Coming to Sing Island on behalf of the Dutch East India Company was Philip, an old acquaintance of Haihan, who was no longer a mere maritime merchant. Because of the gains from the trade with Haihan in the past two years, Philip has now entered the management of the East India Company with his rich net worth, although he has not yet touched the door of the decision-making level, but at least he can attend some diplomatic activities as the company's official representative.

The fact that the British were secretly selling weapons to Johor was first learned by Philip through his own sources. After confirming the authenticity of this news, Philip and the company's top management both decided to inform the Haihan garrison in Sing Tao about it, on the one hand, to show favor to it, and on the other hand, to use the power of Haihan to deal a heavy blow to the British rival and end its delusion of entering the South China Sea. So for this reason, Philip had personally made several trips to Sing Island, handed over the information he knew to Roger, and informed the East India Company's attitude on this matter - if Haihan needed it, the East India Company could send armed men into Sing Island to help in the war.

Of course, this proposal could not be approved by Roger, and his level of trust in the Dutch was very limited, and even if the information about the British was true, he would not agree to let the Dutch fighters go to Star Island.

On the one hand, the Netherlands had been defeated by the Haihan in several previous encounters, and the position of the rivers and lakes that had been painstakingly acquired in the Taiwan Strait for several years was completely replaced by the Haihan; on the other hand, in order to maintain the trade channels in the Far East, the Netherlands also had to bow to the Haihan and maintain peace on the surface in exchange for trade opportunities in Northeast Asia. In terms of situation, the Netherlands and Portugal have many similarities, although they are unwilling to accept the dominance of Haihan in the South China Sea, they can only choose to compromise and submit to the terrible force of Haihan.

The Dutch took the initiative to inform the British of their secret schemes, and Roger did not think that this was because the Dutch were on the same side as him, and that the competition between them and the British was fierce, and that this was just a means of killing people with a knife. If the Hayham had lost both sides with the British, he had no doubt that the Dutch might have jumped out at the last minute to make up for both sides at the same time. So when Philip offered to take advantage of the victory and continue to attack Johor and England, Roger didn't seem interested at all.

"Fighting a war is very expensive, and even if we defeat Johor, there is not much direct benefit. They can't even pay for the redemption of prisoners of war, and continuing to fight will only waste our military money. Roger expressed his attitude very directly, and the implication was that Lao Tzu was unwilling to spend this unjust money to continue the war, if you Dutch wanted to send troops, please do it, and if you want to drag Haihan into the water, then you will be exempted.

Philip listened to Roger's tone and naturally understood the song, and did not force the topic to continue, he had another thing to ask Roger: "I seem to have seen two Portuguese sailing ships on the dock, these profiteers are not in a hurry to buy the loot you have captured, right?"

"I want to sell the loot, but the Portuguese are too expensive!" Roger laughed, "Why don't you take over the things?" I have a large collection of almost brand new arquebuses here, which should come in handy in your Batavia City. ”

Philip's real concern was not the spoils of the Haihan, but the intentions of the Portuguese. At present, the two companies each hold a strait connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and their development in the South China Sea is evenly matched, but the two companies have been fighting for a long time, and their guard against each other has never relaxed. Since Philip knew that there were Portuguese on the island, he naturally wanted to make a fool of himself, so as not to make his own side passive.

"As long as the price is right, you can consider it. Philip replied casually, and then turned the topic back to the Portuguese: "Then they must have heard that your country has defeated Johor, and they are in a hurry to fall into the grave against Johor, after all, their previous feud with Johor has lasted for decades, and they must not have had a good time by being watched by the enemy day and night." ”

Roger couldn't hear Philip's voice, and he also had the mentality of sitting on the mountain and watching the competition between the Netherlands and Portugal, and if the two got into a fight one day, he would never act as a peacemaker in the middle. Considering the fact that Philip had earlier sent information to the British, Roger told him the truth and told him the Portuguese suggestion.

"These shameless Southern swindlers are thinking of taking advantage of your country's victory to their advantage!, what did they do before the war?" Philip immediately expressed his indignation at the Portuguese action, forgetting that he himself had made a similar suggestion to Roger. Of course, from Philip's point of view, he probably didn't think there was anything wrong with his attitude, after all, he had provided key information to Haihan before the war, and had also indicated on behalf of the Dutch that he could send troops to help in the war. Compared with the Portuguese, who only jumped out to pick peaches after the fact, the Dutch did put a lot more energy into this matter, and naturally did not want to see the fruits of their efforts robbed by competitors.

From a strategic point of view, if Portugal established a transoceanic colony in the Strait of Malacca, it would not be good news for the Dutch East India Company, which was still in the process of rebuilding Batavia. Moreover, the Netherlands never wanted to see Portugal and Haihan jointly send troops, and this kind of thing may have two in one thing, and if the Netherlands had a military conflict with Portugal in the future, the other party pulled Haihan out to block the gun, then how would it operate? Philip secretly made up his mind that if Roger had already been moved by the Portuguese, then he would have to mess up this matter anyway.

"General, the Portuguese are selfish little people, and they only want to use the force of your country to achieve their own ends! I hope you will see their faces clearly, and not be swayed by the demagoguery of these fellows. Philip unceremoniously continued to complain about the Portuguese's behaviour and to spoil the impression of Roger as much as possible.

"What about you, and what is your purpose?" asked Roger, staring at Philip meaningfully.

"We are completely out of good intentions and take the initiative to help our partners in the difficult situation they are facing, which is completely different from the starting point of the ** business scammer. Philip paused and added, "Of course, it would be best if there was a chance to teach the British some more lessons." ”

The Dutch East India Company had an early monopoly on the spice trade east of Java and had publicly executed British merchants who had entered the area without permission to trade. Now that the British are trying to establish a stronghold in the South China Sea, even if the Haihan do not make a move, the Dutch side will sooner or later intervene against them. Although the battle was a complete victory, the deterrent effect on Britain was not as good as that of the Dutch, which was one of the main reasons why Philip wanted to encourage Roger to retaliate militarily. Now, of course, Philip added another reason, which was to prevent the Portuguese from profiting from it.

The Portuguese wanted to seize a larger area of control from Johor, while the Dutch wanted to take the opportunity to inflict further blows on the British, and although the two sides took similar measures, and both hoped to join forces with the Haihan, the objectives were clearly different. It's just that these two can't imagine how big Haihan's heart is, and just after fighting with their opponents, they have already thought of making conditions for their opponents to join the international system dominated by Haihan.

Although Roger was a soldier, he was not a reckless man, and his political vision and sensitivity were even higher than most of the rulers of this era. He believes that to fight a war is to fight only the necessary war, that war is only a means rather than an end, and that how to maximize one's own interests through war is the meaning of warfare. If political or other means could better achieve the goal, then he would not insist on using war to solve the problem.

Roger clearly knows that Sing Tao's armed forces alone cannot destroy Johor, nor can it put an end to the British desire to enter the South China Sea, but the bond formed by these two countries after fighting with Haihan has made Sing Tao invisibly have a lot of defensive pressure, even if he knows that these two can't beat him, but from now on there are two more enemies that need to be kept in mind, which is not an easy and pleasant thing.

To solve this hidden danger, you can either go out of your way to convince your opponent, or try to incorporate the opponent into your own system - this is something that Haihan has done very well, and Portugal and the Netherlands are successful examples. Although it cannot be said that they are completely at ease, after gradually being bound by many common interests, at least there is no need to worry about their military retaliation against Haihan all day long.

After this battle, Roger believed that his own strength had been fully demonstrated, which was enough to break the opponent's confidence in continuing to use military means, and the previous armistice negotiations basically confirmed Roger's idea, and the attitude shown by the other party was not at all combative, and he just wanted to minimize the losses caused by the war as much as possible. In such a situation, it is clear that the use of political means to solve the problem will be more efficient and more effective than the continuation of military means. If Johor and the British can really be included in the Haihan system, then the defense pressure on Sing Tao will be much reduced, and more energy can be devoted to local construction and development, rather than building fortifications on the island around the clock.

Now the Portuguese and the Dutch are rushing to persuade Haihan not to stop the war and continue fighting, and even offer to send troops to help, which Roger did not expect before. It can also be seen that these Western colonial powers are very fierce against each other, even if they maintain peace on the surface, they will try to suppress their competitors as much as possible when they seize the opportunity, and strive for more interests for their own interests.

The news of the arrival of the Dutch envoy on Star Island soon reached Ricardo's ears as well. Although it is not clear what the purpose of the other party's appearance at this time is unknown, Ricardo always felt that the Dutch had bad intentions and immediately took action. As soon as Roger returned to his lodgings after entertaining Philip, Ricardo came to the door to ask for a meeting.

Ricciardo's intention was also clear, that is, to inquire about the Dutchman's intentions. Roger was so impressed by the envoys of these two families that he could only reassure Ricardo and tell him not to be too careful, and deduced that the Dutch had come here to buy all the booty captured by Haihan from the battle.

Ricardo said in his heart that the red-haired ghost was really insidious, and he actually wanted to use this kind of routine to win over Haihan, how could Lao Tzu let them get it so easily, and immediately hurriedly answered: "General, don't the loot you mentioned earlier be sold to us by default? How can this deal allow the Dutch to intervene!"

Roger thought to himself that it was you who was too expensive before, but now that he saw the Dutch coming, he hurriedly wanted to redeem it, and immediately said a little unpleasantly: "The Dutch are doing things well, but they don't plan to bargain with us!"

Ricardo heard that Roger's mood was wrong, and he chuckled in his heart, and quickly said: "Please forgive me for my previous complaints about the price, it was purely a business habit, and it did not mean to be disrespectful to the general." Actually, the price offered by the general is also very fair, but I am just worried that the money I brought this time is not enough to buy all the loot at once. ”

Roger said in his heart that a businessman is a businessman, there is no discipline at all, and he licked back what he said before without difficulty, and he can look calm, and he can only say admiration and admiration in the face of this thickness of face. However, he also knew that Ricardo's change of words was not to buy the spoils of war as a big man, but to learn more about the Dutch's intentions, and to prevent close interaction between the Dutch and Haihan as much as possible. This kind of thing is not unusual, in Anbuna Island and in Sanya, the envoys of these two families are also acting so needle-pointed, lest the other party win over Haihan and suppress him.

Of course, the competition between these two is actually a good thing for Haihan, the more fierce they fight, the more calm Haihan will be, and the more political means they can use. The two envoys expressed their positions one after another in one day, which made Roger feel for a while that it would be more enjoyable to simply organize a support army to sweep north of Johor. However, this thought only flashed through his mind, and he also knew that it was impossible for Portugal and the Netherlands to fight side by side on the battlefield, and if he only played with one of them, he would inevitably suffer the resentment of the other, so this kind of alliance did not even exist theoretically.

"I think so, it's not too early today, you go back and rest first, and when you find time tomorrow, let's go and see the capture and capture this time, and you can also weigh whether to buy those weapons and equipment. Roger paused, then added: "I'll get the Dutch to come over so that everyone can play fairly and don't have to worry about which side I'm going to go." ”

(End of chapter)