The temporary dispatch of a delegation to Sanya to negotiate with the Haihan people was itself an emergency measure taken to delay the Haihan's military action against the Natuna Islands, and the key to this was the word "fast"; if it was too late and the Haihan had already made a move, then the East India Company would only be able to watch the Haihan people snatch the Natuna Islands away. ▲ ∴ top ▲ ∴ point ▲ ∴ small ▲ ∴ said that if you want to get it back from them when the time comes, I'm afraid the difficulty level will have to rise a lot. Therefore, after the board of directors decided to adopt this method, preparations for the trip began in full swing on the same day.

The team of the mission was still dominated by Van Longen and his subordinate fleet, but the nature of the mission was rather special, so Van Longen did not plan to take all his remaining merchant ships to Sanya, but only called two sailing ships, one large and one small. Of course, there is another reason for this that is not too glamorous, that is, during the previous battle on Natuna Island, almost all of his ships were painted, and during their stay in Dayuan Harbor, they were only temporarily treated, and they could only be completely renovated after returning to Batavia, and only two sailing ships in better condition could be selected for this task.

Van Longen's duty was mainly to expand the maritime trade for the East India Company, and although he was familiar with military affairs, he was not a professional soldier, so the mission had to have an officer - not only for the safety of the mission, but more importantly, to have a knowledgeable person to observe and collect military intelligence on the Haihan people after they went there. As for the fact that there are not too many combat personnel, Van Longen's ship was originally an armed merchant ship, and the ship was also equipped with various weapons on a daily basis, and the crew basically had a certain combat capability, as long as they were not fighting against a professional navy, their ability to protect themselves at sea was still relatively strong.

The officers chosen by Governor Cohen for the Mission's fleet were somewhat unexpected, and the position was not held by the native garrison of Batavia, but by Van der Wegen, who had just returned from the port of Otoen, as a defeated man. Cohen's explanation for this was that Van de Wegen was the only high-ranking officer who had fought the Haihan in frontal battles, and that his trip to Sanya would allow him to more accurately identify military vessels in the local port and obtain valuable military information. Of course, he didn't know that the opponents Spikes and Van Longen encountered in the Natuna Islands were also part of the Haihan Militia, but the Fujian side was the navy, and the Natuna Islands were just disguised army.

Vanderwegen was naturally grateful for such an appointment, and he originally thought that he would have to shed his skin even if he did not die when he returned to Batavia this time, but he did not expect that instead of punishing him, Cohen would be entrusted with a heavy responsibility again. Although there was no need to fight hard this time, Van der Wegen was more determined than he was when he played in Fujian the previous time.

In addition, Cohen considered that the East India Company had never dealt with the Haihan before, and that it would be difficult to communicate smoothly with only two Dutch representatives, so it was necessary to appoint a Chinese as a special assistant to the mission. Of course, there are many restrictions on this candidate, first of all, the family members of Ming Shang or people with close relationships are not allowed, because these people are very likely to have inextricable interests with Haihan, and their credibility is not high.

Cohen proposed the creation of this position, but in fact, he already had a candidate in mind. At the beginning of Cohen's tenure in 1619, he appointed his Chinese friend Su Minggang as the Chinese administrator of Batavia, and the Su family has been holding the position of Kapitan for more than ten years. If there are any Chinese in Batavia that Cohen trusts, the Su family is definitely the best.

Because of this special relationship, many members of the Su family are working for the East India Company, and there are also many employees who have fixed positions in the company. Su Minggang's nephew, who is now in his early thirties, is one of them. Ten years ago, he joined the East India Company, starting as a low-level dock cargo recorder and working his way up to his current position as port director. At present, he is responsible for managing more than 10 merchant ships entering and leaving the port every day, and he has nearly 1,000 employees of various ethnicities, and he is a middle-level manager with little power in the company. Of course, due to his Chinese status, it is unlikely that he will get the opportunity to enter the special departments of military and intelligence, and the best way out is to compete for the positions of Kapitan in the next few terms.

Henk, who was in charge of intelligence affairs, did not question this candidate's arrangement, because he also knew that the Su family was indeed one of the few Chinese families in Batavia City that was trustworthy to the company, and if he rejected this candidate, it would be difficult to find a better replacement for a while, and time was not waiting for anyone, so the Governor gave him two days to prepare, even if he Henk had any ideas, he could only take care of the overall situation and swallow the dissatisfaction back into his stomach first.

The night before the convoy departed, Cohen had Van Longen, Van der Wegen, and Sukei summoned to give them a face-to-face lecture.

"There are some things that are not easy to say publicly in the board room, so I can only communicate with you in such a private setting. Cohen had barely said a few words before he began to cough, and Van der Wegen was the closest and immediately stepped forward to help him rub his back.

After a while, Cohen finally stopped coughing and nodded to Vanderwegen before he continued: "I'm already in poor physical condition, and every day I stay in this position is one less day." I had planned to leave my post before the end of the year and go back to the Netherlands to recuperate, but now it seems that I can't leave. ”

"Your Excellency, we all need your command. I hope you can take good care of your health and be a beacon for the company for a few more years. Van Longen wasted no time in slapping the ass.

"It's probably hard to do. I only hope that before I leave office, I can deal with these current troubles, especially the Haihan people. Cohen was in no mood to joke with Van Longen, and quickly returned to the point: "Gentlemen, although we reacted in the shortest possible time, I think that the progress of the capture of the Natuna Islands is likely to be far behind the Haihans. ”

"You mean, even if we rush to Sanya now, it may not be too late to stop their move?" Van Longen immediately understood what Cohen meant.

"It is highly likely that they were ready to go to war before they found someone to deliver this diplomatic letter. Cohen said as he tapped his finger at the letter on the table signed by the Haihan Executive Committee. The letter was written in both Chinese and English, and Cohen had read it many times to figure out the meaning of the wording.

"If so, then why do they provoke us with the words of the letter?" Van Longen asked, puzzled. When he heard Cohen say the contents of the letter at the meeting two days earlier, Van Longen was furious and felt deeply humiliated.

"It's a warning, and it's a threat at the same time. The Haihan want us to know that if we dispute the ownership of the Natuna Islands, then we must be prepared for an all-out war with them. Cohen paused and accentuated: "This battlefield is not only in the Natuna Islands, but perhaps also in Fujian. ”

"Including the Fujian ......" Van Longen turned his head and glanced at Van der Wegen, both of whom saw the shock in each other's eyes that could not be concealed.

"Judging from the engagements described by Van der Wegen, the Haihan attack on our fleet in Fujian was not an armed conflict that occurred by chance, but a premeditated military operation. I've been wondering why they're doing this, and why they're letting you go......" Cohen gestured to the letter on the table again, "It wasn't until I read the letter over and over again that I figured out what they were up to." Gentlemen, the Haihan people need to find a reasonable excuse to do something to us, and that's where everything comes from. ”

"I'm sorry, my lord, I don't quite understand what you mean......" Van der Wegen stammered.

"I think the Haihan people have long regarded us as competitors and decided to start competing with us for control of the Far East at sea when they are fully fledged, but they need a reasonable reason to start a war that is acceptable to both insiders and outsiders, after all, fighting a war is a rather resource-intensive activity, and if it is not done well, it will arouse the vigilance of other outside forces against them. Cohen said slowly: "But the problem is that they have never had direct trade or diplomatic contacts with us, and there is no reasonable excuse to turn their backs, so what do you think the Haihan people will do in such a situation?"

"It's clear that the fight against piracy is an excellent place to start. Su Keyi, who had never spoken, suddenly took over the conversation and said: "Whether it is in Fujian or in the South China Sea, fighting pirates is a high-sounding reason. ”

"Exactly. Cohen praised Su Keyi's quick comprehension: "Since our policy in Fujian is to support the Eighteen Zhi against the government, it is easy for the Haihan people to catch the handle, and Hans chose to send troops to help the war at this time, so the Haihan people can just take advantage of the situation." I heard that it took a lot of time from the preparation for the war to the assembly near Nanri Island before the start of the war, and it is believed that the spies planted by the Fujian government in Dayuan had already sent the news back, so the Haihan people could wait for you to send it to Nanri Island at ease. ”

Vanderwegen's face turned pale, although he had had a lot of reflections after the defeat, and even thought that it might be that he had leaked the news in advance and caused him to be ambushed by the Haihan fleet, but he never thought that the other party's actions had such a deep purpose.

Cohen continued, "You don't have to be upset, even if Hans didn't choose to send troops at that time, sooner or later the Haihan people will find another opportunity to fight you. As for why, let's sort out the timeline to find out. ”

Cohen flipped through a notebook on his desk and began to read it: "The pirate occupation of Natuna Island, based on what we know, probably took place during April of this year. In the following May, the Haihan delegation traveled to Fujian and led the Ming army to capture Nanri Island in retaliation for the assassination carried out by Shibazhi in Zhangzhou. In June, Eighteen Zhi sent someone to Daguan to ask Hans for help, and at this time Haihan seemed to have sent another reinforcement to Fujian to replace the Haihan mission stationed there. At the end of June, our search and rescue fleet from Batavia suffered a defeat in the Natuna Islands. In mid-July, the Haehan fleet defeated the fleet led by Mr. Van der Wegen in the waters off Nanri Island. Four days earlier, a fiercely worded diplomatic letter had been sent to Batavia, warning us not to get involved in the affairs of Fujian and the Natuna Islands. ”

Cohen slowly closed the notebook and looked at the three people present: "Gentlemen, what has happened in the past five months has been one after another, and it is all related to us, if it is all a coincidence, I am personally skeptical. Although I don't have any evidence that the Haihan were behind these events, at least they used the situation in these two places very efficiently to achieve their goals. Now I'd like to hear your thoughts. ”

"Seventy percent of the inhabitants of the Natuna Islands are Chinese or of Chinese descent, and when the pirates attacked the area in April, it is likely that fishermen or merchant ships temporarily docked in the area took the opportunity to flee and go to the territory of the Han people. After the Haihan people learned the news of the change of ownership of the local area, it is likely that they were already fighting the idea of that place. Van Longen immediately voiced his thoughts: "In the name of revenge for last year's pirate invasion, the expedition to the Natuna Islands is obviously easily approved by their so-called Executive Committee." ”

"But they will face two more problems in attacking the Natuna Islands, one is the preparation for the expedition, and the other is how to respond to our criticism. Van der Wegen continued: "That place belongs to our East India Company, and if they occupy it directly, it will undoubtedly be no different from pirates, so they will need an excuse to drag us into the water, such as forcing us to collude with pirates." ”

"But they didn't have any tangible evidence in their hands, so they needed to make some articles elsewhere to confirm this excuse, so they chose Fujian. Su Keyi also followed the rhythm: "They can use the name of the Fujian government to suppress bandits, deal with Shibazhi openly, and drag Dayuan Port into the water by the way, and then the fact that the East India Company and the pirates colluded will be established, and they can continue to use this as an excuse to act on this side of the South China Sea, and warn us not to approach that sea area." From April to May to now, it is estimated that the Haihan people are also ready to attack Natuna Island. As Your Excellency the Governor has just said, perhaps we are too late. The only thing I don't understand now is why the Haihan have set a deadline for the Natuna Islands until the end of the year?

"I think they just need time to fortify the island's fortifications. Van Longen replied with a dark face.