Chapter 689 Conspiracy theory

Compared with a conflict with the Haihan people, what the East India Company did not want to see more was the Spanish intervention in this matter. Although the Haihan people acted arrogantly, there was at least the possibility of sitting down and negotiating, even if both parties knew the purpose of such negotiations.

Just delaying time, at least there is still the possibility of reaching peace. But there is no room for negotiation between the Netherlands and Spain. The Netherlands has only two ways to go, either to succeed in independence or to be destroyed by Spain. The nature of the war must be serious.

Much more.

At this time, the battlefields between the Netherlands and Spain are almost all over the world, but Spain does not have a clear upper hand in the Far East. The strength of both sides is still comparable. But the emergence of Haihan seems to have broken the delicate balance, making

A third powerful armed force appeared on the sea in the Far East.

After Fan Longen urged Su Keyi to translate Yu Xiaobao's statement, he could no longer control his emotions: "If you make such a ridiculous decision, then this will not only be a conflict with the East India Company, but also a conflict with the East India Company."

Directly declare war on our country!”

"Is there any difference?" Yu Xiaobao's expression was still very relaxed: "Aren't the interests of the East India Company and the Netherlands integrated? Even if the Netherlands declares war on us, the armed ships and personnel that can participate in the war will still come from

East India Company?"

Van Longen was at a loss for words for such a reply. The other party knew so much about the East India Company that it was difficult for him to use the method of "state declaration of war" to put pressure on the other party.

"This must be the meddling of the damn Portuguese! These all-pervasive Mediterranean bandits!" Van Longen secretly made his own judgment on this situation in his heart.

The most direct enemies of the East India Company in the East are actually neither the Spaniards whose base is on Luzon Island at the other end of the South China Sea, nor the Haihan people who are entrenched in Qiongzhou Island.

The number of armed conflicts between the Portuguese and the East India Company and the other two parties was extremely limited, but fighting against the Portuguese was an almost monthly routine.

After more than ten years of fighting, the East India Company had a clear upper hand in the vast sea area east of the Strait of Malacca and north of the Sunda Strait. The Portuguese only had small-scale colonial areas along the coasts of central Annan and southern Ming Dynasty.

That’s it. After the civil strife in Annan was settled and Haihan suddenly rose up, anyone with a discerning eye could actually see that the Portuguese were no longer a big player in the South China Sea. All the players in this area were stronger than them, and the Portuguese didn’t want to be squeezed out.

This chessboard can only rely on the strong one on one side, and in the end, the one they chose was actually the only Haihan man with no national background among the strength of several parties.

Although the Haihan people are very similar to the Ming people in appearance and have roughly the same language and culture, anyone who has come into contact with them knows that this group of people is very different from the Ming people. They are not from the same country at all. The local officials of the Ming Dynasty may still

They will be regarded as examples of overseas Chinese returning to the Central Dynasty from all over the world, but in the eyes of outsiders, what Haihan did on Qiongzhou Island was to temporarily rely on the protection of the Ming Dynasty and use the Ming Dynasty's resources, market and labor force to develop his own power.

, a play that ultimately captures the magpie's nest.

It has only been four or five years since the Haihan people settled on Qiongzhou Island. Although they have risen very quickly, their sphere of influence has not even reached Batavia. Therefore, Van Longen believes that it is impossible for them to grasp the international situation on the European continent in such detail.

and the fighting situation. The only ones who can provide the Haihan people with this information are the hateful Portuguese.

"No, the Portuguese and the Spanish are mortal enemies. How could they just sit back and watch the Haihan people join forces with the Spanish? This guy must be intimidating me!" Van Longen also reacted quickly and immediately thought of something deeper.

From a standpoint, the current situations of the Netherlands and Portugal are actually similar. They are both trying to get rid of the rule of the Kingdom of Spain. Although Portugal has not yet declared independence like the Netherlands, Van Longen knows that these Portuguese people can

They did not regard themselves as part of Spain, and their colonies in the Far East were clearly separated from Spain. For example, in Haojingao, which was rented by the Portuguese from the Guangdong government, there were basically no Spanish presence there.

Based on the reputation of the Haihan people, it is unlikely that they would betray their allies. After Fan Longgen realized this, he immediately retorted: "If you really make such an irrational choice, I would like to object to it.

Not only us, but also your allies the Portuguese."

"The reaction of the red-haired ghost is quite fast..." Yu Xiaobao sighed in his heart, but said calmly on his face: "I think you have misunderstood, we do not intend to form an alliance with the Spanish.

We are just seeking strategic cooperation, just like the relationship we have with Daming and Annan. After all, your company is likely to become our common goal. Both the Spaniards and the Portuguese can think of it. If we can get you there

In the water, this outcome will be beneficial to everyone."

Regarding the possible reactions of the other party, Schneider had already taught Yu Xiaobao how to deal with them, and Fan Longgen's behavior was among them, so it did not stump Yu Xiaobao.

Van Longen wanted to refute, but suddenly he discovered that Yu Xiaobao's words revealed an extremely terrifying fact: Haihan, Ming Dynasty, Annan, the Portuguese, and even the Spanish, so many forces could actually hold the position of treating the Netherlands.

Find common interests. Moreover, the Spaniards have not had any conflicts with the Haihan people so far, so there is indeed the possibility of reaching a cooperative relationship. The two sides do not even need to agree on joint troop dispatches, as long as they clearly share their attitude towards the Netherlands.

It was enough to make the East India Company unable to guard against it.

At this time, looking at the half-smiling expression on Yu Xiaobao's face, Fan Longgen couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart - the Haihan people either refused to give an inch or simply avoided the key issues during the negotiation process.

He did not talk about it, but he never expressed his intention to end the negotiations. There was no doubt that he was deliberately delaying time. Before that, Van Longen believed that the Haihan people might want to take advantage of this period to launch an attack on the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea, and the East Indies

The company also needs time to re-prepare the battle plan to retake the local area, so Fan Longgen and others also tacitly acted together to delay the negotiation process. However, the topic that Yu Xiaobao brought up today made Fan Longgen think of something else.

The terrible situation is that the reason why the Haihan people are delaying is that they are already contacting all parties and preparing to join forces to deal with the Netherlands?

As soon as Fan Longgen opened up this idea, he couldn't stop it. Needless to say, the relationship between Haihan and Ming Dynasty. After all, they had already proved this with military operations in Fujian before. And Annan's regime was entirely attributed to Haihan.

In terms of support, it is said that the top military officials have a close relationship with Haihan, even closer than those in Fujian, and they will probably not refuse Haihan's request. And the attitudes of Portugal and Spain are very likely to be like what Yu Xiaobao said.

As said, even if they dislike each other, there will never be any big difference in their attitude towards dealing with the Netherlands. If Haihan is included as a mediator, it is indeed possible to reach an agreement in the Far East.

An alliance against the Netherlands.

Although Van Longen is still very confident in his own strength, he also knows that the East India Company cannot cope with so many enemies at the same time. If the Haihan people really did this, the East India Company would be in danger now.

Got it!

Van Longen yawned and said, "How about we interrupt for a moment and have a cup of tea and take a break?"

"That's fine." Yu Xiaobao stood up calmly and said, "Seeing as it's almost noon, we might as well wait until the afternoon to continue talking."

As soon as Yu Xiaobao walked away, Van Longen's face darkened. Before Van der Wegen realized what had happened, and was about to look through the menu to check the contents of lunch, Van Longen had already stood up, closed the door, and said to the two of them: "We have to

Get out of here as soon as possible."

"Why?" Van der Wegen asked with a surprised look on his face. Just last night, he and Van Longen were discussing whether to continue spending time with the Haihan people. Anyway, here they would have good food and accommodation, and there would be people to serve them for everything.

It is indeed difficult to enjoy such leisurely days.

"The Haihan people have bad intentions in dragging us here!" Fan Longgen immediately told the two of them what he had just thought.

After hearing this, Su Keyi couldn't help but change his face and said: "The Haihan people are so insidious!"

"Perhaps there are envoys from the Portuguese and Spanish living in a certain house here." Van Longen looked outside through the glass window and said quietly: "The two high-ranking Haihan officials who negotiated with us at the beginning

Where did it go? They never explained. I suspect that they may be conducting several negotiations at the same time, and the negotiation with us is the easiest to deal with, and does not require their senior diplomats to personally intervene."

"So they locked us up in this place, and then sent a young boy to deal with us for so many days!" After hearing this, Van der Wegen also felt that Van Longen's inference was very possible. Since they moved into the guest house, the Haihan people

They were imprisoned and were not allowed to leave the courtyard where the small building belonged. All that could be seen from here was the Victory Harbor in the distance. As for the courtyard next to it, they were all covered with dense bushes and white wooden trees as tall as one person.

With the fence separating them, it was impossible to tell who lived there. If the Haihan people did this to prevent them from meeting certain people with special status living nearby, then Van Longen's inference would make perfect sense.

"Although we may not be able to confirm this speculation for the time being, we must send this information back to Batavia as soon as possible so that the company can prepare for it earlier." Van Longen raised his hand and made a cross on his chest: "If this happens

If several forces really join forces, then we can only pray for God’s blessing!”

"If we suddenly ask to terminate the negotiations and leave, it will arouse the suspicion of the Haihan people, right? This may prompt them to take action in advance." Van der Wegen said hesitantly: "That will not serve as a warning."

"There are only three of us, should we leave in batches?" Fan Longgen shook his head and said: "If we leave in batches, only one can leave. One person between you and me must stay here, and Su Keyi must also stay, otherwise

Negotiations cannot continue."

"Only one person is leaving... This is a hard excuse!" Van der Wegen frowned and said, "Pretending to be sick?"

"It's not very feasible to pretend to be sick. Don't forget the medical skills of the Haihan people." Su Keyi immediately reminded.

The reputation of the Haihan people for their superb medical skills spread to Batavia in the past two years through word of mouth among Chinese immigrants and maritime merchants. The most famous example is two Chinese doctors who once worked under Dr. Haihan.

After immigrating to Batavia, he rescued Governor Cohen who was almost terminally ill. Cohen is still in charge of the daily affairs of the East India Company. It can be said that at least half of the credit belongs to the medical skills of the two Chinese doctors, but they

It is said that the medical skills mastered by the Haihan people are far superior to them. Even surgical operations such as caesarean section to save people are as easy as searching a bag to retrieve things. There are countless sick people in the refugee camps who have saved their lives after being treated by Dr. Haihan.

This is naturally a bit unbelievable to the Dutch, who still use bloodletting as the main method of treatment. Many people think that this should also be a type of the legendary Haihan witchcraft, rather than an orthodox medical skill - just kidding, how can it be done without bloodletting?

Can the disease be cured?

Although most of Haihan's clinical medical skills were based on Western medicine from later generations as the main diagnostic and treatment methods, the Western medical skills of this era were still in a rather ignorant period, and would continue for more than a century after that. 1799

, the day before George Washington, the first president of the United States, died, several doctors worked together to drain him of nearly 2,500 ml of blood, which accounted for almost half of his body's blood volume, which directly caused his death from hemorrhagic shock.

, this would definitely be considered a murder case in later generations. It was not until the 1820s, after doctors conducted long-term clinical observations, that they determined that bloodletting actually caused great harm to the patient's body, and thus began to gradually abandon this practice.

Unscientific "medical skills".

But when Governor Cohen began to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye, all doubts about Haihan's medical skills disappeared. Some people in Batavia even offered extremely high salaries to invite doctors from the Ming Dynasty who had been trained by Haihan to immigrate.

Sanya is the hometown of the Haihan people. There is no need to guess how many doctors here who are proficient in medical skills. If you pretend to be sick, you will probably be discovered by the Haihan people directly, which will easily cause trouble.

As soon as Su Keyi reminded them, the two people naturally remembered it and at the same time shook their heads and rejected the plan.
Chapter completed!