Chapter 260: Negotiations

Considering the vast disparity in strength between the Netherlands and Spain, the Dutch government compromised quickly, immediately ordering its ambassador to Spain to contact the Spanish government to clarify the innocence of the Dutch government regarding the conflict between the two indigenous forces on Jialimandandao.

Of course, the Dutch government was not naive enough to believe that Spain would cease its actions simply because they had conceded.

On one hand, the Dutch government was prepared to lose the Kutai Sultanate; they did not wish to trigger a greater conflict with Spain over a small Kutai Sultanate.

On the other hand, the Dutch government also hoped that the European powers would mediate, ensuring that Dutch interests would not suffer too great a loss.

If they were to negotiate solely with the Spanish side, it was inevitable that the Spanish would make exorbitant demands. The Netherlands would certainly be at a disadvantage in the negotiations, and by then, the loss to the Netherlands might not just be a small Kutai Sultanate, but possibly the entire Jialimandandao, or even the surrounding islands.

Because of the important geographical location of Jialimandandao, the Dutch government was unwilling to lose it entirely, and even less willing to lose other large islands beyond Jialimandandao.

One must know that Jialimandandao is only about three hundred kilometers away from Zhaowadao, the core region of the Dutch East Indies. If Spain were allowed to occupy southern Jialimandandao, wouldn't that mean Zhaowadao would also very likely face the covetous eyes of the Spanish?

Precisely because of this, after internal discussions, the Dutch government decided that the bottom line for conceding to the Spanish was the Kutai Sultanate.

In any case, it was the Kutai Sultanate that attacked Lanfang; let everyone settle their own scores and grievances, as long as other unrelated countries are not implicated.

As for the vast land south of the Kutai Sultanate and east of the Lanfang Republic, the Dutch would absolutely not concede.

Because this is already the southern part of Jialimandandao, the true core region of the Dutch East Indies.

If the Spanish were allowed to intervene here, the future Dutch East Indies would never know peace again.

Of course, if Spain's appetite were truly too large, the Netherlands could also make certain concessions in other areas, such as New Guinea, which various countries are currently vigorously colonizing.

New Guinea can be seen as two parts; only the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal are colonizing West New Guinea, while the three major powers of Germany, France, and Britain are colonizing East New Guinea.

According to the current progress of colonization in West New Guinea, the Netherlands, as the country that has worked here the longest, has hope of obtaining the largest piece of the colony.

Although Spain is the most powerful of the three countries colonizing West New Guinea, because it has only been colonizing here for less than ten years, its current progress can only be said to be slightly ahead of Portugal, and there is still a certain gap compared to the Dutch.

If nothing unexpected happens, the Netherlands will obtain a large area of the western part of New Guinea, Spain will be able to obtain some relatively important areas and islands, and Portugal will only be able to pick up some remote areas and uninhabited small islands that neither country values much.

Although the area of New Guinea is larger than Jialimandandao, because it is located at the easternmost end of the Dutch East Indies, its geographical location is not that important.

For the Dutch, if they could ensure that the land in southern Jialimandandao remains theirs by giving up a portion of New Guinea's land, this would definitely be a cost-effective deal.

Of course, the Dutch's degree of forbearance is limited to this.

If Spain's appetite is too large, and the Kutai Sultanate plus a portion of New Guinea's land cannot satisfy Spain's appetite, then the Dutch can only ensure the safety of the Dutch East Indies by requesting mediation from the powers.

By the time the Dutch ambassador to Spain requested an audience with Gao Da, it was already the fifth day of the Lanfang army's full-scale counterattack.

The Dutch ambassador's mood was quite urgent; if they could not reach an agreement with the Spanish government before the Lanfang army fully occupied the Kutai Sultanate, it would not be so easy to negotiate once the flames of war burned to the Dutch colonies.

Compared to the slightly anxious Dutch ambassador, Gao Da's mood at this time was significantly better.

Currently, Spain's colonization in Africa and Southeast Asia is proceeding quite smoothly; the Congo territory, the Guinea colony, and the Philippine colony are all in a state of constant territorial expansion.

Since Gao Da was crowned as the Emperor of Spain, Spain has finally halted the trend of constantly losing colonies and has even acquired many important colonies of no small size.

Although Gao Da has not boasted much about such achievements, the Spanish public is still very concerned about the expansion of their country's colonies.

During Gao Da's reign, Spain acquired two large colonies: the South Morocco colony and the Congo territory, among which the area of the Congo territory reaches millions of square kilometers.

In addition, the expanded area of the Philippine colony also reached nearly one hundred thousand square kilometers, and the title of the Third Colonial Empire finally looks worthy of the name.

Although these are not expansions of the homeland, pioneering colonies is also a great achievement.

Gao Da, who led the colonial expansion, also had his achievements enthusiastically praised by the Spanish public. Although it has not yet risen to the level of the greatest Emperor in Spanish history, it is enough to enter the top five of Spain's greatest Emperors.

It is mainly because of the contrast provided by Ferdinand VII and Queen Isabella, the father and daughter, that makes Gao Da, this Emperor, look so great.

Of course, personality cults are actually a good thing for monarchical countries. As long as the monarch possesses sufficient ability, there is no need to worry about the shortcomings of a personality cult.

Thanks to the public's fanatical love for Gao Da, the Spanish government led by Gao Da also appears quite relaxed when issuing decrees.

The vast majority of decrees do not need to worry about the public's reaction at all; the public will spontaneously support the decrees issued by the government, and there will basically be no opposing sentiment.

Gao Da has also repeatedly emphasized the importance of having more children, and currently, the Spanish public is proud of having more children, and many families with more than three children have already been born.

It is precisely because these Spaniards who love Gao Da followed every decree issued by the Spanish government that Spain's construction work has proceeded so smoothly.

It is no exaggeration to say that, given Gao Da's current popularity in Spain, there is no need to worry about any country invading Spain.

Even if it were super powers like Britain, France, or Germany, as long as they dared to actively invade Spain, Spain could at least trade lives for injuries and drag down super powers of the level of Britain, France, and Germany.

If it were a country like Britain whose army is not strong to begin with, as long as they dared to confront Spain on land, the losers would definitely be the British.

Although personality cults have such and such shortcomings, for the army, sufficient worship can greatly enhance military morale and spirit, achieving the effect that at Gao Da's command, the Spanish army would swarm out, fearless of death.

It is just that Spain's population is far inferior to super powers like Britain, France, and Germany; otherwise, Spain would not be so low-key at this time.

Even if Spain could gain a military advantage through personality cults and certain weapon technologies, other countries could also drag down Spain through human resource consumption.

Therefore, before Spain's population reaches a certain level, Gao Da does not intend to let Spain be too much in the international spotlight.

After all, the most powerful country at this time is the British, and any country whose international influence threatens the British will be targeted and treated with hostility by the British.

The previous France was like this, the current Russia is like this, and the future Germany will be even more so.

It is not even just the British; every super power that sits at the world's number one spot will do this. The throne of world number one represents huge interests, and no country will hand over such a position on a silver platter.

This also means that every time the throne of world hegemon changes, it will face quite cruel blood and storms.

The name of the Dutch ambassador to Spain is William; such a name is very common throughout Europe, and many countries' rulers are also named William.

Of course, Europeans' names are generally very long, and the probability of having the exact same name is still very small.

"Respected Your Majesty the Emperor of Spain, I, on behalf of my King, His Majesty William III, the Dutch government, and the Dutch people, express my deep respect to you." Ambassador William, having just met Gao Da, immediately performed a standard European noble salute to Gao Da.

In this era, those serving as diplomatic ambassadors for various European countries are generally nobles; after all, most European countries are monarchies, and diplomatic ambassadors have to frequently meet with the kings and other nobles of various countries.

If they were not nobles, they would already be inferior in status, and it would be quite difficult when meeting and saluting.

For example, Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs at this time, Everton, holds the title of Marquis, higher than a Count and lower than a Duke, and can be considered a great noble.

If a Baron is the bottom line for measuring whether one is a noble, then a Marquis above a Count is the standard line for measuring whether one is a great noble.

Of course, in some countries, the standard line has become a Duke, but generally, it is about the same.

In Europe, no one would consider a Count to be a great noble, even if this Count possesses vast land and property.

Similarly, no one would consider a Duke to be a minor noble, even if the Duke's property is not much.

Although there are many fallen nobles, after reaching the level of a Duke, the probability of wanting to fall completely is very small, unless the family line dies out or the title is lost due to some accident.

Facing Ambassador William's respectful salute, Gao Da nodded indifferently and asked with a faint smile, "Ambassador William, you requested an audience suddenly; is there something important?"

"It is not something important," Ambassador William said hurriedly, "Regarding the problems caused by the indigenous riots on Jialimandandao, I, on behalf of my King and the government, express our apologies to Your Majesty and your government, and we are willing to compensate for your country's losses."

"Not long ago, another indigenous riot broke out on Zhaowadao. This riot caused the deaths of several of our immigrants, and His Majesty the King was furious, ordering the East Indies government to mobilize troops to quell the riot."

"It is precisely because of the mobilization of troops that the military strength on Jialimandandao was empty, which ultimately allowed those damned indigenous people to take advantage of the situation."

"We also want to quell the indigenous riots, but because the situation on Zhaowadao is not stable, we are somewhat powerless at this time."

"We are willing to invite your government to enter the Kutai Sultanate to quell the rebellion, and the resulting military expenditures will also be borne by us, as compensation for the losses your country suffered in the riot."

"I wonder if your country is willing to accept such conditions; I hope this can mend the friendly relations between Spain and the Netherlands," the Dutch ambassador William said with a very sincere attitude.

Gao Da looked at Ambassador William with a smile; he was not surprised by what Ambassador William said.

Facing a more powerful Spain, the Dutch government would most likely take the initiative to concede. Since they are going to take the initiative to concede, the first thing the Dutch government must do is to clear itself of suspicion in this conflict and avoid suffering greater losses.

Sure enough, in Ambassador William's words, a border aggression against the Lanfang Republic led by the Dutch turned into an indigenous riot caused by Dutch negligence.

Although the Dutch government still has a certain responsibility, Ambassador William's words were also very clear: they are willing to use the Kutai Sultanate and a certain amount of funds to compensate Spain.

The Dutch's compensation is indeed a big deal. The total area of Jialimandandao reaches 743, 00 square kilometers, and the Kutai Sultanate is one of the largest indigenous countries on Jialimandandao.

A single Kutai Sultanate has an area of at least one hundred thousand square kilometers, which is already more than twice the area of the Netherlands itself.

Portugal, which Gao Da is always thinking about, has a total area of only about 92, 00 square kilometers. Although the Kutai Sultanate is far from Europe, obtaining a piece of land with an area of over one hundred thousand square kilometers is also no small harvest for Spain.

The problem is, the Kutai Sultanate, as the main force invading the Lanfang border, had long been counterattacked by the Lanfang army.

Regardless of whether the Dutch government is willing to give up the Kutai Sultanate, this place will soon become land controlled by the Lanfang Republic and actually controlled by Spain.

The Dutch army certainly cannot personally stop the Lanfang army's attack, which also means that the Netherlands' loss of the Kutai Sultanate is inevitable.

Looking at it this way, it is equivalent to the Dutch government hoping to resolve this dispute through some reparations and not wanting to pay a higher price.

The problem is, is this possible? The dispute was initiated by the Dutch, and now they want to handle it lightly; it still depends on Spain's attitude.

"Ambassador William, I have already understood the situation of the riots that occurred on Jialimandandao. In this indigenous riot, some of our immigrants faced relatively serious property losses and life threats, which is something I, as the Emperor of Spain, cannot tolerate."

"Since the Netherlands is unable to quell the indigenous riots, then Spain naturally has the obligation to quickly quell the indigenous riots to ensure the safety of the lives and property of the Spanish people."

"Since we are going to liquidate these indigenous people, I think it is very necessary to liquidate the indigenous people of the entire Jialimandandao, so as to prevent the next riot by the indigenous people in a short period of time."

"I wonder what Ambassador William's intention is? If your country does not have enough troops, the Spanish army is happy to help," Gao Da's expression did not change at all, his face still carried a faint smile, and his attitude was very gentle.

Although Gao Da was smiling, the words he said sounded like threats one after another to Ambassador William.

Gao Da's attitude was also very clear: he agreed with the indigenous riots mentioned by the Dutch side. But at the same time, Gao Da was not satisfied with the conditions offered by the Dutch.

The Kutai Sultanate was already a piece of fat in Spain's mouth; the so-called payment by the Dutch had no actual cost and could not attract Gao Da at all.

If the Netherlands wants to ensure peace in the Southeast Asian region through negotiations, it is best to propose some conditions that can truly move people's hearts, rather than areas that Spain has already actually occupied.

(End of this chapter)