"Why bother looking for you if you can rent me directly!"

After hearing Tao Donglai's reply, Thomas only had this thought left in his mind. It's not that the Macau Council hasn't considered this approach, but the probability of success is too low, so it will choose to turn to Haihan for help. Yes, that's right, although this meeting was ostensibly an exchange of information, but in essence, it was hoped that Haihan would come forward to negotiate with the Annan court and handle this matter on his behalf.

Thomas firmly believes that the treacherous and cunning Tao Donglai must have understood his intentions, but the other party is still playing a game of circles with him as always, which makes the depression in Thomas's heart increase a lot. He wanted to stand up and grab Tao Donglai's collar and ask him why he was so difficult for himself, but from the standpoint of a diplomatic envoy, he could only hold back this resentment in his heart and honestly bargain with Tao Donglai.

"Mr. Tao, there are some obstacles in the negotiation between my country and the current Annan court, and I believe you also know it. Even if we asked Annan to lease the land, they would not necessarily agree. Thomas paused, feeling that the weight of this statement was still not enough, so he continued to increase: "Our hope to set up a docking point in the south of Annam is not just for our own interests, the shipping between Manraka and Sanya has been significantly affected in the past six months, and if this situation continues, it will also hinder our current cooperation, I don't think you want to see such a situation happen, right?"

Thomas knew that Haihan's group of people were very realistic, and it would be more useful to directly lay out the stakes than to tell them big things. Sure enough, after listening to it, Tao Donglai muttered: "This matter affecting shipping has to find a way to solve it......

Thomas was overjoyed, but what Tao Donglai said next made his heart sink again: "...... Since you are lacking in shipping capabilities, it is also appropriate for us to do a little more. Mr. Thomas, don't be in a hurry, this year we will be forming a fleet to Manraka to assist you in transporting your cargo. ”

Robbery while the fire is on! This is definitely a naked robbery while the fire is on fire! Thomas has a new understanding of the bottom line of the Haihan people's work.

Thomas instantly combined the anomalies of the Haihan people after the end of the civil war in Annam with what Tao Donglai was saying at the moment—the Haihan people were preparing to use such an opportunity as an entry point to participate in the shipping competition in the South China Sea.

In this era, the Portuguese merchant ships had sailed almost all over the world's oceans, and the Portuguese navigators relied on their fame not only for their personal qualities such as courage and perseverance, but also for their advanced seamanship, the reliable ships they built locally, and the best routes that generations of seafarers had found on the seas. Even rivals such as the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom, which can compete with them, have little advantage in these areas.

However, the Haihan are definitely an outlier known to Thomas, and the knowledge of these people of unknown origin is simply terrifying. Thomas had the privilege of seeing the charts they used while aboard the ships of the Haihan, which were much more elaborate than the abstract charts of Portuguese merchant ships. Moreover, the Haihan people also have some kind of very accurate sea timekeeping tools, which allow them to quickly and accurately calculate the speed and range of the voyage during long voyages. There were many other advanced tools such as these on the ships of the Haihans, and there were some tools that Thomas could not understand at all.

The shipbuilding technology of the Haihan people is beyond doubt, and the sailing ships they built can be said to have the advantages of both Eastern and Western sailing ships, and there are many unique features in the hull design, even Thomas, who has always been proud of Portuguese sailing ships, has to admit with a sour taste that the sailing performance of Haihan sailing ships at sea is indeed better than the existing merchant ships in Portugal.

As for the warship, Thomas only glanced at it when he entered the port, and could not comment on it for the time being. However, Portugal did not deploy any warships in the area east of the Strait of Malacca, at most it was just an armed merchant ship, and it was certainly not comparable to the professional warships built by Haihan in terms of combat effectiveness, so there was basically no comparative value.

In addition to these, the Haihan people also have a terrible ability to organize and coordinate and act, and what they decide to do, they can complete the preparation and start implementing it in a very short time. Compared with the Haihan Executive Committee, Thomas can only give the Macau Council a failing score for its efficiency, one step is slow, one step is slow, and if it had started to take targeted action in the first half of last year when the civil war in Annam was just over the end, Portugal would not have fallen into such a passive situation now.

It is obviously impossible to prevent the Haihan people from intervening in the maritime market in the South China Sea, and the fleet they have is getting bigger and bigger, and sooner or later the shipping routes will radiate to a greater range, and Thomas still has a clear understanding of this. It's just that the timing and method chosen by the Haihan people really made Thomas feel unacceptable, but for the sake of Portugal's interests, he had to continue to deal with Haihan.

"Mr. Tao, we do not lack capacity at sea, the main problem we are currently encountering is that there is no stable port of call on the southern coastline of Annam, if you can help solve this problem, then our cargo ships can fully undertake the shipping task between Sanya and Manraka. "Thomas is still trying hard to turn things around.

However, he still underestimated Tao Donglai's belly, Tao Donglai slowly shook his head and said: "We really can't help this matter, although we have circled several places in Annan to build ports, but because of manpower reasons, we have no engineers to be sent to the local area to supervise the construction of port terminals, so ......"

Tao Donglai paused, and then said: "...... So if you want to dock at the port of supply, I think you might as well send people to our designated site to build some temporary facilities first, what do you think, Mr. Thomas?"

When Thomas heard this, he felt that this idea was a bit reliable, and was about to say yes, when he suddenly realized the trap - this place is a concession of the Haihan people, and after the dock is built, what should be done about the ownership of this place?

At that moment, Thomas cautiously asked: "If we build a dock and other facilities in the area, ...... ownership of it?"

"Of course, the ownership rights belong to our Haihan. Tao Donglai responded with a natural look: "The ownership is mine, and the right to use is yours, but various local laws and regulations must be implemented in accordance with the standards we have formulated." ”

Thomas subconsciously frowned, just having the right to use, doesn't that mean that the Haihan people can take away the right to use whenever they want? One day, these Haihan people are unhappy and do not allow Portuguese ships to dock in the port, so won't the preliminary construction work be in vain?

Thomas was secretly glad that he was still sober and was not tempted by the conditions thrown by the Haihan people. Although this condition is quite harsh, Thomas thinks that since Tao Donglai took the initiative to throw out this plan, there should still be room for bargaining, so he still continued to discuss: "If we organize the construction of the wharf, then this ownership should also be divided to us at least half!"

"Half?" Tao Donglai sneered as if he had heard something ridiculous, and replied: "Mr. Thomas, I think you should have made a mistake, and now we are not talking about cooperation in the development of ports, but we are standing on the basis of trading partners and giving you some benevolent help when you encounter difficulties." It is our goodwill to let you build a dock and facilities in the local area, and goodwill cannot be used for bargaining. If you don't think that's appropriate, then I'm sorry I didn't mention it. ”

Tao Donglai is indeed fearless about this, although the development of the four southern ports in Annam is still in a state of stagnation, but Haihan's shipbuilding industry has not stopped developing for a day. At the same time as the end of the civil war in Annam, the Ministry of Shipping was already considering the development of an ocean route from Sanya to the Strait of Malacca.

While ports along the Indochina Peninsula were important, the Ministry of Shipping also took into account the ship's own endurance and began to build civilian versions of the sailing ship based on the design of the "Expedition class".

This kind of application of military technology to the civilian field is not uncommon in the time and space before the time travel, and almost all high-precision technologies will be first applied to the military field after being developed, and then transferred to the civilian field after a period of time. And in this time and space, such an approach can be regarded as ahead of this era.

In addition to the early imitation of a number of Canton Fu ships, Haihan Shipyard from the launch of the "Exploration Class" to the later "Exploration Class" was built, all of which were based on the military model to transform the ship type, which not only had a short development time, but also had stronger practicability than another design. Four of these ocean-going cargo ships, which will be used in the South China Sea in the future, have been launched and will be put into use in the near future.

Due to the advantages of the Haihan sailing ship in terms of speed, the time required for the same voyage is at least two to three percent less than that of the sailing ships of the same era, which means that the theoretical endurance of the Haihan sailing ship will greatly exceed that of its competitors of the same era when it sets off with the same amount of supplies. The cruising capability of this "Expedition-class" civilian sailing vessel is sufficient to maintain its voyage from Sanya to the Strait of Malacca under normal sea conditions, without docking and replenishment on the way.

Taking a step back, even taking into account possible supply problems, the specialized supply ships used by the Navy today are very useful, and the big deal is to add one or two cargo ships to the fleet that are specially equipped with supplies, even if it costs some more money, it is still very cost-effective for this lucrative route.

This kind of cost is really a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of building ports and terminals. Therefore, the Executive Committee would prefer to put the port development project on hold for a while and use better seaborne vessels to tide over this period of capacity crunch.

Thomas's worries are not unfounded, and the Haihan Executive Committee is indeed thinking about expanding the shipping routes to the south, on the one hand, to reduce transportation costs and increase the profits of maritime trade, and on the other hand, to prepare for the gradual control of key shipping lanes in the South China Sea in the next few years. At present, the intelligence station in Batavia, next to the Sunda Strait, has begun to operate at a normal pace, and the Strait of Malacca, another major route into the South China Sea, is naturally the main target of the Executive Committee.

Although the Strait of Malacca was still in the hands of the Portuguese for the time being, the Haihan side, who was well aware of the historical development, knew that if they did not intervene in time, the place would soon be taken away by the Dutch, and then the Dutch would take control of the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait, two choke points connecting the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. Rather than let the Portuguese lose this strategic location in vain, the Executive Committee thought that it would be better to find a way to take control of it sooner rather than later, or at least to form a garrison in the area to help the Portuguese resist the expansion of the Dutch.

The Executive Committee does not intend to seize control of the Strait of Malacca by force, because that would inevitably hurt the current good relations with Portugal, which is the only window to the Western world, and the Executive Committee does not want to prematurely abandon this instrument, which can still serve a long role. It would be great if Portugal could be coerced into taking control of Malacca on its own initiative by other soft means.

On behalf of the Macau Council, Thomas took the initiative to ask for help, and Tao Donglai was keenly aware that this was an opportunity, and although it was not possible to immediately realize the Executive Committee's plan for the Malacca region, it would at least find a suitable opportunity for Haihan to send a fleet to the local trade area.

As for the demands made by the Portuguese, Tao Donglai also had the next step in mind - this place would certainly not be occupied by the Portuguese, and the permanent residence of Indochina could only be controlled by the Haihan, and any other Western country wanted to obtain this kind of treatment unless they could defeat the Haihan militarily first. In view of the good cooperative relationship with Portugal, Tao Donglai believes that at most, after the port is completed, it is enough to imitate the operation model of Sanya Port and assign a few fixed berths to the Portuguese.

As for the ownership that Thomas wants, Tao Donglai only thinks that he is indeed thinking too much. Even if the Portuguese really planned to contribute their own efforts to build basic port facilities in the Haihan concession, the Haihan side would definitely not use the ownership as a bargaining chip. Even if there is a time when you can't save face, there is still a way out for Haihan to retreat - this land is the land of Annan, if you really want the right to belong, then talk to the Annan court.