Messerschmidt walked into the bar, looked around, and immediately saw the agents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who were about to meet him: bald, wearing a black suit and white shirt, a red tie, black leather gloves on his hands, and no expression on his face, he was slowly drinking a glass of whiskey, which people would never easily forget after seeing it once. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

However, I'm afraid few people can remember the specific facial features of an agent, who appear to have been poured out of a mold, though they are not. Even Messerschmidt was haunted by this delusion, making it impossible to tell which one he was seeing.

He shook his head to himself, then walked over and sat down across from the agent.

The agent put down his glass and said to him, "Forty-six. ”

Messerschmitt understood what he meant, forty-six, his code name. Agents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs always use code names, making their true identities even more elusive - but thankfully, they are all fixed, otherwise it would have been more difficult to distinguish these bald ones.

He thought, lit a cigarette for himself, and asked, "What did you find?" ”

According to Messerschmidt's knowledge, the Forty-Six had come to investigate the Japanese fleet's method of attacking Port Arthur -- which, to his surprise, was not conducted in Japan, but in New Jersey, which seemed to be the exact opposite -- and his mission was to bring the findings back to San Diego. Qin Lang was full of interest in it, but Messerschmitt felt that he seemed to already know the results, and the investigation was only to further prove his point.

Again, it always has been, and it will probably remain so in the future.

Messerschmidt sighed.

His actions did not have any effect on Forty-Six. The agent didn't seem to notice anything, still remaining calm and slow. He reached into his arms and pulled out a large envelope. Before opening it, though, he asked a question: "How much do you know about submarines?" ”

"Submarines?" Messerschmitt bowed his head and considered, but not in terms of the problem itself, but in its deeper meaning—why it was raised. After a dozen seconds, he decided to partially conceal the knowledge he had about this particular ship. "Not a lot." He replied, "As far as I know, during the Civil War, the South built a submarine and used it to sink a northern frigate, but after that operation, the submarine disappeared. ”

Forty-six nodded. "The Henley, powered by manpower, and its only weapon is a pole mine, so some people believe that it is not missing, but that it has died with its target."

"That's unfortunate." Messerschmidt pouted.

"That's true."

"What does it have to do with your investigation?"

"Nope." Forty-six said, "But the submarine has." ”

Messerschmitt raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"The concept of submarines can be traced back to the sixteenth century, and there is a rumor that Leonardo. Reach. Vinci was the first to come up with the idea of a submarine, but never sketched the design. In 1620, the Dutch-Englishman Daibor built the world's first submersible and conducted experiments on the River Thames. In 1648, Bishop of Chester, John Brown. In his writings, Wilkins proposed the military-strategic superiority of submarines......"

"Stop." Messerschmitt called. "This is not the time to look back at history."

"I beg your pardon, it was my mistake." Forty-six replied quickly.

"What's the point?"

Forty-six opened the envelope, pulled out a photograph, and placed it in front of him.

"That's the point, John. Philip. Holland. "In 1875, he designed a submarine and gave it to the U.S. Navy, but the Navy rejected it because it didn't have any practical value." A few years later, Horan partnered with the Irish's anti-British group to design and build a new submarine, the Fenia Ram, but soon his partnership with the Irish broke down and the submarine was stolen......"

Messerschmidt listened quietly and did not speak. But all that Forty-Six was about was known to him—and if you think about it, how could Morgan not have the slightest interest in a fresh invention? Whether or not this fresh invention would arouse his greater interest was another question to be examined. Philip. Holland is not without a little fame.

As Morgan's spy, for a while, he used to be in charge of Holland's materials. AS FOR LATER, HE WAS SENT TO UMBRELLA AND SPENT MUCH OF HIS TIME IN THE NEVADA DESERT AND THE FAR EAST, BUT IN SOME FREE TIME HE THREW SOME ATTENTION TO THIS MAN.

He knew about Holland's latest research: in 1897, the man built a new submarine, which used a dual propulsion system of gasoline engines and electric motors, had a torpedo tube and two guns, carried three torpedoes, and could fire torpedoes underwater......

Launch a torpedo under water!

Messerschmitt knew what the findings of the Forty-Six would be.

"You want to say," he interrupted the agent, who was still explaining, "that the Japanese bought Holland's submarines?" ”

"The Electric Boat Company of New Jersey sold five improved Holland submarines to the Japanese Navy." Number 46 replied.

"Improved?" Messerschmitt was a little confused. The submarine designed by Holland is still undergoing various tests, and the electric boat company has withdrawn its modification?

The answer is yes.

"At the request of the Japanese Navy, these submarines were slightly larger than the standard Holland submarine design, with a length of sixty-three feet, without artillery, but with two torpedo tubes installed, carrying four torpedoes. However, according to the information I have, reloading a torpedo is an extremely difficult task and almost impossible to complete, regardless of the state of navigation. ”

So all three Russian battleships were hit by two torpedoes, neither too much, not too much, and exactly the number of torpedoes that three submarines could fire at once. Messerschmitt thought for a moment and looked up. "Can these submarines sneak into Port Arthur?"

Forty-six took out another set of photographs from the envelope, a photo of a submarine. At the first glance, Messerschmitt understood what he was trying to illustrate: even when they were on the surface, the outcrops of these submarines were so low that if they were at night, even if they were illuminated by searchlights, the Russians would probably have had a hard time distinguishing what they were.

As long as this problem is solved, these treacherous little things can slip into heavily guarded harbors, and even the narrowest shipping lanes cannot stop them, and only mechanical failures and operator errors can derail their operations - although the luck of the Japanese is apparently good.

"So, the expensive capital ships of the Russian Navy were plotted by the Japanese submarines," Messerschmidt's face showed a look of regret, "I can bet you that there will be many people who think this is not true." ”

"I don't like to bet." Number 46 said.

"Of course, you don't like to bet." Messerschmidt was a little dumbfounded.

Forty-six didn't speak—enough was enough. He put all the photographs back in the envelope, sealed it, and pushed it in front of Messerschmidt. "It's full of pictures of Holland and his submarine, and the boss is waiting for them."

"Just a photo?" Messerschmitt looked at the envelope. Just photos? This is not Qin Lang's style: if he was interested in Horan's research results, he would never just ask agents from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to take a few photos.

He's that kind of person.

It always has been.

"My job is to find out what kind of new weapons are used by the Japanese Navy." Forty-six said slowly, "The rest, it's not my job. ”

Messerschmitt understood what he meant, and the work of gathering technical information on the Holland submarine was entrusted to another Ministry of Internal Affairs agent - perhaps forty-seven - and that the information had nothing to do with him. Obviously, for whatever reason, Qin Lang didn't want him to touch them.

He nodded, put the envelope in his arms, and stood up and walked to the door of the bar.

"Be careful." Forty-six spoke behind him, in a low voice, but he heard it anyway. Messerschmitt smiled, but did not turn his head or stop.

Forty-six was still seated, calmly and slowly drinking whiskey, not in a hurry to leave, but patiently waiting. After a while, about a few minutes, another bald head in a black suit and white shirt, a red tie, and black leather gloves sat down across from him.

Forty-six pulled out another envelope from the other side of his shirt and shoved it to his colleague for money. "The information that the boss wants."

"All?"

"All."

The new agent didn't ask a second question. He put away the envelope, then took out a blank piece of paper and handed it to Forty-Six. "New instructions from the boss."

"Understood." Forty-six put the piece of paper in his pocket, paused for a few seconds, and asked, "Why did you do that?" ”

"What?"

"Messerschmidt. If he's unreliable, we can get rid of him. ”

"That's not something you or I can decide," said the new agent, "that's the boss's decision." ”

Forty-six stopped talking. He turned his gaze to the door of the bar, Messerschmidt had been gone for a while, but Forty-Six seemed to still be able to see his shadow.

After a few seconds, he withdrew his gaze and stood up. His colleagues also stood up.

"Goodbye." He said.

"Goodbye." The new agent replied.

The meeting is over. (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )