"Tom, tom......"

When the scorching sun was in the sky and the cannons were rumbling, and at this time in the port of Singapore, colorful flags were fluttering, and when the First Fleet of the Northeast Navy slowly sailed into the harbor in a column under the command of a gunboat of the Straits Colony Fleet, not only did the Indian soldiers on the Fort on Jego Island keep firing a salute to welcome them under the orders of the officers, but the "Chinese fleet," as the master, obviously did not forget the basic international etiquette -- welcoming the guests from afar with a salute. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"Boom! Rumble! ”

In response, at the end of the 19-gun salute fired by the "Chinese fleet" and the Juhoudao Battery, all the officers and men on the seven warships who were not on duty stood on the side of the ship in handsome white dresses to salute the city in return with the sound of gunfire from the Zhenhai to the training ship Fujin.

Although half of them had been in the city while serving on the training ship, this was the first time they had come here in this way.

"The British have been working hard in Singapore for decades, building forts all over Singapore. The Fort of Jeopa Island was originally built to protect the ships entering and exiting the western entrance of the port of Singapore Kopba, this fort is built on the north side of the Strait of Malacca to defend the Strait of Malacca with a hill and is very strong, the gun emplacements are pointed to the strait in the south, although the scale of the fort is not large, but it is enough, you must know that it is now the era of "British rule", how many countries in the world dare to challenge the British? They don't need cannons! It's just a deterrent! That's all it takes......"

Li Weizhong, who was standing on the bridge, said as he looked at Singapore with that kind of envious eyes, and when he looked at the city, he felt the power of the empire. That invisible force overwhelms people. How can it not be envied?

Back decades ago. Britain is on top of the world! Despite the many challenges it faces, even the "free trade" that it believed was established with bloody guns to promote British industrial products has become the "protective umbrella" for the rising stars of Germany and the United States to seize the market, and it is under the protection of "free trade" that the British colonies are flooded with industrial products from other countries. But this does not prevent Britain from being strong!

"The plains of North America and Russia are our cornfields; Chicago and Odessa are our breadbaskets; Canada and the Baltic Sea are our forest farms; Australia and West Asia have our shepherds; The western steppes of Argentina and North America have our herds; Peru shipped its silver; Gold from South Africa and Australia went to London; Indians and Chinese grow tea for us; And our coffee, sugar cane and spice plantations are spread across the Indies; Spain and France are our vineyards; The Mediterranean is our orchard; Our cotton fields, which have long been grown in the southern United States, are now expanding to all the warm regions of the planet. ”

Tang Zhaoyi, who also stood on the bridge, used an envious tone to quote the economist Jevons who proudly described it decades ago. Yes, Britain is really boiling with flowers and flowers. It is enough to make any foreigner yearn for the prosperity and strength of Britain.

Even as a diplomat. Tang Zhaoyi was also heartbroken at this moment, but after that moment of envy, he continued.

It was this wealth and strength that allowed the British Empire to establish its hegemonic leadership position, and international affairs were completely dominated by the British, and this British-led international order was called "peace under Britain" in the West. And we ...... today."

After a slight pause, Tang Zhaoyi said in a solemn and expectant tone.

"And in the future, what to fight for. It is to enjoy equality, at least on the surface, in this "peace under Britain". This is the responsibility of our diplomats, and as for the rest, Your Excellency, it is ultimately up to you! ……”

Dignity and status are fought out, and without war, how can a weak country win the respect of other countries, and Tang Zhaoyi has a very profound understanding of this. And his perception immediately aroused Li Weizhong's approval, as a Japanese naturalized officer, his experience of this perception is more profound, who has ever faced Japan as a small country? When the Qing could still obtain that superficial "justice", Japan was just a ridiculous monkey to the Western powers. Even their diplomats, when they first arrived in the West, were not taken seriously, let alone respected. But it was through the efforts of those diplomats that Westerners accepted Japan little by little and gave Japan a certain degree of respect. But what is true respect?

"Your Excellency, is there a need for a parade of sailors today?"

It is a common practice in various countries to hold a military parade after the navy enters the port, and since one of the tasks of this cruise is to comfort overseas Chinese. Then after the warship enters the port to show its might, the military parade is naturally indispensable. Now, though, even as a fleet commander, he needs to be a little more cautious.

"Oh, this, I think, since we are here, we originally came with the idea of showing off our might, so we can't be underestimated, right? Let the Dutch see not only our warships, but also our marines, and let them know that we ...... if we will."

You can set foot on the Netherlands East India at any time!

The corners of his lips raised slightly, Tang Zhaoyi's face was full of pride, this time he went south to undertake multiple diplomatic missions, of course, he hoped that the navy could be more arrogant, but also show the arrogance of the navies of the great powers!

Of course, arrogance is not the same as arrogance, as a diplomat, he knows what the British value in the Northeast, what they need in the Northeast, even so, he has to sing this play well, let the British see the Northeast Navy and the Beiyang Navy, how the Northeast is different from Zhili, and another point, is to let the Dutch see their determination, this is to send a signal to the Dutch!

Tell the Dutch, I'm coming! I'm here with a warship! And not a warship, but a whole fleet! A large fleet that is far several times more powerful than the Dutch Navy!

Of course, it would be better if the support of the British could be enlisted, perhaps. The problem of Dutch East India. It can also be on the agenda of negotiations!

When Tang Zhaoyi thought about it. The fleet was guided by the pilot, slowly approached the wharf, this wharf is the exclusive wharf of Beiyang shipping, this is the rule of this era, whether it is the establishment of a trading post or the development of the shipping industry, you must build your own wharf, warehouse, otherwise you can only rent his wharf, warehouse. In terms of geographical location alone, the terminal of Beiyang Shipping. It is not very good, relatively remote, and the water is deep, although the water depth is an advantage, but also a disadvantage, which means that more money is invested in the construction of trestle bridges and other facilities, and the remote location, which makes it far away from the bustling city of the city, but it makes the company have larger docks, warehouses and other facilities.

Thanks to this, the fleet can directly access the pier with two trestle bridges, and more importantly. Because it is the exclusive terminal of Beiyang Shipping, the Governor's Office naturally has no right to interfere with the company's decision to open the terminal. Let the overseas Chinese come to the wharf to welcome the warships from the motherland, on this day, tens of thousands of overseas Chinese poured into this wharf, although in the past many years, the warships of the South and North Seas have sailed into the city, but they have never seen the warships of the motherland so closely, they can only look at it from a distance, but now, the fleet is in front of their eyes.

As the fleet got closer and closer to the wharf, the sailors standing on the side of the dock saw that the wharf was crowded with people, thousands of people crowded on the edge of the wharf, and even worried that they would not be squeezed into the sea, and even stood on the roof of the wharf's warehouse.

When the distance was close enough, these sailors who had crossed the cold and heat were all stunned by the scene in front of them, the people on the dock held countless small red flags, which were the governor's flags of the Northeast Governor's Palace, and even among them, they were not as a symbol in the Northeast, and were regarded as rebellious in the Guannai, but they were regarded as the "Sun and Moon Flag" of the soul by many children of the South Seas.

In this sea of flags, the towering Straits Settlements flag on the pier with a blue background is completely submerged, so that people will have the illusion that this is not Singapore, but a certain Chinese city, and as for the overseas Chinese who are usually cowered and swallowed in front of the white people, they keep shaking the small flag caps in their hands and cheering almost crazy at the fleet entering the port.

"Salute!"

The sailors standing in the broadside company followed the order of the commander on duty, and thousands of officers and men stood solemnly to salute the welcoming people, and at the same time, the fleet also sounded the whistle, and in the long whistle, the military salute of the soldiers and the cheers of the people echoed each other.

"Look, the leader is the "Zhenhai", which is a combat ship built by us Chinese ourselves! ”

Looking at the battleship "Zhenhai" from a distance, when it sailed majestically into the dock, some people immediately guessed its identity, it was the battleship that had shocked their hearts! The world's first-class warship, and more importantly, it is still made in China.

"That's a warship made in Tangshan! It's more than the British warships! ”

"Abba, look, this is a warship built in Tangshan......"

As the battleship got closer and closer, the sense of oppression brought by the huge hull turned into a worship of the motherland in the hearts of every overseas Chinese. Perhaps in the past few years, goods such as Incheon and Northeast goods are gradually replacing British and German goods on the shelves, and even Indian goods that are often cheap, but those industrial consumer goods cannot bring too much impact to overseas Chinese.

For overseas Chinese, whether the cotton cloth used to make clothes is from the Northeast or India, there is not much essential difference, for overseas Chinese businessmen, what they care about is the interests, the cotton cloth in the Northeast is cheap, they naturally purchase the cotton cloth in the Northeast, if the Indian cotton cloth is cheap, then the purchase of the latter is understandable, after all, businessmen are profitable.

But at this moment, looking at the majestic battleship, everyone felt a sense of pride and pride that they had never felt before, and more importantly, a sense of belonging, a sense of belonging that was connected by blood.

It was at this moment that they seemed to understand that they were no longer Cantonese people, Hokkien people, Hakka people, Hainan gangs, this kind of overseas Chinese gangs that were divided into gangs and associations due to regions, dialects and ethnic origins, and the clear division of overseas Chinese was the root of the inability of overseas Chinese to unite, and it was also the deliberate action of the local rulers.

At this moment, these overseas Chinese who are "brave in internal fighting" seem to understand why the teachers in overseas Chinese schools keep preaching "we are Chinese", yes, we are Chinese!

On this day, at this moment, looking at the "Zhenhai" and looking at this huge fleet, they found this sense of belonging for the first time, and this sense of belonging to the country and the nation arose in people's hearts because of pride.

Even together with the expatriates of the overseas Chinese gangs in the two places who had just clashed, when they noticed that the other party was also here, they were the same as in their hands, when they held a small red flag or the sun and moon flag, there was a trace of shame in their expressions, and there was a trace of chagrin in their eyes, as if they regretted the "private fight" in the past, yes, no matter where they are, they are all Chinese, just as the British will always be British, and the natives will always be indigenous, they are Chinese, and they will be proud of China.

I don't know who it was, I took the initiative to nod to the other party first, and I don't know who took the initiative to bow. At this moment, the former dissatisfaction and even hatred are gone, there is, blood is thicker than water, and there is nothing that cannot be resolved.

"Tangshan ......"

Looking at the battleship, these people, whose hearts had changed because of unprecedented national pride, greeted their arrival with tears and excitement, in the past, they had seen countless times how the British welcomed their fleet, and today, they were able to greet the visitors of the motherland with their own enthusiasm like the British, and the tears of excitement and pride flowed on everyone's face.

"Tom, tom......"

The cannon salute at the wharf rang out again, and the officials of the Straits Settlements and the generals of the "Chinese fleet" had been slightly embarrassed by the sound of the cannons, and the enthusiasm of the people had made these proud British feel as if they were guests at this time. The wanderers who poured out of the nest welcomed their sailors with the greatest enthusiasm. Under this enthusiasm, the hosts seem to become guests, but the salute reminds them that this is Singapore, the capital of the Straits Settlements of the British Empire!

Yes!

Why do you feel embarrassed, here is the flag of the empire on which the sun never sets, they are enough to be proud of!

"Your Excellency, General! Welcome to you and your fleet! ”

When the Governor, dressed in full costume, greeted the guests with the smile of a career diplomat and the politeness of a British man amid the cheers of the waves of the overseas Chinese, no one noticed that a dark cloud obscured the sun, and only made the fluttering rice flag seem to be dimmed, which seemed to herald the end of an era...... (To be continued.) )