The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 561 Say Thank You to Me

The Chilean Navy is the most powerful navy in South America. Especially after the war broke out, it defeated Peru and Bolivia. The continuous victories made the Chileans full of confidence.

However, even without the captain's reminder, the soldiers who came over gradually put away their arrogance.

After all, Chen Zhengwei's warships are too big. Chile's two main warships have a displacement of 3560 tons each.

Chen Zhengwei's Warrior has a displacement of 9210 tons.

The difference is clear at a glance.

Even those transport ships have a displacement similar to that of Chile's main fleet.

"Damn it, is this the main fleet of the United States? Why are they here?" Looking at the Warrior that was getting bigger and bigger, the captain of the small gunboat cursed in a low voice.

As members of the navy, they could see the gap between the two sides just by looking at their appearance.

Therefore, they put away their confidence before even getting on the boat.

After both sides exchanged flag signals, the small gunboat stopped not far away, then lowered a small boat. The captain and several crew members approached the Warrior and boarded the ship.

Then he was surprised to find that the ship was full of yellow-skinned Chinese.

He was then brought before Chen Zhengwei.

After seeing Wan Yun, he was also surprised that there was a woman on this warship. At the same time, his evaluation of the commander of this fleet dropped by one level.

"Good afternoon, sir! There is a fighting going on ahead, and we are in the war zone. May I ask why you are here?" The captain tried his best to be neither humble nor arrogant.

He was worried that this American fleet was coming to support Peru, which would be a big trouble.

"Don't worry, we're just passing by!" Chen Zhengwei said with a smile.

"That's great! Can I ask about your goal?"

"Cape Horn!"

"I wish you a safe voyage!" The captain was completely relieved and then left with his men.

Chen Zhengwei looked at him leaving and smiled meaningfully.

He suddenly realized that Chile's blockade was good for him.

Chile blockaded the ports of Peru and Bolivia, cutting off the supply lines of the two countries and weakening the war and military potential of the two countries.

In other words, the guns and bullets he brought with him could be sold at a good price.

This is like helping someone in need.

And many other terms can be negotiated.

He had originally planned to use cannons to blast open the door to Peru, but now it seems that is no longer necessary.

He was already considering whether he should send a San Francisco minister to Peru.

"Go directly to Lima!" Chen Zhengwei ordered Liu Guanchang.

That is the capital of Peru.

……

During the following voyage, we could occasionally see small Chilean gunboats blockading Peru's coastal cities.

However, after seeing Chen Zhengwei's fleet, these small warships hid far away and did not dare to approach at all.

Until near Lima, the capital of Peru, the Chilean navy was no longer there. Instead, there were several small Peruvian gunboats. After seeing Chen Zhengwei's fleet from afar, they almost turned around and fled.

"Is this the Peruvian navy?" Chen Zhengwei stood on the balcony and looked out with a telescope in his hand.

As far as the eye could see, there were only three wooden sailing gunboats sailing on the sea, with a displacement of no more than 600 tons.

You have to know that this is the sea near Lima, the capital of Peru.

In addition, all coastal cities were blockaded by Chile, which shows that Peru’s navy was almost non-existent.

"Go straight to the port!" Chen Zhengwei ordered.

Two hours later, the fleet appeared outside the port, and the Peruvian navy only dared to follow from a distance.

"Fire a round of cannons to say hello to them first!" Chen Zhengwei ordered. He really liked using cannons to lead the way.

When negotiating in this way, the other party will offer more favorable terms.

Then the Warrior's gun hatch opened, and the muzzles of the cannons protruded out.

Boom boom boom!

Shells fell into the sea in front of the port.

The Peruvians were shocked and the whole of Lima was on alert. Teams of soldiers rushed to the artillery positions and aimed their cannons at the direction of Chen Zhengwei's fleet.

"Americans?" Peruvian President Nicolas de Pierravert stood on a high place and looked through a telescope.

He frowned as he faced the fleet that was approaching the port.

"Why are they here? What's their purpose?"

An interesting thing is that after the war broke out last year, due to the political and military pressure of the war, the then President Mariano Ignacio Prado fled.

He visited Europe last year and never returned, causing extreme dissatisfaction among Peruvians.

Then the current president came to power through a coup.

"Zhengwei Chen?" President DePierlavit quickly figured out who this fleet belonged to.

Although Peru has been blocked, the president still has his own news channels.

"It looks like they're coming with great force..." DePirlavet thought for a moment and felt that there was nothing in Peru worth Chen Zhengwei's attention at the moment.

Moreover, the enemy only fired one round of artillery fire, and it did not seem that they were going to attack Peru.

More like informing them of something.

"Contact them! Find out what they're up to."

Soon, a small gunboat headed towards Chen Zhengwei's fleet and met Chen Zhengwei.

Two hours later, the gunboat returned and the Foreign Minister jumped off the boat with a look of joy on his face and quickly came to the President.

"They are here to do business! They brought a lot of rifles and bullets!"

"Great!" President de Pierravert showed a look of surprise when he heard this. Not only is Peru blockaded at sea, but its land army is also losing ground.

It was because there were not enough guns and bullets. As for Chen Zhengwei's previous round of firing, he regarded it as an American custom of greeting.

In fact, Peru actually has some hatred towards Chen Zhengwei. At the beginning, Chen Zhengwei's people organized a riot in Iquique, and a large number of Chinese workers blew up the fortresses and artillery positions in the port after the riot.

More than 10,000 Chinese workers fled Peru, causing huge losses.

But now he just pretends that never happened.

"How many guns and bullets did they bring? Where do they plan to talk?"

"One hundred thousand rifles, twenty million rounds of ammunition! They are preparing to land!"

"Immediately clear the berths at the port and move the gun muzzles of the artillery. We must show the friendliness of Peru!" De Pierlavite ordered.

Soon, the port gave up the berths and the gun muzzles of the forts were moved away.

De Pierravette personally led cabinet officials to the dock to greet them, and even mobilized some wealthy people to join in the greeting.

This makes you seem to value the other person more.

Watching the Warrior gradually entering the harbor, DePirlavette could not help but feel envious: "What a magnificent warship! If we had a navy like this, we would be able to defeat Chile!"

Then the Warrior lowered the gangplank and Chen Zhengwei and his men got off the ship.

Looking at the tall Chen Zhengwei, information about Chen Zhengwei flashed through DePirlavit's mind again.

He has a bad temper and will never let go of any grudge.

But it doesn't matter. As long as the other party can help them, he can tolerate it.

"Hello, Mr. Chen, welcome!" Depierravit stepped forward and shook Chen Zhengwei's hands with both hands.

The translator is translating on the side.

After Chen Zhengwei figured out the other party's identity, he smiled kindly and said, "I'm here to help you!"

Hearing this, DePierlavit was even happier. "Thank you very much for your help. We can go to the presidential palace to talk!"

At the same time, he introduced the city of Lima to Chen Zhengwei while walking.

Chen Zhengwei had no interest in this city, but he still looked around with interest, mainly at the civilians in the distance.

He soon noticed that the rich were not greatly affected by the war, but the civilians here were not having a good time. They were all pale and thin, obviously not even having enough food to eat, and their clothes were dirty and tattered.

In other words, there is not only a shortage of weapons, but also a shortage of food, textiles, and other things.

The only problem is whether they have the money to buy it, but that is a minor problem.

Peru and Bolivia are important because they are the world's leading exporters of guano, an important raw material for making nitrogen fertilizer.

Chile, Peru, and Bolivia went to war over where guano was produced.

In addition, Peru is also rich in rubber, and its production of gold, silver, copper and lead is also very large. It is one of the largest copper producers in the world.

DePierravette was not in a hurry to talk about guns and ammunition. He first invited Chen Zhengwei into the Presidential Palace and arranged accommodation for Chen Zhengwei.

A grand banquet was held for Chen Zhengwei in the evening.

Although Chen Zhengwei didn't understand the Spanish, he was still somewhat interested in Peruvian dance, especially the enthusiastic Peruvian girls.

You should know that Peru's elite class is almost all mixed-race of Spanish and local people.

That is the kind of Latin Americans commonly seen in later generations, which is very consistent with Chen Zhengwei's aesthetic.

If he wasn't the protagonist of the night and everyone was staring at him, he would have disappeared into an unknown room.

However, after returning to the manor assigned to him at night, he let Wanyun go back to his room to sleep. Within half an hour, two Peruvian girls were sent to his room.

It was not until noon the next day that Chen Zhengwei climbed out of bed, looked at the girl beside him, yawned, and staggered out of the room with his pants held up.

It was not until the afternoon that Depierravit brought his cabinet members to see Chen Zhengwei.

"Mr. Chen, are you satisfied with the banquet last night?"

"Very good! But I think it can be a little more lively!" Chen Zhengwei smacked his lips and savored the taste.

It’s really good!

Very energetic! Very interesting!
"Of course, we in Peru are the most enthusiastic. Mr. Chen can enjoy the enthusiasm of us Peruvians here." DePirlavette said with a smile, and then went straight to the point.

"But please forgive me, we need to talk about what you brought this time! Our situation in Peru is urgent!"

Apparently, he was a soldier and not very good at business.

"Let's show our President the goods we brought first!" Chen Zhengwei laughed.

The henchmen carried over two boxes, which were brought down from the supply ship yesterday.

The wooden box was then opened with a crowbar, revealing the rifle and bullets inside.

"The Remington roller rifle is durable, easy to maintain, and can use different bullets! The best rifle in the United States!" Chen Zhengwei picked up a rifle and threw it to the president.

“60 dollars a bunch!”

"The bullets are also produced by Remington, and they are also the best!" Chen Zhengwei grabbed a handful of bullets, and then they fell from the gaps between his fingers like sand, making a tinkling sound.

"25 cents a piece!"

DePierravette tested the rifle in his hand, then picked up a handful of bullets and examined them carefully.

“The price is a bit expensive!”

"These aren't the obsolete goods sold to you by the Europeans. These are the best and most advanced! And I had to drive a fleet to deliver these goods. How much manpower and resources did I spend? And I risked falling out with Chile."

"What do you call this? This is called helping someone in need! I'm here to do good deeds!"

"And besides me, is there anyone else who can deliver these things?"

Chen Zhengwei smiled with a bit of arrogance.

“You have to say thank you!”

These guns cost only $13 in the United States, but cost $20 to ship to South America, and the bullets cost 1 cent each in the United States, but cost 10 cents to ship to South America.

However, based on the current situation in Peru, Chen Zhengwei directly doubled the price.

Even if the price is twice as high, you still have to say thank you to me!

Otherwise I will beat you!

(End of this chapter)