Chen Zhong read the urgent letter from the Hainan Palace, and he knew that his father must have something important to explain to him in person.

At present, the situation in Yulin, Guangxi, is basically stable. After the Battle of Yulin, the original four armies of the First Group Army collected and reorganized the Qing army of about 70,000 people, which greatly supplemented the establishment of various armies.

Dong San's more than 50,000 men and horses entrenched in the Nanning area are willing to belong to the banner of the Hainan Army, and they will recently undergo reorganization, and the serial number of his army will be tentatively numbered as the 18th Army of the First Group Army, and Dong San will serve as deputy commander-in-chief of the First Group Army and commander of the 18th Army.

Chen Zhong convened an emergency military meeting on the second day, announcing Qi Gang as acting commander-in-chief of the First Group Army and Dao Feng as acting chief of general staff of the group army. It was announced that the immediate task of the First Army was to rest and recuperate on the spot.

On this day, Chen Fangzheng's Marine Corps also sent the military supplies raised to Yulin, and now the First Army can be described as having sufficient food and grass, and the soldiers are strong.

After arranging the affairs of Yulin, Chen Zhong returned to the mansion to pack his bags and prepare to take Chen Fangzheng's fleet back to Haikou.

This time, he only took Yanxia back. Qi Gang and Dao Feng were worried that there would be changes in Hainan, so they secretly arranged a plainclothes guard team of twenty people to quietly follow Chen Zhong's left and right.

After Chen Zhong finished cleaning up, he explained some questions about the recent recruitment and expansion of various armies with Qi Gang and Dao Feng.

As soon as Qi Gang and the others left, the guards came to report that Lan Hu and Shen Juncai had asked to see each other.

After Lan Hu and Shen Juncai came in, they looked around cautiously and closed the door again. Chen Zhong looked at the actions of the two of them and laughed: "Lan Hu, Shen Juncai, what the hell are you doing, you look sneaky, how do you look like my Chen Zhongbing!" ”

"Little Prince," Lan Hu approached Chen Zhong's side and whispered: "Little Prince, Zhou Zhiguang sent someone to send a secret letter for us to go back, do you think we are?" ……”

"What else does the letter say?" Chen Zhong put away his smile and asked.

"I didn't say anything, I just said, read the letter and return quickly, there is something important to discuss, top secret!" Shen Juncai said in a low voice.

After listening to this, Chen Zhong pondered for a while, Lan Hu and Shen Juncai looked at the contemplative little prince, and did not speak again, they all knew that something big would happen in Hainan this time.

Chen Zhong paused and said: "You still go back first according to what Zhou Zhiguang said, but you must pay attention to leaving Yulin secretly, I will give you a pretense of a mission, you will explain the affairs of Yulin well, but don't say that you are going back to Hainan." Also, don't go with me. Did you hear that? ”

"Little prince, let's go back, you? ......" Lan Hu and Shen Juncai had a premonition that Zhou Zhiguang might do something disobedient this time, but they didn't expect Chen Zhong to agree to let them go back, at this moment, they were really a little hesitant.

Chen Zhong looked at them with concerns, so he smiled and said, "It's okay!" Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have your own choice. After these days of bloody fighting, I think that we should be brothers in life and death, and brothers should be open and honest with each other. You tell me about this now, which shows that you two still trust me enough! However, there is a principle that you should not forget, put the interests of Hainan first and the interests of China first! ”

"Yes! Little Wangye, I must be cautious in my words and deeds, and I will never do anything that is contrary to the interests of Hainan and China! Little prince, when you go back to Hainan this time, be more careful! ”

"Okay, I'm going to leave with General Chen, and you can take a passenger boat back to Hainan by yourself."

"Yes! Little Prince! ”

Lan Hu and Shen Juncai sent Chen Zhong away, and they went back to prepare.

Along the way, Chen Zhong and Chen Fangzheng had time to talk. Before, when they were in Guangxi, they just met in a hurry and didn't have time to talk in detail.

Chen Fangzheng was twenty-six years old and the son of General Chen Shichang. General Chen Shichang followed Chen Chuwang to conquer Hainan in his early years, and later, he was ordered by Chen Chuwang to form a navy in the South China Sea.

Twenty-five years ago, the Sino-Japanese First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle had not yet broken out, but Chen Chuwang knew long before the crossing that the Beiyang Naval Division would be completely wiped out in that battle, so Chen Chuwang, the king of Hainan, was very eager to establish a strong naval fleet and be able to participate in the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle, and be ashamed of the Battle of Xuedadonggou.

However, General Chen Shichang, due to overwork, died of illness before the fleet was fully built, and did not catch up with the tragic First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle.

Later, Chen Chuwang adopted Chen Fangzheng as an adopted son, when Chen Fangzheng was ten years old, he was sent to the United Kingdom to study, eight years later, Chen Fangzheng completed his studies, graduated from the British Naval Academy and returned to China, after returning to Hainan, inherited his father's career, and has been building this mysterious Hainan fleet.

Chen Fangzheng saw the outstanding performance of the little prince Chen Zhong in this battle of Yulin, Guangxi, and admired it very much. As a result, both of them have a sense of familiarity at first sight.

Chen Zhong asked Chen Fangzheng: "General Chen, I want to ask our Hainan fleet, what is the current situation?" ”

"Little prince, our fleet currently has nine cruisers of more than 3,000 tonnage, four ironclad ships of 7,800 tonnage, and two battleships of 3,700 tonnage. Most of the large ironclad ships have a speed of less than 20 knots and a horsepower of 6,000-7,000, while cruisers have a horsepower of only 18 knots and a horsepower of 2,000-6,000. 60 guns of caliber or more than 150 mm, 8 medium-caliber rapid-fire guns, 18 medium-caliber guns, 160 small-caliber rapid-fire guns, and 44 torpedo tubes. Nowadays, many warships have been in service for more than ten years, and the ship types are chaotic, the speed is not coordinated, and small-scale naval battles can be handled, if you want to participate in large-scale naval battles, it may be difficult to support! ”

"Oh, yes. General Chen, I have this idea: In the near future, after I have dealt with some internal affairs in Hainan, we will start to expand our Hainan fleet, and I will build a first-class fleet in Asia within three to five years, and a first-class fleet in the world within ten years! General Chen, you go back and give me a naval expansion plan within a month, this expansion plan must have accurate data, don't be conservative, you must have a concept of empire, and you must have the concept of dominating the world in your concept! You don't have to think about the funding, I'll do this, you just need to provide me with the budget. We are not building an ordinary naval fleet, we are building an invincible fleet that dominates the world! Also, a series of issues must be taken into account, such as the recruitment of talents, the naval school, etc., in short, I want a first-class naval concept plan that can dominate the world! ”

Chen Fangzheng was extremely excited when he heard the words of the little prince, because this was also his dream for many years!

So, Chen Fangzheng immediately gave a military salute and said, "Yes!" Little Prince! ”

"General Chen, I still have something I need you to carry out immediately!"

"Little prince, please give an order!"

"General Chen, after you go back this time, you will immediately prepare sufficient fleet supplies, the fleet will move closer to the southeast of our Hainan, and the fleet will immediately be in a state of first-class combat readiness!"

"Yes! Yes, sir! ”