The Qing State, the largest sovereign state in the Far East, is also the most powerful military country in East Asia. The navy with a displacement of nearly 500,000 tons, an army with a total of more than one million, and the only country in the world with an air force. The country has been at war since 1894, with Japan, Russia, the Netherlands, and expeditions to Japan. Compared with the peaceful world, the unending wars in the Far East have attracted too much attention from the world.

As the only victorious country in all wars, the Qing State began to emerge in the world. The loose horse coat and the pig's tail on the back of the head once made up for the image of European countries as a symbol of backwardness, and with the victories of the elite soldiers, the attitude of the world has gradually changed. It's just a costume unique to the Oriental peoples, just as there are many strangely dressed peoples in Europe, at most it's just curiosity.

When the Qing troops withdrew from Japan as promised and all the Qing troops returned to China, the people of all European countries unanimously believed that the world was finally peaceful. But in the eyes of military and politicians, there will be no war in the Far East for at least five years.

In light of the rapid expansion of the Qing navy and army and the drastic changes in the political landscape in the Far East, governments around the world are discussing new East Asian policies. But while the eyes of various countries were still focused on domestic discussions, the Qing Kingdom in the Far East once again caused the world to oscillate.

On January 28, 1898, the seventh day of the first month of the 34th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, the first official working day of the Qing government after the beginning of the year. On this day, after the end of the Qing Dynasty meeting, the Qing government issued an announcement: In view of the limited national strength of the Qing State, the Qing State will sell the warships in active service of the Qing State to reduce the expenditure of the national treasury. Included in the list for sale are: four battleships Shikishima, Hatsuse, Toyama, and Yashima seized from Japan, the battleships Longyin and Longxiao of the former Qing Kingdom, four heavy cruisers of the former Qing Kingdom, Huwei, Huben, Hushi, and Hufu, as well as a number of old-fashioned destroyers.

The news came out of the world in an uproar, six battleships and four heavy cruisers, and the Qing Kingdom actually wanted to sell them? Although some of these warships were still under maintenance and repair, the Qing also promised that the warships sold would be in good condition. Moreover, if there is a need to change the country that purchased the warship, the Qing country can also change it during the maintenance. This is a powerful fleet that can change the balance of power in the region, and no matter which country buys these warships, it will inevitably lead to a change in the power and nature of the region in which it is located. The key is the Shikishima and Hatsuse two ships. These two are export-oriented battleships built by Britain in imitation of the most powerful Majestic-class battleships in the world at present, although they are certainly not as good as the Majestic-class battleships, but at least some basic parameters of the Majestic-class battleships can be seen through these two ships. Fortunately, the price of Qing is relatively high, and it is not something that ordinary countries can afford.

However, the news was not sent out until noon in the Qing Dynasty, and in the afternoon, the German Minister Barand entered the Qing Foreign Ministry. Balland just walked on the front foot. The American minister, Tian Bei, went in again. Subsequently, the ministers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the French ministers, and the Spanish ministers went to the Qing Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate. Finally, even the ministers of Chile and Argentina visited Tang Shaoyi, the foreign minister of the Qing Dynasty.

No one knows what was discussed, and these countries may not look down on the Dragon-class battleships and the Tiger-class heavy cruisers, but it is certain that they must be related to Shikishima and Hatsuse 2 ships. No country would buy all of them at once, so it doesn't matter if countries only buy one or two warships around the world. Austria-Hungary, France, and Spain, although they also had conflicts of interest with Britain, were not fatal. The only thing that Germany could not get was the data of the Shikishima-class battleships, because Germany already had an advantage in the continental war, and Germany, which wanted to find the sun, would inevitably have a fatal conflict with Britain. After only one day, Eugene could no longer do it.

"No way. China is poor and can't afford to raise so many warships, so it's good to buy them for some money. To tell you the truth, I don't really want to sell, and if your country can provide you with a loan of three or five hundred million pounds, I will naturally not sell. Guangxu spread his hands and looked helpless.

Looking at Guangxu's sincere smile, Ogne wanted to put the tea bowl in his hand on Guangxu's head. As soon as he opened his mouth, it was a loan of three or five hundred million pounds, and the income of the entire British Empire last year was not a little more than 300 million, and he really dared to speak. Ogne replied to Guangxu's equally sincere smile and said, "It's a pity. This year, our country also has a large number of shipbuilding programs, so it is impossible to provide so many loans. I heard that your country intends to buy the Shikishima and Hatsuse 2 ships captured from Japan to the Germans, isn't that such a thing? ”

"It's not that our country is intended, it's that the Germans are bidding high. It's just a business. For the sake of profit, it is natural who bids high to buy to whom. If your country does not want these two warships to fall into the hands of Germany, you can buy them back at a higher price. ”

Shikishima and Hatsuse were originally warships ordered by China, and out of consideration for supporting Japan, these two ships were resold to Japan in the form of loans, and now after the Qing Dynasty seized them, Britain has to buy them back at a price higher than the original sale price? Spending twice the price just to get a warship to sail from England to the Far East and back to England? Ogner's heart was about to twist. So he really took it and said: "I hope that your country will not buy these two warships to Germany." ”

"Whoever pays the highest price, our country will sell to. In addition, do you have to transfer Viscount Lang Weili back to China? I still very much hope that Viscount Lang Weili will continue to lead our South Sea Fleet. ”

At the same time that various countries were carrying out intensive diplomatic public relations on Shikishima and Hatsuse 2 ships, in response to the British want to transfer Lang Weili back to China, Qing Guo also actively retained Britain. Admiral Lang Weili can be said to be one of the founders of the Chinese Navy, and the Chinese Navy trained by Lang Weili has played a vital role in the foundation and development of the Chinese Navy. However, Britain had to transfer Lang Weili as a viscount after the Qing Emperor had just canonized Lang Weili as the Viscount, which made the Qing Dynasty lose face. The British side also explained that Admiral Lang's performance in China was also recognized by the British Empire, and the Royal Admiralty of the British Empire believed that Viscount Lang Weili should play a more important role, and this time he was transferred back to the post of commander of the South African Fleet.

Since people want to be promoted, it is not easy to stop them. So the Nanyang Fleet of the Qing Navy "regrettedly" held a farewell dinner for Viscount Lang Weili, who was about to return to China, but in fact, the fundamental reason why Lang Weili was transferred back to China was that he did not play a role. Qing failed to get accurate information about the construction of the four ships in Dinghai, and the Qing State failed to get an accurate battle plan for the war against Japan, and more importantly, Lang Weili didn't even know that Qing Guo still had an air force, so why did such a person stay in China? It's just that Lang Weili has grown in rank and title in China over the years, and he can't get rid of it after returning to China, so he can only arrange an unimportant position.

On 1 February, the third day after seeing off Lang Weili, at the invitation of the city of Darwin, Australia, a visiting fleet consisting of the entire Qing Nanyang Fleet and the two ships of the Pacific Fleet, Ninghai and Jihai, set off from the port of Guangzhou. Head to the city of Darwin.

In the middle of the night of the same day, three cargo ships sailed into the port of Owando in the Philippines, and without waiting for docking, the lead cargo ship dropped a speedboat and headed towards the shore.

"Mr. Zhang. I didn't expect you to come in person this time. "Emilio who came to pick up the ship? Aguinardo stepped forward and shook Zhang Pufang's hand cordially.

"No way, you have too many goods this time, don't worry if you don't come in person." Zhang Pufang, who was in the dark, whispered.

"Thank you Mr. Zhang for his great contribution to the cause of the Filipino people."

"Don't come with me, I'm a businessman, let's just talk about business. Did the money bring? ”

Aguinaldo turned back and nodded to Bauer behind him. Baohua turned to leave. After a while, a group of people arrived carrying dozens of large chests, and Baohua opened one of the chests, revealing a chest full of gold. Zhang Pufang didn't speak, but just motioned for his entourage to come forward and count. When the entourage finished counting and signaled that Zhang Pufang's number was correct, the three cargo ships also docked, Zhang Pufang nodded, and the cargo ship began to unload.

Bundles of guns wrapped in oiled paper, boxes of yellow bullets, bags of rice, and all kinds of medicines were unloaded from the ship in an orderly manner. When ten 75mm mountain guns were hoisted from the ship, Aguinaldo was thrilled.

The Philippines has been colonized by Spain for hundreds of years, and the enslaved Filipino people have resisted and failed for hundreds of years. Even Aguinaldo himself fought many battles against the colonists. But none of them ended in failure. It's not that the Filipino people are not brave, it's not that the Filipino people don't have faith, and the reason for this is nothing more than the huge gap in weapons. When the brave Filipino people charged the colonists with their broadswords, the colonists only needed a few machine guns. Seeing too many Filipino people fall in rebellion against colonial rule, Aguinaldo decided to sacrifice everything to gain more firepower than the colonizers. Finally, the Qing Kingdom in the north seized countless weapons because of the victory in the war, so they contacted intermediaries through Baohua and finally purchased advanced weapons.

Weapons and ammunition began to pile up on the docks, and Aquinado stroked them one by one. Cold machine guns, hideous cannons, and up to 200 shells. With these weapons, Aguinaldo believed that the end of the Spanish colonizers had come. But at the moment, his heart was aching faintly.

Poor Filipino** organizations don't have a lot of money. In order to raise funds for the purchase of weapons, they had to accept the advice of slave traders and exchange heads for money. Although they are all ethnic minorities in the Philippines, although they are barbaric cannibalistic natives. But they are all people who grew up in the Philippines. But for the sake of the cause of more people in the Philippines, Aguinaldo had to hand these people over to slave traders in exchange for money. However, the fate that awaits those can only be to become coolies in a certain mine of a merchant, and eventually die there. However, it will also be the last time, as long as these weapons are distributed to the brave soldiers of the Philippine ** army, the Spanish colonial rule can be overthrown, and a new Philippine Republic can be established. At that time, there was no longer a need to exchange heads for weapons, food, or medicine. All Filipinos can be free and have a better life!

Looking at the growing pile of supplies on the docks, Aguinaldo looked up at the starry sky. The moon is not bright tonight, the stars are still twinkling, and the vast sky seems to tell him that the future of the Philippines will be as vast as this sky.

Someone gently patted Aguinaldo's shoulder, and Aguinaldo turned around, and it turned out to be Mr. Zhang Pufang.

Zhang Pufang took a cigarette in his mouth and said, "I said Akui, you don't want to do anything when you ask for so many goods at one time this time." ”

"All we can do is overthrow the brutal colonial rule of the Spaniards."

"I have heard that there are 17,800 Spanish troops around Manila, with 20,000 guns? After all, your subordinates are not as well-trained as the Spanish army, and more people may not be enough. I have to warn you, I don't want to lose a good client like you. ”

Aguinado chuckled a few times: "If there were really so many Spanish troops in Manila City, I wouldn't dare to attack Manila City." However, Mr. Zhang's news was already half a month ago. Thanks to the Cuban people, the Spanish colonizers in Cuba were unable to resist the attacks of the Cubans, and a total of nearly 20,000 people were transferred from all over the Philippines half a month ago. Today's Manila is home to just over 5,400 Spanish colonists. ”

Zhang Pufang smiled: "Then I wish Mr. Prime Minister a successful start." We also said that we should leave a box of silver to Mr. Prime Minister, so that we can support the revolutionary cause of the Filipino people. ”

"Thank you very much Mr. Zhang for your kindness." Aguinaldo kindly took Zhang Pufang's hand and said, "As long as the Philippines is truly **, if Mr. Zhang is willing, he can live in the Philippines permanently." Is this me Emilio? Aquinado's Oath. ”

"Okay." Zhang Pufang smiled. All the goods that should be unloaded have been unloaded. The money that should be loaded on the ship was loaded, Zhang Pufang waved his hand to board the ship and leave, and when the ship branch left the dock, a telegram was sent from the ship.

The horizon has turned white. Baohua left with the second batch of supplies. Although the pretext is general cargo, once it is found and reported to the Spanish government, it must be a big problem. What Aguinaldo is most anxious about now is to transport this batch of materials as soon as possible and send them to every revolutionary warrior who has dedicated his life to the cause of the Philippines. Just wait one more day, and the guns will be fired for the cause of the great Filipino people.

It's getting brighter. As Aguinaldo anxiously waited for the vehicle carrying supplies to return, the sound of crackling gunfire could be heard in the distance. What happened? Aquinado hurriedly went with a handful of soldiers to check it out.

In a forest twenty kilometers north of Manila, Manuel? Quezon is patrolling the camp. Nearly 30,000 soldiers of the Philippine ** Army were concentrated in this camp, and the plan had been drawn up, as long as this batch of arms was transported back and distributed to every soldier, the great Philippine revolutionary cause would begin. He had the same idea as Aguinaldo, the key to the failure of the Philippine cause was that the weapons were not good, and now that they had powerful weapons, they didn't think that the Spanish colonies could defeat them. He seemed to see countless soldiers holding guns high in celebration of the ** in the Philippines. It was only at dawn that the second batch of munitions was brought back, and he was worried that it would be discovered by the Spaniards. The revolutionary cause will inevitably suffer even greater losses. Having been fighting on the front lines since the beginning of the uprising, he had a bad feeling that he couldn't say what it was. So he distributed the weapons that had already arrived to the soldiers in advance, and although they were all soldiers who had just come out of the fields and estates, Quezon believed in their revolutionary will.

A sharp whistling sound sounded, and a fireball rose from the forest after the explosion. Before the resting soldiers could react, a ball of fire exploded in the camp, and the soldiers suddenly exploded as if they had exploded. Almost simultaneously, a dense burst of gunfire rang out in all directions.

"Don't panic, pick up your arms and follow me." Quezon shouted with his pistol and was about to go and check on the situation.

"Bang" after the crisp sound of gunshots. Quezon fell backwards, a bloody hole in his brow literally bleeding. The soldiers around him were terrified, and the chaotic sound of gunfire mixed with the roars of people noticed what was happening. The soldier looked around. But the barrel of the black hole not far away had already been retracted.

Bonifa Xiu looked at Quezon's corpse in a daze. At the moment of genius brightness, he was suddenly attacked by the Spaniards, and the soldiers in front struggled to resist, but the ** army, which was not yet fully equipped with weapons and ammunition, still couldn't defeat the well-equipped Spaniards. Jacinto remained in front to direct the soldiers to resist, and he ran back to the headquarters alone to ask for reinforcements, but he did not expect to see such a situation.

"What's the ......" Before Bonifa could finish speaking, another gunshot hit him in the head. Liu Qingshan, a member of the special forces. He knew very well that firing two shots in the same place would greatly increase the chances of being exposed, but Bonifa Xiu was also on the death list, and it didn't seem good if he didn't kill him at gunpoint. Fortunately, this is a dense forest, as long as you leave quickly, you should be fine. So he put away his gun and quickly withdrew west with his observer.

The Filipino Army, which was at the forefront of the Spanish attack, inevitably collapsed, as the sole commander, Jacinto, died. No one went to check the cause of Jacinto's death, because the Spaniards had killed him. The soldiers who lost their command fled backwards like a tide, and Zhao Yuanqi, who was wearing the uniform of the ** army, was also mixed in. He looked around as he ran, looking for a good place to get out, or it would be too unworthy to die at the hands of the Spaniards.

The rabble is a metaphor for a group of people who are improvised and unorganized. When Manuel? Quezon, Bonifa Xiu, Jacinto, Andres? Bonifacio, Catipunam...... After the commanders of these Philippine ** armies died one by one, the Philippine ** army, which lost its command, fell into chaos. All around, countless Spanish soldiers in red uniforms rushed over.

In the port of Owando, in the face of the attack of hundreds of Spanish soldiers, Aguinado could no longer hold on, and there were fewer and fewer soldiers around him, while the Spaniards were getting closer and closer. Aguinaldo couldn't figure out how the news had leaked out, and now he was anxiously waiting for his brother-in-law, General Baohua, to bring troops to reinforce him. But he did not wait until he died, because General Baohua was sitting in the carriage to Manila at this moment.

"I said pioneers, why don't you ship the arms to yourself. My 9th Division is still waiting for weapons to be used! Liu Hengzhen was very unhappy, most of his guards were the backbone of the Ninth Division, and a few Filipinos could be killed on the road, so why did those good weapons have to be ruined by the Filipinos.

"Let's ignore the instructions above. Everyone in the Ninth Division is safe. Huang Minghua said lightly.

"Rest assured, except for the few people who are with you, everyone else has been evacuated safely. But you give me the bottom line, the Ninth Division has been established for all these years, and there have been a lot of trainings, so it's not a matter of waiting like this. ”

"We'll talk about it when we get to Manila."

On February 1, 1898, a fierce battle broke out between the Philippine ** Army led by Quezon and the Spanish Army in a forest electrified twenty kilometers outside Manila. Aguinaldo, the leader, was killed on the docks while receiving smuggled arms......

The smuggling of 20,000 guns and 10 artillery pieces shocked the Philippine and Spanish high-level leaders, but fortunately they got the news in advance, and fortunately they were able to exterminate these rebels in time, they did not dare to imagine the consequences of the more than 30,000 rebels who had already been assembled once they got these guns. So the search for the whole Philippines began, Owando was slaughtered, Cavite was bloodied, and the hometown of Aguinado and others was engulfed in flames...... The once-bustling city of Manila was filled with Spanish soldiers in red uniforms searching everywhere. But fortunately, they did not disturb the Chinese. It seems that there is no business again today, Liu Yuanxian shook his head and closed the door of the store, and drank with his nephew after returning to the store.

On February 5, a destroyer patrolling the Qing Nanyang Fleet, the Jiang Xi, docked at the port of Manila. The destroyer, which had just returned from a patrol in the Spratly Islands, broke down while approaching the east coast of the Philippines, so it docked at the nearest port of Manila for repairs. However, the Spanish soldiers did not think so, and they insisted on searching the warship, because before they received the news of the rebels' gathering, they had received from the same person that a warship of the Qing Dynasty was smuggling a batch of arms to the rebels, and it happened that the date of arrival of the warship and the berth were exactly the same as in the intelligence.

Naturally, the Qing army would not let the Spaniards get on board, and besides, isn't it normal to have some guns on the warship? But the Spanish soldiers, who had been waiting for a long time, forcibly detained the Qing soldiers and forcibly boarded the ship for inspection. Just as the soldiers of the two armies in Qingxi were pushing, the warship quietly docked at the dock suddenly shook, and then with a loud bang, the explosion blew the Jiang Xi into two pieces in front of the soldiers of the two armies in Qingxi. Everyone on the dock stared at the sinking warship.

The loud noise of Manila reached the city of Beijing, and a seriously worded diplomatic document from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing Dynasty was handed over to the Spanish minister in China: "Why did your country deliberately blow up our ** ship in the name of inspection, and meet each other in arms without giving a reasonable explanation?" ”

As a result, the eyes of the whole world were still focused on the warships sold by the Qing State, and they had to be transferred to Manila again. (To be continued.) )

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