Chapter 77 Cooperation between the two countries

It's August in Singapore, and the weather is still very hot, but the busy Strait of Malacca is still the same. Although the South Seas have not been peaceful in the past two years, the Dutch and Portuguese colonies there have been lost one after another. However, the people living here did not feel the slightest concern, because no country or force in the world dared to challenge the majesty and interests of the British Empire here.

"Your Excellency the Governor, the envoys we sent have been driven out again!" General Peyton rushed into Sir Walton's office with the telegram he had just received.

At this time, General Peyton, who has always attached great importance to etiquette, forgot even the most basic knock on the door, which shows the position of this matter in his heart!

After receiving the telegram, Walton glanced at it, then casually put it on the desk in front of him, took off his glasses, and looked at Peyton with a serious expression, "Isn't there a little news coming back?"

"Yes, Your Excellency! By our constant temptation, it is now certain that it is indeed a Chinese force that has occupied most of the East Indies, and defeated the Dutch and Portuguese! for our intelligence officers have found that although they speak Chinese, they do not have braids behind their heads! In addition, they are well armed, almost all the soldiers stationed at the docks are equipped with rifles, and their troops are well trained to carry out such a tight blockade! And they were well disciplined, and the Germans and the French who had seen them agreed! In addition, we found that they were building railways, roads, and ports on Borneo, Sulawesi, the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, and the newly occupied Nusa Tenggara Islands, and it was said that more than a million people had taken part in the works, which was no less enthusiastic than the Americans! And now they are emigrating from the Qing Dynasty, and our merchant ships that go to the Qing Dynasty to trade have seen this kind of fleet full of immigrants several times! In addition, our fleet has seen it a few times, but because it is not a warship, they have not come on board to inspect it!"

The Prime Minister has called us several times to grasp the development of the situation in the East Indies and safeguard the interests of the Empire here, but because these guys came out of nowhere, the amount of coffee, cocoa, and various agricultural products that the Empire obtains from there has been greatly reduced, and their prices have tripled in the London futures market! The interests of the British Empire have been lost here, and we, as subjects of the Empire, who control the armies and warships of the Straits Settlements, are still helpless!

Looking at Sir Walton's sharp eyes, Peyton felt a great increase in pressure all over his body, and hurriedly took out another piece of information of his own, "Lord Governor, this is the news that the empire has just come back from Europe, the Netherlands and Portugal have reached an agreement, the two countries will jointly send troops, Portugal 30,000, the Netherlands 10,000! In addition, they have privately signed a treaty, as long as all the Chinese invaders are eliminated, then Portugal will automatically obtain the Dutch East Indies Nusa Tenggara Islands and West Timor Island colonies!"

"So, they finally reached an agreement to send troops together?" Hearing the news, Walton couldn't help but raise his gray brow, and a hint of thought flashed in his eyes!

"Yes, Your Governor! It is expected that they will reach the East Indies around November at the latest! At that time, a fierce battle will break out between the two sides around this vast South Sea island! By then, whoever wins will be greatly weakened, and then the Empire's opportunity will come! When the time comes, we will not only take back the protectorate of Sarawak! Moreover, the Empire's colonies in the Far East will be greatly expanded under your lordship! I believe that Her Majesty will definitely grant you a higher title!" Peyton said hurriedly.

Listening to the scene he depicted, Walton knew that he was really moved! It has always been his dream to go one step further in the domestic political arena!

"Alright, General, do as you wish! I hope to get good news by the end of this year!"

"Don't worry, sir!"

Of course, Britain was not the only one who had the idea of profiteering, and the French, who now occupied southern Vietnam, were only slightly inferior to Britain in terms of their power in the Far East and their ability to obtain intelligence! But the most important thing for France now was to expand their colonies in Indochina, and the East Indies were relatively not a place they had to get, and of course they did not mind getting a piece of the pie there if they had the chance!

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"Teacher, how is our first five-year plan?" Huo Shan asked with a smile, sitting on the reception sofa in the study.

Hearing his words, Huang Sheng did not rush to answer, but took a sip of the teacup on the table before he said with a smile: "All our construction plans have been fully rolled out, but the newly added Nansha Province (Nusa Tenggara Islands and Timor Island) needs at least 50 million silver dollars for construction, and the 'Dili' naval base built by the Admiralty and the military expenses for the renovation of seven warships will be increased by 7 million silver dollars! This is their report!"

After taking it and looking at it, Huo Shan put it on the table and said with a smile: "What's the matter, teacher! Since we issued a new currency, haven't we saved more than 100 million taels of silver? Our funds should be very sufficient! Moreover, we have also obtained dozens of tons of gold in this battle, plus the seizures of other troops, we should not be short of money to spend now!"

"It's not a matter of money, Xiaoshan, I know that you are talented and intelligent, and I also believe that you can lead China to rise! However, is it too early now, we haven't even solved it in the Netherlands, and now with one more Portugal and two European countries, with our current naval and land capabilities, can we defeat them? You also know that we have invested a lot in the Nanyang provinces, if it ...... in case!" Realizing that it might not be good to say this at this time, Huang Sheng paused again before continuing: " Wouldn't it be better for us to be more obscure now, to strengthen our own strength first, and then to deal with them when our industry has developed? Why are we in such a hurry?"

Looking at the anxious look on the teacher's face, Huo Shan couldn't help but smile and said: "Teacher, I admit that what you said is reasonable, when our industry is strong and our economy is developed, we will indeed have more confidence to deal with these Western powers, but we are not the United States with a superior geographical environment, and we are surrounded by powerful countries! There is no safe living environment for us to concentrate on developing our own economy!" Not to mention anything else, in this month alone, we have arrested hundreds of spies from various countries who have come to Nanyang provinces and cities to spy on intelligence! Moreover, with the development of our economy and the increase of immigrants, our ties with the outside world will become closer and closer, do you think Britain and France and other countries will let go of this kind of fat meat that is right on their lips? Therefore, if we want peace, we must go to war, and only by defeating them through war will they recognize the fact that we occupy Nanyang and will they communicate with us on an equal footing! Otherwise, no matter how strong our economy is, it will not be recognized by the great powers, and we will always be a pawn, not a power that dominates the world!"

Listening to the disciple's categorical and loud words, Huang Sheng couldn't help but say with some sighs: "It seems that I am really old, and I am not as bold as a child like you! Okay, since you have already decided, then I won't say anything! Don't worry! I'll show you this home, just do what you want!"

"Thank you, teacher! Don't worry! Portugal and the Netherlands are already yesterday's yellow flowers, it is not difficult to defeat them, and the winner of this war will definitely be our Chinese People's Army!" Huo Shan said with relief. He understood that what the teacher had just said did not only represent himself! Now many people who have returned to China from overseas almost have this kind of thought, and feel that starting a war with two European countries at the same time is a bit too risky for the Huo Jiajun, who is not strong now!

Of course, they have this kind of thought, not because they are unpatriotic, but because they are not confident in their bones after seeing the withering of people's livelihood within the Qing Dynasty compared with the prosperity of Europe's developed industry and economy!

And if we want to eliminate this lack of self-confidence, there is no other way, only through one war after another, defeat all the enemies that stand in the way of China's rise, and awaken the blood and pride of the Han nation that have been sleeping for thousands of years!