PS: The second update is here! The collection is rising so slowly, book friends can collect it after reading it! Although the number of words is still small, you can collect it first and raise it slowly. Updates will be faster when they hit the shelves next month! Book lovers who have read "The Fourth Empire of China" should know the update speed of Xiaoyu! Kneel and beg for collection!!

"A ton of gold?" Long Yufei's eyes widened, and he felt that his breathing was getting heavier and heavier! One ton of gold is equal to hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling and hundreds of thousands of Chinese dollars! At present, Xinhua is not wealthy, and in addition, the expansion of armaments requires a large amount of money, and the financial pressure on Xinhua is very great. If this ton of gold can be snatched away, it will greatly alleviate the financial crisis of Xinhuaguo.

The Luzon Islands are rich in gold, and a large amount of gold can be mined every year, and most of this gold is shipped to Spain. The current Spain is no longer the original hegemon, after being defeated by Britain again and again, there are not many colonies left in the Spanish Kingdom, and Luzon is undoubtedly the most important one. The annual shipment of gold and other resources from Luzon to Spain has become an important source of money for Spain's development. Spain also attaches great importance to the Luzon Islands. If the Luzon Islands were to be lost, Spain's power would be weakened once again.

"Mr. Antonio, are you sure this news is true?" Long Yufei stared at Antonio tightly, as if trying to see if he was lying, or if there was some other conspiracy.

"Your Majesty, I swear this is absolutely true! It's just that Governor Anthony Pedro attaches great importance to the transportation of gold this time, and has sent a third-class battleship and a fifth-class battleship to be responsible for the transportation! If Xinhua wants to seize this gold, I'm afraid it won't be so easy! Antonio said.

"A third-class battleship and a fifth-class battleship?" Long Yufei thought about it secretly. This kind of strength is not very strong. Although the Xinhua Navy has only two 'Shark-class' cruisers, it is completely no problem to defeat a third-class battleship and a fifth-class battleship. If everything is true, then, with the strength of the Xinhua Navy, it is completely possible to grab this gold. However, Long Yufei was still a little skeptical that Antonio wanted to reveal the news for nothing.

"Mr. Antonio, why are you revealing this news to us?" Long Yufei looked directly into Antonio's eyes.

"Your Majesty, it's simple, I don't like that guy Anthony Pedro! After losing 200 kilograms of gold last time, I had to pay half of my fortune to get through that crisis. And the vast majority of that property went into the pockets of that guy from Anthony Pedro! So, I hope to see him unlucky! Now the Kingdom of Spain is keeping the country running with the gold that comes back from Luzon! If this gold is lost, Anthony Pedro will probably have to leave Manila in disgrace. Maybe I can get back all the property I lost! Antonio said calmly.

Long Yufei nodded, Antonio's reason, although there are some loopholes, is very reasonable. He didn't care about the conflict between Antonio and Governor Anthony Pedro, he cared about the ton of gold.

"Mr. Antonio, I agree with your reasoning! If the information you provide is true, our Xinhua Navy will attack the Spanish treasure ship and snatch the gold! Long Yufei said. The temptation of a ton of gold still made him determined.

"Your Majesty, you can send someone to verify it at once. I believe that this is a win-win outcome for both of us! Antonio said. However, he was still skeptical that the Xinhua Navy could defeat the treasure ships of the Spanish Navy and grab the gold.

Antonio soon left Xinhua City, but the military and intelligence agencies of Xinhua City went into action. The first thing they need to do is determine if the message Antonio brought is correct, and if it is, then they have to get the route of the treasure ship. So that the navy of Xinhuaguo can strike at the right time.

With Antonio's help, it only took half a month for the intelligence agencies of Xinhuaguo to get the exact information. The battleship Manila and the cruiser Warrior of the Spanish Navy sailed from Manila on January 18, 1837 to transport a ton of gold to Spain to alleviate Spain's financial crisis. The route departs from Manila and then follows the coastline south, passing the coastline of the Sultanate of Sulu's Palawan Island into the South China Sea and then crossing the Strait of Malacca into the Indian Ocean.

Long Yufei urgently summoned Li Decheng, the premier of the New China Navy, to the palace for discussion, and in addition, Queen Luo Yuhua, as the commander of the First Fleet of the Xinhua Navy, also participated in the secret discussion. After all, if you want to deal with the treasure ships of the Spaniards, you have to take the action of the navy of the new country in person! At that time, Luo Yuhua, as the commander of the First Fleet, is likely to personally command the battle.

"Your Majesty, the Spaniards' ton of gold, we must take it!" The cost of the Shark-class cruiser is as high as 60,000 Chinese dollars, and if 24 ships are planned to be built, it will cost 1.44 million Chinese dollars. For the construction of these cruisers, the financial pressure on the kingdom was very great. If we can get a ton of gold, it will undoubtedly relieve our financial pressure! After hearing the news, Premier Li Decheng immediately made a decision. The financial income of the Xinhua State is not much, and it is almost impossible to make ends meet, and if it were not for the plundering of the natives by the Xinhua army, it would not be able to sustain itself at all.

"Of course, Prime Minister, we are determined to get this ton of gold from the Spaniards!" Long Yufei also said. Horses have no night grass and no fertilizer, and people have no windfall and no wealth. If Xinhua wants to develop and grow, it must plunder all kinds of resources as much as possible. This time, the Spaniards' ton of gold is simply fat to the mouth! If he let it go, he will regret it very much!

"Yufei! A 3rd class battleship and a 5th class battleship of the Spaniards, nothing to fear! Although our 'Shark-class' cruisers don't have as many guns as theirs, our ships are much more advanced in performance than their older ships, and the guns are much more powerful, and we can completely defeat them! Luo Sangu also said. After the establishment of the navy of the new Chinese country, she has been leading the training of naval soldiers. After a period of arduous training, although the navy of Xinhua is not yet comparable to that of Western powers, it is still presentable. Against the Spanish Navy, Luo Sangu believes that with the performance of warships, the Xinhua Navy has a great chance of winning!

"Yuhua, are you sure? After all, our navy has not been established for a long time, and such regular naval battles have not been fought before! Long Yufei said with some concern. The time for the Xinhua Navy to become an army is too short, and the navy, unlike the army, can complete training in a short time, and then after going to the battlefield and seeing blood, it can be regarded as an elite soldier. But the navy is different, without a long period of accumulation, it is impossible to build a strong navy.

"During this period of time, the officers and men have trained very hard, and they have initially mastered the performance of the 'Shark-class' cruiser. There may be a lot of room for improvement in terms of shelling, but if we play against the Spaniards, we can win with the performance of our weapons. Of course, the premise is that there are no other surprises! Luo Sangu said. Just like the last time they robbed the Spanish treasure ships, they had won the victory after a bloody battle, but the sudden appearance of British warships made them almost lose themselves. If Long Yufei hadn't come up with a way in time and finally fought hard, maybe the pirates of Flying Fish Island would have been wiped out, and there would be no everything in the new China country now!

After listening to Luo Sangu's very affirmative answer, Long Yufei was relieved. He was very relieved about the performance of the 'Shark-class' cruisers. Not to mention the third-level battleship that encountered the Spaniards, even if it was against a first-class battleship, it had the strength to fight a battle! The guns on the 'Shark class' cruisers are much more powerful in range and power than the breech guns used by Western navies. Even if you can't beat it, you can escape with your speed advantage. Long Yufei's only worry is that the navy will fight hard with the Spaniards, in that case, it is very likely that an unpredictable situation will happen!

"Well, in that case, the Navy will do it! However, I hope that the navy will give priority to preserving its own strength, and if it finds that it is impossible to do so, it will immediately retreat and not fall in love with the war! Even if you can't get that ton of gold, it's not a big deal, and bringing people back safely is the most important thing! Long Yufei admonished.

"Don't worry, Yufei, I'm measured!" Luo Sangu said that she was already a little excited, and after being idle for more than a year, she could finally get a job. And the opponent is still the Spanish naval warship, which is a rare opportunity for the Xinhua Navy to exercise.

"Your Majesty, Queen, during this operation, the pirate flag should be hoisted on the two warships, lest the news leak out! In addition, after we have succeeded, we must not leave a living mouth, lest we be exposed. Li Decheng also said. After all, the current strength of Xinhua is still a little too weak. If the news leaks, it will have a great impact on the Xinhua Congress.

"I'll pay attention to that!" Luo Sangu said solemnly.

On January 12, 1837, two warships of the Xinhua Navy left the harbor under the pretext of training and sailed into the Bohol Sea. Far from the shore, the battleship lowered the golden dragon flag of the new Chinese kingdom, raised the skull flag, and completed the turn, sailing westward.

After leaving the Bohol Sea, the fleet entered the Sulu Sea. Two days later, the fleet entered the South China Sea and began to wait for the Spaniards' treasure ships to arrive!