The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 468 Many People Won’t Be Able to Sleep Tonight

In a coffee shop not far from the port, a thug opened the door and ran in, saying breathlessly:

"Brother, there's a British fleet at sea! It's parked just a few miles away. There are more than a dozen ships, including warships! They say the British are attacking again!"

"More than a dozen ships? And warships?" Yan Qingyou, who was in a daze in the coffee shop, came to his senses and picked up his hat on the table. "Who said the British are coming? It's probably Brother Wei's ship. Let's go and take a look!"

"A Guang, call Brother Wei...call his house! Brother Wei hasn't gotten up yet at this time!" Yan Qingyou glanced at his pocket watch.

"Brother Wei definitely won't get up before noon. The whole Chinatown knows it." The young man called A Guang has an ordinary appearance. He looks like a pervert when he is not smiling, but he looks quite happy when he smiles.

At the same time, he also looks more like a murderous pervert.

When Yan Qingyou went out, A Guang picked up the phone next to the bar.

This type of telephone is now only available in some companies in San Francisco, and is usually used to communicate between upstairs and downstairs.

Only Chen Zhengwei laid the telephone lines to connect Chinatown, North Beach, the port, and the South Market Street area. Since the switch could only connect about 20 telephones, these lines were used entirely internally.

Yan Qingyou and his men rushed to the port and saw a wooden sailboat with many security company personnel on it, so he climbed up the gangway.

The captain was still in a daze and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

Seeing Yan Qingyou at this time, he pointed to the distance and asked:
"Mr. Yan, is that the boat Mr. Chen bought?"

Yan Qingyou took the telescope and looked into the distance, and he also gasped. He did know that Chen Zhengwei had bought warships, but he didn't expect there were so many.

And one of them was particularly large, with three masts and two smoke pipes protruding from the deck.

There was a row of holes on the hull. Even though Yan Qingyou didn't know much about ships, he knew that they were gun muzzles.

Compared to the other ships around it, that one was simply a behemoth.

"How big is that ship?" Yan Qingyou asked after being stunned for a long time.

"The smallest one is a British 1100-ton gunboat... I've seen it in Southeast Asia! That ship is almost the same size as mine... but it's a warship, made of steel. See that chimney? It's powered by steam and sail!" said the captain, pointing to several small boats in the distance.

"The biggest one is as big as three of them!"

I thought to myself that the largest one must be the most powerful ship in Britain. It was definitely not bought by Chen Zhengwei. It should just be here for escort.

Those small gunboats should have been bought by Chen Zhengwei.

There were also several transport ships that looked similar to cargo ships and were twice as big as his.

"There's a ship coming over there!" The captain discovered a transport ship flying the dual flags of Britain and the United States, approaching this side.

At the same time, customs officer Chester also received news of the arrival of the fleet and brought his men to the port.

Seeing the fleet in the distance, he knew that it was definitely not the British who were attacking, but he had no idea of their intentions. He could only wait for the transport ship to approach and ask the port to make room for the ship.

A moment later, the ship flying the British and American dual flags docked, and Chester immediately led his men over.

Yan Qingyou also brought people there.

Even this transport ship is very large, larger than most ships in San Francisco, with a length of 107 meters.

The piglet boat anchored not far away is only a little over 40 meters long.

Just standing at the port, you feel like you are seeing a huge monster, and even feel a sense of oppression.

Then the gangway was lowered all the way to the dock.

The captain and crew got off the ship.

"What is your purpose in coming to the port? We have not received any orders from Washington. Do you have the procedures?" Chester asked someone directly.

After all, the other side has warships as well as transport ships.

This made Chester alert.

"We are here to trade. This ship was bought by a Chinese... His name is Zhengwei Chen! You people in San Francisco should all know him!" the captain said directly.

"Those ships need to be traded?" Chester suddenly realized that it was indeed related to Chen Zhengwei. He then stepped forward to ask, but he was also a little confused.

After all, there are too many ships... There are a total of sixteen ships, and most of them are warships.

Even though the cannons of all but three ships had been removed, they were still recognizable as warships at a glance.

"Except for three ships...all the others are! So has anyone notified him?" There was something strange in the captain's smile.

As we all know, this Chinese man does not have a very good relationship with the US government.

And now, the warships he bought are more powerful than the US Navy.

Although the cannon has been dismantled, it is now placed in the cabin.

As he spoke, both Chester and the captain of the piggy boat who came with Yan Qingyou at the dock had their heads buzzing.

What is Chen Zhengwei going to do by buying so many ships and warships?
Yan Qingyou was overjoyed, as these ships looked very majestic.

It’s indeed Brother Wei, his moves are different.

"Those warships..." Chester spoke subconsciously.

"No, those are not warships. They have been retired from the navy and turned into merchant ships. Look, all the cannons have been removed!" said the British captain with a smile.

"It is absolutely reasonable and legal! There is no problem at all."

It is not illegal to sell ships, and it is not illegal to sell cannons.

As long as the cannons were not installed on the ship, they were happy to help the Chinese install the cannons after the deal was completed. They even brought a dozen engineers from the shipyard for this purpose.

Not long after, Chen Zhengwei, who was awakened from his sleep, came over in a carriage. Rong Jiacai, A Long and Lin Changning also came with him. They were all very interested in the fleet that Chen Zhengwei bought.

A long row of horse-drawn carriages drove directly into the dock and stopped not far from the transport ship. A dozen men got off first and looked around, and then Chen Zhengwei and Lin Changning got off the carriages.

"Brother Wei, the boats you bought have arrived!" Yan Qingyou came forward and said, "Those boats are still on the sea."

Chen Zhengwei led his men over.

"Mr. Chen!"

"Mr. Chen!"

Others greeted him one after another.

There was also someone coming up from behind the British captain.

"Chen, your ships have been delivered! These ships are in good condition and only need a minor overhaul."

Chen Zhengwei laughed and shook hands with the other party. The man looked familiar. After thinking for a while, Chen Zhengwei remembered that he was the major naval staff officer from the last transaction.

Although the captain and the staff officer were not wearing naval uniforms, they were obviously from the Pacific Fleet.

"This time, in addition to your ship, we also have three escort warships that need to stop for maintenance and supplies. We need to send a telegram to the embassy..."

"Of course, no problem at all! I'll ask someone to take you to send the telegram!" Chen Zhengwei said with a smile.

"You can relax in San Francisco tonight! I've prepared a party for you!"

"I was deeply impressed by the last reception!" said the major staff officer with a smile.

The last time they walked, their legs were weak.

Only the hand holding the money was still strong.

"This time I will make a deeper impression on you!" Chen Zhengwei laughed, and then said to Yan Qingyou: "Arrange some prostitutes and hold a banquet for them tonight!"

Turning to Chester, he said, "Good afternoon, Chester! Except for the three warships, all of them are transport ships I bought. You can enter the port now!"

"Of course!" Chester's head was still buzzing when he heard this.

"Go and notify the people at the shipyard! These ships need to be sent to the shipyard for inspection and maintenance!" Chen Zhengwei gave another order.

Although these ships were "technically" retired, they are already quite old and have sailed so far that they need a complete overhaul.

They also had to install cannons and learn some techniques from the engineers in the British shipyards.

You should know that Britain's current shipbuilding capabilities are second to none in the world.

After these ships arrive at the port, the shipyard's designers will study the structures of these ships, which will also be of great benefit to the design of new warships.

Soon, after the flag signal was given, except for three warships that remained on the sea, all other ships approached the port.

Including the battleship "Warrior" which was technically retired.

"Is that... the Warrior...?" Chester let out a groan from his throat as the huge ship approached.

As the world's first battleship and Britain's most powerful battleship, Warrior is very well-known.

No one expected that the British would actually sell the ship to Chen Zhengwei.

Even though Chester has a good relationship with Chen Zhengwei now and he still owns shares in the club, he still feels uneasy.

I couldn't believe it.

This ship actually fell into Chen Zhengwei's hands.

If you put a cannon on it...

Chen Zhengwei’s original strength lay in his victory over the US Army on land.

And now... I'm afraid that the US Navy is not as powerful as Chen Zhengwei... What on earth does he want to do?
In Chester's heart, he couldn't help but worry about the future of this country.

Even though he takes money...it doesn't mean he doesn't care about this country.

I'm afraid many people in Washington will have trouble sleeping.

The piggy captains hired by Chen Zhengwei felt a chill on their backs when they saw the Warrior, an equally huge protective ship, and six gunboats entering the port.

These warships actually only took what Chen Zhengwei said “a little bit”?
Chen Zhengwei said before that in order to prevent pirates, in addition to transport ships, warships were also purchased for protection.

They really thought they bought a few small gunboats.

Now it seems that this is not about buying gunboats to escort the transport ships, but clearly about bringing a few transport ships to these warships to carry ammunition and supplies.

An idea that they couldn't help but think of was that Chen Zhengwei was preparing to fight back against the Qing Dynasty?
Why else would he buy these boats?
Even if we have to fight the US government, there is no need...

“Brother Wei, these are all our ships…” Aaron exclaimed as he watched the ships entering the port.

Even though he had been accompanying Chen Zhengwei to deal with the British at the time, he still felt a deep sense of shock when the ships arrived at the shore.

All these big ships belong to them.

"Many people won't be able to sleep tonight!" Chen Zhengwei looked at the ships entering the port, with a look of high spirits on his face, and laughed.

(End of this chapter)