Hu Xiaoyan didn't want to go back to Beijing, because it was useless to go back, and he couldn't explain the matter, so he had to go with the flow. Sichuan people have money, so let them do it themselves. As long as you can control your investment elsewhere.

But Hu Xiaoyan underestimated the attractiveness of capital. After the ministers reached an agreement, the prime ministers and emperors of various countries successively sent telegrams to Zaifeng, asking Emperor Xuanwu to proceed according to the agreement, otherwise the countries would reconsider their foreign policy with the Manchus.

Zaifeng is out of line.

At Li Hongzhang's repeated requests, Hu Xiaoyan had to take Qin Yun and Cheng Tinghua to Beijing. Cheng Tinghua came to Beijing to visit relatives this time, and by the way, he was responsible for protecting Hu Xiaoyan. It's just that Hu Xiaoyan looked at Cheng Tinghua's old arms and legs, and couldn't help muttering in his heart: Who is protecting whom? Cheng Tinghua's physical condition was originally good, otherwise he would not have been able to kill the enemy with a knife in the few days when Beijing was breached. It's just that after being shot twice, the bullet was removed after surgery. But the body is actually a lot worse.

When I met Li Hongzhang, he was still in the high-end ward of the hospital. It's just that it feels like many years have passed.

When he first met this Zhongtang master of the Great Qing Kingdom, Li Hongzhang was still in good spirits. The last time we met, although Li Hongzhang was a little haggard, at least he was able to move. But this time Li Hongzhang was lying on the bed.

"Nakado-sama is no longer able to walk." The doctor whispered a reminder before entering the door.

Li Hongzhang really couldn't get up. With the support of two little beautiful nurses, he sat in a new wheelchair for half a day. Hu Xiaoyan pushed him around, and finally called two people to carry him to the roof.

The wind was blowing on the roof of the building, feeling the warm sunshine of spring, but Hu Xiaoyan had no temperature in his heart.

"You're disappointed?"

Hu Xiaoyan nodded. Although he knew that Li Hongzhang was old. According to the original history, Li Hongzhang was angry to death a long time ago. It's just that he has his own interference, and Lao Li is not angry.

"Why? It stands to reason that the sooner I die, the happier you will be? Lao Li squinted.

"Nope! I've heard a saying that if you're not afraid of a god-like opponent, you're afraid of a pig-like teammate. You've been my god teammate for at least ten years. Because now I'm still a Qing countryman. Hu Xiaoyan leaned on the wheelchair and sat on the ground.

"Why ten years?"

"You have watched my "Rise of Great Powers", do you think the world can remain calm for a few years now?"

“。。。”

"Germany is not satisfied with the current state of the world, and Americans are equally unwilling. And the British can't even manage a small indigenous colony now, which makes many countries with evil intentions ready to move. It's just that the British Empire's powerful naval deterrent is still there, and everyone is not willing to be the first to emerge. ”

"As you said, as long as there are no problems with the navy of the British Empire, no matter how many years it takes, no one will be willing to come forward."

"Because the English will die."

Lao Li smiled. Hu Xiaoyan also smiled. Lao Li did not think that Britain would take the initiative to die. But Hu Xiaoyan knew that Britain would definitely die.

Because although the colonies of the British Empire were vast, the colonies were unstable, and the national independence movements in both Africa and the Americas never stopped, and Australia and Canada were relatively stable. Therefore, in order to ensure a strong deterrent, Britain must maintain its strong naval strength.

The British Empire had more naval numbers and strength than France and Germany combined, and the United States combined. How much does it cost to feed such a strong strength in a year? The British Empire could not afford to raise such a powerful fleet for a long time! Not to mention the fact that many ships are retired every year, which has to allow the British to continue to build new ones. But the construction of new ships costs money. The British have money, but the British government has no money. So Britain had to work on a new type of battleship. Such battleships had to be strong enough that a few of them would guarantee the British Navy's deterrence against the navies of other countries.

And this new battleship was the dreadnought that officially entered the stage of history in 1905.

Historically, the construction began in 1905 and the battleship Dreadnought, which was launched in 1906. Represents the advent of the era of dreadnoughts. Overnight, all the former dreadnoughts of the world became obsolete.

This first dreadnought could sink all of the French Navy without damage with the help of only one supply ship. As long as the Dreadnought battleship ran out of ammunition and coal, almost no country's navy would be able to sink it. The historical Bismarck dreadnought was not the most advanced and powerful battleship in the world at that time, but such a dreadnought was not sunk under the encirclement and interception of half of the British Empire's navy, including several dreadnoughts and underwater aircraft carriers! From here you can see how powerful the dreadnought is. With an unprecedented main gun and incredibly powerful equipment, the dreadnought has become an unsinkable island.

Didn't the British Empire know that the advent of the age of dreadnoughts would weaken British control over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?

No! Britain knew, but couldn't do anything about it. No matter who is faced with this situation, there is nothing to stop it. Because the annual military expenditure of the British Navy is even much more than the annual financial revenue of the Qing Dynasty. Britain simply could not afford to raise such a navy. And if there were dreadnoughts, then Britain would have saved at least half of its naval military spending.

And the United Kingdom, which was the first to have dreadnoughts, as long as there is no leakage. They still have unrivalled control over the oceans.

It's just that what Britain didn't think about was that smart people weren't just Britain. It was only half a year after the launch of the first dreadnought, and almost all naval powers saw through the reality of the dreadnought. Germany, France, and the United States also began to study the construction of dreadnoughts, but none of the several countries that did not have a certain amount of scientific and technological accumulation were able to study dreadnoughts thoroughly in a short period of time.

So the First World War still ended with the victory of Britain, and Britain still owned the whole ocean.

But after the First World War, countless espionage and technology were constantly circulating. Countless countries, including Germany, have figured out the reality of the dreadnought. So by the time of the Second World War, almost all countries had their own dreadnoughts.

The German Bismarck is a prime example of this. If it weren't for the moustache himself, he would have provoked Stalin, who was not strong enough at that time to dare to fight. It was a breeze to unify the whole of Europe with a mustache.

There are still more than five years to go before the launch of the first dreadnought, and fourteen years before the start of the First World War. No one could have imagined that far ahead.

But Hu Xiaoyan knows all this. Therefore, he needed a stable Manchu Qing dynasty and a stable imperial court to lay a good foundation for the land of China to deal with the future World War II.

Yes, Hu Xiaoyan did not want to participate in the First World War at all. He wanted to take advantage of the wonderful time period of the outbreak of the First World War to get Asia done. Only in this way can it be richly rewarded in the middle of the Second World War, which swept the world. If he had gone to World War I, sure, he would have won with his foresight, but so what? Without the atomic bomb, he would have become a global enemy immediately after the end of World War I! No European country or American country will live in peace with him.

As we all know, almost all of the advanced science and technology that influenced future generations for a hundred years were developed before and after World War II. Hu Xiaoyan did not believe that a few universities in his country would be able to develop nuclear weapons and even aerospace technology that took the entire European and American world tens or hundreds of years to develop.

For example, Einstein's theory of relativity, Hu Xiaoyan did not believe that Asians could study it without Einstein's help. The Japanese entered the temple of science and technology earlier than China, but so what? They were still blown up by the little fat man ********. Many years after the theory of relativity was proposed during World War II, the Japanese still don't understand what the theory of relativity is.

Hu Xiaoyan did not believe that the Chinese were necessarily much smarter than the Japanese. Everyone is human, he is a head and two eyes. The Chinese don't need them an extra head, nor do they have an extra pair of eyes.

Therefore, before the First World War, Hu Xiaoyan definitely had to pretend to be his grandson. Using European and American money and technology to build China's infrastructure, heavy industry, and education system is what Hu Xiaoyan should do at this time.

By the time of World War II, if it really didn't work, Hu would definitely kidnap Einstein and others. When the time comes, it will be useless for Europe and the United States to impose an economic blockade on China. Once Europe and the United States make Hu someone unhappy, Hu will let them feel the enthusiasm of some little fat people - the energy released by the fission of 1 kilogram of uranium is about 8 × (10 to the 13th power) of joules, and such a warm amount of joules will definitely be able to calm down European and American countries.

"Now we're borrowing two billion dollars, you know? As long as the war starts, we only need to pay back a billion dollars or less. ”

"And will the war be fought? There is no doubt about that. ”

Lao Li finally opened his eyes.

"You haven't said it yet, what does this have to do with the old man."

"Without you, how can I develop the industrial system with peace of mind? Did you know? I have purchased several car production lines and truck production lines in the United States. With cars and trucks, the country's roads will be built again. It all takes money. Without a stable domestic environment, how can these constructions be successfully completed? ”

"Your old man is my Dinghai Divine Needle in the Qing Dynasty, with you. I can do whatever I want, and I don't have to worry about pressure from the court. But once you're gone. I had no choice but to go back to the three eastern provinces to run a business. Hu Xiaoyan is telling the truth.

Why was Hu Xiaoyan able to jump around with a holy decree, but no one impeached him? No! It was someone who impeached him, but he was pressed by Emperor Xuanwu.

In comparison, Zaifeng is still willing for Hu Xiaoyan to go crazy everywhere, rather than letting Hu return to the base camp of the three eastern provinces. A careerist who does not run his own base camp is a good careerist. If Hu ran to run the three eastern provinces without knowing whether he was alive or dead, Emperor Xuanwu would not be able to sleep at night. He will do everything possible to kill Hu to prevent future troubles.

As long as Hu Xiaoyan does not return to the Northeast, Zaifeng will fully support almost all of his actions.

As long as Hu Xiaoyan does not return to the Northeast, Li Hongzhang can also sit firmly in Beijing with great peace of mind and watch the situation with a smile.

But Li Hongzhang can't do it.