Chapter 76: Reactions from All Parties (Part 1)

  Before long, the streetcar came to a stop and everyone on board rushed to the side of the road. Zeng Pinghai also rushed over, because he had just heard "Ba Da Yuan!"

  After getting off the bus, Zeng Pinghai finally heard clearly the newspaper boys' loud shouts: "General Gao buys British warships at a high price to rebuild the Eight Great Powers! General Gao invests 200 million pounds to rebuild the Beiyang Fleet!"

  Zeng Pinghai's footsteps came to an abrupt halt, "What are the newspaper boys shouting? Did I hear it wrong?" Feeling a bit dizzy, Zeng Pinghai suppressed the excitement in his heart, yet he didn't dare believe it was true, fearing it was just a joke. He swallowed hard and shook his head to clear his mind, then quickly picked up a flyer from the ground.

  The first thing that caught his eye was the huge black title "Gao Du Jun Invests 200 Million Pounds to Rebuild Ba Da Yuan!" The content below made Zeng Pinghai feel like he had been punched in the head, and he felt dizzy and disoriented. His mind went blank, and he couldn't even hear the cheers of the citizens on the street next to him. His legs weakened and he fell to the ground.

  Zeng Pinghai is 30 years old this year, from Zibo, Shandong. He is a posthumous child, his father was the chief engineer of the Beiyang Fleet's cruiser Jingyuan, Zeng Hongji! Zeng Hongji sank to the bottom of the sea with the Jingyuan in the Battle of the Yellow Sea and died for his country. After Zeng Pinghai was born, his grandfather named him Pinghai in memory of Zeng Hongji.

  Since childhood, Zeng Pinghai's mother had been telling him that his father sank with the Zhiyuan ship in the Yellow Sea and that the Japanese were his sworn enemies. He must remember this hatred. The young Zeng Pinghai had the name "Zhiyuan" etched into his heart.

  After growing up, he went north to Tianjin to take the exam for the Tianjin Naval Academy, but unexpectedly fell ill before the exam and failed. With no money left, he reluctantly applied to a technical school run by French people to study accounting. Not long after graduation, his mother passed away, and he left his hometown based on the introduction of the school to work in a French foreign firm in Shanghai.

  After that, he got married and had children. Now he has 3 kids to support. The heavy pressure of life buried his dream of joining the navy and his desire for revenge as a father deep in his heart.

  Although he couldn't join the navy, Zeng Pinghai had always been paying attention to it. However, the Chinese Navy was getting weaker and weaker day by day, while the Japanese Navy was growing stronger and stronger, especially after World War I, when it became the world's third strongest. Afraid that he would never see the day of revenge in his lifetime, Zeng Pinghai was tormented by inner pain and could only drown his sorrows in wine.

  Just a moment ago! After calming down for a while, Zeng Pinghai took the flyer with trembling hands and examined it carefully. Under the title was a detailed introduction, which roughly stated that Commander-in-Chief Gao had personally invested 200 million pounds to purchase from Britain 7 battleships, an aircraft carrier, and numerous light warships.

  The high command has clearly stated that the 8 giant ships will be named after the eight great far seas of the Northern Navy! The procurement plan has been submitted to the British government, and the British ambassador said it would give a clear reply soon! According to informed sources, the possibility of the British government accepting this sky-high military procurement contract is very high! Once the procurement is completed, the Chinese navy will immediately become the world's fourth, regaining its former glory!

  "Haha, haha, hahaha, hahahaha......" Zeng Pinghai burst out laughing loudly, feeling as happy and joyful as the pedestrians on the road now, with an excitement that was beyond words.

  The windows and doors on both sides of the street were all opened, and those with radios at home turned them up to the maximum volume. All radio stations in Shanghai were broadcasting this news! Along with the cheers of the crowd, a huge wave of sound was formed, spreading farther and farther, higher and higher!

  Zeng Pinghai burst into tears and shouted loudly with tears in his eyes, "Father, did you hear that? Ba Da Yuan is back!!!"

  In the distance, a massive wave of people surged forward on the streets, mostly consisting of students from various schools in Shanghai holding up banners and shouting slogans.

  The students shouted "Navy! Navy! Navy!" as they marched along the highway towards the Beijing Garrison Command. Along the way, countless people joined in and shouted together! Zeng Pinghai wiped away tears from the corner of his eyes, took a deep breath, and loudly shouted "Navy!" before taking big strides forward to join the crowd. As for work? Who cares about work today?!

  The dense crowd surged and grew, until the entire street was packed with people by the time the procession arrived at the Garrison Command. It was too much, a real sea of humanity! Even the rooftops of the buildings on both sides were crowded with people! Everyone shouted in unison "Navy! Navy!" The cries of ten thousand people shook the sky!

  Marconi and Sir Mansfield Cumming, who were having breakfast together at the British Consulate, immediately set off in a car for the Shanghai Garrison Headquarters.

  The car was blocked just a few streets away from the Martial Law Command Center. The driver helplessly indicated that it was impossible to get through under these circumstances!

  Looking at the dense and enthusiastic crowd outside, shouting slogans with excitement, the two ambassadors looked at each other in dismay. As time passed, the faces of the two ambassadors became increasingly gloomy.

  Half a sound, Ma Mu Rui Gong suddenly opened his mouth and said "Napoleon once said that it's better to let this Chinese lion sleep forever, but I found out that this lion is about to wake up!"

  Ma Ke sighed deeply and said slowly, "I'm starting to doubt whether selling the warship to Gao Yang was the right choice!"

  Marvin didn't respond, he just silently looked at the crowd outside the window. Half a minute later, he said in a low voice, "Let's go back!"

  The guards at the garrison headquarters were on high alert, tightly closing the iron gate, and everyone was packed in a human wall to block the flow of people into the headquarters. However, the crowd stopped in front of the headquarters, and the shouting slogans gradually subsided.

  The scene soon calmed down, but with so many people gathered together, the sound waves generated by their whispers were still very loud. Many people were stimulated by the news and couldn't wait to express their excitement, so they followed the team to the Garrison Command.

  After calming down gradually, I found myself at a loss for words to express my gratitude to General Gao.

  The crowd that didn't know what to say gradually fell silent, at this time a student in the student team suddenly stepped forward a few steps, turned around and looked at his classmates, took a deep breath and shouted loudly "Gao Yang!" The students were all stunned for a moment, then reacted and shouted in unison "Gao Yang!"

  The cheers grew louder and louder, until everyone was shouting "Gao Yang! Gao Yang!" at the top of their lungs. The sound was so loud that the glass on both sides of the road began to vibrate with a humming noise.

  At this time, Gao Yang had just woken up in the modern space and had breakfast. As soon as he opened the door, he was shocked by a huge wave of noise.

  "What's wrong?" Gao Yang asked with some surprise, wearing a white shirt and black casual pants. Gao Feng, who had been waiting for a while, shook his head slightly and smiled wryly, saying "Sir, I think I've overdone it."

  "Huh? Tell me." Gaoyang asked further.

  "Sir, as per your arrangement, I had all the newspapers and radio stations report on the purchase of the warship. At that time, I thought it would be best to make a bigger splash, so I arranged for people to go to various schools to stir up those passionate young people to take to the streets to promote this matter and create momentum for you, sir. But I didn't expect the momentum to be so big! Now the entire outside of the Garrison Command is filled with citizens of the Magic City, and as soon as they arrived, they've been shouting your name, sir."

  "Oh, I see. This isn't your fault. You don't understand the emotions of people who have once been glorious but then fell and now see a glimmer of hope again! For those who have lived in gloom for decades, even just a sliver of sunlight is enough to drive them crazy!" Gao Yang slowly walked over to the window, reached out and slightly opened the curtains, saying this in a low voice.

  Outside the window, waves of cheers and applause surged one after another, with an astonishing momentum. Gaoyang's mouth corners slightly curled up, nodding slightly. He then turned around and walked towards the third-floor balcony of the command center.

  When Gao Yang appeared on the third-floor balcony, the atmosphere at the scene reached its climax! The photographers present recorded this moment, and Gao Yang smiled and waved gently to the crowd, with tens of thousands of people cheering below. At that moment, Gao Yang's reputation in this country reached its peak through such a gesture!

  This news spread all over the world through wireless telegraph. In Beijing, Duan Qirui learned of this news and sat quietly in his study reading a book, saying to those close to him, "The Anhui clique has someone to succeed it, I can finally take a rest."

  In Guangzhou, Principal Jiang, with a sigh, broke his promise to Chen Jieru and picked up the wine glass again.

  In the Daqing Building of the Fengtian General's Mansion, Zhang Zuolin, who had smashed several teacups, called Zhang Xueliang into his study and said, "Little Six, you go to Shanghai and get along well with Gao Yang. You are two years younger than Gao Yang, it would be best if you could become sworn brothers... later on..."

  Zhang Dashuai let out a long sigh and slumped into the chair, saying in a low voice, "I've spent decades struggling, finally managed to take down Wu Ziyu, waited for Sun Dapao's illness to take its toll, and now even Duandou's old man is on his last legs. Just as I'm about to achieve my goal, how did this Gao Zihou suddenly pop up!!!"

  Zhang Da's mighty slap on the table made it boom and vibrate. Zhang Xueliang hastily stepped forward to comfort him, "Father, that Gao Zicheng is just a bit wealthy, nothing remarkable."

  Zhang Dashuai looked at his son with a slightly disdainful expression and shook his head slightly. As an old soldier, Zhang Dashuai had fought for decades and deeply understood that war was all about money! What's the point of fighting without money? Back then, Japan and Russia won their wars by throwing money around! "Xiao Liu is still young and impulsive, he doesn't understand yet," Zhang Dashuai thought to himself.

  He calmed down and looked at Zhang Xueliang, saying "Xiao Liu Zi, get ready, we'll head south immediately. When we arrive in Shanghai, make sure to befriend Gao Yang, he is a... a..." General Zhang was somewhat helpless, unable to finish his sentence.

  He let out a deep sigh and said in a low voice, "He is a man who can win the world!" Zhang Xueliang looked at his father with a surprised face, how could he say such words that would boost others' morale but undermine his own prestige!

  Zhang Dashuai waved his hand to stop Zhang Xueliang from saying something, and said lightly "Go, when you pass by Beidu, go see Guo Maocen, I heard he's been quite restless lately."

  Zhang Xueliang didn't dare say anything else, and after a respectful bow, he turned around and left. As the door opened, he happened to see Shen Honglie, commander of the Northeast Coastal Defense Fleet, waiting outside. Before they could exchange a few pleasantries, Zhang's loud laughter was heard from inside the house: "Haha, Chengzhang, why are you late? Come in quickly and have some tea."