Chapter 1752 Two views

In fact, the outside world has not been able to understand the direction and target selection of Haihan's foreign expansion over the years. After all, with the level of force possessed by Haihan, he can use Hainan Island as his rear base, and then send troops to expand to the mainland.

I believe that neither Annan nor the Ming Dynasty would be able to stop it militarily, and sitting on an island, it can be attacked, retreated or defended. The sea is also a defensive moat.

But what Haihan chose was a leapfrog expansion using the ocean as the stage. He chose either an island or a natural port on the mainland coastline, and did not expand his ruling area deep into the inland. Everyone with a discerning eye knows that construction and

The cost of maintaining a navy is obviously much higher than that of an army, and the speed of forming an army is also much slower.

There is clearly a direction that seems more reasonable, but Haihan has chosen a development path that seems more difficult. Many Ming officials, including Fei Cexian, actually cannot understand why Haihan's senior officials made such a decision. So in

As for how Haihan officials would deal with the issue of insufficient naval funding and personnel, his views were diametrically opposed to Su Keyi, who grew up under the influence of Dutch customs and culture.

Although Su Keyi is Han Chinese, he has grown up in a society ruled by the Dutch since he was a child, and naturally has a deeper understanding of maritime civilization. The Dutch maritime expansion process that has begun on a global scale since the last century is actually very similar to the history of Haihan's rise.

Similarly, it was also a leapfrog development, choosing some key areas to establish colonial ports to connect Dutch merchant ships' global trade routes. Whether it was maritime trade or shipbuilding, the Netherlands ranked first in the world in this era.

If you compare the scale of shipbuilding alone, the Netherlands can even leave Haihan unceremoniously behind. There are hundreds of shipyards in the capital Amsterdam alone, and hundreds of ships can be built across the country at the same time. Such a huge shipbuilding scale requires

What this brings is relatively low cost. The cost of Dutch merchant ships is at least three points lower than that of Britain across the strait, so many European countries will also go to the Netherlands to order ships.

In the current era, the tonnage of Dutch merchant ships accounts for almost three-quarters of the total tonnage of European merchant ships. Most of the wood and fish from Northern Europe, grain and furs from Eastern Europe, spices, silk, porcelain, etc. from the Far East are made of

Dutch merchant ships are transshipped and sold around the world. As an international trade center, the Port of Amsterdam has more than 2,000 merchant ships berthed all year round, and countless wealth and products from all over the world are gathered and traded locally. Compared to the current

Sanya is still obviously several levels behind in terms of business scale.

The Dutch East India Company also plans to follow the Amsterdam model in its operations in the Far East, trying to build Batavia into a trade center in this region. If it were not for the sudden emergence of Haihan, then the Netherlands' development in the Far East would have been much worse than it is now.

It was much smoother. In terms of international trade, the only one east of the Strait of Malacca that could compete with Batavia was Manila under Spanish rule.

Because of this, Su Keyi is better able to understand the development path planned by Haihan. However, on a similar development trajectory, Haihan did better than the East India Company. The East India Company spent nearly 10 years in Batavia.

The achievements of twenty years of construction are far inferior to what Haihan achieved in less than ten years. Su Keyi still feels a little sour in his heart every time he thinks about this matter, and even thinks that the East India Company should have given priority to it ten years ago.

Seizing Hainan Island instead of going to Fujian to start a conflict with the Ming Dynasty wasted too much time and resources in a war that was impossible to win.

Continental civilization and maritime civilization inevitably have very different views on the international situation, so when the two began to discuss the information they had just learned from the storyteller, they soon came to disagree.

"If this matter was done by the Haihan official, in my opinion, it is probably because the Navy was dissatisfied with the current treatment, so it ordered people to spread the word among the people to build momentum, and then use this as an excuse to ask the Executive Committee to allocate funds for the expansion of the Navy."

Fei Cexian was the first to state his conjecture: "The Navy has made great contributions in the Battle of Manila this time. If it is further promoted by public opinion, it is very likely that the Executive Committee will give it additional rewards."

Su Keyi shook his head slightly after hearing this and said: "What Mr. Fei said does make sense at first glance, but if you think about it carefully, Haihan has relied heavily on the navy during its external expansion, and in the past few years, it has almost been asking people to give people, and asking people to give people to people.

Money gives money, when have you ever heard of a naval admiral complaining? Moreover, the people in the navy are all war madmen from top to bottom. As long as there are wars to fight, they are very satisfied. How much do you think the navy commander Wang Tom can earn in a year?

I've been in Sanya for a month, so I don't have time to figure out how to play politics."

Fei Cexian said: "What does Mr. Su mean?"

"I feel that the official method may be true, but it may not be the intention of the navy." Su Keyi analyzed: "Haihan has always attached great importance to the development of the navy, but to continuously expand the strength of the navy, the military expenditure required is naturally huge.

Not everyone in the executive committee agrees with the development path of war-supporting war. If we spread the word among the people first and create an aggrieved image for the navy, and then allocate funds for shipbuilding later, perhaps the resistance will be smaller."

Fei Cexian frowned and said, "How can it be so complicated? According to Mr. Su, Haihan's internal conflicts cannot be resolved in the Victory Fort, and external forces must be used to promote it?"

"What I'm saying is just a guess, Mr. Fei, don't take it too seriously." Su Keyi didn't want to argue with Fei Cexian on this issue. It was a rare opportunity for him to have a face-to-face communication with Fei Cexian.

We should find ways to seize the opportunity to seek common ground while reserving differences, and find more common topics on which we agree, instead of fighting over issues that have no real impact.

Su Keyi took the initiative to change the topic and said: "However, the Black Shark has been hidden for two years before this, and Sanya Shipyard has not built another warship of the same type in the future. In addition to the issue of shipbuilding funds, I have thought of something else.

A possibility."

"I would like to hear the details." Fei Cexian responded quickly.

"This kind of ship...may have some major flaws in construction technology or actual use, so Haihan spent a long time adjusting it in order to build it after its flaws are made up.

Follow-up warships of the same class." Su Keyi paused and added: "Of course, it is even more impossible to announce this reason."

Fei Cexian thought it made sense when he heard it, and immediately joked: "If Mr. Su really guessed it right, then Haihan officials would release the news saying that there were insufficient funds and insufficient personnel. Wouldn't they be covering up the real reason?"

"The Haihan people have always had a lot of clever ideas. It's hard to say that they will really do this." Su Keyi said helplessly: "This kind of new warship is obviously performing very well, but there has been no increase in construction. Sooner or later, someone will be suspicious. Instead of letting outsiders

It’s just a wild guess, it’s better for the official to take the initiative to spread some rumors to confuse the public.”

Fei Cexian said: "Master Su's words are reasonable. From this point of view, the reasons mentioned by the storyteller earlier do seem to be deliberately released to mislead external public opinion."

At this time, the waiter knocked on the door and came in to start serving the food. The two of them stopped talking with a tacit understanding. After the waiter put down the food and wine and went out, the two continued to communicate.

In fact, after all, the two of them suspected that the storyteller's source of information was problematic. However, their identities were sensitive and they could not go to the storyteller to verify whether his source of information was true, so they could only close the door and follow their own rules.

Just guessing. And the results of this guess have some credibility. They may not take it too seriously. They just take this opportunity to express the injustice that has accumulated in their hearts today.

Fei Cexian took the initiative to pick up the jug and poured a glass for Su Keyi, saying: "Everyone is busy with official duties on weekdays and rarely has the opportunity to move around. Today is a break from the busy schedule. I can finally sit down and chat with Mr. Su. It is really rare.

ah!"

Su Keyi quickly raised his glass and responded: "You are so polite, Mr. Fei. In fact, I have always planned to pay a visit to Mr. Fei. I just thought that the Ming Dynasty Embassy has not yet been completed. I wanted to wait until the embassy is completed before I can formally pay a visit to Mr. Fei."

The two exchanged polite words and toasted tacitly. In fact, Fei Cexian had been in Sanya for several months. If he had really wanted to meet, he would have made an appointment long ago. However, the two countries were more than ten years old.

They had old grudges years ago and have never established formal diplomatic relations. Naturally, they would not take the initiative to deal with each other. If it hadn't happened that both of them had suffered a heavy loss at the hands of the Haihan people today, and they happened to bump into each other nearby.

If we meet each other, it is impossible to sit down alone to eat and drink together.

Of course, Su Keyi had more to do with this. For the Dutch East India Company, the superficial peace with Haihan was really a last resort, or because of its own lack of strength, it was not Haihan's opponent in arm-wrestling. But if there is a chance,

The East India Company would not be polite if it stumbling upon Haihan. The current situation of the Ming Dynasty was somewhat similar to that of the East India Company, especially this Ming envoy, whom Su Keyi thought was very suitable to win over.

Although the relationship between the two countries is not good, if they can unite with the Ming Dynasty to deal with Haihan, Su Keyi feels that he can put aside the past disputes and solve the current problems first - such as how to curb Haihan's terrible development momentum.

However, Su Keyi is not the kind of person who speaks and acts carelessly. Moreover, he has very little contact with Fei Cexian and does not know much about the Ming Dynasty official's temperament and habits, so he always pays careful attention to the other party's attitude during the conversation.

If something was wrong, he would immediately change the topic. Fei Cexian seemed not to realize Su Keyi's cautious flattery. He basically talked about whatever he thought of and did not deliberately avoid the topic.

The two quickly started talking about Haihan's future development direction from the previous topic, which is something that their respective camps are very concerned about.

Fei Cexian said: "I have recently received instructions from the imperial court to pay close attention to the next movements of the Haihan Army. It should be noted that their big enemy in the South China Sea has gone, and now all their military forces can be transferred to the north. It will be extremely important for our country.

A big threat.”

"Master Fei, there is actually no need to worry too much. In my humble opinion, Haihan is indeed not very interested in invading the Ming Dynasty. At least for a period of time in the future, they will continue their previous practice and only occupy some islands close to the mainland, or key areas."

It will build ports in the region and will not aggressively develop into inland areas."

Su Keyi knew much more about the situation in the South China Sea than Fei Cexian, and he immediately spoke eloquently: "Besides, even if they captured the city of Manila ruled by the Spanish, it does not mean that the South China Sea will be peaceful. Those who dare to be angry about it do not dare to speak out.

There are many countries, but there is no suitable opportunity to launch them. The Haihan people themselves know this. They currently have a fleet deployed in Sanya, Camlan and Xingdao. They are not worried about not being able to control the situation in the South China Sea. Navy Commander

The fleet that Wang Tom brought back from Manila has been stationed in Victory Port and is not in a hurry to go north. Maybe he wants to use this to promote his force to the countries in the South China Sea."

Of course, Su Keyi would not say which countries in the South China Sea were still hostile to Haihan, but he believed that Fei Cexian would understand what he wanted to express implicitly.

"The Haihan people show off their power, claim to be the overlord of the South China Sea, and attack other countries wantonly. This is domineering, but it is not a royal way, and it will not last long." Fei Cexian commented a few words, and then changed the topic: "I think your country must be so domineering towards the Haihan people.

Are you already dissatisfied with your behavior?"

Su Keyi did not expect Fei Cexian to ask such a direct question, and immediately laughed and said: "Haihan intends to monopolize many trade projects in the South China Sea, which naturally conflicts with our country's interests. But fortunately, both sides are relatively sensible, and it can be passed at present.

Negotiate to resolve differences of opinion.”

Fei Cexian said: "The conflict between your country and Haihan is just business, but our country and Haihan are territorial disputes that are difficult to resolve. I believe Mr. Su also knows that the land where Haihan is based is our country's territory. Now,

It has even invaded and occupied land in many places in our country. While Haihan State stated that it would maintain peaceful exchanges with our country, it also sent troops to occupy important coastal areas of our country. How can people trust them? Even if the Haihan Executive Committee once claimed that it would not invade

Da Ming, but let me ask you, Da Ming, can you rest assured?"

Su Keyi said: "Master Fei, if you understand the development strategy of the Haihan people, you won't worry about this matter. What they want is to control the import and export trade of various countries, rather than how much land they actually occupy. Besides, the Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, and they

Even if we all come out in force, how much land can we occupy?"

Fei Cexian said: "Having said that, we still have to guard against the wolfish ambitions of the Haihan people. Look, the city of Manila is thousands of miles away from Sanya. How did Haihan ever let it go?"

Seeing that Fei Cexian's attitude was resolute and unwavering, Su Keyi felt that he had almost tested it, so he took the initiative to ask: "Has Master Fei considered trying to limit Haihan's development momentum? For example, find more people overseas.

Allies with similar interests join forces..."
Chapter completed!