Common interests are the basis of cooperation.

After thinking about it for a long time, Hu Chuyuan made a very big concession, that is, to share the interests of the vassal states and colonies with the United States, and on this basis, China and the United States could always maintain cooperation.

Including in the case of the Kingdom of Hawaii, both sides are willing to continue to maintain the status quo for a long time, and jointly have the right to station troops in Hawaii.

As a result, the United States amicably ceded their hard-to-reach pirate territories, including Wake Island, Tonge, and Johnston Island, to China, while they occupied Midway.

Based on a sign of a new division of power, Germany and the United States continued to transfer the Micronesian Islands, which were shortened to the Roa Islands and belonged to the Qing Empire, whose Pacific Fleet established naval bases in Guam and Nauru.

If you are too greedy, you will lose, especially if you don't have enough strength...... Therefore, the Kingdom of Hawaii is indeed not in Hu Chuyuan's plan.

As a friend, Hu Chuyuan was happy to receive Princess Caorani, he liked this exotic little aristocratic woman, sometimes, she was arrogant, sometimes, she was intelligent, but all the time, she was beautiful.

Anyway, he couldn't talk about national affairs, so Hu Chuyuan chatted with Princess Kaorani about some interesting things.

Inadvertently, Princess Kaorani talked about a joke from earlier, Hu Chuyuan said that he wanted to buy the islands of Hawaii.

When this topic was mentioned again, Hu Chuyuan couldn't help laughing out loud and said, "If you are willing, this transaction will always be valid, 35 million US dollars, and it can be closed at any time." ”

Princess Kaorani sighed a little provocatively: "If you are willing to join the royal family, you can become the king of Hawaii without a penny, and we can always guarantee that this is effective." ”

Hu Chuyuan couldn't help but feel a little moved, but he also believed that this was just a joke between them.

However, some things always start with teasing.

couldn't help it, Hu Chuyuan looked at the beautiful princess in front of him carefully, and there was an indescribable sense of guilt in his heart, but he really liked this beautiful woman very much.

…… When Hu Chuyuan was on the verge of cheating and hooking up with Xiaosi, in the Qinzheng Palace, Zhang Zhidong was dealing with some tricky official business.

As a politician, he is much better at it than Hu Chuyuan, and he is also more capable of politics.

Over the years, he has come step by step, and his knowledge has continued to improve during this period.

He is also constantly adapting to various new changes, including a new title on his body, the second phase.

Once, his dream was to be a Zhongtang, a scholar, but overnight, Zhongtang was no longer the pinnacle of this empire, the peak was the three prime ministers - the prime minister, the second minister, and the foreign minister.

As the second minister, Zhang Zhidong is in charge of internal affairs.

However, there has always been a huge shadow and worry in his heart, the foundation of an empire is the aristocracy, when the Manchu aristocratic system is equivalent to disintegrating, and the remaining princes have no real power, only a lone emperor remains, how long can this empire last?

He didn't dare to continue to think about this issue, but he knew that the problem would eventually erupt.

He even doubted that Hu Chuyuan had the idea and possibility of becoming an emperor...... This is something he absolutely cannot tolerate.

But he also understands that if he wants to be an enemy of Hu Chuyuan, time is his biggest weakness.

He is already sixty-one years old, and Hu Chuyuan is only thirty-eight years old, but he controls everything in this empire, take a look, open your eyes and take a look, the people he can use today, the provinces in the empire...... Among those ministers, prefects, and governors who seem to be very capable, which one is not the Hu Party?

Including himself, he is not one of the Hu Dang!

Zhang Zhidong silently sighed in his heart, did not let himself continue to think, but concentrated his attention and faced the problem in front of him - the internal turmoil in Dutch Indonesia.

He drew a red circle in the message and ticked out the words "Chinese reading power."

Zhang Zhidong should not have been in charge of these issues, but Foreign Minister Zhang Baixi sent him a telegram today to ask for his opinion, but Zhang Baixi did not first ask Hu Chuyuan's opinion...... That's interesting in itself.

They knew that Hu Chuyuan must have been involved in the ...... behind the riots in Dutch India.

Zhang Zhidong pondered, estimated, and guessed Hu Chuyuan's motives in his mind.

What exactly does he want to do?

Zhang Zhidong was a little puzzled.

The Dutch can't stop it, and after roughly looking at some information, Zhang Zhidong can confirm the news, and among the people who mutiny in Dutch Indonesia, Zhang Zhidong quickly found a little flaw...... Several of the rebel leaders had backgrounds studying abroad at Berkeley Military Academy.

Zhang Zhidong quietly picked up his pen and drew a red bar on the "Berkeley Military Academy".

It is also a nest of rebel groups.

At this time, Zhang Baixi walked in.

Zhang Baixi is young, only fifty-one years old, and now he is one of the three phases.

When he entered Zhang Zhidong's office, he sat down, but with a little apprehension on his face, he asked Zhang Zhidong: "Lord Zhongtang, do you have any opinions about the situation in Java?" ”

Zhang Zhidong was worried in his heart, but said with a smile: "This place is really not familiar to me, how to deal with it, most of the time it is up to Lord Shoufu to make the decision?" ”

"So?"

Zhang Baixi couldn't help but be a little disappointed, but it was expected.

He knew that Zhang Zhidong was notoriously slippery and wall-topping, where the wind blows, people fall.

He thought for a moment and said: "It stands to reason that the Dutch are enemies of our Chinese people in Java and have been raging for a long time, and our country should have sent troops to help, but the situation there is really unpredictable, and the British don't know how to react. ”

Zhang Zhidong thought for a moment and asked, "Did the British send someone to speak to you plainly?" ”

Zhang Baixi said: "No, this matter happened a little faster, but it has only been more than a month, and the Chinese private army has already captured Java Island and Sumatra, and the strength of the troops is amazing, I am afraid that there are as many as forty or fifty thousand people, among which there are many well-trained." In fact, it is not a big deal for the Chinese to take the Dutch India on their own, but it is just ...... Everything is like this, which country will dare to tolerate me Chinese in the future? ”

Zhang Zhidong deliberately asked, "Then have you ever discussed it with Lord Shoufu?" ”

Zhang Baixi said: "Lord Shoufu has been resting recently, and he is receiving the queen and princess of the Kingdom of Hawaii in the Imperial Garden, and it is inconvenient for me to disturb him, so I ...... I haven't asked yet! ”

Zhang Zhidong pondered in his heart, thought for a while, and said: "This matter is difficult to say, but in fact, it is not difficult to do, as long as you declare that all countries, my country is not involved in it, and let each country decide on its own...... That's not it. ”

Zhang Baixi said: "No...... I know the surname of Lord Shousuke very well, and if he had known about this matter, he would probably have to support it with all his might, and even went to Europe to lobby various countries and negotiate with the Netherlands. ”

Zhang Zhidong said with a smile: "Wouldn't that be better, Shoufu Elder, only this matter!" ”

Zhang Baixi said: "Otherwise...... If this happens, our country and Britain will no longer be able to tolerate each other. Asia is so big that our two countries must compete with each other. ”

"...... this?"

Zhang Zhidong didn't know what to continue to say for a while, these things were not what he was good at, tossing the governors of the provinces, he was still quite sure, tossing foreigners...... It was not within his power.

Seeing that Zhang Zhidong really didn't want to call the shots, and he didn't have a clear opinion, Zhang Baixi could only sigh and leave for the time being.

In the corridor of the Qinzheng Palace, Zhang Baixi walked silently, always uncertain in his heart, if he was really asked to deal with it, he definitely didn't want to go into this matter, and he didn't even want to ask a little bit.

It's not that he doesn't have the guts, but he knows very well that China still needs to maintain a certain cooperative relationship with Britain at the moment.

The most terrifying thing about Britain is not that it has the largest navy in the world, but that it has the dignity of an empire that is said to be unfallible, and this dignity usually forces Britain to make some peculiar crazy choices...... Take, for example, the naval race between Britain and Germany.

In faraway Sumatra.

As a sudden downpour came to an end, the dark clouds in the sky gradually cleared, and the strong sunlight penetrated the towering trees of the rainforest, and flecks fell on the muddy paths.

In the distance, the cries of Sumatran elephants can be heard from time to time, and it seems that a large herd of Sumatran elephants is reorganizing and embarking on a new path.

On a towering tree, Yang Zongli rested silently against the trunk of the tree, and in a flash, he was almost thirty-five years old, and since he entered the Philippines in 1887, he lived in Nanyang for nearly 11 years, and also fought for 11 years.

He wore dark green shorts and a shirt, had his hair cut short, held a steel helmet full of green branches, and carried a Gangnam rifle in his arms.

The gun was rugged and lightweight, and although it could only hold five bullets, and was not as long and accurate as the Enfield rifles recently equipped by the Dutch, it was more adapted to the harsh environment of the rainforest.

The best part is that it is easy to use and maintain, even for new recruits.

In Sumatra and Java, there are about 20,000 Chinese independent troops, all of whom use this Jiangnan M1894 rifle, the firearms are purchased from the United States and the Jiangnan Manufacturing Administration, and the bullets are produced in the Philippines and Sarawak.

The soldier in charge of reconnaissance quietly climbed down the trunk of the tree and told Yang Zongli that the Dutch convoy was already very close and not far from them.

Yang Zongli raised his eyes coldly, closed his hand to his mouth, and imitated the bird's call to make a beeping sound, and then, more sounds spread in the tropical rainforest, as if a flock of birds had been alarmed.

Hidden in this dense tropical forest are hundreds of soldiers, each wearing dark green shorts and camouflaged with branches, scattered in groups along the road.

After more than ten minutes, a convoy of Chinese laborers and natives drove over, and in front of them was a Dutch colonial force of more than 1,000 men, very well armed, and it was evident that they were all equipped with new Lee-Enfield rifles provided by the British.

The M1894 Jiangnan rifle used by the Reading Force is still relatively advanced at present, and in 1893 the new design was finalized at the Oakland Arsenal, and in 1894 it was officially installed in the United States Army.

Last June, when the Reading Force first entered Sumatra and Java, the Dutch were still armed with the oldest single-shot rifles, even black powder, and after months of fighting, Java was completely captured by the Reading Army.

In order to prevent the Chinese Reading Force from completely occupying the whole of Southeast Asia, the British also sold the latest Lee-Enfield rifles to the Dutch, and temporarily installed them in the Dutch colonial army in Sumatra.

The Dutch colonial army also urgently purchased a large number of Maxim machine guns and 75mm howitzers to increase the defense force in important cities.

For these problems, Yang Zongli didn't care at all.

The Dutch colonial army had already stepped into the ambush circle, and Yang Zongli waited silently, aiming his gun at the commander with the rank of brigadier general in the middle.

Boom.

He pulled the trigger and knocked the brigadier general down, followed by the terrifying sound of gunfire throughout the rainforest.

They were veterans of many years of warfare, and all of them were very experienced, and although they did not carry heavy artillery, machine guns and grenades were able to crush the opponent to the maximum, making it impossible for the opponent to organize an effective resistance.

Only in this way can one's own casualties be kept to a minimum.

In a roar of rapid machine guns, dozens of colonial soldiers at the front fell like cut wheat, and the soldiers hiding behind grabbed the vines and jumped into the muddy field, quickly rushing to the front line.

More and more Dutch people are dying in strafing, new grenades are being thrown from the canopy, and mines planted on the ground are being detonated.

Life.

It was too fragile at this moment, not even as good as a weed.

Ten minutes of buried shooting was soon over, leaving only one body in the muddy swamps and roads, blood staining the entire forest road, and many of the Dutchmen killed were still black and broken.

The red, black, white, and green things cracked and flowed down the muddy water, making people want to vomit when they looked at it.

Yes.

This was the war, and most of the natives and Chinese laborers forcibly organized by the Dutch were scattered, and some of them hid in the woods, waiting for the battle to end.

In the forest, some people shouted in Cantonese, Hokkien and Hakka, beckoning the Chinese workers, and soon called out hundreds of people, and some of the injured were simply bandaged first.

Everyone was chattering, and some soldiers took out foreign cigarettes and distributed them to the Chinese workers in the same township, and also lit them with foreign kerosene lighters, and then talked about the affairs of their hometown and the affairs here.

"Follow us, our head is Yang Zongli Yang Ye, tens of thousands of troops are occupying the monument, and we will be able to reach Palembang in a few months, and in the future, the old island of Sumen is also our territory."

"Then what else do you need to say, don't worry, we'll cover you!"

The veterans couldn't wait to recruit Chinese workers to participate in the war, some indigenous soldiers were also pulling people, everyone was chattering and enjoying the short-term happiness after the victory, and some Chinese workers and soldiers only cared about the transport boxes and carts.

Everyone knows what these supplies are, because the convoy came from the Betong gold mine.

There were special veterans who led the team to clean up the battlefield, unloaded all the equipment from the Dutch, and when they encountered the Lee Enfield rifle, everyone also brought one or two back.

A more special group of soldiers is responsible for inspecting and transporting supplies, boxes are opened with gold ingots, copper ingots and tin ingots, Bedong Mine is a copper-gold-tin associated mine, with six large mines, the output is very large, can produce more than 600 tons of copper, more than 10 tons of gold and more than 100 tons of tin per year.

There were a few boxes of gold sand that had not had time to be refined, and the yellow gurgling poured out at once, scattering it all over the ground, and even the muddy water on the ground turned golden.

A young non-commissioned officer wearing a lieutenant's armband looked particularly excited, and couldn't wait to run to Yang Zongli's side with a handful, and said with a surprised smile: "Commander, look, the devil is about to run away, and even the gold sand has been transported out." ”

Yang Zongli snorted, threw away half of the cigarette in his hand, grabbed the handful of gold sand and weighed it in his hand.

After a while, he said to the young non-commissioned officer: "Tell the brothers, each of them will be rewarded with twenty silver yuan, and ten will be added to the wounded." ”

"Okay!"

Some of the soldiers in the vicinity had already heard the sound and immediately cheered.

Yang Zongli continued to knead the gold sand in his hand, and his eyes couldn't help but aim farther away, looking in the direction of Palembang.

Bedong, he has already eaten, the Dutch colonial army there is only a few thousand, and they have not received good supplies for two months, and they have been so blocked by him that they will be cut off by him even if they are transported out once.

Now, Yang Zongli's goal is to take Palembang.

In fact, with the military strength in his hands, plus the two artillery columns supported by Zhang Lingpu and Cai Jinzhang, he could completely storm Bedong and Palembang, but he just wanted to delay.

He was in charge of the entire Dutch East Indies, he had to consider the overall situation, a momentary victory was not important, what mattered was to drag the Dutch down, how many came, how many died, and even the British were deeply jealous.

During this year, the Dutch increased their troops six times, and basically they died as many as they came, and more than 20,000 people died before and after.

To tell the truth, Yang Zongli likes to ravage the Dutch like this, and he doesn't eat them all in one bite, so he slowly boils it up and consumes it slowly.

Combined with the experience of the past few years, he also specially found some Hui soldiers from Guangdong, responsible for cooperation and communication with the local Acehnese and Minaka people who believe in Islam.

Coupled with the secret supply and support of the Huameng Association, the General Association of Chinese Entrepreneurs, Nanyang Company, Zhang Bishi and others, Reading Lijun does not care about the length of time, and it is not a problem to fight for seven or eight years.

The main patron, Zhang Bishi, was very anxious, and Yang Zongli could understand that the Dutch had already explored oil in the upper reaches of the Muxi River, and this was a project that Zhang Bishi particularly wanted recently.

What Yang Zongli really wanted was sulfur ore, iron ore and copper ore, which could make bullets, and the bullets used by the Dutch did not match them, even if they grabbed some Lee-Enfield rifles, they could not use them for too long.

He just had people pick out all the Lee-Enfield rifles, go back and slowly sort them out, and find the ones with the highest shooting accuracy, which were specially converted into sniper rifles.

The surname of the M1894 Jiangnan rifle in his hand can be good, and it is difficult to say that the M1888 Jiangnan rifle, which has the largest number in the reading army, is basically off target 300 meters away.

It's a matter of manufacturing accuracy, the rougher it is, the easier it is to produce, and the cheaper it is.

Cheap...... It's not that there are no good goods, but you can't ask for too much, at least in this kind of old rainforest, it's relatively easy to maintain, and it's not easy to break, or get stuck or something.

(To be continued)