Chapter 3480
Chapter 3480
Chapter 3480
Takahashi Minami was not afraid of the Portuguese putting forward conditions. The other party's willingness to put forward conditions at this time meant that there was room for bargaining and a willingness to solve the problem, and this was exactly the purpose of both parties sitting together to negotiate.
The request made by the Governor of Ceylon just proved that Gao Qiaonan’s previous strategy was correct. Establishing contact with the Kingdom of Kandy made the Portuguese nervous, and then using this as a bargaining chip to demand that the Portuguese recognize Hai Han’s rights and interests in Ceylon.
Takahashi Nan did not say anything definite, what he meant was that if you do not agree to my conditions, then it is hard to say what Hai Han will sell to the Kingdom of Kandy. There might be some things that the Portuguese do not want to see.
The Governor of Ceylon obviously understood the hidden meaning of Takahashi Minami's words, and immediately stated that the close cooperation between the two countries has lasted for nearly 30 years, and there should be no conflicts over such a small difference. As the Governor of Ceylon, he very much welcomed Hai Han’s friends to settle in Ceylon.
"I hope that the friendship between our two countries will not be affected by a third party, and that we can continue to cooperate as always and jointly safeguard the stability of Ceylon!"
The Governor of Ceylon's final meaningful words pointed out Portugal's demands. He really didn't want to see Hai Han join forces with the Kingdom of Kandy, as that would mean Portugal would lose the opportunity to completely wipe out this old rival.
But he was also convinced that the common interests between Hai Han and Portugal far outweighed the benefits that the Kingdom of Kandy could give to Takahashi Nan. It should not be difficult to judge which was more important.
What Takahashi Minami wanted was the official statement from the Governor of Ceylon, so he immediately expressed his agreement and proposed that both parties sign a written document to record the contents of the agreement.
Takahashi Minami had no psychological pressure on how to deal with the trade relationship with the Kingdom of Kandy. He had no intention of selling standard weapons and equipment to the natives of the island, and he did not have to worry about being caught by the Portuguese.
As for whether the natives use the steel blanks they bought from Hai Han to make farm tools or weapons, that is not Hai Han's responsibility.
Both sides were determined to strike while the iron was hot, and immediately signed a memorandum of cooperation known as the "Ceylon Agreement" at the Governor's Office.
According to the agreement, Portugal recognized Hai Han's right to establish a colony, station troops, and engage in trade activities on Ceylon. In addition to recognizing Portugal's equal rights, Hai Han also promised not to sell military equipment to third parties on Ceylon.
In addition, there are some contents agreed upon by Consecao and Takahashi Minami, which also need to be agreed by the Governor of Ceylon before they can be implemented.
For example, Portugal had to pay the Special Warfare Division for the relevant expenses of the expedition, and export 3,000 laborers to Hambantota afterwards. Although the Governor of Ceylon was not very satisfied with the conditions agreed by Conceicao, he had no choice but to agree.
This memorandum of cooperation was not signed by the heads of the two governments, so its influence and actual effectiveness will be relatively limited. Both parties even tacitly "forgot" to indicate the validity period of this memorandum. In other words, when necessary, both parties can terminate the implementation of the agreement on their own.
To put it bluntly, this is just a temporary agreement on which both parties have compromised. Portugal does not truly welcome Hai Han's arrival, but is forced to temporarily bow its head due to the situation. Hai Han is also unwilling to be bound by a piece of paper. However, it will take some time to build a base in Hambantota, and before that, it is necessary to avoid external interference as much as possible.
That night, Qian Shaobao led the fleet back to Colombo. The fleet led by the Weixing followed the Dutch fleet and sailed west for several hours. After confirming that the Dutch fleet should be heading to Cochin Port on the west coast of the Indian Peninsula and had no intention of making a comeback, they returned to report to Gao Qiaonan. Although Qian Shaobao was carrying out a pursuit mission, Gao Qiaonan had already pointed out the essence of the mission to him. As long as the Dutch did not make any radical moves, he would naturally not attack rashly. There was no fighting between the two sides during this voyage, and they tacitly maintained a distance of about 20 miles.
However, the subsequent mission report only needs a little polishing, and it is not difficult to claim credit for Qian Shaobao.
Takahashi Minami's attention is now focused on several prisoners captured by his subordinates.
The retreat launched by the Dutch this morning was extremely hasty, so much so that the scattered cavalry deployed in several other directions of Colombo city to perform surveillance and rearguard tasks were unable to evacuate with the main force.
These cavalrymen were not Dutch, but Indian soldiers from the Cochin colony. After their masters fled, these Indian soldiers did not have a strong fighting spirit and only put up a little resistance before dismounting and surrendering.
Takahashi Minami had a Dutch-speaking translator under his command, but although these Indian soldiers could understand Dutch, they could only speak the local Tamil. Takahashi Minami had to negotiate with the Portuguese, borrowing a Tamil-speaking translator, and then communicating with them through his Portuguese translator.
After two translations, the interrogation of these prisoners was carried out. After a lot of trouble, Takahashi Nan finally understood why the Dutch evacuated in a hurry.
It turned out that after the Dutch failed to attack the Haihan beachhead yesterday afternoon, the commander, General Van Hollen, suddenly fell ill and was said to be unconscious at the time. After a night of treatment by a private doctor, his condition showed no signs of improvement.
After some discussion among his deputies, no one dared to take the responsibility of a full-scale war with Hai Han. Continuing to attack the city of Colombo also became an unrealistic goal. The only safe way to escape was to withdraw to Cochin.
So after dawn, several officers hastily made a decision to abandon the siege and immediately organize the evacuation of troops. However, many omissions were inevitable in the panic, and the fleet set sail in a hurry before even all the troops were evacuated.
Although these prisoners did not see the condition when Van Hollen fell ill, from the description they heard, Takahashi Minami guessed that his opponent must have suffered a sudden stroke due to the shock of defeat.
With the current medical level, it is probably difficult to take effective treatment measures for the unconsciousness caused by a stroke. The symptoms are so severe that even if he can wake up from the coma, he will most likely be paralyzed.
The commander was incapacitated, so the decision to retreat was actually very wise. Otherwise, continuing to fight would only be a waste of military merit for the special operations division.
Takahashi Nan was also quite emotional about this. If he had not brought the special warfare division to rescue Colombo in time and let Van Hollen successfully break into the city, he might have developed the same acute illness due to excessive excitement. However, if that were the case, the conflict of interests between Hai Han and Portugal would not have been resolved smoothly through negotiations like it is now.
It is not difficult to imagine how excited the Governor of Ceylon in the city would be after receiving this news. He would surely not let the unfinished barrel of port wine stay overnight.