The sea search in the South Seas is still ongoing, and when almost all the small islands have been searched and no valuable clues have been found, the eyes are cast on the bottom of the sea from the small islands. Britain began to recruit divers in large numbers, and the countries did not lag behind. As a result, in the South China Seas, people who can dive, especially deep water, are in the limelight for a while. Even the least active Qing began to recruit divers. Although Guangxu knew that this was just a waste of money, it was better to follow the crowd.

The Pacific ships, which had been hovering around the Dongsha Islands for training, received supplies, but were given a new mission -- to cruise south to the area around the dark sands of Zengmu.

"This is the defense area of the Nanyang Fleet, what have we been there for?" Wu Deren was very dissatisfied with this mission, and the Pacific Fleet did not need to slip its legs. Feng Qi was not happy, even if he wanted to slip his legs, he would have slipped to the Guangxu Islands, and he still wanted to see the construction of the submarine.

But when Wu Deren and Feng Qi had a secret conversation with Chen Xuehua, who came to give the order, Wu Deren ordered the main force of the Pacific Fleet to start moving south. Radio waves emanated from the telegraph room of the Longyin, and the 2nd Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division in Keelung, Taiwan, began to assemble and board the ship. The two destroyers left the fleet and returned north, and they were to be ordered to escort the regiment south. At the same time, the fastest cruiser broke away from the fleet and headed south to find the Nanyang Fleet, which had not yet installed wireless telegraphs.

Not only did the naval marines that accompanied the ship begin to reorganize, but even the fleet began to reorganize its positions on a large scale. All the officers and men from Nanyang were informed that this time the fleet would go south to Borneo for training, and that these soldiers, who had not returned home for more than a year, would have half a month's vacation. After the fleet arrived at the Dark Sands of Great-Mother. They will be sent back by freighter.

The fleet was boiling, and these soldiers who had returned from Nanyang to join the army began to prepare items for returning home. The officers took out the military dress from their storage compartment and hung him up to see the sun. The sailors also took out the cleanest training uniforms and carefully patted off even the smallest dust on them. For more than a year, most of his military life has been floating on the sea. This time it's finally a glorious return to his hometown, so he has to wear a little bit of it.

In Pontianak, a freighter is slowly approaching the dock. The edges of the freighter's deck were all dressed by officers and men of the Pacific Fleet. Such cargo ships are not only found in Myanmar, but also in Sankouyang and Samfa City. Fortunately, the Dutch side had been notified beforehand, otherwise hundreds of Qing soldiers would have appeared on the dock at once. There is still the main fleet on the far sea, and people must not think that you are here to invade, so you must not fight.

Without waiting for the ramp of the cargo ship to be put to the end. Zhang Jie couldn't wait to be the first to jump on the pier and shouted at Pontianak: "I, Zhang Jie, am back again-"

"What's the roar, recruit foreign devils." A colonel paced down the gangway very gracefully: "You are also the one who is about to become a colonel, pay attention to quality." ”

"I said Staff Officer Lee. If you have quality, you can defeat the enemy? Only your staff officers put on a Sven look. It's still good for our commander: soldiers. It should be unruly and unruly. Only such an army is an iron-blooded man on the battlefield, otherwise it would be possible to win the battle by relying on weak scholars like you? I said, Brother Nanke, you should come down to practice as a staff officer, how can you fight if you go on like this? ”

Li Nanke pouted: "Are you all like the savage of your Commander Wu?" ”

"What happened to the wildlings?" Zhang Jie dismissed: "It's good to win the battle, without us savages, you can't even drive the boat." ”

In today's Pacific Fleet. You can tell from what he says that this person is from the staff or from the combat unit.

Because the officers of the General Staff Department inherited the steady style of Chief of Staff Cheng Cheng, but the combat troops were trained by Wu Deren as uncultivated savages. This is the assessment of the General Staff. Of course. The opinion of the combat unit is that the soldiers who scream are the bravest troops, and those in the staff are all nerds, not relying on them to fight on the front line, and the staff has a fart. Confusedly forgetting that the staff officer on the ship fought with the ship.

Li Nanke is like Cheng Chengyijie, chief of the general staff of the sea, and he has no idea about these people. Helplessly, he could only shake his head: "Let's go." I'm going to be home soon. After speaking, he happily put his hand on Zhang Jie's shoulder.

Li Nanke, the operational staff officer of the Pacific Fleet, followed him when the Hawaiian Fleet was established and came to Nanyang to recruit troops. Now he is the second person in the entire Pacific Fleet after the chief of staff of the fleet, Feng Qi. When Feng Qi is not in the fleet, he has the right to make staff decisions on the fleet. Now the warships ordered by the Qing Dynasty will return to China next year, and the organization and staffing of the new warships are being studied above. I heard that Chief of Staff Feng Qi may be transferred to the post of Chief of Staff of the new fleet, so he is the best person to take over the chief of staff of the sub-fleet. Zhang Jie, on the other hand, was promoted to the chief of guns of the Longxiao because of his merits in the Battle of Tsushima, and after the establishment of the new fleet, a large number of experienced officers will be drawn from the Pacific Fleet to strengthen the fleet's combat capability, and he has been determined to be the artillery chief of the reorganized detachment, and his military rank has been promoted from the current lieutenant colonel to colonel.

Li Nanke and Zhang Jie are not only colleagues in the Pacific Fleet, they are also close friends since childhood. The reason is because Zhang Jie's father is one of the shopkeepers of the Li family. And Li Nanke is not the eldest son in the family, so he has no inheritance of the family property, so he can only work hard by himself.

The Li family is not an ordinary big family in Borneo, it is a real wealthy family. The Li family's industry has spread all over Borneo, and it can be said that the Li family's main sneez, and Borneo's economy will tremble. Although Li Nanke is a concubine, he is also a young master. After leaving the dock, the two of them took a carriage and headed home.

The big family naturally has big rules. Since his second child sent a letter back saying that he had become a colonel in the imperial court, Li Guanshan, as the head of the family, was happily drunk that night. Now that the second child is returning to his hometown, of course, he must be solemn. So, all the elders of the family gathered in the lobby, the middle door was wide open, and the servants stood on both sides to welcome the colonel who had returned to his hometown.

Thinking that he wanted to walk in here, Li Nanke entered and exited through the side door with his head down. But this time he walked into the lobby with his head held high, and this was the first time that his concubine had come in so arrogantly. The same is true of Zhang Jie, who followed him. Standing in the middle of the lobby, his feet snapped and his right hand was raised to the brim of his hat. A standard military salute appeared in front of everyone.

"The child has seen his father and his brother." After speaking, he looked around: "I have seen all the uncles and elders. Zhang Jie also followed behind and saluted to the masters.

It was a happy thing for the child who had been away for more than three years to return to his hometown, so he specially asked his uncle and brother to come and see his child who became a senior officer. As a result, the child went out for three years and forgot the etiquette of the line. Li Guanshan snorted heavily. He was very unhappy: "Did you forget the etiquette when you became an officer?" ”

"The child has not forgotten, but he has to stand up to the sky when he puts on his military uniform. Ask the father to allow the child to take off his military uniform and salute his father and uncles again. As soon as he finished speaking, Li Nanke was about to retreat.

"Rebel. Boss, the family law is serving. ”

Li Guanshan's eldest son, Li Nanxing, didn't have time to plead with his father, Zhang Jie stood up and spoke: "Master, you are wrong to blame the second young master." In the army, even if the emperor is coming. As long as they wear military uniforms, they only salute and do not bow. ”

"Presumptuous." Li Guanshan clenched his fists and arched to the north: "The Son of Heaven drove forward, and the heroes bowed down." You waited for the mouth to speak wildly, and the etiquette of the monarch and the ministers did not care about it......" After looking at Zhang Jie in the hall, he added: "The two are punished together." ”

The child was not convinced. A soldier is a soldier in a military uniform. Soldiers can only die standing and never live on their knees. This is what the emperor once made clear to the world, otherwise how could the child be so disrespectful in front of his father and brother and the elders of the uncles and clansmen. ”

Li Guanshan and the elders of the brothers and clans present glanced at each other, the emperor's holy decree can't be said nonsense, if it is wrong, it is called an edict. Whoever wants to be killed. Since the second child can say so. That must be true. Li Guanshan finally nodded and walked over: "Since it is the emperor's will, then I don't blame you." After a few years of military career, he has become much stronger. After speaking, he patted Zhang Jie on the shoulder: "It's also a good one." ”

Li Nanke smiled: "Father, you don't know the hardships of training. That sin is not something that ordinary people can bear. Li Nanke talked about life in the barracks for more than three years. When it comes to the hardships of training, everyone's faces are full of worry. When it comes to shelling Japan and plundering the coast of Japan, these people are full of excitement. Speaking of the shame of the Battle of Tsushima, there is even more pride in the look of worry on his face...... Li Guanshan, who said it, was proud of his son on the one hand, and worried about the hardships in the army on the other. His son must still be the second young master from a big family.

"Father doesn't have to worry. This is true of both the Navy and the Army, all in the military. But the child is much more comfortable than Zhang Jie. What I said before was the training of the combat troops, and the child was from the General Staff. There's a lot less training. ”

Li Guanshan nodded and said, "You must remember that you must be loyal to the country and serve the court." Go down to your mothers, for they are in a hurry. ”

Li Nanke saluted and Zhang Jie and retreated, and when he saw his mother, he naturally had to comfort his tearful mother. In the lobby, Li Guanshan put away his smile and said with a sad face: "I called everyone back this time, I believe everyone knows why." Now the local natives have begun to deliberately destroy farms and estates, which I fear is a precursor to a large-scale outbreak. So this time I called everyone back to discuss this matter, and everyone should express their opinions. ”

The people in the hall first said: "Everyone, the little brother thinks." It should be suppressed quickly and forcefully to nip things in the bud. ”

"No, no." A clan elder spoke: "It would be good if it could be suppressed, but in this way, the variables are extremely uncertain. But if there is a mistake, the harm is even greater. This method is not allowed. ”

Another clan elder spoke: "According to the old man, these natives are just asking for more wages. It's better to add some wages to them to appease them. ”

"It may be okay to process money this time, but next time they make trouble again, it will be difficult to process money again. In the long run, that's been paid back. This is inappropriate. ”

Li Guanshan waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Whether it's suppression or processing money, it's not a problem. Didn't you notice that this local riot broke out almost overnight in various places at the same time? The old man asked people to go down to investigate, and found that it seemed that someone deliberately instigated it. ”

"Who is instigating, have you ever found out?"

"Not yet. The whereabouts of these instigators are secretive, and they seem to have some involvement with the government. Speaking of this, Li Guanshan sighed: "This is what the old man is most worried about." ”

"These foreign devils." Li Guanshan's brother was angry and patted the case: "My Hua is here to build a family and a business, and they are not satisfied with how much wealth they offer to them every year." Every once in a while, we have to encourage the natives to kill our Chinese, and this is no different from livestock. As he spoke, tears flowed down his eyes.

Not only him, but the whole house was in tears. As long as you remember that 300,000 Chinese were slaughtered by foreigners like pigs and dogs, all of them burst into tears. Li Guanshan lamented: "Lan Fang's old affairs, don't mention it. At present, how to deal with such a situation still needs to be decided. ”

"Maybe it's going to be different this time." Without waiting for others to speak, Li Nanxing, who was standing aside, said: "Second Brother Fang Cai said that the Qing Pacific Fleet, which completely annihilated the Russian fleet at the beginning of the year, is now stopped in the far sea. The foreigners probably won't launch it at this time. ”

"Boss, you don't understand. Now that there is a fleet of the imperial court here, the foreigners dare not make a big deal of it, but the fleet is always going back. What then? Therefore, in the old man's opinion, it is better to call the imperial fleet at this time, and strike first. As he spoke, Li Guanshan's hand slashed down.

As soon as Li Guanshan's words came out, everyone nodded yes. But there is a group of elders who have different opinions: "Nan Ke just said that they have a half-moon vacation. Combined with the time of the return of the fleet and the fleet, the fleet will not be far away for twenty days. So we have 20 days to solve the problem at hand. If it is used strongly, it is naturally the fastest, but the consequences are also serious. Once the imperial fleet returns, and the local government instigates the natives to make trouble, how can we deal with it? The old man thought that it would be best if he could solve it with money. Don't forget, the imperial court has long said that we are outcasts of the Celestial Empire. ”

"Hi-" For a while, the lobby was filled with sighs.

"That is, according to the words of the elders. Money is used first to quell the riots, but for a period of ten days. If it fails, it will be immediately and forcefully suppressed, and it must be completed within five days. Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable. If you have no objection, do so. As the patriarch, Li Guanshan made a decision: "In the evening, the old man will ask the second child in detail and ask him what the court's attitude towards us is." ”

"What attitude? Haven't you heard of this? Li Nanke scratched his head, he didn't understand what his father meant by asking. He said straightforwardly: "I haven't heard that the imperial court has a clear statement in this regard." Today, however, a large proportion of the officers on board are from Southeast Asia. Not only that, whether it is an army school, a naval school, or a university hall, there are Nanyang children studying. From this point of view, at least the imperial court has no intention of rejecting it. ”

"So much for the best. Today's father does not hide it from you, and now there are natives riots in manors all over Nanyang, and under careful investigation by my father, I found that the natives riots were instigated by others. My father suspects that it is the Dutch authorities, and if this is the case, I am afraid that it will be useless to use money. That would have to be forcibly suppressed by force, but then the Dutch authorities would have to send troops as well. As a father, I want to know, once this happens, can the imperial court's fleet come forward to coordinate? ”

"This ...... This ......" Li Nanke jumped up from his seat, this kind of thing, not to mention that he only has one staff officer. Even the chief of staff or the commander can't decide. This makes him how to answer.

"Second brother, I'll answer after thinking about it." Li Nanxing said solemnly: "This is a matter of life and death for my Nanyang Chinese, and I must not be careless. Lanfang's old things, we are afraid. ”

"I don't know. That's the only thing I can say. Before departure, there were no rumors of this. Li Nanxing's words made Li Guanshan sigh. Dejected, he walked out of the room.

The next few days did not go well, and the natives did not accept the idea of processing money alone, and their demands for ownership of the estate were rejected by the Chinese. The situation expanded. Finally, ten days later, an old shopkeeper was killed by the natives during the negotiations. Negotiations fell apart completely. Just when the Chinese began to contact around and prepare for a forcible crackdown, even more shocking news came. Not only Borneo, but also Sumatra and Java set off a large-scale ** operation at the same time, and the whole South China Sea was in turmoil for a while. (To be continued......) u