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Volume Three: The Wind Rises in the South Chapter 127 Reporter

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    "Yes, sir!" The officer turned around and shouted loudly: "Take off the gag!" Then he smiled at Batu and said: "Sir, this British spy has such a loud voice, it's scary, and I can't listen.  If you understand his bird language, just stop it and save your worries!¡± ¡°I protest, I am not a spy, your behavior is the behavior of barbarians! Wuwu¡ª¡ª¡± As soon as the cloth in Janson¡¯s mouth was removed, he used  He yelled as hard as he could. Just after he yelled twice, the two soldiers next to him immediately stuffed the cloth strips into his mouth again, blocking his screams back into his throat.  "Don't block him back, let him shout!" Batu sat down on a horse and ordered coldly: "Also, untie this guy's rope and take his things over!" "  "Yes, sir!" The two soldiers responded and untied the rope from Janson's body. This time, Janson didn't shout as loudly as before. He just rubbed his numb wrist and carefully looked at the person sitting in front of him.  Batu, who was on the Mazar, had obviously learned a lesson from what he had just experienced.  Batu looked up and down for a while, and suddenly asked in English: "You just said you were not a spy, then what are you? Why are you in Pyay?" "Thank God, I finally met a civilized person who can speak English!"  A surprised smile appeared on Jenson's face: "My name is Clover Jenson. I am a reporter from the Daily Telegraph in London, England. I came here hoping to get first-hand information on the conflict between China and Britain.  , but these people suddenly arrested me, and I demanded the treatment that a British citizen deserves. " "He is lying!" Just as the interpreter was translating Jenson's words, the officer who had just captured him grabbed him.  He replied: "When I caught this man, he was writing something in his notebook. I also found this on his body!" At this point, the officer took out a piece of white paper from his arms, with abbreviations on it.  The pencil drawing of the Shun Army's landing scene was drawn using his sketching technique!  "    "Um!  Batu took the painting, looked at it for a while, raised his eyebrows slightly, turned over and pointed at the image on it and asked, "Did you paint this?"  " "I drew it, but that doesn't mean I'm a spy. It was used to send illustrations to the "Daily Telegraph". The camera is too heavy and not suitable for use here. This is my ID!  "Speaking of this, as if to strengthen the persuasiveness of his defense, Jenson added: "I also have a copy of the "Daily Telegraph" from a few months ago in my bag, which contains information about the Chinese Communist Party's attack in Bagan.  The report of the defeat of our troops was the report that led to the resignation of the recent Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury.  Yes, that¡¯s this newspaper!  "Jian Sen shouted, pointing to the newspaper in Batu's hand. Batu looked at the newspaper in his hand with interest, which was obviously very carefully protected. Jan Sen carefully folded it and sandwiched it in a book.  It was easy to find the report that Jensen mentioned in the thick Bible to prevent it from being worn out, because the proud reporter had finally marked it out with a pencil.  After reading the report, he raised his head and said with a smile: "Your article is not bad, but there is an exaggeration!  " "Exaggerating?  "Jian Sen retorted unconvinced: "I wrote this after personally going to Bagan to collect information. Where do you think I exaggerated?  " "You blew me away in this article!  Batu smiled slightly: "Actually, I was surrounded by your army and fought hard in the camp for more than 20 days. If it weren't for good luck and you had a mutiny, I'm afraid the situation would be reversed. It wouldn't be as powerful as you said!"  "    "'I'?  "Jian Sen was stunned when he heard this, and it took him a while to react. He shouted overjoyed: "Are you the calm and composed General Batu?  " "Yes, my name is Batu, but I am not a general, let alone a descendant of Genghis Khan. I am a dignified Chinese man, and I have nothing to do with those Mongolian Tatars!  "Batu's face was a little ugly. After reporting on the war, Jensen also expressed his thoughts on Batu's life, comparing him to Bor, the founder of the Golden Horde, who was famous in European history.  ?Batu contacted him and speculated that he might be related to him, which made Batu quite uncomfortable. ¡°Haha!  "Jenson touched the back of his head with some embarrassment: "Excuse me, Your Excellency, this is a very common news technique in the UK. Please rest assured that this has absolutely no derogatory meaning. It is completely a tribute to your outstanding military talents.  Kind of a compliment!  " Batu shook his head in disbelief, put the newspaper back in the Bible, and asked with a smile: "The report you just made directly led to the change of prime minister in the UK. Is this true?  " "Of course, I am an honest person!  "Jensen's face immediately turned red: "The current Prime Minister, Mr. Gladstone, read my report aloud in the House of Commons. This was a decisive blow to the former Prime Minister!  If you don't believe it, you can look at another report.??, also in the Bible, it evaluated the role of my reporting.  " Batu opened the Bible hesitantly and found another newspaper sandwiched in the middle. After reading it for a while, he shook his head and sighed: "It's really difficult. One newspaper can make your prime minister resign.  Isn't this a mess?  "    "hehe!  "Jenson smiled proudly: "In Great Britain, without the support of MPs, it is impossible for the Prime Minister to sit firmly in No. 10 Downing Street.  Members are elected by voters in each constituency, so¡ª¡ª, you can now believe that I am a reporter from the "Daily Telegraph", and you can let me go!  " "I believe you are a reporter!  Batu smiled and replied: "But that doesn't mean you're not a spy?"  And even if you are not a spy, you are still a British person. You have discovered our military operations. In order to prevent this information from being leaked, I must imprison you for a period of time!  "Then, Batu made a gesture to stop Jensen's defense: "But you can rest assured, we will give you good treatment, at least no worse than what you are living now!  Immediately, Batu ordered to the officer on the side: "Leave this person alone and keep him in separate custody. The treatment will be better!"  " "Yes, sir!"  "Jianson, who was about to say something, was pushed down by the soldiers escorting him. Batu was left looking at the two newspapers he left behind, and said with a smile: "What a strange country, the prime minister was actually  This thin piece of paper is omitted. Could it be that if they can't change each other every three days, then what kind of dignity will the country have?  "While the Shun Army was attacking Pyay, the British authorities in Yangon were already in chaos. Because the night attack launched by Zhang Qing that night was very successful, almost all the British soldiers and sailors on the "Thames" were killed, no?  To be killed was to be captured alive, and the location of the ambush was a very desolate place. Only loggers and hunters passed by occasionally. There was no wireless telegraphy at that time. As a result, six days later, Yangon did not wait for the planned return of the Thames.  After the Thames returned, they panicked and hurriedly sent two of the fastest gunboats upstream along the Irrawaddy River to look for the Thames, but there was no trace of it. When the search team finally found the Thames with the help of two hunters,  When the bodies of British soldiers were buried in the woods, the British authorities in Yangon had to face the terrible possibility that the newly appointed supreme commander of the British army in Burma, Colonel Kitchener, might have fallen into the hands of the enemy.  What is this?  "Theson, who succeeded Gillings as the British Consul General in Burma, pointed at a few dark pieces of wood and broken pieces of clothing on the ground and asked: "Just take this and let me report to my superiors that Colonel Kitchener is no longer here.  Already?  " "Your Excellency, Consul!  "A secretary replied: "We have carefully searched the place where the incident occurred and the nearby waters, and found no trace of the sunken ship, and the body of Colonel Kitchener was not found in the cemetery in the woods.  According to our guess, a certain group of Burmese bandits attacked the Thames docked on the shore at night, and Colonel Kitchener had fallen into their hands.  " "Why can't it be Chinese?  Their weapons are better. There are dozens of well-equipped sailors and marines on the Thames, as well as artillery. Can the Burmese gangsters do this?  " "This is the worst case scenario!  However, there were almost no Chinese troops in the place where the incident occurred. Since they defeated our army's attack in Bagan a few months ago, the Chinese army has stagnated in the Bagan area, seeming to be content with controlling upper Burma and Myanmar.  In the Central Myanmar region, it is hard to imagine that they would suddenly launch an attack and provoke a conflict!  " " Provoke a conflict?  Tessen angrily repeated what the other party said: "The conflict has already happened. It started in April last year. Now I finally know why we have been defeated again and again. The blood of more than a thousand British people has been lost."  The land of Myanmar has been sprinkled all over the land, but there are still some among us who naively think that the conflict has not happened yet?  God!  Maybe the Chinese deserve this land more than we do!  "The secretary's face turned red by Tessen's angry shouting, and he stammered in explanation: "Mr. Consul, what I mean is that due to the power of the empire, the Chinese should not dare to initiate a surprise attack. From the beginning, they  Just avoiding direct conflict with the British team!  "    "enough!  "Tesen's roar interrupted the other party's defense. He suppressed his anger and said in as calm a tone as possible: "Remember, the battlefield is chaotic. You never know what will happen next. Maybe  The Chinese generals are unwilling to have a direct conflict with us, but this does not guarantee that the officers of every small unit below them also think so.  And even the enemy's top officers, if they determine that the next large-scale conflict with us is inevitable, guess what they will do?  " "We will fight with all our strength!  "The secretary replied in a low voice, his face pale. "This time?That's right, don't forget that the Chinese are determined and capable of maintaining their presence in Myanmar. This is what they proved with resolute actions in April last year.  "At this point, Tessen paused and continued to yell: "Now, you go out and continue searching, and you must determine Colonel Kitchener's whereabouts as soon as possible. Do you understand?  " "Yes, Your Excellency, Consul!  "The secretary, who had been frightened into a daze by Tessen's roar, bowed to him and rushed out the door. Tessen slumped back into his seat and pressed his hands on his sore breasts.  Temple, muttering to himself: "You can't leak the news of Kitchener's disappearance now, no, otherwise there will be an uproar in London, and maybe the Prime Minister will change again, and it will be all over!"  " At this moment, there was a sudden rush of footsteps outside the door. Before the consul could react what was going on, the heavy teak door was slammed open. The consul raised his head in surprise and saw that  The secretary who had just left rushed in and stammered: "No, it's bad, the Chinese already occupied Piaimai five days ago!  "    "What?  The consul suddenly stood up and asked loudly: "Repeat it again!"  " "Five days ago, the Chinese already occupied Piaimai!  " "Five days ago?  Why are you telling me now?  "The consul's chest swelled, as if there was a small animal beating violently inside, trying to jump out and tear everything apart. "The Chinese have blocked land and water transportation, that's why it's so slow¡ª¡ª"  ,    "enough!  The consul closed his eyes and whispered to himself: "Kitchener must have fallen into the hands of the Chinese, it must have!"  That's why the Chinese learned about our intentions and decided to take the initiative!  "The secretary on the side looked at the consul as if he was hysterical. He sat in a chair with his eyes closed and muttered to himself. He wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say. At this moment, he only heard  The consul whispered: "Go out now, close the door, and let me be alone for a while!  " "Yes, Your Excellency!  "The secretary retreated with relief. After closing the door, he breathed a sigh of relief. His nerves were almost broken in the room just now. "Bang!  "There was a sound in the room, as if something heavy fell to pieces on the ground, and the secretary's nerves that had just relaxed suddenly became tense again. In the office, Tessen panted and looked at the shattered porcelain bottle on the floor.  A moment ago, this exquisite Song Dynasty porcelain plate could be sold in London for at least five hundred pounds, but now it has become a pile of worthless fragments. Just as the secretary was wondering outside the door, suddenly.  There was a summons bell. After hesitating for a moment, he gently opened the door and saw a pile of porcelain tiles on the ground. The consul's burly body sank deeply into the armchair, and he had returned to his usual calm.  "Sir, why did you ask me to come in?  " "Immediately issue a communiqu¨¦ in my name, ordering Yangon City to immediately impose martial law, mobilize all soldiers, drive the indigenous residents out of the city, distribute weapons to all European residents, let them serve as self-defense forces, and impose a curfew after eight o'clock at night.  No one is allowed to leave the house without permission!  "At this point, the consul paused for a moment and said in as calm a tone as possible: "Also, in my name, the Consul General of the British Empire in Burma, I sent an envoy to the Chinese in Pyay, asking them to infringe on the interests of the British Empire.  Give a reasonable explanation for your behavior!  " "Yes, Your Excellency!  "The secretary already sensed the seriousness in his boss's tone, and his thin shoulders immediately trembled: "Please allow me to ask a question, is Yangon going to be besieged or attacked?  This is the territory of the British Empire!  "Terson did not get angry at the secretary's stupidity. He gave the other party a meaningful look: "Dear Arnold, facing the current situation, all we can do is prepare for everything and accept everything!  " "Yes, Your Excellency!  I will carry out your order immediately!  "The secretary calmed down under the consul's comfort. His body stopped trembling, he bowed to his boss, turned around and hurried out the door. The consul looked meaningfully at the other person's leaving back, raised his head and looked at the original figure.  The dome said to himself: "The most important thing now is the truth, and figuring out the truth takes time.  May God bless the Queen and her people and be on our side.  ¡± When the Irrawaddy River passes through the narrow valleys of the forested Rakhine Mountains and Bago Mountains, it divides into many small rivers, which eventually flow into the Andaman Sea. The most fertile and rich Irrawaddy River Delta in the entire Myanmar is made up of hundreds of these small rivers.  The two sides of the Irrawaddy River Delta are formed by the Bago Mountains in the east and the ends of the Arakan Mountains in the west. The apex is Xingshida, 130 kilometers northwest of Yangon, and the Arakan Mountains in the west.  There is a narrow strip of land between it and the Indian Ocean, then??Arakan Province in Myanmar.  After the first and second Anglo-Burmese Wars, Rakhine Province and part of the area near Yangon had been ceded to the United Kingdom by the Kingdom of Burma, thus becoming a base for the British Empire to further invade Burma.  Pyai is located right at the end of the narrow valleys of the Arakan Mountains and the Bago Mountains, and the only easily accessible Dongge Pass in the Arakan Mountains is also located to the southwest of Pyay. Therefore, if the British want to enter the hinterland of Myanmar, whether from Pyai  To open a province or start from Yangon, you must first capture Pyay.  Pyay, this former royal capital in the eighth century AD has now declined, with only a few dilapidated pagodas left. The open space between the pagodas has long been occupied by vines and shrubs, and only the occasional ruined walls and palaces can be seen.  Only the foundation can occasionally reveal the prosperity of the year.  Except for a few farmers who provide fruits and vegetables, the vast majority of the more than 6,000 residents here are dockworkers and merchants who rely on Mandalay and the downstream transshipment trade.  The civil unrest in April last year changed everything. The ships carrying rice and ore that used to travel upstream and downstream disappeared, leaving only the empty river. Workers and small businessmen fell into despair. When Batu led the army to  When we arrived here, there were less than 3,000 residents left in the entire city of Pya, and the rest had to leave here to find a new way of life.  Less than half an hour after the soles of his shoes were stained with humiliating soil, Batu had already announced that the dilapidated city was under his own military control, facing a large group of foreign soldiers and rifles armed with sharp bayonets.  Facing the dark muzzles of warships on the river, the residents of Piaimai chose to remain silent.  Then Batu sent engineers to survey the local terrain and prepare to build fortifications to resist the upcoming British attack.  Five days after Batu arrived in Pyay, three reinforcements led by Zao Guoquan also arrived. Along with him came Kitchener, who had been captured not long ago.  The unlucky colonel received quite good treatment: a separate residence, fine meals, clean and crisp shirts and well-polished leather boots, an orderly at his disposal, and even Zao Guoquan invited him to review with him  He met a group of loyal soldiers and asked for advice. The only difference from the past was that they had no weapons and freedom.  Kitchener, on the other hand, accepted his fate calmly like a true British gentleman. He enjoyed everything the enemy provided him, carefully observed and pointed out the formation and offensive tactics of the cis army infantry with the eyes of a professional soldier.  Already somewhat lagging behind the modern army equipped with breech-loaded rifles and shrapnel, it was as if he was not a prisoner, but a military consultant hired by the Chinese government with a high salary.  "Sir!" Kitchener said to Zao Guoquan, who was standing on the deck and looking at the soldiers of the Sun Army who were shouting slogans on the dock and laboriously unloading cannons from the ship: "What do you think?  Is the current action wise?¡± After hearing the words of the translator beside him, Zao Guoquan turned around and replied with a smile: ¡°Colonel Kitchener, you can just say what you think!¡± ¡°There is no doubt that,  Occupying a key point like Pya is a huge victory in terms of pure military science, but it is a disaster in terms of supply!" Kitchener shrugged: "You are now more than 1,500 meters away from your supply base!  kilometers, enough to go from Madrid to Warsaw. Although a considerable part of it is river transport, don't forget that there is a large group of hostile Burmese behind you. Neither we, the British, nor you Chinese are obedient and loyal subjects.  "Haha!" Zao Guoquan laughed twice: "Colonel Kitchener, if you talk about the distance from your home country, you British are probably further away! As for the Burmese, we Chinese have dealt with them for a long time.  After thousands of years, I think we know how to deal with them!" At this point, Zao Guoquan paused for a moment, and his face became serious: "If we don't occupy this place first, will we be able to get peace?  ? I'm afraid we will face the attack of the British army soon. Don't tell me that you, the 'Hero of Sudan,' are here to enjoy the sights!" "I have not denied the purpose of my trip, but this is  It was under the premise of your country's sudden invasion of Myanmar. Your army's occupation of Myanmar has broken the strategic balance of the entire Indochina Peninsula and even threatened the empire's existence in India-" "Then who instigated last April?  "What about the military coup?" Zao Guoquan interrupted the other party: "Who even blatantly trampled on the norms of international law and bribed thugs to kill my predecessor in Mandalay. Don't forget, the Kingdom of Myanmar belongs to me.  This is clearly stipulated in the "Arakan Treaty" signed by your country after the second Anglo-Burmese War!" Kitchener pursed his lips tightly, which was what made him angry in his heart.  It showed that as a senior officer of the British Empire, he felt humiliated that he actually had to argue with a general from a semi-barbaric empire in the East. What made him even more humiliated was that he actually became a prisoner of the other party.  He turned around with his back to Zao Guoquan and said, "Master Zao, you and IAs a soldier, let the war finally determine our right and wrong. Now, please take me to a place where prisoners should go!  " Zao Guoquan smiled slightly and made a gesture. Two soldiers stepped forward and took Kitchener out of the cabin. Qu Duan on the side sneered and said: "Sir, this foreign devil is very arrogant, but he is just a person who depends on him for life and death.  The prisoner under the human hand can still speak so loudly, all his skills are focused on his mouth!  " Zao Guoquan sighed and his face became gloomy: "Actually, what he said is right. Indeed, there is no right or wrong between countries. The winner is right and the loser is wrong. If this battle  Britain won the war, and what was written in the previous treaties did not count. Naturally, no one came to trouble them!  " "How can we lose when adults are here!"  " "I am also taking a risky move. It is such a long journey from here to the country, and those Burmese people are not sure of winning!  "At this time, Zao Guoquan finally revealed his innermost worries in front of his confidants. "Then when you faced the French in Annan, didn't you also win?  " "At this time, Annan was backed by the country and had been part of China for more than two hundred years. They were united as one and had no worries about getting their troops and food. However, the legal boat divisions were far inferior to the British, and their food and equipment had to be brought from thousands of miles away.  When it comes, I am the master and he is the guest. It is not difficult to break.  However, the British navy was powerful, and India was not far away, so it was not difficult to obtain troops and supplies. The host and guest changed positions, and the outcome was naturally unpredictable!  "
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