"Zhao Dongjia has ordered the goods, who wants to go?"

On the wharf of Tianjin Port in the early morning, a shouting broke the silence, and I saw the porters and coolies who were originally squatting on the side of the wharf running in the direction of shouting.

It is not a simple matter to eat on the docks of Tianjin, with braids, gritting teeth, unloading and loading goods bare-chested, in exchange for a pitiful salary every day, not to mention, just serving the owner of the ship is enough for them to have trouble with their scalps.

Although there are still people in charge of affairs above them, what is Tianjin Wei? Not only connected to the Forbidden City, but also the sea gateway of Gyeonggi in the Qing Dynasty, many of the ships coming and going are the private goods of the princes and Baylors, even if the rest, most of them are foreigners' sea [***] ships, none of these masters are good to serve, if they overturn or break things, they will have to shed their skin if they don't die.

However, there are exceptions to this, since a few years ago, Zhao Dongjia came to Tianjin to run a family goods operation, and after building several large warehouses by this wharf, all the goods carried by his family, the wages were much higher than those of others, and the owner was also kind, and he also included lunch meals.

At the beginning, there were a few green skins who relied on the crowd to find stubble, saying that people had broken the rules to find stubble, but the next day they were hung on the tree beams, and even the government had no evidence.

In addition, people come and go on large sea ships, carrying both Nanyang goods and foreigners' novelties, and no one is sure whether there is a backstage with a piercing hand, so no one dares to mess with it since then.

In the past few years, Zhao Dongjia's business has become more and more prosperous, from the previous half-moon ship to the current one-day sea ship coming every three or five days, but also let these coolies on the dock make a small profit, and even bring Zhao Dongjia to a much higher status in everyone's eyes.

However, this period of time is because four ironclad ships of the Pacific Army suddenly came to the open sea, and they turned around twice in Tianjin Wei from time to time, and the muzzles of the black holes looked scary, so not to mention the nobles in the capital recently, even the ships of the foreigners went to Weihai, which made everyone worry half to death.

Now that they heard that Zhao Dongjia was about to unload the goods again, naturally everyone crowded over, and even a few carriages waiting for customers next to them surrounded them to see if they could make some extra money.

"Zhao Dongjia is good."

"Zhao Dongjia, your business is getting better and better."

“。”

After the noisy greetings, several stewards led everyone to the wharf, and when they arrived at the wharf, everyone saw that three large sea ships were constantly lifting goods from the connecting boats on the sea in the distance. Due to the shallow water in Tianjin, it was not possible to dock such a large sea vessel, so it was necessary to use the old method, first by small boats, and then by porters and coolies to move into the warehouse.

Seeing the three big ships coming at the same time, everyone was excited to have work at the same time, and they couldn't help but be more surprised by the strength of the Zhao Dong family, you must know that even the foreigners were scared away during this time, and they didn't dare to come to Tianjin Wei to unload the goods easily, but they didn't expect that people not only came correctly, but also came three ships at a time!

As the boat docked on the dock, the coolies soon forgot about the problem of digging the roots, and began a busy day, but at this moment, a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly came, and they saw a carriage rushing by the side of the road, and the foreigner who drove saw that the coolie not only did not slow down, but raised his whip to whip it.

Fortunately, a few coolies standing in the loading were quick to avoid the carriage and the whip. Seeing the carriage rushing to the dock next to it, the coolies spat one after another, secretly scolding the foreigners who drove the car for bullying and unscrupulous.

The coolies who came back to their senses started to be busy again, but they didn't see that the rich Zhao Dongjia suddenly took out a small clairvoyant mirror and looked carefully at the carriage and the clipper boat on the dock over there.

"It's the Russians, it's definitely Cassini. Let's go, immediately send a telegram to Lushun, telling them that Cassini has boarded the ship from Tianjin. After Zhao Dongjia glanced at it twice, he quickly hid the clairvoyant mirror again and quietly disappeared between the warehouses.

Cassini quickly boarded the improvised French clipper, and he had received an invitation last night to go to Arthur to discuss future negotiations and to check on the situation of the captured Russian troops, so much so that he had to abandon the talks he had made with the ambassadors today.

Soon, the ship left the dock, and as it disappeared into the horizon, an invisible radio wave rushed out of the warehouse area.

Although it is a fast ship, but the speed of eighteen knots is really not able to make people feel the word fast, starting from Tianjin in the early morning across the Bohai Sea, if it goes well, you can reach Lushun in the evening, in fact, it is not too far, but when I think of the military attache who has left a letter saying that he could not bear the pressure to resign from his post, his heart is simply stronger than the sun above his head, because it is the dereliction of duty of the military attache that made it two days late to contact Lushun, at that time the main fleet has already set off, only two cruisers and two small boats remain.

Now that damn military attache has run away, if the country wants to be held responsible, I'm afraid that he will be condemned to this big black cauldron, and I don't know what His Majesty Tsar Nicholas is going to do with himself.

That's why he is so anxious to prepare as much as possible for the next step of negotiations before Foreign Minister Robertov arrives, and as for whether he can dare to leave the Pacific Army, he already has little hope.

Sitting in the cabin, although there was a thick hull blocking it, he didn't know if it was because of the hot weather or the noisy roar of the steam engine, which always made him feel at ease.

In his frustration, Cassini didn't even want to smoke his favorite cigar and was about to go to the deck to blow the wind, but at that moment there was a "boom." A loud thunderclap suddenly came from a distance, and he was frightened.

"What's going on!"

"Your Excellency, the Ambassador, it's the Pacific Army, and they're shelling the freighter."

"What!"

Cassini's whole face turned green, he was not afraid that the Pacific Army would attack this French freighter, because he had hoisted the signal flag given by Minister Feng Qi before departure, but he would never have thought that in the Bohai Bay, the Pacific Army would attack the freighter unscrupulously!

Does this mean that the Pacific Army has officially declared war on Yuben? If there is no containment in the future, I am afraid that the negotiations in the near future will be even more difficult for Russia!

In the rumbling of the cannons, Cassini quickly boarded the bridge of the ship, and snatched the telescope from the French captain without saying hello, and on the other side of the lens, a small freighter flying the flag of his country was surrounded by a column of water rushing into the sky, explosions and fires continued to emerge from the hull, and he saw with his own eyes that several sailors covered in fire had just escaped from the cabin, and their bodies were torn apart by the dense rapid-fire guns.

Next to it, the four capital ships of the Pacific Fleet did not seem to be satisfied, constantly adjusting their gun muzzles, ravaging this little prey over and over again, from the deck to the bridge, from the mast to the cabin, as long as there was no fire in them, there would always be shells to patronize.

Over and over again, cluster by cluster, it seems that if you don't sink the other party directly, you will never be reconciled!

Cassini could even see that on a battleship, several gunners were leisurely crossing their feet, giggling and pointing at the sailors who were firing their guns!

This is not shelling at all, not war, but a game of torture of lions before eating!

The column of water, gunsmoke and fire constantly hit Cassini's nerves, especially the scene of the other party shelling a small freighter with four capital ships, it was even more terrifying than seeing the demon eat, and he saw that his forehead was bruised, and he stomped his feet and shouted: "Hurry up and get out of the boat, hurry up, go around." ”

The French captain glanced contemptuously at the well-dressed but nervous Russian ambassador, pointed to the signal flag waving on the opposite side and said: "Your Excellency, we can't move now, their signal is" is "Arresting the Japanese spy ship and temporarily blocking the shipping lane!" ”

"Spy ship?!"

Damn it! It was a freighter, with neatly stacked cloth underneath the tarpaulin!

Although he knew that this was the other party's excuse, which few guns swung up and down from time to time aimed at his own naval guns, but everyone did not dare to act rashly, and could only watch this torture continue.

Bang.

A cannonball accurately drilled into the boiler room in the middle of the freighter, and the violent explosion of the boiler and the cannonball at the same time finally sent the cargo ship that had already been beaten to the end, only to see that the small freighter seemed to be broken by something, the hull was torn apart from the middle, and then the bow and stern were raised high and plunged straight into the sea water hundreds of meters deep.

It wasn't until the whirlpool of cinders had gradually subsided, let alone the freighters, that even the sailors could no longer see any cloth, that a battleship at the head gave the signal to pass.

The Clippers were back on their way, and as they brushed past the four Pacific Army capital ships, everyone held their breath as they watched the smoke from the muzzles, sweat pouring from their backs and foreheads.

As the clipper began to accelerate, the four capital ships of the Pacific Fleet finally overflowed from view, and only then did the sound of exhalation suddenly come to mind in the bridge.

When the sun gradually set, the beautiful Port Arthur finally appeared in sight, but Cassini had long lost the confidence he had when he came, and stared blankly at this harbor, which had been controlled by the Russian fleet, full of craters and charred black, and his heart gradually sank like the sun in the west.

In the base camp of the Japanese army in Tokyo, the atmosphere was dreary.

Since agreeing to the British to help contain the Pacific Army and march into Uiju, when they originally thought that they could rely on the British to fight a turnaround, at least they could threaten the rampant opponents, but everyone realized that they were not qualified to participate in this game at all.

Especially Saigo from the road, who is the Minister of the Navy, is not a taste in his mouth.

Since the First Sino-Japanese Combined Fleet was destroyed by the despicable Hawaiians, he has not lived a day as a Navy Minister, and although he received a loan from the United States and His Majesty the Emperor promised to rebuild the navy, the loan returned from the fiscal revenue of the current decade was not sufficient.

The shipyard needs to be rebuilt, the dock needs to be rebuilt, the city needs to be rebuilt!

It was also necessary to reserve sufficient army weapons and ammunition, plus to provide the needs of the troops stationed in Korea, so the funds allocated to the navy were not sufficient, and the British and Americans took advantage of the fire to rob the lion's mouth, after ordering six battleships and six armored cruisers, they had actually been spent, and if it were not for the efforts of His Majesty the Emperor and the base camp to maintain it, it would have been in fact bankrupt!

But even so, he still relied on stubborn fighting to fight for reason, and obtained some funds from the meagre finances to buy some auxiliary ships.

Many people don't understand why he, the Army-born Minister of the Navy, would help the Navy desperately fight for funding and spare no effort to support Gonbei Yamamoto as the commander of the new Combined Fleet, and not long ago, Gonbei Yamamoto stood up for him when he watched the four capital ships of the Pacific Fleet shelling Wonsan Port, causing a large number of army officers and soldiers to be killed and wounded, and was blamed by the parliament and the base camp for almost losing his position as commander.

Although many people don't understand, Saigo himself knows very well, although it is difficult for him to even figure out how many warships there are, but it does not prevent him from attaching importance to the navy.

As a general born in the army, he actually knows better than anyone that if there is no navy, then the army can only be a lion trapped in a cage, growing old little by little.

Because he was not a mainland country, as an island country, he would not be able to cross the sea to fight without naval support in a powerful army, so he spared no effort to support the navy, and even if it was a threat and temptation, he would win enough military funds for the navy.

With his almost stubborn support, the navy, which had been dead for two years, finally came to life, but it did not solve the problem at all. At this moment, the people in the country are thrifty in food and clothing, the local political situation is unstable, the grain harvest is poor, and so on, the country is in torment, and some bad news is already circulating among the young officers.

Seeing that the first batch of warships ordered in the United States is about to return home, the empire will be revitalized, and the cohesion of the people will also be reunited little by little with the return of the fleet! But he never expected that the base camp led by Kita-Shirakawa would agree to the British-led Western countries to contain the Pacific Army and garrison Yizhou!

It's stupid!

Those foreigners are simply using the book, they don't want to see the Pacific Army grow, and they also don't want to see the book grow, so sending it to Ran as a gunman at this time is tantamount to a deliberate provocation!

That's why the Pacific Army suddenly appeared at the entrance to the Uraga Waterway and completely sealed Tokyo Bay!

Saigo was not worried that the Pacific Army would take this opportunity to attack Tokyo, and although their power seemed to be skyrocketing, it was not in their interest to go to war without fully controlling the northeastern part of China.

What he worries about is the things that he has managed to get together in the new shipyard in Yokohama!

Damn the Hawaiians, if the blockade continues, supplies won't be able to enter, and that plan won't have a chance of success!

As soon as he thought of this, Saigo didn't care about it, and just got up and was about to speak, when there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the door.

"Report, a cruiser of the Pacific Fleet tried to enter the Uraga waterway and was ordered by Suzuki Shosa to open fire and expel it, but the battery was also returned fire by the opposing fleet, and the losses were serious!"

"Damn it!"

"Yaga!"

In the base camp, which was still silent just now, it suddenly seemed to explode, not to mention those ministers, even some confidential officials gritted their teeth and set their eyes on him, the Minister of the Navy.

"Everyone, I'm sorry, I'm not going to let the fleet fight hard at this moment, no matter what you think, I'm going to see His Majesty the Emperor now, and I have to quit this game for the time being!"

"A must!"

(To be continued)