Chapter 690 Key Points in Negotiation

"The Dutch should be in chaos by this time, right?" Schneider raised his head and asked. In front of him was Yu Xiaobao, who was standing respectfully. He had just returned to Fort Victory from the Guest House and came to see Schneider to report on the progress of the negotiations.

"If they are not particularly stupid, they should be able to notice the information I disclosed during the negotiation." Yu Xiaobao's expression was very relaxed. In the past month, he has been negotiating with the Dutch envoys almost all the time. He has already adapted to it.

In addition to the pressure of this job. In addition, with senior advisers like Schneider and Ning Qi providing guidance, the situation was basically under control at all times.

"Then they are probably thinking about how to get out of here now." Schneider said with a smile on his face: "These guys have been refusing to leave. They really regard our place as a nursing home!"

"But I don't quite understand why we have to give such hints to the Dutch? Wouldn't it be better to just waste time like this and give the Ambrosia Islands some more time?" Yu Xiaobao asked puzzledly.

Schneider put down the pen in his hand and explained to him: "The executive committee now hopes to put more pressure on the Dutch, forcing them to express their attitude on Fujian affairs and no longer maintain any form of cooperative relationship with Shibazhi. If they

If we can agree to such conditions, then the ownership of the Ambrosia Islands will no longer be a problem."

"This means...the executive committee is planning to take action against Shiba Zhi?" Yu Xiaobao is also a smart person and reacted immediately.

Eliminating the Eighteen Zhi is one of the executive committee's stated goals in Fujian, and Yu Xiaobao also knows this. However, because the Eighteen Zhi are backed by the Dutch, there are still many practical problems if they really want to fight.

Although Haihan is not afraid of the East India Company now, he does not want other forces to get involved in the process of annihilating the Eighteen Zhizhi. If he can proactively persuade the Dutch to retreat before taking action, that will naturally be the most ideal result.

"The first half of next year at the latest." Schneider gave a rough time: "Xu Xinsu no longer wants to delay it any longer. He hopes that we can start as early as possible. The sooner the better."

"Then Xu Xinsu must have offered us a lot of money?" Yu Xiaobao said with a smile: "It can make the executive committee change its original plan. I guess Boss Xu has spent a lot of money this time."

Although Haihan does have a plan to eliminate Shibazhi in Fujian and attack the Dutch, it is not so urgent. Since Haihan currently does not have a decent base on the coast of Fujian, a large naval force will be stationed in Fujian and conduct

The battle will face many practical problems. According to the military's original plan, it hoped to consider the battle plan to attack Penghu after the military base on Kinmen Island was built.

But for Xu Xinsu, every time the elimination of Shibazhi is delayed by one month, he will have to suffer a lot of economic losses. And if Shibazhi exists for one day, variables may still appear. Since there is Haihan now

With strong support, Xu Xinsu wanted to avoid the situation of long nights and many dreams as much as possible, and get rid of Shibazhi as early as possible. And just as Yu Xiaobao guessed, in order to get the Haihan people to take action in advance, Xu Xinsu indeed made a very considerable promise.

Exchange terms.

"Just listen to the conditions set by the Fujian government here and don't go out to talk about them. You know the confidentiality regulations," Schneider warned.

Yu Xiaobao nodded repeatedly and said, "Of course, even my father would not say that."

"In addition to shouldering most of the combat military expenses, Xu Xinsu also promised to hand over Penghu to us when the matter is completed." Schneider then announced the answer: "The news was only sent back two days ago. The Executive Committee cannot resist such conditions.

So we decided to change our attitude towards negotiating with the Dutch in order to gain the initiative on the Fujian issue."

"Leave Penghu to us? But if we eliminate Shibazhi, can't we also take over Penghu as a matter of course?" Yu Xiaobao asked in confusion.

"It's different in nature." Schneider explained: "The Fujian government's intention is to imitate the treatment of the Portuguese in Haojing'ao and hand over Penghu to us as a concession. Of course, the rent and other conditions are symbolic.

The key is legality, which is of great significance to our future demonstration of coastal enclosure in Daming."

So far, Haihan has not had an open dispute with Ming Dynasty over territorial ownership, although Haihan has now occupied almost the entire Hainan Island, and has surrounded a lot of land along the coast of Guangdong and the Pearl River Basin, and actually controls the most important areas in Guangdong.

sea ​​lanes, but these areas are still nominally the territory of the Ming Dynasty. For pragmatists like Haihan, these places are still nominally the Ming Dynasty, which can bring many benefits, such as trade, immigration, etc.

For convenience, as long as the actual control is in their own hands. Of course, Penghu can be taken by force after the Shibazhi is eliminated, but the Executive Committee does not want to bear this bad reputation to avoid being criticized by the local government when it expands northward in the future.

Now the Fujian government also understands Haihan's plan and voluntarily offers this place as an exchange, and Haihan's side is naturally willing to accept it.

Only then did Yu Xiaobao roughly understand it, and he suddenly realized: "Then this condition must be the result of General Qian's negotiation over there."

"Qian Tiandun is not only good at leading troops now!" Schneider responded with a smile: "After he passed, he even took over the responsibilities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has indeed not been in vain in Annan these past few years!"

In fact, Qian Tiandun was involved in the negotiation process for several concession areas that Haihan acquired in Annan, especially in the southern region, as well as the military cooperation agreement between Haihan and Annan. After going to Fujian, Qian Tiandun

Tiandun also quickly used the experience he accumulated in Annan and began to bargain with the Fujian government to win more benefits for Haihan. The exchange conditions for Penghu were one of the results of the negotiations between him and Xu Xinsu.

As for the reason why Haihan attaches great importance to Penghu, it has a lot to do with Penghu's special geographical location. The Penghu Islands are located in the strait to the west of Taiwan Island. They consist of 64 islands with a total land area of ​​nearly 100 square kilometers, but only 11 of them

The area of ​​each island exceeds one square kilometer, and those islands that are too small are not worthy of development.

This place guards the main waterway of the Taiwan Strait and is also an important springboard between the mainland and Taiwan Island. In the original history, when Zheng Chenggong regained Taiwan, he used the Penghu Islands as a bridgehead - of course, in this time and space

, it is probably no longer someone’s turn to recover Taiwan Island.

To occupy Taiwan, the strategy of occupying Penghu first is very clear. Compared with Kinmen Island, which is next to the mainland and right under the nose of the Ming Dynasty, the location of the Penghu Islands is obviously more suitable for Haihan's consistent development needs.

After coming down, you can attack Taiwan if you advance, and defend it if you retreat. Moreover, the local conditions are much better than those of Ampurna Island. The Penghu Bay, surrounded by three islands, is about 12,000 meters long from north to south and 8,000 meters wide from the northeast. The anchorage is deep.

They are all above 10 meters. It is a natural sheltered port with excellent natural conditions. There is no problem in stationing one or two fleets in it.

In addition, there are only a few dozen nautical miles from Penghu to Taiyuan Port, the East India Company's stronghold in the southern part of Taiwan Island, which can easily place it within the range of military force. What tricks the East India Company will do in the future will really matter in minutes.

They will be cleaned up at your doorstep.

The Dutch mission did not discuss any feasible response plan during the lunch break. Therefore, during the afternoon negotiations, Van Longen could only raise the commonplace issues again: "I suggest that both of us speed up the negotiation. After all, we have already talked about it.

It has been more than a month, but no consensus has been reached so far, and it will have no practical significance for both of us if we continue like this."

"You are right. We are also very experienced in the current negotiation process. After a month of constant debate, the negotiation has not yet been declared broken." After listening to Su Keyi's translation, Yu Xiaobao responded with a smile: "Say.

To be honest, our leaders no longer have much interest in continuing this negotiation. Instead of spending so much time arguing with you about who is right and who is wrong, it would be better to contact all parties directly and formulate an agreement against the East India Company."

"You are threatening us!" Fan Longgen responded to Yu Xiaobao's threat with a sullen face: "The East India Company is not afraid of any enemy!"

"Really? Since you are so eager to fight, I think there is really nothing to talk about." Yu Xiaobao stood up and said: "I originally thought that I could offer you some exchange conditions to strive to achieve peace, but now it seems that it is

We are worrying too much. Dear envoys and gentlemen, prepare for war!"

"Wait a minute!" Su Keyi heard that there was something in Yu Xiaobao's words and quickly stopped him: "What conditions does Brother Yu have? Why don't we talk about it first?"

The reason why the East India Company sent them to Sanya was, firstly, to explore the strength of Haihan, and secondly, to delay time and try to avoid a war in the near future. But now the threat of Haihan is not to go to war alone, but to unite with the South China Sea region

All forces come together to deal with the East India Company. If this war breaks out, the East India Company will be faced with a very passive situation.

Yu Xiaobao stood still: "I don't think the two Dutch envoys want to continue talking."

Su Keyi thought to himself that I haven't translated it to them yet. How could they know what the hell you are talking about? He immediately translated Yu Xiaobao's words. Sure enough, the two people also reacted after listening and invited Yu Xiaobao to continue the negotiation.

.

"Our conditions are very simple, there are only two conditions in total." Yu Xiaobao pointed out two fingers and said: "First, your company will terminate all relations with Shibazhi, whether it is trade or civil matters, of course.

, there is no need to emphasize military assistance. Secondly, stop all unfriendly actions towards the Ambrosia Islands and unconditionally give up the claim to local sovereignty. As long as you agree to these two points, we are willing to sign an agreement with you.

Bilateral peace agreement.”

"This is impossible." After hearing the translation, Van Longen immediately refused in a conditioned reflex: "The Natuna Islands are the property of the East India Company, and we will not agree to hand over its sovereignty to you unconditionally as you requested.

"

After Yu Xiaobao listened to this answer very carefully, he smiled and asked: "Does that mean you can accept it conditionally?"

After the three envoys whispered among themselves, Van Longen said: "At least we must achieve co-management in the local area. You must know that we have spent more than 20 years developing and building the local area, and the resources invested cannot be lost."

"Resources invested?" Yu Xiaobao smiled. The Ambuna Islands have always been the territory of the Chinese. Even after the East India Company occupied the area, there were only two to three hundred immigrants stationed there. As for the development and construction of more

It was nonsense. The local area still had difficulty in being self-sufficient in food, and there was no talk of development. However, Xiaobao was not in a hurry to refute what he said, and just asked: "What level of co-management do you want?"

"We require that administrative officials be stationed locally and that they be able to freely use the local ports and docks." Van Longen thought for a while, but still did not mention the garrison. If the Haihan people could seize the local area from the pirates, they would certainly not allow the East India Company to do so.

Troops were once again stationed on the island.

Yu Xiaobao shook his head and said: "Except for the rights of civilian ships to use ports and docks, there is nothing else to discuss."

"At least we need to send official representatives to ensure that our ship's crew members receive fair treatment when docked locally." Van Longen had no choice but to give in half a step.

Yu Xiaobao thought for a while and did not express his position immediately. Instead, he brought the topic back to the first condition: "What do you think about the Fujian matter?"

"We have no power to decide the company's position. We can only take the conditions you proposed back to Batavia and let the company's board of directors make a ruling." Van Longen skillfully shied away the responsibility and seized the opportunity to propose a return to Batavia.

Via's request.

"Then I propose that we should discuss a draft as soon as possible. After our executive committee approves it, you can take this draft back to Batavia and hand it over to your company's board of directors for decision-making." Yu Xiaobao proposed a proposal.

plan.

As a result, the negotiation process remained deadlocked for more than a month. After the Haihan side suddenly changed its attitude, it finally changed. At this time, Van Longen and others could no longer care about the "negotiation bottom line" that Governor Cohen had warned before setting off, so they could only temporarily agree to the Haihan side.

The conditions put forward. Fortunately, this is not a formal diplomatic agreement. Even if the two sides discuss the draft, they can still completely deny it after returning to Batavia. To put it bluntly, even if it is really signed, it is official.

As long as the conflict of interest is large enough, you can tear up the agreement and start a war without hesitation. This kind of thing is very common in today's Europa continent. Countries fight today and make peace tomorrow, and then fight the day after tomorrow. The so-called armistice agreement,

Aren't peace treaties just a means of delaying time to prepare for the next war?
Chapter completed!