Five days later, the fleet has arrived at the port of Tianjin, Qin Kai looked at the Dagukou Fort standing in the distance, this is the gateway to Tianjin, has always been a key place of coastal defense, 30 years ago, the British Chen soldiers here, the cannon direction pointed directly at Beijing, the Manchu government had no soldiers to fight, signed the "Treaty of Nanjing" that lost power and humiliated the country, who could have expected that 20 years later, the direct point here is still a facelift, known as the "Eight Nations" of the great powers.

"Instructor Qin, why are you so interested in this Dagukou Fort?" Lu Han's bold voice sounded again, and he basically replaced the roles of Huang Xing and Sun Xiang along the way, but fortunately, Qin Kai understood this curiosity very well.

"Turret! It can only be a fixed target, and the best defense is precisely the offense! Qin Kai pointed to the huge fort looming in the distance.

"The best defense is precisely offense", this famous sentence of Krawisets obviously amazed Lu Han, "Instructor Qin, I won't hide it from you, along the way, I often think of some of your words, all of which are like this sentence, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense!" ”

"Cousin Geng, you think too highly of me, this is not what I said, this is a German general von Clausewitz said a hundred years ago, we have the art of war handed down by our ancestors, but we must not underestimate the wisdom of the enemy, this General Clausewitz's "On War" may wish to read it if you have the opportunity!"

"Von Clausewitz......" Lu Han secretly marveled at the memory of this Lord Qin again, such an unfathomable name of Tessie, can be remembered so skillfully.

After the fleet approached the wharf, it was already seen from a distance that a large number of Huai soldiers were maintaining order on the shore, and today's protagonist was naturally Ding Richang, the governor of Fujian and the minister of shipping.

Qin Kai naturally didn't know which officials were on these docks, and asked Lu Han to take a clairvoyant eye and squint at the shore, an official like him from the sixth grade really can't be ranked on the dock, and most of the officials who can donate money at random in this era are higher than him.

Looking at this big drama, Lu Han is still proficient, and he pointed at the guard of honor behind the officials on the shore, this is the yamen of the Tianjin prefect, that is the guard of honor of the governor's yamen, and the guard of honor standing behind it is estimated that it is a high-ranking official in the yamen.

Hearing Lu Han's on-site explanation of the Governor of Zhili, Qin Kai had already turned his binoculars, but what he saw was a group of officials surrounding Ding Richang's guard of honor and the carriage of the Governor's Palace, and he didn't even see the face of the face, Li Zhongtang, Li Zhongtang, he secretly wondered in his heart, I don't know what this looks like for Zhongxing Famous Ministers and traitor scapegoats.

After Qin Kai got off the ship, he found that Sun Fu was still waiting for him on the dock, and this situation somewhat made Lu Han, who got off the ship with him, a little incomprehensible, Sun Fu was already the top of the sixth grade, and Qin Kai was only a position from the sixth grade.

Tianjin Wei is worthy of being the north of the stronghold, there are many ships from all countries in this port, and into the city, there is a strange phenomenon, the merchants and local vendors here speak a dialect with Huaiyin, which is somewhat surprising, obviously the Huai army poured into this place of Tianjin, more than ten years has produced such a big change.

There are many people coming and going on the street, and there are not a few people in strange costumes, and there are a few Westerners holding square boxes with tripods to place them everywhere, and from time to time there is a "bang" sound, which startles passers-by for a while.

Seeing the curious expressions of the two students, Huang Xing and Sun Xiang, Qin Kai smiled slightly, and said softly: "Taixi people's machine qì, I heard that it can suck people's shadows in!" Why don't you give it a try? ”

The two students were suddenly frightened, "Isn't that the soul is gone, and there is no shadow when you become a ghost!" ”

Qin Kai and Sun Fu immediately laughed happily, and the two students figured out some tastes.

A few Japanese in kimonos on the side of the road were respectfully selling goods to a few people who looked like small officials, which made Qin Kai a little more interested, what kind of business was this dishonest neighbor doing in this era?

At this time, little Japan was still accumulating strength, and in the process of trying to invade Taiwan a few years ago, it lost its troops and lost its troops, and finally chose to temporarily retreat under the pressure of the Manchu Qing and Western forces, but in that defeat of 500,000 taels of silver, little Japan further understood the essence of this huge and weak Manchu government, and for the first time concluded a so-called equality treaty with the Central Empire, which had been suppressing them for thousands of years. ,

The Yamen of the Governor of Zhili, the officials who came to greet Ding Richang have long since dispersed, and at this time only the important people in the yamen are sitting on the guest hall.

The Earl of the Qing Dynasty, the famous minister of Tongzhi Zhongxing, sitting in the position of the world's first governor, the commander of the military affairs, and the minister of Beiyang trade Li Zhongtang sat on the top position, this reciting "Who wrote history for 10,000 years, three thousand miles away to find the marquis" The late Qing Dynasty minister, at this time, looked at a fold in his hand with a solemn face.

Ding Richang sat on the left hand position, silently tasting the Longjing tea of West Lake in early spring, which had just been shipped from Hangzhou, which was something that had money and no place to taste, but his mind was not on it.

Sitting opposite him was an elegant man in his forties, this Ding Richang was acquainted, Zhou Fu Zhou Wushan, the chief staff of Lord Li Zhongtang, the Taoist of Tianjin Customs, and this gentleman was the one who had followed Lord Zhongtang the longest in the Huai Army. A man in his thirties who looked like a scholar, Chen Ding, the prefect of Tianjin, was also a close confidant of Lord Zhongtang.

Li Zhongtang's eyes were half-open and half-closed, he was quite tall but did not have the tendency of a high-ranking person, his keen gaze fell on Ding Richang, and asked playfully: "Brother Yusheng, the amount of this fold you handed over is not light!" Can't the ponytail shipmaster's mess be maintained? ”

Ding Richang and Li Zhongtang are in the same year, and they were both used by Zeng Dashuai, the relationship between the two can be described as irreversible friends, he put down the teacup and praised, "Lord Zhongtang, your new Longjing tea here is really good, if it is mixed with some rotten leaves and weeds, then it will be lost!" ”

"Brother Yusheng has made up his mind?"

"Truly! Lord Nakado, I have brought you the good news that you are interested in, and the Artillery Bureau entrusted by your lord can now make a new 420-pound heavy gun! ”

Li Zhongtang's half-closed eyes suddenly lit up, artillery and other Western sharp weapons are also the things he cares about the most on weekdays, although he is not proficient in technical things, but this does not affect his ability to judge things at all, and he has frequent contact with consuls of various countries, he naturally understands what this 420-pound heavy gun means.

A few days ago, the French minister Baohai had just come to visit him, and he was riding the "Triumph", the main battleship of the French Far East Navy, and the French rear admiral accompanying him proudly introduced the 4,558-ton ironclad warship that had just been launched this year, which attracted the attention of the accompanying Beiyang Navy Commanders.

In addition to the ironclad of this ironclad ship that the French are proud of, the biggest highlight is the six 390-pound (239mm25 times the caliber) heavy guns.

Li Zhongtang's heavy expression seemed to stretch a little, he nodded slightly, and picked up the fold again.

"Lord Ding, this heavy cannon you are talking about is the one that was brought with the ship, right?" Zhou Fu, who was sitting opposite, raised his head and asked.

"Wushan, exactly, has already tried the cannon in Mawei, and the power is amazing! When the old man was in office, it was really gratifying to see the birth of such an artifact, and it was really God bless the Qing Dynasty! Ding Richang replied proudly.

"Lord Ding is just well-planned, this artillery bureau has only been in operation for a few months, and it has achieved such results!" Zhou Fu, who has followed Li Zhongtang since the time of Zeng Guofan, naturally understands the position of this flowering cannon in the heart of Zhongtang adults, and it is precisely because he saw the power of the foreigners' flowering cannons that Zhongtang adults made the determination of this westernization business, and Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau was born.

Chen Ding, the prefect of Tianjin on the side, also took a look at it a few times, and hurriedly said a few words to Ding Richang, this is also a big man in the Huai military department, and he has such a great achievement today, this is reported to the imperial court, and the little emperor naturally does not understand the benefits, but the queen mother is a person who understands, and the old thing of being forced to flee Beijing by foreigners has only been less than 20 years.

From this point of view, Ding Richang must have been rewarded by the imperial court this time, and there is the support of Lord Zhongtang, and the governor of these two grades cannot be said to be promoted.

"Wushan, Jingyuan, you also take a look at Yu Sheng's excerpts," Li Zhongtang obviously had some ideas at this time, and finally spoke, he also transferred the excerpts to Zhou Fu, and said with emotion: "Yu Sheng wants to expand the scale of Mawei Shipbuilding, if this giant cannon is mass-produced, it will be God bless the Qing Dynasty!" ”

After the excerpt was circulated among the two important ministers of the Beiyang Department, Chen Ding spoke first, "Lord Zhongtang and Lord Ding, this is really a weapon of the country, is it possible to transfer craftsmen and machines to the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau?" That's the important place of our Huai army. ”

Ding Richang didn't speak, he was in charge of the Mawei Shipyard, which was the result of a compromise between the Huai Army and the Hunan Army, which naturally also involved the Zuo Marshal who was still fighting with Russia in Xinjiang. ,

"No, what Zuo Jigao agreed with me is that this matter of the Mawei Ship Administration cannot be moved lightly, this is a national matter, and there is no distinction between the Hunan army and the Huai army." Li Zhongtang's expression was solemn, as long as Ding Richang was there, this Mawei shipmaster was naturally still under control, and immediately vetoed the proposal.

Zhou Fu took the fold and looked at it very carefully, and soon understood what Li Zhongtang meant, "Lord Ding, you only said one person in this discussion, that is, this Fujian political secretary allowed Qin Kai, if this person is transferred to the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau to be the supervisor of the Artillery Bureau, and give him the actual position of the counselor of the General Political Division, it can be regarded as the love of Lord Zhongtang." ”

Ding Richang was stunned for a moment, this mention is indeed very generous to Qin Kai, but it is far from what he promised Qin Kai before, "Wushan, I won't tell you, this Qin Kai is a student who returned from Taixi to serve the country, and he is quite talented, but he is dedicated to rejuvenating the country through industry and educating people. ”

What Ding Richang said, Li Zhongtang also felt quite weird, but he immediately thought that Ding Richang in the excerpt was the same as the governor of Funing Mansion and the Mawei Ship Administration, thinking that this was Ding Richang's favorite general, and he would not let it go lightly, he smiled slightly and said: "Brother Yusheng, then do it according to your wishes, tomorrow I will write and forward the excerpt to the emperor!" But you have to step up the construction of artillery, give me at least 10 huge cannons within a year, I will put them in the Dagukou Fort, and Yongzhen will be my Daqing country! ”

"Thank you, Lord Zhongtang, and the excerpt of corruption and impeachment, Lord Zhongtang, how do you think it should be handled?" Ding Richang is well versed in the way of officialdom, and he must take advantage of the victory to pursue and settle everything in one go, otherwise everything will inevitably be dragged out.

"Brother Yusheng, I probably remember that this Shen Sing is the person of the Six Princes, right? What is the origin of the surname Kim? ”

"Governor Wenshan's brother-in-law."

As for the old man Wenshan, he has been following the Minister of Military Aircraft Li Hongzao (this person has a similar name to Li Hongzhang and has no kinship) to contradict him, which is an opportunity to knock and knock.

He smiled and said: "Yu Sheng, I'll go and say it to the sixth prince, let this Shen Sing and come down and move a position, this surnamed Jin, I think it's just a matter of taking the job and investigating it, someone has to bear this charge!" ”

While the two bigwigs were talking and laughing, Shen Sing and Jin Fatzi, who were thousands of miles away, naturally didn't know that bad luck was at this time, and they were scratching their ears and cheeks for the unexpected situation in the shipyard at this time.

Since Governor Ding Richang left, there were suddenly many rumors in the Mawei shipyard and the school, and it took two days to reach the ears of the golden fat man, and he immediately ran to Shen Songhe with a roar, because those rumors directly pointed to him deducting the salary of craftsmen and eating the vacancies of craftsmen, if it was just these, it would be fine.

The shipyard suddenly came out with news, saying that the warships manufactured in the past two years were flawed, and the materials were shoddy, and there were even rumors that the big deal made by the golden fat man recently was the first to say that the head was the way, and even the benefits of the 30,000 taels of silver were guessed to be eight or nine, and the first feeling of the golden fat man was that there was a conspiracy!

As soon as these rumors came out, there was a commotion in the Mawei Shipyard, the Academy, and even the Nanyang Naval Division, and the officials in the shipyard didn't know what the reason was, so no two people came to report Shen Songhe, but the golden fat man sent two lackeys under him to hear some news, and then hurriedly came to sue him.

Shen Singhe's first reaction was that this matter came strangely, not rumors sooner or later, but there were rumors as soon as Ding Richang left, and the most terrible thing was that the news also caused trouble to the sailor, although Liu Shen, the commander of the sailor, had a deep relationship with him, and he was also trying his best to help cover the news, but now it has reached the point where the paper is not hot.

"Brother Jin, you hurry up and transfer the patrol camp of the Ship Master Academy, seal up the shipyard and the school first, I want to find out who is spreading these news, and find out that one is dead!" Shen Singhe's face was gloomy, this was the fundamental thing that urged him, and now it was not a matter of paying attention to feelings.

When the fat man heard this, he looked bitter, "Brother Shen, Lord Shen, you asked me to transfer Huang to be one of those soldiers?" What did I say for the best reason, he asked for the order of the Minister of Shipping, and he bounced me back...... Uh, Brother Shen, don't you have a good relationship with Commander Liu, let him send some soldiers and horses? ”

Shen Singhe naturally understood that what the fat man said was the truth, thought about it and said: "Brother Jin, I'll go to Liu Shen to discuss, if it doesn't work, you immediately go to your sister and go the way of the governor!" If this thing leaks out, you and I will not be able to explain it with a hundred mouths. ”,

The two immediately parted ways and went their separate ways.

The next day, the consulates of various countries in Tianjin received an invitation from Li Zhongtang, the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang, to display the Qing Dynasty's armament in the barracks in the north of Tianjin, which was three days later.

This news soon spread to the people through the Chinese foreign compradors, who had frequent contact with foreign merchants and consulates, which was rare news, and soon made the headlines of the only British-run newspaper of this era, "Declaration".

The Japanese consulate in the Weiying Concession in Tianjin has seen people come and go frequently these days, and there are not people dressed in ordinary Chinese clothes coming in and out.

In a secret room inside the embassy, a balding old man in a kimono was loudly reprimanding a Japanese officer in his thirties who was lying on the ground opposite.

"Kinoshita-kun, as a military security officer in the Tianjin area, the empire sent you to be stationed in the Great Qing Kingdom for a long time to investigate the military strength of this decaying empire, why do you not know anything about this military display of the Qing army? Do you know how much money it costs to send your huge team to the Qing country for a long time, and the news you have been reporting is clichés about how backward and vulnerable the Qing country's military equipment is! ”

"Dog's door!" The officer lying on his stomach didn't dare to say anything in front of this old man, but just bowed down.

"The weapons displayed by the Qing army this time must be clarified as soon as possible, and the empire must have a comprehensive understanding of the Qing army!"

When he arrived at the house on the right side of the embassy, the officer who had just been a servile man had already recovered a cold and tyrannical face, and when he walked into the room, there were already more than a dozen Japanese dressed as ronins waiting for orders.

"Give you three days, be sure to find out the armament of the Qing army this time, I want to know the source and quantity of these weapons, if you can't complete the task, I will apologize to His Majesty the Emperor with you!" The Japanese Admiralty Captain named Koichi Kinoshita yelled loudly.

Half an hour later, a group of Japanese ronins swarmed out and scattered into all corners of Tianjin Wei, and began to use a qiē channel to try to spy on the news of this neighboring country.

);