Technical school is undoubtedly an important part of industrialization, at present, Guangzhou technical school, there are 4 classes of 180 people are being trained, the tutorial is from the Mawei technical rating group to write the course, very practical. This made Qin Kai very satisfied, and he encouraged these backbones to do their best to implement these affairs, and they must do their best to let each parts factory get the machine and put it into production as soon as possible.

After sending these people, Ouyang Qing followed Qin Kai into the secret room at the back, he took out a sorted out material and handed it to Qin Kai, "My lord, this is a report from Saigon, the spies from Hue have finally taken over, or the old way, we bought off a foreigner named Jones from the Danish Great Northern Telegraph Company...... Thirty thousand taels of silver"

Qin Kai nodded, and said with a smile: "Ouyang Qing, it's really not cheap, but compared to the news, no matter how expensive it is, it's worth it, well done"

He took the information and looked at it, it was all first-hand information about the French Expeditionary Force, the new commander of the French Far East Fleet was called Miller, and Guba was said to be commanding the French Expeditionary Force, the specific information is unknown, however, due to the heavy losses after the attack on Saigon last time, now the port of Saigon has obviously strengthened its precautions, and four warships take turns patrolling every day.

The two batteries in Saigon, which were destroyed last time, have been repaired, and additional artillery has been added, if you want to make another surprise attack, this is not ordinarily difficult, the main activities of the French Far East Fleet are currently concentrated in the south of Da Nang, due to the lessons learned in the battle with the Nanyang Naval Division last year, the activities of the French fleet are now concentrated on at least 5 warships.

With the addition of three new warships, the spies saw that the number of ironclad ships and armored cruisers in the French fleet in the port was not less than 10, among which it was observed that the three new battleships were 3,000-ton armored cruisers, and it was said that the speed of the ships was good, but the specific information was unknown.

The French increased the Far East Fleet, naturally not to recuperate in Saigon, this news is very important and the French Navy will have a decisive battle sooner or later, but the strength at hand, Qin Kai naturally understands very well, it is more suitable for guerrilla warfare, and large-scale fleet operations, and Xu Shoushan also took away part of the strength, of course, they are another step of their own dark chess.

Qin Kai patted Ouyang Qing on the shoulder, he was naturally very pleased with his diligence as a student, "Ouyang Qing, this matter is very good, pay close attention to the situation in Saigon, and it depends on you if the enemy has the first opportunity."

"Understood, instructor" Ouyang Qing gave a military salute and hurried out.

Soon Song Yunze called Lu Han and Lu Zhiyuan according to Qin Kai's order, during this time, the Nanyang Navy Division was fully prepared for the battle, but everything that should be prepared was prepared, but the battle order was never issued, and both of them expected something at this time, and they were excited when they entered the door.

As soon as he entered the door, Lu Han, who had always been calm, asked first, "Gale Wind, but you're about to attack?" ”

Qin Kai was in front of the chart, turned around and looked at it, and smiled, "Gengtang, why are you in a hurry?"

"Can you not be in a hurry, you have sent Yushan out for a few months, here are just our two boats, don't attack early and kill a few more French warships, I can not be in a hurry, I escorted the shells to Haiphong a few days ago, and met the intelligence officer under Zhou Ruidong, it is said that the front line is very fierce."

"Well, the situation in Vietnam may change greatly......" Qin Kai nodded, he handed over the two pipes to the chart, and pointed to Saigon, "I fought with the French a few times last year, and the French Far East Fleet suffered a big loss, so they were quite honest when the war started, but just got the news that three new French warships have joined, I estimate that the French will make a move soon"

"The French fleet is coming to reinforcements again, is there any detailed information, what caliber of artillery and what is the speed of the opponent's new battleship?" As soon as Lu Han heard this, he immediately became interested, and understanding the enemy was undoubtedly an important way to defeat the enemy.

"I don't have detailed information, I only know that it's a 3,000-ton armored cruiser," Qin Kai came to the map and stretched out his hand on the chart, "Gengtang, how about we fight Saigon again?" ”

Lu Han smiled, patted the table and smiled: "Gale Wind, I also have this intention."

"How's the training?" Qin Kai suddenly asked thoughtlessly.

"I can already fight, but I have been training every day for the past two months, and I am at least ninety percent sure" Lu Han grinned, waved his big hand, and gently knocked on the table, "I am going to decide this hammer deal",

"Gengtang, then I will have you to lose," Qin Kai thought for a while, "In terms of intelligence, Ouyang Qing will fully cooperate with you, but in terms of this logistical support, you can find a way...... Let's take a few from the training ships in Mawei Sea, they should be able to cooperate with you."

"Gale, what else do you have planned? You're not going this time? "To Lu Han's surprise, it was natural that Qin Kai did not set off with the battleship this time.

Qin Kai snorted and said, "Gengtang, sooner or later, I have to fight with the French, I still have some things to arrange, and ah, the Fusang captured last time has been refitted, I want to transfer Chen Ying......"

"No, no, no" Before Qin Kai finished speaking, he was interrupted by Lu Han, "Gale Wind, you transferred Chen Ying away, who will take care of the guns on my ship, absolutely not, wait for Chen Ying to help me train an excellent shooting officer to come out."

Qin Kai's face was black, "Gengtang, then you recommend one to me, I have to implement it, I need a pipe belt, at least a shooting officer, and a good hand."

"What's so difficult about this" Lu Han naturally didn't let people go, Qin Kai must not be finished, "Tang Qingshan, the best shooting officer on our ship, has given you well, and the trainee officer in the shooting command room will give you both, it's enough."

"That's pretty much it," Qin Kai nodded in approval, "Gengtang, rush back immediately after completing the battle plan, I estimate that the French may counterattack soon, and there will be a big battle of their own when the time comes."

Lu Han nodded, said goodbye and went out to find Ouyang Qing.

On the way, Lu Zhiyuan couldn't help but express his doubts, the last time in the battle of Saigon, the most important reason was naturally that the French couldn't imagine the appearance of the Nanyang Naval Division, and the main force of the French fleet was not in the port, so they played a complete crushing battle.

Now the French must have eaten a trench and grown wise, as long as the patrol battleship is set up and the battery is on guard, once the patrol battleship is exchanged, the fire of the battery can immediately block the channel of the port, in that case, it is not easy to rush into the port, once the battleship is damaged, it is even more auspicious, why Lord Qin and General Lu still insist on going their own way

Lu Han looked at Lu Zhiyuan and smiled, "Lu Zhiyuan, how long have you been with adults?" ”

Lu Zhiyuan snapped his fingers and immediately said, "It's been two years and three months, my lord."

"Have you ever doubted the Governor's decision? Have your plans failed? ”

"There were suspicions, I also thought it was too whimsical in that surprise attack on Saigon, but it was very easy to succeed"

"Well, that's good, if you have ideas and doubts, it's good, but you have to firmly believe in the adult's plan, and you have to resolutely implement it, and when you set off, you will understand" Lu Han laughed and stopped explaining.

Lu Zhiyuan looked depressed, and asking for a long time was equivalent to asking in vain...... Then resolutely enforce it

In the Strait of Malacca, a flotilla is speeding southeast at cruising speed, a large fleet of 8 merchant ships and 2 cruisers, several of which have a tonnage of more than 3,000 tons, and the flag flying high above the mast indicates that this is a French merchant fleet.

Thirty-three-year-old Colonel Corona, with the surname of a French nobleman, was a prosperous official even in the army, and this time the escort fleet came from mainland France, and transported a large number of important supplies through the Suez Canal to Saigon, a colony of Cochinchina, and after completing this important task, he would be promoted to one of the few young rear admirals in the French Navy.

The "Sorens" armored cruiser under his command, although the tonnage is only 2,700 tons, but with a high speed of 16 knots and a heavy gun of 200mm, it is an extremely advanced warship in the entire French fleet, and he has also encountered a small group of pirates in the Indian Ocean.

Seeing that it was already afternoon, he immediately gave the order to speed up and enter the port of the British Straits Settlements (Singapore), 50 miles ahead, which had the largest maintenance dock and supply facilities in the Far East second only to Hong Kong.

As the British Straits Settlements, this small land, since the opening of the port 60 years ago, has rapidly risen to become the most important British colony in the Far East, and more than ten years ago it was included in the direct jurisdiction of the London Colonial Office, and is now one of the top 10 important free ports in the world. ,

After entering the port, after simply going through the residency formalities, several judicial officers got off the ship to get what they needed, and they didn't notice a trace of excitement in the eyes of the Oriental who handled the formalities for them.

After seeing off a few Frenchmen, the receptionist took a leave of absence, and hurried out of the office to a shop not far away, and when he entered, he handed a note he had just excerpted to a big man with a raised eyebrow inside, whispered a few words, and then hurried away again.

The big man took the note into his arms, immediately ran out of the door and jumped into a carriage waiting outside, and soon delivered the news to a large mansion in the city, with a plaque hanging on the door of the Chinese-style courtyard with two large characters in cursive writing - "Liu Fu".

After the big man knocked on the door, he hurriedly entered the inner house under the leadership of two people, if outsiders did not enter the house, they would not know that the house was heavily guarded, almost three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry, and when they arrived at the inner room, there was a man who looked like a scholar who was studying very seriously, but it was Liu Hong, the current pirate boss of Suluhai.

However, the current Liu Hong is not a pirate, he is a serious Qing official Zheng Liupin Qianzong, following the Qing Dynasty Nanyang Minister Qin Daren, the situation in the Sulu Sea is now completely controlled, a large number of pirates who surrendered to Cheng were sent to the military camp in Pontianak for training, and the guys who were not suitable for the military camp were arranged to work in the local sugar factory.

And he personally returned to Malaya with 10 sea boats after seven or eight years of absence, their Liu family has a strong strength here, is one of the local Chinese tycoons, and the British management in Singapore and Malaya completely rely on the local Chinese, and the local indigenous Malays, simply can not compete with the smart Chinese, but on the whole, the local Malays and Chinese can also live in peace.

In order to adapt to the local maritime trade economy, the Liu family has put the family's main focus into Singapore, a new trading port, with a local fleet of 40 sea shipping companies, from which goods from various countries are transferred to China and Southeast Asia for profit.

Liu Lan, the head of the Liu family, was also very surprised, because his cousin Liu Hong, who had been missing for several years, suddenly appeared, the two of them were taught by a gentleman since childhood, and they were of the same age, and they were also closely related.

Unexpectedly, when this familiar cousin appeared again, he was already a real official of the Qing Dynasty, and he also came to comfort the Nanyang Chinese for the minister of Nanyang, Qin Kai's proclamation to the Nanyang Chinese had long been spread to the Chinese all over Nanyang through various channels, and this was the first time in hundreds of years that a voice from the motherland declared that all Chinese were Chinese people.

You know, since the Ming Dynasty, all dynasties have regarded the overseas Chinese as chaotic ministers and thieves, although since the Daoguang, this statement has gradually changed, but these overseas tycoons even if they do business in Guangzhou and other ports, it is also very low-key, although the Qing Dynasty has no real job to donate officials is basically a piece of waste paper, but Nanyang businessmen have this hobby, donate a top in order to have some dependence.

After some secret discussions between the brothers and after reading a few copies of "Fuzhou New News", Liu Lan admired what this Lord Qin did, if such a court member supported his own industry, then the Liu family was definitely not just one of the big men in Nanyang, but should be the only big man in Nanyang

Later, the warships of the Nanyang Naval Division arrived at the port, and Liu Hong personally introduced Liu Lan to Xu Shoushan, Xu Shoushan is known as a Confucian general, and the two brothers of the Liu family also regard themselves as scholars, so they naturally talk very happily, Xu Shoushan immediately sent seven or eight young people of the Mutual Masonic Association to Liu Lan, and appointed them to organize a local Mutual Masonic Association in Singapore to contact the Chinese forces.

On the same day, the telegram sent to the governor of Guangzhou, Yamen, was echoed, and Qin Kai may have given Liu Lan the position of the governor of Guangzhou according to the experience of the judge, and at the same time asked Liu Lan to secretly set up a Chinese affairs office in Singapore, the reason for the secret establishment is mainly because of the special reasons during the current war with the French, once the war is over, it can be officially opened to the public.

The Liu family was naturally ecstatic about this, this was the only good thing among the major families in Nanyang, and soon the other two big merchants Li and Bao families, who had close contacts with the Liu family, were also pulled into Qin Kai's sphere of influence, which surprised Qin Kai more was the Liu family's large fleet of 40 ships, which could undoubtedly complement Mawei shipping. ,

In the past half a month, they have successfully intercepted three French cargo ships, except for one ship transporting French food, the others are French merchants with one or two sea ships, basically come to the Far East to do business, and do not have much military value, of course, the place to do business is far away from Singapore, the sea near the northern island of Puluo, which has always been a place of piracy.

And the news brought by the children of the Liu family, who worked in the dock office today, made him very excited, a large fleet of 10 ships, and even an armored cruiser and an iron cruiser to escort it, there must be something greasy in this, he let people reward his own children who delivered the letter, and immediately led people straight to the dock.

boarded the Liu family's steam cargo ship and went to sea overnight, the other party was escorted by a warship, we are a licensed Qing Yi thief, this can't fall into the prestige of Lord Qin...... Fortunately, Qin Kai didn't know about this guy's idea, otherwise Qin Kai really had to think about the possibility of issuing a pirate license in the Qing Dynasty

Early the next morning, after a night's rest, Colonel Corona urged the fleet to hurry up, and the officials of the French consulate in Singapore brought news that the waters near Prolo Island had been unpeaceful recently, and that a number of merchant ships had disappeared there, and that there were now rumors that it was called the "Death Route".

The Royal Navy is investigating the matter, but since none of the intercepted British merchant ships were intercepted, it is estimated that it will take several years if the results are confirmed.

Later, two more British merchant ships anchored here joined the fleet through the introduction of the Guò colonial merchant ships, and they also heard that there had been occasional incidents of piracy recently, and considering that it was safer to sail with the warship, they also gave the consulate some benefits to join.

Colonel Corona naturally did not deliberately refuse this windfall, but just urged the British to keep up with the fleet, the sky was bright, and the huge fleet of 12 ships slowly sailed out of the port of Singapore, on the hillside in the distance, Liu Lan, who got up early, looked at the fleet in the distance, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and there was only one way to die...... Or maybe you can't help but die

Colonel Corona also paid attention to the matter of piracy, after all, this Far East, he was also the first time to come, after more than half a day of sailing, there were several small islands in the distance, he checked the chart, and confirmed that this should be the group of islands that the consulate official had introduced to him, however, he didn't take any pirates seriously, the only thing he was worried about was that the merchant ship might be damaged, after all, that was how much this mission was a little imperfect

He immediately gave the order, "to raise to level 2 alert, rapid-fire guns to reload shells, and lookouts to alert the rear flotilla if they find any suspicious targets"

Damn pirates, Corona grinned and said to herself, I don't mind adding a little merit to this escort.

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