Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 173 Lan Fang's Envoy
"Representative of the Lan Fang Republic?" Carlo was stunned and looked at Butler Loren who was reporting the news.

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is the Lan Fang Republic that you ordered before." Butler Loren nodded and confirmed again.

In fact, such a small Asian country theoretically would not alarm King Carlo of Spain.

However, because of the strategic plan between the Lan Fang Republic and Spain in Kalimantan, and because Carlo had given advance instructions, when the Lan Fang Republic actually sent an envoy to Spain, the guards still reported it to Butler Loren.

"Lan Fang." Carlo looked at the map of the East Indies hanging in the office. The name of the Lan Fang Republic was on the island of Kalimantan and was circled.

Later generations have given too much praise to this overseas republic founded by the Chinese, and Carlo also has some favorable impression of it.

But this does not mean that Carlo will go against the interests of Spain and the royal family to help Lan Fang. Instead, he will make his own decisions on the premise that it is beneficial to the interests of Spain and the royal family.

At present, the existence of the Lan Fang Republic is still very necessary for Spain. With the Lan Fang Republic attracting the attention of the Dutch, Spain's annexation of the Sultanate of Brongan will become much smoother.

Spain could even stay out of the matter like the British, and support the Lan Fang Republic, turning it into its own thug to fight against the Dutch.

The benefits of doing so are obvious. Spain does not need to participate in the war, and naturally does not have to bear casualties. Providing weapons and equipment to the Lanfang Republic can also exchange for some income. Anyway, the weapons and equipment that Spain has eliminated in military reforms are in a difficult situation to sell.

During this period, European countries had entered the era of breech-loading bolt-action rifles, and muzzle-loading rifles were difficult to sell except for being equipped to colonial armies.

It would be better to sell it to the Lan Fang Republic at a low price, let them cause trouble for the Dutch and make the waters of Kalimantan as muddy as possible.

"Let him in." Carlo waved his hand, signaling Butler Loren to bring in the representative of the Lan Fang Republic.

After a while, a yellow man who was obviously dressed differently from East Asians walked in, led by Butler Lauren.

"The diplomatic representative of the Lan Fang Republic, Wu Yongxiang, pays his respects to His Majesty King Carlo of Spain!" The diplomatic representative of the Lan Fang Republic, named Wu Yongxiang, saluted Carlo very respectfully and introduced himself.

"Spanish? You can speak Spanish?" Carlo was a little surprised. He didn't expect that the diplomatic representative in front of him was fluent in Spanish.

But Carlo was in no mood to speak Chinese to show off. After all, speaking the other party's language in a diplomatic situation was equivalent to bowing to others. In Spain, you have to speak Spanish, and Carlo would not forget his sense of propriety because of his identity in his previous life.

"Yes, Your Majesty. As you know, being proficient in foreign languages ​​is a basic skill for a diplomat. I know some Dutch, Spanish, English and French. Please forgive me if I don't speak them well." Wu Yongxiang, the diplomatic representative of the Lan Fang Republic, first nodded and answered Carlo's question, and then explained.

"You are amazing, Mr. Diplomat. You are able to master so many languages ​​at the same time. This is your ability." Carlo nodded, expressing his affirmation of the language ability of the diplomat in front of him, and then asked his own question: "The Lan Fang Republic is far away in Kalimantan Island, why did it send a diplomatic envoy to Spain from afar?"

Wu Yongxiang swallowed nervously, carefully organized his words, and then said word by word in Spanish: "Your Majesty, the President sent me here to sign a treaty of friendship with your country and establish an everlasting alliance."

The full name of the Lan Fang Republic is the Lan Fang Grand Control (General Control) Republic. The head of state is called the General Control or the Chief Minister of the Tang Dynasty, which means the chief leader of overseas Chinese.

Because there is no similar translation in Spanish, Wu Yongxiang used the more similar president when translating.

It doesn't matter how the head of state translates it. What matters is the purpose of Wu Yongxiang's trip, which is to conclude an alliance treaty with the Kingdom of Spain as much as possible and help the Lan Fang Republic continue to survive.

Yes, to continue to survive.

This overseas Chinese republic actually has a relatively glorious history. During the heyday of the Lan Fang Republic, most of West Kalimantan was under the rule of the Republic.

However, with the colonial invasion of Britain and the Netherlands, the territory of the Lan Fang Republic was constantly eroded, and eventually only a small part of the western part of Kalimantan Island remained, with only about tens of thousands of square kilometers of land.

If the successive governors of the Lan Fang Republic had not been smart enough to cleverly borrow the name of that East Asian power and declare themselves to be a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, the Lan Fang Republic would probably have been destroyed by the Dutch long ago.

Of course, such a title was destined not to last long, because the so-called Qing Dynasty had already been corrupted, and what awaited it was a history of humiliation.

What's more, the fact that this country was part of the Lan Fang Republic also meant that it would not receive support from the Qing Dynasty.

The Lan Fang Republic was a republic composed of Han people, while the Qing Dynasty was a feudal monarchy ruled by a minority ethnic group. There is a fundamental difference between the two.

This can be seen from the clothing and ethnic composition of both sides. The Han people of the Lan Fang Republic did not have long braids, and their clothes were more like Dutch and French style military uniforms.

As for the other side, needless to say, long braids are a characteristic.

"Friendly Treaty? Eternal Alliance?" Carlo smiled and said as if he didn't care: "Mr. Diplomat, give me a reason."

No matter what, the status of the Lan Fang Republic and Spain is not equal after all. Instead of asking him to give a reason, Carlo should let the other party know that it is the Lan Fang Republic that needs help and it is also the Lan Fang Republic that should bow its head.

“Your Majesty, Spain and Lan Fang currently have a common enemy, the Dutch. Once we conclude a treaty of friendship, we can unite to fight against the Dutch rule.

We are willing to help your country seize the Dutch colonies, and at the same time, to gain more places for us to live." Wu Yongxiang, the diplomatic representative of the Lan Fang Republic, stated his reasons.

"Dutch?" Carlo smiled, with disdain and indifference in his eyes, as if he heard a joke, and said: "Do you think the Dutch will pose a threat to Spain?
If I want, the Spanish army can defeat the Dutch army at any time and any place. The Dutch have never been the enemy of Spain, and they are not qualified to be the enemy of Spain. "

Although Carlo's words were somewhat arrogant, the situation in Europe was indeed like this. A country's strength determines its diplomatic status, which is an eternal truth in any era.

Although the Netherlands has a long history and was once one of the hegemons of Europe, it is currently a small country with a population of only a few million.

Without the protection of the Netherlands by the British, the Dutch colonies would have been divided up by other countries long ago. The Netherlands has never been a threat to Spain. The real threat to Spain is the British behind the Netherlands.

"Spain is indeed very powerful and can easily defeat the Dutch." Wu Yongxiang first affirmed the strength of Spain in Carlo's words, and then elaborated on his own point of view: "But Kalimantan is not the only island of the Dutch, right?

The British behind the Netherlands are the real trouble, both for the Lanfang Republic and Spain. As long as your country is willing to support us, we are willing to help your country fight against the British and the Dutch together. "

This sentence really hits the point. Spain’s real concern is not the Dutch, and the Dutch are not qualified to play a game of chess with Spain.

The people who are really playing chess on the island of Kalimantan are the British. If the Lan Fang Republic wants to find a common enemy with Spain, it should focus on the British.

"That being said, Spain does not need allies at this time." Carlo nodded, affirming Wu Yongxiang's point of view, but also expressing his opposition.

"Your Majesty." Wu Yongxiang was still trying to fight for it, but Carlo waved his hand to interrupt him and said, "Although I don't need an ally, I don't mind having a central subordinate in Southeast Asia. Mr. Diplomat, I think you should understand what I mean, right?"

Whether from the perspective of the country's comprehensive strength or the current situation, the Lan Fang Republic is not qualified to be an ally of Spain.

In the final analysis, the Lan Fang Republic was too weak. Without the support of Spain, the Lan Fang Republic was doomed to perish in the colonial aggression of the Netherlands.

At present, the only country that can help the Lan Fang Republic is Spain, and this is also the purpose of the Lan Fang Republic coming all the way to Spain.

Unfortunately, they underestimated Carlo's ambition. Carlo was unwilling to support a foreign country that could threaten Spain.

Lan Fang could obtain Spain's support on the condition that it submitted to Spain's rule and became Spain's loyal brother.

Otherwise, Carlo would not mind supporting other countries to fight against the Dutch. It would not be a difficult task for Spain anyway. Wu Yongxiang's face turned pale. Of course, he also understood what Carlo meant, which was to make the Lan Fang Republic submit to the rule of Spain.

This is not just a simple surrender. If we talk about surrender, the current Lan Fang Republic claims to be a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, but in fact it is forced to surrender under the colonial rule of the Netherlands, which is also surrender.

But such submission was false. The Dutch wanted to annex the Lan Fang Republic all the time, and the Lan Fang Republic also wanted to resist the Dutch rule all the time.

The submission that Carlo demanded was naturally not such a false submission on the surface, but a true submission.

If such a request was agreed to, the economy of the Lan Fang Republic would be infiltrated by Spain, and even the military would be interfered with by Spain.

Should it become a true vassal state and submit to Spanish rule in exchange for the country's survival, or should it sternly refuse and strive to become stronger in the colonial competition between the Netherlands and Spain?
This was a difficult choice for the Lan Fang Republic, and an even more difficult choice for Wu Yongxiang, the diplomatic representative of the Lan Fang Republic.

As a diplomatic representative, Wu Yongxiang must have a certain amount of power. His power might be enough to directly agree to Carlo's request, but would he dare? Of course not.

This is not a trivial matter, as what is sacrificed is the interests of the entire Lan Fang Republic.

Wu Yongxiang's expression changed for a long time, but he did not dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction. The villains in his mind fought each other for a long time, and Wu Yongxiang finally couldn't make up his mind: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. But such conditions are not something I can decide. I will convey your request back to the country truthfully and ask our president to make a decision."

Carlo nodded, not surprised at all. "Of course, Mr. Diplomat. Since you are in Spain, you are a guest of Spain. I will let the government arrange your food, clothing, housing and transportation.

If your government has any response, I would be happy to hear it.”

Under the guidance of Butler Loren, Wu Yongxiang walked out of the Madrid Palace with a complicated expression.

As a diplomatic representative of a small country, the Spanish government naturally did not take it too seriously. However, since Carlo had given his instructions, the government's diplomatic department still arranged a quiet residence for Wu Yongxiang and his entourage, and provided them with a carriage for travel.

All the way from the palace to his residence, Wu Yongxiang looked at the city of Madrid with a complicated expression, and the envy in his eyes almost overflowed.

Compared to Madrid, the capital of the Lan Fang Republic, East Banting (Pontianak), was in an extremely dilapidated state.

Although the small Republic of Lan Fang has a population of nearly 400 million, it cannot compare with these European countries in terms of infrastructure, technology and economy.

"Alas! If we Han people could have such technology, why would Lan Fang be in this situation?" Wu Yongxiang sighed, his expression very complicated.

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

"I hope so. Will the foreigners hand these things over to us so easily? It's a pity that the civilization of our great country was destroyed by the wild boar skin in one day. The red cannons of the former Ming Dynasty are still vivid in our memory, but the wild boar skins now use weapons such as knives, guns, sticks and clubs. Ridiculous! Ridiculous!" Wu Yongxiang sighed and ended the topic.

Although Wu Yongxiang used the excuse of wanting to contact Lan Fang in China, in reality, how could he contact her in China?
It was very difficult for European countries like Spain to communicate with their colonies in the East Indies, not to mention a small country like Lan Fang that had no diplomatic embassy.

If there is indeed a way to contact them, it would be to send someone back to Lan Fang, who would confirm the news and then come to Spain to inform them.

But this round trip takes several months, which is not only quite troublesome, but you may also miss the opportunity.

Lan Fang was already asking for help from others. If Spain was made to wait for a few more months, even if the cooperation could have been reached, it would most likely fall through.

Therefore, before Wu Yongxiang left the Lan Fang Republic, he had already determined the specific content of cooperation with Spain and areas where he could make concessions with Lan Fang's current chief commander Liu Asheng and other important personnel.

If the conditions of Spain were within the acceptable range of Lan Fang, then it would be better to reach cooperation as soon as possible. But if the conditions of Spain were too harsh and exceeded the bottom line that Lan Fang could bear, then the negotiation would end in regret.

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

There was no other way, the mental pressure was too great. It was so great that whenever Wu Yongxiang closed his eyes, he would think of the problems that the Lan Fang Republic might encounter in the future, either completely surrendering to the rule of the Spanish, or being completely defeated and destroyed by the Dutch.

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

There is no way. For the Lan Fang Republic, the most important thing at the moment is to survive.

The Spanish wanted only a part of the sovereignty of the Lan Fang Republic and its submission, but the Dutch wanted the complete destruction of the Lan Fang Republic. They were not targeting the Lan Fang Republic, but the land reclaimed by the Lan Fang Republic.

It has been nearly 100 years since the establishment of the Lan Fang Republic. During this 100 years, the population of the Lan Fang Republic has expanded from the initial 10 to nearly 400 million, which seems to be a lot.

But the bad news is that the real majority ethnic group of the Lan Fang Republic, the Chinese, or the Hakka people, do not account for that large a proportion. Currently, the number of Chinese is only over 500,000, and most of them are local indigenous people who are subject to the rule of Lan Fang, that is, other ethnic groups.

This is also the reason why the Lan Fang Republic had no choice but to surrender to the Dutch. After all, only 50 of its population were truly united, and the rest of the population would not fight to the death for Lan Fang and the Dutch.

Because so many people continued to cultivate this land, the land controlled by the Lan Fang Republic had quite fertile arable land and a relatively developed economy.

Although it is not as good as European countries, compared with the local indigenous tribes nearby, the Lan Fang Republic is definitely a tempting piece of fat meat, which is why the Dutch set their sights on the Lan Fang Republic.

Even the Brunei Empire, which once controlled this land, was far less important than the Lan Fang Republic. If the 400 million people of the Lan Fang Republic could be controlled, it would greatly promote the development of Kalimantan Island and allow the Dutch to have a large granary on Kalimantan Island.

Because there were as many as 50 Chinese in the country, the Lan Fang Republic actually had no choice.

Only the Lan Fang Republic could shelter these 50 Chinese. If the Lan Fang Republic was destroyed by the Dutch, the situation waiting for these Chinese might be even worse than that of the local natives.

The Lan Fang Republic had existed on this land for nearly a hundred years, and they certainly understood the attitudes and strategies of Europeans towards the local indigenous peoples.

Because of the diligence of the Lan Fang people, they reclaimed large tracts of land and created a lot of wealth. These wealth were not only targeted by European colonists, but also by local indigenous people.

If the Lan Fang Republic were to perish, even if the people of Henan would not be too harsh on the Lan Fang people, the local natives would definitely launch a crazy revenge.

Even for the survival of these Chinese, the Lan Fang Republic must continue to exist.

As for the need to submit to Spanish rule, the Lanfang Republic had already done so.

During the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, the Lan Fang Republic declared itself to be a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty and always wanted to seek the protection of the Qing Dynasty.

But Ye Zhupi would not trust a Han Chinese republic. Even though the Lan Fang Republic tried to make peace with it, the other party always regarded it as a pirate group rather than an orthodox country.

The former Lan Fang Republic was also forced to submit to the Dutch in order to survive. Now it is nothing more than changing its ruler, which is not a big change for Lan Fang.

Wu Yongxiang thought that a little sacrifice in exchange for the survival of the entire Lan Fang was worth it. Besides, Lan Fang did not have to submit to the rule of Spain forever. If they could learn these powerful technologies and weapons from Spain, Lan Fang might be able to control its own destiny in the future.

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(End of this chapter)