In a sprawling plantation on the outskirts of Manila, rows of rubber trees are dotted. On the trunk of the tree, the hollows drawn with knives were filled with milky white sap, like a tear, falling down the gully into the can below.

Rubber originated in the Amazon basin, after the Spanish took control of the Philippines, but also followed the footsteps of the colonizers, spread to the whole of Southeast Asia, until now, rubber has become the fourth largest export of Luzon after tobacco and sugar, grain.

Huge profits and more and more applications, coupled with unique climatic conditions, make the rubber industry in Southeast Asia show vitality, large rubber plantations continue to appear, and even large rubber plantations employing nearly 10,000 people have appeared.

But Polavisa would never have thought that Slow would not prepare coffee and wine for him, but would have to bring him here when he was busy, and bring him here to this rubber plantation that belonged to him, and said that there was something important to discuss! What the hell is he trying to do? Do you want to give me this plantation?

God, it's better to give cash and jewelry.

The rows of lush rubber trees and the flowing milky white glue did not arouse any interest in Polavisha, and although he knew that rubber was profitable, it was not yet worth his deal.

"Sir Sloe, you."

As he went deeper and deeper into the rubber plantation, Polawisha finally broke the silence, but before he could continue to speak, the originally lush rubber forest in front of him suddenly seemed to be swept by a hurricane, and countless rubber trees fell to the ground horizontally, with traces of felling and forcible destruction everywhere, and among the fallen trees, corpses curled up and soaked in muddy water, blood dripping down the tree poles and falling to the ground, soaking the whole earth.

"It is."

"Your Excellency the Governor." Slow's eyes were red, and he cried bitterly with tears in his eyes, "Did you see that? That's what the mob did, they destroyed my rubber plantation, they killed hundreds of workers, and not only here, but every factory, every plantation I did. ”

Slow was heartbroken, his expression was even more mournful, and without waiting for Polavisha to speak, he continued to perform: "Your Excellency, you must make decisions for me, I really can't stand it, the plantation can be rebuilt if it is destroyed, and the workers can be re-recruited when they die, but do you know? In just last month, I lost three freighters, and if it goes on like this, I'm really going bankrupt! ”

Polavisha couldn't cry or laugh, thinking it was a big deal, but he didn't expect this Slow to pull him to see the loss, but he has also gained a lot of benefits over the years, so he can't stand idly by, so he has to comfort: "Mr. Sloe, this is only temporary, reinforcements will arrive soon, please believe me, the Philippines will soon be able to return to the original situation." ”

"No, Mr. Governor, I can't wait, as a Spanish nobleman, I hope you will immediately send troops to protect my property!"

"Send troops! Ahem. Bolavisya put her hand on her forehead and almost fell headlong.

Troops? What kind of pie do you take?

Less than 10,000 troops have all been scattered, and even the temporarily organized Philippine puppet army has been sent out, if it weren't for the second batch of reinforcements about to arrive, I'm afraid he can only choose to follow a conservative strategy and defend Manila City.

But it can't be done if you don't protect it, Sloe's uncle is not only the governor of Guam, but also related to the queen, and the most important thing is that in recent years, Sloe has squeezed into the upper class of Spanish aristocrats with his rich assets, and has friendships with many congressmen, if he doesn't support it, I'm afraid this governor will have to do it!

But what can be done?

Slow seemed to see Bolawisia's difficulty, and took the initiative to say: "Your Excellency, I know your difficulty, the army needs to ensure the safety of the whole Philippines, so I hope you will allow me to form my own escort." ”

Before Bolavisya could reply, Slow had already taken a step forward and continued: "In addition, I would like to lease you two cruisers specifically to protect my fleet from pirates. ”

Polawisia's eyes widened, he finally knew why Slow had dragged him here to see the dead bodies, it didn't matter if he asked him to form his own escort, but to lease a cruiser belonging to the state to protect his private property? Did you hear me right?!

You must know that the Far East Fleet stationed in the Philippines at this moment has only a few warships, which is already the biggest guarantee in his hands, if there are no these warships, I am afraid he will not have the confidence to hold out until the reinforcements arrive!

But it is not possible to send ships to protect it, and for some reason during this time, piracy suddenly became rampant, and the Far Eastern Fleet lost two gunboats in a row, and the fleets that came and went suffered heavy losses.

Not to mention Sloe, many shipowners and shippers in the kingdom have already protested to him, accusing him of escorting unfavorably, as all countries have sent warships to escort him, this sea suddenly became lively, originally Polawisha also had the idea of taking the initiative to escort the main warship, but the riot in front of him completely disrupted his steps.

Without the escort of warships, it is impossible to maintain the safety of the ship's owner and Sloh's fleet, but dispatching the capital ship will undoubtedly weaken the power in his hands, what should he do?

As if seeing Bolawexia's difficulty, Slow cautiously "suggested": "Your Excellency, do you think this is okay?" My uncle knows some Hawaiian businessmen who would like to help us contact the Hawaiian convoy here, could you please ask them to protect the fleet? ”

"Hawaiian convoys?" Polavisha was well aware of this small fleet from afar, but in order for the other party to help him escort him, the other party would have to enter and leave the port of Manila frequently, wouldn't it be too dangerous to do so?

Although not the main fleet, Honolulu is now famous, and their greed for land has shaken the whole of Europe, will it lure wolves into the house?

"Your Excellency, rest assured, the war between Hawaii and Yuben is about to begin, and they simply don't have the energy to come here again, as long as our reinforcements arrive, the fleet can be free, and then we can not rely on them." After speaking, Slow quietly took out a check from his pocket and handed it to Polawisia: "Your Excellency, this is too important to me, if I can't guarantee the safety of my fleet, then I must ask my uncle to tell the queen to send more warships here." ”

Twenty thousand pesos!

Polavisa swallowed his saliva, this is really a lot of money, and the latter sentence of Slow is more equivalent to a threat, so after weighing it repeatedly, he put away the check and said solemnly: "Your Excellency Slow, although your uncle is the governor of Guam, I still want to remind you that it is impossible for our seaports to allow warships from other countries to be stationed for a long time, so when I restore the situation here, they must leave." ”

"Your Excellency the Governor, thank you for your support, you can rest assured, as long as the situation in the Philippines returns to normal, I don't need those nasty guys, their price for each escort is too high!"

"Oh? yes, haha. ”

After seeing Bolawisa accept the check, Slow breathed a sigh of relief that he could finally explain to Nemo! ――

In the Lushun Temporary Staff Headquarters, the sound of ticking telegrams sounded again as the command center of the General Staff was re-established. Many times, Chen Ping even felt that he would not be able to sleep if he could not hear this familiar sound for a day.

With the gradual improvement of the staff center, it is finally no longer necessary to rely on the relay ships on the sea, and through this invisible and untouched radio wave, from Jilin Heilongjiang to Lushun, and then from Honolulu to Ryukyu Luzon, and even Cuba and Chile, you can gather here through one relay station after another, or ships that have received the signal.

To this day, Chen Ping still can't believe how the young master fell in love with Tesla, you must know that at that time, no one could believe that radio would bring such a big change to the war!

Tan Wang reported that the first batch of three escort gunboats had entered the port of Manila. In addition, Liu Hengzhen also reported that the 5th Division and the 1st Regiment had been stationed in Luzon in the name of laborers, and the 2nd Regiment would also enter in batches in the name of a private escort in the near future. Zhang Zuolin closed the document: "They are carrying light weapons. ”

"It doesn't matter, tell Liu Hengzhen that what he wants to do now is to continue to provoke the war between the Spanish army and the Luzon rebel army, fight as fiercely as possible, and if necessary, he can make his own decision whether to send a small force to help."

"Yes."

"Li Qiang, do they have any news?" Chen Ping asked, standing in front of the North Korean beach.

"A telegram was sent three days ago, they have moved to Heecheon near the Cheongchon River, annihilating at least 500 Japanese troops, and the Korean rebels have also absorbed a lot of civilians along the way, and the size of the current army has doubled, but the combat effectiveness is real."

"It's nothing, anyway, they're also used to consume and harass me." Chen Ping's tone did not contain a trace of emotion, and he inserted the small flag representing the nighthawk to the position of Xichuan on the sand table.

Zhang Zuolin was originally about to leave, but after thinking about it, he still asked: "Chief of Staff, Luzon has been fighting inextricably, and Cuba has already made trouble, this is a good time to intervene, why don't we do it yet?" ”

"Have you read Sun Jiugong's telegram?" Chen Ping dropped the small flag in his hand, raised his head to look at the more mature army liaison staff officer, and said with a smile instead of answering: "He has already made a name for himself in Cuba, commanded the Cuban Revolutionary Army to annihilate 3,000 Spanish soldiers, and successfully recovered the important land, the young master has already sent him a telegram, and the staff has also made a decision to promote him to lieutenant colonel." ”

"I hope you'll try harder." Chen Ping patted the epaulettes on Zhang Zuolin's shoulders and smiled slightly: "Replace it early." ”

"Yes!"

As soon as Zhang Zuolin saluted, Chen Ping motioned for him to put it down and asked: "Yuting, you just asked me, Luzon is already ready to move, so let me ask you, if we take Luzon at this time, what will happen to the warships ordered by the British?" ”

"Malacca definitely can't go. Then there are only two routes, take the Indian Ocean, along the waters off Sumatra, take western Australia along Cape York into the Coral Sea, and then go north from the Solomon Islands, using the many islands in that area to cover the return home. ”

"There's also one that crosses the Atlantic, goes through the Strait of Magellan, and then goes north along South America."

Chen Ping nodded, and could see that Zhang Zuolin had worked the charts, and said with a smile: "It's very good that the army staff officer can do you understand the charts like this." After appreciating it, he asked, "If you were the base camp, where would you let the fleet go?" ”

"Take the Strait of Magellan and walk along the Chilean coastline." Zhang Zuolin replied affirmatively, "Why? Many people can consider Chile to be our ally. ”

"Because as long as you cross South America, you can enter the protective circle of the US Navy, and if there is a problem, you can immediately hide in the ports of the US West Coast, so as to avoid our blows."

"Yes, the analysis is correct." Chen Ping turned his head, looked at the huge world map hanging on the wall, and said affirmatively: "So you must not enter Luzon at this moment, in that case, you will follow the route you said, and the fleet will be forced to enter the unfavorable battlefield for a decisive battle!" ”

"So, I can tell you that the young master is also waiting, waiting for an opportunity!"

As soon as Chen Ping finished speaking, a rush of footsteps suddenly came from outside: "Report, Changchun City suddenly encountered a large group of horse bandits attacking the chamber of commerce station last night, and the five battalions of the first division, the second regiment and the fifth battalion of the first division currently stationed there are pursuing the other party, and it is reported that the attack has caused more than 700 deaths, more than 300 injuries, and Liu Zhiquan, the president of the chamber of commerce, was also seriously injured. ”

Hearing the news, Chen Ping frowned at the same time, Zhang Zuolin also took a sharp breath, horse bandits attacked Changchun City?

You can't make a mistake, right?

(To be continued)