Although the scientific research years built into the mining and metallurgical sub-branch are basically the highest in the same level, even the level 4 technology such as "advanced metallurgy" is only 1875, but the research funds required are still as high as 24 kilograms of silver, and what makes Li Hui even more headache is that it takes a full 61 days and exactly two months to study this technology

"Two months is too long, although it is still within the scope of tolerance, but if it really drags on until August, Lao Li may become suspicious of me, and once the action is monitored, it will be difficult for me to find an opportunity to release the system products, and then it will be a big trouble. It's safer to complete the transaction a little earlier", after some consideration, Li Hui finally made up his mind and "accelerated" the research of system technology for the first time, so that the research only took 31 days and was completed on June 30, saving a full 30 days. Although Li Hui spent more than 6,000 taels of silver for this, in his opinion, it was still worth paying such a price

In fact, Li Hui's investment in the deal was much more than just that, and the cumulative amount of silver consumed by the previously recruited Level 5 agent Pham Minh had reached 300 kilograms so far (July 1).

To complete the deal, Pham Minh also needed a cargo ship and enough manpower to operate the ship, as well as the necessary coal, maintenance equipment and basic supplies for the crew's livelihood, for which Li Hui spent nearly 350 kilograms of silver, if it weren't for the deposit of 100,000 taels of silver he had received before, and the cost of the system was extremely low, I am afraid that it would not have been able to play

Large equipment such as ships can be deployed and loaded with cargo (including fuel and supplies) before they are manifested, just as biochemical soldiers can be equipped with weapons and ammunition before they are manifested, and as long as the water depth is sufficient and there are no outsiders within visual distance, the ship can be directly put on the water, without the need for dock facilities, which makes it much easier for Li Hui to do things, and it is also conducive to secrecy.

In fact, it was precisely because he knew these in advance that Li Hui dared to do arms business with Beiyang, but unfortunately this convenience also took effect at the time when it was concretized, and then the cargo ship named "Daystar" was completely unknown to everyone, which made Li Hui, who was not greedy enough, somewhat regretful.

However, even the proceeds of this first transaction were enough to make Li Hui happy enough

According to the previous agreement, the cargo on board the Daystar includes a total of 3 base steel shells, enough silver explosives to fill one base shell, and a matching real and false fuse and propellant package (maroon gunpowder), which can assemble two base training shells and one base live ammunition.

However, after learning that the "venture capital company" (Li Hui's bad taste) directly brought the finished explosives instead of the explosives raw materials mentioned in the previous negotiations, Li Hongzhang (in order to avoid the details of the deal from leaking to the outside world, and also worried about missing this opportunity to buy ammunition at a low price, Lao Li rarely went out in person. Expressed dissatisfaction on the spot.

Li Hui hurriedly explained that he had transferred the explosives formula to this company on the condition that the other party would supply silver explosives and white explosives (sodium chlorate petroleum jelly explosives) to Beiyang at cost price in the future, which was safer and more economical considering the poor production management level of the Tianjin Machinery Bureau.

Li Hongzhang's face was a little pale, but he was still a little worried that Qingliu would seize this link to make a fuss

"Now that the goods have been delivered to the door, is there any reason to return them? As long as this deal is concluded, even if the Qingliu jumps again, they can't continue to make things difficult for the navy, and we can also use this to test the bottom line of the Qingliu, if they don't have much reaction to this, it means that they can continue to exploit loopholes like this, even if there is a reaction, we actually don't have any substantial losses, it's better than now that they haven't made a move, let's scare ourselves again, more than a month ago, Zhongtang wrote a letter asking for the import of some live ammunition for testing was refuted, Qingliu has already won a game, Now they should not dare to continue to make inches and hold on to such small issues, otherwise if it is considered that this is not a personal grudge, but a dispute between the two parties of the emperor and queen, it will be serious", Li Hui's words successfully persuaded Li Hongzhang, who now has a stomach for the Qinglius, and the deal was finally successfully concluded.

Although the price is unprecedentedly cheap, after all, it includes 400 305mm blasting shells and 100 260mm blasting shells (the ammunition base is 70 shells, and Li Hui made 100 rounds in whole numbers, and by the way, take care of the Pingyuan, which has been short of ammunition. ), 400 254mm blasting bombs and 1,200 210mm blasting bombs, the total price is close to 700,000 taels of silver, with the low cost of the system, Li Hui made a profit of no less than 600,000 taels, converted into as many as 21 tons of sterling silver.

With this huge amount of money, Li Hui actually has the foundation for independent development, if he doesn't want to be taken advantage of by the devil, Li Hui now has some problems that need to be thought out first, in fact, he can pull the flag and rebel now.

Perhaps it is this understanding that Li Hui has become more and more big and small in front of Li Hongzhang since then, but it may be because Lao Li actually uses Li Hui as a staff member, so he can tolerate it for the time being

As far as Li Hongzhang is concerned, it only cost more than 700,000 taels of silver (including the cost of assembly, storage and transportation of the Tianjin Bureau) to almost completely solve the problem of insufficient power of naval shells, and it is definitely a big bargain, but more than 700,000 taels of silver is not a small amount in any case, and after this money is spent in a hurry, the navy has almost no emergency funds. Although Li Hui had previously used the Tianjin Bureau and other Beiyang-controlled institutions and departments to save money, or changed his name to subsidize the Beiyang Navy Division with no less than 200,000 taels of silver, the actual funds obtained by the Beiyang Navy Division this year hit a new high, but he saved a lot in terms of use.

But the problem is that when Lao Li finalized the ammunition deal with the venture capital company, some of the funds for the 1893 year of the Beiyang Naval Division had already been used up (fortunately, the year was calculated according to the old calendar, otherwise there was even less left.) Moreover, the four necessary expenses in Li Hui's proposal, as well as the necessary expenses such as the salaries of naval officers and men, and the maintenance of warships, cannot be omitted in any way.

Therefore, being able to squeeze out the money to buy that batch of ammunition from the remaining funds is already the limit

As a result, after the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau copied the 120mm rapid-fire gun that even Japan could not make itself in the summer of this year, Lao Li could only look at it.

And Li Hui also understood why only five of the twelve 120mm rapid-fire guns produced by the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau were bought by Beiyang in history, but they were incomprehensibly installed on the two thousand-ton torpedo gunboats Guangyi and Guangbing, which were temporarily seconded from the Guangdong Navy Division due to the military emergency.

In other words, now Li Hui has completely understood that Li Hongzhang, or the Beiyang system, is not short of money at all, and can at least raise millions of taels of silver by himself in a short period of time, but he has such financial resources, but he can't use it on the Beiyang Naval Division, otherwise he will be careful of being impeached by the Qingliu for plotting against him