Chapter 25

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Inside the manager's office at Taikoo Dock, British merchant Tomson was meeting two squad leaders of the Third Regiment United Defense Corps: Scarface and Wuji.

"Who let you two barge in here? This is property of the British Empire. If the Grand Marshal's Office sees you storming in like this, isn't it outright proof that I'm colluding with you?!" Tomson sat behind his desk, berating Scarface and Wuji.

Scarface hadn't thought so much; he only knew the Grand Marshal's Office wouldn't easily lay hands on foreigners, so he'd fled wherever was safe.

The translator conveyed Tomson's English to the two men, and Scarface said somewhat helplessly, "Manager Tomson, our guns were issued by you, and we set out from here—where else should we return?"

"Yeah, yeah, we can't even get back to Xiguan now. No boats—how do we cross the Pearl River? Are we supposed to swim?" Wuji chimed in.

"Idiots, you took the guns at night, but it's daytime now. You can't come here in broad daylight—you're telling everyone I'm supporting your attack on the Grand Marshal's Office. This puts me in a terrible position. How are all of Chen Lianbo's men like this!" Tomson took a sharp drag on his cigarette, trying to calm himself.

"Then... what should we do now..." Scarface asked tentatively.

"Board the ship immediately. I'll take you two back to Xiguan. You can be anywhere right now, just not on British turf!"

"Not good! Manager Tomson, a group of Chinese soldiers has surrounded our dock!" The foreign policeman in charge of dock security burst in through the door.

"What?!" Tomson stood up at once. "Don't let anyone from the Merchant Corps come out of the warehouse!"

Outside Taikoo Dock, over two hundred Whampoa Student Army troops had already spread out, monitoring the dock's movements.

"Can this work? This is foreign turf..." Liu Zhi stood with hands on his hips, looking worried.

"It's fine. This isn't the Shameen Concession—Taikoo Dock sits on our land. Inside are only a dozen or so foreign policemen seconded from the concession. We have solid grounds to arrest the rebel elements." He Yingqin carefully observed the situation inside the dock and replied.

More than a dozen timber carts tried to enter the dock to unload, but were stopped by Lv Muzhi, Chen Geng, and others.

Tomson watched from upstairs, cursed "fuck," then went downstairs to negotiate.

"We're from Taikoo Steamship Company. Taikoo Shipping is property of the British Empire. What are you doing? Are you declaring war on the British Empire?!" Tomson arrogantly pointed to his country's flag.

The translator translated Tomson's words, and Chief Instructor He Yingqin stepped forward: "Mr. Tomson, we've discovered that the armed elements who attacked the Grand Marshal's Office this morning entered Taikoo Dock, so we've deployed troops solely to protect the safety of British merchants."

"Protect our safety?" Tomson looked suspicious. "Then why won't you let my timber in?"

"Please calm down. Before we enter to search, please halt all dock operations to prevent the armed elements from escaping in the chaos."

"Cease operations? I'll protest to Acting Grand Marshal Hu Hanming! Do you know how much loss this will cause? Can you afford to compensate?"

"You pay?" Tomson pointed at He Yingqin's nose. "Or you pay?" Tomson then pointed at Liu Zhi's nose.

Seeing this British merchant's stubborn attitude, Liu Zhi couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Protest? Want compensation? Hu Hanming was almost killed by the rebels. Now whoever shelters rebels is suspected of hiring murderers—and the victim is the Acting Grand Marshal. That's interference in another country's internal affairs!"

Everyone turned to look behind Liu Zhi and found it was Lv Muzhi speaking, looking shocked.

Tomson was also shocked, not that Lv Muzhi spoke English, but that Lv Muzhi's English had a grammatical error and was American pronunciation.

Tomson immediately mocked: "I don't know which American cowboy this gentleman learned his English from. When speaking to citizens of the British Empire, one should use proper British English."

"Haha, the British Empire lags behind its son, the United States, in every respect—only English pronunciation is something to boast about. Don't worry about whether my English is proper. Taikoo Shipping is in big trouble now; first, you're suspected of harboring criminals; second, the harbor mouth has been blockaded, so your ships can't go out or come in; third, you're already surrounded. If you don't let us search, the blockade won't be lifted." Lv Muzhi replied in his not-very-fluent English.

"Blockade? You say blockade and it's blockaded? With those few broken ships of yours?" Tomson looked smug, as if hearing a joke, and laughed heartily.

This drew the Whampoa Student Army on scene to exchange glances, thinking this foreign devil had gone mad.

At this moment, several newspaper offices also noticed the anomaly at Taikoo Dock and had already sent reporters to Taikoo Dock, even taking a set of photographs of Lv Muzhi and Tomson.

"Manager! Not good. The cargo ship sent to Shanghai two hours ago has now returned. According to the captain, the Grand Marshal's Office warships really have blockaded the Humen Waterway!" The steward in charge of dispatching dock vessels reported this bad news.

Tomson seemed to hear a thunderclap from a clear sky. Sun Dapao was for real!

If so, they should immediately request support from the Emperor Chuo fleet stationed in Hong Kong.

"Do as you please. I'll say one thing: the Merchant Corps people aren't here. If you want to use force, just shoot. Killing foreign policemen would cause an international dispute!" Tomson tossed off a line and turned back into the dock.

More than a dozen foreign policemen immediately stepped forward, using their bodies to block the dock gate, not allowing the Whampoa Student Army to enter.

But He Yingqin and Lv Muzhi weren't anxious. Short-selling Taikoo Shipping needed time to ferment. The Whampoa Student Army only needed to surround Taikoo Dock, while the British had much to consider.

Tomson returned to his office and received a call for help from Chen Lianbo: "Mr. Tomson, quickly request the Empire's fleet. I hear the Northern Expedition army is hurrying back. If the fleet doesn't intervene, the Merchant Corps Uprising will fail!"

"We've spent so many years in Guangdong Province, spent so much money, raised so many people—it would all be wasted!"

Chen Lianbo's words reminded Tomson that he had used Taikoo Shipping to transport arms for the Merchant Corps, that the HSBC president provided funds. If Chen Lianbo really fell, the Consulate General pulling strings... if they failed, all previous investment would come to nothing.

"Mr. Chen, wait. I'll contact the Consul General immediately and dispatch the Imperial fleet!"

Humen Waterway. Five warships from Whampoa Military Academy lined up abreast, imposing a tight blockade on the Pearl River.

To the east, over ten foreign warships sailed out from Hong Kong's port and met the Whampoa Military Academy fleet on a narrow road.

"Commander Maddie, enemy fleet sighted fifteen degrees to port!"

On a heavy cruiser serving as flagship, a foreign sailor reported the lookout's discovery.

"Shit, with these broken ships they think they can block our fleet?" Lieutenant General Maddie, commander of the British Hong Kong Fleet, looked on with disdain on the flagship.

"Commander, we haven't received orders from the homeland. Is it appropriate to dispatch the fleet based solely on the Consulate General's request? You know, those officials in the Imperial Consulate General and Chinese and foreign merchants all have huge vested interests..." The captain reminded him from the side.

Lieutenant General Maddie didn't mind: "Don't worry about it! The Empire will only be pleased by the expansion of power. If it succeeds, the Empire won't pursue it. If it fails, the Empire just needs to replace the Consul General and claim it was the Consul General's personal action, not representing the Empire's stance!"

The flagship captain exclaimed admiringly: "Good. The so-called Grand Marshal in Guangzhou City isn't on our level at all. If this interference in the Merchant Corps Incident fails, just apologize—they can't do anything to us. If it succeeds, we can install a friendly regime, and the Empire's trade will be smoother!"

The flagship captain exclaimed admiringly: "Good, that so-called Grand Marshal in Cheng Nei isn't even on the same level as us. Provided that our intervention in the Merchant Corps Incident fails, we just need to apologize, and they can do nothing to us; if it succeeds, we can install a political power friendly to us, and the Empire's trade will run more smoothly!"