Maceo? He? Grajales, the military leader of the Cuban Reading War. In 1868, he participated in the First Reading War, and after the failure of the uprising, he was forced to go abroad for 17 years. Returned to Cuba in April of this year, with Marty? Perez, Gomez? He? Báez and others rendezvoused and launched an uprising. On 13 September, the Cuban rebels convened a constituent assembly in Himani to draw up an interim constitution and proclaim Cuban reading. On September 18, the political axe of the Republic of Cuba was formed. Betancourt was president, and Gómez and Maceo were the chief and deputy commanders of the rebel army, respectively.

However, neither the Constituent Assembly nor the appointment of deputy commander of the rebel army were present. At the end of August, he boarded a German cargo ship and headed for Hawaii. Because there is what the rebel army needs most.

When the first reading power war was lost, Maceo constantly reflected on the reasons for the defeat. In order to fight for Cuba's reading autonomy, the Cuban people have not stopped rebelling against the Spanish rulers for decades. For the sake of Cuba's great cause of reading independence, Cubans are not afraid to sacrifice and go forward. For the sake of Cuba's future happiness, even if Cubans shed their last drop of blood. The Cuban people have a boiling blood, the Cuban people have an indomitable spirit, and the Cuban people have the most resolute resistance in the face of the Spanish colonial rulers. But the Cuban people, who lacked food and clothing, and had only old-fashioned firearms, were vulnerable to the well-armed Spanish colonial rulers.

On February 24 of this year, the day of the Carnival, the "Cuban Revolutionary Party" launched uprisings in various parts of the country. But the unarmed uprisings in the western provinces of Havana and Matanzas, as well as Las Vegas and Cabaguay, were quickly sustained by the Spanish colonial army. In the province of Oriente, the rebel army in Santiago, the provincial capital, and the important towns of Bayamo, Guantanamo, Higuani, and Cautto, with the strong support of the broad masses of workers and peasants, including blacks and Chinese, repelled the Spanish colonial army's conquest, but only controlled the situation. At this time, there were as many as 200,000 Spanish colonial troops in Cuba. Even Marty, the patriarch of the rebel army? Perez was shot and killed. The truth is cruel, the rebels did not have enough ammunition, and every battle was fought to the end by relying on hand-to-hand combat to achieve victory. If there were weapons comparable to those of the Spanish colonial army, and if there was sufficient ammunition supply, then the rebel army would have been able to open up the current anxious situation earlier, and the Cuban people would have been able to greatly reduce casualties.

An Oriental whom Maceo unintentionally met when he was in the United States, an Oriental who also ran around and shouted for his countrymen in the United States, and the same feelings for the country and the people made them friends. It was at this time that he had twenty guns and ten boxes of ammunition brought, the guns of old-fashioned single-shot rifles, but all gratuitous. These were not even a drop in the bucket for the rebels, but they greatly boosted the morale of the rebels, and the great Cuban Reading Movement finally received international free aid for the first time.

Moreover, the young Oriental also told them a piece of news that could excite the entire Cuban people: In the Far East, in the just-concluded Qing war, the victorious Qing ** team captured a large number of Murata single-shot rifles and supporting ammunition used by the Qing army, but the Qing State locked them all in warehouses. And his friends in the past bought these unused waste products of the Qing Kingdom at a very low price, and now they can be transferred to them.

For reasons of secrecy, this news was not released. But the top brass of the rebel army who knew about it was overjoyed, and it was a weapon that could arm an entire three divisions. Up to now, each fighter has less than four bullets in his hands. If these weapons can be delivered to Cuba, the entire Cuban rebel army will be truly strong, and the end of the Spanish colonial army will be approaching.

Be sure to buy these weapons. To this end, Maceo was given carte blanche by Cisneros and Gomez to board a German freighter with a bank check and bound for Hawaii. I went to meet my former friend, the current Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hawaii - Li Enfu.

On the Pearl Harbor dock, Li Enfu and Maceo hugged each other tightly, and their cheerful laughter witnessed the deep friendship between the two. After a brief greeting, Lee took Maceo to his office and handed him a list.

40,000 Murata single-shot rifles, 120 Makqin machine guns, 36 cannons, 1.3 million rounds of various bullets and 1,500 shells, and not only that, Li Enfu also prepared 5,000 tons of grain and 20,000 winter clothes for them.

With weapons and ammunition, the Cuban rebels could drive the Spanish colonial army out of Cuba; With much-needed food, the brave Cuban people no longer have to go hungry to resist oppression; With winter clothes, the heroic Cuban fighters will not be frozen to death on the way to the offensive by the coming winter. And all they have to pay is $400,000. When Maceo saw the list, he couldn't help but shed tears, and his mouth just kept repeating: Thank you, thank you......

Li Enfu gently patted Maceo's shoulder: "Now, this batch of supplies has been prepared in Qingguo, if you have no problem, then I can notify Qingguo to start loading." ”

"No problem, no problem." After wiping away his tears, Maceo took out a check for $300,000 from his bosom: "I don't know how to express my heart's gratitude to you, and I know that these things are much more than a price." It's just that the current Republic of Cuba is not rich, and the $300,000 is just a deposit we have paid in advance, and please believe us, when the fleet arrives in Cuba, we will settle the balance at one time. ”

"I believe in you, my friend." Li Enfu took the check and readily agreed. These things were seized and said to be my own, and it was originally a business without capital, so I don't believe it. Of course, the big words still have to be said: "I also believe that the Cuban people will eventually achieve a great victory in driving out the colonial rulers." Of course, I have one more small request. ”

"Please say, if we can do it, we will do it."

"I only hope that the political axe of the Republic of Cuba will treat the Chinese in Cuba well. In this way, I am very satisfied. ”

Originally, it was thought that Li Enfu would propose to give Hawaii political axe or Li Enfu personally to give certain political or economic benefits in Cuba. Unexpectedly, what he put forward was such a request, Li Enfu is a truly great person. Excited, Maceo took the initiative to shake Li Enfu's hand and said: "The Chinese in Cuba have long been our close comrades-in-arms. Believe me, my friend, that we will treat the Chinese in Cuba the same way we treat Cubans. ”

"Then please sit down for a while, and I'll go and inform Qingguo that it's ready to be loaded."

After a while, Li Enfu came back: "The Qingguo side will start loading the ship immediately, and it will set sail within a week." Three months later, you will arrive in Guantanamo, Cuba. If Guantanamo had been in the hands of the Spaniards at that time, we would have had to throw our weapons into the sea. ”

Such a large quantity of supplies cannot be loaded by one or two ships, and only Uttanamo has enough capacity to stop a large fleet of ships in Cuba today, and only there is enough transshipment capacity there.

"Hahaha...... Rest assured, the Cuban rebels will be waiting for supplies at Guantanamo. ”

The friends were particularly happy to meet him, and in response to Maceo's concern that the fleet would not be intercepted by the Spaniards, Li Enfu told him that the fleet would go to the United States to deliver supplies in the name of Qing and then transfer to Cuba in the name of the United States. Spain would not provoke the United States at such a time.

Relieved, Maceo began to talk to Li Enfu, and that night, Maceo sent a telegram to Cuba informing him of the matter. The next day, accompanied by Lee En-bo, Maceo visited factories and estates in Hawaii. Looking at the destroyers being assembled in the dockyard and the mighty battleships on the docks, Maceo's eyes were red with envy.

"Hahaha......" Li Enfu said with a smile: "If you also need a warship, you can come to me after Cuba reads it." I can also help you train sailors, of course, for money. ”

Maceo laughed softly: "I am sure that we will definitely come back to ask for your help." ”

"You're welcome, my friend. Please let me know if you need anything, and I will do my best. ”

This made Maceo a little embarrassed: "If you can, please help us buy some more weapons, food, and clothes." ”

"The clothes are fine, you can tell me how many more." Li Enfu happily agreed to the clothes, but he didn't agree to the weapons and food: "The weapons may still be able to be taken from the Qing Dynasty, but the food is really hard to say, after all, Hawaii's grain must also rely on imports." I'll do my best. ”

Maceo understands that what Lee is saying is the truth. What else can he say about his friends who can do so hard, Maceo can only repeat over and over again: "Thank you......"

"By the way, if you have extra sugar, you can sell it to me." Li Enfu said with a smile: "Also, don't trust the Americans. They have long had their eyes on Cuba. ”

"Rest assured, the future of Cuba will be in the hands of the Cubans themselves." Maceo said with certainty, but then said with a sense of humor: "Mr. Lee is also an American, so are you still worthy of my trust?" ”

Li Enfu has been planning for the Qing Dynasty for a long time and has forgotten about his nationality. Li Enfu, who was covered with black lines on his face, said angrily: "I am Chinese!" ”

Five days later, Maceo, who cared for his motherland, boarded a ship and returned to Cuba after receiving the news that the Qing fleet had departed.

On the same day, Maceo's telegram, which had been forwarded several times, was delivered to Cisneros, and a small meeting was quickly convened. Subsequently, the Cuban rebels shifted the focus of their offensive and mobilized heavy forces to attack Guantanamo. At the same time, it carried out "economic warfare" against the Spanish colonial army, organized forces to destroy sugar factories and burn sugar cane plantations. This put pressure on the new Spanish governor of Cuba, Campos, and he was forced to abandon Guantanamo after only two months in the face of the stubborn attack of the Cuban rebels. A month later, a flotilla of ships coming from the American direction entered Guantanamo and unloaded supplies. After receiving the balance of $100,000, boxes of sugar were loaded onto the cargo ship as a deposit for follow-up supplies.

The war in Cuba had already increased the price of sugar in the world several times, and now the "economic war" waged by the Cuban rebels against Cuba has once again caused the price of sugar to rise. Suddenly, Hawaii, which was hoarding nearly 4,000 tons of sugar and ready to make a lot of money, burst into flames, and more than 3,000 tons of sugar were engulfed in the fire. For a time, the world was sugar-free. When the news came, the price of sugar futures in London rose sharply to an unacceptable level.

Li Enfu snickered and began to ship, it would be good if the fire could burn a ton. In the face of the profiteering Xu Shichang, he also began to vaguely propose the possibility of apprenticeship from Li Enfu. Even Lin Yongxiang, who was still pulling three boats of sugar, began to contact the buyer by himself, and Lin Yongxiang had already made up his mind that the three boats of sugar would not be returned to Li Enfu if they were killed. And Sisneros, who gave the last grain of sugar to Li Enfu in exchange for weapons and ammunition - regretted it. Of course, that's all for later.

Compared with Cuba, the vigorous national reading movement is not unique to Cuba. Spain is facing its toughest challenges. On the other side of the Pacific, in the Philippines, the struggle against Spanish colonial rule organized by Filipinos was also raging.

Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Army of the Philippines (FRA) Emilio? Aguinaldo's cousin-in-law Jose? Ignacio? Baohua was standing in front of the ruins at the moment. This ruin was originally the home of a large local Chinese family, and now the Philippine Revolutionary Army has emptied all the family on the grounds that the family gave supplies to the Spanish colonial army, all the property has been plundered, and the house has been burned.

When Baohua learned that the Philippine Revolutionary Army was attacking a local Chinese family, he hurriedly put down his work and rushed to stop it from happening, but he was still too late and only saw the ruins all over the ground.

A wave of anger condensed on Bao Hua's face, and he had repeatedly stressed in the Philippine Revolutionary Army the need to unite all forces that could be united. Locals, Chinese, foreigners willing to help the Philippines, and even peaceful Spaniards. This ** incident is an excuse for this, because during the Qing War last year, this Chinese family bought a Qing War bond of one million taels of silver at a time. That group of fools just took a fancy to the wealth of this Chinese family and carried out inhumane **. There are always some selfish people in the Philippine Revolutionary Army, and they always say that they want to get rid of all the people who are not Filipinos and give the Filipinos a clean Philippines. But the fools didn't know that once they lost all the help of outsiders, the Filipinos alone would have won against the Spaniards, who could not have fought with them.

The team leader who implemented ** in front of him still looked indifferent. The anger on Baohua's face became heavier and heavier, and just as he was about to take out his gun and shoot the proud squad leader in front of him on the spot, his adjutant came to him: "Lieutenant colonel, there is a person who said that your uncle asked him to come to you, saying that there is an urgent matter to discuss. Baohua, who was a little puzzled before, his adjutant added: "I've never seen him." ”

In the tent. Baohua looked at the young man he had never met vigilantly: "Who are you?" Why I've never seen you. ”

I didn't think that the young man didn't say a word, and he didn't raise his head with Ben, just drinking tea quietly. Maybe it's the uncle's side that has come to an end? As soon as this idea came out, Baohua hurriedly asked all the people in the tent to go out.

"Sir, now it's just you and me here, what can I say." Baohua said respectfully.

The person in front of him didn't speak, still drinking tea.

Can't understand Filipino? Bao Hua asked again in English, but there was still no response. Then Baohua changed to Spanish and French and asked again, but there was no response. At this time, the young man who was as steady as Mount Tai finally put down his teacup and said in pure Chinese: "I can speak Filipino, Spanish and English. But I only speak Chinese when I speak to Chinese, may I ask which language do you think is appropriate for me here? ”

"Please speak Chinese." Baohua said, "Did my uncle ask you to come to me?" ”

"I know you have an uncle, but I've never met him. But the task you entrusted to your uncle has found me, and I will go to see him in a moment. I came to you first because I was curious. When a Chinese takes a foreign race to ** Chinese, I would like to know what you thought in your heart at that time. ”

Baohua was at a loss, not knowing how to answer. This kind of thing is not what he would like to see.

The young man continued: "You think that if you take a Filipino name, people will think you are Filipino? Do you think that if you marry a Filipino woman, you are Filipino? A person who has forgotten his ancestors, is he still a person? The young man's words became more and more vitriol: "Are you Chinese or Filipino?" Should I call you Jose? Ignacio? Baohua, or do you call you Liu Hengzhen? Hou Xiafeng, what do you say? ”

Hou Xiafeng is his hometown name, since he came to the Philippines, he changed his name for himself, followed his uncle Liu Yuan's family name to Liu and named himself Heng Zhen. In the Philippines, no one knows his real name, Hou Xiafeng. When I heard the young man in front of me call out his real name, and those harsh words. Baohua seemed to feel that something in his mind suddenly exploded, and his body became even stiffer. For a long time, he looked directly at the young man in front of him and said with certainty: "Please call me Liu Hengchen in the Philippines, I am Chinese." (To be continued.) )