Chapter 2241

As the maritime colonial powers of this era, the Netherlands and Spain have obtained huge economic gains from the East through sea routes, and a considerable part of them will be used as their military expenditures, turned into guns and warships to destroy each other's armies.

From Haihan's point of view, of course he hopes that these two maritime powers can fight to the death on the European battlefield and create a more relaxed external environment for their future westward expansion. But if Haihan wants to take tough measures against the Dutch

Measures to completely cut off the economic gains they have gained through international trade in the East will likely affect the future direction of the war between the Netherlands and Spain.

In addition, while Haihan was weakening and attacking these two countries, he actually did not completely relax his vigilance against Portugal. After all, although Portugal was still under the rule of Spain at this time, it was also a maritime power. If those two countries were in

If Dongfang is trampled too hard by Haihan, Portugal will definitely take advantage of the situation to grow bigger, which may not be a good thing for Haihan.

Therefore, the idea of ​​the Executive Committee is still to allow these Western countries' colonial forces in East Asia to restrain each other and maintain a dynamic balance. Spain, which is hostile, has received the most blows, while Portugal, which has remained close to Haihan, has received many blows.

Support and preferential treatment, while the Netherlands, which was forced to remain neutral due to the situation, had to face many restrictive measures deliberately set by Haihan.

But the Portuguese now want to break this balance and completely replace the Dutch trade position in East Asia. This is not in line with the vision of the Haihan Executive Committee. All eggs cannot be put in the same basket, and the same is true for international trade.

Of course, due to diplomatic considerations, Schneider could not make the executive committee's intentions clear to Thomas, and could only use a more tactful way to persuade the other party to give up the idea.

Thomas was stunned for a moment when he heard Schneider's words, and then shook his head and said: "Mr. Schneider, I must reiterate my point again. Our country will not think that the Netherlands is a partner in the same camp as our country just because of the war between the Netherlands and Spain. Regardless,

No matter what happens now or in the future, it is impossible to resolve the grievances between our country and the Netherlands. You must understand that this matter cannot be simply divided into two camps. Our three countries are actually three different

camp, and there is no possibility of reconciliation between any two countries!”

Thomas's words finally described the situation of the three countries of Portugal, the Netherlands, and Spain relatively accurately. This made Schneider realize that the grievances between countries in this era may not be entirely what he learned from historical data.

It seems that the Portuguese are more obsessed with maritime hegemony and trade hegemony than they think.

"You're right, maybe my opinion is a little too subjective." Schneider readily admitted that there was a problem with his judgment, but he refused to let go of the Portuguese's request: "But about the trade share.

, it is not that simple to deal with. I think that for a foreseeable period of time, the relationship between our country and the Dutch East India Company will still maintain the status quo..."

Thomas interrupted: "It seems that it is not in the interests of your country to replace the trading status of the Netherlands with our country. This is really regrettable!"

What Thomas said was very direct, and it can be said that it revealed Schneider's true inner thoughts.

But of course Schneider couldn't immediately admit Thomas's view, and responded with a smile: "Your Excellency has thought too much. The cooperation between our country and your country has always been very pleasant, and the scale of trade has been steadily increasing year by year. I don't think it is necessary at all."

Worrying about future cooperation prospects.”

"I hope so." Thomas actually realized that Schneider's words were perfunctory, but the other party was a senior official in charge of Haihan's economic and trade power, and he was just an envoy posted to Haihan, so he really didn't dare to say

Too much to avoid really offending Schneider.

Whether it was Su Keyi or Thomas, they were each their own masters in everything they did. However, the Dutch placed their hopes on the Ming Dynasty and tried to circumvent Haihan's restrictions. The Portuguese believed that they could start with Haihan and pry them.

To disrupt the Dutch trade in East Asia. But none of them really realized that Haihan had a larger and longer-term plan to control the international trade in East Asia, and both the Netherlands and Portugal had been beaten back by Haihan.

Spain, deep in the South China Sea, and their colonial and trade activities in East Asia will be restricted by Haihan's plan for a long time.

This is not just a matter of pure strength. Western colonial countries know nothing about the future historical direction. They can only deal with various situations they encounter according to the practices of this era. However, Haihan can learn from a higher level.

Look at this era from God's perspective and make full use of the conflicts of interests between these countries to create a favorable situation for yourself.

An approach like Thomas's may have been a well-planned plan in their own eyes, but they couldn't fool Haihan, let alone convince Schneider, who was known for his shrewdness.

Schneider took the initiative to change the subject and said: "Your country has opened a trade route to North Korea last year. The harvest should be pretty good after this operation, right?"

Thomas responded: "To be honest, the trade situation is not as good as expected. North Korea suffered too much in last year's war, and its post-war recovery is also very slow. According to reports from our businessmen, their trade situation in North Korea is not ideal.

.This aspect of trade should be far less well-planned than your country. I have to say that the industries in the Datong River Basin are really eye-catching."

As one of the coalition forces that aided North Korea in resisting the Qing Dynasty last year, the Portuguese also contributed a lot during the war, so they received care after the war and obtained the trade rights they expected. However, North Korea was affected by the war.

The sequelae of the crisis have not dissipated, and the productivity and consumption power of the people are far from returning to normal levels. The limited labor force, materials and funds are mostly concentrated on some key industries related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Therefore, the operating conditions of Portuguese businessmen in North Korea are not ideal.

.

Haihan is indeed foresighted in this regard and has arranged industrial cooperation projects in the Datong River Basin early. Although these large projects require large initial investments and long construction periods, their long-term benefits will grow steadily. The most important thing is that these are

It is an indispensable industry to maintain the operation of the country, so North Korean officials are also very cooperative and give priority to providing the materials and manpower needed to build these projects.

While Portuguese merchants were having trouble finding craftsmen to build their business inns, various projects led by Haihan were under construction in full swing. How could this not make the Portuguese merchants who traveled thousands of miles to North Korea to pan for gold feel envious and jealous.

Now one year has passed, and various industries along the Datong River have begun to put into production one after another. However, the operating conditions of Portuguese businessmen in North Korea have not improved significantly. According to the most optimistic estimates, it may take another year and a half.

The local economic situation in North Korea will gradually improve after a few years. Therefore, when Thomas heard Schneider taking the initiative to talk about North Korea, it was of course difficult for Thomas to give a satisfactory answer.

"This is only temporary, everything will get better slowly..." Schneider was not ignorant of the situation in North Korea. The reason why he asked about this was because he wanted to test it again.

The other party’s attitude can pave the way for the next topic.

"I have a question for Mr. Thomas. Is your country interested in entering the Liaodong region at some point in the future? Maybe we can arrange an island close to the coastline for your country, just like Macau, with low-cost

Rent it to your businessmen as a long-term residence at a reasonable price."

"Liaodong area?" Thomas hesitated for a moment after hearing this place name: "Are you referring to the area currently controlled by the Haihan Army, or the territory of the Qing Dynasty?"

Schneider said with a half-smile: "Of course the long-term residency is not given to your country for free. Your country must make some effort to fight for it."

Thomas had already vaguely guessed it, but he still pretended to be confused and said: "I don't quite understand what you mean. Can you explain it more clearly?"

Schneider said: "Perhaps at some time in the future, North Korea will invite our country to send troops to attack the Qing Dynasty in retaliation for the Qing Dynasty's bullying for many years. If your country is willing to send troops to help, then I think you will receive reasonable rewards after the war."

"

Thomas understood now. What Schneider said was basically consistent with his guess, that is, Haihan hoped that Portugal would cooperate in sending troops to attack the Qing Dynasty in the future. In return, Portugal would obtain a place near the Liaodong coast as a long-term residence after the war.

.

Such terms of exchange are actually not unusual. Every time Portugal cooperates with Haihan in sending troops, it has received similar rewards afterwards. Even after capturing Manila at the beginning of last year, Haihan also specially approved a large area in Manila Bay.

Hundreds of acres of seaside land were given to Portugal as their long-term residence there in the future.

But compared to Manila City on Luzon Island, the situation in Liaodong is obviously much more complicated. Although Thomas did not go there in person, he spent a lot of time studying the battle reports of the coalition forces in North Korea last year.

He also has a certain understanding of the situation in the Qing Dynasty.

The Spaniards have been operating in Manila for decades, but the actual scale of the armed forces is very limited, and the territory they control is mainly limited to the Manila Bay area. But Liaodong’s opponents are not native tribes with only one main city;

The strength of the northern country, which was able to mobilize 100,000 troops to march south to conquer North Korea and at the same time overwhelm the Ming Dynasty's border defenses, should not be underestimated.

Although the coalition forces did defeat the Qing army on the Korean battlefield last year, judging from the battle reports, the victory of the war was largely due to the combat strategy formulated by Haihan. In the early stage, the naval fleet was used to prevent the opponent from going south in the Yalu River, and at the same time, it was

Large defensive positions were built in the rear. If this was not the case, even if the coalition forces clearly had an advantage at sea, it would still be very dangerous to block the Qing army on land, which was dozens of times their own strength.

According to the battle report at the time, the Qing army's offensive after crossing the river was very rapid. It fought all the way from the Yalu River to the Datong River, and was finally blocked by the Datong River base built by the Haihan Army. Although it did succeed in repelling the Qing army in the end

The offensive forced them to withdraw their troops and return home. However, offense and defense are two completely different forms of combat. If the coalition forces were mainly attacking and the Qing army was mainly defending, it is really not easy to draw a conclusion on the direction of the war.

Taking the initiative to send troops to attack the Qing Dynasty is undoubtedly much more risky than sending troops to North Korea last year. What's more, according to the news received this year, the Qing army seems to have begun to systematically equip the army with long-range anti-personnel weapons such as muskets and artillery. This is an extremely dangerous situation.

The signal. The armed forces that Portugal can organize in East Asia only have a few people, and they cannot withstand too much effort.

Thomas thought for a while and did not immediately respond to Schneider's proposal. Instead, he asked him: "Usually military cooperation matters are proposed by Minister Yan of your country. Why is it you who came forward this time?"

Schneider explained: "The Ministry of National Defense currently only has such an intention, and there is no specific implementation plan, so it is not yet time for Minister Yan to come forward. I am not coming forward on behalf of the military, only on behalf of myself. Of course, if you

If the country also has such a wish, then I will feedback this situation to the Ministry of National Defense so that when they formulate action plans, they will also take your country into consideration."

It would certainly be a good thing for Portugal if it could obtain a long-term residence in the far north, but Thomas, as the envoy to Haihan, must make an assessment of the risks involved. Even if he himself does not

He will go to the front line of the battlefield, but this will also be tied to his future career promotion.

If the operation succeeds and Haihan agrees to give Portugal a piece of land, then Thomas will become a great hero of Portugal. Maybe he will be written into history and be admired by future generations. But if it fails, Portugal will

If the expeditionary force suffered heavy casualties, he might lose his current job because of this misjudgment.

Thomas thought about it again and again, but still did not immediately give an affirmative answer: "Mr. Schneider, given the seriousness of the matter you proposed, I think more detailed information is needed to make a judgment on whether to participate. Maybe we should wait.

After your country's Ministry of National Defense formulates the next step, we will discuss the feasibility of this issue."

Schneider frowned slightly and said: "It seems that Mr. Thomas still has some doubts about our country's military strength."

"No, no, no! That's not the case!" Thomas quickly explained: "I believe that your country's military strength is enough to defeat the northern barbarians, but the problem is that we need a detailed battle plan. This is just like doing business with your country, everything

The contents of the transaction must be reflected in the paper contract, so that both the buyer and seller can proceed with peace of mind, right?”

"Your description makes sense!" Schneider smiled and agreed with Thomas' explanation.
Chapter completed!