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Strait of Malacca, off the coast of Riau Province, Sumatra.

The light cruiser Colombo has removed the awnings and raised five 152mm gun barrels. On deck, Major Jennings raised his binoculars and locked onto the Chinese Navy's ocean-going hydrographic survey ship Nanhai, anchored in the middle of the strait near Sumatra. In the past, not to mention 1 naval hydrographic survey ship, even if it was a fleet, it was not a big deal, but now he looked at the Nanhai and stamped his feet: "Damn!" Is this the Yangtze River? I actually came here. Mattson! Signaling. This is an international shipping waterway, you have been anchored here for too long, you must leave as soon as possible! ”

The Royal Navy, which has been crisscrossing the seven seas for many years, knows all too well what an ocean-hydrographic survey ship is! Simply put, it's about surveying the hydrology and spying on the waterways, but it would be nice if it were that simple. In fact, in some sea areas where there is no need to cause disputes, oceanographic research ships are the vanguard of the navy. The British Empire was able to dominate the world's oceans because of a large fleet of marine survey vessels. But what drove him and the British sailors crazy was that the survey ship Nanhai ordered from the United States was clearly a behemoth, with a standard displacement of 5,700 tons and a full load of 7,000 tons, which looked like a steel hill from a distance. On the rear deck where it looks, there are motorboats, seaplanes, and two 76mm self-defense naval guns in front.

The waving flag was like a mud cow entering the sea, and the Nanhai was clearly unwilling to leave.

Because the tidal flat not far from starboard is the newly discovered giant oil field, the pipe that emits gas next to the drilling is still spewing fire, and the whirring flames are dozens of meters long, which shows how strong the gas pressure in the oil field is. Under the current technical conditions, the calculation of gas flow is the most important means of calculating the reserves of the oilfield, the more fierce the flame, the more excited the survey team members are, from the eruption data of half a month, its reserves may not be more than the original prediction of 600 million tons! It is likely to reach 700 million or more!

No matter where you put it, it's a strategic discovery! At present, the country's oil consumption is getting bigger and bigger, and the domestic oil fields are in the remote areas of the northwest. Not to mention the difficulty of transportation, we also rely too much on the railway, so from the moment we found out, everyone knew what they had found. Ma Kui in the simple wooden house was also secretly nervous, because the stakes of this survey were very high, and he never left the survey team from beginning to end. In order to ensure safety, many veterans from the Marine Corps and the National Guard were also transferred to take off their military uniforms and disguise themselves as staff, plus more than 300 Chinese laborers hired locally, so it was impossible not to attract attention.

"Look? The British cruiser was again waving the flag to let the South Sea leave. Weng Wenhao pointed to the sea with an anxious expression: "The muzzles of the cannons have been turned around, it seems that there is really trouble." ”

"The Dutch soldiers have also moved!" Someone shouted again.

Everyone turned their heads to see that in the distance there were also sentry posts among the more than 100 Dutch soldiers who had arrived a few days ago, apparently after seeing the flag of the British cruiser on the sea. Forcible evictions are also prepared.

"Can't go! Such a large oil field is a national strategic level in the world! In the crowd, Li Zhonghua, who is now a professor of geology at Nanjing Central University, stepped forward. He is also a technical expert of the survey team, and the last oil well is also positioned by him, when the black oil spews out, he has a premonition that this oil field may be very large, and he is also the first Chinese scholar to think that the reserves of the oil field may far exceed expectations. And he also thinks that around the land he bought. There should be new oil fields, so he strongly disagreed with the retreat, and instead suggested that oil exploration should continue around it.

He said, "If we leave." It is the loss of a good opportunity for our country to rise! If you don't go, not only don't go, but you should continue to explore for oil around, since we have sold all this land, we have the right to explore mineral deposits and oil here! ”

"The country must have sent a navy! We are now at the center of the national game, so we would rather die than leave! ”

When Weng Wenhao and Li Zhonghua said this, everyone also said that they must not leave, and even the Chinese workers who had eaten and lived with the survey team for more than half a year said that they would not leave. "! He has been bullying us Chinese for hundreds of years! I think Lan Fang was instigated by them to kill the natives back then! Anyway, Liangzi has already ended, so it's better to slaughter a few He Lan soldiers over there first! ”

Hearing everyone's words and me, Ma Kui's heart was even more anxious. He was not afraid of the Dutch. Rather, they were worried about the sea, knowing that it was hundreds of kilometers away from Palembang, and all supplies had to be provided by the navy, and if the Nanhai was forced to leave, they would definitely not be able to hold out for a long time.

Just when he was in a hurry, the Nanhai also waved a string of flags. "Look!" Weng Wenhao immediately shouted. Pointing to the waving flagpole and translating: "This is a survey ship of the Chinese Navy, which is on an international waterway survey mission, please leave immediately!" Leave now! ”

"Haha, the Navy is not leaving! If the Navy doesn't go, we can't go either! ”

After learning that the Nanhai was not leaving, Ma Kui simply gritted his teeth and issued the self-defense gun. Because it is located in the Dutch colony, it is difficult to carry standard rifles, so all of them are American-made shotguns and pistols. But even if the firepower was not comparable to that of the regular army, the convoy of veterans was no match for the Dutch soldiers who had not experienced war, and soon dispersed to find cover to prevent the Dutch from attacking from the sea and from afar.

The unusual movements of the survey team also attracted the attention of the Dutch soldiers, and the shrill siren whistle became more and more shrill.

The atmosphere in the oil field area was tense, and Colonel Jennings was furious. He's had enough of this cat-and-mouse game and is determined to give the Nanhai a little color! "1000 yards ahead warning shelling!" The dignified overlord of the seven seas has now been exposed to the sun for half a month. The British sailors, who had already been disgruntled, were relieved to receive the order, and it was better to fight dry than to be exposed to the sun, so they immediately fired a warning bomb 1,000 yards in front of the South Sea.

The roaring shelling sound was particularly harsh, and even Ma Kui and the others on the beach were startled, and turned their heads to see a column of water rising in front of the Nanhai, and the smoke made people nervous. "Quick! Prepare for battle. As soon as the Colombo opened fire, the South China Sea, which was ready to fire, also turned its 76mm naval guns to the other side, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"Damn, do you still want to resist? It's Malacca! Continue to fire warning shots. ”

Seeing that the other party refused to leave and tried to reverse the muzzle confrontation, Major Jennings sneered and was about to give the other party a few hard blows. But at the same time as the second round of shells fired, there was a sudden shout from behind him: "God, it is a Chinese heavy cruiser!" Look, he's rushing towards us. ”

In the hurried shouting, everyone looked along the lookout's fingers, and saw the heavy cruiser Taiwan Island with two destroyers rushing straight from the east, moving up and down with its guns and billowing smoke, obviously ready for war!

"Damn it. Full rudder. Engine room, full speed. It's too narrow here, we'll be targeted, get out! Prepare the X and Y gun emplacements for battle. Torpedoes, torpedo preparations. "There's a mess on the Colombo. A little knowledge can understand that the light cruiser is completely unable to fight against the heavy cruiser, not to mention that the speed is only 6 knots now, and if it is not quickly shaken off, I am afraid that the Colombo will not be able to hold out for even a few minutes.

What's more, I just fired a warning! The Nanhai may have known it was a warning. However, the Taiwan Island is likely to be mistaken for an attack, so if it does not break away quickly, it will be bad if the other side mistakenly thinks it is an attack and chooses to fire. Jennings didn't dare to gamble! So the Colombo immediately picked up speed, and the bow galloped westward towards the Indian Ocean in an attempt to get out of it. The 10-, 17-, and 25-knots small water-tube boilers showed excellent acceleration, and soon the Colombo reached 27 knots, but this speed obviously did not reassure Major Jennings and everyone, because they found that the Taiwan Island Heavy Patrol actually maintained a speed of 29 knots! There are only two possibilities to maintain such a high speed in a reef-dense area like the Strait of Malacca! The Taiwan Island deliberately drove away. Or maybe I misunderstood.

The sight of the Taiwan Island riding the wind and waves and rushing wildly made the merchant ships sailing around them frightened and turned their rudders to avoid it, and the two Changfeng-class destroyers even plunged into the middle of the Nanhai and Colombo at a high speed of 31 knots. This ocean-going destroyer, with a modified power pack and three twin 120mm guns, began to slow down after drawing two huge white track streams on the sea. Slowly approaching the Nanhai. However, the Taiwan Island Heavy Patrol was like an enraged bull, aiming at the stern of the Colombo and chasing wildly.

You can't imagine what it would be like for the Colombo, which had a design speed of 29 knots, but was actually able to run at 27 knots due to a long period of no maintenance, and was chased by the Taiwan island class 20 kilometers behind it at 29 knots, and even the most daring sailors began to pray.

"God, it's just a warning shell, is it worth biting like this?"

"Yellow-skinned monkey, it must be crazy!"

"There's a reef up ahead, take refuge in it."

The ten-minute pursuit made Colonel Jennings' face turn black with anger, but the delay in firing the Taiwan Island also showed that the other side was only an expulsion operation. When was the British Empire expelled from the world?! So with a slap pushed away the first mate, who was about to hide in the reef, and ordered to turn. On a warship, the captain is the authority and God, and the sailors can only turn the rudder and turn around if they are reluctant.

The Navy used to refer to cruisers as cats, because cats relied on their dexterity rather than brute strength in battle, so the battle cruiser was hailed as the "perfect cat" at the beginning of its birth. Obviously. Even without a fight, Jennings could not have possibly left the Colombo under the guns of a heavy cruiser for a long time, and he had to find a way to get rid of the opportunity to close the distance into torpedo range, and this was the only way he could defeat the heavy cruiser.

Therefore, the Colombo took the initiative to slow down, deflected the bow to the right, tried to maneuver towards the Malayan Peninsula to get rid of the pursuit, and used the advantage of shallow coastal water to close the distance and threaten the unknown opponent. The officers of the Royal Navy of the British Empire are worthy of being among the most qualified naval personnel in the world, and they know that it is impossible for five 152m/L45 naval guns to face the impact of nine 210mm/L55 naval guns. But to his surprise, at this time, the Taiwan Island actually began to slow down, and the bow of the ship also deviated towards the Malayan Peninsula, trying to go straight to the front of the Colombo bow to block the route.

The navigator quickly came to a bad conclusion based on the speed and width of the strait, if the Colombo could not be raised to 30 knots, it would inevitably be cross-cut by the Taiwan Island, and the two ships might eventually collide! Jennings didn't want to hit, and with a gap of 8,000 tons of steel, there was no advantage in impacting, so he could only continue to go straight to the east. This is a good way to go directly to the east, where you can use your dexterity to avoid the opponent, and second, you have a chance to quickly return to the Singapore base. However, the island of Taiwan unexpectedly gave up the diagonal insertion, but continued to turn to complete the 180° turn, slowing down into the inner line on the side of Sumatra.

If you look down from the sky, the two cruisers have made several turns in just a few tens of minutes of pursuit, and the white track of the stern makes up a magnificent view, but this beauty is something Jennings refuses to see, because the Colombo is squeezed out of Sumatra! That is, unless the heavy cruiser that was pursuing itself was blasted away, it would not be able to support the Dutch troops on the shore.

It's a bad result.

Jennings did not consider himself to be inferior to his opponent, as he was completely passive and found that his opponent was bowed west and pursued. Therefore, the opponent has more time than himself to complete the inside cut before making his own move.

You can't go to war, can you?

Both ships began to slow down on the sea, and the chase between the cats ended with the Colombo being driven out of the inner line of Sumatra, and soon the Taiwan Island arrived on the coast of Riau Province, where the survey team was camping, and held up a protective umbrella with its huge body and nine 210mm naval guns. The arrival of the heavy cruiser and destroyer Taiwan Island cheered the Nanhai and Ma Kui and others. The Dutch soldiers in the distance immediately retreated. No matter how stupid anyone is, it is impossible to complete the expulsion unless it is a declaration of war.

A declaration of war, is it possible? At least Bernard completely rejects this possibility.

The United States and France stood by and watched, perhaps secretly praying for a second Boer. The Netherlands was completely unreliable, and Japan, which could have been borrowed, was temporarily withdrawn from the world competition due to the earthquake. The British Empire was suddenly isolated! Downing Street has also gone against the grain in the face of this, demanding that the Chinese navy must withdraw from the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca within a limited timeframe. Otherwise, the consequences will be borne by the Chinese government.

The ultimatum was tough, but it made many politicians who study Britain look their heads. Because they were attentive, they found that Downing Street used "time-limited" instead of "immediate". This is subtle, and the time-limited withdrawal and the immediate withdrawal are completely two different concepts, which means that at least at this moment of the current vacuum in the Far East, the British Navy does not have much to do with the Kashin Task Force.

However, the Admiralty still did not dare to be careless, and immediately transferred two ships of the Beiyang Fleet of the Combined Forces class and two repaired Anhai-class ships to Hainan Island in the name of the exercise. When there was a lot of noise on the South China Sea, China and Britain were competing with each other over the giant oil fields of Sumatra. Nagata Tieshan has also arrived in Nanjing.

In the small garden of the Presidential Palace, Li Yuanhong was particularly warm to entertain Hikoyoshi and Nagata Tieshan, who had just arrived. The old fox lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes, his face was sad, and he patted his thigh as if the epicenter was in his house: "Hey! Heaven is ruthless. Heaven is ruthless! The year before last, hundreds of thousands of people were killed and injured in the Qinghai earthquake in Gansu, China, and millions were homeless. I thought that this kind of earthquake would only occur once in at least a few hundred years, but I didn't think that His Excellency the Emperor was well? ”

Hikoyoshi of Ijiin bowed, bowed, and said, "Thank you, Your Excellency, for your concern, Your Majesty the Emperor was blessed by the gods and escaped the earthquake." ”

"That's good, that's good." Li Yuanhong said a few words in a row, and then looked at Yang Qiu, who was accompanying him. The latter also said "sadly": "I am also paying special attention to all the subordinates of my country who are suffering this time, I don't know what the situation is now?" If there are any difficulties, just say it. Although we had some disagreements before, it was a strip of water after all. As a leading country in Asia, we are ready to provide you with all the necessary assistance to help you survive the disaster. ”

If the Asian leader can spit, Yongtian Tieshan can't wait to spit and fly over, and looked at Yang Qiu coldly and looked at it secretly. It doesn't matter who you are. or how many Japanese people are miserable and sleepless, but he also has to admit that Yang Qiu has a very strong personal charm. Tall and dignified, perhaps in a high position all year round, even if you sit there, you will feel as calm as a mountain. Especially those eyes, every time they shoot, they seem to be able to penetrate people's hearts.

"This is His Excellency Nagata Tetsuyama, right? If necessary, just ask, the Red Cross Society of our country has done a good job of going to Japan to help. Yang Qiu stared at Yongtian Tieshan before turning his head with a smile.

On behalf of His Majesty the Emperor and the Crown Prince, Nagata thanked the President and Vice President for their kindness, and this time he not only reported the Kanto earthquake to his neighbors, but also brought a message from His Majesty the Emperor. He personally supported your country's acquisition of the Sumatra oil fields and hoped that your country would protect the property belonging to our East Asian region from being plundered by Europe and the United States. Our Government is also ready to make an official statement on this matter! ”

Yang Qiu and Li Yuanhong glanced at each other, and they both saw the surprise in each other's eyes! Japan actually supports China's acquisition of Sumatra's oil fields, and is ready to make a public statement?! The two of them immediately became alert. If it's not the opposite, it can only show that Japan is terrible! They were determined to come up with this condition in exchange for a buffer period for post-disaster recovery. You must know that if this statement is issued, Japan-UK relations will probably deteriorate a lot, and it will also put Japan in the position of defending Asian interests all of a sudden.

What a good idea! Yang Qiu looked at Nagata Tetsuyama's eyes and suddenly asked, "Your Excellency Nagata, it is said that Emperor Taisho is not feeling well, and now he is the regent of Crown Prince Hirohito, right?" ”

"His Majesty the Emperor is only a minor illness, and he will be able to return to Tokyo soon." Although Nagata Tetsuyama deliberately avoided the issue of Hirohito's regency, Yang Qiu was indeed secretly concerned about Hirohito. The Japanese Cabinet certainly does not dare to issue such a statement. And only he has the right! But even if Hirohito grows up, he won't be able to erase the damage caused by the earthquake in a few years, so Yang Qiu said: "The two of you can go back and tell Emperor Taisho that our country has no interest in war." As for North Korea, some of the things that have happened in recent days may bring turmoil. Please also prepare early. ”

The faces of Hikoyoshi and Nagata Tetsuyama changed slightly, since Yang Qiu said this, he must have the evidence of the massacre of Koreans in China. Hurriedly said: "Your Excellency Vice President, these are just misunderstandings, our country has arrested those who gathered and made trouble. ”

"Really? That's really nice. Yang Qiu glanced at Li Yuanhong and smiled slightly: "I heard that your country lost thousands of ships in this earthquake, and I think it must be in urgent need of replenishment." So be it. How about our country building a batch of 2,000-ton sea vessels for you to make up for the losses? ”

The number of victims of the earthquake has not yet been calculated, but the damage to ships is severe. Although it is mainly fishing boats and offshore ferries, there are also hundreds of cargo ships of all types, so there is a real need for a lot of replenishment. The problem is that this supplement should have been provided by domestic shipyards, which would also facilitate the recovery of domestic industry, which would have to take longer if orders were given to China. So Ijiin Hikoyoshi hurriedly shook his head: "Your Excellency Vice President." Our country has the ability to replenish cargo ships on its own. ”

"Really?" Yang Qiu looked at him, and then turned his head to look at Yongtian Tieshan, who understood the meaning of this look very well. If this condition is not agreed. Yang Qiu will definitely announce the massacre of North Koreans that he has mastered! Other countries are not afraid, but what about North Korea? If North Korea were to attack the south under the pretext of the problem, the National Defense Forces would inevitably be involved. Japan must not be drawn into a war now, otherwise it would not have had to sit here. So he took a deep breath, got up and said, "Thank you, Your Excellency Vice President, Nagata is very willing to facilitate this matter." ”

"Thank you, Your Excellency Nagata, let's order 800,000 or 80 ships each."

500,000! 80 ships! Ijiin Hikoyoshi jumped up directly, this is **naked blackmail! The international quotation of 2,000 tons of offshore cargo ships is only 300,000 US dollars, about 600,000 yuan. Directly reporting 800,000 is not taking advantage of the fire to rob what? Nagata Tieshan even directly said that he needed to rebuild after the disaster, and he didn't have so much money, so he could only order 12 ships. 12 ships will definitely not work, considering the reality of Japan, after some bargaining, the two agreed to order 44 ships in three years at a price of 650,000, in exchange for Yang Qiu not announcing the news of the massacre of Koreans, and said that this is already the limit of Japan.

Shipbuilding was an extremely lucrative industry in those years. Even according to the quotation of the United States, the 2,000-ton freighter has a profit of nearly 100,000 yuan each. The labor cost and price of the Republic of China were lower, so 44 ships could bring huge profits to the new domestic shipyards, and these orders were later handed over to second-tier shipyards such as Hankou, Zhejiang, and Dalian, which not only helped private shipyards grow rapidly, but also exercised their manufacturing capabilities. As for the recovery of Japan's shipping industry, Yang Qiu is not worried, and the 2,000-ton boat is not enough to even run the South Seas.

As for North Korea, they are just bargaining chips in exchange for tens of millions of orders.

This is probably the grayest period in the history of Japanese diplomacy, and the earthquake has left the whole of Japan unable to hold its head up. At a press conference held at the Nanjing Presidential Palace after the talks, Hikoyoshi finally bowed his head and read out a statement from the Japanese emperor in support of China's acquisition of the Sumatra oil fields, and announced that in order to better serve the disaster relief, he would order 44 offshore cargo ships from China in one go. After winning a large contract and receiving Japan's support on the oil field issue, the Chinese government also reaffirmed its friendship with China and Japan, and provided Japan with 1 million yuan in cash and 1,000 tons of rice.

1,000 tons of rice is a drop in the bucket for post-disaster Japan, and where can 1 million yuan in cash be used in addition to buying products from the Republic of China?

After receiving the support of Japan, Yang Qiu, in the name of the commander-in-chief of the Chinese National Defense Forces, issued a warning to the Dutch and British governments, demanding that the destruction of the normal exploration activities of the Southwest Mining Company of China be immediately lifted, and that the attacks on the oil field personnel should be stopped immediately! He also said that the state and the military should not intervene in normal trade disputes, and should be resolved by commercial means.

At the same time, Yang Qiu also announced that he would immediately leave for the United Kingdom to solve the problem of the huge oil field in Sumatra.

When he was done, he called Jacob.

*******

PS: I'm sorry, but on the last weekend before the New Year, all kinds of purchases and cleanings are in poor condition.

Note: The internal number and call code of the Navy in Chapter 570 have been changed, I didn't expect to use Rui Beast at the time, and the aircraft carrier has also been changed to the Beihai (Lake Belga) class, which are Beihai and Balkhash.

The internal numbers of the Navy are as follows: Battleship-Dragon, Aircraft Carrier-Phoenix, Battle Cruiser-Qi, Heavy Cruiser-Qi, Light Cruiser-Pi, Destroyer-Qian, Submarine-Jiao, Frigate (Reconnaissance Ship)-Cantine, Torpedo Boat-Jair, Landing Ship-Ao, Supply Ship-Gan, etc...... (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )