Suddenly being called out of his identity, Liu Baokai was a little flustered, and he regained his composure very quickly, there is a saying that "it is a blessing or a curse, but a curse cannot be avoided". So he turned to look at the man as he pretended not to care.

"Who else should I be, it turned out to be Young Master Chen, do you want to join in the fun this time?" After seeing the person who came, the pervert's heart was more than half settled.

This Young Master Chen is the second young master of a big merchant family in Tianjin, and his full name is Chen Hao. Because he is not the grandson of the eldest house, he has not been trained to be the successor of the family, but he has been to many places with his father, and the people and things he has seen are also extensive among his peers, and once when he did business with the family and the Liu family's business, it happened that Liu Baokai lacked pocket money to fight the autumn breeze on the counter, seeing that this person was close to his age, and the familiar lust @ wolf took the initiative to talk, and there was no door between young people to start brothers.

Seeing that the little grandfather was pretending to be stupid, Young Master Chen smiled bitterly: "It's not because of you!" Originally, I was going to go to Beijing to study, but you came to run away from home, even if you left, you left a letter saying that you were going to go to the South Seas with the fleet, and there was only our family who had a ship to go to sea and knew you well. ”

"Isn't that right?" Lust@Wolf scratched his head: "Although this fleet is not fast when it is dragged down by merchant ships, how can you catch up with me without a clipper at home?" ”

"If you start from Tianjin Wei, you will naturally not be able to catch up, but you forgot that there is a flying pigeon in the military post, and I happen to be in Songjiang Mansion to prepare to return to Beijing with the ship, so I can only change the itinerary to arrive before you."

Hearing this Liu Se @ wolf only knew that the father actually used a military post to arrest him, for this kind of behavior of ignoring organizational discipline and abusing public power, he realized the importance of anti-corruption and clean government from his heart for the first time, but now it is not without opportunities, there is no military post in Taiwan, that is to say, he can still get on the warship, as long as he can get rid of the brother in front of him.

Young Master Chen knew what he wanted to do as soon as he saw the other party's face, so he said with a smile: "Don't embarrass me, don't say that I let you go, how will the old man of the country take out his anger on my family, just say that even I can find you, and this fleet should receive an order now." ”

Hearing him say this, the pervert couldn't help but be a little discouraged, so he had to reach out and pat his friend's shoulder: "Let's go, let's talk in another place." ”

Not to mention Liu Baokai, who was depressed, Beijing at this time had recovered its calm from the bustle of the Wanbang Dynasty, for ordinary people, it is the most important thing to be able to eat and dress warmly, although the old and young in the city of Sijiu talked about state affairs all the way, as if the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty did not understand politics as an idler himself, but it was also a nonsense that did not have to be responsible after being full of wine and food. Unlike the small people in the market, this state banquet sent a signal to the scholar class all over the world, I thought that the sage science was at the end of the road, and the imperial court gave a glimmer of life, Taiwan suddenly became the royal paradise of the old-style literati from the original wilderness, if it was said that he went to Japan, North Korea and other countries before he took refuge in the Fanbang barbarians, but this Taiwan is different, not only the vassal king recognized by the central government, but also a former dynasty identity that everyone knows but can't say clearly, In this way, those old and young people of the Ming Dynasty who were dissatisfied with the emperor and had no ability to change the situation had a good place to respect Confucius and worship the saints.

Just when many families and scholars who had no way out of business were pondering whether to "defect to the enemy and commit treason", the emperor's roar came out from the imperial study: "Every time I want the Northern Expedition, you stand up and oppose it, even if you used to do it, now Japan is also a vassal, Taiwan has also taken back, Southeast Asia is ours sooner or later, you still oppose the Northern Expedition!" ”

Jiang Tian has been accustomed to Zhang Tao's anger, and His Majesty the Emperor has been angry with him a lot recently, but Jiang Tian thinks that even if Zhang Tao loses his temper, he has to be outspoken, at most, he will be grabbed by the emperor and thrown on the desk in his face, which is also better than letting him pull out the seedlings and add to the chaos.

"It's not that I'm against the Northern Expedition, it's that the time is not right, our enemies are not only those robbers on the steppe, they are already destined to lag behind this era, and sooner or later they will be slaughtered. But those who come from the sea are different, you know very well in your heart that they are the big trouble, and the Chinese want to change the mainland thinking and transform to a system that attaches equal importance to sea and land, and valuing the sea and business should be a century-old national policy. ”

"Can you talk less?" Zhang Tao was amused: "I ask you, people are sharpening their knives on the grassland, can you say that I don't have time to pay attention to you, they won't come to burn, kill and loot?" ”

"That's why I said that it is both land and sea, the Northern Expedition can be had, but the scale must be controlled, if you blindly go north, it will only leave a respite for Europe, and they are the big trouble!" Now Jiang Tian has no choice but to fight for reason.

"Then what do I want you for!" Zhang Tao's tone was raised again: "Your Naval Research Institute spends less money?" ”

The emperor's voice startled the eunuchs and guards outside the door, and Liu Junding, who was annoyed by his son's running away from home, glanced at the people outside the door and stayed away from the study. Only he was sulking alone at the door, his son since he mixed with Jiang Tian, although this knowledge has increased a lot, and he has a relationship with the prince, but this heart is also wild, sometimes he is Lao Tzu said two words to him, and he even dared to talk back, and now he has learned to run away from home, and said that this is to follow Jiang Tian to go out to increase knowledge.

Liu Junding has more than such a son, but this eldest son who followed him to fight in the south and the north is not emotionally comparable to other sons, although in those fiery days, Liu Baokai was just a child who needed to be protected, but those who have seen blood are definitely not on the same level as those who have been soaked in the honey pot, and only this one son is qualified to inherit his title.

The two people in the room didn't know that there was a tangled old man outside the door, and even if they knew, they didn't bother to pay attention to him now, Jiang Tian was not lightly angered by Zhang Tao's layman's words: "What is my research institute, how many times have I said that the century-old navy, China has lacked the concept of the sea for more than two hundred years, which can be solved by throwing money." In our hometown, even if people all over the country know the importance of sea power, how many years has this navy been built? ”

This kind of quarrel is doomed to be fruitless, just like the dispute between the army and navy of any country in the future, these are two completely different ideas, in fact, it is rational to say that whether it is the big navy or the big army, they can achieve the predetermined goal of the two of them, the navy can open up colonies, and the army can also go north, west, and south to plunder more resources and living space, but these two methods are not effective in a short time, that is to say, no matter which road they take, neither of them can see the day of victory, So the main point of contention is actually the question of the future course of the country. Even in the United States, which is as powerful as later generations, there are all kinds of open and covert battles between the army and navy over the budget, but the dispute between Jiang Tian and Zhang Tao is not as simple as a dispute between the services, which involves the country's focus in the next few decades.

So it seems that they are arguing over the distribution of military spending, but the core is a big debate on the direction of the country's progress, and the reason why this will not lead to anything is because they both know that the best way is to pay equal attention to land and sea, but the country does not have so much money at present, so it can only focus on something. This is also why Jiang Tian is not worried about Zhang Tao's anger, although this kind of quarrel is very fierce, Zhang Tao knows that Jiang Tian is not fighting for the interests of some small group, and after a long time of contact, he found that Jiang Tian is no less fanatical about the goal of revitalizing China than himself.

After the two brothers were tired of arguing and returned to sitting opposite each other, Zhang Tao picked up the fold on the table again: "The naval expansion plan you reported must be postponed, and there is intelligence that there are people on the grassland who are ready to move, and even those tribes that have opened markets and trade also have signs of instability, so this Northern Expedition is not only to fight but also to fight hard, and strive to fight for ten years of peace." ”

Jiang Tian also knew that there was no room for things to turn around, in his opinion, as long as the border was guarded, relying on economic and cultural erosion was more effective than military strikes, but Zhang Tao hoped to complete the work in one battle, just like the Korean War when his hometown was founded, and the first war deterred the US military from fighting head-on with the Chinese army for decades, so the scale of this military preparation was also increased accordingly, which happened to conflict with the navy's plan to purchase ships and expand the army.

"Then ......" Jiang Tian pondered about getting some new equipment for the navy: "At least a few of those general-purpose cruisers should be ordered, right?" The production line of naval guns also needs to have orders to maintain, right? Otherwise, not to mention innovation and development, it is impossible to retain skilled workers. There is also this type of ship that is produced by Jiwang's shipyard, so you can't stop it! ”

In order to keep some orders, Jiang Tian had to carry King Ji out, King Ji's shipyard is not only used to earn pocket money, but also a model for nobles to go to the sea to start an industry.

Sure enough, when he heard about his brother's shipyard, Zhang Tao, who still planned to land first and then sea, also had a headache, what Jiang Tian didn't know was that in order to let Zhang Qian give up something, the expected income of this shipyard and shipbuilding was a quid pro quo.

On this kind of issue involving the stability of the regime, Zhang Tao had no choice but to compromise: "That's it...... Anyway, the rockets on the ship are the same as the model of the army, and the production of weapons can be carried out together, the ship...... For the time being, the construction of four cruisers will be used to strengthen the South China Sea Fleet. ”

Jiang Tian also saw that Zhang Tao was struggling, the so-called land first and then the sea is not only which branch of the army gets more money, but Zhang Tao wants to use the Northern Expedition to eliminate the old and weak, abolish the private soldiers of the original warlords and reintegrate the army, so in addition to the large amount of military expenses required for redressing, there must also be a resettlement fee, which is also the reason why the army, which was originally relatively economical, should occupy the navy's military expenses.

"Or I'll try to figure it out again?" Jiang Tian, who knew that the construction of the navy would require long-term investment, had no choice but to come up with the idea of raising funds by himself: "If the navy can find money by itself, you can't embezzle it!" ”

Zhang Tao's eyes lit up in an instant: "Do you still have a way to make money?" ”

"Since you don't want to change your mind, I can only do my best to do a good job, but I don't plan to use this method until it is absolutely necessary, otherwise history may not know how to evaluate it!"

Jiang Tian's worries are not unreasonable, since ancient times, the consequences of the army's business are to give birth to corruption and the birth of warlords, in the original time and space, after the disarmament of millions of people, the country will shift its main energy to economic construction, the army's funds are stretched, there was a period of time when the army was allowed to use its own resources to do business to subsidize military spending, but it was stopped after a long time, because the army's business not only seriously undermined the economic order, but also made the ******** machine have the danger of being out of the control of the government.

"The navy has ships and ports, and it is convenient to go to sea for trade, but whether it is import or export, loading or unloading goods at military ports, which customs can board ships and collect taxes? If you buy and sell some civilian goods, who can guarantee that you will not resell arms or even the core interests of the country after a long time! The only consolation is that the navy is a technical branch, and without the support of national bases and industries, they themselves can only be reduced to pirates rather than warlords. Jiang Tian thought about it and brought out the disadvantages and dishes here.

Zhang Tao, who frowned, understood the danger better than Jiang Tian: "In that case, what are you doing with this kind of request?" ”

"If you don't mention it, even if I can control the scale of business, it is difficult to guarantee that the army will not look red, no one dares to take a step beyond the thunder pool when you are still alive, but once the two of us are gone, will our successor still have the ability to suppress the military? When the time comes, it will be difficult to guarantee that no one will try their best to exploit loopholes to pull relationships, and take advantage of the detached conditions of the army to pretend to benefit the public and private interests, ......and when the time comes, Jiang Tian has not finished speaking, and the various problems caused by doing business in the army in his hometown have not been completely eliminated for a long time, and the difficulty of fighting corruption in this era will only be higher.

"Since you know that there are many shortcomings in this, you naturally can't open this opening, what else can you do?" Zhang Tao knew that Jiang Tian would not talk nonsense, since this road was described as a bottom line that must not be touched, then the way he could still get military spending would never be so simple.

"The solution is not nothing, the army is a violent organ, there is nothing easier than robbery, the British at this time are relying on state piracy to maintain finances, but for us, China's own import and export trade needs a safe marine environment, far from the United Kingdom, which has nothing to do except robbery, when Britain completed the industrial revolution and became more and more dependent on maritime trade, they themselves began to strangle pirates." Jiang Tian did not wait for Zhang Tao to ask a question and continued: "So we don't use such a primitive method, the military as a continuation of politics, the use of force to intimidate in some negotiations and disputes, can achieve twice the result with half the effort, and in peacetime, it can also deter potential enemies or sell arms through friendly visits and other means!" ”

"With all that said, this last sentence is your purpose, right?" Zhang Tao understood the methods of gunboat diplomacy more thoroughly than Jiang Tian, and he was also well aware of the violence of the arms trade, but out of consideration for the idea of weak neighbors, he originally did not plan to sell too advanced weapons to neighboring countries.

Jiang Tian looked at Zhang Tao and seemed to be a little moved, so he decided to strengthen the lobby and said: "We have opened the sales license of general cruisers to the Zheng family, although we want to be close to each other, but we can also sell some versions that reduce performance to other forces, especially the Chinese circle of the Nanyang generation, if we can sell them some cruisers in the name of merchant ships, as well as the musket artillery that we have replaced and eliminated, then the speed of rewriting the pattern in Southeast Asia can be further accelerated." ”

"There are also Japan and Korea, although the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan bowed its head and was a vassal, and we will not promote the shogunate movement for the time being, but in order to prevent the Tokugawa family from taking the opportunity to eradicate dissidents, we still have to maintain the self-protection ability of the foreign daimyo, so that Japan is likely to enter a state of cold war for a long time and start an arms race. And then there is another North Korea that we have been ignoring, when Japan reorganizes its arms and fights, if the Koreans know that their mortal enemy is expanding their army, then even if they know that this is caused by us, but in order to protect themselves and to be loyal to us, they must also update their weapons and equipment, how do you say they should update? ”

"How does this sound familiar to me?"

"Of course!" Jiang Tian smiled coldly: "This is a hegemonic method that only a country in a hegemonic position can adopt, and the United States in our hometown relies on this to pick up the skin." ”

Zhang Tao now understood why Jiang Tian said that his method had a bad reputation, which was indeed contrary to the traditional Chinese concept and was easily attacked by some Taoist gentlemen. However, in order to complete the integration of the army and the construction of the navy as soon as possible, this approach seems inevitable, and at the same time, it can also curb the rise of regional power. In fact, the Chinese civilization has always been engaged in the balance of power in its own surroundings, and the rise of the Qing Dynasty is the consequence of the failure of the balance.

"Feasible!" Zhang Tao unconsciously became less and less like a communist @ industry @ ist @ righteous warrior: "Not only North Korea and Japan, I think that in order to muddy the waters of the South China Sea, it seems that Portugal can also get in touch!" ”

"In that case...... Jiang Tian sighed: "It seems that I am going to go to Japan myself!" ”

Except for the roar at the beginning, Liu Junding outside the door didn't hear the content behind, but the old man knew that Jiang Tian had won to a certain extent this time, because Emperor Zhang could still talk to one person for so long after he was furious, and there was no second person except him Jiang Tian.

At the same time, Liu Baokai, who was thousands of miles away, didn't know what his father was doing, he was pulling Chen Hao to drink in the private room of a small restaurant at this time, of course, there was no Yi @ Si @ Lan restaurant suitable for him on this island, fortunately, this kid has been running around with the army since he was a child, and there are not so many taboos due to the conditions of the war.

As for Chen Hao, who is far below him, he doesn't have any concept of being inferior to the elderly, otherwise how could these two become friends, so after holding the wine glass, he smiled at the coloring @wolf hehe: "Do you think that if you get me drunk, no one will know you?" Unless you can help me think of a reason not to blame your father, I'm not good enough to be a friend! ”