Rachel was frustrated. www.biquge.info Despite her best efforts and all her connections, no bank in California was willing to lend her money. The company's fixed assets had already been mortgaged once, and the loan of £150,000 for the purchase and conversion of the "Eureka" was obviously not possible for a second mortgage. Without collateral, it is impossible for even the craziest banker to lend to her.

Claude's actions were successful. The leaders of the Ecuadorian Navy agreed in principle to help the Viper company buy the cruiser "Esmeralda", but demanded that the company give 10 percent of the transaction amount as a kickback, and also demanded that the company provide 3,000 rifles and 3 million rounds of ammunition.

Of course, guns and bullets were not a problem, but the company did not pay a penny for the purchase and that kickback. The only good news is that even if the deal fails, the company doesn't go bankrupt right away.

But this kind of "happiness" is not at all to make Rachel or anyone else happy. In her office, she, Yi Shui, and Claude, as well as Sean, who had just returned to San Diego from Nevada. O'Connor, looking dejected, sat together, looking for the best way to solve the problem.

"I have an idea," O'Connor said suddenly, after a moment of silence, "why don't we reverse the order of the execution of the plan?" ”

"Reverse order?" The eyes of the other three were focused on him.

"Yes, in reverse order." "Based on Qin's letter to Rachel, I don't think the Chinese government will buy warships until after a formal declaration of war — and if my guess is correct, we could have postponed the purchase of the Esmeralda until one or two days before the deadline," O'Connor said. ”

"Even so, but where is the money?" Yi Shui asked confusedly.

"That's your job, Yi Shui." O'Connor pointed at him, "You should direct 'Eureka' to ship guns and ammunition to China by mid-July - just guns and ammunition and sell them to the Chinese government in the shortest possible time." Fifteen thousand rifles would bring in about 110,000 pounds for the company. ”

Yi Shui kind of understood his idea, but still felt that it lacked enough practical significance. "Sean, eleven thousand pounds can't buy a cruiser."

"Easy water, not 110,000 pounds." Rachel understood O'Connor's plan as well, and she became happy. "According to Qin's speculation, the Chinese army will need about 100,000 rifles and 18 million rounds of ammunition, and we only need to win half of these orders, and the income we get can buy the 'Esmeralda'."

"That's right, that's what I planned." O'Connor nodded.

"I think this task is a little more difficult for Wang Zhen, but ......," Yi Shui shrugged, "it seems that this is the only way to go, and I will return to San Diego as soon as possible after completing this." ”

"No, you go straight to Ecuador." Rachel shook his head and explained, "Yishui, the 'Eureka' has a cruising speed of only ten knots, and even if you leave for China tomorrow, the deadline will be almost up when you return." We don't have time to waste any more on the road from San Diego to Ecuador. ”

"You've forgotten the route, Rachel. According to the Great Circle Navigation Method, in order to save time, I should choose the Far North route. ...... along the Aleutian Islands, the Kuril Islands"

If Qin Lang was here, he would definitely shut up Yi Shui immediately, because what he chose was almost the route he chose when Nagumo Tadaichi led his mobile force to attack Pearl Harbor. Normally, only a very small number of merchant ships chose this route - although this route was shorter than other routes according to the Great Circle method, it had extremely harsh climatic conditions, which could lead to shipwrecks and, in most cases, waste time.

But it's not absolute. It's summer, the weather conditions on the Far North route are not as bad as at other times, and if you're lucky enough, it's really possible for the "Eureka", with a cruising speed of only ten knots, to reach Tokyo in twenty days......

But Rachel didn't know any of that.

"Can you put it simply?" Not only her, but O'Connor didn't know what he was talking about. Nautical was too esoteric for them. Only Claude could understand his thoughts. "Miss McBride, what Mr. Yi means is that if he chooses the northern route, it will be more wasteful of time to go directly from China to Ecuador."

He went on to warn: "I must say that the risk of choosing the Far North route is very high, and whether or not you can get to the Far East in time depends on luck......

"It's summer, there's not a lot of bad weather, and I'll give the order to go full speed if necessary." Yishui has decided to use the Far North route. He didn't want to change his decision, but there was one thing that made him feel uneasy. "My concern is whether the 'Eureka' will be able to leave in time - the Argentines have not yet delivered the artillery to ......"

"The modification will take place after you return from China. You send the money to Ecuador and then direct the converted 'Eureka' to China to sell her and the cruiser 'Esmeralda' to the Chinese government. The matter was decided, "Yi Shui, you will set off tomorrow." Rachel announced.

"Okay...... But what about those canned luncheon meats and methamphetamines? ”

"They're easy to solve."

So the next day, June 11, 1894, under the command of Yi Shui, the "Eureka" left San Diego with weapons, ammunition, and 500 pounds of methamphetamine in its hold, and then, after a smooth sailing of twenty days, she arrived in Tokyo without incident.

While "Eureka" was crossing the Pacific Ocean, the situation in the Far East had been developing as Qin Lang knew and claimed to others. As Qing and Japanese troops moved into Korea, the signs of war were becoming more and more apparent – at least in Japan.

Although the Japanese government has not officially declared war on China, the Japanese in Tokyo seem to have fallen into a state of complete frenzy brought about by the war. Even on a ship, it is not difficult to feel this extraordinary frenzy deeply. There were overly excited Japanese people near the docks, and the Japanese officials at the customs office also looked extremely abnormal.

This made Wang Zhen feel quite worried. The American flag flying on the "Eureka" did not bring him any comfort, and he did not understand why the merchant ship had to dock in Tokyo. "Why do we have to stay here for one night?"

Yi Shui, who was talking to Captain Hamilton, who was both the captain and the sailing teacher of Yi Shui, turned back. "We're going to add coal and fresh water here, and we're going to add some fresh vegetables and fruits." More importantly, the 500 pounds of methamphetamine on board needed to be unloaded in Tokyo. A salesman from a company would be in charge of selling them to the Japanese army.

However, the performance of the Japanese on the shore made Yi Shui think that maybe it would be better to sell these drugs that Qin Lang classified as "stimulants" to them - since they liked excitement so much, let them be more excited. Of course, methamphetamine, which can only be injected, is not very convenient for ordinary users, but it is said that the Devil's Island base has begun to produce "anandamide" that can be taken orally, and next time, he can ship some by the way.

Immediately he was surprised. For the first time, he realized that he would have this kind of Rachel or Qin Lang-style thought. Yi Shui shook his head, banishing it from his mind, and then began to think more deeply about the current situation.

However, Wang Zhen did not give him a chance to think. "Brother Yi, I'm afraid," he said, grabbing his sleeve, "if the Japanese rush to the ship......

"You idiot." Yi Shui broke away from his hand, and then kicked him hard in the ass, "Look at your appearance, I don't even know if you can speak normally when you see Li Zhongtang." ”

"But ......"

"But what?" He kicked Wang Zhen in the ass again, "This is an American merchant ship, and there are armed security guards sent by the company on board, what else do you need to be afraid of?" ”

"As long as you stay quietly in the cabin, the Japanese won't be able to do anything to you." Another voice interjected. Then, Wang Zhen's partner Easter. Hartman stepped into the cockpit. "I just inquired about the news, Mr. Yi, I think our situation may be a little bad."

"How?"

"It is said that the Chinese government has not yet decided whether to declare war on Japan, and officials are still looking for Western countries to mediate." Hartman spread his hands in frustration, "I'm worried that our weapons may not be able to get rid of it, let alone get that bigger order." ”

"Don't worry, Mr. Hartmann, the court is always like this, always pinning all its hopes on international mediation at the beginning, and only rushing to the war at the end." Yi Shui sighed reluctantly, "But this won't have much impact on our weapons sales." ”

"I hope so, Mr. Yi." Hartman didn't believe Yi Shui's judgment, and he didn't even trust Qin Lang's judgment very much. He only believes what he sees. And now he was getting the information that told him that Japan was ready for a war, but China was not.

He was worried about the company's risky decisions.

Yi Shui was also worried, and there was some irritation. No matter what, he couldn't look at that ending with an almost cold attitude like Qin Lang, however, he didn't have the ability to change it.

It's a tragedy.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

New Year's Day is finally over, thank goodness...... (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the WWW.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )