Expedition to Europe

What happened in Port Hedland was under the control of Qin Zhiyuan and Old Renault.

Just as Jack was inciting the workers to make trouble in Port Hedland, Qin Zhiyuan and Old Renault were tasting fine wine from the Republic of China in the Black Swan Castle on Penglai Island.

"The alcohol content of this wine is too high. I feel like my whole body is burning..." Old Renault was a little drunk.

Compared with French wine and champagne, the alcohol content of the white wine in the Republic of China is too high.

France actually has white wine. French white wine is white wine, which is the so-called "brandy". The French call white wine "cognac", which is basically about 40 degrees.

The white wine in the Republic of China is different. No matter what kind of white wine it is, it is basically above 50 degrees. This is too high for Old Renault, who is used to drinking low-intensity wine.

Qin Zhiyuan is happy to drink high-proof liquor: "Drinking slowly can help you understand the Chinese drinking culture."

Qin Zhiyuan used to be a teetotaler, but as his status gradually improved, he often drinks now, but not excessively. He has a strong self-control ability, and the maximum amount he drinks each time is two taels, no more.

With Qin Zhiyuan's status, no one dares to compete with him in drinking.

"Ha, I don't want to learn this kind of culture, it's too profound." Old Renault's words were a bit insincere.

"As long as you are moderate, it's not a problem." Qin Zhiyuan answered casually.

With the relationship between Qin Zhiyuan and Old Renault, there is no need to weigh every word. To be honest, Qin Zhiyuan is more relaxed when facing Old Renault than when facing Foch.

"What if the Paz government solves the Hedland issue by force?" Old Renault had something on his mind and couldn't drink any more.

What happened in Perth has exceeded the bottom line of many people. Both Western Australia and the Australian government have enough reasons to use force to solve it. By that time, the workers in Jack's hands may not be able to resist.

Although Old Renault is in a high position, he is a businessman at heart, and what businessmen fear most is the use of force, which is far beyond the scope of business.

"If it is the use of force, then you don't have to worry. The Australians' ANZAC may be good, but to be honest, I don't take it to heart." Qin Zhiyuan looked relaxed.

Compared with Old Renault, who is a businessman at heart, Qin Zhiyuan is a soldier, and using force to solve problems is the way Qin Zhiyuan is best at.

If the Australian government chooses to use force to solve Port Hedland, it will just give Qin Zhiyuan enough excuses to make the last trace of guilt in Qin Zhiyuan's heart disappear.

Yes, as the initiator of all this, Qin Zhiyuan can kill decisively, but at the same time, as a person with a conscience, Qin Zhiyuan will also feel guilty when making these decisions.

Of course, he felt guilty, but when he needed to be decisive, Qin Zhiyuan always performed well. Qin Zhiyuan was not a hesitant person. In the face of national interests, a little guilt was meaningless.

This may be called "heartless", but if he didn't have a heart of stone, Qin Zhiyuan would not have been able to do the job of an agent before. You know, agents often hide in the dark, and what they do is even more shady.

"So you have been prepared?" Old Renault was curious.

"Of course I have been prepared. At present, there are nearly 4,000 people in Port Hedland who used to serve in the Foreign Legion, including nearly 1,000 Chinese. In a week, there will be 3,000 Chinese arriving in Port Hedland by ship." Qin Zhiyuan's heart is indeed dark.

"You...are you going to provoke a war with England? This is not a wise choice." The sorrow on Old Renault's face became even worse.

Maybe after ten or twenty years, Lan Fang will have the strength to challenge England, but definitely not now. The current Lan Fang has no ability to resist England. The British's unrivaled fleet alone can blockade Lan Fang to death.

Australia is currently a member of the Commonwealth. Although it has a high degree of autonomy, it is not independent in name and is still under the jurisdiction of the British. If there are too many Chinese in Port Hedland, the British can regard it as

"Who said I want to go to war with the British? What do those people have to do with me? They are all workers hired by Jack, and it is a private matter between them." Qin Zhiyuan flatly denied.

"You...you...you..." It is obvious that old Renault was surprised by Qin Zhiyuan's shamelessness.

"Don't talk about you, you, me, me, even if there are many Orientals in Port Hedland, they are just Annan people, and have nothing to do with the Chinese. Even if the British want to hold them accountable, they can only go to Bastian." Qin Zhiyuan's true colors were exposed.

Well, in another time and space, the PLA once cheated the Americans like this, and the Americans were also cheated miserably.

In the eyes of Westerners, the facial features of Orientals are too vague and they all look almost the same. Even if someone was captured in the war, Qin Zhiyuan could deny it. With the support of the French, it would not be easy for the British to vent their anger on Qin Zhiyuan.

The British and the French are indeed allies, but the French don't mind laughing at the British, just like decades ago, the French didn't mind helping the Americans to disgust the British.

"Well, you have successfully refreshed your image in my mind. I have to say that in this regard... wow, hahaha, we are the same kind of people!" Old Renault finally confirmed again.

In fact, a long time ago, Old Renault had confirmed that he and Qin Zhiyuan were the same kind of people.

"Haha, to be honest, I'm the expert in military affairs, so let Jack do whatever he wants. If the British want to use force, then I'll take care of the rest." Qin Zhiyuan took the responsibility.

"I'm afraid Jack is so radical because he is too confident." Old Renault praised him without missing a chance.

There is no doubt about Qin Zhiyuan's military ability in the world now. If you want to find a soldier who can be recognized by the whole world, it is undoubtedly Qin Zhiyuan, even Qin Zhiyuan's enemies have to admit this.

Ah, no, the Japanese will definitely not agree to this unless Qin Zhiyuan conquers Tokyo.

It's not time to conquer Tokyo yet, but Qin Zhiyuan doesn't want the Japanese to be too free, so the not-so-powerful Lan Fang Navy began to sweep the islands in the South China Sea.

South China Sea...

Well, from Lan Fang's perspective, it seems inappropriate to call that vast area of ​​water "South China Sea". In Lan Fang's official documents, that sea area is called "North Sea".

There is no need to dispute the ownership of the islands in the North Sea. Although the famous "Nine-Dash Line" has not appeared at this time, the Qing Empire at that time had already declared sovereignty when the Germans began to survey the North Sea a hundred years ago.

In another time and space, because the ownership of the North Sea had caused all kinds of farces, Qin Zhiyuan could not have been unaware of it, so Qin Zhiyuan was very concerned about the North Sea.

It was only after returning to Lan Fang that Qin Zhiyuan learned that there was actually a group of Japanese living on the North Sea islands at this time.

Yes, it was the Japanese, and it was on the famous "Taiping Island".

Almost ten years ago, the Japanese entered the North Sea and mined the rich phosphate mines on Taiping Island. At that time, the Qing government was already unable to take care of itself, and its own life and death began to be in crisis, so naturally it had no spare energy to pay attention to the North Sea, so the Japanese took the opportunity to land on the island to mine phosphate mines, and it has not been mined until now.

Qin Zhiyuan knew the value of Beihai, so in Qin Zhiyuan's heart, Beihai must not be lost. So after Qin Zhiyuan knew that the Japanese were mining phosphate on Taiping Island, he immediately sent warships to Taiping Island to expel the Japanese on Taiping Island.

The sky was blue and the waves were clear. Xie Rundong, the captain of the "Hanjiang", was in a very good mood.

The "Hanjiang" is a Vickers-class destroyer built by the United States and is also the main battleship in the current Lanfang Navy.

Xie Rundong himself is a new captain in the Lanfang Navy. Five years ago, Xie Rundong went to Britain from the Republic of China and joined the British Royal Navy until Qin Zhiyuan joined the Foreign Legion.

At that time, many Chinese who studied in Europe joined the Foreign Legion, and Xie Rundong was one of them.

Because of Xie Rundong's naval service experience, he was immediately trained as a backbone by the Corsica Navy at that time. After serving as the first mate on the "Yangtze River" for half a year, Xie Rundong began to independently command the battleship and became the captain of the "Hanjiang".

"Sir, we are still five nautical miles away from Taiping Island." First mate Jia Zhengqing put down the rangefinder report in his hand.

The original text can be read in Liu # 9 @Shu/Bar!

The rangefinder was a commonly used distance measurement tool at that time, and it was used until World War II. The main principle was triangulation. When using the rangefinder, there was no need for temporary calculations. Just compare the readings and convert them. It was simple and convenient.

By the way, at this time, all the officers and soldiers on the "Hanjiang" were Chinese, and this was also the first batch of all-Chinese classes in the Lan Fang Navy.

"Keep going." Xie Rundong, sitting on a high chair, was very frugal with words.

After being tempered by the British Royal Navy, Xie Rundong inevitably had some traditions of the British Royal Navy, such as not calling "Captain" but "Sir", which was one of the traditions of many old officers.

"Yes, sir." Jia Zhengqing had a correct attitude and turned back to continue to observe with the telescope.

In fact, at this distance, the silhouette of people on Taiping Island could be seen using a telescope.

Perhaps because they saw a warship coming, the Japanese on Taiping Island were a little excited, and someone waved on the simple lighthouse.

At this time, in the North Sea, or in the entire waters of the Republic of China, the warships that can be seen are almost all Japanese warships. The warships of the Republic of China are only symbolic forces. It is estimated that if the warships of the Republic of China are allowed to sail on the ocean, they may lose their way.

So when the Japanese on Taiping Island saw a warship approaching, his first reaction was: Oh, our warship is coming again...

Again!

Well, what a reckless word.

However, the Japanese on the island did not get excited for too long. Obviously, the national flag and military flag above the "Hanjiang" reminded the Japanese that this was not a Japanese warship, but a Lan Fang warship that had been demonized in Japan.

As the relationship between Lan Fang and Japan continued to deteriorate, Lan Fang had become synonymous with "demon" and "ghost beast" in Japan. Although many Japanese had not even come into contact with Lan Fang people, it did not prevent the Japanese from hating Lan Fang people.

The 6th Division was completely annihilated in the Mediterranean Sea. Although this is still an unsolved case internationally, the culprit has been identified as Lan Fang in Japan. Although the Japanese government has never said so, it has not banned the spread of rumors throughout society, nor banned the nationwide media from publicizing this matter.

Freedom of speech...

So after seeing the tricolor flag above the "Hanjiang", there was obvious movement on the lighthouse, and then you can see people running on Taiping Island, and some even have weapons in their hands, gathering behind the breastwork built around Taiping Island.

This...

Is it really useful to use a rifle to deal with a warship armed to the teeth?

The Japanese on Taiping Island were also confused.

Faced with this situation, Xie Rundong did not hesitate and ordered to send a small boat according to the original plan to land on the island and expel the Japanese.

In order to prevent accidents, Xie Rundong ordered the artillery on the ship to fire deterrently in the direction of Taiping Island.

It was really a deterrent. If you fire directly at Taiping Island, well, these hundreds of Japanese are really not enough for a few shells.

The area of ​​Taiping Island is less than 0.5 square kilometers. If calculated according to the power of the main gun of the "Hanjiang", it only takes about ten shells to cover the entire Taiping Island.

Sure enough, when the main gun of the "Hanjiang" opened fire, the Japanese on the island immediately fell into greater chaos. Fortunately, the Japanese had not lost their minds. They did not shoot in the direction of the "Hanjiang", otherwise it would be equivalent to armed resistance. Xie Rundong would deal with them in the same way as he dealt with pirates.

"Listen, people on the island. This is Lan Fang's inherent territory. Your current behavior has violated Lan Fang's sovereignty. You must leave immediately, otherwise we will use force to expel you..." The soldiers on the boat did not land directly, but surrounded Taiping Island and shouted with a loudspeaker.

The soldiers who shouted spoke in Chinese, so there was no need to worry that the Japanese would not understand. In fact, many Japanese knew Chinese. You should know that a hundred years ago, knowing Chinese was even a noble thing in Japan.

After hearing the Lan Fang soldiers' shouts, the Japanese on the island became more confused. After a dispute, some people left the breastwork and came to the boat to negotiate with the Lan Fang soldiers.

"Sir, those Japanese asked for ten days so that they could pack up their things." Jia Zhengqing continued to report.

"No, they don't have ten days. I only give them half an hour. Within half an hour, they must leave Taiping Island, otherwise we will treat it as an invasion." Xie Rundong did not hesitate, nor was he prepared to give the Japanese enough time.

The Japanese did not talk much nonsense. They didn't even care about the phosphate ore that was not transported away, and they evacuated Taiping Island in a hurry.

Just as the Japanese fishing boat had left Taiping Island, the soldiers on the small boat sent by the "Han Jiang" began to land. These were soldiers of the Marine Corps, and from now on they would be stationed on Taiping Island.