"...This is Nanyang Broadcasting Corporation's "Nanyang Voice"... Now the riots have spread to the downstairs of our station... All the Chinese shops in this street are being looted by locals..."
From the bulky old-fashioned radio in the cabin, a woman's voice could be heard faintly among the "squeaking-ah-ah" noise. She was speaking in Chinese, feeling sad and angry, and there were a lot of background noises coming out at the same time, as if
It was the sound of many people shouting and screaming.
Now on the Yong'an Princess, many passengers are already listening to this station nervously. Many passengers who can't find the band are asking each other. Someone in the cabin corridor loudly shouted the band location of this station, asking everyone to listen.
The announcer continued excitedly:
"...I am standing at the window on the second floor right now. There is a Chinese shop across the street. Now the shop owner has been dragged out... There are eight or nine local people, holding sticks and machetes, and they are chopping him... He is kneeling on
Please beg them on the ground...ah!"
The announcer screamed, and the radio was silent for a moment, with only the faint sound of a group of people howling crazily. After a while, she said hoarsely and trembling again:
"Just now, the shop owner's head... was cut off with a knife... the ground... the ground was covered with blood..."
In many cabins of the Wing On Princess, female passengers screamed. Now, not only in the cabins, but also on the deck of the cruise ship, in the corridor, in the third-class cabin below, and other places, the report of this channel is being played on the loudspeaker.
Because this radio station with only one cabin was the only Chinese-language radio station in the entire Dutch East Indies.
The Nanyang Broadcasting Corporation is headquartered in Singapore. It is a large broadcasting company founded by Nanyang Chinese. It has branches in Singapore, the Philippines, Malaya, Siam, and Indochina. But the Chinese forces are the most severe in suppressing them.
In the Dutch East Indies, they could only rent a room in a small building with only three people, and their interviewing and reporting abilities were very low. In this way, Nanyang Broadcasting Company spent a lot of effort to get through to the Netherlands.
Only the upper echelons of the colonial authorities were allowed to set up. In the Dutch East Indies, everything Chinese had to do was restricted. The East India branches of broadcasting companies in other countries were much larger than this.
The passengers gathered in the third-class cabin became agitated. Many people shouted angrily, but they were immediately stopped by more people, asking to be quiet and continue listening.
The announcer of "Voice of Nanyang" choked up and said:
"Now they dragged out the shopkeeper's wife and daughter...those...those locals showed them the shopkeeper's head...ah! Now they are on the street...pushing them to the ground...the girl is the most
She is twelve or thirteen years old...she...she screamed so miserably..."
The announcer was already bursting into tears and tried her best to say:
"Her... her mother was also being held down and raped by several locals... She seemed to be crying and shouting something... Ah, she told her daughter not to move around and not to annoy them... now, now... again
Seven or eight locals ran into the store and walked around... They came out without getting anything. Maybe there was nothing left... Ah, now the new locals have joined in,
Watching and waiting...waiting for their turn to rape the mother and daughter...
"Now on this street, the six or seven Chinese shops I saw are all on fire. I can smell an unpleasant smell here...the smell is not only the smell of smoke, but also very smelly, a burning smell, very...
Disgusting smell...Ah, ah, a car is coming...No, no, never, drive away...Oh, no, I was stopped...The driver was dragged off...Ah, dragged off again
Three people, and a woman... all Chinese... Oh, two of the men were shouting something... They were shouting in Japanese, probably saying they were Japanese... Oh, they asked the two Japanese
Got in the car and drove away... Another man and a woman... Oh, no, they are Chinese... They can't speak Japanese... They are going to die... Where are the police? Why has there never been a police officer...
"
The announcer was crying quietly, probably because she was afraid of being discovered, so she didn't dare to speak loudly. There was only a squeaking noise on the radio, and the woman's heart-rending screams could barely be distinguished among them.
I don’t know how long it took, but the announcer forced herself to speak again:
"...Now the Chinese mother and daughter are not moving... They are naked, covered with scars, and there is no good piece of flesh left... A local is still using a knife to carve some mark on the mother's chest... They
The lower body... was stuffed with wooden sticks, bamboo sticks... and there seemed to be wire hangers, taken from the store... The man and woman who were dragged out of the car were both dying now... the male lower body
It seems that he has been castrated and has passed out...
"Ah!! They actually... they just carried the man and threw him into the store! Now the store is full of fire!...Ah, they also threw the woman in... that woman
They still had consciousness and wanted to crawl out... But they closed the door and just looked there, clapping their hands and laughing... These... these beasts! Beasts!... What are the two locals squatting there now, with their backs blocking the way?
Yes...but maybe...ah, he was holding the little girl's head in his hand! They were chopping her head off just now!!"
Suddenly, there was silence on the radio. After a moment, the announcer's voice became extremely frightened:
"They saw me!... They saw me in the window! They rushed into the building! Help, what should I do!... Two of my male colleagues were holding up the door with their desks and
Sofa, desperately holding on to the door... The locals are banging on the door outside... They are shouting, let us accept our fate, let us obey Allah's arrangements... What should I do, I don't want to die... Help!!
"
The announcer cried in horror, her voice trembled, and she broke down in tears. It could be clearly heard on the radio that many people were howling excitedly, shouting in incomprehensible languages, and making sharp whistles. A Chinese male voice shouted:
"No, I can't stand it anymore! ... Miss Zhou, jump down while you still have a chance! ... Jump from the window, just for a moment ... If you are caught by them ..."
Not only the Wing On Princess, but everyone who listened to this channel had their hearts in their throats. Everyone knows that the two men and one woman in "Voice of Nanyang" are in danger...
Ms. Zhou's colleagues advised her to jump off the building. This advice sounded cruel, but at this time, it was the most humane and best for her...
At this time, most of the audience held their breath and said silently in their hearts: Miss Zhou, jump! Jump quickly! It’s too late if you don’t jump anymore...
On the radio, Miss Zhou was wailing hysterically, while the screams and banging on the door became louder and louder, and the sound of cracking wooden boards could be heard. Suddenly, Miss Zhou stopped crying and spoke to the radio calmly.
:
"Listeners, ladies and gentlemen, this ends the broadcast of "Voice of Nanyang". Thank you for listening. I... I'm going to jump off the building. Goodbye."
The radio had no signal and was surrounded by a rustling noise.
There was silence on the Yong'an Princess. Everyone was standing in front of the radio, dumbfounded, as if they still didn't understand what was going on.
After a while, the female passengers were all crying. The male passengers were also pale and breathing heavily, as if they were immersed in the scene.
Xiang Xiaoqiang was in the cabin, hugging Qiu Qiu, feeling the coldness of her little hands. He was so angry that he was shaking all over, and tears kept falling. Xiang Xiaoqiang gritted his teeth, but he still patted her gently.
He repeatedly warned himself in his heart not to get excited and to be rational.
...This is just the beginning. According to previous experiences in that archipelago, the frenzy will last for dozens of hours or even days. This is just the beginning.
Xiang Xiaoqiang gritted his teeth and said to himself repeatedly: I am now the commander of the People's Guard of the Ming Empire and the Imperial Envoy... My words and deeds represent the Ming Empire... My attitude represents the attitude of the entire empire... I can't let that happen
Anger controls me... Before expressing my opinions publicly, I want to send a telegram to the country, to Zhu Yourong and Shen Rongxuan, to find out the country's attitude... and also to find out the attitude of Beiqing... God, let my heart change
Come on, let me think about the problem completely rationally!
He calmed down, patted Qiu Qiu, and then called the guard at the door in:
"Invite Mr. Song, Mr. Sun and Mr. Wang to come over immediately and discuss anything."
Soon, the three old men arrived at Xiang Xiaoqiang's cabin. Except for Wang Hexiang, the former deputy director of the Military Industry Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense, who was a little excited, the other two old men, the two former military attachés stationed abroad, had calm faces.
It's probably someone who just heard about this tragic incident.
Xiang Xiaoqiang secretly gritted his teeth and said: Both old guys are engaged in diplomacy, it is really not easy to see the joy, anger and sorrow... Maybe they are simply numb, and their hearts have been hardened by engaging in politics.
"The three old gentlemen are all veterans of the Ming Dynasty," Xiang Xiaoqiang asked the guards to make tea and served it to them, and then said, "Mr. Song and Mr. Sun are still engaged in diplomacy. The three of them must have listened to the broadcast just now."
This is not the first time that this kind of thing has happened in East India. I would like to ask you, what is the consistent attitude of Ming Dynasty? In other words, why do you tolerate this kind of thing happening again and again? "
The three old men looked at each other. If Xiang Xiaoqiang suddenly came to ask them like this at home, they would definitely get over it with a few official words. But now His Majesty has sent them to assist Xiang Xiaoqiang on his visit to Europe, and they must advise him throughout the whole process, or in other words, overseas
, they are the only ones who represent the interests of the Ming Dynasty, and they are already in the same boat. When speaking, you can be considerate and sincere, without any reservations.
Song Ruhai first shook his head and sighed:
"Sir Xiang, we don't have a drop of oil ourselves!"
Xiang Xiaoqiang was stunned by this sentence.
Song Ruhai continued:
"We have Manchu and Qing Dynasty in the north and Japan in the east. Once a war breaks out, whether the Dutch East Indies can sell our oil will directly affect whether our Ming Dynasty can survive, Sir Xiang!... The East Indies is the third largest in the world.
The oil producing area is also very lucky. This is the oil producing area closest to our doorstep. During the war, we transported oil from East India, and the transportation line was the shortest... Of course, the United States and the Soviet Union had more oil, but that was all there.
If our blood vessels had to reach the other side of the earth to fight the war, more than half of the war would have been lost!
"If we buy oil from East India, the route is only 2,000 kilometers. With our own naval power, we can protect it all the way without any problem. However, if we buy it from the Soviet Union, the route will be more than 20,000 kilometers, passing through the spheres of influence of many countries, and the Soviet Union
The amount of oil for self-use is huge and it is impossible to provide too much export. The United States wants to buy as much as it wants, but if it is bought from the United States, it is not as simple as crossing the Pacific Ocean. The oil production area of the United States is in the Gulf of Mexico, that is, on the east coast. We must
First cross the Pacific and pass through the Panama Canal. Large-tonnage cruise ships must also go around South America, with a route of at least 35,000 kilometers.
"The most important thing is that once we start a full-scale war with the Beiqing next time, Japan will definitely take advantage of it. This elementary school student knows it. Japan's current naval strength is superior to ours, and their naval expansion speed is beyond our ability to catch up. They
From the emperor to the peasants, everyone can tighten their belts and build warships, can we?... Therefore, if our transportation lines are stretched too long, it will be easy to cut them off with Japan's naval power.
"Sir, after saying this, do you understand a little bit?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang chewed these words blankly, and suddenly asked Qiu Qiu:
"Is it this way?"
Qiu Qiu also calmed down and nodded with tears in his eyes:
"Yes, almost."
Qiu Qiu also said the same thing, and Xiang Xiaoqiang also fell silent. The reality was roughly like this. He asked reluctantly:
"Then we can't do anything? After all, we have the second largest navy in the Far East. We are not a weak country without sea power!"
Song Ruhai asked back:
"What else can we do? Go beat them up?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang's blood surged for a moment, and he really wanted to nod his head and say: Yes! You should fight!... But after all, he is no longer an angry young man in later generations. Now he is a person who bears important responsibilities for the Ming Empire, and he does not speak based on impulse.
Speak responsibly, this is a basic requirement.
Sun Jiye seemed to see his thoughts and said with a wry smile:
"Sir Xiang, the incident in 1912 also affected several cities, and more than two thousand Chinese died. At that time, I was still young. Like Mr. Xiang, I was filled with indignation and gnashed my teeth. I wished that Ming Dynasty would immediately send a fleet to take over the East Indies.
It would be better to destroy the Netherlands as well... Later, my teacher, later the Foreign Minister Xu Yuanzhenge, said a few words to me, and I understood it immediately...
"The first question is that war is a continuation of politics. What is the purpose of war? He asked me this, and I couldn't answer it. I couldn't answer it no matter what. If it was to vent anger and avenge the local Chinese, then it was a punitive war.
, the scale must not be large. The consequence would be a complete enmity with the Netherlands, completely cutting off the possibility of purchasing oil from East India in the future.
"If you say that this is the case, we can simply take over the East Indies completely and exploit the oil ourselves. Then the problem will be even bigger. First of all, this is an all-out war. In the north, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties are eyeing them, ready to invade the south at any time.
Under such circumstances, we cannot fight a full-scale war two thousand kilometers to the south. Look at the shape of the East Indies, with more than 10,000 islands. It is a big quagmire. If the Netherlands intends to resist, it will not be possible to defeat it in just a few years?
It can be said that this is much more difficult than conquering the Netherlands!
"Moreover, this is not entirely an oil problem. The anti-Chinese riots in 1912 were still in the steam era, and we were not very dependent on oil. This involves the entire Chinese issue, and it can also be said that it is our relationship with the entire West.
question.
"The Chinese problem exists in all parts of Nanyang. This is the most sensitive and taboo issue for the various powers in Nanyang. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a thorn in their side. In various places in Nanyang, the Chinese are basically in control of the local economic lifeline, and the various suzerain countries have great influence on the Chinese.
They are basically restrictions and suppressions, but the degree is different. The most important reason why our Ming Dynasty has been able to maintain friendly relations with Western countries for nearly a century is to respect, or protect, the spheres of influence of Western countries in Southeast Asia.
“In addition to never recognizing France’s rule over Vietnam and some disputes over the Nansha Islands, we have no control over British India, British Burma, British Malaya, British Singapore, Dutch East Indies, and the American Philippines.
I respect it very much. The modern navy of the Ming Dynasty can be said to have been brought up hand by hand by the British. Why? They need us to compete with the Manchus and the Japanese, to stand between the Japanese, the Qing and the Nanyang back garden, and become a barrier. The interests of the British are spread.
In the whole world, it is impossible for him to maintain a superior navy in the Far East, so Britain's traditional Far East policy is to support the Ming Dynasty and support the Ming Dynasty in having a powerful navy, a navy that can stop Japan.
"However, the premise of all this is that Ming Dynasty always respects Nanyang and does not interfere with it. We only have enemies in the Far East, and our friends are all in the west. If we lose our friends, the only enemies left will be enemies. If we attack
The Netherlands East Indies, then Britain, France, and the United States will see it, will definitely take action, and will never stand on our side. No matter how just we are, no matter how evil the Dutch authorities are.
"Because in their view, we can use the Chinese issue to attack the Dutch East Indies today, and tomorrow we can use the Chinese issue to attack Singapore, Malaya, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Burma... At that time, not only
There are enemies in the north and east, and there will be enemies in the southeast, south, and southwest. We will be surrounded by a circle of enemies... In that case, how long can our Ming Dynasty last?"
Qiu Qiu listened with great concentration and kept nodding his head, thinking that it was true.
Xiang Xiaoqiang thought quietly and digested what Old Man Sun said. Generally speaking, what Old Man Sun said made sense. Xiang Xiaoqiang believed that this was exactly the concern of the Ming Dynasty’s top brass in this era. After all, the lives and deaths of thousands of Chinese in Nanyang were as important as the Ming Dynasty.
Compared with the lives and deaths of tens of millions of people in the local area, it is obvious which one is more important. However, after all, he is not a person of "this era" and knows many things that Old Man Sun does not know.
He took a deep breath and sighed slowly:
"In other words, all we can do is protest, negotiate, appeal, and send ships to pick up overseas Chinese. Once we try any real action, we will face the risk of cutting off the oil supply?"
The three old men all nodded and said at the same time:
"right."
"Either we have to fight the war to the end and completely capture the East India oil region. Even so, will we still face hostility with the West as a whole?"
"good."
"The analysis of the three of you really enlightened me," Xiang Xiaoqiang sighed, looking very tired, holding his forehead with his hands, "It seems that politics is not a simple thing... Thank you, you three. I want to be quiet for a while."
, think about it. Let the three of you go back to the cabin and rest..."
The three old men looked at each other and were very satisfied. They stood up and left at the same time. Xiang Xiaoqiang asked Qiu Qiu and the guards to send them back respectfully.
Then, he stood up, slapped the table and cursed:
"Damn it, I finally know what rickets is! I finally know how Hitler got his shit luck! Damn it, I finally understand those two soft slugs of Chamberlain and Daladier, they
What was the state of mind when appeasing Hitler? Those who are afraid of wolves and tigers behind are like this! These three old men have a reason to think about it, and the old men in the cabinet have a reason to think about it, but their minds cannot jump out of this era!
"Their thinking is still stuck in the late 19th and early 20th centuries! Yes, at that time, the Western powers did not care about fighting overseas wars! But not after 1918! They are now scared to death of war! The nightmare of 1914-1918
It has been deeply imprinted in the minds of every European! If any of the current politicians in European democratic countries dares to say that in order to protect other countries’ colonies, they will send their children to fight an inexplicable war on the other side of the earth.
It would be strange if he doesn’t step down immediately!
"Humph, I don't blame those old men. After all, it's still 1936. The war phobia between Britain and France has just emerged and is not obvious yet. It was not until the Munich Agreement in 1938 that it was fully revealed! However, people now don't know, I know
!
"I can be sure that even if we send troops to devour the Dutch East Indies now, Britain will not lift a finger. France will not lift a finger. The United States? Probably not. At this time, the isolationism of the United States should not be too strong!
...This is an era in which Western countries have different bedfellows, everyone is selfish and self-protective, and it is easy to divide and divide! As long as you are not afraid of war, you can blackmail those who are afraid of war to your heart's content!
"What's more, we are right at our doorstep, and they are halfway across the world!"
…
After Xiang Xiaoqiang cursed a lot, he turned around and suddenly found Qiu Qiu standing behind him, dumbfounded and looking at him in surprise.
Qiu Qiu suddenly asked in a daze:
"Xiaoqiang...are everything you said true?"
"Ah...what?"
Qiu Qiu's face flushed with excitement and asked:
"That we don't have to be afraid?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang was stunned for a while, then hugged her gently and sighed softly:
"Yes, we don't have to be afraid...but how can we make the old men in the court not be afraid?"