Chapter 1562
Arms Purchase Competition
Chapter 1562 Arms Purchase Competition
The task assigned in the letter by the Governor of the East India Company, Van Diemen, seems to be one thing, but it is actually two things.One is to apply to Haihan for the purchase of weapons and equipment, and the other is to prevent the envoys of the Matalan Kingdom from purchasing arms in Haihan.It's just that for Su Keyi, it's not easy to accomplish any of these things.
Judging from Van Diemen's letter, he should have written this letter after hearing that the Matalan people had set off. That is to say, when the letter arrived in Su Keyi's hands, the Matalan mission might have already left. It has been a few days since I arrived in Sanya secretly.If the Matalan people had already negotiated an arms purchase contract with Haihan at this time, then no matter how hard Su Keyi tried, it would be difficult to change the established facts.
And Su Keyi's most urgent task is to quickly inquire about the movements of the Matalan Mission, and try to get a foot in the door in time.However, he was a little sleepy after sitting all night, so he didn't plan to run this kind of thing himself, but handed it over to his subordinates.He himself had to hurry up and recharge his batteries, because after the Mataram Mission's movement was implemented, it would be his turn to negotiate with the other party.
Sanya, as the capital of the Haihan Kingdom, is also the most prosperous port city in the South China Sea. The number of foreigners arriving and leaving the city every day is at least at the level of hundreds or even thousands.Sanya has a relatively strict registration and management system for foreigners' activities in the local area, especially in the Shenglibao area where there are many government departments and exists as the political center of the country. Overseas foreigners are only allowed to move within the port area.
Countries with close ties with Haihan, such as Portugal, Annan, and the Netherlands, have successively built embassies in Sanya in the past few years, and those small countries that are far away from Hainan Island and have no conditions to set up special diplomatic agencies, Haihan also worked for them. Their official staff prepared the guest house to be responsible for the reception.If there is a mission from Mata Languo to Sanya, it must be staying in the official guest house, just check it out.Even if the other party moved in quietly, Su Keyi had stayed in Sanya for such a long time, so naturally there was a way to find out the real situation.
The men sent by Su Keyi went to the guest house, found a familiar staff to give some benefits, and easily found out that the Mataram mission had just checked into the guest house four days ago, and was led by a senior military officer. There are eight people in the team.The ship on which the Mataram Mission came was docked at Victory Port No. [-] Wharf in the past few days.However, the information that can be inquired can only stop here. After all, the employees Su Keyi found are only people from the guest house, and they don't know the real purpose and activity arrangements of the Matalan Mission to Sanya. Those affairs are only handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It became clear.
After Su Keyi got the news, he lost all sleepiness at the moment. Since the Matalan Mission has really arrived in Sanya, it means that the news sent by Batavia is more reliable, and the other party is really coming to Haihan. While buying equipment.The other party has been here for four days. He must have contacted Haihan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Maybe the contract has been negotiated.
Su Keyi washed and changed his clothes, tidied up, asked his servants to prepare the carriages and horses, and then left the embassy to Fort Victory.He knew that it was too late to do some roundabout peripheral investigations at this time, so he could only go straight to Victory Fort to find several senior officials of Haihan Executive Committee.
Ning Qi is currently in charge of the Haihan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Schneider and Tao Donglai will also come forward to assist in handling some diplomatic affairs when they are free. It can be regarded as a very important department in the Haihan government organization.However, Ning Qi did not expect that Su Keyi from the East India Company would come to his door only two days after the investigation of the previous intelligence leak case. Could it be that there was something wrong with the previous case that made Su Keyi The reason for making trouble?But the previous case was obviously not directly related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even if Su Keyi wanted to complain, he should go to Schneider.
But Su Keyi didn't have the energy to go around slowly with Ning Qi. After sitting down, before Ning Qi's secretary served tea, he took the initiative to explain why he came: "Minister Ning, I came here today to ask you something, Ma Dalan Has the Chinese mission already come to Sanya?"
Listening to Su Keyi's questioning tone, Ning Qi already guessed seven or eight points of his real intention.The feud between the Dutch and the Matalan people is quite deep. Even if they are both members of the South China Sea Trade Alliance, they still cannot resolve past grievances.Ning Qi naturally knew the reason why the Matalan Mission visited Sanya this time, and he was not at all surprised that the East India Company would react so directly after getting the news.If it wasn't in Sanya, maybe Su Keyi wouldn't have come to Shengli Fort at all, but would have directly summoned his men to fight with the Ma Dalan Mission.
However, even if Ning Qi knew about Su Keyi’s intentions, he could only use diplomatic rhetoric to respond to him at this time: “Mr. The Blue Mission’s visit to our country is also a normal diplomatic exchange, so there is no need to report to your country first, right?”
How could Su Keyi be in the mood to go around Ning Qi so slowly, and immediately pointed out the subject directly: "I heard that the purpose of the Matalan Mission's trip is to purchase combat equipment and ships from your country. According to our relationship with your According to the diplomatic agreement signed by China before, your country is not allowed to sell any weapons and equipment that are not sold publicly to our hostile countries, I should remember correctly, right?"
This agreement seems to be a mouthful to say, but in fact, it simply means that Haihan will not sell weapons and equipment to the Netherlands, nor can it be sold to other countries that are enemies of the Netherlands, in order to show fairness.The grievances between Mataram and the East India Company are well known. If Haihan sells weapons and equipment to it, it will be tantamount to violating the agreement with the East India Company.Of course, if Haihan is willing to lift the original embargo against the East India Company, he can sell arms to both parties at the same time with peace of mind.
Ning Qi guessed the reason for Su Keyi's visit, but he didn't expect the other party's attitude to be so aggressive. He brought up the diplomatic agreement without saying a few words.However, the executive committee has not yet made up its mind about the purchase of arms by Mata Ram. After all, this matter is not a simple arms trade, and it is very likely that it will affect the strength of the surrounding areas of Mata Lam for a period of time in the future. Balance, even the diplomatic relations between Haihan and the Netherlands, the Executive Committee must be cautious.
However, the secrecy work of Mata Languo is obviously not very satisfactory. The mission has only been in Sanya for four days, and the official negotiations with the relevant departments of Haihan have not made any progress. The East India Company then approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask for an explanation .
The matter this time is different from the previous intelligence case between Portugal and the Netherlands. The Matalam country wanted to buy warships and other weapons and equipment from Haihan. Before that, there was no formal negotiation with Haihan. It was only after coming to Sanya that he revealed his thoughts to Haihan.Therefore, there is no need to check the source of the information of the Dutch this time. It must be the problem of Matalam itself.
Ning Qi considered his language for a while before responding: "Mr. Su, don't be so excited. I think there may be some misunderstanding about the purpose of the Matalan mission. I believe you are also very clear that our country has been working hard to maintain The region is peaceful and stable. We hope to resolve conflicts and hatred between countries through commercial and cultural exchanges, and oppose the use of war to solve problems. It is precisely because our country has always adhered to this concept that we have set up some conditions in the arms trade. Try to avoid the weapons produced by our country from becoming the cause of wars in other countries. Therefore, whether it is the East India Company or Mataram, we are more willing to see a peaceful coexistence, rather than selling weapons to you, and then watching you Start a war and fight each other. Mr. Su, I hope you can appreciate the goodwill of our country instead of making one-sided misjudgments based on personal likes and dislikes."
In terms of talking in an official accent, Ning Qi is definitely one of the most powerful figures in Haihan's senior management.When Haihan encounters some complex issues that need to be resolved through negotiations in diplomacy, Ning Qi often comes forward to resolve them.So when faced with Su Keyi's accusation, Ning Qi naturally used his best method, first explaining the truth to make the other party dizzy.
Su Keyi was indeed a bit overwhelmed by these words. He obviously came to the door to make a request. Why did Ning Qi say it in a few words? It has become a kind deed, and I should be grateful for it.But the problem is that Haihan did not sell arms to this side in the past, so the war between the East India Company and Matalam still broke out?
Su Keyi knew that he could not be led astray by Ning Qi, so he quickly calmed down his confused thoughts, and said to Ning Qi: "Minister Ning, our request is very clear, if your country intends to lift the ban on arms sales, then you should They should be treated equally, and we should also accept our request for arms purchases."
When Ning Qi heard this, he understood Su Keyi's real purpose. To stop Mata Lan's military purchase plan was only one of them. The more important thing was that the Dutch planned to take this opportunity to ask Haihan to release the ban and sell weapons to them. equipment.
But this matter is not something that Ning Qi can decide. The equipment model, quantity, delivery date, etc. of Haihan's foreign military sales have always been controlled by the military and Haihan Ordnance Industry.Which weapons can be sold, how much to sell, and who to sell to, all have been demonstrated by the relevant departments, and these weapons and equipment sold abroad should play their due role as much as possible, instead of becoming a hidden danger that threatens Haihan's safety.Therefore, in the past few years, Haihan's main arms sales targets were almost hard-core allies such as Annan, Champa, and Fujian Ming Army. The arms that Western colonial countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands could buy from Haihan were extremely high. limited.
Therefore, countries like Annan already had Haihan provide technical guidance two years ago, and the "exploration-class" warships built by themselves were launched into service, but the East India Company has not been able to order this level of warships from Haihan until today. battleship.Even if the East India Company was willing to pay far more than Annan and the Fujian Ming Army, it still couldn't get Haihan to remove the weapons and equipment they wanted to purchase from the arms sales ban list.And Su Keyi's visit this time is obviously to use the name of the Mataram mission to bring up the old matter again and submit an application for military purchases to Haihan again.
Ning Qi quickly figured out the way to do it, and said to Su Keyi: "Mr. Su is not the first day dealing with us. You should go to Haihan Military Industry to talk about buying weapons and equipment. Never mind that."
Su Keyi said: "I heard that Chief Bai, who is in charge of the Haihan Ordnance Industry, will stay in the north for a while. If the Matalan Mission is willing to wait for him to come back to discuss, then I can wait."
In order to negotiate the establishment of diplomatic relations with Ming Dynasty, Beks traveled all the way to Liaodong, where he presided over several extremely important negotiations.However, after his mission was completed, he had already left Liaodong and set off for the south. At this time, he might have passed Penghu, and he would be able to return to Hainan Island in a few days.But hearing what Su Keyi meant, it was obvious that they didn't plan to wait for Bai Kesi to come back to talk about it, but to keep in line with the progress of the Matalan Mission.
Seeing Su Keyi's attitude of not letting go, Ning Qi was also a little bit dumbfounded. From his standpoint, he would inevitably feel that Su Keyi was a little too nervous.Negotiations on the arms trade often last for a long time, and the subsequent delivery time is also carried out in batches, which may last for several years.Even if the Matalan Kingdom can purchase the weapons and equipment they want from Haihan, it is not a goal that can be achieved in the short term to transform them into real combat power.Although the performance of Haihan's weapons and equipment is good, it doesn't have an immediate effect when you get it.
Annan's army has received military training from Haihan since 1628, and it took several years to gradually cultivate a new army that followed Haihan's tactics and weaponry.If Matalam wants to imitate Annan to improve the combat effectiveness of its own army, it must also be purchased together with supporting training services, and the time required for training will definitely not be short.Ning Qi thought that the nervousness of the Dutchman was probably due to the psychological shadow of being beaten by the blue army when they approached the city.
Ning Qi said: "If the Matalan Kingdom wants to buy a large amount of arms from our country, it must wait for the Lord to come back. So I suggest you not to be so impatient, go back and wait for the news. You have been waiting for several years , there is no rush at this moment, right?"
Seeing that Ning Qi dismissed him so easily, Su Keyi quickly responded: "Since Minister Ning doesn't have a letter of approval, I can only go to pay a visit to Chairman Tao!"
(End of this chapter)
The task assigned in the letter by the Governor of the East India Company, Van Diemen, seems to be one thing, but it is actually two things.One is to apply to Haihan for the purchase of weapons and equipment, and the other is to prevent the envoys of the Matalan Kingdom from purchasing arms in Haihan.It's just that for Su Keyi, it's not easy to accomplish any of these things.
Judging from Van Diemen's letter, he should have written this letter after hearing that the Matalan people had set off. That is to say, when the letter arrived in Su Keyi's hands, the Matalan mission might have already left. It has been a few days since I arrived in Sanya secretly.If the Matalan people had already negotiated an arms purchase contract with Haihan at this time, then no matter how hard Su Keyi tried, it would be difficult to change the established facts.
And Su Keyi's most urgent task is to quickly inquire about the movements of the Matalan Mission, and try to get a foot in the door in time.However, he was a little sleepy after sitting all night, so he didn't plan to run this kind of thing himself, but handed it over to his subordinates.He himself had to hurry up and recharge his batteries, because after the Mataram Mission's movement was implemented, it would be his turn to negotiate with the other party.
Sanya, as the capital of the Haihan Kingdom, is also the most prosperous port city in the South China Sea. The number of foreigners arriving and leaving the city every day is at least at the level of hundreds or even thousands.Sanya has a relatively strict registration and management system for foreigners' activities in the local area, especially in the Shenglibao area where there are many government departments and exists as the political center of the country. Overseas foreigners are only allowed to move within the port area.
Countries with close ties with Haihan, such as Portugal, Annan, and the Netherlands, have successively built embassies in Sanya in the past few years, and those small countries that are far away from Hainan Island and have no conditions to set up special diplomatic agencies, Haihan also worked for them. Their official staff prepared the guest house to be responsible for the reception.If there is a mission from Mata Languo to Sanya, it must be staying in the official guest house, just check it out.Even if the other party moved in quietly, Su Keyi had stayed in Sanya for such a long time, so naturally there was a way to find out the real situation.
The men sent by Su Keyi went to the guest house, found a familiar staff to give some benefits, and easily found out that the Mataram mission had just checked into the guest house four days ago, and was led by a senior military officer. There are eight people in the team.The ship on which the Mataram Mission came was docked at Victory Port No. [-] Wharf in the past few days.However, the information that can be inquired can only stop here. After all, the employees Su Keyi found are only people from the guest house, and they don't know the real purpose and activity arrangements of the Matalan Mission to Sanya. Those affairs are only handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It became clear.
After Su Keyi got the news, he lost all sleepiness at the moment. Since the Matalan Mission has really arrived in Sanya, it means that the news sent by Batavia is more reliable, and the other party is really coming to Haihan. While buying equipment.The other party has been here for four days. He must have contacted Haihan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Maybe the contract has been negotiated.
Su Keyi washed and changed his clothes, tidied up, asked his servants to prepare the carriages and horses, and then left the embassy to Fort Victory.He knew that it was too late to do some roundabout peripheral investigations at this time, so he could only go straight to Victory Fort to find several senior officials of Haihan Executive Committee.
Ning Qi is currently in charge of the Haihan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Schneider and Tao Donglai will also come forward to assist in handling some diplomatic affairs when they are free. It can be regarded as a very important department in the Haihan government organization.However, Ning Qi did not expect that Su Keyi from the East India Company would come to his door only two days after the investigation of the previous intelligence leak case. Could it be that there was something wrong with the previous case that made Su Keyi The reason for making trouble?But the previous case was obviously not directly related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even if Su Keyi wanted to complain, he should go to Schneider.
But Su Keyi didn't have the energy to go around slowly with Ning Qi. After sitting down, before Ning Qi's secretary served tea, he took the initiative to explain why he came: "Minister Ning, I came here today to ask you something, Ma Dalan Has the Chinese mission already come to Sanya?"
Listening to Su Keyi's questioning tone, Ning Qi already guessed seven or eight points of his real intention.The feud between the Dutch and the Matalan people is quite deep. Even if they are both members of the South China Sea Trade Alliance, they still cannot resolve past grievances.Ning Qi naturally knew the reason why the Matalan Mission visited Sanya this time, and he was not at all surprised that the East India Company would react so directly after getting the news.If it wasn't in Sanya, maybe Su Keyi wouldn't have come to Shengli Fort at all, but would have directly summoned his men to fight with the Ma Dalan Mission.
However, even if Ning Qi knew about Su Keyi’s intentions, he could only use diplomatic rhetoric to respond to him at this time: “Mr. The Blue Mission’s visit to our country is also a normal diplomatic exchange, so there is no need to report to your country first, right?”
How could Su Keyi be in the mood to go around Ning Qi so slowly, and immediately pointed out the subject directly: "I heard that the purpose of the Matalan Mission's trip is to purchase combat equipment and ships from your country. According to our relationship with your According to the diplomatic agreement signed by China before, your country is not allowed to sell any weapons and equipment that are not sold publicly to our hostile countries, I should remember correctly, right?"
This agreement seems to be a mouthful to say, but in fact, it simply means that Haihan will not sell weapons and equipment to the Netherlands, nor can it be sold to other countries that are enemies of the Netherlands, in order to show fairness.The grievances between Mataram and the East India Company are well known. If Haihan sells weapons and equipment to it, it will be tantamount to violating the agreement with the East India Company.Of course, if Haihan is willing to lift the original embargo against the East India Company, he can sell arms to both parties at the same time with peace of mind.
Ning Qi guessed the reason for Su Keyi's visit, but he didn't expect the other party's attitude to be so aggressive. He brought up the diplomatic agreement without saying a few words.However, the executive committee has not yet made up its mind about the purchase of arms by Mata Ram. After all, this matter is not a simple arms trade, and it is very likely that it will affect the strength of the surrounding areas of Mata Lam for a period of time in the future. Balance, even the diplomatic relations between Haihan and the Netherlands, the Executive Committee must be cautious.
However, the secrecy work of Mata Languo is obviously not very satisfactory. The mission has only been in Sanya for four days, and the official negotiations with the relevant departments of Haihan have not made any progress. The East India Company then approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask for an explanation .
The matter this time is different from the previous intelligence case between Portugal and the Netherlands. The Matalam country wanted to buy warships and other weapons and equipment from Haihan. Before that, there was no formal negotiation with Haihan. It was only after coming to Sanya that he revealed his thoughts to Haihan.Therefore, there is no need to check the source of the information of the Dutch this time. It must be the problem of Matalam itself.
Ning Qi considered his language for a while before responding: "Mr. Su, don't be so excited. I think there may be some misunderstanding about the purpose of the Matalan mission. I believe you are also very clear that our country has been working hard to maintain The region is peaceful and stable. We hope to resolve conflicts and hatred between countries through commercial and cultural exchanges, and oppose the use of war to solve problems. It is precisely because our country has always adhered to this concept that we have set up some conditions in the arms trade. Try to avoid the weapons produced by our country from becoming the cause of wars in other countries. Therefore, whether it is the East India Company or Mataram, we are more willing to see a peaceful coexistence, rather than selling weapons to you, and then watching you Start a war and fight each other. Mr. Su, I hope you can appreciate the goodwill of our country instead of making one-sided misjudgments based on personal likes and dislikes."
In terms of talking in an official accent, Ning Qi is definitely one of the most powerful figures in Haihan's senior management.When Haihan encounters some complex issues that need to be resolved through negotiations in diplomacy, Ning Qi often comes forward to resolve them.So when faced with Su Keyi's accusation, Ning Qi naturally used his best method, first explaining the truth to make the other party dizzy.
Su Keyi was indeed a bit overwhelmed by these words. He obviously came to the door to make a request. Why did Ning Qi say it in a few words? It has become a kind deed, and I should be grateful for it.But the problem is that Haihan did not sell arms to this side in the past, so the war between the East India Company and Matalam still broke out?
Su Keyi knew that he could not be led astray by Ning Qi, so he quickly calmed down his confused thoughts, and said to Ning Qi: "Minister Ning, our request is very clear, if your country intends to lift the ban on arms sales, then you should They should be treated equally, and we should also accept our request for arms purchases."
When Ning Qi heard this, he understood Su Keyi's real purpose. To stop Mata Lan's military purchase plan was only one of them. The more important thing was that the Dutch planned to take this opportunity to ask Haihan to release the ban and sell weapons to them. equipment.
But this matter is not something that Ning Qi can decide. The equipment model, quantity, delivery date, etc. of Haihan's foreign military sales have always been controlled by the military and Haihan Ordnance Industry.Which weapons can be sold, how much to sell, and who to sell to, all have been demonstrated by the relevant departments, and these weapons and equipment sold abroad should play their due role as much as possible, instead of becoming a hidden danger that threatens Haihan's safety.Therefore, in the past few years, Haihan's main arms sales targets were almost hard-core allies such as Annan, Champa, and Fujian Ming Army. The arms that Western colonial countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands could buy from Haihan were extremely high. limited.
Therefore, countries like Annan already had Haihan provide technical guidance two years ago, and the "exploration-class" warships built by themselves were launched into service, but the East India Company has not been able to order this level of warships from Haihan until today. battleship.Even if the East India Company was willing to pay far more than Annan and the Fujian Ming Army, it still couldn't get Haihan to remove the weapons and equipment they wanted to purchase from the arms sales ban list.And Su Keyi's visit this time is obviously to use the name of the Mataram mission to bring up the old matter again and submit an application for military purchases to Haihan again.
Ning Qi quickly figured out the way to do it, and said to Su Keyi: "Mr. Su is not the first day dealing with us. You should go to Haihan Military Industry to talk about buying weapons and equipment. Never mind that."
Su Keyi said: "I heard that Chief Bai, who is in charge of the Haihan Ordnance Industry, will stay in the north for a while. If the Matalan Mission is willing to wait for him to come back to discuss, then I can wait."
In order to negotiate the establishment of diplomatic relations with Ming Dynasty, Beks traveled all the way to Liaodong, where he presided over several extremely important negotiations.However, after his mission was completed, he had already left Liaodong and set off for the south. At this time, he might have passed Penghu, and he would be able to return to Hainan Island in a few days.But hearing what Su Keyi meant, it was obvious that they didn't plan to wait for Bai Kesi to come back to talk about it, but to keep in line with the progress of the Matalan Mission.
Seeing Su Keyi's attitude of not letting go, Ning Qi was also a little bit dumbfounded. From his standpoint, he would inevitably feel that Su Keyi was a little too nervous.Negotiations on the arms trade often last for a long time, and the subsequent delivery time is also carried out in batches, which may last for several years.Even if the Matalan Kingdom can purchase the weapons and equipment they want from Haihan, it is not a goal that can be achieved in the short term to transform them into real combat power.Although the performance of Haihan's weapons and equipment is good, it doesn't have an immediate effect when you get it.
Annan's army has received military training from Haihan since 1628, and it took several years to gradually cultivate a new army that followed Haihan's tactics and weaponry.If Matalam wants to imitate Annan to improve the combat effectiveness of its own army, it must also be purchased together with supporting training services, and the time required for training will definitely not be short.Ning Qi thought that the nervousness of the Dutchman was probably due to the psychological shadow of being beaten by the blue army when they approached the city.
Ning Qi said: "If the Matalan Kingdom wants to buy a large amount of arms from our country, it must wait for the Lord to come back. So I suggest you not to be so impatient, go back and wait for the news. You have been waiting for several years , there is no rush at this moment, right?"
Seeing that Ning Qi dismissed him so easily, Su Keyi quickly responded: "Since Minister Ning doesn't have a letter of approval, I can only go to pay a visit to Chairman Tao!"
(End of this chapter)