The thin silkworm wing-like blue gauze lamp reflects the golden gold in the interior.

On the edge of the yellow satin kang, sit a dignified and beautiful lady, the clothes on her body are inlaid with gold and jade, gorgeous and dazzling, the golden can is like countless bright stars flashing under the flowing fire lantern, the splendid short jacket of autumn fragrance color plate gold, a bow tied at the waist is embellished with pearl long spikes of five-color palace silk, as if symbolizing the supreme power of the colorful gilt finger sleeve flashing with a strange light, the power of the beauty Ling Ran looms, high and unattainable.

But facing Ye Zhao, her tone was extremely peaceful, coercive and gentle, which sounded good.

"You've worked hard this time."

Ye Zhao sat on the soft pier in front of the kang, half a head shorter than the Lan nobles, and smiled on his face: "It's not hard, fortunately, thanks to the emperor's sister-in-law Hongfu, there is no danger, and there is no defeat." ”

This trip was actually dangerous, even if on the way back, Martin's friend also instigated the sailors to riot, but Ye Zhao personally sat on the Princess Anna, with hundreds of guards and sailors by the side, but he quickly suppressed the riot.

"Are the county kings ready? I heard that these gunboats are extremely powerful, but they can go north and go straight to Huanglong? "Obviously, Lan Guiren inquired and understood, and he was ready to urge Ye Zhao to pull the flag against Yanjing, and attack Tianjin and Jingshi, and in this era, occupying Yanjing City, the world was shaken, and the foundation of the six kings could be shaken immediately, even if the six kings escaped, and the kings of Qin everywhere, they could also pull the wrestling between the two sides to the same starting line.

As for pulling the flag, of course, we must first ensure that the little brother ascends to the position of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, so that he can have a righteous reputation.

Ye Zhao was silent for a while, and said, "I'm afraid that things are not so simple, and the younger brother still has to wait and see." ”

The bronzing finger sleeves rattled, the extremely beautiful orchid was raised, and the teacup was gently picked up, Lan Guiren took a sip of tea, looked at Ye Zhao a few times, and said, "Are you worried about Duanhua?" ”

Ye Zhao shook his head: "Don't hide it from the emperor's sister-in-law, this is not the most worrying thing for the younger brothers, now the Pingyuan army is coupled with the garrison and patrol is only tens of thousands of people, if you are in a hurry to ask for thieves, then the west will resist the thief party, the south will resist the Hunan army, and the bandits, and the southeast will have more than half of the northern part of Fujian, the sailors will go north, and the smoke will rise from all over the country, and the ministers and brothers are afraid that the foundation of the land of Guangdong and Jiangxi will be unstable, and there will be a slight difference in the pool, and the soldiers will be centrifuged, and they are afraid that the ministers and brothers will fall into the abyss of no return." ”

"What's more, the new army of the Beijing Division, as far as my brother knows, has purchased 5,000 foreign guns at one time, and the sailors may not be able to go north, if they fall into a bitter battle and have difficulty in supply, I am afraid that they will strengthen the thief."

Lan Guiren nodded silently.

Ye Zhao said again: "The subordinate brother is confident, just need to be patient, in three or five years, the Pingyuan army will definitely turn the world upside down, the realm of Guangdong and Jiangxi will be rich and the people will be rich, and then the time will be to beg for thieves, the time and place will be favorable, and great things can be accomplished." ”

"I'm afraid that the sixth child won't wait!"

Ye Zhao nodded slightly: "This is exactly what my brother is worried about." ”

Thinking about it, if the six kings see that he can't be subdued, sooner or later they will be reversed, how can they sit back and watch Guangdong and Jiangxi flourish and the Pingyuan army cannibalize in all directions? In this way, within a year or two, I am afraid that the southeast half of the wall will fall into the hands of the Pingyuan army, and the six kings will lose the granary and tax warehouse, won't they have to sit back and wait to die?

The room was silent for a while, and Lan Guiren chuckled and said, "No matter how you say it, you should be happy today, right?" With you, I'm relieved. Now it's time to jump the sixth. ”

The north and the south gradually became fire and water, and the uncle and sister-in-law no longer avoided taboos when they spoke, and they were really embarrassed to discuss how to deal with the emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

Ye Zhao also smiled and said, "Imperial sister-in-law, how about Ming Yu's brother accompany you on that gunboat?" It can also be regarded as giving the navy a strong reputation, if the emperor's sister-in-law boards the ship, all the sergeants will be grateful and sobbing, and their morale will be greatly boosted. ”

Lan Guiren smiled: "Forget it, I am a woman's family, and it is unlucky to get on a warship, and it is unsightly." ”

Ye Zhao said: "The imperial sister-in-law is wrong, the imperial sister-in-law is a soaring dragon and phoenix, the lord of destiny, how can she be the same as a mortal woman?" ”

Lan Guiren just smiled and shook his head, obviously feeling unseemly.

Ye Zhao smiled again: "The younger brother has one more thing to ask for, I hope the emperor's sister-in-law agrees." ”

"Tell me about it." Lan Guiren was not originally this forward-looking style. Everything is decided in one word. But this Jingxiang, sometimes it really gives her a headache, and from time to time she invites her to invite her this and that, she is really afraid that this time she is going to go to Rong'er or something, if she agrees, it is not beautiful.

Ye Zhao said with a smile: "Please ask the imperial sister-in-law to name the three gunboats Chrysostom, relying on the blessing of the imperial sister-in-law, the Pingyuan Navy Division will definitely win a hundred battles." Two of these three ships are battle columns, and one ship is a cruiser, and the imperial sister-in-law is also asked to name it. ”

Oh? Lan Guiren nodded slightly, obviously, she liked this matter, she pondered for a while, and said: "Since there is Dinghai, the battle gunboats are Jinghai and Zhenhai. What's the other one? ”

Ye Zhao said with a smile: "Cruise, in fact, it is a frigate ship with a slightly smaller tonnage, and the ironclad guards the hull, and the younger brother likes to call it a cruiser." ”

Lan Guiren nodded slightly: "The tonnage is small, and the guards of the big ships are light and agile, how about being named Lingbo?" ”

Ye Zhao said with a smile: "The name given by the imperial sister-in-law is really powerful and mighty, Jinghai, Zhenhai, and Lingbo will be the pillars of defending the imperial sister-in-law!" ”

Lan Guiren smiled lightly and picked up the teacup.

…… The flower hall of the county king's mansion.

Ye Zhao was looking horizontally at a sketch vertically.

On the side sofa, sat Havero, the chief designer of the Canton Shipyard.

Today he said that he had an extremely important matter, Havero, who had taken time out of his busy schedule to meet. At present, shipyards have begun to build ships, the first ship is a coal carrier, the tonnage is extremely light, and the second ship is preparing to build a small frigate of five or six hundred tonnage, as for the first and second class battleships of the Dinghai class of more than 2,000 tons, and the third and fourth class battleships of the class of more than 1,000 tons, they are the third ships that are ready to start construction at the end of the year.

Ye Zhao finally selected Mr. Havero, one of the three designers, as the chief designer, and asked him to design a large battleship of 3,000 tonnage.

But now that there are three ships, Zhenhai, Jinghai and Lingbo, Ye Zhao's mind has changed.

Haveiro is just the original concept sketch of the design, but it can be understood by people like Ye Zhao who know a little about the navy, when he saw Haveiro using steam power to rudder system and anchoring system, Ye Zhao's eyes lit up, and he smiled: "Do you think it can be realized?" ”

Havero nodded again and again, and said, "Thanks to your guidance, I have already thought of a solution. ”

In fact, Ye Zhao just put forward a concept, and the employer must have said that it could be realized, and Havero and other technicians naturally racked their brains to find a way to solve it.

Ye Zhao nodded slightly, and said: "Not only the rudder and anchor, but also the slings for loading ammunition, pumping water, and lifting and lowering the boat, all of which can be powered by steam, and this armored turret can be designed to rotate, which can also be solved by steam power." ”

Havero said blankly: "Sir's request can be achieved theoretically, but can 3,000 tonnage of steam power do so many things at the same time?" ”

Ye Zhao said with a smile: "This is exactly what I want to say, let's transform the six-thousand-tonnage giant ship, in terms of steam power, you discuss with Davis, is there any problem." ”

Although the little old man Davis has not yet tinkered with the diesel engine, but in this steam power is really helpful, he is engaged in steam power, simply familiar with the road, is now helping the shipyard to prepare the steam engine branch, the localization of the engine is several times more efficient than the historical Mawei and other shipyards, and the preparation is a real steam engine factory, not a soil turbine, once successful, theoretically the future production of train steam engine head is possible.

Havero nodded slightly and said, "Okay." Seeing that the Chinese prince was not joking, he was inexplicably excited, you know, more than 5,000 tonnage ironclad ships, now I heard that only France is building a 6,000-class battleship and Britain is still discussing whether to build a 9,000-ton class battleship, if he designs a 6,000-ton battleship, then it will be among the world's top shipbuilders, this honor will go down in history.

But others were calm, knowing that this was an extremely difficult job, suppressed their excitement, and on the contrary, they were more worried.

Ye Zhao smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't be pressured, take your time, no matter what support you need, you come to me directly." ”

Havero nodded silently.

Ye Zhao is not too ambitious, otherwise he would not have said that the first ship on the schedule is the smallest coal carrier, and the second ship is a small gunboat of 100 tons.

And to say that with the strength of today's Chinese naval divisions, even if it is equipped with a giant ship with the world's largest displacement? That's almost negligible compared to the total tonnage of the British Navy.

And war, is the industrial capacity, the speed of steel production, the speed of military production, even if the Qing Dynasty has a fleet of the same strength as the British Navy, if it really goes to war, how can your steel be consumed?

Ye Zhao built a giant ship, not to mention the intention of building a fleet, and secondly, to invigorate the military might, but also to make the Europa countries gradually no longer despise you, and there is also an advantage, that is, it can form technology localization, when Havero and other technical personnel tackle key problems, Chinese technicians will learn things accordingly and be inspired, build small ships for enlightenment, build large ships is inspired, Haveiro and others' ideas, detours, and various notes and materials will be valuable assets when tackling key problems.

This is the real introduction of technology, rather than the production line to buy, the specific principles and theories do not understand, just step by step production, the so-called research is also a small fight to beat the side drum, the core of the thing is not understood at all, then other people's technology is someone else's technology after all.

Although the Chinese technicians in the shipyard generally have a very low level of education, and even make up for their knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry, I believe that this experience will give them a qualitative advancement.

And this mode of technology introduction will continue, there is no technological blockade now, and various modern technologies are in the process of development, bringing in Western technicians to tackle key problems, supplemented by Chinese technicians to help. In this way, in ten years, twenty Chinese New Year's Eve, slowly these technologies will be truly digested by the Chinese, and truly form their own technical system and industrial system, instead of being like the future generations, it looks prosperous, in fact, many of the most important technical machinery can hardly be completely autonomous.

To tell the truth, in this era, it is useful to have the knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry in later generations, no one takes you as a madman, and the formula you are talking about may be high school physics, and it will just make today's Western technical researchers stunned, and there are more technical conditions to prove it, of course, provided that you have the status to make them listen to you patiently, and it would be great if you could have the financial resources to fund them.

And Ye Zhao has all of these.

It is not surprising that the Xiguan Inventors Club is gradually booming.

…… "Pingyuan Army Martyrs Cemetery" in the east of Guangzhou.

Surrounded by pine and cypress, moving with the wind, the cemetery is in the middle of the Pingyuan Army Martyrs Monument towering into the clouds, on the monument "Pingyuan Army Martyrs Immortal" nine vigorous and majestic gilt characters are the general Wang personally written, Ye Zhao practiced for a long time, there is a feeling and write, there is the power of Ling Ran.

The pedestal of the monument is divided into three layers, surrounded by white marble railings, there are steps on all sides, and the Sumeru seat is engraved with a relief wreath composed of peonies, lotuses, chrysanthemums, drapery, etc., solemn and solemn, majestic and magnificent.

On the small square in front of the monument, the black pressure civil officials and military generals stood solemnly, the first in the first row, it was the general Wang Jingxiang, and the following civil officials were arranged in order Suna, Li Jianchen, Li Xiaocun, Yihaqi, Tang Shuyi, Zhou Jingshan, Bai Gui, Li Hongzhang, Yuan Shicheng, Zou Kaizhi, Guo Liangjun, Gang'an, Sun Bozheng, Ruiji and other officials above the Guangdong and Jiangxi prefectures and Taiwan were all present.

The generals are Bakeshi, Shenbao, Harwich, Han Jinchun, Zhao Sanbao, Ma Dayong, Wang Youren, Ma Qingshan, Pei Tianqing, Ding Qimei, and other commanders of the four towns, and the commanders and soldiers of the Naval Division.

All around, there were rows of Pingyuan soldiers with shiny bayonets, and everyone had fanaticism and excitement on their faces.

On Chinese soil, the first monument to ordinary soldiers in the true sense of the word.

From the beginning of Ye Zhao's training in Guangzhou, every soldier who sacrificed was registered and enshrined in the ancestral hall of the cemetery.

From now on, all the soldiers of the Pingyuan Army who died in battle will be included in the ancestral hall register, and their families will be called "martyrs", and there will be special laws to take care of the martyrs.

The last name registered on the register was a heroic man who died in Shanghai.

A year ago, the martyrs' cemetery broke ground, but the name from the earliest patriotic martyrs' cemetery to the general Wang Qin's Pingyuan Army martyrs' cemetery, Ye Zhao's return from Shanghai cemetery monument has been completed, and the cemetery is now called Zodiac Ji for the cemetery inauguration ceremony.

At the end of the mourning, the general Wang slowly walked up the steps, with a heavy face, and read out the eulogy engraved on the back of the stone tablet: "Since the great changes in Gengzi, Yidi has advanced eastward, and bandits have run rampant. The land of Zhongzhou, the soul is knotted and the sky is heavy, the ghosts and gods gather the clouds, the people are green, the bones are gravel, and they have been slaughtered by a thousand years. In the year of Jiashen, there are soldiers from Pingyuan, parasitic to forge ahead, out of the customs, Hu desert attack sand, thousands of miles of running, through hardships and dangers, with fearless courage, chase Hu people in the northern Xinjiang, enter the customs, wear liver and blood, resist Yi Di and the south. The south and the north are fighting, fighting the people and bandits in Hunan and Jiangxi, and the blood is flying, but the world is clear, and the people are excited. The world is vast, how can it not be in the smoke and grass? I am loyal to the liver and courage, and I am immortal! ”

"Those of us who steal life will fight for the country with the spirit of sacrifice of the martyrs, and we will die without regrets!"

"The martyrs of the Pingyuan Army are immortal!"

"Bang bang bang!" A neat platoon of guns rang out.

The general king and all the soldiers stood solemnly, watching countless flying pigeons soar into the sky.

Civilian, official, and military generals were all filled with an indescribable emotion, and their hearts were stirred, and it was difficult to calm down for a long time.

The world is long, and the cemetery is filled with solemnity, tragedy and desolation.

…… In the official document, all rooms of the General's Mansion and all yamen in Guangdong should go to the martyrs' cemetery every year to pay their respects, and military academies such as the Lecture Hall and the Ship Administration School should publicize the spirit of the martyrs of the Pingyuan Army.

"Master! Jackson, the British consul in Canton, asked for a meeting. "Outside the temple gate, the guards came in and knelt down on one knee to pray.

Ye Zhao nodded slightly, "Please." ”

"Jackson, the consul of Guangzhou, has an audience!" Immediately outside the temple gate, a sound rang out.

Ye Zhao smiled and said, "When can I use a word please?" "I said it to Ruyi.

Now Ruyi has almost become a full-time clerk, and she is on duty in the Yin'an Palace every day, but there is no way, first, her knowledge is limited, and it is difficult to deal with documents; Second, who dares to call her in the secretary's room? It's not bad to serve tea, pour water, run errands, and send letters by the side of the prince.

Ruyi didn't dare to say anything, to be honest, she didn't understand those letters, but as a woman, the maid of the palace, how could she dare to make a claim on military affairs? is pretending to be deaf and dumb, and now it is a good thing to be by the master's side every day.

Jackson, the minister of Guangzhou, who was not very busy and had a tall figure and full of golden curly hair, walked in, and according to the old rules, as if he was meeting Queen Elizabeth, he knelt down on one knee and saluted Ye Zhao.

Ye Zhao walked down the steps of the hall with a smile and said, "Mr. Minister, please get up." ”

It was not the first time that Jackson had come to this Yin'an Palace, but he was familiar with the road, and when he saw Ruyi lifting the bead curtain, he followed Ye Zhao into the "meeting hall" behind the yellow curtain.

Ruyi served Jackson hot coffee again, and when he saw the master's gesture, he served hot tea to the master, and then he retreated.

"Look at Mr. Minister's complexion, but what's the difficulty?" Ye Zhao sipped the tea and asked with a smile.

Jackson had a good impression of Ye Zhao, he came to Guangzhou in the spring of this year to take up his post, and he was the consul general, and the three consuls of Shanghai, Yanjing, and Tianjin were all subject to his control.

After contacting Ye Zhao a few times, Jackson had a good impression of this great general king, only to feel that this great general king's conversation and insight were quite extraordinary, and he was really the only person he had seen in his life.

When negotiating with Bao Ling and other officials and consuls, and British businessmen in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tianjin, etc., he fully supported Ye Zhao, saying that if there was a war between the north and the south, our British Empire should strictly abide by a neutral position, and it would be more in the interests of the British Empire for the south to win.

However, due to the excitement of the Shanghai businessmen, the arrogance of those big classes, and the pressure on them was also exerted by the Bao Ling, Jackson had no choice but to agree to negotiate with the king of the Chinese county.

Facing Ye Zhao at this time, his face was expressionless, and he took out an official letter from his briefcase, and read it according to the script: "Your Excellency, on behalf of the British Kingdom, I strongly protest against Your Excellency's shooting of our citizens, and reserve the right to take further action. ”

Ye Zhao Zhengse said: "I deeply regret this matter, I will give you an official note in two days, and you also know the laws of my country, this is the best I can do." Moreover, Mr. Martin's interference in the internal affairs of the DPRK in China's waters is also a last resort, and I hope Mr. Jackson understands. ”

Jackson nodded slightly, and read according to the letter: "Your country's internal affairs, the country will not interfere, but all parties must protect the freedom of trade of our merchants, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin, Yingkou and other commercial ports are listed as military restricted areas, and it is strictly forbidden for any country's warships to make military attacks in the sea area, if there is a violator, the Far East Fleet of the country will have to take necessary measures." ”

Ye Zhao's heart sank, the six kings were already ready to fly.

Jackson put down the letter, and then there was an expression on his face, and he said a little helplessly: "Your Excellency, I'm sorry, I can't help it." ”

Thinking about the possible actions of the six kings, Ye Zhao remained silent and nodded with a smile: "I can understand, Mr. Jackson, I know you did your best." ”

Jackson sighed and said, "Your Excellency, the Far East Fleet will arrive in Hong Kong within three days to monitor the movements of your navy, and this note is not intended to intimidate you. ”

Although the Far Eastern Fleet also listed the waters of Guangzhou as a scope of protection, everyone knew that the naval division on the Yanjing side was not capable of threatening Guangzhou, and it could even be said that there was no naval division in Yanjing at all, unless a few sailing ships that could only sail in the coastal waters were also called warships.

Therefore, this note, which contains threats, is actually an ultimatum to Ye Zhao and a warning to the Guangdong sailors.

Ye Zhao smiled: "Mr. Jackson, I understand. ”

Jackson sighed and said: "It's good that Your Excellency the Prince can understand, and the country is also out of the intention of protecting trade, not to make things difficult for the prince." ”

Ye Zhao nodded, no squeak.

Jackson thought for a moment and said: "Your Excellency, regarding the monument to the Pingyuan Army that was completed earlier, I noticed that the eulogy used the words 'Yidi Dongjin'. I'm afraid this is ......"

Ye Zhao waved his hand and said: "Mr. Jackson should know about my country's cultural traditions, but in fact, it is an inspiring move, and he has no other intentions. ”

Even though the word nationalism has only been coined for a few decades in the English language today, it is far from forming a systematic explanation of nationalism, let alone encouraging nationalism.

Although Jackson, who was quite familiar with Chinese tradition, felt that this move was inappropriate, he did not have sufficient reason to refute it, and after sitting for a while, he felt bored in his heart, so he got up and took his leave.

Looking at his back, Ye Zhao slowly picked up the teacup.

The six kings seem to have really made up their minds to cut their own "domains", and asking the powers to intervene, lest their sailors go north is the first step and the most obvious signal.

When he realized that he could not surrender to him, it was inevitable, and if he was resolute, he would have the determination to break his wrist.

The six kings have precisely such determination.

As for Guangdong, the six kings refused to obey the order, and even supported the little brother as the emperor, where did the officials, gentry, and soldiers go? If you give yourself another two years, it will inevitably make people's hearts come together, but the six kings will not give themselves time.

It seems to be a powerful regime in Guangzhou, but once the edict of the six kings removes him from his position, he is afraid that the situation will be far more complicated than he imagined.

Myself, how to do it?

(To be continued)