The wind and waves are calm, there are almost no big waves on the sea, and you can look far away from the land. And in the far direction of the land, the black smoke that rose somewhat made the calm atmosphere a little strange.

A seaplane flew from the land direction to the ocean with a heavy motive roar, and began to descend in altitude, and finally landed on the surface, and with the propeller pulled the plane all the way to the vicinity of the seaplane carrier, and a maneuvering board leaned over, and pulled the plane to the side of the seaplane carrier with a cable, and finally the seaplane was hoisted to the deck by the crane.

Standing in the "Green Forest." On the bridge of the ocean-going assault ship, Lu Ping had a full view of the scene on the sea, and when the seaplane was hoisted off the sea, he turned the lens of the telescope and began to look in the direction of the land.

Swirling black smoke is clearly visible in the far reaches of the land. A cursory count shows that there are at least dozens of columns of smoke. It was supposed to be a burning village, and even standing on the deck of a warship, Lupin could imagine what was happening on land, and to tell the truth, he didn't want to go deeper, because he knew very well that the battle he was born on Sumatra would not be the one that the idealists wanted to see. Here, there are no rules of engagement, only the cold law of the jungle, whose force is stronger. Whoever rules everything, including the life and property of the enemy.

Although Lu Ping has a somewhat "Greater Chinan" tendency, and he is also a professional soldier, he is not a butcher who kills people without blinking, and he insists that he cannot be ruthless in any case when facing a weak and small nation or a weak country, after all, this is not the same as the traditional education he received, and may even conflict with military discipline.

But Lu Ping was also well aware that his moral code could not restrain the militias or raiding parties who were "sweeping" in the countryside and fields, and that those were not soldiers, they were not subject to military discipline, and for some of them, participating in the battle was only for the sake of more convenient wealth, and to obtain a sense of revenge in the cruel blows of the enemy.

It was not a fair contest, but it was an inevitable contest that would ultimately determine the future owners of the long and narrow island, and the Chinese would never give up their interests in any case, especially if they were already threatened by the natives.

To be honest, Lu Ping didn't expect the local Chinese self-government organs to decide to strike first in such a hurry, when he was notified by the Autonomous Bureau in the early hours of this morning, he even thought that he was dreaming, after all, his fleet arrived in Palembang less than a day ago, at this time the Autonomous Bureau brazenly took the initiative to attack, it is inevitable that there is a bit of a fox and a fake tiger power, no wonder Lu Ping is not very happy, he feels that he has been used, and the people who use him have obviously taken advantage of others.

But it doesn't make any sense to think about it now. Since the conflict has arisen and is escalating, then Lu Ping must complete his mission, which is given to him by the central government, and it is also what a Chinese must do, after all, the militia groups and crusade teams that are fighting on land are safeguarding the interests of the Chinese, and this interest has nothing to do with morality, has nothing to do with justice, and is only related to the interests of the nation and the country, and as a soldier, Lu Ping must obey this, the interests of the nation and the country.

"Report to the Commander! The reconnaissance plane has returned, the reconnaissance photos are being developed, and the pilot asked, is it possible to report to the commander in person? ”

Just when Lu Ping was a little distracted, the voice of an adjutant came from behind him.

The seaplane that had just landed on the sea was a reconnaissance plane, which had gone to the inland area to conduct reconnaissance on Lu Ping's orders, and it was not the first plane to carry out reconnaissance missions. In fact, a reconnaissance plane had already returned home two hours earlier, and it was through the reconnaissance report of that reconnaissance plane that Lu Ping was able to understand what was happening in those villages, and he also had an intuitive impression of the cruel methods of the militia and the raiding party.

"You don't have to report it to me in person, you can send it along with the reconnaissance photos, ask the staff officers to see it first, and then give it to me for review

Lu Ping shook his head, he really didn't have any mood to study those reconnaissance photos now, the current battle situation couldn't see that it was a battle at all, in front of the well-equipped and well-trained Chinese People's League, the natives were almost vulnerable, except for a small number of well-equipped Tu people, most of the natives could only use cold weapons to fight the militia. Therefore, it was only a morning of fighting. The native settlements around Palembang have indeed been "gone" as the Autonomous Bureau said. The burning fires destroyed not only the village itself, but also the mass of corpses and all the evidence of violence.

Lupin insisted that this was a conflict that had been planned for a long time by the self-government organs in order to create an atmosphere of terror in order to scare away the natives who had moved to Sumatra, and he believed that it might not be long before this goal could be achieved, when the leading figures of the self-government would be able to acquire more land and mines by the cheapest means, and this was probably the real purpose of their hearts, and that the so-called interests of the nation and the state were nothing more than a high-sounding pretext. The situation on the island is on the verge of spiraling out of control, and it has something to do with the greed of humanity, which is the driving force that has allowed European colonists to control almost the entire world.

"Order, the fleet sails in the northwest direction, keeping the course for five knots."

Lu Ping sighed, stopped thinking about the troublesome things, and gave a new order to the first mate standing beside him, so soon the fleet adjusted its course and followed the eastern coastline of the island. Head northwest.

At eight o'clock this morning, Lu Ping led the fleet out of the Palembang wharf, and has been swimming back and forth in the waters near Palembang, shocking the two Dutch navy cruisers, and at the same time monitoring the land forces of the Dutch colonial army that have withdrawn to the sea

To Lupin's relief, the two fleets faced off all morning, and the Dutch fleet did not take any provocative actions, and the Dutch army on standby by the sea did not take any intervening action, obviously. The central government's deterrence strategy has served its purpose. The appearance of the Chinese Navy's ocean-going fleet not only emboldened the local Chinese, but also effectively deterred the Dutch East India colonial authorities.

However, when Lupin commanded the fleet to turn around and sail in a northwesterly direction, the two Dutch Navy's "Goldland"-class cruisers caught up, and went hand in hand with Lupin's flagship "Green Forest" and sent a flag to the "Green Forest".

"Report to the Commander! The commander of the Dutch fleet came with a message requesting that someone be sent to board the ship for an urgent meeting with our commander. The Dutch said that the representative sent on the warship was the Governor of the Dutch East Indies Colony. ”

The flag whisperer drew the flag from the Dutch warship, and then as soon as the adjutant arrived, he hurried in and told Lupin what the Dutch meant.

"Reply to the flag and tell the Dutch governor that if he wants to come, come with a white flag, and I will wait for him on the warship."

Although Lu Ping was a little disgusted by what happened on land, he didn't mind taking this opportunity to give the Dutch a dismount.

For the arrogant attitude of the commander of this Chinese fleet. The Governor of the Dutch East Indies Colony, Mr. van Eidenberg, was indeed very annoyed, and he immediately instructed his men to resolutely oppose the arrogant commander of the Chinese naval fleet under the white flag, and he insisted that he could meet the commander of the fleet with the dignity of the governor, which was enough to show his sincerity in negotiations, and if the white flag was waved again, it would be somewhat unreasonable, and even if he did not care, the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands would not allow him to do so.

So, Edenberg ordered his subordinates to continue to negotiate with the other party in the flag language, but Mr. Commander, the commander of the Chinese fleet, insisted on his opinion, Edenberg would not allow him to board the ship without waving the white flag, and the two sides were in such a stalemate, and the warship that Edenberg was riding had to sail with the Chinese Navy's ocean-going fleet, the Chinese ** ship went northwest, the Dutch warship also went northwest, and the Chinese ** ship went southeast. The Dutch warships also went southeast, just soaked in mushrooms.

In the end, it was Edenberg's subordinates who came up with an idea, and a midshipman of the Navy would first fly the white flag to the middle ** ship, and then Edenberg would take another general board to pass, so as to avoid the embarrassing situation of Mr. Governor to the greatest extent.

The commander of the Chinese naval fleet, after weighing it, finally agreed with the proposal of the Dutch, thus. Half an hour later, Edenberg finally boarded the Chinese Navy's large ocean-going assault ship, the Green Forest.

Edenberg had carefully studied the meaning of the name of the ship "Green Forest" before he came, and he knew that the so-called "Green Forest" was the bandits and bandits of ancient China, and it was related to the current situation in Sumatra. It's so practical that Edenberg can't help but admire the "mad president" who named the warship, who makes no secret of his fanatical worship of force and his blatant contempt for the existing world order.

After boarding the warship, the commander of the Chinese naval fleet met Edenberg in the officers' room, and upon the meeting, Mr. Governor lodged a solemn protest.

"I protest! The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands retains the right to take further action against the atrocities committed by your nationals in Sumatra! In view of the recognition of dual citizenship by your Government, the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands will refer this matter to the International Peace Conference in The Hague unless your country can restrain the actions of the mob! ”

However, to Eidenberg's surprise, the naval officer, who didn't look much like Shinshi, made a very decent excuse.

"I regret the protest of His Excellency the Governor. I can't accept it because I'm not a diplomat. Your protest can be submitted to our consul in Palembang, but it cannot be brought to me, I am a soldier, and I am only here to carry out the orders of the central government of our country to protect overseas Chinese, and I have no right to intervene in other matters, nor do I have the right to interfere. As for the armed clashes between the local Chinese self-government and the natives, it seems to be due to the mishandling of your colonial authorities, and if it had not been for the fact that the Chinese self-government had quelled the natives, I would probably have sent sailors and marines to land to protect the bridge, and would not have met with His Excellency the Governor here. In addition, His Excellency the Governor needs to be reminded that, as far as I am aware, the Hague International Peace Conference is no longer functioning at this time. Otherwise, why has the war in Europe not been quelled for so long? ”

Originally, Edenberg came to scare the fleet commander of the Chinese Navy, but he didn't expect that the commander was not only not intimidated by his external powers, but took the opportunity to mock the international peace conference, which was too embarrassing for Mr. Governor-General, and Edenberg had to dispel his thoughts.

"Your Excellency, Commander, for now. There are also merchants and consuls from all over the world in Palembang City, and if they are affected by the violence, the international community will not agree! Now, I will go to the city and convene the consuls of all countries to deliberate, hoping that His Excellency the Commander will not obstruct him. "Please."

Since there was no room for accommodation in this, Edenberg had no choice but to leave the large ocean-going attack ship of the Chinese Navy in anger, and he did what he said and returned to the Dutch warship. Immediately ordered to return to the Palembang pier to prepare to go ashore to meet the consuls of various countries to see if an international conference could be convened to resolve the crisis in Sumatra.

Looking at the two Dutch cruisers heading to the harbor. Lu Ping stood on the bridge and sneered, if disputes between countries can be resolved by convening an international conference, then there may be no war in this world at all.

In the final analysis, this is an era of strength, and the rise of any emerging power must be backed by force, which was what the United States did back then, and now China is just learning from it.