Chapter 89

As the sun set in the west and the stars were few, the city lights began to twinkle, and the neon lights flickered.

In the spacious study, various documents were scattered haphazardly on the floor, pages strewn about in disarray. Under the bright main light, a middle-aged man with a mustache was rummaging through the mess, muttering curses, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead due to his agitation. Glancing sideways, he noticed the young boy, who was about his height, still standing there in a daze. He glared and shouted angrily, "What are you standing there for? Why don't you quickly put those useless documents back where they belong? Just because of your one word, I've almost gone through all the intelligence files about international affairs from the past month! You just talk, and I have to do all this work. How ridiculous!"

Hearing the middle-aged man's scolding, the boy was greatly displeased. It wasn't as if he had asked him to go through these documents, so why was he blaming him? However, he could only grumble inwardly and didn't stop moving. Following the middle-aged man's instructions, he stuffed the scattered pages back into their original places and began to organize the piles of documents. Since he was not familiar with the layout of the study, he inevitably made some mistakes, which earned him another round of scolding from the irate middle-aged man.

Just as he was feeling extremely resentful and was about to quit after finishing the current stack, he suddenly heard the middle-aged man's voice filled with surprise and joy. The boy turned around and saw the middle-aged man waving his hands, causing the pages to fly about. He then pulled out a document, his face beaming with unhidden joy. Seeing the boy turn around, his face, which was usually handsome and fair, was filled with a strange expression. The middle-aged man stood there for a moment, then withdrew his left hand into his sleeve and resumed his usual expression.

"Three and a half years ago, a Filipino native named Bonisio founded a cult organization called 'Katipunan,' aiming to overthrow Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines through armed rebellion. Over the years, the organization has grown rapidly in the Philippines and now has hundreds of thousands of followers. To prepare for the armed rebellion, the cult organization has raised large sums of money from its followers and secretly signed a contract with Japan in early February this year to purchase several thousand rifles and... more than 100 cannons? Currently, the rebel forces have grown to a thousand and are still increasing at an alarming rate..."

Under the light, William murmured the information from the sealed document, his voice filled with a sense of astonishment: "So many rifles and more than 100 cannons, these locals must be crazy! How much of their savings have they put into this? Currently, the Spanish regular troops in the Philippines number less than a regiment, and they usually rely on locally recruited soldiers to maintain order. Once these weapons are successfully transferred to the natives, how long can the Spanish stay on these islands? This important document was only delivered half a month ago, and I don't remember it at all?"

Seeing that William had actually found the document about the Philippines, Sei Ying felt a slight relief. It seemed his memory was not faulty, and the monkeys in the Philippines had indeed lived up to his expectations, launching a new wave of anti-Spanish colonial rebellion. At present, the Spanish regular troops in the Philippines numbered only 1,200, a stark contrast to the rebel forces. Moreover, with the large-scale uprising in Cuba under Spanish rule, the empire was struggling to deploy troops overseas. In the historical timeline Sei Ying was familiar with, even though Spanish reinforcements eventually arrived in the Philippines and achieved some minor victories, the situation ultimately spiraled out of control. If nothing changed, this history would follow its original path. Seeing the mixture of surprise and regret on William's face, Sei Ying paused and then said, "Father deals with countless matters every day, and occasionally forgetting one or two is understandable."

William glanced at Sei Ying and let out a barely audible snort. Since this guy returned from his world tour, he had brought a lot of new ideas and concepts, which had opened William's mind and led to reforms. By now, William couldn't remember how many times he had been led by the nose by this guy, and each time, the guy had proven his words to be correct, which was a significant blow to William's pride. This feeling had only been frequent in the first two years of his reign, and since that person left, William had almost forgotten what it felt like to be humbled.

However, compared to that stern and rigid old man, this energetic young son seemed much more endearing and easier to accept.

William looked at the paper in his hand, his gaze unfocused, lost in various thoughts for a long time. After a while, his eyes refocused. Seeing the culprit sitting beside him with an innocent look, William snorted again and said coolly, "You have a good heart. From this, it seems that within half a year, the Philippines will surely fall into war again."

Sei Ying smiled slightly but said nothing.

William composed himself and said slowly, "Even without the more than 100 cannons, just a small portion of those rifles in the hands of the natives would pose an unprecedented threat to Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. This time, to completely drive out the Spanish, the natives will surely engage in fierce battles with the Spanish on Luzon Island, where Manila, the capital, is located. This will be the best opportunity for us to seize a port in the Philippines. Due to the native rebellion, our action will be seen as assisting the Spanish in maintaining their colony rather than plundering a white colony, thus reducing the diplomatic pressure on us."

"However, this is just an excuse for our action. The major powers like Britain and France will not fail to see our true intentions. Therefore, we must consider their attitudes and ensure they support, or at least do not oppose, our territorial claims in the Philippines. In Southeast Asia, the main power is Britain, and the French Far East Fleet is stationed in Hanoi, which is only a day's sail from the Philippines," Sei Ying reminded him. Historically, Germany watched as the Americans conquered the Philippines with just a few protected cruisers, partly due to insufficient preparation and partly due to British opposition. Although in this timeline, he had already warned William about the Kruger Telegram, it was still necessary to thoroughly understand Britain's stance. If Britain were to strongly oppose, Germany would have no chance given the strength of the British fleet in the Far East.

"The British... they have their own interests to pursue. A few years ago, the largest gold mine in the world was discovered in Transvaal, South Africa, and the British desire for Transvaal is no less than our desire for the Philippines! In this situation, we can support their actions in South Africa in exchange for their tacit approval of our advance into the Philippines. This mutual non-interference and mutual benefit will surely be accepted by the British. As for the French..." William's face showed a hint of disdain, "We just need to show a slight inclination to support their conquest of southern China and not oppose their turning it into a colony. If these Gauls dare to be blind, I don't mind spending three months to capture Paris and make them pay 5 billion francs to Germany!"

Sei Ying inwardly scoffed. Now that France had Russia as an ally, although its fighting power was not as high as people imagined, it was still capable of dealing with Austria-Hungary. Once a war broke out, Germany would have to divide its forces on the eastern front, making it impossible to repeat the Franco-Prussian War.

William said calmly, "After we seize a port in the Philippines, we will quickly fortify and militarize it. Using this as a base, we will expand into the interior of the Philippines while the natives and the Spanish are engaged in battle. What are a few thousand rifles and 100 cannons? The Spanish can't suppress the natives, which proves they are not fit to rule this region. In the face of a truly well-trained elite army, the natives' resistance will be futile!"

Sei Ying nodded in agreement with William's words. History shows that the Filipinos are always bullies who fear the strong. Any attempt to appease them will only backfire; only the roar of cannons can communicate with them.

During the Spanish rule, due to the low quality of their army, the Filipinos frequently rebelled. Later, when the Americans arrived, the Filipinos, having just defeated the Spanish, were overconfident and declared war on the Americans, hoping to drive them out of the territory. The result of this is well-known. Although the American army was not particularly strong, the country's overall power was far superior to Spain's. Within a year, the Americans sent 120,000 troops from the mainland, along with countless weapons and supplies. Under this overwhelming force, the Filipino resistance quickly crumbled. After a few years, the Filipinos were completely subdued and submitted to American rule. The German army, far superior to the American one, would surely have no trouble suppressing the Filipinos.

William looked up at the sky and realized it was already dark outside. He waved his hand and said, "It's late. You go back first, and then call Alfred. I have something to tell him."

PS: After the recommendation ended, the number of new favorites dropped to only one-third of what it was during the recommendation period... The author is very sad... Please give some favorites.

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