Empire Rising: Spain

"I wonder if your nation would be willing to accept such conditions. We hope this can help restore the friendly relations between Spain and the Netherlands," Dutch Ambassador William said with utmost sincerity.

Carlo looked at Ambassador William with a smile, not surprised by the ambassador’s words.

Facing a more powerful Spain, the Dutch Government is likely to take the initiative to retreat. Since it wants to retreat, the first thing the Dutch Government must do is to clear its name in this conflict to avoid suffering greater losses.

Sure enough, in Ambassador William’s words, a Dutch-led border invasion of Lanfang Republic turned into a native unrest caused by Dutch negligence.

Although the Dutch Government still bears some responsibility, Ambassador William’s words made it very clear that they are willing to compensate Spain with the Kutai Sultanate and a certain amount of funds.

The Dutch compensation is indeed generous. Borneo has a total area of 743,300 square kilometers, and the Kutai Sultanate is one of the largest indigenous countries on the island.

Just the area of the Kutai Sultanate alone is at least 100,000 square kilometers, which is more than twice the size of the Dutch mainland.

Carlo’s coveted Portugal has a total area of only about 92,000 square kilometers. Although the Kutai Sultanate is far from Europe, gaining land of over 100,000 square kilometers is also quite a reward for Spain.

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

No matter whether the Dutch Government wants to give up the Kutai Sultanate or not, it will soon become controlled by the Lanfang Republic, and land Spain actually controls.

The Dutch Army certainly cannot personally stop the Lanfang Army’s attack, which means the loss of Kutai Sultanate by the Netherlands is inevitable.

In this view, the Dutch Government hopes to resolve this dispute through some compensation without bearing more costs.

But is this possible? The dispute was initiated by the Dutch, and now wanting to easily shake it off depends on Spain’s attitude.

"Ambassador William, I have already understood the situation of unrest occurring on Borneo. During this native unrest, some of our immigrants faced severe property loss and danger to life, which is intolerable for me as the King of Spain.

Since the Netherlands is unable to pacify the native unrest, Spain must have the duty to quickly settle it to ensure the safety of Spanish citizens and their properties.

Since we must account for these natives, I believe it is necessary to account for all natives on Borneo. This can also prevent another native unrest in the near future.

What is your opinion, Ambassador William? If your nation does not have sufficient forces, the Spanish Army is willing to assist," Carlo said with a gentle smile, his expression unchanged and his demeanor very mild.

Although Carlo smiled, his words, to Ambassador William, sounded like threat after threat.

Carlo’s attitude is also clear: he agrees with the Dutch perspective of the native unrest but is not satisfied with the conditions offered by the Dutch.

The Kutai Sultanate is already a piece of meat in Spain’s mouth, and the so-called Dutch offering is of no real consequence, failing to tempt Carlo in any way.

If the Netherlands wishes to ensure peace in Southeast Asia through negotiation, it would be best to propose conditions that truly move people’s hearts, rather than regions that Spain has already overtly occupied.