The red sun was slanting to the west, the brilliance was converging, the blue sky was gradually turning pale gray, and a few dark clouds were quietly drifting in from afar. The sea breeze was blowing, damp and cold, and the black-blue turbid waves crashed against the seashore's breakwater, stirring up a splash in the sky.

This is Manila in the Philippines and the most central part of the German Empire's colonization in the Far East. Since October 1898, when the Spanish signed an alliance with the Spaniards and acquired the city, the German colonial authorities began a large-scale construction of Manila with the intention of making it a fortress and military port comparable to that of Singapore. After several years of hard work, the port fortifications have begun to show scale; The number of ships docking to and fro has gradually increased, and it is a scene full of life.

Five days earlier, an extremely large fleet had sailed into the harbor, and when the German officers and men of the garrison saw the composition of the fleet, their faces were full of surprise. For no other reason, they came to the Philippines on these troop transports, and they had a very deep impression of these ships that had accompanied them for more than a month; But now the black vulture cross flag on these ships has been lowered, replaced by a blue and white Russian naval flag! Small boat guidance, ships entering the port, more than 20 transport ships of various types occupy a part of the Manila port; However, the Germans soon discovered that the Russians were simply a bunch of plague gods.

Because of the hostile relationship between Britain and Russia, it was already a very generous move for Britain to allow the Russian fleet to pass through the Suez Canal, and it was simply impossible for the Russian fleet to expect to dock in British ports. From the Suez Canal, it directly entered the Red Sea shipping lanes of East Africa, and then passed through India, Singapore, and Malaysia, all of which were within the reach of the British, and all the Russians received in these places were "no reception". Although Indonesia was controlled by the Dutch, hostile to Britain (the Boers were descendants of Dutch immigrants, and the Anglo-Boer War had sparked a strong anti-British frenzy in the Netherlands), the ports that could provide a call for the Russian fleet were far from their routes, and a detour would have been delayed, which would have been detrimental to the journey. The Russians decided to go straight to German-controlled Manila to rest their army, replenish coal, fresh water, and food, and then head to their final destination, Dalian.

From the day of departure from the Italian port of Taranto, the Russians had not been given a place to rest or replenish for three weeks on the ensuing journey. Arriving in the Philippines at this moment is like throwing a torch into a gasoline barrel and bursting into an earth-shattering fireworks. In addition to the dozens of ships that need a lot of coal, these troop carriers can carry nearly 50,000 army officers and soldiers, and they need a lot of food and fresh water just to meet so many mouths, not to mention other needs. After enduring more than 20 days of bumpy and shaky at sea, lack of fresh water, little food, and unbearable loneliness, they have desperately needed a place to vent; Despite the best efforts of the Russian officers, it was difficult to suppress the ardent desires of the soldiers. After some negotiations, the Germans agreed to let the group of guys enter the city in batches, but even so, it still caused a lot of turmoil in Manila.

Bars, casinos, nightclubs, brothels...... Everywhere in Manila where entertainment can be found, all the gray cattle from the boreal zone are crowded. And these guys are worthy of the title of "livestock", although they can fight without fear of death, but the military discipline is simply rotten and can only be described as a lump of soaring; Think about it, an army with a third of the illiteracy, can you expect them to have any good qualities? At this time, news of a war between Japan and Russia came from the Far East; Then came the Tsar's decree, ordering the convoy to continue to row to Dalian as originally planned. Perhaps knowing that they were unlucky in the Manchurian battlefield, the Russian officers and soldiers began to squander their rubles even more, stirring up the entire Manila miasma.

During the few days when the Russian troop convoy docked, security in Manila was several times worse than usual; Almost all the time, there are Russian soldiers who are hungovers in bars, or who have lost all their money at the gambling table, or who are stupid themselves, doing crazy things. Fights and brawls are commonplace, and looting and smashing are also commonplace. If it weren't for the fact that they were strictly forbidden to carry weapons when they disembarked, and that a battleship Caesar Barbarossa, armed with six 283-mm guns, was moored in the harbor as a deterrent to force, the few German garrisons alone would not have been able to control the situation. The only good thing is that the large amount of rubles they squandered has effectively boosted the local economy, and almost all the commercial ports have made a lot of money, and the half-closed and regular prostitutes, whether beautiful or not, have an average of more than 20 customers a day, so that they are closed for a week after the Russians are gone......

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In a towering building in Manila's military port, Fein, the German colonial governor in the Philippines, was standing by the window on the top floor, quietly watching the scene in the harbor. Time flew by and the days flew by, and the Russian fleet had already been berthed for more than the 48 hours allowed by the Germans. It stands to reason that the Russian fleet should have left the port a long time ago, but the Russian soldiers who had squandered their excess energy in the city were not fully returned.

Under the red sun sinking in the west, all things were pulled out of a long gray shadow; Groups of Russian soldiers assembled in the open space in front of the pier, and when the roll call of the officers was over and it was confirmed that there was no shortage of major generals, they began to board the ships in turn and return to the troop carriers. In the adjacent area, a large group of women dressed in fancy clothes were saying goodbye to the Russian soldiers in yellow-green military uniforms, who were either long-lasting, handsome, strong, or generous, so that the local female workers expressed their reluctance to leave.

"Are all the grey animals in the city rolling?" Governor Fein looked at the groups of Russian officers and soldiers who stood in the open space of the docks, and his words were full of undisguised disgust.

"Uh...... Most of the Russian soldiers have returned, but some remnants remain in the city. At present, the German army is carrying out an inventory of casinos, brothels and other entertainment venues in every street, and it is believed that by sunset, there will be no more Ivan in Manila. The adjutant replied, slightly embarrassed.

Finn squinted down with a contemptuous gaze and snorted, "God be merciful, these filthy fellows shouldn't be allowed into Manila City." Their violence, greed, stupidity and bestiality will only destroy and destroy the civilization that we have worked so hard to build that belongs to mankind, and only the Siberian wilderness, where ice and snow and wild beasts are infested, is the place they should go, and who cares about the hundreds of thousands of rubles they throw here? So I suggested that the center should only provide coal and supplies for this group of idiots, and resolutely not allow them to land; Now the barbarians have shown their disposition, and dare to use such inferior means to stall for time here! ”

Speaking of this, he snorted lightly and said, "Order the army to speed up the search and drive out all the remnants of Ivan in the city; When the Russians finished boarding the ship, they immediately disappeared from my eyes. At the same time, tell the Russians that we have given them an additional 24 hours from yesterday to now; If they don't leave when the deadline expires, they will bear all the consequences! ”

Adjutant Gong claimed to be. Just as he was about to turn around and retreat, he found that a faint gray-black cloud suddenly floated in the sky in the distance. His body paused slightly, and he said softly: "Your Excellency, please see, there seems to be a strange situation in the north; It seems that this is the soot produced by ships when they are sailing, and there are quite a few ships? ”

Finn was slightly stunned when he heard this, and when he looked intently, he saw a thick black smoke in the far north distance, full of the peculiar characteristics of soot produced by a large number of ships sailing. He frowned slightly, and couldn't help but be a little puzzled in his heart, there was no reservation for any bulk cargo fleet to arrive in Manila today, how did these soot appear? Before this doubt could be brewed carefully, there was a sudden knock on the door of the room behind him. Finn turned to see another lieutenant walking briskly in; He bowed slightly to himself, and then said: "Your Excellency, the main force of the Russian Far East Fleet appears 15 nautical miles north of our Manila port, with 10 battleships and 12 other warships; The flagship Prince has signaled to us that they have come to pick up the convoy and return home! ”

"The main force of the Russian Far Eastern Fleet? 10 battleships? Finn muttered, his brain short-circuited for a few moments before he reacted. There was a look of disbelief on his face, and he was stunned: "How is it possible? Their home port has traveled at least more than 1,500 nautical miles here, and today is only March 10th, how did these Russians fly and fly...... Flew over? ”

"I also feel incredible, but Your Excellency, the Russian Far East Fleet did appear in front of the outer harbor. The patrol boats have already confirmed the identity of the other side, and the lineup of 10 battleships cannot be faked in any way. The adjutant who had just entered the door took a few breaths, and then said, "They also signaled that they wanted to enter the port and asked us to prepare 15,000 tons of coal for them." ”

"Battleships are never allowed to enter the harbor, let them anchor outside the harbor on their own. How can the ports of a neutral country accommodate the warships of the belligerents to enter the rest? As for coal...... This has been negotiated before, and it can be sold to them. You go and have someone go to the warehouse to get ready for shipping. Finn waved his hand and motioned for the adjutant to do it immediately, and he looked at the cloud of black smoke that was gradually thickening, and it took a while for a while to let out an exclamation from his mouth:

"It's coming so fast!"

(Hawkers, it's not easy for the author to yard every day.,Can you give some collection comfort?) ）