A light rain is falling on the rocky boatyard by the lake, which makes this late autumn afternoon in Nanjing even more cool, accompanied by the sound of Zhejiang Li when the light rain hits the lake.

On the stone table in front of the two of them are two red fish fine magnetic teacups, a purple sand teapot, and two plates of delicate snacks.

There will be no difference between the two of them, Guan Mingtang sat on the side and smoked a cigarette, while Chen Moran was a vassal and fiddled with the tea set and tea, perhaps the biggest advantage in this era is that he can learn anything he is interested in, the top is good, and the bottom must be very good, in fact, Chen Moran has always hoped to use the interests of himself and his family to drive changes in the country's clothing, habits and etiquette.

Just as Ji Li's habit of afternoon tea in England was brought to China and is now popular in the circle of noblewomen in Nanjing, the idle ladies of Nanjing used their leisure time in the afternoon to talk about other people's private lives with some excitement and jealousy in the garden of the ruling axe, under the cover of the fragrance of tea, and the most important thing for them was to make friends with the ruling lady.

Slowly in Nanjing's upper class society, although the rise of afternoon tea imitates European etiquette, but with a lot of Han etiquette drawn from ancient books, this afternoon tea is compared to the leisure of Europeans, but it shows dignified and elegant, the same is also a way to promote Han etiquette, no matter what the purpose, Han etiquette with many subtle activities, in Nanjing, and spread to the whole country.

At this time, Chen Moran was personally preparing afternoon tea for his guests, although Guan Mingtang was not a guest, but this kind of behavior made every official and businessman who had enjoyed this kind of treatment feel flattered.

"Yesterday, after you and I talked, I thought about it all night, and I have been thinking about that suggestion of yours!"

After pouring a cup of tea for Guan Mingtang in person, Chen Moran said while tasting the fragrance of Longjing.

Yesterday, Guan Mingtang's "no matter what reason, what excuse, no matter how much sacrifice, find a reason, find an excuse, find a suitable power, and fight a fierce battle", at the same time that Chen Moran was surprised, but after the surprise, it was a sleepless thought.

Yes, if you want to win respect in a war, you need to fight a war on the battlefield, and the status of a country can only be obtained by relying on war, and only by war can the country win the respect of the international community, and rely on the victory of a war in exchange for a change in the world's view of this country.

If it is possible to defeat a great power on the battlefield, the change of image can allow China to obtain favorable conditions in the bond market, and the same abolition of the treaty and the replacement of the new treaty can also be accelerated, no matter how you look at it, it is worth fighting for the dignity of the country and the future destiny, and what is the question that needs to be considered?

"However, you must know that we are not capable of a foreign war at all, and there is no suitable opponent, and I am not able to fight Russia together, it is to fight the water dogs, this cannot be exchanged for a change in status, and the Russians join forces to fight this and win, which is taken for granted in the eyes of European and American countries, no matter what, it is just a follower behind the two countries!"

The reason why Guan Mingtang was invited from the Ministry of Finance to the ruling axe was not in the office or in the study, but in the stone workshop where he first entered the governor's palace, and personally prepared afternoon tea for him, which was nothing more than the meaning of asking for advice.

"Yes! What people look down on the most is the dog leg that picks up bones and eats! ”

Guan Mingtang used an even more ugly word to say that this follower should not be.

"The achievements of the dog's legs are all rewarded by the master, no one cares how much the dog's legs have paid, what people see is only the master's achievements, and the dog's legs are not deserved!"

Savoring the fragrance of the dragon well before the rain, Chen Moran pondered for a while and spit out a sentence.

"Zheqin, how about fighting Qingdao?"

It is said that the muddy waters of the Russian war must not be tripped, you can pick up bones, but you must not let the dog's legs.

After a moment of silence, Guan Mingtang shook his head.

"Germany has the most modern army in Europe, and the strength of the German navy is far superior to ours, if Qingdao is used as the reason to fight, in addition to exchanging the experience of labor expeditions for Germany, it may also cause a backlash from the great powers, Weihaiwei, Hong Kong, Kowloon, may become the reason for the next war, we cannot rule out the possibility of British intervention, the gains outweigh the losses!"

"What if you look for an excuse in the southwest and march into Indochina?"

"To be in power means to praise the French?"

"In a war, sometimes you can pick a soft persimmon and fight hard, the French have a limited will to fight, we can defeat them once twenty years ago, and now we can defeat them again!"

Chen Moran waved his hand, as if he wanted to drive away something.

"Just like last time, kill them on land and use defeat to force the French political axe to negotiate peace with us!"

"Same as last time,"

Guan Mingtang suddenly interjected and interrupted the words of the ruling party.

"We win on land and then lose on sea, right?"

His rhetorical question made Chen Moran stunned, indeed, the "green water naval strategy" proposed by Admiral Orb of France, which is famous for idiots, has caused irreparable harm to the French Navy, and the French Navy's bunch of old battleships are simply a weightless force on the high seas, but that is also for other powers, for China, this is still a powerful, even impossible opponent.

"Ruling the government, although Mingtang is not a soldier, but from General Xiao's repeated telegrams requesting the repair of the railway, we can at least be sure that fighting a war is fighting logistics, and I think the difficulty of supporting logistics in the southwest should be greater than that in the northwest, both are the same, even bullets need to be transported from thousands of kilometers away, and the poor traffic conditions make us have to rely on the sea route, if the sea route is cut off, then I am afraid that the consequences will be unimaginable."

The low international status has always been a disease in Chen Moran's heart, and it is precisely because of this that he becomes a little impatient, and he must think carefully, analyze and compare, but he can't control himself and blurts out all of a sudden.

"Alright! I agree to find a suitable power to fight, but Germany can't do it, France is still not a soft persimmon, then Zheqin, tell me, who are we going to fight against, are we going to fight Burma from Yunnan, Hong Kong from Guangdong, and Britain to fight? Or to cross the sea to fight the Philippines and fight the Americans. ”

When he said this, Chen Moran only felt powerless, if he came to the 19th century, or even just after the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, then at least now it is China that will challenge Russia, not Yueben, which spent nearly 1.9 billion yuan on war expenses and borrowed 1.8 billion yuan in foreign debts, but what he has achieved is the status of a great power that cannot be bought with money.

From a sheep to a jackal that can bite its prey, the status of a great power makes it an equal partner of the Western world, and this is exactly what is necessary for the development of a country.

Guan Mingtang glanced at the somewhat frustrated ruling government knowingly, as the Minister of Finance, he understood that he should not have made this suggestion, but he knew what the country needed.

"Our country needs a victorious foreign war, internally, to raise national pride, to enhance national cohesion, so that the political axe can gain full trust. Externally, the right to improve the status of the state in exchange for fair treatment! There is no alternative to war! ”

Oh, yes! There is no choice, what about the enemy to choose from?

"Govern!"

Putting down the teacup in his hand, Guan Mingtang looked directly at the ruling in front of him.

"Actually, we've been belittling our own power!"

"Let's take a look at the challenge of Russia's capital, this year's tax revenue will exceed 30,000 yuan, this year's pig iron output and steel production will exceed or close to 60,000 tons per year, the army and navy factory machine horsepower is 19,843 horsepower, the number of employees is 53,593, the manufacturing capital is 79.71 million yuan, and the tonnage of merchant ships is close to 700,000 tons, which challenges Russia nearly nine months later, and last year, their strength is far from this, but they dare to challenge Russia, whose strength far exceeds their own. Although Russia is big and weak, and it is said that Russia is small but strong, the determination to gamble with the fortunes of the country can be seen. ”

When Guan Mingtang spoke, Chen Moran sat on the stone bench, his hands crossed with his fingers supporting his chin, and his brows furrowed from time to time, saying that the Russian War was indeed a gamble based on the fortune of the country, and he bet the fortune of the country on the casino twice, and in the end they won, and even won very beautifully.

"And what about us? This year, our tax revenue will exceed 50,000 yuan, only the Ma'anshan No. 1 factory, the iron and steel output will exceed 1.15 million tons, the manufacturing capital of Shanghai Pudong will exceed 50 million yuan, the total investment of guns and artillery in the expansion of the Jinling Arsenal will exceed 30 million yuan, and the expansion of the Hanyang Arsenal will also invest more than 20 million yuan. In the past eight months, the weapons and ammunition provided to the Liberation Army by private factories in Ma'anshan, Jinling, Jiangnan, Hanyang, and Pudong far exceeded the total amount of ammunition consumed by the targets of the two countries! From the perspective of shipping, during the establishment of the oil company, Mrs. had purchased 36 cargo ships with the support of the British political axe, with deadweight tonnage ranging from 5,000 tons to 10,000 tons, most of these cargo ships were later incorporated into Huaxing Company, Huaxing Company and the Merchant Shipping Bureau owned 190 cargo ships, deadweight tonnage of 501,400 tons, compared to more than 1,300 cargo ships, or the number of our merchant ships was small, but most of them were large and medium-sized merchant ships suitable for long-distance voyages! To a certain extent, we are far superior to them! ”

Guan Mingtang smiled slightly, looking up at the lake outside the square that was hit by the rain, and the ripples from the rain might mean his mood at this time.

"If we could have gambled, we could have gambled!"

"Yes, I know our strength, just Tianma Motor Company, has more than 5,000 machines, in the past two years, we have imported more than 45,000 machines, built 7,000 machines, and most of them are new machines with their own motors, and we have also imported two or nine million dollars of new machines for the Jiangnan Navy Manufacturing Bureau, including a 10,000-ton hydraulic press, of course, this will not arrive until next year,"

Chen Moran said thoughtfully while placing refreshments on the table.

"If in two years' time, we could go and take a big gamble, but now ......"

Taking a puff of cigarette, he glanced at Guan Mingtang, he had used the navy to refute himself to fight Zhongnan, how could this be, could it be that he had any good suggestions.

"Our navy...... It is said that there are 300,000 tons of warships guarding the sea frontier, but what about us? Two towns, five seas, almost all of our naval power! This...... Almost all of our factories are located along the Yangtze River, and without naval guards, we may be able to gain an advantage in land warfare......"

"Why is it that the French navy was far superior to the Prussian navy during the Franco-Prussian War, but it did not play any role throughout the war?"

Chen Moran, who did not speak, lit a cigar cigarette and immediately exhaled a slightly sweet smoke.

"Sometimes proper diplomatic strategy is no less than having a fleet!"

"Tell me what you think!"

"Twelve days ago, on October 15, the Second Pacific Fleet, reorganized from the Baltic Fleet, set off from Libawa and headed for Asia!"

Swallowed his saliva, but Guan Mingtang, who had a somewhat dry throat, still coughed, and Chen Moran pushed a cup of tea in front of him.

"Thank you!"

After taking a sip of tea and moistening his throat, Guan Mingtang looked at the ruling party who listened to his speech.

"Almost all of Russia believes that this is to send the Second Fleet to the death, even the most belligerent Prince Mikhail and Prince Konstantin are also the same, yesterday, the Navy returned to the port, but they are not, but they seize the time, dock for repairs, said that the ship must seize the half year before the arrival of the Russian fleet, and devote all its efforts to repair and maintain the warships, and now the task of blockading the port is undertaken by the mine-raiders and torpedo boats alone!"

Guan Mingtang loosened the discipline button on the neckline of his new shirt.

"Ruling power, this war is fought on this side, whether it is against this or Russia, it is a fight against the fortune of the country, the two will never stop before deciding the winner, before they get everything they want, and the two countries, they have no possibility of peace, but as the situation becomes more and more favorable to the capital, it can be said that once Lushun is conquered, then Britain, the United States and France will definitely carry out international mediation in Russia, in case Russia loses the old capital!"

"And what do you mean?"

Chen Moran, who had already guessed what Guan Mingtang was thinking, sat up from the stone bench and looked at the small lake in the autumn rain.

"Zheqin, you have to know that if you ...... I mean, if, this is really a gamble on the fortunes of the country! ”

"The stakes are enormous! The rewards are huge! It depends on whether the ruling government is willing to put China on the gambling table! ”

Guan Mingtang suddenly stopped talking, and he looked at the back of the ruling party.

"However, we want to build a nation immediately! Whether it is an empire or a republic, it must be established before a decision is made! It will be a salute for the new nation to celebrate its rebirth! ”

"There are a lot of times when I don't want to take risks!"

Chen Moran himself didn't expect to say this, is he really unwilling to take risks? Looking up at the gloomy sky, he sighed.

"But sometimes, we have to take a risk! The 2nd Cavalry Division is almost in Kulen! I should go to the staff and ask! ”

(To be continued)