At this moment, around 10:30 in the morning, distinguished guests had been waiting for a long time in the three-story living room of the White House, the Presidential Palace.
Except for Marek, the representative of the British East India Company, and his entourage, and Conley, the representative of the Dutch East India Company, and his entourage, the others are all important subordinates of Zhao Xuening and some people from the East Indies who have not yet entered Lanfang. The local powerful faction in the republic's ruling system.
Because the founding of the People's Republic of China was a major event, on this day, the administrative and military leaders arranged by Zhao Xuening on the four islands all left the island one after another. Those local powerful factions who had just joined the Republic also gathered in Seoul to participate in the grand event.
In addition to them, those local powerful factions who have not joined the Lanfang Republic also sent many people to congratulate them, with the main purpose of a universal celebration.
Of course, it is not an easy thing to get them to arrive in Seoul together to participate in the celebration.
After all, before the European colonists entered, this was a place where the law of the jungle prevailed, and morality was a luxury, something that was not available in daily life and could only be heard of occasionally.
After the European colonists disrupted the situation, the per capita moral level in this area further decreased. Survival and interests came first. Nothing is more important than survival and interests. Therefore, few people living in this area are living in the traditional sense. Good people.
Not only are human beings shining brightly, but they can also be regarded as human-like orangutans gathering together. Everyone is competing to see who is more immoral and who can touch the bottom line of human beings better and then make holes.
Therefore, Zhao Xuening is probably the only person who can make the apes in this sea bow their heads and talk rationally.
Of course, Zhao Xuening, who is above the group of apes, is not a good person.
However, in the spice sea, it is not important whether it is good or not, but whether it can keep them alive is important.
Among the non-European forces in the Spice Sea, only Zhao Xuening could intimidate the European colonists who came from afar, and even be on an equal footing with them.
Before Zhao Xuening was born, European colonists were at the absolute top of the food chain here. They had advanced technology, sharp weapons, were very capable of fighting, and had strong combat effectiveness.
Regardless of whether they are Chinese, local aborigines, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc., they have no status here. What's more, they are simply slaves and can be beaten or killed without any reason.
The reason why some forces can still maintain their independence is mainly because the number of Europeans is not large enough and their hands have not been stretched out that far. As long as they are given time, all the islands in this sea area will sooner or later be named European.
But after Zhao Xuening's rise, the situation was different.
The European colonists obviously placed Zhao Xuening in a position where they could coexist as equals, and treated the people of the Lanfang Group differently from those of other forces.
They treat the people of Lanfang Group in a very civilized, affectionate and warm manner - you can talk about anything, as long as you are willing to talk.
When dealing with other forces, he grinds his teeth, sucks blood, and roars again and again - talk about your face! Eat my civilized artillery shells!
This point can be felt by all non-European colonial power groups.
Can fight!
You can still win!
Europeans don’t dare to mess with you!
This is more important than anything else!
Therefore, when the news of the founding of Lanfang came out, a large number of local forces who had been brutally exploited and oppressed by European colonists desperately wanted to join Lanfang. Many tribal leaders gave up their status and wanted to obtain Lanfang nationality.
They are eager to get a [Lanfang National Certificate] from Zhao Xuening.
Facts have proved that their choice was correct, and they did not suffer crazy revenge from the Batavia authorities.
The Dutch people in Batavia, who were the leaders of this sea area at that time, were obviously extremely worried and afraid of the fact that they had taken refuge in Lanfang. They wanted to do something, but they did not dare to act rashly for fear of offending Zhao Xuening and risking their own lives. Can't keep it.
This is enough.
This was enough for them to recognize Zhao Xuening's rule, and be willing to pay a not-so-light tax to Zhao Xuening, allowing Zhao Xuening to send people to take over part of their power, and then obtain the security they dreamed of, and they could live in peace of mind.
As a result, the sphere of influence of the Lanfang Republic continued to expand.
Today, Lanfang Republic has undoubtedly become the largest and most powerful country in the Spice Sea. An independent country that does not belong to European colonists was born.
The colonists were undoubtedly unhappy with its birth, but faced with the fact that they could not win, they had no other choice but to accept it and find ways to coexist with it.
So, in the living room on the third floor of the White House, Lanfang's senior officials and the European colonists were happily chatting with each other.
It was clearly an appropriate social occasion before the parade began.
The people who hold power gathered here today are more concentrated than ever before. If we don’t take advantage of this moment to socialize, how long will we have to wait?
Cornley and Marek are ready to show their diplomatic skills as much as possible, hoping to make more friends with Lanfang senior officials to gain more internal Lanfang support in order to change Zhao Xuening's policy tendencies.
Diplomacy is a profound knowledge, and the cost of diplomacy is the deepest among them. Both Amsterdam and London have a certain explanation for this.
In the context of the struggle for hegemony in Europe, the situation on the Eastern battlefield is not meaningless.
The Netherlands is old and faint, and needs the income from the spice sea to support its crumbling country and breathe a sigh of relief.
Britain was young and full of vitality, but the stalls were too large and the expenditures were too much, which included tea, silk, porcelain and interests in India from the Qing Empire.
Now that Lanfang has initially shown its prowess and demonstrated strong force that non-local elites cannot suppress, and the cost of suppression is obviously so high that neither London nor Amsterdam is willing to pay, then it is necessary to adopt a gentle and win-over attitude.
In most cases, diplomatic expenditures will be lower than military expenditures. Since we can still spend diplomatic costs, why should we turn to military expenditures?
Furthermore, if you spend diplomatic costs through your own diplomatic channels, you can still get a better deal. The so-called cooking oil has great benefits.
If this is turned into military expenditure, not only will he not be able to make a single penny, but he will also have to bear the consequences of diplomatic failure. No astute diplomat will do such a thing.
Therefore, both Marek and Cornley want to do their best to proactively make friends with Lanfang senior officials, hoping to establish good personal relationships with them, and then slowly influence Lanfang's political situation.
Before arriving in Seoul, they all had some understanding of the current political situation in Lanfang and Lanfang's senior officials. The followers they brought with them were all people who had dealt with Lanfang officials many times and had some understanding of Lanfang's senior officials.
Obviously, Cornley needs the guidance and help of such a follower more than Marek, who is not dealing with Lanfang's top management for the first time.
Fortunately, Julian is indeed a qualified follower. Before everyone started to enter the warm-up period, Julian identified Lanfang's senior officials for Cornley one by one.
Although he didn't know much about the women and families of these high-ranking officials, Julian still had a considerable understanding of the high-ranking officials themselves.
It has to be said that the diversity of Lanfang’s top management is no less than any other country in Europe.
The unshakable highest authority of the Lanfang Republic is naturally Zhao Xuening.
Only he can integrate the complex forces in the Spice Sea and successfully balance the interests and needs of all parties to cohere them into a complete country.
Almost all the military and political power of this country is in the hands of Zhao Xuening. Although he himself does not like kingdom-style dictatorship, reality determines that he is the uncrowned king who always speaks the truth.
Any force that wants to operate on Lan Fang will never be able to achieve its purpose beyond Zhao Xuening.
But as powerful as the Sun King Louis XIV, he also needs strong subordinates to implement policies for him. One person cannot form the center of a country, so Zhao Xuening is also surrounded by a group of powerful subordinates with their own talents and tempers. .
The first person Julian identified for Cornley was Navy Chief Li Chuang.
"The man with the beard is Li Chuang, the navy chief of Lanfang."
Cornley followed Julian's instructions and looked over, and saw a bearded man in Lanfang military uniform talking to another tall European young man with an unhappy expression on his face.
"He seems angry?"
"It's normal to be angry, because the leader of this military parade is Army Chief General Chu Teng, not General Li Chuang."
Julian whispered: "Lanfang's Navy Chief General Li Chuang and Army Chief General Chu Teng are the two most important military generals around Zhao Xuening. They have great military exploits and enjoy a high reputation in Lanfang's military circles, and they are Both of them were the old members of Endeavor who were the first to follow Zhao Xuening.
It is said that even their names were changed by Zhao Xuening. They have a very close relationship with Zhao Xuening. They are one of the few people who can freely enter and exit Zhao Xuening's private residence. However, the relationship between the two of them is not very good. Between Lanfang Army and Navy The contradictions are not small.
It is said that this military parade was originally supposed to be led by the navy, that is, by General Li Chuang, but it was later modified by Zhao Xuening to be led by the army. General Li Chuang felt that he had lost the opportunity to show the strength of the navy in front of the public, so he was very unhappy. "
Cornley nodded.
It seems that conflicts within the military exist no matter where they are in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, or Lanfang.
And in this way, it shows that it is still very difficult to have a good relationship with Lanfang's army and navy at the same time. There must be a choice, either the army or the navy.
But a choice must be made.
Standing together with Zhao Xuening, Chu Teng, Li Chuang and Zhao Xuening are the Three Fantasy Gods in Lanfang's military world. They have few opponents in the spice sea and have a certain status in Lanfang's highest decision-making circle. If they cannot have a good relationship with them, Diplomatic effort equals no effort.
Cornley thought for a moment and nodded.
"Then who is the European next to General Li Chuang?"
"Geoffrey Clare."
Julian said with some unhappiness: "He is from the Netherlands and came from the army. In the early days, he was the deputy captain of an armed ship under the company's command. He and Zhao Xuening were comrades in the same fleet. He was the first to work with Zhao Xuening. One of the Dutchmen I befriended.
When the Battle of Batavia occurred, he was the one who took the lead in deserting Batavia and joining Zhao Xuening. He led a dozen armed ships under his command to attack the company's armed forces and sank three of the company's important warships. He was the number one enemy in Batavia's eyes. traitor. "
