The middle of the 19th century was an era of great technological change, and ship technology also underwent earth-shaking changes during this period. This was the era when the technology of the sail battleships was at its peak, this was the era when steam turbines and ironclad battleships began to sprout, and it was also the era when new explosives replaced old granulated gunpowder......

Countless new technologies were invented and promoted during this period, and the progress of science and technology directly drove the wheels of the second industrial revolution and reshaped a new map of great powers.

The United States, Germany, Japan, and even the Red Soviet Union, these emerging powers that influenced the direction of modern history all took advantage of the wave of the second industrial revolution to leap forward, until they finally replaced Britain and France.

With the help of the huge power of new technology, it is true that the strength and weakness of the human world can be changed, but this change will not happen overnight, and the popularization of any new technology will take time.

For example, the telegraph technology that has changed the pattern of human communication is obviously very mature now, but it is not so easy to popularize the telegraph network covering the whole world, and it will take at least ten years to lay the submarine communication cable across the ocean.

At present, the exchange of information between the East and the West can only take advantage of the advantages of telegraph technology in a limited area, and more often than not, it is still necessary for sea ships to ride the wind and waves to transmit information to distant places.

The time difference is very terrible, because a lot of intrigue and intrigue are hidden in the time difference, Molière's mouth is not an empty word, sometimes a piece of information can already determine the outcome of a battle.

"Xiao Letian, I admit that my talent is far inferior to yours, but it's a pity that there is only one Xiao Lotian in the entire Eastern World, and you can never become two...... What's more, the people of East Asia are ignorant and backward, and without the inspiration of a hero, they are simply a herd of sheep who do nothing......"

"Wait, when you return to Asia and see the razed Ryukyus, I think you will regret that you have offended the mighty French...... Long live the Emperor..."

The fanatical knight Molière stood on the deck, praying to God all night long, expressing his determination to His Majesty the Emperor, and under this religious self-brainwashing, his will to fight became stronger and stronger.

The fleet led by Molière consisted of one battleship, that is, the main battleship Glory, plus seven frigates and two cruisers, of which only the Glory had a three-tier gun firing deck with 140 guns, while the remaining frigates were all double-decked with an average of about 60 guns.

As for the two fast cruisers, they only had a single-layer firing deck and only 20 guns, and their main role was only to use their speed advantage to cover the battlefield.

According to Rear Admiral Bruce's idea, there will definitely be no accident in this punitive battle of the task force, and a full 600 guns, I am afraid that as long as two or three salvos are fired at Naha Harbor, it will already become a sea of fire. Even against the entire Qing Dynasty, the advantage of 600 artillery pieces is obvious.

As long as the supplies are sufficient, this expeditionary fleet can bomb all the coastal cities of China, and then knock out the government's 1.8 million taels of silver, so that everyone can even earn retirement money.

Major General Bruce thought well, but could not assimilate Molière's envoy, a knight from Paris who seemed to have a perpetual worry in his heart, and was always muttering about counting time. Major General Bruce made several attempts to ask on the side, but nothing came up.

However, the officers of the entire fleet knew that this envoy must have a secret plan.

Just as the French task force was about to cross Malacca, no one in the Qing Empire and the Ryukyu Kingdom in the north knew that such a fleet was heading for them, and no one had the slightest sense of crisis.

Directly north of the Forbidden City, on the shore of the North Sea as a royal garden, the willow shade is swaying, the cool breeze is blowing, and the Manchu nobles who are afraid of heat do not have the Old Summer Palace as a good place to spend summer, but the Shicha sea system can still meet their needs.

Although the coal mountain in Beihai said that a Chongzhen emperor hanged himself, the brave children of the Eight Banners outside the gate obviously would not care, and they were not afraid of you Chongzhen when they were alive, and they should be afraid of your ghost after death? Not only that, the coal mountain was repaired many times in the hands of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the pavilions and pavilions were even more luxurious than those of the Ming Dynasty.

The queen mother of the two palaces has been in a very good mood for the past half a year, although Xiao Letian who has jumped out of the sky overseas in the fourth year of Tongzhi has been tossing for a year, but fortunately, the ancestors blessed, and this monkey finally stopped.

At the beginning of the year, he also got married, and his aunt and grandmother in Manchuria became his daughter-in-law, and the beauty group given to him by the royal family, he also smiled, and in the past half a year, he actually paid 30,000 taels of silver to the internal affairs government through the hands of the third master.

Don't look at the money is not much, but this heart is royal leader, according to the strength of Xiao Letian's hands now, even if he doesn't pay a penny to Daqing, the household department and the internal affairs government don't dare to come to the door, that Sun Monkey really dares to kill people, Daqing can't afford to toss him.

But now no one is urging him, he actually took the initiative to hand it over, this kind of strong political signal can be seen clearly by the royal family, isn't this just taking the initiative to ease the situation, this matter makes the royal family feel a lot of face.

Not only that, Zeng Guofan's suppression of Changmao Yu's sins in the south, and Li Hongzhang's suppression of the Twist Army in Shandong and Henan were also quite smooth, and the little emperors who watched the good news all clapped their hands and laughed.

Then there are the three major industrial special zones of the Qing Dynasty, which are now also very prosperous, especially in Fuqing, which can be said to be smooth sailing, and all kinds of roads, drainage culverts, and factory foundations in the park have been built in half a year. The third master gave a discount to the prime minister's yamen almost every ten days, and Prince Gong drank a few more glasses with joy in and out of his words.

The highest enjoyment of entertainment in ancient times has to be said to be watching a big drama, the queen mother of the two palaces set up a stage on the shore of the North Sea, and passed on the top ten famous opera troupes in the capital, singing a three-day drama in full swing, not only making the royal family happy, but also making the Manchu Dynasty civil and military happy.

For a time, the sound of silk and bamboo on the Beihai side was endless, and the performances of various dramas and texts at the end of the Shengdan Jingwei Competition, along the Beihai Bay, the top ten opera troupes opened ten stages in a row, and everyone took out the unique skills at the bottom of the box to try their best to attract the attention of the Manchu Dynasty civil and military.

The little emperor and the queen mother of the two palaces have really never seen such a singing opera, including the Manchu Dynasty civil and military, they are a little dumbfounded, and when they look back, they know that this method is actually the most popular eunuch around the little emperor, Ermao, who came up with a way out, and even gave it a name called the opera league.

"Say hello to Lafayette, hello to the emperor, hello to all the adults... I am also thinking about the slaves, I think this craft is good or not, I have to compare to know that the top ten opera troupes are performing at the same time, everyone can watch whatever they like, and whoever has the most people under the stage, won't it be ranked?"

"There is a competitive mind in it, do you say that they can not work hard? It is estimated that in the past three days, they will have to take out all the unique skills of their ancestors, if they can earn the first place, their troupe will be the number one in the capital in the future..."

As soon as Ermao explained this, everyone suddenly realized, and the two queen mothers were overjoyed and announced on the spot that he would be allowed to hang the title of the royal opera troupe for one year, and wait for a year later to open a big stage on the edge of the Beihai Sea and grab the first prize again.

This is amazing, to be able to hang a royal title, this glory is the children of Liyuan dare not think of it, on the spot the class owners of the ancestral pressure box bottom skills have been taken out, the North Sea is more lively than the New Year.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glass and congratulate the Queen Mother... Congratulations to the emperor... Congratulations to our Qing Dynasty... I wish me 10,000 years of the Qing Dynasty, 10,000 years..."

"I wish me a great Qing dynasty, ten thousand years, ten thousand years..."

In a congratulatory voice, the queen mother of the two palaces was like drinking a big bowl of alcohol, and her whole heart was drunk, "All the ministers are so loyal, the mourning family has seen it, and the Qing Dynasty shares weal and woe with all the courtiers, sharing the glory and wealth..."

Cixi roared, and the entire civil and military officials were boiling, and being able to share the glory and wealth under the bath of imperial power is the blessing of several lifetimes. As for how hard the untouchables live and how ambitious the overseas foreigners are, it has nothing to do with everyone, we just need to be rich today.

The atmosphere has exploded, and Tongzhi Zhongxing has been publicized by the literati in such an eager atmosphere of flowers and brocade and blazing fire, who is the prosperous dynasty? How many people are grieving? This is not what these big men are willing to consider.

Just when the empress dowager of the two palaces was enjoying peace, several eunuchs suddenly rushed from the direction of the Nangong Gate, and the first one was actually An Dehai, the great eunuch who served Cixi.

In the chaotic situation, who wouldn't pay attention to the hurried footsteps of several eunuchs, but Ermao's eyes were very vicious, and he saw An Dehai's sweating profusely at a glance.

An Dehai forgot to salute, strode to Cixi's side, whispered a few times and then handed over a roll of paper, when Cixi opened it to watch, she didn't even need half a minute, she was already startled.

Ci'an was also stunned, she looked at Cixi's stunned expression stupidly, and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?

Cixi couldn't tell whether she was in a good or bad mood now, so she turned her head and dragged Ci'an to a side room where the eunuch lived.

"My good sister, look at this, this is the latest newspaper brought back by the French merchant ship, that Xiao Lotian may be dead......"

"Huh?" Ci'an snatched the roll of paper from Cixi's hand with a strange cry, and when he opened it, he found that it was full of foreign characters. Ci'an is not stupid, she knows that this is the most popular newspaper in Europe, and when she saw the original photo, she was so frightened that her jaw was about to dislocate.

"Is this Xiao Letian? He was stabbed in the chest? Is he already dead......

That's right, the newspaper in the hands of the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces is the French newspaper Figaro, and the photo on it is, of course, the photo arranged by Xiao Letian and the photo of the bayonet piercing the heart.

"Hahaha...... Hahaha...... "Cixi laughed and went crazy" Retribution, this is retribution, I didn't expect that this troublesome Sun Monkey was finally taken away, and he actually died overseas...... The Qing Dynasty is fortunate, and the people are blessed... Die well......"

This book was first published from 17K Novel Network, the first time to see the genuine content!R405