Fu Shanhe

Chapter 542 Fooling each other
"Even if it faces challenges, the great Kingdom of the Netherlands will not accept such blackmail!"

Governor Rodriguez refused righteously.

However, the worry in his eyes betrayed his lack of confidence deep down.

No matter how advanced the maritime industry was, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was ultimately just a small country with a population of just over one million.

To actually clash with a behemoth like the Great Yu Empire would undoubtedly be like throwing an egg against a rock.

After witnessing the grand scale of the Annam Protectorate in Southeast Asia, he abandoned his ambition to compete with the Great Yu.

The two are simply not in the same league; forcing them into a clash would be suicidal.

Not only did the Kingdom of the Netherlands lack the strength to rival the Great Yu Empire, but many powerful nations in the European world were also insignificant compared to it.

It's impossible not to panic when facing such a formidable enemy.

"Your Excellency, the Burmese people's demands are indeed a bit excessive, but they are not unnecessarily negotiable."

As long as they are willing to pay, everything is negotiable except for direct military intervention.

Commander Nathanil, the garrison commander, began to offer his advice.

They gave up the comfortable life at home to go and struggle in colonies thousands of miles away, all for the sake of getting rich.

Giving Myanmar supplies for free is impossible, but turning aid into business is something we can discuss.

Selling active warships to buyers who can afford it is not out of the question.

"It is possible to discuss this, but the Annam Protectorate has sent a diplomatic note ordering us to cease all foreign trade with the Kingdom of Burma."

If we want to do this business, we can't do it under the kingdom's name.

If any accidents occur during transport or transaction, the kingdom cannot intervene.

Rodriguez said with a serious expression.

Doing business with the enemy under the very noses of the Yu Dynasty people certainly required extreme caution.

If the Netherlands were to find fault with something that could trigger a conflict between the two countries, it could not afford to do so now.

Even with the support of several colonies, they still couldn't compete with the Annam Protectorate in Southeast Asia.

The reason they were able to retain their current colonies was not because of their military strength, but because they were important trading partners of the Great Yu Empire.

Every year, they purchase goods worth millions of taels of silver from the Great Yu Empire, contributing a large amount of tax revenue and profits to the other party.

The money the Yu Dynasty people earned through foreign trade far exceeded the profits from the Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia.

Of course, while the Great Yu made money from trade, the Kingdom of the Netherlands also benefited from foreign trade.

They could also make a fortune by shipping the goods produced in Dayu back to Europe and selling them.

It is precisely because both sides share common interests that they are able to exercise restraint to the greatest extent possible and avoid escalating conflicts.

"Of course, we are a neutral country!"

Nathanil replied with a smile.

Changing identities when committing wrongdoing is just standard practice. With so many countries in the European world, they can easily find a scapegoat.

The Annam Protectorate's fleet was mainly active in the Pacific Ocean and rarely entered the Indian Ocean. They could have easily used the Indian Ocean route to trade with the Burmese.

As long as you don't get caught red-handed, it's as if nothing happened.

Even if some unlucky souls are exposed, that is the personal act of the arms dealers and has nothing to do with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

"These alone are not enough. We also need to bring in Spain, Britain, France, and Portugal to support the Kingdom of Burma, so that if it is unfortunately exposed, there will be someone to share the pressure."

Every year, Dayu is able to earn huge profits through overseas trade.

Unless they directly send troops, they won't risk disrupting trade by going to war with us.

Rodriguez thought for a moment and then said.

Between nations, interests are the eternal theme.

The Great Yu could not withstand the impact of the disruption to maritime trade, and these colonists were equally unwilling to give up the profits they had already made.

Even if the rise of the Great Yu at sea might impact their interests in the future, that's a matter for the future.

For these colonists, making money was the top priority; national interests were far removed from their concerns.

……

Luzon Island.

"What the hell!"

"How could the people of the Yu Dynasty have such a big appetite?"

"The country is in complete chaos, yet they can still continue to expand. Don't they need to stop and consolidate their gains?"

Governor Rolf couldn't help but complain.

Because of the distance, he received the message from the Kingdom of Myanmar requesting assistance much later.

When Spain was on the European continent, it was a competitor of Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands and France, but when it came to East Asia, it needed to band together for mutual support.

However, this kind of grouping together is more symbolic than practical.

Given the numerous contradictions within them, close cooperation was impossible; any alliance could only be used to counter the pressure from the Annam Protectorate.

Competition should continue as usual.

Those who need to be stabbed in the back behind closed doors must also be dealt with.

“Your Excellency, the Eastern and Western worlds are different, and we cannot view them with traditional ideas.”

The Great Yu Empire was a behemoth, with resources that no other European country could match.

According to the merchants of Yu, a large-scale civil war broke out in the territory of Dayu just a few months ago.

In Xuzhou alone, the Marquis of Hanshui annihilated 500,000 to 600,000 rebel troops. It is said that the total number of troops involved in the battle approached one million.

There might be some exaggeration involved, but the error shouldn't be too great.

The official registered military strength of the Great Yu Empire exceeded two million, with more than two hundred thousand troops stationed in its Southeast Asian colonies.

Even during the civil war within the country, the Marquis of Hanshui never drew troops from the South Seas, which is sufficient proof that their military strength was abundant.

Antonio couldn't help but remind him.

Understanding your competitors is essential, and the more you learn about the Great Yu Empire, the more terrifying it becomes.

While the registered troop strength on paper may be inflated, and the rumored scale of the civil war may contain artistic embellishments, the troops stationed in the Southeast Asian region cannot be faked.

With over 200,000 standing troops, this number already exceeded the total military strength of the Kingdom of Spain.

But in the Great Yu Empire, they could station so many troops just to take care of a colony.

If it were just a large, insignificant native army, they wouldn't care how big it was, but the enemy was equipped with the most advanced firearms of the time.

They had planned to form an expeditionary force of 30,000 to completely conquer the Great Yu, but now it seems like a joke.

Let alone 30,000 expeditionary troops being insufficient, even if 300,000 were sent, they might not be able to break through the enemy's South Pacific defenses.

With the risk assessment upgraded, this unreliable colonization plan was naturally thrown into the trash.

"You're right, we really can't use our past understanding to judge the Great Yu Empire."

Their national strength was so great that even if a civil war broke out, it would only affect a local area.

It is precisely because the Great Yu Empire is too powerful that we need to be vigilant.

The vast South Pacific is almost becoming their inland sea.

Without external support, the Kingdom of Myanmar would certainly not be able to stop the expansion of the Yu people.

Once they've digested Outer Myanmar, where will their next target be?

Should we continue along the Pacific Ocean into the Americas, or expand westward from the Indian Ocean?
No matter which way they advance, the future kingdom will inevitably collide with them. For the sake of the kingdom's future, we must find a way to curb their expansion!

Rolf said firmly.

Deep down, he had already cursed the ancestors of those aristocratic gentlemen back home for eighteen generations.

All they knew was extravagance and debauchery; they were completely oblivious to the impending crisis facing the kingdom.

In the European world, they vied for maritime supremacy with Britain and for land supremacy with France.

The ancient Yu Empire in Asia also ventured into the ocean, which had a serious impact on their future.

Given such a complex situation, if Spain does not adjust its foreign policy quickly, it will eventually be dragged down and destroyed.

However, these are things you should keep to yourself; speaking them aloud will only bring shame upon yourself.

Compared to colonies, the homeland is definitely more important.

Competition with European countries is not something they can simply stop if they want to.

With such a large initial investment, the sunk costs are alarmingly high, and competitors won't let them off the hook.

"Then, just like the Dutch, we will secretly supply strategic materials to the Kingdom of Burma to support them in their fight against the Yu Dynasty."

If conditions permit, it would be best to recruit a few more mercenary groups from Europe and send them to help.

Commander Leoni then made the suggestion.

Recruiting mercenaries to fight was a common practice in the European world.

Since it's inconvenient for me to personally participate, I'll work behind the scenes.

They're all mercenaries anyway, so they don't care how many die.

"Leoni's suggestion is good. We should not only help the Burmese recruit mercenaries, but also try to win over all the mercenary groups that are at odds with us."

"As long as this goal can be achieved, the kingdom doesn't need to make a profit; it's even worthwhile if it has to lose some money!"

Governor Rolf immediately gave his approval.

It wasn't enough to just fool the mercenary group; they also had to send people to several unruly regions within the country to recruit mercenaries.

Unlike previous enemies, this time the Great Yu Empire was large enough.

Sending more mercenaries will only delay the enemy's occupation of Myanmar.

The European continent is too far from Myanmar, and if they want to preserve the Kingdom of Myanmar, they mainly have to rely on themselves.

His biggest worry now is that before reinforcements arrive, the Kingdom of Myanmar will have already surrendered.

Similar cases have occurred countless times in the Southeast Asian region.

Many seemingly decent indigenous regimes turned into elaborate suicide missions after encountering Yu Jun's main force.

Even though they secretly sold off a large number of firearms, it still couldn't stop the expansion of the Annam Protectorate.

……

As the news continued to spread, many European colonial empires became involved, secretly providing support to the Burmese.

Despite having gained a large number of supporters, the Myanmar high-ranking officials, who are the main characters in this story, are not happy at all.

While nominally providing support, all the aid was actually priced.

Because of the approaching war, prices have skyrocketed, clearly treating them as easy targets.

"Your Majesty, the kingdom's finances are nearing depletion, and the national treasury simply cannot afford such a large sum of money."

The price of hiring a Westerner is enough to arm a dozen or so ordinary soldiers.

Instead of hiring high-ranking Westerners to fight, we should arm our own troops!

Shui Saiye said indignantly.

While the colonial empires verbally expressed their support, their actions revealed a completely different story.

Arms dealers operate on a business model where they might not make a sale for three years, but when they do, they can live off that sale for three years.

When it comes to interests, even the face of a colonial government is of little use.

Even after communicating with representatives from various countries, they couldn't prevent arms dealers from making money.

Anyway, there's only so much inventory available, so it's a seller's market right now.

It will take at least a few months for the new weapons to arrive from Europe.

Weapons and ammunition are expensive, that's one thing, but the price of mercenaries is also shockingly high.

It wasn't that the colonial government deliberately cheated them; the main issue was the huge price difference between the two places.

Over the past century, colonists have plundered vast amounts of gold and silver from around the world, causing severe inflation in Europe.

Prices in continental Europe are much higher than in the Kingdom of Myanmar, and correspondingly, salary levels are also much higher.

They've come all the way from Europe, so you have to give them a premium. Add to that the round-trip travel expenses, and the price of mercenaries goes up immediately.

"Shui Sai Ye, that's not how you calculate things."

Using domestic soldiers is indeed much cheaper, but this time our opponent is the Great Yu Empire.

"If we don't find a way to drag the Westerners into this mess, how can the kingdom possibly fight the enemy on its own?"

O'Sullivan immediately retorted.

The Great Yu Empire of today is not the Great Yu Empire of the past.

They dared to invade Dayu back then because they were confident that the officials of the Yu Dynasty valued their reputation.

Even if you lose on the battlefield, as long as you apologize and make the right gesture, the matter can be forgiven.

The situation is different now. The Marquis of Hanshui, who is stationed in the southern border of Dayu, is not like the traditional bureaucrats; he doesn't listen to that kind of thing.

Throughout the history of Annam Protectorate's expansion, none of the targets they chose were able to escape annihilation.

In order to protect their country, some nations sent delegations with generous gifts to Dayu to apologize.

Unfortunately, none of this worked. Even after persuading the Yu emperor, the Yu army at the front still fought them to the death.

Knowing that diplomacy was useless, the Kingdom of Myanmar prepared to fight to the death.

Otherwise, in such a situation, the court would have long been divided into the pro-war and pro-peace factions, arguing fiercely.

“Osanlan is right, the kingdom cannot fight alone.”

Besides dragging Westerners into this mess, we also need to find ways to lobby South Asian countries and seek their help.

The more support we can gain, the greater our chances of winning.

The more critical the moment, the more we must remain calm and composed.

If the national treasury doesn't have enough money, then find a way to owe it or borrow from Westerners.

"Higher interest rates are fine, as long as they're willing to lend me money, I'd even mortgage the palace to them!"

The King of Burma said calmly.

Borrowing money from Westerners is indeed somewhat shameful, but when it comes to survival, face is nothing.

Interest and collateral are not the problem; the key is to get the money out.

The more they borrow, the more Westerners will support them.

Only by winning this war will the Kingdom of Myanmar be able to repay its debts.

If they were to be defeated and the country were to fall into the hands of others, the people of the Yu Dynasty would not accept such a messy situation.

(End of this chapter)