At the end of 1896, while British Minister Bauer was still arguing back and forth over the terms of the secret agreement between the two countries, the Beijing Prime Minister's Office suddenly released a piece of news that shocked the British again......

On November 18, Qin Kai met with the special representative of Chilean President Williams and the governor of Tacna Province Sinclair, who is also an old friend of the Nanyang system, and he was also one of the representatives when he signed the agreement on the Autonomous Region of Iquique.

As a popular candidate for the presidency of Chile two years later, Sinclair's visit to China was not just a diplomatic visit, but also Vice Admiral-turned-President Williams, who relied on his close relationship with the Nanyang system, and finally took advantage of the opportunity to purge the Chilean coup d'état, which led to the presidency.

In a series of operations that year, the Chinese fleet and the Iquique garrison provided the vice admiral with enough military supplies to build a huge army of 30,000 men, while Williams only promised a share of the mining rights of several copper mines in northern Chile after taking office, and eventually, with the direct cooperation of the Chinese garrison, he defeated the coup garrison of Antofagasta and took power.

But it was only after he came to power that the true influence of the Nanyang system became apparent, and now the Northern Mining Company, which is jointly developed by China and Chile but controlled by the Chinese side, provides the whole of Chile with three times more taxes and dividends than saltpeter exports, and some of these dividends go into the pocket of Lieutenant General Williams, which has become an important capital for his campaign.

Now, Governor Sinclair has come to visit China, naturally, to continue the military's control of Chile. And the more important reason for this. Naturally, it is the intensification of the local arms race in South America......

After Chile defeated Peru. In fact, under China's mediation, both Peru and Chile are now heavily dependent on China-controlled mining, and although both sides have considered rebuilding their navies, they have lacked funds, and Peru has now become a vassal state of China at some point, at least economically, Peruvians are more willing to sell their cheap ore to China in exchange for cheap Chinese industrial products because of their lack of industrial capacity.

Chilean President Williams prefers to carry forward his country's naval heritage. In this case, it is clear that he will have more loyal fans in the country, and in reality, Chile does have an opportunity to continue to expand its naval buildup...... The Argentine navy, which is a large neighbor, is rapidly emerging as the number one maritime power in South America.

In just four years, the Argentine Navy, which originally did not dare to meet the Chilean Navy in Tierra del Fuego, purchased three ironclad ships of more than 4,000 tons from France and Britain respectively, among which the most nervous Chilean was the battleship Rosario built by Armstrong for the Argentine Navy.

This battleship with a displacement of 11,000 tons has entered the so-called pre-dreadnought era without any suspense. Soon after winning the Argentine bid, Armstrong adopted the practice of slightly enlarging the Navy's Collingwood-class battleships as a whole. However, although the Argentines demanded the most powerful main guns, the British government was clearly reluctant to sell arms overseas.

Therefore, the battleship Rosario is equipped with 305mm, 35 times the diameter of the main gun, of course, the Argentines are obviously not a rookie in the navy, and now it has been completely semi-public 6 main gun mainstream settings, they also asked Armstrong to meet, so at most 1 year, at least 9 months, the Argentine Navy will be the only country in South America to have battleships after the new warship is listed.

Chile, an old naval power in South America, unfortunately fell from a first-class country to a second-rate country that is difficult to confront Argentina, and this news was obviously fully exploited by President Williams, who was born in the navy.

As a matter of fact, as early as a few months ago, Shen Shouchang, the Chinese minister to the four South American countries, had reached a basic consensus with the Chileans, and after meeting with this old Chilean friend, Qin Kai immediately made clear the attitude of the Chinese government -- the construction of the Chilean navy will be the diplomatic work that the Chinese government will make every effort to ensure!

Of course, Qin Kai naturally did not intend to do anything about the military competition between South Americans, in the history he knew, between such a long coastline in South America, especially the Panama Canal that the Chinese government is leading, once the canal is opened, the canal and the navy will become a major force in full control of the situation in South America...... And not as simple as today's simple arms race!

Among the South American countries, the three countries that can join this competition are Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Colombia...... That's the target of his own severe crackdown, and besides, Colombia's corrupt politics are not competitive in South America!

Therefore, Qin Kai had already asked the Ministry of Military Affairs to provide the Chileans with a complete set of plans - a large fleet plan including 2 Xia-class battleships, 2 Huangshan-class cruisers, and 8 Shanghai-class destroyers! However, the Chileans, although very tempted by the proposal, were scared to death by the £4.5 million offer.

Of course, Governor Sinclair, who originally planned to find Qin Kai to catch up with the old days and make some discounts, was quickly beaten down by Qin Kai's understated kickback theory......

"Governor Sinclair, you're going to run in the presidential election, expensive campaign money, and although Lieutenant Williams will help you raise it, it's ...... In the end, it is the army's funds, and after you use it, there will be a lot of implications compared to it...... And this time for the military purchase, out of trust in the friendship between the two countries, I can sign a loan secured by the exploration rights of the mining area, and 5% of the entire arms sale will be invested in a selected fund in your name in the form of an anonymous donation! ”

Qin Kai very sincerely promoted "Made in China" to the Chileans, and as a result, soon, in the newspaper the next day, China and Chile reached a contract of 5.5 million pounds for the purchase of arms and civilian materials, but the specific content of the arms sales was naturally not announced to the public as a military secret of the two countries.

Of course, Minister Bauer was soon summoned by Qin Kai a few days later, and as soon as they met, Qin Kai bluntly told him, "Dear Bauer, China has created industrial opportunities for your country in the Americas...... I hope that you will also do your best to reach an agreement between the two countries...... You have to make it clear to London that it is far better to maintain a cooperative relationship with China than to boycott it! ”

From the details that Qin Kai revealed intentionally or unintentionally, he immediately understood the purpose of this summons! (To be continued......)