The U.S. Consulate is flanked by the British Consulate to the left, the French Consulate to the right, and other Western offices in Dinghai are nearby.

In the evening, the international club next to the French Consulate held an art salon, specially inviting foreign affairs personnel from various countries in Dinghai, as well as Ming officials.

The International Club was built by the 105th Engineer Regiment led by Tang Peng and Li Hao, and is a three-story building in French style with a wide courtyard. Its dignified shape, beautiful and solid, is a landmark building in the head area, and is also the top leisure and entertainment place in Dinghai.

Since its inauguration, whenever night falls, the lights come on, and the international club is surrounded by fragrant clothes and sideburns, and cars and horses are like dragons. Merchants, adventurers, and foreign clerks from all over the world are all well-dressed and rush here to spend a lot of money and have a good time.

Because Dinghai has become a free port, the import and export goods are subject to a reduction and exemption policy; On the three-kilometer-long shoreline, the engineering unit has built 10 small wharves of 400 tons, five large wharves of more than 1,000 tons, and a new cargo warehouse and cargo shed of 40,000 square meters, which can store 20,000 tons of goods at the same time. The port authority implements a set of one-stop services for the merchant ships entering and leaving the port; In addition, the war on both sides of the Yangtze River was raging, which seriously threatened the safety of Shanghai, and almost all the merchant ships north of Fujian were anchored at Dinghai Port, so the foreign trading companies gathered in Shanghai moved to Dinghai in Zhoushan one after another.

The number of foreigners settling in the Dinghai Special Economic Zone has skyrocketed, and in addition to working hard for their material life, they are also slowly paying attention to the enjoyment of spiritual life.

In the hall of the club, musicians are playing Schubert's "Serenade".

The prelude was as clear as water, and under the guidance and backdrop of the sound of the six-stringed instrument, a young man poured out his heart affectionately to his beloved girl, "Can you hear the nightingale singing? It is pleading with you, it wants to tell me my love with that sweet song......"

The band and singers are almost all French wanderers in Dinghai, and the artistic director is Father Ifari.

The French are more romantic, even in a foreign country, they do not forget the tireless pursuit of music.

At the end of the song, there was a round of applause in the hall.

Cheerful dance music sounds, with men in crisp tuxedos and women dancing in pairs in long skirts covered with wide wall folds. As the dance steps moved, the Krinolin bones rhythmically drove the skirt to sway slightly and gracefully.

In a small living room on the second floor of the club, the British Consul in Shanghai, Ningbo and Dinghai gently put down his teacup and sighed, "I have been in China for ten years, and every time I enjoy Schubert's Serenade, it is like feeling the silence of an English summer night." ”

"I feel the same way!"

Fang Moyu is the governor of Zhoushan Zhili Prefecture and the director of the Dinghai Special Zone Management Committee, he said leisurely with an unfathomable look, "My feeling, this kind of quietness is like falling into the deep cold sea on a summer night, sinking slowly and solemnly, and then finally 'bang', sleeping on the soft sand......"

In the dilapidated fishing port of Dinghai, the construction of China's first special economic zone, Fang Moyu can be said to have a heavy responsibility.

Since taking office, he has been slacking off and worrying about many complicated affairs.

Dinghai became prosperous day by day, and Fang Moyu's body was getting thinner and thinner. The fat lump of meat turned into a lean appearance.

"Wonderful! Lord Fang is really high-minded. The French consul Ke Ruiyu chatted a few words of music, and then said bluntly, "According to reliable information, a war in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River is imminent. If the war continues and the Yangtze River trade route is blocked, what will Dinghai do, and what will the Ming Dynasty do. ”

The news from multiple channels is basically the same, and Ke Ruiyu is very uneasy in his heart.

The Manchu people are already difficult to deal with, and the leaders of the Taiping army are even more stubborn. If the Taiping army really allowed to occupy Jiangsu and Zhejiang, France's interests in China would be seriously impacted.

As the highest-ranking diplomatic representative of the French Empire in East China, Ke Ruiyu absolutely could not let it go.

The work agenda of the French Emperor Napoleon III had three priorities: the Church, the Army, and the expansion of the bourgeoisie's interests abroad.

Ke Ruiyu always kept in mind that it was necessary to safeguard the interests of the Church and expand its trade rights and interests with China.

"With all due respect, the lower reaches of the Yangtze River are affairs on land, regardless of our affairs in Zhoushan." Fang Moyu glanced at the British consul Midile, "Whether it is the British Card, France, Mi Jiajian, or Russia, you Western powers strictly define the territory of the Ming Kingdom on Taiwan, Zhoushan and other islands, we must respect the serious concerns of our friends!" ”

Ke Ruiyu also glanced at Midile, "Jiangsu and Zhejiang are in turmoil, and the business road is blocked. Not only the export of ceramics, silkworms, and tea has been affected, but also the foreign goods from Europe and the United States have been impacted, which can be said to have no impact on the Dinghai Free Port! ”

Fang Moyu said indifferently, "As long as you work together and use your brains, there are always many more ways than difficulties." ”

Ke Ruiyu's eyes widened, "If the Taiping army hits Ningbo and seriously affects the trade in eastern Zhejiang, you will also let it go!" ”

"Zhoushan is a free port and resolutely upholds the principle of free trade. Whether it is a sand ship, a fortune ship, a Cantonese ship, or a Western ship, as long as you come to do business, we warmly welcome you. Fang Moyu sneered, "If you want to make trouble and destroy it, we'll beat it up and break the blood." ”

The secretary on the side pointed to the wall clock and signaled that Fang Moyu was not too early and should leave.

"Ahh Excuse me. Fang Moyu said with a smile, "The task of 'moving a small island and building a big island' is heavy, and a meeting of supervision will be held in the evening. ”

"'Small islands moved, big islands built!' This is really good governance! Bradley sighed.

"Donghua Daily" has been propagating for a long time, saying that the environment of many small islands in Zhoushan is very bad, and the common people lack water, land, medical care, and medicine, and their lives are very difficult. As a responsible imperial court, the Ming Dynasty has the responsibility and obligation to let all the people live a happy life with abundant food and clothing.

Therefore, the Dinghai Special Economic Zone has decided to implement the measure of "relocation of small islands and construction of large islands" to carry out centralized construction and resettlement of small islands in suspended waters with poor living conditions, that is to say, through the adoption of compulsory measures, all the ordinary people on the small islands around Dinghai will be concentrated on Zhoushan Island.

"It's just a despicable excuse!"

Ke Ruiyu sneered with a hint of mockery, and said unceremoniously, "The construction of Dinghai requires a lot of human resources. The Ming Kingdom is not willing to compete with you Americans for the displaced people. They fell in love with the people of the island, and they could get a good reputation for taking them captive for a small cost. ”

"Despicable or noble, as long as the people live a happy and healthy life." Fang Moyu arched his hand as he spoke, then turned around and walked away.

Watching Fang Moyu leave, Ke Ruiyu was very unhappy. He glared at Midile, "The situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is so turbulent, you Britain will let it go!" ”

The British Empire is the world hegemon and the country with the greatest interests in China. The diplomats of the great powers in Dinghai have always been headed by Midile.

Ke Ruiyu jumped up and down tonight, and he didn't give face to the British.

"What do you want me to say? Talk or fight! ”

Midile said lightly, "The military strength of the great powers in China is very weak, and we are not strong enough, or in other words, we simply suggest that the country form an expeditionary force to directly kill us to protect and expand our interests in China!" ”

"Send an expeditionary force?" Ke Ruiyu's eyes lit up, this is a good way.

U.S. Consul Bradley was unimpressed, "The Labor Expedition needs to be considered in the long run. This requires a plausible excuse, and preparations for personnel, ordnance, and munitions, etc., and it will take at least a year to wait until the killing. ”

The Russian consul Ladaymondon had just arrived in Dinghai from Guangzhou on a warship a few days earlier. He said, "The military forces of the great powers in the Far East can form a coalition army, and there is absolutely no problem in defense, but the offensive is somewhat weak." ”

"We can arm the Manchurians!" "The Manchus are aided by us, and they should be able to withstand the attack of the Taiping army, and even destroy the Taiping army." ”

Ladi Mundon's words made the British, French and American consuls shake their heads again and again, and if the Manchurian could believe it, the old sow would also climb the tree.

"Why don't you choose Daming?"

Bradley looked at everyone in surprise, "If we support Daming to enter Jiangsu and Zhejiang, smooth business routes will definitely not be a problem, and our interests in China will expand rapidly." ”

He raised his voice slightly, "Taiwan's East-West Railway is about to open to traffic, why can't we envisage a railway from Ningbo to Shanghai via Hangzhou, or a railway from Shanghai to Nanjing via Suzhou?" If such a railway is built, the interests of our Britain, France and the United States will still be small! ”

Bradley simply excluded the Russians, this Maozi is still a backward serf country, so don't get involved in industrialization.

Several people looked at Midile in unison.

Midile was silent for a while, "For now, supporting Da Ming is the best choice. It's just that the development potential of Daming is too huge ......, so we must consider carefully and think long-term. ”

The road tunnel between Dinghai and Yancang has been opened, and Fang Moyu took a carriage through the Zhushan Tunnel and soon came to the Yancang base.

At 9:30 p.m., the office building of the salt warehouse base was brightly lit.

In the conference room, Wu Shimang, deputy secretary of the Yangtze River Bureau, deputy political commissar of the Eastern Zhejiang Military Region, and pacification envoy of eastern Zhejiang, said with a straight face, "We have already talked many times about the strategic significance of 'moving small islands and building large islands', so I won't be verbose here. I'm going to focus on tactics here. ”

He glanced at the venue, "Is the Coast Guard here?" ”

Wang Wenli raised his hand, "It's here!" ”

Wu Shimang nodded, "The coast guard is responsible for guarding the perimeter, and you must be in a state of battle, enclosing the islands, blocking all shipping lanes, and not letting a small boat or boat become a fish that slips through the net." ”

"Understood!"

Wu Shimang asked again, "Is there anyone from the Zhoushan detachment of the armed police?" ”

An arm was raised.

"This is a battle, and the armed police must rush to the beach and land in accordance with the requirements of actual combat, rush onto the island like a wolf, and surround the villages."

"Understood!"

"For the people in the village, your armed police should be like seeing the enemy, and mercilessly control and detain them."

"Isn't that too cruel!"

"For you armed police, this is a military operation." Wu Shimang turned his head to look at Fang Moyu, "Civil affairs are the business of your working group, you must pacify the people as soon as possible and move them onto the ship." ”

"Understood!"

"It's a very difficult job, and it's a big test for all the members of the working group. Those who do an excellent job will be the objects of our focus in the future. ”