According to the agreement between the East China government and Russia, the East China government has established offices and shopping malls in Lushun and obtained navigation rights. However, the East China government hopes to further expand its business scope and also hopes to have the right to operate the wharf. In addition, it hopes to obtain the qualification to buy and sell horses so as to introduce a batch of three hippos.

Among these requirements, except for the qualifications for horse trading, the others are within the normal business scope. In addition, Lushun also needs to develop business and increase income, so it was agreed soon. However, the qualifications for horse trading are much more sensitive. Since the three hippos are military horses, Russia generally does not allow the three hippos to be traded. However, now Russia urgently needs to improve its relationship with the East China government, and it is not unacceptable. After all, only selling a few hundred horses will not have any major impact.

So after negotiations, Russia agreed to sell 500 three hippos to the East China government, but asked to negotiate with the East China government and sign a mutual aggression treaty or peace treaty. However, the East China government did not refuse this time, but believed that 500 three hippos were too few, and demanded to reach a commercial agreement with Russia for a period of five years, selling 1,000 three hippos to the East China government every year, which could be negotiated with Russia in the next year.

After considering it, Russia believed that this transaction was still feasible. After all, there were only about 6 months left in this year. If we could use this to negotiate with the East China government, it would be of course cost-effective. Even if the East China government broke the contract and refused to negotiate, Russia would not lose much. Buying 1,000 war horses to the East China government would make a small profit. The East China government could not just rely on these 1,000 horses to organize a powerful cavalry.

In fact, the time travelers follow the historical process of the old time and space and the current situation in this time and space. The Russo-Japanese War is extremely likely to occur as scheduled in 1904, because the Siberian Railway will be completed in 1905, and Japan can only start the war in 1904, otherwise there will be basically no hope of victory. Of course, the Russo-Japanese War may not have broken out in February 1904 as in the old time and space. However, the East China government promised that Russia would start negotiations in 1904, and there was no specified month. As long as the war broke out, the negotiations would be left unresolved.

Now the East China government just needs to make full use of the last time to increase the bargaining chips for its participation in the world's most important bet before World War I, and demand to expand the business scope and obtain the right to operate the wharf, which means fully laying out in the Northeast, relocating intelligence personnel, collecting intelligence, and understanding the situation. The purchase of three hippos can only be considered an additional value-added.

In the past two years, the East China government has purchased more than 5,000 high-quality horses and opened two large military horse farms in Shandong. Now the number of horses in the People's Army has reached more than 7,500, and the cavalry troops have also been expanded to regiment level, but more than 6,000 of them are Mongolian horses. However, during the Eight-Nation Alliance's war of aggression against China, Shanhaiguan defeated the Russian army in the Battle of China and seized more than 1,000 Russian three hippos. The quality of the three hippos is obviously stronger than that of Mongolian horses. Therefore, taking this opportunity to buy another batch of three hippos to enrich the cavalry and transportation power.

However, the continuous contact between the East China government and Russia caused tension in Japan. In fact, after the Java protection operation took place, Japan paid close attention to the development of the situation. After the British intervened in Java, Japan could not hold back. If the East China government and Britain turned against each other and pushed the East China government to Russia, it would be quite unfavorable to Japan. Therefore, Japan continued to shout to the UK and the East China government and sent diplomats to communicate with the two sides frequently, hoping that both sides would maintain restraint and resolve peacefully, and even planned to send special envoys to visit the two countries so as to mediate from it. Fortunately, the [Batavia Treaty] was successfully signed, and the East China government and the United Kingdom did not break up. After the signing of the [Batavia Treaty], the East China government recruited consulates from Japan and Britain to discuss, and the three parties reiterated their cooperation to fight against Russia and remained unchanged, and Japan breathed a sigh of relief.

Now Japan has determined its determination to go to war against Russia, but the East China government frequently held talks with Russia at this time. Although it is of a low level and is basically at the economic level, it also makes Japan feel uneasy and asked the East China government through the Qingdao Consulate. The East China government explained to Japan that developing the economy is just a means, and the purpose is to collect intelligence and prepare for war against Russia, so that the Japanese government does not have to overreact. The East China government's determination to resist Russia has not changed.

Japan also proposed to the East China government that it hoped to formally negotiate military cooperation matters against Russia with the East China government. It turned out that on May 12, 1903, the head of the Japanese General Staff Marshal Oyama Iwai submitted a memorial to Emperor Meiji, formally putting forward a request for the war against Russia, which received a lot of support in both the Japanese government and the opposition. The Japanese government attached great importance to Oyama Iwai's memorial. Emperor Meiji personally issued an edict, ordering the Japanese General Staff to immediately formulate a combat plan against Russia.

Although Japan used Russia as an imaginary enemy to expand its military troops after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 to prepare for war, it still expressed great hope for negotiating and resolving the dispute between the two countries. The memorial of Oyama and the edict of Emperor Meiji, marked that Japan had officially put the war against Russia into the stage of implementation. In this case, Japan naturally hoped that the East China government could fight against Russia with it. After all, Russia is still a behemoth from the outside.

Of course, this does not mean that Japan has great expectations for the East China government, but first of all, it is necessary to understand how much strength the collaborators have so that they can formulate their own combat plans. Japan's bottom line requirement for the East China government is to remain neutral in the battle between Japan and Russia and provide material support to Japan.

The East China government also answered Japan's request, and the two sides agreed to find an opportunity to hold a formal negotiation between August and September, because both sides needed time to prepare. Only then did Japan feel relieved.

At this moment, the overseas Chinese protection fleet finally returned to Qingdao and was warmly welcomed by people from all walks of life in Qingdao. The East China government also held a grand welcome ceremony at the dock and commended the soldiers who made meritorious service on the spot. All soldiers can receive a commemorative award for overseas Chinese protection. The warships participating in overseas Chinese protection and all teams won a banner, and the first-class collective merit was awarded once for the Qingzhou ship and Yizhou ships. There were more than 300 soldiers who made meritorious service, and all soldiers who died were awarded third-class individual merit once for the Qingzhou ship and Yizhou ships.

Finally, it was announced that the soldiers who participated in the protection of overseas Chinese had a 7-day holiday, while the soldiers of the Qingzhou and Yizhou were on a 15-day holiday. After all, they had been away from home for more than seven months. The soldiers were also very happy, after all, they had time to reunite with their families.

For the German technical workers who arrived in Qingdao with the Qingzhou ship and the Yizhou ship, each person can receive an additional bonus of 100 pounds, as compensation for their involvement in this incident. The 100 pound contract of 2,000 German marks was a lot of income for ordinary German workers in this era, so these technicians were very satisfied. Although they had been delayed in Java for more than two months, it was worth it.

After the welcoming ceremony, the soldiers turned back to the barracks to clean up their belongings, and the official holiday began tomorrow. The Qingzhou ship and Yizhou ship were towed into the dock by tugboats for overhaul. Originally, these two warships were new ships, and were still in the running-in period and were far from the overhaul period. However, this time, not only did a long ocean voyage, but they suffered varying degrees of damage during the battle. The damage to the Yizhou ship was quite large. Moreover, since there was no repair shop in Java and the best repair time was missed, it was not allowed to be improved for overhaul. Although other warships did not need to enter the dock, they also needed daily maintenance and maintenance.

Luo Yue led the troops back to the barracks, and then recruited company-level officers for meetings. The main purpose was to arrange holiday arrangements. After the officers returned to the troops, they asked the soldiers to maintain the style of soldiers during the holidays, respect military discipline, etc., and reminded them to pay attention to the time to return to the team, not be late, etc. Then Luo Yue left the military camp and returned to his residence.

At this time, Zhou Weiying had also been transferred back to Qingdao to work, and this time Zhou Weiying was preparing to work in Qingdao for a long time. First, when she returned to Qingdao this time, Luo Yue would basically not have a long-term residence and would settle in Qingdao for a while; second, it would be unfavorable to Zhou Weiying's development, so Luo Yue and his wife could also be at peace for a while.

That night, Luo Yue and Zhou Weiying went to Qin Zheng and his wife's house for dinner, and the family finally got together again. Now in the third year of the establishment of the East China government, the living conditions of time travelers have been greatly improved. At the beginning of this year, Qin Zheng and Zhou Ping moved out of the original dormitory building and lived in a three-story villa building. They had all the living facilities, and there were two waiters regularly taking care of their daily life and a special floor was divided to allow Luo Yue and Zhou Weiying to live when they came back.

During dinner, the family talked and laughed, and the atmosphere was very warm.

Qin Zheng said: "Little Luo, your main task to go back to Qingdao this time is training, and the task is also very difficult. Let's wait for a while before talking about this. However, you will have to stay in Qingdao for at least two years this time, and Xiaoying will have to work in her current position for at least three years, so you can live a stable life for a while, so you can come back and live for a few more days when you have time. With such a big house, only your mother and I live in space."

Zhou Ping also said: "Yes, Xiao Luo just came back from Java, and the soldiers were on holiday. You don't have much trouble, just stay at home for a few days."

Luo Yue nodded quickly and said, "Okay, let's stay for a few days."

Qin Zheng said again: "Also, it's rare that you have such a long stable time. Take advantage of this time to have a child quickly. I want to hold my grandson as soon as possible?"

Although she has been married to Luo Yue for more than a year, Zhou Weiying still blushed. After all, she is only 23 years old. In the old time and space, she may have just graduated from school at this age, so she said softly: "Dad——"

Qin Zheng laughed and said, "What's the matter? Getting married and having children is normal. Although you are still young now, it is common for military families to separate from each other. There is not much time to do such stable time."
Chapter completed!