novelslam Chapter 1310 The queen’s hand is stretched too far
Chapter 1310 The queen’s hand is stretched too far
Du Fei asked Vincent to sit down and asked directly, "What's going on? With two black circles under his eyes, he's about to catch up with the panda."
Vincent smiled bitterly and complained: "My uncle hasn't resigned yet, and someone is trying to please the new master."
As expected, Du Fei guessed correctly, but this kind of flattery and contempt for others is not uncommon.
Du Fei was more concerned about the purpose of Vincent's personal visit.
Du Fei's previous telegram only asked about the fleet's visit to Yajiada and nothing else.
Normally it would be enough for Vincent to reply with a telegram, and since the situation there was not good, there was no need to make another trip.
Now that Vincent is here, it means that he has something more important to say.
Sure enough, Vincent said: "Du, you asked me in the telegram about the inside story of this active fleet."
Du Fei nodded and listened to her next words.
Vincent was very busy: "Actually, this matter is in the same vein as the temporary change of the Governor of Xiangjiang. They are orders from the highest level, directly from Duke Philips, but everyone knows that Duke Philips has no political power, and everything he has comes from the Queen... "
Du Fei understood what he meant, which was that it was almost impossible to seek change from within Yingguo.
In fact, this result was also what Du Fei had expected.
Even if we take a step back, this time it was not the Queen's order, and with Vincent's family's connections in Huandun, it would be difficult to change anything.
After all, Xiangjiang, which they had regarded as fundamental and had been in business for many years, was taken away as soon as they said it would be taken away.
It shows that the Dai Zhilin family has almost lost the right to speak in Huandun.
If that was all, there was no need for Vincent to come in person.
Sure enough, the next step is the key point. Vincent lowered his voice and said: "In addition, I also heard a rumor that this time the fleet was mobilized to Nanyang. In addition to showing posture and strength and acting with Yin Ni, there is another purpose... "
Du Fei couldn't help but raise his eyebrows after listening to Vincent's narration, a little unbelievable.
But when I thought about it again, it seemed that nothing was impossible.
It turns out that this so-called fleet's return to Nanyang had an ulterior purpose, which was that the British planned to rent Palembang in Sumatra as a backup for Hong Kong at the right time and become the fulcrum of the Royal Navy in the Nanyang region.
According to the urine of Yingguo people, they are really capable of such things as turning against others and stabbing their allies in the back.
And the current overall situation is very different from the world before Du Fei traveled through.
First of all, because of the appearance of Du Fei, Huaguo is stronger. Coupled with last year's victory, it seems full of pressure.
Correspondingly, the Yingguo people's control in Xiangjiang has been greatly weakened, which can be seen from Lei Luo becoming the deputy director.
In this case, it is not surprising to consider losing Xiangjiang and prepare backup plans in advance just in case.
It happened that at this time, something happened again on Yinni's side, which gave the Yingguo people an opportunity to take advantage of.
Du Fei couldn't help but mourn for Subian. If a person is unlucky enough to drink cold water, his teeth will be clogged.
Subian thought he had found help, but in fact he opened the door to welcome the thief.
Thinking of this, Du Fei looked at Vincent again.
As I said just now, if it is just this matter, it is enough to say it in a telegram. There is no need to go there in person.
Even if the Yingguo people planned to stab Subian in the back, it wouldn't be enough to explain anything.
Du Fei was certain that Vincent must have something more to say.
Sure enough, Vincent continued: "Du, you must not want them to come to Nanyang, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have sent me a telegram to inquire about this matter."
Du Fei nodded, there was nothing to hide about this, and he couldn't hide it. He just said it harshly, but it seemed disingenuous.
The corners of Vincent's mouth turned up, hey, and he lowered his voice and said, "They will stay in Lijiapo for three days and stay at the Raffles Hotel arranged by Li Jing..."
As he spoke, he took out a kraft paper document bag from his briefcase: "This is the architectural structure diagram of the hotel."
Du Fei narrowed his eyes slightly, a little surprised that Vincent could grasp this information.
You must know that the so-called task force is still gathering near Soma Li, and the subsequent itinerary, not to mention how top-secret it is, has probably not been arranged yet.
At this time, Vincent actually knew that the fleet would stop at Lijiapo and knew which hotel to stay in. This was not Vincent's ability.
Moreover, from the time Du Fey sent the telegram to now, excluding Vincent's time on the road, there was almost no time to investigate and prepare detailed architectural structural drawings of the hotel.
In other words, there is a high probability that Vincent already knew this information before Du Fey sent the telegram, and he had the hotel building structure diagram in his hand...
Du Fei couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly and smelled a strong smell of conspiracy.
However, this conspiracy was not against him, but against the Yingguo fleet.
Du Fei unfolded the structural diagram and looked at it, then looked at Vincent and said with a half-smile: "Are you planning to let me kill all the senior leaders of the fleet in Lijiapo? Are you so cruel?"
Vincent shrugged and said indifferently: "Not necessarily everyone will die, but it's best not to use a gun. You know, it won't end well. It would be great if something unexpected happens."
Du Fei looked at the structural diagram in his hand again and said calmly: "Does this mean Luandun?"
Vincent was silent for two seconds, nodded and said: "Yes, Her Majesty the Queen's hand stretched too long this time."
Du Fei smiled playfully. There is really infighting everywhere. The current Queen of Yingguo is only in her 40s, which is quite young for a political figure. She is obviously not satisfied with the power in her hands being emptied bit by bit. .
Now, Du Fei suddenly understood why Luandun suddenly changed Dongfang's strategy.
Because this place is far enough away from them and is on the edge of the Zhengzhi territory, it is the least likely to attract attention.
The Queen's group chose this place and wanted to give it a try.
In Du Fei's impression, it seemed that there was no such situation before time travel, probably because his appearance caused some kind of change.
It is a pity that Her Majesty the Queen still underestimated the vigilance and restrictions placed on the royal family by the vested interest groups in Luandun.
The queen can exist, but it can only be symbolic, and the restoration of royal power will never be allowed.
It is not allowed to allow even a little bit of testing, even if it is just a small move in the farthest Southeast Asia.
The Queen, or the royalist faction's temptation, was immediately met with severe counterattack by other factions.
They found Vincent.
The reason is also very simple, because Vincent's Dai Zhilin family is being suppressed.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and this gives Vincent the opportunity to embrace another thigh.
But there is a premise, the big shots in Huandun are only responsible for providing limited help.
And Vincent must act as a vanguard to cut off the hand extended by the royal faction, which is this fleet.
Obviously Vincent did not have this ability, and this was the reason why he immediately came to see Du Fei in person after receiving the telegram.
Du Fei took a sip of tea, understood the general situation, and said in a deep voice: "Vincent, we are friends, and preventing this fleet from reaching Nanyang is also my original purpose. But... now there is a new situation, you guys The allies in Huandun have the same purpose..." Du Fei shook the hotel building structure diagram in his hand: "They paid too little."
Vincent gave a wry smile, knowing of course that this was too little.
But he was not qualified to bargain in front of the big shots in Huandun, so he could only passively accept it.
He is responsible for setting the questions and he is responsible for answering them.
You can't just say that you can't do it, just go and discuss with the person who asked the question whether you can change the question. At least he is not qualified yet.
But Du Fei was different. Du Fei didn't have to worry about the emotions of those so-called big shots.
If he didn't know the other party's intentions, forget it. Du Fei could only treat it as his unilateral intention to prevent the fleet from reaching Nanyang.
Now that you know that it is a matter between two families, you just want to give out some innocuous information and get a building plan and just sit back and enjoy the benefits. What a joke.
And Du Fei also saw that Vincent deliberately revealed this situation to him.
Otherwise, after receiving Du Fei's telegram, he could pretend to reveal the relevant information to Du Fei.
Not only did he not have to come in person, but he could also sell favors to Du Fei.
Vincent didn't do this, not because he was talking about friendship with Du Fei, but because he himself was not satisfied with Huandun's attitude, but he was not qualified to say no, so he could only find someone who could talk and bargain for him.
The two looked at each other, tacit understanding.
Du Fei reached out and patted Vincent on the shoulder: "I heard that the governor-elect, Baron Wilson, is also in Lijiapo now, and he will definitely join the fleet by then..."
Vincent's heart trembled, and he instantly heard the hidden meaning of Du Fei's words.
Although preventing the fleet from reaching Southeast Asia is the main purpose, the biggest threat to Vincent and his family is Baron Wilson.
Du Fei's words were an understatement, but Vincent heard the deeper meaning and immediately said: "If Wilson suddenly has a problem, based on the current situation, my uncle will continue to act as governor."
Du Fei chuckled and said, "So we can continue to cooperate in the future~"
"Of course, I hope so." Vincent was slightly excited. If this could eliminate Baron Wilson, it would be a decisive change for him and his family.
He is a smart man and knows that Du Fei's help will not be in vain. When they get the benefits, they must give Du Fei an equal return.
Of course, he can also ignore Du Fei's interests, but this cooperation or the deal of each taking what he needs will also fall through.
Vincent said: "By the way, I heard that Sarawak has been lacking warships..."
Du Fei raised his eyebrows, and Vincent, obviously prepared, nodded in agreement.
Vincent moved his buttocks and continued: "Due to economic constraints after the war, the Far East Fleet originally mothballed a number of destroyers and frigates in Xiangjiang..."
When Du Fei heard this, his heart suddenly moved. Although it was an old ship from World War II and was more than 20 years old now, the current Kuching Navy was not qualified to be picky.
Vincent continued: "Among them, two 'Tribe-class' destroyers and two 'Wartime' destroyers were built in 48. They were basically mothballed without much use. If you want, I can think of a way. "
Four old destroyers~
Du Fei thought in his mind, of course he had to get this, and he didn't want it in vain.
However, it is impossible to estimate it for free. With Vincent's ability at most providing convenience, it is impossible to take it directly.
Things need to be managed up and down, especially the current local navy.
Although these people are marginal figures, they are not as good as the county magistrates and are now in charge. If they want to get the ship, they must be fed.
Du Fei asked: "About how many ships are needed for four ships?"
Vincent said: "One hundred thousand dollars for each destroyer. Colonel Rodit, who is currently in charge of the sealed supplies, is about to retire and is planning to move to Meguo." Du Fei understood instantly that one hundred thousand dollars for a destroyer was real. Not expensive.
All in all, it's not much better than selling scrap metal.
Vincent added: "But let me explain in advance that although it is a new ship, it has been in storage for more than 20 years. It will definitely need to be renovated if it is to be used. The cost is not small."
Du Fei smiled and said: "I know, we happen to have a ready-made shipyard of our own, and we can drag it back and slowly repair it when the time comes."
Although several destroyers from the Second World War are not considered to have much combat effectiveness today, they are still large ships with a displacement of two to three thousand tons, and they can still be used around the South China Sea.
Especially when Du Fei is short of ships right now, Vincent's move can be regarded as a timely help.
However, these broken ships alone are not enough.
Du Fei said: "These ships can be regarded as our friendship, but over there at Huandun..."
Vincent knew what to measure. Just as Du Fei said, the boat was their friendship and Baron Wilson's life-paying price, but this time it was not the price at Wandun.
Vincent said: "You tell me, I will convey it to you."
Du Fei said: "The Kingdom of Sarawak joins the Commonwealth's trading system as an independent individual and enjoys the basic rights of members."
Vincent nodded. This request was not too much. Originally, Sarawak was in the British colonial system, not to mention that the current nominal king was still the former Earl Ingo.
……
A few days later, the assembled fleet left the Red Sea in a mighty manner and arrived at the southern part of Indu. It stayed for a day and continued eastward.
The next stop will be Lijiapo guarding the Strait of Malacca.
According to the plan, we stayed in Lijiapo for three days and continued to Yajiada.
Vincent stayed in Kuching these days and communicated with Wandun via telegram.
Finally an agreement was reached and Du Fei's request was agreed to.
Next, it depends on Du Fei's methods.
The next day, Vincent took a plane back to Xiangjiang to go to the ships he planned to 'give' to Du Fei.
Scraping a mothballed warship is also a very technical job.
Du Fei decided to go to Lijiapo himself.
Once this fleet reaches Yajata, it will be the greatest support for Subian, and Du Fei must stop it.
What's more, it's the first time to cooperate with the capital constitutionalist faction of Huandun. You must flex your muscles and let the other party see your strength before you can cooperate in the future.
Du Fei prepared for two days and arrived at Lijiapo by boat under a pseudonym.
In addition to Cixin, Ding Sitian also came with them, as well as Xiaowu and Xiaohei's crow team, as well as two mice, Xiaohong and Xiaohui... Later, there was also a 20-person team led by Eagle. Elite squad.
Kuching has always had staff stationed in Lijiapo, both openly and covertly.
Du Feilai did not disturb these people.
Because these people are permanent, whether it is an open line or a hidden line, they may have been discovered by the other party long ago.
It was just tacitly understood and left untouched.
Du Fei looking for them would be tantamount to exposing himself.
On the other hand, Aunt Ma San and Uncle Ma San, who had just returned to Lijiapo from Malaysia, were more private and safe.
After Du Fei got off the boat, Ma Sangu and his wife came to the dock to pick him up.
The two knew about Du Fei's situation and behaved very respectfully.
Especially when they saw Ci Xin next to them, their eyes seemed to be electrocuted and they immediately looked away.
At this moment, the uncle Liu Xian they worshiped expressed fear.
The two of them had long known that Du Fei had a great master beside him, who could be called a saint in body and an immortal on land.
At first, Ma Sangu and his wife didn't believe it, but it wasn't until they saw Ci Xin for the first time that they truly understood what it meant to be strong.
Even if Uncle Liu Xian is here in person, he may not be able to defeat this woman in a white dress.
The two of them swallowed and showed more respect to Du Fei.
Being able to have a master like Ci Xin follow them wholeheartedly made them increasingly feel that Du Fei was unfathomable.
Du Fei didn't show any pretense and came to the hotel to stay.
This is near the Raffles Hotel, and Xiaohei's crow team can easily overlook the Raffles Hotel not far across the way.
In the hotel room, Du Fei and Ma Sangu asked about the situation here.
Ma Sangu and the two didn't know Du Fei's real purpose of coming here. Du Fei only asked them to investigate some situations at the Raffles Hotel.
The two acted very measuredly and conducted limited investigations on the periphery, trying to avoid alerting the enemy as much as possible.
Du Fei took out the architectural structure drawing of the hotel and listened while looking at the drawing.
According to the information provided by Vincent, after the fleet arrives in Lijiapo, Li Jing will hold a reception here, and then the fleet's senior officials will stay here.
With this news, Du Fei can calmly make arrangements in advance.
……
Three days later, God seemed less willing to favor the Yingguo people again.
It was rainy on the day when the fleet arrived at Lijiapo. Although Li Jing prepared a grand welcome ceremony, it could not help but be cast in a haze.
Du Fei came to the scene in advance with compassion and sat on the second floor of a cafe near the pier.
The view here is very good, you can see most of the port area, and you can also see the welcome ceremony prepared to welcome the fleet to visit.
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion among the people below.
Du Fei looked out the window and saw a huge black shadow emerging from the haze on the sea in the distance, followed closely by another one after another.
Finally, a few minutes later, the first warship broke through the sea fog and revealed its true gray appearance.
The first ship to break through the haze was the flagship Ampton, a large ship with a displacement of 15000 tons. Although it was an old gunboat with more than 20 years of history, even at this time it still gave people a shocking feeling. Feel.
The sharp and towering bow splits the sea, with two stepped triple turrets on the front, and behind the turrets is a tall bridge and various modernly modified antennas.
Although it looks very messy, it has a rough aesthetic.
Du Fei had never seen with his own eyes a super battleship with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons and a gun caliber close to half a meter. He could only see it on TV or video, so he could not experience the shock.
But just this cruiser of more than 1 tons can still deeply touch his heart.
After Huaxia lost Dingyuan Zhenyuan in the late Qing Dynasty, it completely missed the era of large ships and cannons.
If we count from the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War, we have lost a full 100 years. It was not until decades later that the 055 large-scale drive was launched before Du Fei crossed over that we regained our sense of presence at sea.
Du Fei's thoughts were spinning, and when he came to his senses, the entire fleet had appeared.
At the front are the two largest heavy cruisers of over [-] tons, and behind them are destroyers and frigates from large to small. They are all old-fashioned artillery ships and there are no missile ships.
From here we can also see that the Daiying Empire was indeed declining.
Although the fleet looks bluffing, it is just scraping together feathers. If it really has to face dozens of missile boats and directly launch anti-ship missiles dozens of kilometers away, these ships will be nothing more than large living targets.
But having said that, even if it is a living target, if this fleet is given to Du Fei now, he will definitely accept it happily.
At least in this three-acre area of Nanyang, the two heavy cruisers alone are enough to show off their power.
A few minutes later, with the high-pitched whistle sound, the fleet approached the port area.
Lijiapo was originally the base of the Yingguo fleet, and the port had sufficient berths.
The ships docked one after another, and the band that had been waiting at the dock immediately started playing music.
As the gangway was lowered, a handful of the ship's senior officers came down in their navy uniforms.
The leader was none other than the commander of this voyage, Lewis Shaojiang.
Du Fei had seen through the photos Vincent gave him. This middle-aged and fat young man had a big belly and was pushing his white navy uniform forward.
Standing on the gangway and walking down, his chin was slightly raised, looking very arrogant.
At the bottom of the gangway, Li Jing had been waiting here for a long time. He took two steps forward, with a smile on his face, and stretched out his hands to shake hands.
Young Master Lewis curled his lips inconspicuously, which was considered a courtesy, and stretched out his hand to shake hands.
I don't know if it's an illusion, but the two of them are obviously about the same height, but when they stand together, Li Jing is a head shorter.
At the same time, people who had prepared in advance waved small flags outside the cordon, as if welcoming their relatives.
Du Fei saw this and felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.
It was difficult for him to agree with the behavior of these people, whether it was before time travel or now.
Just yesterday, Du Fei saw the newspaper advocating that he hoped that the Yingguo fleet would return permanently and return to Lijiapo.
Probably this is the sequelae of being colonized, and it will be the same for Dongyang and Nangao in the future~
Du Fei stood on the second floor next to the harbor, looking coldly at the people below who were welcoming and celebrating.
They were not forced, but welcomed them from the bottom of their hearts, as if those huge ships were really here to protect them...
Du Fei sighed and waited silently for the celebration to end. The officers who got off the ship were picked up. The celebrating people left a mess on the ground before he stood up and left.
Cixin didn't speak the whole time, just followed silently, as if she didn't exist at all.
Although it ends here, the welcome celebration does not.
Over at the hotel, there was more activity, especially after the officers left and the sailors disembarked from the ship.
These sailors waved the banknotes in their hands, bringing new consumption.
In the Raffles Hotel, there is another scene of revelry...