After talking to Vanderwegen, Cohen's anger at the news of the defeat gradually subsided. ↗ ↗ ↗ ↗ Judging from the information we have learned so far, this battle was not an armed conflict that broke out by chance, and the opponent was actually premeditated and fully prepared, although the Dutch sailing ships have never been afraid of naval battles, but the armed fleet sent by Dayuangang did suffer a big loss in the battle because of lack of preparation.

It was clear that the opponents did not intend to kill their own side, so they let go of the fleet's flagship, giving Vanderwegen a chance to get out of the fray. It's just that Cohen hasn't fully grasped the purpose of doing this, he just vaguely feels that the opponent's purpose is not simple, not just to promote force. The formidable prowess of Haihan's performance in the First Battle of Fujian also drew Cohen's attention to this emerging force, and he found that in the past few years, the East India Company had focused too much on maintaining the trade system in Northeast Asia and neglected the quiet rise of potential rivals.

At the hearing the following day, the company's top brass listened to Vanderwegen's account of the battle for Fujian, which again drew heated arguments among the directors. The directors were once again divided into two factions, the main battle and the main peace, each holding their own opinions, but the focus of the dispute changed from the previous Natuna Island to the distant Ming Fujian.

However, the voice of the main battle faction this time is obviously much smaller than the previous time, after all, Fujian is too far away from the Badawei Asia-Pacific region, as long as anyone with a little military knowledge can think of how amazing the manpower, material and financial resources required for the expedition are, not to mention that the opponent is no longer the Fujian Ming army with weak combat effectiveness seven years ago, they have not only updated their equipment and personnel, but also have Haihan, a powerful foreign aid that cannot be ignored, behind them.

According to the information presented by Vanderwegen, the Fujian Ming Army, especially the Naval Division, has undergone large-scale equipment updates and personnel adjustments over the past three years. A large number of young officers who had received special training from Haihan began to appear in command posts, and many of them were inextricably linked to the current Fujian commander-in-chief Xu Xinsu. The common characteristic of these young officers, in addition to their personal loyalty to Xu Xinsu, is their admiration for the Haihan military system and equipment.

According to incomplete statistics, in the past three years, more than 1,000 rifles have been sold by Haihan to the Fujian Ming Army every year, and the transaction content has been upgraded from the original arquebus to a more advanced flintlock pistol since last year. The Fujian Ming army buys more than 50 artillery pieces of various calibers every year, and almost all of the 18 Zhi's key attack targets in the past few years have been reequipped with standard weapons provided by Haihan, which also directly leads to the fact that the 18 Zhi have hardly achieved a decent victory in the past three years, and the combat goal of capturing the Zhongzuo has never been realized.

In addition, since last year, Haihan has been providing new warships to the Fujian Navy, although the number that has begun to enter service is not much, but it is clear that this momentum will not stop, under the military assistance that Xu Xinsu exchanged for a large amount of silver, the strength of the Fujian Ming Army will increase year by year, and may even further threaten the Dutch colony in Dayuangang and the East India Company's various routes in Northeast Asia.

As far as I know, the military expenditure of the Ming Empire comes from their military department, and this empire has been anxious about the enemies in the north in recent years, and they have even increased the proportion of taxes paid in the south to subsidize the military expenditure on the northern battlefield. Under such circumstances, how could the Ming Military Department approve these expenses of the Fujian government?"

Van der Wegen explained: "In fact, according to the information we have, only a very small part of these military expenditures are approved by the Ming Military Department, and most of them are privately funded by Xu Xinsu and the Fujian merchant group he leads, which is an important reason why he has installed a large number of cronies in the army." In addition, we have heard that Haihan's banking institutions have provided them with loans of an unknown amount specifically for the purchase of Haihan's arms and equipment. ”

"Borrow money from the Haihan to buy their weapons, isn't this money just a turn and go back into their own pockets?" some people immediately expressed their disdain for this act, completely forgetting that in the European theater at this time, there were also quite a few Dutch merchants who did the same thing when they were arms brokers.

Most of Van der Wegen's intelligence came from the secret agents arranged by Shibazhi in Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and other places earlier, although the information that could be collected was not complete, but it could be regarded as having a certain effect. Indeed, since 1629, the Haihan Bank had been providing low-interest loans to the Fujian military, or to be more precise, Xu Xinsu, for arms purchases. This is also one of the means used by the Haihan munitions industry to sell arms to the outside world, and the same method is not only used in Fujian, but also in the arms trade with Annam.

In fact, Xu Xinsu's economic situation is much better than that of the people of Annam, and after taking charge of the military power of a province, the wealth that he can create through various commercial channels is also quite amazing, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a rich country. In the process of trading with Haihan, more often than not, Xu Xinsu's side was restricted in the quantity and type of arms purchased, rather than whether he could get the silver. One of the reasons why Fujian is willing to use the low-interest loan of the Haihan Bank is that it can use the loan to purchase some originally restricted munitions and equipment - for example, the Haihan warship that the Fujian naval division has been wanting but cannot seek, is to sign a loan agreement first and then sign a purchase contract.

In fact, in addition to allowing the idle funds of the bank to earn a certain interest income, this kind of transaction method also has a very important role in promoting the application of banking business in Fujian. After the Fujian government adopted the bank's loan service, Haihan and his side had a better example to promote the bank settlement system to Fujian businessmen.

After all, the cooperation between the two sides is now very deep, and the entanglement of interests has long been more than the amount of the loan, and Xu Xinsu does not care at all about paying interest to buy those high-end equipment that Haihan restricts from selling - he cares more about whether he can buy it than at what price.

Of course, such low-interest loans are only available to the Fujian government at present, and the unique financial settlement method of Haihan Bank is promoted to the private sector. Similar methods have been in operation in Guangdong for a longer time, and the mechanism has also become mature, and can basically be directly applied to Fujian. Merchants traveling to and from Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan Island can use the office system of Haihan Bank to realize the withdrawal of money and trade settlement in different places, so as to avoid the inconvenience and danger of carrying a large amount of cash for long-distance travel in the past. Some businesses with strong capital and good credit can also directly apply for temporary loans from Haihan Bank when turnover is inconvenient, of course, the interest rate of this kind of loan is not as low as the special loan provided to the government.

As for the security of these funds, it has also been gradually improved in the continuous operation. After several years of operation, the "Golden Shield Escort" was born in Guangzhou, and its current branches have been opened in all the prefectures and cities in Guangdong, and offices have also been opened in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian. The number of employees has also expanded rapidly from about 100 people at the time of establishment to more than 1,000 people at present. Of course, so many people are no longer only composed of Li Jiazhuang's children, two-thirds of them are people who have obtained naturalized citizenship, and the operation of the entire organization is no longer Li Nai's sole decision - of course, he was not too concerned about doing business and other things, even if he knew the actions of the Haihan people, he would pretend not to see.

In addition to arming and escorting valuables such as gold, silver, and jewelry between places, another important function of the "Golden Shield Escort" is to serve as an armed security guard for Haihan Bank. This defense is not only about protecting the people and money in the bank, but also about the task of taking on special situations, such as the need to use force to recover some of the more troublesome accounts. And the local government, because of its maritime background, often turns a blind eye to its behavior. With such an easy-to-use and powerful thug, Haihan Bank has encountered a lot less trouble when promoting its business in the local area.

Of course, in addition to this, this organization also has a relatively secret mission, that is, to supplement the militia army in wartime as an establishment force and accept the unified command of the military. A considerable number of soldiers who have retired from the Haihan militia have entered this institution to work, after all, the salary here is higher than that of returning home to farm or working in factories, which can be regarded as a good way out for veterans. In wartime, it is able to complete the role change in a very short period of time, and turn this civilian armed force into a part of the regular army, although it cannot be used on the frontal battlefield, it is certainly enough to maintain local order, manage logistics and baggage, and act as a temporary policeman.

And the infiltration effect of this financial system combined with commercial and trade activities in Fujian is by no means reflected in the intelligence collected by the spies of the Eighteen Zhi. The merchants of the East India Company did not understand this way of trading between the Haihan and the Fujian government, in large part because of the historical hostility between the Dutch and the Ming Dynasty, which led the East India Company to rely on small-scale smuggling transactions to maintain trade with the Ming Dynasty。

"Gentlemen, please be quiet and listen to me. Cohen reached out and tapped lightly on the table twice, and the directors who were still arguing immediately fell silent, and the prestige of being the governor for many years had not diminished much because of his declining physical condition.

Cohen was pleased with the effect, and waited for everyone to calm down before continuing: "Gentlemen, we must first correct a misunderstanding, the current Fujian army is not the same army we fought seven years ago, and it is not only their commanders who have been replaced, but also their weapons and methods of warfare, which we have not encountered in the Far East before. I spoke carefully with Mr. Vanderwegen yesterday and said that the methods and experience of naval warfare of the Haihan are worthy of our vigilance, they are indeed rising rookies, but they are not just rookies! they are not only good at making weapons and warships, but they are also very good at fighting...... Judging by what is known so far, whether at sea or on land, their army has a fairly high level of combat. In the battle to defeat Mr. Vanderwegen, the Ming naval division was obviously under the command of the Haihan people, and acted as bait, cannon fodder and miscellaneous throughout the battle, which shows that the Fujian Ming army admired the strength of the Haihan militia and was willing to appear on the battlefield belonging to the territory of the Ming Dynasty as an assistant army. Gentlemen, this is a terrible thing!"

All the attendees had fallen silent, quietly listening to Cohen's analysis. Whether it is in the military or political fields, Cohen's insight and depth of thought are undoubtedly much greater than those present, and his opinions almost represent the will of the East India Company, and his views on this matter will also directly affect the company's attitude towards how to deal with the situation in Fujian.

Cohen paused and coughed dryly, then continued: "Gentlemen, in view of the attitude of the Ming, Annan, and the Portuguese towards Haihan, I think this will be a formidable opponent for the East India Company when it enters the Far East. First of all, I would like to admit my mistake in decision-making, we all know that they were only a few hundred people when they first arrived on Qiongzhou Island a few years ago, and if we had sent an armed fleet to Qiongzhou Island to exterminate it as soon as we heard about the emergence of this force, then they would not have threatened our colony now in a few years. And the current Haihan is no longer a weak person that can be dealt with by simply sending a fleet. And we must note that they have already shown obvious hostility towards us!"