Chapter 1252 Tempting conditions

Regarding why the British took the initiative to attack Star Island, it was not difficult for Roger to deduce their true purpose from the known information. They had hoped to extend trade routes to the South China Sea and Northeast Asia decades ago.

, and waited for opportunities to establish armed strongholds and colonies, but its actions were a little slower than Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands. The result was that it was slow step by step, falling into a completely passive and backward situation, and was completely shut out by the other three countries. Although

The British established the East India Company in 1600 to manage trade and colonial affairs in the Far East, but its scope of activities could only reach the coast of the Indian Ocean. The sporadic British ships that entered the South China Sea and Northeast Asia had to carefully disguise themselves as merchant ships from other countries.

, once his true identity is discovered by his European colleagues, his life will be in danger.

Naturally, the British will not give up on the huge potential market in the Far East because of this. They continue to try to break the blockade of their European counterparts year after year, and owning a port in the Strait of Malacca has become their obsession.

The once unclaimed land of the island may have long been favored by the British, but after all, the old problem of slow movement has not changed, and Haihan still occupied it first, so their strategy is to take advantage of Haihan

When the foothold is not stable, the island is taken over by force. Anyway, the location of Xingdao is more than a thousand nautical miles away from Haihan's "homeland", so there seems to be no need to worry that Haihan will take immediate retaliatory measures. It just so happens that Johor has this whole mind.

The fallen country could be used to revive its former glory, so it became a matter of course to form a coalition to attack Star Island.

After clarifying the opponent's purpose and means, it will be much easier to deal with it. Now that the opponent's force offensive has been completely disrupted and he has taken the initiative in the negotiation field, Roger only needs to explain to him the stakes of the future situation in the Far East.

It's enough. Haihan doesn't have to worry about not having trade channels to Western countries at hand, but the British have to try to get tickets to the Far East. The difference in situation leaves the British with not much choice. They don't accept Haihan's plan.

Conditions, their situation in the Far East will only become more difficult.

"If your East India Company wants to enter the South China Sea, relying on Johor is not feasible. You should choose a more powerful partner who can guarantee that you have a port to dock in the South China Sea and will not be spanked by Portugal and the Netherlands... Yes,

It's just what you think, no one is more qualified for this role than us Haihan!" Roger ignored the other person's surprised look and continued to talk: "Do you know why Portugal and the Netherlands want to cooperate with us? The reason is very simple.

, if you find that your opponent is far stronger than you, what should you do? Should you continue to seek death, or should you find a way to turn your opponent into a partner? They have all chosen the wisest plan, and now it is your turn, the British

.”

Cooperating with an enemy who had just defeated oneself, this change of position was indeed too sudden. The British representatives attending the negotiations were not even sure whether Roger was just talking casually or a sincere suggestion.

Roger had interrogated Hogg before and knew that the British who were currently staying in Johor could not make the decision on such a major matter. He immediately changed his angle and continued to persuade: "It is not the point that you have lost the battle here. Think about your purpose.

What. If we can open up the sea trade route you dream of, what does it matter whether we win or lose this battle?"

Yes, if the ultimate purpose of launching the war is to open up the two-ocean route, then Haihan has now given a glimmer of hope. Although the conditions they have offered are very harsh, this is still much better than the status quo of getting nothing after a defeat.

What's more, Haihan seems to have no intention of leaving the option of "rejection". If the East India Company must be stubborn and do this, it will face a more severe naval blockade in the future, and it will be even more difficult to squeeze into the Far East.

It's getting even more difficult.

If you choose between the two outcomes of "suffering a defeat and completely offending Haihan" and "suffering a defeat but being able to save the situation by paying compensation", then it must be the lesser of the two evils. After all, the latter seems to be still possible.

It is possible to achieve the goal. Whether it is through war or negotiation, entering the South China Sea and Northeast Asia is the major policy that the East India Company wants to achieve. The people under Hogg naturally understand this truth, and they can't help but listen to Roger's persuasion.

My heart is pounding.

Roger struck while the iron was hot and offered his trump card: "If the East India Company can meet the conditions we have proposed, we will gradually release prisoners of war after receiving compensation, and will consider opening Xingdao and other Haihan ports to British merchant ships.

Stop and give British merchants the right to trade at Haihan Port!"

The person responsible for negotiating on behalf of the East India Company was originally a merchant ship captain, and his eyes lit up when he heard this. He had been to Amborna Island under the rule of Haihan, where he had heard rumors about major trading ports in the South China Sea.

We also know that the ports controlled by Haihan are located all over the Indochina Peninsula and along the coast of the Ming Dynasty. If we can connect with this line, the East India Company's trade expansion in the Far East will undoubtedly achieve twice the result with half the effort.

"Do you mean what you said?" The British representative's breathing became heavy.

"Of course you are serious, but you must first pay the compensation proposed by our country for the previous war, and then sign a written agreement on trade matters." Roger responded seriously: "At that time, we can arrange special officials to come and negotiate with us.

You will negotiate specific trade regulations to ensure that the interests of both parties will not be damaged as much as possible."

"Then if the Portuguese and the Dutch are opposed to this, how will your country choose?" the British representative asked, still somewhat uneasy.

"What I just mentioned is a bilateral agreement, not a multilateral agreement. The relevant agreements signed by our country with Portugal and the Netherlands are not exclusive, and the same will be true for the agreements signed with you in the future." Roger was very clear about this and immediately gave it.

A clear answer.

In fact, when Haihan signed the agreement with Portugal, there were still some exclusive contents, but they were all limited by time limits. Times have changed, and these exclusive contents have long since expired. After that, Haihan's international trade grew bigger and bigger, and its objects became more and more popular.

As more and more countries come to China and the road becomes wider, they naturally do not want to sign such exclusive diplomatic agreements with any party.

Of course, Roger's explanation was actually a bit vague. He only said that the British would consider opening ports and trade rights after paying compensation, but he did not make any promises. If the conditions cannot be negotiated by then, or

It's just that the executive committee has other ideas, and that doesn't count as a violation of the agreement. But he knows what the British think. Since they even use such unconventional means as launching a war, then as long as there is hope of achieving the goal through negotiations, the other party will definitely also

I won't give up such an opportunity easily.

Roger knew that the alliance between the two families was led by the British. As long as the British could be persuaded to accept the conditions, it would be much easier to deal with Johor. The British negotiator was indeed very moved by what he heard, but he did not forget his mission.

When Haihan was asked to show his sincerity, he would first release the senior military officers headed by Hogg and Barpen, and then discuss the subsequent issue of war compensation.

"Let the person go first? Then you are overthinking it." Roger refused the other party's request unceremoniously: "Pay one hand with the money and the other hand with the person. If you don't have the money, you can get the goods. If you don't have the goods, you can exchange them with people. Please.

You should first clarify the fact that we, Haihan, are the victorious countries. No matter what the outcome of the negotiation is, it will not cause much loss to us, but it may not be to you. If we negotiate well, we can stop the loss in time.

If it doesn’t go well, it will only make things worse!”

Roger knew very well that the two generals, Papen and Hogg, were the truly valuable people among this group of prisoners of war. If these two people were released, the ransom for the prisoners of war might not be collected. Moreover, these two people were

Senior figures in their respective camps can slowly extract a lot of valuable information from their mouths, which is even more valuable than themselves. No matter how hard the other party tries to persuade him, Haihan will never do anything at this stage.

concession.

Naturally, the negotiations involving the three parties will not end in this round. After everyone has shown their cards, the direction of the next negotiation must be left to the decision-makers to weigh. Roger has already contacted the Sanya base camp through the radio

After communication, the Executive Committee has also authorized the Sing Tao Management Committee to handle follow-up matters. However, Johor and the East India Company obviously cannot be so forthcoming. Johor depends on the attitude of the British, and the British need to pass the news back first.

From the stronghold on the Indian peninsula, I would not receive a reply for months after coming and going.

Haihan doesn't care about the long negotiation process, and takes advantage of this period to further strengthen the island's defense measures. Taking advantage of the availability of cheap labor from the hard labor camp, some construction projects such as transportation, water conservancy, and housing are relatively large.

We can also take this opportunity to get started quickly on our infrastructure projects.

Tan Juren has more plans for the use of this group of free labor. He hopes to open up new agricultural land as soon as possible to plant rubber trees and other cash crops with long growth cycles but stable long-term returns. This is not his intention.

What a long-term vision, but the task I received from the Ministry of Agriculture before going south. There is a long list full of various cash crops that must be planted in Xingdao, but it also requires a lot of land.

Manpower.

In fact, these planting plans are not that the Ministry of Agriculture is eager to generate income in Xingdao. They are more or less scientific research in nature. As the geographical span of Haihan Colony becomes larger and larger, the planting of various food crops and cash crops must also start to be considered.

The impact of regional environmental differences on yield. Although several traversers of the Ministry of Agriculture are professionals, their experience in tropical agriculture mainly comes from book knowledge and statistical data before the traverse, and this era is different from that before the traverse.

There is a difference of several hundred years, and there are certain differences in climate and environment. Which crops are more suitable for planting near the equator can only be determined through practical testing in order to accumulate experience for future agricultural development. And for the scientific comparison of samples

Higher, the planting scale cannot be too small, which brings greater challenges to Xingdao's already tight labor arrangements.

Fortunately, after arriving at Xingdao, he happened to catch up with the wave of "sending warmth" actions by the United Kingdom and Johor, which sent two thousand free young laborers to the island. Naturally, Tan Juren had to seize this opportunity to deal with the overdue work at hand.

Complete it first. However, considering that it would be troublesome to arrange for the supervision of prisoners of war working in the field, Tan Juren also made corresponding adjustments to the arrangement of the labor force. He arranged more prisoners of war to work at construction sites near the stronghold, while the task of reclamation in the field was left to the local people.

The people will do it.

Tan Juren had already communicated with Roger about the issue of prisoners of war. He proposed the plan of exchanging civilians for prisoners of war. If the two families want to get all these prisoners of war back, then they should deliver the full amount according to the amount given by Haihan.

To pay compensation, one has to use young labor in exchange for the release of these prisoners of war. Of course, considering the value of the soldiers, a one-to-one exchange is obviously impossible, and Tan Juren will never be ambiguous about where he can be extorted. If this deal

If the conditions can finally be realized, then the problem of labor shortage on the island can be solved in the short term.

Except for a very small number of senior officers, almost all prisoners of war were assigned to work on various construction sites. However, even Hogg and Bapen were not completely spared and were still assigned the task of breaking stones. Tan Juren didn't know much about it either.

How deeply his subordinate Han Zhengshan resented the work of breaking stones, but at present it seems that Han Zhengshan's management of the prisoner-of-war camp is in order, and there is not much to criticize. This makes Tan Juren feel quite disappointed with his choice of Han Zhengshan.

I am proud of myself and think that I am a discerning person and have selected a capable management talent.

Of course, Hogg and Barpent, who were enslaved objects, were not so comfortable. For them, the labor tasks arranged by Haihan were boring and arduous, and such days may have to last for a long time. Roger

After the negotiation, he returned to the base and summoned them. He clearly informed them of the attitudes of Johor and the East India Company. Although the two of them had been mentally prepared, they could not help but hear that they might not receive a positive reply from their respective camps in the near future.

Somewhat disappointed.

The news that Haihan fought with the coalition forces of the two countries on Xingdao slowly began to spread through various public opinion channels. The outcome of the war did not cause much of a sensation. After all, the countries in the South China Sea were relatively aware of Haihan.

The strength of the coalition formed by these two countries only added a significant boost to Haihan's record, and failed to break Haihan's undefeated golden status. The British did not understand Haihan well enough.

It is normal to act rashly due to strength, but the country of Johor, which can be regarded as an unofficial member of the South China Sea Trade Alliance, actually follows the British in seeking death, which makes people in various countries openly or covertly ridicule it.

There are even people who are worried about the chaos in the world and are already secretly asking whether Haihan will take further revenge against Johor.
Chapter completed!