

That's why he turned a battle into such a passive situation. However, his original intention was not to collect rags. He was not very interested in this kind of business, so he immediately tried to bring the topic to business: "The Johor people are so uncommunicative."

In battle, they should be punished properly! General Luo, how are you going to teach these barbaric natives a lesson next?"

"War reparations are a must. In addition, if they want to redeem the prisoners of war, they have to pay another ransom." Roger showed off proudly: "The British guys are treated the same way, this amount.

It should make them uncomfortable for a long time!”

Ricardo said: "Is that all? Doesn't General Luo intend to use military means to retaliate against them?"

Roger slowly put down the chopsticks in his hand and said, "What Mr. Ricardo wants to say, you might as well say it directly."

"Johor is a country with limited national strength. It must be extremely difficult for them to organize a force of thousands of people using firearms. They may not be able to organize a second similarly armed force in a short period of time. Why not Haihan take advantage of the victory to pursue it and give them a

A profound lesson?" Ricardo quickly seized the opportunity to persuade and said: "If Haihan has this intention, then we can send troops from Malacca City to help and attack Johor from west to east!"

When Roger heard this, he already understood about Ricardo's intention. He immediately answered calmly: "I have to trouble your country to send troops to deal with Haihan. Isn't it bad?"

Ricardo was not very firm when he heard his refusal, and quickly continued to persuade: "Xingdao is too far away from the mainland of Haihan, and there are restless villains like Johor coveting from the side, and the relationship between our two countries has always been friendly.

Okay, of course we have to help each other. If Malacca City is in trouble, I believe General Luo will definitely help us, right?"

Roger didn't believe that the Portuguese would have such a noble ideological consciousness. It was certainly not the reason Ricardo mentioned that they were so proactive. If they weren't too idle, they had an ulterior motive. Thinking of this, Roger decided not to talk to him anymore.

Ricardo continued to talk in circles and asked directly: "If we jointly send troops to attack Johor, what do you hope to get from Johor after that? Land or money?"

"Land." Seeing Roger asking so straightforwardly, Ricardo knew that his intentions had been seen through, so he simply stopped making unnecessary cover-ups and simply revealed Costa's plan to carve up Johor: "If

The two countries will jointly send troops, and after that is completed, the city of Malacca to the east coast of Johor will be used as the benchmark, with the south belonging to Haihan and the north belonging to our country."

After a brief calculation in Roger's mind, he already understood the real purpose of the other party. What the Portuguese needed was not just land, but a control belt from the city of Malacca across the Malay Peninsula to the east coast. If it were really planned according to Portugal

If this dividing line is set to carve up Johor, then the area occupied by Haihan will be approximately more than one-third of Johor's territory. Regardless of whether Johor will be destroyed by then, there will still be a lot of room for Portugal to maneuver.

If Portugal succeeds in occupying the demarcated area, the Malacca colony is likely to become the largest colony in the Far East besides Goa, India, and will certainly play an immeasurable role in its future development in the South China Sea. This will be of great significance to Portugal.

It is of great significance, and even the risk of starting a war is worth it, but for Haihan, he may not be happy to see the result.

Although the two countries have a cooperative relationship on the surface, Haihan has a very clear understanding of the moral standards of these Western countries. He has always suppressed Portugal's development in the South China Sea, intentionally or unintentionally, and only allowed it to retain a port like Macau.

, it is easier to cut off the local connection with Malacca when necessary. Of course, the Portuguese also want to try their best to get rid of the shadow of Haihan and win more interests for their country in the Far East, and colonies are a very important one.

Roger could not imagine Costa's idea and desire for the governor of the South China Sea, but the Portuguese wanted to use this crooked idea under Haihan's nose, and also tried to use Haihan's power to achieve their goals, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Although it is indeed a very offensive act for Johor to do this, whether and how to retaliate against Johor is also Haihan's own business and does not allow outsiders to interfere.

In fact, Roger believes that military retaliation is not a necessary means. Even if a large army is mobilized to completely destroy Johor, it will be difficult to bring much benefit to Haihan in a short period of time. The Portuguese want to use this incident to fan the flames and conquer Haihan.

Sending troops to attack Johor was actually contrary to Roger's ideas, and he would never support the military retaliation measures proposed by Portugal.

Roger didn't want to give an answer that was too blunt and would make Ricardo unable to step down, so he argued that the matter needed further discussion with the local administrative officials. Ricardo didn't doubt him, so he planned to stay for a few more days.

Let’s wait until Haihan gets a clear result.

Unexpectedly, the Dutch envoys also arrived here the next day, with almost the same purpose as the Portuguese who arrived the day before. After hearing the news of the end of the war, they came to persuade Haihan to raise troops to retaliate against Johor and carve up its existing territory.

Information on Johor's movements was first provided to Sing Tao by the Dutch, which shows that they also have their own unique features in the operation of the intelligence network. However, Roger believed that the Dutch's purpose was mainly to borrow Haihan's help.

Excluding the British from the South China Sea, I did not expect that they would also have a strong interest in the land of Johor. There is also a very subtle situation, that is, neither the Netherlands nor Portugal intends to bring each other to play with them.
Chapter completed!