February 22, the second year of Tianqi, at the western end of Tsushima Island, Asamao Bay.
A Dutch 1,000-ton warship named the "Millage" docked at the shore. The red, white and blue flags on the three-masted soft sails reached deep into the sky and fluttered gently in the sea breeze.
Looking north from Asaku Port, on the sea surface five miles away, densely packed masts are rising and falling with the wind and waves, like a huge piece of swaying seaweed, slowly wrapping around the entire Tsushima Island.
A team of people stood on both sides of the ship's side of the Milledge. Although today's theme was negotiation, the two teams were fully armed and on guard against each other, and the scene was tense.
The Kaiyuan warriors in red mandarin duck jackets and the mercenaries in mixed attire looked at each other ten meters apart.
The two strongest ground forces from the East and the West met for the first time, and both appeared as their own guard of honor.
On both sides of the battleship deck, it was like a 17th-century Chinese and Western military exhibition, with various weapons on display:
Type 20 flintlock musket, Type 21 flintlock musket, chainmail, feathered sword, long spear, breastplate, cowhide smock (with sword shoulder strap, carbine sling), cowhide protective gloves, cavalry sword, saddle gun Holster flintlock pistol, flintlock carbine, gunpowder bottle, British bowl-shaped helmet, cuirassier armor, Western sword...
You can even see the Type 22 Tiger Crouching Cannon and the British Royal Navy mortar freshly produced by Kaiyuan Workshop.
The people who use these weapons are also diverse, covering basically all major ethnic groups in the world. race.
Kaiyuan: Ming people, Koreans, Mongols, Jurchens, Japanese.
Mercenaries include: French, Spanish, Dutch, British, Japanese, and even black people.
The first meeting between the two sides took place in such a tense confrontation, which also paved the way for the collapse of subsequent negotiations.
Yuan Chonghuan, Zheng Zhilong and their entourage met representatives of the caravans from the four countries in the cabin of the "Mirich".
The two parties sat down at a long table, with Kaiyuan officials sitting on the left, and directors of the British and Dutch East India Company and representatives of the Spanish and French Chamber of Commerce on the right.
Zheng Zhilong and a Japanese person opposite were responsible for translating for both parties.
The two sides did not exchange any pleasantries and went straight to the topic.
Ruprecht Colen, director of the British East India Company, got straight to the point:
"Gentlemen, on behalf of the British East India Company, the Dutch East India Company and all the directors and employees of the caravansaries of the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Spain, I would like to extend my most sincere respect to your Marquis of Pingliao. I personally express my gratitude to him for his work in the Far East. I understand but do not support the series of military adventures. I request your troops to immediately withdraw from Kyushu, Japan, and restore the order of rule that the shogunate had before Yuanwa seven years ago!"
Ruprecht spoke quickly and finished the East India Company's demands in one breath. He looked up at Zheng Zhilong who was sitting opposite him and said to this familiar Catholic:
"Dear Lord Nicholas Gasbard, please say hello to Nicholas Zhaosun. James I (King of England) appreciated the commercial order of free competition, which is also the truth that Britain is constantly pursuing. Any behavior that violates this spirit will be punished by will be sanctioned by the East India Company. So please allow me to reiterate that you must immediately withdraw from Kyushu Island, restore the trade order of the shogunate, restore freedom and justice in the Far East, and in the name of the Lord, ensure that similar incidents will never happen in the future. May God bless you, Amen.”
Zheng Zhilong translated at the same time and quickly informed Yuan Chonghuan and his party of the British businessmen's requirements.
Yuan Chonghuan listened carefully to all the words, and his face became heavier the more he listened.
Such conditions are obviously unacceptable.
When Zheng Zhilong finished telling all the British demands, everyone was shocked.
This time, everyone in Kaiyuan came to negotiate with the Red Mao Yi with great sincerity. Occupying Kyushu was the bottom line. On this basis, many things could be discussed.
I didn't expect Hongmao Yi to have such an attitude.
Ma Shiying suddenly became furious, pointed at the British big nose, and cursed:
"A bunch of street boys, why don't you talk about fairness when you kill innocent people in Java? I have never seen such shameless people!"
Yuan Chonghuan also said:
"I want fairness. Marquis Ping Liao led his army to Japan this time just for two words, fairness! Open and damn fair! The shogunate squeezes the people and makes them eat dirt. I am here just to save the Japanese country. This is the greatest fairness! You pirates deserve to be fair to me!!"
Yuan Chonghuan's voice was loud and spittle flew, all falling on Leicht's big, freckled face.
Yuan Chonghuan pointed to Zheng Yiguan, who was still in a daze next to him, and said loudly:
"Translate to the foreign devils, what does fairness mean?"
Zheng Zhilong turned to the British representative and after speaking a lot of English, he heard several European gentlemen opposite him speaking in red and white.
One of the skills for successful negotiation is to overwhelm the opponent in terms of momentum. In addition to hitting the opponent directly, verbal threats and physical actions are also feasible.
This is one of the reasons why leaders of major powers often use foul language in informal meetings.
Legend has it that when Deng's trade union met with Mrs. Thatcher and the two sides discussed the return of a certain gang, Deng kept spitting and swearing in front of her... Marquis Pingliao gave these negotiation tips to several of his subordinates and said it. Yuan Chonghuan has already deeply understood its profound meaning.
Ma Shiying raised his middle finger to the British, a transnational language gesture he had just learned from sailors.
"Baby, you want to scare me with a few broken ships? We have 30,000 soldiers in Kyushu. The Kaiyuan Army has sophisticated firearms and unparalleled combat power. We have never been afraid of anyone! Ping Liaohou asked me to warn you and evacuate the sea immediately. All ships, stop blockading, otherwise, we will declare war on Kaiyuan!"
The British man shrugged his shoulders, touched his nose, and showed a disdainful expression.
He turned back and whispered to several directors, a group of big-nosed people with greedy eyes.
Ruprecht looked at everyone and sneered:
"Please forgive me for not knowing much about Marquis Ping Liao. He may be a humorous commander, or he may be as stubborn as your great emperor."
"However, as an opponent, I need to remind you. In the world we live in, the decisive military power exists at sea, not on land. According to my observation, your small pirate ships can barely fight against Japanese monkeys. In front of European warships, I'm afraid I'm vulnerable. If you lose supplies, you can hold on for a week at most, and then the East India Company employees can land on Kyushu Island and the entire war can be resolved."
Later a Dutch East India Company representative added:
"We don't want to interfere too much in the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese Monkeys, but now you want to monopolize everything and harm the interests of various countries in Japan. This is of course impossible. Therefore, in any case, we must follow Sir Lessite's requirements Do it, now!”
The French businessman rolled up his shirt sleeves, exposed his hairy arms, slapped the wooden table hard, and said angrily:
"Infidels, this does not belong to you, go back to your country!"
After Deng Changxiong listened to Zheng Zhilong's translation, he immediately stood up and looked at the Frenchman across the table, saying loudly:
"Then let's tell the difference on the battlefield!"
Both sides refused to make concessions, their demands were too far apart, and they both tended to use force to solve the problem, so the negotiations broke down.
