Chapter 3726
Chapter 3726
Chapter 3726
"Whether it's war or business, our country will do its best to assist. How can we fall behind?"
Li Xi's attitude was very firm, and he did not show any hesitation because the information he had previously obtained was incorrect.
But in the Executive Committee's view, this attitude may also be partly due to the fact that they are unwilling to let Annan take all the credit and want to make a contribution no matter what.
This strange competitive relationship between North Korea and Annan actually has a long history.
Both countries have been supported by Hai Han for a long time, and all areas of the countries are deeply influenced by Hai Han. Even the current king has studied in Hai Han and has regarded Hai Han as his suzerain state for many years.
However, as both are vassal states, their closeness to Hai Han is directly related to their international status, so there will still be some differences.
Annan defected to Hai Han earlier and was closer to Sanya, Hai Han’s former power center. Even among the immigrants Hai Han absorbed in its early years, a considerable number were of Annanese descent. The relationship between the two countries can be described as extremely close.
Although Korea was a latecomer, it has been very proactive since it joined Hai Han and has made considerable contributions in Hai Han's wars against the Qing Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and Japan, thus earning Hai Han's respect.
Of course, there is another reason why North Korea is working so hard today. That is that its domestic political situation is currently divided between the north and the south. Due to the intervention of Hai Han, it is difficult for the imperial court to exert effective control over the northern region.
In order to restore the country to normalcy, King Lee Seong must demonstrate his value to Hai Han through all means and prove that Korea does not need two courts to rule the north and the south.
Such opportunities to prove yourself are not too many, but not too few either. How much contribution you can make is secondary. What is important is active participation.
War is a low-probability event, especially when the overall situation in Northeast Asia has been determined and Hai Han has almost no opponents. The only chance for North Korea to join the war nearby is to participate in the Japanese civil war.
However, Hai Han did not want North Korea's intervention to have too much impact on the situation of the Japanese civil war, so the Korean troops participating in the war only performed some tasks to assist in defense in Kyushu.
If North Korea wants to make a difference in front of Hai Han, it can only focus its attention on a wider and wider range rather than confining itself to the areas surrounding its own country.
What is Hai Han most in need of at this stage? As one of the countries with the closest relations with Hai Han, North Korea certainly sees it very clearly: manpower and transportation capacity.
It is no secret that Hai Han's overseas expansion is astonishingly fast and that manpower and transportation capacity are always in short supply.
In the past, North Korea also provided a lot of immigrants to Hai Han. However, after the division of North and South, Li Xi actually controlled only the southern part of the peninsula, so the number of immigrants that could be provided to Hai Han naturally decreased a lot.
However, in terms of shipping capacity, North Korea still has room to improve. After all, many shipyards have been built in ports around the country over the years, and North Korea's maritime trade fleet has long gone beyond the peninsula and extended its footprint to various parts of East Asia, including the South China Sea.
So when Li Xi heard the Executive Committee say that the fleet on this visit was only carrying out a trade mission and not a military strike, he immediately said that North Korea could also adjust the composition of its fleet according to Hai Han’s needs and carry out corresponding tasks.
The most important thing is not to let Annan take all the credit.
The trade quotas, study abroad quotas, technical assistance, tariff reductions, and other preferential treatments that Hai Han provides to its vassal states every year are all capped. If Country A gets more, Country B may get less. As for who gets more and who gets less, doesn't it depend on who has worked harder and performed better in the year?
Li Xi probably also learned from other channels that Annan had already participated in Hai Han's operation, so he must not fall behind at any cost.
North Korea must also have what Annan has; North Korea must strive even harder to gain what Annan does not have. These efforts may all be transformed into actual rewards in the coming year.
In response to the Executive Committee's inquiries, Li Xi stated without hesitation that North Korea could send a fleet of thirty cargo ships to assist Hai Han in transporting supplies or personnel.
Moreover, these cargo ships are not temporarily transferred from the civilian population, but official assets of the royal family. The sailors and crew members have all received unified training, and the composition and operation of the fleet are in accordance with Hai Han standards, which can avoid many troubles such as poor command during operations.
The shipping department was originally worried about the transportation capacity needed to transport immigrants. It was not easy to find ships to transfer thousands of immigrants at one time. Li Xi's initiative to ask for the order was just enough to fill this part of the transportation capacity gap.
So Li Xi also applied for the qualification for his country to participate in this mission without much trouble, and left with many thanks.
The participation of Annan and North Korea was also no secret, and the news quickly spread in the market.
This also made more people realize that this visit was not just an ordinary inspection. In the past, such multinational joint actions often indicated that Hai Han would make significant progress overseas.
The well-informed Portuguese also noticed this.
Although Rui’s operations on Hormuz Island had not yet been reported to the Portuguese Embassy in Hangzhou, the Portuguese had already learned based on public reports that one of the new ports opened by Hai Han in the Middle East was also located in the Strait of Hormuz, not far from Hormuz Island.
The existence of this port has undoubtedly affected Portugal's interests in the region. Based on past experience, it may only take a few years for Hai Han's port to gradually replace Hormuz Island under Portuguese control and become the local international trade center.
This is definitely not good news worth celebrating for Portugal, which has finally established a foothold in the local area.
But from Portugal's perspective, Ambassador Thomas was also very clear that even protesting to Hai Han would be of no avail. Now that Hai Han had settled down there, it would not easily change its decision.
The current strategy is to minimize Hai Han’s influence in the local area and maintain Hormuz Island’s trade status.
But Simao, who knew Rui well, did not agree with Thomas's point of view.
“Rui is a man who is eager to achieve success and is self-righteous. I just hope he doesn’t try to be clever and resort to shady means, as that might backfire and anger the Hai Han people!”
Thomas asked, "Is there really such a risk?"
Simon nodded and said, "My suggestion is to write a letter and send it to the local area as soon as possible, warning Rui not to act rashly!"
Although Simao thought of this, what he didn't expect was that Rui's actions came much earlier than he warned, and the disaster he caused was already irreconcilable.