Chapter 1561
racking their brains
Chapter 1561 racking their brains
In fact, under Haihan's careful management and management for several years, the security level in Sanya has always been pretty good, and it must be regarded as one of the cities with the best security in Haihan.After all, this is a special existence as the capital of the Haihan Kingdom. Most of the country's important institutions are concentrated here. The stability of law and order means the stability of the country's political situation to a certain extent, and the word "stability" can be said to run through The executive committee's policy of governing the country has always been, even during wars with other countries, it has almost never affected the political situation in Haihan.
Although the joint investigation activities of the Ministry of Security and the Police Department caused a brief moment of tension in the market in Sanya, this is the capital anyway, and the well-informed citizens were not too surprised by these investigation activities. Put this matter behind you.There are a lot of eye-catching news in Sanya every day, and not many people will care about this kind of case that is only related to foreigners. What's more, in the eyes of outsiders, this case has no beginning and no end, and there is no gossip during the investigation. Come out, how can ordinary people have any interest in following up.
Apart from the Portuguese who were dissatisfied with the hasty conclusion of the investigation, the other party involved also felt that their goals had not been fully achieved.
Su Keyi sat in the study and listened to his subordinate's report with a gloomy face, then raised his hand to signal him to leave.When he met with Schneider that day, he deliberately threw out the news of the "Diego". Of course, the purpose was to disrupt the layout secretly arranged by Haihan and Portugal, and make them realize that this kind of trick can't avoid the eyes and ears of the East India Company at all. .At the same time, Su Keyi also hopes to play the role of shocking the mountain, so that these two countries will stop arranging these small actions behind the back of the East India Company in the future.
As for the source of the news, in fact, it was as the Haihan Security Department investigated. It was just that Su Keyi happened to overhear the conversation between Thomas and other Portuguese when he was dining out.Few people know that Su Keyi has actually taught himself Portuguese a long time ago, and he has never shown this skill in front of outsiders. Therefore, when the group of Portuguese chatted after drinking, they thought that no one could understand their native language, and they were completely unwarranted. Someone will eavesdrop with pointed ears in the private room next door.
Although the voyage arrangement of the Portuguese merchant ship "Diego" is a secret, Su Keyi has no use after getting this secret.The ships of the East India Company were limited to activities in the waters south of the Yangtze River, and they did not dare to easily disobey the ban of the Haihan people and go to the northern waters without authorization.So even though he knew he was being treated differently by Hai Han, Su Keyi couldn't take any countermeasures other than being annoyed.It wasn't until Schneider invited him to tell him that the future trade rules must be implemented in accordance with the standards set by Haihan that he thought of using the "Diego" to try to bargain with the Haihan people.Of course, the result was a failure. Schneider seized the lifeline of the East India Company, and he refused to accept it at all. While Su Keyi was disappointed, he didn't take the "Diego" that had lost its use value too seriously.
Su Keyi did not expect that Schneider, who was relaxed at the time, immediately reported the incident to the Ministry of Security, and then the Ministry of Security launched a large-scale investigation operation, trying to find out the link of the leak.By the time he heard the wind outside, the investigation was actually coming to an end.Because there is no objective fact of actively selling secrets, Haihan did not arrest anyone in the end, and the investigation of the case ended in nothing.
Su Keyi did not expect that the information he obtained by accident would cause such a big storm outside. If he had known this, he should have recalculated and maximized the utility of this news. Make a mess.Thinking about it carefully, it really made him feel a little annoyed, feeling that he had missed an excellent opportunity.But after calming down, Su Keyi understood that the focus of this matter was not Sanya, but the whereabouts of the Portuguese merchant ship in the north.
The Portuguese were allowed to enter the northern seas by Haihan. This was indeed a small setback for the East India Company. It was not a good feeling to fall behind competitors. Su Keyi also hoped to regain this disadvantage as soon as possible.However, Su Keyi knew why Haihan made such an arrangement. Haihan had never relaxed his vigilance against the East India Company. were deliberately excluded.
It is not impossible for the ships of the East India Company to sneak from the open sea to the north, but since there are no ports under the control of the East India Company north of the Fujian Strait, it can be said that it is difficult for ships heading to the north to resupply on the way. It is very likely that the duration will exceed one month.And once traces are found at sea, the East India Company may have to face Haihan's punishment.Therefore, despite the possibility of going to the northern seas by itself, the East India Company has not acted rashly, so as not to offend Haihan and cause more disputes.
Previously, Su Keyi thought that the Portuguese would not be able to go to the north, so he was not in a hurry to break through this barrier, but now that he knew that Haihan was on the sidelines, he could no longer just sit back and watch the situation continue to develop in this direction.But how can the Haihan people let go and allow Dutch merchant ships to enter the northern waters?
At this moment, a subordinate knocked on the door and came in, presenting him with the official letter just sent from Victory Port.This is an official letter brought by a Dutch merchant ship traveling between Sanya and Batavia. The yellow parchment envelope is sealed with the seal of Van Diemen, Governor of the East India Company, which indicates that it may contain Van Diemen's personal letter, or a resolution of the company's board of directors signed by it.After Su Keyi passed the inspection, he picked up the paper knife from the desk, gently removed the wax seal, and took out the letter paper.
This letter is a personal letter from the Governor-General Van Diemen. The spice producing areas in the Maluku Sea have also gone through long contacts and negotiations, and the local tribes have recently begun to provide the company with a stable supply of goods.
This spice route needs to pass through Sulawesi Island and the Matalam State ruled area in the east of Java Island. Due to the deep grievances between the Matalam State and the East India Company, Dutch merchant ships in this area only need to be Matalam If the country catches it, it will be a dead end, and the risk is high enough to discourage most crew members and sailors. Only a very small number of fast ships dare to take the risk of crossing this sea area.But once successfully crossing this sea area, the spices brought back are enough for the brave to make a lot of money, so this route is also called the "death and wealth route" by Dutch sailors, which means that the wealth on this route is accompanied by death.
In order to protect the super high profits brought by this route, the East India Company has always kept the specific situation of this route secret, but it is still inevitable that ships from other Western countries will try to join the ranks of competitors. .Therefore, Dutch merchant ships not only have to fight against the ships of Mata Lan on this route, but also try to clean up those Western counterparts who fish in troubled waters.
Van Diemen organized an armed fleet and personally led the team to sweep back and forth on this route for more than two months, and achieved a record of sinking five ships and capturing nine sailing ships. Almost all other Western ships were cleared.However, during this period, the shortcomings of the insufficient combat effectiveness of the Dutch armed merchant ships were exposed again. Even when they had a clear advantage, due to the limited firepower output capability of the ship, it was difficult to subdue the opponent in a short time, and often had to be carried out at sea. The efficiency of the long pursuit operation of dozens or even hundreds of nautical miles is actually very low.
Fan Dimen asked Su Keyi to apply again to Haihan for the purchase of the "Exploration Class" or "Exploration Class" warships produced by him. If he couldn't buy a ship, then he could buy ship-mounted artillery.He hopes to expand the East India Company's maritime armed forces in the South China Sea as soon as possible, so as not to lose the wind in the confrontation with Mata Lan.
The reason why Fan Diemen has such worries is because he heard that Mata Languo has sent a mission to Sanya, and the purpose is also a large-scale military purchase involving ships.If Mata Languo takes the lead, the situation of the East India Company will inevitably become very passive.So he made another request to Su Keyi in the letter: If the Haihan people refused to sell ships and guns, then the next best thing is to try to prevent the Haihan people from selling these equipment to Matalan.
The offensive and defensive battle between the East India Company and the Matalam Kingdom around the city of Batavia in 1632 was fierce, and in the end both sides suffered losses.But after a few years of recuperation, small frictions and armed conflicts between the two sides gradually became more frequent again.If this momentum continues, it will only be a matter of time before the two sides fight.With the lessons learned from last time, Van Diemen naturally attaches great importance to the accumulation of maritime armed forces. On the one hand, he expands his strength through self-built ships, and on the other hand, he has been trying to purchase more powerful combat ships from Haihan.
Haihan's warships are not high-end goods that can be bought with money. Up to now, only a very small number of hardcore allies can buy a few ships from Haihan every year, and they are all only foreign trade standard versions, not Haihan Navy. There is still a certain gap in the performance of the models that are actually installed.But even such a version with reduced performance is still delicious in the eyes of the outside world, especially the Dutch, who are proficient in shipbuilding, have always wanted to buy a few ships and come back to dismantle them to study Haihan's shipbuilding technology and ships. Design concept to seek the possibility of imitation.
In order to add some weight to this arms purchase application, Van Diemen instructed Su Keyi to make certain concessions to Haihan on certain sensitive issues, such as allowing Haihan ships to go to ports controlled by the Netherlands in the East Indies for trade. , including several new settlements in the Banda Sea and the Maluku Sea.
This kind of sporadic trade can't actually bring much profit to Haihan. The main significance is that the East India Company has approved Haihan's ships to enter the sea area that they have designated as a restricted area.If you want to make an analogy, it is similar to Haihan allowing Dutch merchant ships to enter the northern waters of Daming.
"Concession, concession, there will be no room for concession!" After reading the letter, Su Keyi slowly stuffed the letter back into the envelope, feeling a little heavy.In recent years, the control area of the East India Company has been suppressed by Haihan on the line of Java Island south of Borneo. The Haihan stronghold closest to Batavia City has advanced to Bangka Belitung Island, forcing East India Indian company expedition ships can only go east.
Su Keyi very much hoped that Batavia could be tougher, so that he would have more confidence when dealing with the Haihan people in Sanya, so that he would not be so suppressed by the opponent every time that he was powerless to resist.But Van Diemen's letter obviously disappointed him once again. The heroic general who stood up to the Matalan army at the beginning seems to have been smoothed by the operating profit required by the board of directors. He didn't dare to offend Hai Han, and even took the initiative to avoid matters that might conflict with Hai Han.
Now, in order to buy Haihan's weapons and equipment, Van Diemen even decided to use the East India Company's most important spice producing area as a weight. Although it only gave Haihan the right to enter this area for trade, Su Keyi stayed in Sanya. After so long, it is clear that once Haihan enters a certain area, he will have a very strong influence in a short period of time. The areas controlled by him along the coast of Daming have fully proved this point.With the national power of Ming Dynasty, it is impossible to defend against it, let alone the indigenous tribes on those islands in the South China Sea. The Haihan people may be at home in those places, and it will not be long before they will threaten the interests of the East India Company.
Su Keyi didn't believe that Fan Diemen didn't think of this reason. He really felt that this kind of adventure was not worth the gain. Even if he bought a warship and suppressed the Matalan people, it would still be the same as driving tigers at the front door and wolves at the back door. There is nothing to be gained from the situation. It is hard to say whether it will improve or even worsen.But this is the order of the governor. As the representative of the East India Company in Sanya, he has no other choice but to execute it.
Su Keyi knew very well that this order was not as easy as it was written in Fan Dimen's letter. It was quite troublesome to apply for military purchases from Haihan. Su Keyi had tried several times before, but was rejected at the procedure review stage.And once word spreads, a bunch of people will immediately jump out to strongly oppose this matter, such as the Portuguese Minister Thomas and his like.Van Diemen asked him to trip up the Matalan people, but why wouldn't others trip up the East India Company?
How should this matter be done to make it possible? Su Keyi sat in the study from nightfall to dawn, but still couldn't think of a suitable way.
(End of this chapter)
In fact, under Haihan's careful management and management for several years, the security level in Sanya has always been pretty good, and it must be regarded as one of the cities with the best security in Haihan.After all, this is a special existence as the capital of the Haihan Kingdom. Most of the country's important institutions are concentrated here. The stability of law and order means the stability of the country's political situation to a certain extent, and the word "stability" can be said to run through The executive committee's policy of governing the country has always been, even during wars with other countries, it has almost never affected the political situation in Haihan.
Although the joint investigation activities of the Ministry of Security and the Police Department caused a brief moment of tension in the market in Sanya, this is the capital anyway, and the well-informed citizens were not too surprised by these investigation activities. Put this matter behind you.There are a lot of eye-catching news in Sanya every day, and not many people will care about this kind of case that is only related to foreigners. What's more, in the eyes of outsiders, this case has no beginning and no end, and there is no gossip during the investigation. Come out, how can ordinary people have any interest in following up.
Apart from the Portuguese who were dissatisfied with the hasty conclusion of the investigation, the other party involved also felt that their goals had not been fully achieved.
Su Keyi sat in the study and listened to his subordinate's report with a gloomy face, then raised his hand to signal him to leave.When he met with Schneider that day, he deliberately threw out the news of the "Diego". Of course, the purpose was to disrupt the layout secretly arranged by Haihan and Portugal, and make them realize that this kind of trick can't avoid the eyes and ears of the East India Company at all. .At the same time, Su Keyi also hopes to play the role of shocking the mountain, so that these two countries will stop arranging these small actions behind the back of the East India Company in the future.
As for the source of the news, in fact, it was as the Haihan Security Department investigated. It was just that Su Keyi happened to overhear the conversation between Thomas and other Portuguese when he was dining out.Few people know that Su Keyi has actually taught himself Portuguese a long time ago, and he has never shown this skill in front of outsiders. Therefore, when the group of Portuguese chatted after drinking, they thought that no one could understand their native language, and they were completely unwarranted. Someone will eavesdrop with pointed ears in the private room next door.
Although the voyage arrangement of the Portuguese merchant ship "Diego" is a secret, Su Keyi has no use after getting this secret.The ships of the East India Company were limited to activities in the waters south of the Yangtze River, and they did not dare to easily disobey the ban of the Haihan people and go to the northern waters without authorization.So even though he knew he was being treated differently by Hai Han, Su Keyi couldn't take any countermeasures other than being annoyed.It wasn't until Schneider invited him to tell him that the future trade rules must be implemented in accordance with the standards set by Haihan that he thought of using the "Diego" to try to bargain with the Haihan people.Of course, the result was a failure. Schneider seized the lifeline of the East India Company, and he refused to accept it at all. While Su Keyi was disappointed, he didn't take the "Diego" that had lost its use value too seriously.
Su Keyi did not expect that Schneider, who was relaxed at the time, immediately reported the incident to the Ministry of Security, and then the Ministry of Security launched a large-scale investigation operation, trying to find out the link of the leak.By the time he heard the wind outside, the investigation was actually coming to an end.Because there is no objective fact of actively selling secrets, Haihan did not arrest anyone in the end, and the investigation of the case ended in nothing.
Su Keyi did not expect that the information he obtained by accident would cause such a big storm outside. If he had known this, he should have recalculated and maximized the utility of this news. Make a mess.Thinking about it carefully, it really made him feel a little annoyed, feeling that he had missed an excellent opportunity.But after calming down, Su Keyi understood that the focus of this matter was not Sanya, but the whereabouts of the Portuguese merchant ship in the north.
The Portuguese were allowed to enter the northern seas by Haihan. This was indeed a small setback for the East India Company. It was not a good feeling to fall behind competitors. Su Keyi also hoped to regain this disadvantage as soon as possible.However, Su Keyi knew why Haihan made such an arrangement. Haihan had never relaxed his vigilance against the East India Company. were deliberately excluded.
It is not impossible for the ships of the East India Company to sneak from the open sea to the north, but since there are no ports under the control of the East India Company north of the Fujian Strait, it can be said that it is difficult for ships heading to the north to resupply on the way. It is very likely that the duration will exceed one month.And once traces are found at sea, the East India Company may have to face Haihan's punishment.Therefore, despite the possibility of going to the northern seas by itself, the East India Company has not acted rashly, so as not to offend Haihan and cause more disputes.
Previously, Su Keyi thought that the Portuguese would not be able to go to the north, so he was not in a hurry to break through this barrier, but now that he knew that Haihan was on the sidelines, he could no longer just sit back and watch the situation continue to develop in this direction.But how can the Haihan people let go and allow Dutch merchant ships to enter the northern waters?
At this moment, a subordinate knocked on the door and came in, presenting him with the official letter just sent from Victory Port.This is an official letter brought by a Dutch merchant ship traveling between Sanya and Batavia. The yellow parchment envelope is sealed with the seal of Van Diemen, Governor of the East India Company, which indicates that it may contain Van Diemen's personal letter, or a resolution of the company's board of directors signed by it.After Su Keyi passed the inspection, he picked up the paper knife from the desk, gently removed the wax seal, and took out the letter paper.
This letter is a personal letter from the Governor-General Van Diemen. The spice producing areas in the Maluku Sea have also gone through long contacts and negotiations, and the local tribes have recently begun to provide the company with a stable supply of goods.
This spice route needs to pass through Sulawesi Island and the Matalam State ruled area in the east of Java Island. Due to the deep grievances between the Matalam State and the East India Company, Dutch merchant ships in this area only need to be Matalam If the country catches it, it will be a dead end, and the risk is high enough to discourage most crew members and sailors. Only a very small number of fast ships dare to take the risk of crossing this sea area.But once successfully crossing this sea area, the spices brought back are enough for the brave to make a lot of money, so this route is also called the "death and wealth route" by Dutch sailors, which means that the wealth on this route is accompanied by death.
In order to protect the super high profits brought by this route, the East India Company has always kept the specific situation of this route secret, but it is still inevitable that ships from other Western countries will try to join the ranks of competitors. .Therefore, Dutch merchant ships not only have to fight against the ships of Mata Lan on this route, but also try to clean up those Western counterparts who fish in troubled waters.
Van Diemen organized an armed fleet and personally led the team to sweep back and forth on this route for more than two months, and achieved a record of sinking five ships and capturing nine sailing ships. Almost all other Western ships were cleared.However, during this period, the shortcomings of the insufficient combat effectiveness of the Dutch armed merchant ships were exposed again. Even when they had a clear advantage, due to the limited firepower output capability of the ship, it was difficult to subdue the opponent in a short time, and often had to be carried out at sea. The efficiency of the long pursuit operation of dozens or even hundreds of nautical miles is actually very low.
Fan Dimen asked Su Keyi to apply again to Haihan for the purchase of the "Exploration Class" or "Exploration Class" warships produced by him. If he couldn't buy a ship, then he could buy ship-mounted artillery.He hopes to expand the East India Company's maritime armed forces in the South China Sea as soon as possible, so as not to lose the wind in the confrontation with Mata Lan.
The reason why Fan Diemen has such worries is because he heard that Mata Languo has sent a mission to Sanya, and the purpose is also a large-scale military purchase involving ships.If Mata Languo takes the lead, the situation of the East India Company will inevitably become very passive.So he made another request to Su Keyi in the letter: If the Haihan people refused to sell ships and guns, then the next best thing is to try to prevent the Haihan people from selling these equipment to Matalan.
The offensive and defensive battle between the East India Company and the Matalam Kingdom around the city of Batavia in 1632 was fierce, and in the end both sides suffered losses.But after a few years of recuperation, small frictions and armed conflicts between the two sides gradually became more frequent again.If this momentum continues, it will only be a matter of time before the two sides fight.With the lessons learned from last time, Van Diemen naturally attaches great importance to the accumulation of maritime armed forces. On the one hand, he expands his strength through self-built ships, and on the other hand, he has been trying to purchase more powerful combat ships from Haihan.
Haihan's warships are not high-end goods that can be bought with money. Up to now, only a very small number of hardcore allies can buy a few ships from Haihan every year, and they are all only foreign trade standard versions, not Haihan Navy. There is still a certain gap in the performance of the models that are actually installed.But even such a version with reduced performance is still delicious in the eyes of the outside world, especially the Dutch, who are proficient in shipbuilding, have always wanted to buy a few ships and come back to dismantle them to study Haihan's shipbuilding technology and ships. Design concept to seek the possibility of imitation.
In order to add some weight to this arms purchase application, Van Diemen instructed Su Keyi to make certain concessions to Haihan on certain sensitive issues, such as allowing Haihan ships to go to ports controlled by the Netherlands in the East Indies for trade. , including several new settlements in the Banda Sea and the Maluku Sea.
This kind of sporadic trade can't actually bring much profit to Haihan. The main significance is that the East India Company has approved Haihan's ships to enter the sea area that they have designated as a restricted area.If you want to make an analogy, it is similar to Haihan allowing Dutch merchant ships to enter the northern waters of Daming.
"Concession, concession, there will be no room for concession!" After reading the letter, Su Keyi slowly stuffed the letter back into the envelope, feeling a little heavy.In recent years, the control area of the East India Company has been suppressed by Haihan on the line of Java Island south of Borneo. The Haihan stronghold closest to Batavia City has advanced to Bangka Belitung Island, forcing East India Indian company expedition ships can only go east.
Su Keyi very much hoped that Batavia could be tougher, so that he would have more confidence when dealing with the Haihan people in Sanya, so that he would not be so suppressed by the opponent every time that he was powerless to resist.But Van Diemen's letter obviously disappointed him once again. The heroic general who stood up to the Matalan army at the beginning seems to have been smoothed by the operating profit required by the board of directors. He didn't dare to offend Hai Han, and even took the initiative to avoid matters that might conflict with Hai Han.
Now, in order to buy Haihan's weapons and equipment, Van Diemen even decided to use the East India Company's most important spice producing area as a weight. Although it only gave Haihan the right to enter this area for trade, Su Keyi stayed in Sanya. After so long, it is clear that once Haihan enters a certain area, he will have a very strong influence in a short period of time. The areas controlled by him along the coast of Daming have fully proved this point.With the national power of Ming Dynasty, it is impossible to defend against it, let alone the indigenous tribes on those islands in the South China Sea. The Haihan people may be at home in those places, and it will not be long before they will threaten the interests of the East India Company.
Su Keyi didn't believe that Fan Diemen didn't think of this reason. He really felt that this kind of adventure was not worth the gain. Even if he bought a warship and suppressed the Matalan people, it would still be the same as driving tigers at the front door and wolves at the back door. There is nothing to be gained from the situation. It is hard to say whether it will improve or even worsen.But this is the order of the governor. As the representative of the East India Company in Sanya, he has no other choice but to execute it.
Su Keyi knew very well that this order was not as easy as it was written in Fan Dimen's letter. It was quite troublesome to apply for military purchases from Haihan. Su Keyi had tried several times before, but was rejected at the procedure review stage.And once word spreads, a bunch of people will immediately jump out to strongly oppose this matter, such as the Portuguese Minister Thomas and his like.Van Diemen asked him to trip up the Matalan people, but why wouldn't others trip up the East India Company?
How should this matter be done to make it possible? Su Keyi sat in the study from nightfall to dawn, but still couldn't think of a suitable way.
(End of this chapter)