The equator is hot, in December, when the snow has fallen in the north, Singapore near the equator is still a midsummer, people on the street are wearing single clothes, the stalls are full of all kinds of fruits, in recent days, this Singapore is not quite the same as in the past, on the road to the Beiyang shipping terminal, full of smiling overseas Chinese, they come to visit the warship all day long - the warship is open to the general public for the first time, every overseas Chinese can board the ship. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

When the old man is nearly eighty years old when he boards the warship, he will cry and express his feelings excitedly, which is the deepest concern in the blood, for the elderly, maybe they will never be able to return to the land of Tangshan, at this time on the warship, it is naturally like returning to the homeland of Tangshan, and more importantly, pride.

That's right, pride!

The huge "Zhenhai" battleship is the star of the entire fleet, and people feel the power stored in the thick barrel, which is a devastating force, enough to shock anyone, and even more proud of these overseas Chinese.

In the past four days, whenever the sailors appeared on the street, there would always be people "strong" all kinds of fruits into their arms, and there would be no refusal at all, and from time to time there would be young people inviting these soldiers from the north to dine in the blunt Chinese. No one was more sensitive than these young men - they clearly felt the change in the way foreigners, especially the policemen, looked at them.

Those Indian Ah San who patrolled the streets no longer had the arrogance and condescension they had before, but became very polite, and even dared not reprimand as loudly as in the past, and occasionally there was a kind of cowardice, as if facing a foreigner who was once high.

The fleet that visited Singapore four days ago and the small military parade. Not only did it cause a sensation among the Chinese, but it also shocked the British in Singapore, especially the Indians, who were loyal servants of the British, and the turbaned policemen undoubtedly felt the change in their status from the huge fleet and the attitude of the British towards the Chinese fleet. When the master became polite, they naturally couldn't be the servants as in the past, so they changed their attitude towards overseas Chinese at the first time.

And this series of changes, only let the overseas Chinese who have never felt respect, all fall into a sense of drift that they have never had, although it is not arrogant, but it makes them feel a kind of strength, a kind of fulfillment and peace of mind that they rely on behind it. Naturally, he became more and more cordial to the officers and men of the fleet and ships.

Almost every overseas Chinese hotel would display a sign that read "Free Hospitality for Navy Officers and Soldiers" to entertain these soldiers, but to their surprise, these Navy officers and men were different from the Beiyang officers and men they had seen before, they would always leave with far more cash than the meal money on the dining table when they left, and even along with the fruits that were forced into their arms, they also found a place to go -- to give to the children of the overseas Chinese school. He even donated money to overseas Chinese schools in the name of small traders, although not much. But everyone knows that they are giving back to the overseas Chinese in this way.

The Chinese have always respected me and I respect you, but in just a few days, this fleet of Mandarin easily conquered the whole of Singapore under the premise of inconvenient language communication. Conquered the Chinese here. The most direct response was a surge in the number of overseas Chinese opening accounts with Singapore's Northeast Bank, and deposits exceeded 10 million within a few days.

However, this enthusiasm is really embarrassing for the British, and this is Singapore, after all. After all, it is a colony under the British Empire, but out of practical "needs", it still dutifully performs the duties of its masters, making these Chinese feel at home. Of course, this is not to say that they did not complain in private, in fact, at the welcome banquet that night, the British "tactfully" expressed their complaints, and as a result, a private agreement was reached between the two sides to limit the number of sailors to 20% of the total number of sailors ashore each day, which meant that all sailors could rest on land for a day for five days.

Of course, this restriction does not include officers, even midshipman officers are not included in the restrictions, class, the British concept of class can be said to have been deeply rooted in the bones, they naturally will not apply the restriction to the upper class, just like at this time, when the Northeast Navy is about to end its visit to Singapore, a grand banquet is held in the garden of the Governor's Palace, the sound of music echoes in the air, and the naval officers of China and Britain are communicating at the banquet, The Western women in full costume looked at the young Chinese naval officers with interest, and it can be said that these people completely subverted their perception of the Chinese.

What a bunch of handsome and strong young people!

The admiration in their hearts does not prevent them from putting on that condescending attitude - the pride of the white race prevents them from being overly friendly to people of color, and as for the favorability, it is a joke, but it does not prevent polite contact, such as when faced with invitations, they will not refuse.

While the young officers were dancing with the British women, the Chinese and British naval officers were exchanging their views on the navy and having academic exchanges on the grass, which was boring but enjoyable for the professional officers.

And in a certain corner, Tang Zhaoyi, who was holding a wine glass, was chatting with Lord Stanley beside him with a smile on his face, His Excellency the Lord was a special envoy from London, and was fully responsible for the negotiations with the Northeast authorities, in the past four days, through many private talks, the two sides have reached an agreement on many issues, on the surface, the two sides are negotiating on trade issues, but in fact, behind the surface problems, there are deeper negotiations, such as the use of the British Navy in the northeast military port such as Zhenwan Bay, There is also the issue of the use of British ports by the Chinese Navy, with each side promising to give the other equal treatment.

This secret treaty actually met the needs of the navies of the two countries, and for Britain, the use of the northeastern military port allowed its defense line to be nearly 1,000 nautical miles in advance, and it could directly enter the Sea of Japan. Threatening the Viceroyalty of Nikolai's ties with the Russian mainland, and for the Chinese Navy, or more precisely the Northeast Navy, the use of British ports was necessary for its oceanographic training and oceanographic surveys - Britain had the densest global port chain of its time.

However, this does not mean that the negotiations will be smooth sailing, for example, on issues of extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction. Although Stanley said it could be discussed, he said it needed to be reported to the British Foreign Secretary, Kimberley, but he still insisted in principle that the issue would not be considered until a judicial inquiry into the Northeast had been conducted.

Beyond that, however, there was absolutely no objection to the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation, and for the Northeast, it was a breakthrough to some extent - for the first time, the authorities in the Northeast really bypassed Tientsin and signed a treaty at the national level with the great powers of the day, and in a way that was "equal" at least superficially relatively equal.

"Very complaining. Your Excellency Minister, Britain does not have much say in the Dutch East India issue, and although we agree that it is unfair for the Dutch to discriminate against and harm your expatriate, London believes that Britain has no intention of getting involved in the dispute on the mainland, so it is naturally inconvenient to intervene in the Dutch East India issue! ”

At the noisy banquet, Stan used extremely polite words. It conveys London's attitude towards the Dutch East India issue, in a word - no involvement!

For London. They have no intention of forcing the Netherlands, which has been an ally of the Netherlands for many years, to make concessions to China, or to force the Netherlands to make concessions in the strategically demanding northeast, and the simplest way is to remain neutral.

"So, my lord, can I understand this. What if your country remained neutral in the event of a direct conflict with the Netherlands? ”

Tang Zhaoyi was not discouraged by London's attitude, but turned the conversation around and sought a certain kind of diplomatic commitment. As a diplomat, did he not know that the foreign policy of the Dutch was to rely on Britain to maintain the interests of their colonies, and without the protection of their colonies by Britain, I am afraid that the Dutch East India would have been seized by France or other European powers.

"Your Excellency, London believes that the interests of the Netherlands in Asia are rightfully protected,"

After the words that were almost forceful came out of Stanley's mouth, he added as if he were turning around.

"At the same time, we also agree with your country's protection of overseas nationals, and of course, we hope that this protection will be on the premise of not harming the overseas interests of other countries!"

A paradoxical answer, this is precisely what the British do, they are unlikely to give real and substantial help to the Northeast, at least on the issue of the Dutch East India, and it is this seemingly neutral approach that has helped the British maintain their so-called "balance" in the world.

"Of course, Your Excellency, we have never considered harming the overseas interests of other countries, but what we hope is that the Dutch will face up to the reality and face up to their harm to the overseas Chinese, and we believe that the attitude and manner of the Dutch towards the Chinese diaspora will be directly related to our attitude towards the Dutch East Indies, and in the past year, we have been seeking diplomatic efforts, but the Dutch have arrogantly refused to negotiate, and this is the current dilemma......"

Regarding Tang Zhaoyi's predicament, Stanley looked helpless,

"Your Excellency, you see, we have also tried to reconcile your differences, just as the Straits Settlements tactfully expressed to the Dutch Governor-General of East India that they would like them to accept the visit of your warship, even if it is only a training ship, as a basis for the adjustment of relations between the two sides, but they still expressed their refusal......"

Deep down, Stanley even hated the tenacity of the Dutch - they not only refused the request for a consulate, but even the Northeast demanded the establishment of a "commercial consul", and this stubbornness seemed unimaginable to the British, could the Dutch close the door of the East Indies to the Chinese forever?

Obviously, they had this intention in their hearts, at least they hoped that it would be delayed for a day, but they completely ignored the impatience of the Northeast authorities day by day, and he could even affirm without hesitation that the fundamental reason why the Northeast authorities would send an entire fleet to visit Singapore this time, and then they would scatter their visits to the Philippines, Siam, Saigon, Penang, and other places, was to carry out "armed demonstrations" against the Dutch.

But the Dutch stubbornly chose to be arrogant rather than sit down and solve the problem, and the Chinese did not demand much, even very reasonable, even the kind of equality, which the British had granted them in the colonies decades ago - equality of judicial status.

The Dutch, however, did not see it that way, and in their view, that kind of equality would affect their rule over the East Indies, and even the governor was saying in private that "those Chinese want equality unless they bombard Jakarta with naval artillery", and if they did not have the backing of the British, would he be so arrogant?

What a troublemaker!

Muttering like this in his heart, Stanley looked at Tang Zhaoyi, who was dissatisfied, and said softly.

"Confidence, Your Excellency, that I myself agree with the Chinese point of view on this matter, and that when I return to London, I will do everything possible to bring Britain into the matter to settle your differences with the Dutch."

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency, and I am confident that our unanimity on many issues will not only lead to future cooperation between China and the UK! It can also promote the friendship between the two countries! ”

When the two raised their glasses to the friendship between the two countries, Tang Zhaoyi's afterglow noticed that an official from the Governor's Mansion hurriedly walked to the Governor's side not far away, as if he was reporting something, but it was just a sentence, and the Governor's Excellency's face changed, and he even looked at himself in some surprise.

What happened?

Although she didn't know what was going on, Tang Zhaoyi was keenly aware that what happened must have something to do with China!

Could it be ......

Tang Zhaoyi almost instinctively thought of the differences between Fuzhong and Tianjin, could it be said that there was a conflict with Tianjin, if so, then the fleet ...... It was when Tang Zhaoyi said goodbye to Lord Stanley and walked to the fleet commander Li Weizhong, but a waiter with a wine glass blocked his way.

"Sir,"

When the waiter, who was obviously Chinese, invited him to drink, he whispered to Tang Zhaoyi in a way that almost no one noticed.

"Dutch and Indian authorities opened fire on overseas Chinese in Pontianak, the number of casualties is unknown......" (To be continued. )