Lin Mengchu soon understood what he had discovered. It was definitely a big discovery, an astonishing discovery. This was an astonishing amount of wealth.
??Philippine National Treasury! Yes, this is the entire wealth of the Philippine colonies, the entire culmination of three hundred years of Spanish management, oppression, deception, and exploitation.
In the past three hundred years, Manila was only briefly occupied by the British during the Seven Years' War, but was soon returned to Spain. The Spanish governors and bishops all believed that the Governor's Palace in Manila should cover the entire Philippines and even the entire Far East. The safest place.
Therefore, in front of Lin Mengchu's eyes were countless boxes with lacquer seals. After just opening one or two boxes, Lin Mengchu's breathing became rapid.
Gold coins, these are all gold coins. He has never seen so many gold coins. How much are so many gold coins worth?
Everywhere you see it, there is glittering gold. This is a genuine Spanish gold coin, like a dream.
He couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. This was just two boxes opened. If all the boxes in rows and rows were opened, how many gold coins would there be?
Even if some of the boxes inside are not gold coins, but silver coins commonly used in China, this is enough. He can retire now!
He quickly remembered a lot of pain in the past. He remembered that just a few years ago, he was so anxious that his family couldn't even come up with a hundred cents for the New Year. In the end, his wife pawned the silver hairpin he had brought with him as a dowry. I barely passed a Spring Festival with painful memories.
¡°Another time, he made a bet and owed 600 yuan, which he couldn¡¯t pay back. As a result, he was slapped with dozens of debts by his creditors, and he almost lost his life. Also during the New Year, he didn¡¯t even have a cotton-padded coat at home
Three years ago in the spring, he was just the leader of a group of warriors, if Zhou Xiuying hadn't sheathed his saber casually. Maybe there is no Lin Mengchu now. He is fine now. But after thinking about it for a long time, he still didn't think about where the word "good" was. He only saw a lot of red blood next to the box?
This is how the same thing? Lin Mengchu's mind suddenly trembled, and he woke up from the rows of gold boxes. He glanced at the officer standing upright: "What's going on?"
"Some soldiers discovered this place and caused a riot. The scene was very chaotic. Seeing that the situation was not right, he fired a warning shot and then drew a knife and killed another person. Finally, order was maintained." The officer's clothes were still bloody. .
Lin Mengchu breathed a sigh of relief. It must have been this person who informed him of the big discovery: "Are you a political officer?"
He soon discovered that he had made a mistake. The middle-aged man's epaulettes clearly indicated that he was a combat officer. He also smiled and said: "I am a platoon leader of the **6th Battalion."
Lin Mengchu became a little nervous again. Why is this little platoon leader so ignorant? He is not a political officer, why should he have trouble with the soldiers of the Marine Battalion?
This person is actually not one of those extremely fanatical political officers. How could he not be tempted when he saw so much gold? But standing in his position, he had to appreciate this ignorant platoon leader: "I want to know why you are not moved after seeing so much gold? You are the most honest officer I have ever seen."
"It's not that I'm unmoved. I've seen such a tragedy once. Three lives for fifteen hundred cents!" The platoon leader replied: "One life is only worth five hundred cents, and two families were ruined afterwards. It cost several hundred coins.¡±
Lin Mengchu calmed down immediately. He didn't know what kind of madness this platoon leader had experienced, but the case of one bird with nine lives in the Qing Dynasty found that in Hangzhou, a little oriole actually took away nine lives, let alone Boxes and boxes of gold.
He suddenly thought clearly. So what can more gold do? How much can you take away? Three years ago, he was still a useless leader of a small group. Three years later, he is already standing here, and even has the opportunity to command millions of people in the entire Philippines!
He no longer cares about how much gold or silver there is, nor does he know whether these silver coins are Spanish currency or Spanish eagles. He just knows one thing very well. He is now standing on the cliff.
Perhaps his 2,300 soldiers would go crazy because of the distribution of this gold and silver, and even initiate a civil war. After all, no one could distribute this gold and silver more evenly. If the platoon leader hadn't stopped him, Perhaps it has turned into a self-inflicted drama, and the elite troops that might even easily conquer Manila collapsed because of such a sum of gold and silver.
He has seen such a scene before. His father and his uncle have been at odds with each other for more than 20 years. Not only do the two families not communicate with each other, but they often yell at each other and use their fists when they meet. This kind of hatred has settled into the family.In the house, what is the reason why the brothers turned against each other? He only found out last year that it was actually for a wall. His father was greedy for advantages when the family was divided. When the land deed was established, he took advantage of others and assigned the foundation of a public wall to his own name. The incident was exposed. After that, all the old accounts from the past were brought out, which led to the brothers' estrangement for more than 20 years, and they did not interact with each other during holidays.
He broke into a cold sweat and told himself, Lin Mengchu, Lin Mengchu, why are you coveting this little gold? You are now the leader with the most merit in the Hong Army, and you have a bright future. More importantly, you are only thirty-one years old today, can't you still earn a family fortune?
He was particularly impressed by the little platoon leader, and this time he appreciated it from the bottom of his heart. He asked, "What's your name? In what year did you join the army?"
The platoon leader smiled and showed his teeth: "Ye Huaizhi, joined the army in Hongqiao in the fourth year of Xianfeng period of the puppet Qing Dynasty and participated in the Hongqiao Uprising."
How can it be? He himself was a cadre who only joined the army in Taizhou in the spring of the fifth year of Xianfeng. This Ye Huaizhi actually joined the army in December of the fourth year of Xianfeng? Is that the old man from Longqian Camp or Nanxi Camp? Why is he now a platoon leader? You must know that the cadres of that period, no matter how bad they are now, should have a position such as deputy battalion commander. What's more, Ye Huaizhi handles things neatly and neatly, so he is an extremely talented person.
Seeing the puzzled look on Lin Mengchu¡¯s face, Ye Huaizhi smiled frankly: ¡°I¡¯m not joining the Hong Army.¡±
Only then did Lin Mengchu realize that this person should have joined the Red Scarf Army, which caused a delay of one or two years. Otherwise, he would never be a platoon leader now, but this qualification was enough. Lin Mengchu suddenly changed his epaulette with He tore off the collar badge and pinned it to Ye Huaizhi himself: "Here you go, my authority only has so much!"
He handed his pistol, pocket watch and telescope to Ye Huaizhi: "From now on, you will be my deputy! Every officer and soldier of our Philippine Expeditionary Force must execute your order. What you did was extremely correct. I'm sorry, I only have so much authority, and I only have so much honor for you!"
Ye Huaizhi was stunned. He stood there and said in a daze: "I just think that the lives of so many of our officers and soldiers are priceless. It is too cheap to buy their lives with these gold and silver!"
"That's right!" Lin Chumeng's eyes no longer stayed on the gold. He said loudly: "You are right. The life of every soldier is priceless. From now on, the national treasury will be sealed. Everything has You are responsible and do not allow any actions that disobey your orders, not even by me!"
Lin Mengchu has expanded his goals to the entire Luzon, the entire Philippines, and the entire world: "Let's go find Mr. Napley and Mr. Sun Tianwei. We still have a lot to do"
"Also, ask Zhang Sigui and the Army for support. To occupy the entire Philippines, at least one infantry regiment of reinforcements is needed. Let the Navy prepare a fast ship immediately and be ready to transport important supplies!"
Among the previous rulers of Manila, Lin Mengchu may not be the strongest, but he is definitely the one who makes the smartest choices.
On the eve of meeting Huo Qiu, Liu Chang received an urgent report from Lin Mengchu from the Philippines. After reading the most urgent military information, he raised his head and said: "Huo Du, Lin Mengchu has sent good news from Manila. So please keep waiting!"
Huo Qiu would not dare to accept such a title. He was about to kneel down in front of Liu Chang: "Your Majesty is serious about your words. Your Majesty has many things to do, and he was able to receive the minister for an hour and a half despite his busy schedule. The minister is very frightened!"
He has already seen the schedule. There will be an extended hour of conversation time between him and Liu Chang. Among the people he met today, this is already the most time. Many people only have fifteen or even ten minutes. , some people are even destined to wait in vain for a day.
This is the limitation of the time allocation of the superiors. No matter how energetic they are and how wise they are, their time is ultimately limited. The time they have to deal with affairs in a day is also limited. Even the rulers of the Qing Dynasty The diligence of the emperor must also be restricted in all aspects. For example, the emperor should generally not handle more than 200 memorials in a day. If there were more, it would drag the emperor himself down, or create a situation where the memorials could not be processed.
The same goes for Liu Chang. He spends at least four hours every day processing various classified confidential documents. He also has to spend several hours meeting with ministers from all sides who come to report. These powerful ministers form the cornerstone of the empire and are the key to its rule. spine, Liu Chang had to ventilate with them many times before making major decisions.
Liu Chang smiled and helped Huo Qiu up: "Huo Du, you are now in Nanchang, and there are fewer opportunities for us to meet each other, so there is no need to be polite. If you have anything to do, it's better to just say it. Tianzong How to deal with the problem?Got it? "
Huo Qiu didn't expect that Yun Tianzong's problem had been dragged on for almost a year. He could only sigh and said, "Tianzong has finally figured it out now and is willing to come out to serve the country. It's just that the position is difficult to arrange."
Of course, there is something in his words. It seems too low to arrange it based on Yuntian Zong's previous position. However, based on his qualifications, he has to lead a province. Such a position is not his to have the final say, so Liu Chang He did not answer directly: "Then let Tianzong come to Hangzhou and I will try my best to arrange it."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I just heard that Lin Mengchu had good news in Manila? But has Manila been restored?"
Liu Chang said with joy on his face: "Yes, I didn't expect it. I thought Zhang Sigui's move was too risky. I didn't expect that the general would succeed. Now that Manila has been recovered, Lin Mengchu has a big army there." Upon discovery, I am ready to immediately send a regiment to support, and at the same time expand Lin Mengchu into a new infantry division."
Huo Qiu was slightly startled. Liu Chang vaguely mentioned that "there was a big discovery in Manila", but it must be a great feat. You must know that in the history of the Hong Army, each unit was expanded step by step, usually starting from Infantry regiments are expanded to infantry brigades or equivalent units, and then to infantry divisions.
But now Lin Mengchu's command doesn't even have an infantry regiment number. It's just a "Luzon Combat Detachment" in the name. It must be directly expanded into an infantry division. It must be a great feat: "That's a good thing. But if we capture Manila, we may have to face Spanish retaliation, and one infantry regiment may not be enough. Now that the war in Hunan is coming to an end, we can mobilize one or two infantry regiments."
Liu Chang was not worried: "It is not that easy for the Spaniards to mobilize troops from the mainland. It will take at least several months. Moreover, the strength they can mobilize into the Philippines is as long as we maintain the strength of an infantry division in Luzon. We are invincible in this battle.¡±
This is the tragedy of an old-style imperialism. Isabella II, the current Spanish ruler, lived a life of walking on thin ice. In 1860, she barely conquered Monaco, which is across the sea from Spain, and gained domestic achievements for herself. Although she gained a certain prestige, she was defeated by Chile in the Chincha Islands War in 1867 in an attempt to restore the South American colonies. In terms of domestic policy, she was also a queen who was strong on the surface but had hidden undercurrents.
Therefore, Liu Chang is not worried about the war in the Philippine Islands. Even if it fails, it will not affect the overall situation. He is concerned about the war situation in Hunan: "How is the war situation in southern Hunan? I don't want to run away from Zeng Guofan because of one or two infantry regiments. "
When Huo Qiu heard about Zeng Guofan, his old rival, he also had a headache. The commander-in-chief of the Hunan Army was indeed a strong man who was full of resilience, fought against repeated defeats, and was indomitable. Huo Qiu had announced three times that he would end the war in Hunan, but this Zeng Guofan kept coming again and again. Time after time, he picked up the defeated soldiers and continued to fight with the Hong Army. However, no matter how resilient Zeng Guofan was, he could not escape from the hands of Tathagata Buddha this time: "Your Majesty, thank you for worrying about the battle in southern Hunan. Ziyun has already reported that ten Within a few days, there will be good news!"
"That's good! Now that southern Hunan has been conquered, Guangdong and Guangxi can be conquered soon." Liu Chang paid special attention to Zeng Guofan, and even caused a lot of controversy within the Hong Army. He believed that the two-hu front occupied too many resources, but it could finally Solving Zeng Guofan was a very happy matter: "I came to you to discuss a very important matter."
His tone became particularly serious: "I would like to ask you, what are your opinions on the cabinet candidates?"
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