First defeating the opponent on the battlefield, and then making various forms of war compensation demands on the opponent, such as money, land, and political conditions, is what every powerful country will do in the stage of foreign expansion, and the East India Company itself has done no less in the process of expansion in the Far East. This time, however, the situation was different, and the East India Company was no longer the victor in the initiative, but was the target of blackmail after the defeat of the war -- this bold and unscrupulous adversary was the Haihan who had emerged from the South China Sea in recent years.

Fortunately, Hans Putmans, who was in charge of Dayuangang, did not make any mistakes in his attitude towards Haihan, and in the negotiations rejected all the demands for war reparations made by the Ming envoys on behalf of Haihan, and did his best to preserve the remaining dignity of the East India Company and his own professional future - if he was so confused as to accept Haihan's conditions, then the instrument of dismissal signed by Governor Cohen would probably be on his way to Dayuangang.

Although the coercion of the Haihan people did not have a practical effect, Cohen had already felt the strong hostility expressed by this method. The Haihan people have never taken the initiative to send an envoy to Batavia to contact the East India Company, and the two sides have not established any direct trade relations, Cohen once thought that this was because the Haihan people felt that their strength was not enough, so they used this low-key attitude to avoid attracting the attention of the behemoth of the East India Company, but this speculation seems to be only partially right, they may have such a plan a few years ago, but with its growing wings, they are probably no longer satisfied with squatting on Qiongzhou Island to be a group of low-key merchants.

Although there were rumors that Haihan sent troops to Annam to assist in counterinsurgency as early as two or three years ago, no one realized what this really meant. Haihan was now able to organize a fleet expedition to Fujian, which was not a sudden ability to fall from the sky, but a true manifestation of their war strength. In addition, the Haihan fleet that went on an expedition to Fujian also had the whole of Fujian as their rear supply camp, while the poor Dutch fleet could only rely on Dayuangang, a town that had only been open for a few years and had a population of only tens of thousands, to maintain its operation, which further widened the power gap between the two sides.

After hearing Cohen speak one by one about his views on the current situation and the strength of the Haihan, in ◆◆◆◆, m.●.covmstyle_tt; The top officials of the company finally realized that they were not dealing with the indigenous tribes of the islands of Southeast Asia, but a group of people who, like the East India Company, started out as a maritime trade, had an independent armed and financial system, and were full of foreign expansion ambitions. The terrible thing about the Haihan is that they not only have ambitions, but also have the strength to match them, and they are not weaker than the East India Company in terms of commerce and armament, coupled with the huge population base and commodity sales market of the Ming Empire, they will only develop faster than the participants imagined.

"I think that this armed conflict in Fujian is just a prelude, a warning from the Haihan people to us not to meddle in Fujian's affairs, but I don't think they will really stop there. When their hand can reach farther, there will be more conflicts of interest with us. Cohen ended his performance in as calm a tone as he could: "Gentlemen, although I do not know when the real war will break out, I suggest that we should pay attention to it from now on, and begin to make relevant preparations." ”

"What about the Natuna Islands?" someone immediately asked. During this time, everyone has been arguing about the Natuna Islands, but Cohen's speech today seems to have consciously shifted everyone's attention from the Natuna Islands to the Haihan people.

"Natuna remains the first target we have to deal with now. Cohen reconsidered his opinion: "If we can't even guarantee the safety of the route to the north, then how can we send a fleet to the north to fight the Haihan? If one day we really have to go to Sanya to attack the Haihan people's nest, then an advance base in the South China Sea is also necessary." We need to retake the Natuna Islands first before we can consider our next move. ”

Cohen's eyes are on Anthony van Diemen, who sits at the head of the left, and is one of the successors he has high hopes for. Originally, there were two people in this list, Jacques Spikes and Hendrik Brouwer, but because their previous appearance on Natuna Island was disgraced, Brouwer even lost his life on the island, and the weight of these two in Cohen's mind was naturally greatly reduced. Spikes had returned to Batavia alive, but the company was sure not to use him anytime soon, not to mention that he was still saddled with some charges that he hadn't had time to clear his name.

"Mr. Van Dimen, although the letter of appointment from Amsterdam may not be delivered until next year, I have decided to grant you the authority of the Admiral in advance, and to take full responsibility for the operational readiness and combat command of the Natuna Islands, would you be willing to accept this appointment?" Cohen asked slowly.

Fan Dimen immediately got up, straightened his waist and responded: "I am honored to have the trust of the Governor, and I will do my best to complete the mission!"

Cohen nodded lightly and said, "Does anyone oppose my appointment?"

He announced the appointment first, and only then did he ask for the opinions of the people, apparently not wanting to hear any opposition. The participants also congratulated Van Diemen with great interest, and promised that they would try their best to cooperate with his preparations and not delay the company's battle plan.

As for Dayuangang, Cohen said that in addition to urging the local people to continue to step up the construction of city fortifications, he should also warn Hans to be more restrained and not to get involved in the armed conflict between Daming and Shibazhi again, so as not to give the eager Haihan people more opportunities to take advantage of. As for Hans's request in the letter for Batavia to send armed ships and men to strengthen the defense of Dayuan Harbor, Cohen directly ignored it - how dare he send a ship to Dayuan's side without first settling the matter of Natuna Island?

There's one more thing Cohen hasn't forgotten either, and that's helping Spikes clear his name. Thanks to Van Longen's return, the Battle of Natuna finally had the testimony of a second commander, and this was the strongest evidence to confirm the truth of Spikes' condition. The company's board of directors held a two-day hearing to examine Van Longen in detail to make sure that his situation was exactly what Spikes had said.

At this time, Van Longen, as a captain who had been on the sea for a long time, his logbook came in handy. In this journal, Van Longen recounts in detail the entire process of armed fighting on Natuna Island at that time, and this has become a powerful evidence to save Spikes from the charges of fear of war, failure of command, and desertion from the battlefield.

However, even with these trumped-up charges cleared, Spikes still has no immediate chance to reactivate. Even if he didn't have those charges, the debacle on Natuna Island was still an indisputable fact. Brouwer, one of the two military commanders, has died on the battlefield and cannot be held responsible, and he can only bear the blame. As for Van Longen, he was only the commander of the merchant fleet, and it was not easy for him to participate in military operations, and no one would hold him accountable for command.

After Van Diemen took over the command of the East India Company's maritime forces, he began preparations for the attack on Natuna Island. In view of the previous failures, the East India Company had to make more adequate preparations to recover the Natuna Islands. The strength of the last dispatch was obviously not enough to shake the defensive position deployed by the opponent on the island, considering that all the opponent's sea ships did not see a shadow, and it was possible that the main force stationed on the island was not the main force, so when going out again, the possibility of colliding with the opponent's main force must be taken into account, and the force that was dispatched last time was obviously not safe enough.

According to the previous engagement, Van Dimen estimated that at least 3,000 troops would be needed to ensure that the opponent could be suppressed by firepower and gain the initiative in the battle on the island, but it would not be easy for the East India Company to mobilize as many troops as he needed.

The East India Company had nearly 10,000 armed personnel throughout the Far East, which was definitely a very deterrent number, but these personnel were scattered across dozens of colonies of the company, and it was impossible to gather them quickly in a short period of time. The root cause of this disadvantage is that the colonies are too scattered to concentrate their forces, as before the fall of Natuna, there were a number of armed men and trained indigenous allies, but it is clear that this symbolic defensive force is not enough to stop the opponent's attack.

The area around Batavia was heavily defended by the East India Company, and more than 3,000 armed men were stationed in the city of Batavia alone, but it was obviously unscientific to send all these soldiers out to fight, so it was necessary to draw soldiers from all over the country to make up the strength needed for this dispatch. And the time and capacity required for such a transfer, as well as the process of intermediate coordination, are a very huge trouble in this era.

As Governor Cohen had anticipated, a week after Van Longen returned to Batavia with news of the defeat at Dayuan, a maritime merchant who often traveled between the Ming and Batavia brought with him diplomatic correspondence.

The letter was written by Governor Peterson Cohen and addressed to the Hayham Executive Committee. Upon receipt of the letter, the officials of the port immediately delivered it to the city and handed it over to the governor's palace.

After confirming the source of the letter, Cohen personally opened and examined the contents of the letter, and some of his bad premonitions became a reality after reading the letter. Soon Cohen ordered an extraordinary meeting of the board of directors to be convened and showed the directors this diplomatic letter from the Haihan Executive Committee.

"Gentlemen, the Haihan people have made two demands to us in this letter. Cohen raised his hand and raised the letter and gestured to the people present: "The first condition is to promise them that they will not take any form of military action in the Fujian Strait, will no longer maintain any field of cooperative relations with Shibazhi, and will not carry out any acts against the Ming Dynasty. ”

"These are obviously the three conditions!" one director immediately muttered dissatisfied.

"It's harsh, but I recommend that you listen to the next one before commenting. Cohen glanced at the man who interrupted him, and the man immediately sat upright, his eyes returning to the table in front of him, as if to look at the table.

"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 Anbuna Islands in the South China Sea, which is our Natuna Islands, so they decided to attack this island and exterminate the pirates on the island, as a revenge for the pirates who sacked Qiongzhou Island last year......"

At this point, Cohen paused again, looked around the crowd and said, "Gentlemen, here we are again! The Haihan people have demanded that we not support the local pirates in any way, and that we must not send military personnel to this place in the near future, otherwise we will be regarded as an alliance of pirates, and reserve the right to wage war against us." ”

"What! these arrogant fellows!" "Are they giving us orders?" "The Haihans are going to attack the Natuna Islands?"

As soon as Cohen finished speaking, a loud and noisy voice immediately sounded in the conference room. Even the most dull people have realized the sinister intentions of the second demand put forward by the Haihans—that they have set their sights on the Natuna Islands, and are trying to take away the ownership of the Natuna Islands in such a shameless way!

Of course, the current ownership of this place is not in the hands of the East India Company, but in a group of pirates of unknown origin. However, this status quo does not prevent the directors from still treating the Natuna Islands as the property of the company and from lashing out at the outrageous demands of the Haihans.

Cohen's expression was very calm, he raised the letter in his hand, and spoke again: "Be quiet, I'm not done yet......"

After everyone had calmed down, Cohen continued: "In this letter, the Haihan people have given a clear limit for the period starting in August and ending at the end of the year. During these four months, all armed galleons bearing the stamp of the East India Company approaching the island will be considered unfriendly and may be attacked as appropriate. Gentlemen, the soles of the Haihan people have stepped on our faces!"