Chapter 90 Prayer (Ask for a Monthly Pass!) Read! ）

"Gunboat diplomacy", this kind of diplomacy may be the form of diplomacy preferred by the great powers since the 19th century, sending naval ships to expedition abroad, reaching the ports and even inland rivers of weak countries, which is enough to make the country submit and achieve its own goals, but gunboat diplomacy is not limited to weak countries, and sometimes there is also gunboat diplomacy between strong countries.

For China, the first gunboat diplomacy always came with some helplessness, it was not active, but passive, driven by blood fuel.

Two combat ships, four cruisers, three training ships, and three coal carriers sailed in front and behind, making this fleet, which was anchored off the coast of Surabaya and cruising throughout Dutch East India, the largest fleet sent overseas in Chinese history, and the reason why this fleet came to Dutch East India was to achieve the purpose of the diplomatic negotiation table.

Although the Netherlands is not a strong country in Europe at all, when China is expected to maximize its interests because of the "Surabaya overseas Chinese case," it is facing the Netherlands, which is supported by the United States, Britain, France, and other countries, and does not compromise or make concessions on substantive issues.

Although the Russian Second Pacific Fleet and the Japanese Combined Fleet have taken away the limelight from this "Chinese Imperial Task Force," no one in the Dutch East Indies can ignore this "huge" fleet, and although the Dutch Navy urgently dispatched a fleet to join the Dutch East Indian Fleet, the strength of the three coastal defense ships and four cruisers is still not up to the level in front of the Imperial Task Force, but this is already the main force of the Dutch Navy.

Although the Dutch, with the support of Britain, the United States, and France, insisted on never making concessions at the Batavian negotiating table on the question of the ownership of the "Lanfang Unified State," they were always worried about the cruising of such a huge task force in Surabaya today, tomorrow to Batavia, and later to Borneo, and to exercises and demonstrations on the high seas.

As for other reasonable demands, such as punishing the murderers of overseas Chinese, three Dutch military police and as many as 200 indigenous military police officers have already been handed over to the court for trial, and even three Dutch military police officers have been sentenced to one death sentence and two life imprisonment. As for the burial of the victimized overseas Chinese and the compassionate care for their families, the injured overseas Chinese will be treated by the Dutch government in addition to the care and recuperation expenses; And then there is the compensation for the loss of overseas Chinese property, of course, this is no problem, for the Dutch businessmen in their bones, the problem that can be solved with money is by no means a problem.

The tonnage of China's two combat ships is almost equivalent to the entire Dutch navy, and there are more troops than the Dutch population.

But what should be insisted on is always insisted on, such as the "Lanfang Unification State", which took the Netherlands ten years to conquer, and now maintains a puppet regime, even if Britain, the United States, and France have all expressed support for the Netherlands to continue to rule there, of course, they cannot give in.

"Not admit it for a day, not withdraw troops for a day"

The result was that the task force continued to threaten the Dutch East India government in Dutch East India, and for the Dutch, the naval guns of the task force were a threat, but for the nearly 7 million overseas Chinese in Dutch East India, this naval artillery meant dignity.

As in the past, every time the fleet sailed into Surabaya, the overseas Chinese in Surabaya would immediately hold a grand welcome banquet at the Chung Hwa Association, and although the same banquet had been held six times, every time the fleet "sailed", it would still make the overseas Chinese in Surabaya excited.

Who doesn't pray in their hearts for the strength of the motherland?

In the past few months, the great warships that have been supporting them, the present deference and concession of the Dutch, is a manifestation of the growing strength of the motherland, which is what they have pursued for generations, and no one can better understand the personal suffering caused by the weakening of the country than the overseas Chinese.

In the past, they did not have the right to go out at night, they needed to pay a poll tax, their status was even inferior to that of the natives, and now? They enjoyed the same rights as the white Dutchmen, they did not need to pay the poll tax, and there was even a separate police station in the Chinese district, and the chief of the police department must be Chinese, and it must be recognized by the overseas Chinese association. ,

Even the trial requires the intervention of the consular officer, otherwise it is possible not to recognize any trial of the Chinese nationals, who have been given power in the past three months for hundreds of years that they have never imagined, and it is all like a dream. Every time they saw the warship and the officers and men of the navy, they believed that it was not a dream.

In the sound of Western music, the courtyard of the Chinese Association Hall was full of laughter, even the conservative and restrained old people on weekdays were looking at the heroic naval officers in the hall at this time, and when they looked at the graceful figures of those young officers and girls dancing over there, they also laughed.

Since the fleet entered the Dutch East India, it has set off a "marriage fever". The fleet is filled with a large number of young midshipmen, most of these midshipmen have not married, and for overseas Chinese, they "think about the fleet, look forward to the fleet", think for hundreds of years, look forward to hundreds of years, when they arrive, all the overseas Chinese regard the fleet as a savior, wearing a white sè naval dress, handsome and young naval officers, especially favored by the girls.

Naturally, they have become the object of girls' pursuit, compared to domestic girls, these girls who grew up in Nanyang have been somewhat influenced by Western culture, and they are well educated, and even many of them have received university education.

No one in the overseas Chinese community can understand the significance of a strong navy better than these overseas Chinese living in Nanyang, and the relationship between the overseas Chinese community can at least make it possible for the navy to stand idly by and watch their relatives if something happens to them in the future, and to a certain extent, such military-civilian in-laws actually have to buy insurance.

As far as the navy is concerned, they also have no intention of interfering in the lives of officers, not to mention that most of the girls married by those unmarried officers come from wealthy families in the overseas Chinese community, and their large dowries and good education are undoubtedly very beneficial to them.

For a time, almost every time the fleet entered the port, the sound of firecrackers was endless, and the restaurants and restaurants in the Chinese District held wedding banquets, and the women with solid family backgrounds prepared new houses for them, and the new houses were labeled with the word "happy" in red. In just three months, hundreds of East Indies Chinese girls became navy brides.

Every time the fleet entered the port, the brides and their sisters dressed in modern Confucian skirts, and the officers in military uniforms and shiny leather shoes, would go in and out in pairs, dancing at the banquet in the guild hall, and after a ball, I don't know how many girls who were proud of marrying officers, and how many officers of the navy or marines had conquered.

In the atmosphere of another wedding ball, when the bride in the red wedding dress and the sergeant midshipman in the Marine Corps dress were dancing surrounded by their comrades and sisters, a herald sent by the fleet handed Pan Renjie, who presided over the wedding, an official letter from the fleet.

After receiving the official letter, Pan Renjie was stunned for a moment, looked up at the wedding scene, frowned slightly and sighed in his heart, and then he walked to the front of the band, waved his hand to the band, the music stopped, and the officers let go of their wives or girls in their arms and walked towards the band.

"Ladies and gentlemen"

With his voice, these Marine Corps officers tapped the roots of their leather boots at the same time, and they stood upright, and the comfortable and comfortable time did not wear away the temperament of a soldier in them.

"The fleet command orders that our regiment return to the base with the fleet, please return to their respective units immediately"

As soon as his voice fell, the originally jubilant atmosphere in the hall was shaken, which ...... What's going on, wasn't the previous order to return the fleet for trimming? How can the Marines also ......

Especially the couple who were originally immersed in happiness, the bride grabbed the groom's hand tightly, and tears even welled up in her affectionate eyes......

"Snow Bell, I'm ......"

Sun Ze, who had just gotten married, looked at his wife, his eyes were full of apologies, he knew it earlier......

Li Quan, who was originally accepting congratulations from his friend on the side of the hall, hurriedly walked over when he saw the embarrassment on his son-in-law's face and the reluctance on his daughter's face.

"Xueling, military life is difficult to disobey, and marrying a soldier must have the feeling of being a dependent"

When the officers left the hall and rushed to the port after saying goodbye to their wives and girlfriends, there were also a group of young people saying goodbye to their families, and these more than 100 young people either passed the examination to enter the military academy, or passed the temporary recruitment point to examine the children of expatriates who were about to join the Marine Corps or the Navy. ,

"The people of the country have gradually woken up and opened their eyes, be careful to see which one is willing to admit himself, because of cowering and forbearance, people are arrogant and shouting, shouting loudly, this is the whole country is a soldier, robbers have always invaded, and they will eventually die, the Great Wall will never fall, the Yellow River is surging for thousands of miles, and the rivers and mountains are beautiful......"

When these young people, who carried the expectations of overseas Chinese in Surabaya, lined up in a square line to sing this song in Mandarin, accompanied by the melody of jīyang and the uplifting lyrics, everyone who came to see them off only felt that their flesh and blood were boiling when they heard this song, and a certain string in their hearts was stirred.

Slowly people began to sing along,

“…… Shout out, this is the whole country is a soldier, and robbers have always been killed if they want to invade......"

Accompanied by the moving singing of the young people, the people on the port sang loudly with the official dialect of Cantonese accent and Fujian accent, and everyone was completely immersed in an inexplicable jī movement.

Although they are not fluent in Chinese, although many of them do not speak Chinese, it still does not prevent them from singing these patriotic songs brought by sailors in Cantonese and Hokkien to vent their patriotic feelings in their hearts.

"In three months, 36 million averaged more than 400,000 yuan a day"

Listening to the singing in the hún mixed with dialects on the port, Cheng Biguang muttered such a number on his lips, this is the Nanyang overseas Chinese community since the fleet arrived in Surabaya, to raise donations for the Navy's ship purchase, enough to buy three first-class combat ships, and the Haiphong Foundation's own Nanyang overseas Chinese donations are still increasing.

The Coastal Defence Foundation is a foundation created by His Majesty with the original purpose of reassuring the navy and making it clear to the navy with a huge grant that the government does not support the purchase of ships, but that it has temporarily abandoned the purchase of capital ships for other reasons, but the funds have been paid, and when the time comes, such as when the navy has sufficient personnel, the purchase or construction of capital ships will be made.

In addition to the normal government appropriations, there are also donations from all walks of life in the Haiphong Foundation, the largest of which comes from His Majesty personally, as much as 10 million yuan in donations, and now the 36 million yuan donation from the overseas Chinese community in Nanyang has made the entire navy even more excited, and even it is this amazing donation that makes the navy not mind that its young officer marries an overseas Chinese girl from Dutch East India, who would refuse a rich relative?

Even some people in the Admiralty have calculated that if a similar incident happens again, perhaps the Navy's coastal defense fund will be increased by tens of millions. Of course, this is just a thought, and no one wants the Surabaya incident to happen again.

"Where are we going to go back to China this time? Is it really going back to the base for repairs? If I'm not mistaken, our dockyard seems to have been occupied by the Russian fleet, go back to the base to repair......"

A slight smile appeared at the corner of Chún, and Cheng Biguang continued.

"If it is not bad as expected, it may be that we have reached some agreement with Japan, and we need to mobilize the navy to return to China to escort the army."

"Sir, do you mean Taiwan?"

Wei Lingkai, who had been standing beside Cheng Biguang, asked, although he was only the deputy captain of the "Zhenhai", but to some extent he was not a descendant of the navy, but he was a descendant of His Majesty, at least before a large number of officers from the Zhangzidao Military Academy entered the navy, an officer like him who was not from "Fujian" was His Majesty's descendant in the navy.

While maintaining the status of the Fujian system in the navy, the reuse of non-Fujian officers is the biggest change after the uprising of the navy, although some Fujian naval officers have a lot of complaints about this, but everyone understands that no one can change all these decisions of His Majesty, and Cheng Biguang also understands this.

The navy is the navy of the empire, not the navy of Fujian. For the generals of the navy who had always dreamed of building a large fleet, if they wanted to realize this dream, they had to make some kind of compromise, whether it was the replenishment of a large number of army soldiers to the navy at the beginning, or the reuse of officers from non-Fujian provinces.

"There is only Taiwan......"

Cheng Biguang, who participated in the Battle of the Yellow Sea 11 years ago with the Guangbing Naval Command, like all the old people who participated in that naval battle, always has a special affection for Taiwan, just like his feelings for Japan. ,

"Sir, could it be...... Are we going to join forces with the Russian fleet? ”

Although Wei Lingkai did not come from the old navy, any navy soldier understood that Japan owed the Chinese navy a debt that must be recovered, and in fact, there had always been a saying within the navy that it hoped to join hands with the Russian fleet to fight the Japanese navy.

"Impossible, when we were practicing in the South China Sea, you didn't see the appearance of the Second Pacific Fleet, not to mention the Japanese fleet, even we can inflict heavy damage on them, not to mention the Japanese Navy, if the Russian fleet goes to the right horse, maybe, the annihilation of the whole army is not the same as forming an alliance in a war, we must form an alliance with the winning side, not the defeated side, unless we have enough strength to turn the tide of the situation"

Cheng Biguang shook his head and sighed.

"But we didn't, did we? At least not yet...... In the future, one day, I will settle old scores with the Japanese, maybe...... Now the Japanese are also thinking in their hearts that they want to settle accounts with us, and eat the meat in their mouths and then spit it out, which is worse than cutting their meat, just look at the Dutch."

He raised his chin to the left and pointed at the Dutchman watching there.

"The reason why the Dutch were able to hold on was because of the support of Britain, France and the United States, and the reason why the three countries supported the Netherlands was that they feared that our intervention would affect the situation in the South Seas, whether it was out of feelings or interests, they had to support the Dutch, and I dare to say that now our Governor-General may be kneeling before the cross and praying for us ......."

"Lord, have mercy on your servant"

Sitting in the lavishly decorated hall of Batavia Cathedral and holding his fists and praying, as the governor of the East Indies, there had never been a governor who treated those Chinese with such caution as if he were walking on thin ice, and now that their fleet was finally half gone, he was somewhat relieved.

"Lord, let the heretics kill each other"

This will Krober has put all the hopes of the Netherlands for the "Lanfang Great Unification" on the Japanese-Russian peace truce, Japan to clean up the Chinese, perhaps this is the only way, Britain, the United States, France will support the Netherlands, but they will never declare war on China for the Netherlands, and the Chinese this scoundrel stay in the East Indies, whether it is for him or the navy The pressure is by no means expected by the outside world, and even the mainland can feel this pressure, Some local newspapers even began to discuss whether the invasion of "Lan Fang" by the Governor's Office 21 years ago was legal, but it was not authorized by the mainland, and even legally, the East Indies Governor's Office did not have the right to rule over Lan Fang, after all, it has not been directly annexed until now.

"There's a gold mine there."

Thinking about Lanfang's placer gold mine, Krober still prayed in his heart that when the Chinese fleet returned, it would encounter some storm, be ambushed by the Japanese army, or even be mistakenly attacked by the Russian army.

"May God bless your people and punish the infidels......"

In Krober's prayers, the fleet headed by the "Zhenhae" in Surabaya, which was far away, sailed towards the country in batches.