Chapter 174: The Envoy from Lanfang

"A representative of the Lanfang Republic?" Gao Da was taken aback, his gaze turning to the steward, Luo Lun, who had reported the news.

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is indeed the Lanfang Republic you previously inquired about." Steward Luo Lun nodded, confirming it once more.

In truth, such a small Asian nation should theoretically not have been enough to disturb the King of Spain, Gao Da.

But because the Lanfang Republic was linked to Spain's strategic plans in Kalimantan, and because of Gao Da's prior instructions, the guards had reported it level by level up to Steward Luo Lun when the Lanfang Republic's envoy finally arrived in Spain.

"Lanfang." Gao Da cast his gaze toward the map of the East Indies hanging in his office; the name of the Lanfang Republic was on the island of Kalimantan, and it had been circled for emphasis.

Later generations held this overseas republic founded by Chinese people in high regard, and Gao Da felt a slight affinity for it as well.

But this did not mean Gao Da would betray the interests of Spain and the royal family to help Lanfang; rather, he would make his decisions based on the premise of what was beneficial to Spain and the royal family.

Currently, for Spain, the existence of the Lanfang Republic was still quite necessary. With the Lanfang Republic attracting the attention of the Dutch, Spain's annexation of the Sultanate of Bulungan would become much smoother.

Spain could even remain on the sidelines like the British, supporting the Lanfang Republic to turn it into their own proxy to confront the Dutch.

The benefits of doing so were obvious. Spain would not need to participate in the war, and naturally, would not have to bear any casualties. Providing weapons and equipment to the Lanfang Republic could also generate some income; after all, Spain was struggling to find a place to sell the weapons and equipment phased out by its military reforms.

By this period, European nations had already entered the era of bolt-action rifles, and those muzzle-loaders were difficult to sell anywhere except to colonial armies.

It would be better to sell them at a low price to the Lanfang Republic, let them cause trouble for the Dutch, and stir up the waters of Kalimantan as much as possible.

"Let him in." Gao Da waved his hand, signaling Steward Luo Lun to bring in the representative of the Lanfang Republic.

Before long, a yellow-skinned man whose attire was clearly different from that of East Asians walked in under the guidance of Steward Luo Lun.

"Diplomatic representative of the Lanfang Republic, Wu Yongxiang, pays his respects to His Majesty, the King of Spain, Gao Da!" The Lanfang Republic diplomatic representative named Wu Yongxiang bowed very respectfully to Gao Da and introduced himself in the same breath.

"Spanish? You speak Spanish?" Gao Da was somewhat surprised; he had not expected this diplomatic representative before him to be proficient in Spanish.

However, Gao Da was in no mood to show off by speaking Chinese; after all, taking the initiative to speak the other party's language in a diplomatic setting was equivalent to bowing one's head. In Spain, one had to speak Spanish, and Gao Da would not lose his sense of propriety just because of his identity in a past life.

"Yes, respected King. As you know, proficiency in foreign languages is a basic skill for a diplomat. I understand a little Dutch, Spanish, English, and French; please forgive me if my speaking is poor." The Lanfang Republic diplomatic representative, Wu Yongxiang, first nodded to answer Gao Da's inquiry, then explained.

"You are very impressive, Mr. Diplomat. Being able to master so many languages at once is a testament to your ability." Gao Da nodded, affirming the diplomat's linguistic skills, and then asked his own question: "The Lanfang Republic is far away on the island of Kalimantan; why send a diplomatic envoy all the way to Spain?"

Wu Yongxiang swallowed nervously, carefully organized his words, and then said word by word in Spanish: "Respected King, the President has sent me to express his wish to conclude a treaty of friendship with your country and establish an eternal alliance."

The full name of the Lanfang Republic was the Lanfang Great Unified Republic, and the head of state was called the Great Controller or the Great Tang Chief, meaning the supreme leader of the overseas Chinese.

Because there was no similar translation in Spanish, Wu Yongxiang used the relatively similar term "President" when translating.

How the head of state was translated was no longer important; what mattered was the purpose of Wu Yongxiang's trip: to conclude an alliance treaty with the Kingdom of Spain as much as possible to help the Lanfang Republic continue to survive.

Yes, continue to survive.

This Chinese republic established overseas actually had a rather glorious history. At the height of the Lanfang Republic, more than half of West Kalimantan was under the republic's rule.

But with the colonial invasions of the British and the Dutch, the territory of the Lanfang Republic was constantly eroded, eventually leaving only a small portion in the west of Kalimantan, with only about tens of thousands of square kilometers of land.

If not for the fact that the successive Great Controllers of the Lanfang Republic were clever and skillfully borrowed the name of that great East Asian power, claiming to be a vassal state of the Great Qing Dynasty, the Lanfang Republic would likely have been wiped out by the Dutch long ago.

Of course, such a title was destined not to last long. Because the so-called Great Qing Dynasty had already long since rotted away, and what awaited it was a period of humiliating history.

Furthermore, the composition of the Lanfang Republic destined this country never to receive support from the Qing Dynasty.

The Lanfang Republic was a republican state composed of Han people, while the Great Qing Dynasty was a feudal imperial state ruled by a minority ethnic group; there was a fundamental difference between the two.

This could be seen from the clothing and ethnic composition of both sides. The Han people of the Lanfang Republic did not wear long queues, and their clothing was more like standard military uniforms with a Dutch and French style.

As for the other side, it went without saying; the long queue was a signature feature.

"A treaty of friendship? An eternal alliance?" Gao Da smiled and said as if he did not care: "Mr. Diplomat, give me a reason."

Regardless of how one looked at it, the status of the Lanfang Republic and Spain was ultimately unequal. Rather than asking him for a reason, Gao Da was making the other party understand that it was the Lanfang Republic that was currently in need of help, and it was the Lanfang Republic that should bow its head.

"Your Majesty, Spain and Lanfang currently have a common enemy, and that is the Dutch. Once we conclude a treaty of friendship, we can unite to resist the Dutch rule.

We are willing to help your country seize the Dutch colonies, and at the same time, it is also to secure more living space for ourselves." The Lanfang Republic diplomatic representative, Wu Yongxiang, stated his reason.

"The Dutch?" Gao Da smiled, his eyes filled with disdain and indifference, as if he had heard a joke, and said: "Do you think the Dutch pose a threat to Spain?

As long as I wish, the Spanish army can defeat the Dutch army at any time and in any place. The Dutch have never been Spain's enemy, nor are they qualified to be Spain's enemy."

Although Gao Da's words were somewhat arrogant, the situation in Europe was indeed like this. A country's strength determined its diplomatic status; this was an eternal truth in any era.

Do not look at the fact that the Netherlands also had a long history and was once one of the hegemons of Europe. But the current Netherlands was just a small country with a population of only a few million.

If not for the British protection of the Netherlands, the Dutch colonies would have been carved up by other countries long ago. The Netherlands was never a threat to Spain; the real threat to Spain was the British behind the Dutch.

"Spain is indeed very powerful and can easily defeat the Dutch." Wu Yongxiang first affirmed the power of Spain in Gao Da's words, and then stated his own point of view: "But the island of Kalimantan is not only occupied by the Dutch, is it?

The British behind the Dutch are the real trouble, whether for the Lanfang Republic or for Spain. As long as your country is willing to support us, we are willing to help your country jointly resist the British and the Dutch."

This sentence hit the nail on the head. Spain's real worry was not the Dutch; the Dutch were not qualified to play a game of chess with Spain.

The real chess player on the island of Kalimantan was the British; if the Lanfang Republic wanted to find a common enemy with Spain, its gaze should also be fixed on the British.

"That may be so, but for Spain, there is no need for an ally at this time." Gao Da nodded, which could be considered an affirmation of the point Wu Yongxiang raised, but he also expressed his opposition.

"Your Majesty." Wu Yongxiang wanted to argue further, but Gao Da waved his hand to interrupt him and then said: "Although I do not need an ally, I do not mind having a subordinate in the Southeast Asian region. Mr. Diplomat, I think you should understand what I mean, right?"

Whether looking at the country's comprehensive strength or the current situation, the Lanfang Republic was not qualified to be an ally of Spain.

In the end, it was because the strength of the Lanfang Republic was too weak. Without Spain's support, the Lanfang Republic was destined to perish in the colonial aggression of the Dutch.

Currently, the only one who could help the Lanfang Republic was Spain, which was also the purpose of the Lanfang Republic coming all the way to Spain.

It was a pity that they underestimated Gao Da's ambition. For Gao Da, he was not willing to foster an alien nation that could threaten Spain.

Lanfang could receive Spain's support, provided that it must submit to Spain's rule and become a loyal little brother to Spain.

Otherwise, Gao Da would not mind fostering other countries to fight against the Dutch; it was not a difficult task for Spain anyway.

Wu Yongxiang's face turned pale and then green; he certainly understood the meaning of Gao Da's words, which was to make the Lanfang Republic submit to the rule of Spain.

This was not a simple submission. If one spoke of submission, the current Lanfang Republic claimed to be a vassal state of the Great Qing Dynasty, and in reality, it was forced to submit to the colonial rule of the Dutch; this was also submission.

But such submission was false; the Dutch wanted to annex the Lanfang Republic at every moment, and the Lanfang Republic also wanted to resist the Dutch rule at every moment.

The submission Gao Da demanded was naturally not this kind of false submission on the surface, but a true submission in the real sense.

If such a request were agreed to, the economy of the Lanfang Republic would be infiltrated by Spain, and even its military would be interfered with by Spain.

Should they become a vassal state in the true sense, submitting to the rule of Spain in exchange for the country's survival, or should they sternly refuse and strive to forge ahead in the colonial competition between the Dutch and the Spanish?

This was a difficult choice for the Lanfang Republic, and an even more difficult choice for the Lanfang Republic's diplomatic representative, Wu Yongxiang.

As a diplomatic representative, Wu Yongxiang certainly had a certain amount of power. His power might be enough to directly agree to Gao Da's request, but did he dare? Of course, he did not.

This was not a small matter; what was being sacrificed was the rights and interests of the entire Lanfang Republic.

Wu Yongxiang's expression changed for a long time, but he did not dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction. After the little people in his mind fought for a long time, Wu Yongxiang finally could not make up his mind: "I am very sorry, Your Majesty. But such conditions are not something I can decide. I will convey your request truthfully back to my country and ask our President to make the decision."

Gao Da nodded, not surprised by this: "That is of course, Mr. Diplomat. Since you have come to Spain, you are a guest of Spain. I will have the government arrange for your food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

If your government has any reply, I would be very happy to listen."

Under the guidance of Steward Luo Lun, Wu Yongxiang walked out of the Royal Palace of Madrid with a complex expression.

As a diplomatic representative of a small country, the Spanish government naturally would not attach too much importance to him. However, since there were Gao Da's instructions, the government's diplomatic department still arranged a quieter residence for Wu Yongxiang and his entourage and provided them with a carriage for travel.

On the way from the palace to the residence, Wu Yongxiang looked at the city of Madrid with a complex expression, the envy in his eyes almost overflowing.

Compared with Madrid, the capital of the Lanfang Republic, Dongwanjin (Pontianak), was indescribably dilapidated.

Although the small Lanfang Republic also had a population of nearly 4 million, whether it was infrastructure or technology and economy, it was completely incomparable to these European countries.

"Sigh! If only my Han people could have such technology, how could Lanfang have ended up like this?" Wu Yongxiang sighed, his face very complex.

"Master, we will be able to learn these foreign gadgets sooner or later. When our weapons become as powerful as the foreigners', we won't have to be afraid of either the Dutch or the Spanish." Wu Yongxiang's attendant, who was also his confidant and subordinate, said at this time.

"I hope so. Will the foreigners give these things to us so easily? It is hateful that the civilization of my great country was destroyed by the 'wild pig skin' (Manchus). The Red Barbarian Cannons of the former Ming are still vivid in my mind, but the current 'wild pig skin' actually uses weapons like swords, spears, and clubs; ridiculous! Ridiculous!" Wu Yongxiang sighed, which ended the topic.

Although Wu Yongxiang used the excuse of needing to contact the Lanfang domestic authorities, in reality, where was there any way to contact the domestic authorities?

The connection between European countries like Spain and the East Indies colonies was very troublesome, let alone a small country like Lanfang that had no diplomatic embassies.

If one had to say there was a way to contact, it was to send someone back to Lanfang, confirm the news, and then come to Spain to inform them.

But this round trip would take several months, not to mention that the process was quite troublesome, and there was a possibility of missing the opportunity.

Lanfang was already in need of help; if they let Spain wait for a few months, even if the cooperation could have been reached, it would likely have fallen through.

Therefore, before Wu Yongxiang left the Lanfang Republic, he had already confirmed the specific content of the cooperation with Spain and the areas where they could make concessions with the current Great Controller of Lanfang, Liu Asheng, and other important personnel.

If Spain's conditions were within the range that Lanfang could accept, then it would naturally be better to reach a cooperation sooner. But if Spain's conditions were too harsh and exceeded the bottom line that Lanfang could bear, then this negotiation could only end in regret.

Although the residence provided to Wu Yongxiang by the Spanish side was not simple, he had not slept well for the past few days.

There was no way; the mental pressure was too great. It was so great that as soon as Wu Yongxiang closed his eyes, he thought of the problems the Lanfang Republic might face in the future: either completely submit to the rule of the Spanish, or be completely defeated and destroyed by the Dutch.

After being tortured like this for several days, Wu Yongxiang finally made a decision. In other words, the two fighting little people in his heart finally had a winner.

There was no way; for the Lanfang Republic, the most important thing at present was to survive.

What the Spanish wanted was only a part of the Lanfang Republic's sovereignty, and what they wanted was only the submission of the Lanfang Republic. But what the Dutch wanted was the complete destruction of the Lanfang Republic; what they were eyeing was not the Lanfang Republic, but the land that the Lanfang Republic had reclaimed.

The establishment of the Lanfang Republic had been nearly 100 years. In these 100 years, the population of the Lanfang Republic had expanded from about 100, 00 at the beginning to nearly 4 million; the population looked quite large.

But the bad news was that the proportion of the Lanfang Republic's true main ethnic group, the Han people, or the Hakka people, was not that high. Currently, the number of Han people was only a little over 500, 00, and more than half were local indigenous people who submitted to the rule of Lanfang, that is, other ethnic groups.

This was also the reason why the Lanfang Republic could only yield when facing the Dutch; after all, only 500, 00 people were truly of one mind, and the other population would not fight to the death with the Dutch for Lanfang.

Because so many people had been reclaiming land on this territory one after another, the land controlled by the Lanfang Republic had quite fertile farmland and a relatively developed economy.

Although it could not compare with European countries, compared with the nearby local indigenous tribes, the Lanfang Republic was definitely a tempting piece of fat, which was also the reason why the Dutch were eyeing the Lanfang Republic.

Even the Brunei Empire that once controlled this land was far less important than the Lanfang Republic. If they could control the 4 million population of the Lanfang Republic, it could greatly promote the development of the island of Kalimantan and let the Dutch have a large granary on the island of Kalimantan.

Because of the 500, 00 Han people in the country, the Lanfang Republic actually had no choice.

Only the Lanfang Republic could shelter these 500, 00-plus Han people. If the Lanfang Republic were destroyed by the Dutch, what awaited these Han people might be a situation even worse than that of the local indigenous people.

The Lanfang Republic had existed on this land for nearly a hundred years, and they certainly understood the attitude and strategy of the Europeans toward the local indigenous people.

Because of the diligence of the Lanfang people, they reclaimed large tracts of land and created a lot of wealth. This wealth was not only eyed by European colonialists but also eyed by local indigenous people.

If the Lanfang Republic perished, even if the Dutch would not be too harsh on the Lanfang people, the local indigenous people would definitely launch a crazy revenge.

Even for the survival of these Han people, the Lanfang Republic had to continue to exist.

As for having to submit to the rule of Spain, the Lanfang Republic had already done this point long ago.

During the prosperous period of the Great Qing Dynasty, the Lanfang Republic claimed to be a vassal state of the Great Qing Dynasty and had always wanted to seek the protection of the Great Qing Dynasty.

But the "wild pig skin" would not trust a republican state of Han people; even if the Lanfang Republic showed favor in every way, the other side had always regarded it as a pirate group, not an orthodox country.

In the past, the Lanfang Republic was forced to submit to the rule of the Dutch in order to survive. Today, it is merely changing the ruler above its head; for Lanfang, the change is not that significant.

A small sacrifice in exchange for the survival of all of Lanfang is, in the eyes of Wu Yongxiang, worth it. Moreover, Lanfang does not necessarily have to remain under the rule of Spain forever. If it can learn these powerful technologies and weapons of Spain, the Lanfang of the future might still be able to master its own destiny.

5400-word two-in-one chapter, please support!

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(End of this chapter)