Chapter 971 Thomas in a dilemma

Schneider did not expect to convince the Portuguese to hand over control of the Strait of Malacca with his words. Although his rhetoric skills were indeed good, the Portuguese had interests there for hundreds of years, so how could this happen?

Just a few words can fool him into letting go and handing over power. The main purpose of raising this issue with Thomas is to give the Portuguese a heads up first so that they can be mentally prepared.

The function of the base deployed by Haihan on Star Island at the eastern end of the Strait of Malacca is to control the waters of Malacca and open up the route from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, paving the way for Haihan to extend its tentacles to the South Asian subcontinent and even the Middle East.

Preparation. This move is the top priority in Haihan's long-term development strategy, and its strategic significance is no less than Haihan's control of the Fujian Strait in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty. No matter whether it is the Portuguese, the Dutch or others who are currently sitting in the Malacca Strait

Regardless of the force, Haihan will definitely go ahead with this move. At most, there are differences in attitudes due to close relationships. Whether the Portuguese agrees or not will not affect the decision Haihan has made.

Of course, considering that the two sides have had a tacit understanding of cooperation in recent years, this matter was raised by Schneider rather than a military figure to the Portuguese representative, so that at least the attitude does not appear to be so tough and is left to both parties.

There is a little room for buffering. If the object of Thomas's firm rejection is Yan Chujie, then Yan may have to throw some weighty scenes to shock Thomas. But Schneider will not say so decisively, he will

It expresses the attitude of the Haihan Executive Committee on this matter more tactfully.

"The Executive Committee attaches great importance to the ownership of the Malacca Strait. It is no exaggeration to say that this will affect the prospects of future cooperation between our two countries in trade and other fields. If your country rejects our proposal, then your businessmen may

Trade activities along the Ming Dynasty will also be subject to certain restrictions."

Although the country has not yet been officially established, Schneider still used "two countries" to explain the relationship between the two parties, but Thomas would not care about such details. The Portuguese had long since regarded Haihan as an ordinary civilian armed force or business organization.

What he paid more attention to was the extent of the "restrictions" mentioned by Schneider and what impact they would have on Portugal's trade activities.

But Schneider was very precise and stopped talking at this point. This gave Thomas a vague premonition. He had to emphasize Portugal's role in the East-West trade system to Schneider again: "Schneider

Sir, if you... your country really wants to restrict the business activities of Portuguese merchants, I think this unwise move will also harm your own interests. Without us transporting these goods produced in the Ming Dynasty to the West for sale, would you

Can Haihan digest all these sources of goods on its own?"

"Of course it won't work." Schneider frankly admitted the problem pointed out by Thomas, but he changed the topic and said: "But Mr. Thomas probably forgot one thing. Your country is not the only Western country that is cooperating with us now."

Thomas was secretly shocked. He really didn't expect that Schneider would use this matter to threaten him. Nowadays, in addition to Portugal, the Western countries that are also conducting trade cooperation with the Haihan people are naturally the Netherlands, and the relationship between the two parties has normalized.

The opportunity started with the Ambon Island talks just over two months ago, so Thomas did not remember this role change of Holland, and subconsciously regarded him as the common opponent of Haihan and himself.

The Dutch gave up most of their rights in Northeast Asia in exchange for the Haihan navigation and trade agreement and the opportunity to compete with Portugal in Northeast Asia. Of course, in terms of specific treatment, the Netherlands, which had just switched camps, definitely

Compared with Portugal, which has already reached in-depth cooperation with Heihan, the scope of commercial activities is extremely strictly restricted, but if Heihan wants to use the resources at his disposal to support the Dutch, it will not take too long to form a competitive situation with Portugal.

A long time. After all, Fuzhou, Guangzhou and now Zhejiang, most of the import and export trade share is controlled by Haihan. Who Haihan wants to give resources to is just a matter of words, and the Dutch are sure

I won't turn down opportunities that fall from the sky.

Schneider's meaning is very obvious. Without Zhang Butcher, pigs with hair would not be eaten. Even if Portugal's trade rights on the coast of the Ming Dynasty were restricted, Haihan could transfer the share to the Dutch who were also engaged in maritime trade between the East and the West.

The maritime trade lines will not fluctuate significantly due to the restrictions imposed by the Portuguese. If the Portuguese try to use maritime transport capacity as a condition for negotiation, they may shoot themselves in the foot.

This change of situation is really subtle. During the previous trade agreement negotiations between Haihan and the Dutch East India Company, Portugal was still a very deterrent card in Haihan's hand. The East India Company was willing to agree to the harsh demands proposed by Haihan.

Conditions, a large part of the reason is also the fear that Portugal will monopolize the trade share of Northeast Asia. But times have changed, and now the party to worry seems to be Portugal, and the Dutch East India Company, which was once the enemy of Haihan, has now become the

The trade war weapon in the hands of Haihan.

Thomas' current mood can only be described as depressed. His original intention of coming here was to get some benefits from Haihan and gain a larger scope of activities for the Portuguese businessmen, but he never expected that Schneider had already dug a hole and was waiting.

Jump in yourself. Of course, the control of the Malacca Strait cannot be thrown away at will, but the Haihan people threaten trade rights and even bring out the Netherlands as a competitor. If this is not settled, it will also be a big trouble. Both sides

Neither can be lost, but judging from the current attitude of the Haihan people, it is probably impossible to capture both sides.

The current negotiation deadlock does not seem to be easy to resolve, mainly because Portugal currently has no exchange conditions that it can offer, while Haihan firmly holds the initiative, but his attitude is confident. If Portugal refuses to give in, then Haihan will

There are quite a lot of back tricks that Han can use, but Portugal may not be able to deal with them calmly. Thomas thought about it and decided to adopt delaying tactics. Since the Haihan people were unwilling to make concessions, this was probably

The only trick that works right now.

"Mr. Schneider, please understand my difficulties. There are many things that cannot be decided by a businessman like me on behalf of Portugal." Thomas tried his best to suppress an embarrassed expression on his face: "For such a big matter, I must report it to the Macau Council and the Macau Council.

The Governor of Goa will report separately."

Schneider smiled and said: "Of course there is no problem. You have enough time to slowly study countermeasures. However, I would like to remind you that the measures I just mentioned do not have to wait until you make a reply.

Implementation. As long as we feel that the time is ripe, we will take necessary measures to ensure that we achieve the goals we want."

Thomas was shocked: "How is this possible... Mr. Schneider, we are allies... No, we should be called allies now. Our relationship should not be damaged because of this kind of thing. Any differences should be resolved through consultation."

, rather than exaggerating the contradiction."

"You are right, Mr. Thomas. As allies, we should seek common interests instead of calculating gains and losses on petty gains." Schneider responded meaningfully: "People like you who have traveled thousands of miles to the East

The Portuguese should all come here for the wealth. As long as they do business well, getting rich will definitely not be a problem. Why do they need to get too involved in other things? Has anyone benefited from working against us? "

Thomas sighed and said: "Having said that, the Strait of Malacca has been controlled by our country for a hundred years, so how can we willingly give up the place? If it were you, would you be willing?"

Schneider said: "Then let me put it another way. If I give you two choices, one is to guard the Strait of Malacca, but you have no chance to enter the largest market in the Far East, and you have to face all the enemies who covet this strategic location.

The second option is to hand over the Strait of Malacca to us, but you can expand your business to all areas controlled by Haihan and get the protection we provide, which one do you think is more cost-effective?"

Thomas hesitated after hearing this. In terms of making money, the second option was naturally more cost-effective. However, if he gave up Malacca, it would definitely not be a good thing for the Governor-General of Goa, and he would also lose control of the Strait of Malacca. Portugal would lose control of the Strait of Malacca in the future.

The navigation authority in the Far East has been handed over to others. If we don't deal with the Haihan people in the future, they will immediately block the main channels into the South China Sea. Then there will be no place to sell regret medicine.

Schneider looked at his face and knew that he would definitely not be able to make up his mind now, but Haihan's plan was not in a hurry to be implemented at this moment, so Schneider did not urge him to make a statement immediately, and asked him to go back and think it over first. It wouldn't be long anyway.

Haihan will launch a series of investment projects and related policies in the Zhoushan area. If the Portuguese miss this wave, they may really fall behind the Dutch. However, judging from the business sense possessed by the Portuguese in the past,

They will probably make up their minds by then. After all, the actual benefits that control of the Malacca Strait can bring to them are increasingly limited, but the huge market in Northeast Asia cannot be missed.

On March 10, the sixth Majesty-class warship newly built by the Victory Port Shipyard conducted its first sea trial. This new ship was named "Deterrence", although the number of artillery pieces equipped on the ship was less than that of the five other ships.

has been reduced, but its firepower output capacity has not decreased but increased. The military industry department has equipped this new ship with the latest designed breech-loaded cannon. Due to the complex processing technology, the first batch of manufacturing is not large. Each breech-loaded cannon

The manufacturing cost of the ship-borne artillery is five times that of the old muzzle-loading guns. Coupled with the latest automatic recoil gun mount and the expensive new explosive ammunition, the cost of the ship-based artillery alone has already made Navy Commander Tom Wang complain.

Not enough.

The new technologies used on this new ship are far more than that. In addition to the artillery, the steam power system on the ship is also a new generation product improved after actual use in the past few years. The speed has also been improved to a certain extent.

Improvement. After the military parade in early April, the new ship will return to the dock and install protective iron armor on both sides of the ship. According to tests by the military industry department, this new type of iron armor can effectively withstand 12 pounds of damage at a distance of 100 meters.

The following artillery fire, and even the 24-pounder gun cannot directly penetrate the armor and ship side at this distance, thus effectively providing protection to the gunners fighting on the artillery deck.

This kind of protective effect seems to be relatively limited, but think about it. In fact, there are not many warships in the Far East that can rush into a distance of 100 meters to fight with the Haihan warship. Those who have such courage do not have such ability. Those who have such ability are all

He has been taught fear by Haihan, so it is probably rare that he encounters a real threat. Such a layer of protective armor is actually enough.

There are more than 100 technical innovations in the "Deterrence" from top to bottom. Although the ship type has not been significantly changed, the seaworthiness and combat performance of the entire ship have been significantly improved compared to previous warships of the same type. However,

Because of this, the Navy believes that the new ship's combat methods also need to make some adjustments based on performance improvements. Therefore, previous training methods may not be fully applicable, and many areas must be improved. After the ship is completed,

It will not be immediately put into service in a certain fleet, but will be used as a test ship and training ship for a period of time to allow the officers to summarize an effective strategy.

This improved version of the Majestic class is likely to be deployed to the Strait of Malacca in the future. The military believes that if it wants to securely capture the local waters, it is necessary to send out the most powerful warships at hand, so as to make some restless warships

People are completely desperate.

Representatives from various countries who arrived in Sanya earlier, organized by the military, watched the launching ceremony of this new ship with mixed emotions. Seeing the "Deterrence" slowly leaving the port under the escort of two exploration-class warships,

Everyone was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, and various emotions surged into their hearts. Haihan's leadership in armaments was already beyond the reach of other countries, but new equipment would still be released every year, making the gap with other countries in terms of weapons and armaments even wider.

Come bigger.

But this situation is not just because Haihan has a lot of black technology in his hands. In fact, money is the main guarantee for Haihan to quickly increase his military power. The cost of this new ship is about the same as ten export-oriented expedition ships.

The total quotation of the warship is here. It costs so much just to build a ship. Not every country can afford such a price. Only Haihan has deep pockets and has clear long-term plans for military development.

Only a powerful force would spend so much money to build a battleship with a strong experimental nature.
Chapter completed!