activa-t Chapter 39 Do you want to become a pretext for war?
Chapter 39 Do you want to become a pretext for war?
Qin Wenyuan, Luo Baolin, and Cui Cheng, three former Han Chinese executives of a foreign firm, finalized their cooperation agreement while having dinner at a restaurant.
Cui Cheng originally wanted to go back and prepare slowly, but Qin Wenyuan seemed quite anxious.
After the three of them had eaten and drunk their fill, Qin Wenyuan took the two men to his home to discuss more specific ideas.
Qin Wenyuan was clearly confident; after expressing his willingness to cooperate, he directly stated his thoughts:
"We've all been managers, so we know that you can't do business based on rumors; you have to verify things yourself."
"The winds are about to shift, so I suggest the three of us go to Southeast Asia right away to get a firsthand look at the situation there."
"After returning in the summer or autumn, we will go to the government office to register a business, and then rent or buy a storefront."
"We can take our time to discuss the details of the business on the way there and back."
Luo Baolin nodded and said:
"That's how it should be. You can't completely trust these kinds of things; we have to see for ourselves."
Cui Cheng calculated the days:
"Then we have to leave immediately, we can't delay for a moment, we have to leave in the next few days."
The three men made up their minds and the next day they used their old connections to find a ship to Singapore and then gathered their most capable men from the past.
The three men organized a team of eighteen people in total and set sail south by boat on the twenty-fifth day of the first month of the first year of the Han Chang era.
The passenger ship sailed at sea for nearly a month and arrived in Singapore on the morning of February 23.
Singapore is situated at the choke point of the East-West shipping route, boasting a highly advantageous location and excellent port conditions.
Three years ago, it officially replaced Penang and became the new capital of the British Straits Settlements.
At that time, Singapore had a population of nearly 60,000, of which more than half were Chinese, with more than 10,000 local indigenous people, less than 10,000 Indians, and less than 3,000 Europeans.
As the passenger ship carrying Qin Wenyuan and his group slowly approached the port of Singapore, everyone went up to the deck to enjoy the scenery, mainly to observe the situation at the port.
As the passenger ship drew closer to the port, two patrol boats soon appeared ahead, approaching with flag signals.
Upon seeing the flag signal, the captain immediately ordered the sails to be lowered and the speed to be reduced.
Shortly afterward, a patrol boat approached the passenger ship and used a transport boat to send more than thirty soldiers aboard.
About a quarter of them were British, three were Chinese who were probably translators, and the rest were Indians.
The boat captain and several crew members went up to greet them.
Qin Wenyuan and his two companions moved a little closer, wanting to see what all these people were up to on the ship.
The British officer waved his hand, and the Chinese translator stepped forward to inform the shipowner:
"The Governor-General has ordered that all passenger ships from the Han mainland are now prohibited from docking directly."
"Sails must be lowered and anchored outside the dock, and all people and cargo must undergo a full inspection before they can proceed to dock."
The boat captain frequently travels to and from Singapore and knows that this wasn't always the case here.
However, they also understood why this was necessary, so they readily agreed.
Qin Wenyuan vaguely heard what the translator on the other end was saying, and then turned to his companions and began to mutter to themselves:
"The British were indeed terrified, probably worried that there were spies on the ship that the Han came on."
No sooner had Qin Wenyuan finished speaking than the soldiers on the other side fixed their eyes on the group.
The British officer gave a few instructions to the soldiers beside him, and then led them over quickly.
They lined up in an arc, facing Qin Wenyuan and his group.
The officer stood in the middle of the arc, pointed at Qin Wenyuan and the others, and said to the translator beside him:
"Make these people hand over their weapons and tell them that this is the governor's order, and that Han Chinese are not allowed to bring weapons ashore now."
Qin Wenyuan, Luo Baolin and their group were mostly former employees of foreign firms, and most of them could understand British.
Without needing a translator, Qin Wenyuan knew what was going on; the other party seemed to be very concerned about the single-edged sword at his waist.
Luo Baolin felt that these people were overreacting; at this time, cold weapons were only for self-defense.
After understanding the situation, the straightforward Cui Cheng immediately spoke up:
"The Han Dynasty doesn't prohibit the use of cold weapons. We didn't bring any firearms, and you're going to interfere with the few swords we brought?"
The British officer, somewhat surprised that these men could understand British, immediately responded very sternly:
"Singapore belongs to the Straits Settlements of Great Britain, not to your Han territory."
On their way to Singapore, Qin Wenyuan and his two companions had already discussed and prepared for a long time, and reached a consensus.
Given the current situation, considering what I need to do in the future, I believe that I cannot be weak and submissive after arriving in Singapore.
Instead, it's better to be deliberately tough. Although this might put local officials and the military on alert, it will actually make things safer.
Therefore, upon hearing the British officer's words, Cui Cheng immediately retorted with a threatening remark:
"That's hard to say. Maybe next year it will be the territory of the Han Dynasty."
The British officer opposite him was taken aback, then, clearly with a hint of inexplicable anger, shouted:
"What are you saying! Are you declaring war on Great Britain?! I can kill you all right now!"
The British and Indian soldiers around the officer, as long as they could understand what he was saying, instinctively raised their bayonets.
At this moment, Qin Wenyuan spoke up, also using threatening language, but the angle of the threat had changed:
"If you want to give our Emperor a pretext to declare war on Britain."
"An excuse to immediately send troops to seize Singapore and even the entire Straits Settlements."
"You are free to shoot and kill us Chinese merchants from the mainland in Singapore."
"You can go back and ask your governor if he can afford such a price."
Upon hearing the first sentence, the officer opposite clearly felt his dissatisfaction and anger subside.
The pretext of war was indeed something he could not afford, not even the governor could.
When the Foreign Secretary left last year, he specifically instructed the Governor-General and military officers to ensure that they did not have any conflicts with the Chinese.
But faced with this situation, the governor and officers were at a loss as to how to deal with it.
Shortly after the Foreign Minister left, the Great Han suddenly launched an attack on Manila and quickly seized the entire Philippines.
The crucial point is that later reports indicated the large man had killed all the European men in Manila…
Panic quickly gripped the Straits Settlements, which is why they are now being extra cautious of merchant ships coming from the Han mainland.
Just when things seemed to have reached a stalemate, Luo Baolin chuckled and changed his tune:
"Do you think a spy would say such things to you on deck instead of hiding in the cargo hold and getting away with it?"
"We are all ordinary businessmen who were once partners of Jardine Matheson, Dent, and Mr. Russell. We have come to Singapore to find and restore trade routes."
"If you are really worried about the Han army attacking, what you should do is protect the lives and property of the Han people here."
"In this way, if a war really breaks out between the two sides, your lives and property will be protected by the Han Dynasty."
"If you now threaten or even kill the Han merchants here over some trivial matter, with a few swords that are not even a threat to a regular army."
"Then let's think about what will happen to the Spaniards in Manila."
This still contains a clear threatening stance, but it also includes a persuasive stance and offers basic ideas for reconciliation.
The British officer opposite him remained silent for a few seconds, completing a simple thought process in his mind.
Spies always seek secrecy and would never openly confront themselves.
People who argue with themselves like this are usually people of status, and conflicts with them can be very troublesome.
So the officer finally chuckled dryly and said:
"I accept your suggestion. All three of you are polite gentlemen and may continue to wear swords."
"I will instruct our soldiers not to take your swords again, but please obey the governor's other orders."
Luo Baolin cupped his hands in greeting to the British officer:
"I also accept your suggestion that my companions and I will abide by the local laws during our time in the Straits Settlements."
Luo Baolin's statement differed somewhat from the officer's demands; Luo Baolin was adhering to established laws rather than the governor's orders.
But the British officer did not pursue the details further, and the two sides seemed to have compromised.
The British officers ordered the soldiers to split up and begin checking the condition of the other people and cargo on the cargo ship.
This passenger ship is just an ordinary civilian passenger ship that will carry some ordinary, routine cargo, but there is nothing risky about it.
The soldiers searched the entire ship inside and out for more than two hours, but found nothing before allowing the passenger ship to dock at the designated berth.
After the British soldiers and officers left, Cui Cheng couldn't help but complain to his two companions:
"These Britons are really scared now; they quickly back down the moment we show even the slightest bit of toughness."
Qin Wenyuan laughed directly:
"Of course they were afraid. The Han Dynasty deployed 60,000 regular troops and 60,000 militia to fight directly in Luzon."
"In the months following the end of the battle, another 200,000 people were successively sent over."
"According to Jardine's previous account, the Straits Settlements should have had fewer than two thousand British soldiers, as well as some Indian constables and servants."
"There should only be 600 soldiers in Singapore."
"If the Han Dynasty launches an attack here, they will definitely not be able to hold this city and will only be able to consider how to surrender gracefully."
"Their current vigilance is just for show; they're all bark and no bite..."
Luo Baolin thought for a moment and said:
"They must have already sent news from Luzon back to Britain."
"However, in a place like this, it seems pointless for Britain to send more troops."
"They can only send a maximum of 30,000 troops across half the globe."
Qin Wenyuan and Cui Cheng immediately agreed, saying that even if Britain wanted to send more troops, it would be useless.
For the Han Dynasty, these colonists from afar were actually easier to conquer than the local natives.
Qin Wenyuan and his group were quite relaxed, as they had now discovered the weaknesses of these Westerners.
The governors and military officers here are all ordinary officials; none of them are capable of taking on the responsibility of directly waging war against the Han Dynasty.