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Friday, September 1, 1628, Governor of Nanshan, Nanshan Port.

The time for the expeditionary fleet to send out entered the half-moon countdown, and the entire Nanshan port was crowded with all kinds of merchant ships from China, and the flow of people unloading and loading goods on the wharf was like a tide, and a large number of hired black hired workers were sweating profusely, as black and shiny as if their bodies had been smeared with oil.

Several warships had been moored in the military harbor to the south, and the West Point sail cruiser was towed into the only dry dock at the Nanshan Port Naval Base on the day it entered the harbor, removing the attachment from the bottom of the ship, and carrying out emergency maintenance and overhaul work on the steam units.

Nanshan Port, the main resting place of the Army Foreign Legion, is also noisy in the barracks of an army military base on the edge of a hillside near the naval base. The March of the Foreign Legion Grenadier has become one of the symbols of the Foreign Legion from the moment it was "introduced".

"One, one, one, two! Rightward...... See! ”

Groups of Foreign Legion soldiers either walked in neat formations to the accompaniment of drums, or they sat in piles and were taught by a number of non-commissioned officers. The local Foreign Legion garrison, which numbered two battalions, has now been reorganized into a combat battalion as part of the force to be sent to Asia, while a small portion of the Wehrmacht infantry battalion, which has been integrated into the expeditionary brigade, arrived yesterday.

"Lieutenant, I've never seen Yu Shan be so energetic as he is today, I guess he should be impatient."

In the corner of the camp, Sergeant Major Makarov of the 1st Battalion of the Foreign Legion shrugged his shoulders to a Chinese lieutenant beside him.

As a former subordinate of Makarov, Qiao Xian in front of him has been promoted to lieutenant last month, officially becoming the commander of an infantry company of the Foreign Legion. For this kind of status gap, Makarov's rough nerve is relatively normal, according to him, "at least in terms of salary, I am still on an equal footing with Lieutenant Qiao Yan."

Makarov's three views are pale and superficial. But Yu Shan is much more unbalanced, even though he knows that this day will come. Last year, during the capture of the Caribbean natives on Dominica Island, Yu Shan was once again shit luck to prevent an opponent's night attack while urinating in the middle of the night, and was promoted to sergeant. But in the face of his companions with an increasing gap in identity, Yu Shan's personality is also "mature" a lot on the surface.

However, in private, Yu Shan is still the only close friend Qiao Yan can talk to, and only when there is no one else, Yu Shan will continue to exert his mean complaining and nagging spirit, and "criticize" Qiao Yan for any place that is inferior to himself. Few years. Qiao Yan, who has a more introverted personality, also ignores the attitude of his companions and still silently sticks to his job responsibilities.

As the most easy-going officer among the officers and men of the Foreign Legion, Qiao Yan has a good reputation in the mouths of most officers and men of the company, but people have never understood why this young lieutenant is always "sentimental".

"Yu Shan, come here!" Watch as your companions splatter among the Foreign Legionnaires describing the sights of their homeland. Qiao Yan couldn't help but laugh.

“…… Well, you idiots, you will never understand what a happy thing it is to pick up food at low tide, and your life is completely dead-end! ”

Leaving his subordinates, still nagging inexplicable sarcasm in his mouth, Yu Shan grabbed the steel helmet and walked to Qiao Yan's side, and gave a military salute with a smile.

"Yu Shan. Aren't you really going to get married first? Looking at the companion in front of him who heard that he was going to Daming, so he resolutely gave up retiring and getting married this year, and chose to continue to stay in the army, Qiao showed an apologetic smile.

"I talked to my third sister about it. Wait for me to pick up my mother from Daming, and then get married! Yu Shan proudly shook the steel helmet in his hand, with a bright smile on his face, "The third sister promised to wait for me!" ”

Third sister. It was the Chinese female employee Yu Shan met in a bank in West Point Town, and Yu Shan's years of stalking finally paid off. The third sister, who is alone, can be regarded as having a home in this new country.

Since the end of last year, the Army has ushered in the first wave of national defense force retirement, and according to the provisions of the country's national defense military service law, soldiers who have served for five years can apply for retirement. Although the army was very well paid, the frequent foreign wars and combat casualties made the veterans who enlisted in 1621 and 1622 a little exhausted, and they successively formed families with wives and children, so from the end of 1627, more than 150 veterans retired from the army returned to their places of residence to join the local national police garrison, more than half of which were experienced grassroots non-commissioned officers, this "betrayal" once made the army commander Chen Liwen very "sad".

Originally, Yu Shan had also made a decision, and after the autumn of 1628, he applied for retirement and married his third sister, but after the army headquarters announced the order to form the ground forces of the Eastern Expeditionary Fleet not long ago, Yu Shan was like a different person, and instantly tore up his retirement application.

"Well, then it's hard for you, otherwise I'll be bored alone." After Qiao Yan finished speaking lightly, he turned around and left, leaving Makarov and Yu Shan to look at each other.

"A sentimental lieutenant...... Sergeant Yushan, do you know what your biggest failure was? Makarov shook his head and grabbed Yu Shan's shoulder, but under the force, the little sergeant grinned in pain, "You have never infected your best friend with your cheerfulness, and his melancholy is half of your responsibility!" ”

"Unless I conjure up a green girl! Let go of me, sir! Yu Shan jumped and broke free of Makarov, rubbed his shoulders and shouted, "I declare first, don't let me lead the team first!" After entering this battalion, the soldiers in my platoon suffered the most casualties, and I haven't married yet! ”

"Sergeant! You're trying to change my habits! Makarov glared at his subordinates, and as he turned, he cracked his mouth and smiled silently.

For the majority of non-Chinese officers and men, the allowance for this expedition is said to be even higher, but for the more than 200 Chinese soldiers who have been "away from home for several years," there is an indescribable excitement. Yu Shan is probably a typical example of this.

……

In the residence of the Governor of Nanshan, a small-scale banquet is underway, most of the participants in the banquet are military and political figures who are about to go to the East, but there is also a Portuguese nobleman in the middle, judging from the appearance, it is the "old friend" of China and the United States, the Governor of San Salvador, the Portuguese and Brazilian colony Gonzalez!

“…… God can't tolerate it either! This was clearly a provocation to Portuguese interests in the Far East. I find it hard to believe that these Dutchmen who have left Europe can be so sick! González, who hadn't seen him for a few years, seemed to be fatter, and was holding his wine and spreading his arms as if what he was talking about had just happened, "We fully support the position of our friends, including His Excellency the Duke of Bragança, but I still want to state that Macau and the island of Timor and the related shipping routes belong to Portugal's unshakable rights!" ”

It seems to have been authorized domestically. Gonzalez brought one of the best gifts to the United States, a number of administrative documents, to facilitate the Chinese and American naval fleets to stay in the ports of the Portuguese colonies in the Far East, including the port of Malacca. It even provided the Huamei Eastern Expeditionary Fleet with a group of veteran sailors who were familiar with the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian routes, which was exactly what the expeditionary fleet needed most.

In addition to India, Portugal's colonization and trade routes in Southeast Asia were already in jeopardy. For more than two decades. The Dutch East India Company's efforts to blossom in Southeast Asia had caused the Portuguese to lose most of their trading posts, and now only a few surviving colonies in Malacca, Macau and Timor Island, as well as a few crumbling trading posts, if anything else, it is estimated that Portugal will completely withdraw from Southeast Asia.

Naturally, the entire Huamei Expeditionary Fleet was secretly pleased with this "uninvited" joint act. This means that they will be able to make the most of Portugal's key recuperation or replenishment at a number of ports on the Far East route, especially as Malacca will be the end of the fleet's endurance on this voyage.

In addition to the supplies each ship carry, the three short shirt-class clippers will be loaded with more than 1,200 tons of fresh water and food. However, according to calculations, these supplies can only provide less than 7 months of consumption for the entire fleet. In particular, fresh water and fresh fruits and vegetables must be replenished halfway. God knows how long the fleet will stay in Asia, so the problem of supplies will be the biggest problem of this expedition.

Dayuan Island has been blocked for more than half a year, and all mainland material input channels have been lost, so you can imagine what kind of situation the Yan family will be in when they are stuck in Dayuan. An island that has just begun to be colonized is even a problem to feed its own tens of thousands of people. Thank God for not reaching out to the U.S. Expeditionary Fleet in China to ask for supplies, let alone to the U.S. Expeditionary Fleet in China.

And around the destination of the big man. The only hope is to get support from the Philippine colony of the Spanish kingdom, Manila Port, but judging from the attitude of the Spanish kingdom so far, it is possible to pay a higher diplomatic and economic price for the fleet to enter the port of Manila to rest and replenish. So at the moment the only port that can "willingly" provide this kind of convenience is the Portuguese.

"The passion of our Portuguese friends will definitely pay off! My Government is considering paying attention to the question of Timor Island after the conclusion of this investigation, and we believe that the interests of our Portuguese friends are the interests of our country and need to be firmly upheld! ”

In the face of this old acquaintance, Yan Xiaosong was as open-mouthed as ever, opening his mouth to check the check, while Gonzalez, the governor of San Salvador, raised his glass happily and frequently. This kind of trick of talking about people and talking nonsense made several Chinese army and navy officers on the side stunned.

"Yan, Minister Su has sent a message that the National Assembly has approved Brigadier General Zhang Chunrui to serve as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary brigade, and has also approved your proposal!"

While Yan Xiaosong, the "diplomatic envoy and chief investigator of China and the United States", was chatting with the Portuguese governor, Caterina walked over from the side and quietly handed a note to her husband.

"Well, that's good......" Walking to the corner, Yan Xiaosong carefully read a few lines on the note, and finally took a long breath, and then looked at his wife who followed him apologetically, "Katarina, it will take a long time this time, you shouldn't follow me." ”

"No, I'm going to the East too! Kids want to go too! ”

Caterina took the initiative to apply for a transfer to the secretary of the general headquarters of the expeditionary fleet this time, on the one hand, she was indeed going crazy at home, and on the other hand, she was reluctant to leave her husband for a long time. Caterina is indeed very bold, not only hiding her two-month pregnancy, but also taking her eldest son Yan Shuming, who is more than 3 years old, with her, on the grounds that her husband, as a diplomat stationed abroad, is allowed to accompany her children's family according to the regulations. The second son, Yan Shuhong, was too young to be pinned on his mother and brother's house, and as early as 1623, his family moved to China and the United States.

Thinking that the eldest son, who is mostly of Chinese blood, is now able to make soy sauce, Yan Xiaosong feels that time is like an arrow, time waits for no one, and he has worked hard until now, and he must perfect this Daming agent plan.

Seeing that his wife was still as stubborn as he knew at the beginning, Yan Xiaosong could only smile bitterly, if Caterina suddenly had a big belly a few months later, how would the fleet look at it at that time, I felt very embarrassed when I thought about it.

The banquet hall was crowded with people, most of whom were dressed as Chinese military and political personnel, but in one corner sat a lonely young scholar dressed in a Chinese-style long shirt.

The young scholar is Zhao Mingchuan, just over half a month ago, he was suddenly called to the mayor's residence by Di Zugong, and under the persuasion of the other party, he served as an adviser to Yan Xiaosong, the special diplomatic envoy of China and the United States in the East. What the hell does this consultant do, Zhao Mingchuan is still a little confused, but after being away from his hometown for several years, Zhao Mingchuan couldn't wait to agree, and now that he thinks about it, maybe it's too hasty.

Usually he only came into contact with Di Zugong, a Chinese official, but now facing a large room of Chinese military and political bureaucrats, especially one of them is still a "Chinese American Rite Attendant", Zhao Mingchuan is both nervous and at a loss, so he can only sit alone in the corner eating a fruit plate, and secretly look at these gorgeous magnates who have never seen before.

"Zhao Mingchuan of Mingxing Trading Company, right?" Suddenly, an unfamiliar young voice came out from the side, and Zhao Mingchuan subconsciously stood up and saluted with his hands. When I looked at it, a young man in a gorgeous short dress was looking at him with a smile.

"It's down there, I don't know if Brother Tai is ......" Zhao Mingchuan saw that the other party seemed to be about the same age as himself, so he could only smile politely.

"COSCO International Trade Group, Yang Xiaohua." Yang Xiaohua looked at the Ming scholar in front of him, who had been circulating in the traversal for a long time, and was already full of strong interest.

"It turned out to be ...... Mr. Yang! Zhao Mingchuan had naturally heard of the well-known private trading group in China and the United States, but he didn't expect that the second-in-command of a large group in front of him was about the same age as himself, and he couldn't help but be secretly ashamed.

"Just call me Yang Xiaohua!" The young vice president took two glasses of wine in high spirits, one of which was stuffed into Zhao Mingchuan's hand without saying anything, "I heard that you became Brother Yan's advisor?" Tsk, that's good, I've done something for the government! In the future, you can call for wind and rain at home and abroad, and this opportunity should be grasped well, which will be of great help to your future business! ”

"This ......" Zhao Mingchuan was stunned for a moment, and then looked at the Chinese and American vice ministers of foreign affairs who were talking with Francois in the distance, and his face suddenly blushed.

"Hey, kidding, kidding." Seeming to feel that he was too open-mouthed, Yang Xiaohua hurriedly lowered his voice, "This time with the support of the military, the trade cake along the coast of Daming has a score, we are merchants, of course we are here for these, what do you say?" ”

"If you are a threesome, you must have my teacher. Mingchuan followed all of you this time, not to seek wealth and profit, but to study and learn first. Thinking that he had entrusted the company's management with all his responsibilities and chose to return to Daming as a consultant for China and the United States, Zhao Mingchuan felt mixed feelings, and he could only be as polite as possible.

"Haha, understood, understood!" Yang Xiaohua couldn't get used to this kind of sour rotten book, so he drank all his wine in one gulp and walked away.

"It seems that this China and the United States cannot get rid of the style of government and businessmen, and I am afraid that under the strong ships and sharp guns, then the businessmen of other countries will inevitably suffer from injustice......" Thinking of the remarks that the interests of the country and businessmen are one when the "mentor" Di Zugong once said, and recalling that every time the Chinese and American Navy patrol ships stationed in Shuangwan City, Bermuda, brought the Taixi merchant ship into the port like a thief, Zhao Mingchuan felt an inexplicable worry in his heart.

(To be continued)