Chapter 1254: Striking a balance

Philip, an old acquaintance of Heihan, came to Star Island on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. He is no longer a simple maritime merchant. Because he has gained a lot from trade with Heihan in the past two years, Philip has now made a fortune with his wealth.

With his wealth, he has entered the management of the East India Company. Although he has not yet touched the door of the decision-making level, he can at least attend some diplomatic activities as the official representative of the company.

Regarding the British secretly selling weapons to Johor, Philip first learned the information through his own news channels. After confirming the authenticity of the news, Philip and the company executives decided to inform the Haihan garrison on Sing Tao.

On the one hand, it was to show goodwill to it, and on the other hand, it was also hoped that with the power of Haihan, it would deal a heavy blow to Britain's competitor and end its delusion of entering the South China Sea. So for this matter, Philip had personally traveled to Xingdao several times to bring

The known intelligence was handed over to Roger, and the East India Company's attitude on the matter was informed - if Haihan needed it, the East India Company could send armed personnel to Star Island to assist in the battle.

Of course, this proposal is unlikely to be approved by Roger. His trust in the Dutch is very limited. Even if the intelligence about the British is indeed true, he will not agree to let Dutch armed personnel land on Star Island.

The relationship between the Netherlands and Heihan is very delicate. On the one hand, the Netherlands has been defeated by Heihan in several previous battles, and its status in the world that it took several years of hard work in the Taiwan Strait has been completely replaced by Heihan;

On the one hand, in order to maintain trade channels in the Far East, the Netherlands had to bow to Haihan and maintain peace on the surface in exchange for trade opportunities in Northeast Asia. In terms of situations, the Netherlands and Portugal have many similarities.

, although he was unwilling to accept Haihan's dominance in the South China Sea, he was frightened by Haihan's terrifying force and could only choose to compromise and submit.

The Dutch took the initiative to inform the British of their secret plans. Roger did not think that this was because the Dutch were in the same camp as him. The competition between them and the British was very fierce. This was just a means of killing someone with a borrowed knife.

If Heihan and the British were to fight and both sides would suffer losses, he had no doubt that the Dutch might jump out at the last minute to hit both warring parties simultaneously. So when Philip proposed to pursue the victory and continue to attack Johor and the British, Roger seemed to have no interest at all.

"Fighting is very expensive. Even if we defeat Johor, there won't be much direct benefit. They can't even spend the money to redeem the prisoners of war. If we continue to fight, it will only be a waste of our military expenses." Roger said directly.

I have expressed my attitude, and the implication is that I am not willing to spend this unjust money to continue the war. If you Dutch want to send troops, just ask for it. If you want to drag Haihan into the water, then don't do it.

Hearing Roger's tone, Philip naturally understood what he meant by hearing the string song, and did not force the topic to continue. He also had another thing that he cared about that he wanted to ask Roger about: "I seem to have seen two ships on the dock.

Portuguese sailing ship, these profiteers are not rushing to buy the trophies you captured, are they?"

"Loots? I would like to sell them, but the Portuguese think they are too expensive!" Roger smiled and said, "How about you take over the things? I have a large number of almost brand-new matchlocks here. They should be in your Batavia city.

It can come in handy.”

What Philip is really concerned about is not Haihan's spoils, but the Portuguese's intentions. At present, each of the two families guards a strait connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and their development in the South China Sea is considered balanced. However, the struggle between these two families has a long history.

For a long time, the vigilance between each other has never relaxed. Since Philip knew that there were Portuguese people on the island, he naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it to avoid putting himself in a passive position.

"As long as the price is right, it can be considered." Philip responded casually, and then turned the topic back to the Portuguese: "Then they must have heard that your country defeated Johor, and they are rushing to attack Johor? After all, they

The previous grudge against Johor has been going on for decades, and being watched by the enemy day and night, life must not be easy for me."

Why couldn't Roger hear Philip's implication? Regarding the competitive relationship between the Netherlands and Portugal, he also had the mentality of sitting back and watching the fight. If the two families started fighting again one day, he would definitely not

He would act as a peacemaker in the middle. Considering Philip's earlier favor of sending British intelligence, Roger told him the truth and told him the Portuguese's suggestion.

"These shameless southern liars just want to use your country's victory for their own benefit! What were they doing before the war started?" Philip immediately expressed his indignation at the Portuguese's actions, completely forgetting that he had just

He also made similar suggestions to Roger. Of course, from Philip's perspective, he probably wouldn't think there was anything wrong with his attitude. After all, he had provided key information to Haihan before the war.

intelligence, and also expressed on behalf of the Dutch side that they could send troops to assist in the war. Compared with the Portuguese who jumped out to pick up the peaches after the fact, the Dutch did put a lot more energy into this matter, and naturally they did not want to see themselves

The fruits of hard work were snatched away by competitors.

From a strategic point of view, if Portugal established a colony across the two oceans in the Strait of Malacca, it would not be good news for the Dutch East India Company, which was still in the reconstruction period of Batavia. And the Netherlands would never want to see that.

Portugal and Haihan jointly send troops. This kind of thing may happen one or two times. If the Netherlands has a military conflict with Portugal in the future, and the other side pulls Haihan out to block the gun, what will happen? Philip secretly made up his mind, if

Roger has been persuaded by the Portuguese, so this matter must be disturbed no matter what.

"General, the Portuguese are all selfish villains. They just want to use your country's force to achieve their goals! I hope you can see their faces clearly and not be swayed by the temptations of these guys." Philip.

He continued to complain about the Portuguese's behavior without any politeness, trying to destroy the other person's impression in Roger's mind as much as possible.

"What about you? What is your purpose?" Roger asked meaningfully, staring at Philip.

"We have completely good intentions and proactively provide help to our partners in difficult situations. It is completely different from the starting point of the dealer and scammer." Philip paused and added: "Of course, if there is a chance, we will do it again.

It would be best to teach the British a lesson."

The Dutch East India Company had monopolized the spice business in the area east of Java early on, and had publicly executed British merchants who entered the area for trade without authorization. The hatred between the two countries was already very deep. Now the British are in

If they try to enter the South China Sea to establish a stronghold, even if the Haihan people don't take action, the Netherlands will take action against them sooner or later. Although the Haihan people won a complete victory in this battle, the deterrent effect on Britain was not as good as that of the Netherlands. This is exactly what Philippe

One of the main reasons for wanting to encourage Roger to carry out military revenge. Of course, Philip now added another reason, which was to prevent the Portuguese from profiting from this matter.

The Portuguese wanted to seize a larger control area from Johor, but the Dutch wanted to take the opportunity to further attack the British. Although both sides adopted similar methods, and both hoped to jointly send troops with Haihan, their purpose was

There are obvious differences. However, neither of these two families could have imagined how big Haihan's heart was. They had just finished fighting their opponent, and they were already thinking about offering conditions for the opponent to join the international system dominated by Haihan.

Although Roger was a soldier, he was not a reckless man. His political vision and sensitivity were even higher than most of the rulers of this era. He believed that only necessary wars should be fought. War was only a means and not an end. How could he

Maximizing one's own interests through war is the meaning of war. If political or other means can better achieve the goal, then he will not insist on using war to solve the problem.

What Sing Tao is facing now is such a situation. Roger knows very well that Sing Tao's armed force alone cannot destroy Johor, nor can it stop the British from entering the South China Sea. However, these two countries are fighting against Haihan.

The tension formed later put a lot of pressure on Xingdao's defense. Even if he knew that these two families could not defeat him, it would not be an easy and pleasant thing to have two more enemies that he had to worry about all the time.

.

To solve this hidden danger, either go to war to beat the opponent completely into submission, or try to incorporate the opponent into his own system - this is something Haihan has done very well, Portugal and the Netherlands are successful examples.

Although it cannot be said that we are completely assured of them, after gradually becoming bound by many common interests, at least we no longer have to worry about their military retaliation against Haihan all day long.

After fighting this battle, Roger believed that his own strength had been fully demonstrated, which was enough to undermine the opponent's confidence in continuing to use military means. The previous armistice negotiations basically confirmed Roger's idea. The attitude shown by the opponent was simply

There is no fighting spirit at all. They just want to minimize the losses caused by the war. Under such a situation, using political means to solve the problem will obviously be more efficient than continuing to use military means, and the effect may be more ideal.

.If Johor and the United Kingdom can really be included in the Haihan system, then the defense pressure on Star Island will be reduced a lot, and more energy can be devoted to local construction and development instead of building defenses on the island day and night.

fortifications.

Now the Portuguese and Dutch are rushing to persuade Haihan not to cease the war, but to continue fighting, and even offer to send troops to help. This is something Roger had not expected before. From this, we can also see that these Western colonial countries interact with each other.

The conflict between them is very fierce. Even if they maintain peace on the surface, they will try their best to suppress their competitors and strive for more benefits for themselves when they get the opportunity.

The news that the Dutch envoy had arrived at Star Island soon reached Ricardo's ears. Although the purpose of the other party's appearance at this time was not yet clear, Ricardo always felt that the Dutch had bad intentions and immediately took action. Roger

As soon as he returned to his residence after entertaining Philip here, Ricardo came to see him.

Ricardo's intention was also very clear, which was to find out the Dutch's intention. Roger was dumbfounded by the envoys from these two families, so he could only comfort Ricardo and told him not to worry too much, saying that the Dutch had heard about it.

Come here and buy the various trophies Haihan captured from the battle.

Ricardo thought that the red-haired ghost was indeed insidious. He actually wanted to use this trick to win over Haihan. How could I let them succeed so easily? He immediately answered: "General, those trophies you mentioned earlier are not acquiescence."

Are they all going to be sold to us? How can the Dutch get involved in this deal!"

Roger thought that you were the one who thought it was too expensive before. Now that he saw the Dutch coming, he hurriedly tried to save it. He immediately said unhappily: "The Dutch are quick to do things, but they have no intention of bargaining with us!"

Ricardo heard that Roger was not in a good mood, and felt a slight thump in his heart. He quickly said: "Please forgive me for complaining about the price before. It was just a business habit, and there was no disrespect to the general. In fact, the price offered by the general was also

That's fair, I'm just worried that the money I brought this time isn't enough to buy all the loot at once."

Luo Jie knew that businessmen were businessmen and had absolutely no moral integrity at all. He had no difficulty in licking back what he had said before, and he could still look calm and composed. Facing this kind of thick-skinnedness, he could only express his admiration.

However, he also knew that Ricardo changed his story not because he wanted to be taken advantage of and to acquire trophies, but because he wanted to know more about the Dutch's intentions and try to prevent close contacts between the Dutch and Haihan. This kind of thing is not uncommon.

, in Ambona Island and Sanya, the envoys of these two families also acted in this tit-for-tat manner, fearing that the other party would win over Haihan and suppress them.

Of course, the competition between these two families is actually a good thing for Haihan. The fiercer they fight, the calmer Haihan becomes and the more political means he can use. The two envoys expressed their positions one after another within one day, which made Roger

For a moment, he wondered whether it would be more enjoyable to organize a support force to sweep northward to Johor. However, this idea only flashed through his mind. He also knew that Portugal and the Netherlands would not be able to fight side by side on the battlefield.

If one of them plays, they will inevitably suffer the resentment of the other, so this kind of alliance is not even a theoretical possibility.

"The way I see it, it's getting late today. You go back and rest first. When you find time tomorrow, we can go see the seizures and prisoners together. You can also weigh whether you want to acquire those weapons and equipment."

Roger paused and then added: "I will let the Dutch come over when the time comes, so that everyone can compete fairly and don't have to worry about which side I will favor."
Chapter completed!