Xiao Pingguo also agrees with this statement, he knows that it is an indisputable fact that the Dutch merchants in Kupang have been very close to the local natives for many years, especially those indigenous tribes who have received various free or semi-free aid from the Dutch in the past, these tribes have armed themselves with weapons and money provided by the Dutch, and in addition to dealing with the Portuguese, they have also staged various games of "domination of the world" in the jungle.

As a result, this "buffer zone" – (another name for the area of federal control of Australia under the Treaty of Oecussi) – remained the domain of pro-Dutch and Portuguese-hating tribes, and there were many contradictions between the tribes.

But with the Treaty of Oecussi, the idea of peaceful commercial competition as an alternative to bloody war plunder is now the consensus of Portugal and the Netherlands, well, at least at the top.

There is no other reason - because the Australians came, and these days of contact have made the top leaders of both Portugal and the Netherlands realize that the Australians have not only hard power but also soft power to settle the dispute on the island of Timor - the only uncertainty is how much time it will take.

In any case, the top management of both sides saw very well that the process would not be too slow, and the local management of Portugal and Dutch saw the rapid development of the city and of course the expansion of the security team in Xin'an.

Timor will soon enter a new era, and in order to maximize the benefits of its own side, it must be actively involved and play a role in the process so that it does not become marginalized.

However, for the Australian Commonwealth, there is still a difficult way to go before Timor Island can truly enter this new era.

Because the problem now is that Portugal, the first ally of the Australian Federation on the island of Timor, has limited power and cannot give strong and decent help, after all, the Portuguese have been on the defensive in the face of the Dutch offensive for many years, and the main focus of the Portuguese is still on the east of the island, so in this area, the Portuguese withdraw quickly, because the Portuguese only want to maintain the status quo and keep the peace of the enclave of Oecussi.

It's just that because the Dutch are too deeply connected with the local indigenous tribes, the current indigenous tribes still have considerable strength to make trouble for the three countries---- after all, the so-called control area of the Australian Federation is actually the traditional battle zone between the Portuguese and Dutch tribes on Timor Island and the indigenous tribes.

Therefore, if Xin'an City wants to truly control the buffer zone, it will definitely need a lot of investment from the Red Mansions, both in terms of materials and manpower.

On the very day of the end of the fighting on the eastern outskirts of Oecussi, the Bundesrat convened a "hearing" on the situation on the island of Timor, at which Son gave a briefing on the situation facing Sin'an and the measures he intended to take.

This is a 160-kilometre stretch from east to west, spanning the north and south coastlines of Timor Island, with a total area of 12,000 square kilometres.

Think about it, if you want to solve the problem by force, how many troops will need to be invested? How long does it take? And that's not even counting the various casualties that may arise, and as for the money invested, it's even more bottomless.

So, at the end of December, not long after the battle in the eastern suburbs of Oecussi City, Xiao Pingguo, through the Dutch and the Loka tribe, sent an invitation to the various tribes of the "buffer zone" to discuss the "peace-building and free trade issues" of the buffer zone. The "Council of Representatives" is a kind of senate advisory body, which has no legislative power, only the power to make suggestions.

The conference was named the "Consultative Conference on the Peaceful Coexistence and Economic and Trade Promotion of the Tribes of the Viceroyalty of the Viceroyalty of the Commonwealth of Timor" (hereinafter referred to as the "Peace Trade Conference"), which was very harmonious and high-sounding from the name.

At the same time, Xiao Pingguo also made a formal proposal to the Portuguese and Dutch sides - to invite indigenous tribal leaders into the parliament of the jurisdiction, so that the tribal leaders can become members of the parliament, Xiao Pingguo relayed the words of Sun Lao - this is called the "united front", Sun Lao believes that only by doing so can the indigenous tribes gradually "get out of barbarism and integrate into civilization".

Soon, the Dutch reacted positively to the Australian's suggestion, and the representative of the Dutch East India Company wrote to Xiao Pingguo that the Dutch East India Company was willing to exert influence on the Kupang City Council and let the Kupang City Council absorb the leaders of the local indigenous tribes into the council.

Pimont, however, was somewhat reluctant to do so, reasoning that the tribal leaders were pagans, and unless they converted to God, there would be no place for pagans in the council of Dili, because it would be disrespectful to God.

Of course, another reason is that the Portuguese control most of the land on the island of Timor, where there are many tribes, and how to give and assign the status of these chiefs to parliament is actually a headache.

In this regard, Xiao Pingguo's attitude is the same as that of the Red Mansion - go with the flow.

In addition, as for the location of the meeting, Xiao Pingguo proposed that it be in Kubang City, and Xiao Pingguo believed that this meeting place would be conducive to dispelling the doubts of the tribal leaders.

The Dutch immediately expressed their willingness to be the host.

So in the following half a month, with the full cooperation of the Dutch and the Loka tribe, the messengers trekked through the jungle with difficulty, shuttled back and forth, and finally contacted the various tribes in the buffer zone.

In mid-December, Xiao Pingguo received definite news from the Dutch and the Loka tribe that the two dozen tribal leaders in the buffer zone had decided to attend the "Tribal Peace and Trade Conference" in late December, and the meeting took place in the Galaya River Valley, a place on the southeastern outskirts of Kupang City, where the terrain was flat, the transportation was convenient, and the view was broad, and the tribal leaders thought that it was safer and convenient to meet here.

However, to Xiao Pingguo's disappointment, the tribal alliance in Shannan refused the invitation to attend, and its leader angrily rebuked the representatives of the Dutch, saying that the Dutch treacherously abandoned their allies, and for the representatives sent by the Luoka tribe, they did not see them at all, not only did they not see them, but they also sent their subordinates to threaten the messenger of the Luoka tribe and said that as a traitor to the tribe, it is already very forgiving if you don't cut off your head on the spot, now, you get out!

Xiao Pingguo's attitude made Xiao Pingguo a little annoyed, and he felt that this meeting might be due to the non-cooperation of Shannan's tribe, which eventually led to the "Peace Trade Fair" not being able to achieve sufficient results.

Xiao Pingguo's worries are justified.

Due to the geographical separation of the mountains on the island of Timor, the island is roughly divided by the main peak of Tatamai in the central mountain range, which divides the indigenous population of about 200,000 into three major tribal groups, and thus forms three main tribal alliances: the Eastern Tribal Alliance, the Western Tribal Union and the Southern Mountain Tribal Alliance.

And this mountain tribe alliance is precisely the largest and most powerful tribal alliance in the entire Timor Island.