"From April 2 to 19, the Confederate States of America began construction of four South Carolina-class super-dreadnought battleships and four Wyoming-class super-dreadnought battlecruisers at the Norfolk Shipyard and the New York Shipyard respectively!"

"From April 7 to May 13, the British Empire began construction of four Nelson-class super-dreadnought battleships and four George IV-class superdreadnought battlecruisers at the Portsmouth Shipyard and the Royal Dockyard respectively!"

"From April 28th to May 29th, the French Empire began construction of 6 Denton-class super-dreadnought battleships and 2 Napoleon I-class super-dreadnought battlecruisers at the Toulon shipyard and the Deauville shipyard respectively!"

"From May 14 to June 28, the Tsarist Empire began construction of 6 Nikolai I-class super-dreadnought battleships, 12 Polvata-class offshore defense dreadnought battleships, and 12 Admiral-class armored cruisers at the St. Petersburg Shipyard and the Black Sea Shipyard respectively!"

"From May 15th to July 11th, the Imperial Japanese Empire successively started the construction of 2 Hanoi-class super-dreadnought-type battleships, 4 Kongo-class dreadnought-type battlecruisers, and 12 Tsukuba-class armored cruisers at the Sasebo Shipyard, Kure Navy Shipyard, and Osaka Shipyard!"

"On May 23, the Dutch Republic started construction of four Amsterdam-class offshore defense dreadnought battleships at the shipyard in The Hague!"

"From April 12th to May 11th, the German Reich successively started construction of four Bavaria-class super-dreadnought battleships and four Wittesbach-class superdreadnought battlecruisers at the Bremen shipyard and the Szczecin shipyard respectively!"

"On May 23, Austria-Hungary ordered four Combined Force-class super dreadnought battleships from the Imperial Mawei Shipyard!"

"On June 13, the Kingdom of Italy ordered four Vittorio-class super-dreadnought battleships from the Dalian Shipyard of the Empire, two of which were built at the Dalian Shipyard and the other two at the Italian ****** Shipyard, with spare parts provided by the Dalian Shipyard!"

"On July 8, the Ottoman Turkish Empire ordered four Ottoman-class super-dreadnought battleships from the Imperial Whampoa Shipyard!"

……

In the Penglai Pavilion of the Old Summer Palace, Li Weiguo was enjoying the massage of Indian beauties while tasting the rare red robe that had just been picked this year, and then listened to the report of the intelligence department. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Good! Very good! ”

Li Weiguo was happy, not only praising the good tea, but also praising the Indian sister paper, and at the same time he was excited about the large-scale construction of warships by countries around the world.

"Your Majesty, the whole world is frantically building ships, and the ministers are a little scared when they look at it, is it really okay?"

After listening to this report, Wu Yong, the secretary of the Ministry of War, also felt dizzy for a while, and felt a little afraid in his heart.

Li Weiguo glanced at Wu Yong and asked rhetorically, "What's wrong?" I think you've been getting more conservative lately, not as bold and fearless as you used to be! ”

Wu Yong smiled bitterly: "It turns out that Your Majesty has also seen it!" To tell you the truth, Lao Chen is seventy years old this year, and he feels more and more powerless. This time, the old minister is here to ask for his resignation and return to his hometown! ”

Li Weiguo was stunned, Wu Yong had been with him for many years, but he didn't expect that he was seventy years old.

In this era, the average life expectancy of the world's population is only 40 years old, before the founding of the Chinese Empire, that is, in the late Qing Dynasty, the average life expectancy of the Chinese people was less than 20 years old, half of the ten people died at birth, two-thirds lived no more than 40 years old, only a very few people could live past the age of 60, and people at the age of 70 or 80 were rare.

With the founding of the Chinese Empire, Li Weiguo vigorously promoted public medical care and public health, and cut off many previously deadly malaria, plague and other diseases, so that the average life expectancy of the population of the Chinese Empire increased from 20 years old to 45 years old, slightly higher than the world average, and Wu Yong could only live to 56 years old in the Shanghai County Chronicles, but now he has lived to 70 years old.

Li Weiguo suddenly found that there were fewer and fewer old people around him.

"I know that you are old and extremely tired from handling military affairs, but I still hope that you can stay in this position for a few more years, because I really can't find a talent to replace you."

Wu Yong said with a smile: "Your Majesty can trust the minister, which is a great honor for the minister. However, the old minister has been forgetting everything recently, and he feels that his memory is a little confused, and it is really not easy to control military affairs. This major military matter is related to the national defense and security of the empire, and we must not be careless. ”

Li Weiguo was stunned, this Wu Yongmo didn't have Alzheimer's disease, this is very difficult.

"Is it serious? Do you want to call the imperial doctor to show you? ”

Wu Yong waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty's care, the old minister understands it!" It's just that the old minister has already diagnosed this symptom, I am afraid that it is getting more and more serious, this is the elderly often make diseases, and Your Majesty does not need to work hard, the old minister knows his destiny, and he has troubled His Majesty over the years, let His Majesty worry, and the old minister is very grateful from the bottom of his heart. ”

Li Weiguo saw that Wu Yong had made up his mind, and knew that there was no way to stay, although he was reluctant, but Alzheimer's disease was too dangerous for military affairs, so he could only agree.

"Since you've made up your mind, I won't be reluctant. Do you have the right person to take your place? ”

Wu Yong immediately thanked Li Weiguo for his success, and replied: "Your Majesty, I think that Minister of War Zhang Xiaoliu is up to the task!" ”

"Little Liuzi?"

"He's still a little young, and besides, how can his strategy compare to yours?"

Wu Yong said with a smile: "For Your Majesty, the person with great strategy should not be the first, and loyalty should be the first." Zhang Xiaoliu grew up in the Li family since he was a child, followed His Majesty's side, and was both a retainer and a relative, worthy of trust. In addition, over the years, Zhang Xiaoliu has been studying with an open mind and has made great progress. From a house slave to the current Minister of the Imperial Army, Zhang Xiaoliu has secretly put in great effort and sweat in order not to be talked about, otherwise even His Majesty may not hand over the post of Minister of War to him. And the people of the great strategists mentioned by His Majesty, the old minister thinks that the current Imperial General Staff is very good, and there are the most elite great strategists in the empire, and with their advice, it is enough to make up for everything. ”

Li Weiguo nodded, as if he was moved by Wu Yong's words.

For him, it is true that loyalty should come first.

Due to Wu Yong's recommendation, Li Weiguo pushed the boat down the river and approved Wu Yong's return to his hometown, and at the same time appointed Zhang Xiaoliu as the secretary of the military department and a part-time minister of military aircraft.

Wu Yong's return to his hometown was an earthquake for the military of the Chinese Empire.

This is a founding hero of the Chinese Empire, and he took the initiative to resign, which touched the nerves of all parties.

As the emperor of the Chinese Empire, Li Weiguo naturally made a big fuss about Wu Yong's return to his hometown.

First of all, Li Weiguo decreed that Wu Yong was canonized as a first-class loyal and brave duke, and his descendants were hereditary for three generations, in recognition of Wu Yong's meritorious contributions to the Chinese Empire.

These three generations of descendants are hereditary, which can be described as extremely honorable.

You must know that the title of the Chinese Empire is difficult to obtain, and it is generally necessary to have outstanding merits and make great contributions to the empire to obtain it, which puts an end to the vice of selling official porridge in the Qing Dynasty, and it is a glory that cannot be bought by spending no amount of money. Generally, having the lowest third-class baron in a family is enough to burn high incense and worship, and Wu Yong has obtained a first-class duke, and then he is crowned a king, which is only a privilege that can only be obtained by the children of the royal line, and for people with foreign surnames, the highest grace has been reached.

Of course, people with a heart can see that once Wu Yong dies, then Li Weiguo will inevitably posthumously give him the title of prince, so that Wu Yong's family can enjoy the supreme glory within three generations.

Buying horse bones for a thousand dollars may be described like this. Li Weiguo's example of Wu Yong is a typical example, so that all the people who have made outstanding contributions and meritorious services to the Chinese Empire can see that he, Li Weiguo, will not forget the merits they have made, and it will inevitably affect the three generations of his descendants.

Then, Li Weiguo ordered Zhang Xiaoliu to be dismissed from the post of Minister of the Army, and promoted to the post of Secretary of the Ministry of War and Minister of Military Aircraft.

Because it was Wu Yong who "left to recommend Zhuge ", he recommended Zhang Xiaoliu to take over the post of secretary of the Ministry of War, which also made all the military personnel who had a good relationship with Wu Yong completely shut up in disguise, coupled with Zhang Xiaoliu's own prestige, his position in the military was instantly consolidated, and he did not dare to say anything.

Of course, there must be some people who are dissatisfied, such as picking out Zhang Xiaoliu's humble background, etc., and making some articles or something, but they can't set off the storm.

At the same time, there is Li Weiguo, the first emperor of the ages, Zhang Xiaoliu's position is stable, and the transfer of power is very smooth.

Next, Li Weiguo had to carry out a series of personnel changes, using Wu Yong's voluntary resignation as an excuse to stipulate that the age of the high-ranking ministers of the Chinese Empire should not exceed 70 years old, and those who exceeded the age of 70 should be dismissed and returned to their hometowns.

If Li Weiguo had announced it like this before, it would undoubtedly give people the image of unloading the mill and killing the donkey. After all, in the 5,000-year history of China, most of the ministers of the imperial court died of old age and illness in their term of office, and the phenomenon of not dying, delegating power, and not moving their nests has been deeply rooted.

This time, Li Weiguo took Wu Yong's initiative to resign, and through Wu Yong's mouth, he told all ministers over the age of seventy that even Wu Yong, the first hero of the empire, had voluntarily resigned, what are you waiting for? I can't stop in the standing pit, so hurry up and make room for the newcomer. Now vacate the space, and there are welfare benefits for fighting, if you don't know each other, then there will be no good fruit to eat.

As a result, a large number of civil and military officials over the age of 70 had to end their official careers ahead of schedule and return to their hometowns ahead of schedule.

Li Weiguo is also very generous, these are all old ministers and heroes who have made great contributions to the empire, even if there is no merit, there is hard work, and those who take the initiative to resign will be rewarded generously, and the title will not be rewarded to ensure the happiness of their family.

But if they don't know each other, then Li Weiguo will take the opportunity to directly order the dismissal, and the treatment of the dismissed officials will be significantly reduced.

Taking advantage of Wu Yong's resignation, Li Weiguo made a series of official and general transfers.

Among them, Li Hongzhang and a large number of former DPRK officials and generals were forced to resign, knowing that this was Li Weiguo's deliberate retaliation, but they were helpless.

Especially Li Hongzhang, in the past ten years, he has been very close to the royal family and the remnants of the previous dynasty, and it is rumored that Li Hongzhang is suspected of plotting against him.

But Li Hongzhang did a good job, and Li Weiguo never found enough evidence to prove that Li Hongzhang intended to assassinate him and plot treason. Because Li Hongzhang was a heavyweight minister of the former dynasty, and the scope of his involvement was very extensive, and the Chinese Empire had already entered a democratic era of open civil rights, democratic freedom, and freedom of speech.

This is the biggest flaw of the democratic era, ignorant people are easily used by bad guys, used as guns, and used as shields.

This time, Li Weiguo seized the opportunity, used the age limit to card Li Hongzhang down, and took back all the rights of Li Hongzhang, many of the remnants of the former dynasty, all of them were overaged, and they were all picked up, even if Li Hongzhang had a bad plan, his strength was seriously weakened, and I am afraid he would not be able to set off much of a storm.

At the same time, Wu Yong's resignation, the vacancy of the secretary of the Ministry of War, Zhang Xiaoliu's replacement, and the vacancy of the post of Minister of the Army, and so on, gave Li Weiguo an excuse to take the opportunity to transfer military personnel on a large scale.

Many officers of Li Hongzhang's old department, who were suspected by the China S.H.I.E.L.D., or who had secret contacts with the imperial family and the remnants of the former dynasty, were all transferred from their posts, or promoted and secretly demoted, or deprived of real power, and replaced with personnel who Li Weiguo believed to be loyal and reliable.

This sudden personnel change can be said to have caught Li Hongzhang off guard.

Li Hongzhang's mansion, a large number of royal children such as Prince Yi and Prince Alcohol of the previous dynasty, as well as some retired old ministers of the two dynasties gathered together.

At this time, they are unofficial and light, and they are not afraid of what others will say.

"Lao Li, it's over, we've been wiped out all at once, what are we talking about the great cause of restoring the country!"

"His mother, I didn't expect that Li Weiguo, a little rabbit cub, would be so shrewd to take advantage of Wu Yong's immortality to return to his hometown, and did so many articles!"

"Yes! We underestimate Li Weiguo too much, he defeated the sixty-year-old governor of Liangjiang at the age of twelve, from a small Chongming county order, developed and grew in a few years, unified China ten years later, and established a huge Chinese empire that is now several times the territory of my Great Qing Dynasty. ”

"It's not a matter of wanting to return to the country now, with the ruthlessness of Li Weiguo, we are now being masturbated, and we have no official position, this old life is worrying! What about the family? ”

Li Hongzhang listened to everyone's complaints, and his brows were also furrowed, and finally reassured: "Don't be impatient, all the elders!" If before, we were demoted to commoners, then the emperor could easily kill our nine clans. But now it is different, the Chinese empire built by Li Weiguo, with democracy and freedom as the slogan, requires evidence in everything, and stresses the legal society, so that even if Li Weiguo wants to kill us, he must put forward sufficient evidence, otherwise the common people will think that he Li Weiguo is taking revenge on the people of the previous dynasty and affecting Li Weiguo's glorious image. ”

Prince Alcohol nodded and said: "According to what you say, it's really like this, I used to think that what the court gave to those **** what right to vote, the right to be elected, and the right to freedom was pure nonsense, and it was pure nonsense to treat ****, just collect rent, and live and die for them, but now it seems that this bullshit legal system is equal to everyone, but it has become our talisman." ”

Prince Yi said: "But we can't be careless, if we catch the handle for Li Weiguo's guy, it will be very easy for us to rectify us." ”

Li Hongzhang said with a smile: "You can rest assured, but there is still one breath left, and the great cause of restoring the country will not stop." The Chinese Empire currently looks unmatched, and there are many hidden dangers. The ancient Roman Empire was powerful, spanning three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe, but with the death of Alexander, the mighty Roman Empire had not fallen apart? ”

Prince Yi frowned and said, "I said Lao Li, you will be sent to Taixi History, right?" What do you mean by birds? ”

Prince Alcohol glared at Prince Yi and said, "You didn't listen to you when you read more, and now it's a shame that you don't understand!" Lao Li, you too, give an example, give an example, what do you say foreigners? Isn't Genghis Khan, the hero of our Mongols, the best example, Genghis Khan is more than the bullshit Alexander Bull, and the territory he conquered is not much less than today's Chinese Empire, but with the death of Genghis Khan, his sons are actually scattered. What Lao Li meant was actually that as long as Li Weiguo died, his huge empire would inevitably fall apart. ”

"It's still the alcohol prince who can see far!"

Li Hongzhang said with a smile: "Yes, if Li Weiguo's territory is only as big as the original Qing Dynasty, with his strength, he can definitely control it safely." It is a pity that he is not strong enough to swallow elephants, and has repeatedly invaded foreign countries over the years, not only including the surrounding vassal states into the territory, but also eating up a large number of colonies of European and American powers, and the territory is larger than that of the Yuan Dynasty. Among them, the European and American powers will not give in easily, and the Entente bloc is huge, and there will be a war with the Chinese Empire in the future. If Li Weiguo dies suddenly, the huge imperial territory will definitely be divided by more than 100 of his sons, and we only need to instigate them to attack each other, then the world will inevitably be in chaos, and if the Entente wins, it will inevitably extort huge indemnities and divide up the imperial territory, then it will inevitably cause strong dissatisfaction among the people of the empire, then we will take the opportunity to cause trouble, and there is hope for the restoration of the country. ”

After listening to Li Hongzhang's analysis, everyone nodded in agreement, and the originally lost heart ignited a raging fire again.

At this time, the international situation suddenly changed, and the smoke of gunpowder was permeated.

In the Chinese Empire, there are also undercurrents, and the road ahead is cloudy. (To be continued.) )