"How many ...... 'naturalized people' like him are there in the Haihan people's current ruling area?" Van der Wegen also asked curiously.

"This ...... I don't have any detailed figures, but based on the population of Qiongzhou Island and the continuous introduction of immigrants by the Haihan in recent years, it is estimated that the number of 'naturalized people' who are loyal to the Haihan should be at least 100,000. Su Keyi does not have a definite conclusion about this, and can only make a rough inference based on the information currently known. However, there is little accuracy in such inferences, and the error can be ridiculously high.

"100,000 ......" Van der Wegen whistled lightly: "No wonder they have the confidence to send troops to expedition to Annam and Fujian." ”

The war potential of a force is directly proportional to the number of people under its rule, and without a certain population base, it is difficult to withstand the huge attrition of war. Vanderwegen doesn't have a problem with that, but Hehan is an outlier in this regard. When the expedition to Annam intervened in its civil war, the population under the rule of Haihan was not large, and the number of troops was extremely limited, and the Haihan Executive Committee took a great risk and put most of the regular army on the battlefield of Annam. This kind of adventure also brought huge war dividends to Haihan, making Annam the main commodity sales market and source of labor in the early stage of Haihan's development.

As for the two shots in Fujian this year, whether from an economic or military point of view, there is no longer too much pressure on Haihan. What's more, Haihan's investment in Fujian will not be less than that of Annan, and it can be said that it is a good deal to make money without losing money. If it weren't for the fact that Fujian and the Sanya base camp are far away, and that there are many practical problems in the supply of combat materials, the Haihan Military Commission would actually have the idea of taking advantage of the victory to pursue the attack.

"Although the armed forces of the Haihan people are called militia groups, they are actually a professional army. After a brief encounter with the Haihans, Van Longen had already received an answer: "It may even be higher than the military profession of our East India Company." ”

Although the East India Company had thousands of standing armed personnel, these men were sailors and sailors in peacetime, rather than professional soldiers who were completely out of work in the true sense of the word. In terms of nature, the Haihan militia is a purely military force, which is used purely for military purposes, and can be regarded as a real professional army.

"Their professional army is much more powerful than the army of the Ming Empire!" Vanderwegen had first-hand experience, and couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this. In fact, Van Longen also faced the Haihan militia in the Battle of Ambuna Island, but he didn't know the true identity of the other party.

Yu Xiaobao really did not appear again that day, and although the three Dutch representatives complained, they could only spend the night in this stuffy hut. And their wish has also changed from "do your best to meet the Haihan people" at the beginning to "try your best to change your comfort place and stay".

When they woke up the next day, nothing seemed to have changed except for the seafood porridge breakfast that was delivered, and the trio could only continue to lean against the wall and listen to the training cries for a long time.

It wasn't until the sun was about to set in the afternoon that Yu Xiaobao appeared in front of them again: "The three envoys have just received the latest instructions from the Executive Committee, please move to the State Guest House." ”

Although I didn't know what the guest house was like, it must have been much better than this airtight hut when I heard this lofty name, and the three of them got up and walked out almost instantly.

However, after stepping outside, they were not given freedom of movement, and a four-wheeled carriage with a black curtain was parked outside. Yu Xiaobao opened the car door in front very attentively: "Three of you, please get in the car." ”

When the three of them arrived at this time, they had nothing to worry about, and they got into the carriage directly. Nearly an hour later, the carriage stopped, and then Yu Xiaobao opened the door from the outside and asked the three of them to get off.

"What a place!" After the three of them got out of the car, Su Keyi couldn't help but sigh when he saw the scene in front of him.

The place where they got off was next to a three-zhang square flower garden, full of all kinds of seasonal flowers, and the fragrance was fragrant. Behind the flowerbed is a two-storey house made of bamboo and wood, but the shape is clearly different from the traditional Chinese architecture, there is no structure such as carved beams and painted buildings, but it is square and the lines are very simple and bright. The house is perched on a hillside, and there are several similar buildings nearby, all of which are built in a patchwork of terrain.

The two Dutchmen were now speechless looking in the other direction, and from where they were standing, they could see the harbor in the distance. At this time, the sun has not yet completely set, and the harbor is still a busy scene under the sunset. What shocked them the most was that there was a ship as big as a hill docked on the east side of the port, but it had no mast and no sails, and it looked very strange.

"That's the legendary Haihan Iron Ship. Su Keyi also quickly noticed this strange landscape and explained to the two: "Legend has it that the ship was driven by an unknown force of hundreds of thousands of catties of fine iron, and the Haihan people came to Sanya on that ship. ”

"Unexpectedly...... To be able to build such a ship...... Van Longen has mixed feelings, as an old fur dog who has been at sea for many years, he can naturally see how difficult it will be to build such a large ship. Regardless of whether the Haihan people really crossed the sea on this ship, the technology of shipbuilding alone is a technology that the Dutch cannot achieve at present.

Yu Xiaobao has long been surprised by this, but all newcomers who come to Shengli Port for the first time will inevitably be shocked by the "New World" in the port. I think that when he saw such a huge ship sailing into Yulin Bay, he almost peed out of fright.

"Three envoys, please!"

With Yu Xiaobao's call, the three of them came back to their senses from their stunned state and followed him to the house. Once again, the three of them were shocked by the furnishings, as well as the elegant furnishings, the porcelain and glass products that could be found everywhere in the interior also made them look straight at them. In particular, the Haihan-style ceramic bathroom appliances and the bathroom inlaid with mosaic tiles made the three of them feel like treasures.

"Three envoys, if you need anything, please come to the door and greet our waiter, as long as we can do it, we will do our best to provide it. After the waiter delivered a large plate of fresh fruit, Yu Xiaobao also said goodbye to the three.

"The Haihan people really enjoy it!" Vanderwegen sighed a moment later as he lay on a beach chair enjoying the fresh coconut water.

"No wonder those Daming maritime merchants talk about Sanya, they look obsessed. Su Keyi couldn't help but sigh. Although he was also born in a wealthy family, a place with superior conditions and a beautiful environment like the Haihan State Guest House had indeed never been experienced in his past life.

Of course, the main reason is that they have just been released from the confinement room of the army base, and the comparison between the two naturally highlights the huge contrast in the environment.

But it wasn't until the next morning that they really got a sense of the bustling scene. The hillside where the State Guest House is located can take in the line from Shengli Fort to Shengli Port Wharf, and this piece is the most prosperous area of Shengli Port, both sides of the landscape avenue are full of rows of shops and restaurants, and the crowds on the street are bustling, no worse than those big cities.

When Su Keyi saw it, he planned to go to the downtown area for a walk, but his idea could not be put into practice, and there were heavily armed soldiers standing guard on the road out, blocking them back. The reason, though polite, is also indisputable: we are looking out for the safety of all three of us and avoiding problems.

The three of them could only accept this explanation helplessly, and satisfied their curiosity by looking at the prosperity of Victory Port from the balcony on the second floor of their residence.

From this day on, whether it is three meals a day or other treatment, there has been a qualitative leap compared to the day I first arrived in Sanya. But other than that, their movements are still strictly restricted, and the only people they can see are sentinels, waiters, and Yu Xiaobao, who appears once every two days.

During this period, Su Keyi naturally asked Yu Xiaobao many times to meet with Haihan's high-level officials, but Yu Xiaobao gave a lot of reasons, today is the chief to go out to inspect the work, tomorrow is the chief has an important meeting to be held, in short, one word "busy", there is no time to meet them.

After five or six days of this, the three of them had already sensed the smell -- the Haihan people were consciously drying themselves up, and their purpose was not only to give their own side a disadvantage, but also to delay the time for negotiations.

As for why we are procrastinating, everyone knows it. The Haihan issued an ultimatum to the East India Company to attack the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea. It was clear that they did not intend to negotiate with the East India Company on this condition, but did want to seize the place, and for this reason they even consciously avoided peace talks with the East India Company.

"I think we should do something to let the Haihan people know our attitude!" After dinner that day, Van Longen finally couldn't help but get down to business: "It's been a week since we arrived in Sanya, but now we haven't even seen a single authentic Haihan person, and if we continue like this, I'm afraid that we will have lost the Natuna Islands before we see them." ”

"Mr. Captain is right, we must let the Haihan people know that delaying time is not a reasonable solution to the problem. Vanderwegen agrees.

"So what do we do?" Su Keyi asked.

"We're going on a hunger strike starting tomorrow, and that's the only means of resistance we have at our disposal right now. Van Longen's approach is not a good idea, but as he says, there seems to be no better option in the current situation.

"These guys are on a hunger strike?"

The next morning, Tao Donglai, who heard the news, couldn't help but say, "Then did they say that they plan to go on a hunger strike for a few days?"

"They claimed to stop the hunger strike until they saw the chiefs. Yu Xiaobao also smiled: "It seems that they really don't have the patience to wait any longer." ”

"I think it's almost enough to leave them dry for a week, what do you say?" Tao Donglai asked several other members of the executive committee present for advice.

"Roger's fleet had arrived in the Ambuna Islands last week to complete the handover of defense, and the day before yesterday Mushabai also sent a telegram back, he had returned to Cam Ranh Bay, and the dust had basically settled on the South China Sea. Yan Chujie took the lead in clarifying the military's position.

Although there are still a lot of fortifications to be built on the main island of Ambuna, this is no longer a problem. If the Dutch were able to organize a second wave of counterattack in such a short time, they would not have had to send emissaries to negotiate. As long as the deployment of troops is completed, for the military, this matter has already come to an end.

Ning Qi also continued: "They have lived in Victory Harbor for so many days, they should have thought clearly about our purpose, and there is no need to delay it any longer, it will only waste our entertainment funds." ”

"Then go and inform Schneider and Gu Kai, and let them arrange a time to meet with the Dutch envoy. Tao Donglai immediately gave an order.

The reason why Schneider and Gu Kai were in charge of this negotiation was mainly because of their language skills. Although neither of them spoke Dutch, their English was very slippery, and direct communication with the Dutch should not be a big problem.

After the Dutch envoy carried out a hunger strike for two hours and thirty-three minutes, Yu Xiaobao appeared with good news: "Three, the chief has decided to meet you this afternoon, so your hunger strike can be stopped now, don't delay and wait for lunch." By the way, today's lunch is the well-received Haihan assorted seafood bowl, which only comes once a week, so it would be a pity to miss it. ”

After Yu Xiaobao finished speaking, he left, leaving the three of them staring at each other. It took a long time for Van der Wegen to speak: "If we had gone on a hunger strike a few days earlier, would the Haihan people have summoned us at that time?"

"Maybe, maybe not, who knows?" Fan Longen couldn't laugh or cry at the reaction of the Haihan people, and after this breakfast, the Haihan people had already compromised, and I really don't know what kind of considerations they made the decision.

In the afternoon of the same day, they finally met the two Haihan people who had come to visit their residence. To their surprise, one of them had a distinctly European appearance, and the obvious German accent of his mouth led the two Dutchmen to mistake him for being from a European country.

"Gentlemen, I am an orthodox Haihan, and although I have a German name, Schneider, I prefer to use the name Schneider. Mr. Gu Kai and I are both members of the Haihan Executive Committee, so the purpose of the trip, the three of us, can now inform us. Schneider introduced himself in English without hurry.

Van der Wegen and Van Longen also speak English, but Su Keyi can only speak Dutch and Chinese, and he has become an outsider.