Chapter 520: The Ming Fleet, Our Pride (First Update, Please Subscribe)
March 25, 1871, Singapore Port.
The bows of the two ironclad ships, "Tianlong" and "Qinglong", cut through the white waves on the sea and slowly sailed into the harbor.
Both sides of the warship were filled with sailors. These sailors, wearing white sailor caps and mastless caps, stood on the side, looking at the port curiously.
This is their first visit to Singapore.
Zhao Yongfu and Meng Qingen were both standing in the bridge, watching everything happening before their eyes.
Singapore appeared before them, and they looked at the white sails in the harbor, many of which were 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 founded this city. 90% of the residents here are Chinese!"
Zhao Yongfu said.
"But... the flag flying here is the British flag!"
The city may have been founded by the Chinese, but the land and the city belonged to the British. The Chinese were just a group of immigrants under British rule, and they didn't even have any political power!
There were two British ironclad ships moored in the harbor. The Royal Navy sailors in sailor uniforms just took a look at the two ironclad ships that visited, and that was all. As the most important port in the Strait of Malacca, warships passed by this port almost every day.
This is just a normal passing by!
Yes, just passing by!
Amid the long whistle, the anchor sank to the bottom of the sea, dragging the chain with it. More than a dozen small boats had gathered around the two warships. The boatmen on the boats were holding baskets of fruits and vegetables and shouting in stiff English words.
"Don't take that, don't take that..."
Holding the basket, Chen Asheng kept shouting in foreign languages at the people on the boat. Even though those people looked similar to him, he still shouted in foreign languages. After all, there were only foreign warships in Singapore.
It should not be said that there are only foreign warships on the sea.
"My fellow villager, can you speak Mandarin?"
The sudden words from the side of the ship made Chen Asheng stunned, holding the basket in amazement. Because of the light behind him, it took Chen Asheng a while to see the sailors on the side of the ship clearly. They looked like Chinese.
Mandarin?
If it were an ordinary person, he probably wouldn't be able to speak it. But Chen Ahsheng used to do business with the Manchus in Guangzhou. Although he couldn't speak well, he could still say a few words, so he spoke in the stiff and tongue-twisting Mandarin.
"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 China. They are all Chinese!"
"My friend, how do you sell these bananas?"
When he heard that someone wanted to buy his bananas, Chen Asheng waved his hands repeatedly.
"No, no, this, this..."
"What's wrong? Why don't you sell it?"
"This, this banana is to deceive the foreigners, a lot of them are rotten at the bottom. We all came from the Qing Dynasty, no, we can't deceive our own people."
When doing business at the dock, you must cheat people, but you can't cheat 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 the Ming fleet!"
"What? Da, Daming?"
Chen Ahsheng was dumbfounded. Not only was he dumbfounded, but soon the entire port was dumbfounded. Everyone stared at the warships and the soldiers on the warships in astonishment. Only then did he see clearly that there were white square characters written on the brims of the sailors' hats. What were those characters? He only recognized the word "大".
Ming Dynasty?
Didn’t the Ming Dynasty perish long ago?
How come you're alive again!
The shirtless Chinese laborers at the dock looked at the "Sun and Moon Flag" flying on the warship and chanted "The sun and the moon hang in the blue sky" in their mouths. Is this the national flag of the Ming Dynasty?
Ming Dynasty...
Did the Ming Dynasty really survive?
Although the "Letter to All Nations" announced the revival of the Ming Dynasty in restrained words and spread from Europe to East Asia, it all seemed unfamiliar to the Chinese in Singapore. After all, they lived in two completely different worlds from the Westerners who ruled here.
Now, facing the revival of the Ming Dynasty, people have complicated emotions. Although after the Manchus entered the Pass, all official and unofficial histories of the Ming Dynasty were strictly prohibited, and even "The Biography of the Heroes of the Ming Dynasty" was listed as a banned book and destroyed, it did not prevent people from passing on the Ming Dynasty orally.
The Ming Dynasty... Even though it cannot be said to be what one's soul is attached to or what one dreams about, what is certain is that everyone has that in mind.
This, this is a Ming Dynasty warship!
For some reason, when everyone saw these two warships, they felt an inexplicable sense of pride in their hearts.
"Brother Xu, hurry up and get some firecrackers. The warships coming are from the Ming Dynasty!"
Before the boat even reached the dock, Chen Asheng was already yelling at the leading man on the dock.
"Yes, yes, firecrackers, firecrackers, quick, Adong, go over there quickly, and tell Master Fang, tell him that the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has been restored!"
When the people on the dock were in some excited chaos, sailors began to walk down the gangway. There were more than a hundred sailors, wearing beautiful white sailor uniforms, holding Type 70 rifles, with pride on their faces. These strong and sturdy sailors immediately caused cheers as soon as they stepped onto the port.
"They are worthy of being soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. They look so energetic!"
"Look, even the foreign devils can't compare to this..."
The coolies on the dock, whether they were from Guangdong or Fujian, couldn't help but cheer for the government troops. In the past, they were used to seeing foreign sailors from England, France, Italy, Prussia, etc., who looked very energetic. When they thought of the appearance of the government troops in the mainland, they naturally lost their spirits. But now, when they saw the sailors from the Ming Dynasty, looking at their tall and sturdy figures, they couldn't help but cheer for these handsome sailors.
While cheering, their tone was also filled with pride, as if at this moment they had also become people of the Ming Dynasty. There was nothing wrong with this, after all, the Ming Dynasty was also China.
Besides, these people, like them, are descendants of Yan and Huang! It is natural to be proud of these sailors.
When the military band played the "Naval March", the only sound on the dock was the passionate military music. Amid the passionate military music, Colonel Orwell, deputy commander of the Royal Navy's China Fleet, who came to welcome the fleet, was surprised.
"Is this... your march?"
The strange and exciting melody felt very fresh, and he asked this question because he had never heard it before.
Squadron Commander Meng Qingen replied.
"Yes, this is our Navy March!"
"Navy March" is Zhu Xianhai's plagiarism of the Soviet Union's "Guards Navy Flag March". In the past few years, he did not copy the military music of the Soviet Union and other countries. Of course, these are original works in this era. It is for this reason that Meng Qingen said with great pride.
"This is a song that His Majesty specially composed for the Navy!"
What!
The emperor himself composed music for their navy, 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 in goose step and shouted.
"Commander! The sailors have lined up! Please review them!"
"Colonel, please!"
The inspection at the dock was just in accordance with international practice, but Colonel Orwell, who had been observing these sailors, came to an answer in his mind through the sailors' gathering, formation, and the spirit they displayed.
"No wonder their army was able to defeat the Prussians in France. If the quality of their army was close to that of their sailors, they would definitely be able to defeat the Prussians!"
"Even without an airship, they can do it!"
Perhaps Colonel Orwell was only 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 warships, but also 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...
(End of this chapter)
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