Negotiations (3)

The expedition spent nearly a month returning to the vicinity of the Saldanha Bay. There, they built their own barracks and sealed themselves off, allowing no one to enter without permission. Meanwhile, the high-speed transport ships that had been anchored in the Saldanha Bay quickly left the bay and headed north.

On the other hand, in India, the East India Company finally held an expanded meeting to discuss the situation in South Africa. Compared to South Africa, the Britain in India actually knew more about the situation in Europe because they could get news from the Europe continent through Turkey. At this time, the France had established a wired telegraph system throughout Europe, organized a transnational wired telegraph alliance, and even had telegraph offices in Saint Petersburg and Istanbul.

Of course, the news coming from Turkey was not good, and many Britain in India dared not fully believe it, but the unfavorable situation was certain. Especially after news of the Battle of the North Atlantic came, the Britain in India were quite nervous. They all knew that if the Britain were to lose the war, they could forget about saving India.

Governor Prima believed that the East India Company men, concerned for the preservation of India, would certainly be willing to accept more reliable Britain. However, the East India Company men didn't think so. They wondered if even if all the men from Cape Town came, would it change the fundamental balance of power? If France ultimately won in Europe, could they hold India with the extra manpower from Cape Town? That was pure fantasy.

Therefore, India's future hinges on the outcome of the war in Europe. If Europe wins, the East India Company wouldn't need to send the Britain from Cape Town here. If Europe loses, what would be the best course of action for the East India Company's leaders? They would, of course, seize every last drop of wealth in India before the France invade, making a final, impulsive exit. The lower-ranking, less wealthy Britain would then take their spoils and flee to other places, such as Australia or elsewhere. Those in higher positions, having amassed even more wealth and with more connections, would have already secured channels to deposit their ill-gotten gains into Roman Bank before the France arrived. They would then change their names, acquire citizenship in Austria or the Germany states, and swagger into Paris, where they would live happily ever after, enjoying complete financial freedom.

If that's the case, then what's the point of bringing those guys from Cape Town over? To have them come and share the profits?

Given this idea, the East India Company's reaction speed was predictable. In short, the representatives sent by Governor Prima were kicked around like a ball from one department to another by the East India Company guys. In short, each department had its own version of events and its own roadmap, and all of these roadmaps pointed to another department as the "next step".

I wonder if Kafka, who wrote * the Castle * in later generations, ever did something similar, like running errands. But if this novel could be transported to this world and shown to Major Qiaosen, he would definitely feel that he is exactly the "K" in the book.

He ran like a mad dog, following the route map given to him by those guys from the East India Company. He was first told by the company that this matter could only be carried out if the request came from the Governor-General of India, Earl Gilbert Elliott-Murray-Kinningmond.

"Ah, my friend, you know, these days companies are very restricted when dealing with certain political issues. Something like this certainly won't do without Governor Elliott's approval."

So he was kicked from Mumbai in western India to Calcutta in eastern India. And then what?

"My friend, you know we don't have the authority to make that decision. You know, according to the Act of 1784 (the East India Company Act), such a major decision must be authorized by the management board. And the management board is now located domestically."

Under the East India Company Act of 1784, the East India Company's political decision-making power was subject to the orders of the Britain government. To achieve this, the Act established a governing committee for India affairs. The committee members included the Britain Chancellor of the Exchequer, a Secretary of State, and four Privy Council advisors appointed by the King. According to this Act, all actions involving various political decisions had to be approved by this committee.

"That's not right," Major Qiaosen said. "I remember that by 1786, under the new Authorization Act, the committee had already delegated more powers to the Governor-General of India."

"Ah, the Authorization Act of 1786 did indeed delegate most of the power to the Governor-General, but the scope of authority granted Governor-General Eliot was limited to India, and at most extended to the Far East. Cape Town, however, is not part of the Far East," the mustachioed official replied. "Therefore, even if Governor-General Eliot makes such a request, it is clearly an overreach, and without the approval of the committee, Governor-General Eliot has no authority to approve such an action."

"But... if we can get authorization from the committee, it means the blockade of the Britain mainland has been broken, and then we won't need this authorization," Major Qiaosen said.

"Yes, you're right," the mustachioed official nodded. "Who can argue with that? But rules are rules. If we don't follow the rules, wouldn't things be chaotic? Besides, if problems arise from not following the rules, who can bear the responsibility? I just heard you say that the France control the seas over Cape Town. What if—and I mean, what if—our ships are attacked by their steamships and sunk, resulting in the deaths of many noble people? And the reason for such a loss is because we overstepped our authority and made an illegal decision? The responsibility would be too great... So, I suggest you go directly to the company, avoid political matters, and simply rent the ships from them under the guise of ordinary commercial transactions..."

Thus, the mustachioed man successfully completed a defensive clearance. Major Qiaosen didn't even see the Governor before he was kicked from the east side of the penalty area all the way to the vicinity of the west side of the penalty area. Ah, it should be said that it was kicked from Calcutta in eastern India to Mumbai in western India.

And then? Well, the company certainly has plenty of ways to handle that.

"Sir, you have already shown us Governor Prima's letter, and this matter is on record, and the record has been signed and filed. So, if you now say it's just a simple economic transaction, it will be difficult for it to pass with our superiors. Of course, if there are no objections from above, then of course there are no objections from me either. Well, I can issue you a statement so you can go directly to our superiors. In fact, the power to make the final decision lies with them. Even if you convince me, I have no authority to make a decision; I can only submit the documents to my superiors."

So Major Qiaosen went on to run to his "superiors," then to their peers, and then to their superiors. He ran until he felt he could easily enter the Marat at the next Olympic Games and win a gold medal, before finally getting a barely acceptable result.

"As you know, we don't control this sea area. Our ships would be in great danger if they encountered enemy warships."

"That's not a problem, sir. Steamships are very distinctive; we can spot them in advance and avoid them."

"What about at night? Can we avoid it beforehand at night too?"

"We do need to be careful tonight. However, they've sailed so far, they may not have enough coal, or sufficient maintenance to sustain the high-density patrols of their warships..."

"But overall, it's still quite dangerous, right?"

Seeing that Major Qiaosen remained silent, the superior of the "superior" smiled slightly and said, "I think you can completely bypass our company, just like you bypassed the governor. You can go directly to those captains, talk to them, and then we'll pretend we know nothing..."

So Major Qiaosen was kicked down from the top ranks to the bottom, sent directly to talk to the captains. And then...

"How is that possible? They're pretending not to know? If something goes wrong, won't all the responsibility fall on our shoulders? How can they pretend not to know? This won't do, this won't do! These bastards at the top, I know what they're up to the moment they flinch! My friend, listen to me, this really won't do, unless you pay more..."

Adding money is possible, but the prices asked by the captains below are a bit too outrageous.

"Why is it so expensive?"

"Isn't this normal? You see, this route is very risky, and we have to keep our superiors in line. We can't let them assign me another task while we're on this trip. And the guys up there are pretending not to know, not that they really don't. So a large portion of our earnings goes to them, and in fact, the lion's share of the profits goes to them. And, as you know, if our ship is going to the Turkey, I'll take some cargo and make some money along the way. But going to Cape Town, I can't take any cargo along the way. It's basically an empty ship... So, my friend, my price is really not expensive at all; it's really, really fair."