After meeting with the envoys stationed abroad, Chen Dayong asked whether to dismantle several groups of trains and captured ships at Qingdao Station and transport steel back to the base area to make weapons.

Liu Yimin inquired about the seizure of the boat. It turned out that after the army captured Qingdao, it salvaged all the warships and steamers that Shen Honglie had sunk in the waterway, a total of 22 ships. After the army salvaged eight warships, including "Zhenhai," "Tong'an," "Dinghai," "Chuyu," "Yongxiang," "Jiangli," "Haihe," and "Haiyan," it found that all the warships' guns had been dismantled, and they had no choice but to drag them to the Qingdao shipyard for repairs. After the other ships were repaired, they were handed over to the shipping company in Qingdao to engage in commercial transportation.

In addition to these ships, our army also captured two 10,000-ton cruise ships and five cargo ships. In addition, the military towed the four warships "Haigull," "Haiqing," "Haijun," and "Haipeng" salvaged from the Liugong Island channel to Qingdao and brought them to the shipyard for repairs.

Among these ships, the "Zhenhai" is the largest and is an aircraft carrier, and the Northeast Navy originally had an aviation group with eight aircraft. During the Northern Expedition, the ship had 13 attacks from the south to Wusongkou, and the ship had aircraft on board. The "Tong'an" is a destroyer, the "Dinghai" is a transport ship, the "Yongxiang," "Chuyu," and "Jiangli" are gunboats, and the six "Seagull," "Haihe," "Haiqing," "Haijun," "Haiyan," and "Haipeng" are gunboats.

When Liu Yimin heard this, he was overjoyed, knowing that this was really the warship of the Third Fleet that Shen Honglie had sunk in the channel. Not to mention anything else, this "Zhenhai" ship was originally a troop carrier of the German army, which was exiled to Qingdao after the defeat of Germany in World War I and became a cargo ship. The ship weighed 2,708 tons, had a speed of 12 knots, and was called "Xiangli" at that time. After Shen Honglie bought the ship, he sent it to the Lushunkou Naval Base for maintenance and refitting. After the modification, it was equipped with 2 4.7-inch Armstrong naval guns and 4 3-inch army guns, powered by a coal-fired boiler reciprocating steam engine, 1,200 horsepower, and a speed of 12 knots. Although it is not as good as a ship, it can also carry one or two aircraft, which is the earliest aircraft carrier in old China. Although it was not a regular aircraft carrier, let alone an ejection device, the plane had to stop and anchor when taking off, and the plane was hoisted into the water with a crane to take off, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive.

The aircraft carried by the "Zhenhai" is the French-made Schreck FBA-19 seaplane, which is an improved version of the Schrecker FBA-17, with a total length of 12.87 meters and a wingspan of 8.94 meters, and the main engine has been changed from the original 180 horsepower backward propulsion type to 300 horsepower Hispano-Svisa forward pull engine, and the speed has been increased from the original 158 kilometers per hour to 180 kilometers, which has broken the world record for the flight altitude of seaplanes.

After being amazed, Liu Yimin secretly screamed in his heart that it was a pity, if Ni Hua's cargo ship was not discovered by the Yue army, it would be impossible for him to discover the liberation of Qingdao so quickly. In that case, we can use these ships, together with the cargo ships of the United States, Britain, Germany, and other countries in Qingdao, to organize a surprise army to raid Lianyungang, Tianjin, and Dalian, and greatly expand the results of the war. It's useless to say anything now, the military fleet is off the coast of Qingdao, not to mention the 10,000-ton cruise ship and this fleet, even a small wooden ship will be discovered.

If we can think of sailing these ships to the vicinity of Laizhou Bay or hiding them near the mouth of the Yellow River, we may be able to organize a navy in the future, and at least we can transport a part of our troops to attack Tianjin at any time. If we can survive the outbreak of the Pacific War and all the military and naval forces are attracted by the US military, then we will not be able to use this fleet to crisscross the coastal waters, not to mention Qingdao, Tianjin, and Dalian, or even to attack Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou in the south. Then you will be happy!

Gotta think to keep these ships!

Liu Yimin told Chen Dayong that all the trains and steel tracks would be dismantled and transported back to the mountains. If there is no time, the dismantled steel will be transported out of Qingdao, find a place to bury it, and then transport it back to the mountains when the situation is relatively calm. As for the warship, he had to think again.

Liu Yimin's first thought was to send six gunboats to the sea, load them with explosives, and attack the Japanese fleet. But after thinking about it, he smiled, because his own unit did not have naval talents, even if he found some of the lost personnel of the former Shen Honglie's Third Fleet in Qingdao, people were not necessarily willing to do this kind of suicide attack. Besides, the fleet off the coast of Qingdao is a large fleet, not to mention that the gunboats are not easy to approach, but if they get close and the sneak attack is successful, it is only a loss of one warship for the army, and it is only a loss of six gunboats. He said that if he loses one, he can build ten or eight more ships, where can he build them?

The second trick that Liu Yimin thought of was to bombard the fleet with shore defense artillery, force it to stay away from the sea of Qingdao, and take advantage of the night to drive the ships away. However, there are two problems here, one is that Chen Dayong reported that there were no coastal defense artillery in Qingdao's coastal defense fortifications, and according to the people in the shipyard, Yu Xuezhong did build coastal defense fortifications in Qingdao at that time, but there were no coastal defense artillery. When Shen Honglie sank the ship, he dismantled the guns on the ship and transported them to the Yangtze River fortifications. After he came, let alone the coastal defense artillery, he didn't even repair the coastal defense fortifications, because Tan's navy was too powerful, and the powerful could not find an opponent in Asia. Second, if you don't have naval talents, where can you drive the warship away?

After thinking about it, Liu Yimin felt that Chiang Kai-shek had naval talents there, so did he send him a telegram asking him to send someone to Qingdao to start the warship, and then try to drive the warship to a safe place. Later, when I thought about it, I laughed, if Chiang Kai-shek had that plan, he would not have ordered Shen Honglie to sink the ship, let alone ordered Qingdao to abandon without a fight. Lao Jiang is unreliable!

Liu Yimin felt that there was still a way to go, that is, to find a way to hand over the fleet to a third country and change it into a cargo fleet, saying that if he occupied Qingdao again, he might confiscate this fleet, but it was also possible that he could not afford to offend the third country, ignore the combat function of the warships that had been changed into a cargo fleet, and no longer bother. If this is the case, it will be necessary to tighten control over this fleet and ensure that it can be used when it is critical.

Alas, all the mistakes are my own fault, just thinking about letting Ni Hua transport goods, just thinking that the sea is so big, at this time, foreign merchant ships can sail and dock in China's coastal waters at will, why didn't they think that the special agents in the United States would track Ni Hua's actions from beginning to end? Otherwise, wouldn't the Eighth Route Army Navy be born now?

Liu Yimin couldn't think about it anymore, and hurriedly sent a report to the headquarters and the chairman, explaining the current situation of the military fleet controlling the waters off Qingdao, and reporting on his own handling of the fleet.

The chairman sent a telegram urging Liu Yimin to step up the transportation of materials from Qingdao, and asked him to return to the division headquarters quickly and get a good grasp of studying the operational plan for dealing with the army's sweeping and retaliation, because the army would not leave too much time for our army. As for the handling of the fleet, the Chairman said that if there is a certainty of control, an attempt could be made to hand it over to a third country to set up a freight company. If you are not sure, you can dismantle or blow up and sink it, and you must not leave it to the army.

After reading the telegram, Liu Yimin was in good spirits, took Shi Ran with him, and drove to meet the US consul in Qingdao, Suo Kebin.

The U.S. Consulate is at No. 1 Yishui Road.

At this time, it was already 10 o'clock in the evening, and after Suo Kebin returned from attending Liu Yimin's drinking party, he did not fall asleep, and was busy discussing with the personnel of Qingdao Mobil Oil Company about assisting the Eighth Route Army in transporting oil quickly.

Seeing Liu Yimin's arrival, Suo Kebin was surprised, but he knew that Liu Yimin was a busy man, and he didn't come to the door for anything, and the visit was a top secret thing, so he hurriedly finished explaining, let the people from Mobil Oil Company go, closed the door, called an assistant from the consulate, let Liu Yimin into the office, and began to talk.

Liu Yimin motioned to Shi Ran to make a record, and said: "Mr. Suo Kebin, it was presumptuous to disturb late at night, please forgive me!" ”

In fact, Suo Kebin did not welcome Liu Yimin's visit very much in his heart now, because the US political axe pursues a policy of neutrality, and Liu Yimin always wants to pull the United States into the chariot and jointly deal with Yue himself.

Seeing that Liu Yimin said so politely, Suo Kebin was not too rude, after all, the two sides had just made a big deal and disposed of the oil storage of Qingdao Mobil Oil Company, so he hurriedly smiled and said: "Dear Liu, you are the most generous Chinese I have ever met, and you are also my most honored guest." Tell me, is there any place where I can serve you? ”

Liu Yimin had something on his mind, and he was in a hurry to leave Qingdao and return to Weixian, so that he could concentrate on thinking about how the army would retaliate next, and he didn't have time to play in circles with Suo Kebin. But he knows that these American diplomats are very slippery, and Sok Kebin has been in Qingdao for a long time, and he has already degenerated into a businessman, and he doesn't know if Suo Kebin will accept his ideas! He said carefully and carefully: "Mr. Suo Kebin, I have something I want to discuss with you. If this is done, it will be beneficial to both of us. I don't know if you're interested? ”

Suo Kebin is a businessman and a spy in his bones, and as soon as he heard that it was profitable, his attitude immediately changed, because he knew that the person in front of him was the most powerful person in Qingdao and even Shandong, and in addition to causing trouble, he could still really bring him benefits.

Suo Kebin immediately got up and made a cup of coffee for Liu Yimin, put it in front of him, and then said, "Dear Liu, you can always surprise us." Say, what kind of business is it? ”

Liu Yimin took a sip of coffee, it tasted good, put down the cup, glanced at Suo Kebin, and then said: "Mr. Suo Kebin, I want to partner with you, or with the United States, to start a shipping company." ”

As soon as Suo Kebin heard this, he shook his head, stood up, and said loudly: "God, dear Liu, you are so crazy, the sea is full of my own warships, you are their mortal enemy, if they knew that the shipping company was yours, they would immediately blow up and sink the cargo ship." Your idea is so amazing, so incredible, I can't agree with it. ”

Liu Yimin Jian Suo Kebin refused, and he was not surprised, took another sip of coffee, and took out a cigarette from his pocket.

Shi Ran hurriedly put down the notebook, took out a match, and lit it for him.

Liu Yimin took a big sip of beauty, and then said lightly: "The international community has commented that Americans are dizzy by the economic crisis, and even Xiao Yueben looks down on Americans, I don't believe it yet, but tonight I believe it." Mr. Sokbin, you have disappointed me so much. Based on your performance, I will write a novel called "Qingdao Consul" and send it to the newspapers and periodicals of the United States, Britain, France and other countries for publication. When the time comes, you can enjoy my writing. ”

Suo Kebin was enraged and roared loudly: "You are a threat, a blackmail!" I would like to lodge a strong protest to Chiang Kai-shek's political axe through the embassy in the Republic of China! ”

Liu Yimin smiled, smoked a cigarette, and looked at Soke's angry face through the smoke, but his tone became colder and colder: "I also want to write an article entitled "What the Americans Did in Qingdao", mainly to write about the fact that during your tenure as the consul of the United States of America in Qingdao, you took advantage of your position to do business with Yue himself, helped him purchase and transport strategic materials, and supported Yue himself in killing Chinese civilians in disguise. ”

Suo Ke's polite face turned the color of pig liver, and he kept roaring: "Dear Liu, I regard you as a friend and receive you, I can't imagine that you are so despicable and bloody, when did I help me invade China?" When did I help me to massacre Chinese civilians? You are blackmailing, but slandering! I protest! ”

Liu Yimin's demeanor remained unchanged, and his tone became colder and colder: "In view of the fact that Qingdao Mobil Oil Company has sold gasoline and diesel fuel to the Chinese army, helping the army's tanks, armored vehicles, automobiles, warships, and airspace to fight in China's territory, territorial waters, and airspace, attacking the [***] team, and massacring civilians for no reason, I am ready to suspend our business, confiscate all the property of Qingdao Mobil Oil Company, and make the situation public." In particular, Mr. Suo Kebin has a significant interest in Qingdao Mobil Oil Company. The involvement of public officials in the trade of strategic goods of the belligerents, I wonder if this counts as a scandal? It just so happens that I have a group of American journalists here, and there are many righteous people among them, and I think they will be interested in this matter, and they will dig up a lot of interesting news clues from the middle. I have to congratulate you, Mr. Sockbin, that you will soon be in the spotlight of the nation and the world. ”

At this time, Suo Kebin was already roaring and could not move, he sat down on the sofa, covered his face with his hands, and moaned silently: "God, I have met the devil!" ”

Liu Yimin continued: "Although the United States is now pursuing a policy of neutrality, there is a high demand for domestic support for China's War of Resistance, and there are news from China's War of Resistance in newspapers and on the radio. Many Americans also took the initiative to donate money and materials to support the Chinese people's war of resistance. Many people of insight have begun to discuss criticism of isolationism and neutrality, President Roosevelt has begun to study China policy and US defense issues, and Congress has allocated huge sums of money to develop the navy. As a diplomat stationed abroad, I do not bother to study domestic policy changes, but instead make profits by sending gasoline and diesel to the capital, and I estimate that the US investigative agencies are in great need of such typical cases. The American people also want to know who in the political axe apparatus is resolutely implementing the policy of neutrality and pouring salt into the wounds of the suffering Chinese people! ”

Sokebin didn't even moan, he sat on the sofa and drooped his head, silent.

Liu Yimin finished smoking, stood up, walked up to Suo Kebin, looked at him with pity, and said softly: "Since Mr. Suo Kebin is not interested in cooperating with a shipping company, I won't bother." Have a good dream and good night! ”

After speaking, Liu Yimin walked towards the door.

At this time, Suo Kebin's assistant spoke: "Mr. Liu, please stay, Mr. Suo Kebin may have something to say." Come, please sit down, the coffee is cold, I'll make you another drink. ”

With an authentic New York accent and a pleasant voice, Liu Yimin couldn't help but look back at Suo Kebin's assistant carefully, only to find that it was a blonde beauty in her 20s, about 1.75 meters tall, with an ivory-like complexion, a tall nose, and blue eyes.

Liu Yimin couldn't help muttering: "Fuck, I was patronizing and talking to Sokebin just now, but I didn't even notice that his assistant was so young and beautiful!" ”

Suo Kebin is an old man, he is already awake at this time, and knows that once Liu Yimin leaves here, what awaits him is an endless nightmare, so he quickly stood up, walked to Liu Yimin, held Liu Yimin's hand and said: "Dear Liu, you are so good at telling jokes, it makes me feel a little out of shape when I hear it." Come, please be seated, let me introduce you, this is my friend's daughter Claire, who has come to Qingdao for a vacation, and is temporarily serving as my assistant. Claire, this is China's most famous general, Lieutenant General Liu Yimin, the instructor of the Eighth Route Army, come, you get to know each other. ”

Claire generously stretched out her hand, her blue eyes were about to drip water: "Hello, dear general, it's a pleasure to meet you." ”

Liu Yimin naturally didn't go to any foreign etiquette, so he shook Claire's hand generously, said that he was very happy to know the beautiful Miss Claire, and sat down to listen to what Sokebin had to say.

Seeing that Liu Yimin was not leaving, Suo Kebin asked his dear Liu to talk about his specific ideas for starting a shipping company.

Only then did Liu Yimin tell Shen Honglie about the sinking of the warship of the Third Fleet in the waterway and the salvage and repair of the warship by the Japanese army in order to deal with him, and finally said: "Our army wants to keep these warships, but there is no way for the time being, because the naval fleet of the Yue Army is in the sea of Qingdao, and it is impossible for the ships to sail out. If it is dismantled, the loss is too great. They say that they are starting a shipping company, but in fact they want to hand over the warships to you for management. We can turn a warship into a cargo ship, and the ownership belongs to us. In normal times, you carry out freight operations, and the income belongs to you. But not to sail, just between Qingdao, Lianyungang, Tianjin to engage in freight, to ensure that we call at a critical time. Remember, this is our ship, and we must obey our orders. After receiving the order, it was necessary to terminate all activities and drive the fleet to the designated place on time. Mr. Sokebin, this is tantamount to giving you a fleet for nothing, what do you think of this business? ”

Suo Kebin already understood at this time that the person in front of him was not an ordinary soldier, and he couldn't afford to provoke him at all. However, this is not an ordinary cargo ship, it is a Chinese fleet, although it is old, but as long as it is armed, it can still fight. In this case, the risk is greater.

Suo Kebin thought for a while, and then said slowly: "Dear Liu, have you thought about it, if I reoccupy Qingdao, they will definitely look for these warships. When the time comes, no matter what reason we have, they will not believe it, and they will definitely confiscate the warship. Maybe they will arrest and kill people because of this. ”

Seeing Suo Kebin say this, Liu Yimin's heart was already relaxed, and he said with a smile: "Mr. Suo Kebin, you are thinking about it very right, otherwise we wouldn't want to cooperate with you." Tomorrow, our army will invite the more famous businessmen of Qingdao to auction off the trophies, including not only these warships, but also two 10,000-ton cruise ships and five cargo ships of the shipping company. Our asking price will be very high, about double the price of these ships. No one dares to buy these things, even if they dare to buy them, we won't sell them to them, and the price is so high, there will definitely be a cold spot at that time. Our army announced the demolition of the cargo ship and the cruise ship, and it was dismantling one by one. When the cruise ship was called, you arranged for Qingdao Mobil Oil Company to come forward and stop and buy the ship. Then a shipping company was set up and the business was carried out. In case the whereabouts of these ships are inquired after the army captures Qingdao, you must take the initiative to declare and return the two cruise ships to them, telling them that you have protected the cruise ships. As for these warships, they are already cargo ships of an American company, and I have no right to intervene. In this way, I will be grateful to you for protecting their cruise ships, and they can't afford to provoke the United States for the time being, so that the warships will be dilapidated and abandoned ships in my eyes, and they will not be too difficult. If necessary, you can ask Qingdao Mobil Oil Company to come forward and bribe the commander of the army, and it will be fine. If you really can't do it, you will ask the army to compensate you for your huge losses, and I believe that by this time, the army will not spend money on these old ships. ”

Sockbin pondered for a long time, feeling that this matter was not completely hopeless, and besides, although the United States declared neutrality, but now that the domestic political wind has changed significantly, President Roosevelt is quietly taking measures to prepare for war, maybe one day he will really cooperate with the guy in front of him.

Sokebin pondered for a moment before he said: "Dear Liu, I can only tell you that I am willing to help you, try my best to try, and protect these warships as much as possible, but I don't dare to pack the ticket, in case of failure, please don't blame me." ”

Liu Yimin shook his head: "Mr. Suo Kebin, it's not about trying, it's about must." If you think about it, our navy does not have many ships in the first place, and with the blows of the Chinese army, the naval strength has dropped sharply. These warships, although dilapidated, are very valuable to us. If this were not the case, I would have ordered the warship to be dismantled and the steel of the warship used to make weapons, so why should I leave the two captured cruise ships to Yu himself? Therefore, it is important that you ensure the safety of these vessels. ”

Suo Kebin, who had already learned Liu Yimin's power, knew that he had no possibility of refusing, so he could only try his best to deal with Yue Jun, and finally nodded and agreed.

Liu Yimin immediately asked Shi Ran to draft a memo, signed it himself, and handed it to Suo Kebin. Suo Kebin sighed in his heart, but still signed.

After doing these things, Liu Yimin stood up, walked to Suo Kebin's side, took Suo Kebin's hand and said: "Dear Mr. Suo Kebin, don't be sad, this matter is done, you will be a big hero in the future, and you will be famous in history." Not only will the Eighth Route Army and the Chinese political axe honor you, the Chinese people will be grateful to you, and the American political axe will also award you medals. I am not lying by this, Miss Claire can be a witness, and if you do not get a medal and respect in the future, I will stand up for you. ”

Things have come to this point, and Suo Kebin has to open his mind, what can he do if he is worried? asked Claire to inform the kitchen to prepare for supper, take out the treasured red wine, and have a drink with Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin was in a hurry to rush back to Weixian, and he was about to refuse, but thinking about marching overnight and eating more, he sat down and continued to talk with Suo Kebin, saying nothing more than the situation in Europe and his own brutality.

After waiting for about forty minutes, Liu Yimin had already said goodbye several times, and Claire came in with the chef with a plate.

Liu Yimin looks really fucking rich, not only bread, butter, milk, omelette, but also roast turkey. Just as he was about to do it, he heard Claire say sweetly: "I hope you have a good appetite and eat more, this is a reward for heroes!" ”

Liu Yimin would not have been polite, as soon as he heard this, he immediately said thank you, Miss Claire, picked up the knife and fork and dried it as he spoke, and did not forget to drink red wine and milk, and saw Claire purse her lips and smile.

When he said goodbye, Liu Yimin told Suo Kebin that he would arrange someone to assist in the work, and asked Suo Kebin to arrange a suitable position for him, who could be an assistant or translator. However, there is no need to worry, Qingdao's special agents have been wiped out, and the archives have been transferred.

Only then did Suo Kebin rest assured and hugged Liu Yimin goodbye. Of course, Liu Yimin also hugged Claire goodbye, and was gently kissed by Claire on his forehead, and a low English voice came from his ear: "God bless you!" Looking forward to seeing you again! Seeing that Lao Suo Kebin's eyes were full of smiles, he quietly said to Liu Yimin: "Dear Liu, you are so charming, Claire has a high vision." I might want to congratulate you! ”

Shi Ran was anxious to watch from the sidelines, pulled Liu Yimin away, and reminded Liu Yimin when he walked to the road, saying that this girl was too enthusiastic, so she had to stay away and save trouble. Liu Yimin, who listened to it, laughed and had to tell Shi Ran that this is American etiquette, and there is nothing.

Back at the State Guest House, Liu Yimin explained to Chen Dayong what needed attention, and ordered him to let the artillery regiment pay close attention to training, quickly assemble troops after completing the task of dismantling and transporting, wait for orders, and prepare for a big battle. Then he told Shi Ran to deal specifically with Suo Kebin in the matter of jointly setting up a shipping company, and that he must select an old Red Army cadre to recruit crew members in Qingdao, try to find the separated personnel of the Third Fleet, do a good job in ideological work, and ensure that this fleet can safely return to our army in the future.

After explaining this, Liu Yimin led a battalion of guards and rushed to Weixian overnight.

(To be continued)