"You've read Hartman's telegram?"

"Yes. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

"So what do you suggest?"

"Not yet."

Qin Lang was somewhat careless about Hartman's question. That was not something to worry about, he was convinced that the current situation was only temporary, and that in the end, the Qing government would still need to import weapons from abroad, and that it would have no other choice as long as the treaty had not been abrogated by that time.

But the treaty signed by Washington with Beijing is unlikely to be scrapped – at least not for many years. Qin Lang was full of confidence, so he would rather wait patiently and do nothing.

Further, Qin Lang argues that it is the real mistake to take action: a private arms company is not qualified to force a government to buy its own products immediately, and putting pressure on the Qing government will not produce any effect, but will cause it to resent, and ultimately lead it to insist on refusing to buy weapons under the influence of a ridiculous rebellious mentality.

Although there are treaty restrictions that prevent Beijing from buying weapons from other countries, at least it has the option to manufacture its own - the treaty does not prohibit the Qing government from importing machinery and materials for making arms, and the European powers will be happy to help it build a modern military industrial complex if Beijing asks for it.

Qin Lang was fully confident that they would do this.

Although none of the countries objected to the treaty when it was signed, it was only because it was part of a secret agreement between the United States and Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, but Washington's monopoly on arms sales effectively violated the interests of all arms-exporting countries, whether in London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Vienna or Rome, they would be happy to see that this provision was not effectively enforced.

Between countries, only interests are the most real, and credit and friendship are insignificant.

Qin Lang raised his head slightly, examining all possible futures. "Once we choose the wrong action, we will be in a desperate predicament."

"In other words, you're helpless?" Rachel said in a tone that was by no means more than mocking, "Am I right, Qin? ”

She was not as confident as Qin Lang. Although Rachel is also smart, wise, and has some vision, her insight is far from the level of Qin Lang, and she can't fully grasp the direction of the development of the situation, so she hopes to take some strong action instead of doing nothing.

Qin Lang knew her thoughts, but he didn't like her tone. "Do you have any solution to the problem?"

"Not yet...... In fact, I was just as trapped. "It's just that I think you've always been able to find a solution to your problems." ”

"This is exactly the moment you've been looking forward to, isn't it, Rachel?" Qin Lang said with a hint that he was by no means confused, "It turns out that I am not omnipotent as others think. His expression changed to a false sadness, "I am indeed not an omnipotent superman. ”

"Yes, you're just a Frankenstein." She struck back, shaking slightly.

"Can you stop the pointless bickering?" Yi Shui stepped in, his eyebrows furrowed, "Now is not the time for language games. ”

"It's not the time to worry about the Chinese market – it's a little bit early. 100,000 rifles will certainly not meet the needs of the Qing government, and in the end, Beijing will still fulfill the treaty and order guns and ammunition from us. After a few seconds, Qin Lang added, "But now we can only wait patiently." ”

"But let's not forget that even if the Chinese government can't buy weapons from other countries, it still has a national arsenal to choose from." Rachel reminded.

Hubei Gun Factory? Qin Lang smiled. "I doubt that Zhang Zhidong will give the weapons produced in his arsenal to Yuan Shikai and Rong Lu."

Rachel's expression immediately became confused—she didn't understand the complicated political situation in China—but Yi Shui knew what Qin Lang meant. The contradictions between the North and the South Seas will not disappear without a trace because of the recent political changes, and at the same time, Beijing has long lost full control over local officials, who will undoubtedly refuse to supply weapons to the troops of the North Sea system out of self-interest.

And not just refusal, if possible, they will also seize the weapons ordered by the Beiyang army and integrate them into the Nanyang army.

"Remember the two cruisers we sold, Rachel?"

Yi Shui's reminder partially relieved Rachel's confusion, and she shrugged her shoulders secretly. "I can't believe that an authoritarian government can lose effective control over the local government officials it appoints."

"To be precise, it should be called 'centralized government'...... Of course, it doesn't matter. Explaining China's political system is a very complicated and tedious task, and Qin Lang didn't want to waste time, and he knew that Rachel wouldn't be interested in it, so he quickly returned to the topic.

"If you were really going to do something, what were you going to do?"

Rachel remembered for a moment. "At the very least, we can destroy the Hubei Gun Factory. There is no doubt that it is a potential threat to our interests. ”

"I don't think that's good advice." Yi Shui immediately objected, "Although that arsenal may make our arms business difficult, it is a modern military industrial enterprise that has been established at a great cost of money—"

But Qin Lang liked Rachel's suggestion; Not only to fight weak competitors, but more importantly, because of a deeper purpose.

"It's a pity, but I agree with Rachel's suggestion, easy water." He made an apologetic gesture, "My opinion, if China has a modern arsenal that produces light weapons, it must be under our control; If not, no matter how significant it is, it is a mistake. ”

Yi Shui stared at him without saying a word, obviously quite annoyed by his position and decision, but this confrontation didn't last long: first, Qin Lang had always been like this, and he would always consider his own interests first; Second, an arsenal under his control is clearly in China's interest than an arsenal under the control of a government bureaucracy.

At least he was more professional and knowledgeable than the officials of the Qing government, and he would neither embezzle money nor spend huge sums of money on the production of a pile of garbage.

It was only for a moment that Yi Shui convinced himself.

Rachel also turned her gaze to Qin Lang - at first, she had been keeping a close eye on Yi Shui, worried about his possible reaction, but now there was no need to do so.

She looked at Qin Lang again. "Your goal is still ambitious, Qin." Rachel said mockingly. But it must be admitted that his goal was very much in line with her appetite -- to monopolize the market for light weapons in a country as large as China for more than two decades, which was difficult to achieve, but still wonderfully satisfying.

A brilliant idea.

But it's also an idea that needs to be kept strictly secret, can't be told to anyone, and no one can complete it for the time being, so Hartman and Wang Zhen get a simple response: wait patiently until the time comes.

"What do you think the corporate headquarters means, Wang?" The German-American bit his lip, smiled unnaturally at his partner, and whispered, "As I hoped - but that couldn't happen." No boss will tolerate an unproductive employee who continues to be unproductive......"

Wang Zhen completely and unreservedly agrees with Hartmann that he himself will not pay any guy who hasn't sold a single item of goods in months, so it is only natural that he thinks that the same is true for his two bosses. Of course, now he and Hartman are still getting paid on time, but who knows how long this good life will last?

Maybe next month, or even the next week, they will have to live on the pawn's belongings or get a new job......

Wang Zhen's body trembled slightly. He was not willing to lose his current job at all, because it would allow him to live like a superior person, and he could show off his might a little in front of many of his compatriots and even some lower-level officials; He likes it as it is now and doesn't want anything to change.

"We have to redouble our efforts." This is the only solution that Wang Zhen can think of to solve the problem, and it is also the only way Hartman can think of.

They need to go the extra mile.

But the future is still lacking: For the past few months, Hartman and Wang Zhen have been visiting every Qing government official they know well, hoping that they will introduce them to the military minister, Rong Lu, or Li Hongzao, but these efforts have been fruitless...... Or rather, it turned out very badly.

Rong Lu has always refused to meet Hartman and Wang Zhen; There was no reason why he just didn't want to meet them; Because of Li Hongzhang's relationship, Li Hongzao also did not like them - although the names were similar, in fact, Li Hongzao and Li Hongzhang were not related to each other, and they were also political enemies, one was Qingliu and the other was a Westernist - Unfortunately, Hartman and Wang Zhen had mistakenly thought that Li Hongzao was Li Hongzhang's relative, so they ......

Yes, two hapless business representatives made a serious mistake, simple, but fatal, and there was no chance to make up for it.

This time, they had to change their approach.

"We should visit a minister who is more accessible and has the power to buy weapons...... Hartmann said, "or a minister who can have significant influence on this issue." ”

Wang Zhen thought about it, and it seemed that there were no such high-ranking officials, but there was one person who was very close to Hartman's request. "We should go to Tianjin."

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The earthquake scared people to death...... (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.) )