Episode 194 How to get a banana republic

Now, both the Nanjing Ming government and the Beijing Ming Army's Provisional Military Management Committee have immediately shifted most of their intelligence forces to the search for Guangwu.

The temporary governor of the Ming Army Military Management Committee in Beijing is naturally Xiang Xiaoqiang. At the same time, he also moved the Northern Command in Xuzhou to Beijing, where the conditions were more complete.

Now the top priorities of the Beijing Military Management Commission are as follows:

1. Issued an order to the Qing army in other parts of northern China, ordering them to immediately make a declaration of submission to the Ming Empire, and to maintain law and order on the spot, waiting for the Ming army to receive them;

2. Protect all important places in Beijing, such as the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the North, Central and South Sanhai and other royal gardens, the Taimiao, the Temple of Heaven and Earth, the major palaces and other important ancient buildings, as well as banks, arsenals, grain depots, etc.;

3. Protect the Ming Tombs of Changping and the Qing Tombs of Zunhua. Dispatch a large number of troops to guard it closely to prevent the frenzied tomb robbery that occurred during the successive changes of dynasties in China;

4. According to the list made in advance, control some important figures of the former Qing Empire. The first was Emperor Jiade. There are also the following important royal families, military ministers, and high-ranking civil and military officials, waiting to be dealt with separately;

5. Strictly control all personnel and office institutions at the sticky pole, seal all files, and wait for Dongchang, Jinyiwei, People's Guard Security Team and other personnel to come from Nanjing for screening and processing;

6. Restore social order in Beijing, strengthen public security, cooperate with the Nanjing government to import food and daily necessities, and stabilize prices;

7. Cooperate with the Ming Imperial Bank to issue the northern transitional currency, exchange it with the public in various banks and markets in Beijing, and do a good job in the stable docking of Qingyang and Mingyang;

8. Cooperate with the judicial personnel who came to Nanjing to review and screen the detainees in the former Qing prison, and reorganize a large number of backlogged and unjust cases in the former Qing judicial system;

9. Cooperate with Nanjing and make all preparations for Her Majesty's northern tour;

10. Arrest the most heinous ex-Qing fugitives. Among them, the number one criminal and the first "playing card" is Guangwu.

……

From the day after the People's Guards entered Beijing, trains, automobiles, and transport planes from the south shuttled through the land and skies in the north. All kinds of people and materials are constantly heading to the north. Personnel from the civil affairs, justice, intelligence, economics, finance, health, and other industries in the Southern Ming Dynasty began to go to the north in large numbers. The main teams of the People's Guard's security team, the Praetorian Guard, and the political work team are almost all moving to Beijing. Coupled with the original Northern Command, almost the entire upper echelons of the People's Guard Corps have to move to Beijing.

On the morning of March 9.

It has been 24 hours since the seaplane was discovered. The security team of the People's Guard Corps strictly interrogated the backbone of the sticky pole and searched the archives of the sticky pole to the bottom of the materials, desperately trying to find out Guangwu's escape plan. Not to mention, since Guangwu's escape plan has been prepared for a long time, and the main force is the sticky pole department, many people in the sticky pole department are now involved in the exile plan, and they all know something more or less.

Taking advantage of the fact that the north has just been taken, and the southern metropolitan procuratorate has not had time to come over, the security team will be punished as soon as it should be punished, unceremoniously, and strive to be short. Those sticky pole spies who usually punish others are now their turn, and they are all like, crying for dad and mother, begging for mercy, and peeing their pants.

Soon, the security team pieced together some bits and pieces of information. One of the biggest gains was to learn the nationality of the ship that took Guangwu:

- Dominican Republic.

Sure enough, Guangwu was planning to go into exile in Latin America. They may want to rely on their vast wealth to gain protection from local dictators.

……

If Guangwu went directly to Dominica with his treasures, he would take the Pacific route and cross the Panama Canal to Dominica. If he was going to go to Europe first and find a bank to store his treasures, he would take the Indian Ocean route and cross the Strait of Malacca.

The Navy acted. The East China Sea Fleet has sent an aircraft carrier squadron, consisting of one aircraft carrier and four destroyers, to conduct an air search in the western Pacific region. The South Ocean Fleet also dispatched long-range land-based reconnaissance planes, with Malacca as the center, to conduct an extensive search in the South China Sea and the eastern Indian Ocean, in an effort to find a Dominican-flagged ship.

On the East Asian side, there are generally fewer ships from Central American countries. In a specific country, such as Dominica, the chances of it appearing are even smaller. So once you see a Dominican ship, it's almost certain that it's it.

Xiang Xiaoqiang and everyone analyzed: The reason why Guangwu chose a small Latin American dictatorship is first of all because he can't choose the main country to go into exile. Governments in democracies do not risk offending voters to protect a notorious dictator. And dictatorships should also be distinguished. The largest dictatorship today is the Soviet Union, but the Soviet dictator and ruling apparatus are so strong that Guangwu may fear that he will be counterattacked. And many of these small dictatorships in Latin America, their international status and economic scale are very small, and if a former emperor of a large country takes refuge with a huge amount of money, then he may have a place in politics and economically. The huge wealth carried by Guangwu can even easily affect the country's economy.

In addition, these small states are far away on the other side of the world, far beyond the influence of the Ming Dynasty, but also far beyond the influence of the Ming allies such as Britain and Germany. The standard sky is high and the emperor is far away.

But there are also downsides. If Guangwu went to the Soviet Union, although he might lose some freedom, for personal safety, it would be considered a safe. The Soviet Union was ruled by spies, and the tentacles of rule were everywhere in every corner of society, and there was surveillance, whistleblowing, and control everywhere. If a foreign country wants to send a killer to assassinate him, it is even more difficult than ascending to the sky. But the small countries of Latin America are different. Compared with the Soviet Union, it has loose rule, many ethnic groups, complex society, chaotic law and order, political turmoil, and coups d'état. Compared to the Soviet Union, the rulers of small Latin American countries have very limited security measures. It would also be much easier for a foreign country to send a killer to take a head.

This is one of the reasons why Guangwu chose Dominica. Dominica was ruled by Trujillo? Molina came to power in a coup d'état in 1930 and has been ruling for six years. Among the many small dictatorships in Latin America, his reign is relatively long. And it seems that his rule is quite stable at present, and there is a tendency for him to rule for a long time. This kind of small country is exactly what exiles like Guangwu like.

……

"But there's a problem."

Li Gensheng said.

Everyone looked at him. Xiang Xiaoqiang says:

"What's the problem?"

"These 'banana republics' in Central America are more or less under the control of the United States. Trujillo in Dominica? Molina was even more supported by the United States to come to power. The domestic economy is also heavily dependent on the United States. Isn't Guangwu afraid that we will seek to exert pressure on Dominica through the United States through diplomatic means? ”

When he said this, everyone looked at each other. Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't know much about the political situation in Central America at this time, so he also looked at everyone and asked:

"Well, didn't Nesheng say? Who's going to talk about it? ”

The stomach hurt and looked at everyone, and spoke:

"Well, I think that's the case...... Commander Lee is right, the Dominican Republic is indeed the only country in the United States. It is also possible that we will negotiate with the United States to put pressure on Dominica to repatriate Guangwu...... However, Guangwu doesn't necessarily think so. At present, the United States is very isolationist and generally reluctant to meddle in foreign affairs. In addition, the last time we failed in arms procurement, Guangwu may think that our influence on the United States is just like this, and even if we look for the United States, the United States will not care. Plus he doesn't have much else to go. ”

The crowd nodded. When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard this, he also felt that this was the case.

However, he still has a question and is embarrassed to say it publicly. So, he whispered to Xiuxiu:

"What do you mean by a 'banana republic'?"

Xiuxiu also whispered:

"It is those small countries in Central America, such as Dominica, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras, which have a single industry and rely entirely on the cultivation of cash crops, such as bananas, tobacco, and coffee, and the national economy is completely controlled by large American companies, and is jokingly called a banana republic......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang understood. He rolled his eyes and asked the crowd:

"Ladies and gentlemen, who is the best in these 'banana republics' in Central America, apart from the dictators? Is it a local American company? ”

The stomach hurt and his eyes rolled, and he immediately understood what he had in mind. He laughed and said:

"Your Excellency is right. Hehe, to be precise, the best in those banana republics is not the dictator himself, but the most bullish is the United Fruit Company. It's like the Emperor. It can control not only the local economy, but also the politics. Whoever is allowed by the United Fruit Company to be the president can be the president, and whoever is not allowed to be the president will not be able to be the president. Hehe, my lord, this matter is easy to do, even if the US government does not agree, we can think of bypassing it and taking the 'civil route'......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang also grinned.

"Okay," he smiled, "let's try it, did Guangwu miscalculate this time." Xiuxiu. ”

"Yes."

"Prepare your plane, as soon as the news from the navy comes, once it is confirmed that it is going to Dominica, you will fly back to Nanjing. Invite your brother, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law and his father to dinner, and ask Mr. Bradley to lead the line, and say that our consul in Detroit wants to invite Mr. Ford to dinner, and we will contact ...... relationship."

Xiuxiu couldn't help but smile and said:

"Yes!"

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded, and said to everyone:

"Of course, according to the Navy, we have to do something else. If Guangwu takes the Indian Ocean route instead of the Pacific route, then we will have more means to do so. In the first few days of the voyage, the ships basically passed through our Ming sphere of influence: the South China Sea, Siam, and Malacca. According to the speed of the cargo ship, he is now at most in the South China Sea.

"Although the South China Sea is also the high seas, once we find it, we can send submarines to follow it. It is impossible for the banana republic to send warships and cruise ships, only the kind of inconspicuous freighters. That kind of slow speed, the submarine can also keep up. When the ship arrives in Malacca, you can let the 'pirates' rob it...... Pirate, he doesn't know public international law, he can't help it. ”

The "coaxing" in the conference room became enthusiastic. Everyone was excited, and they all felt that this method was more energetic and had a higher success rate. Following the "American line," success or failure is, after all, in the hands of others. But to take the "pirate route", whether you succeed or not is in your own hands.

For a time, everyone hoped that Guangwu would choose the Indian Ocean route.