March 25, 1871, Singapore Harbor.
The bows of the two ironclad ships "Tianlong" and "Qinglong" cut snow-white waves on the sea and slowly sailed into the harbor.
There were sailors standing on both sides of the warship. The sailors in white sailor hats and mastless hats just stood on the side, looking curiously at the port.
This is their first visit to Singapore.
Zhao Yongfu and Meng Qingen both stood on the bridge, watching everything in front of them.
Singapore appeared in front of them, looking at the dots of white sails in the harbor, including many small fishing boats with Chinese-style hard sails. Even the fishermen on the boats seemed to be Chinese.
"This city used to be a wasteland. It was the Chinese who created this city. 90% of the residents here are Chinese!"
Zhao Yongfu said.
"But...the British flag is flying here!"
This city may have been founded by the Chinese, but this land and this city belong to the British. The Chinese are just a group of immigrants under the rule of the British, and they don't even have any political power!
In the port, two British ironclads were moored. The Royal Navy sailors in sailor uniforms just glanced at the two visiting ironclads, that's all. As the most important port in the Strait of Malacca, it happens almost every day.
There are warships passing through this port.
This is just a normal pass!
Yes, just passing by!
Amidst the long whine of the whistle, the iron anchor dragged the iron chain and sank to the bottom of the sea. Around the two warships, more than a dozen small boats had surrounded the two warships. The boatmen on the boats held baskets of fruits and vegetables in their hands.
The harsh English words shouted.
"Don't take that, don't take that..."
Holding the basket, Chen Ah Sheng kept shouting in foreign languages on the ship. Although the people looked similar to him, he still shouted in foreign languages. After all, there are only foreign warships in Singapore.
It should not be said that there are only foreign warships on the sea.
"Fellow, do you know how to speak Mandarin?"
Suddenly the words coming from the side made Chen Asheng stunned. He was holding the basket in stunned silence because of the light behind him. It took Chen Asheng a while to see clearly the sailors on the side. They looked like Chinese.
appearance.
Mandarin?
If he were an ordinary person, he probably wouldn't be able to say it. But Chen Asheng used to run a banner business in Mancheng, Guangzhou. Although he couldn't speak well, he could still say a few words, so he used blunt and convoluted words.
Said the official saying.
"Lei Men came from the Qing Dynasty?"'
"Yes, my hometown is Jiangsu, where is your hometown?"
"Guangdong, no, no, yes, yes, it's Huizhou."
"They are all the same, they are also Chinese. They are all Chinese!"
"Fellow, how do you sell these bananas?"
When Chen Asheng heard that he wanted to buy his bananas, he waved his hands repeatedly.
"No sale, no sale, this, this..."
"What's wrong? Why don't you sell it?"
"Here, this banana is meant to deceive the foreign devils. There's a lot of rot underneath. We all came from the Qing Dynasty. No, we can't deceive our own people."
When doing business on the dock, you must deceive others, but you cannot deceive your own people!
When Chen Asheng said this, he looked at the people on the warship curiously and asked.
"Why don't you have braids?"
"Braids? We are Ming's fleet!"
"What? Da Ming?"
Chen Asheng was dumbfounded. Not to mention that he was dumbfounded. Soon everyone in the port was dumbfounded. Everyone was staring at the warship and the officers and soldiers on the warship. Only then did he see clearly that those sailors
There were white square characters written on the brim of the hat. What did they say? He knew the character "big".
Ming dynasty?
Didn’t the Ming Dynasty die long ago?
Why are you alive again!
When the shirtless Chinese coolies on the dock looked at the "Sun and Moon Flag" flying on the warships, they chanted "The sun and moon hang in the blue sky". Is this the national flag of the Ming Dynasty?
Ming dynasty……
Is Daming really alive?
Although the "Message to All Nations" announced the resurrection of the Ming Dynasty in restrained words and spread from Europe to East Asia, it still seems strange to the overseas Chinese in Singapore. After all, they are not the same as the Westerners who rule here.
Living in two completely different worlds.
Now, facing the resurrection of the Ming Dynasty, people's emotions are complicated. Although after the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, all official and unofficial histories of the Ming Dynasty were strictly prohibited. Even the "Biography of the Heroes of the Ming Dynasty" was also included in the banned books and was banned and destroyed.
But this does not prevent people from passing on the Ming Dynasty orally.
The Ming Dynasty...even if it cannot be said that it is tied to the soul and dreams, what is certain is that it is in everyone's heart.
This, this is the warship of the Ming Dynasty!
I don't know why, but when they saw these two warships, everyone felt an inexplicable pride in their hearts.
"Brother Xu, hurry, hurry up and get a bunch of firecrackers, what's coming is our Ming Dynasty's warship!"
Before the boat even docked at the pier, Chen Asheng yelled at the leading man on the pier.
"Yes, yes, firecrackers, firecrackers, hurry up, Adong, come over quickly, and tell Hall Master Fang, tell him, the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has been restored!"
When the people on the dock fell into some kind of excited chaos, the sailors began to walk down the gangway. More than a hundred sailors, wearing beautiful white sailor uniforms and holding Type 70 rifles, looked proud on their faces.
, these sturdy and burly sailors immediately caused a burst of cheers as soon as they stepped onto the port.
"He is indeed a soldier of the Ming Dynasty. He looks energetic!"
"Look, even those foreign devils look like this..."
The coolies on the dock, whether they were Cantonese or Fujianese, couldn't help but cheer for the officers and soldiers. In the past, they were used to seeing English, French, Italian, Prussian and other foreign devils at the port.
Sailors, they look full of energy. Thinking of the appearance of the mainland officers and soldiers, they naturally become discouraged. But now when I see the sailors from the Ming Dynasty and their tall and tall figures, I can't help but feel proud of these handsome men.
The sailors cheered.
While cheering, their voices were also full of pride. It seemed that at this moment they had become people of the Ming Dynasty. There was no problem, after all, the Ming Dynasty was also China.
Besides, these people are descendants of Yan and Huang just like them! It is only natural to be proud of these sailors.
When the military band played "Naval March", only the passionate military music was left on the dock. Amidst the passionate military music, Captain Owell, the deputy commander of the Royal Navy's China Fleet, who came to welcome the visiting fleet, said in surprise.
"This is... your march?"
The unfamiliar and exciting melody felt very fresh, because he had never heard it before, so he asked this question.
Squadron Commander Meng Qingen replied.
"Yes, this is our "Naval March"!"
"Naval March" was copied by Zhu Xianhai from the Soviet Union's "Marine of the Guards Naval Flag". In the past few years, he did not copy military music from Soviet Russia and other countries. Of course, these are all original in this era. That's right.
Because of this, Meng Qingen said quite proudly.
"This is a piece of music specially composed by His Majesty for the navy!"
What!
The emperor himself composed music for their navy. This was a unique honor in the world.
When Colonel Orwell was so surprised that he couldn't open his mouth, a naval officer walked up to them proudly and shouted.
"Your Excellency, Commander! The sailors have completed their formation! Please review them!"
"Colonel, please!"
The review on the pier was just in accordance with international practice, but Colonel Orwell, who had been observing these sailors, came up with an answer in his heart through the gathering, formation and spirit of the sailors.
"No wonder their army was able to defeat the Prussians in France. If the quality of their army was close to that of the sailors, they would definitely be able to defeat the Prussians!"
"Even without an airship, they can still do it!"
Perhaps Colonel Orwell was just a colonel, but he was still keenly aware that this was a well-trained army.
When he came to this conclusion, his eyes fell on the two warships at the berth, and a proud smile appeared on his face.
Tianlong and Qinglong were both built by British shipyards. Perhaps the Ming Empire could build airships and armored vehicles, but Britain could build powerful battleships. In this world, battleships are the most important.
And what about them?
There are only a few small cruisers!
"Navy, we not only have powerful battleships, but we also have the most powerful navy in the world!"
At this moment, the imbalance in Colonel Orwell's heart caused by the airship seemed to be balanced...
This chapter has been completed!