When Qin Lang rarely has a little real free time - quite little, but there will always be some time, he neither deals with the work of the company, does not inspect the factory, does not think about the plans that have been made and will be made, does not recall the history and expertise he has learned in the past - this is always the case. At such times www.biquge.info he would pour himself a Coke, take out the astronomical telescope in the drawer, stand in front of the window behind the seat, and then stare motionless for a few minutes, even ten minutes.

Of course, everyone who saw his actions and knew him very well knew very well that Qin Lang was by no means observing astronomical scenes, nor was he observing the pretty ladies on the street or on the beach: neither astronomical sights nor beautiful ladies were the objects he was willing to care about and devote his time to. In this city, where he stood, there was only one "thing" that deserved his undivided attention for so long, and that was the military base of the US Navy.

San Diego is an important base of the U.S. Navy on the West Coast, and until the construction of the more famous, Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was completed, it was the home port of the Pacific Fleet -- and in the future, the home port of the Third Fleet and strategic nuclear submarines -- and even with the toes of the toes, it can be guessed that this is the key area of espionage activities, and there must be many eyes around the naval base that are constantly observing its movements, recording the activities of the Pacific Fleet, collecting all kinds of information related to it, and providing reference for the decision-making of their own leaders.

However, of all the observation sites that can effectively monitor the San Diego Naval Base, Qin Lang occupies one of the best, if not the best, positions - however, Qin Lang does not intend to sell the information he has to any country, organization, or individual for the time being. The reason why he paid attention to the naval base was not because of money, not because of his private hobbies, but only because the development of the US Navy had something to do with him.

A strong Federation fleet is an important pillar for safeguarding the overseas interests of the United States and its merchants, and an important security guarantee for the American people abroad -- this is not something that Qin Lang said, but he supports this view. As a businessman who has invested a lot of forces and capital in military and economic activities in the Far East, Qin Lang hopes that the current Pacific Fleet will be the one half a century from now - although this idea is very unrealistic.

Half a century, the span is a little larger, and the US Navy, which has just entered the twentieth century, has no chance of reaching that level in any case. But it did develop, very rapidly, faster than it had developed during this period in the history that Qin Lang knew: two weeks ago, the San Diego Naval Base began construction of a new dock, a dock that could accommodate large ships five hundred and fifty feet long and one hundred feet wide.

Now, in 1900, there was only one type of naval ship capable of reaching that size: the battleship. And it was a battleship that the U.S. Navy did not have - so far, not a single U.S. battleship that has been commissioned has exceeded four hundred and sixty feet in length. In other words, first, the new dockyard being built was not intended for the old warships, and second, the U.S. Navy was building or preparing to build new, larger battleships - any spy who had completed basic training could easily come to these conclusions, but they could only speculate on them, and Qin Lang knew more than them.

He knew that the U.S. Navy had begun, not prepared, to build, new battleships, and knew what kind of battleships were being built: nothing else, none other than the dreadnoughts he had proposed a few years earlier, with a displacement of eighteen thousand tons, armed with four twin twelve-inch guns, with a twelve-inch waterline armor belt, and a speed of eighteen knots; Finally, he also knows the exact number of ships: not one, not two, but three.

He knew the top-secret information that the spies of various nations were eager to know, and for no other reason than that he was going to Philadelphia to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of one of them.

We'll leave tomorrow.

There was a knock on the door.

"Please come in." Qin Lang said, but did not turn around, still staring at the dock that was carrying out construction work at full speed. Just as he knew everything about the new battleships of the US Navy, he also knew who was knocking on the door.

It's Rachel.

She pushed open the door and walked in, with obvious annoyance on her face, deliberately stepping on heavy steps, and quickly walked behind Qin Lang - but across Qin Lang's desk. And then. Rachel tapped the table and said, "You're going to the East again?" Meet Morgan? ”

"If I have time, I'll meet with Morgan. But first, I'll head to Philadelphia. He replied, turning his body slowly, and continued, "Senator Tillman of the Naval Affairs Committee invited me to attend the memorial ceremony for the laying of the first keel of the battleship South Carolina. ”

Then, I'll travel to Boston, meet with Stuart, learn about the program he's over, liaise with the Formosa Resistance and provide them with military assistance, and what's going on...... Just like last time, it required some elaborate arrangements to not let reporters know that he was meeting with a triad boss, let alone let them get to the bottom of the matter.

Qin Lang pondered his secret itinerary and looked at Rachel, noticing that she was a little confused.

"Senator Tillman of the Senate invited you to a naval ceremony, I don't really understand, Qin ...... I remember that he once asked you to participate in the launching of a cruiser. ”

"Yes." He admitted, "Because this time the warships built by the Navy still have a little bit to do with me." ”

"So," Rachel put away his annoyance and confusion and replaced it with calm, "the Navy has finally decided to build the new warship you are proposing to build?" ”

Qin Lang nodded. "And three of them."

"Three?" Rachel was stunned for a few seconds—she could scarcely believe that Congress, which regarded the military as an enemy, could be so generous in approving the construction of three battleships at once - and, as far as she knew, would cost more than any previous battleship. "When did the Senate become so generous?"

Suspicion, and sarcasm. Regardless of whether or not anyone else used the title, and regardless of when and how they started using it, at Umbrella, Qin Lang was the first person to mockingly refer to Congress as the Senate, and now Rachel has learned to do so.

Qin Lang laughed, pushed a newspaper on the desk in front of her, and pointed to the headline on the front page. "That's why the Senate has become so generous."

Rachel glanced at the text he was pointing to. Twenty minutes earlier she had read it in another newspaper, "The American Banking Union Signs Huge Loan Agreement with Imperial Japanese Government," and she had read the article, nothing special, except to announce that Qin Lang and Morgan had won the first phase of the plan, and that it had been exchanged for $35 million to Formosa -- to be precise, if the Japanese could not repay the loan within the three-year period, Formosa would become the common property of the American banks that provided the loans.

However, no banker wants to believe that when the Japanese are really unable to repay the loan, they will hand over Formosa according to the agreement without thinking: like all virtues that are considered precious, keeping credit is never a spontaneous act. History has told us countless times that when the debtor lacks a powerful means to solve the debt problem, the debtor will choose to repay the debt, whether he is an ordinary person, a nobleman or a king; As for the government, do not doubt that it will be only more likely than the bankers to abide by credit.

Maybe even more so than lawyers......

So, "that is, the Senate became so generous in order to prepare us to collect debts." She teased, "What does that Chinese saying say?" ...... rainfall"

"Prepare for it." Qin Lang continued her words and said, "And this is just the beginning. In the next fiscal year, the Senate will also approve the construction of three to four battleships, larger, stronger and more deterrent than those built now. ”

"It's also more expensive." Of course, this is not her concern. Rachel just couldn't understand one thing. "Do we need six or seven new battleships just for one Formosa? I don't think it's worth enough to spend on so many sorties. ”

"Maybe it's not enough, but we don't just need Formosa, we need to ask for the Korean Peninsula." Qin Lang smiled even more happily and more sinisterly, "The Japanese have a funding gap of more than 35 million. So just last week, Tokyo sent a telegram to Morgan, Kuhn-Loeb and Rothschild asking if more loans could be made. Of course, this was the predetermined direction of development, so they unanimously agreed to accept the request - and now, Jack. Morgan is in Tokyo negotiating with representatives of Japan. ”

"What are the terms of the negotiation?" She asked, "How are you going to get your hands on the Korean Peninsula?" ”

"Not what we're going to do, Rachel." He was still laughing, "It was the Japanese government that offered to use the Korean Peninsula as collateral." ”

"But you expected that."

"That's true." Qin Lang put away his smile, "And I know that the Japanese will fall into a trap." By that time, we will really need so many new warships to be stationed in Tokyo Bay. ”

"Maybe you also want the Navy to shell Tokyo." Rachel laughed, mockingly.

"I have no ill will towards the Japanese people, Rachel - my purpose is to make money, not to kill people." Qin Lang tried his best to control his emotions, and said in a sincere and compassionate tone, "If the navy really shelled Tokyo, it would be a tragedy of history. I would like to set up a foundation and call for donations to help Tokyo rebuild after the war and to carry out charitable activities in war-torn areas......"

Either plug your own ears or gag his mouth. Rachel began to seriously consider this question: despite all these years and often hearing Qin Lang perform such disgusting fake performances, it was still difficult for her to endure his bad taste.

However, before she could figure out what kind of means she should take, Qin Lang stopped and returned to the normal track.

"As I leave San Diego, Rachel, I want you to do two things." "First, we used the news agencies at our disposal to carry out a full range of propaganda on the West Coast to let everyone know that the Japanese could not afford to repay the loans, and that they had to hand over Formosa to the banking syndicate," he said. ”

"No problem." She nodded. It's easy, anyone with a little bit of a brain can see it.

"Second, pick some political and economic experts and have them publish articles in the newspapers about what the syndicate is going to do with Formosa -- but you have to be careful to make sure that the reader feels that the syndicate will eventually resell Formosa to the Manchu government." Qin Lang paused, "You can add a little inside information gimmick." ”

"That's the inside scoop." Rachel pouted, "Still, just West Coast publicity?" ”

"In other areas, Morgan and other consortia are responsible for creating public opinion." Qin Lang replied -- this is part of the plan, as soon as the first loan agreement with the Japanese government is signed, a large-scale propaganda will be launched immediately, and the rumor will be released to let everyone know that the bank syndicate will sell Formosa to the Qing government, so as to create pressure on the Japanese government and the Qing government -- and then the next step of the plan can be carried out.

Of course, it was still a revised plan: Mr. Liu Xuexun, who wanted to be emperor, officially replaced Qin Lang and Morgan's previously selected agents as the most suitable person to implement the plan. After a while, when the pressure of public opinion formed, Qin Lang would write a letter to Liu Xuexun, telling him that if he was willing and able to persuade the Qing government to redeem Formosa, he would receive a high commission, and that the U.S. government and consortium would fully support him as the new governor of Formosa; Finally, as a sign of their personal friendship, Umbrella will also help him build a small-scale armed force that is fully under his command.

Liu Xuexun will definitely accept this deal. Qin Lang raised his head slightly, looking at the future that he had already foreseen. Liu Xuexun would accept the deal because he could get everything he needed: American support, a piece of land far from the central government, and an army; And he knew his superiority, and the people and public opinion would be on his side, demanding that the government redeem Formosa at all costs. With the help of such a powerful force, he only needs to pay a small amount of money to complete the part of the transaction that should be done by him.

He will accept the deal.

Qin Lang smiled again. Liu Xuexun is ambitious, the most suitable person to implement the plan, and an ideal tool. Of course, as with all tools, eventually, after losing its value, he will also be discarded and then destroyed. It's just that Liu Xuexun himself could never have expected this ending.

The best ending. (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.) )