1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 666 Step on the door

First defeat the opponent on the battlefield, and then ask the opponent for war compensation in various forms such as money, land, and political conditions. This is what every powerful country will do in the stage of external expansion. The expansion process of the East India Company itself in the Far East There is no such thing as doing less in China.But this time the situation is different from the past. The East India Company is no longer the winner who takes the initiative, but has become the target of being blackmailed after the defeat-this bold and unscrupulous opponent is the only one who has just been defeated in recent years. Haihan who emerged from the South China Sea region.

Fortunately, Hans Putmans, who is in power in Dayuangang, did not make repeated mistakes in his attitude towards Haihan. During the negotiations, he rejected all the war compensation claims made by the envoys of Ming Dynasty on behalf of Haihan, and tried his best to maintain the East India. The remaining dignity of the company, as well as his own career prospects - if he is so confused that he accepts the conditions proposed by Haihan, then the resignation document signed by Governor Cohen is probably already on his way to Dayuan Port.

Although the Haihan people's threat did not play a practical role, Cohen has already felt the strong hostility shown by this method.The Haihan people never took the initiative to send envoys to Batavia to contact the East India Company, and the two sides have not established any direct trade relations. Cohen once thought that it was because the Haihan people felt that their strength was not enough, so they used this low-key attitude to avoid It attracted the attention of the East India Company, a behemoth, but this guess seems to be only partly correct. They may indeed have such a plan a few years ago, but as their wings have grown, they are probably no longer satisfied with squatting on Qiongzhou Island Be a group of low-key businessmen.

Although there have been various rumors that Haihan sent troops to Annan to assist in countering the rebellion two or three years ago, no one realized what this really meant. If you think about it at this time, people with a discerning eye will find that How difficult is it to send troops across borders to participate in wars?Haihan is now able to organize a fleet to expedition to Fujian. This is not a sudden ability, but a true manifestation of their war strength.In addition, the Haihan Fleet on the expedition to Fujian had the whole of Fujian as their rear supply camp, while the poor Dutch fleet could only rely on Dayuan Port, a port that has only been open for a few years and has a population of only tens of thousands. Small towns to maintain operations, which further widened the power gap between the two sides.

After hearing Cohen describe his views on the current situation and Haihan’s strength one by one, the senior executives present at the company finally realized that what they were facing this time was not the native tribes on the Southeast Asian islands, but the Like the East India Company, it started with maritime trade, has an independent armed and financial system, and is a group of people full of ambitions for external expansion.The scary thing about Haihan is that they not only have ambitions, but also have the strength to match them. Their performance in commerce, trade and armed forces is not weaker than that of the East India Company. In addition, the huge population of the Ming Empire Relying on the foundation and commodity sales market, their development speed will only be faster than those who participated in the meeting imagined.

"I think this armed conflict in Fujian is just a prelude, a warning given by the Haihan people to keep us from interfering in Fujian affairs, but I don't think they will really stop here. When their hands can be extended When you go to a farther place, you will have more conflicts of interest with us." Cohen put an end to his speech in a calm tone as much as possible: "Gentlemen, although I don't know when the real war will break out. , but I suggest that we should pay attention to it from now on, and start making related preparations."

"What about the Natuna Islands?" Someone asked immediately.During this period of time, the focus of debate has always been the Natuna Islands, but Cohen's speech today seems to have consciously shifted everyone's focus from the Natuna Islands to the Haihan people.

"Natuna Island is still our first goal." Cohen reconsidered his opinion: "If we can't even guarantee the safety of the route to the north, how can we send a fleet to the north to fight the Haihan people? If one day we really have to go to Sanya to attack the old nest of the Haihan people, then a forward base in the South China Sea is also a necessary configuration. We must first retake the Natuna Islands before we can consider the next move.”

Cohen set his sights on Anthony van Diemen sitting on the left, who is also one of his successors with high hopes.Originally, there were Jacques Spikes and Hendrik Brower in this list, but due to their disgraceful performance on Natuna Island last time, Brower even lost his life on the island. In fact, the weight of these two people in Cohen's mind is naturally greatly discounted.Although Spikes returned to Batavia alive, the company will definitely not use him again in the near future, not to mention that he still bears some charges that have not been cleared in time.

"Mr. Van Diemen, although the letter of commission from Amsterdam may not be delivered until next year, I have decided to grant you the authority of the admiral in advance, and will be fully responsible for the combat preparation and engagement command to recapture the Natuna Islands. Are you willing to accept this?" Appointment?" Cohen asked slowly.

Fan Dimen immediately got up, straightened his back and replied: "It is a great honor for me to have the trust of the governor, and I will definitely do my best to complete the mission!"

Cohen nodded slightly and said, "Anyone object to my appointment?"

He announced the appointment first, and only then did he ask everyone for their opinions. Obviously he didn't want to hear any objections.And all the people at the meeting also expressed their congratulations to Fan Diemen with great interest, and promised to cooperate with his preparation work as much as possible and not to hinder the company's combat plan.

As for Dayuan Port, Cohen said that in addition to urging the local area to continue to step up the construction of city defense fortifications, he should also warn Hans to restrain himself and not to get involved in the armed conflict between Daming and Shibazhi again, so as not to give the Haihan people who are eager to try more. Can take advantage of this opportunity.As for Hans' request in the letter to ask Batavia to send armed ships and personnel to strengthen the defense of Dayuan Port, Cohen directly ignored it—how dare you trust Dawei if you don't settle the matter on Natuna Island first? Send someone to send a boat over there?

There is one more thing that Cohen has not forgotten, and that is to help Spikes clear his name.Thanks to Van Longen's return, the Battle of Natuna Island finally had the testimony of Commander No.2, and this is the most powerful evidence to confirm whether the situation Spikes said is true.For this reason, the company's board of directors held a two-day hearing and cross-examined Van Longen in detail to determine that what he said was exactly what Spikes said.

At this time, Van Longen, as a captain who has sailed at sea for a long time, his logbook came in handy.In this diary, Van Longen described in detail the whole process of the armed battle on Natuna Island at that time, which also became a powerful evidence to save Spikes from the crimes of fear of war, dereliction of command, and escape from the battlefield. .

But even if these trumped-up charges were cleared, Spikes still couldn't get the chance to reactivate immediately.Even if he is not charged with those crimes, the fiasco of Natuna Island is still an indisputable fact.Brower, one of the two military chiefs, has already died in battle, and he cannot be held accountable, so he can only bear the blame.As for Van Longen, his identity is only the commander of the merchant fleet, and it is not easy to be able to participate in military operations, and no one will pursue his command responsibility.

After Van Diemen took over the post of commander of the East India Company's maritime forces, he began to prepare for the attack on Natuna Island.In view of the previous failure experience, the East India Company must make more preparations than before if it wants to recover the Natuna Islands.The troops dispatched last time were obviously not enough to shake the opponent's defensive position on the island. Considering that none of the opponent's sea-going ships were seen, it might not be the main force stationed on the island. Taking into account the possibility of hitting the opponent's main force, it is obviously not safe enough to just use the force that was dispatched last time.

Van Diemen made an estimate based on the previous battle situation, and believed that at least 3000 troops should be dispatched to ensure that the opponent can be suppressed with firepower and take the initiative in the battle on the island. However, it is necessary to mobilize so many troops that he needs , It was no easy task for the East India Company.

The East India Company has nearly [-] armed personnel in the entire Far East region, which is definitely a very deterrent figure, but these personnel are scattered and deployed in dozens of colonies of the company, and it is impossible to complete a quick gathering in a short period of time.The root of this disadvantage is that the colony is too scattered, and there is no way to concentrate on deploying troops. Similar to before the fall of Natuna Island, there were also a group of armed personnel and trained native Confederates on the island, but it is obvious that this is a symbolic defense. Strength is not enough to stop the opponent's attack.

The area around Batavia is the key area for the East India Company to deploy. There are more than [-] armed men stationed in Batavia City alone. However, it is obviously unscientific to send all these soldiers to fight, so we must Soldiers had to be drawn from various places in order to gather the required troops for this dispatch.The time and capacity required for this kind of transfer, as well as the intermediate coordination process, are a very huge trouble in this era.

Just as Governor Cohen expected, a week after Van Longen returned to Batavia with the news of the failure of Dayuan Port, a certain maritime merchant who often travels between Daming and Batavia also brought the news of the Haihan people. diplomatic correspondence.

This letter indicated that it was handed over to Governor Peterson Cohen and signed by the Haihan Executive Committee.After receiving the letter, the port officials immediately sent it to the city and handed it over to the governor's mansion.

After confirming the source of the letter, Cohen personally unpacked and checked the contents of the letter. Some of his bad premonitions became reality after reading the letter.Soon Cohen ordered someone to convene a temporary meeting of the board of directors, and showed the directors this diplomatic letter from the Haihan Executive Committee.

"Gentlemen, the Haihan people have made two requests to us in this letter." Cohen raised his hand and raised the letter paper, signaling to those present: "The first condition is to promise them that we will not take any more measures in the Fujian Strait." Any form of military action, no longer maintain any cooperation relationship with Shibazhi, and no longer implement any acts of enmity against Daming."

"This is obviously three conditions!" A director muttered dissatisfied immediately.

"Although it is very harsh, I suggest that you listen to the next one before commenting." Cohen glanced at the person who interrupted him, and the person immediately sat upright, his eyes returned to the table in front of him, as if to see the table Flowers come.

"The second condition they put forward is..." Cohen paused, adjusted his breathing, and then continued: "They learned that the pirates who attacked Qiongzhou Island last year have now fled to the Abona Islands in the South China Sea, which is ours. The so-called Natuna Islands are entrenched, so they decided to attack this island and wipe out the pirates on the island, as revenge for the gang of pirates who looted Qiongzhou Island last year..."

Speaking of this, Cohen stopped again, looked around the crowd before saying: "Gentlemen, here comes the important point! The Haihan people demand that we not support the local pirates in any form, and not send military personnel to the area in the near future." land, otherwise they will regard us as a pirate alliance and reserve the right to fight against us."

"What! These arrogant guys!" "Are they giving orders to us?" "The Haihan people are going to attack the Natuna Islands? These guys have stretched their hands too far!"

As soon as Cohen finished speaking, the conference room was filled with noisy voices.No matter how slow-witted people are, they have already realized how sinister the Haihan people's second request is—these people have already set their sights on the Natuna Islands, and they are trying to use such a shameless The way to take the local ownership away from the East India Company!
Of course, the current ownership of this place is not in the hands of the East India Company, but belongs to a group of pirates of unknown origin.However, this status quo will not prevent the directors from still regarding the Natuna Islands as the property of the company, and being furious at the shameless demands of the Haihan people.

Cohen's expression was very calm, he raised the letter in his hand, and said again: "Be quiet, I haven't finished yet..."

After everyone calmed down, Cohen continued: "The Haihan people gave a clear time limit in this letter, starting from August and ending at the end of the year. During these four months, all those bearing the East India Company mark The armed sailboats approaching the island will be regarded as unfriendly and may be attacked according to the situation. Gentlemen, the soles of the Haihan people have stepped on our faces!"

(End of this chapter)