Episode 61 Dark Night in Malacca

"Go home or go to Europe?" Qiu Yun looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang, repeated in his mouth, and soon burst into an excited smile, "Go to Europe!" Xiaoqiang, let's go to Europe! ”

God, all this in Nanyang can finally come to an end! Finally, you will soon be able to leave this tropical archipelago and set foot on the dry, calm and elegant European continent!

"Go to Europe, go to Europe......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang paced, chattering, while calculating.

From the point of view of consolidating one's position, it is undoubtedly wise to return home as soon as possible. It has been almost a month since he left the power center of the Ming Dynasty, although Fourteen Gege has a good view of the "field", although he can receive domestic telegrams from time to time, but after all, "remote control" is far inferior to controlling everything with his own hands and seeing everything properly. And the most important thing is that she should not be separated from Zhu Yourong for too long, so that she will gradually lose her influence, and others will fill this vacancy quickly, such as Shen Rongxuan. Even if Zheng Yuxuan is by Zhu Yourong's side, it won't work.

However, since the ideal of unifying the whole country took root in his heart, he knew that the Ming army must be upgraded, and there are many places, and even must be updated. This is primarily the Army. And now in the world, Germany is one of the countries where the advanced technology of the army is relatively concentrated. In particular, Germany is now desperate to win over the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming can get as much as it wants relatively easily. Because Germany is not like Britain and the United States, dealing with the Ming Dynasty, it has nothing to bargain with, and the only thing he can get his hands on is the same advanced technology one after another.

However, in the entire Daming, only Xiang Xiaoqiang knows what Daming needs, what he doesn't need, what he will show his skills in the future, and what will be eliminated in the future. And what kind of person Hitler was in his bones, what kind of character he was, how he liked to think about problems, what he was thinking in his head, and what he really wanted to do in the next few years, these are only known to Xiang Xiaoqiang. In the eyes of today's people, Hitler is just an ordinary, at most powerful politician, but with Xiang Xiaoqiang, he has been thoroughly studied by a large number of declassified documents in later generations, experts from all over the world, and countless monographs.

So basically, if you want to go to Germany, Xiang Xiaoqiang is the best candidate. Although he is not sophisticated, he has too many things that no one else can replace.

Besides, Qiu Yu also hopes to go to Europe for his honeymoon!

Xiang Xiaoqiang thought for a while, smiled, and said:

"Okay, go to Europe!"

The smile on Qiu Yun's face became even brighter, and he threw himself into his arms and arched affectionately.

……

Now that the decision has been made, Xiang Xiaoqiang has made a series of arrangements. He sent a telegram back to Zhu Yourong, saying that the diagnosis given by the doctor was that the bite was infected, which may have come from a certain mosquito endemic to the local area, and his body was extremely sensitive to this kind of bite, which is commonly referred to as unaccustomed to water and soil. If you leave this rainforest climate, your condition will improve quickly and you will not need special recuperation. Therefore, it is still hoped that he will continue to travel to Europe and complete the set mission abroad.

Zhu Yourong quickly called back and approved the request. She told Xiang Xiaoqiang not to stay in Batavia for any longer, and to hand over everything to the commander of the Ming East India Expeditionary Force as soon as possible within two days, and then prepare to take a boat to Europe.

In the past month, the Yongan Princess has completed the first Eurasian route, returned to China a few days ago, and today set off from Guangzhou for the second trip, arriving at the southern tip of the Strait of Malacca three days later. And Zhu Yourong explained that the Princess Yongan stopped in Singapore and walked towards Xiaoqiang and his party. Xiang Xiaoqiang's delegation was to arrive in Singapore on a destroyer two days later, where they would board the Princess Wing On.

Suddenly, they were about to leave Batavia, and Xiang Xiaoqiang and Qiu Yu seemed to be a little unable to react. There have been so many things to experience in these 21 days in Batavia. In the past 21 days, Xiang Xiaoqiang has experienced massacres and wars here, as well as post-war rule. He witnessed the Chinese throughout the East Indies in these 21 days, from third-class citizens to first-class citizens, from prey to chased, slaughtered prey, to half masters. If not above the Dutch, at least they are on an equal footing. In these 21 days, Daming added a territory of more than 400,000 square kilometers, as well as a series of islands, seaports, and military bases, becoming the largest force in the South Seas.

But now it's suddenly time to go. Xiang Xiaoqiang came to the wide balcony and looked at the city surrounded by green trees, and he was a little reluctant.

"Xiaoqiang......" Qiu Yun knew his thoughts, and also walked to the balcony, hugged him gently from behind, and said gently, "Although Batavia Island is good, it is not ours. But the island of Pazia is ours. In the future, we will definitely build many big cities on it, which will definitely be more, bigger and more prosperous than Batavia. Can you believe it? ”

"That's for sure," Xiang Xiaoqiang grabbed her hand, stroked it gently, and looked at Batavia in front of him and said, "In any way, our Ming is more capable than the Netherlands." We run the territory of the South Seas, and we will definitely do better than the Netherlands. In the future, Pazia Island will no longer be a barren land. New cities will spring up along the rivers, on the coastlines, next to the oil fields. In the future, Pazia Island will become a Chinese paradise in the South Seas, and every city will surpass Batavia, no, more than Singapore, and attract all the Chinese elites from other parts of the South Seas. If in the future, we want to continue to expand in the South Seas, then Pazia is the bridgehead. ”

"You......" Qiu Yun sighed, leaning lightly on his back, "You men talk about fighting and expanding in a few words. …… It's as if human beings can't live well if they don't fight. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled slightly and said:

"There's no way, we men are aggressive by nature. If there were only women in this world, it is estimated that there would not even be such a thing as an army. ”

Qiu Yu didn't speak, and continued to put her face on his back.

……

Unlike Batavia, the island of Batavia is a home of Dutch colonists who have been ruling here for more than 300 years. The island of Pazia did not penetrate far inland until the end of the 19th century, while the northern region of Aceh was barely controlled by the Dutch until the beginning of the 20th century (the separatist forces in Aceh were active until the 21st century). It can be said that the Dutch rule on the island of Pazia was very short and had very shallow roots.

There are two good things in Pazia, which Batavia Island does not have, and this is the reason why Da Ming chose this place and abandoned Batavia. The first is the abundance of oil and, of course, rubber; The second is its geographical location. If you have Pazia, you have the Strait of Malacca. This one is very important to the Ming Dynasty. In addition to the Manchus, the biggest potential enemy of the Ming Dynasty was Japan. Ninety percent of Japan's daily oil and other supplies need to pass through the Strait of Malacca. It can be said that the Strait of Malacca is the throat of Japan's life. This throat is in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and whether or not it fights with Japan in the future, it will be much easier to talk to it. At least Japan will have some scruples when it wants to blatantly support the Manchus.

Xiang Xiaoqiang handed over the post of the supreme commander of the military administration of Batavia Island to the commander of the Ming East India Expeditionary Force on the same day. That night, a dinner was held at the Governor's Palace to bid farewell to the generals and colleagues of the Ming Army.

The next day, March 17, Zhu Yourong sent a formal decree by telegram, revoking Xiang Xiaoqiang's status as minister and approving him to extend his delayed marriage leave for another month. That is to say, from now on, Xiang Xiaoqiang will enter a state of vacation again, and all activities will no longer represent the Ming Empire, but only a private identity.

At noon, a small family banquet was held for Xiang Xiaoqiang and Qiu Qiu, and the consul and couple of Nuremberg from the German Consulate were invited to thank them for everything they had done.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Xiang Xiaoqiang, Qiu Yun, Song Ruhai, Sun Jiye, and Wang Hexiang, three advisers, plus four guards who had been following from China, nine people got into three cars and drove to Batavia Port in the farewell ceremony of the People's Guard of the Governor's Palace.

To Xiaoqiang's surprise, Chinese spontaneously stood on both sides of the street, cheering and shouting at Xiang Xiaoqiang, and kept throwing flowers at the three cars. Xiang Xiaoqiang and Qiu Yun were both greatly moved, waving in the car, Qiu Yun was even moved to tears by such a sensational scene.

It was not until three o'clock that they sailed into the docks of the port of Batavia and boarded the destroyer "Kui Wood Wolf".

With a long whistle, the Timber Wolf untied its cables, spewed black smoke, and the bow split white waves, sailed out of Batavia Bay, and sailed north to Singapore at a speed of 25 knots.

Xiang Xiaoqiang's delegation and his party all stood at the end of the deck, holding on to the railing, looking deeply at Batavia that was gradually moving away. Until four o'clock, Xiang Xiaoqiang and Qiu Yu were still on the deck, hugging each other, looking at the coast of Batavia Island at sea level.

……

At about three o'clock in the morning on March 18, Xiang Xiaoqiang was quietly woken up. Since only the captain's room on the destroyer was a single room, it was left for Qiu Yu to sleep, and Xiang Xiaoqiang and the rest of the delegation slept in the sailor cabin.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked up at the crowded sailor's cabin. In the dim red light, I saw a strange face, it was the captain.

"What's the matter?" Xiang Xiaoqiang whispered, "Singapore has arrived?" ”

"To your lord," the captain also whispered, "we haven't arrived in Singapore yet, we are in the waters of the Linga Islands, and we are still 40 nautical miles away from Singapore."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Lord Xiang," there was a hint of nervousness in the captain's voice, "we just lost contact with the Yong'an Princess. ”

"What?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang frowned, his head was still groggy, and he didn't understand what he meant for a while.

The captain looked at the sleeping sailors around him and whispered:

"Lord Xiang, can you come to the command cabin?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang patted his cheek, nodded, got out of bed gently, and followed him out of the cabin door. On the bed behind him, the four guards had already opened their eyes, and they gestured to each other, and two of them also quietly got out of bed and followed behind.

They followed Xiang Xiaoqiang into the command cabin, and there was also a dim red light. Around the rudder console, there is a circle of circular portholes with a wide view. Although it was dark outside, the cabin was red light, so it did not affect night vision and could be seen completely.

The surrounding sea is very quiet, only the monotonous noise emitted by the ship's power system.

The captain pointed to the chart table and showed him:

"Sir, we are now driving in the Linga Islands, which are 8 nautical miles east of Lingka Island and 40 nautical miles from Singapore, which is the entrance to the Straits of Malacca."

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at him blankly: "What's wrong?" ”

Suddenly, the words "Strait of Malacca" jumped into his mind, and he was shocked in his heart, and immediately asked:

"You mean, we just lost contact with the Princess Yong'an?"

"Yes."

"When was the last contact? How far was the Princess Yongan from Malacca at that time? ”

The captain pointed to the chart and said:

"Your Excellency, the last time the Princess Wing On contacted us was here, 20 nautical miles east of Singapore and 8 nautical miles north of Bintan Island, right at the entrance to the Straits of Malacca. Well, it was already an hour ago. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang supported the chart table with his left hand, pinched his chin with his right hand, frowned and stared at the chart, licked his lips, and asked:

"You suspect it......"

"My lord," the captain swallowed nervously, "most likely hijacked by pirates." …… Pazian pirates are frequent in the area, and many ships are hijacked every year. And...... Pirates are particularly fond of hijacking such luxury cruise ships. ”

The captain explained that most of the pirates in Malacca were currently indigenous to the Pazia coast, especially the Linga Islands at the eastern end. With its complex waterways and numerous islands, it was ideal for a pirate hideout. There are generally three kinds of pirates here, the most common one is the "cameo" of poor fishermen along the coast, who generally set up small boats at night, take advantage of the fact that the ship is sailing into the Malacca waterway and slow down, quickly approach, sneak onto the boat, do some things like stealing chickens and dogs, and often run away when they are discovered.

The second is that these fishermen are doing it well, and they are slowly turning into professional pirates. Their equipment is generally better, and the boats generally have motors, and many have guns. This kind of pirate began to be ferocious, not satisfied with petty theft, but robbed ships and killed people, and did all kinds of evil.

The third is some of the Pazian forces that rebelled against the Dutch, the most representative of which is the Aceh ** forces in the north. They operated as guerrillas and in the mountains of Pazia, and one of the important sources of funding was piracy. These people are well-organized, professional, and murderous. They have a large background, relatively abundant funds and weapons, and are the top force of various pirate organizations along the coast.

The Yongan Princess, a giant ship of more than 30,000 tons, has special guards on it, and those fishermen and pirates who are petty can't rob it. It should be a professional pirate, and more likely an armed pirate did it.

Xiang Xiaoqiang pondered for a moment, stared at him and asked:

"So, you're the captain of the ship, and you're telling me this, what are you going to do?"

The captain was very young, a major in his thirties. He looked nervous, obviously not in this situation. He stammered a little and said:

"Lord Xiang, this ...... Your rank is the highest here, and it's perfect for you to preside over the overall situation......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang understood that at such an emergency moment, the captain naturally wanted to let the biggest person on the ship take the lead. …… But it's also the right choice.

"Wait a minute, I'll call the insiders to come too."

Xiang Xiaoqiang turned around and ran to the captain's room, knocked on the door gently to wake Qiu Yun, and quietly took her to the command room.

Qiu Yu is obviously much stronger than Xiang Xiaoqiang, although he has just been woken up, but as soon as he enters this dim red light environment, he immediately enters the state, and the captain's instinct that haunts the Yangtze River at night comes out all at once.

She came in, first saluted the captain, and the captain hurriedly returned the salute, and then Qiu Yu stared at the chart table, and saw it clearly in a few seconds. She listened to the captain's brief account of the situation, and she also felt the gravity.

Qiu Yu looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang and nodded affirmatively.

…… It seems that the Princess Yongan is really more auspicious.