In the nineteenth year of Guangxu, March 4.

South Seas Java, Surabaya.

It was just as dawn as the Chinese shopkeepers on the street beckoned their apprentices to get off the board. The sound of the city gradually sounded. The horse-drawn carriage carrying water ran over the streets in a daze. When the shopkeepers walked out the door rubbing their eyes. I found that there were already many people gathered in the Chinese schools in the streets and alleys, all of whom were young people in white shirts.

Moreover, they are all Chinese.

I don't know how they got together. Everyone was talking enthusiastically and discussing, and flags were spread out, and some young people were stepping on the flags with bare feet, writing slogans with cinnabar pens.

Some young people who looked like leaders stood at the top of the crowd and mobilized loudly: "This is the first collective parade of our Nanyang Youth Association, and we want to let foreigners see our unity." As long as we Chinese are united, there is no need to be afraid of anything! Everyone gathered the female classmates around, and the boys stood outside. Just shout our slogans...... Target, the Dutch Governor's Palace in East Java! ”

There are all kinds of Chinese youths below, from fair-skinned students to young rubber tappers with dark faces and thick arms. The leader who roared the loudest looked like him, and some of the clerks knew him. Isn't this some young master of the Li family? How did they get together?

In addition to the young masters of the Li family, the Huang family, the Zheng family, and the Chen family, those young masters have seen a lot. They were all wearing white shirts, rolling up their sleeves, and parting a large bunch of small flags in their hands. They all had big smiles on their faces. It's like you're having some kind of festival.

The young apprentice, the clerk, held the basin of water, held the rag and opened his mouth wide to look at everything in front of him. Read the slogan on the scrolling slogan.

"Maintain the survival of Chinese schools and open the ban on Chinese schools!"

"The Chinese have the right to be educated!"

"The Chinese are the foundation of Java's prosperity!"

"All overseas Chinese, unite!"

The shopkeepers all watched all this with wide eyes, thought about it, and silently entered the house, took a firecracker and came out to rest on the tree. The clerk next to him looked at a kung fu, dropped the things in his hand and ran over. Most of them are young people who are literate in the night school of Chinese schools, and they are struggling to learn culture. Is there anything you can hold on to at this time? The bosses didn't scold, they just looked at the backs of these young people and shook their heads.

The sound of crackling firecrackers exploded, and the smell of white smoke and gunpowder lingered. Some Chinese school teachers have already rushed to work with books and pens made of cloth. Looking at the scene in front of him, he hurried over with three steps and two steps. Some gathered around the crowd to receive flags and slogans, and some squeezed into the crowd, as if they wanted to discuss something with the leading youth. But under the anger of the crowd, who still cares about them. Finally the teachers shook their heads and sighed and stood in front of their students. Others hurriedly went around to report the news, some went to the consulate, and some went to the homes of the big Chinese clans. They also had no prior belief in the activities of these young people who had organized themselves spontaneously. Suddenly there was a big one, how can people eat and live?

There were some natives watching from afar in the streets and alleys, all squatting there with gloomy faces. Baleng's knives were all hidden, and there were some scurrying around. However, no one dared to approach, and in the sound of the copper whistle, some policemen had already rushed over one after another. The night shift is not on duty, the day shift is not on duty, and there are few people. A bunch of rattan shell hats with batons to look at it, they were all dumbfounded, the young people who gathered around the hedgehog, not to mention tens of millions! A sound of Chinese, mixed in one place, straight into the sky!

Li Xuan was also next to his stepbrother, his face was red with excitement, and his eyes were shining. The white shirt wrapped her well-developed young body tightly, revealing only her brightest smile. This is the first time many young people have seen Li Xuan, and at this moment, in addition to the enthusiasm for participating in this event, they are only dizzy. Their roars all became louder at this moment. Li Xing stood on top of the team and shouted loudly: "One hundred and forty-seven Chinese schools have joined forces to parade, start now!" Let them hear what we have to say! We're not just going to go against the grain anymore! ”

Like a torrent, the procession suddenly poured into the streets. Countless Chinese stood on the side of the street and watched. Some even joined in, and torrents came from all directions and converged in one place. The few police officers just watched dumbly. Watching these processions pour onto Surabaya's main Taoist priest Robita Avenue, the enthusiasm of the young people seemed to be about to roll up the sparkling waters of the South Seas in the distance.

In the hundreds of years of Chinese settlement in Java, there has never been such a scene. For the past hundreds of years, the Chinese community, which has always been regarded as industrious, tolerant, gentle, and kind, has also voiced their voice as a wandering group in exile abroad!

History, starting from the smallest details, changes.

In fact, such a trend has been brewing for a hundred years, just waiting for the right time to wake it up. As long as there is a little support from the motherland, it will arouse a hundredfold enthusiasm of these wanderers!

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Surabaya, Tanjung Perak Port.

With the sound of the bronze whistle of the star officer, the sailors of both ships came out of the deck. Assemble on the fore and aft decks for the morning break. They made a move here, and the sailors of the two old Dutch cruisers on the opposite side also looked here. These sailors who served in the colony looked lazy, leaning on the railing to watch the movements of the long-braided sailors in front of them. From time to time, there were sporadic whistles and laughter.

Xu Yifan has not received a telegram from Shen Yi for the time being, because Beiyang can't control him. The bigwigs of the Prime Minister's Yamen want them to negotiate and deal with their opinions, but they have to wait. Anyway, the officials of the Qing Dynasty are all living one day at a time, as long as they don't burn their eyebrows, they are all ostriches.

Xu Yifan was temporarily comfortable there, but the Beiyang Yamen, the Navy Yamen, and even the Imperial Court's Navy Yamen sent telegrams to Deng Shichang, the captain of the foreign formation, one after another. They all want him to release the boat immediately and leave Surabaya!

Deng Shichang's answer was the same every time, the machine was not good, and he couldn't release the ship. Either you come far and go first, and Zhiyuan will stay here to repair. It is estimated that he is also scratching his head over there, Deng Shichang is thousands of miles away, and there is no way to deal with him for a while. Come to the far and far apart, I don't know what chaos will happen. The two boats are together, so there is a corresponding constraint.

In the end, there was only a repeated exchange of telegrams: "...... The officer must be in charge of two boats, and no one of them will set foot on the shore. If there is a trace of conflict between the two ships and the authorities and the aborigines during the repair period with Surabaya, the only way to do it is to lock up the officer, and not to say it unexpectedly! ”

Deng Shichang withstood such great pressure that he left the two ships here, and also used his identity as the captain of the formation to tightly seal the telegraph messages.

These days, the sailors of the Beiyang also clearly saw that the situation was tense, the two Dutch cruisers never left their sides, and the gun doors were always wide open at some point every day. Several of the old batteries on the docks were manned. Every day, he looked at their two warships in a distant mirror. The officials of the port came three times a day and asked when Zhiyuan would be repaired.

Everyone vaguely heard that the Chinese in Surabaya seemed to be moving. Every day, Deng Shichang walked on the back deck with a frown, looking at his calm figure. The sailors also quieted down, and guarded their ships every day in the sweltering heat.

It is a handful to be able to support one's own compatriots, as long as Lord Deng does not say leave. At this time, no one wanted to leave, but pretended to repair the machine in full swing.

"Lord Deng, I'm afraid I won't be able to drag it on, and the coal and water will be refilled. Everything is replenished. Come to the distance two or three times a day to put a traffic boat to ask, when will the machine be good...... Let's not let foreign craftsmen come to inspect it, and if we say that there is a small problem, we can fix it ourselves. But in the blink of an eye, it's been repaired for half a month, and it can't be repaired again......"

The one who spoke was Zeng Hongji, the big engineer of the Zhiyuan ship, who was Deng Shichang's confidant promoted from among the craftsmen. didn't hide anything from him, and he also understood Deng Shichang's thoughts best.

This morning, he rubbed his hands and looked at Deng Shichang with an embarrassed expression.

Deng Shichang looked at Zeng Hongji with swarthy eyebrows. It's just a subordinate with a thousand prospects, and his hands bow his head respectfully.

"How long can we wait?"

"One day of commissioning the machine, one day of adding boiler water, and one day of final maintenance...... It's been three days. ”

Deng Shichang leaned on the railing and looked into the distance, and whispered to himself: "Is this just the way to go?" ”

Zeng Hongji also said in a low voice: "My lord, let's go to Beiyang, and if we disobey the order, the future of the adult ...... Anyway, can we really shoot with foreign devils? ”

Deng Shichang was silent, and only after a while did he whisper: "There are hundreds of thousands of Chinese here...... Master Xu said it well. Are we just going to watch it? If our ships are here for one day, maybe they will be safe for one more day. Hong Ji, didn't you look at the eyes of those Chinese people looking at us! When will I be able to make a name for myself and broadcast overseas? ”

Zeng Hongji just smiled bitterly, he was Deng Shichang's henchman, and he dared to say something: "My lord, we are all bullied at home, let alone these people who come out...... What else can we do? ”

Deng Shichang clenched the railing: "It's like this everywhere, all the time." Others can renew and cheer up, why don't we have one hand? ”

Xiao Xiaoqian, Mr. Zeng Hongji, didn't dare to answer it, so he could only bow his head. Deng Shichang patted the railing, and he was also depressed for a while. Finally, he turned his head and asked Zeng Hongji: "How is the boiler machine?" ”

"You can get up to full air pressure at any time, except that the bottom of the boat is not scraped, and it is no problem to run fourteen knots. Nothing can happen to Guan Bao! ”

"Where's the guns, the ammunition?"

“…… My lord, this matter is not under the standard. ”

Deng Shichang smiled, his mind was deep just now. He waved his hand: "Go ahead, be ready to make a fire at any time." With an order, it will be possible to raise the air pressure and set off at four hours, but understand? ”

"Mark and obey!"

Deng Shichang looked at his capable subordinates with a smile, and he was always very satisfied with his ship and his own soldiers. This is also the result of his life's work.

But there are some things he can't do. Just when Zeng Hongji turned around and wanted to leave, Deng Shichang's face suddenly changed, and he looked at the faint Surabaya city in the distance.

"Did you hear anything?"

Zeng Hongji tilted his ears and listened carefully. Shaoqing was Deng Shichang's dog, and the sun ran over dragging his tongue. The sun has gradually risen, the heat is floating, the sea is like inlaid with gold, and the water is still blue and the mountains are blue. Deng Shichang squatted down and touched the dog's head, but his eyes looked into the distance.

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At this time, Xu Yifan also woke up in the mansion.

Today's itinerary has already been arranged, since the family does not show support for him, and the two sides break up unhappily, they can only do more work among the middle and lower classes of the Chinese to win over people's hearts, raise funds, and find a few more young people to take away.

The foreigners also went there, and set up a guard of honor to discuss with them the recent tense situation in Surabaya. In the name of this Qincha, whether it is a small head or a big hat, he Lord Xu is ready to go to the end. He has already decided that on the one hand, he promised to stabilize the situation in the Chinese community and not develop in a more drastic direction, and on the other hand, he also asked foreigners to promise that they would not do anything that harmed the Chinese community.

When necessary, he did not hesitate to pull the tiger skin as a banner and say some cruel words about protecting overseas Chinese by force.

Whether a foreigner listens or not is another matter, and he must do his best. Moreover, his actions will spread out, and his prestige status in the Nanyang Chinese community will be even higher. It is also more helpful for his fundraising career.

The attachés at the bottom all know Xu Yifan's dilemma, the strength of the country is like this, and so are the bigwigs in charge of negotiations. Let him do his best to do these things under the guise of being a minister......

Xu Yifan really did his best.

He was preoccupied every day, but he woke up after sleeping for four or five hours. In this era, I have never been so exhausted. Even when I just crossed over, I was helpless and met a horse thief, and I didn't feel that I was so choked.

The only consolation is that the attachés looked at Xu Yifan's eyes with another layer of admiration. Xu Yifan's efforts to maintain the situation in Surabaya and even gambled on his future future, everyone was touched. In private, I'm afraid it has inspired many people to be determined to die.

The door creaked, but it was the cuckoo who came in with a basin of water, but saw that Xu Yifan was already dressed. I don't know how many sets of broadcasts I'm doing when I'm stretching my waist and kicking my legs. When it was time to jump, I saw him jumping with his teeth and claws. That strange appearance made the cuckoo suddenly laugh, and then quickly stopped.

Xu Yifan turned around: "Dare to laugh at me?" ”

The cuckoo turned his head: "I don't dare!" ”

The little girl's waist is bulging, and the six-wheeled hand cannon is good. Let Xu Yifan want to tease her a little more jealous, who knows if this girl is embarrassed, will she involuntarily give him a look.

When she returned to China, she couldn't be allowed to get a gun......

When he was thinking wildly, he heard a calm knock on the door, and when he heard it, it was Li Yunzong's actions. The cuckoo hurriedly put down the basin and went to open the door. I saw Li Yun walking in steadily with a straight face. Xu Yifan was putting on his boots, and without raising his head, he asked, "Yunzong, what's the matter?" ”

Li Yunzong said in a low voice: "My lord, the young people of the Chinese school have gathered, and they have already marched on the street to express their feelings!" Some Chinese school teachers rushed to the consulate to report the news, and I will inform you immediately, my lord, how should we deal with it? ”

With a sound from winter, Xu Yifan had already stood up from the ground barefoot. He looked at Li Yunzong deadly: "How many people are there?" ”

Li Yunzong frowned: "It is said that tens of thousands of young people have gathered...... Students from all over the Chinese school in Surabaya, as well as young people from all over the country, have taken action. My lord, do we want to support it? ”

Xu Yifan kicked away his boots: "Yunzong, immediately send a message to the major families, accompany me for thousands of miles, go to the governor's yamen immediately, and you can't delay for a moment!" This may be the opportunity for the Surabaya chaos! ”

Li Yunzong stiffened his face and was puzzled: "My lord...... Isn't it just to show the power of the Chinese community when these young people make their statements? ”

Xu Yifan's face was already red: "If there is a powerful country behind these Chinese communities, then there is no problem." Yunzhong, never underestimate the viciousness of these colonists. Yin Jian is not far away, in the world after summer! I can't watch them bleed! These sacrifices should not be borne by these wandering youths! ”

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On Slobyta Avenue, there was already a huge crowd of people. After passing through the avenue where two carriages can run in parallel, turn into Willham Road, and then the Governor's Palace, which is close to the suburbs. The Grand Mosque of Zheng Ho is located on the Srobita Avenue. As soon as the enthusiastic procession of Chinese youths took to the avenue, they saw that a large number of indigenous people had already gathered towards the Zheng He Mosque. Each native's hand was a shiny balemon knife, and some were armed with wooden sticks, iron rods, and harpoons. Some people carry large baskets of stones on their backs.

The rattan-hat policemen who followed the procession, not knowing what order they had received, had slowly retreated until they had exited the Srobitah Avenue. On both sides of the street, the crowd was empty. In the direction where the natives came, someone was already seen chasing the Chinese shopkeeper on the side of the road.

The young man who walked in front was stunned, and the team behind was still pouring up. The natives stood there, looking at these enthusiastic young people with heavy eyes.

At this moment, the treasure roof of Zheng He Mosque seemed to be eclipsed.

There are also indigenous youths coming from afar to gather here, and they obviously have the figure of the leader. With a strip of white cloth on his forehead, he walked in front with a baleng knife. Some of them look quite tough, and they are very different from those skinny natives.

There was a brief pause in the dancing of the banner banner. Li Xing stood at the front of the line, looking at everything in front of him in amazement. These natives in front of them are full of hatred in their eyes!

A strange roar sounded: "Qing Guonu! Get out of Java! Suddenly, there was a local echo around him, overwhelming.

How have these Chinese young people seen such a scene! One by one, their faces flushed with anger and humiliation. looked at the thugs with black eyes, and looked at the Chinese bosses and clerks who were stumbling and being chased and beaten. And then there's the natives who keep coming. Unconsciously stopped the slogan flag in his hand.

"Brother Li, what should I do?" The eyes of the people in the YMCA all looked at Li Xing, and among them, Li Xing was the hottest, the most eloquent, and the most active. This action was almost advocated by him alone!

Is this what a peaceful petition is all about? Scattered stones have been thrown. The curly-haired natives yelled at the other side. Li Xing also took a piece. smashed into the eyes, and the blood in the young man's cavity surged: "Let's move on!" Nothing can stop the call for unity and self-improvement of our Chinese community! ”

The surrounding afterlife rang out at the same time, and the young men continued to move forward arm in arm, holding against the stones. Li Xing wiped the blood on his head, but still stood at the front of the team.

The natives stopped throwing stones and winced as they looked at the neatly moving Great Wall opposite. When did you see these Chinese young people so united and so tough? Even the Chinese clerks and bosses who were being chased and beaten seemed to have suddenly found their backbone, and began to fight back loudly.

At this moment, I don't know who in the indigenous team whistled sharply. A large group of fierce thugs with white cloth and sparkling knives have come out of the crowd and rushed straight to the Chinese team that has been pressing!

With a bang, the thugs had already pounced. The cold knife in his hand slashed and chopped, tearing down the slogans one by one. The screams kept coming, but these Chinese young people also had red eyes, picking up everything they could wield and resisting desperately. When these wanderers truly understand where their roots are, what they fight for, and what they maintain is the inheritance of a nation. The gentle, kind and peaceful Chinese children can also be as violent as lions!

At this time, the blood burst out, and the big piles were called the indigenous people of Lanyin, and later generations were called the thugs of the indigenous Indonesians. It's like a shark seeing blood, and the same gushes up. Everywhere there was desperate resistance, fierce fighting. No young people are willing to retreat, but they are constantly surging forward.

The Zheng He Mosque stood there hundreds of years ago. When the kingdom of heaven came here with civilization and friendliness, leaving this building behind, did you think that hundreds of years later. To look at his people, suffering such humiliation?

The Slobyta Boulevard has turned into a raging sea.

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In the Surabaya Consulate, Xu Yifan pushed away Consul Cao Tianen, who was holding him stiffly. He strode out, and the guards outside the door had gathered to guard his carriage. All kinds of firearms, already hidden on top of the wagon.

Outside was a large group of foreign soldiers, indigenous policemen, looking at all this in front of them with a nervous expression.

Cao Tianen cried and shouted behind his back: "Lord Xu, I can't help it!" ”

Xu Yifan ignored him, just looked into the distance, at the Zheng He Mosque where a loud voice came. There were already flames rising there, and black smoke was rising into the air. The eyes of all the attachés were on him, slowly turning with his pace.

"Open the guard of honor, let's go save our compatriots!"

"Wow! Mark the wish to be the precursor of adults! Zhang Xuzhou, a man from the north, strode out, standing straight. The chest was so angry that it couldn't stop rising and falling.

Xu Yifan nodded coldly, and then turned his head to look at Chu Wanli and Li Yunzong, behind each of them, there were seven or eight attachés mixed with cadets and sailors.

"You all took my guard of honor, all the way to the Li family to spread the news, all the way to the port where you are far away, be sure to bring the current news. No matter what means you use! Look who's in the way! If anyone can't, don't come back to me! ”

He was answered by a powerful flat-chested military salute between the two.

Xu Yifan looked at the foreign soldiers and policemen in the distance, and suddenly sneered loudly: "We are in the Qing Dynasty, and we also recognize dual nationality." Lao Tzu, this is the protector of overseas Chinese! Walk~! ”

(To be continued)