In the early morning of December 27, 1898, the lower reaches of the Lancang River in the Republic of Seris, the Mekong River basin at the junction of Myanmar and Laos.

A small-tonnage silver-gray river patrol gunboat was flowing down the river, Seris's bright red flag fluttering proudly on the mast, and the ship's old coal-fired boiler was making a characteristic slight roar as it sailed at a constant speed.

December is the dry season in the region, and many of the normally flooded areas along the river bank are exposed as the river recedes, revealing a large area of small Nagisa and sandbars covered with Silla, and these seasonal changes in the terrain test the experience of sailors, along the constant flow of the Mekong River, Seris gunboats carefully weave between these unknown sandbanks.

Unlike the cautious riders of the boat, the other "passengers" on the gunboat were now mesmerized by the beautiful scenery of the river on both sides.

On the slowly moving gunboat, a young Chinese with black hair and black eyes was lying on the railing on the left side and enjoying the surrounding scenery.

Kunsai, 29 years old, former deputy company commander of the special service company directly under the 6th Integrated Division of the Army, joined the newly established State Military Intelligence Agency of the Republic after retiring from the army, and is now an intelligence officer in the second room of the Military Intelligence Agency, codenamed Red Fox. The above is the true identity of this Chinese young man, who has come here with a special mission.

As the boats continue to move, the jungle on both sides of the river becomes denser, and fish can often be seen shuttling between aquatic plants in the clear water. In addition to the decrease in water levels, the cold winter has not affected this subtropical region, and the crisp sounds of insects and birds can be heard in the forest from time to time, and the continuous splashing of fish adds a bit of interest to the scenery along the way.

"Not bad......"

As he was admiring, the gunboat captain's voice came from the side of the ship, and Quintsay looked slightly sideways.

"What's good?"

Captain Wang Zhen looked at the special passenger in front of him, shrugged his shoulders and said, "What's the scenery here...... Don't you think, Mr. Quintsay? ”

"It's very good, if it weren't for the smell of gunpowder," Quinsay said lightly.

Wang Zhen was puzzled, "The smell of gunsmoke? No......"

"Soon after, don't forget what we're here for."

Quintsay glanced at the captain beside him and whispered.

Listening to the other party's words, Wang Zhen fell silent, glanced at the cabin at his feet, and a strange smile suddenly appeared on the captain's face.

He knew that the more than 1,100-ton gunboat he was in charge of was carrying a large number of Republic-standard munitions at this time, including 800 early Ben-1888 rifles and hundreds of boxes of 7.92mm caliber weapons and ammunition, which was enough to equip an entire battalion-level army of the Republic.

Thinking of this mission, the captain began to look at his companions again, for this young man who was "hard" stuffed by his superiors before the operation, Wang Zhen really couldn't hide his curiosity, he himself has always felt that this young man has an indescribable mysterious taste.

"Is there anything to drink on board?" Quintsay on the side suddenly asked.

"Uh...... It's rude, please wait! Before leaving, I happened to buy some local coffee beans in Kunming. ”

Captain Wang Zhen came back to his senses and apologized.

Quintsay asked with interest, "Oh? Was it introduced from Brazil? ”

"Yes, it's been around since a few years ago, and it tastes really good." Wang Zhen nodded in response.

Quentsay laughed, "That's a must-try." ”

"I'm going to boil hot water!" One of the sailors on board heard the conversation between the two and immediately volunteered to walk to the cabin.

Wang Zhen smiled and said, "Wait a while, wait for me to get the coffee beans, no one on this boat knows where to put it except me, hey, when I grind it, the whole Mekong River can smell the fragrance of the boat......" Before he finished speaking, the people were already walking towards the cabin.

Quintsay watched as the two walked into the cabin in turn, turning his head to look around again.

The Mekong River, called "mekong" in Khmer, means mother, its upstream is the Lancang River in Seris, the total length of the main stream is 2,157 kilometers, and there is a branch river of about 230 kilometers long after flowing out of the country to connect the Siam country, because its banks are the border between Laos and Myanmar, and the residents of various ethnic groups are mixed in between, and a large number of mangroves and river valleys are densely covered on both sides of the riverbank, making the local area a three-way zone that is beyond the reach of several surrounding countries.

The crew of the boat can see local fishermen driving their boats by from time to time, and there are many floating houses built by locals on bamboo rafts along the river, which look quite exotic in the endless mangrove forest.

As if they had never seen these steel steamers before, the locals along the river were terrified when Seris's gunboat sailed by, and many of them hid behind the windows of the floating houses to secretly observe the "uninvited guests" in front of them.

Quintsay smiled self-deprecatingly, for in the eyes of these locals, the steel steamer might have become a symbol of the colonial invaders.

Shaking his head, Quintsay turned his gaze away, still leaning on the railing, not knowing what to think......

After a while, captain Wang Zhen came over with a cup of coffee in one hand, "I don't know how you taste, I didn't add sugar to you." ”

"Just what I want...... Quintsay said after taking a sip, "It tastes so good!" ”

Wang Zhen nodded and agreed, "Yes, it's a pity that the boat didn't bring milk this time, otherwise it would be more perfect." ”

"You can't hold milk on the boat, right?" Quincsay glanced at the captain and said.

Wang Zhen shook his head and smiled, "No, it's not fresh milk, I'm talking about milk powder produced locally in Kunming." ”

"Oh, that's a pity," Quinsay nodded.

Looking at the beautiful mangrove forests along the river, Wang Zhen sighed, "Except that there are fewer people, this place is actually quite good." ”

Quinsay shook his head and said, "It's pretty good, but it's a pity that it's still in the hands of Western colonizers......"

The section of the Lancang River after flowing out of the Seris border is collectively known as the Mekong River, with a total basin area of 810,600 square kilometers, second only to the Yangtze River and the Ganges River among Asian rivers. Thousands of kilometres of the route flows through the Indochina Peninsula, including the deltas of Laos, Cambodia, Siam and Vietnam, and finally leads to the vast South China Sea. It can be said that the Republic should not lose sight of its own potential value, whether in terms of cultural exchanges between nation-states or in its own geographical peculiarity of the Golden Corridor connecting the countries of Southeast Asia, which are unfortunately still firmly controlled by Britain and France.

Captain Wang Zhen said helplessly, "Yes, the above is unwilling to clash with them head-on, I really don't know what they are afraid of?" ”

"It's not something we need to care about." Quinsay shook his head and smiled.

As they spoke, there was a commotion in front of them, and the two looked to see that the gunboat they were on had arrived at their destination - a market town formed by the spontaneous settlement of locals along the Mekong River.

Looking at the bustling flow of people and boats ahead, Kunssay narrowed his eyes and drank the coffee in his hand.

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