Kepel furrowed his brow, putting on a conflicted expression. Though the places East Africa demanded were not particularly important to the Netherlands.
What worried him was not this bit of land, but East Africa's insatiable greed. As the old saying went, today they demanded five cities, tomorrow ten.
East Africa dared to covet these islands now—who could say that it would not set its sights on great islands like Java or Sumatra in the future?
Of course, Kepel knew very well that the Netherlands currently had no way to refuse or offend East Africa. There was no need for East Africa itself to act; the East African Navy of the Lanfang Overseas Province alone could make the entire Dutch East Indies change its banner.
Thus, Kepel said with great difficulty, "Mr. Freer, your country's demands truly put us in a very difficult position!"
"Though these islands are not large, every one of them is a top-tier strategic location. I would not dare make the decision on my own and give these places to East Africa for nothing."
Freer said, "Naturally, we will not make things difficult for you. For this purchase of these islands, we are willing to offer the high price of ten million Rheinland Shields. Of course, unlike East Kalimantan, this time we are buying out ownership rights to these islands."
Kepel began calculating inwardly. Ten million Rheinland Shields was certainly no small sum, because among these dozen or so islands, the only one of real value was the largest, Billiton Island.
All the islands East Africa intended to purchase combined did not even amount to ten thousand square kilometers, while Billiton Island alone covered more than four thousand square kilometers.
And how vast were the Dutch East Indies? Even after losing its land on Borneo, the Dutch