"Go back to China or go to Europe?" Qiu Qiu looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang and repeated, quickly breaking into an excited smile, "Go to Europe! Xiaoqiang, let's go to Europe!"
Oh my god, all this in Nanyang is finally over! Finally, we can finally leave this tropical archipelago and set foot on the dry, calm and elegant European continent!
"Go to Europe, go to Europe..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang paced, talking and calculating whether it would be more cost-effective to go to Europe or return to China.
From the perspective of consolidating one's position, it is undoubtedly wise to return to China as soon as possible. It has been almost a month since I left the power center of the Ming Dynasty. Although Shi Shigege has a good view of the "situation" and although he can receive domestic telegrams from time to time, after all, "Remote control" is far inferior to controlling everything with your own hands and seeing that everything is in order. And the most important thing is that you should not be separated from Zhu Yourong for too long, otherwise it will gradually lose its influence on her, and others will quickly fill the gap, such as Shen Shen Rongxuan. Even if Zheng Yucong is by Zhu Yourong's side, it won't work.
However, since the ideal of unifying the country took root in his heart, he knew that the Ming Dynasty's army must undergo a major upgrade. In many places, it even had to be replaced. This was mainly the army. And now in the world, Germany is the army. One of the countries with relatively concentrated advanced technology. In particular, Germany is now eager to win over Ming. Ming can get a lot of what it wants relatively easily. Because unlike Britain and the United States, Germany has nothing to bargain with when dealing with Ming. The only thing that can be obtained is the same advanced technology.
However, in the entire Ming Dynasty, only Xiang Xiaoqiang knows clearly what the Ming Dynasty needs and does not need, what will show its talents in the future, and what will be eliminated in the future. And who is Hitler at heart, what kind of character he is, and what he likes When thinking about problems, what is on his mind, and what he really wants to do in the next few years, only Xiang Xiaoqiang knows this. In the eyes of people nowadays, Hitler is just an ordinary, at most a relatively awesome politician. , and as for Xiang Xiaoqiang, he has been thoroughly studied by a large number of declassified documents from later generations, experts from all over the world, and countless monographs.
So basically, if we want to go to Germany as ambassador, Xiang Xiaoqiang is the best candidate. Although he is not experienced enough, he has too many qualities that cannot be replaced by others.
Besides, Qiu Qiu also hopes to go to Europe for her honeymoon!
Xiang Xiaoqiang thought for a while, smiled, and said:
"Okay, let's go to Europe!"
The smile on Qiu Qiu's face became even brighter, and she threw herself into his arms, hugging him affectionately.
…
Now that he had made a decision, Xiang Xiaoqiang made a series of arrangements. He sent a telegram back to Zhu Yourong, saying that the doctor's diagnosis was a bite infection, possibly from a certain type of mosquito unique to the local area, and that his constitution was not suitable for it. The bites of the species are extremely sensitive, which is commonly referred to as acclimatization. Once you leave this tropical rainforest climate area, the condition will improve quickly and does not require special care. Therefore, I still hope to continue to Europe and complete the scheduled mission. .
Zhu Yourong quickly called back and approved the request. She told Xiang Xiaoqiang that in this case, he would not stay in Batavia any longer, but would hand over everything to the commander of the Ming Dynasty's East India Expeditionary Force as soon as possible within two days, and then prepare to take a ship to Europe.
In the past month, the Yongan Princess has completed its first Europe-Asia route. It returned to China a few days ago. Today it departs from Guangzhou for its second voyage, arriving at the southern end of the Strait of Malacca three days later. Zhu Yourong told the Yongan Princess to let the Yongan Princess
Stop in Singapore and then go to Xiaoqiang and his party. Xiang Xiaoqiang's delegation will arrive in Singapore by destroyer in two days and board the Yongan Princess there.
Suddenly, they were about to leave Batavia, and Xiang Xiaoqiang and Qiu Qiu seemed a little unable to react. They had experienced too many things in these 21 days in Batavia. In these 21 days, Xiang Xiaoqiang had experienced something here
He witnessed massacres and wars, as well as post-war rule. He witnessed the entire Chinese population in East India transform from third-class citizens to first-class citizens in these 21 days, from being chased and slaughtered prey to half-class citizens.
Master. If not superior to the Dutch, at least they are on equal footing. In these 21 days, the Ming Dynasty added a territory of more than 400,000 square kilometers, as well as a series of islands, seaports, and military bases, becoming the largest territory in Southeast Asia.
a force of.
However, now he suddenly had to leave. Xiang Xiaoqiang came to the large balcony and looked at the city surrounded by green trees, feeling a little reluctant to leave.
"Xiaoqiang..." Qiu Qiu knew what he was thinking, and walked to the balcony, hugged him gently from behind, and said softly, "Although Batavia Island is good, it is not ours. But Pazia Island is
Ours. In the future, our Ming Dynasty will definitely build many big cities on it, which will definitely be more, bigger and more prosperous than those on Batavia Island. Do 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, "No matter in every aspect, our Ming Dynasty is more capable than the Netherlands. We run Nanyang
The territory will definitely be better managed than the Netherlands. In the future, Pazia Island will no longer be a barren land. Many new cities will rise along the rivers, coastlines, and oil fields. In the future, Pazia Island
The island will become a Chinese paradise in Southeast Asia. Every city will surpass Batavia, no, surpass Singapore, attracting all the Chinese elites from other places in Southeast Asia. If in the future, our Ming Dynasty wants to continue to expand in Southeast Asia, then Patsy
Asia is the bridgehead."
"You..." Qiu Qiu sighed, leaning gently on his back, "You guys only talked about war and expansion...as if humans can't live a good life if they don't fight."
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled slightly and said:
"There's nothing we can do. We men are naturally aggressive. If there were only women in this world, there wouldn't even be such a thing as an army."
Qiu Qiu said nothing and continued to press her face against his back.
…
Pazia Island is different from Batavia Island. Batavia Island is the home base of Dutch colonists. The Netherlands has established rule here for more than 300 years. However, Pazia Island was not dominated by the Dutch until the end of the 19th century.
The Aceh region in the north was barely controlled by the Netherlands 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 Pazia Island was very short.
, the foundation is very shallow.
Pazia has two good things that Batavia Island does not have, which is why the Ming Dynasty chose this place and gave up Batavia Island. The first is the rich oil reserves, and of course rubber; the second is it
The geographical location. If you have Pazia, you have the Strait of Malacca. This is very important to the Ming Dynasty. In addition to the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, the biggest potential enemy of the Ming Dynasty is Japan. And 90% of the oil and other supplies Japan needs every day.
Passage must be 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. Whether it wants to fight Japan or not, it will be much easier to talk to it. At least if Japan wants to blatantly support the Ming Dynasty, it will be easier to talk to it.
When you are clear, you will have some scruples.
On the same day, Xiang Xiaoqiang handed over the position of the highest military officer of Batavia Island to the commander of the Ming Dynasty's East India Expeditionary Force. A dinner was held at the Governor's Mansion that night to bid farewell to the Ming army generals and colleagues.
The next day, March 17, Zhu Yourong sent a formal imperial edict by telegram, revoking Xiang Xiaoqiang's status as the imperial envoy and approving him to extend his delayed marriage leave for one month. In other words, from now on, Xiang Xiaoqiang will enter again.
In the vacation state, all activities no longer represent the Ming Empire, but only in a private capacity.
At noon, Xiang Xiaoqiang and Qiu Qiu held a small family dinner and invited the Nuremberg consul and his wife from the German Consulate to thank them for everything they have done.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Xiang Xiaoqiang and Qiu Qiu, as well as the three consultants Song Ruhai, Sun Jiye, and Wang Hexiang, plus the four guards who had been following from China, nine people got into three cars and were greeted by the People's Guard of the Governor's Mansion.
During the ceremony, sail to Batavia Port.
What also surprised Xiang Xiaoqiang was that Chinese people spontaneously stood on both sides of the street along the way, cheering and shouting at Xiang Xiaoqiang, and kept throwing flowers at the three cars. Both Xiang Xiaoqiang and Qiu Qiang were greatly moved, and they couldn't help but feel in the car.
Qiu Qiu was even moved to tears by such a sensational scene.
It was not until three o'clock that they sailed into the dock of Batavia Port and boarded the destroyer "Quimu Wolf".
With the whistle blowing, the Kuimulang untied its mooring rope, puffed out black smoke, split white waves from its bow, and sailed out of Batavia Bay, heading north towards Singapore at a speed of 25 knots.
Xiang Xiaoqiang and his delegation all stood at the end of the deck, holding on to the railings and looking deeply at Batavia, which was gradually disappearing. Until after four o'clock, Xiang Xiaoqiang and Qiu Qiu still stayed on the deck, hugging each other.
Looking at the coast of Batavia Island at sea level.
…
At around three o'clock in the morning on March 18, Xiang Xiaoqiang was quietly woken up. Since only the captain's cabin on the destroyer was a single room, Qiu Qiu was left to sleep. 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 cabin. Under the dim red light, he saw a strange face, that was the captain's.
"What's going on?" Xiang Xiaoqiang asked in a low voice, "Singapore has arrived?"
"Sir," the captain whispered equally, "we haven't reached Singapore yet. We are in the waters of the Lingga Islands, and we are still 40 nautical miles away from Singapore."
"What happened?"
"Sir Xiang," the captain said with a hint of nervousness in his voice, "we just lost contact with the Yongan Princess."
"What?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang frowned, his head was still dizzy, and he didn't understand what he meant.
The captain looked at the sleeping sailors around him and whispered:
"Sir Xiang, can you come to the command module?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang patted his cheek, nodded, got out of bed gently, and followed him out of the cabin. On the bed behind him, the four guards had already opened their eyes. They gestured to each other, and two of them quietly got out of bed.
, trailing behind.
They followed Xiang Xiaoqiang into the command cabin, which was also dimly lit by red light. There was a circle of round portholes around the rudder console, giving a wide field of view. Although it was dark outside, because there was red light in the cabin, it did not affect the night.
Vision, completely visible.
The surrounding sea area is very quiet, with only the monotonous noise coming from the ship's power system.
The captain pointed to the chart table and showed him:
"Sir, we are currently traveling in the Lingga Islands. The specific location is here, 8 nautical miles east of Lingga Island and 40 nautical miles away from Singapore, which is the entrance to the Strait of Malacca."
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at him blankly: "What's wrong?"
Suddenly, the words "Straits of Malacca" popped into his mind. He was startled and asked immediately:
"Are you saying that we just lost contact with the Yongan Princess?"
"right."
"When was the last contact? How far was the Wing On Princess from Malacca at that time?"
The captain pointed to the chart and said:
"Sir, please see, the last time the Wing On Princess contacted us was here, 20 nautical miles east of Singapore and 8 nautical miles north of Bintan Island, right at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca. Well, it was already an hour ago.
."
Xiang Xiaoqiang held the chart table with his left hand, held his chin with his right hand, frowned and stared at the chart, licked his lips and asked:
"You suspect..."
"Sir," the captain swallowed nervously, "it is most likely that they were hijacked by pirates... Pirates in Pazia are frequent in this area, and many ships are hijacked every year. And... pirates especially like to hijack this area.
A luxury cruise ship.”
The captain explained that currently, most of the pirates in Malacca are natives of the coast of Pazia, especially the Lingga Islands on the east end. The waterways here are complicated and there are many large and small islands, which is very suitable for pirates to hide. The pirates here are generally
There are three types. The most common one is the "guest appearance" of poor fishermen along the coast. They usually set up small boats at night, and when the ship slows down when it enters the waterway of Malacca, they quickly approach it and sneak up.
They just get on the boat and do some sneaky things, and they usually run away when they are discovered.
The second type is when these fishermen become successful and slowly transform into professional pirates. Their equipment is generally better, the boats usually have motors, and many of them have guns. This type of pirates start to become brutal.
He was not satisfied with petty theft, but instead robbed ships and killed people, committing all kinds of evil.
The third type is the armed forces in Pazia that resisted the Netherlands, the most representative of which is the Acehnese independent force in the north. They operate in the form of guerrillas in the high mountains of Pazia. An important source of funds is
Piracy. These people are well-organized, professional in their methods, and brutal in their methods. They have a large background, relatively abundant funds and weapons, and are the top force of various pirate organizations along the coast.
A giant ship like the Yong'an Princess with more than 30,000 tons has special guards on board, so those small-time fishermen and pirates cannot rob it. It should be professional pirates, and more likely anti-government armed pirates.
Xiang Xiaoqiang pondered for a moment, stared at him and asked:
"Well, you are the captain. What do you plan to do when you tell me this?"
The captain was very young, a major in his thirties. He looked very nervous, obviously he had never encountered such a situation. He was speechless and said:
"Sir Xiang, here...you have the highest military rank here. It is most appropriate for you to take charge of the overall situation..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang understood that in such an emergency, the captain naturally wanted the person with the highest ranking on the ship to take the lead...but this was also the more correct choice.
"Wait a minute, I'll call my wife to come too."
Xiang Xiaoqiang turned around and ran to the captain's room, knocked on the door gently to wake Qiu Qiu up, and took her quietly to the command room.
Qiu Qiu was obviously much stronger than Xiang Xiaoqiang. Although he had just been woken up, he immediately entered the state as soon as he entered this dim red light environment. The instinct of the captain who haunted the Yangtze River at night came out all at once.
.
She came in and saluted the captain first, who returned the salute hurriedly. Then Qiu Qiu stared at the chart table and could see clearly in a few seconds. She listened to the captain briefly describe the situation.
, also felt the seriousness.
Qiu Qiu looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang and nodded affirmatively.
...It seems that the Yongan Princess is really in danger.