The sale of the Chaoyong to Siam was the first large-scale arms sale in China's history, and the sale of an entire aircraft carrier battle group contained in it cannot be overstated, and the Chinese side also attached great importance to it, and sent two people, Foreign Minister Gu Weijun and Minister of Naval Operations Tang Qianming, to personally lead the team to be responsible for the handover ceremony of the warship.

The Siamese side is also a civil and military officer, Rama VII personally led a large number of royal family members to wait for the arrival of the aircraft carrier on the Sattahip military port, the Siamese royal family is also a huge family, just Rama VI Chulalongkorn has sixty or seventy children, plus other branches, the Siamese royal family is as many as a thousand, for a small country with limited national strength to support such a huge family is not easy.

These phoenixes and dragon grandchildren obviously did not feel that they were a burden to the country, on the contrary, they were very glorious at this time, Siam finally had an aircraft carrier of its own, and the Siamese Navy had become the premier force in the South Seas, which was the glory of Siam and the glory of the royal family.

Over the years, Siam's territory has been constantly encroached upon by Britain and France, especially the border areas continue to shrink, it is impossible not to feel distressed, so there is a backlog of resentment in the hearts of all Siamese people, but the strength is too weak, and they dare not challenge Britain and France at all, but now with the addition of aircraft carriers, the Siamese finally have the courage.

At this time, the Gulf of Siam was clear and clear, without a trace of clouds, and a group of black dots slowly appeared at the intersection of the sea and the sky, which were moving quickly towards this side, and soon the tall bridge of the warship appeared in front of everyone.

Cheers on the harbor continued, whether it was the royal family, ministers, or ordinary soldiers and civilians at this moment, their hearts were filled with great excitement, and the desire to have a strong army was the natural pursuit of almost every country, and the huge body of the Siam was gradually revealed in front of everyone.

In order to meet the needs of the Siamese Navy, the Chaoyong made some more turns, with a standard displacement of 8,500 tons and a full load displacement of more than 10,000 tons. In the past, the largest warships of the Siamese Navy were only a few gunboats of several hundred tons. Compared to the Super Brave, it's just a toy.

And at this time, the Chaoyong was surrounded by frigates, as if it was an emperor, and it was extremely powerful, and Rama VII was also very proud to see this scene, although in order to have this aircraft carrier fleet, Siam spent more than 50 million expenses, and it will continue to invest a lot of money. But he felt it was all worth it.

"Minister Gu, it seems that the Siamese people are still very martial, and the welcome ceremony on the port is still very grand!" Tang Qianming was looking at the shore from the ship at this time, Gu Weijun nodded slightly, and shook his head again.

"Minister Tang, Siam is a Buddhist country. The people still prefer to be weak and peaceful, the purchase of warships is mainly promoted by Rama VII, plus the military also supports, but the democrats in Siam do not agree, and the American economic crisis has broken out, and Siam's economy has also been seriously affected, I am afraid that it is still difficult to support an aircraft carrier battle group! ”

"Minister Gu, as the saying goes, this person is not bad for money. What's more, it's such a big country. If nothing else, let's go to the president. and Premier Wang, especially the newly appointed Vice Premier Yan Xishan, who are all characters who can split the flesh on the legs of the crane, and are they afraid that they will not be able to squeeze out the bone marrow oil? ”

Although Yan Xishan has just taken office, his reputation for being calculating has spread, and some good deeds have drawn a cartoon for Yan Xishan, the appearance of an old-fashioned bookkeeper, holding an abacus in one hand and a balance in the other, saying that after Yan Xishan got this painting, not only was he not angry, but he also hung it in his office.

After Qiao Yu learned the news, he also made fun of mentioning eight words to the painting, weighing the gains and losses, and calculating the world!

It was a joke in the officialdom for a while, but everyone knew that Yan Xishan's shrewd calculations were beyond imagination, this time before Gu Weijun came to Siam, Yan Xishan handed him a note, which listed a large number of terms, all of which were aimed at Siam.

Yan Xishan's meaning is very clear, that is, Siam is now in economic problems, and it is very likely that it will not be able to bear the follow-up payment of the aircraft carrier, but there is no problem, China has prepared a solution for them, this medicine Siam has to eat, and if you don't eat, you have to eat, it can be said that as long as you buy Chinese weapons, it is equivalent to getting on a thief ship, and you can't get off again!

The Siam docked safely in the harbor, and King Rama VII, accompanied by a large number of civil and military officials, visited the warship and paid special condolences to the Chinese crew on the warship, all of whom had been hired by Siam to serve in the Siam Navy for the next five years, until Siam was able to have enough people to control the entire fleet on his own, and Tang Qianming and Gu Weijun were also accompanied throughout the whole process.

After the visit, Rama VII invited the two of them to Bangkok, and they were welcomed by unprecedented specifications along the way, a large number of people took to the streets, holding flowers, as if celebrating a festival, but Gu Weijun also sensed a trace of inappropriateness, although the Siamese tried their best to cover up along the way, but they could still see a trace of dilapidated scenes, the shops on both sides of the street looked a little dilapidated, and many of the people who participated in the welcome were wearing dishes.

Seeing this, Gu Weijun knew very well that the economic crisis in the United States had spread to Siam, and I was afraid that Yan Xishan's plan for himself would be used, and after the grand welcome ceremony, Rama VII invited Gu Weijun to his palace alone.

"Your Excellency Foreign Minister, China has provided Siam with a powerful navy, and Siam is sincerely grateful!"

"Your Majesty the King is polite, China and Siam have been friends for many years, we have a history of more than a thousand years, the culture is common, the civilization is connected, China also has the obligation to help Siam and realize the true independence of Siam!"

"Your Excellency the Foreign Minister has said too much, since ancient times, China has been the leader of East Asia, and even the whole of Asia, and the Chinese leader of Asia did not take crazy plundering like the Western colonizers, but had equal exchanges with Asian countries, exchanged what they have, and upheld justice.

Rama VII kept putting on a top hat and singing praises to China, Gu Weijun's heart couldn't help sneering, it seems that this king is probably going to ask for himself, and sure enough, Rama VII continued: "Your Excellency Foreign Minister, Siam is now affected by the economic crisis, exports are seriously frustrated, the economy is becoming more and more embarrassed, and the people's life is getting worse and worse. Tell the truth. Siam's economic situation is somewhat unable to maintain aircraft carriers! ”

Gu Weijun's face suddenly became grim: "Your Majesty, a contract has been signed between our two countries, and China has fulfilled its responsibilities, if your country wants to regret it at this time, China can only bring the aircraft carrier back to China, and your early funds will not be returned!" ”

When Rama VII saw Gu Weijun's anger, he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Your Excellency the Foreign Minister has misunderstood. The whole of Siam is cheering for the aircraft carrier, and I just hope that your country can delay some time so that Siam can calmly raise funds! ”

"Your Majesty, aircraft carriers are different from ordinary commodities, they are the hegemon of the seas, the weapon of the country. In addition to China, you see which great power has sold aircraft carriers, and China's ability to sell aircraft carriers to Siam is a huge trust in Siam, do you know what kind of pressure Britain and France and other countries have exerted on China? Even the United States has a lot of complaints, if Siam can't settle the money in time, even the domestic shipyards and the navy will be dissatisfied. Until that time. President Joe is not easy to do! ”

Rama VII also knew that what Gu Weijun said made sense, but he had another calculation in his heart. Throughout history, ancient China was very polite to the surrounding small countries, and was even willing to suffer losses when dealing with problems, so it also developed the nature of these small countries to play scoundrels, to put it bluntly, these small countries calculated the essence of China's good face.

This time, King Rama VII sacrificed this magic weapon again, "Your Excellency Foreign Minister, Siam naturally knows the deep friendship given by China, but Siam is really embarrassed financially and cannot afford it!" ”

"Your Majesty, the current situation is that Siam is really in difficulty, and the warship has already sailed to Siam, and China cannot sail back, then I have a new proposal, you can see if it is okay!"

Saying that, Gu Weijun continued according to the plan provided by Yan Xishan: "As long as Siam can agree to China's three conditions, China can even reduce part of the payment, the first is that the Siamese currency maintains a one-to-one exchange rate with the Chinese dollar, and free trade between the two countries; The second is that the mines and farmland of Siam are fully open to Chinese merchants and allowed to be bought and sold freely, and of course China is also fully open to Siam; The third is to expand the Sattahip Naval Base as a common naval base for both China and Siam. Saying this, Gu Weijun's face showed a smile: "As long as you agree to these three, what does it matter if the aircraft carrier fleet is given by China with both hands!" ”

After finishing speaking, Gu Weijun left the palace of Rama VII in a dashing manner, these three conditions are the real poor dagger, tens of millions of profits are good, but compared to the interests of controlling a country in their hands, the Chinese government has never been staring at that money, Rama VII was also suddenly shocked at this time, behind China's kind face hidden incomparably huge ambitions, much greater than Britain and France!

Although Siam was affected by the economic crisis at this time, it was not the worst, and the real fatal was Japan, which suffered from internal and external troubles since its defeat to China, and the navy was almost completely wiped out, which made the island country lose the most important sense of security.

In order to maintain the economy, Japan had to plunder South Korea desperately, and in addition, it relied on the export of raw silk and other specialties to the United States, and a large number of Japanese women were also trafficked to the South Seas.

"Ambassador Cao, I just walked a short distance on the street, and my wallet was robbed by robbers, you tell me that this is Tokyo, why are these people so rampant, they still want to die!" A counselor at the Chinese embassy in Japan was complaining to Mr. Cao.

Cao Rulin is also helpless, this kind of robbery and theft has been seriously rampant in Japan, almost to the point of uncontrollable, the embassy is no exception, just a few days ago, the iron lock on the gate was even stolen and sold scrap iron, the Japanese have completely put down all the disguises, the entire social order has disappeared, the situation in Tokyo may be better, it is said that after leaving Tokyo, there are even a large number of shootings, bloodshed and death is a common phenomenon. (To be continued.) )