PFC Chapter 17 Shipboard Bargaining Chips
Chapter 17 Shipboard Bargaining Chips
As Chen Feng and his group stepped onto the beach, the small boat also docked. It carried three blond youths and a brown-haired middle-aged man.
The boat was small, but it carried three blond youths and a brown-haired middle-aged man.
The young men were all dressed in short sleeves and shorts, their arm muscles bulging, and their waists were bulging, so it was obvious that they carried handguns.
The middle-aged men are dressed in suits and ties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and appear refined and cultured.
"Who are you people?" The middle-aged man with brown hair shouted urgently in the indigenous language first, and when he saw that no one reacted, he quickly switched to Mandarin.
At the same time, the three young men also placed their right hands on their waists.
Chen Feng raised his hand to signal everyone to stop and replied in English, "We are the Luzon Chinese Free Army."
"You speak English?" The brown-haired middle-aged man's eyes lit up. Seeing that Chen Feng didn't seem to have any ill intentions, he stood at the bow of the ship and asked, "The Luzon Chinese Free Army? When was it established? Why haven't I heard of it before?"
Chen Feng smiled but didn't answer directly: "My name is Chen Feng, and I'm the commander of the Chinese Free Army. You must be American soldiers, disguised and sent ashore to gather intelligence on the independence army, right?"
"clever!"
The middle-aged man with brown hair, his identity exposed, was not angry. He chuckled and introduced himself: "I am John Connor, a colonel intelligence officer of the United States Pacific Fleet. We are indeed gathering information on the movements of the Revolutionary Army."
"Hello, Mr. Connor, it's a pleasure to meet you." Chen Feng threw down the curved knife at his waist, walked alone towards the small boat, and extended his right hand.
Connor shook his head, not disembarking to shake hands, but instead pointing at Vinal and asking, "You came here on your own initiative, what do you want? Aren't you carrying a Spanish colonial officer?"
Those Americans are so arrogant!
Chen Feng suppressed his displeasure and kept his smile unchanged: "I want your friendship. This man is Colonel Vinal of the Spanish colonial army. You should have heard of him."
"Vinnar?"
Connor was taken aback for a moment, then jumped off the bow of the boat, walked quickly to the stretcher, and bent down to examine it closely.
Upon seeing this, Chen Feng's eyes lit up with a smile, realizing that he had underestimated this big fish.
"Waaaaah..."
Vinal's mouth was gagged with a strip of cloth, and he struggled incessantly.
"Haha!" Connor laughed and gave Chen Feng a thumbs up. "This man is one of the top-ranking soldiers in the Spanish Luzon colonial army, and his family is one of the oldest in Spain. The fact that you were able to capture him shows that your Chinese Free Army has some strength."
Chen Feng extended his right hand again: "Should this person be able to exchange for the friendship of the United States of America?"
"Of course!" Connor didn't refuse again and extended his right hand as well.
The two held hands tightly, both with smiles on their faces.
The soldiers of the Chinese Free Army looked much more relaxed upon seeing this.
Connor asked directly, "Chen, just say it! For us Americans, friendship can be measured in money."
Americans are indeed direct.
Chen Feng preferred dealing with straightforward people, so he stopped beating around the bush and said, "Our Chinese Free Army lacks equipment and funds, and we need your support."
"How much?" Connor asked.
"One thousand standard rifles, twenty thousand rounds of ammunition, ten thousand US dollars, plus trade preference in northern Luzon." Chen Feng made an outrageous demand.
"What?!" Connor exclaimed in shock, taking several steps back. "Chen! You've got too much to ask! Vinal isn't worth that price!"
In business, people always ask for the moon upfront and then try to negotiate the final price.
Chen Feng chuckled and asked, "Mr. Connor, what price can you offer?"
"With my authority, I can only provide fifty guns, a thousand rounds of ammunition, and five hundred dollars. Trade preference is not something I can promise." As Connor spoke, his eyes kept glancing at Vinal.
Chen Feng took in everything and shook his head, saying, "That's too little! Why don't you talk to Vinal first?"
"Can!"
Connor turned and walked straight to Vinal, casually tearing the gag out of his mouth: "Colonel Vinal, you're in bad shape. If you don't get treatment soon, you might have to have your leg amputated."
He said that on purpose, wanting to scare Vinar first so he could gather information.
"snort!"
Vinal gave a cold laugh and remained silent.
Chen Feng leaned closer and explained, "The bullet only pierced the skin and flesh of my thigh; it didn't damage the tendons, bones, or arteries. Amputation is nowhere in sight!"
Connor's plan backfired, and he chuckled dryly, "I just wanted to help you. How did you get captured by the Chinese Free Army?"
Vinal felt embarrassed as he recalled what happened last night.
As a dignified colonel, he was caught alone while under the protection of guards, so he was naturally embarrassed to mention it and had no choice but to keep quiet.
Seeing that he remained silent, Connor grew angry, but still maintained a smile and asked, "Colonel Vinal, how many people are in the Luzon Chinese Free Army? What is their strength?"
"They have at least two thousand men, and they are very powerful, otherwise I wouldn't have been captured." Although Vinal disliked Chen Feng, he hated the profit-driven Americans even more for deliberately exaggerating the numbers in an attempt to make the Americans bleed more.
"Two thousand people?"
Connor stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said, "Your asking price is far too high. It's not something I can decide on my own. You can talk to our commander!"
"Okay!" Chen Feng was secretly delighted, but his face remained expressionless.
"Then come with me to Corregidor Island!"
After Connor finished speaking, he walked towards the small boat first.
Chen Feng first called Ding Junkai and Wang Liang to his side, whispered a few words to them, and then quickly followed them.
The group transferred from a small boat to a three-masted merchant ship and headed towards Corregidor Island.
Two hours later, we arrived at our destination.
Connor pointed to the giant ship in front of him, his face full of pride: "This is the most advanced battleship in America."
A hint of envy flashed in Chen Feng's eyes.
In his previous life, he was a military enthusiast and knew that this was the Indiana-class battleship with a displacement of 10288 tons, equipped with four 330mm main guns, and a speed of 15 knots.
Although its seaworthiness is poor for ocean voyages and it cannot be deployed globally like the British Majesty-class destroyers, it is not a force to be reckoned with by most countries.
Chen Feng took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, "Is this an Indiana-class battleship? Is it the USS Indiana? Or the USS Massachusetts?"
"You Chinese people are really well-informed. This is the USS Indiana." Connor looked surprised and pointed to the deck of the warship ahead, saying, "That's General George Dewey."
Chen Feng looked in the direction he was pointing and saw an elderly man in a U.S. Navy uniform leaning against the ship's railing, staring at him with a puzzled expression.
Moments later, the two boarded the Indiana.
"Connor, weren't you supposed to be gathering intelligence on the Independence Army? Why are you back so soon?" George Dewey's hair was neatly combed, his voice was deep, and his expression was grave.
Connor quickly explained, "I met a commander of the Chinese Free Army who captured Colonel Vinal and wants to speak with you."
Chen Feng immediately introduced himself in English: "Major General George, hello! I am Chen Feng, commander of the Chinese Free Army."
"Chen...Feng?"
George Dewey's expression softened considerably upon hearing that Chen Feng could speak English, but his tone abruptly shifted: "Most ordinary Chinese people probably don't know anything about Vinal. His full name is Vinal Medina Sidonia. This family is one of the three most powerful families in Spain, monopolizing the spice and silver trade between Spain and the Americas and Asia. However, if you're planning to overcharge him, you can leave now."