Pedro turned his head to look at Lieutenant General Robben, the other party also had an unaware expression, these Chinese are really more troublesome, he thought about it, looked up and asked the officer who came in to report: "How many people did this Chinese general bring?" ”

"Report to the Governor-General, the Chinese brought two adjutants and a team of guards!"

"Oh...... Lieutenant General Robben, let's go meet this Chinese general and see what he wants to do. ”

Qin Kai was at the door, followed by Luo Yan and Lu Shu, quietly waiting for the Spaniards to appear, although this is still the territory of the Spaniards, but the strength of these Spaniards, he is clear, after more than ten years, he will not be beaten by the Americans and will not find the north, and then honestly roll up and leave!

But since I'm here, the Yankees have to stand aside first, this defensive island chain in the Pacific Ocean has long been fancy, not to mention that the Philippines is a super-first-class copper mountain, the entire Philippine copper reserves of more than 4.8 billion tons, and concentrated in the Luzon Mountains, this artillery era...... Huang Chengcheng's bullet casings made Qin Kai really depressed for a while.

The production of two small copper mines in Fujian is limited, and although several medium-sized copper mines have been found in the coal and iron mining areas of Vietnam, the output is also very limited, and the copper mines in the Philippines were only in a very small scale of mining before the 20th century, one of the reasons for this is that the local indigenous people are naturally lazy, and the primitive mining work cannot be found at all.

In addition to copper ore, the three largest minerals in the Philippines are chromium, nickel and gold, silver and copper associated ores, chromium is needless to say, it is now the pillar of horsetail stainless steel stamping products, and nickel is directly related to the armor and artillery of giant ships, as for gold, silver and copper...... Idiots also know his worth.

However, the Spaniards, who have occupied this land for more than 200 years, know almost nothing, and the only thing the Spaniards are doing is mining a few small copper mines, and the production is pitiful...... Qin Kai did whatever he wanted, and a sinister smile appeared on his face! At this time, there was the sound of footsteps in the mansion......

A tall, bald old man and a horizontally developed officer appeared in his field of vision, and the officer who went in front of him to report hurriedly ran up and introduced Qin Kai, the bald old man was Governor Pedro of Olongapo, and the other officer was Vice Admiral Robben, the commander of the Spanish fleet.

Qin Kai arrived at this governor's mansion to the point that he didn't have the consciousness of being a guest at all, and walked all the way into the living room, and when he arrived at the living room, the bald governor Pedro had a very strict old face, and asked first: "Excuse me, what is the matter with General Qin of the Great Qing Kingdom?" ”

Qin Kai waved his hand, Lu Shu behind him took out a document and handed it over, and the interpreter on the side translated the content of the document to Governor Pedro, this is naturally something that Qin Kai just made up in the morning, and it was covered with the big seal of his Nanyang sailors, and the words on the crooked big seal were not even recognized by Qin Kai, how could this interpreter distinguish clearly.

The content is also very simple, that is, the Nanyang Navy Division should inspect all parts of the Nanyang and be responsible for the affairs of the Nanyang, this content is large and empty, almost a meaning of doing whatever you want, he smiled very gentlemanly: "Your Excellency, I came this time, naturally I want to trade with your country here, and at the same time enhance the friendship between the two countries, I hope to get the support of your country!" ”

Pedro has no problem with trading with Qin Kai at all, it is a good thing to create taxes for the colony, anyway, these people are not permanently here, this is easy to say...... But what kind of friendship or something, he is not interested in it at all, it is best for Qin Kai to leave early! With such a powerful navy squatting on their doorstep, no one will feel good.

The bald muscles twitched, and he squeezed out a dry smile, "General Qin, this is no problem at all, I don't know when the general's fleet is going to leave?" ”

Qin Kai smiled, "The two of you should have heard the news, the Great Qing Kingdom is at war with France, and we have sunk 8 warships of the French Cochinchina Navy, and our army has not lost a single one, this ...... The fighting in the South China Sea should be fierce! Qin Kai had already selectively forgotten about the sinking of the "Yuan Kai" battleship by the French, after all, it had nothing to do with him.

Hearing this, Vice Admiral Robben's mahjong-like body couldn't help but tremble, the French Navy, which is now a powerful fleet second only to Britain in Europe, suffered such a crushing defeat in a naval battle, 0 to 8, what kind of concept is it in a naval battle, it is a completely one-sided and oppressive result! ,

Of course, the Spaniards knew about the news that the Qing Kingdom and France were at war, but they didn't care too much about it, after all, it didn't have much to do with them, but the news brought by Qin Kai was obviously showing off, a kind of red fruit show of force.

Vice Admiral Robben glanced at Governor Pedro, this bald man still didn't understand the information revealed by Qin Kai at this time, after all, he was a civilian official, and he didn't know much about the affairs of the navy, as for France, it was a European power, Pedro naturally knew, but what did the results of this naval battle mean, the bald governor turned his head and asked his Vice Admiral Robben with his eyes.

Robben had already made up his mind at this time, since the navy of the Great Qing Kingdom dared to fight with the French navy, which was known as the second in the world, then before the victory or defeat was scored, it would definitely not cause these troubles, the most famous proverb in Europe was - trouble does not look for you, you do not look for trouble! Lieutenant General Robben saw this clearly.

He didn't bother to take care of any etiquette at this time, in case the bald governor had a hot brain, and he was forced to carry the Chinese fleet, and he was the one who went to the front line desperately! Hurriedly came to Pedro's side and whispered in his ear for a while, now the bald governor finally understood the situation, but for the results of Qin Kai's words, both of them seemed to be a little suspicious, they were both old foxes in the officialdom......

Pedro thought about it for a moment, and his attitude was much more polite than just now, "General Qin, since the merchants of your country want to open a shop in Olongapo City, this is no problem at all!" Don't know what else you have to do? ”

Qin Kai smiled slightly to show his friendliness, "Your Excellency Pedro, in addition, I am inspecting Nanyang this time, and I also hope that Your Excellency the Governor General of the Philippines can propose to His Excellency the Governor of the Philippines to properly ensure the safety of the Qing Dynasty's expatriates in the Philippines!" Of course, I hope that the two sides will conclude a peace agreement! ”

Qin Kai's mention of yì can almost be said to be a little unscrupulous, this is a diplomatic problem, he came out with private soldiers to mix, and he can't fight together at all, but for this mountain high emperor far away Nanyang, how can there be an emperor...... The cannon in his hand is the real emperor!

After saying this, Qin Kai stood up and said with a stern expression: "Governor Pedro, according to my investigation, your country is very lax in protecting the Chinese diaspora, in the past hundred years of history, there have been many massacres of local natives against the Chinese diaspora...... Presumably, the Governor does not want to see this! ”

Anyway, Qin Kai is barefoot and not afraid to wear shoes now, he can intimidate if he can, and buy if he can, first use the residual influence of the Great Qing Dynasty, and then talk about it, and have his own record there, the Spaniards have to weigh it carefully, and first stabilize the situation in the Philippines, which is conducive to the development of Freemasonry here, as for dealing with Spain, he doesn't have the ability for the time being!

However, he knew very well that Spain in this era could be described as extremely weak, Cuba, the largest overseas colony, was vigorously carrying out the "Ten Years Revolution" anti-colonial movement, Spain's colonial rule in Cuba was in jeopardy, and most importantly, Cuba's close neighbor, the United States of America, was also very interested in this land full of changes, which made the Spaniards a headache.

The restoration of Alfonso XII was only a few years old, and he did not have enough prestige to rule the country, so Qin Kai could almost conclude that Spain was a paper tiger during this period, and it was a bit of a tiger to say that it was a tiger......

As for the issue of the Chinese, in fact, the Spaniards have undergone great changes in the past ten years, and the Spanish authorities were afraid that these Chinese would build up too much power in the Philippines and affect the rule of Spain.

However, the history of more than 100 years has made them see a little clearly, most of the Chinese who come to Nanyang are here to make a living, and they are not as terrible as they imagined, so in addition to maintaining a complete exclusion of Chinese in politics, they are more likely to turn to conniving at the indigenous Chinese exclusion, and the authorities can make profits from this.

And now the Qing Kingdom is actually concerned about the affairs of this overseas expatriate, which is an unusual signal, it is obvious that there is neither benefit nor necessity in a head-on confrontation, after all, the Philippines still cannot lack the huge energy of the Chinese in commerce and industry, Pedro immediately set the tone. ,

He couldn't do anything about this matter, he just passed the news upward, and immediately agreed happily, "General Qin, the Kingdom of Spain will be very willing to conclude a peace agreement with the general, but this matter is very important, I need to report to the Grand Governor, and at the same time convey your wishes to His Majesty King Alfonso!" ”

"Your Excellency Governor, look at the question about the Chinese, do you please make an announcement in Olongapo City, this is a major event related to the friendship between the two countries!" Qin Kai continued to exert pressure unrelentingly, negotiation is like this, you can't give up if you seize the opportunity, since this bald governor seems to be easier to bully, he naturally won't let go of this opportunity!

Soon after bargaining, Governor Pedro signed a proclamation on the protection of the rights and interests of the Chinese in Olongapo, and the Spanish side naturally obtained some benefits from Qin Kai, of course, more for Governor Pedro and Vice Admiral Robben privately, the two sides agreed that Governor Pedro, Vice Admiral Robben's agent and Mawei Shipping Company jointly set up a trading company to deal in goods shipped from the Qing State.

Qin Kai promised not to open shipping company stores in other ports in Luzon, so that this joint stock company would monopolize the trade of horsetail goods in the entire Luzon Island, and these two powerful figures only collected accounts and did not participate in the operation, but their agents were to enter the company to account for profits......

Qin Kai has no opinion on the benefits of letting these Spaniards, the goods we get off the dock are already sky-high, and it is also a good thing to have such a joint venture official and businessman to take orders, as for the operation, Qin Kai has already had a suitable candidate.

Intimidation, coaxing, coercion, bribery...... After using all kinds of means, Qin Kai was no longer the enemy of Olongapo City at this time, but a very friendly partner and international friend, the two Spanish officials not only removed the threat of possible existence, but also got a big benefit, naturally more and more felt that this general of the Great Qing State fleet was very cute!

As the second largest city and the largest port in the Philippines, after the Sun family and the Chen family came forward to call for it, almost all the Chinese merchant families knew that there was a Lord Qincha from the homeland thousands of miles away, and he brought a huge fleet to seek justice for the Chinese! Therefore, that night, when Qin Kai made an appointment with all the representatives of Chinese businessmen in Olongapo City, he was crowded with a room full of people in the newly purchased empty warehouse of Mawei Shipping.

This made Qin Kai a little depressed, there wouldn't be some Spaniard spies mixed in here...... Thinking of this, Qin Kai called Yan Xun and Rong Bin, the officer of the Protector Army who was responsible for the security of the Philippine side in the future, and specially instructed them to pay attention to observation, and the content of the conversation that night was basically some public news.

He announced the agreement and announcement with Pedro, the governor of the city of Olongapo, on the protection of the interests of the Chinese, and announced the Chinese Mutual Masonic Association and the Chinese Merchant Alliance in the city, in addition, it was inevitable to publicize the victories of the Nanyang Sailors, these news, almost every one of them caused the surprise of the Chinese businessmen who were burying their heads in making money, and in their eyes, they were full of admiration for this Lord Qin!

For hundreds of years, no court member was willing to assert even a little bit of the minimum rights and interests of these compatriots who had the same bloodline, because the officials who stood high above the temple had never regarded these Chinese who had been displaced in Nanyang as the subjects of the Qing Dynasty.

However, these Nanyang businessmen naturally don't know some other truths, and the real situation is not necessarily the case, there are actually not a few people who open their eyes to the world in this era, and Qin Kai's boss Ding Richang happens to have some achievements in this regard.

In 1874, some overseas businessmen brought news that Chinese laborers were abused by the local government in Peru and Cuba, and were forced to work long hours and with low wages.

Ding Richang, as the representative of the exchange of contracts, negotiated with the governments of Peru and Spain, and finally negotiated the signing of the "Cuban Chinese Workers Clause" with Cuba, and signed the "Special Article of the Sino-Peruvian Conference" and the "Sino-Peruvian Trade Treaty" with the Peruvian government.

However, the overseas Chinese in Nanyang, as a special case, were treated as traitors in the late Ming Dynasty and the first two hundred years of the Qing Dynasty, and naturally there could be no high-ranking officials of the Qing Dynasty to carry out any form of struggle for their survival situation, and in this regard, Qin Kai was undoubtedly the first! ,

After Qin Kai's speech, it was naturally the turn of the Sun family and the Chen family to show up and talk about the history of the suffering of the Chinese in the Philippines one by one, which naturally resonated with all the Chinese businessmen, this history of blood and tears, most of the Chinese businessmen present had experienced it, or they were former victims in the family, and they were even more grateful for the courage of this Lord Qin.

In the end, of course, the Chinese Business Alliance and the Chinese Mutual Masonic Conference were played, and the atmosphere on the scene was pushed to a climax, and every Chinese in the venue was full of excitement, in their opinion, the Chinese history of Nanyang seemed to usher in a new beginning!

Qin Kai came out of this venue, and met with the representatives sent by the Sun family and the Chen family alone, the Chinese Business Alliance is not a simple president system, but a tripartite committee composed of representatives of the Sun family, the Wu family and Mawei, and they are managed together, and he set the current transfer for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce or the development of the sales network in the Philippines, which is currently expanding in Olongapo City and the surrounding areas, and when the time is ripe to expand to Manila, the first city in the Philippines, after all, the two places are not far apart.

Later, in the command room of the 501, a secret mission was issued, Subic Bay would be the starting point for the fleet's split operations, and the telegraph station of the British Asian Submarine Telegraph Company would be a convenient exchange of information, and with the new agreement with the bald governor, it could be considered a safe base for the time being.

The second fleet will be formed with Chengqing and Chaowu, and will lead the two merchant ships to continue to advance southward, and the remaining four merchant ships will return to Mawei in advance after completing the transaction, and continue to deliver supplies to Subic Bay under the escort of the follow-up fleet, while Qin Kai and Colonel Frederick's warships form the first fleet and set sail with the second fleet, but after reaching the first destination, they will begin to part ways and carry out their ultimate mission!

The next day, the telegram sent by the British Merchant Telegraph Company in Tongguò quickly received a reply from Xu Shoushan, who was left behind in Mawei, where the latest important news came that the French had launched a full-scale attack on the city controlled by the Vietnamese army west of Haiphong, and the news from secret channels came that the French had captured Jianrui, Jian'an, Ningjiang, Yongbao, Jincheng and other places.

In other words, all the Vietnamese counties within a radius of 100 kilometers around Haiphong had been controlled by the French, and the fighting was almost one-sided, only at Ninh Giang encountered resistance from a Vietnamese army stationed from Hanoi, but the effectiveness of this resistance was also minimal, and it was quickly defeated.

However, the French attack had a very severe impact on the first battalion of the Protector Army stationed in Zhiling Fortress!