"Mr. Minister, the meaning of the Tuileries Palace is that even if this Chinese state is not as weak as the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the past, as long as we, in the name of the French Empire, do not hesitate to use the threat of war, we must make it back down, at least open a few ports in the south of Indochina to our France for trade and mission, and cede the island of Kunlun to our country to build a military port and a place for the supply of merchant ships." Gu Si frowned and said.

After the conflict in Mirs Bay and the strength of the many warships and warships he saw along the way, Gu Si also felt that it was difficult to complete this mission to China.

Bourblon looked at the crowd looking at the river to the east, and said with a wry smile: "You have also seen that the soldiers of this country are full of fighting spirit, not at all comparable to the Manchu Qing who are greedy for life and fear of death, cowardly and cowardly, and their emperor is not as mediocre as the Manchu Qing, and even very wise, collecting and buying warships everywhere, the army is hundreds of thousands, and it is also equipped with European muskets, although it is not as advanced as our France, but they are numerous, and they are also a force that cannot be underestimated." What's more, this is their main battlefield after all, and if a war really starts, not only is France not sure of victory, but in my opinion, if it is a landing operation, it is very likely that it will fail miserably, and even if it does, it can only join forces with Britain and dispatch a large number of navies. ”

"Mr. Minister, in this way, even the threat of war is probably useless?" Gu Si's brows tightened, he thought deeply for a while, raised his head suddenly, and said, "Sir, it's better to win them over with interests and make a deal with them." As far as I know, the emperor of China has always valued practical profits, just like merchants. According to statistics, last year alone, China's trade with China has more than doubled compared with the past, and for the first time, there was a surplus. Of course, the main reason for this was the mercenary merchants of France, such as Chadden who wandered in Canton and Shanghai, who sold steel to the Nanyang Company and armed gunboats disguised as merchant ships, as well as machines and machine tools such as steam engines. Through these things, the exchange of raw tea silk is shipped back to Europe, which is an exponential profit. This also shows that we in France have a lot of these steel warships and machinery and other goods that China is in short supply, and we in France do not sell them anyway, and other European countries are also rushing to sell them, so it is better to use this as a condition and put forward conditions with the other party, perhaps, we can achieve the wish of the Tuileries Palace. ”

Burbulon turned his head to look at Father Gebida, who was looking at him expectantly, and nodded: "Gu, maybe you are right, so decided!" ”

He waved his hand, as if to convince himself, and continued: "Anyway, the purpose of the original occupation of Indochina was to open the coastal treaty ports and allow the priests to enter the country to preach, and now that Indochina has become the territory of China, according to the enlightenment of the emperor on the other side, he should agree to allow us to trade and proselytize, like other port cities in the Far East. ”

At this time, the crowd around them became excited, and they all crowded the pier and looked east and shouted: "Coming, coming......"

With a loud whistle, Bourblon looked up into the river, led by two small steamships, and a cruiser like a hill approached slowly. This cruiser, which must have a displacement of more than three thousand tons, had a wooden hull, sails on board, and a large flag with a yellow star on a red background in the bow of the ship, waving in the wind. In the center of the ship, a huge chimney suddenly billowed black smoke, a fast battleship with a steam engine powered by a fast sail. Bourblon is no stranger, he knows that this is one of the most advanced warships in Europe, although the tonnage is not very large, but the speed is fast, and it is most suitable for long-range combat.

How did this country buy even such the latest warships? This kind of warship, no matter which country it is, should be rushed to be included in the navy for service, and I don't know if it is the country that sees the money and sells such a warship!

Burbulon stared at the huge warship in a daze, getting closer and closer, the crowd was even more amazed, and some people even shouted, and Bourblon suddenly found that behind the cruiser, there were several warships of about 2,000 tons, which were also about 2,000 tons, head-to-tail, sailing proudly.

Gu Si on the side was also stunned. He would not be surprised to see such a fleet of more than two or three thousand tons in the port of Marseille or Bordeaux in France. But what kind of place is this, this is the inland river of the Far East, and he can't help but see such a mighty and majestic fleet. Even Hong Kong Island has rarely seen a fleet of this size in the past two years!

As the first warship docked, more warships docked in the back. Bourblon counted 5 medium and large warships, cruisers and frigates, 3 small gunboats, and 11 small armed steamboats. There are 19 warships, large and small, and if there is a team of skilled soldiers, this is enough to build a navy equivalent to that of small and medium-sized European countries.

And the priest Gepita turned pale and exclaimed, "Lord, is this really the backward country of the East?" ”

From this moment, Burblon completely abandoned the idea of threatening the country by going to war, and his mouth was full of bitterness......

Over there, the crowd of onlookers was separated by a column of sergeants in gray uniforms, and more than 100 people gathered around several officials and generals, rushing to the dock, as if to welcome the arrival of the warships. And the people on the warship also came down one after another, and they were all Western faces, only a few people at the head seemed to be Oriental faces, and one of them, Burblon had seen his portrait and recognized that the person was Wu Ruxiao, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, who had not been seen for a while.

The crowd of onlookers was quickly dispersed, and the three of them were driven back to the Xiyi Pavilion. The official in the hall told him that there was a notice from the Imperial Court that the meeting that had been scheduled for this afternoon had been postponed to tomorrow morning for some reason.

Bourblon knew in his heart that the reason for this was the warships at the docks.

……

On the morning of the next day, Feng Yunshan, escorted by Wu Ruxiao, Liu Shengbang, and several hundred Imperial Forest Army, left the city with great interest and came to the Xiaguan Wharf to watch the warships purchased by Wu Ruxiao from the United States.

Since yesterday I learned that Wu Ruxiao had led the purchase of 24 warships from the United States back to Shengjing, of which 5 remained at Wusongkou and 19 sailed to the Yangtze River in Xiaguan.

Naturally, today is different from yesterday, although the entire Shengjing has not been banned, but the area around Xiaguan Wharf for several miles, as well as the north of the city around Yifengmen and Lion Rock, are all under martial law, and people are not allowed to pass. In this regard, Feng Yunshan is also very helpless, now he is the supreme body of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, extremely noble, usually out of the palace Liu Shengbang and the Imperial Forest Army have to be careful, not to mention going out of the city now.

When he came to the Xiaguan wharf, Wu Ruxiao's face was full of excitement and his face turned red.

Jiangzhong and the warships docked at the dock have already sent thousands of soldiers to take over in advance -- Liu Shengbang is still not at ease about the American foreigners hired by Wu Ruxiao, and early this morning, thousands of Imperial Forest Army and the garrison of the Imperial Army in the Holy Capital City have carefully searched the area around the Xiaguan Wharf and inside and outside along the way several times to ensure that there is no mistake, and then they can rest assured that the emperor will come to the riverside in person.

Although he had already reported to Feng Yunshan last night, when he came to the riverside and looked at the tall and majestic warships, Wu Ruxiao couldn't help but say: "Your Majesty, this time Weichen went to the United States, it took more than two years before and after, and he lived up to his mission to acquire the entire Norfolk Naval Shipyard at a price of 2 million US dollars, located in the port of southeastern Virginia, USA, and with sufficient capital, steel and other raw materials and workers, it can produce nearly 50 large and small ships and 20,000 tons of displacement every year. Moreover, this is still the current output, if the remaining shipyard under construction is built, and the efficiency is improved, it is estimated that it can reach 80 ships per year, with a total displacement of 30,000 tons! ”

"And, through the relationship between Marshali and Big John and others, they each purchased two capital warships from the New York Shipyard and the Boston Shipyard, three frigates from the Philadelphia Shipyard, three warships from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and three small gunboats and 11 small-tonnage armed steamboats, that is, inland river shallow gunboats, through an arms dealer named George, a total of 24 warships!" Wu Ruxiao said with some pride: "Your Majesty, not to mention the 14 gunboats and steam boats of small tonnage, the other 10 warships are all main warships!" 6 cruisers, 4 frigates, the largest of which had a displacement of 4044 tons, was a fast battleship with sails driven by a steam engine and reached a speed of 13 knots. The remaining 5 ships are also remarkable. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard produced a fast warship with a displacement of 3,800 tons, 24 guns, and a sailing speed of 12 knots, and two medium-sized cruisers with a displacement of 2,100 tons, and 16 guns, all powered by steam and sails, and a speed of 12 to 13 knots. And the largest frigate also has a displacement of 2700 tons, and the smallest is 850 tons. Combined, these 10 warships alone have a displacement tonnage of 26,500 tons. ”

Feng Yunshan was also excited, and said with great joy: "Wu Aiqing, this time the credit is very great, and I am rewarded!" These 24 warships are enough to build two more powerful fleets! Now, the Chinese Empire can finally gain a firm foothold in Southeast Asia and the Pacific! ”

"Your Majesty, Weichen still has something important to report! Wechen went to the United States, and the funds he brought with him were insufficient, because the funds were used to buy shipyards and warships, and some of the guns on these warships were not equipped and needed to be reconfigured and installed. In order to sail these warships back to China, Wechen hired more than 100 Chinese laborers and more than 1,000 Western sailors and shipyard workers on credit, and the remuneration was very high, and His Majesty was asked to solve it for Wechen. Speaking of this, Wu Ruxiao blushed a little.

Feng Yunshan waved his hand and laughed: "It's okay, the only thing I don't lack is money." If you can, keep them all. ”

......... PS: Highly recommend the new book of the Poppy God: "Rebirth Fang Hongji". The level is very high, the author changes the vest, otherwise I will be used to push the chapter. In a word, I recommend it!