"Governor, I really didn't expect things to turn out like this." When Li Xin spoke, his expression was finally not as excited as in the first few months. Li Xin cannot be blamed for this, China's sudden popularity in Europe is completely beyond the imagination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That level is no longer shock, but horror.

Of course, after slowly adapting to the situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reflected. Everyone originally thought that the foreign devils were irrational people, but now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has understood that the ruling class and the intellectual class among the foreign devils are actually quite rational, and they are excited, anxious, confused, and exploratory. In general, it is a very normal person.

If we have to find out who is abnormal, then Wei Ze, the initiator of this matter, is the abnormal person. It is not normal for individuals to be ahead of the country and the world, and to be able to make such a huge reaction in Europe with a few inverted hands.

Li Xin didn't dare to discuss this issue with Wei Ze. When facing Wei Ze, he said, "Dudu, I don't think you're normal!" "Even if Li Xin is beaten to death, it is impossible for him to make such a statement. The question raised by Li Xin is Britain's tough move towards China.

Even the British Parliament is unlikely to throw out a public resolution that says "I'm worried about China's rise, so I'm going to hit China hard." What is tough on China is concrete actions, and as for the resolution, it still has to go through various and full packaging. The reason for Britain's packaging this time was to "stabilize the situation in the Far East."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry understands the murderous spirit contained in these words, and the only way to stabilize the situation in the Far East is to make China listen to Britain. Will China listen? Of course there are no doors. Since China refuses to agree, the options left are extremely limited, if not one.

Because of the war more than half a year ago, France will certainly not be friendly to China, let alone Russia. Even if Austria-Hungary had no conflict with China, it had no friendship with China. It is also impossible for the German side to speak for China. Britain was in frequent contact with these countries at this time, and both Russia and France expressed their full approval in June 1874 after the British resolution to "stabilize the situation in the Far East." Austria-Hungary and Germany talked nonsense about wanting peace. The United States did not say anything, Britain put a lot of pressure on the United States, Britain strengthened its power in the Far East, and the United States was under even greater pressure.

The world's major industrial nations have taken a stand, and Britain will be free to move. Wei Ze knew this very well, and he smiled at Li Xin: "You can rest assured, the comrades of the Ministry of Commerce will not do anything from you." ”

Li Xin listened to Wei Ze's words and finally breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as the war is a disaster, China's foreign trade will basically cease. With the development and commissioning of several large silver mines in the world, the world silver price has plummeted in the past two years, and China has used its huge surplus with Britain to buy silver, but it has taken a large amount of money. War together, this benefit will be interrupted. Although the Ministry of Commerce has a good relationship with Li Xin, its personal relationship cannot withstand the interests of the department. Even if it is a formality, the Ministry of Commerce has to criticize the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its improper work, and the imprudent speech of the ambassador to the United Kingdom has led to the work of the Ministry of Commerce. As long as Wei Ze comes out to make a statement, all criticism will immediately stop.

It was just the time for the British to come, and the first five-year plan was just over. Weeser was worried about how to convince everyone, but now he wasn't worried. The military action of the British was able to convince the central government to the fullest. The Second Five-Year Plan can probably be summed up in two slogans: "Expansion" and "Everything is for the sake of winning the war."

Sending Li Xin away, Wei Ze convened a meeting of the Military Commission, and the members of the Military Commission already knew the attitude of the British, and the most common comment was "Is it really going to start fighting this time?" ”

Seven or eight years ago, Weeser had come up with a plan to do something to the British. Some of these plans were not implemented at all, and some of them were implemented for the first half of the period and then did not have the second half because of changes in the political situation. By now, when it seemed that the real war was going to start, it became the British who wanted to take the initiative to attack the door. China is not simply passively beaten, but the offensive force is no longer a navy, but an army.

In 1858, the French and Spanish navies jointly attacked Yan Harbor. Two years later, the French colonists captured Gia Dinh, Dinh Thuan, Bien Hoa, and Vinh Long in the eastern part of Cochinchina (southern Vietnam). In 1862, Emperor Nguyen Thi Duc of Vietnam signed the Treaty of Saigon with France. According to the treaty, Vietnam ceded Saigon, Bien Hoa, Gia Dinh, Dinh Dinh, and Kun Tan Islands to France, and compensated 20 million francs for the war expenses. In 1863, French colonists invaded Cambodia and made it a French protectorate. In 1867, the French colonists occupied the eastern provinces of Vinh Long, An Giang and Ha Tien in the eastern part of Cochinchina. By 1868, the French colonizers had seized all of southern Vietnam.

As early as 1865, the Chinese began to advance into Laos, sending mixed teams of doctors and troops from the countryside to advance from place to place, and the local people quickly accepted these new masters, who were not much different from their language.

In 1873, China eliminated the French army in the north that was trying to open the Red River line, and it began to operate. In the Spring Festival of 1874, the king of Laos, like the king of the Ryukyus, "went to Beijing to meet him", and then there was a very traditional drama of accepting land and being a vassal, and Laos became a province of China. The chieftains of the land were given some official positions for the time being, and everyone except the king was happy.

China did not solve the Laos problem alone, and from September 1873, the Liberation Army began to build roads and communication lines through Yunnan Province and Laos Province on the one hand, and on the other hand, it went deep into Burma. By this time, the British had already begun to invade Burma, and the war was fought twice. In such a dangerous world, Laos has returned to the safe and warm embrace of its motherland, and no longer has to worry about being invaded by France. Laos is safe, and the motherland of Myanmar, a wanderer, will not watch it be swallowed up in the stormy waves set off by the colonialists.

Weeser had few means of dealing with the British, the most reliable of which was to fight a land war with the British and approach India. This is not only a means to give play to our advantages, but also the best way to liberate Tibet. The most convenient way to Tibet is not through Sichuan and Tibet, but through India. Since it is bound to tear the face, it is better to solve more problems through war.

Lei Hu asked the question, "How long will this war drag on?" Five years? ”

"I think that's four or five years." Weese replied. Without four or five years, it is impossible to decide the winner of this war. At the very least, the economic impact on China will be limited for four or five years, and as long as there is no collapse-like rout of the navy, there is really no earth-shattering defeat for the army. Let the British maintain the war for four or five years, and for them the economic pressure is higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea.

"Shall we go to war with the legal person? I look at the intelligence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it seems that the French side has no plans for war for the time being. But they will definitely find a way to cut off our Siam route. Navy Commander Lin Jiajun raised his concerns.

"As long as the British do it to us, we will do it to the French." Wei Ze smiled, "Anyway, all the heroic French soldiers were martyred, and whether or not they really did it at that time is still up to us." ”

The members of the Military Commission could not help but rejoice, before the war began, Weze had already given the ...... in southern Vietnam, no, it should be said that China had already decided the fate of the French in the new land of China on the Gulf of Siam. Ten years ago, China tried to join forces with Vietnam against France, demanding that Vietnam cede the northern county of Cochin to China. But the Vietnamese court feared China more than France. They actually played a small trick to leak China's intelligence to France, hoping to exchange for France's support.

In this era when only the great powers had a real say, France not only did not cooperate with Vietnam, but returned to negotiate with China on the partition of Vietnam. In the end, in the Sino-French secret treaty, China agreed that France would occupy southern Vietnam, and France would guarantee the safety of China's rice routes between Siam and Vietnam, and China would not get the land, but only take actual control of the Hongji area.

At that time, the upper echelons of the Liberation Army still thought that Governor Wei Zedu was a little cheaper than France, but the navy was not strong, and the Liberation Army was used to fighting prepared battles, and no one dared to really risk an uncontrollable war.

Now the Liberation Army saw a different view, the French opened up territory in southern Vietnam, swallowed Cambodia, and signed treaties with neighboring countries. In France, step by step, he has raised himself into a big fat sheep, and if China does not eat this fat sheep, he will be sorry for himself. The Military Commission has fully understood why "being calm" is a real virtue.

The specific work of fighting in Burma does not require Wei Ze's command, the General Staff will draw up corresponding plans for itself, and all the Military Commission has to do is to reach a consensus.

After the meeting of the Central Military Commission, Wei Ze inspected the Nanjing Shipyard, the Shanghai Shipyard, and the Wuhan Shipyard. After the launch of the latest battleship, there were far more problems than expected. There are major problems with both the power system and the weapons system. Weeser didn't want to blame anyone, the construction of this warship was actually planned to start in 1874, and the navy finally agreed to use this warship as a test ship, and now problems are inevitable.

The third cruiser, the Qingdao, was officially received, and the Qingdao undertook a lot of experimental work, and after two successive overhauls, the Navy finally decided to scrap the ship. The 200 mm guns were indeed mighty, but the damage inflicted by the 200 mm guns on the Qingdao was also mighty. Coupled with the damage caused by various experiments, it is better to build a new warship to repair the Qingdao to a level suitable for combat. And not only the Tsingtao, but the first three cruisers had such problems.

Based on a large amount of data on five experimental warships, the cruiser was finalized at this time, with a displacement of 4400 tons, homogeneous steel ribs pressed by a 3000-ton hydraulic press, and a homogeneous "boiler steel" riveted hull pressed by a 1500-ton hydraulic press. All-waterline armor, 350 mm composite steel armor is used for key protection parts. The original eight boilers have been turned into six boilers, and the boiler steam pipes produced by 3,000 tons of water pressure are at least 50% thicker than the previous boilers. Two propellers driven by two triple-steam engines can run up to 18 knots. It must be noted that the propeller also needs the help of a 3000-ton hydraulic press.

With such armor and power, the cruiser's guns looked very shabby. Weeser pondered between the 125 and 120 guns for a long time, and finally chose the 120 guns with a slightly smaller caliber.

The three major shipyards have received orders for a total of 20 cruisers, and now the warships in the 12 docks are fully loaded and ready to be launched for sea trials. If nothing goes wrong, the trial flight and outfitting will be completed in four months. Weeser could only pray to Heaven to bless the British, and not to move so fast. Even if you pretend to entangle with China, you can buy important time for China to tear its face.