Chapter 3010

In the current era, Aceh can definitely be regarded as a regional power. Most of the world's sixth largest island, Sumatra, is Aceh's territory, and the narrow area between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula is the connection between the Pacific Ocean and the Malay Peninsula.

The Strait of Malacca is the most important waterway in the Indian Ocean.

This means that half of the Strait of Malacca belongs to Aceh. If any force wants to use this trade channel for a long time, it must deal with Aceh.

Precisely because of its strategic location, Aceh became the core country in the region after the fall of the Malacca dynasty.

A strong country will inevitably embark on the road of external expansion, and Aceh is no exception. In the last century, Aceh launched several attacks on the Portuguese who colonized the Strait of Malacca, but in the end they were less powerful and each time they were thunderous.

The sound was loud but the rain was small, and the results achieved were very limited. After decades of fighting, they failed to capture the city of Malacca controlled by the Portuguese.

However, in the face of other neighbors, Aceh's record was very brilliant. In 1564, the Aceh army invaded Johor, destroyed its capital Johor City, and even kidnapped its king.

At the beginning of this century, Aceh once again marched into the Malay Peninsula across the strait, and successively conquered Pahang, Kedah, Perak and other independent kingdoms.

In 1613, Aceh launched an attack on the Demak Kingdom in central Sumatra and captured the opponent's capital, Old Port, in one fell swoop. Its expansion seemed unstoppable.

However, in 1629, Aceh suffered heavy losses when it launched another attack on the city of Malacca. It was defeated by the combined fleet of Portugal, Johor, and Pattani. The army that crossed the sea suffered heavy losses. After this battle, Aceh was forced to slow down.

pace of external expansion.

At this time, a series of internal problems caused by Aceh's rapid expansion began to be exposed. Those princely states that had been annexed by Aceh, as well as some ambitious generals, took the opportunity to cause chaos and tried to break away from Aceh's rule.

Of course, Aceh's old rivals will not miss such an opportunity. Some openly or covertly support the rebel forces within Aceh, and some simply directly raise troops to conquer Aceh.

The Haihan Army occupied Xingdao and extended its tentacles into the Strait of Malacca. Naturally, Aceh regarded it as an opponent. The two sides had fought several times in the early days. However, Aceh had no energy left to fight against Haihan due to domestic and foreign troubles.

Han met head-on, and soon gave up confronting Haihan, and instead began to have diplomatic contacts with the Sing Tao authorities.

This is not because Aceh is willing to give in. The situation is actually stronger than others, and it has to bow. Portugal’s colony in the Straits of Malacca has been eaten by Aceh for decades, and Haihan’s strength is obviously still behind Portugal.

and are allies with Portugal. If these two families join forces to deal with Aceh, there will be big trouble.

For Aceh, the wisest choice is, of course, to resolve conflicts as much as possible. Even if they cannot be resolved, do not further intensify the conflicts and make yourself uncomfortable.

The war between Aceh and Portugal has lasted for more than a hundred years, and has been fought for generations. The hatred between the two sides cannot be resolved. However, Aceh and Haihan had no conflict of interest before this

, it is not too difficult to implement a ceasefire first and then peace talks.

After going back and forth, Aceh discovered that Haihan could actually provide mercenaries to carry out military strike missions, and began to think of using this method to resolve domestic conflicts.

Of course, Aceh may also want to use this method to win over Haihan and prevent Haihan from participating in the dispute between Aceh and Portugal. After Haihan became a partner of Aceh, Portugal wanted to start a war with Aceh.

You have to take Haihan's feelings into account to some extent.

"The situation faced by Aceh is very complex, and it is difficult to solve the problem solely by relying on its own army. Fortunately, Aceh is rich and can find other ways, such as asking us for help."

Roger briefly introduced the situation in Aceh, and his tone was not without pride for the current special military cooperation relationship. After all, among the many countries in the Strait of Malacca, only Haihan can compete with the always unruly country.

Aceh sat down to discuss cooperation.

Qian Tiandun said: "As you said, the relationship between Aceh and neighboring countries is not very harmonious. If we cooperate with them, what do other countries think about this? The Portuguese should be very concerned about it, right?"

Roger smiled and said: "Of course the Portuguese don't want to see this situation, so every time he meets with the Governor of Malacca, he always complains, saying that we have not fully considered the feelings of our allies and hope that we will fight with Aceh."

Clear boundaries. As for other countries, to be honest, I don’t really care what they think.”

Qian Tiandun responded knowingly: "Unless they can offer a higher price than Qi Qi, then maybe we can still talk."

Roger nodded and said: "That's the truth, but it's really unlikely. According to the Ministry of Industry, in addition to Aceh's geographical advantage, Sumatra also has many unexploited mineral deposits whose value is inestimable. Du Du alone

Mai's oil fields can be exploited for at least two to three centuries. Other small countries basically do not have such capital."

Sumatra is very rich in mineral deposits. In addition to oil, there are also tin, bauxite, coal, gold, silver, etc. However, due to the exploration capabilities of Aceh, most of these mineral deposits are still buried underground and have not been discovered.

If Haihan can maintain its cooperative relationship with Aceh, it will definitely have the opportunity to exploit these mineral deposits in the future. Even if it is developed in the form of cooperation, it will be a sure-profit deal for Haihan.

As for those small countries that couldn't offer exchange conditions of equal value, Roger naturally didn't bother to pay attention to them, and it was even less likely that he would interrupt cooperation with Aceh just because of the small country's ideas. What's more, the people sent by Xingdao to Aceh to perform tasks

It is not the Haihan Army, but a foreign mercenary group.

In other words, no matter what the outside world thinks, the Star Island authorities will never admit that the mercenary group represents Haihan's official will.

"Helping Aceh form and train a new army and eliminate domestic rebels. These tasks are perfect for the mercenary group. As long as the Aceh people can afford the price, I don't mind having the mercenary group stationed there for a long time.

"

Roger raised his finger and pointed to the barracks outside the window and said: "With so much space available, we can recruit more people and expand the mercenary group's establishment."

Qian Tiandun said: "Then what to do next? Should we transfer the mercenary group back from Aceh first?"

Roger waved his hands confidently and said: "There is no need to come back. The people of Xingdao are too savvy, and bringing the mercenary group back will expose their whereabouts. I plan to let them set off directly from the station on Sumatra Island to avoid being monitored."

Qian Tiandun said: "Where is the destination?"

Roger stood up and walked to the hanging map, pointing out three places in succession: "Here! Here! And here!"
Chapter completed!