Just as Fang Lang led three Brazilian warships to rest in Japan and complete his layout in Japan, the Brazilian presidential election was in full swing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
As the incumbent president, Mr. Dutra originally thought he would have the greatest chance of winning, but as time went by, opinion polls from all over the country showed that his support rate seemed to be getting lower and lower.
This made him begin to realize that something was wrong. The largest financial group in Brazil now was undoubtedly Fangyuan Group. Because he had the full support of Fang Lang when he first came to power, he naturally thought that Fangyuan Group would continue to support him.
But the reality taught him a good lesson. Fangyuan Group did not seem to want to interfere in the presidential election. But the most popular presidential candidate, Scalia from Sao Paulo State, has a close relationship with Fangyuan Group.
São Paulo is the headquarters of Fangyuan Group. Many of the achievements Scalia made in São Paulo have the shadow of Fangyuan Group behind them. Even if Fangyuan Group does not make a clear statement to the outside world, he knows the connection between the two.
This made him very anxious, and he had to take the initiative to contact Fang Lang, but surprisingly, Fang Lang had already led three warships to visit the Far East on behalf of the Brazilian Navy.
Because this was a normal military visit activity invited by the British Royal Navy's Far East Fleet and agreed to by Defense Minister Marshal Moraes, he was not aware of it originally. Now when he found out, the fleet had already rested at the US Naval Base in Japan, and it was impossible to recall the other party.
It was even more impossible to get the other party's support when he couldn't even meet him, so in the end he had no choice but to give up asking Fang Lang for help. This kind of thing definitely couldn't be communicated via telegram.
Moreover, he is not a fool. Fang Lang went on a visit at this time without informing him, which means that Fang Lang does not want to get involved in the current presidential election activities.
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In fact, as early as when he announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, he had already sensed the change in the political wind direction, but he did not pay enough attention to it. By the time he reacted now, it seemed that everything was too late.
Just as President Dutra was anxiously running around for his presidency, the three Brazilian Navy warships led by Fang Lang had left the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan and officially headed for the port city.
The day after Fang Lang left Yokosuka Port, John Clark's mother and sister came to Japan in the name of visiting relatives. After a conversation with John, his mother decided on the spot to take out all the family savings to set up an agricultural and sideline products production company in Japan. She began to use John Clark's identity as a US military officer and Joseph Clark's relationship to enclose a large amount of land in Japan and signed vegetable planting agreements with local farmers.
At one time, many lands that were planned to be used to grow grain the next year quietly began to change the types of crops planted. This directly led to a 15 percentage point drop in Japan's grain output in 1950. In contrast, the output of various vegetables increased several times. If this American company had not fulfilled its promise and purchased all the vegetables, Japan's agriculture might have suffered another serious blow.
But even though Japan's agriculture did not suffer a significant impact, due to the reduction in grain production, Japan's food supply, which had just improved, immediately faced a new shock, and grain prices skyrocketed for a time.
The Nice Company under Fang Lang took the opportunity to sell a batch of grain at a high price. This was an unexpected surprise for the companies under Fang Lang, and it also gave them an opportunity to control the Japanese grain market.
Of course, these are all things that happened later. After leaving Yokosuka, Fang Lang did not pass through the Gulf Strait as originally planned, but went directly around the Philippine Sea and went straight down to the port city.
The distance of this route is a little far. After more than a week of sailing, the fleet of three warships of the Brazilian Navy led by Fang Lang slowly appeared at the British naval base in the Oriental Pearl Port City.
The British Royal Naval Base at that time was located in the prosperous Central area in later generations. Because the naval base also had a maintenance dock, a golden bronze bell was hung at the door of the dock. Every time it was time to go to get off work or leave, the guard would ring the bell to signal. Over time, the residents nearby simply used the bell to plan their day's schedule, and also called this area the Golden Bell.
This is now the most important naval base of the British in Hong Kong. By the end of 1959, it became part of land reclamation at the request of the British Hong Kong government. After the reclamation, the Harcourt Road Interchange was built, which greatly improved the traffic from Central to Wan Chai.
Of course, these are all later stories. At this moment, the Admiralty Naval Base was filled with warships. Although the new regime in the Far East had already recaptured the Flower City next to the port city as early as mid-October and deployed troops outside the concession, it had no intention of sending troops directly into the port city.
But the British Hong Kong government did not dare to relax at all. After all, they had nearly 200,000 powerful troops deployed next to them. More importantly, if the British government really wanted to retake the port city, they would not even need to send a single soldier. They only needed to cut off the supply of drinking water and food to the port city, and the port city would not be able to survive for even a month.
These words were not said by people from the new regime in his hometown, but were said by the then Governor of Hong Kong, Alexander Grantham, himself. Therefore, the atmosphere in Hong Kong at this time was very tense.
In addition, the British were worried that their interests in China would be damaged, so they took the initiative to support Chiang Kai-shek. When the new regime moved south, they sent their own destroyer HMS Amethyst to cruise the Yangtze River. After being repeatedly warned by the new regime, they still arrogantly ignored it, and as a result, they were beaten to pieces by the new regime's army artillery.
At this time, the destroyer Amethyst was waiting for repairs in Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong. The experience of the Amethyst also made the British realize the situation at the time and realized that they had almost no chance of winning against the new regime head-on, but they could not give up their last fig leaf in the Far East.
Therefore, about 10,000 marines were stationed on Hong Kong Island, ready to block the attack of the new regime at any time. At this moment, the warships stationed in the Admiralty Naval Port were ready to fight at any time.
The sudden visit of the Brazilian Navy at this time was seen by the British as a way of supporting the British, although the proud British Empire Navy did not think that the Brazilian Navy had much combat effectiveness.
But Brazil was able to choose to send warships to visit the port city during this special period. The political significance of this matter is far greater than the military significance. No matter how arrogant the British look down on the Brazilian Navy, they must show their enthusiasm to thank the Brazilian Navy for this timely help.
Therefore, the specifications of the Brazilian naval fleet that came to welcome Fang Lang this time were quite high. Not only were there the highest commanders of the British Navy and Marines, but also a number of senior officials of the Hong Kong British government headed by Governor Grantham.
Many reporters from local newspapers in the port city also heard the news and surrounded the entire military port.
Fang Lang, who was standing by the side of the ship, glanced at the welcoming team and whispered to Qi Qingshan beside him:
"It seems that the British are determined to make a big fuss about our visit! This is a typical case of being powerful on the outside but weak on the inside. The once mighty British Empire is now just a mere facade."
Upon hearing this, Qi Qingshan glanced at the crowd below and said:
"This is our Chinese territory, why can't we see a few Chinese people?"
"The British are still in charge here, just wait a little longer! It won't be long. As long as my hometown can defeat the arrogant Western powers on the peninsula, the Chinese in Hong Kong will naturally gain some confidence. This is a process of decline and gain. Wait another ten years or so, and you will find that more and more Chinese appear in such occasions.
When the land lease expires, the British will naturally hand the land back to their homeland."
Qi Qingshan had done some research on Hong Kong before coming here. After hearing what Fang Lang said, he was a little surprised:
"Boss, what you mean is that our hometown will want to take this place back someday? Will the British agree? We won't have to fight then, will we?"
Fang Lang smiled when he heard this:
"How dare the British disagree? They can't even defend places like India and Malaysia, let alone a place like Hong Kong, which has no strategic depth at all.
The reason why they can still survive now is simply that the new regime in their hometown needs such a window.
As for the last battle, do you think the British can win?"
That's why Fang Lang felt confident that the British had no chance of winning. Chinese people like Qi Qingshan, who have lived in Brazil since childhood, don't know much about the strength of their hometown and are still somewhat unsure.
"Boss, this was once the empire on which the sun never sets! Look at these warships, their strength is still there."
Hearing this, Fang Lang glanced at Qi Qingshan and realized that he felt that his hometown might not be able to defeat the British, but he did not say much. After all, his hometown had been weak for many years, and the Western powers had once been able to knock on the country's door with just a warship. It was normal for outsiders to have no confidence in his hometown.
But the new regime in his hometown will soon tell everyone with facts that such history is completely over. Patting Qi Qingshan's arm, Fang Lang looked at the back of the port city with burning eyes and said in a firm tone:
"You will soon see the strength of my hometown. I hope you won't be shocked when the time comes!"
Qi Qingshan also couldn't understand where Fang Lang's confidence came from, but as he watched Fang Lang walk down the gangway with his head held high, a hint of expectation emerged from deep in his heart. As a Chinese, who doesn't want their motherland to be strong?
Without having time to think, he took a few quick steps and quickly caught up with Fang Lang, quickly walking down the pier. A group of Brazilian naval officers also followed behind the two of them and walked quickly towards the dock.
With the arrival of the fleet, majestic military music had already sounded on the dock. The British navy, lined up in neat formation, were looking with a little curiosity at the Brazilian rear admiral in front of them, who was obviously different from the image of Brazilians in their minds.
The local officials who had lived in the port city for a long time could tell at a glance that this person was most likely a Chinese, which soon led to whispers of discussion in the welcoming team.
Fang Lang didn't care about this at all. He just smiled and politely shook hands with the British garrison officers in Hong Kong who came forward to welcome him. Among them was Fang Lang's good friend Reinhardt, who was already a lieutenant colonel in the British Royal Navy at that time.
He was the happiest person in the whole welcoming team. After all, in this special period, Fang Lang, as a good brother, was able to bring a warship to help him. This was more than just a simple friendship.
"Haha...long time no see, my good brother. Thank you very much for coming all the way here to help at this time."
Looking at the excited Reinhardt, Fang Lang smiled and gave him a big hug. This made a group of British officers look at him sideways. They were all very familiar with the son of the Royal Navy Chief of Staff. This guy was a very arrogant person. No one expected that he would be so enthusiastic towards a Brazilian Rear Admiral today.
Some British officers who knew the inside story were not surprised. In fact, there were several naval officers who were very familiar with Reinhardt and had heard him mention his Brazilian friend many times.
"There's no need to talk about this between brothers. Just take me to see the prosperity of Hong Kong City when you have time."
He patted the other person on the back and walked towards the next person. He couldn't tell the other person that he was just here to get some peace and quiet. As long as you don't run into other people's guns, there will be no war in Hong Kong City.
This kind of welcome ceremony has a fixed process. Everyone greets each other to the sound of the military band's music, says a few words of welcome, and then it ends.
Compared to communicating with the British troops stationed in Hong Kong, Fang Lang was more interested in the leaders of the British Hong Kong government. After all, he had already laid out his plans in Hong Kong Island and opened many companies, both openly and secretly. The future development potential of Hong Kong Island is worth looking forward to.
"Mr. Governor, nice to meet you!"
"General, on behalf of the British Hong Kong government, I welcome you. I will host a banquet for you at the Governor's Mansion tonight! I hope you can come."
“Haha…it’s my honor, Mr. Governor, I will definitely attend on time.
In fact, my family also has a lot of businesses in Hong Kong Island, and I hope to take this opportunity to communicate with you more during this visit."
Governor Grantham of Hong Kong certainly had some understanding of Fang Lang's situation. He was not at all surprised by Fang Lang's idea. He nodded at Fang Lang with a smile on his face and said:
"Thank you very much for your trust in the Hong Kong City Government. I am also looking forward to communicating with a business genius like you. After the banquet tonight, we can make an appointment to meet alone. Is that okay with you?"
Of course Fang Lang readily agreed to this. Even if the Governor didn't mention it, Fang Lang was ready to take the initiative to talk to him.
"Of course, I plan to stay in Hong Kong for about a month. Just let me know when it's convenient for you."
The two shook hands and had a brief conversation, and a meeting that both parties needed was directly reached. Next, Grantham introduced Fang Lang to a group of Hong Kong British government officials.
The one who attracted Fang Lang's attention the most was naturally the Police Commissioner Mai Jingtao, who was often mentioned in later movies. Hong Kong was in a period of chaos at this time. Although Fangyuan Group used various means to transfer most of the people who fled from their hometown to Brazil.
But some of the refugees who did not want to go to Brazil stayed and chose to come to the port city to make a living. Most of these people were from eastern Guangdong who spoke the same dialect.
Some defeated Kuomintang soldiers also hid in the port city. This chaotic situation made the public security and people's livelihood issues in the port city very prominent.
Various underworld organizations are rampant, and the Hongmen Dashengtang in Gangcheng, which is also a branch of the Hongmen, is developing rapidly. According to Fang Xinshui, the Hongmen Dashengtang in Gangcheng has developed into a branch with more than 10,000 people.
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