Chapter 930 Take action personally

"The Haihan people will not attack Batavia, at least not in the near future." Su Keyi immediately gave him reassurance after seeing Van Diemen. He had already learned about the appearance of the Haihan fleet before coming here.

The news in the nearby waters also made it clear what Van Diemen's purpose was in inviting him to come over for discussion, so he gave Van Diemen a positive answer directly and directly.

Although this was indeed the answer Van Diemen wanted to hear, he still very carefully asked Su Keyi to explain it, because he could then use this to persuade the company's board of directors to prevent those guys from jumping out and gesticulating.

"The reason is very simple. After Haihan defeated the Spaniards in the first half of the year, he continued to go north and occupied some islands in the Ming Dynasty sea area, including the area where the famous Shuangyu Port is located. In addition, they also launched a campaign two months ago

They killed Zheng Yiguan, and it is said that Zheng Yiguan was not allowed to escape from their encirclement this time." Su Keyi concluded: "Haihan's expansion rate is very fast this year, so fast that they don't even have enough

They have to use their energy to manage the newly acquired territory. As for the South China Sea, I think they have more than enough energy but not enough energy. Even if they have the ability to seize some territory here, they cannot spare any time to develop and operate it."

After hearing this explanation, Van Diemen felt less relaxed. According to Su Keyi, it was not that the Haihan people did not covet the South China Sea, but because they had taken too big a step towards the north this year, it was difficult to move north and south for a while.

It is a two-pronged approach in two directions. If they are given time to free up their hands, it is hard to say who has the final say in the South China Sea.

"Then in your opinion, what is the real purpose of the Haihan people sending their fleet to Batavia?" Van Diemen asked.

"Go south to explore the road to prepare for future operations in the South China Sea, and show off your power to us by the way." Su Keyi replied without thinking: "It is said that the Haihan Army holds large-scale military exercises every year. They conduct military exercises in Annan and

The several military bases built on Ambona Island should be put to use after calculating the time. The subordinates thought that the fleet's southward movement was an overseas exercise arranged by the Haihan Army, and they were inspecting the southern seaport bases by the way. If they want to

When it comes to attacking Batavia, my subordinates don't believe it. They think that Ampurna Island is two thousand miles away from Batavia, and there is no supply port in the middle. No matter how good the Haihan fleet is, it will be difficult to fight at sea for a long time.

You always have to turn back."

"These low-character nouveau riche!" Van Diemen cursed, but he could not hide his jealousy of Haihan's financial resources. He sent a huge fleet to cruise thousands of miles of sea, which should have been implemented by a large maritime country like the Netherlands.

measures. However, the East India Company suffered heavy losses due to the war last year. Now even the funds for building port and coastal defenses are being saved through the teeth, and there is no extra financial resources for military training. Last year after the war, in Badawi

A group of new soldiers recruited into the army in Asia have not been issued enough military uniforms and weapons so far. Most of them are even using the spears shipped from China when the East India Company settled here in 1619. How can these weapons be used?

Compete and contend with the Haihan Army, which is fully equipped with firearms?

As for the fleet, the gap is really not small. The East India Company's armed fleet was defeated by the Haihan Navy in several previous sea battles. After learning from the pain, of course, I also thought about building a larger tonnage and more artillery.

Large warships to compete with opponents, however, the shipyards in the Far East simply cannot build the large warships that the East India Company wants, and the mainland is fighting fiercely with the Spaniards on the European battlefield. All shipyards are currently working on

War services did not take into account the needs of the Far East at all. Several shipyards that had received shipbuilding orders from the East India Company before this also postponed ship delivery to two years later due to the war.

Van Diemen has already learned from the intelligence collected that Haihan currently has at least three to four large and well-organized fleets, and it only took them five or six years to reach this point from scratch. On the one hand,

It is developing rapidly, but it is stagnant on the other side. It is really hard for Van Diemen to imagine how wide the gap between the two sides will be in two years. The Haihan people are now capable of pulling a fleet to the east

The Indian Company came to show off its power at the door of its base camp, and Van Diemen seemed to have no other way to deal with it except ordering his sailboat to leave the harbor quickly to avoid danger. For the Netherlands, which has always regarded itself as a maritime country and a sea coachman,

For people, this is really a very sad thing.

"If the Haihan people just want to show off their force, why do they still ask for talks? What do you think they want to talk to us about?" Van Diemen tried to calm down his emotions before continuing to ask Su Keyi.

Su Keyi thought for a while before replying: "The Han people have an idiom called 'Alliance under the City', which means an armistice treaty that the defeated country was forced to sign under the threat of enemy troops pressing down on the border. Maybe the Haihan people want to use force to coerce us and agree to them

Some of the conditions proposed.”

"We Dutch will not accept any threats." Van Diemen shook his head repeatedly: "No one can coerce the Dutch. We would rather choose war than be coerced by others! If they really come with such an idea, then they will definitely

I have to go back disappointed."

Su Keyi said: "My Lord Governor, my subordinates are just guessing. This may not be the case. However, since the Haihan people took the initiative to hold talks, I thought that I could get in touch with them. Although the Haihan people sometimes act unreasonably, they are still very trustworthy.

Okay, since they have stated that they want to communicate through talks, it is unlikely that they will play any other tricks. It would be best if we could ask them face to face about their intention to go south this time."

Van Diemen glanced at Su Keyi, nodded and said: "There are not many people in Batavia who have dealt with Haihan. I will need your help when the time comes."

Su Keyi understood the idea, stood up and responded with his hands in his hands: "Don't worry, Lord Governor, my subordinates will try their best to deal with it and ensure the safety of Batavia."

Van Diemen said: "When the time and place are determined, you can come with me."

Su Keyi was startled. He originally thought that Van Diemen would send Van Longen or Van der Wegen, who had also dealt with Haihan, to partner with him. He never thought that Van Diemen actually planned to take action himself. Although Su Keyi knew about the negotiations with Haihan

There was no risk, but Van Diemen was still quite heartbroken that he had such courage.

However, he did not object to Van Diemen's arrangement. After all, both Van der Wegen and Van Longen were working under Van Diemen. They did not have the power to make decisions on many matters. Van Diemen himself participated in this meeting, which would help him better understand the situation.

Keep it in perspective, and at the same time, you can get a closer look at the strength of the Haihan fleet. The only thing Su Keyi felt was a little inappropriate was not the security issue during the talks, but the fact that Van Diemen personally went to the meeting to talk to the Haihan people.

There is no room for maneuver. If the two sides disagree and cannot reach an agreement, it is easy to end the negotiation. The top decision-maker personally participates in the process, which is not the best option for negotiations.

It was not until November 10th, after several rounds of back-and-forth negotiations, that the two sides finally agreed on the location and time of the talks. Two days later, both sides sent ships to take the participants to Batavia, a distance away from the meeting.

On a small sandbank about five nautical miles away from the port coastline. According to the agreement, both parties only sent one ship of similar tonnage, and the number of people who landed on the island was controlled to less than ten people to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

The East India Company side was led by Van Diemen himself, and Su Keyi attended as his deputy and translator. The Haihan side was attended by Yan Chujie and Roger. If necessary, Roger, who had lived abroad for many years, could also act as an interpreter.

After the two parties met and exchanged a few words, Van Diemen quickly got to the point: "The northwest waters of Java Island have always been the sphere of influence of the East India Company. You have sent a large number of armed ships into this sensitive sea area this time. I hope that you can

Get a reasonable explanation."

Yan Chujie said: "We believe that Batavia is only a controlled area occupied by the East India Company, not your country's territory. As for the maritime territory, it was only unilaterally demarcated by your side without consultation with any party.

It has not been recognized by anyone. The sea area here should belong to the free navigation area, and Mr. Governor’s accusations against us have no basis and are unreasonable.”

Van Diemen retorted: "Then if we send an armed fleet to the waters near Sanya Port, can you have such a tolerant idea?"

Yan Chujie said with a straight face: "I do not recommend that you make such an irrational attempt. Out of the need to protect the territory and the people, our fleet will definitely expel the maritime armed forces that threaten the security of Sanya Port."

Van Diemen sneered: "Then you have double standards?"

Yan Chujie also smiled and said: "Do you have the same standards for doing things internally and externally? As a senior official, Mr. Governor will not make such common sense mistakes. Who has the final say at sea? Isn't it through force?"

To distinguish?”

"You..." Fan Diemen took a deep breath and suppressed his anger back into his stomach. Although he didn't want to admit it, the "principles" Yan Chujie said were indeed the prevailing rules of this era.

In this age of great navigation, new sea routes were continuously opened up, trade exchanges increased significantly, and colonialism emerged. To put it bluntly, there are actually two words: conquest and plunder. Portugal and Spain were the pioneers in launching colonial plunder, but the Netherlands, Britain,

Rising stars such as France are using their strong military and economic strength to compete for interests that originally belonged to Portugal and Spain around the world.

The Netherlands had many competitors in the Far East, not just Portugal and Spain, which came here first. When fourteen Dutch companies merged to form the Dutch East India Company in 1602, the British East India Company had been operating for two years.

, and after that, the French also established the French East India Company in 1604 to participate in the competition in the Far East. Naturally, there is no healthy competition between these companies belonging to different countries.

Rely on force to differentiate and squeeze competitors out of your control area.

As a latecomer, the Netherlands was able to establish colonial strongholds in Persia, Bengal, Sumatra, Java, Siam, Taiwan and other places. It did not rely on reasoning with others, but relied on weapons and soldiers to conquer the country bit by bit.

.Every expansion of Dong Indian Company means the defeat of competitors. In the past, some people pointed at Van Diemen's nose and called him an invader, but Van Diemen's response was to send troops to clear out the opponent's territory and kill

All those who resisted, and the remaining survivors were sold as slaves to other places - maybe some slaves flowed from the market into the hands of the Haihan people, it's hard to say.

Even when the Malta Blue Army attacked Batavia last year, Van Diemen did not feel as slighted as he is now. At least the Malta Blue Army paid enough attention to the East India Company and invested more than ten times its troops.

On the battlefield, the Haihan people obviously did not bother to make such a big move to prove their strength. After all, they had never lost in the past confrontations with the East India Company, and even had an obvious advantage. This gave Yan Chujie enough confidence to use condescending tactics.

to humiliate Van Diemen.

If you can't win on the battlefield, everything you say is useless. As a general who has led troops, Fan Diemen naturally understands this reality. So he decisively stopped the idea of ​​arguing with Yan Chujie, because he knew that no matter how hard he tried, he

If they continue to fight for their scalps, they will only bring humiliation to themselves. The Haihan people can sit here and negotiate with themselves with confidence because they have a huge fleet as their backing on the sea not far away, and behind Van Diemen there is only

There seems to be little else to rely on except a city that is in dire need of development.

Van Diemen could only keep reminding himself that the purpose of meeting the Haihan people this time was for peace and not for territorial competition. The East India Company had been exhausted in last year's war, and now its strength has not yet recovered, and there is simply not enough manpower.

material and financial resources to fight another war. If Haihan has the intention to start a war, then they must dispel their intention through this meeting. Even if it encounters deliberate provocation by the other party, the East India Company must try its best to

Avoid conflicts with the other party and prevent Haihan from finding an excuse to start a war.

"General Yan, let's bring the topic back to the right direction." Van Diemen said in a calm tone as much as possible: "I think you sent a fleet all the way to Batavia. It should not just come here."

Just wander around?"

Yan Chujie smiled and responded calmly: "As for the reason why our fleet will appear here, I already informed you two days ago when I sent an envoy to the port to contact you, but it seems that the Governor doesn't believe it yet.

What we say!”
Chapter completed!