The two envoys felt that Tan Juren's explanation was reasonable, and that officers captured in the war should be treated better, so that they could exchange ransom from the enemy after the war was over, or exchange them for their own captured personnel. This finally caught a group of British, and if they were in charge, they would definitely have to keep these people, so that the British East India Company would bleed.

But when they saw the Englishmen with their own eyes, they couldn't help but laugh, these fellows sat on the ground in a small farm yard, and each of them had a large pile of rocks like a hill beside them, and the Englishmen used their hammers to knock these stones into small stones little by little. The sound of clinking stones in the courtyard was so engrossed in their work that no one looked up at the new visitors.

If it weren't for their striking physical features, the two envoys probably wouldn't have noticed that the disgraced migrant workers were actually British prisoners of war. Looking at this shape, it seems that there is no special treatment as they imagined, but the labor intensity is slightly less than that of ordinary prisoners of war. Perhaps they were all glamorous officers before, but now they are just a bunch of down-and-out stonemasons.

The two envoys secretly said in their hearts, but from their standpoint, they would not have much sympathy for the British, only a little bit of sadness. It is said that the Haihan people are good at calculation, and judging from their arrangements for prisoners of war, they are indeed worthy of their reputation, and the prisoners of war have to engage in heavy manual labor during their detention, and they do not want to eat idle meals at all.

Tan Juren asked his men to bring out Hogg, the leader of the British captives, and let him meet with the envoys of the two countries. Hogg had been in the Far East for a long time, and when he met the two men, he was able to tell from their physiognomy and clothing. Hogg didn't think that the meeting on this occasion was a deliberate attempt by the Haihan people to humiliate him, but he was secretly worried that it should not be a coincidence that the envoys of the two families appeared here, and if Portugal and the Netherlands were to be involved in the subsequent chaos, it would inevitably complicate the already unfavorable situation, and the East India Company would have to deal with more than just Haihan.

Ricardo and Philip each reported their names and identities, and Hogg reported his identity in accordance with diplomatic rules. Although he is now a prisoner, at this occasion, he represents the interests of Britain and the East India Company, and naturally cannot be left behind in terms of momentum.

After a few brief conversations between the three of them, the two envoys were almost certain that the person in front of them was indeed a senior military adviser working for the East India Company, and Haihan's complete victory in this battle was also confirmed by him. Confirmed by the many evidences they had seen before, they could finally determine how powerful Haihan's performance was this time.

The coalition of the British East India Company and the Johor Kingdom originally wanted to attack Star Island with double their forces, but unexpectedly they were ambushed by Haihan, leaving all the enemy troops on Star Island. And quickly crushed the opponent in a two-day engagement. From the beginning to the end, the two coalition forces had no hope of victory, but the vast majority of them became prisoners of war, and they would be demanded ransom and compensation by Haihan, which was really a loss for money.

Philip was quite complacent, and Haihan's ability to perform so well in the battle was partly due to the key information provided by the Netherlands. If it weren't for this, even if Haihan could win the coalition army, it would be unlikely that he would be able to achieve such a complete victory, and maybe the coalition army would be able to inflict heavy damage on Haihan with one blow.

Of course, the Dutch intervention also had a strong political connotation, and the purpose was not to save the Haihan people on Star Island, but to use the hands of the Haihan people to attack the rival British. After all, the conflict of interests between the Netherlands and Haihan exists only in the South China Sea, while the competition with Britain is on a global scale, and the importance of the two is completely different. Standing at the height of national interests, at this time, it is definitely necessary to try to strike at Britain first.

And if this operation against Haihan was only unilaterally planned and initiated by Johor, then even if the Netherlands knew the news, it would definitely not make a sound to inform Haihan, and the same would be true for Portugal. If Johor can cause some trouble for Haihan, then they will be more than happy to watch from the sidelines and watch Haihan get unlucky.

"General Roger, can I talk to you alone?" Hogg took the initiative to ask at this time. But this did not seem to surprise Roger, he smiled and nodded, let Tan Juren call the two messengers first, and he himself led Hogg to the side.

"With regard to the proposal you made earlier, I think there is room for further discussion between the two sides. Hogg took the initiative to state his purpose.

However, Roger is not such an easy person to be tricked, and smiled slightly: "What did Your Excellency say?"

Hogg coughed dryly and said, "That's it...... Accept your offer and negotiate an armistice!"

Why did the Haihan bring the Portuguese and Dutch to the prisoner of war camp to see the scenery, Hogg had already guessed a few points, these two have always been fierce rivals with the British, how would they react when they found out that the British were defeated by the Haihan?

Stand by and watch? No, they wouldn't be so kind. Hogg only had to put himself in his shoes to estimate their reaction. If Portugal or the Netherlands are the ones who have suffered heavy losses, they will of course plan how to deal a heavier blow to them at the first time after discovering this situation, and never leave the opponent a chance to turn over.

Hogg knew that Haihan had established formal diplomatic relations with these two families, and even if they did not know the state of the war between Haihan and the coalition forces in advance, after coming here to see the prisoners of war, they would definitely try their best to persuade Haihan not to stop the war and continue to raise troops to attack Britain and Johor. If Haihan were to be moved, Hogg and the POWs would have little chance of being released again, and the company's situation in the South China Sea would be even more difficult, and Hogg would do his best to avoid a deterioration of the situation, both out of selfishness and out of consideration of his own duties.

But now that he is a prisoner, he really doesn't have much capital available for bargaining, and the Haihan people may not have the patience to grind down slowly, if he doesn't hurry up to persuade the other party, it is likely to be preempted by his European counterparts who are afraid that the world will not be chaotic.

Roger smiled and said, "So you said this...... I have no problem with the armistice, but your East India Company is too slow to respond. As you know, when a lot of things drag on for a long time, it's easy for things to get out of control. And we, as the victors, must seek to maximize the profits, and if there are other options that will yield greater benefits than the armistice, then of course I will consider new options, rather than waiting for the East India Company to give an answer that I don't know when. ”

Hogg couldn't argue with Roger, because after he was captured as the commander of the operation, the East India Company had no one in Johor who could call the shots, and all he could do was send the battle and Hogg's handwritten letters after his capture to the Indian Peninsula. But the distance between the two places is long, and when the reply from there is delivered, it is estimated that the daylily is cold.

Hogg originally thought that it didn't matter if he waited for a month or two, during this period it was nothing more than a little hardship and tiredness, and the company might feel that it was very painful to pay for this matter, but if it was for the sake of entering the South China Sea and opening up trade routes to the Far East, after gritting his teeth and giving this money, he could actually earn it back through maritime trade. Although it was a loss in the short term, it was a very good deal in the long run, and it was precisely because Hogg realized this that he explained the pros and cons in his letter, suggesting that the company enter into in-depth negotiations with Haihan in order to win the coveted regional trade status.

Of course, this was certainly not good news for the competitors of the British East India Company. The Portuguese and the Dutch each held a channel in and out of the South China Sea, but if the Haihan insisted on opening an opening to let the British in, it would be difficult for them to change the situation by verbal opposition. Therefore, Hogg must reach an agreement with Haihan before the two families talk about moving Haihan. But the problem is that Hogg lacks a weighty weight in his hand, and this time problem alone is enough to make the Haihan people change.

For the sake of today's plan, Hogg can only ignore thirty-seven twenty-one, and increase the weight first. As long as a sufficiently sweet and sufficient reason is given, he believes that the Haihan people will still consider negotiating with the company to resolve the current state of affairs, rather than using force to keep British merchant ships out of the South China Sea.

"We can consider paying a certain amount of money to your country every year to obtain trade rights in the South China Sea. Hogg couldn't think of any good way in a hurry, so he could only talk about the conditions first, and as for whether he could be recognized by the company's management afterwards, he could only wait until the time came.

"Anything else?" the expression on Roger's face did not change, and a faint smile still hung on the corner of his mouth. This is the expression that only those who have the initiative in the negotiation will have, confident and calm, waiting for the opponent to show their hole cards one by one.

Seeing that Roger was noncommittal, Hogg couldn't guess whether he was interested in making this condition, so he could only continue: "The cost is negotiable......

"It's not a question of more money and less money. Roger interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "You may have a misunderstanding of our country, we Haihan are not short of this money!"

Hogg said in his heart, you also have the face to say this, a few days ago, you wanted to pay compensation and ransom, but it was all a condition you offered, and now you actually said this kind of thing to me, it seems that you Haihan people have a misunderstanding of the thickness of your Haihan people's skin. However, he did not dare to show the unhappiness on his face at all, and asked cautiously, "Then what do you mean?"

"Order! obey!" Roger threw out two key words, and then explained to Hogg: "As we all know, the current international trade order in the South China Sea was established and dominated by China, and if foreign countries want to enter this region to carry out trade, they must follow the rules of the game dominated by Haihan. For example, if a British ship wants to enter the South China Sea, it must take the initiative to register relevant information with China and accept the corresponding supervision. For example, when a British merchant ship enters the South China Sea, it must first register at Sing Tao to explain the status of the vessel and its crew, the content of the cargo carried, the destination, the voyage arrangement, etc., and then must cooperate with the inspection during the port of Haihan. ”

Although Hogg came from the army, he also understood how much impact these regulatory measures of the Haihan would have on the future maritime trade activities of the East India Company in the South China Sea. If this was to be done, the trade activities of British merchant ships in the South China Sea would have little secret to the Haihan, and if they wanted to open colonies or new shipping routes in the future, they would certainly not be able to escape the attention of the Haihan, which was not a situation that the East India Company was happy to accept.

Hogg coughed dryly and said, "I understand that your country attaches great importance to security issues, but this seems to be a little too strict, right?

Roger replied lightly: "It depends on how you weigh it, freedom and security cannot be both, if you want to be free, then we will not guarantee the safety of British ships in the South China Sea!"

Although Roger didn't have any tone and expression, Hogg felt that his words actually had a heavy threatening flavor. If you don't cooperate, you won't be able to guarantee the safety of British ships, which is actually the same as not getting access to the South China Sea.

Hogg looked sideways at the Portuguese and Dutch envoys not far away, and then turned back to Roger: "But I'm afraid they won't tolerate the presence of British ships in the South China Sea, is there a way for your Excellency to prevent them from disturbing the safety of British ships?"

Before Hogg came here, Portugal and the Netherlands were the biggest obstacles to access to the South China Sea, but now the number one position has been taken by Haihan, and the other two countries are only the next best threat. But since Roger keeps talking about safety, Hogg would also like to hear what he has to say.

"Portugal and the Netherlands, with our country only have ordinary diplomatic relations, there is no status subordination, what they want to do at sea, as long as it does not interfere with the interests of the Haihan, we have no right to intervene too much. My country has always been reluctant to intervene in the competition and conflict between you, and it has no ability to limit what they can and cannot do. ”

Roger paused, and then changed his words: "But to ensure the safety of British merchant ships, of course there are ways, there are troublesome but safe, and there are simple but risky, which one do you want to hear?"

Hogg asked, "Of course, it's the best way to go." ”

Roger nodded and said: "Regardless of whether the British merchant ships enter or leave the South China Sea, they will first assemble at the port of Haihan, and our armed ships will escort them. This can basically guarantee that 100% of the time there will be no attacks from other two countries at sea, but the disadvantage is that the cost is high, and it will not be possible until our warships have a schedule. ”

(End of chapter)